Not a Squeak

You're certain about this?"

It was a bright and pleasant morning at the outdoor breakfast pavilion where all the campers ate. Not too hot, not too humid, but with plenty of sun. Perseus stood next to a concerned-looking Thalia in line behind the slow-moving Aphrodite Cabin, waiting to offer their daily sacrifices into the brazier. He shook his head.

"Isn't the point of giving someone a choice to, you know, allow them to choose? I think that's the fifth time you asked that question. Besides, you're the one who came up with the options in the first place."

"I know!" Thalia said. "But still… you picked that one? You couldn't have just gone with the stables? It would've been so much safer!"

"You don't take a girl that's down on her luck to literally roll in the hay," Perseus said absently. "That's just atrocious manners."

In truth he was only half listening to Thalia. Partially because this was far from the first time they had this conversation, and partially because his eyes were busy. He scanned the overcrowded Hermes table where shoulders were jammed together and faces were difficult to pick out of the curly collective mess of brown hair.

"Well if you get caught, it's on you," Thalia said sourly. "Have you thought about how you're going to approach her?"

"I've thought about it enough to know that I don't want to think any deeper." Perseus's eyes continued scanning the busy table. "I've always been an improvisational sort of guy. As long as I pay attention, I'm sure an opportunity will present itself."

"If you say so," Thalia said dubiously.

Ahead of them, the last of the Aphrodite girls finished their sacrifice. That should have happened at least five minutes earlier, but they really were meticulous. Each of them shoved at least half their food into the fire, before clasping their hands and praying like their life depended on the results. Perseus wasn't sure he wanted to know what they were wishing for.

As most of them wandered back toward their table, a couple took what little food was left on their plates and broke away from the pack. Slowly, each of them left the dining pavilion behind, and most weren't alone. Among them, one tall girl with flowing dark hair met up with a blond boy that had the sunny looks and shiny teeth of Apollo. They walked down the hill with their arms linked together.

At the same time, Perseus finally picked out the face he was looking for from the Hermes table. Sharp nose, pretty but un-styled brown hair, and cute mousy features. She was playing with her food more than eating it, pushing slices of sausage forward and back across her plate. Her eyes were fixed downhill, glued to the backs of Apollo boy and his glamorous Aphrodite date.

"Bingo," Perseus said.

Except, as he watched, the brunette muttered something to the Asian girl sitting beside her and stood up. Her friend said something back, frowning sharply, but the brunette wasn't listening. She'd already started to jog away, following the couple she'd been eyeing while keeping just enough distance to keep out of their sight.

"Oh, no, no, noooo," Perseus said.

"What? What is it?" Thalia asked, looking concerned.

"Something came up." Perseus flashed her a quick grin and turned. He hefted a muffin off his plate and tossed it over his shoulder, where it arced into the brazier flames with a puff of sea-salt smelling smoke. "I've got a mistake to stop before it happens."

-

The canoe lake was a lovely feature– the best Camp Half-Blood had to offer, by Perseus's measure. Of course, he was biased. Crystalline water, even the un-salted variety ringed with algae and cattails, reminded him of his father. Though she left it far in her past, his mother came from the oceans herself. Anytime the water was within view, Perseus felt a touch more at home in his exile. 

There was something so peaceful about the sight of subtly shifting water. So alluring. So… romantic.

And it appeared he wasn't alone in that assessment.

The errant Aphrodite girl and her Apollo-blooded lover had made a beeline straight for the shore as soon as they reached the bottom of the hill. That was where they were now, sitting on a sandy patch of shore with the plates they carried from breakfast. The girl's was piled high with nothing but fruit, which Perseus thought a curious choice until her motive came out. The two took turns feeding each other berries, biting strawberries out of the other's hand or licking individual grapes up off their palm. The giggling echoed all the way to where Perseus sat on the low branch of a tree, watching with a mild but growing sense of disgust.

He was all for romantic gestures — of course he was! — but even he had some standards.

It wasn't that he begrudged two youths of inflamed passions their fun. It was just… this was the best that they could do?

The sound of something crunching reached his ears.

Staring down toward a dense thicket approximately halfway between his perch and the lovers, Perseus watched Julia Feingold grip a branch tightly enough to turn her knuckles white. He thought he could even hear her teeth grinding, despite the better part of ten yards separating them. As the boy popped yet another strawberry into his lover's mouth, this time accidentally engulfing one of his fingers between her lips, the two broke down giggling, pressing their foreheads together. Julia's hands snapped the branch they'd been straining against.

The Aphrodite girl jerked her head up, staring into the bushes. "What was that?"

