#apollo aesthetic

it all started when she really saw him

he was drawing in the corner of camp, under a tree in the shade, trying to avoid the sun

it wasn't the kind of drawing that usually attracted a daughter of apollo, but it was certainly stunning enough to do the trick

sketches of temples filled the page, each different and so detailed that it made her eyebrows jump all the way up to her hairline

each temple sketch was so specific for the deity it corresponded to that she was floored

the amount of detail, the smoothness, and the certainty of the lines—she almost thought that he was an apollo kid himself

when she said something to him from over his shoulder, he slammed the sketchbook shut, cheeks flushed, and static traveling from his fingertips all the way up to his elbows

most people at camp know of jason grace, but they don’t quite know jason grace

at first, she falls into the first category—only knew of jason grace until that afternoon, when she caught him drawing temple designs under the tree

but ever since that one afternoon, she just keeps showing up to that tree whenever she sees his blond hair lighting up with the sun from where she sits and practices her simple interrupted sutures

she waltzes up to him like clockwork, her hair catching the sun like a halo, and asks him what temple he’s working on now

it takes him off guard that she was coming up to talk to him again

but he finally stammers out a response, that it’s the temple for a deity that was primarily worshipped in calbria for this or that, and had been complaining to jupiter for some years now

it’s not that he’s surprised that she’s talking to him, he’s more surprised at how easy it is 

jason isn’t used to talking being that easy

he’s used to a conversation being like some sort of over-complicated battle maneuver

only forty-five percent of it is actually the words coming out of his mouth; the other forty percent is looking at the face of the other person to see if what he had been saying was well received, and then the leftover five percent was saved for the scolding that jason gave himself afterward because he could have said something differently, something better

It’s different with her, though

his shoulders don’t tense up, and his thoughts don’t try to run away from him as he speaks

from then on, Jason could be seen trailing after her around camp half-blood like a leash-trained puppy

jason goes from sitting all the way in the back, just observing the nightly campfire, to sitting stiffly next to her by all of the other apollo kids in the most crowded part

she manages to get him to sing with them after a few tries

it’s a lot of mumbled lyrics, but he can’t help but light up when he sees how happy his effort makes her

jason spends a lot of time in the apollo cabin because it’s so much nicer to be in a lively cabin with siblings that care for each other than to be in cabin 1 where it’s just him and the statue of his father

he bonds with the younger apollo kids quickly, showing them how he can make little things float around the cabin when he controls the wind around them

he’s not jason grace to the other apollo kids

he’s just their sister’s boyfriend, who looks too cordial to be that awkward

jason starts to sit at the apollo table with her because it’s so much better to watch her talk to her siblings like this instead of from across the dining pavilion, all alone at the cabin 1 table

jason is just as reserved as he was before, just because she starts dragging him around camp with her doesn’t change who he is

he just smiles a lot more now

makes a lot more snarky comments when something funny happens

he gets a lot better at it, too, deadpanning at just the right time, just so he can keep hearing her laugh

if he’s lucky, he can get a few of her siblings to laugh because then she’ll laugh for longer

her laughter isn’t just noise; it’s not just sound to jason

maybe it’s because she’s a daughter of apollo, maybe that makes her laughter contagious, maybe it makes her laughter sound like the kind of music that makes the breath catch in jason’s chest

her laugh makes the hairs on the back of his neck stand up; it makes his heart rate pick up to a concerning degree

her laugh makes his lips curl upwards; it makes that little silver scar on his lip stretch just enough for her to lean over and give it a quick kiss

and then when she turns to jason, smile wide—laughter bubbling up and out of her like a shaken can of soda?

that’s when little bits of electricity dance along his fingertips, bouncing back and forth until they venture up to his wrists and wrap around his forearms, because that laugh could end wars

or maybe even start them

it was enough for jason to wear a silly halloween costume with her one year just to hear her giggle about it, even though the fabric was grating and caught on his skin

Masterlist

Jason Grace Taglist