Indigo Eyes

Chapter 82

"If I can't swear on the Styx, then you can't sacrifice yourself. You almost did with Kampê and -"

"But Percy if it saves you, if it saves my brothers, Books, Grover, Tyson, Camp, I have to do it. There is no other choice, no other logical choice."

"Nothing about this quest is logical! We walked from New York to California in a day!"

"I know, but this can be."

Percy looked conflicted, so very, extremely conflicted. And then he stood.

"We're going to drive ourselves crazy debating what the prophecy could mean. We did that last year and we thought you were going to die. We're not gonna do that this time and we're not gonna argue over it anymore," he proclaimed.

"I told you, we don't argue, we bicker and -" She was cut off when she was offered something.

Percy's hand.

"What are you doing?" she asked as she stared at the hand that was asking for hers.

"Do you trust me?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "Do you ask stupid questions?"

He rolled his eyes back. "Then take my hand."

Gods above, Percy was trying to do something nice here and she had the ability to make his breathing uneven with the way her fingers slid up his palm, softer than silk before they took hold, and he helped her up. And he was really fighting against himself so she wouldn't notice, because rather than let go of her hand, he slid that one and her other around his neck before he rested his on her back and he pulled her close.

And Percy Jackson swayed slowly with Cressida Lynn, in a maze that was probably going to kill them.

There was no music. No light besides the faint glow of Cressida's fire. It was just them, the sound of their breathing, the sound of their heartbeats. And it was absurdly perfect.

"You remember how we were on Circe's Island?" he asked after a time.

She snorted, her lips pressed to his shoulder. "How could I forget? You were a cute guinea pig. Probably the only time you were cute."

"Well, that was probably the only time you were ever beautiful," he retorted as he made her smile by dropping her into a dip. Her braid dangled down towards the floor as she looked up at him, her hands still on his shoulders. And she raised a brow as her lips stretched into a smirk.

"You thought I was beautiful?"

And Percy's eyes widened as he realised his error and he yanked them both up, not wanting her to see his blush. "My point being, it's exactly like Waterland. Remember how you got us thrown off that ride?"

"Me?! That was you?! If you had waited, you wouldn't have tripped the trip wire and -"

"What I'm trying to say," Percy interrupted as he squeezed her sides. "Is that we had absolutely no idea what we were doing both times, and probably over a dozen other times over the last three years, and it was fine. It worked out. It's gonna be ok."

Cressida readjusted her grip on Percy, hugging him tighter. "I hope so," she murmured.

It was a comfortable silence that settled between them as they swayed from side to side, their feet shuffling together in a slow circle.

"You really scared me today, you know? You almost didn't make it into the tunnel," Percy admitted after a while.

"Not my intention. And hey, that's another tally for you for saving me," she said, and he could hear the smile in her voice.

"Did you really make a tally?" he laughed.

"No. We really should though. I want proof that I'm better than you."

You don't need proof. You are better. You're too good, in fact.

But instead, he blew a raspberry of disbelief and said, "You wish."

"I know."

Percy shook his head but didn't say anything else for a while.

Her eyes drifted shut as she rested her cheek on his shoulder, the movements unbelievably relaxing as all the tension seemed to just flow out of her body.

"I hate to ruin the moment, I really do," Percy said after he got lost in this, in her, resting his head atop hers, her hair smelling like heaven even after all they'd been through so far. "But Nico's down here," he said, and her eyes opened but she didn't move. "That's how he disappeared from camp. He found the Labyrinth. Then he found a path that led down even further – to the Underworld. But now he's back in the maze. He's coming after me.'

Cressida gripped his shirt. "I won't let him. If Nico comes after you the only thing that will happen is that I'll be adding another tally to my side of the board."

And Percy let out an amused exhale through his nose before he stopped dancing and let go of Cressida enough so he could look at her and the sleepy look in her eyes.

"How about I take first watch?" he suggested. "You've done enough today. I'll wake you if anything happens. I promise."

She bit her lips, as she debated it. "Ok. Ok," she relented as she let him walk her back to their bedrolls. And while she lay down, and closed her eyes, Percy sat next to her as he looked down at her. He began playing with her braid as he sat next to her. And Cressida fell asleep pretty easily after that.