.

~~~~~~~

~~~SCENE 1: Lila~~~

Lila was walking down a shopping district when she caught sight of her favorite victim—er, classmate eating at a nearby café. Carefully maneuvering around the outdoor patio in a way so that she would not be seen, she noticed that Marinette was not alone… Across from her sat the snobbish cousin of Adrien’s: Felix Graham-Agreste. The Italian narrowed her eyes as she took in their chummy atmosphere. ‘When did they get so close?’

“Oh my gosh, Marinette! What a coincidence!” The liar called out as she exited her hiding spot.

The designer’s countenance darkened a bit as the liar approached, her voice dropping into a flat irritated tone. “Lila.” The snake’s eyes gleamed with a cruel light, her smile becoming a bit sharper.

“What do you want, Rossi?” Came the exasperated, blunt voice of her pale blond companion. Rude.

“What? Can’t I say hello to my classmates? I stop by this café all the time; the owner is like a father to me. I highly recommend the pasta!”

“It’s a boba café, they don’t sell pasta!” Cried the exasperated class president.

“Well, it’s on the secret men—”

“Hi, order number 42?” A waiter interrupted, pointing to the little plastic table number resting beside Felix’s elbow. “Who had the honeydew milk tea?” Marinette raised her hand and he set it before her. “And one matcha milk tea for the gentleman. Please enjoy.”

The two teens stared down Lila as the waiter left two straws and returned to his post inside to take orders. She scoffed as she sauntered away, pretending to look over the posted menu while spying on the pair. ‘Perhaps I can get something good to lie about at school tomorrow…’ she thought, watching them from the corner of her eye.

“Mm, this honeydew is delicious!” The bluenette remarked while sipping happily on her drink.

“Let me try,” Lila watched as Felix grabbed the drink right out of Marinette’s hands.

“Hey! Don’t steal all my tapioca pearls, jerk!”

The blond brought the same straw to his lips to take a sip. “Hmm, you’re right, not too sweet.” The designer’s scowl transformed into a smug smile as he set the glass back down in front of her, continuing to enjoy her drink without a second thought.

‘Did they just…indirectly kiss?! Oh my, talk about juicy gossip!’ Lila’s lips curled into a wicked smile; she couldn’t wait to twist this into a new story tomorrow!

~~~ The next day…

“You’ll never believe this, girls. Marinette was on a date with Felix!” Lila sobbed, “After I told her how much I liked him, too!”

“Aw, Lila…I’m sure that’s not what it was,” Mylene comforted the girl.

“I saw it! They were all lovey-dovey, sharing a drink—” The liar attempted.

“Girl, are you sure that your lying disease isn’t acting up again?” Alya asked skeptically as Lila tensed. “I mean…Marinette and Felix? Pfft, that’d never happen!”

“Does seem rather far-fetched,” murmured Juleka in agreement.

“But I really saw—" she tried again in vain.

“Shh, it’s okay. Why don’t you tell us more about your recent trip to Achu instead, Lila?” Rose begged the flabbergasted liar.

~~~SCENE 2: Adrien~~~

It was Saturday and the teen heartthrob of Paris had just finished a photoshoot early. Nathalie had even agreed to let him enjoy a little free time! ‘Too bad Nino is busy with Alya today,’ he thought glumly as he looked around the park. Spying his favorite designer’s balcony in the distance brought a smile to his face once again. ‘Maybe Marinette would want to play some UMS III!’ Destination set, Adrien began crossing the park at a leisurely pace, enjoying the sun and the breeze on such a pleasant day.

He watched as kids chased each other through the park, vendors sold balloons and treats, and friends picnicked on checkered blankets. The model smiled as his roaming eyes noted happy couples – like the two giggling college students holding hands as they walked, Marinette and Felix lounging under a tree, the young man chasing—WAIT. Marinette and Felix were what?

Adrien’s eyes locked back onto the pair beneath the tree in disbelief. Felix was sitting with his back against the trunk while reading the book he held in one hand. Sprawled out between his knees was a slumbering bluenette, her sketchpad forgotten on her lap while her fingers still twitched with the pencil between the digits. Her body was slumped slightly to the right, her head lazily resting against his cousin’s chest. Dumbstruck, he continued to stare as Felix brought his free hand up to turn the page before returning it back to its original place, his silver ring gleaming in a wayward sunbeam as his fingers idly played with one of Marinette’s pigtails.

They looked…comfortable. Closer than he remembered them being.

Marinette seemed to stir, her eyes squinting slightly against the sunlight before she began to shift. The blond’s hand extracted itself from her hair, his eyes falling away from those crisp white pages to gaze down at the girl in his lap. The bluenette resettled on her left side, half curled against his chest and readily fell back to sleep. With unbridled fascination, Adrien watched a soft smile spread across Felix’s face before his hand cupped around her cheek to gently play with the short hairs that curled in front of her ears. His smile never wavered as his eyes returned back to the book in his other hand as if the whole exchange had never happened.

Felix looked…happy and, perhaps, in love?

‘Are they…dating?’ The model’s brow scrunched in thought, considering the whole exchange as he quietly walked in the opposite direction. ‘Good for them. I should congratulate them at school tomorrow!’

‘Maybe Luka is available for a jam session,’ Adrien pulled out his phone to call the older boy.

~~~SCENE 3: Adrien and Alix~~~

After school the next day, while waiting for his ride, Adrien flagged down his cousin coming down the stairs. Felix gave his usual short greeting before expectantly looking at him. Noting they didn’t have much time to spare, he decided to cut to the chase.

“I noticed you and Marinette have gotten rather close recently,” Adrien smiled warmly.

“Yes, she’s been very welcoming and warm. She grows on you, much like a fungus,” the snobbish blond replied while his eyes drifted towards the entry way as if looking for someone.

“Come on, Fe! You don’t need to be so obtuse. She’s really special, isn’t she?” The model raised his eyebrows, attempting to put a heavier meaning behind his words. All he got was a distracted, affirmative hum in reply. Settling a hand on his cousin’s shoulder, his grey eyes shifted back to Adrien. The model looked directly into Felix’s eyes with a bright smile, “I just wanted to tell you that I’m really happy for you two!”

His cousin’s face scrunched up in confusion but, before he could question the green eye blond, his attention was captured by a shriek coming from the stairs behind them. Felix turned just in time to catch a flying bluenette against his chest with an “oof!” before she could hit the ground.

Alix jumped down from the top step and swooped around them in her skates, looking frantic. “Oh my gods, Mari! I’m so sorry, I thought you saw me coming. Are you okay?”

“Kubdel, what the hell were you thinking? You know Marinette has her head in the clouds 80% of the time!” Felix scolded the pink haired girl while setting the young designer down on her feet, keeping her in the protective ring of his arms. Turning to her, his tone became a tender and worried murmur, “Are you alright, princess?”

“I’m purrfectly fine, she didn’t mean to bump into me! Besides,” Alix and Adrien watched as her smile turned fond, “you caught me before I could get hurt. My hero.” She pretended to swoon and, although Felix scowled, his eyes remained soft. They watched as he took her bag from her shoulder and then grabbed her hand. Neither classmate missed how the grey eyed boy threaded his fingers through hers.

“You’re likely to fall over if I don’t hold onto you. Let’s get you home in one piece, shall we?” He nodded to the two as he led Marinette away, the unlikely duo murmuring to themselves – smiling and laughing as if in their own little world.

“Are those two dating?” Alix inquired with obvious confusion.

“Yup, I saw them cuddling in the park over the weekend. I was pretty surprised but I’m happy for them. I think she’s good for him,” Adrien grinned.

“Huh. I always thought she’d end up with you,” the pink haired girl shrugged and skated away from the now blushing blond.

“Wait, what?!”

~~~SCENE 4: Amelie~~~

The Graham-Agreste family didn’t travel outside of Paris much these days but, when they did, it was usually for a week at a time. Amelie had warned her son about the impending trip to visit a business contact in Greece and he seemed less than thrilled. She suspected it had something to do with the sweet classmate he had been spending so much free time with. She wasn’t blind but pretended to be whenever Felix’s face softened and an unconscious smile spread on his face when he would receive a text from her. She even had her own ringtone! And today? Why, Amelie was in for quite the treat because that very classmate appeared at their door just a few hours ago to help Felix pack for his trip.

She didn’t miss the chance to remind her teenage son to leave his door open as she didn’t wish to be a grandmother…yet. Nor did she miss both turning bright red at the implication of her words.

Amelie had checked a few times – while walking down the hallway, she didn’t want to cramp his style – and noted that he had left the door ajar as requested. This allowed her to catch snippets of their muffled conversation and laughter in passing. Not that she was trying to eavesdrop, but those joyful sounds made her so happy. It made her heart swell that Felix had finally found someone he could relax and be himself with! Her grumpy little man had made a friend – a girl friend no less – and Amelie was over the moon!

‘Come to think of it, it has been a while and they are awful quiet…’ she internally mused. ‘Better go check on them.’

The older blond set down her crossword and headed upstairs, approaching the bedroom door as quietly as she could. She heard nothing as she paused outside the door. Curiosity getting the better of her, she pushed the door open soundlessly. She had to bite her lip to stop from cooing over what she found!

Felix’s carryon was packed and set at the foot of the bed with care, a light jacket draped over the handle in preparation of their early flight. A single lamp on his nightstand was on, illuminating the scene before her in the dusk-colored room. In the middle of the duvet lay the two teens, about a foot apart but facing each other, unconsciously holding hands as they peacefully napped side-by-side. Tiptoeing to the end of the bed, Amelie pulled out her phone and snapped a few silent photos – noting with glee the tiny smile on her son’s face as he slept. With an airy sigh through her nose, she silently departed so the two could rest.

‘They make such a cute couple! I’ll have to frame these photos for when they get married…’

~~~SCENE 5: Juleka and Nathaniel~~~

A few weeks later, Madame Bustier had paired up students for an art history project. Juleka and Nathaniel had scheduled some time during lunch to study in the library, hoping to get the necessary books for their chosen historical figure: Marcel Duchamp. They greeted the librarian and headed towards the art history section, flipping through various books to find the most relevant information. Suddenly a giggle cut through the quiet and caught the attention of the two studious classmates. Peeking around the end of the row and looking toward the beanbag chairs in the reading nook, they spied two teens engaging in a tickle fight. Their eyes widened as they realized the grinning blond was none other than Felix and the snorting giggles were escaping a very pink, writhing Marinette.

“Is that…are they…” Nathaniel questioned under his breath, Juleka nodding vaguely to confirm that she was witnessing the same thing. This was not the work of an akuma.

They watched silently as the bluenette twisted and struggled to evade the blond boy’s nimble fingers, eventually ending up tangled and panting in an embrace that resembled a human Gordian Knot. Her legs were draped across his lap and an ankle hooked around one of his, her arms weaved and locked around his upper torso, her fingers driven into his hair. Felix’s head rested against her collar bone, his eyes shut, and lips curved into a smug smile. Their bodies were pressed so tightly together that not even a breeze could get between them. “You could have just told me you wanted to nap! Gods, you’re such a cat sometimes!” Marinette scolded softly with a huff of laughter, her fingers petting the skin and long hair at the base of his neck as the boy seemed to melt further against the young designer.

“Do you think they’re dating?” Juleka whispered in amazement.

“Certainly seems like it,” the red head replied.

~~~SCENE 6: Mylene and Rose~~~

“…And the whole park just looks so lovely with all those new trees planted! Thank you for helping with my beautification project, Rose!” Mylene expressed happily to the strawberry blond beside her as they wandered into the cafeteria.

“I was so happy to help. The flowers are going to smell amazing when they begin to blossom!” Rose swooned softly before bumping into someone in her distracted state. “Oh, hey Marinette! What have you got there?”

“Hey guys! I made bento boxes today, want to see?” The bluenette opened the two boxes for their perusal. Inside were tiny hotdog octopi piled so close together that they seemed to be kissing, slices of fried chicken, rice balls with seaweed hearts stuck all over them, and a small salad filled with heart shaped veggies. The two girls cooed over each detail, noting the obvious theme…

“Did you make these for your crush, Marinette?” Rose chirped sweetly, “So romantic!”

“Wh-what?! N-no, no! I just made these because I wanted to…” the young designer blushed crimson at their words and nervously rubbed the back of her neck. “I kind of fell down a YouTube rabbit hole with Kagami the other day and became super obsessed with the idea. I’m not very good though, I still need a bunch of practice…”

The colorful dreadlocked girl smiled kindly, “I think it’s really sweet! You know, I bet Adrien would—”

“Oh shoot! Sorry, girls, I promised Felix we’d have lunch together to work on our project and I really want to eat before this gets cold,” interrupted a distracted Marinette as she packed up her bento, her face scrunched as she took in the grumpy blond at the far end of the cafeteria.

“Sure, see you later, Mari!” Rose and Mylene watched as their friend crossed the room to sit with Felix. “They’ve been spending a lot of time together lately, huh?”

The mousey girl nodded, watching in fascination as their class rep seemed to scold the pale blond for only eating an apple before spreading the two bento boxes between them on the table. Felix responded with an eyeroll from the other side of his book, but Marinette just gesticulated her hand brandishing chopsticks to wave off his arguments. They were taken aback a moment later when she scooped a mouthful from the box and blew away the steam, then offered it to the boy with a silent ‘say ah!’ The grump seemed to huff before dutifully taking the morsel into his mouth, not letting her feeding him interrupt his reading. Marinette smiled brightly and continued to feed them both in this fashion, completely oblivious of the two shocked girls watching from afar.

The petite bubbly girl squealed with joy! “Do you think she actually made the bento for Felix? Oh my goodness, she filled it with hearts!”

“And he accepted it! We’ve got to tell the girls!” Mylene gushed, thrilled to see their sweet friend find love and appreciation.

Looks like the Adrienette fan club needs to disband…

~~~SCENE 7: Kim~~~

It was date night with his girl, Ondine. He had lost their bet at swim practice, so she got to pick the movie – some American “classic” called Grease playing at a small, off-the-beaten-path theater. She seemed happy so Kim wasn’t about to complain. ‘I just hope it’s not a total chick flick! I’ll have to catch the latest John Wick with the guys next weekend…’ he internally sighed. It was early evening on a weeknight, a few bored employees manned the front, and very few patrons were in attendance. Most appeared to be couples out on their own dates. The two athletic teens settled into their seats near the back – prime make out territory for couples, oh yeah – just in time for the lights to dim.

Suddenly, about five minutes into the film, the entry door on the opposite side of the auditorium opened with a loud BANG and made everyone present jump. Kim heard a familiar voice call out a whispered “sorry!” before catching sight of a couple quietly making their way down the aisle and settling a few rows down from where he was. One tall, lanky, dour blond and a shorter, contrite looking bluenette… Wait, was that Felix and Marinette? As Ondine hummed and danced in her seat to ‘Summer Lovin,’ Kim curiously watched as the duo took their seats in the back half of the theater. Once seated, there was some sort of frantic movement from Marinette before Felix settled his arm over her shoulders and pulled her closer; the young designer’s head coming to rest against his chest. Kim’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline and his jaw dropped.

Were they on a DATE?

Distracted, Kim draped his arm around his girlfriend and stared off towards the screen unseeing for a few moments, the gears in his head slowly turning. They arrived together. They seemed cuddly with each other. His eyes widened. ‘Wait, they…’ He glanced over a few times to verify, ‘…they sat in the make out section!’ By the time the characters were dancing around the carnival to ‘We Go Together,’ the Vietnamese boy noticed out of the corner of his eye that Felix had long ago rested his head on top of Mari’s and had occasionally rubbed his cheek against her dark hair.

Maybe it wasn’t really them?

The credits rolled and the dim house lights came on, allowing him to get a better look at the couple as they got up to leave. Oh, yup, it was definitely Felix and Marinette. He nodded along as Ondine gushed about the film, watching his classmates ahead of them from his peripherals. Marinette was gesturing widely, her eyes lit up in a way that only happened when she spoke about fashion. The grouchy teen was gone, a warm smile on his face as he gazed down at the girl beside him. Once outside, he watched as the smile turned into a frown once again – this time only because the bluenette was shivering. He thought he heard the blond murmur “are you cold, Bug?” but he wasn’t sure. For the second time that night, Kim was shocked as Felix shrugged out of his coat and draped it around the dark-haired girl before pulling her close as they walked down the street.

Ondine looked between Kim and the couple, tilting her head a bit. “Isn’t that your friend, Marinette?”

“Yeah…” the taller boy replied hesitantly.

“Wow, she and her boyfriend make such a cute couple!”

~~~SCENE 8: Chloe & Nino~~~

Nino’s groan of frustration was so loud that it reverberated off the walls of the hallway, “Chloe! Look, I’m not thrilled about having to do this report with you either but I’m not going to let you just not do anything!”

The haughty blond girl huffed, crossing her arms with a pout. “I can’t believe you’re going to make me do…” She paused, her mouth opening and closing like she was attempting to spit out something foul tasting, “…homework, Lahiffe. I have far more interesting things to do – like my mani-pedi! These hands don’t just look perfect all on their own!”

“Just use your phone to search for some information on Louise Bourgeois. You insisted on picking her since you’re related but you have to do more than pick the topic!”

Chloe scoffed and turned towards the other blond that had wandered out of the classroom, “Felikins, tell Lahiffe here that a young woman like myself has important needs!”

Felix settled against the wall beside the classroom door and rolled his eyes. He opened his mouth to reply when a stumbling blur came through the doorway and seized his attention. Nino watched in fascination as Adrien’s cousin quickly spun – was he always that fast? – and caught the figure in his arms, his face scrunched up in confusion and concern. As he raised himself from a crouch, the DJ was able to see he now held a barely conscious Marinette.

“Dudette! She okay?” Nino stepped closer with an outstretched hand, worry evident in his tone. Sure, he hadn’t been able to hang out with her as much lately, but he knew her! His oldest friend tended to push herself too hard and take on too much, plus she had developed a sensitivity to cold recently… Made her susceptible to getting sick very easily.

Then something unexpected happened that stunned them to silence... The grey eyed boy leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead, his face transforming from worry to shock before effortlessly scooping the limp bluenette up bridal style. His voice softened, “Marinette, you have a fever! Did you go out without your jacket again?” He huffed as the girl whined weakly in his arms. Turning to the two of them, his tone became all business once more, “Excuse me, it seems I need to take her to the nurse.” The two shocked classmates stepped aside as a very fierce looking Felix hastened down the hall like a man on a mission. Nino could swear he heard Felix’s voice echoed a ‘what am I going to do with you, princess?’ as he turned the corner, but Felix surely wouldn’t say something like that… would he? Then again…

“Did Felix just…kiss Marinette? Do you think they’re dating?” Nino wondered aloud.

His words seemed to snap Chloe out of her stupor, she spun to face him and screeched in disbelief, “What?! Dating? Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!”

~~~SCENE 9: Sabine & Tom~~~

Sabine was a patient, protective, intuitive woman. She watched her beautiful daughter trip over herself for a boy in her school – a model, no less – she just shook her head. Adrien seemed like a sweet boy but distracted and flighty. Tom thought he seemed like a good match for their sweet girl at first and welcomed him into their home like they would a future son-in-law; Sabine was unconvinced though. Not that she would treat the sweet teen model without her usual kindness – he was her little Bǎobèi‘s friend, after all. He just wasn’t the right one.

However, about half a year later Marinette came home with another blond boy that immediately caught her attention. The new boy, Felix, looked similar to Adrien but was entirely different. Sure, both boys were respectful, handsome, and polite… However, where Adrien was falling over himself for approval and acceptance, Felix walked with a gait that seemed to communicate he needed no one’s approval. She watched with interest as their friendship developed and noted with a smile that the grumpy boy balanced out their daughter’s overexuberance. She softened his hard edges; his quiet support allowed her self-confidence to blossom. He brought structure and order; she ruffled his feathers and introduced some spontaneity to his life. Sabine and Tom had friendly bets going that the two would become something more, but nothing had shown that that was happening. There had been an obvious change in their dynamic a few weeks ago and the bakers were thrilled! Perhaps this was the moment? No.

At this rate, her daughter was going to cost her $30 if they didn’t get together by the end of the month…

It had been a couple days since a worried Felix carried a feverish Marinette home from school. He made sure to come by each day with notes, assignments, and to inquire about her health. Sabine could tell by the way his eyes drifted to the back stairs during each visit that he wanted to see her – not that the taciturn blond would admit such a thing. The two teens were in the living room watching a movie now that she was feeling better. Sabine smiled softly as she washed a few dishes in the sink, ‘As if illness would keep that boy away from your side, Bǎobèi…’ The blond teen was sitting a respectful distance from her daughter on the couch as they chatted about the plot quietly, smiles on both of their faces.

Marinette began to shiver, her body not quite recovered, and whined about feeling cold. Sabine watched as Felix rolled his eyes before getting up, eliciting a louder whine from the girl on the couch. He passed the kitchen with a nod and wordlessly went up the stairs to the designer’s room, returning with a thick fluffy blanket as if he was used to fetching things in their house or for their daughter. Odd. The boy proceeded to drape the blanket over his blue-eyed classmate, carefully tucking it around her whole form before lifting her feet and encasing them as well. Marinette made happy noises as she began to settle in when a sudden movement made her squawk with indignation. Sabine turned in time to see Felix sit closer to her, Marinette’s feet on his lap as he began to unconsciously rub them through the cover of the blanket.

The older bluenette smiled, watching the two returning back to their bantering. Sabine quietly dried her hands and went back down to the bakery. Tom was going to want to hear all about this!

