fic: Death's Dare [PJO, Rachel/Nico, R, Interlude/?]
Title: Death's Dare
Rating: R
Characters/Pairings: Rachel/Nico, with appearances from the rest of the cast and the gods
Summary: After an attempt on her life, Apollo decides Rachel needs a bodyguard and who better to take the job than a certain son of Hades? Too bad they're not going to make things easy for each other, especially when it comes to their feelings.
Notes: This is not a new chapter - it's an interlude! Oooh, I started writing chapter 19 and this is mentioned in one of the scenes, and I decided it would be cheating people to not include it. It doesn't really belong with the rest of the chapter, hence it being an interlude, but this scene was always going to be part of the story, no matter how dramatic Aphrodite likes to make things.
Interlude: Something Blue
Annabeth Chase was not one to skip Friday afternoon classes, even if they were the ones that involved the most tedious and boring busywork of the week.
She’d planned on taking the train to New York Saturday morning, but with her best friend’s near murder splashed over all the news constantly and the cryptic call her brother made to discuss the Norse gods and the way her boyfriend had been very vague about what exactly he’d let happen in New York while she was gone, sacrifices had to be made and train tickets must be booked immediately.
She’d sent Percy a quick text that she was coming early when she boarded in Boston, but hadn’t gotten a response from him yet. She hoped some monster hadn’t eaten his phone again; although cell phone use was still dangerous for demigods, both Annabeth and Percy attracted enough monsters on their own that a few text messages wouldn’t do much damage.
Her train was pulling out of Newark to head into Penn Station when her phone finally did beep and Percy’s response appeared.
Sorry, was with Rachel. Meet u @ GCS in 30?
Annabeth fired back her response (Get me a mocha and we have a deal) and stuffed her phone back into her pocket, gathering the homework she had scattered over her table in the last few hour and stuffing it back into her saddlebag.
Grand Central Station had become one of their spots around the city in the last few years. In high school, it’d been the halfway meeting point between her school in Williamsburg and Sally Jackson’s apartment on the Upper West Side, and it was within walking distance of the Empire State Building when she needed to run up and make some quick adjustments to her designs. It was easy for them to meet, grab a coffee and chat when they didn’t have much time to do anything else.
There was just something about Grand Central that was so romantic to Annabeth that she didn’t mind the extra hassle of train changes to get over. She was a great fan of the beaux arts style buildings, and Penn Station just didn’t have the same aesthetic appeal that Grand Central did. There was just something so grandiose about it, almost like she stepped into another era once she was inside, and when she was with Percy, that outside world melted almost completely away.
The tradition lingered into college, when Annabeth would take the train home on holiday weekends to visit. Eventually, when Percy got an apartment on his own, he just started meeting her at the closest station to his apartment and they skipped the reunions at Grand Central. It was more convenient and certainly practical, Annabeth would admit, but she still missed searching around the concourse for his messy dark hair and kissing him by the iconic clock, under the fading sunlight streaming through the station’s large Tiffany windows.
A lot about their relationship had become convenient and practical lately. It was an easy habit to fall into since she and Percy were in a long distance relationship. They rarely got to see each other in person more than once a month during the school year, except during winter break, and last summer, Annabeth had been so busy with her internship that she barely got to see Percy on the weekends, even though she was living with him. There wasn’t a lot of romance and spontaneity in Annabeth’s life any more, and she missed it more than she thought she would. So she was glad for the invite to Grand Central. Maybe it would bring a little bit of spark back for the weekend.
Penn Station was filled with the lingering remains of the Friday rush hour when she arrived a little while later, the platforms and concourses crowded with people ready to go home for the weekend. Annabeth easily slid through the crowds, making her way to the metro platform as swiftly as possible.
A metro stop and a train transfer later, Annabeth had made it to Grand Central probably a little earlier than Percy had planned. She was walking up the ramp to the main concourse, trying to decide where she would meet him, when she heard someone shout her name. Glancing behind her, she immediately spotted Percy standing on the walkway over the ramp, a Starbucks cup in hand and a smile on his face. He waved too her, and she waved back.
“Be there in a second!” she called and picked up her pace.
