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Title: Long Distance Longing – Writer's Month 2020

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus

Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Rick Riordan. Aside from the Gods, they belong to the old Greeks. This fanfiction and its OCs on the other hand are entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Tags: polyamory (m/m/f), pining, long distance relationship

Main Pairing: Charles/Silena/Percy

Percy Jackson Characters: Perseus Jackson, Silena Beauregard, Charles Beckendorf, Annabeth Chase, Grover Underwood, Rachel Elizabeth Dare

Writer's Month Prompt: long distance relationship

Summary: Percy started dating the head cheerleader and the quarterback in high school. Only that they were a grade above him and graduated before him. Can they make the long distance relationship work, when Charles and Silena are attending college – in Paris?

Long Distance Longing

Writer's Month 2020

Percy Jackson was fifteen when he transferred to his final school. All his life, he had been kicked out of schools and, unbeknownst to him, he had finally arrived at his last school. The one he would graduate from. The one he made real friends for the first time. The one where he found love.

He very quickly befriended Grover, who was a little weirdo just like him. The two were practically inseparable. Then there was Annabeth, who kind of got stuck with Grover and Percy during a science project. She was a total nerd with really weird interests – like military leaders of the past and architecture. Percy liked her, he did like the weird. Even though she clearly had no intentions of befriending them when their project started, they all came out of it closer than expected.

The last member of their little group was Rachel Elizabeth Dare, who basically spent all day doodling. Her notes were impossible to read thanks to all the art in it, but Percy loved it.

The support system of actually having friends had helped him not get into so much trouble. He also ended up joining the swim-team, which helped ground him, give him something to spend his energy on. He was easily the best swimmer at their school – and even beyond. Thanks to him, their school won the states' tournament and suddenly, Percy was popular. Which was a new feeling and kind of weird, but also nice – because being popular meant that he didn't get bullied. Still, he never transitioned into the 'popular crowd', he always stayed with his three best friends.

It did however get him the attention of two very special someones. The quarterback and his girlfriend, the head cheerleader. They were... incomparable. Charles Beckendorf was this tall, broad-shouldered handsome guy, dark skin wrapped around firm muscles. The quiet type, but in a somewhat mysterious, intriguing way, not the 'weird loner who didn't talk' kind. Silena Beauregard was kind of the opposite of him – in all respects. She was chatty, a real social creature, also probably the palest person Percy had ever met, even by white girl standards. The phrase 'fairest of them all' came to mind, in more senses than one. Over the course of the following years, she had black, brunette, red – and upon graduation – blonde hair. Always changing her style. She was curvy, with a wasp waist and very distracting boobs. Both of them were absolutely gorgeous.

Suddenly, Percy belonged to that elite of leaders – as the captain of the swim-team. Aside from Charles and Silena, there was Clarisse, the captain of the wrestling team, Luke, the captain of the basketball team, and Thalia, the captain of the archery club. They were kind of an unofficial group and Percy found himself hanging out with them a lot after becoming captain.

He grew closer with them. And closer. And closer. Until, one day, he started realizing that he was weirdly tagging along to a lot of Charles and Silena's dates. First, he freaked out about it, thinking he was intruding and being awkward. Then, he actually sat down and talked to them. And they all realized that, at least on Charles and Silena's side of things, they had thought it was clear that Percy didn't 'tag along', but rather that he was on dates. With them. Dating them. Somehow, that had gotten lost in translation. That had led to a second freak-out, because wow he was suddenly dating the quarterback and the head cheerleader, two people he had had a crush on for nearly a year at that point. After the freak-out, he calmed down and happily accepted the next date invitation.

When Percy Jackson was sixteen, life was pretty much perfect. He was the captain of the swim-team, had won states gold, he had friends he cherished, a hot boyfriend and a hot girlfriend.

For the first time, he actually had motivation to stay in a school until graduation. Annabeth, Grover and Rachel helped out a lot there, because they offered to tutor him in anything he was lacking to keep his grades up. Percy was motivated and he was happy and he was doing good.

Things seemed to be smooth sailing – at least until Silena and Charles graduated. The realization came oddly sudden, even though Percy should have expected it. He knew they were a grade above him, after all. But what he really hadn't thought about was... what came after. Sure, graduation was inevitable, but what did that mean, really? For them, as a relationship?