~~~Later…

Tom and his wife tiptoed up the stairs, hoping to catch a glimpse of the two teens without their notice. There, on the couch and basking in the glow of the DVD menu, lay two sleeping teens. Their daughter was cocooned in the blanket like a caterpillar going through metamorphosis, only her head was visible. However, laying slightly behind and draped over the blanket was the slumbering form of Felix. His arms unconsciously pulled her closer, causing their Bǎobèi to hum happily.

“Better be ready to pay up, honey,” whispered Sabine with a grin. “This boy is definitely our Nǚxù.”

Tom chuckled softly, pulling out his phone and opening the notes app. “Do you think he’ll like strawberry crème for their wedding cake?”

“Perhaps lemon, it would go very well with that cream cheese buttercream you’ve been testing out…”

The two adults retreated back to the bakery to continue their discussion, leaving the two teens blissfully unaware that the details of their anticipated nuptials would likely be hammered out by the end of the week.

~~~SCENE 10: Sabrina & Roger Raincomprix~~~

Lt. Roger Raincomprix returned home after his evening patrol, dropping his keys on the entryway table before letting out a long sigh. Tonight had been a long shift but he needed to speak to his daughter before she went to bed… He plodded down the hallway to her room and knocked when he saw the light still shining from beneath the door. “Sabrina? Are you still up, pumpkin?”

“Come on in, Dad!” Roger nervously pushed his way in, finding his smiling daughter dressed in her pajamas and sitting at her desk. “We have a big test tomorrow, so I was just getting in one last review before going to bed.”

“That’s good, honey. We need to have a talk,” the officer sat on the edge of his daughter’s bed and fidgeted with his hands. He wasn’t sure how to broach this topic with his teenage daughter but, some things had happened that evening that made Roger realize that he needed to make sure she was being safe.

“Something wrong, Dad? Did something happen on patrol tonight?” Sabrina’s tone became pensive, concerned for the serious look that her father was sporting.

He dropped his eyes to the floor, flexing his hands in and out of fists as he spoke haltingly. “Yes. Uh…well… Pumpkin, you’re a young woman now. Hormones are hard to deal with as a teen and you’re…going to meet someone special…and you’re going to have some urges—”

“DAD!” The scandalized cry brought his eyes up to meet her own wide, cyan-colored eyes. “Are you…trying to give me the ‘birds and the bees’ talk?”

He swallowed thickly, “Yes, sweetie. You’re sixteen now and—”

His daughter crossed her arms and gave him a flat look as she interrupted again, “I don’t even have a romantic interest right now, Dad. We already covered this in Sex Ed. What is this really about? What happened on patrol?”

Roger gave a long sigh and his brow furrowed. ‘I shouldn’t tell her what happened but… Sabrina wouldn’t tell anyone.’

He cleared his throat. “There was an incident with two of your classmates tonight in the park—”

“WHAT? Who?”

“Sabine’s daughter, Marinette, and that blond kid…what was his name again? Not the model.”

“Felix Graham-Agreste?”

He snapped his fingers, “That’s the one! Caught the two of them in the park canoodling…”

~~Earlier…

Lt. Raincomprix whistled softly as he walked past the hero statue in the park. It had been a quiet shift besides the akuma – not that he could assist with that! – which the heroes apparently wrapped up a few minutes ago, if the recent swarm of ladybugs was any indication. ‘I wonder what those two do after the fight? Chat Noir seems suave, he’s probably some playboy…’ Suddenly a crash and groans were heard. Roger pulled out his flashlight and rushed toward the bushes where the noise originated. There, he found two teens he recognized from his daughter’s class in a compromising position…

Felix Graham-Agreste was slouched back against the trunk of a tree and Marinette Dupain-Cheng was slumped forward between his knees, both staring towards the light with wide eyes. Their hair and clothes were in disarray, small twigs and leaves attached to the strands as if they had been rolling through the bushes. One of the bluenette’s hands was resting upon his thigh, while the other was gripping the front of his belt. The blond had a hand on the back of her head and the other pressed against her upper back, as if pulling her towards him. Felix’s shirt had been untucked and ridden up to expose his stomach; Marinette’s shirt gaped open in the front where a few buttons had popped off to reveal the lacy shoulder strap of her bra.

“What do you two think you’re doing? A park is no place for a lover’s tryst!” Lt. Raincomprix exclaimed.

The two looked each other over briefly before turning red in the face, the small girl squeaked in embarrassment as the boy pulled her close to cover her exposed décolletage and flaming face. He cleared his throat to try to regain some semblance of decorum. “Our apologies, Officer. We weren’t… this isn’t… this was an accident…”

“So are many babies that come from young teenage relationships, son. I understand, I was a young, hot-blooded man myself once.” Roger chuckled at the memory of his adolescent escapades. The two teens in front of him rose to their feet, a flustered Marinette clutched the front of her shirt closed as a more composed Felix kept an arm around her while he continued to shield her from view with his body. “Head on home. I don’t want to be finding you two in the bushes after dark again, you hear?”

The two teens nodded and started the trek back towards the bakery, Roger could hear the bluenette muttering about this being all the boy’s fault. Before they could escape the park, the officer called back out to them. “Oh! And remember to use protection!” He could see the pale blond stiffen and a new flush of red go up the back of his neck at the comment. He chuckled and murmured quietly, “Kids these days…”

~~~Present…

“…I know they’re in your class and you’re all about the same age. It’s totally natural to express your love that way. I just wanted to have a talk with you to make sure that you’ll be safe.” Roger smiled at his daughter and ruffled her hair. “Alright, pumpkin, thanks for hearing me out. Just wait to give me grandkids until you’re a bit older, hm?” He chuckled and walked from the room with a wave. “Sweet dreams and good luck on that test tomorrow!”

A gaping Sabrina stared at the door that her father closed behind him, trying to grasp the facts – Felix and Marinette were apparently caught in a park together.

Were they even dating? It was obviously serious!

Or was he just using her?

How had no one noticed?

She needed to talk to Chloe!

~~~SCENE 11: Max~~~

The cafeteria was busy when Max Kanté wandered in, almost every seat was taken, and a few students had even braved sitting on the notoriously filthy tabletops. Markov scanned the area and found an empty chair near the resident grumpy blond in the corner – was he saving it for someone? Or perhaps most were just too intimidated to ask? Based on various factors, the bespectacled teen calculated that he had a 64.8% chance of success approaching him verses someone else in their class. He’d take those odds.

Approaching the distant table, he noted that Felix Graham-Agreste was focused – leaned forward on elbows and brow furrowed – on a laptop screen in front of him and, once he was within two meters of his target, that it appeared he was playing a video game. Max’s curiosity was peaked. “Hello Felix, apologies, I noticed you were playing a game. I was unaware you were a gamer. Perhaps you would be interested in being a beta test—”

The blond winced slightly and sat back, looking up at the suspender-wearing boy with a wry smirk. “I’m not, Kante. I am attempting to try a game recommended to me by an acquaintance. I’m afraid this endeavor is likely fruitless.”

“Oh,” Max paused, unsure how to continue the conversation. “Well, if you change your mind, I wouldn’t mind a non-gamer perspective. My games should be user friendly to professionals and novices alike.” Felix hummed in response, his eyes returning to the screen where 32-bit sprites bounced in place while awaiting orders. ‘Likely an emulator game considering the archaic graphics,’ he thought to himself.

He cleared his throat and rested his hand on the back of the open chair. “I actually came here to ask if I could take the chair or are you saving it?”

Felix’s eyes flickered over the item before he waved dismissively, “Take it. I’m not saving it.”

“Many thanks. Enjoy your game.” The blond teen snorted in reply and turned back towards his computer.

Max moved to a table nearby, settling in to eat with a few members of the AV club to discuss the latest technology released at the recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES). While one boy animatedly spoke of the newest VR technologies, the bespectacled boy noticed Marinette swerving between the tables; he raised his hand to greet her, but she only gave a wave in passing before stopping beside Felix. Unusual. The distance between them was not great and, though he did not mean to, he could not help eavesdropping inadvertently.

“Hey Felix! Are you…playing a game?” The bluenette leaned over his shoulder, tilting her head at what was displayed.

“Yes, although not very well.” He chuckled softly.

“…But you don’t like video games,” he hummed as she paused in thought. “What brought on the change of heart?”

Felix roughly cleared his throat and preoccupied himself with brushing nonexistent dust from the keyboard keys rather than meeting her eyes. When he finally spoke, Max could barely hear his voice over the general din. “…You enjoy it.” Were his ears red? That had to be a trick of the light!

Marinette whipped her head towards him, blinking a few times as she absorbed his words. Max could see the instant they sunk in: her cheeks took on a rosy glow, her eyes softened, and a sweet smile spread across her face. Were they…flirting? Max was unsure. She leaned in a bit closer, “So…what are we playing?”

Felix seemed to recover some of his normal composure at her reply, “Final Fantasy 7, unfortunately.”

“Wait, the original 1997 release? I love that game!” Marinette glanced around for a chair, frowning when she didn’t see one available. She contemplated the tabletop with a quick swipe of her hand, grimacing at finding something sticky. She wiped her hand lightly on her dark wash jeans and mumbled something that made the boy scoff. They seemed to exchange a look before he sat back and made a gesture in front of him.

Wait! Was Felix Graham-Agreste offering what Max thought he was offering?

No! Couldn’t be! There was only a 13.7% chance that…

Max stared with wide eyes as the blue-eyed designer smiled graciously before casually taking a seat on the blond’s lap – as if this was an everyday occurrence! – before proceeding into a detailed breakdown of the game mechanics and basic strategy. Felix loosely looped an arm around her waist to hold her steady while her hands fluttered about to emphasize her words. The pale blond rested his chin on her shoulder, his eyes attentive and focused on the screen once more, nodding along while his body language communicated contentment. Lifting the sleeve of his green polo shirt, Max pinched himself to make sure he was not imagining this strange manifestation, then glanced around for an akuma for good measure. Nope, this was real.

‘Looks like I need to adjust my calculations…’ he thought, baffled.

~~~SCENE 12: The Whole Class~~~

After a few long days of presentations and exams (and multiple late-night stress-induced akumas – midterms, amirite?), students were rewarded with a school board mandated half day as a “stress relief” measure. Dupont’s was scheduled on Wednesday and teachers had doubled up on homework assignments, but Madam Bustier’s class wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth! The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and they had time off from school! They quickly arranged for a potluck styled picnic in the park and most of their group had arrived by the allotted time…

“Hey, where’s Marinette and Felix?” Max questioned.

“Don’t know about Felix but you know my girl, she’s always running late,” Alya chuckled.

“They’re probably coming together!” Rose chirped from beside a nodding Mylene. Juleka seemed to be murmuring something about a Felinette fan club to a perplexed Ivan.

The Ladyblogger scoffed, “Yeah right. They can barely stand each other at school.” Alix seemed to be quietly chuckling at something Nathaniel was muttering about from the shade of a nearby tree.

Nino and Adrien shared a look beside a smug Kim. “They seemed pretty chummy to me,” the jock shrugged while the other two boys nodded emphatically.

Lila crossed her arms with a huff, “I tried to tell you, Aly—”

“Pardon our tardiness, someone couldn’t pick what flavor juice they wanted…” interrupted Felix with an annoyed tone.

Everyone turned to see the grumpy blond, who had suddenly appeared and was setting down a few boxes of pastries from the boulangerie. He was dressed in a crisp white linen button up, the long sleeves belying the warmth in the air, with his typical grey vest and slacks. Trailing behind was a contrite looking Marinette carrying a large jug of grape juice, her flirty grey skirt and short-sleeved white blouse with white embroidery seeming to match Felix in a casual way. Most present would agree that that was the best way to describe the pair: formal vs. casual, yet somehow complimentary. Well, most people anyway – Alya called it a coincidence!

“There were too many options,” she protested with a scoff, “rich people apparently like to have a bazillion different kinds of juice!”

“It’s called ‘having a selection’ and that’s not even a number!” The boy snarked back, wandering closer to Adrien with an eyeroll. The designer grumbled as she poured herself a cup of juice.

“Now that everyone’s here, let’s get this party started!” Nino cried while pumping a fist in the air, cueing Max to start up the tunes while the group mingled over snacks and students settled into a rough circle on a collection of picnic blankets.

Everyone was laughing and having a good time, although many were stealing glances at the bluenette and pale blond as they seemed to coordinate or maneuver around each other like some kind of elaborate dance. His hand steadying her elbow as she wobbled while getting up, her wordlessly placing a few extra cheese squares onto his plate, a tap or a smile or a shoulder bump somehow communicating each other’s needs without words. The food began to dwindle after a couple amicable – if scrutinizing – hours passed. All that remained was a handful of badly bruised fruit and the dwindling drink supply. It was during a moment when Marinette was refilling her cup with juice at the nearby table and Felix turned a certain way that it happened…

“Uh, Fe… You have something on your collar.” Adrien pointed towards his own neck to indicate the general location. “Did you spill something on yourself?”

“No,” puzzled the teen in question, popping open the top button, pulling the collar away from his neck and into the edges of his field of vision.

“Yeah, dude, it kinda looks like lipstick?” Nino helpfully contributed.

Felix face morphed into a flat look of irritation before leaning back to call over his shoulder, “You got lipstick on me again?”

‘AGAIN?’ The class thought simultaneously, shocked speechless.

Oblivious to the turmoil he had created in their classmates, the grumpy blond turned to speak directly to the approaching bluenette. “What is it with you and always leaving marks on me, hm?”

Jaws slackened, unsure what to make of such a bold statement. However, Alya’s eyes had zeroed in on the exposed skin around Felix’s collar bones and shoulder… which were covered in light scratches. Scratches that were obviously made by human fingernails rather than by an animal. ‘As if given in the heat of passion…’ The thought caused her to choke on a bite of food and left her coughing roughly to clear her windpipe.

“It’s not like I meant to—AH!” Marinette’s toe caught on a rock, lurching her forward and causing the grape juice to go airborne. As if in slow motion, everyone watched in silent fascination as the purple stream crashed down on Felix. With a bland look and soft growl, the now wet teen dragged a hand down his face and looked into the bluebell eyes staring at him in horror. A silent conversation seemed to pass between the two as everyone held their breath – Adrien’s cousin was not known for being forgiving, especially when it came to his clothes. After a couple seconds, the young designer scrambled up and began to blot his face and neck with a few wrinkled napkins that she had crushed in her hand when she fell.

“Oh gods… I’m so, so sorry, Felix!” They watched as his brow furrowed and he captured the wrist of one fussing hand in his. Just as he was about to open his mouth to give a – likely scathing – retort, she suddenly perked up with a determined glint in her eye. In one fluid motion she reversed his hold and yanked them both to their feet. “I know! Let’s go back to my house so you can change, I have one of your shirts from last time!”

With a quick tug and a brusque ‘see ya’ over her shoulder, the two were off! The drenched blond stumbling after the exuberant bluenette bounding gracefully across the grass, moving so fast that they were quickly out of earshot. Leaving behind the cacophony of vocalized reactions of their friends and classmates to such a proclamation…

“Wait—”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN—”

“…Last time?”

“Do you think that means they…”

“DUDE!”

“…my ship…”

“Damn, get it, bro!”

“Did you see…”

“I told you so!”

“What just happened?!”

“Ridiculous! If you hadn’t already told me, Sabrina, I would not have believed it.” Chloe’s muttered words, although not loud, cut through the din and silenced all present. Twelve sets of eyes landed on the duo as if seeking answers or insider gossip.

“Wait! What do you know, Sabrina?” Alya questioned with narrowed eyes.

“Well…” she hesitated, looking around nervously before dropping her eyes to the checkered pattern of the blanket she sat on. “My dad said, the other night…”

~~~SCENE 13: The Confrontation~~~

No one was really sure how it started but the newest ‘golden couple’ was in the middle of an argument during their free period. Madam Bustier had left to gather more materials for later coursework. Everyone watched with silent interest as Marinette and Felix seemed to forget that the rest of the room existed, teasing smirks and flashing eyes only for each other.

“Oh really?”

“Yeah!”

“You and what army?”

“I don’t need an army, I can best you all by myself.”

“I’d like to see you try.”

The class collectively held their breath as the two edged closer and closer. The space between them on their shared bench disappeared as they leaned in, eyes locked together as grey gazed deeply into blue, nose to nose and humid breaths mingling as they continued to banter. Marinette’s bangs brushed Felix’s forehead as he tilted his head and his features adopted a more cocksure appearance, as if he was challenging her. She leaned ever closer, their lips only a whisper apart as their voices dropped in timbre. Time seemed to slow to a stop in the classroom. The anticipation was so thick that it was choking every ambient sound into silence…

“JUST KISS ALREADY!”

In an instant the spell was broken. Everyone jumped at the screeched words and searched for the source. There stood a panting, flushed Juleka. Her hands planted on her desk as she leaned aggressively forward, a fierce fire burning in her eyes as they bored into Marinette and Felix – as if the strength of her will alone would make it happen. A few groans were heard as the couple leaned away with widened eyes, only now realizing they had an audience.

“What did you say?” questioned the pale blond, his lips turning down into a frown.

“We’re saying you don’t need to hide your relationship anymore,” Ivan smiled softly.

“Guys, what…” the young designer chuckled incredulously.

“We know you two are dating,” answered Kim plainly.

Marinette and Felix’s ruddy complexions mirrored each other, their eyes looking like they might pop from their sockets. The two tripped over their words to contradict but neither were able to get more than a “we’re not—“/”that’s not—” as their tongues tumbled about uselessly in their mouths.

“Don’t even try to deny it, we’ve all seen you two. It’s not like you’re very subtle, Dupain-Cheng!” Chloe crossed her arms and stared down her nose at them.

The tall blond boy was the first to recover, his brow furrowing. “Wait, what do you mean you saw us?”

“I saw you cuddling in the park,” Adrien offered softly.

“And in the library,” Nathaniel contributed while Juleka got herself under control.

“All of you know that Marinette is very physically affectionate, especially when she’s cold.” Felix defended.

Alix scoffed, “What about holding hands and carrying her bags?”

“She’s also incredibly clumsy and regularly hurts herself. I do that to keep her from faceplanting every three meters,” he argued while Mari chuckled softly.

“You two regularly share drinks,” Lila rolled her eyes at the gasped “sorry for not believing you, girl!” coming from Alya beside her.

“And made him bento lunches!” squealed a lovesick Rose.

“Hey! I told you I made those on a whim!” the young designer cried.

“Then why were there so many hearts?” Mylene innocently questioned.

The bluenette blushed, “They were supposed to be flowers…I’m not very good at cutting shapes with a knife.”

“Well, Ondine and I saw you all lovey-dovey at the movies,” presented Kim with an eyebrow waggle.

She crossed her arms and huffed, “I was researching 1950’s American fashion for a design!”

“Uh…dudette…we saw him kiss you,” Nino nervously murmured. Although, by the way the whole class gasped, they had heard him. The Moroccan boy quickly added, “it was on the head!”

Marinette squeaked and looked at the slightly pink boy beside her. Felix turned to meet Nino’s eye, “…she was ill with a fever and I had my hands full, if you will recall.”

Lila’s tone turned salacious, “That doesn’t even cover the scandalous moments…”

“You did seem awfully cuddly playing video games at lunch the other day,” Max stated while adjusting his glasses.

“B-but th-that was…” the designer stuttered weakly before being interrupted.

“Sabrina’s father caught you hooking up in the park,” Kim smirked and winked towards Felix, who showed the telltale signs of a flush spreading up his neck and ears.

“Not to mention the lipstick and scratches!” Alya leaned towards Marinette and whisper shouted, “I didn’t know you had it in you, girl!”

“And he has clothes at your place from last time,” purred the Italian.

“That’s…” the bluenette swallowed hard, “I-I-I was tr-trying to save a k-kit-kitten from the tr-tree in the p-park. F-Felix ca-caught me when I s-slipped, damaged hi-his clothes… He left his sh-shirt for m-me to repair it and he for-forgot to p-pick it up.”

The blond kept his eyes down, his voice was quiet but still carried in the small classroom, “I recently discovered a new allergy to a certain laundry detergent that makes me very itchy and I’ve been scratching myself…”

“Um…what about the lipstick?” a bashful Adrien murmured.

“I hav-haven’t gotten m-m-much sleep lately…” began the designer, pressing her palms together in her lap nervously.

“…She has a tendency to fall asleep on me if I carry her,” Felix finished quietly, his grey eyes holding unreadable emotions.

“We’re just friends,” they flatly replied, their expressions reflecting some internal conflict while unable to meet the other’s eye.

Most of the students collectively groaned again as they hunkered back down into their seats, unable to stand that phrase. Fourteen sets of eyes exchanged looks as the information sank in. The couple’s explanation made a lot of sense in hindsight… Nino and Kim had known Mari for years and she was overly physically affectionate. ‘Plus Alya knows the girl was even more so with cold weather,’ the Moroccan boy thought. He and Kim shrugged it off, who were they to judge? Many others are willing to brush it off as a misunderstanding now that the excitement had passed.

On the other hand, Adrien seemed to grow more flustered since the declaration of friendship, shooting furtive glances towards Marinette – his imagination running wild with the idea of cuddling with the soft, sweet-smelling baker girl. ‘Maybe she and I…’ He was jolted from his daydreams by a tap from Nino’s pen on his arm. The model’s ears and cheeks felt like they would permanently sport a pink coloration. A few Adrienette fan club members squealed quietly as they observed his reactions. However, there were a few classmates that were still suspicious – such as Chloe and Sabrina – that quickly found home with the handful of Felinette shippers as they charted their theories. Some things just felt too convenient and damn, if they didn’t make an adorable couple…

REET! REET! REET!

The akuma alert popped up on every phone in the class, everyone opened it to see the location— BOOM!

RIIIIIING!

A plume of dust rose above the rooftops from a few blocks away and the school’s evacuation bell blared overhead. The students quickly grabbed their things and calmly evacuated away from the action. They all failed to notice a still pink Felix Graham-Agreste grab the hand of a flustered Marinette Dupain-Cheng before running furiously in the opposite direction…

~~~ BONUS SCENE~~~

The akuma took longer than usual. They were both off their game. First, the heroes had been distracted and submerged in the thoughts contained within their own minds. Their communication suddenly became stilted and awkward, filled with embarrassed laughter that would die out like a sputtering engine running out of fuel. Then it was as if they were hyperaware of each other – every touch, glance, and proximity – causing them to jerk away at the most inopportune times.

