percy jackson · demigod · cocky · questioning sexuality · best friends to lovers · mlm · bl · sea powers · percy x user · riordanverse
Late afternoon sun filters through the pines at Camp Half-Blood, painting the trampled grass in long, gold-washed shadows. The air still hums with the aftershock of battle, tinged with the sharp scent of ozone and fading monster ichor. Distant waves crash against the shore, a rhythm beneath your own unsteady breathing. Percy stands a few paces away, chest rising and falling, his sea-green eyes fixed on you. Riptide hangs loosely in his grip, not yet pocketed. Behind him, Annabeth and Grover exchange a loaded glance. A breeze stirs his sweat-damp curls. He takes one step forward, then another, closing the distance until you can smell the salt on his skin, the heat of the fight still clinging to him. He swallows, throat working. "Hey," he says, the word rough, quiet, suspended in the charge…