That night, Aurora couldn't sleep, per usual. She wasn't surprised. Much like all her nights at camp since a week ago, she stared aimlessly at the sky, the cool summer breeze nipping at her skin as she lay in the strawberry fields with nothing but the soft whooshes of winds and chirping of birds. The stars twinkled, as if they were playing a prank on her. If she was being honest, the gods totally could've told her that her life was one huge joke and she would've believed them, because what in Persephone's name was going on?

Percy had a Cyclops for a brother. None of the people she grew up with were speaking to her. Aurora had been basically evicted from the Demeter cabin, despite Gracie's complaints. She wouldn't live somewhere she wasn't welcome. Gracie told her that she would sleep outside with her, but Aurora refused. "It will only last a couple days," Gracie had said, a futile attempt at reassurance. "They'll get over it. They're just in shock, you know? Trust me, they love you. Who couldn't? Just give them time. You know them, and more importantly, they know you."

But it didn't. It had been eight days, and no one seemed to remember that Aurora was Aurora, and instead, this forbidden homewrecker. And all of a sudden, it was Aurora's fault that the monsters came for them at camp, not Luke's. It was Aurora that could be working for the bad guys, because Hades has it out for her.

Completely ridiculous.

She could feel tears pricking her eyes, and she wanted to be anywhere but the great outdoors at that moment. Luckily for her, Percy only had one cabin mate, and he seemed to like her well enough (what was it with her and the sons of Poseidon?).

She jogged lightly towards the cabins, inhaling the familiar scent of summer. She couldn't explain it; it was the grass and the warmth and the flowers and everything that was home all bundled up into one. Aurora's pace slowed as she stopped in front of Cabin 3. It was undeniably Poseidon's: tall, looming, and made of some sort of aquamarine stone, which was coincidentally the same color as Percy's eyes. During the year, she would sometimes pass by the empty cabin and think about her previous summer, how abnormal it was.

She debated knocking on the door, but decided against it. What am I doing? She asked herself, shaking her head. Percy doesn't want to talk to me after I yelled at him like a bitch. Aurora shook her head and wanted to laugh at herself. So dumb. But as she was about to walk away, Percy's loud, obnoxious voice wafted through the cracked window, and she found herself eavesdropping just a little bit. She was clearly interrupting a conversation, but she also did not seem to care one bit. It was a little deserved, if she was being honest.

"Don't say that. You're not a monster." Percy sounded guilty, and a tiny bit awkward. She could hear him shift in his bed. She was almost 100% sure he was scowling previously, due to his choppy and culpable tone.

"It is okay. I will be a good monster. Then you will not have to be mad." Aurora's heart squeezed at Tyson's determination, her lower lip pouting involuntarily. She wanted to tell him he was perfect the way he was, something she wished someone had told her. He didn't need to be any better than he already was. Aw, Tyson. Don't do that. Don't go there. It was crazy to her, because she didn't even know that cyclops could go there.

However, Percy's response surprised Aurora. "It's just... I never had a half-brother before." His voice was wavering slightly, and he sounded precariously vulnerable. Percy had always put up a front of joking and not caring about anything in the slightest. As much as she didn't want to admit it, Aurora didn't think that he actually, well, cared that much. "It's really different for me. And I'm worried about the camp. And another friend of mine, Grover... he might be in trouble. I keep feeling like I should be doing something to help, but I don't know what. I'm sorry. It's not your fault. I didn't mean to be mean to you. I'm mad at Poseidon. I feel like he's trying to embarrass me, like he's trying to compare us or something, and I don't understand why. I don't like being compared to other people, is all."

Deep, rumbling snores echoed in response, and Percy chuckled lightly. "Good night, big guy." And for the first time since his brother's arrival, Aurora heard true, unadulterated fondness slip into his voice.

Aurora was shocked, to say the least. A tiny part of herself wanted to pride herself in calling Percy out for his bullshit. But the bigger, more human and less self-centered part of her wanted to give Percy the biggest hug and apologize for what she said. He was a good person, after all. He was nothing but a good person.

"Don't think you're slick, because you aren't, Flower Face."

Aurora covered her mouth to prevent a yelp from escaping her lips. She was too much inside her head to realize that Percy's stupid grinning face was peering outside his window, which was now fully opened. His mouth was stretched out into a humongous smile, his dark hair messy with bedhead, and his eyebrows raised. His eyes were so bright in the dark light, as if they were mini little lights sparkling behind his blue irises.

"Oh my gods, I hate you so much. What the fuck is wrong with you? Don't scare me like that."

"Why? Because I caught you stalking me? My bad." Aurora rolled her eyes at Percy's comment. His tone turned sardonic. "What's wrong with you?"

"Shut up." She snorted, crossing her arms, ignoring his question. She wasn't sure if he was joking or not, because his voice said one thing, but his face said another. His stare had turned imploring, and Aurora didn't want to get fidgety under his scrutiny. She didn't like that she had to look up at Percy. She wasn't used to it, even with the height difference being from him in a cabin to her on the ground. The only other time she stared up at Percy was when he was pushing her off the Gateway Arch, and even then, it was only for a split second.

"Why are you here? Not that I don't enjoy your great presence or whatever, but it's way past curfew."

"Like you care about rules. Get over yourself."

"True, I don't. But I know no one would ever let you leave your cabin. And I'm tired. Got kicked out of another school, remember? So don't be creepy, either come in or leave." Percy's tone was matter of fact, but his smile never wavered. He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, like a typical thirteen year old boy, but Aurora didn't bat an eye. With half of the camp being teenage boys and Aurora knowing how Percy was raised, she really didn't give a fuck. However, she would not give up a chance to ridicule his words.