The worst part?

It wasn’t caused by the akuma.

The issues were not resolved by the Miraculous Cure. So, after recharging – and getting a peptalk from – their kwamis, they rendezvoused on the top of a tall building where they would not be overheard. Feet dangling over the edge, they decided to clear the air.

“I just can’t believe they thought we were dating!” Ladybug cried, her hands fluttering anxiously around her head.

"That cover story about the kitten in the park was genius though." Chat Noir chuckled, “I’m honestly not as surprised. You did suddenly act much closer to me after you revealed your identity.”

“Excuse moi? I was NOT the one that revealed to you! I seem to recall saving your leather-clad butt from being revealed to all of Paris.” The spotted heroine poked him in the shoulder.

“Yeah, yeah…” the black-cloaked hero rolled his eyes, “and you happened to drop your transformation right as we barreled headlong into that broom closet. You landed right on top of me!”

“Fine, I saved both of our asses, Alley Cat!” she grinned teasingly.

Chat threw his head back with a joyous laugh, a more natural grin spreading across his face as he flirtatiously waggled his eyebrows. “Alley Cat who? Our classmates seem to think I’m a House Cat now, Bugaboo.”

Ladybug’s cheeks pinked under her mask at the implication of his joke, her eyes breaking away from his to refocus on another point on the skyline pensively. Had he said something wrong? The lines of Chat’s mouth tugged down at her reaction, leaning closer in an attempt to meet her eyes again when her whisper froze him in place.

“…is the idea of being MY kitty so ridiculous…?”

His eyes widened. Chat swallowed thickly, his mind supplying the same sweet moments their classmates had witnessed and more as his face burned up. Perhaps even a bassinet, family dinners, and kisses. Gods, that sounded…purrfect. A wide grin blossomed from the ashes of his frown and he leaned into her peripherals to catch her eye with a flirty wink.

“Does that mean my princess would like to become my queen?”

The bug-heroine’s eyes snapped to meet his, filled with enough warmth and love to knock the air from his lungs. Within seconds, a playful sparkle and a bright smile broke across her face as she leaned right into his personal space to peck his cheek. His face grew hot, smile lopsided, and he could swear his spine melted a little.

“If you can catch me, Kitty,” launching herself from the building with a laugh as she swung away.

Shaking himself from his stupor, he pulled out his baton and plunged off the side. Challenge accepted. He had a bug to catch!

‘Looks like our classmates will have more to talk about tomorrow…’

-ok so since in my little universe Eagan doesn’t go to prison, when Adrian’s compound for the passengers gets blown up Eagan feels bad and gets him a motel room

-you and Eagan were out following a calling together when you ran into Adrian

-you mayyy have snuck out of the house to go with him

-Eagan and Ben have a frenemies thing going on and Ben doesn’t exactly love you hanging out with him

-so you just didn’t say anything!! LOL

-you don’t know Adrian as well so you just stay in the room with Eagan

-but there’s only one bed

-🤭

-you spend the night just chilling in bed talking

-it’s also the middle of winter because IN SEASON 4 THERE WAS SNOW

-so it’s cold

-and those motel blankets look gross and not very warm

-so he gives you his jacket to use as a blanket

-and you literally curl up into a ball under it

-“your dad would be pissed if he knew we were sleeping in the same bed”

-“good thing he doesn’t know”

-at this point you’re just inching closer

-he tucks your hair behind your ear and tips your chin up towards him

-then he kisses you FINALLY

-it’s so soft and gentle

-when you pull back from the kiss you look up at him and whisper

-“I love you, Eagan”

-his eyes soften and he barely gets out “I love you, I love you, I love you” before he takes your face in his hands and kisses you again

-(in my queen charlotte era think that iconic scene where george is all choked up and is like “my heart calls your name” and then kisses her 🥹)

-deeper this time

-you melt into him, into the bed as he climbs on top of you

-you run your hands through his hair

-letting out a soft moan as his lips trail down to your neck

-finding the exact spot that got you to cave in his kitchen

-nipping at that spot and then moving up to your ear, making you shiver

-that photographic memory comes in reeeeally handy lol

-after he just kisses your forehead and you curl up against his chest to fall asleep

-he traces your temples as you doze off

-when mick and zeke show up because Adrian went missing you and Eagan have both had the warehouse calling

-when Eagan runs into Adrian’s room and you follow mick is immediately like

-“what the actual fuck-“

-and zeke being the sweet adorable guy that he is is like “what she means to say is , y/n what are you doing here? we all thought you were at home.”

-“I was just helping with a calling. Mick please dont tell dad.”

-she’s def very suspicious and like it’s so obvious but she promises she won’t tell

-as soon as she walks out of the room zeke literally comes up to you almost laughing and whispers “i could literally feel how flustered you are from outside the motel,” and walks out to the car with mick

-and Eagan is all smug like “oh? i got you flustered, did I?” and pulls you out of view from the window to pull you into a kiss and tickle you

-he’s shushing you as you start giggling and smiling into the kiss

-he sleeps on the couch that night

-youuu sneak downstairs to make out with him in the middle of the night

-he definitely leaves a hickey in a really obvious place on your neck

-when you come down for breakfast in the morning zeke subtly points it out to you and you quick run upstairs to cover it

-also side note but you’re besties with zeke

-when you ask if he’s gonna tell your dad or mick he’s like “of course I won’t. girl code” and zips his lips.

-you’re laughing at him because of course mick taught him that

-when you go to saanvi and vance’s lab to make Eagan have a calling you sit by the bed the whole time

-when saanvi yanks him out of the calling you immediately grab his hand

-seeing him in pain was terrifying

-but you hide it from saanvi and Vance

-except for squeezing his hand

-once they’re gone you pull him into the biggest hug

-when he sees marco’s calling and decides to go to the soup kitchen where the omega sapphire is you go together

-it’s pretty boring but you love spending the time with him when no one else is around

-& stealing kisses when no one is looking

-when you go down to the basement and make it through to the boiler room mick and saanvi are both like 😮

-mick is so onto you now

-so you tell her

-and she’s literally like “im so telling on you when we get home”

-but she thinks you’re cute

-he helps you up on his shoulders to reach some of the bricks where the tiles need to go

-in my version of the story he doesn’t steal the sapphire. angelina comes and steals it somehow because we hate angelina here

over 4 months had passed with no real progress made. though you had not made your relationship known to anyone but genya or kanae, you were sure some of the other demon slayers figured it out.

before you even got with giyuu, you made an effort to talk to him. even though he distanced himself from the rest of you, and most of the hashira didn’t make much of an effort to speak with him, you chose to give him a chance. after all, you’d be working together as demon slayers for however long. 

you were always the most friendly with him, occasionally standing by his side and spending time outside of the corps with him. as your relationship became something more, you only got closer, even in the public eye. you left lingering touches, and giyuu occasionally placed his hand on your back when appropriate. the affection in your eyes couldn’t be mistaken, if seen.

the one person who didn’t seem to get a clue was sanemi, the only one you wanted to notice. you hoped that if he saw the adoration between you and giyuu, then maybe he wouldn’t be so opposed. you expressed this to your partner, who hummed at your words.

“if you tell him first, he might notice.”

“yeah, but knowing sanemi, he might just get mad and stomp away every time he sees you instead of observing,” you groaned lightly in frustration.

giyuu looked to the side in thought, “maybe i should try talking to him alone.”

you immediately stopped his train of thought, “absolutely not. i’m sorry, my love, but that’s the worst option.”

while you began to think again, giyuu detected a figure approaching from the side. the breeze blew slightly, and knowing that it was one of the days sanemi would visit, giyuu took it upon himself to show sanemi the affection he had harbored for you.

giyuu surprised you when his left hand grabbed your arm and his right cupped your cheek. he leaned his head towards you and pressed your lips together. your eyes widened at his sudden action. 

sanemi, who was looking for you, stopped in his tracks. it was one thing for tomioka to be kissing you, but it was another to see your shock, as if the water pillar stole your lips and sealed them with his without consent.

the water hashira stepped away after a few seconds with a near-satisfied expression. that should do it, he thought. you brought a hand to your lips before turning to your guest, who was anything but pleased. a vein was close to bursting on sanemi’s forehead as he rushed to grab giyuu. that had sure done it, alright.

sanemi thought that you might’ve had feelings for the water pillar, but it never seemed like they were returned. so seeing your shock from giyuu’s kiss made him think one thing— he was taking advantage of you, wasn’t he?

“sanemi, wait-!”

“THE HELL YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING!? HAAH!?”

the wind hashira was fuming. the arm that held giyuu’s haori had trembled in anger, while his other one was being held back by you. although you were the more skilled swordsman, sanemi had more physical strength than you.

“the fuck are you doing, kissing y/n like that? i’ll kill you right here,” sanemi seethed. “you’ve done it now, tomioka.”

“let him go,” you told your brother.

“i don’t care if you want to be his friend or like him or not. he just kissed you, damn it!” giyuu held sanemi’s wrist when the white-haired man pulled him closer, “what happened to consent, huh?”

“there was no need for consent.”

sanemi’s grip loosened slightly from the surprise of the blunt statement. did he just admit to taking advantage? you took the chance to pull his arm back and stand in front of giyuu protectively. the tips of your fingers pressed onto sanemi’s chest as you held your arm out, hoping to keep him back.

“y/n, get out of the way,” sanemi told you, fingers itching for a fight.

“let me explain-“

“if anyone should explain, it’s him.”

“giyuu and i…!” you swallowed, “ we’re seeing each other, okay? so please, don’t start to throw hands.”

oh you have got to be kidding. sanemi’s angry expression nearly turned dumbfounded at the news, and in the back of his head, tengen’s smug face appeared.

the sound hashira had told sanemi that there was definitely something going on between you and giyuu. being his stubborn self, sanemi refused to believe him. tengen’s mocking laugh echoed in his mind as his gaze flickered between you and giyuu. your other hand, nearly out of his view, loosely held the water hashira’s.

“for how long?” he asked with a strained voice.

“a bit over 4 months now… i was trying to hint at our relationship to you, but you never seemed to get a clue. why do you think giyuu always came by? even kanae doesn’t visit as much, and she’s my closest friend.”

‘i thought it was because you liked him, not that the two of you were actually dating’

he felt like a fool. sanemi let out a shaky exhale before he turned around, keeping his composure as if he wasn’t fuming minutes ago, “i’m leaving. see you thursday.”

and when he showed up to your estate that very day, sanemi didn’t mention a word, and neither did you. he merely looked giyuu in the eyes for a few moments before trudging past him, his way of saying he didn’t care for your relationship. after all, as long as giyuu treated you right and made you happy, part of him would be happy too.

this entry’s taisho secret— on the way back to his estate after finding out about your relationship, sanemi thought about you and giyuu getting married one day. apparently, the thought of being giyuu’s in-law for the rest of his life made him irritated

signed on 07/10/2024 | other diary entries

• have any questions? feel free to write a letter to my inbox !

When you opened your eyes, you weren’t expecting to be greeted by a boy you didn’t recognize with red eyes that you just knew were the Sharingan.

You instinctively raised your guard and as soon as you could feel yourself get in full control of your body you activated your own Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan and took a step back, ready to counter if necessary. You had to be prepared, - your vision was still blurry from being woken up and everything was still slightly disorienting even with the Sharingan but you couldn’t let your opponent see that.

Once your vision started to come back into focus you took a quick look around your surroundings and saw Hashirama and Tobirama, standing alongside who you knew to be Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, and a blonde man you didn’t recognize. A little further behind were a few more people you also didn’t recognize, but the hand sign that the pale one held in place let you know that they were one to reanimate you.

You let go of the annoyance you felt at someone using that Jutsu and refocused, looking until your gaze found the boy from earlier whose red eyes you woke to. What you saw made you let out a small gasp. “… Izuna…? Is that you, Izuna?” You took a small step further, your brows furrowing, before you paused. “No, your Chakra is different. But there’s no denying, you look just like him.” You spoke with a small smile on your face, stepping a little closer. You knew it was mostly impossible to see Izuna in the world of the living again but this boy’s face gave you a large burst of optimism.

“Just as smart as I’ve read you to be, the great Uchiha Y/N. You’ve already read everyone’s Chakra signatures beforehand to be prepared in case of battle. What a brilliantly tactical move, as expected from your caliber.” You looked back towards the pale man with the long black hair, your anger growing again before you narrowed your eyes at the younger Senju brother.

“Tobirama,” your voice was calm but extremely firm, “I thought I told you never to use this Jutsu. I also recall telling you that this should never be documented. For this exact reason,” you emphasized. You created the Reanimation Jutsu. It was something you made in a dark time of your life that still hurt you to think about.

It was lovely in your ancestral Uchiha home, passed down from your family for as long as they could remember. It was the same house you lived in with your husband. You enjoyed the happiness that you felt every day, until it felt like it just started to go down from there. Your clan always at war with the Senju clan, the death of your brother-in-law that started your husband’s spiral, your husband’s defection from the village, and ultimately, his death. It broke you in more ways than you could explain.

When the Senju brothers came to your home to tell you of your husband’s death, you almost collapsed on the spot in grief and rage. The younger brother starts your husband’s path of revenge by killing your brother-in-law, and the older brother ends it along with your beloved husband’s life. They had officially taken everything from you.

It took a lot of time, and a lot of understanding, but you learned not to blame the Senju brothers for what had happened to Izuna and Madara. It hurt you every single day, but you just learned to live with it, burying yourself in your work and missions to compensate. It was on one of these days where you were working on a new Jutsu that you invented when Tobirama offered to join and help if you taught it to him. You allowed him as he did not ask you any questions, simply offering his presence in your mourning, never questioning your judgement or your decisions.

When you believed the Jutsu to be complete, you could tell immediately that it was not something that should be used. It was cruel in nature and you ultimately felt that it went against your morals and also the way of an honorable Kunoichi. It was a Jutsu that would not let the dead lay in final rest, instead waking them up in a cold and shrewd manner, letting the caster control the freedom of those that have crossed over to another world. It was unnatural, wrong.

You were desperate to bring back your husband, and you were willing to try anything. But this, you remember thinking as you saw your Jutsu at work, this is not how I want him back. And so, you made Tobirama swear to never record it and let this die with the both of you. Nobody needed to know that something like this was ever possible in this world. Clearly, he didn’t listen.

“I told you that that was a bad idea, Tobirama. Although, it is very good to see you, Y/N.” Hashirama let out a laugh as he patted your shoulder, letting Tobirama continue to sulk behind him as he tried to duck away from your glare, - just as intimidating as the rest of your clan, Tobirama rubbed at his neck.

“I-I’m sorry, Y/N. I didn’t write down all of it, I made sure I kept it recorded as an incomplete Jutsu just for good measure. I completely removed a few of the sections that took me weeks to figure out. With what was left in the scrolls, nobody should’ve been able to correctly perform it.” Tobirama tried to alleviate his mistake but the pale one spoke again, drawing your eyes to him.

“It was not a hard Jutsu to make sense of, Lord Second.” He smiled in a way that put you on edge, like he was someone to always be wary of. You let it go for now, knowing you couldn’t do anything about it at this moment, and instead embraced Hashirama.

“No point dwelling on it now. It is good to see you, old friend. You as well, Tobirama,” you called out to the younger Senju who gave you a small smile. “Hiruzen, you’ve aged,” you jested as the man you knew to be the admirable Third Hokage let out a laugh.

“And you are just as beautiful as ever, Lady Y/N.” You gave him a gentle smile before turning to regard the man with the blonde hair and the blue eyes. He was new, a man you did not recognize, and yet you could see the trustworthiness in his eyes. He was a good man, you could tell. Not an ounce of malevolence in his Chakra at all.

“I apologize, but I do not recognize you.” You gave him the room to introduce himself.

“Ah!” The man exclaimed before turning around and pointing to the letters on his coat, “I am the Fourth Hokage, Lady Y/N. My name is Namikaze Minato, an honor to meet the Queen of the Uchiha clan in person.” He was a gentle soul. You smiled at him, giving him a gentle bow of your head to show you respected him. He seems like he made an honorable Hokage.

“Eh?!” You all turned your head to see a woman with bright red hair looking at you in shock. A woman of the Uzumaki clan, you assumed from her red-hot hair and her large levels of Chakra. “What do you mean the ‘Queen of the Uchiha clan’?!”

“She’s the legendary Kunoichi, Uchiha Y/N! How can you not tell, Karin?” It was another boy with white hair and sharp teeth that spoke. From Kirigakure, you could tell by his unique features.

“Suigestu is correct, Karin. And another very important fact: She is Uchiha Madara’s wife. Hence the title of Queen.” The Uchiha boy spoke.

“Wait, if you’re the Fourth,” Hashirama started, “then who’s the Fifth Hokage?”

“It’s your granddaughter, Princess Tsunade,” the pale one replied, making you huff out a laugh as Hashirama started sweating. You had good memories of that sweet girl. She was still extremely young at the time of yours and Tobirama’s passing, - far too young to probably have any recollection of you. However, you still appreciated the Senju brothers for treating you like family, and you’ve never forgotten the first moment you held Tsunade as Hashirama asked you to be her godmother. It was a title you took great pride in.

“Tsuna, huh?” Hashirama looked at you sheepishly as you chuckled. “She was my first grandchild, and she was Y/N’s goddaughter. So we both spoiled her rotten. She even picked up my gambling habit, hahahahaha!” You and Tobirama shook your head at the older Senju.

“Alright,” you called out, “enough for now. I have only two things to ask of you.” You took another step forward before pointing to the Uchiha in front of you. “Firstly, who is this boy?” You then dropped your hand back down before addressing everyone. “And secondly, why have you resurrected us?”

“I am Orochimaru, I am the one who resurrected all of you. This boy,” the pale one spoke as he referred to the Uchiha in front of you, “is Uchiha Sasuke. And he has a few questions for all of you.”

“Is that you, Sasuke?” Hiruzen took a step forward. So he’s from Hiruzen’s time, you figured it was during his second time as Hokage as he had quickly filled you in. He seemed extremely young, this Sasuke. You didn’t dwell on it too long when the boy started to ask you and the others questions about being a Shinobi, about being a part of a clan, a part of a village.

