Title: Light My Fire

Author: Janine

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Pairing: Annabeth/Clarisse

Rating: NC-17

Disclaimer: I don't own them.

Summary: Sequel to "Turnabout is Fair Play". Clarisse takes Annabeth to her secret hideaway and the girls get to know each other a bit better.

---

The Cave

"Wait here," Clarisse said softly, squeezing Annabeth's hand with her own before she slipped it out of the blonde's. "I have to light the torches," the brunette explained as Annabeth blinked uncertainly into the darkness stretched around her.

"Okay," the daughter of Athena murmured quietly, nerves and anticipation making her more docile than she normally would have been.

Clarisse's figure disappeared from Annabeth's side, and though she knew the brunette was going to walk away, the wise-girl had to stop herself from jerking her arm out to recapture Clarisse's hand. She wasn't afraid of the dark or anything, but she was in a new place, couldn't see anything around her, and on the walk over to the cave she had gotten used to the feeling of Clarisse beside her. She didn't need anyone to protect her, she could take care of herself, but it had been comforting to feel Clarisse's hand in hers and to know that the other girl was right there beside her.

A flame sparked off to Annabeth's left and she turned her head in time to see Clarisse's face lit up by the small, flicking flame. Clarisse then lifted the spot of light and touched it to a torch mounted on the wall which quickly flared to life lighting up Clarisse's entire frame.

Clarisse looked good in firelight, Annabeth thought. The flames danced on her flesh enticingly, highlighting the hard planes of her body as well as the curves, and the daughter of Athena licked her lips as the warrior moved a little deeper into the cave to light the next torch.

"Watch your step," Clarisse said, her voice drawing Annabeth out of her consideration of the warrior's body. "I uh, wasn't really expecting company so ... you know, it's kind of messy," she continued bashfully as she set about lighting the next torch.

"Okay," Annabeth responded. Her voice was soft, breathy even and she rolled her eyes at herself.

Taking Clarisse's warning to heart, Annabeth looked down before she stepped forward into the cave and was glad that she had. A few paces in front of her lay a shield and a sword that she would have tripped over in the relative darkness of the cave if she hadn't been looking.

Clarisse lit another torch and Annabeth smiled as she stared down at the heap of metal and celestial bronze in front of her. Of course Clarisse's secret lair would have weaponry thrown all about, she thought affectionately. Clarisse probably slept curled around her shield with a dagger under her pillow just in case.

Light blazed on Annabeth's right side and the daughter of Athena knew that Clarisse must have been nearly done with the torches because she was practically beside her again. As Clarisse finished with the last of the torches Annabeth allowed her eyes to roam around the now illuminated cave and found herself smiling again.

She could see a rag and a bottle of oil near the shield and sword in front of her and realized that Clarisse must have been cleaning the weapons the last time she was at the cave. As her eyes drifted further in, she spotted a large fur rug covering the floor. It looked like bear skin but there was a shimmer to it that made Annabeth suspect that it had come from a magical creature. There were some books resting on a stool near the rug which surprised Annabeth. She knew that Clarisse wasn't stupid, the daughter of Ares had a very keen mind for strategy and battle tactics, but Annabeth had never seen Clarisse holding a book the entire time she was at camp, and she had been at camp for a while.

Annabeth felt a little twinge in her stomach as her eyes tracked over to Clarisse. She realized that while she had known Clarisse for years that she really didn't know all that much about the brunette. A day before this realization wouldn't have had much of an impact on Annabeth, but she had seen something in Clarisse that afternoon she hadn't seen before, and it made her want to get to know the brunette better. She was beginning to suspect there was a very interesting person hidden beneath Clarisse's bravado and she wanted to learn more about her.

Clarisse turned to face her and Annabeth smiled shyly before she turned her attention back to the cave around her.

There were some spears mounted on the walls as well as a mace that flickered menacing, and there were a few more old, beaten up swords and shields. The only other things decorating the walls were a few old leather maps, and finally near the back of the cave Annabeth could just make out stones laid out in battle formation in the dirt, which she realized must have been Clarisse working on some battle strategy, probably for the camp's next game of capture the flag.

