the winemaker's daughter [ percy jackson & the olympians ]

chapter nine

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚆𝙸𝙽𝙴𝙼𝙰𝙺𝙴𝚁'𝚂 𝙳𝙰𝚄𝙶𝙷𝚃𝙴𝚁༉‧₊˚.[𝙿𝙴𝚁𝙲𝚈 𝙹𝙰𝙲𝙺𝚂𝙾𝙽 & 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙾𝙻𝚈𝙼𝙿𝙸𝙰𝙽𝚂]

chapter nine: ashanti jacks percy for his stuffed animal ( he never stood a chance anyway )

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"PERCY?" ASHANTI called. if she was caught, she was so dead. she rapped her knuckles against his cabin door softly, trying not to draw too much attention to herself. it was after curfew, and she was definitely supposed to be in her cabin, but she just couldn't leave for her quest in the morning without checking in on the poseidon boy.

there was some shuffling on the inside of the cabin, before the door creaked open. green eyes blinked at her sadly from the inside of his cabin. percy kind of his himself, as if he was ready for some more lousy sympathy from her. she suspected chiron had stopped by earlier based on the way he not-so subtly told her to pay the demigod a visit.

said boy puffed out his cheeks then released the air. it came out soundlessly. ashanti could tell he was dreading what she'd say based on the way his eyebrows furrowed alone. she guessed he feared whatever she'd say would only further bring his mood down.

no doubt, grover and chiron visited. judging from his expression, he still felt like absolute garbage. ashanti sighed. she didn't even know exactly what she was doing there if she was being honest with herself. percy jackson didn't need her comfort specifically, or for her to pour out her feelings to him like some sap.

and who was to say that she'd be able to make him feel better at all? his best friend, and his mentor had been here and yet, here he was. frowning at her, hiding behind his door.

ashanti tried to brush those thoughts side. she felt like since there was a very, very real possibility that she could be one of the questors dying over the next few days, maybe she should let percy jackson know that whatever he was doing made her kind of sort of fond of him.

"i'm not here to give you pity," she started, choosing to get straight to the point with that. she analyzed his expression closely, looking for any indication he wanted to be left alone. she didn't find anything but surprise in his green eyes, and a redness beginning to flush his cheeks.

ashanti's inky, long tresses were bunned up and out her face. she was cozied up in a xxl worn out camp t-shirt, and running shorts so small, only the hem was noticeable from under her shirt. ashanti's toes were protected from the coldness that blew in from the beach by some plain black socks with animated purple grapes decorated around them.

percy assumed it was an inside joke.

"no sympathy?" percy double-checked suspiciously. there was a playful edge to his response, but he still seemed a bit nervous. he rocked forward on the balls of his feet in a way that ashanti knew was just to satisfy his need to be moving in some form in the name of adhd.

"no sympathy," ashanti assured him, giving him a small smile, hoping to come off as harmless enough.

it seemed to work. the poseidon boy narrowed his eyes for a second, as if he sensed suspicion, but otherwise relaxed dramatically compared to moments before. his guard dropped enough that he gave a tiny, not quite smile in return.

he opened the door to his cabin wide, and leaned to one side, leaving space for ashanti to slip through. she tried to curl herself smaller as she ducked by him, but they still made contact. her shoulder and his chest touched as she went, no matter how fast she tried to make it.