Percy figured he could do that, even if they went to another state. Only... they chose another continent. Silena's dad lived in France. In Paris, to be precise. And Silena's plan had always been to move back to Paris to be closer to her dad and his side of the family, after she had spent her childhood with her mom in the states. Both Silena and Charles applied to colleges in Paris. That was... more long-distance than Percy had anticipated, even after remembering college was a thing.

Charles and Silena graduated and moved to Paris, staring college. Charles was going to become a mechanic, he was a business major because he wanted to open his own car-shop. Silena went to a fashion-design academy. They sent Percy videos of their apartment and the surroundings, the street they lived in, the park they went to. They sent him photos, they chatted, face-timed, called.

It was hard, but it was doable. The time difference between Paris and New York made it unnecessarily hard, Percy was so busy with his final year of high school and Charles and Silena were really busy getting settled into their new situation and country and the classes at college. Sometimes, they couldn't talk for a week or longer, sometimes replies were just really short texts, sometimes someone forgot a date. But all three of them knew that it wasn't malice, they just... exhausted, busy and preoccupied. They still all loved each other, wanted to be with each other.

The problem, once more, was 'what comes after?'. Because Percy's graduation came closer and closer. He was very determined to make his way to Paris too, to be with Charles and Silena. It was an easy enough sell to his parents – Europe was way cheaper than the US when it came to tuition fees. Yes, there was a fee for foreign students, but even that was way better than anything the desired colleges in the US had to offer. The biggest hurdle? The French.

Yes, Percy had been taking French as a second language for years now, but he had never really paid too much attention until he acquired a French girlfriend. And now, he would be requiring a set of more detailed language skills. Annabeth really bailed him out there and he was actually spending incredibly much time studying. He wanted to do this right. To get it right.

/break\

"So, how are you going to take to prom? Considering both your partners are not available."

"Rachel", replied Percy, not looking up from his notes.

"...Yeah, that's the romantic way a girl wants to be asked out for prom", huffed Rachel.

"What? You don't have a date, I don't have a date. Why not go as friends? Don't be like that."

Rachel huffed out another laugh at that and threw a pencil at him. "A girl still likes to be asked."

Sighing, Percy looked up at her. "Rachel Elizabeth Dare, will you go to prom with me?"

"Aw, yes, I'd love too", cooed the redhead, batting her lashes at him.

"Juni already picked out our clothes and the flowers and... honestly, I just nod and smile at this point. Prom is... hers. She's been dreaming about it pretty much since pre-school", sighed Grover, a small smile on his lips. "It's really cute. I love seeing her this excited."

Percy smiled faintly at him. Grover and Juniper had been dating for longer than Percy and his partners. The two also had plans together, they wanted to open a flower shop together – for now, they were working at Aunt Em's after classes. Then there was Annabeth, was going to become an architect, that much was for sure. And, against her parents' wishes, Rachel was going to art school.

"When was the last time you talked to Charlena?", asked Rachel curiously.

"Beckendorf and Silena", corrected Annabeth, making a bit of a face.

"That's so long. Like, really long. Charles and Silena. Charlena. Shorter", argued Rachel.

Honestly, Percy really liked that. It rolled off the tongue easily. Though no one aside from Percy and Silena was allowed to call Charles by his first name – everyone else only called him Beckendorf. Which, admittedly, should have given it away earlier for Percy, because he had always gotten away with calling him Charles. Smiling softly, Percy rolled over.

"Monday. We video-chatted for like two hours. Silena was half-asleep. Charles helped me with math homework. Su—uper romantic", sighed Percy with a small pout.

"You got to see them", shrugged Annabeth. "Be happy about that?"

"I am... I just... I miss seeing them in person", muttered Percy. "We were dating during high school. Literally seeing each other every single day of the week and then hanging out like... every other weekend or even every weekend sometimes. Do you know how comfortable Silly's lap is for naps? And how ni—ice Charles' arms feel? I do. I know. I miss them."

Whining softly, he rolled over, burying his face in a pillow. He really did miss them so much. The way Silena was running her fingers through his hair when he was doing homework and she was on her phone but still wanted to be close to him. The way Charles had fixed Percy's broken closet... shirtless... just to tease him. Kissing them! Just touching them. How he had been able to just... walk over to Silly's house to see her whenever he felt like it. He sighed with a pout.

"Still can't believe you're really ready to move all the way to France for them", noted Grover.

"I miss them. I love them. I mean, I really do. We've been dating for... nearly two years now. The last couple months like this. And we did make it work. If we hadn't, but... we can. And while we can, I wouldn't want to. Besides... it's Paris? I mean, come on. All the videos and pictures they sent of it alone made me honestly fall in love with the city already."

