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"Are you okay?" Piper tentatively slid into the vacant space beside her blonde friend. It was the first time since exiting Tartarus mere hours ago that Annabeth had been separated from Percy.
The guys had asked him if he wanted to join in on Call of Duty, and Annabeth insisted that he went.
"Yeah," Annabeth murmured distantly. She folded her hands together and took a shuddering breath. "So...what's happening with you guys?"
Piper exchanged glances with Hazel. "Okay. Um, I'm kind of worried that Jason might want to go back to Reyna." She immediately blushed. "Annabeth, I'm sorry, that was stupid, and-and selfish. You just got out of Tartarus and-"
"No, please," Annabeth said desperately. "I'm sick of being treated as fragile, so just act like you normally would." She sighed. "So, why would you be afraid of that?"
"I agree," Hazel piped up timidly. "I know I haven't known you guys for very long, but I've seen the way that Jason looks at you. He looks at you like you're the only thing he sees."
"I know." Piper fiddled with the end of her sleeve. "I'm probably just being paranoid, but...she's so-" Piper flailed her arms about to conceive some kind of speech. "-amazing, and so, so Roman."
Their three pairs of eyes flitted to the girl in question. The Roman praetor was standing at the railings of the boat, her head craned over the side as if to really feel the fresh air. Her eyes were unreadable, but that expression had been there since she'd been forced to put her pegasus Scipio out of his misery.
Hazel suddenly felt a jolt of deja vu, and she had to remind herself that her flashbacks didn't happen anymore. This felt too much like when she'd been ostracised in her previous life just because of rumours. "Maybe you'd feel better if we got to know her."
She stood up and walked towards Reyna, Annabeth and Piper in tow.
"Hey," Hazel greeted hesitantly. She didn't know Reyna personally, and had only looked up to her as a leader. "You looked slightly down, so we wanted to check on you."
Reyna looked so surprised yet grateful that Piper was instantly swarmed with guilt.
"I'm sorry about Scipio," Piper told her quietly.
Reyna tried for a dismissive shrug. "It-it's fine. It was better for him that way." She glanced at Annabeth. "May I ask-what was Tartarus like?"
Piper immediately opened her mouth to stop her, but Annabeth put up a hand.
"Don't worry," Annabeth said. She looked down at her feet. "You know, I thought that if I didn't talk about it, I could forget about it. But maybe talking about will help me accept that I'm finally out of that godforsaken cave." She chewed on her lower lip. "It was very...red. And dark. The air was like breathing acid and dust, and the ground was covered in shards of glass. The place was made to kill, yet Percy and I somehow survived."
"He's mentioned how strong you were," Reyna recalled. "I really admire you for getting out of there. And I'm sorry for, well, trying to kill you a couple of times."
"Water under the bridge," Annabeth joked half-heartedly.
"Listen, it is not my fault." Leo's protests echoed up the Argo II stairs, as a few footsteps approached the deck.
"You put it to idiot mode, and the entire machine explodes," Percy deadpanned. He shuffled to the right and slid his arm around Annabeth's waist.
"You made something else explode?" Piper demanded, her hands on her hips as she automatically switched to mother hen mode.
"It was an accident!" Leo insisted. He mined pushing the buttons on a controller. "I was messing around and it just happened!"
"Sure, Leo." Jason patted him on the back. "So, what do we do now?"
"You could socialise and talk to your friends," Hazel suggested with raised eyebrows.
"Veto!" Leo shouted, pointing at her.
"We could sleep," Frank said with a yawn.
"I vote for sleep," Reyna said with a raised hand. She, Nico and Coach Hedge were leaving the next day to bring the Athena Parthenos back to Camp Half-Blood to prevent a Greek-Roman demigod war from breaking out.
Leo threw his arms up in the air, exasperated. "C'mon, you guys are supposed to be fun, not glum! Or else why would I be on a floating ship trying to kill the Earth with you?" He has a thoughtful look on his face as he fidgeted from foot to foot. Then he snapped his fingers and a maniacal grin spread across his face. "We can play board games!"
Leo instantly raced off downstairs to find the stacks of games he'd packed in one of the cupboards.
Hazel stared at his retreating back. "I don't think I've played a board game in 70 years."
"I've never played a board game," Nico said, scaring everyone as he slid down the mast. Piper took deep breaths to calm her palpitating heart; she would never get used to his sudden appearances.
"That is a lie!" Percy pointed at Nico accusingly. "You were obsessed with Mythomagic."
Reyna snorted in disbelief. "Mythomagic?"
Nico glared at Percy. "Do you realise that we managed to not bring that up for three years? Besides, it's technically not a board game."
Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "Yep, just a geeky deck of cards."
"Oh my gods, does Zeus really have lightning bolts that do 300 damage?" Percy mimicked a voice an octave higher than his own.
"I did not sound like that," Nico protested. He paused. "And it's 600 damage."
Laughs erupted from the crew of the Argo II.
"Woah, what did I miss?" Leo asked as he emerged from below the deck. He had a stack of boxes in his arms, and Coach Hedge followed behind him.
"Nothing," Jason told him. "Just Nico being the single most adorable child I've ever seen."
"I'm 70 years older than you, punk," Nico muttered.
"I've got Risk, Pictionary, Monopoly, the Game of Life, and Scrabble," Leo declared, hiking up the board games in his arms. "Let's take a vote on what to play first."
"I vote that we watch Jackie Chan do karate," Coach announcer, raising his hand.
Leo frowned. "That's not an option, Coach."
"I'll make it an option, cupcake," Coach Hedge growled.
"I vote Monopoly," Jason offered. There were a few murmurs of agreement.
"I don't know how to play," Hazel told him.
"I'll teach you," Frank said with a smile. "I'm great at Monopoly."
"So am I," Leo challenged.
"Monopoly it is," Percy decided.
Piper glanced to the right, where she could've sworn she saw Annabeth hide a grin - the first real smile Piper had seen since Tartarus.
<<<>>>
"Hazel, you know that I can literally see you moving the pieces?" Leo threw his arms up in the air in frustration.
Hazel looked up with innocence plastered across her face. "I would never dream of it!"
Her metal horse piece slowly shuffled its way to the community chest.
"I hate this game," Frank complained. He and Hazel were a team, since there was only enough pieces for 8 players.
Nico looked at him with raised eyebrows. "I thought you were 'amazing' at it." He was with Reyna, but the two of them hardly exchanged a word throughout the game.
"This board doesn't have Canada on it," Frank said grumpily. "Where's the equality, people?"
"It's just a country, Frank," Piper said with a roll of her eyes. "Let it go already." She rolled her dice and let out an irritated sigh when she saw the numbers.
"That's jail for you, McLean," Coach crowed with a cackle.
"You don't want to put me in jail," Piper cooed.
Annabeth threw one of the green houses at her. "Stop charmspeaking yourself out of jail, Pipes!"
Piper stuck out her tongue childishly, but passed the dice to Jason, who had the turn after hers.
Jason shook them in his fist for a few seconds, then threw them across the board, and they landed on a 2 and a 6. "NO!" He buried his face in his hands.
"What? What?" Leo asked, finally interested. He set down the contraption he'd been making out of hotels and his piece.
"He landed on my Boardwalk," Annabeth announced happily. "Jason, that'll be $4000 please."
"$4000-holy crap," Reyna repeated, her eyes nearly popping out of her head.
"Language," Coach Hedge warned.
"How are you charging him $4000?" Piper demanded, feeling obligated to save her boyfriend.
"I have a hotel on the property, plus I own Park Place as well, so it's doubled," Annabeth explained with a smug expression.
Jason scowled. He reached out a hand and zapped her on the shoulder.
"Ow!" Annabeth complained. "You can't electrocute your way to victory, Jason!"
Jason gave her a long stare. "I hate you." He shuffled his stack of money in his hands. "Well, I have $3400, including mortgage. So I guess I'm bankrupt."
Annabeth cheered and knocked his piece off the board with a smirk.
"Don't worry, Sparky," Piper assured him. "You can play with me." Jason shifted close to her and leaned on her shoulder.
He passed the dice to Percy, who triumphantly rolled a double 4. "Yes! Okay, I'm gonna buy a house on...Leo, stop playing with the houses!"
Leo looked up, caught red-handed. He had an entire castle built from green houses and red hotels.
"What?" Frank spluttered.
Leo reluctantly took his building apart and tossed Percy a green house, which he caught nearly.
"Can I have a pool in it?" Percy asked.
Annabeth sighed and massaged her forehead. "Percy, there aren't any swimming pools in Monopoly."
"But what if my customer wants a swimming pool?" Percy protested indignantly, receiving only exasperated sighs. "They won't be happy! At least let me have a pond!"
The game continued like this for another two hours. Annabeth single-handedly bankrupted every single one of them, until it was only she and Piper left.
Everyone else - they'd all lost to Annabeth - was gathered behind Piper, trying to give her tips on how to beat the triumphant daughter of Athena.
"Okay, you roll," Piper urged Leo. He was their best dice roller.
"Rub your hands together for luck," Hazel reminded him frantically.
"Don't forget to blow on it," Percy added. Annabeth only took two moves to knock him out of the game.
