Talking About Stuff... With a Girl (For Valkyrie)

[percy_jackson]

Leaving Coraline as we did put a damper on the afternoon. I knew I'd have to go to her and apologize at some point, though for what, I wasn't entirely sure. I was nursing hurt feelings as Valkyrie and I headed up the Strand

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[prettywithawill]

Valkyrie had to say one thing for Victorian layers, they could take a few off and still feel completely covered. Her soaking wet clothes were hung up on a coat rack by the door of the coffee house, leaving her in only mildly wet clothes that were quickly drying in front of a fire.

All in all, it had been a good day so far. She had kissed Percy, dumped a girl in a snowbank, and was getting hot cocoa. Of course, they were going to have some sort of talk now, and while it was inevitable, she would have been just as happy not having any sort of talk.

At least Percy started off from a strong point, she was appreciative of that.

"I really like you too, Percy," she said, smiling a bit before blowing on the cocoa to cool it down a bit. "And before we get too far into this... I'm not looking for a relationship. Not- not anything serious or exclusive. Yet. I- I just came out of a really bad and complicated situation back home."

[percy_jackson]

"Ah," I said, and I must admit my heart sank a little. So, she didn't want a relationship. She didn't want things to be as serious as perhaps I wanted them to be. That was disappointing, but it was a good thing to know sooner rather than later.

And, hadn't I been wondering how serious I should be with her? Until Valkyrie had kissed me in the snowbank, I had been feeling as if Annabeth had been looking over my shoulder. Would it have been fair to Valkyrie if I'd tried to be serious with her with Annabeth looming over such a relationship?

But Valkyrie had been the one who had kissed me. She did want what we had. So maybe I could work with that. Besides, her statement raised a number of questions. I thought a moment, considering which one I wanted to ask, first.

"I see," I said at last. "How complicated? And... how bad? If you don't mind my asking?"

[prettywithawill]

Valkyrie sighed, both because of the disappointed look in Percy's eyes and the question he posed. It was a completely legitimate one, and if she was going to deny him a relationship she supposed that he deserved to know why. The problem was that the truth painted her in a really, really poor light

[percy_jackson]

I nodded, sympathetically and with interest. "That sounds... pretty complicated. I have someone back home too."

I took a deep breath. "Her name's Annabeth. We've... fought together, and apparently are going to fight together in a big battle in New York. That's... after my time. Or, at least, came a year after I arrived here on the Island."

This probably demanded a further explanation. "She came here, for a while. She was from the battle, so that's how I knew. And then... she disappeared."