𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 (Annabeth X Malereader)

[16] Athena doesn't have any chores (luckily)

They managed to arrive back at camp just after Clarisse, thanks to the centaurs' travel powers. The centaur's were extremely excited to meet Dionysus, after hearing about his parties. But they were unfortunately disappointed.

The wine god was in no mood to celebrate as the whole camp gathered at the top of Half-Blood Hill. The camp had been through a hard two weeks. The arts and crafts cabin had burned to the ground from an attack by a Draco Aionius. The Big House's rooms were overflowing with wounded. The kids in the Apollo cabin, who were the best medics, had been working overtime performing first aid. Everybody was weary and battered as they crowded around Thalia's tree.

The moment Clarisse draped the Golden Fleece over the lowest bough, the moonlight seemed to brighten, turning from gray to liquid silver. A cool breeze rustled in the branches and rippled through the grass, all the way into the valley. Everything came into sharper focus, as if someone opened a camera lens. The glow of the fireflies down in the woods, the smell of the strawberry fields, the sound of the waves on the beach – everything became stronger and more vibrant. Gradually, the needles on the pine tree started turning from brown to green. Everybody cheered. The tree was healing, expelling the poison.

Chiron ordered a twenty-four/seven guard duty on the hilltop, at least until he could find an appropriate monster to protect the Fleece. "I'll place an ad in Olympus Weekly right away," he had said. In the meantime, Clarisse was carried on her cabin mates' shoulders down to the amphitheater, where she was honored with a laurel wreath and a lot of celebrating around the campfire. Nobody gave Annabeth, Percy or Y/N a second look. It was as if they had never left.

The next morning, after the party ponies headed back to Florida, Chiron made a surprise announcement: the chariot races would go ahead as scheduled. Now that Tantalus was gone, a lot of the campers had assumed they would be scrapped. But Chiron said that completing them was the right thing to do, especially now that the camp was safe. Tyson and Percy were happy to team up again, which left Annabeth and Y/N. Annabeth would drive again, while Y/N would defend and attack. They decided to split the chores evenly, so that the Athena cabin would get less. Y/N didn't mind. It was only fair. However, their chariot had suffered quite a lot from its off roading sessions during the last race, so some repairs were in order.

An watched as Y/N picked up the molten sheet of steel with his hands, clearly unfazed at the temperature of the metal. Y/N smiled as he worked, using the heat in the furnace to round out it's edges, slowly transforming it into a circle. The forge was quiet that afternoon, as it was Hephaestus's turn to guard the fleece. Y/N picked up the circle, dunking it in a large cooling vat full of water. The water bubbled and hissed as it came into contact with the red hot steel. Annabeth rested her head on her arm, gazing at Y/N.

"What do you think?" Y/N asked her, pulling out the sheet from the water. Annabeth got up from the chair, walking over to the steel. It still radiated heat, but the wheel looked flawless.

"Perfect." Annabeth said. "That should guard the wheel spokes perfectly." She walked over to the other wheel, checking to see if it was still hot. She slowly picked it up, before turning back to Y/N. "Come one we should go."

"Wait." Y/N seemed hesitant. She raised an eyebrow. "I... wanted to talk to you about something first. We haven't really had a proper conversation since the quest." She shrugged, before gesturing towards a workbench. Y/N sat down, still deep in thought.

"What is it?" She said. He seemed unusually anxious and nervous.

"it's just... do you remember the sirens?" Annabeth grimaced. She remembered the sirens, alright. What she saw on that beach shook her to her core. She was still embarrassed that Percy saw it as well.