Steddie - Percy Jackson AU
AKA the struggle of finding the perfect Valentines gift for a son of Aphrodite
Eddie keeps staring at the flowers on display, feeling more pathetic by the minute. He hears a voice inside his head telling him he should make the flowers himself, but he shakes that voice away fast, it sounded way too similar to his dad's. Pretty arrangements were never his forte anyways, and he needs the prettiest one.
What kind of flowers should he buy? is even flowers a good idea? should he go for chocolates? can he be more basic than this? probably not, but tomorrow will be valentine's day and he has no other ideas.
He snatches the bouquet with the most pink and yellow flowers, Steve always wears soft sweaters in either one of those colors so he thinks it should be fine.
An hour later, Eddie stomps into another store, mumbling to himself. They aren't even dating yet, so why is this so complicated?
Why, of all the people at Half-Blood Camp, did he have to fall for a son of Aphrodite? how do you even attempt to romance someone who had the Goddess of Love as a mother?
He taps his fingers nervously on the glass counter, there are way too many options and he doesn't even know where to start.
He goes back to his cabin with a cheesy heart-shaped box filled with peanut butter chocolates - Steve would never admit it but he goes crazy for peanut butter - and places them next to the flowers.
Right before dinner and after hours of overthinking, the chocolate idea feels too lame in Eddie's eyes.
"So is this for Steve?" Robin asks. He's pretty sure she's smirking but they're talking just outside of her cabin, Apollo's, and the sunlight is just at the right place to make it shine too much for his poor eyes. He used to be jealous of Robin for having such a cool dad, but lately he feels much more content being stuck with Dionysus.
"It is not!" he replies, too quickly to be believable.
"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me" she pushes him inside the cabin, then picks up a piece of paper and a binder.
"This is a list of Steve's favorite songs. I know you don't like any of these so" she gestures at the binder "I've got all of my music sheets in here. No need to thank me, Munson. But remember to give them back, I have a great aim and your cabin is a weapon range from here."
Eddie passes most of the night learning Against all Odds by Phill Collins while looking nervously at Robin's cabin through his window.
It's Valentine's day, and Eddie is absolutely fucked. The flowers aren't pretty enough, the chocolate is lame, the song is overused and he's out of ideas.
He finds himself at Athena's cabin with only a few hours of sleep and right before breakfast.
He waits for Nancy to get out.
"This is about Steve" she states, not even questioning it, and Eddie doesn't have the energy to deny it.
"I'm running out of ideas Nancy! this was supposed to be a casual thing, no pressure! but then I mentioned it to him and he got so excited about receiving something from me and now there's no casualty anymore! There's anxiety, and he's surrounded by romance on a daily basis how am I supposed to compete with that?" Nancy listens to his rant quietly, not showing any particular reaction.
"So, how can I help?" it might seem like a cold response but that's exactly what Eddie needs.
He gets out an hour later, his stomach grumbling, his body pleading for a few hours of sleep, but with a poem about Steve's sun-kissed freckles and soft hair. Nancy wasn't much help with that, but she re-read it and made sure there weren't any mistakes and that his writing was clear enough.
"Eddie wait" Nancy calls for him as he's going through the door "you know how it is on valentine's day... Steve is one of the most admired kids in Aphrodite's cabin. So, whatever happens, don't let it get into your head okay? he likes you a lot."
It gets into Eddie's head. Big time.
He was never confident about the gifts he prepared but he thought at least one of them would've been fine.
That is until the parade of Steve's presents begins.
After the tenth bouquet of flowers he receives, Eddie stops counting.
At breakfast and lunch, he has a pile of chocolates on his table and it stands up even amongst his brothers and sisters who had received chocolates as well, just not as many.
The gift Eddie is most confident about, the poem, has to be ruled out as well since with most of the bouquets and chocolates Steve has also received white envelopes with his name written on them, in much nicer handwriting than Eddie's.
The song, Eddie's weakest gift since it isnβt his cup of tea and he had to learn it overnight, is the only thing he has left.