"It's not much," Clarisse began and Annabeth's head swung over to look at her.

"It's great," Annabeth said smiling at the warrior. Clarisse's voice had been a touch shaky with nerves and the warrior was wringing her hands together in a way that Annabeth knew meant she was anxious.

The nervousness and hesitance, the shyness was something Annabeth hadn't really seen from Clarisse in the past and it threw her a bit, but in a good way. She found it really charming, cute, and it made her want to reach out to Clarisse, but she held back knowing that the daughter of Ares probably wouldn't appreciate Annabeth finding her anxiousness adorable.

"Oh, wow. I didn't even see that," Annabeth said, her eyes lighting up as she noticed a drawing on the wall of the cave just to Clarisse's right. "It's Nonnus' Dionysiaca, right?" she asked moving closer to Clarisse so that she could get a better look at the drawing, "Ares killing Ekhidnades, the giant son of that ugly cow Echidna. Did you ...?"Annabeth began reaching out to touch the drawing only to stop just before her fingers made contact. She didn't want to accidentally rub any of it anyway.

"Yeah," Clarisse said glancing at the wall before shyly dipping her head down. "It's not very good."

"Yes it is," Annabeth said without a hint of doubt in her voice. "If it was on an amphora I'd have thought an Achilles painter drew it."

Clarisse met Annabeth's eyes and held them for a second, then her lips curved up in a pleased smile and she angled her head away so that Annabeth couldn't see her grinning. The grey-eyed girl realized that she had embarrassed Clarisse in a good way with her compliment and the urge to touch Clarisse rose inside of Annabeth again and this time she did not fight it.

Annabeth closed the small distance that remained between herself and Clarisse and placed her hand on the warrior's hip.

"I'm," she said softly, drawing Clarisse's eyes over to her. "I'm learning all sorts of new things about you today," she continued looking up into Clarisse's eyes as she attempted to make her tone sultry.

She wasn't sure whether she was really succeeding or not, but Clarisse's brown eyes were focused on her intently and Annabeth figured that she had to be close enough.

"I like it," she went on, stroking Clarisse's hip.

"Yeah?" Clarisse asked hesitantly. Her voice was rough in a way that Annabeth had only heard from her when they were in the clearing and Clarisse's hand was between her legs, and the blonde felt her body responding to the warrior's tone as well as her proximity.

"Yeah," Annabeth agreed feeling a familiar tingle and knotting in her stomach as her eyes dipped to take in Clarisse's chest.

Annabeth's hand continued to play at Clarisse's hip until her fingers slipped under the material of the warrior's tank top to touch smooth, tanned skin, and the grey-eyed girl breathed in sharply as a spike of desire tore through her again.

She wanted to touch more, so much more.

Annabeth tilted her head up and grey-eyes locked on Clarisse's intense brown gaze.

"I ..." the blonde began, knowing exactly what she wanted to say but finding it difficult to get the words out of her mouth.

She hadn't planned on seducing anyone when she woke up that morning so she hadn't strategized or theorized how to successfully achieve her goal. She was winging it. She hated winging it.

"I ..." she tried again, and found her voice even wispier than it had been before. "I want to see you naked," Annabeth finally got out in a rush.

Clarisse was still and silent for a moment after Annabeth spoke and the blonde began to worry that she had gone too far, but just when she was about to turn and run out of the cave in embarrassment, Clarisee released a shaky breath and stepped back from her. The loss of Clarisse's body alarmed Annabeth for a moment, but then she saw Clarisse reach for the bottom of her tank top and begin to yank it over her head and her alarm transformed into arousal that had her shifting where she stood.

A moment later Annabeth found herself staring at the black of Clarisse's sports bra, watching as the warrior's chest rose and fell quickly as she took short shallow breaths.

She wanted to touch.

"You too," Clarisse said, drawing Annabeth's eyes up to her face. "I want to see you too," the warrior added when Annabeth gazed up at her blankly.

"Oh," Annabeth said blushing as she looked down at her fully clothed body. "Right. Sorry," she said before reaching for her own shirt.