You narrowed your eyes at him. He’s seen a lot, and he’s been troubled by a lot. It’s obvious in not only the exhaustion in his eyes but also in the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan you see glowing, - this boy has suffered his whole life. You knew he wanted answers from not just the Hokages but also from you, because as he spoke he maintained clear eye contact with you the entire time. His gaze pleaded for reason, something to hear that would just make sense. For now though, you would let the past leaders of Konoha speak their pieces, - nobody can doubt their experience in these matters.

“Can we please hurry this up? The Fourth Shinobi War is going on and we do not have a lot of time. The sooner you answer Sasuke’s questions the sooner we can be on the move,” Orochimaru stepped up, making Tobirama lose his calm. As quick as always to anger…

“Why are we here answering meaningless questions when we are needed on the battlefield?!” He always needed Hashirama to keep him in check. And he still does, you mused as you watched him finally step away from the wall after a word from his older brother.

“Always conflict no matter what the era,” Hashirama sighed as you gave him an understanding smile. You gave a look back to the group.

“Which nations are fighting this war?” Everyone knew that you and Tobirama perished in the First Shinobi War, and while you were still reeling from the fact that three more happened after it, you also wanted to know the seriousness of it as well as its threat to the Land of Fire and Konohagakure.

“Actually, Lady Y/N…” Orochimaru seemed to hesitate, and he absolutely refused to look you in the eyes. You narrowed your eyes at him before moving them to the young Uchiha who held your gaze instead of cowering.

“Sasuke, tell me what is going on. Now,” you demanded. Sasuke let out a sigh before staring at you for a moment. He spoke calmly, but the news that he delivered was enough to make anyone cower in fear. Not you, though.

“Uchiha Madara,” Sasuke started, “has been revived by the Reanimation Jutsu, and he is currently trying to place the entire world under a Genjutsu of unimaginable magnitude.”

“Why?” Your question was a simple one. “Why is he trying to do this?”

“Uchiha Madara did not, in fact, die during his battle with Lord First.” Orochimaru spoke again. “Instead, he was seriously injured, and lived till the end of his days in hiding. He has had years to plan this battle.”

You looked at him in shock. All this time, he had been alive? Living in hiding? He was alone all this time. You looked down in sadness. We were supposed to grow old and grey together, and yet I die soon and he spends all his years by himself. All your time alive you were grieving what you thought to be the loss of your husband, lashing out and destroying, when instead you could have spent your time with him had you known.

You felt a hand on your shoulder, it was Hiruzen, a man who knew how your mind worked. “There was no way you could have known, my Lady.”

“He has waged a war against all five of the nations. They have come together to form the Shinobi Alliance and now try to fight together against Madara as we speak. He does all of this, for you, my Lady.” You looked at Orochimaru again before looking to Sasuke as if asking if it was true. Sasuke gave you a nod.

“Madara says that he wants to end all wars and all bloodshed. He calls his Genjutsu the Infinite Tsukuyomi, - to put the entire world in a permanent dream state. He is a man that grows angrier and more desperate. He misses you,” Orochimaru said. “And he’s willing to destroy the world for it.”

“His rage is from Y/N’s death in the First Shinobi War,” Hashirama figured out. “Since then, there have been two more that he has observed and so, this fourth one will be Madara’s supposed war to end all wars.”

“The Infinite Tsukuyomi is Madara’s plan to create a world of his own with only love and peace and happiness, as he explained it. He feels rage at the thought of a war being the reason that he lost his brother and then his wife. He believes he can create a better world this way, where everybody can have their own world within consisting of what makes them happiest.” Orochimaru’s explanation was brief and to the point. “His turning point was hearing of your death while he was in hiding, my Lady.”

You put a hand on each of the Senju brothers’ shoulders as you looked back at the boy you’ve come to know as Sasuke. “Alright, let’s tell him what he wants to know. I believe the sooner we explain, the sooner we can help in the frontlines,” you urged the Hokages to sit down beside you. “And the sooner I can see my husband,” you finished off with a smile, making everyone give you an exhausted look. You and Madara were always a love-sick couple, known by those who lived in your time and those who read about you in scrolls and records.

“Alright, we understand what it is you ask us of, young one.” Hashirama always made people feel open to speak their mind. “You want to know about what it means to be a Shinobi? A part of a clan? A part of a village? We’ll tell you.”

You listened quietly as Hiruzen and the two Senjus explained the village’s history to Sasuke, and you watched the changes in Sasuke’s expressions. It also gave you a chance to listen to what has happened since your own passing as well. The stories you heard made you sad. Uchiha Itachi, the man who sacrificed his family and his life for Konohagakure. For Konohagakure and for his little brother. An admirable Shinobi, you agreed. As was the Fourth Hokage and his own wife, giving their lives for the village.

It hurt to know that the boy you saw in front of you was the last of your clan, - an entire bloodline just wiped out. But you respected Itachi for doing the work nobody else was willing to do. He took the fall for the Elders of the village that were too cowardly to even admit to their own actions and decisions. In a way, Itachi reminded you of Madara, willing to sacrifice for his younger brother. Always protecting him, making sure he was safe within the village, helping him grow stronger, trying to lead him on the right path.

You continued to simply listen as Hashirama and Tobirama told Sasuke of the history between the Uchiha and the Senju. He spoke of your husband with the same fondness in his heart that he held for him all those years ago. But when the Hokages were finished, Sasuke sat in silence. He then slowly stood, letting out a sigh before looking at you.

“And what of you, Lady Y/N? You are the only one who has not yet spoken a word to me. I want to hear your opinion.” Sasuke spoke plainly.

“I have seen you listen intently to the opinions of honorable Hokages through the generations.” You spoke as you also started to stand, “What would you do with mine? I was a Kunoichi of Konoha, and I was a wife to a loving man,” you stated with pride making the two you now knew by the names of Karin and Suigetsu in the back of the room look at you with shock. “My experiences are limited to my life, not to the ones of others. I do not see what you would benefit from hearing my thoughts in this situation.”

“You are an Uchiha from legend, from stories that I would hear from my brother very often. You understand love, happiness, the feeling of contentment. You understand desperation, anger, grief, the loss of a loved one. You must have felt pain like mine when you heard of your husband’s death, especially when it came at the hands of Lord First. I want to know what made you stay. Like my brother, you’ve given for the village in blood, and yet you stayed loyal to the very same village until your dying breath. You are drastically stronger than me. You could beat me even without using either of your hands, which means you had the ability to bring the village down if you really wanted to, but you didn’t do it.” You looked at him with a gentle smile before walking up to him and placing a hand on his cheek. He simply stayed staring into your eyes, now black as his without the Sharingan.

“My husband is angry, - broken, hurt. He has lost much in his life. This village has brought me happiness. Hashirama and Tobirama are people I consider my closest friends, and Sarutobi was a brilliant student. All of these make up a village and a Shinobi. Love, bonds, sacrifice, dedication. My husband felt all of these up until he felt like he was cast away by them.” You gently spoke. “I felt the support of my bonds when I was at my lowest, grieving and in rage at Madara being gone.” You turned to look at your friends. “Hashirama and Tobirama may have fought against my husband, but they stood by me when I was alone. I have fought for this village and given it everything that I have. I am nothing without it. But even if I could go back, I would not change that. I found the love of my life in Konoha, and I was able to marry him and lead a happy life until his death. Or rather, what I thought to be his death. I also remember thinking about how I was protecting him with every mission I would take on, no matter how little. Madara has always watched over me, always kept me safe, and it made me happy that by keeping Konoha safe, I was keeping my beloved safe as well, whether or not he ever really needed my protection,” you finished off with a nostalgic laugh.

Sasuke stared at you for a few moments, before suddenly, for the first time since seeing him a couple of hours ago, you saw him give you a small smile. It was heartwarming to see, especially when he looked like the kind of person who rarely smiles. It showed you he understood your words. He could relate. He understood keeping someone’s legacy alive in your heart. He could see it. You knew he could.

“I won’t let what Itachi stood for go to waste. I won’t let Konoha waste away. We’re going to the battlefield.” Sasuke’s eyes shone with determination. A determined and motivated Uchiha is as dangerous to his opponent as he is unstoppable, you knew, and you were proud of this young boy who has learned to work through his conflicts. Your clan was known for burying their emotions deep down as an act of what they thought to be concealing their weaknesses. However in reality, they only make themselves weaker, instead. They forget that their Sharingans are a window into their heart. It reflects the soul and that is how it is not only awakened, but also grown into higher levels, - even the Eternal Mangekyou. They forget what their eyes represent once they awaken their full potential.

“Now we’re talking!” Hashirama was excited. And as you all jumped through the air, you heard him again. “It may sound odd, but I am excited to see my old friend!” Tobirama sighed at his older brothers words while you smiled back at him.

“I understand. It has been decades since I’ve seen my love. I miss him,” you said with a fond smile while the one you’ve come to know as Suigetsu looked at you like you were crazy.

“Forgive me, Lady Y/N, but you talk about him like you guys are love-sick puppies at the Ninja Academy!” Suigetsu let out a breath in absolute disbelief while Tobirama chuckled.

“Madara may be dangerous, and he may be frightening to most. However, seeing him interact with Y/N puts him in a rare perspective that not many have witnessed first hand. This is something even I cannot deny.” Suigetsu shook his head at the Second Hokage’s words and decided that he wouldn’t get it, ever.

Meanwhile, Naruto was letting Sakura heal him when he saw two people land right in front of him. He let out a gasp as he saw his father and a woman. He couldn’t help but stare at her. She was gorgeous, - black hair, black eyes, dressed like a true warrior, proudly wearing the Uchiha symbol- wait what?

He stared in shock as she shared a laugh with his father. “Not bad, Lord Fourth, but I think I beat you by just that little second!” And he couldn’t believe his eyes at his father poking fun back at her.

“Ah, I must be getting old, my Lady.” What?! ‘My Lady?!’ Naruto stayed looking back and forth at the two interacting until his father turned around to regard him. “Naruto! Hope we’re not too late!”

“Nevermind that, Dad! Who is this? Why is she wearing the Uchiha symbol? Is there another Uchiha person alive?! Again?! Why’re you being so formal with her!?!” Naruto’s mind was going faster than his mouth could keep up and it took Sakura giving him a solid knock on the head to make him stop.

“Geez, Naruto! That’s Uchiha Y/N,” she explained as she continued healing him. “She’s known as the Queen of the Uchiha clan, she’s from way before your dad was Hokage. She’s Uchiha Madara’s wife!” That made Naruto freak out again. Why was Sakura so calm about this? Wasn’t Madara’s wife a bad factor to add to this war? Madara was bad enough as it is, and he didn’t want to know what fighting the woman called the Queen of the Uchiha clan would also entail.

“This is why you pay attention during Iruka Sensei’s lectures,” Sakura sighed out before explaining yours and Madara’s past to Naruto as quickly as she could.

As Naruto listened to the end of Sakura’s explanation, he saw the Third Hokage land carefully on his feet. “You’re both as fast as ever, Minato, Lady Y/N.” He then saw who he knew to be the Senju brothers Hashirama and Tobirama also land.

“We never could beat you, Y/N!” Hashirama laughed out as he stood next to his younger brother. Naruto then froze as Y/N turned to regard him, giving him one of the kindest smiles he’s ever seen directed at him in his life, and he knew that that kind of genuineness cannot be faked. You were trustworthy.

“Don’t worry,” you spoke, “your friend is also on his way.” And Naruto closed his eyes. Sasuke. He must have something to do with your reanimation, he knew.

“Hey, um, big sister Y/N?” Naruto called out, making you look at him in shock, a familiar warmth curling into your chest. Nobody had called you that since Izuna, and it brought an involuntary smile to your lips. You gave a nod to encourage him to continue. “Not that I’m doubting you or anything, big sister, but uh, how exactly do you plan on stopping your extremely crazy and concerningly bloodthirsty husband?” You let out a loud laugh at his words while his father panicked at the way he was addressing Madara in front of you. This kid has no filter - doesn’t even know what a filter is - , and you absolutely loved it. He spoke to you as honestly as if you were really his big sister and it made you adore him. If this was Sasuke’s closest friend, then he has chosen well, they are both perfectly balanced halves, like Yin and Yang.

“You have a lovely son, Lord Fourth.” You told a worried Minato before turning back to the blond kid in front of you. “And Naruto, your father told me you wanted to become Hokage. I think- No, I know you will succeed. You have good friends,” you said as you looked around, “and you have a good heart. Not even the sky is your limit, Ninja of Konoha.”

You can tell this kid wears his heart on his sleeve, and so you could have anticipated the hug. What you couldn’t have anticipated was for him to run forward and squeeze whatever temporary life was flowing through you out of your lungs in his hug. Now this was one life-changing hug.

“What on earth did I miss?” You turned to see Sasuke staring at you in amazement. It seems you were a bit of a crowd favourite already, - all of his past comrades from Konoha were gathered around you, looking at you in awe or wonder, sometimes both. He assumes someone, most probably Sakura, must have explained your past and your goals. The initial reaction to hearing your lengthy title and name is always fear, until they have a conversation with you.

“Sasuke!” Sakura shouting out his name had you a little surprised, but as you watched their exchange you could see that the Kunoichi was enamored with him. You left Sasuke and Naruto to their conversation with their friends while you walked over to your own, quickly gauging the battlefield and all of the warriors, - it was an absolute mess. A man by the name of Hatake Kakashi was quick to bring you and the Hokages up to speed on everything that’s happened, including the involvement of another Uchiha by the name of Obito, Lord Fourth’s student.

“As far as I know, however, Obito’s actions are influenced by Madara,” Kakashi explained as he recalled to you and the others what Obito had told him of his survival in a past accident.

“I’m going to go towards the back, I want a larger view of this mess. Just give me a few moments,” you said as you jumped away. Hashirama gave you a quick thumbs up to acknowledge your words as they continued to listen to Kakashi’s information, - the Senju brothers have seen you do this often.

You could see well from your initial spot, but the terrain was uneven and you always worked better once you got a full view of your surroundings with your Sharingan. It gave you better mobility and helped you avoid any hesitation during combat. If you always knew where to step and what direction to move in, you didn’t even have to take your eyes off of the enemy.

This was actually a tactic that you also showed your husband during one of your sparring sessions together. You both would always choose new locations and alternate in memorizing the location. If it was Madara’s turn, you wouldn’t memorize that day’s terrain choice, and vice versa. This helped you both see the difference in combat efficiency. Perhaps that has been far too effective against the Shinobi Alliance, you thought sheepishly as you recalled Kakashi’s words of always seeing Madara have the higher ground in confrontations, looking down on everyone.

As you were letting your eyes memorize the terrain, your heart stopped at a yell you heard. It’s been decades since you’ve heard that voice. And to hear it again in person instead of in your dreams was a breathtaking feeling that you simply could not define, even if it wasn’t directed at you, specifically.

“I’ve been waiting for you, Hashirama!” He called out, and you heard the excitement in his voice. It brought a smile to your face, - those two were always inseparable, it’s nice to see even that cannot change.

Meanwhile, Hashirama looked up to see Madara staring down at him with anticipation. He let out a sigh, is this the time she chooses to disappear? Tobirama, as if reading his brother’s mind, also sighed out. Your timing is impeccable, Y/N.

Where is that woman when you need her? The Senju brothers were really trying to avoid a full out battle with Madara at this point when it was so unnecessary.

Hashirama pointed his finger at Madara as he called out, “I’ll deal with you later!” And the older Senju brother watched as Madara visibly deflated a little in disappointment before patiently sitting down, shaking his head as he did. Some things never change. Hashirama then turned around, pointing his finger at the Ten-Tailed Beast, “First, I have to stop the Ten-Tails, because it’s charging right at us!”

“Where the hell did big sister go?!” Naruto was absolutely stressed knowing the one person who could help stop this now was not here for some godforsaken reason. “She’s the only person who’s going to have any actual effect on Uchiha Madara and she’s just gone?!”

“Stay calm, Naruto,” Minato spoke calmly, “we just have to keep the Ten-Tails occupied. Once she returns we’ll have the extra power and also the weapon to reason with Madara.” He then turned and gave a smile to his son and his son’s friends. “Don’t worry. If she is anything like what I’ve read about her, then Uchiha Madara will listen. So far, she has more than proven herself, and I have faith that she can help. I have also heard from the First and Second Hokages that she is the only human whose opinion and emotions Madara genuinely values.”

“Now, everyone!” Tobirama spoke, “Just hold off until she returns! Keep the Ten-Tails at bay, and do not risk yourself in attempting to counter any of its moves. We simply hold it off for as long as needed!”

Sasuke and Naruto were already off atop their summonings as Sakura stayed behind with her own summoning to heal those that were injured in the area. The rest of their comrades also dispersed to help contain the situation while Madara simply sat atop the cliff, observing their movements. He didn’t bother listening to whatever they discussed, dismissing it as futile attempts to strategize. Naturally, it would fail against me, Madara scoffed out a quiet laugh.

Hashirama thought this would be a good time for him and his fellow Hokages to go and have some semblance of a civil conversation with his old friend while they kept the situation at bay. “Madara!” He called out as him and his comrades landed on the cliff top behind the seated Uchiha.

“Oh? Ready to face me now, Hashirama?” Madara could feel his blood pumping. He’s been dying for a rematch with the Senju man.

“Actually, I wanted to talk. My friend, there is nothing to gain from this.” Hashirama hoped he’d see reason.

“There is everything to gain from this.” Madara countered his friend easily. “In the Infinite Tsukuyomi, there will be happiness. There will be peace. Everyone can love and be loved. How is this reality better than what I am offering?” Madara’s mind was clear.

“It would all still be a fake reality, Madara. None of your experiences would be real. The peace wouldn’t be real. The love wouldn’t be genuine. The happiness? It would be fake!” Hashirama wanted to get through somehow.

Madara was getting frustrated. “At least there would be happiness! At least there would be something worth living for within the Tsukuyomi.”

“There are reasons worth living for in the real world. You fight for them, and you hold on to it. That’s what makes it worth the suffering. There is happiness and love awaiting everyone in this world, Madara, and I thought you would understand that better than anyone else! Everyone that has walked this earth was given something worth living for, and it kept them going till the end of their days. Everyone deserves to experience the real world as it is with all of its ups and downs. That’s what makes it genuine. That’s what gives life value.” Hashirama hoped his friend would understand.

“I had a reason. I had love, happiness. I had it…” Madara looked down for a moment before looking back up again, eyes full of red-hot rage. “And she was taken from me!” He began shouting. “You took her from me! All of you!” He pointed at them, “You took my one happiness and my one love! First, I was separated from her and then you made sure she wasn’t even in the same plane of existence as me! She died fighting for these real experiences of yours. Anything in this world, including these values you preach about, Hashirama, are absolutely worthless without her. She was my only reason. The only one!” The Uchiha took a deep breath, “I refuse to live in any world or any reality without my wife, never again. And any world that has hurt my wife should simply not exist.” He activated his Susano’o, getting ready to fight, - he wouldn’t hear another word of this. He would not listen to another word defending this monstrosity of a world that took his beloved wife from him. His soulmate.

“Are you happy, elder brother?” Tobirama took a few steps back, “Now you’ve made him angry. The whole point of this was to stall him!”

“I know, Tobirama!” Hashirama let out a quiet curse as he prepared his hands for a countering Jutsu.

“Clearly you don’t know. He doesn’t seem to be very stalled from your tactics, elder brother!” Tobirama couldn’t stop the sarcasm that came flying out of his mouth in his current stress.

“Tobirama, now is absolutely not the time for this!” Hashirama backed away some more as Madara’s Susano’o pulled its sword out of the sheath and got into an offensive stance.

They didn’t think a conversation about love and happiness could go so bad so quickly. But then again, they should have anticipated it considering who it was they were having this conversation with.

Nobody loves as intensely as an Uchiha, Hashirama remembered saying to Sasuke. And no Uchiha has loved or will love as intensely as Uchiha Madara loves his wife. He’ll burn the world and bring her the ashes.

The Hokages braced themselves as Madara’s Susano’o charged forward, sword raised and about to come down for the strike, when suddenly, their surroundings went deathly quiet.

The Hokages breathed out a sigh of quick relief. Tobirama huffed, “By the Gods, Y/N! You couldn’t have cut it any closer if you tried!”

You don’t spare a glance back at the Hokages, though, simply keeping your eyes in front of you. You couldn’t help the smile building on your lips as you saw your husband. He was just as handsome as the last day you saw him, - with his Sharingan and his long hair and his eyes full of love for you. He always managed to make you feel loved. He was doing all of this, for you. Of course, it was questionable, but he was doing it for you. “My love,” you started, hearing yourself choking up. You couldn’t finish your sentence as you saw the shock finally leave your husband.