"Gods, I would never. Be alone in a cabin with you? I would rather be brutally maimed. But... ugh, I just don't sleep in the Demeter cabin anymore. It's so hostile, I just can't." She explained shortly, diverting her eyes. Gods, it was sort of embarrassing, wasn't it? The whole situation. She was embarrassing, at this point.

For some reason, her words made Percy much more alert. He straightened, his eyebrows furrowing as he leaned closer to the window. "What, so... so you're sleeping in the Hermes cabin?" His voice was heavy and unreadable, but he sounded... offended, almost. Which was hilarious, because although Aurora knew that Percy felt some sort of resentment or competitiveness with her best guy friend, she had no idea why.

"Percy. Use your kelp brain for once, it's not that hard! No. I'm not sleeping anywhere, or just outside or whatever. I'm actually homeless now. It's whatever, thug life or no life!" She scoffed., faking pep into her opposing words. She wanted to hit him for his idiocy, but their distance prevented her. Percy snorted at her last phrase, knowing full well that she had been sheltered within the borders of Camp Half Blood for over half a decade, despite him being from the streets of New York himself. "But I actually did come here for a reason."

Percy looked at her and raised his eyebrows, as if to say, As if. "So you didn't come here to cuddle and say you loved me? Bummer."

"Oh, shut the fuck up. Anyways, pay attention. I know you can't comprehend words unless I say it really slowly. So, do you remember when no one would talk to you because you were a forbidden kid after you were claimed?"

"Yes, thank you for the reminder. Is that all?"

"And everyone hated you."

"You didn't." Percy pointed out.

"Yeah, believe whatever you want to believe. Now let me talk. Now everyone likes you because you technically saved the world or whatever, right?"

"Sure. Do you have a point, or are you talking because you like to hear yourself speak?"

"Shut up, I hate you."

"That's great. I hate you too. Leave?"

"Hah. No. Anyway, my point being... if I do something crazy where I save the world, do you think people would like me again?" As soon as the words left her mouth, she wanted to take them back. She hated what she had come to. Doing dangerous, life-altering tasks for the opinions of others? Insane. But, if it was what she had to do... It was scary what Aurora resorted to, and her desperation was humiliating.

But she just wanted people—not just anyone, but her siblings, her family, the only people she had left—to love her again.

Percy let out a loud laugh, but was astonished by the fact that she wasn't joining him. "Wow, I didn't know you were stupid. Shut the fuck up, you're not going on a quest."

"Who said I want to, dumbass?" But the faraway look in her eyes said otherwise. If Aurora knew anything about herself, it was the fact that if other people didn't like her, she felt empty. She wouldn't call herself a people pleaser, per say, but she just wanted to be liked by certain people. What was the harm in that? Sure, she made enemies easily and despised almost everyone, but the people she held to a different standard, she wanted to like her. And the fact that she wasn't... Well, it was kind of tearing her apart.

"Hey." Percy snapped, rapping noisily on the window in order to gain her attention. She jumped, blinking slowly. "You're going to that place that you go to, and I'm not having it. It's honestly just bad manners at this point."

"Who gives a fuck about what you think?" Her harsh response was almost automatic, but Percy was the furthest from offended. Instead, his tense shoulders seemed to relax, as if he was glad the annoying and stupid remarks Aurora usually gave her back.

Aurora wondered secretly if he relished in the familiarity of their rudeness to each other and quick arguments like she did. It was normal. It was the only normal she had nowadays.

"I do." He rebutted firmly with a smirk.

"Exactly. No one."

"Go to sleep, Flower Face. I don't want to talk to you anymore. Go to your strawberry fields or whatever."

"Maybe I'll go to Connor's cabin." Aurora joked, delighting in how it made Percy react. His gaze sharpened, and he stared at her with contempt. "Holy Hera, I was joking. I'll go back to my tick-infested gardens."

"You could always—"

"If you offer your cabin, I'll punch you."

Percy let out a laugh—his laugh. It was so familiar and blanketed her with warmth.

"Sleep tight, sweetheart."

"I think I just threw up a little in my mouth." Aurora responded on behalf of a goodnight. But surprisingly, as she trudged regretfully to her patch of grass, she fell asleep quickly with a small smile etched onto her lips. 

ೀ⋆｡🌷 the mother of perora speaks ...

word count: 2260 

date published: may 10, 2024

currently listening to: the smallest man who ever lived by taylor swift

thoughts: short(ish) little filler chapter because 1) i don't want to follow the som plot it's just too actiony for me to write, 2) i kind of stopped prewriting chapters so the last chapter was the last long, prewritten chap but more will come! and 3) i love love love banter and i feel like their relationship needs to develop a little more as friends who hate each other and argue nonstop, which is their dynamic that got a little too kind and mushy in tlt/yoyok. we're here for the friends to lovers, yk

also swiftie update: i dont know how to feel about the whole insert ttpd into the eras tour but take out the archer, tolerate it, and cut down folklore/evermore drastically and combine. like i adore the ttpd segment (who's afraid of little old me and the smallest man who ever live sound majestic on lives and the whole sketch for i can do it with a broken heart is the best thing i've ever seen) but JUSTICE FOR TOLERATE IT!

P.S. if you are not a swiftie, that's okay! we still love you here <3 but if you are a sad hater, as we have come across with, don't harass my readers or followers, and don't interact with anyone here! if you have to hate someone, hate me :) and then stop reading!!