Clarisse's hands moved to her pants as Annabeth pulled her shirt off, and the cave was silent other than the flickering of the flames and sounds of their breath as the girls stripped down to their underwear.

"What now?" Annabeth asked shivering slightly as she looked over at Clarisse. She wasn't cold, she had just never really stood around in front of someone in her underwear before and it left her feeling nervous and uncertain.

In response, Clarisse simply reached out offering her hand to Annabeth who accepted it gratefully, and then hand-in-hand Clarisse led Annabeth over to the fur rug.

---

They kissed for a long time, hands tentatively running over each, exploring the familiar and yet foreign landscapes of each others bodies before Clarisse's hand slipped between Annabeth's legs and the daughter of Athena reached down and tugged it away.

"I want to touch you this time," Annabeth said softly when Clarisse looked at her questioningly.

"Oh," Clarisse breathed out in a voice that was equal parts relief and excitement.

"Can I take this off?" Annabeth asked, running trembling fingers over the material of Clarisse's bra.

"Yeah," Clarisse responded shakily and she lifted her hands up to allow Annabeth to remove the bra.

Annabeth's hands were unsteady but they were working and when Clarisse lifted her arms Annabeth gripped the bottom of the sports bra as firmly as she could and tugged it up. She paused momentarily when Clarisse's breasts were first revealed, captivated by the sight of them, but after a moment she pulled herself together and continued to tug on the bra until it was off of Clarisse, then she allowed her eyes to drop back down to the warrior's naked chest.

She wanted to touch.

"L-l-lie down," Annabeth breathed out as her hands twitched in anticipation. "Please," she added a moment later not wanting to be rude.

Clarisse complied with her request without a word and slowly lowered herself onto the rug. When her back was flat against the ground she looked up at Annabeth timidly and the daughter of Athena shifted closer to her, braced her left hand on the ground and leaned down to kiss the warrior, understanding how exposed and vulnerable Clarisse must have felt at that moment.

As they kissed Annabeth drew her free hand up Clarisse's stomach until she was able to cup the warrior's breast in her hand.

Annabeth gasped into Clarisse's mouth as she touched Clarisse's breast for the first time and she drew her leg over Clarisse's thigh, straddling it as she massaged the warm mound of flesh in her hand and drew her thumb over the warrior's hard nipple.

Clarisse whimpered softly as Annabeth touched her, and every time the blonde's fingers grazed over her nipple Clarisse drew in a sharp, quick breath that sent desire thundering through Annabeth until she couldn't control herself any longer and lowered her mouth to Clarisse's chest.

A long, surprised but satisfied moan escaped from Clarisse's lips as Annabeth's tongue swirled around the hard peak in her mouth before the blonde sucked on it forcefully. Clarisse cried out at that and Annabeth found herself pressing against Clarisse's thigh, rubbing herself against the well-muscled flesh as she held Clarisse's breast in her hand and sucked her.

Clarisse couldn't say how long they lay pressed against each other, Annabeth slowly and maddeningly grinding against her as the blonde's warm mouth made love to one breast and then the next. All the brunette knew was that eventually her arousal rose so high that she could not control herself any longer and she reached out and grasped Annabeth hips, tugging the blonde further into her until Annabeth's thigh pressed between her legs.

Annabeth groaned into Clarisse's breast as she felt the brunette's crotch press into her, and when Clarisse's hips started rub against her, Annabeth found herself clamping down on Clarisse's nipple with her teeth and tugging hungrily which made the warrior cry out in pleasure. The sound traveled from Clarisse's lips straight to Annabeth's clit and the blonde pressed herself harder against the warrior's thigh and panted hotly against her flesh.

Beneath her Annabeth could feel Clarisse's leg muscles tense, bracing herself as her hips bucked up and she shivered with desire, her mind pulsing white and hot as her panties became even damper. Clarisse was so strong, and feeling that strength contained underneath was turning her on to an incredible degree.

The brunette's hips began to buck against Annabeth more rapidly as the warrior's breathing became staccato and the wise-girl pulled her thigh back and released Clarisse's nipple from her mouth with a wet pop.