Madara couldn’t believe his eyes. His wife was here, in front of him, reanimated. He never thought he would see her again, and if he was ever reunited with her in the afterlife, it’s not like they would have any recollection of that in the present living moment, either. And so to see her now, he could do nothing but thank every entity he could think of that she created this Jutsu, regardless of the circumstances in which she did. He was not by her side in her dying breath and she wasn’t there with him as he grew old and frail, - the biggest regrets that Madara can think of from his time alive. “Y/N.” He released his Susano’o, taking long strides towards his wife.

You simply stood in place, still taking him in. You watched his large frame as he walked towards you, and you felt your breath leave you at the intensity with which he grabbed you. He held you close, a hand around your shoulders and another over the back of your head, as if trying to make sure you couldn’t go anywhere. You reached and wrapped arms around his neck, burying your face in his chest and letting a sob finally wrack through your body, finally feeling safe and like you belonged. You finally felt like you could let go and the one person your trusted would be there to catch you, - the only person you’ve ever trusted with your soul, and the only person you will ever trust.

“Y/N,” you closed your eyes as you heard your name fall from his lips, “my Y/N.” His words felt like velvet on your skin and like a melody through your ears.

“Madara,” you breathed out, making the Uchiha man let out a hum. He had been aching to hear your voice for decades. It had been so long since he’d heard you call out his name and to hear it again made him want to break down right there. “You left me,” he heard you whisper. You sounded so upset, and he felt his heart ache and fall apart all over again. Such simple words, but so strong in their meaning. “You left me alone.”

“My darling wife,” he gripped you tighter. “I am so, so sorry. I have no excuse for my actions. I was blind and a fool to have ever thought to leave you, because that is all one must be to ever think to let go of you,” he stated honestly. These were words from his core, ones he has never spoken aloud until now but has always had running in his head. He meant every bit of it. “I was… blinded. Blinded by the hate I felt, the need to avenge Izuna… All of it came to head at some point that I struggle to even remember now. And when I heard of your death, I lost all reason. All I could think of was the ways in which I could’ve kept you safe. I thought the only way to do so now would be to create a new world. A world in which we could be together again, a world in which you couldn’t get hurt. And you would never be hurt because this world would be ours to command as we so wished.” You sighed out gently before pulling away to cup his face in your hands. You gave your husband a smile, leaning to kiss his lips for a moment before resting your forehead against his.

“You never let your soul rest, even in death.” You sighed and you pressed your lips to his cheek. “My husband, my love.” You heard him hum gently. “All I ever needed was you. I don’t need the world because that is what you are to me. You are my world- No, my universe.”

Madara pulled away to look into your eyes, and you saw a vulnerable man right then, - the same one that had always bore his emotions freely to you and only you. He always let you see into his heart. And now, you saw a man who had mourned for his wife for decades. “You never did find peace, even in death. And it was my fault. If it weren’t for that, we could’ve been together all this time. I’m so sorry,” you said softly as you planted another kiss on his lips, “I’m so sorry for causing you so much pain,” you continued apologizing as Madara shook his head at you, a tear of his own falling.

“No,” he stopped you, grabbing your head with both hands to place a kiss on your forehead. “Never tell me it is your fault. I will not accept it. I chose this path, Y/N. I chose to stay in this world. I was blinded by rage and did not see what could have been - you and me, finally together, in eternity. Without restraints.” He held you close again, wrapping his arms around you as he tight as he could, and you did the same.

Naruto watched from a little further away, jaw on the floor, - not too different from the rest of the Shinobi that were present. He turned to Sasuke who was also unable to look away from the scene that seemed to come straight from a fever dream.

“Oi, Sasuke,” he nudged his friend, “Is this all we needed to do? We assembled the entire Shinobi world, formed an alliance, and suffered an unimaginable amount of casualties. All we needed to do,” he paused again, “this whole time, was get her?!” Sasuke’s eyes flashed at his extremely oblivious and extremely loud friend at both the noise level of his sentence and his way of addressing the Queen of the Uchiha clan. He tried to get him to stop when he saw Madara’s head whip around to regard the person who had addressed his wife so brazenly. Too late, Sasuke clenched his jaw.

It took Sasuke every bit of Chakra, - and the full extent of his Sharingan’s abilities, - to move as fast as he did in that moment, stepping in front of Naruto and summoning an arm of his Susano’o to block Madara’s fast approach towards the Uzumaki boy. Naruto let out a small scream as he stumbled back a bit, watching with fear in his eyes as Madara’s raging Sharingan stared into his very soul.

“Idiot,” Sasuke quietly bit out, “is there a single day where you paid attention at the Academy?”

“H-huh?” Naruto turned his head towards Sasuke but his eyes stayed watching the past head of the Uchiha clan that hasn’t backed down just yet. Or gotten far enough away for me to feel comfortable, Naruto thought to himself as he watched warily.

“You will address her, with the amount of respect that she deserves,” Madara ground out. “That woman is Uchiha Y/N. She is Queen of the Uchiha Clan, the Strongest Kunoichi in the Land of Fire, and my wife.”

“He did not know,” Sasuke ground out. The young Uchiha was at his wit’s end. Uchiha Madara was strict when it came to people respecting the Queen of the Uchiha clan. He demanded respect of everyone whether they were directly or indirectly addressing or mentioning her. It irked him that even Tobirama was as casual as he was with her. As far as Madara was concerned, the only person who could address Uchiha Y/N lovingly and without titles was him. “Everyone else would slander her name for they do not understand her worth,” Madara had once said. “They do not see the diamond that she is and I will make sure that they at least recognize that she is a treasure.”

“Madara,” you chastised as you walked towards him. “He’s a sweet boy, he means no harm. He doesn’t need to call me by my title because of who I once was. There are only two titles that have come with me past my life - Kunoichi of Konohagakure, and wife to an honorable man. That is all. Just a Kunoichi, and just a wife.” You spoke as wrapped your arms around his waist and placed your head on his chest. You felt your husband wrap his arms around you again and felt as he began to slowly relax. “There will be those stronger than me.”

“Not in my heart. I know you are the strongest there will ever be.” You let out a little laugh as you heard the stubbornness in your husband’s voice.

“I adore you,” you spoke to him with a smile, “But I am not too upset by what future awaits our clan.” You placed a hand on his cheek before turning to look at Sasuke. “He is a strong boy, with an honorable heart. Named after Hiruzen’s father. And while I believe you to always be the head of the clan in my heart,” you heard your husband let out a light laugh, “Sasuke will be a good leader.” The young boy gently bowed his head at you. “And I believe it will not be long before there are new heirs to the Uchiha clan, and the bloodline is restored,” you spoke with a grin.

Sasuke’s eyes slightly widened at you, before he quickly turned his head away and to the side. “Hn.” The noise he made caused you to let out a small laugh. A typical response from an Uchiha in a moment of speechlessness. And no matter how hard he tried, Sasuke would never be able to hide the pink in his cheeks from you.

“The clan is in capable hands,” you spoke as you turned and found Tsunade standing next to her grandfather and great uncle, “and so is the village, it seems.” Tsunade smiled at you, and you saw vague recognition in her eyes.

“I don’t remember you well, but I grew up hearing stories of you and how you were always by my side while you were alive. I’m proud to have such an amazing Kunoichi as my godmother.” You smiled at her and laid your head on your husband’s chest, feeling him bring a hand up to hold the back of your neck.

“Indeed, I must admit that the village is in respectable hands. She is… a strong woman.” Tsunade seemed shocked to hear words of praise coming from Madara’s mouth, but she was happy to hear it, regardless. She has certainly inherited Hashirama’s Will of Fire, Madara has only seen it so strong in his wife’s eyes until now. And she probably did inherit it from her godmother, Madara’s pride would not allow him to give Hashirama credit for something over his beloved.

You turned back to your husband, taking in a deep breath. “Well, my love? Shall we?” You saw Madara let out a long sigh before tightening his arms around you.

“Perhaps we are done here. I trust you lot can handle Obito?” Hatake Kakashi and his team nodded at Madara’s question. “Good,” your husband hummed. “I think I have some catching up to do with my wife. So much time lost… ” He ran a hand across your cheek.

You smiled, “Luckily, we have eternity to make it up.” You reached up and he met you halfway as he bent his neck, both of you joining your lips together in a kiss. The Senju brothers looked over at Orochimaru and gave him a nod to go ahead with releasing the Reanimation, and he did so quietly.

You could vaguely hear Naruto saying goodbye to his father. You could also make out the voices of the other Hokages talking to their own loved ones, giving them parting words of advice, confidence, pride, and love, - all of which you let fade into the background, focusing solely on your husband in front of you. You had him now, and you absolutely will not let go. You pressed your lips harder against his and felt as he let out a small moan, gripping you tighter to him. You would make sure that this next time you woke again in the after-life, he would be right beside you. You both can finally move on, together and in peace, having nothing to concern yourself with except each other. No war, no conflict, no clans, no rivalry, just a husband and wife finally being able to reach paradise together.

“Together, this time,” you spoke against his lips, feeling your body starting to fade.

“Together,” Madara whispered back to you.

And when you both opened your eyes again in the afterlife, you were still holding on to each other. Nothing would separate you two anymore, you wouldn’t let the forces of the universe get between the two of you anymore. Never again…

————————————————————

Hello and welcome to my blog, everyone! I’m so excited to finally get this first post out. I can’t wait to get more stories out, and I hope you guys enjoy this and any more that’ll come in the future! Thank you guys for reading all of it!

But, as a result, you gained better swordsmanship skills as well as becoming friends with Clarisse which came as a surprise to a lot of people 

Okay, friends might be a strong word, but she respected you more than anyone

However, it did lead you to be directly asked by Clarisse to go on the quest to retrieve the golden fleece. The official statement from Clarisse was because you were excellent at interpreting the Oracle’s prophecies, and having you give up-to-date interpretations as she went would be useful. 

There were more obvious choices if that was the real reason she took you , but you decided against arguing

Needless to say, you're surprised to see Percy with his brother and Annabeth show up on the quest

You may have been surprised, but you weren't furious. You had to hold Clarisse back from ripping all their heads off.  

Furthermore, you did your best to reason with her once you calmed her down. ‘Clarisse, please be a little more reasonable, they can help out with the ship. Yeah, it’s all well and good we’ve got an undead crew, but who’s to say we couldn't use a little more hands-on-deck.’

She agreed to let them stay and help with great reluctance 

You could tell all three of them hated being at Clarisse’s beck and call, so you tried to help as much as possible 

You stopped to stare out into the vast sea watching the setting sun when Percy leaned on the rails next to you also staring at the sea

You muttered a hi before awkwardly staring back at the sun, as the last beams of the sun ebb away you see the CSS Birmingham on the brink of collapse 

Percy had managed to pick up on how you froze and came up next to you gently holding your waist, ‘is everything okay?’

You looked at him with a strained smile, ‘yeah I’m fine, sorry for worrying you. I thought I saw something, but it’s probably nothing’

Percy let go of your waist still sceptical, but he assumed it was best not to press besides you’ve been on more of these quests than he has, if you said there’s nothing to worry about then that’s that

As he walked away, presumably to Annabeth, you took a deep breath willing the heat in your cheeks to go away before following him from a respectable distance 

When you arrived, everyone was in a panic running around trying to save the ship 

Tyson is trying to fix the engine whose temperature is flying out of control and for a split second you freeze again seeing the same image you saw minutes ago in real-time 

Before you have time to react, the ship blows, and you lose consciousness

Once you regain consciousness and find Tyson and Clarisse heal them both as best you can

Clarisse complained how none of her wounds were healed: ‘what kind of Apollo kid are you?’

Despite this Tyson still smiled brightly and thanked you

Healing was not your forte 

The three of you make your way to Polyphemus' island to retrieve the fleece

The journey is spent defending Tyson from Clarisse’s constant insults and retorts until you lose a temper you didn’t know you even had, yelling, ‘Quite frankly, if Tyson hadn’t been there to try and fix the engine both us and the ship would be blown to smithereens. You always think you can do everything alone, but honestly, a little teamwork wouldn’t hurt you, Clarisse.”

Clarisse shocked didn’t say a word to either you or Tyson the rest of the way

After a trying ordeal, Percy Annabeth and Tyson sent you and Clarisse back to camp half-blood to complete your quest 

You took the time to hammer home a lesson about teamwork and how it doesn’t cost much to be kind, much to Clarisse’s chagrin

You worry the whole time Percy isn’t back

You along with everyone else receive his message about Luke poisoning Thalia’s tree, and you feel the vail lift. It seems Luke was never anyone's friend 

Despite the news of Luke, a party is still thrown after Thalia is healed and no longer a tree 

You see Annabeth rush over to Thalia and you take your chance walking over to Percy 

‘I never got the chance to thank you,’

‘For what?’ Percy stood a little perplexed 

You release a small amused sigh, ‘for helping us. We wouldn’t have done it without you, so thank you, Percy.’ 

There’s a beat of silence and Percy speaks 

‘So I’ve survived two quests now, are you impressed yet?’ 

Your eyes went wide, and you asked about how he knew what you’d been saying, to which he replied he’s been keeping a close eye on you.

‘That’s slightly creepy,’ you laugh, ‘but yes, you impressed me. You’ve far surpassed my expectations Percy Jackson’ 

The two of you smiled and carried on talking well into the night

The more you talked with him, the more you started to like him 

You certainly underestimated how unique he was at least in terms of his personality, you found him charming 

You couldn’t keep your eyes off him and were beyond sad to have to part with him 

You sneaked back into the Apollo cabin hoping you wouldn’t wake anyone up, least of all Will 

But lo and behold he was waiting for you with a wicked smirk ready to comment on the moment he’d witnessed through the window 

‘Don’t say a thing.’ You passed him and went straight to bed and Will followed 

When you were about to tuck yourself in and go to sleep, Will whispers in your ear ‘I knew you liked him’ with the biggest grin 

The whole cabin was woken up by a particularly loud bang and an even louder yell

The next 6 months were split between your usual duties, training and Percy

You had no idea how you would approach him because you didn’t like him, you just wanted to get to know him better.

‘For the purposes of being friends’: a statement you had to repeat to Will often 

Thankfully for you, Percy had already set out a plan to talk to you

Annabeth was sick of him ranting and regrettably made him a comprehensive ‘Guide to making friends with your crush’. He furiously denied he liked you in any such way 

Step one: Ask you to train with him 

You of course jumped at the opportunity to interact with him

The training was intertwined with flirty banter and frustration. You couldn’t beat Percy, or Percy couldn’t beat you. 

It started out just sword training, and you also taught him how to use a bow. He wasn’t very good at it 

One time you tried training with your powers trying to beat the other that way 

The both of you went a little overboard: Percy drenched everyone in the training area, and you blinded a good portion by accident, but the two of you made a pretty rainbow, so was it really all bad?

You and Percy would hang out together a lot, but when you weren’t together you would always seek each other out 

Percy noticed that you’d watch the sunrise by the lake nearly every morning

You noticed Percy would often take a swim in the lake at sunset

Anytime the whole camp was together you’d always somehow end up next to Percy and on the rare occasion you weren’t, there would be googly eyes lots of googly eyes

Everyone in your cabin picked up on it EVERYONE

Will was the worst offender, ‘I knew you liked him, all that talk about him not being the least bit impressive was just a cover-up. I knew it from the very start!’

You noticed how Percy would go out of his way to help his friends out and how he always did his best to lift them up 

You saw he had a fun teasing friendship with Annabeth, very similar to your relationship with Will

The 6 months go by quickly and in no time you get sent on your next quest

You go with the gang to retrieve two more demigods, Nico and Bianca. 

You rush over to Percy as soon as you and the others catch up with him

He was injured, and you stayed with him as everyone else fought off Dr Thorn

He just stares at you for a really long time, and you think the poison really must be getting to him 

‘Your eyes are so bright’ he whispers, and you barely hear him, but shush him saying he needs to conserve his energy and that you need full concentration to stop the poison from spreading as fast at the very least 

‘They’re so pretty,’ he continued and heat shot up to your face, ‘I never really noticed how pretty they are and when the sunlight hits them at the right angle they look like the sun’

You scolded him with your heart beating faster the more he talked

You erected a protective dome around the two of you when you saw silver arrows rushing through the air

You weren’t sure if the arrows were friendly until another barrage split the manticore’s thorns in half

You stared in awe until you heard Percy choke and realised you’d lost your concentration

While you shift your focus back to Percy, he sees Annabeth fall from the cliff, it crushes him to see someone so dear to him possibly fall to her doom.

Thalia introduces the hunters of Artemis as well as the goddess herself

She immediately recognizes you as her brother's child and scolds you for your lack of healing abilities

Despite her disappointment, she provides the medicine necessary to remove the poison from Percy 

You have a small conversation with the hunters alongside Bianca

You had to admit you were more than impressed, there was so much you could learn from them, you were enchanted by their skill and Bianca seemed to be reacting in the same way

Soon Artemis emerged from her tent, Percy following, and announced the hunters were to stay in camp half-blood while she went to slay a beast that could defeat the Olympic gods

Behind her, you hear the voice you only ever imagined you would hear

The man had a bright, familiar aura around him that comforted you

Your eyes went wide as you realised who was standing in front of you

Your father was actually genuinely in front of you, you couldn’t speak, only continue staring stunned

No matter what he tried, you remind motionless cursing yourself that this was your father’s first impression of you

Still shocked, you managed a confused and shaky hello. Apollo just smiled. It wasn’t a condescending ‘you're really weird smile,’ it was a popper fatherly ‘it’s going to be ok’ smile.

He gave all of you the sun chariot so that you could get back to camp

You got on and waved Apollo goodbye as Thalia took the reins. 

However, she forgot that it flies. Her extended freak-out led to you taking over mid-air as the poor girl curled herself up in a ball. 

While getting ready for capture the flag, you sense Percy’s low mood

He confesses that he’s worried about Annabeth and Mr D refused to let him try to rescue her

You did your best to reassure him that Annabeth will survive, and he’ll see her safe and sound very soon

You walked Percy over to the armoury, still reassuring him

Both of you got your armour on, and you picked up your trusty bow, admiring its curves

Percy uncapped riptide inspecting it while subtly glancing in your direction, you were enchanted as well as enchanting

He watched you slowly run your fingers along the bow top to bottom, then you gently grasped it slowly and delicately stretching the sting and slipping yourself in between

You abruptly turned around to face Percy, and he hurriedly looked away from you, awkwardly clearing his throat

For the entire game of capture the flag, a tense face-off between the hunters and the rest of camp

Michael, fed up with Percy and Thalia’s bickering, split the Apollo cabin into three defensive fronts with the strongest archers being the last line of defence 

As one of the camp’s best archers, you were stationed high up in the trees looking down ready to snipe, anyone, you needed to out

You knocked your arrow alongside your siblings, ready for the hunters to come through 

You held your position, hyper focused on the ground you expected the hunters to walk through 

Suddenly, your vision morphed, and you saw the image of Zoe holding up camp’s flag after taking out the distracted Thalia and Percy

You quickly told everyone to stay put and expect the unexpected and ran back to where Thalia and Percy were still bickering 

“Stop it !” you yelled at the two of them, “Your bickering isn’t helping anyone, Michael already set up the Apollo cabin as a perimeter and the Ares kids are on the front lines as usual. Sort yourselves out!” 

Percy gulped, eyes wide, but reluctantly allowed Thalia to take control 

But it was far too late, the Ares cabin put up a good fight but the hunter’s wiped them out 

You heard arrows whoosh through the air, you all stood in wait hoping most of the hunters would be knocked down by the arrows and various other cabins scattered about 

No such luck, only a small portion were knocked out by the time they reached the third layer of defence

You waited to hear the distinct sound of piercing arrows, but you heard nothing and Zoe with a small but deadly number of hunters behind her hurtled into view

You knocked your arrow aiming straight for Zoe, she skilfully jumped out of the way continuing to run towards you 

Thalia and Percy had occupied themselves with the other huntresses while you charged at Zoe

You took out a small dagger you’d strapped to your thigh and charged 

Once close enough, you dropped to the ground, skid along it cutting her calf 

Still skidding, you dropped your dagger, replacing it with your bow and knocked two arrows firing them simultaneously at Zoe

You hopped that was enough of a distraction for her to turn around and fight you, buying your team some time 

She turned around, facing you directly, and picked up her bow

You saw the tip gleam as she released it, you shot to the side out of the way of the arrow that buried itself in the ground 

She knocked the next arrow, releasing it in your direction

You let out a hiss as the arrow skimmed your shoulder, leaving a deep dash in its wake 

You gritted your teeth and knocked two arrows, waiting for Zoe to fire 

When she did, you ran up a tree, using it as a springboard to get you to higher ground 

You let the two arrows loose midair both hit their target Zoe’s thigh and upper arm 

You landed on the ground ready to fire more arrows, but it was too late 

Zoe was proudly holding the flag in her hand, smiling triumphantly 

You hadn’t noticed that with each arrow she fired, she was inching closer and closer to the flag 

Your hits were futile as by the time they happened the flag was close enough to Zoe she could easily reach it

You felt a strange mix of admiration for Zoe and loathing for yourself, how could you let something like this happen?