"Nothing, my rose," said the boy. "Here, have another strawberry."

He held up more fruit, but the girl laid her hand over his, still looking off into the woods.

"Are you sure?"

"It's probably small woodland creatures, entranced by your overwhelming beauty," he said. "Please, pay them no mind. Strawberry."

Again, she refused his proffered fruit. This time, though, she did return her eyes to him.

"I don't know if I like that," she said, her brow furrowing. "You mean, like, squirrels? They have such beady little eyes. Maybe a satyr sent them to spy on me? I'm certain they give me the most lecherous looks when I'm not looking."

"Just point them out, and I shall set them straight." The boy leaned in. "However, for now, I will shield your lovely face if it pleases you. I am greedy enough to keep your petals all to myself, my flower."

"Oh!" exclaimed the girl, followed by giggles as her lover raised his hand in front of her face, leaning in to capture her lips.

Perseus was torn between retching from the unadulterated cheesiness or applauding the boy because it had worked. Game was game.

Even if it did make him consider ripping out his own eyes to use them as earplugs.

The kiss dragged on for almost a minute, only becoming louder and wetter, only ending when a sharp Crack! echoed from the forest.

Julia, who had gone pale and very still after almost being discovered, had rammed her small fist straight into the bark of the nearest tree. Watching kiss must really have enraged her. She didn't even flinch as her punch collided with the solid trunk of a healthy tree.

The lover's leaped apart, especially the girl, whose eyes frantically scanned the wood. But Julia had picked her spot well, too hidden to be seen from the beach.

"I told you something was out there!" said the girl.

"Then let them witness our love!" said the boy.

He leaned in again, impatient to reignite the kiss, but his partner was already standing.

"Not here," she insisted. "I'm not letting any satyr spy on me and get ideas. Why, just witnessing his beauty would probably have him reaching down and grabbing his disgusting, smelly, furry little—"

"Please, don't sully your beautiful lips with such uncouth talk!" the boy said, rising to follow her. "Let's go elsewhere— anywhere! I promise to find a spot more to your liking."

"You promise?" asked the girl.

The boy laid a hand across his heart, bowing his head. "I do. With as much devotion as Hera promised herself to only her husband on the night they were wed."

"Oh, Honey!"

The Aphrodite girl threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around her neck. The two moved away quickly, so tangled up together that they almost looked like a single beast from the back as they rushed to find a new, more private spot.

They were in such a rush that they neglected even to pick up after themselves. The two plates of fruit sat unattended, left in the sand even after they disappeared from sight.

For his part, Perseus was pondering the poor choice of metaphor he'd just heard when something caught his eye.

Julia was creeping forward.

Not after the couple, though. No, she was moving deftly through the undergrowth almost like she was aiming for…

Perseus's eyes widened, and he set his own plate aside as he dropped hurriedly from the tree, rushing forward and hoping he would make it in time. 

His haste earned him more than a few broken-off twigs decorating his sleeves and even a branch to the face, but he didn't take his eyes off the end goal. Julia had emerged from the trees. She stooped down on the beach, lifting the discarded plate left behind by her ex. Slowly, she lifted it toward her face. Perseus accelerated even more.

As the plate approached her face she shut her eyes. Her tongue came out, reaching longingly for the spots the boy had held. A small trail of drool dribbled from the left corner of her mouth.

Whap!

Julia jerked back, her eyes shooting open. Perseus stood there with his hand still lowered from slapping the plate to the ground, where it embedded in the sand with a spray of leftover strawberries. He was breathing hard from the run to get there, but the flush in his cheeks was pure satisfaction. He'd done what he had to.

They both stood there, completely still. Small waves from the lake lapped at the shore. Julia stared up at the stranger standing in front of her, while Perseus wallowed in an unbelievably pronounced sense of relief.

Very, very slowly, a blush began to sweep Julia's face, starting at either cheek and growing to encompass her entire face. She shot up from her crouch, hands clenching into fists at either side of her waist as she screamed, "I WAS CHECKING FOR POISON!"

Perseus swore even the nearby branches shook and swayed just from the volume the small girl managed to achieve.

"Come on," he said, crossing his arms, "you were quite clearly trying to lick—"

Two hands covered his mouth in an X shape, though Julia had to lean forward and go up on her tippy-toes to even reach that high.

"I'm here to investigate!" she said quickly. "Reports— many reports! Poison! Assassination attempt! If I didn't check those strawberries, someone could've died!"

She took a moment to catch her breath. Which was understandable, really, considering she squeezed all of that out in a single one.