"Why ..." Clarisse began looking up at Annabeth with glazed, confused eyes. "Why did you ..." she tried again, clearly having trouble getting her mind to focus.

"I didn't want you to cum yet," Annabeth breathed out saving Clarisse the trouble of trying to finish her sentence. She knew how difficult it was to speak when all you wanted to do was grind, and rub, and hump until you came. "I wanted to ... to feel, I want to ..." she sighed in frustration, cursing the haze of arousal that was fogging her brain and stopping her from forming coherent sentences. "Can I take these off?" Annabeth continued lightly brushing her hand along the material of Clarisse's panties where they lay against her hip.

Clarisse breathed in shakily and then nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

"Thank you," Annabeth said softly, almost reverently, and then she leaned forward and kissed the warrior before pulling back so that she could draw Clarisse's underwear down her legs.

Annabeth kissed Clarisse's calf as she pulled the panties completely off of her and flung them somewhere near the armour she had almost tripped over, then she drew her hands up Clarisse's legs, enjoying the hard feel of her muscles as she kissed her way back up Clarisse's body.

It was Annabeth's intention to keep kissing all the way up Clarisse's body until she reached her mouth and then to slip her hand between the brunette's thighs, but as she made her way up Clarisse's legs and the brunette spread them to make room for her, Annabeth found herself stopping and hovering before the brunette's sex.

Annabeth could smell the musk of Clarisse's desire clearly, and it made her squeeze her legs together as a wave of arousal pounded through her. The dark hair between Clarisse's legs was neatly trimmed, sparse enough that Annabeth could make out pale skin beneath it, and it was visibly damp with the warrior's arousal. Annabeth could see the slick wetness glistening in the firelight and she wanted to just lean forward and...

Clarisse's eyes widened and a sharp cry tore loose from her throat when she felt Annabeth's tongue touch her and then stroke along the length of her sex. She had been preparing herself for the feel of Annabeth's fingers against her and the blonde using her mouth had taken her by surprise. It was a good surprise however, and as Annabeth began to lick and stroke her with more certainty, Clarisse found her fingers clawing at the fur under her.

Clarisse thought about the fact that Annabeth Chase's face was between her legs and that Annabeth Chase's tongue was licking her in strong, eager strokes and it made her wetter than she could ever remember being.

Lips wrapped around Clarisse's clit and the brunette arched up and moaned as one of her hands migrated to Annabeth's head, her fingers tangling in the blonde's hair and massaging her scalp while also keeping the blonde right where Clarisse needed her.

Annabeth's tongue swirled around Clarisse's clit and the brunette's hand left the rug and moved to her chest to tug at her nipple. Annabeth kept one hand on Clarisse's thigh, enjoying the play of her muscles beneath her, while her other hand moved between her own legs, slipping beneath her panties so that she could stroke her clit. She wanted to concentrate only on Clarisse, but her own sex demanded attention and she had to touch herself to stay sane enough to continue pleasuring Clarisse.

"Oh gods!" Clarisse cried out as her climax approached.

She could feel the unstoppable wave building within her and the inevitability of it drove her towards it even faster.

"Annabeth," she panted, her legs spreading even wider as Annabeth began to suck on her clit loudly, making lewd noises that made Clarisse's head spin, heart pound and her eyes water. "Oh gods, I'm cumming," Clarisse cried out, her fingers tightening in Annabeth's hair, "I'm ... I'm going to ... oh gods! Annabeth! Anna ..."

The damn broke. Clarisse's body tensed and then began to shake as orgasm ripped through her. Annabeth felt her chin and lips become even slicker with Clarisse's juices as the brunette's hips jerked against her mouth and the hand she had between her own legs worked faster and faster until Annabeth cried out her into Clarisse's and began to suck desperately on the brunette's clit, drawing out the warrior's orgasm, as Annabeth rode her own hand to completion.

