𝙄𝙉𝙁𝙇𝘼𝙈𝙀𝘿; heroes of olympus

first: love

ERITH JAY
LEO WAS IN THE WALL AGAIN.

His legs wiggled as he slammed something inside of the Argo II with his hammer. Erith sighed. She watched him, leaning against the wall with arms crossed.

Piper walked down the corridor and joined in her and staring at Leo's ass. 

"Meeting?" Erith asked.

"Yep," Piper said. "Meeting." She continued to look at Leo. "You're pathetic."

Erith's lips twitched. "Love you, too."

She saw Piper grin out of the corner of her eye. "You know, if Leo keeps making out with his machinery, I'll break up with Jason for you." She turned and brushed Erith's hair behind her ear. "You and me are both too pretty to get our hearts broken by stupid boys."

"Hey, I heard that!" Leo shouted.

Erith ignored him, smiling at Piper. With everything that had been happening lately, the daughter of Aphrodite had been one of the only sources of genuine care in Erith's life. She never complicated things, and even though the worry lines around her eyes had deepened, she was still as kind as ever.

Erith grabbed Piper's hand and brushed her lips against the girl's knuckles. "You got it, Pipes. I'll get Valdez."

She nodded with a stunning grin and hurried off. Erith walked up to Leo and slapped his ass. "Meeting."

"Hey! Man, you're just a ray of sunshine."

She rolled her eyes, a private smile on her face as she headed upstairs for breakfast.

―

Leo was late.

When Erith arrived in the mess hall, six demigods were eating breakfast. Seeing them all together, alive―well, for the most part―raised her spirits a little.

Percy was eating a huge stack of blue pancakes while Annabeth smacked the syrup away, but under the table, she grasped his hand. Percy looked up as Erith entered and gave her a goofy smile. "Pancakes, Rith?"

She smiled at him. "Course. Blue? Extra syrup?"

"You know it!" he said. Annabeth smiled ruefully and shook her head.

To their left, Frank and Hazel used their cereal bowls to flatten out a map of Greece. They looked over it, their heads close together. Frank's hair had grown longer, and Hazel's shimmering curls fell into her eyes, so she kept having to brush them away. Frank gave Erith a cheesy wave and Hazel nodded at her, lips twitching.

At the head of the table, Jason sat uncomfortably next to Piper. She ran her fingers over his palm, probably trying to distract him from the pain. When she spotted Erith, the worry in her face eased slightly. "Thank gods. He needs his bandages changed."

"Again?" Erith asked, but she was only joking. She'd change his bandages all day if it helped him even feel the slightest bit better.

Erith hurried over and waved Percy off as he raised a forkful of pancake. "Not yet, Perce. I've got to play doctor."

"No fun," he groaned. "Doctors need their food."

She huffed and leaned over the table, hands grasping the wood. "One bite." He fed her his forkful of pancakes and she grinned, savoring the taste. "Needs more syrup."