𝙄𝙉𝙁𝙇𝘼𝙈𝙀𝘿; heroes of olympus

heartbeat scars

ERITH JAY
ERITH WASN'T SURE HOW LONG THEY SAT CRADLED THERE, her hair tangled in Leo's hands and his spine arched against her palm. She could feel her mind blurring, tangling with his. Two bodies, one heart.

She wanted to be angry or relieved or something when she heard the knock at her cabin door, but she felt nothing except Leo's steady breath in the crook between her shoulder and her neck. She didn't want to speak, so Leo did it for her. "Who is it?"

"Uh, Jason," came the voice. "Assuming you guys are done killing each other or fucking or whatever, we, uh, need your help finding the entrance."

Erith felt Leo's body tense. "Alright. I'll be right there."

"Okay." There was a moment of silence, and then Jason's steps receded from her door.

Leo was the first to pull himself from their embrace. He pressed his forehead to hers. His eyes were rimmed with red and his lips were slightly bruised and Erith thought he was beautiful, like a painting. 

She didn't want to speak, but she had to. "Did you mean it?"

"Always," he said, like a promise. His lips brushed hers, and when he pulled away she rushed toward him and then they were kissing, a real kiss, not the ghost of one.

"Now go, fire boy," she told him softly as he pulled her to her feet. "But don't be the hero. Just―just be smart."

"Smart," he repeated. "I've been bad at that lately."

"Yeah," she agreed. "You have. So leave the hero part to me."

He kissed her again and left her standing there in her cabin, the door open, her limbs warm and her lips warmer.

―

When Erith went on deck, everyone stared, but she didn't really mind. She joined Leo as he maneuvered the ship over the ruins of Epidaurus.

Next to them on the quarterdeck, Percy peered over the railing. "Looks like more rubble," he noted, his lips still tinged slightly green from the underwater poison.

"Exciting," Erith sarcastically enthused.

Annabeth pointed to the disk-shaped structure about fifty yards off their port side. "There."

Leo smiled. "Exactly. See, the architect knows her stuff."

As the rest of the crew gathered around, Erith nodded firmly. "Annabeth is a genius." She looked Percy dead in the eyes. "Jackson, everybody wants to steal your girl. Me included."

He laughed rather loudly and Erith's heart did a lovely little twist as he pulled Annabeth into a one-armed hug. 

"What are we looking at?" Frank asked, looking down.

"Ah, Senor Zhang," Leo said, "you know how you're always saying, 'Leo, you are the only true genius among demigods'?"

"Similar to how I always say, 'Leo, I am so in love with you'?" Erith inquired.

"Exactly," Leo said with a nod and a brilliant smile.

Frank looked from Erith to Leo, his brows knitting. "I'm pretty sure I never said that. And neither did you," he said to Erith.

"Well, turns out there are other true geniuses!" Leo foraged on. "Because one of them must have made that work of art down there."

"It's a stone circle," Frank said. "Probably the foundation of an old shrine."