Gah, I can't seem to stop writing these stories! They're taking over my life!

Which is kind of a good thing, because it takes my mind off my broken jaw. Oh, the joys of orthodontic surgery.

Songs I listened to, though their relevance to this fic is questionable:

(You Are) The Only Exception by Paramore

You'll Be In My Heart by Phil Collins (from the Tarzan Soundtrack)

I own nothing. That's why this is called fanfiction.

Best wishes!

Sticks and Stones, Gadgets and Gears

Will tossed and turned on his bunk. It was the night of June 24th, the evening before the Argo II was scheduled to set sail (for real this time). Everyone had been up late, preparing or offering advice or gossiping or running around like harpies with their heads cut off. Even the Stoll brothers and the Ares cabin had put their prank war on hold for the day.

Chiron had urged everyone to go to their cabins a few hours ago, though curfew wasn't being enforced tonight. Will just couldn't sleep.

There was a rap on the door. Who could it possibly be? Not one of his siblings—they wouldn't've knocked, and they were all snoring anyways. Will groaned, then got put of bed.

He opened the door. "Sean?" What was the Hephaestus kid doing there? "It's the middle of the night! What in Hades—"

"You need to come to the dry dock. Now. It's Nyssa."

"Is she hurt?"

He made a frustrated gesture. "No. I don't know. You'll see."

WNWNWNWN

It was a nice night; a little bit breezy but still summer-warm. Will should've expected it, but he was still surprised to see how many people were still awake as Sean led him towards the Argo II. Leo crouched on the scaffolding at the front of the warship, polishing the bronze dragon masthead. Annabeth sat at the wooden "command table," glancing from various blueprints to the ship to Deadalus's laptop and back. Occasionally, she'd yell out a question to Leo, and the curly-haired boy would answer. Most of the Hephaestus cabin was still out and about. Sean gave Will a look before going to join his siblings.

Jason and Piper sat on the dry dock with a good five feet of space between them. Piper was fiddling with her dagger, glancing at it once in a while like it held the answer to the universe, or like she was checking her reflection. Jason was staring dramatically into the middle distance. He might've been muttering to himself.

But none of that was what caught Will's attention. His girlfriend was pacing up and down and around the ship like an aura on caffeine—that is, to say, like a whirlwind. She was calling questions at Annabeth, shouting at Leo, gesturing wildly with her hands—was she holding something?—and generally working herself into a panic.

"Did we fix that problem with the landing gear?" he heard her ask Annabeth. "We have the white flag?" She turned to Leo. "You finished the special features in compartment 38-A, right?"

Will had seen her like this only once before, and that had been the day they'd started dating. The golden dragon had just gone on a rampage, and nearly burned down the Demeter cabin before it had been driven off. Will had gone to the forges to make some new arrowheads, and walked in on Nyssa, who looked like she was about to cry or start chopping tables to pieces with the axe she was sharpening. He'd been about to back out when Nyssa had whirled on him and suddenly started ranting—about the curse, and how she missed Beckendorf, and how she was under so much pressure since Jake had been put in a body cast, and that she was so afraid of letting the camp down…

On a sudden impulse, Will had walked forward and kissed her. She'd been just has surprised with his actions as he was, but she'd leaned in and kissed him again, and their surroundings had dissolved for a while. "You'll be fine," he'd told her, and reached up to stroke her face. His hand had come away grimy, and she'd laughed, then cried a bit, and he'd kissed her again.

The next day at breakfast, Nyssa had been noticably calmer, and Will had smiled into his still-grubby hand. He hadn't washed it the previous night, because he wanted to make sure it hadn't been a dream.

But Nyssa was definitely not calm now. He was closer now, and he could see her clearly. Her hair was shiny with oil and her hands and face darkened with soot. Sweat was running down her forehead. Her eyes were blazing with a look that would've made Clarisse jealous. In one hand she held a clipboard, and the other hand kept rummaging around in her vest. The vest was made of leather, and had enough pockets to house Drew's entire selection of jewelry and cosmetics. As he watched, she pulled out a pair of pliers, then a clamp, and then a hammer that looked too big to fit in its allotted compartment. She was still waving her hands around, and Jason ducked to avoid getting his head bashed. Guess he was more aware of his surroundings than his expression let on.