Percy didn’t move much by the time she got to his level; he’d settled in the corner on the far end, leaning his back against the railing to stay out of the way of the other travelers walking past. She was struck by how handsome he looked, wearing a pair of worn out jeans and a blue flannel shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows; he’d cut his hair since he’d IM’d her last, so the usual mess was a bit more contained and close cropped.
“Hey,” she said, a little breathlessly as she stopped in front of him. She reached for the coffee cup. “Gimme.”
“What, I don’t get a hug first?” Percy teased, holding the cup away from her as she tried to snatch it out of his hands. “Or a kiss?”
“Oh, I suppose,” Annabeth drawled, stepping closer and leaning in for a kiss. Secretly, she was grateful he had asked first. These days, if Annabeth didn’t initiate something physical between them, it didn’t happen. It almost made her feel like he was going through the motions with her, as if he didn’t want to touch her any more.
But that mean little thought was hard to believe when he was kissing her as enthusiastically as he was right now.
“You are way too easy to bribe, you know that?” Percy said, grinning spectacularly as he pulled away. He handed her the coffee and leaned back against the rail.
“Oh, shush, my caffeine dependence is not something you should take advantage of," she said, sticking her tongue out at him playfully. She took a sip of her mocha, sighing as it warmed her. “How was your visit with Rachel?”
Percy’s smile dimmed quite a bit, and worry set in on his features. “She’s... okay, I think. She was acting like nothing was wrong, but her hands are pretty messed up and those guys had her for a few hours. I think it’s going to be worse when she gets out of the hospital and sees what everyone’s been saying about her. Or if she sees those photos...”
Annabeth knew what Percy was talking about. Someone in the hospital had apparently snapped a grainy cell phone picture of Rachel, unconscious and covered in her own blood, when Nico and Percy had brought her into the emergency room and sold it to the New York Post; Annabeth had seen it on the cover of several gossip rags covers, with various terrible headlines, and had wanted to rip them all to shreds.
“I hope Mr. Dare sues those assholes onto the Stone Age," she said, and Percy grunted in agreement. “I’m glad she’s feeling a little better, at least. I want to see her as soon as I can. Is Nico with her?"
"I think so," Percy said with a sigh. "I hope so anyway. Things between them got... complicated recently."
Annabeth arched an eyebrow. She remembered talking to Rachel about her troubles with Nico, but hadn't followed up on the conversation. "Like, romantically complicated?"
Percy made a face. "Yeah. I walked in on them sucking face last week. Definitely wouldn't have expected Rachel to go for him. Nico's such a grump."
She bumped his shoulder with hers playfully. "What's that awful saying you told me you never want to hear again? Opposites...?"
Percy smiled at her, but didn't finish her sentence, turning to glance down at the people walking on the ramp below. Annabeth bit her lip, and moved closer to him so their elbows were touching.
“You know you’re going to have to tell me what happened that night eventually, right?" she said quietly, watching him. "Otherwise, I’m going to pry it out of Malcolm and he loves to talk.”
Percy shuffled his feet, his hand moving to his back pocket. “Do we have to talk about that now? I mean, you just got back and we’re here, and... ah, you know about the ceiling in the concourse, right? How the sky’s painted backwards?”
Annabeth narrowed her eyes, and set her coffee cup on the ledge. Percy only ever talked about architecture (or parroted back things she’d already told him) when he was nervous around her; it was a tic she normally found endlessly endearing it, but right now, it was suspicious.
“Okay, spill,” she said, shifting her bag on her shoulder. “What’s going on? What aren't you telling me?”
Percy met her eyes briefly before looking away again, wiping his hand over his face nervously.
“I did some thinking last night. A lot of thinking, actually.”
“And we all know how dangerous that is,” Annabeth quipped, attempting a joke, but it fell flat on its face.
Her palms started to sweat; all her least favorite conversations with Percy always started with that phrase. He’d been complaining about their long-distance relationship more than usual lately and seven years was a long time to devote someone like her.
Her stomach sank as if it was lead lined.
Fuck, fuck, fuck. He was going to break up with her, she realized. Why, oh why, hadn’t she seen this coming?
“I know I've been a shit excuse for a boyfriend lately and after what happened with Rachel, I realized... well... "
Annabeth’s cheeks burned with humiliation and she felt the beginnings of angry tears in her eyes. She was barely listening to him as he continued to talk. Oh, she was going to destroy him if he brought her here, of all places and in public, to break up with her.
