Work Text:
Cabin six wasn’t the largest library in the world, but it held the more knowledge than every book to ever be written. Its magic kept secrets and myths alive, and the shelves held everything from cuneiform tablets to hard cover romance novels. To Annabeth, it was her perfect safe haven.
However, throughout the time she spent at camp during the off season, she found herself losing track of things more and more, and the endless shelves quickly collected dust. She had more important things to do than clean up, and her usual cabin mates weren’t there to remind her. With ADHD getting the best of her, Annabeth’s bed was a mess and her closet was thrown about while her cabin lay empty until the next summer. She’d never admit it, but this happened every year once the others left, and it gave her a sort of peace to be left completely alone. Her life could finally be as scattered as her mind.
On this night in particular, however, Annabeth stared at her ceiling, eyes heavy and dry. Her body sunk into her bed and she watched as dust particles floated in the light sun beams above her. Annabeth blushed and shut her eyes. She’s been gone for too long.
Among the few campers that remained at camp for the fall was Piper, daughter of Aphrodite and head of cabin ten. Though the two had little in common when first meeting, Annabeth couldn’t help but stare at the way the girl had restlessly trained and acted as if she were immortal herself. She was tough, and she could tell that this girl had no easier life than she did.
This intrigue lead to conversations that went dangerously past curfew. Talks that started at breakfast went all the way through their archery lessons and finished as the sun set below the hills. It very quickly became Annabeth’s favorite part of every day.
The girl thought about this past morning and swore she felt hands on hers as if experiencing it all again.
You’re special. The child of Aphrodite noted.
Not any more special than you are. You’re amazing.
The conversation was so short that Annabeth didn’t have time to
process that Piper had been holding on to her hand the entire time. By the time she had let go and turned away, Annabeth had swallowed the words. You’re special to me.
She hadn’t seen the girl since the morning. It didn’t worry Annabeth too much at first. Piper was always running away from something. Always something, but never her. And she was always back by nightfall. Now, the sun was gone and so was she. Annabeth tried not to worry, it distracted her. She worried anyway.
Her train of thought went on for so long, wandering the infinite space of her intelligent mind, that the sun disappeared and her cabin went dark. It wasn’t until her laptop lit up that she realized she’d been lying in silence in the pitch black for so long.
The demigod stood and walked to her laptop, scanning the screen for whatever had made it turn on so suddenly. Her hand slammed on the desk.
“Always an update,” Annabeth typed something in and clicked a few buttons. “You’re never satisfied, are you?”
The girl watched as the computer loaded slowly but surely, implementing an update that would somehow make the whole machine move faster, work smarter. She wished she could be updated this easily— with just a click of a button, she’d start working better. Maybe then she’d be able to actualize all of the ideas in her head. Maybe she’d be able to do a million things at once, like rebuild Manhattan or dust the bookshelves. No task would be unaccomplished, flawlessly nonetheless.
The loading bar reached about 26% before a small noise tapped the outside of the cabin window, right next to Annabeth’s bunk. She didn’t look. Just a rabbit, she thought.
40%. Something knocked again, louder this time. Annabeth looked up, but saw nothing. Her eyes went back to the computer.
48%.
“Oh, come on. Move faster.”
Finally, a patterned knock echoed through the girl’s window. Annabeth looked up in excitement, recognizing the rhythm that the two had created. Sleeping in another cabin was punishable by death, so sneaking around was the only option. Annabeth smiled at the dark figure leaning against the window frame.
Annabeth stood and unlocked it. “I’m sorry, I swear I left it unlocked for you—“
Piper shot Annabeth a charming, weak smile before taking one step onto the hard wood floor and collapsing against the girl’s bed. Annabeth rushed toward her.
“Pipes, what’s wrong? What are you… Why can’t you—“
The child of Aphrodite tried to speak, but her hand gripped Annabeth’s arm as she winced. The other hand was gripping her stomach and in the low light of the computer screen Annabeth swore she saw blood.
“Oh gods, Piper, what happened?” Annabeth sat in front of the girl and tried her best to examine the wound, but her hand wouldn’t budge. Annabeth had to rip the rest of her tattered shirt off to fully see what was going on.
“I was in the woods for so long,” Piper finally spoke through gritted teeth. “I totally lost track of time and I… I’m not really a great runner.”
She tried to laugh, but Annabeth couldn’t find the humor in this situation. She reached behind Piper and dug under her bed to find her first aid kit and her hands went to work. Both of Piper’s hands loosened up, giving Annabeth access to the wound, but when she touched it, the girl clawed onto Annabeth’s arm so hard that her vision went blurry.