"Nyssa," Will called.

"Do you have extra plating in case the hull needs repair?" she asked Leo.

"Nyssa," Will repeated.

"Coach Hedge's TV has enough batteries?"

"Nyss!" Will came up behind the girl and grasped the wrist of the hand that held the hammer. He'd just managed to ease it out of her hand when she swung around, hitting his forehead with the clipboard. "Ouch," he complained.

"Will! What are you doing here?"

"Taking you back to your cabin. I've been authorized to use force if necessary." Leo snickered. Will ignored him, but Nyssa whirled out of his grasp, turning on her half-brother. She was now brandishing what looked like a Celestial bronze CD.

"Shut up, Leo! This isn't a joke!"

"He knows that," Will said, dropping the hammer and turning her back to face him. "But he also knows that having a panic attack won't help either. You need to calm down."

"I am calm!"

"No, you're not."

"If you think I'm going to walk away right now, just because—"

"Shh," he said, and pressed his lips to hers before she could finish talking. She resisted for a moment, then melted in his embrace, wrapping her arms around him. Will knew they had an audience, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

After a long moment she pulled away. "Better?" he asked.

"Better," she confirmed.

"Now, let's get you back to the cabin."

"Wait, what? I calmed down. Really. Let me go back to work!"

"Nyssa." Will put a hand on her cheek. "You're exhausted."

"Everyone is tired!"

"Yes, but 'everyone' has been getting more than two hours of sleep a night for the past seven months. Don't argue," he said as she started to open her mouth. "You are going to sleep, and that is final."

Nyssa sighed then hooked her arm through his and let him lead her to Cabin Nine.

NWNWNWNW

As they walked back to the cabin, Will sang softly—mostly campfire tunes, but he added little variations as the mood struck him. Hey, Apollo was the god of music and all. Nyssa's voice when she joined in wasn't half bad either—kind of sweet and husky. He loved her voice. And her laugh, when he could get her to laugh. And…

They arrived at the cabin. As always, the place reminded Will of a hyped-up bomb shelter transplanted into a suburban lot. All of its inhabitants were out, so the cabin was empty. But as soon as Nyssa and Will stepped onto the porch, lights flashed on. Motion sensors? With the Hephaestus cabin, Will couldn't be sure.

"Good night," he told her, making a gesture toward the door.

"Wait," she said. "Stay with me a bit?"

Will sighed, then plopped down on the porch. "Sit down, woman," he said. Nyssa complied—then punched him in the arm. "Ow!" he protested. "That was completely uncalled for!"

"It was not, and you know it." Will might've protested but she leaned in and kissed him, soft and sweet, and he had to change his mind.

They sat for an interminable amount of time, sometimes kissing, sometimes talking, and sometimes just sitting, during which the ADHD part of Will's brain began to wonder how many arrows he might need to take out all the porch's spotlights.

Right then, Will was sitting sidewise on the top step with his left foot on the second step his right leg hooked around his girlfriend's waist. Nyssa was curled up against him, her head resting on his chest, holding his hands. She fiddled with his fingers with the same dextrality she used to handle wire. They had been sitting in near-silence for the better part of thirty minutes and Will had begun to wonder if Nyssa had fallen asleep when she drew away from him and said, "Thank you, Will."

"For what?" he asked.

"Coming to get me. I was getting a little crazy, wasn't I?"

Will laughed. "Just a bit."

"Oh, and I'm sorry for clipboard-whacking you."

"But not for punching me?"

"I am never sorry for punching you, Will Solace," she said.

"I bet I could make you sorry," he said, and began to tickle her.

"Hey! Hey! Not fair! Truce? Truce!"

"Never," Will declared and pressed his lips to hers.

WNWNWNWN

They were sprawled on the porch of Cabin Nine in full make-out mode when they heard a tap-tap-thud and a little kid's voice saying "Oh, gods!"

Will and Nyssa pulled away from each other in time to see Harley's back disappear into the cabin. "Think he'll get over it?" Nyssa asked, a smile in her voice.

"I'm sure the trauma will only last a couple days," Will said. "Now, where were we?"

64 days 'till The Mark of Athena!

Happy Reading,

Separate Entity