| percy jackson x reader
| high school au
| #1 in percyjacksonxreader 10. 29. 19
| completed
Percy Jackson hasn't seen Y/N L/N in over two years, but he's one ferris wheel ride away from falling in love with her all over again.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
It doesn't take Percy long to realize that organizing a bonfire is much easier in theory. For one, he has to talk Jason into coming over early so that he can help him move the fire pit, and he has to beg the rest of them to bring whatever snacks they can sacrifice. Apparently, his mom has shopping planned for tomorrow, sorry, sweetheart. Whatever, honestly, Percy can still pull this off. One hundred per cent.
Annabeth, who truly is an angel in disguise as far as Percy's concerned, arrives with four lawn chairs, six bags of chips, and two packs of canned sodas. Percy could kiss her if it weren't for the whole Y/N thing. The thing that actually isn't a thing, but still feels like a thing, and might never be a thing, but Percy will always consider a thing. Yes, that.
Nico arrives with nothing in hand besides a lighter, and Percy supposes that's something he should have thought about earlier. Thankfully, his mom remembers how to even light a fire in the pit, and Nico is all too eager as a student. He happily accepts his position as "fire maintainter"—Leo's words, not his—and fidgets with the fire iron while Percy rushes around, pushing chairs into place and moaning about how much he hates being a procrastinator.
His friends are probably the best people in the world, though, because every time he passes by Hazel she gives him an encouraging smile, and Jason always claps him on the back like he's saying job well done, and even Annabeth looks like she's proud of him, even if she's gained the nickname of 'Ice Queen' from Leo.
At long last, about a quarter until 8 o'clock, Percy sinks down onto the grass and stares at their little set up. There's an old folding table they pulled out of Percy's garage—the one his mom uses during community yard sales—and an array of chairs in some vaguely circular shape around the fire pit. There's a small stack of gifts on the table, mostly just little things because Luke won't accept anything that costs over twenty dollars, and there's enough snacks to last them all night. Probably.
He leans back on his hands and glances around curiously, trying to see if he's forgotten anything. Piper's dialing Thalia off to his left, letting her know that they're all set up and it's time to bring Luke over, Leo's jogging towards Percy's house with an insane amount of energy, Annabeth and Jason are giving their best attempt at organizing the pile of snacks, and Nico's poking at the fire with fascination on his face.
Percy pauses, doing a quick headcount. He's just reaching into his pocket to call Y/N and demand she arrive immediately, but two soft hands cover his eyes before he can get that far. "I'm not going to make you guess; this is Y/N," she announces, after a moment.
Percy smiles widely enough to make the blazing fire look dim, probably, but he manages to compose himself before he turns and tackles Y/N into a hug that's really just a thinly-veiled excuse to be closer to her. She just barely keeps them from hitting the ground hard, catching them both on her elbow. "You're like an overexcited dog," Y/N says flatly, but she seems pretty unperturbed for someone who probably has a rock or two digging into her elbow.
Percy smiles and holds on tight to her upper arm. "I reckon a dog would have licked your face by now," he mentions, somehow managing to roll over and sit up casually beside Y/N like he's actually smooth and graceful. He glances down at his body in something like awe; he'd been expecting at least one injury in extracting himself from Y/N.
"Please don't lick my face," Y/N says pleasantly, and Percy laughs to himself while she takes a look around. "This pulled together nicely."
"You're here so late," Percy complains, even if the get together hasn't even officially started.
She rolls her eyes. "Looks like you managed just fine, you needy, needy child."
"They'll be here any minute!" Piper calls out, mostly to Percy and Y/N, since they're the only ones a dozen feet away from the rest of the group.
They both call back okays, and Y/N turns to look at him with a gentle smile on her face. Percy thinks he was totally fine before Y/N came along, just a leaf riding the light and simple breeze, and now he's been robbed of all the oxygen around him, falling towards the ground too fast to even get his bearings. In some ways, he's kind of enjoying the panic of it all.
"We should join them," she says after a few seconds, but she's still reclining back on her elbows like they've got all the time in the world. Her hair's down and she looks so relaxed, so comfortable, that he just wants to pull her against his chest and not let go for a while.
"We should," Percy agrees, shifting until his arm is pressed up against hers. "We will in a second," he amends. Y/N gives him a curious look, one that skitters all around his face like she can't decide where to settle. "Just want it to be us, for a minute."
He definitely sounds like an idiot, and Y/N's definitely calling him that in her head, but she just gives him a small, pleased smile. Percy thinks he's said the right thing.
"I'm—" Y/N cuts herself off, like she's still trying to figure out what she wants to say, and Percy waits patiently. He knows what it's like to have trouble putting how you feel or what you're thinking into words, and he can tell that Y/N's trying to say something important. The least he can do is give her some time to compose herself. "I'm glad y—I mean, all of us—started talking again. I think we're good together. All of us."
"I agree, all of us," Percy says, slow smile spreading on his face. "Think we're really good, all of us."
"I'll knock you flat on your back," Y/N threatens, and Percy almost tells her that she already has, really. She glances away from the fire, where she'd pinned her gaze, and scans his face again. Percy feels himself warm under her gaze, but he knows he's not blushing, and even if he were it wouldn't matter. The fire light's a good mask. "Ready to go?"
He nods, slowly, but he'd be content sitting there the whole night with Y/N, blades of grass leaving little shallow impressions on his skin. Y/N stands, helps him up, and holds his hand for what Percy dares to deem a second too long.
"Dammit," Jason mutters, as soon as they approach the table. Almost in unison, he and Leo reach into their back pockets and begrudgingly hand Annabeth and Piper five dollar bills.
"Do I even want to know?" Y/N asks, raising an eyebrow as she reaches for a red, plastic cup. Percy opens two cans of Coke while Y/N writes her name on her cup, then Percy's on another. He trades Y/N a red can for his assigned cup, sending her a quick smile in thanks. She returns it. Percy almost drops his cup in the process, but thankfully his subconscious has his back.
"You don't," Piper says quickly, before anyone else can get a word in edgewise. "Just boys, placing and losing bets."
Before Percy can even ask, because he does want to know, actually, Luke steps out of Percy's sliding glass door with a huge grin on his face, Thalia not a moment behind him.