“Anyway, I realized that life is short and our lives are even shorter, and it kind of hit me that I can't keep coasting through our relationship because ... I don’t want to lose you. I can't lose you. Maybe it's selfish, but I can’t imagine my life without you, Annabeth."
Wait.
What?
The rant Annabeth had been preparing in her head ground to a halt and she gaped at her boyfriend.
He’d returned his gaze to her, his face full of the soft devotion she sometimes caught him staring at her with in the early mornings when he thought she was still asleep and he was running his fingers through her hair. Her knees instantly turned to jelly with relief. He wasn’t going to break up with her if he was looking at her like that.
So, what was he going to do?
“You’re my best friend, you’ve always been my better half," Percy continued in a rush, "and I love you so much that it feels like I’m drowning when I’m not with you, and trust me, that’s the only time I ever feel like that.”
“Percy, what... what are you saying?” Annabeth asked, her head swimming. Her heart was fluttering like a butterfly trapped in a cage, and for some bizarre reason, she suddenly didn’t want Percy to know how sweaty her palms had gotten in the last few moments.
His lips lifted into that trademark trouble making smirk of his, the one that Annabeth knew had ruined all other men for her since she was thirteen years old.
“I’m saying that I think it’s time we make things permanent between us, Wise Girl.”
Annabeth felt like she'd been punched in the gut by one of Clarisse's more vicious right hooks.
Oh gods, she had been so wrong. How could she have misread the signs so badly? He wasn’t breaking up with her. He was - he was -
Percy gently took her left hand in his and, ever so slowly, got down on one knee.
“For future reference,” he said bracingly, “I did have a plan for this. You would've been super impressed. There was going to be nice lights and a fancy dinner and a view, and it would’ve been great - ”
“Seaweed Brain,” Annabeth choked out, her voice thick, “If you don’t ask me right this second, I am going to kick your ass so far across this terminal, it’ll take me a week to find you again.”
He laughed, and pulled a ring out of his back pocket, holding it aloft. The small blue stone glittered in Grand Central Station’s light. Annabeth's smile spread so far across her face that it hurt - of course it’d be blue.
“Annabeth Chase,” Percy said as he slipped the ring onto her trembling finger, “will you marry me?”
Rating: R
Characters/Pairings: Rachel/Nico, with appearances from the rest of the cast and the gods
Summary: After an attempt on her life, Apollo decides Rachel needs a bodyguard and who better to take the job than a certain son of Hades? Too bad they're not going to make things easy for each other, especially when it comes to their feelings.
Notes: This is not a new chapter - it's an interlude! Oooh, I started writing chapter 19 and this is mentioned in one of the scenes, and I decided it would be cheating people to not include it. It doesn't really belong with the rest of the chapter, hence it being an interlude, but this scene was always going to be part of the story, no matter how dramatic Aphrodite likes to make things.
Interlude: Something Blue
Annabeth Chase was not one to skip Friday afternoon classes, even if they were the ones that involved the most tedious and boring busywork of the week.
She’d planned on taking the train to New York Saturday morning, but with her best friend’s near murder splashed over all the news constantly and the cryptic call her brother made to discuss the Norse gods and the way her boyfriend had been very vague about what exactly he’d let happen in New York while she was gone, sacrifices had to be made and train tickets must be booked immediately.
She’d sent Percy a quick text that she was coming early when she boarded in Boston, but hadn’t gotten a response from him yet. She hoped some monster hadn’t eaten his phone again; although cell phone use was still dangerous for demigods, both Annabeth and Percy attracted enough monsters on their own that a few text messages wouldn’t do much damage.
Her train was pulling out of Newark to head into Penn Station when her phone finally did beep and Percy’s response appeared.
Sorry, was with Rachel. Meet u @ GCS in 30?
Annabeth fired back her response (Get me a mocha and we have a deal) and stuffed her phone back into her pocket, gathering the homework she had scattered over her table in the last few hour and stuffing it back into her saddlebag.
Grand Central Station had become one of their spots around the city in the last few years. In high school, it’d been the halfway meeting point between her school in Williamsburg and Sally Jackson’s apartment on the Upper West Side, and it was within walking distance of the Empire State Building when she needed to run up and make some quick adjustments to her designs. It was easy for them to meet, grab a coffee and chat when they didn’t have much time to do anything else.
