sol

— the house of hades: “i’m not choosing one of your paths. i’m making my own.”

relationships;

— leo valdez, close friend: “hazel! that box! open it!”

— frank zhang, boyfriend.

— sammy valdez, old friend.

— percy jackson, close friend.

— jason grace, friend.

soundtrack;

— bejeweled by taylor swift. “don’t put me in the basement / when i want the penthouse of your heart / diamonds in my eyes / i polish up real, i polish up real nice.”

— pluto by melanie martinez. “i’m hauling an outdated show / help me let go / the walls around me are so close / caving in, oh no.”

— hey there delilah by plain white t’s. “hey there, delilah, i know times are getting hard / but just believe me, girl, someday i’ll pay the bills with this guitar / we’ll have it good / we’ll have the life we knew we would.”

relationships; ― percy jackson, close friend: "oh, no! frank is turning into a crazy dolphin!" ― leo valdez, friend: "can we leave valdez in croatia?" ― hazel levesque, girlfriend: "you shouldn't try to carry a problem alone. but if you don't want to talk about it, that's okay."

soundtrack; ― mars by sleeping at last. "we were full of life / we could barely hold it in / we were amateurs at war / strangers to suffering." ― fat funny friend by maddie zahm. "can't be too loud, can't be too busy / if i don't answer now, are they still gonna need me? / can't be too proud, can't think i'm pretty / do they keep me around, so their flaws just seem silly?" ― ballad of a homeschooled girl by olivia rodrigo. "cat got my tongue, and i don't think i get along with anyone / blood runnin' cold, i'm on the outside of the greatest inside joke / and i hate all my clothes, feels like my skin doesn't fit right over my bones / so i guess i should go, the party's done, and i'm no fun, i know, i know." ― little lion man by mumford & sons. "rate yourself and rake yourself / take all the courage you have left / and waste it on fixing all the problems / that you made in your own head."

relationships; ― artemis, friend and leader: "no! do not offer, zoe! i forbid you." ― percy jackson, friend: "you spoke the truth. you are nothing like... like hercules. i am honored that you carry this sword." ― thalia grace, successor: "you challenge my skills, you scullion? you know nothing of being a hunter!" ― dionysus, acquaintance: "are you suggesting that the gods have trouble acting together, young lady?"

soundtrack; ― counting stars by onerepublic. "i see this life like a swingin' vine / swing my heart across the line / in my face is flashin' signs / seek it out and ye shall find." ― runaway by aurora. "i was listenin' to the ocean / i saw a face in the sand / but when i picked it up / then it vanished away from my hands, dah." ― the greatest by sia. "and uh-oh, i see another mountain to climb / but i, i, i got stamina / uh-oh, i need another lover, be mine / 'cause i, i, i got stamina." ― princesses don't cry by carys. "boys, they're handsome and strong / but always the first to tell me i'm wrong / boys try to tame me, i know / they tell me i'm weird and won't let go."

relationships; ― nico di angelo, boyfriend. "i find this fascinating. sometimes mortals are not aware of the threads that bind them. you could both be wrong about the first time you met, and yet the two of you have orbited each other for so long, like heavenly bodies in the sky." ― apollo, father. "at this point, you may be wondering how i felt seeing my son with nico di angelo. i'll admit i did not understand will's attraction to a child of hades, but if the dark foreboding type was what made will happy... oh, perhaps some of you are wondering how i felt seeing him with a boyfriend rather than a girlfriend. if that's the case, please. we gods are not hung up about such things."

soundtrack; ― would you fall in love with me again by jorge rivera-herrans & anna lea. "is it you? have my prayers been answered? / is it really you standing there, or am i dreaming once more? / you look different, your eyes looked tired / your frame is lighter, your smile torn." ― teenagers by my chemical romance. "the boys and girls in the clique, the awful names that they stick / you're never gonna fit in much, kid / but if you're troubled and hurt, what you got under your shirt / will make them pay for the things that they did." ― the cult of dionysus by the orion experience. "so let's make a decision, start a new religion / yeah, we're gonna build a temple to our love / orgiastic dances, nymphs in trances / yeah, we'll be the envy of the gods above." ― tear in my heart by twenty one pilots. "sometimes you gotta bleed to know / that you're alive and have a soul / but it takes someone to come around to show you how."

relationships; ― jason grace, brother: "your disappearance was the last straw. i ran away and never returned, even when mom died a few years back." ― hera, stepmother: "that's it, thalia grace. i will turn you into an aardvark, so help me―" ― zoe nightshade, quest partner: "we should go straight west. the prophecy said west." "oh, like your tracking skills are better?" "you challenge my skills, you scullion? you know nothing of being a hunter!" "oh, scullion. you're calling me a scullion? what the heck is a scullion?"

soundtrack; ― the great gig in the sky by pink floyd. "and i am not frightened of dying, you know / any time will do, i don't mind / why should i be frightened of dying? / there's no reason for it / you've gotta go sometime." ― talia by chaz duffy & the ride the cyclone world premiere cast recording ensemble. "i want to take your hand by the cheremosh river, and with all ukraine as witness, take you as my wife / and we shall sing and dance and drink / and then i shall whisper in your ear, 'let rivers run wild or let them be damned' / my perfect talia, i lay my masculinity at the altar of your maidenhood." ― cherry bomb by the runaways. "stone age love and strange sounds too / come on baby, let me get to you / bad nights causin' teenage blues / get down ladies, you've got nothing to lose." ― rebel girl by bikini kill. "love you like a sister always / soul sister, rebel girl / come and be my best friend / will you, rebel girl?"