Leo followed their instructions and squeezed his eyes shut as he released the die. Piper's piece was on the same end of the board as Annabeth's Boardwalk and Park Place properties, both of which had two hotels each.
They would land on Park Place if they rolled 6, and Boardwalk if they rolled...
"8! Yes!" Annabeth sang, throwing her hands in the air in celebration. "Pay up, Piper! $8000!"
Piper turned around and smacked Leo round the back of his head. "Why did you do that?"
"It wasn't my fault!" Leo protested.
"You rolled the die," Nico accused.
"You didn't rub it enough," Hazel insisted.
Piper grumbled as she tossed all her money to Annabeth - which was only $6320 including mortgage.
"And I believe," Annabeth paused for effect. "That I win!"
The others remained in their positions, glaring at her.
"I hate children of Minerva," Reyna muttered. "They're always so competitive."
"Nope," Frank corrected her. "Just Annabeth."
After reluctantly packing up the pieces, an overall vote decided on Risk for the next game.
"I call Annabeth's team!" Percy shouted, wrapping his arms around her.
"No fair!" Leo complained. "She's the daughter of the flipping goddess of war strategy! Why don't we just call it as a win for Annabeth and move on to the next game?"
"No," Annabeth interjected. "I like the process of kicking your asses." She pried herself from Percy's hold. "And you're on your own, Seaweed Brain. I can't have you dragging me down."
Percy feigned a hurt look. "So much for love, Annabeth."
Percy joined forces with Leo, and the couples teamed up. Nico and Reyna decided to stay together, and Coach Hedge decided that he would spectate.
"It's much more fun watching you weaklings los to Annabeth," he insisted.
As expected, Annabeth was the ultimate best at this game. It was like her demigod heritage was this game. Every move she made, every troop she moved, was all part of her strategy, and she conquered lone territories with ease.
"Damn, she took Africa," Hazel said in awe, as she lost Egypt - the last non-Annabethian (named by Percy) territory in Africa - to Annabeth.
"Oh, her quest is to conquer Africa and Asia," Percy notified them as he peered at her cards.
"Hey!" Annabeth swatted him away. "No cheating!"
"Let's make an alliance," Jason, who was teamed with Piper, whispered to Leo, who checked with Percy, who immediately agreed. "We need to keep her out of Asia."
Unfortunately, their alliance was short lived after Annabeth eradicated Piper and Jason from their territories in Asia. She had troops in Alaska and Australia, so no one could attack her from other continents.
"Godamnit, Annabeth, just lose already!" Leo groaned. She'd kicked him and Percy out of Asia, and Leo had long given up on their quest to defeat all of her troops.
"Maybe next time," she murmured, her full concentration on the board. "Okay, Hazel, I want to attack Japan with two die, and you have one troop so you'll use one to defend."
Hazel looked like a deer caught in headlights. Frank patted her soothingly but even he knew they had no hope.
They rolled a 2 half-heartedly, and Annabeth rolled a 6, so she took over the small territory, officially making Asia and Africa Annabethian continents.
"I guess Annabeth wins again," Coach said, unsurprised. "What's next?"
Leo pointed at Annabeth accusatorially. "You are banned from voting."
She raised her hands in surrender. "Hey, I didn't choose Monopoly or Risk. It's up to you guys."
The choice was eventually given to Reyna as her welcome gift, and she chose Scrabble.
After a few minutes, Leo found it far too boring, so he decided to shift the rules a bit.
"We can have 20 tiles per team," he announced, delivering handfuls of Scrabble tiles to each team.
"Are we changing the teams?" Frank asked. "There aren't enough tiles if we each get 20."
Leo grinned wickedly. "That's the best part. It girls versus boys."
"No!" All the guys protested at once.
"Are you trying to lose?" Jason demanded. "Annabeth is a girl!"
"Oh, I forgot," Leo said dismissively. "It's girls versus boys versus Annabeth."
Instantly, the girls started complaining as the guys calmed down.
"No, she's one of us," Piper insisted. "Annabeth's on our side."
"No, that would give you guys an unfair advantage," Nico said decidedly.
"Excuse me." Annabeth snapped her fingers to get their attention. "Am I now genderless?"
Leo shook his head. "You're just...Annabeth."
Frank got everyone to settle in, and they flipped a coin to see who started first. It was a unanimous agreement that Annabeth should not be allowed to start first, and that she could only play every fourth turn.
"That is not fair at all." But Annabeth's complaints were ignored by the rest.
Percy was the first to start in the boys' team. "I will put down 'A' to make 'A'."
Jason smacked his forehead. "Seriously, Percy? You couldn't have come up with a better word."
