A/N: The title of the this chapter sounds like it belongs to heavy metal band or on a T-shirt
[Third Person Pov]
Percy and Bessie both broke the surface with a bright splash, salt water cascading off them. Almost immediately, Blackjack descended from the sky above, black wings beating steadily as she began circling the pair in tight loops.
"You guys have no idea how happy I am to see the both of you!" she exclaimed, her voice overflowing with relief. "You were seriously starting to worry me when you didn't come back up. And then I started seeing blood—"
"Calm down, we're both okay," Percy interrupted gently, raising a hand in reassurance. "We got jumped by some sirens, but I handled it without any incident."
"But you were st—" Bessie began, giving him a pointed look.
Percy quickly and carefully rested his head on top of her soft muzzle, closing her mouth with a secret little wink. "But I won and walked away completely unscathed," he finished smoothly. "That's what matters, right?"
Bessie blinked once, then twice, before a soft giggle escaped her. She nodded in quiet agreement, understanding the silent request to keep the injury between them.
With a shared glance, the two began swimming toward the shore, motioning for Blackjack to follow. They soon reached the weathered wooden pier on the outskirts of Camp Half-Blood. Percy pushed up and vaulted cleanly out of the water onto the boards, he was as dry as when he went in. Blackjack landed lightly behind him a moment later, her hooves clicking against the wood.
She immediately lowered her head to the water's surface and touched noses with Bessie in a warm, familiar greeting. "Girl, I'm really glad to see you're alright. You had me worried for a second there."
"Thank you, Blackjack… and Perseus," Bessie replied, returning the gentle gesture. Her soft southern accent made the words even more endearing. "I would've been in a real pickle if it weren't for the two of you."
Percy chuckled at the accent, crouching down on the edge of the pier so he could reach her one last time. He gave her head a fond, lingering pat. "Call me Percy. All my friends do."
Bessie's face lit up at the words. She beamed and nodded vigorously. "Okay, Percy. You have my utmost gratitude."
Blackjack's voice softened with lingering concern. "You think you're gonna be okay out there on your own?"
"I'll be fine," Bessie assured them. "I'm actually really good at hiding." To demonstrate, she began swimming away with slow, careful movements that barely disturbed the surface of the water. "This only happened because they caught me by surprise. It won't happen again."
"Well, if it ever does," Percy said warmly, "you know who to get in contact with."
Bessie nuzzled against his open palm in silent agreement, then began sinking back beneath the waves after a final round of goodbyes. Percy kept waving lightly until she disappeared from sight into the deeper blue.
Once she was gone, the two of them turned and walked off the pier together. Percy swung himself up onto Blackjack's back with casual ease. She immediately launched into her appreciation.
"Thank you, boss. You really are the man."
Percy smiled and let out a soft huff, already sensing what was coming next. He gave her neck an encouraging pat even as a faint sense of dread settled in. "Anytime."
Blackjack took off in a graceful gallop, wings spreading as they rose into the air once more. Almost immediately her nervous energy returned.
"Boss, tell me quickly—how's my mane? Is it straight? And my tail hair… they're not bushy, are they?"
Percy's mouth began to twitch. 'Here we go.' He ran a hand carefully through her glossy black mane. "Trust me, you're good," he said, trying to sound convincing even though he had no real idea what -good- was supposed to look like on a pegasus.
"What about my feathers?" Blackjack pressed, voice tight with nerves. "They're not overlapping, right?"
"No…" Percy answered with mild exasperation, lightly patting one of her powerful wings. "Your feathers look fine. Everything looks fine. You're good to go."
Blackjack still didn't seem entirely convinced, but she lifted her head a little higher, clearly determined to look her absolute best when they returned to camp… and to a certain handsome stallion waiting there.
When they landed traveled through the snowy forest, the soft crunch of frozen ground underfoot and the quiet whisper of falling flakes surrounding them, until the familiar outlines of Camp Half-Blood came into view once more.
