𝐂œ𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐬é𝐬 [Percy Jackson]

169

Pushing through a curtain of mucus was just as fun as Hadrian imagined.

He emerged feeling like he'd just rolled through a giant's nostril. Fortunately, none of the gunk stuck to him, but still his skin tingled with revulsion.

Percy, Annabeth and he found themselves in a cool, damp pit that seemed to be the basement level of a temple. All around them, uneven ground stretched into darkness under a low ceiling of stone. Directly above their heads, a rectangular gap was open to the sky. Hadrian could see the edges of walls and the tops of columns, but no monsters... yet.

Instinctively, he reached for Percy and put a hand on his waist.

The camouflage membrane had closed behind them and blended into the ground. Annabeth pressed her hand against it. The area seemed to be solid rock. They wouldn't be leaving the way they'd come.

Annabeth ran her hand along some marks on the ground – a jagged crow's-foot shape as long as a human body. The area was lumpy and white, like stone scar tissue. "This is the place," she said. "Percy, these are the trident marks of Poseidon."

Hesitantly, Percy touched the scars. "He must've been using his extra-extra-large trident."

"This is where he struck the earth," Annabeth said, "where he made a saltwater spring appear when he had the contest with my mom to sponsor Athens."

"So this is where the rivalry started," Percy said.

"Yeah."

"The rivalry ends here too" 

"It's kind of poetic" Hadrian chimed in.

Percy always looked at him as if he'd never seen him before. How could Hadrian make his heart beat faster and calm him down at the same time?

He didn't know and he didn't care. All that mattered was that they were about to fight, maybe even die. And Percy had been choking back the words long enough.

"I love you" He blurted. "Like, a lot"

Hadrian froze, going still from head to toe. Percy almost took the words back, thought he had said something wrong, but Annabeth nudged him ahead.

"I love your hair and your stupid face and your stupid jokes and your birthmark and- I- I just really love you-"

Whatever else Percy was no doubt going to go on a tirade about, was drowned out when Hadrian cut him off with a kiss.

His hands were in Percy's hair, his nose was a little cold but the rest of him was so warm and Percy could feel it pouring into him, filling his chest. There were universes in that kiss. It was big- gigantic. Like Gaea could raze the earth, but she couldn't take this away.

Whatever they had, whatever they would have, whatever their future held, Gaea could never take away the way Percy felt about Hadrian, the way he had been feeling for a really long time.

Hadrian smelled like the sewer, but also like the sea. His lips were salty and he tasted like ambrosia. Percy wanted to drown inside him.

When Hadrian pulled away, he looked like a fish gasping for air. Percy was tempted to kiss him again, he loved the way Hadrian flushed, the way his hair turned bright pink, the way his eyelids would flutter open slowly, revealing those beautiful brown eyes.

Gods, Percy was just so in love.

Hadrian made a little sigh, like something in his ribcage had melted.

He had to reach in his pocket to pull out his inhaler, and it was just so ridiculous, that Percy couldn't help but laugh. "Sorry, I forgot about the lung thing"