"Do not insult my intelligence," Percy threatened.
"One point for the boys," Coach Hedge muttered gruffly as he scribbled down the number.
"I will put down 'R' and 'T' to make 'RAT'," Piper announced as she placed the tiles next to Percy's 'A'. "That is 3 points." She high-fived Hazel and Reyna.
Leo was next for the boys.
He stared at their letters for a few seconds before he picked up one tile. "I will put 'T' to make 'TRAT'."
"He's freeloading off my word!" Piper said in a horrified tone. "Coach, do something!"
The satyr scanned over the rules again. "Nothing in here says anything about it."
"In your face!" Leo whooped. "4 glorious points for me!"
"'TRAT' is not a word," Reyna insisted.
All eyes turned to Annabeth, who shook her head apologetically. "It's a type of fishing line holding a series of baited hooks."
"You did not know what that meant!" Hazel called out to Leo angrily.
Leo grinned at her. "You can't prove it."
Hazel opened her mouth to reply, but Coach Hedge raised the rule book threateningly. "Shh, it's Annabeth's turn."
Annabeth's eyes flitted from tile to tile, and Percy couldn't help but feel a sinking feeling in his gut. "I will add to your 'TRAT' to make..." She gathered a pile of tiles in her right palm. "'BIOSTRATIGRAPHY'."
A loud clattering sound echoed across the deck as Percy flipped the board, his right eye twitching madly.
"Okay, that's it!" Piper declared, pushing the scattered tiles away from her. "I'm choosing the next game." She smiles to herself. "And I choose 'The Blushing Game'."
"I've never heard of that," Reyna said in confusion.
"It's pretty self-explanatory." Piper dusted herself off and stood up. "Two people have to sit opposite each other, say 'I like you' or variations of that, and whoever blushes first loses. You can talk, say anything you like, but no touching or physical contact."
Nico's face went even paler than it was before, which was a feat in itself.
Hazel propped her chin upon her hands. "I might as well just back out now. I'll lose anyway."
"Finally!" Percy threw his hands up in the air. "Something I can beat Annabeth at!"
Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "Don't be too sure about that, Seaweed Brain."
"Please," Piper snorted. "We play this in the Aphrodite Cabin all the time. I'm the master at this."
"Bring it on," Reyna beckoned.
Piper and Annabeth went first to demonstrate. After Coach Hedge's warning to keep it PG-13, Piper knew she'd have to reign it in.
Annabeth made the first move. She leaned towards her friend. "I like you, Pipes."
Piper winked. "Please, I know that." She shuffled forward. "My turn now."
Pipe leaned forward so their noses were only a hair's breadth away - but no touching. She bit her bottom lip, and winked at her, making sure she could feel her breaths. "I love you, Annabeth."
She counted down in her head, 3...2...1...
And there it was, the red blossoming across Annabeth cheeks. "NO!" She pressed her palms to her cheeks to hide it.
"I made you blush!" Piper cheered triumphantly. She turned around to see Jason gaping open-mouthedly at her, his cheeks a little pink. "You're way too easy," she teased.
Next up were Percy and Nico.
Nico knee he was just being paranoid, but he felt like his secret was already out just by everyone looking at him.
"C'mon, Neeks, you gotta look at me," Percy insisted.
"Don't call me that," Nico muttered, but he glanced up and met Percy's steady sea-green gaze and grin.
"Nico, I lik-"
"Stop."
"But I really li-"
"No."
"Then you start! Say you l-"
"Impossible."
"C'mon, I know you like m-"
"JUST-I JUST CAN'T SAY I LOVE YOU, YOU ASSHOLE." Nico was prepared to get to his feet, but his anger forced the heat to rise to his cheeks.
Percy grinned. "You lost."
"Damn it," Nico muttered, returning to his spot between Hazel and Reyna.
"What?" Coach Hedge burst out incredulously. "C'mon, cupcake, you can do better than that!"
"I happen to have that effect on people," Percy said proudly, winking at Annabeth, who just rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, you mean making them angry all the time," Annabeth murmured.
"You and me, later, Wise Girl," Percy challenged.
Annabeth smirked. "You're on."
"Hazel, I guess it's you and me," Jason said weakly, reluctantly shuffling to sit in front of her.
Hazel tucked her hair behind her ears and tried to shift into a comfortable position.
Their friends watched the situation with amusement. Hazel versus Jason at blushing wasn't so much who could last the longest, it was who was the least worse. Piper knew first-hand that Jason blushed at even the smallest physical touch, and Hazel was always going red when anything 70s-level of inappropriate happened.
"I like you," Jason whispered.
Hazel smiled shyly and ducked her head to hide her flaming cheeks.
