Chapter Text
On their way to meeting Alya, Nino, and Chloe, Marinette kept chattering on about Camp. She was obviously thrilled to introduce Adrien to her world and his also. So thrilled actually that Adrien fleetingly wondered if she fancied to be a satyr.
Adrien, on the other hand, was worried beyond measure. He had really messed up big time. He should have listened to Plagg and let Marinette deal with her monsters on her own.
Why did he have to jump in? Why, oh why did he have to accept being a half blood? Gods! He really was a magnificent fool.
Now he had to think of a way to keep his secret hidden. Chiron would surely recognize him at once. Maybe he would be amicable enough to let him keep up the facade for a little longer. At least until he found a way to get away from here.
Dionysus was the real problem. Adrien had heard from a traveling half blood that Dionysus had been called back to Olympus. He really hoped that it was true. He had no expectations from the debauched immortal. He was sure to blow his cover the moment he set his eyes on him.
“.......cabins for all the gods at Camp. Their children live there. I live in the Athena Cabin. She’s my grandmother, my mother’s mum you know. My granddad is a minor Olympian so he didn’t have a Cabin of his own before. But now he does, all thanks to Percy. He’s my best friend besides Alya of course. You met him the other day. I’m sure I’ve told you about him. Anyway, he’s the one who persuaded Zeus and the others to give equal rights to the minor gods so that their children don’t feel inferior. I could’ve gone to his cabin but I like it in Athena with Alya and Annabeth.....”
She was blabbering on and on about cabins and their occupants but his thoughts were elsewhere. He really liked it, this sort of friendship that he had with Marinette. The problem was that he wasn’t supposed to like it. He wasn’t supposed to get attached to a half blood. He was the Fallen One, he should be focusing on staying hidden not on what Marinette would feel like when he abruptly disappeared from her life.
It was inevitable, he thought. He was doomed to hide. He could never go back in Olympus. He remembered vividly how wretched he felt there. How twisted every occupant of that place is. He couldn’t falter just because he cared too much about this walking encyclopedia. But he found he did care. Too much to be exact.
Will she still be this excited when she met a new demigod? Will she trust this freely when he eventually betrayed her trust? Will she lose this raw, unadulterated faith that she had in everything good? No, he shouldn’t let that happen. He couldn’t let that happen. He wanted to protect her pure heart, didn’t he?
Why, though? Because he hoped she would be his salvation. Because this pure innocence and kindness had the power to fight the allure of the gods’ offers. This thought was like a punch to his gut. This sudden realization made him think if he was any better than the other Olympians. They used demigods and mortals and immortals alike for their cause. He was planning to do the same. He had done the same. Would he have cared if he didn’t already feel the kindness of this girl? Would he have bothered to think twice about her and her response to his disappearance?
He wouldn’t and he knew it. This thought was more dejecting than any realization he ever had. This was his own selfish streak. His very own. He who wanted nothing more than to just die, forever.
He knew now that he also cared more about himself. He suddenly remembered another demigod. Years ago. One who possessed the same streaks as the girl beside him. One he cared about. Formed a friendship with. Because he knew he could possibly be the key to his problems. He also remembered, with an uncomfortable lurch, how he had not cared anymore when he realized that his friend wasn’t as unaffected by the alluring offers of the Olympians as he had thought. He had not bothered before vanishing from his friend’s life when he recognized his desire of a normal life with a daughter of Athena. A life away from all the craziness. Something the gods could easily give him. Something he couldn’t. So, he did the first thing that came to mind. He left.
Would he leave her, too? Could he leave her, too? Maybe he knew the answer. Maybe he just didn’t want to accept it.
He forced himself out of the depressing well of thoughts and tried to concentrate on the girl next to him.
“You really like it there, don’t you?”
“Oh, yes. I don’t feel like a weirdo at Camp, you see. I’m even well liked there. Not like this world where I couldn’t possibly be completely honest with anyone except other demigods,” she said this with a yearning he well understood. A yearning for a normal life. A desire hard to fulfill for a demigod. Or a fallen god, he thought sullenly.
He really wanted to take that sad look out of her eyes.
“Do you think I’ll like it there, at Camp?” he said, obviously trying to wade out of the murky waters of a topic that was so clearly sensitive for both of them.
“You’ll love it! There’s a Cabin for unclaimed demigods. That is where you will live in the beginning. Until a parent claims you. They do so by giving a hint, any mark to their identification. It's hard to explain, but you’d understand once it happens. But that Cabin could be crowded at times....'' she trailed off, a calculating look in her eyes like she was trying to solve out some hard puzzle.
''Ah, I know what to do!'' he started at her exclamation. ''You can live with Percy in his cabin. He's the only son of Poseidon, as I have already told you, so he lives alone in that whole cabin. We can talk about this with Chiron. Now that Dionysus is no longer there to impose rules on us, I'm sure Chiron will make an exception for you since you have stayed far from this part of your life for so long. Living with an experienced demigod like Percy will really help you,'' the shine in her eyes and the smile on her face were infectious, and he found himself smiling, too.
''Aren't you an experienced one, too? Judging by the number of times I've seen you in the vicinity of trouble, I think I'll get much more survival tips in your company,'' he said jovially.
An unusual look replaced the fire in her eyes.