A loud sound snapped you out of your thoughts; turning towards it you saw Thalia and Percy arguing once again 

This time about whose fault it was they lost 

You watched as they humiliated themselves further in front of the hunters of Artemis

Taking a deep breath, you walked over and got in between them once again 

“For crying out loud,” you whispered. “If you want someone to blame, blame me. Zoe was right in front of me and I let her get away, now can you put this argument to bed? We look more pathetic than we did before.” You sighed exasperated 

Percy barely registered your words, what really got him to stop was seeing the injury on your shoulder

He reached out gently, touching the side of the cut 

His heart leapt into his throat when you winced, “that looks awful, are you gonna be ok?” He asked 

“Course nothing I can’t heal,” you grinned, but Percy looked at you in disbelief. “Ok fine, I was just gonna ask Will to do it.” 

Despite your reassurances all Percy could do was focus on that the wound as a result he walked you all the way to the infirmary and straight to Will, personally

He refused to leave until he heard Will say it’s not that serious

It all seemed to be a chain reaction because the whole ordeal ended in Will teasing you even more 

“I see Mr. Jackson taking personal care of you, he must like you a lot”

You replied, “He does not like me. Not in the way you’re suggesting, at least,”

“But you like him in that way, don’t you?” Will knew the answer, he just wanted to make you say it 

 “Perhaps.” Will jumped up and down whilst yelling that he knew all along. “Could you be any louder?” you yelled at your brother, “There’s definitely something there, but I’m still trying to figure it out.”

Will nodded and said he would respect your thought process, but he wouldn’t refrain from teasing you about it from time to time

“I always thought you’d end up with a woman,” he remarked. 

You laughed and replied, “me too.”

The conversation ended and Will focused on healing the wound

As he  bandaged it, Zoe walked in demanding to see you 

When she got to your cot, she talked about how she just got a prophecy from the Oracle to rescue Annabeth and that you impressed her so much she wants you to join her on the quest. “I would be honoured to fight alongside you.”

You nodded furiously, it was an offer you couldn’t refuse

Zoe smiled and informed you they would be leaving at first light tomorrow 

You walked back to your cabin and stepped inside only to find Percy bouncing his leg up and down sat on your bed

You greeted him and asked if everything was ok 

He told you about how it’s unfair that he doesn’t get to go, how of course the reason he wants to go is to help save Annabeth

“Percy, I would love to sneak you into my bag, but I don’t think there’s enough space”

You did your best to try reasoning with him. You told him how his worry for Annabeth might make him act without care for his own life, “and I care about you too much to let you rush into danger without thinking.”

You finished by promising him that you will bring Annabeth back safe 

He still didn’t like being left out and argued he would be fine, but as soon as you looked at him incredulously he stopped talking 

 “I care about you too, so you better come back and it better be without any wounds.” He said, pointing to the bandage 

“No fatal wounds,” you replied, and he nodded his head

You hugged him tightly and walked him out of the cabin door, smiling 

At the crack of dawn, you picked up your bag and rushed out the door 

You had to weave through your siblings, but you made it on time 

Zoe informed you Thalia and Bianca (I’m sorry I had to replace Grover) you would have to go without Phoebe

When everyone set off to leave, Zoe stayed behind with you, offering you to join the hunters

You thought back to the conversation with your Will and told her you need time to think, so for now you have to decline

At the Smithsonian, you saw Percy run towards the group, and you mimicked everyone’s expression

Out of breath, he told everyone what he’d overheard. Everything seemed to confirm dreams he had about Annabeth replacing Atlas and how Luke’s skeletons were now targeting him 

Zoe’s face was red and her brows furrowed 

Before she could yell at him, you stepped in between the two 

You calmed her down by making her look at the silver lining of the situation, Percy gained some valuable information even if he did it without consulting anyone 

Before she could argue back, you all heard a loud roar 

The battle with the Nemean Lion was arduous as nothing could pierce it’s fur 

You and Percy shared a look as Percy came with an idea, having no clue what he was planning you nocked an arrow in your bow and held it ready 

Percy fed the lion astronaut food and in its disgust it held its mouth open for you to shoot an arrow into its mouth, finally feeling the beast 

You gave Percy the lion’s pelt. He of course argued that you should have it

“Nah, it’s not really my colour,” the both of you laughed at your statement. “Seriously though, take it. You figured out how to beat it, it’s yours.”

In return, Percy thanked you for covering for him, “I didn’t really say it then, but thank you for saving me from Clarisse’s wrath and now again from Zoe’s.”

Zoe joined you and Percy. She questioned how Percy managed to find them despite her covering their tracks

Without thinking, Percy said she must have done a terrible job because the group left a massive bread crumb trail for him to follow 

You looked down at the floor, heaved a sigh and Percy stopped talking, realising why it was so easy for him to follow the group 

You defended yourself, saying you thought Percy might be the fifth member of the quest. It bugged you how the Oracle’s prophecy would be so inaccurate 

Zoe accepted your judgement, saying she should have expected an Apollo kid to be able to interpret the prophecy so easily. “There’s still room to join us, you know. Of course, you would have to leave your boyfriend.” 

Your heart rate picked up and your jaw dropped. You quickly shook yourself from the shock, “Nope! He’s not my boyfriend!”

“Even better, the offer still stands.”

Percy looked at you in shock. He couldn’t quite believe you were actually considering leaving him. 

For a split second, he imagined what it would be like to date you. He snapped himself out of it remembering that you two weren’t dating even if he in his imagination the idea was nice

When you finally lost the skeleton men tailing Percy, you shared a fire with a homeless man

No one took much notice of him, but there was something familiar in his eyes

They seemed to look at you with love, but also scrutiny to some extent. Despite his drab clothing, his skin seemed to glow

You stared at the man for a good while before Percy dragged you away

You were peacefully sat on the train next to Zoe when Percy came over with the same homeless man from earlier 

The man soon revealed himself to be your father

You smiled, remarking you knew there was something familiar about him to which Apollo replied “Nothing can escape you can it. You’ve grown up very smart, y/n.” 

You stood in shock while Percy covered for you in the form of distracting him with the directions to where they need to go 

With enthusiasm, he leads all of you there

On the way, he pulls you aside and tells you Pan should be somewhere close to where you’re headed and to call on him whenever you needed his help

He gave you a small wooden flute to call him when needed

“How do you know? I thought he was Hermes kid” you questioned your father 

“Oh, we never found out who his father is. We both keep tabs on him just in case,” he smiled

Before he left, he told you to heed the prophecy because it is absolute, and can’t be changed. “Trying to will only lead to more sadness.”

It doesn’t take long for the skeleton warriors following Percy to find your group again 

They fired bullets at Percy, which you snipe out of the air, freeing Percy to strike one down

You go to high five him, but before you can it reforms

You all do a double take but continue fighting 

Bianca seemed to be the only one who could defeat them, but there’s only one of her and too many of them 

You think back to the flute and ask Percy to cover you while you play it. The Erymanthian Boar defeated the skeletons and took you all  right in the middle of the Junkyard of the God’s

You were surprised to see Ares and Aphrodite there, until you remembered who you were talking about and who mostly uses the Junkyard  

Suddenly you were very uncomfortable

Aphrodite looks between you and Percy “my my, looks like I don’t need to add any spice to your love life. I almost feel sorry for you. It’s going to be a long, uncertain ride for the both of you before you reach the end. You feel something for both the Athena girl and the child of Apollo over there, don’t you?” She teases, pointing over to you talking to Ares. “However, you like one a lot more than the other, it’s going to take you a painfully long time to figure it out.” 

Percy frowns, his heart beating fast, he asks, “which one do I like more? Who do I end up with?”

“I can’t tell you that otherwise it won’t come true,” she teases again giving his nose a small boop 

Percy started at you red-faced as you rejoined the group 

You asked him if he was ok, and he rubbed the back of his head and gave you a sheepish grin 

Your heart skipped several beats and your palms were sweaty 

It was an image you never wanted to forget 

Aphrodite gently rested her head on your shoulder and seductively whispered in your ear, “I can’t tell you how this ends if you want.”

You gulped, tempted but shook your head 

Aphrodite picked her head up from your shoulder and walked around to face you, running her hand along your arm 

She looked you up and down, “Do you know what? I respect that.” 

You looked around the junkyard as a form of distraction from the intense stare you were receiving from Aphrodite 

A glimmer grabbed your attention, you walked closer and took out an electric guitar shaped like your Father’s lyre

You took it thinking of Michael, who would absolutely love it 

Zoe then called out, reminding you that it’s in a junkyard, so it’s most likely broken beyond repair 

You put it back with a sigh 

In the same breath, Bianca takes an action figure that then awakens a defective Talos

At that moment, your vision morphs, and you see Bianca go inside the Talos’ foot defeating it

While everyone was trying to stop it in its tracks, you try to figure out what this means

As soon as you figure it out, Bianca is climbing into the giant’s foot, you yell out, but it’s too late she drives the Talos into electrical wires disabling it but also sacrificing herself in the process

You whisper with tears in your eyes, “The second part of the prophecy has been fulfilled.”

After convincing a group of naiads to take you to the Hoover Dam, Percy starters reciting facts and jokes about it with Thalia joining in while you and Zoe started in awe as they explained it’s one of Annabeth’s favourites

They must be really close, you thought. It was sweet, but  your heart sank slightly knowing you’ll never have that close of a relationship 

You shook the thoughts out of your head and focused on the quest 

All the time Percy was separated from the group you were worried, it’s exactly what you were worried about in the first place

Percy joins back at the worst possible moment, you were prepared to chew him out about running off on his own when you realised you were stuck on the Hoover Dam

Instead, you took to giving him as massive hug, asking him not to run off a second time 

Meanwhile, Thalia was praying to her father in the corner, who then sent a metal angel to rescue the group and carry you off to San Francisco

Another problem comes in the form of Dr. Thorn manipulating Thalia into using Ophiotaurus' power 

You and Zoe tried everything to stop her, but in the end it was Percy who was able to stop her and also take care of Ophiotaurus, sending him far away. He did, however, have to sacrifice the lion’s pelt to his father in order to do it

The next nail in the coffin of your possible relationship with Percy came in the form of him meeting Annabeth’s parents

They got along so well that Dr. Chase, which you had to admit was incredibly impressive, gave the group his car. 

All Percy was doing was being himself, there was no way her parents were going to let a golden boy like that go

Zoe then came up behind you and whispered, “the offer is always open.” You gave her an exasperated look, and she smiled slyly and moved on

Much to your dismay, the misery continued. Before you coil say anything, Thalia called the driver's seat and Zoe called the passenger seat next to her, leaving you with Percy in the back 

You looked out of the window, trying to avoid any sort of conversation with Percy as you processed your feelings 

It was like the universe was sending you every sign that you shouldn’t even think about anything more than a friendship with Percy, but your heart was pulling you elsewhere 

You turned around to face him with a sigh

Without missing a single beat, Percy asked you if you were ok

You brushed it off saying you were just tired but with your answer ensued another awkward silence 

One, only Percy seemed brave enough to break. “What was Zoe whispering to you earlier?”

“Asking me to join the hunters, again,” you told Percy exasperated 

“Are you going to?” he asked in a gentle, almost hesitant tone. He was preparing himself for the worst

“I still don’t know. I know I have every reason to join, and it really seems like the universe is telling me to, but my heart wants to stay.”

Percy was somewhat relieved to hear your response. It gave him time to try to change your mind

“If you want my opinion. I think you should stay. You’d be leaving so many people behind. So many people that care about you. I think they would be upset to see you leave,” Percy paused, “I know I would.”

You looked at each other. His eyes were pleading as he gave you a tight lipped smile. It was like a movement of understanding had passed through the two, for you. You finally made your decision. Percy’s word were all it took

Before you could reply, however, a lightning bolt struck the car.

Thalia of course blew up in a fit of rage at her godly father 

You tried to argue that it might have been an accident, but Thalia was adamant it was her father 

The rest of the climb had to be done on foot 

When you got to the top of the hill, you were met with the formidable sight of Ladon 

You try to get past him, but he notices you and his protective instincts kick in he starts attacking all of you as you try to defend yourselves 

You fire your bow several times at the dragon, but it does virtually nothing in the grand scheme of things 

In the end it clawed your back, leaving bleeding gashes behind, and it managed to poison Zoe

At that point, you called everyone over to you and erected a protective dome of light 

The dragon got closer and reached one of it’s heads towards the dome, but soon after it was lying on the ground passed out 

You didn’t waste any time and ran to a safer place away from the dragon

When in safety, before continuing, you had to take care of the wound on your back 

Percy watched you as you rub your hand together, he asks what you're doing and all you reply with is “generating heat”

Soon he sees you placing your glowing hands behind your back directly above your wound 

He then heard a painful scream escape your mouth, and he realised you were cauterising your own wound

You fell forward and Percy caught you in his arms, you weakly smiled up at him and asked him how he was coping 

Percy was truly impressed, after all the pain you’d been through your first instinct was to ask how he was

He replied, “I’m the one who should be asking you that.”

“I'll be fine, it’s nothing I haven’t done before. Although, the wound is a lot bigger than I’m used to.  Could you pass me some ambrosia?” you asked, your voice shaking slightly 

He passed it to you, still holding you in his arms and helping you drink it 

You took your last gulp and started to get up out of Percy’s arms. He protested and told you to rest some more

You shook your head and made your way over to Zoe, told her that you wouldn’t be able to heal her completely, but you could slow down the poison

She nodded her head, and you used your healing abilities to slow the poison

You suddenly have a vision of you and Percy holding up the sky as a battle rages around you

You hurriedly ask Percy to repeat what happened in his dreams, then you ask Zoe to repeat the prophecy 

With your vision as the linking puzzle piece, everything was falling into place

Percy smiled, your contracting face was insanely cute 

You finally stood with a triumphant grin that Percy returned, making you feel even more confident

You looked Percy in the eye when you told him they all need to take Atlas’ place just temporarily, you trailed off and your face dropped 

You turned to Zoe with a sombre expression and said “it’s been an honour fighting alongside you, and it will be until  your dying breath,”

Zoe smiled widely, “does that mean you accept?” 

You shook your head, now Zoe’s face dropped. Tears pricked your eyes as you choked out, “the last line of the prophecy.” 

She took a deep breath, let go of your hand and nodded understanding what was to come

“I understand, the prophecy is absolute. If I am to die but the hands of my father, so be it. Let's go.”

You made your way to the palace, you and Percy looked at each other and ran to take Artemis’ place who was now free to fight 

You looked forward to finding Mount Othrys slowly rebuilding itself, spelling possible doom for Mount Olympus 

Your heart broke when you heard Zoe’s scream, assuming the final part of the prophecy was fulfilled 

Suddenly, you were blown backwards and end up with Percy on top of you

You let out a shaky breath, your heart picked up its pace yet again, and you asked what happened 

Percy explained that Artemis had pushed Atlas back under the sky 

“You were right about the prophecy. You’re amazing.” He grinned at you and your heart melted 

“Thanks, but I think you can get off me now.” You told him 

Percy scrambled to get off you, awkwardly clearing his throat

You watch as Thalia battles Luke, pushing him into a chasm and Percy runs over to free Annabeth from the bindings 

Artemis gives Zoe a place among the stars and then turns to you 

She asked you what your ultimate decision in terms of joining the hunters was

You told her what you told Zoe 

She sighed, “a shame. Despite this, you have earned this.” She handed you a moonstone necklace 

“Use this to call on the hunters in a time of need. However, it is only for a single use. Chose wisely,” Artemis remarked before she left 

Percy provides transport to mount Olympus, and you can’t help but smile the whole time at the sensation of riding a Pegasus 

The meeting of the Gods was tense from the start as they were debating the great prophecy trying to figure out who the child was 

Thalia then pledges herself to the hunters to everyone’s surprise, effectively eliminating her as the child of the prophecy 

That left only Percy, Ares, and Athena both suggest the Gods kill him preventing the prophecy from happening 

Artemis spoke up on his behalf, stating that Percy is a hero and if they kill him they are no better than the Titans 

It’s put to a vote and Artemis’ words convince many of the Gods to spare Percy

Apollo then invites the group to a party among the Gods, who were you to refuse 

At some point, you're persuaded to perform for everyone

You get up on stage and give the performance of your life before returning to camp 

Percy goes to Nico to tell him about Bianca’s death and Nico blames him completely 

You take a deep breath, step up and put the blame on yourself 

“I saw what was going to happen in a vision, but I chose to do nothing. I knew the prophecy was absolute.” 

Nico enraged threw the figurine at you splitting the earth in half before walking away 

You and Percy both look at each other wide eyed 

His father is Hades, you thought 

“A child of the eldest Gods,” you whispered to Percy

The break from camp was one of the best

You and Will travelled to visit each other’s parents, so you spent the whole time with each other 

Your mothers got along spectacularly well and took a shine to each of you 

You returned to camp a few days earlier than Percy and in the meantime started teaching some new Apollo kids archery 

Percy walked through camp after his unfortunate accident with Mrs O’Leary as well as the meeting with the council and Grover 

He sees you and several other Apollo kids performing “Stacey’s Mom”

You sang the chorus as some Apollo kids clapped while others accompanied you with various instruments 

You must have amassed quite the crowd, as the whole camp seemed to applaud when you finished 

You spotted Percy on the outskirts of the crowd and ran straight towards him, wrapping him up in a massive hug 

You had a short catch-up where Percy told you about meeting Rachel and his fight with two Empousai before running off to tidy his cabin for inspection 

You let a small sigh out, going to check if your cabin was clean 

During the games next morning, you see Percy and Annabeth disappear between the rocks

You tell Will and Clarisse overhears, telling you that was the entrance to the Labyrinth and how Chiron believes Luke might use it as a springboard for invasion 

Once the games finish, you go back to your cabin worried about what that might mean 

All of a sudden you hear a faint knocking on the door to your cabin, no one else seems to notice, so you go towards the door and open it 

Annabeth is standing in the doorway and asks you to go on a quest into the labyrinth with her 

Shocked, you ask her why, and she explains Clarisse had personally recommended you

She wanted you to come with her on her quest, but you’d already been snatched up by Zoe. “Clarisse’s words not mine,” she clarifies 

When you, Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Tyson enter the labyrinth, you’re all confused. The walls keep shifting, and it seems like there’s no clear way forward

You end up leading the group through it, mostly guessing and hoping for just a bit of divine intervention

Sadly, you get your wish

You end up in a small Roman-Style room with the minor god Janus, who offers you a key 

Annabeth takes it after scolding you, “this is where guessing leads you.”

However, he keeps a hold of Annabeth forcing her to make a choice

Fortunately, Hera appears. You all look mildly shocked, and she just looks at you and says, “you wanted divine intervention, so here I am. What do you wish for?”

You blurted out the first thing that came to your mind, “it would be great to have some sort of map.”

She looked at you incredulously and scoffed, “I can’t give you something you already have,” and disappeared

You left the room and found yourself in America's most notorious prison 

Inside you find an hundred handed one being held captive by Kampê

You managed to free him, although Tyson did most of the work 

Despite his sympathy for your plight he still refused to join, and you had no choice but to leave him behind 

After Percy’s deal with Geryon goes awry, he tells the group how he managed to pierce all three of his hearts and defeat him with a single arrow

While everyone applauded him, you knew something wasn’t quite right 

Unless Percy was doing some side training with someone else, he was not skilled enough to shoot like that 

You brushed it off, saying he must have improved a lot since the last time you trained 

Eurytion makes good on his deal and frees everyone 

While everyone was getting ready, you overheard Percy trying to convince Nico not to resurrect his sister 

You walk over, filled with terror and a little anger, “I hope you're not thinking of bringing back the dead?” 

He glared at you, hell fire raging in his eyes 

You tell Nico the price you pay for bringing someone back from the dead isn’t worth it

He yelled back and the fire grew hotter

“And why should I listen to you? If you actually did something, I wouldn’t be doing this, would I? It’s not like you would know what it’s like, you’ve got your annoying brother!”

You held back the tears in your eyes as he ripped his gaze away from you 

Summoning his sister's ghost ready to resurrect her 

When she comes into view, his eyes soften and begin reflecting your own 

She greets him cheerfully but as soon as he mentions bringing her back she shakes her head, “You have to move on Nico, I’m the one who let Percy know of your plan. I was hoping he’d be able to stop you”

Nico’s lips were parted and a look of disbelief crossed his face, “if Y/N had done something you wouldn’t be dead, that’s why I’m bringing you back!”