"The architecture", sighed Annabeth dreamily. "I will definitely come visit you."

"You will come and visit Paris. I will be the place you stay at", snorted Percy amused.

"I mean, naturally, yes", nodded Annabeth dismissively. "Still can't believe you are... actually adequate in French right now? You are very invested in this."

"I mean. That's... This is the path I want for my life. I... I've been getting along great with Silena's dad. Rémy said I could start working at his store. He wrote me a recommendation letter for culinary school. I'm... I have a plan. I have an actual plan for my life", stated Percy seriously.

"Still can't believe you're talking casually to your future father-in-law", teased Rachel.

"Shut up", hissed Percy, cheeks dark-red as he threw his pillow at her.

"I just know I'm gonna miss you", sighed Grover, looking miserable.

"G-man, I can make a long-distance romantic relationship work. I can make a long-distance bromantic relationship work", promised Percy seriously, fist-bumping Grover.

/break\

Silena heaved a miserable sigh and pushed a piece of chocolate into her mouth. Another sigh.

"Babe. Can you... Can you sigh a little less? It's depressing", noted Charlie, a fond look on his face.

He was sitting opposite her, working on some specs. She was just curled together on the couch, their kitten on her lap, eating chocolates that her dad had given her. Definitely the greatest perk of living in Paris; Silena finally got to spend as much time with her dad as she wanted.

"I miss our Percy", sighed Silena with a pout, staring over at the pictures on the wall.

Photos from their high school days, with their high school friends. And their Percy. A lot of pictures with their Percy. Charlie heaved a sigh and turned to also look at the pictures, while the kitten in Silena's lap made a nearly offended meowing sound.

"Not you, PP, the big Percy", sighed Silena with a small smile.

"You do remember that Percy is going to be here soon, right?", asked Charlie bemused.

"But only to visit", grumbled Silena with a glare. "That... I love that he's going to spend the summer here. But it will only make me miss him even more when he goes home for... college."

Charlie hummed. Admittedly, he felt the same way. They had been looking forward to this summer ever since Christmas – Charlie and Silena had gone to New York over the winter break. But after they left for Paris again, they only missed Percy even more. If they got to keep him for weeks now... they were going to be absolutely miserable after he left for home.

"We do have to talk to him about college", noted Charlie after a moment, also stealing a chocolate. "I don't want him to think that we don't care..."

"I kno—ow", groaned Silena with a pout. "I just... when we talk about it... and know where he's going... it feels so... final. That this will continue. The longing. The distance."

Sighing softly, she got up to walk over to sit down on Charlie's lap. Before she could complain more, her phone rang. Pulling it out, the smiling face of Percy blinked at her from the screen.

"Perce? Babe? Why are you calling?", asked Silena confused. "Everything alright? You aren't calling to tell us that you had to cancel your flight tomorrow, right? Right?"

"Silena", grumbled Charlie amused. "Breathe. And let Percy answer. Hello, Perce."

"Hi, guys", greeted Percy with that cute, cheery smile of his. "Actually, I-"

Before Percy could continue did the doorbell ring. Frowning annoyed, Silena got up from Charlie's lap and motioned at Percy to pause for a second. Charlie followed her toward the door.

"Just... a second, sweetie. We are waiting for an important package", requested Silena.

"Oh. Okay. I'm sure whatever it is, it's very important", nodded Percy, still smiling.

"Yes, it i-", started Charlie, just to pause when they opened the door.

Slowly did both Charlie and Silena look down at the phone and back up again. Percy smiled brightly and waved before pocketing his phone, a back shouldered. PP meowed and before either of his humans could process it did the kitten hop up over to rub his head against Percy's leg.

"He—ello, little guy. You're... PP, right? We—eird name for a cat", laughed Percy.

"It's short for Petit Percy. Because he has... green eyes... and long, fluffy, messy black hair. And... he likes to sleep in my lap nearly as much as you do", replied Silena nearly automatically.

"You never mentioned that before!", huffed Percy amused and stood up.

"I... I... Charlie, do you see what I see?", asked Silena slowly, tugging on Charlie's shirt.

"If you mean our Percy standing in our doorway with our cat on his arm...? Yes, I see it too", confirmed Charlie, linking his fingers with her. "Percy... I thought your flight was tomorrow?"