Abruptly, she pulled her hands away and jumped back, cradling her right palm while staring at Perseus. The ex-god's tongue hung out, extended from giving the girl a sudden lick.

"No poison on your hands," he said innocently. "I think we're safe, Sir."

He snapped off a quick salute. Julia stared at him with eyes stretched so wide, Perseus was worried they would burst.

"You… You… Who even are you, and where did you come from?" she shouted. Her eyes lingered on his face, really studying it for the first time, and the remnants of her blush roared back. "And… are there any more like you on their way?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you where I came from," Perseus promised, "so you can just consider me a new camper. Ah, I'm afraid there aren't any more like me on their way, either. I'm one of a kind, see? But that's no problem for you. You have the original, after all."

"I… have you?" Julia asked strangely.

"Of course." Perseus stooped, picking up the discarded plate and brushing sand off, before looking back at her. "I'm right here, am I not?"

"Right! You meant it that way." Julia looked away, still pink in the face. "Of course he did," she muttered to herself. "How else would the stranger have meant it? Idiot! Stupid!"

She continued muttering in increasingly dark tones, drawing into her own little world. Perseus watched her for a minute, popping a succulent grape into his mouth and chewing. Then he pulled a second one free of the stem and flicked it forward with unerring accuracy.

The grape launched straight through Julia's moving lips and lodged between her molars. Before she understood what was happening, she'd bit down and filled her mouth with sweet fruit juice. She chewed thoroughly and swallowed.

"Like it?" Perseus asked when she was done. "I learned that trick from an old friend. It's much more reliable than that guy himself, though; I've never known it not to break someone's bad mood."

Julia was looking at him with an unreadable expression. After a moment it turned visibly indignant, but that seemed to take conscious effort on her part.

She threw out her hand. "You can't just feed people out of nowhere! What if I choked and died? Even worse, what if you gave me the wrong idea? There's some lines you just shouldn't cross!"

But Perseus had already tossed the plate away to the side. Instead of answering her question, his hands wrapped around her extended wrist. Julia started to pull away, and Perseus made sure to keep his grip loose enough that she could if she wanted. Except she stopped, leaving her hand in his grip.

Perseus's fingers traced her knuckle lightly, observing splotchy red bruises and at least two spots of broken skin.

"You should really be more careful," he said. 

"I just got injured in the line of duty," Julia muttered. "Y'know, stopping all those deadly assassins."

"Of course," Perseus agreed easily. "But pretty girls like you really shouldn't spend their free time punching trees. Especially not over cheesy guys that aren't worth their time."

"You saw that—! Wait, you think I'm pretty?"

"Of course." Perseus channeled the slightest sliver of power through his index finger while sliding it across her injured knuckle. As he did, he looked Julia directly in the eyes. "I'm a lot of things." As he spoke, the bruises and cuts disappeared, transforming seamlessly back into unmarred skin. "But one thing I'll never be is a liar, especially not when it comes to something like this. You have your own charm. You have a lovely face, half your father's features mixed with something new. So yes, you're pretty, in case you were wondering."

Julia stared at him, practically entranced. She pulled her hand back, but not so far that it slid free. Instead, she pulled back exactly enough to lace her fingers into his. Perseus smiled—

"Julia?"

Abruptly, Julia jerked her hand away completely. She spun so fast to face the new voice that Perseus was worried she'd come down with whiplash.

"Arthur!" she said, greeting the Apollo boy who'd reappeared, his new Aphrodite girlfriend still on his arm. "And… Lucy."

Even if Thalia hadn't explained everything to me in her lesson, Perseus would've understood the dynamic just from the tone of Julia's voice. Her ex-boyfriend, standing in front of her with his more glamorous 'upgrade' draped all over him.

"I knew I heard your voice," Arthur said. "What are you doing here?"

His eyes dipped to the plates on the ground, and when they returned to Julia they looked unfathomably disappointed. 

"Oh, Julia," he said. "You can't be doing this. I understand what a catch I am, but we broke up. I'm a happily committed man now. When we were together, I was only a somewhat committed man. You have to respect that and stop chasing after me!"

"Oh, Honey, can't we let her keep at it?" Lucy — the Aphrodite girl — asked, shooting her lover puppy dog eyes. "A hopeless rival might be exactly what we need to kick our romance to the next level!"

Arthur looked like he was seriously considering that. "This might be your lucky day," he told Julia. "I've changed my mind. Feel free to keep chasing us until death finally does us part!"

"Or until we break up," Lilly said.

Arthur laughed nervously. "Like I said, until death."

