trigger warning (Percy Jackson au)

chapter 6: The Blonde who Seems to Know Everything

VI

The Blonde who Seems to Know Everything

Warning: strong language.

By the time he had finished cooking their whatever soup (as Thalia had dubbed it), with its motley of everything he had in his fridge, the others had already moved the couches out of the way to sit on the ground around his coffee table.

“A man who can cook,” Annabeth moaned into her spoon. “How are you still single?”

“Can’t all gay guys cook?” Thalia broke in.

The cook rolled his eyes and dished out a bowl for himself. “Chase,” He flicked Thalia’s hands away from the mushrooms in the pot, “What do youdo all day? You don’t look like you’re even twenty yet.”

She set her bowl down and leaned over the edge of the couch to reach her bag. It took her a second to pull out a fat textbook that he’d seen on her desk multiple times but never really bothered to look at.  “I’m nineteen, and a college student.”

He tried to read the title of the book from where he sat but bright green letters, cursive, white background and dyslexia didn’t really mix well together. “What are you majoring in?”

“Architecture.”

“She’s really good, too,” Thalia paused from her task to steal all the mushrooms from the pot to add.

“Semester starts in late October though, so I’m just getting study work in before then.” She pointed out his windows to a building in the distance. “I’ll be going there,” A large grey building on the corner of the street, “for the time being, and I’m hoping to transfer by next year.”

“Bigger dreams?”

She grinned. “Most definitely.”

“If you don’t have anything better to do, you can always become a cook,” Reyna commented. “Go to culinary school or something.”

He made a face. “I don’t like cooking that much.” Which was technically a lie – he liked it a lot, but not enough to work to cook for customers. He guessed he was just lazy. “I just find it pleasingly cathartic.”

“Ideal husband,” Annabeth grinned. “Do you like cleaning, too?”

Thalia snorted, which was enough of an answer. “Finish your soup, dumbass,” Percy nudged. “And then get out of my apartment. Gods, you’re in here more than I am.”

“You don’t lock your door well enough.”

“I don’t even know what that means.”

“Then who’s the real dumbass?” She leaned across the table to pick at her favorites from Reyna’s plate, something the latter was apparently used to – she let Thalia do her damage before continuing to spoon the soup into her mouth.

“Poor Reyna’s gonna get almost nothing to eat, what with how much food you’re stealing.” But what he was really wondering about was how the hell the brunette hadn’t felt sick yet, filling up on chocolate chips and then onto something completely different.

“Iron stomach,” Annabeth leaned over to whisper knowingly. Openly, she said, “The two of you get along so well.” The looks she got from the two of them almost made her splutter out her soup in laughter.

“I’m going to go broke if you guys keep eating here. Chase aside, the two of you empty a third of my kitchen every time you show up at my door. Or, more accurately, on my couch.”