“Come on, Piper, you know not to go in those woods,” Maybe she was just letting the pain in her arm turn to anger, but the child of Athena could barely form a coherent thought. “And you went in alone when you could’ve just asked me to— And why say all that to me this morning and then leave without any other signs? I was so worried, I thought maybe I’d done something wrong or, or…”
Annabeth stopped moving. Her hands rested on Piper’s stomach as she watched it move up and down. The bleeding had stopped thanks to the ambrosia and nectar, but the wound was still open. With one hand, she pressed gauze to the exposed area. The other hand traced circles on Piper’s toned abdomen. Annabeth blushed. She was losing focus, she needed to look anywhere but here.
“Piper,” Annabeth looked up and locked eyes with the other demigod. “Just tell me why.. why you…”
Her breath caught in her chest as her stomach flipped. The cabin was so dimly lit, just from one computer screen, but Piper’s eyes sparkled and changed colors like a kaleidoscope. They kept flicking from Annabeth’s eyes, to her mouth, then back up to her eyes. Piper leaned forward.
“No,” Annabeth whispered, but she couldn’t seem to look away from the girl’s soft, pink lips coming toward her. “You’re hurt and… And I need to…”
Piper pressed into Annabeth. She took a deep breath and tried to collect her thoughts. Piper was seriously hurt, acting out of shock and adrenaline. She came all this way back to the cabins just to climb through Annabeth’s window for help and then sit here and kiss her. She wanted to be angry, she wanted to reprimand the girl for being so irresponsible, but she couldn’t think of anything but her lips against her own. She nearly melted when Piper finally pulled away. Her eyes remained on Annabeth’s lips and she smiled, but they were still so close together, face to face, she could feel every breath that the girl took. Annabeth felt her face get hot.
“You’re hurt,” Annabeth could barely get the words out. She wanted to press into her again, but it wouldn’t be wise. She was bleeding. “Let me help you.”
“I don’t need helping,” Piper spoke so softly it sent a chill down Annabeth’s spine that made her feel weak. “I need you.”
Piper moved forward again, but Annabeth put her hand on her chest and pushed her away. She tried not to think about the perfect skin beneath her fingertips and how beautiful she looked without her shirt on.
“Stop.” Annabeth said, and that was final. Piper let the girl work, but she watched her hands move mechanically, like she’d done this a million times before.
It had been a while since the child of Athena took on a quest. It’s not that she didn’t mind the peace, but she kind of missed the relationships she had with the people around her. Selfishly, she was kind of excited that Piper had come to her for this. It meant that the two trusted each other enough to see the other completely vulnerable. Annabeth smiled at the idea.
“What?” Piper bent her head down to meet Annabeth’s gaze. “What is it?”
Annabeth shook her head. “Nothing,” She said. “Just missed you.”
Piper let out a little laugh that made her wince, and Annabeth had to pause her work to let her breathe properly. When she tried to continue patching the girl up, Piper slipped a hand on Annabeth’s neck. Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest, and when she looked up, Piper’s eyes were so soft and warm that it made her entire body feel fuzzy. Annabeth couldn’t help it anymore. She moved her body forward and dropped her eyes to Piper’s lips.
This time, when the two connected, it was certain and pure. Annabeth let her hand feel the body beneath her, and Piper kissed so deeply that the other thought she might never recover.
This kiss has healing powers, Annabeth immaturely thought. I am not even wounded, yet I feel whole again.
They kissed and kissed, and Piper kissed deeper and Annabeth loved the way that their bodies shared warmth. In the darkness of this cabin alone, the two of them made a world for themselves. No one was hurt, and the demigods would never go without the other ever again. Annabeth pulled away and studied Piper’s face. She had never seen anything so pure and ethereal, not even the mountains in the gods’ realm. She was sure that this wasn’t just a blessing from Aphrodite, but a real person who felt that the two of them should be together like this. Nothing had ever felt more right.
“Thank you for coming through my window.” Annabeth said, but she was sure she wasn’t just talking about tonight. Piper’s laughter broke through the quiet cabin like birds on an early morning, soft and sweet.
“It was either that or die in the woods.” Her smile lit up everything around them. Annabeth wanted to tell her how much she meant to her, how these few weeks together at camp were more special than anything she’d experienced yet as a demigod. Maybe she’d have a purpose. Maybe her purpose was loving Piper.
Suddenly it all clicked. You’re special to me. Piper was trying to tell her that exact same thing, she was just too scared to face it head on, so she ran into the woods to face something scarier. Now here they were, face to face with the truth. Together, they were more special than any of the books on Athena’s infinite bookshelf.
Piper’s wound was close to healed now, thanks to the magical food of the gods, but they remained on the floor, holding each other close. Annabeth dragged her finger up and down the ridges of Piper’s abs, feeling her body contract under her.
Our love must be healing.
As she smiled and leaned in to kiss the other demigod, Annabeth’s computer loaded to 100% and turned off by itself, removing the only source of light from the entire room. In the absolute darkness of cabin six, Piper and Annabeth found each other.