Julia was turning red. Perseus couldn't tell if it was embarrassment or anger. Probably some combination of the two. Her hands were balled into fists again. Perseus stepped forward, putting himself between the couple and her line of sight.

"It seems like you've made a mistake," he said, flashing a disarming grin. "Julia wasn't here for anything to do with you. See, she was here on a critical mission. Top secret, you understand. All I can share is that it involved an assassination, strawberries, and poison potent enough to give Akylys wet dreams. I dare say Julia here is the only thing that saved this camp from a tragedy."

Arthur shot him a confused, not-quite-friendly look.

"And you are?" he asked.

"My name isn't important," Perseus said. "You can just consider me Julia's assistant. Her grunt, if you will. Chiron assigned me personally. Without her leadership, I wouldn't make it out of bed each morning!"

"So you're like… her underling?" Arthur asked, growing more confused by the word.

Perseus snapped his fingers. "Precisely! And, by an astounding twist of fate, even more than that." He blushed like a maiden in courting— a look he'd seen more than enough times to replicate on command. "The two of us have recently become lovers, see. I promise, none are more surprised about that than I myself am."

"You are with her?" Lilly asked.

"I know it's shocking," Perseus said. "With my looks, I'm not sure how I ever got so lucky. But I try my best."

Arthur had gone oddly quiet. His eyes looked Perseus up and down, taking in his height and the muscles visible under his clothes, all perfectly shaped and sculpted for looks. Arthur's eyes went down, looking at himself, his clothes and his own build. When his head rose again something wild had entered his eyes.

"Did you pay him?" he asked Julia suddenly. Turning to Lilly, he said, "She must've! Look at how far apart they're standing. I bet he wouldn't actually touch her if she begged him—"

Julia's startled yelp stopped him dead in his tracks.

Perseus had pulled her close, so tight that their bodies were nearly glued together. His hands wrapped around her back, and as she looked up at him, startled, his lips found hers. His tongue moved straight into Julia's mouth, capturing hers ostentatiously. After a long moment he pulled back, trails of saliva spanning the distance between their faces like suspension bridges. Julia looked comatose with her eyes open.

Perseus looked back at the couple. "Sorry to say this, but can you leave? We could really do with a little privacy."

When they both continued to stare, unmoving, Perseus let out a theatrical sigh.

"Very well," he said. "I suppose you can stay and watch. A jealous audience might be exactly what we need to kick our lovemaking to the next level."

At that mocking line Arthur's stupor snapped. He made a noise that sounded like a dozen indignant statements rolled up into a single incoherent mess. Then he grabbed Lilly's hand and dragged her away. If he had caught the way his girlfriend kept looking back toward Perseus, he might've shown an even more indignant reaction.

As soon as they were gone, Perseus released Julia and stepped back, offering her a small smile.

"I'm sorry if that was too forward," he said. "They just got on my nerves, and that seemed like the best way to shut them up."

"Any time," Julia muttered dreamily. Then she shook herself, coming back down to earth. "I mean, it really wasn't any trouble this time. But I won't be so forgiving if it happens again!"

"Understood," Perseus said dutifully. "Next time, I'll make sure to ask first."

Julia froze. Red spread on her cheeks again, and she couldn't help but mutter, "Next time?" excitedly to herself.

"Juuuuuliaaaaaaa? Julia, are you thereeeeee?"

At first Perseus thought the female voice was Lilly's, coming back for some unknown reason. But this one was higher-pitched and not nearly so unfriendly. His eyes picked out somebody running toward them. As they approached, he realized they were as small as Julia herself. The Asian girl he'd spotted at the breakfast table that morning skidded to a stop in front of them, her eyes wide.

"I saw Arthur leaving here in a huff!" said the newcomer. "After you went and chased him… Please tell me you didn't fight again?"

The girl was a half-sister of Julia's. Perseus could tell from the beak-like nose they shared, even if the rest of their features (other than height) were completely different. Her skin was pale where Julia's was lightly tanned. Her hair was black, rather than dark brown. And where Julia's eyes were wide and naturally mischievous, this girl's were thin and… well, naturally mischievous.

When Julia didn't answer immediately, the newcomer seemed to notice Perseus. She stared at him for a moment.

"Who are you?" she asked bluntly.

"Julia's assistant," Perseus said.

"If that were true that would make you the assistant to my assistant, and I'd definitely know if I had one of those. Who are you really?"

"I stopped this girl from licking her ex's old plate," he admitted. "Although she told me she was checking for poison."

The Asian girl looked aghast.

"You are a counselor of the Hermes Cabin," she said to Julia. "Our dad is the god of thieves and merchants. And that was the best lie you could come up with?"

