✧˖° "what? afraid I'll steal your heart?" ✧˖°
↳ Percy Jackson liked to think he was over the idea that all children of Hermes were the same. They wouldn't all turn out like Luke Castellan.
Turns out he definitely wasn't over it.
What happens whe...
☼ thief of my heart: v. percy jackson is a horse whisperer ☼
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RIO HAD TROUBLE FALLING ASLEEP. Coach Hedge spent the first hour after curfew doing his nightly duty, walking up and down the passageway yelling, "Lights out! Settle down! Try to sneak out, and I'll smack you back to Long Island!"
He banged his baseball bat against a cabin door whenever he heard a noise, shouting at everyone to go to sleep, which made it impossible for anyone to go to sleep.
He stared at the bronze beams on the ceiling. His cabin was pretty cozy. Leo had programmed their quarters to adjust automatically to the occupant's preferred temperature, so it was never too cold or too hot, just perfect. The mattress and the pillows were stuffed with pegasus down (no pegasi were harmed in the making of these products, Leo and Piper had a very heated discussion about it), so they were über-comfortable.
Few of Rio's belongings that Percy had saved from the battle sat on the bedside table; his celestial bronze set of cards, a gum pack with only a few sticks left, his grey hoodie, a lighter, some spare change, and finally, the shimmering golden chain he'd snatched from Percy's wrist.
A bronze lantern hung from the ceiling, glowing at whatever brightness Rio wished. The lantern's sides were perforated with pinholes, so at night glimmering constellations drifted across his walls. To distract his mind, Rio took a special interest in staring at Neptune on his ceiling.
Rio had so many things on his mind, he thought he'd never sleep. But there was something peaceful about the rocking of the boat and the drone of the aerial oars as they scooped the sky.
Finally, his eyelids got heavy and he drifted off.
It seemed like only a few seconds had passed before he woke up to the breakfast bell.
There was a soft knock on his door. "Um, Rio?" The voice belonged to non other than Percy Jackson. "We're landing."
"Landing?" He sat up groggily. Climbing out of bed, struggling to pull on his red plaid pajama pants that he borrowed from Leo. He looked around his room for a shirt, but he didn't exactly have any other clothes other than what he passed out in.
"Can I—can I come in?" Percy asked from the opposite side of the door. Huh? Rio forgot he was still there.
Perusal, Rio's mouth ran faster than his thoughts. "Yeah, sure."
Percy opened the door and poked his head in. He had his hand over his eyes. "You decent?"
As much as Rio thought that was a nice gesture, he couldn't pass up an opportunity to have some fun. "Why? You want to take a peek?" He moved closer to Percy, hands behind his back with a mischievous smile painted across his face.
