cymophobia | percy jackson

𝑖𝑥, aka fred encourages ash and percy to sleep together

"Definitely following us," Ash said from shotgun, turning back frontwards to see Zoë swerving into the fast lane. A sleek, black military model helicopter had been trailing them since the Potomac.

"Go into that parking lot. Trust me," Bianca said.

As soon as they were safely aboard a southbound train, Ash sighed. "Nice job, Bianca, thinking of the subway."

Bianca looked pleased. "Yeah, well I saw that station when Nico and I were last here. I remember being really surprised because it wasn't here when we used to live in DC."

Ash frowned while Grover looked perplexed. "New? But that station looked really old."

"There was no subway here when we were kids."

"No subway at all?" Ash echoed.

The younger girl nodded. "Bianca. How long ago..." Zoë faltered, catching sight of spinning blades out the window. "We need to change trains at the next station."

Over the next half hour, they changed trains twice. When they finally lost the helicopter they were in an industrial area with nothing but warehouses and snow. Lots of snow. Despite her many protests, Percy wrapped Ash in the lion's fur coat, murmuring something about how it looked dapper in her ear.

They wandered through the silent railway yard, eventually coming across a homeless guy standing at a trash-can fire. He invited them over and they huddled around. Thalia's teeth were chattering. Ash draped half the jacket around Percy, tucking herself into his side for warmth.

"My hooves are frozen," Grover complained.

"Feet," Percy corrected, to which Ash smiled a bit. Examining the man with them, however, she thought he probably didn't mind.

"Maybe we should contact camp," Bianca suggested, only to get shut down.

"No," Zoë said.

"I agree. We need to do this ourselves," Ash concurred.

"You know," the homeless dude said, "you're never completely without friends."

Ash smiled at him brightly, and although his face was grimy, his expression matched hers. "You kids need a train going west?"

"Yes sir," she said.

He pointed a greasy hand. There was a gleaming freight train, free of snow, carrying cars. The side read SUN WEST LINE.

"That's... convenient," Thalia said. "Thanks, uh..."

She turned back, but the guy was gone, along with the fire. An hour later they were rumbling west, each crashed out in their own luxury cars. Ash took a Ford F-150 on the top deck, curling up in the luxurious front seat and using a little hotwiring trick she'd picked up from the Stolls to put on the radio.

After maybe half an hour, Percy came and joined her. They talked for a while and when they both got tired, moved to the bed of the truck. Ash laid with her head in Percy's lap and he draped the fur over them both, but neither really wanted to sleep. He was absentmindedly combing his fingers through her hair when a voice startled them.

"Oh, don't be afraid of dreams. If it weren't for dreams, I wouldn't know half the things I know. They're better than Olympus tabloids." The homeless dude from earlier cleared his throat, holding his hands up dramatically: "Dreams like a podcast, downloading truth in my ears. They tell me cool stuff."

"Lord Apollo?" Ash mumbled, sitting up slightly against the boy with his arms around her.

He put his finger to his lips. "I'm incognito. Call me Fred."