"Shut up, Alice," Julia muttered, discovering a certain sudden interest in the ground.

"I don't think Arthur bought it either," Perseus said. "He's not as stupid as he looks.

Alice — the Asian girl — said, "Not quite, but it's close. Something must've happened, though. He looked as mad as I've ever seen. What'd you do?"

"I have my ways," Perseus said mysteriously while Julia blushed behind him.

Alice stared at them both. After a long enough pause that Perseus wasn't sure what to expect, she said, "Alright. Playtime is over, though, Julia. You already left me alone to oversee breakfast. That means you're in charge of the archery lessons today."

"No fair!" Julia complained.

"Quite fair, actually." Alice looked at Perseus. "Nice meeting you, my assistant's assistant. But if you'll excuse us, she's had more than enough time off for one day."

Perseus graciously stepped aside.

"Don't let me keep you," he said.

"I like this one," Alice told Julia. "He has common sense."

Julia just shot Perseus a look that said she would've liked a tad more help than he'd offered.

Well, he wasn't going to help her skip out on counselor duties, but that didn't mean he was quite done with her yet. As she passed by, he grabbed her hand. Perseus leaned down, whispering something in her ear that only they could hear. A few steps ahead, Alice turned and watched curiously. He was sure she tried to listen in (this was Hermes's kid they were talking about) but his voice was low enough to keep the audience solely to Julia. 

By the time he finished and pulled away, Julia looked redder than one of Apollo's cattle and Alice looked unhealthily curious. But despite the unquenchable blush, one look into Julia's eyes was all Perseus needed to know this mission was on its proper course.

"I guess I'll see you around," he said.

Julia nodded fast enough to turn her face into nothing but a bright red blur.

-

Perseus allowed warm water to run freely over his body, humming a jaunty tune that just wouldn't stay out of his head. It had been stuck there ever since Calliope belted it out the last time he was in her bed. For the muses, singing was as much a part of sex as foreplay.

Still humming, Perseus worked shampoo into his hair and thoroughly washed it out as he waited. He'd arrived at the camp showers slightly early, but that was better than the alternative. A pair of shorts lay draped across the door of the stall he'd picked, obvious to the room but seemingly innocent enough.

Just as his private performance hit its chorus, a barrage of voices flooded the bathroom. Hooting, hollering, giggling— more than two dozen people raucously entered, utterly drowning Percy's singing. Rather than take it to heart, he smiled eagerly.

He'd taken a random stall, one down from the far left corner. Each public shower had plastic barriers on either side that extended down to ankle-height. The doors were positioned opposite to where the spherical shower heads protruded from the wall. The stalls weren't exactly steeped in luxury, but neither were they pieces of junk.

Water erupted from the shower heads on either side of Perseus's stall with a metallic shriek. For a moment the chatter quieted as campers split up into their own separate stalls. Perseus even caught two familiar voices directing traffic with a steady stream of orders and commands. Soon, a new sound rose up:

Full-throated, awful singing.

Well, at least Perseus could rule out the possibility that he'd gotten the timing wrong and matched up with the Apollo Cabin by mistake.

Finally, Perseus caught the noise he'd been waiting for. With nothing more than a soft squeak, his own stall swung quickly open and closed. When he turned around Julia was standing there in nothing but a towel.

Her hair hung loosely around her face. One hand was busy holding up her towel while the other ensured the stall was shut behind her. For a moment her expression was unbelievably nervous, but that disappeared quickly as Perseus turned to her. Her eyes rapidly drank in his nude figure, lightly smeared with spots of soap and shiny from the water. Her throat visibly bulged as she gulped.

Perseus greeted her with a smile. He stepped closer, until she was forced to look up toward his face. Slowly, gently, he guided the hand holding her towel away from her body. At first Julia resisted slightly, but just as quickly she gave in and allowed the cloth to fall away.

She had a wiry build to go with her short stature. While shy of a six-pack, her stomach was toned and slim. While undeniably small, her breasts had a charm all their own. While she seemed slightly embarrassed, she made no move to shield her body. Perseus loved that. There was no need to deny a lover the view of what was soon to be theirs.

In the spirit of that, Perseus pulled her close.

"May I?" he whispered.

Julia nodded almost unhealthily fast.

He began right where they stopped in front of her ex— his tongue pushing into her mouth from above, their bodies fused together. Only this time there were no clothes to get in their way as warm water cascaded down their bare, conjoined skin.

Perseus was clearly the one leading things. His tongue moved freely and forcefully as they kissed. Julia was more than an agency-less passenger, though. Wherever his tongue took things, hers was only a half-second behind.