"Ye—eah. But then I decided to take a flight a day earlier because I couldn't wait any longer and I figured I'd surprise you two. Which, judging by your faces, I succeeded in. Hey, guys."

Silena squeaked loudly before she jumped Percy, wrapping her arms around him tightly. PP hissed and jumped off Percy's arms to run back into the apartment. Charlie huffed as he wrapped his arms around both Silena and Percy, lifting them up just a little bit in his enthusiasm.

"Surprise indeed succeeded. Hello, love", whispered Charlie, kissing Percy softly.

"Mh... I can kiss you again... I missed kissing you", sighed Percy contently, stealing another kiss.

"Me too, me too", protested Silena, gently redirecting Percy's face. "Hello, sweetie."

"I missed you so much, I couldn't wait any longer", admitted Percy, leaning into them both.

"I'm so glad", sighed Silena, grasping Percy's face with both hands, squishing his cheeks. "Look at him. Has he gotten even prettier since Christmas? He has, right Charlie?"

"Definitely", hummed Charlie, smiling as he leaned in to kiss Percy. "I love you, Perce."

Returning the smile, Percy wrapped one arm around each of them, squeezing tightly. They made their way to the living room to sit together for at least a moment. As soon as he put his bag down, Percy reached out for the little chocolates, popping it into his mouth and humming pleased.

"Yummy", commented Percy. "Okay! First things first! Show me the apartment!"

He clapped and motioned for his lovers to do so. Eagerly did Silena lead the way, showing him the kitchen, the balcony with its beautiful view, the bathroom – and lastly, the bedroom. Percy gladly dumped his bag at the foot-end of the bed before throwing himself on top of it.

"Look how pretty he looks in our bed like that, Charlie", whispered Silena, again tugging on Charlie's sleeve. "And for the next two months, we will get to keep him in our bed!"

"About tha—at...", drawled Percy and sat up some.

"What? You're... not shortening your stay here, are you?", asked Charles concerned.

"Well, no. More like... extending it by at least two years?", offered Percy sheepishly. "So I applied to culinary school and thanks to Rémy, I actually got in. And I thought... maybe I could... live with my boyfriend and my girlfriend then? If you... don't mind. Surprise?"

"Mind? Mind?", repeated Charles stunned before practically tackling Percy with a kiss. "No, we don't mind. Why didn't you tell us, Perce? Tell us sooner?"

"I... was... First I wanted to make sure that it would actually work out. That I'd be accepted into the school. And then it was... so short until I'd come over anyway so I figured I'd rather tell you in person?", offered Percy with a shrug and a smile.

"We... We really get to keep you?", whispered Silena in awe as she started peppering Percy's face with kisses. "My, I can't wait to wake up next to you every day. No more awkwardly timed phone calls, no more video chats where the connection breaks... Just... seeing you, touching you..."

Silena smiled to herself as she buried her face in his neck. After a moment did the three of them adjust themselves and lay down on the bed, Percy happily nestled between his partners. Finally. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, loving the scent of them both – Charles always smelt a little bit like motor-oil, while Silena always smelt like chocolate and roses somehow.

"I can't wait to see your campuses... campi...? Whatever... And all the restaurants and stores you kept telling me about. And, of course, to meet Rémy in person", grinned Percy pleased.

"...Yes, can we talk about when and how exactly you got to first name base with my dad?"

"We've been texting for months", shrugged Percy, winking at her. "He's been helping me with all of this, planning it. And... I do want to... do that. Making desserts. I've been obsessed ever since you first showed me pictures of your dad's chocolaterie. So... I'm kind of gonna work for him, during my studies? Your dad's great, by the way. I really like him."

"You are so sneaky and so cute", whispered Silena, peppering Percy's face with kisses.

"I missed you so much, Perce", sighed Charles gladly, wrapping his arms around Percy's waist.

Petit Percy meowed before he jumped up onto the bed and went to curl together on the pillow, right above Percy's head. Silena giggled because it looked as though Percy was wearing a cat as a hat.

"I love that we managed to make the long distance work. But I am so glad we won't have to anymore", declared Percy, snuggling up to them. "I love you guys so much."

~*~ The End ~*~

Author's note: This year's writer's month has one theme for me: Cover many ships. Because last year, I mostly stuck to my big guns. This year, I want to use the 31 prompts to cover my rarepairs, the ships I love but don't write as often as the bigger ones. And seeing as this is one of my favorite OT3, it HAD to make the list!