You winced at his words, but Bianca gave you a sympathetic look and continued, “you can’t blame Y/N for that. The prophecy was absolute, there was nothing that could be done.” Before he tried arguing back, she told him of their fatal flaw as Hades’ kids: holding grudges

He said his last goodbyes and though significantly less angry, he still refused to come with you 

It was good of Eurytion to allow him to stay for a short period of time 

He gives you a further favour in the form of a spider automaton that leads you all to Hephestus’ forge 

You all swiftly get back on the road

You held back your tears as best as you could, but the dam burst 

You sobbed silently behind the rest of the group

Percy heard a faint sniff and came up behind you, asking why you were crying 

Your younger brother died when getting to camp half-blood, and you thought it would be like Orpheus, you get to the underworld and all you have to do is walk about with him without looking. But it was far from that, Hades price was soul for a soul and seeing as you didn’t know that, the soul he demanded was yours. You were prepared to give your life for him, your brother's spirit didn’t agree, he defied Hades in protecting you and was obliterated, no Asphodel Fields, no Elysian, not even Tartarus. You barely got out alive, and you’ve got the scars to prove it.

Percy envelops you in a massive hug, and you cry a little but pick yourself up relatively quickly

Annabeth joins, and it gets a little awkward, she doesn’t really know how to approach the subject

In the end, she admits that she heard the whole conversation, and she’s really sorry you had to go through that 

Still sniffling slightly, you thank her

Percy’s heart sings, you were becoming friends with his friends, and it’s all he could ask for 

Grover looks back and says he senses Pan, so Tyson goes with him, leaving you with Percy and Annabeth 

You carefully stepped into Hephestus’ forge 

Your jaw dropped when you saw Telekhines slaving away clanging metal and building something 

Annabeth puts her finger to her lips, and you follow her lead around the forge 

When you look behind you, Percy was far down the corridor you made eye contact with him

Eyes wide, you jerked your head towards Annabeth 

He shook his head, pointing at something 

You glanced at Annabeth, then walked over to him. He pointed at a large metallic head being placed on a large metallic torso 

“You don’t think-?” you whispered. Percy just shrugged his shoulders 

You carried on watching, they were adding legs to it when one of them saw you 

You grabbed Percy’s sleeve to run away, but by that point the creature got reinforcements and started running after you 

Annabeth looked back at the now ensuing chaos and was furious, but ran to help nonetheless 

Percy and Annabeth were slashing left and right with their swords as you fired your arrows 

Percy then yelled for the two of you to leave and warn Hephaestus 

You tried to call Annabeth away, be she wouldn’t go 

Instead, she got closer to Percy and placed her lips on his 

You stared, heart slowly breaking 

You saw Annabeth kissing Percy

They were hiding behind a rock when Annabeth grabbed him by the collar and brought him up to her lips 

Percy’s eyes went wide in shock before settling down and closing, he seemed to enjoy the whole experience 

Your heart broke 

There was no way Percy liked you back, not now that he knows he’s got Annabeth 

The more you through about it, the more it was obvious your subtle attempts at letting Percy know you liked him were probably just annoying to him 

The last thing you hear before fleeing with Annabeth was the sound of rushing water 

The journey back is done in silence with the occasional sniff from Annabeth 

Every time you sigh and try to comfort her

Once out of the Labyrinth she starts sobbing, she slumps against one of the entrance rocks 

“Annabeth-“ you sigh 

“No!” she says abruptly, “I don’t want to hear anything from you. You caused this. You got caught and now Percy is dead!” 

“You don’t know that,” you breathe out. 

“Yes I do!” she continues to yell, “I bet you knew it was going to happen and did nothing, just like with Bianca! Why didn’t you do anything?” 

You took a deep breath trying to control your ire, “I didn’t, actually. That’s not how it works. I can’t just summon the future, and he’s not dead.” 

Annabeth stared at you with a mixture of disbelief and fury

“Prophecies might seem random and vague, but they always make sense,” now confusion was added to her mix of emotions.

You racked your brain for a good metaphor, “it’s like a poem. It might take you on a little detour, a separate journey within the poem sometimes, but it’s to throw you off to confuse you. Prophecies are, by and large, in chronological order. Losing a loved one was last on the list.” You carried on going through the parts of the prophecy that were and were not fulfilled

She looks you up and down her face contorted in disgust as she scoffs, “absurd” and storms off 

You stayed in your cabin processing everything

The first couple of days were tense but fine, you were sure Percy was going to come back any day now 

The subsequent ones were substantially harder 

You spent a lot of your time writing really sad poetry, listening to really sad music, playing really sad music etcetera

You avoided Annabeth like the plague, and you weren’t obvious about it 

The only people you saw were your cabin mates, mostly Will, and Clarisse because you knew she wouldn’t ask why you were upset 

You spent a large amount of time in the infirmary with Will, helping him out 

You got more practice in properly bandaging wounds as well as strengthening his hymns at times 

As the days went on you started to doubt yourself and the guilt had set in

Soon, all your siblings knew why you were upset and what happened between Percy and Annabeth 

When you finally left your self-imposed isolation, it was for Percy’s funeral

During the whole service, Annabeth was glaring at you 

You stood next to Will with your head down, refusing to look at anyone

He rubbed your back and pulled you into a side hug  

As his shroud burned, he emerged in front of everyone 

Your first instinct was to run towards him and wrap him in a hug, but you stopped yourself as soon as Annabeth ran up to him

Will just continued to hug you as you watched the exchange with a heavy heart 

Annabeth made a huge scene, and you rolled your eyes

As you set off back to the cabin, Percy called your name, and you turned around  

You took a very deep breath in before talking to him, trying to make everything seem normal

When you faced him, Percy noticed you were still frowning and asked you if you were ok 

You brushed it off as just being worried about him, but he didn’t quite buy that

Something else was happening inside that head of yours that you refused to tell him about 

He also found it weird that you hadn’t given him a bone crushing hug yet, instead you had your arms wrapped around you, your hands clutching at your arms as if you were holding yourself back 

Thus, he took the initiative and almost threw himself on to you, hiding his face in your neck

You stumbled backwards and as you hugged him back he whispered “I missed you”

He untangled himself from you and told you he got a hint from Hephestus, and he knew how to navigate the labyrinth

Percy then asked you to come along and find Rachel

You tried to convince him that you were better off staying, but he insisted

He said if Annabeth was the problem, he could make her apologise

You looked at him confused, worried that he’d figured out it was about her kissing him. He clarified it’s because she yelled at you

“Right, yes because Annabeth yelled at me”

Before you could protest, he took you by the hand and walked off with you

You looked back at Will, and he looked back with a sympathetic expression

When you finally got Rachel you were a little relived, at least you wouldn’t be the only person third wheeling the Annabeth and Percy love show

She leads you effortlessly through the labyrinth, with Annabeth right next to her

Percy was glued to your side, it was almost like the Gods had made him stick to you to run salt in the wound

Percy on the other hand refused to leave you alone until he saw a marked improvement in your mood

He was alive, so you could stop worrying, he even got Annabeth to apologize which was like picking blood from a stone, but you still seemed miserable and because he couldn’t figure out the reason he settled on trying to cheer you up

He cracked jokes which you gave a small smile, he persevered the whole journey

In the end he settled on just being near you, he hopped it would comfort you as much as it comforts him

As you walked along the path, you felt something brush against your hand, you glanced down and noticed every so often Percy’s hand would brush against yours almost like it was seeking you out

Despite the events of the past couple days you decided to keep this moment for yourself, a small spark of hope in the dim darkness that maybe, just maybe Percy did like you

Before long, the four of you were captured by Luke’s forces and Percy was forced to fight one of his brothers

The fight against Ethan is short, Percy beats him easily but refuses to kill him, infuriating Antaeus

With trickery and wit he manages to defeat him and you all escape after he calls Mrs O’Leary

Ethan, however, disappears as soon as you're far away from the arena, you express a sense of foreboding to the group

You quickly reach Daedalus’ workshop and camp’s new swordsman trainer was in fact Daedalus, the downside bing he refused to join camp as he had already made his bed with Luke

As the empousa that disguised itself as Nico’s helpful ghost appears, Daedalus orders you all to flee, but luckily Rachel is able o get everyone back into the labyrinth

When you do, Percy finds a tunnel, but when he tells you to wait you shake your head and say you’re going with him

“There’s no way I’m letting you go in there alone”

You walk down the tunnel and arrive at a golden sarcophagus containing Kronos in Luke’s body

You think back to the prophecy almost immediately, and when Ethan pledges his allegiance to Kronos you're certain you're nearing the end of your journey 

Rachel storms in just in the nick of time when Kronos spots you she throws a hairbrush at him and for a moment it seemed like Luke was himself again

This small distraction allowed Nico to summon a wall of black stone, giving everyone time to escape

After Annabeth and Percy’s argument, you finally set off to find Grover and Tyson 

During the whole journey, Percy was next to you once again, and he got super close like hugging close 

He’d initiate touch more often, either his hand would brush against yours or he’d gently guide you by the waist in front of him

He’d joke around and be more flirty, and it made your heart hammer, but your brain confused, maybe he was just doing all this as your friend ? 

Something didn’t feel quite right about that, but it had to be, there’s no way he liked you, him and Annabeth kissed they're basically a thing now right ? Right 

You finally got to the Carsbald Caverns, where you saw Tyson watching over an unconscious Grover 

When Grover wakes, you enter the final resting place of Pan. He convinces a reluctant Grover to pass on that he has passed away 

He dissolves, leaving a piece of him with everyone, and you make your way back to camp 

When you get back, camp is deep in preparations for Kronos’ army, you rush to your cabin mates asking Michael what he needed you to do 

You took the camp’s best archers with you and stationed them on important vantage points around camp as per orders 

You perched yourself on the highest point, watching over a large portion of camp 

Your focus was sharp as you shot any monster in your field of vision 

But it seemed like every monster you shot down 10 appeared in its place 

You were exhausted, and you didn’t notice one climbing up towards you  

It started clawing at your leg tipping you off balance, you only just managed to hold onto a ledge and safely bring yourself to the ground 

In the rush to get down, you lost your bow and had no choice but to use your sword

You prayed to the gods that your training was enough

You stood in front of the creature with the hit of your sword squarely in the middle of your body waiting for it to strike 

You managed to block the first couple blows but as it started attacking faster you found yourself only blocking some 

The creature struck your left shoulder then going for your leg which you managed to block it tried again and managed to scrape you 

The fight carried on with blood dripping down your leg and arm, but you were ale to cut the beast’s head off, felling it for good 

You readied yourself for another attack but found there was none 

You limped your way towards the crowd of people consisting of your fellow campers, you were so close but your leg gave out at the last minute, and you toppled to the ground 

Percy ran up to you and helped you up, getting you to the infirmary where you were bandaged up ready for dinner 

Soon you found out Grover had used Pan’s gift to him and driven the creatures away as well as about Daedalus’ sacrifice 

At dinner Will made doubly sure you were ok and that you hadn’t tried cauterising your wounds again; you reassured him that you did no such thing, certainly not after his hissy fit 

The rest of the table laughed, for now camp was at peace 

Once you gave your offerings, Chiron came up behind you and in a gentle voice asked you to go up to the attic 

You nodded and headed straight up weaving thought the various furniture and cobwebs, trying not to get caught or stumble 

Suddenly, you heard a voice boom through the silence:

“You will return to the seat of a brother's power, whose prized weapon a thief did dishonour, the man was burned by his misdeeds, the weapon has been lost to the trees, the bow of light shall find its owner, else once again it shall destroy its holder,” 

You left that attic thinking about the Oracle’s vague words before reporting back to Chiron

Your quest had been issued 

On your way back to your cabin, Nico came up beside you 

You stopped walking expecting the worst but what he said surprised you 

“I’m sorry I was a brat. I know Bianca’s death wasn’t your fault and I overreacted. She was my sister, and she died, I didn’t know what to do, I’m sorry.”

You smiled and thanked him for the apology, “if anyone understands, it me.”

Your parting for the summer was bitter-sweet, you weren’t going home this summer not properly

You had a week to spend with your mum, but then you were given a quest that if you succeeded at might turn the tide and help beat Luke 

When you and Percy said goodbye, he left you with a small ring with a sun engraved into it and a chaste kiss on the forehead 

Will saw everything and teased you about your reaction, and you retort with ‘shut up Will, I saw your reaction when Nico touched your hand’ and the subject quickly ceased to be discussed 

You and your mum had a really close bond, so spending the week with her was so refreshing 

Sadly because of that she also knew you like the back of her hand and forced you to tell her all about Percy but you also dobbed Will in about Nico. She kept that in the memory banks to tease him with when he came to visit

You cooked food for her every evening for the week when she came home from work, and you’d made sure to clean up the house a little while also enjoying some TV 

You told your mum about the quest you were sent on but not so much as to put her in danger 

She of course was super worried, but she always would be

On the last night she bid you goodbye, and you set off into the night hoping to find Apollo’s bow (now watch me make up a bunch of fake mythology just for a fanfiction)

Legend has it Apollo’s childhood bow was stolen from him but when the thief tried using it Apollo felt it and used the bow to burn his skin. The thief dropped it somewhere in the wilderness, and Apollo was never able to recover it. He placed a curse on it, only allowing one chosen child of Apollo to use it. 

Camp found out about it because there had been reports that one of Luke’s lackies had tried using it and, just as the thief's, his skin burned. 

Your job was to do nothing but retrieve it for safekeeping at camp

You stayed in the modern city of Delphi, researching more about the ancient seat of your godly father’s power 

You discovered that the bow was stolen from your father’s temple right from under the Oracle of Delphi’s nose 

The only thing you had left to do was to think like the thief

You got onto the site with a group of tourists and ‘got lost’ in the temple of Apollo. From there you ran in the first direction you could think of, and you ended up in a dense forest just behind the amphitheatre 

You thought you’d felt a strange tingle and believed that maybe because you were an Apollo kid you might be able to sense it 

You stood in the middle of a forest with your eyes closed looking like an idiot while nothing happened for a good 5 minutes before you gave up 

You kept searching the forest until you noticed the light seemed to change as if it was purposefully trying to guide someone away from something

You traced the beams of light back to their source, stepping into a clearing with a gleaming golden bow situated on the ground 

Immediately as you picked it up you felt its weight, you could barely lift it and would need some serious strength training to use it 

You felt a strong push to use it, as if it was telling you to shoot an arrow from it 

You stared at it and without thinking lifted it up in front of you, grasping the string 

You quickly shook yourself of the haze as you remembered the consequences of using it when not chosen by Apollo

Divine wrath induced blisters weren’t exactly something that can be healed 

You walked out of the cleaning, thinking about how you were going to transport the bow back to camp

You looked down and realised it had transformed itself into a long, rounded gold necklace charm (think Amenedeil’s necklace from Lucifer) that you added to the chain already around your neck 

After sending an Iris message back to camp you sat down reading more about the bow and it’s properties

You wanted to find out why Luke wanted it so badly 

Looking through old texts, you concluded that being able to shoot arrows from miles away still wasn’t its most impressive power. The bow was capable of shooting flaming arrows as well as its standard ones

You could easily imagine how an exploding arrow could completely turn the tide 

The bow could also heal whoever uses it at extremely fast speeds but if you weren’t strong enough to use it you would explode 

it’s last significant powers were that of teleportation and shapeshifting, which you assumed it did automatically as it shifted into the charm that is now on your necklace 

When you got back to camp, the bow shifted its appearance once more into its true form with a golden flash of light 

You and the rest of the Apollo cabin were given responsibility for the bow’s safety

Everyone agreed it should stay as the charm on your necklace to prevent anyone from being tempted to use it and be subsequently turned into ashes

So many of your siblings wanted to try to shoot it; you had to scare them off with warnings that ranged from your hand will rip off as soon as you try to lift it, to, if you try to use it you will explode 

From the day you got back, you had strange dreams about using the bow 

In one of your most vivid dreams, you stood in the clearing where you found the bow. You gently lifted it off the ground, admiring it’s fit in your hand. You lift it with ease, positioning yourself at a 90-degree angle to where you wanted to shoot. Retrieving a golden arrow from the quiver, you took a deep breath in and released it when you breathed out, only to have the arrow disappear into the sky with no way of knowing where it landed

You went straight to Asher with the dreams, seeing if he might be able to decipher them, but he dismissed the dreams as you probably wanting to use it really badly 

You didn’t want to argue

You woke up, after another dream of using the bow's several abilities, you noticed a small golden envelope on your night stand. 

You broke the seal and began reading: it was a poem about you and the bow, encouraging you to try it from the only person whose poems could be this bad. Apollo.

You went into the forest, to a similar clearing you found the bow in, and prayed to your father, hoping he would answer. Truthfully you didn’t expect him to, that letter could have easily been a prank by the Stoll brothers

To your surprise, he actually appeared, saying that he’s already broken one rule by contacting one of his children he might as well break another

He explained how, over years of being lost, the bow had developed a consciousness of its own in a way. He no longer picked who used it, the bow picked for itself 

Despite your concerns about not being able to match the strength needed to actually utilise the bow, he encouraged you to use it with a ‘if you were not able to wield it the bow would not have chosen you.’ He placed a hand on your shoulder, ‘I think it has finally found a worthy owner.’’

He told you that once you mastered the bow, a bond would be formed, and you would command the bow much like he did in days past

You parted ways with your father and headed back to camp 

Percy noticed you heading out of the woods, and any thoughts about fulfilling a prophecy rushed out of his head 

He ran towards you, enveloping you in a tight hug that you wanted to reject until you realised it was Percy 

After the hug ended, he scolded you for not answering any of his iris messages. You explained to him that you were on a quest to retrieve Apollo’s bow and that you were encouraged to use it, but Apollo himself

‘Well, Perce, you’re just in time to watch me do something incredibly stupid.’

‘Since when was I ‘Perce’, ‘Oh, sorry Percy. I wasn’t thinking.’ ‘No! No, I like it.’

Percy strongly disagreed with your plan, but understood you could never have any surety if you didn’t try 

You tried lightening the situation with a joke and Percy didn’t appreciate the idea of you being blown to bits that the joke suggested

You stood in the same clearing you met your father in with Percy

As you lifted the bow into the air, it felt a lot lighter than the first time you touched it. 

The bow seemed to effortlessly mould into your hand as you gently gripped the handle

You noticed a quiver of celestial bronze arrows appeared on your back.

You nocked the arrow and as you pulled the string back the arrow turned to light 

Percy noticed that in your hands not just the arrow, but the bow, seemed to be made of light. The bright string gently kissed your lips and nose 

You took a deep breath in, summoning the courage and strength to actually wield the legendary bow and aiming for the sky

You let out a slow breath; you let the fingers gripping the bowstring to relax and free, the arrow which leapt into the sky

You stood frozen to the spot, watching the arrow travel further waiting for and explosion or burning to rack your body, but you were fine

Percy’s heart leapt just as far as the arrow when he saw you were unharmed 

He ran up to you once more, gripping your waist and spinning you around in a circle 

Before you had time to process what was happening, Percy placed you on the ground and pressed a quick kiss to your lips

Your lips tasted of mango lip balm, and he wanted more, but he knew he couldn’t  

You just stared at him dazed, Percy kissed you. PERCY KISSED YOU 

Alarm bells were going off: what did it all mean? Did he like you as well? No, that would be ridiculous

‘Sorry, I um…’ Percy stammered. ‘I got swept up in the moment,’

‘Of course, makes sense it was a very emotionally charged life, or death situation makes sense.’ your heart dropped hearing his words, but you didn’t have time to focus on them, Chiron needed to be notified. The chosen Apollo kid was in camp half-blood!

You and Percy ran up to the big house and told Chiron and Mr. D, they were both elated (well Mr. D let out more of an approved grunt than anything else) 

You took both of them out to the archery grounds and shifted the charm back into a bow. The quiver appeared like magic behind your back once again.