He grabbed her tight, firm backside. Like the rest of her body, it was small. His hands could engulf both cheeks. There was something hot about that, though: a turn-on that thrummed through Perseus's body and made him hunger for more.

As they kissed, he felt a delicate caress. Holding a naked girl so close, his cock had slowly been hardening, rising toward full-mast from its old position hanging between his legs. That was no surprise. What was a surprise were the hands that grasped his length, moving forward and back in dutiful cycles. Julia's fingers darted and flicked with nimbleness and dexterity far beyond the norm. Perseus could easily imagine them lifting a wealthy tourist's wallet from his unsuspecting pants, except now all that careful motor control was being put toward the very important task of milking his cock.

Perseus's hands shifted. One slid up Julia's back to wrap around her wet hair, squeezing until she was sure to feel the tension. His other hand went down. It wrapped around past her ass, squeezing between her legs from the back. His fingers quickly found her pussy's entrance, slipping inside.

Julia yelped at the touch, although it quickly faded into a formal moan. Singing from the other stalls was the only thing masking her exclamation. 

"Shhhhhh," Perseus reminded her.

She nodded, a sharp flush spreading on her cheeks. Her mouth set into a determined line. As much as his fingers stimulated her, her fingers did their damn best to repay him in kind.

She was good, too. Shockingly good. A combination of experience and her natural born talents made her fingers feel better than almost any of the lovers' Percy had taken in the past.

Yet, as adept as she was at dealing pleasure, she was putty in his fingers at the same time. Her pussy gushed around his probing fingers, desperately disgorging fluids and making her lithe thighs constrict around his hand. The odd angle he was reaching from let his fingers strike unusual spots. That wasn't explanation enough for the rampant reaction, though; clearly, she just hadn't had this sort of attention in far too long.

Perhaps it wasn't surprising, considering all of this, that neither of them lasted long. Julia came twice against Percy's fingers, and before he knew it he was cumming too. Semen splattered across Julia's stomach and chest, but almost as soon as it landed it was washed away by the water. White globs swirled down the drain. Perseus hoped they had some kind of magic worked on them, or that would've been one mightily unpleasant clog for an unfortunate plumber to take on.

Julia looked thoroughly proud, although the effect was diminished slightly by her knees being turned in and pressed together. After only this much she was already struggling to stand. Perseus decided to take pity on her.

"That's enough playing around, don't you think?" he said quietly.

Before Julia had time do more than look surprised, he'd reaffirmed his grip and hefted her off the ground.

Carrying a girl had never been easier in his memory. Julia was so light, and whether because she no longer trusted her legs or because she was just that sick of being stuck in a dry spell, she didn't fight at all.

Perseus pressed her back to the cool tile, positioning her above the shower handle and to the side of a shelf coated with bottles of shampoo. Julia shivered at the wall's cool touch, but Perseus's body and the water cascading down them quickly warmed her up.

She looked into Perseus's eyes, a plea clear in her expression. He knew what she was asking for next. And he would give it to her. His hips aligned his cock with her entrance, pushing forward just enough to make sure he wouldn't miss.

And they slammed forward, filling the small girl in one sharp thrust.

Julia gasped loudly. Fear filled her eyes as she awaited the resounding slap of flesh that would get them caught— except it never came. 

Nine-and-a-half inches were absolutely straining Julia's insides, but that left another half-inch separating their hips. Perseus hadn't gone slow. He hadn't been gentle. And yet, he retained the control to stop at exactly the right moment to keep their flesh form colliding.

He began moving in earnest, thrusts exactly like the first one stacking one after another in ever-increasing numbers. He was amazed so much of him fit in Julia, and to be certain it was close. Her walls were widening each time he moved, reshaping to accommodate a kind of cock she'd never felt before.

The experience was almost revelatory, judging by her expression. Her eyes were nearly bugged-out. Her hands went out wide to either side of her, scrabbling against the tiles as pleasure rocked her body.

Low grunts echoed out of Perseus as he repeatedly crammed himself into such a tight place. If it weren't for the extra lubrication from the tap water streaming everywhere, he wasn't sure this would even be possible. Still, he managed to keep his voice low enough not to cause trouble. The singing from neighboring stalls wasn't so loud as it had been before. Some people were already finishing, getting out and toweling off.

What worried Perseus more than his own voice was Julia's. She had been doing such a good job holding in her moans, but the more intense the experience became the higher her voice climbed.

Suddenly, a voice from somewhere to the right asked, "Julia? Is that you?"

Julia continued to groan and moan.

"...Are you alright? I thought I heard something."