There was just something about Grand Central that was so romantic to Annabeth that she didn’t mind the extra hassle of train changes to get over. She was a great fan of the beaux arts style buildings, and Penn Station just didn’t have the same aesthetic appeal that Grand Central did. There was just something so grandiose about it, almost like she stepped into another era once she was inside, and when she was with Percy, that outside world melted almost completely away.
The tradition lingered into college, when Annabeth would take the train home on holiday weekends to visit. Eventually, when Percy got an apartment on his own, he just started meeting her at the closest station to his apartment and they skipped the reunions at Grand Central. It was more convenient and certainly practical, Annabeth would admit, but she still missed searching around the concourse for his messy dark hair and kissing him by the iconic clock, under the fading sunlight streaming through the station’s large Tiffany windows.
A lot about their relationship had become convenient and practical lately. It was an easy habit to fall into since she and Percy were in a long distance relationship. They rarely got to see each other in person more than once a month during the school year, except during winter break, and last summer, Annabeth had been so busy with her internship that she barely got to see Percy on the weekends, even though she was living with him. There wasn’t a lot of romance and spontaneity in Annabeth’s life any more, and she missed it more than she thought she would. So she was glad for the invite to Grand Central. Maybe it would bring a little bit of spark back for the weekend.
Penn Station was filled with the lingering remains of the Friday rush hour when she arrived a little while later, the platforms and concourses crowded with people ready to go home for the weekend. Annabeth easily slid through the crowds, making her way to the metro platform as swiftly as possible.
A metro stop and a train transfer later, Annabeth had made it to Grand Central probably a little earlier than Percy had planned. She was walking up the ramp to the main concourse, trying to decide where she would meet him, when she heard someone shout her name. Glancing behind her, she immediately spotted Percy standing on the walkway over the ramp, a Starbucks cup in hand and a smile on his face. He waved too her, and she waved back.
“Be there in a second!” she called and picked up her pace.
Percy didn’t move much by the time she got to his level; he’d settled in the corner on the far end, leaning his back against the railing to stay out of the way of the other travelers walking past. She was struck by how handsome he looked, wearing a pair of worn out jeans and a blue flannel shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows; he’d cut his hair since he’d IM’d her last, so the usual mess was a bit more contained and close cropped.
“Hey,” she said, a little breathlessly as she stopped in front of him. She reached for the coffee cup. “Gimme.”
“What, I don’t get a hug first?” Percy teased, holding the cup away from her as she tried to snatch it out of his hands. “Or a kiss?”
“Oh, I suppose,” Annabeth drawled, stepping closer and leaning in for a kiss. Secretly, she was grateful he had asked first. These days, if Annabeth didn’t initiate something physical between them, it didn’t happen. It almost made her feel like he was going through the motions with her, as if he didn’t want to touch her any more.
But that mean little thought was hard to believe when he was kissing her as enthusiastically as he was right now.
“You are way too easy to bribe, you know that?” Percy said, grinning spectacularly as he pulled away. He handed her the coffee and leaned back against the rail.
“Oh, shush, my caffeine dependence is not something you should take advantage of," she said, sticking her tongue out at him playfully. She took a sip of her mocha, sighing as it warmed her. “How was your visit with Rachel?”
Percy’s smile dimmed quite a bit, and worry set in on his features. “She’s... okay, I think. She was acting like nothing was wrong, but her hands are pretty messed up and those guys had her for a few hours. I think it’s going to be worse when she gets out of the hospital and sees what everyone’s been saying about her. Or if she sees those photos...”
Annabeth knew what Percy was talking about. Someone in the hospital had apparently snapped a grainy cell phone picture of Rachel, unconscious and covered in her own blood, when Nico and Percy had brought her into the emergency room and sold it to the New York Post; Annabeth had seen it on the cover of several gossip rags covers, with various terrible headlines, and had wanted to rip them all to shreds.
“I hope Mr. Dare sues those assholes onto the Stone Age," she said, and Percy grunted in agreement. “I’m glad she’s feeling a little better, at least. I want to see her as soon as I can. Is Nico with her?"
"I think so," Percy said with a sigh. "I hope so anyway. Things between them got... complicated recently."
Annabeth arched an eyebrow. She remembered talking to Rachel about her troubles with Nico, but hadn't followed up on the conversation. "Like, romantically complicated?"