---

Later that afternoon

Annabeth sighed contently as she pressed her lips to Clarisse's stomach just below the warrior's breasts. Her hands ran languidly down Clarisse's sides, over her hips and along her thighs, and the grey-eyed girls teeth scrapped across Clarisse's tanned, sweat dampened flesh before she kissed it once more.

"I love your body," Annabeth murmured dreamily, pressing her face between Clarisse's breasts while she arched into the warrior so that she could feel Clarisse flush along the entire length of her body.

Clarisse released a small, derisive sound from her throat and her stomach muscles twitched uneasily beneath Annabeth.

"I already put out, you don't have to sweet talk me," Clarisse murmured angling her head to the side to avoid Annabeth's gaze should the blonde look up at her.

Annabeth was silent for a moment, continuing to calmly run her fingers over the brunette's flesh.

"I'm not trying to sweet talk you," Annabeth finally breathed out, her eyes locked on her fingers as they skimmed over Clarisse's stomach. "I just ... I like looking at you," she continued, glad that she was facing away from Clarisse so the warrior couldn't see touch of red colouring her cheeks.

"You really mean that, don't you?" Clarisse asked in a voice that was soft with incredulity as Annabeth continued to tenderly trail her fingers up her stomach and then over her arms, tracing the lines of muscles.

"I do," Annabeth breathed out, drawing her hand down to Clarisse's hip which she grasped possessively. "You're beautiful. I never want to stop touching you," she continued sounding a little embarrassed as her fingers began to roam again.

Clarisse looked up towards the ceiling of the cave and smiled.

Nobody had ever called her beautiful before.

The daughters of Aphrodite were always offering to give her makeovers and telling her that she could be pretty if stopped 'working out like a manic' and if she 'lost some of those She-Hulk muscles'. She'd ignored them completely. She had never felt particularly ugly, but she knew that she wasn't slight, or delicate, or petite or any of those other things that seemed to denote beauty, and she had accepted that. She didn't need to be beautiful. She was a daughter of Ares; strength, power and determination were her strengths. Beauty was to be left to Aphrodite's daughters. However, as her facial muscles began to hurt from smiling so widely, Clarisse couldn't deny that it felt nice to hear Annabeth, who was stunning by everybody's standards, call her beautiful.

"I like the way you think," Clarisse breathed out finally, looking back down at Annabeth when she had gotten her smiling under control.

She reached out her hand to the blonde and touched her cheek, encouraging Annabeth to shift further up her body.

"I am a daughter of Athena," Annabeth drawled, smiling playfully as she shifted up Clarisse's body so that her face was hovering above the brunette's. "Thinking's what I'm best at."

Clarisse smiled widely at that.

"No it's not," the brunette breathed out suggestively, and Annabeth flushed red and hit Clarisse lightly in the stomach before she leaned down and kissed her.

A bell sounded in the distance and both girls sighed as it reached their ears.

"Dinner," Clarisse muttered.

"Ugh," Annabeth groaned. She didn't want to leave the cave. She didn't want to put clothes on, and she most certainly didn't want Clarisse to put clothes on. She was a big fan of Clarisse sans clothes. "Let's hide here."

Clarisse grinned at that.

"Sure, but you have explain to Mr. D where we've been when he starts yelling at us in the middle of camp when we get back," Clarisse said, her brown eyes shining with amusement as she looked up at Annabeth. "Ah, Clarissa ... Annabelle, so nice that you could join us," Clarisse began adopting a tone that was very similar to Mr. D's. "May I ask what riveting adventures deprived us of your company for dinner this evening?"

"Combat training, Mr. D," Annabeth began smiling mischievously. "Clarisse kindly volunteered to teach me how to top an opponent in the 'north-south' position. She spent a lot of time on me, riding me hard, but eventually I got the hang of it and we just kept going again and again until finally it was time to get off."

Clarisse breathed in deeply and then chewed on her bottom lip for a moment.

"Damn," she finally drawled, looking at Annabeth appreciatively. "Damn," she moaned again before lifting her head up to meet Annabeth's lips in a searing kiss. "I like the way you talk," Clarisse breathed out against Annabeth's lips as she pulled away from the blonde a minute later.