Perseus thought the jig might be up then and there. Julia looked a mess. Her brown hair looked almost black with how waterlogged it had become, hanging across her face like a ghost straight out of a horror movie. Peaking between the locks, he could see her pupils halfway rolled up into her head. She looked hardly conscious, let alone in good enough condition to answer any questions.

Yet, her voice sounded almost impossibly normal as she called out, "I'm fine! Just dropped the soap."

Perseus held his breath. While continuing to thrust, of course. He had priorities. But the Hermes camper never asked more questions. Julia's answer had gotten heat off of their backs.

Perseus leaned in close to her, pushing their foreheads together.

"I think I ate some bad strawberries," he whispered. "Check my mouth for poison."

Julia's mouth found his with all the desperation of a fallen hiker grasping for a ledge. They kissed with just as much enthusiasm as earlier, albeit with a lot less technique. Each of them was too distracted by the pleasure coursing through their bodies to remember tricks and timing. All that was important was that they had another way to connect; another way to remind each other that they were both there.

Julia came again, and minutes later that count rose to four. When she hit a fifth orgasm, her spine stiffened. Her lower back pulled away from the wall, her arms slamming out with even more force.

That turned out to be a mistake. Her fingers caught two bottles of shampoo and a soap bar, sending all three flying to the floor.

The singing had become so quiet you could barely hear it. Most of the campers seemed to have already finished and left… meaning the ones that remained could hear the disturbance all the more clearly.

"Julia?" the same voice from earlier asked again.

This time, Julia couldn't muster an answer. She tried. Her mouth moved weakly, struggling to form another dismissive white lie like earlier, only her body just couldn't summon its voice.

"I think something's wrong with Julia," said the voice. "She's making weird noises. It isn't like her to be so clumsy. And now she's not even answering!"

"Where's she showering?" asked a different voice.

Perseus narrowed his eyes. This new one, the second voice, sounded familiar. He'd definitely heard it before, enough for it to be burned into his brain, and yet he couldn't place who it belonged to.

"She went into the stall just to the right of mine," said the first voice.

"The one with men's shorts draped over the door?"

"Oh. Yeah, actually. That's strange. Did someone leave them behind?"

Perseus felt like cursing. He glanced over his shoulder, spotting the shorts he'd left conspicuously on his stall. It was a sign to show Julia which door to slip through, but he meant to take them down when they served their purpose. Then he got carried away once Julia was actually in front of him…

"I'll check on her," said a voice, and this one Perseus recognized. Alice, Julia's best friend and co-counselor, had a distinct edge to her voice. "I'm sure Julia is overjoyed you're so worried about her, Holly, but you really don't need to do more than this."

"But—"

"That's final!"

Footsteps came closer, and the stall opened just enough for a face to peer through.

Alice's eyes quickly took in Perseus. They saw Julia, quivering too badly to speak but clearly terrified of being discovered. Strangely, she didn't seem surprised at all, not even a little bit. The only sign of shock came as she watched Perseus pull back out of her best friend and saw just how much of him had been shoved inside Julia. Alice chewed her lower lip, something flashing in her eyes.

A blush formed out of nowhere, and Alice suddenly made a big show of pulling back. "Sorry!"

She whipped around to look toward where the other voices had come from and said, "She's not even in there! I swear to the gods, if I get reported to Chiron for peeping because you two were nosy, I'm setting you on toilet scrubbing duty for months!"

The innocent-sounding voice that started it all squeaked, "I'm so sorry!"

But the other, the one Alice called Holly, reacted differently. "That's impossible!" she snapped. "Move."

Alice yelped, followed by the sound of her being shoved to the floor. It wasn't much, but it was enough to act as a warning to Perseus, who adjusted quickly. A good thing he did, too. Seconds later the door was wrenched fully open.

There in the opening was a girl Perseus recognized. Dark hair. Nearly golden eyes. It was the miscreant that he ran into running away from the overly harsh balding prank, the one that he tripped and promptly 'lost' a kicking competition against by forfeit.

Eagerness and maybe a tinge of desperation colored her eyes as she searched the stall. Slowly, that bled into disbelief.

From the entryway, all she could see was an ordinary stall. The shampoo and soap had fallen to the floor, but other than that nothing was out of place, just one boy standing with his back to her in the path of the showerhead's warm water.

Perseus looked over his shoulder. "Can I fucking help you?"

"But… But…" Holly stuttered. 

A moment later she disappeared, shoved away onto the floor by Alice, who stepped back into view. The counselor quickly swung the stall door shut. Even as it was closing Perseus caught the way she'd grabbed Holly by the wrist and began dragging the unruly girl straight out of the building.