Percy made a face. "Yeah. I walked in on them sucking face last week. Definitely wouldn't have expected Rachel to go for him. Nico's such a grump."
She bumped his shoulder with hers playfully. "What's that awful saying you told me you never want to hear again? Opposites...?"
Percy smiled at her, but didn't finish her sentence, turning to glance down at the people walking on the ramp below. Annabeth bit her lip, and moved closer to him so their elbows were touching.
“You know you’re going to have to tell me what happened that night eventually, right?" she said quietly, watching him. "Otherwise, I’m going to pry it out of Malcolm and he loves to talk.”
Percy shuffled his feet, his hand moving to his back pocket. “Do we have to talk about that now? I mean, you just got back and we’re here, and... ah, you know about the ceiling in the concourse, right? How the sky’s painted backwards?”
Annabeth narrowed her eyes, and set her coffee cup on the ledge. Percy only ever talked about architecture (or parroted back things she’d already told him) when he was nervous around her; it was a tic she normally found endlessly endearing it, but right now, it was suspicious.
“Okay, spill,” she said, shifting her bag on her shoulder. “What’s going on? What aren't you telling me?”
Percy met her eyes briefly before looking away again, wiping his hand over his face nervously.
“I did some thinking last night. A lot of thinking, actually.”
“And we all know how dangerous that is,” Annabeth quipped, attempting a joke, but it fell flat on its face.
Her palms started to sweat; all her least favorite conversations with Percy always started with that phrase. He’d been complaining about their long-distance relationship more than usual lately and seven years was a long time to devote someone like her.
Her stomach sank as if it was lead lined.
Fuck, fuck, fuck. He was going to break up with her, she realized. Why, oh why, hadn’t she seen this coming?
“I know I've been a shit excuse for a boyfriend lately and after what happened with Rachel, I realized... well... "
Annabeth’s cheeks burned with humiliation and she felt the beginnings of angry tears in her eyes. She was barely listening to him as he continued to talk. Oh, she was going to destroy him if he brought her here, of all places and in public, to break up with her.
“Anyway, I realized that life is short and our lives are even shorter, and it kind of hit me that I can't keep coasting through our relationship because ... I don’t want to lose you. I can't lose you. Maybe it's selfish, but I can’t imagine my life without you, Annabeth."
Wait.
What?
The rant Annabeth had been preparing in her head ground to a halt and she gaped at her boyfriend.
He’d returned his gaze to her, his face full of the soft devotion she sometimes caught him staring at her with in the early mornings when he thought she was still asleep and he was running his fingers through her hair. Her knees instantly turned to jelly with relief. He wasn’t going to break up with her if he was looking at her like that.
So, what was he going to do?
“You’re my best friend, you’ve always been my better half," Percy continued in a rush, "and I love you so much that it feels like I’m drowning when I’m not with you, and trust me, that’s the only time I ever feel like that.”
“Percy, what... what are you saying?” Annabeth asked, her head swimming. Her heart was fluttering like a butterfly trapped in a cage, and for some bizarre reason, she suddenly didn’t want Percy to know how sweaty her palms had gotten in the last few moments.
His lips lifted into that trademark trouble making smirk of his, the one that Annabeth knew had ruined all other men for her since she was thirteen years old.
“I’m saying that I think it’s time we make things permanent between us, Wise Girl.”
Annabeth felt like she'd been punched in the gut by one of Clarisse's more vicious right hooks.
Oh gods, she had been so wrong. How could she have misread the signs so badly? He wasn’t breaking up with her. He was - he was -
Percy gently took her left hand in his and, ever so slowly, got down on one knee.
“For future reference,” he said bracingly, “I did have a plan for this. You would've been super impressed. There was going to be nice lights and a fancy dinner and a view, and it would’ve been great - ”
“Seaweed Brain,” Annabeth choked out, her voice thick, “If you don’t ask me right this second, I am going to kick your ass so far across this terminal, it’ll take me a week to find you again.”
He laughed, and pulled a ring out of his back pocket, holding it aloft. The small blue stone glittered in Grand Central Station’s light. Annabeth's smile spread so far across her face that it hurt - of course it’d be blue.
“Annabeth Chase,” Percy said as he slipped the ring onto her trembling finger, “will you marry me?”