The Forgotten Ships

Frank

Disclaimer:
The characters belong to Rick Riordan, as do the PJO and HoO series.

Written by:

@libraryhaunter
@AmAeRaI
@Chilea
@The__Crazy_Girl
@BrokenTimeTurner
   
[♂fRanK♂]

The snow blanketed the rooftops in a nice, cosy kind of way, Frank thought, as he looked out at the spectacle of New Rome in winter. People were milling around on the streets, laughing and talking as they shook snowflakes off of their coats. Kids made snow forts and snowballed each other from behind the walls. The cafés were illuminated with soft light early in this season, though it was only late afternoon.

Most of the cafés were crammed full. Every corner held either a couple holding hands across the table, a group of friends laughing and talking or a family having some 'quality time' together. Even through all these people should have left a noisy atmosphere, the atmosphere of the coffee shop Frank was sitting in was cosy. He was lucky to have found a table at all, though.

It was right next to the window which he stared out of impatiently, willing Hazel to come up the street, her cinnamon hair flying in the chilly breeze, her warm gold eyes meeting his as she came in, her hands stuffed in her pockets.

A moment later, that happened. A bell tinkled as she came in, shivering slightly. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and snow slid off of it as she walked over to him, pulling a chair back.

"Hey," she said, slipping into the seat opposite him. "You're early on it."

"Reyna let me slip out of the paperwork early today. I don't know how she sits and sorts through all those papers the whole day. Especially with her ADHD."

Hazel smiled at him as she picked up the menu, making his heart flutter. They'd been dating for months but she never failed to have this effect on him. He wondered if that was what it was like for every couple.

"Yeah, it must be terrible for her to sit in there. She seriously needs to learn how to relax-look, they have reindeer burgers here. Remember when we ate those on our quest?"

"I still feel bad about eating Rudolph," he muttered.

"Don't let the kids hear you," she warned, darting a furtive glance around them.

He winced at the thought of their reaction. "Good point."

Just then, a small girl came dashing across the floor to them. It was Julia, Terminus' assistant at the border of New Rome. Everyone knew her, but Frank and Hazel were particularly good friends of hers. She had decided that being Frank Zhang or Hazel Levesque when she grew up wouldn't be too bad either.

"Hey, Julia," Hazel said, smiling at her. "Where are your parents?"

"They're over there." Julia waved a hand behind her at a young couple watching her nervously. They looked shy and quiet, not at all like their exuberant daughter.

"Can you come and play with us?" She asked, gesturing out of the window at a group of kids laughing and snowballing each other. "After you eat?"

Hazel looked at Frank, looking torn.

"I've told them all about you," Julia went on. "They want to meet you. Please?"

"Of course we'll come," Frank assured her, and Hazel smiled again. "Right after we eat. I can't wait to meet your friends."

As Julia clapped excitedly and ran back to her parents, Hazel took Frank's hand.

"That was really nice of you," she said.