Finally, Perseus allowed himself a sigh. He looked down and smiled.

"Comfortable?" he asked.

Julia just groaned.

In the moment before Holly attempted to catch them, Perseus had managed to react. He'd shoved Julia's legs tight to her chest and folded her up almost like a ball. Her arms he'd trapped behind her neck, while her head was tucked up against her own chest. The position was quite the contortion, but Julia was flexible enough to pull it off. Combined with her small size, the move had been enough to totally hide her body behind Perseus's torso, shielding her from view.

"You look good like that," Perseus said.

Julia shuddered. "I'm never doing something like this ever again…" she moaned quietly.

A moment later she yelped. Perseus had leaned forward, his cock sliding deeper into her once more.

"In that case, you should really get your money's worth before you finish, shouldn't you?" Perseus asked.

Her whole body trembling, Julia wrapped her arms around the back of his head as he began moving again, this time with the whole bathroom to themselves.

Suffice to say, Camp Half-Blood would be paying extra for hot water that month by the time the two had finished.

-

Perseus hummed a song to himself— a different one to what he'd sung while waiting in the shower, but another that he'd gotten from the Muses in the same way. It had been a whole day since his tryst with Julia, and the entire experience had left him feeling accomplished. He couldn't shake an aura of productivity as he sat down at the Poseidon table with a plate piled high with eggs and bacon. Another day, another step closer to reclaimed godhood.

It was only after he'd worked his way through his first twenty bites or so that he noticed something odd about the pavilion. There was a murmur of conversation that seemed different from the usual clamor. It started around the Aphrodite table and spread slowly outwards. Soon, every table was talking more loudly than ever.

Perseus put that out of his mind and returned to his food, only to start catching a few repeated words wafting over from his neighboring tables. 

Julia. Showers. Pervert.

Perseus's knuckle went white around his fork. He spun to look at the Hermes table— a move that might've been conspicuous if half of the camp wasn't doing something similar.

It wasn't hard to pick Julia out of the crowded table this time. By the point Perseus looked over she'd already shoved her way to her feet with a clatter of knocked-over silverware. She rushed from the pavilion, ignoring the way Alice called after her.

"I thought you said you didn't get caught."

Thalia had appeared in the gap between their tables, looking down at Perseus from the corner of her eye. There was no need to worry about being overheard. Not today, with the way this breakfast was going.

"We didn't," Perseus said tightly.

"All this—" Thalia flapped her hand at their surroundings "—says differently."

"Not really."

"Oh? And if you didn't get caught, how do you explain what's going on here?"

So many of the details being thrown around were true. And yet, crucial ones were missing. Perseus hadn't heard his own name mentioned even once. In fact, half the chatter seemed to be people bandying theories on who the boy had been. If he and Julia really had been exposed, there was no way he would've been spared like this.

Which meant this hadn't been about him in the first place, and what was true had never been important in this rumor.

"It means that someone really doesn't like dear Julia," Perseus said, "and we happened to give them a nasty idea even as I covered up the evidence of what actually happened." 

His eyes picked out one person from the Hermes table, sitting as far from Alice as possible. Holly had a smirk on her face as she sat with her arms crossed, gazing across the raucous pavilion. Perseus's fork began to bend as the pressure from his hand increased.

Then, he took a steadying breath. He collected his thoughts, tamping down on a gut reaction.

He was already on two girls out of twelve. That was one-sixth of the way to the ultimate goal. The less he got distracted, the faster this would go, and the sooner he'd have back the life that he truly wanted. This didn't involve him.

And yet, whenever he tried to think that way Julia's face would flash through his head, fleeing from breakfast with her head held in shame.

"Well?" Thalia's voice jolted Perseus from his thoughts. "The question is, what're you going to do now?"

Choice: How should he react?

Option A: Find out why this happened and get even.

Option B: Do nothing, but remember this.

Option C: This isn't his problem.

Additional Information: The first option will mean committing time and effort to getting to the bottom of everyone who was involved in this and why, before finding a way to score some revenge. The second option means moving on to other things for now, but keeping an eye out for decent revenge opportunities in the future. The third option is to was his hands of this and focus on his quest, his ultimate goal.

How to Vote: Write a review which says/includes A or B. You can just write the letter, or feel free to type out all your reasoning. Who knows, you may even sway others to back your vote if you make a really good case.

I will count votes cast across all the sites this story is posted to (see my profile for details) and go with whatever has the majority. Chapters will generally be spaced out by at least a week, to give plenty of time for everyone who wants to vote to get the chance to.