"You like the way I do a lot of things," Annabeth breathed out, running her fingers up the inside of Clarisse's thigh suggestively.

Clarisse's body trembled slightly beneath her and Annabeth inhaled deeply as her arousal began to build again.

"You've got a dirty mouth," Clarisse declared waggling a finger Annabeth as she smiled at her playfully. "It's pretty too," Clarisse added allowing her playful expression to turn into an exaggerated leer. "So versatile," she went on softly, staring at Annabeth's lips with a surprising tenderness that made the blonde blush.

Annabeth shifted against Clarisse and then moaned before burying her face in warrior's neck, nuzzling against her.

"Keep talking like that and we really are going to miss dinner," Annabeth whispered hotly against the column of Clarisse's throat. "Hell, keep talking like that and you will be dinner," Annabeth breathed out, licking at Clarisse's throat as the hand she had resting on the brunette's leg began to creep inwards towards the apex of her thighs.

"Did I mention that I like the way you talk?" Clarisse murmured allowing her hands to run over Annabeth's pale flesh, delighting in the soft curves and the slight muscular of the girl above.

"I think you might have," Annabeth replied smiling.

Honestly, she didn't know where the brazen things coming out of her mouth were originating from, but Clarisse seemed to like the spicy language so she didn't feel the need to try and control it, at least until they headed back to camp.

The dinner bell sounded again in the distance, a final warning to wayward campers.

"We should go," Clarisse said soberly with a note of regret and apology in her voice. She really didn't want to leave the cave either, but if they didn't show up for dinner Mr. D really would question them in front of the whole camp.

"I know," Annabeth admitted rolling off of Clarisse resignedly as she spoke.

The girls redressed themselves silently. Time was of the essence, but temptation was hard to resist and as they pulled their clothes back on the girls occasionally stopped to sneak a glance at the other.

"Are you decent?" Clarisse asked as she pulled on the last of her clothing.

"After this afternoon, I'd say not," Annabeth murmured, flushing slightly as she remembered dragging Clarisse's hand between her thighs, sucking on Clarisse's tits, licking between Clarisse's legs and a dozen other things they had done with other over the past couple hours.

Clarisse laughed at that and Annabeth smirked. They held each other's eyes companionably for a few seconds and then Clarisse sighed and muttered, "I'll get the lights," before she picked up a blotter and began to put out the torches.

As the light went out, Annabeth moved to the mouth of the cave and leaned against the wall of the stone opening to wait for Clarisse.

"All done?" the wise-girl asked when she sensed Clarisse approaching her.

"All fires are safely extinguished. No satyrs, wood nymphs or dryads will be coming after us," Clarisse murmured, smiling shyly as she came to a stop beside Annabeth.

They stood next to each other in silence for a few moments, knowing that they should begin to head back to camp, but not quite willing to leave the pleasant solitude they had shared for the better part of the afternoon quite yet.

"Annabeth," Clarisse began suddenly, shifting uncomfortably next to the blonde as she looked over at her. "Before we go back, I just wanted to say ... I mean I wanted you to know that this ... that what happened this afternoon, it wasn't like just about sex ... for me. I like you. Really like you."

Clarisse sounded like she was on the verge of hyperventilating and Annabeth reached out and took brunette girls hand into her own and squeezed it comfortingly.

"I never really expected anything like this afternoon to happen," Annabeth began softly, "but I'm glad that it did. I want to get to know you better. This wasn't just about sex for me either. I like you too," the blonde continued forcing herself to meet Clarisse's chocolate gaze so that the warrior could see the truth of her words. "Really like you," she finished smiling bashfully.

Clarisse smiled back and then after a moment of hesitation leaned forward and brushed her lips lightly against Annabeth's.

"So uh, shall I escort you to dinner?" Clarisse asked a little breathlessly as she offered her arm to Annabeth.

"That sounds wonderful," Annabeth breathed out unable to stop the happiness she was feeling from showing on her face. "Thank you Miss La Rue," she continued, grinning like mad as she looped her arm through Clarisse's and allowed the brunette to lead her towards camp.

The End