Nocking the arrow and pulling the string back, you closed your eyes imagining an arrow of fire flying towards the target and setting it on fire 

Everyone gathered around you as they saw the arrow turn to fire

You released the string, and it hit bullseye, setting the whole target on fire 

You let loose a second arrow, this one exploding the target before it could be burnt up completely 

There was one more thing you wanted to try that would probably freak everyone out, but you were on fire and too curious not to try it 

You popped your head through the gap between the bowstring and the belly with the upper limb over your left shoulder 

You look out a small dagger and cut your palm 

Everyone gasped, Percy was about to run to you to yell at you for what you were doing before he realised that the cut was healing by itself

The bow transformed back into a charm on your necklace and everyone applauded and lifted you up above them 

You beamed while crowd-surfing, relieved and more than proud in your abilities 

You don’t even have time to properly catch up with Percy as you're swept off to the war council and Percy and Annabeth go to the Oracle 

When they come back having heard the prophecy the war council is in shambles and Clarisse storms out yelling about the Ares cabin refusing to fight

You had no idea anything could discourage and Ares kid from fighting 

Annabeth recited the prophecy, everyone was in agreement that it was about Percy, but something didn’t seem quite right to you

You kept quiet, not knowing what was so off 

Later you saw Percy walking to the training grounds, and you caught up with him, asking him what happened 

He gave you the rundown of the situation with Annabeth and Grover, and he just wanted to sit with Mrs O’Leary and forget about everything 

The two of you started searching for her when you spotted her scampering away into the forest 

You both ran into the forest after her, finding Nico and the council of elders discussing grover with Juniper defending him 

Afterwards, Nico has a conversation with you and Percy about gaining the same advantage as Luke in battle he seemed very pushy about it towards Percy and very reluctant to have you come with them 

This made you more determined to tag along 

In the end, Percy relented, and you all travelled to Luke’s mum’s house 

The entire trip was weird

Upon entering Ms Castellan’s house, she greeted both Nico and Percy as Luke, assuming you’re Luke’s partner

She talks openly about everything to do with Luke’s life. How he ran away to protect his mother and how he needed his mum’s blessing to become a host for Kronos

When you tried to leave, she seemed possessed before returning to normal 

You dismissed the occurrence but couldn’t ignore the fact the goddess of the home stood outside the house 

She provides lunch and gives a slightly ominous statement. No matter what side she takes you can not forget her, she is the goddess of the home

Then she takes you to Percy’s mum and his stepdad Paul has a small freak-out finally believing Sally about the supernatural 

Sally keeps giving Percy a look that you can’t quite place after you introduce yourself 

Sally then takes him into another room,  looking at you very sweetly in contrast to Percy who was trying his best not to make eye contact with you 

When everyone was out of earshot, Percy’s mum started relentlessly teasing him about his crush 

‘They’re very pretty, aren’t they? And a child of Apollo, well it certainly makes sense they quite literally glow. My Percy you have chosen well!’

You on the other hand had a small conversation with Paul, finding out he worked at the school Percy went to 

The two of you had a lovely conversation about Shakespeare that mainly focused on his sonnets, but occasionally you’d discuss one or two plays  

You were in the middle of a conversation about how Iago is presented in Othello and how much of a genius villain he really is when Percy and his mum walked back in 

Paul joked that you might need to give Percy some English lessons

With introductions over and jokes out the window, Sally reluctantly gives Percy her blessing to bathe in the River Styx

This time you were the one to take Nico and Percy to Central Park, testing out another one of the bows powers 

There Percy felt Grover, who altered them to the death of Pan as well as Morpheus’ appearance worrying you all 

Grover opens the passage to the underworld, and you trek down to the river

While on the   Nico changes the course from the river to Hades place betraying Percy who fights Nico when he finds out, but the furies disarm him and take everyone to Hades throne room

Hades reveals the truth about Nico’s past, and you just look at him resentful, ‘I hope it was worth it, Nico. I hope you’re happy’

Truthfully, Hades didn’t know what to do with you, he hadn’t planned for an extra person in the deal with his son 

He recognized you instantly, the only other child of Apollo that dared venture into his realm and twice at that 

For your tenacity, he rewarded you by giving you a head start before he sent the furies to rip you apart 

You immediately ran for where you assumed the river Styx must be from myths and the limited time you spent in the underworld

It was the most logical choice given that if Percy had escaped, that’s probably where he’d be heading 

You grasped your father's bow, sending a tirade of fire arrows raining down on the furies, enough to confuse them and slow them down 

You made it to the river with only a minimal amount of scrapes that had easily healed themselves 

You saw Percy with another figure by the bank of the river, and you drew another arrow ready to shoot the traitor

Percy was quick to stop you, explaining Nico had no idea of his father’s plan and helped bust Percy out of jail

You and Nico waited anxiously on the banks of the river for Percy to resurface, surely it can’t take this long 

‘Look, I’m sorry, that’s why I didn’t want you to come. I didn’t want you to get involved. I know for a fact Percy would have maimed me if something had happened to you.’

You were still angry at him but accepted that his words were coming from the heart. You sighed and replied, ‘look, I get it, but chasing the past will only end in more hurt. Besides, as his kid, you should know that his deals are always naff.’

Nico just looks at you confused, and you told him the story of your brother and suddenly your previous warning made sense

While in the river Percy had two voices pulling him in two different directions, yours and Annabeth’s 

Only one however would lead him out of the river 

He reached towards your voice and suddenly he was back in camp

He was swimming in the lake with you looking down on him from the bank 

He started to swim away but you held him by the hem of his shirt smiling 

“Come on Percy, you can’t stay in there forever” 

You pulled him out keeping your hand on the small of his back 

He was overwhelmingly happy with your presence next to him 

Still holding the small of his back you leaned in 

Percy suddenly rises from the water with a gasp, you help him out, all while insisting on how he managed to anchor himself and if he’s truly alright 

He ignores your main question, opting to answer with ‘I promise I’m fine,’ blushing profusely

Despite being attacked by Hades and his worker bees, with Percy’s new strength, he rips through them with ease.

Percy tells Nico to try and convince his father to fight for the right side, and you leave the underworld with him

You listen as Percy explains his plan to save Olympus, just smiling at him. 

You bite your lip and say, ‘you know we still have a traitor in our midst, right?’, ‘yeah but I’m working on a plan for that’, you look at him almost breathless, the boy doesn’t cease to amaze you 

‘What’s that look for?’ the look you give him leaves him breathless. It’s like you're admiring him, but not as a leader or a friend, but something else entirely 

‘Nothing,’ you bite the inside of your cheek to quell your smile as much as you can, ‘let's get to the Empire State.’ 

The atmosphere is tense, especially as Percy almost collapses after Hestia shows him a vision of Luke

Hermes brings a message from Athena warning to keep an eye on the rivers. However, he also brings with him admonishment towards Annabeth for not preventing Luke from hosting Kronos 

Percy is about to give Hermes a piece of his mind, but you stop him, stepping forward instead, ‘Quite frankly sir, your son is not Annabeth’s responsibility and furthermore Annabeth is in no way in charge of other people’s actions. Your son’s stupid decisions are not on her!’ you took a deep breath before continuing, ‘But neither are they on you. Luke, for better or for worse, has made his choice. All we can hope now is that it’s not too late to turn him to the side of good and if that fails stop him from destroying the world.’

Everyone including Hermes was speechless

Hermes gulped, nodded his head and left 

It was Percy’s turn to stare at you with awe. You argued with a god and won, not just that but the god that created your father's beloved lute

There isn’t a single thing Percy didn’t love about you 

Now it was your turn to blush 

The tender moment is interrupted by Michael yelling your name and informing everyone that Manhattan has been put to sleep. The invasion has begun 

Percy splits everyone off in all directions like the true leader he is

He looks at you ready to send you off to your cabin mates, but you interrupt, ‘Don’t even try it, I’m staying with you,’ He knew better than to argue with you, plus it made him feel a lot more confident 

In the end, you Percy and Annabeth go and help your fellow Apollo campers and manage to get Kronos to retreat, giving the campers time to regroup

You saw Michael Yew still on the bridge when Percy collapsed it and got your cabin mates to search for him

You settle in for the night but find it really hard to sleep despite the fact you provided small night lights for yourself and all the other Apollo kids 

You thought you’d talk to Percy, but he was asleep, not peacefully, but you figured some sleep is better than none

You walked to the makeshift infirmary where Will was changing a campers bandages while they were asleep

‘Can’t sleep?’ he asked. ‘Clearly,’ you replied. After a couple beats of silence, you spoke again, ‘you should get some rest. I’ll take over for a bit.’

He looked at you incredulously, ‘What? You are literally the worst healer we have.’ You choked, ‘yeah, but I can change bandages!’

‘Can you?’ Will asked and you both burst out laughing. He handed you a gauze and told you to place it over the wound before he helped you wrap the bandages round the camper's leg.

‘Yeah look at that shoddy work, definitely not leaving you here unsupervised,’ you chuckled at his remark. ‘Besides, the chosen one needs more rest than the medic.’ 

You gave him a gentle shove, laughing slightly.

‘So,’ he pipes up again. ‘You and Percy, any developments?’ 

You smiled gently, looking at the ground. Lately things have been pretty good, but you still can’t get the thought that he likes Annabeth more than you. I mean who wouldn’t, she's smart; she’s got beautiful princess curls she actually knows what she's doing fighting with a sword. Plus, she’s a hell of a lot more helpful in this mess of a war. You kinda feel like you're just tagging along, more of an onlooker than an active part.

‘I think the lack of sleep is getting to you Y/N’ Will laughs, and you laugh with him. He never fails to reassure you and make you feel better. 

The world might be falling apart, but at least you’ve still got Will. Not to mention all your friends and your other brothers and sisters.

When Thalia woke Percy up to speak to Prometheus, he had a small panic because he couldn’t see you sound asleep in the cot next to his, but before he was able to worriedly search for you Thalia drags him to the meeting 

Even though you're not next to him, he feels you encouraging him, telling him not to give up. 

He walks back with Pandora’s box, telling himself over and over that they’re not giving up. Your voice in the back of his mind telling him there’s always hope 

When he sees you sound asleep in your cot, he can finally relax a little and falls asleep again 

When Percy wakes up, he simply grabs you by the wrist and takes you to Central Park with a few other demigods 

You and the other demigods fight Hyperion’s monsters, while Percy battles the titan on his own

You take out the monsters with ease. You might not have Percy’s strength, but your bow had served you well 

Its healing properties essentially keep you from being injured, the only thing you had to deal with was the pain that accompanied your wounds. Sadly, it would often stay a little longer than the wound itself.

You quickly got to higher ground and flipped off a statue spinning in the air as you released three arrows at the same time, all exploding on impact, finishing off the rest of Hyperion’s monsters.

You got Grover and the rest on standby as you went over to help Percy#

He got behind Hyperion and fired an exploding arrow, making him turn around. 

‘Come on! How have you not crushed us yet? We’re bugs compared to you, and somehow we're still better. You’re Hyperion! Is that the best you can do?’

You taught him long enough for Percy to create a hurricane, dousing his fiery aura to allow Grover and the others to seal him inside a maple tree.

Sadly, there’s not much time to celebrate as the Caledonian Sow starts wreaking havoc.

Sadly, you make the unfortunate mistake of the flying pig, it attacks you first

Thankfully you're saved by Percy on blackjack and while he’s trying to escape the Sow as you’re shooting it down

In the end, Percy calls some automatons to destroy it, and they finish off the Sow. 

You both fly back to the empire state and to your dismay see that the campers have been significantly pushed back by Kronos’ forces

Just in the nick of the Party, Ponies save the day.

Percy comes with you to see will and try and heal some more of the wounded

Will mutters about not needing two terrible healers, but you ignore him telling Percy to give nectar to the wounded as she cleans their wounds ready to be expertly dressed by Will and the other healers.

Percy does as he’s told, all the while looking at you as cleaned everyone’s wounds 

He thought about all that you did today, it was amazing to see you in your element. There was no doubt you were one of camp’s strongest 

‘What’s that look for?’ you teased him, repeating his own words

Percy just laughed and replied, ‘nothing, just looking at you’

You started to giggle and he giggled along with you 

‘There’s something  we need to talk about’ you said 

‘Oh no, that serious tone is never good.’ you gave him a withering smile 

You went for a ripping off the plaster approach, “I don’t think the prophecy is about you. Not fully at least. I don’t think it would be that much of a stretch to assume the battle is for Luke’s soul?”

Percy on the inside was relieved that it might not be about him, but he still can’t take the possibility off the table 

However, something still nagged at him. He replied, “that makes no sense.”

You told him about the vision after you woke up. You saw Percy hand Luke a knife and he looked like he was debating what to to with it

“Maybe the decision is whether or not he sacrifices himself. Think about it, he's the only one who knows where his weak spot is and if he dies our big bad goes with him.”

Percy sighs, he wants to believe you but he can’t, “that still leaves the elderly gods part. He just doesn’t fit the bill.”

Your whole body tensed, “I’m not saying I’m correct but just consider it please.”

Percy replied without thinking, “I can’t! It’s such a big stretch and I can’t take that risk. Honestly, you’ve been so spot on before, it’s a wonder you're not now.”

You started at Percy. Anger was crossing through your veins. You sighed sharply running your young along your teeth, “leave, just go. We can finish this later.i think we both need to cool down. Maybe next time you won’t be so rude.”

Later, Percy rushes back to the hotel everyone used as base and ran straight towards you, embracing you in a hug

You were surprised considering yesterday, but you allowed him to carry on 

With unadulterated joy, he said that the prophecy wasn’t about him

You asked how he knew, and he told you the whole story about how Rachel flew in on a helicopter, but it failed and Annabeth had to get into the cockpit and safely land it 

‘I see, You’ll believe Rachel when she tells you, but not me. Good to know.’ you started walking away, but Percy grabbed your wrist 

He apologised, admitting there was no excuse for his behaviour. He did believe you deep down, but on the surface he felt hurt that another thing was out of his control. At least when it was him, he could do something about it. 

You forgive him and tell him that he’s doing his best. He’s doing so well he’s literally been dubbed the leader of the entire camp, an achievement in itself

In a moment of silence, your eyes met. It was almost like your breathing was in sync. You looked at his locks, tracing each small hair down to his face. His beautiful sea green irises reflected what looked like admiration but also relief 

Before you could analyse them further they were ripped away from your gaze, fixing themselves instead of a large sound. 

Clarisse seemed to be leading the Ares cabin 

You get a sinking feeling in your stomach, Clarisse is stubborn as a mule and there’s no way she’s changed her mind

Everyone else around you cheers and ‘Clarisse’ charges into battle tearing thought the enemy lines until she’s met with a drakon that strikes her down

You all rush over to her ready to carry her off to the infirmary when another Clarisse appears, one you all recognize as the real one.

She takes control of her cabin and leads it to victory, beating the drakon single-handedly, earning her father's blessing

Selina fessed up to being the spy and how she was threatened by Luke making his case for redemption thinner 

Soon you Percy Grover and Annabeth make your way to Olympus to set up more defences, accompanying Grover to the gardens

While Percy was convening with his father in what could be described as the stupidest plan ever, your own father came up to you

He told you how brave you and your siblings were. He also spoke of your ingenuity with his bow and declared you it’s owner 

After he said this, he took your right forearm into his hand

With a slight burning pain, just before the crease appeared a small, pale yellow half sun surrounded by arrows 

You thanked him with a huge grin, constantly glancing at your new mark

“There’s no need to thank me, you have proven yourself worthy of welding the Golden Bow. May your aim always be true”

You quickly hurried to rejoin Percy, who was recovering from nearly being obliterated by his father for sitting in his throne, and both share your good news

Your celebrations are cut short, however, when Thalia announces Kronos’ army is at Olympus’ door

You, Percy Thalia, Annabeth and Grover are all separated from the rest of camp and Hades undead army, fighting Kronos’ vanguard alone

You quickly shot an exploding arrow at the vanguard, effectively cutting Kronos’ forced in half 

You and Percy exchanged a grin before joining back into the fray back to back. 

You covered Percy and the others with a barrage of arrows as you all followed Kronos, trying to prevent any further destruction of Olympus  

Thalia is crushed under Hera’s statue but urges all of you to keep moving

Ethan gets into the way of your group and as you're about to shoot an arrow at him, Percy stops you 

By some miracle, he convinced Ethan to help Olympus instead of Kronos 

Sadly, he soon killed for his betrayal by the titan 

After Kronos angrily wipes the vision of Typhon being beaten, Annabeth tries to reach out to Luke one more time in hopes of him regaining his senses 

She succeeds somewhat, but Luke struggles to keep control 

Percy had intended to kill Luke himself, but your warnings about the prophecy not being about him repeat inside his head on a loop 

Finally, it all clicks in place. IT’s about Luke 

He gives Luke Annabeth’s blade and Luke choses to save Olympus by sacrificing himself 

When the Gods return, everyone is given a reward: Annabeth is made Olympus’ architect and your father of course requests more statues of himself; Grover is given the final seat on the Council of Cloven Elders and all the fallen would be awarded Elysium

You were glad Michael would have peace 

You stood back, content all of your friends efforts were rewarded, however, your father wouldn’t waste an opportunity to praise you in front of all the Gods

He beamed as he spoke of the Golden Bow finning a worthy owner after centuries and the mark on your forearm begin to glow indicating to the Gods you were the owner in question 

You were bestowed with a golden Laurel wreath and declared the slayer of beasts

Of course, this was all an elaborate excuse for your father to shower you with gifts, most of which were poems about every fight of yours he witnessed 

However, the most significant gift was Apollo’s blessing, allowing you far greater power over light including the ability to turn invisible and “just for fun” the ability to play all instruments 

He went off on one, how normally your eyes would turn brown if they weren’t already and the hair would turn blonde with orange stripes in it, but he quite liked your eyes and hair

“They remind me of your mother”

So instead you got golden highlights accompanying your new powers

Finally, it was Percy’s time to shine. You were excited for him, wondering what kind of reward he’d get for all his bravery 

What you didn’t expect was immortality, you stood staring at him wide-eyed

You wanted to be happy for him, but secretly hoped he wouldn’t take it 

 Then you wouldn’t be able to tell him about your feelings for him 

He probably wouldn’t be allowed outside Olympus, you’re not stupid, you’ve seen the Hercules Disney film 

Percy was shocked to say the least, he never thought he’d do something so spectacular as to earn immortality

For a split second he was tempted to take it, but he looked back at your sad face and realised, there’s no way he could 

Instead, he makes a list of demands, that if anyone but the God’s chosen hero were to make they would be smote 

But thanks to those demands, Percy made the camp a better place

For one, Nico would finally have his own cabin, along with the kids of the minor gods 

When everyone got back to camp, your siblings planned a swift celebration 

The music was pumping, and you felt each and every note

It was euphoric, every beat every note pumped through your veins like never before 

You grabbed a spare guitar ready to give the blessing a test drive

Everyone looked at you shocked as you felt the melody ripple pleasantly through your body

Everyone cheered nonetheless when you placed the guitar back down again

You joined the crown once again dancing your heart out before your arm was grabbed, and you were pulled out 

Percy was leading you away from the crowd and grumbled when he heard whooping front the direction he dragged you away from

He kept going until you got to the lake, the setting sun reflecting peacefully off its waters 

Percy took both your hands in his and looked you in the eye summoning his courage

‘I really like you,’ it was out in the wind and all you could do was stare flabbergasted 

Your heart was leaping for joy but your brain was holding it back because it didn’t make sense 

“I thought, but you… you and Annabeth… in the labyrinth, you- you kissed’ 

Percy wasn’t expecting that to coke out of your mouth, sure he was prepared for rejection but somehow this was worse 

‘I-yeah I guess we did I kinda forgot about that,’ 

You stood there still shocked as he continued trying to figure out what everything meant

‘I forgot because I kinda figured everything out while in the River Styx. I- wow never thought I’d have to say this, I honestly thought I’d take this to the grave, it’s a little embarrassing. You were what grounded me to this world, I could feel you pulling my shirt at the small of my back and holding me there until we nearly kissed. At that moment I was no longer confused, I knew it was you I wanted.’

‘So that’s why you avoided my question’ Percy nodded shyly 

You bit your lip thinking, processing all the information 

You moved closer to Percy parting your lips slightly and grasping the small of his back 

You gently put pressure on it 

Percy gasped smirking you asked ‘and that’s where your weak spot is isn’t it?’ 

He hastily nodded blush dusting is cheeks as you brought your lips closer to his 

‘While we’re confessing things, that week where I was shut in; I wasn’t sick. I was upset about you and Annabeth and wanted to avoid you. The angry states you got from my siblings were because they knew I liked you’

‘Oh’ it was all starting to make sense now that the dots were out together for him. 

You stayed like that until the last rays of sun fell over the horizon 

‘Hey water boy ,’ you smiled at Percy’s dumbfounded face. ‘Are you gonna kiss me or not?’ 

He did not have to be told twice 

He slammed his lips down in yours 

You reviled in the feeling of his lips on yours finally getting to feel what you’ve longed for

You felt warm sparks fly out of you and as you parted with Percy you looked around finding your bodies surrounded by small yellow sparks 

‘That’s new,’ you smiled, thanking the Gods and mostly your dad for helping set the mood.

Extras

A/N: Oh my goodness, this was way too long. It was 37 pages of a Google doc, and I probably should have split it into parts. Also, I am the queen of putting the keep reading in awkward places (Hi future me, the keep reading was deleted because it turns out that’s was ate the text I had to re paste)

Edit (03/07/22): I didn’t realise I forgot to copy a whole chunk of the story from the word doc. It’s now fixed between the Empousa (sp?lol) and Percy’s “I missed you” was where the gap was