"Okay, now get off and take this thing off of me," Blackjack said, lifting her head high in a deliberately regal manner. "No offense, boss, but it messes with my style."
Percy rolled his eyes but did as he was told. With a small gesture he unsummoned the spectral saddle from her back. Blackjack immediately gave a full-body shake, rolling her shoulders and adjusting her posture until she looked as poised and majestic as possible.
Percy simply watched the entire spectacle with a perfectly straight face, unsure what the appropriate reaction was supposed to be to a pegasus carefully arranging herself for maximum dramatic effect.
He let out a long, quiet exhale as he fell into step beside her. Blackjack strode forward with exaggerated elegance, every movement calculated to look graceful and powerful.
'What is my life?' Percy thought helplessly. 'Is this really what being a demigod is really all about? Acting as the wingman for a lovestruck pegasus?'
They approached Sebastian, who stood a short distance away, calmly enjoying a snack and a drink. The powerful warhorse paid them no mind at first, his head lowered over his food, the space around him warm from the heat he was releasing.
Percy and Blackjack came to a stop directly in front of him. Several long seconds passed. Finally, Blackjack cleared her throat—loudly and pointedly—to draw his attention.
Sebastian raised his head slowly. His mouth continued chewing in a leisurely fashion as he regarded them with a completely deadpan expression. The soft fire in his mane flickered and crackled quietly.
Blackjack whipped her head back in what she clearly hoped was a cool, nonchalant motion, brushing her glossy black mane over her head. "So, Percy," she said in a carefully casual tone, "who's your friend? Do you perhaps want to introduce us?"
Percy had to bite the inside of his cheek hard and take a steadying breath just to keep from bursting into laughter. After a shaky exhale, he managed to speak in a carefully monotone voice.
"Blackjack, meet Sebastian—a warhorse belonging to my cousin Lucian. Sebastian, meet Blackjack, a pegasus who's become a special friend of mine over the time I've known her."
Blackjack kept her head tilted slightly back, trying to appear effortlessly cool. "Sup," she greeted casually. "I'm sure you've already heard from my boy Percy, but I'm Blackjack."
"Phttt—!" Percy slapped both hands over his mouth as tears of laughter began to prick at the corners of his eyes.
Blackjack ignored him completely and pushed forward. "I haven't seen you around here before, so I figured I'd come over and introduce myself."
Sebastian continued chewing slowly. His dark eyes shifted from Percy to Blackjack and back again. Then, without a word, he lowered his head, carefully picked up a bright red apple in his teeth, and set it neatly at Blackjack's hooves. He grabbed a second apple for himself and simply walked away, not even glancing back.
Percy looked back and forth between the departing stallion and the apple on the ground, blinking in mild surprise.
The moment Sebastian disappeared from view, Blackjack let out a soft, high-pitched whimper. "Percy…"
"Hm?" he asked, turning to look at her. He immediately noticed that her legs were trembling badly, her knees practically knocking together.
"I can't feel my legs," she whispered—then promptly collapsed onto the snowy ground, her head dropping as her mane fell forward to cover her eyes.
A second later her head snapped up toward Percy, pure joy blazing across her face. "Did you see that?!" she squealed. She bent her neck and carefully collected the apple at her feet. "He gave me his apple! Do you think that means he's interested?!"
'It looked to me more like he thought you were hungry and just decided to share his food…' Percy thought privately. But he didn't have the heart to ruin her enthusiasm.
"Maybe," he said with a carefully forced smile. "Who knows… he might just be."
"I mean…" Blackjack corrected herself quickly, scrambling back up onto her feet. She stood regal once more and ate the entire apple in one enthusiastic bite. "Of course he's interested," she said mid-chew, a smug little grin forming. She turned to look at Percy. "He's just a little shy. Can't say I really blame him."
"Right," Percy replied, the stiff smile still firmly in place.
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