Despite it all, he gets ready for it. He doesnβt like the song but he loves a big gesture, so he goes to his cabin in the afternoon to grab his guitar, determined to surprise Steve with a romantic serenade.
When he comes back, he notices a big fuss around the amphitheater. Curious, he gets close just in time to see one of Robin's brothers guiding Steve at the arena's center, a guitar in his left hand.
Eddie rushes away, he doesnβt need to see anything more.
His gloomy state guides him to the lake's shore. It's cold but quiet, plus Eddie's favorite pastime consists in picking up rocks that catch his attention.
He throws a couple of them in the lake, kicks a few big ones, then sighs. A part of him hopes Steve is so busy with all his admirers that he forgets about him and his promise.
He crouches to have a better look at the smaller rocks at his feet. One catches his eye almost immediately: it's round, smooth, and mostly dark brown with gold cracks. Eddie cannot explain it, but it makes him think of Steve.
He's getting up with the small stone in his hand when he hears footsteps behind him.
"I knew I would find you here" Steve's smile makes Eddie's knees go weak, even at that distance.
He stops once he's standing next to him, both facing the lake.
"I guess you know me pretty well" Eddie points out, his eyes fixed on the water.
"Oh, I do" Steve smirks, confidence radiating from every fiber of his being. Eddie supposes that anyone would feel great about themselves after a day spent accepting any sort of gifts.
"So, I came to collect something" Steve breaks the silence, sounding less confident than before, more nervous if anything.
Eddie can't tell him about all the lame gifts he got for him, let alone go back to his cabin and grab one of them.
Before he can think too much about it, he takes one of Steve's hands and drops the rock on his palm "Here, happy valentine's day".
He realizes what he has done only after Steve's hand closes into a fist around the gift.
Eddie's eyes grow wide, his gaze flickers nervously between the hand that was holding the stone - the right one which he mentally renames as the traitor - and Steve's.
He tries to come up with excuses, but no sound comes out of his mouth.
Finally, as he's ready to jump in front of him and say something like "ahah this is a joke! I got you", Eddie looks at him.
Eddie has rarely seen him smile like this, never at a stupid rock he had randomly collected. He is pretty sure this isn't the first rock he has ever given him, either. It's just a thing that Eddie does.
But Steve is beaming at the rock in his hand like Eddie has given him a piece of jewelry or a gemstone.
"Thank you Eddie, I love it" only then Eddie notices that he is also blushing.
"Are you sure? It's just a rock" he replies, nervously.
Steve raises an eyebrow at the question "yeah, but it's very pretty. And you love rocks."
"Oh," Eddie says, dumbly.
He finally understands why Steve was so excited by the idea of Eddie gifting him something for Valentine's day, why both Robin and Nancy told him he was stressing too much over something Steve would've liked anyways.
Steve would've loved anything as long as it came from Eddie.
"Now I feel bad," Steve speaks, oblivious to Eddie's internal epiphany "my gift is very lame compared to yours."
"You got me something, pretty boy?" he leans closer to him, into Steve's personal space. He smirks when he notices Steve's blush reaching his ears.
"Of course I did" he huffs "but you have to close your eyes if you want it" Steve looks away as he says it, clearly embarrassed.
He'd love to tease him about his red face but he decides to play nice and close his eyes.
He flinches when he feels Steve's lips on his. He slides his arms on his shoulders and around his neck, to make sure Steve doesn't misinterpret his surprised reaction. Steve puts his arms around his waist, pulling him impossibly closer.
Someone might say that gifting a kiss for Valentine's Day is very lame but Eddie realizes that, as long as it came from Steve, he would've loved it anyways.
I wasnβt planning to write anything but then I had some free time and I got inspired! Please forgive me if I wrote something unrealistic for the Percy Jackson world but Iβve read the books years ago, I donβt remember much!Happy Valentineβs Day to everyone but especially to my mutuals, I hope you have an amazing day π
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