Piper resisted the urge to slap her forehead. "Hazel, we need to work on that."
"Frank," Leo called, grinning madly. "It's you and me."
Frank looked uncertain as he approached him.
"I like you, Frank," Leo told him sincerely.
Frank shrugged. "Okay, well, I like you, Leo."
Leo sighed. "You could at least try to make it sound real." He wracked his brain for another way to make Frank blush. "Do you still have those Chinese handcuffs?"
Frank braved himself for the usual iguana joke. "Uh."
He leaned in closer. "'Cause you're gonna need those tonight."
"PG-13! PG-13!" Coach Hedge yelled as Frank turned tomato-red and looked like he wanted nothing more than to throw himself off the side of the ship.
The others were rolling around and laughing insanely.
"I never saw this coming," Hazel got out between laughs.
"Okay, Reyna, you and me," Piper declared, shuffling towards the Roman girl.
"What? No, I'm not playing this game."
Piper rolled her eyes and grabbed her arm. "Of course, you are. Join in, have fun."
Reyna reluctantly sat opposite Piper in the middle of the circle of demigods.
"Well, this doesn't look like a cult gathering at all," Nico muttered sarcastically.
"I loooove you, RARA," Piper said sweetly, making sure to drag out the 'love'.
Reyna looked stricken. "What did you just-"
"I said 'I looooove you', sweetie."
"You are dead."
"Oh yeah, you just can't play this game, can you?" Piper challenged.
Reyna rose to her knees, determination written across her face. "Okay, fine, I'll play your game." She hooked her fingers around the collar of Piper's shirt and pulled her up so they were eye-to-eye.
"I love you, Piper McLean," Reyna whispered.
Piper's cheeks slowly went a light shade of pink. "Okay, I give up. I lost. Now stop."
"Percy," Jason called. "Shall we?"
Percy chuckled. "Oh, you're going down, Grace."
Jason grinned back. "In your dreams, Jackson."
They stared at each other intensely, only a few inches between their faces.
"Mm," Percy hummer and licked his lips. "I like you."
"Actually, I love you," Jason countered.
"I'm so dam in love with you right now."
"I love your green eyes."
"I would kiss you right now."
Annabeth resisted the urge to just push them together.
Piper swallowed down a gasp. She never thought Jason could be so bold.
Jason smiled at Percy. "Did I mention you have a nice ass?"
"I just love your abs," Percy breathed. "So hot."
"Dude, just marry me already."
"Of course, can we skip the wedding and go to the honeymoon?"
Jason leaned forward so their foreheads were touching. "Sure, I'll show you something I'll never forget."
Even Coach Hedge was so amused by their show that he didn't call out for PG-13.
"You. Me. Bed. Now," Percy demanded.
"You won't resist, Jackson."
"I'm sure I will, Grace."
"Then I'm going to-"
"OKAY, STOP! WHAT THE HELL, YOU TWO?" Leo shrieked, fanning himself where his face was completely red.
Hazel was leaning against Frank like she was prepared to faint any second now. Nico had a permanent expression of trauma, and Reyna looked to be tuning the entire conversation out in her head.
"I think I made a mistake dating you," Piper murmured to Jason. "You obviously bat for the other team."
"Annabeth, it's our turn," Percy announced, waving her over. His girlfriend sat opposite him.
Her blonde hair was still grimy and in the same ponytail it always was, but Percy hid a smile when he noticed the competitive shine in her eyes. After they'd come out of Tartarus, they were both so haunted, and Percy was worried whether they would ever be the same again.
They wouldn't be the same, but they could be happy. Looking around at his friends, Percy knew in that moment that he was so incredibly grateful to have them in his life. It made him long for his old friends, Grover, Thalia, the Stolls, and even Clarisse.
Percy would never have admitted this out loud, but, for once, Leo was right. A game night had cheered them all up, especially with the looming threat of Gaia over their heads, and the impending doom that would come along if she woke.
Everyone's competitive spirits has taken over, and Percy couldn't remember a time since the second Titan War where Annabeth had looked this happy.
"On 3," Jason announced. "1, 2, 3."
"I love you, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth said affectionately.
"Oh, please," Percy snorted. "You're my girl, this game won't work for us."
"Really?" Annabeth challenged. "How about this?" She leaned forward so her lips were at his ear but never touched, and whispered something to him.
"Uh," Percy garbled.
The others looked on with raised eyebrows as Percy's cheeks were quickly filled with colour.
"W-what did you-This is...Oh gods," he spluttered, his cheeks flaming Apollo's-cows red now.
Annabeth grinned and kissed his cheek. "Well, I think I won."