quotes; ― the last olympian: "and i don't have to see the future to tell you what to do now, do i?" ― the last olympian: "so... hypothetically, if these two people liked each other, what would it take to get the stupid guy to kiss the girl, huh?"

relationships; ― percy jackson, friend: "you hit the lord of the titans in the eye with a blue plastic hairbrush." ― annabeth chase, friend: "shhh! just announce it to the world, how about?"

soundtrack; ― uptown girl by billy joel. "uptown girl / she's been living in her white-bred world / as long as anyone with hot blood can / and now, she's looking for a downtown man." ― because i liked a boy by sabrina carpenter. "it's not internet illusions / just two kids going through it / you said i'm too late to be your first love / but i'll always be your favorite." ― primadonna by marina. "fill the void up with celluloid / take a picture, i'm with the boys / get what i want 'cause i ask for it / not because i'm really that deserving of it." ― love grows by edison lighthouse. "she's really got a magical spell / and it's working so well / that i can't get away."

But once, in the early evening, Nico falls asleep while waiting for Will to come back from a shift. He really doesn't mean to. He's never trusted anyone enough to fall asleep in their space. But the blankets smell like Will, and the Apollo cabin is otherwise empty. Nico just sort of... drifts off.

He wakes to Will gently shaking him, holding a plate of food. Nico quickly shoots up, excuses already streaming out of his mouth about how he didn't mean to, and how he's going to his cabin right now.

Will stops him with a look. "You missed dinner. Eat."

quotes; ― percy, the lightning thief: "look, i didn't want to be a half-blood." ― percy, the battle of the labyrinth: "don't feel bad, i'm usually about to die."

relationships; ― annabeth chase, girlfriend: "also, he was reluctant to share his one clear memory: annabeth's face, her blonde hair and gray eyes, the way she laughed, threw her arms around him, and gave him a kiss whenever he did something stupid." ― rachel elizabeth dare, friend: "i found myself calling on rachel a lot, i needed to remember that the mortal world was still out there." ― calypso, temporary friend: "she would always be my biggest what if." ― grover underwood, best friend: "won't change anything, you're still my best friend." ― jason grace, friend: "boys, i'm sure you both would've been wonderful at killing each other. but right now, you need some rest."

soundtrack; ― riptide by vance joy. "i just wanna, i just wanna know / if you're gonna, if you're gonna stay / i just gotta, i just gotta know / i can't have it, i can't have it any other way." ― ribs by lorde. "this dream isn't feeling sweet / we're reeling through the midnight streets / and i've never felt more alone / it feels so scary getting old." ― electric love by borns. "drown me, you make my heart beat like the rain / surround me, hold me deep beneath your waves / and every night my mind is running around her / thunder's getting louder and louder and louder." ― cigarette daydreams by cage the elephant. "cigarette daydream / you were only seventeen / soft speak with a mean streak / nearly brought me to my knees."

Finally, Annabeth asks, "What? Do I have something on my face?"

Percy means to say something like, You're beautiful. Or, maybe, I like you a whole lot.

Instead, he says, "I love you."

quotes; ― nico, the sun and the star: "i decided i could own it. do it my way. i could not only tell will that i was gay and that i liked him, but i could tell everyone. if i was going to stay at camp half-blood, i needed to know that i could be myself there, that i didn't have to hide in the shadows all the time." ― nico, the house of hades: "yeah, well, not giving people a second thought... that can be dangerous."

relationships; ― percy jackson, close friend and former crush. "but it's cool. we're cool. i mean, i see now... you're cute, but you're not my type." ― will solace, boyfriend: "i find this fascinating. sometimes mortals are not aware of the threads that bind them. you could both be wrong about the first time you met, and yet the two of you have orbited each other for so long, like heavenly bodies in the sky." ― jason grace, close friend: "then he learned about jason, the first person he really considered a friend. it triggered a lot of stuff for him." ― piper mclean, friend: "no one did. piper tried to imagine what nico di angelo was feeling, stuck in a jar with only two pomegranate seeds left to sustain him, and no idea whether he would be rescued." ― reyna avila ramirez-arellano, close friend: "you're the most courageous demigod i've ever met, reyna. i―i won't let you down."

soundtrack; ― abbey by mitski. "there is a light that i can see / but only, it seems, when there's darkness in me / there is a dream that i sometimes see / that only appears in the dark of sleep." ― anthems for a seventeen-year-old girl by yeule. "used to be one of the rotten ones and i liked you for that / now you're all gone, got your make-up on, and you're not coming back / can't you come back / bleaching your teeth, smiling flash, talking trash under your breath." ― creep by radiohead. "i want you to notice / when i'm not around / you're so fuckin' special / i wish i was special." ― let down by radiohead. "shell smashed, juices flowing, wings twitch / legs are going, don't get sentimental / it always ends up drivel / one day, i am gonna grow wings, a chemical reaction."