''The Athena cabin already has many occupants. Besides, I doubt my company will really help you with any of that experience department thing. I've been at Camp for years. Still, I've never been to a quest. Not a single one. Demigods who came way after me have even got their own prophecies and quests. I feel like- like I just don't belong. Not here with the normal people. Not there with my family. I just don't fit in. Never good enough....'' she trailed off, her big eyes bright with unshed tears.
''Hey, hey, Marinette!'' he attempted to console her. ''You are amazing just the way you are. Getting a quest or a prophecy is not what defines you, alright? It's the ambition and the kindness of your heart that makes you different. You are a very special girl with a fire in you that can burn down mountains. If you are not getting the best of quests, then I'm sure something is really wrong with that Oracle. I think it's a fraud,'' he whispered the last part conspiratorially.
She giggled at his attempts to lighten the mood. Then swatted his shoulder playfully.
''Rachel is my friend, a very good friend and I won't hesitate to break your nose if you mock her. Do you get it?'' she said in her best intimidating manner. Too bad it didn't work on him. He was the one Olympian who had boldly defied Zeus for so many years, after all.
''I don't think I do. I honestly feel like I'm being threatened by a cupcake,'' he goaded her.
''Haha, not your best punch line, don't you think? That joke is decades old,''
As if he isn't.
''I can think of something better if you want,'' he offered.
''Oh, yeah? Do try!''
''Didn't know you were such a die-hard fan of my humor, little lady.''
''I'm not deigning to grace that with a response,'' she said, pointedly ignoring his quip with her tiny nose upturned in a disapproving manner.
They walked a few paces in companionable silence when suddenly a thought hit him.
''Hey,'' he said, trying to get her focus. ''If I remember correctly, you had told me that before Rachel took over the job, the prophecies were issued by a wrinkly old mummy?'' he inquired, acting like he didn't personally know the oracle at all.
''Yes?'' was her short response, urging him to carry on.
''By the way you got all riled up when I talked about Oracles, am I to assume you were chummy with the mummy, too?'' he waggled his eyebrows at her.
Her response, a hard poke of her elbow in his ribs, made him yowl like a cat whose tail had been stepped onto.
And she had the audacity to laugh at the face of his resentful scowl.
He had just opened his mouth to retort when...
''Are you two coming over here or are you planning to keep flirting all day?'' Alya Caesar's voice shouted from a nearby corner where the trio was gathered. Marinette and he exchanged sheepish smiles and went over to join the group.
''Mari here texted me to meet and another scoop was also texted,'' Alya smiled devilishly at him.
''So, are you a part of the lot, too, Adrien?''
''Uhh... Yes,'' he said timidly rubbing the bac of his neck.
''What exactly is going on over here, you three?'' Chloe said, directing her inquisitive stare onto him, Marinette, and the group's very own reporter.
''Let's just say that we'll be having another blond join us on this trip to Camp,'' Alya answered cheerfully.
''No way, dude! Why didn't you tell me beforehand?'' Nino high-fived him.
''I didn't get the chance to,'' Adrien said, a bit disturbed by all pairs of eyes directed at him.
''So who do you think is your godly parent?'' interrogated Alya.
''I don't know....''
''I hope it's Aphrodite,'' intervened Chloe. ''We would be an amazing duo, don't you think?''
''I can think of someone else he could make an amazing duo with. Not a sibling duo, though,'' said Alya, winking at Marinette to drive her point home.
Adrien felt the tips of his ears heat.
''Alya!'' Marinette cried out indignantly, but her shout was muffled by the laughter of the other three.
***************
Camp was nothing like Adrien remembered from his very brief visit the last time. Instead of the handful of cabins that had been there before, many cabins ;small and big; were dispersed in the vast area. They formed a big rectangle of sorts round the main twelve. Adrien was awed at the addition.
When Marinette had said that Percy got Zeus to add cabins, he hadn't anticipated this much of an addition. There were cabins for almost all the minor gods whose kids came to Olympus. There on one edge was the cabin that symbolized Janus with its door resembling a two headed man and all, Nemesis' cabin was distinguished by the scales and daggers adorning the entrance. As he looked around, he felt a tranquility settle over him. At least Olympians were making some progress, they were claiming all their children and not leaving them on the mercy of the monsters always lurking out there to lead them astray. Maybe none of these children will meet the fate Luke did, all because of the sense of neglect he had felt. Hermes meant good but he failed as a father to Luke.
So lost in his musings he was that he hadn't noticed where the pigtailed girl was leading him. That's how he found himself face to face with Chiron all of a sudden. The centaur was openly gaping at him, making no effort to hide his surprise.
When he had been brought to Olympus all those years ago, he hadn't known anything about that world and Chiron had graciously taken up the task of acquainting him to his new home. The man had always warned Adrien of what the Fates had in store for him, guiding him to tread wisely.
Right now, he had no idea whether Chiron would tell Marinette who Adrien really was or he would act oblivious to his reality.
Adrien hoped he wouldn't blow his cover, but some part of him was hoping that Chiron would indeed tell Marinette all about him and put an end to whatever this was that Adrien had got himself into. It would make things easier for Adrien, too.
His inner turmoil, however, didn't die down. He was struggling to decide whether he wanted an end to Adrien Aaron Anderson or whether he wanted this persona gone forever.
Chiron certainly wasn't helping matters. Still staring at Adrien as if he were in a dilemma of his own.