The Path Of Glory (Annabeth Chase x Male Reader)

12. Tunnel Of Love

The sun was sinking behind the mountains by the time they found the water park. Judging from the sign, it once had been called WATERLAND, but now some of the letters were smashed out, so it read WAT R A D.

The main gate was padlocked and topped with barbed wire. Inside, huge dry waterslides and tubes and pipes curled everywhere, leading to empty pools. Old tickets and advertisements fluttered around the asphalt. With night coming on, the place looked sad and creepy.

"If Ares brings his girlfriend here for a date," Percy said, "I'd hate to see what she looks like."

"Percy," Annabeth warned. "Be more respectful."

"Why? I thought you hated Ares."

"He's still a god. And his girlfriend is very temperamental."

"You don't want to insult her looks," Ethan added.

"Who is she?" Percy asked. "This Echidna of Y/N?"

"No, Aphrodite," Grover said, a little dreamily. "Goddess of Love."

"I thought she was married to Hephaestus," Y/N said.

"Yeah, but you can't expect gods to be faithful, can you?" Ethan snickered.

"Maia!" Grover's shoes sprouted wings.

He flew over the fence, did an unintended somersault in midair, then stumbled to a landing on the opposite side. He dusted off his jeans, as if he had planned the whole thing. "You guys coming?"

Ethan climbed easily, like those mountain goats. Y/N, Annabeth, and Percy had it harder, climbing the old-fashioned way, holding down the barbed wire for each other as they crawled over the top.

The shadows grew long as they walked through the park, checking out the attractions. There was Ankle Biter Island, Head Over Wedgie, and Dude, Where's My Swimsuit?

No monster came to get them. Nothing made the slightest noise.

They found a souvenir shop that had been left open. Merchandise still line the shelves: snow globes, pencils, postcards, and racks of—

"Clothes," Annabeth said. "Fresh clothes."

"Yeah," Percy said. "But you can't just—"

"Watch me."

She snatched an entire row of stuff off the racks and disappeared into the changing room. A few minutes later she came out in Waterland flower-print shorts, a big red Waterland T-shirt, and commemorative Waterland surf shoes. A Waterland backpack was slung over her shoulder, obviously stuffed with more goodies.

"What the heck." Ethan shrugged, grabbing for himself a T-shirt. Soon, all five of them were decked out like walking advertisements for the defunct theme park.

They continued searching for the Tunnel of Love. It was like the whole park was holding its breath. "So Ares and Aphrodite," Y/N said, to keep his mind off the growing dark, "they have a thing going?"

"That's old gossip, Y/N," Annabeth told him. "Three-thousand-year-old gossip."

"What about Aphrodite's husband?" Y/N asked.

"Well, you know," she said. "Hephaestus. The blacksmith. He was crippled when he was a baby, thrown off Mount Olympus by Zeus. So he isn't exactly handsome. Clever with his hands, and all, but Aphrodite isn't into brains and talent, you know?"

"She likes bikers."

"Whatever."

"Hephaestus knows?"