Author's note: PJO TV series this, PJO TV series that, but none of us are ready to see these two. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Rick Riordan owns everything here.

Warnings: NA

A Future Worth Fighting For

She looped her arms around his shoulders, burying her nose in his hair and inhaling the smell of shea butter embedded in his curls.

"Charles, come back to the outside world," she said, trying not to sound whiny.

"I know without looking that you're not wearing steel-toed boots or any protective headgear in my forge, Silena," Charlie answered. "You shouldn't be here."

"Well, when my boyfriend goes missing on a beautiful night where we could be stargazing, I go looking for him," Silena said. "There can't possibly be that much work left, you've spent all day forging arrowheads."

"They're not as easy to make as you or all of Cabin 7 seems to think they are," Charlie responded. He continued to type away without so much as taking his eyes off the screen. Back when they had first started dating, Charlie used to always drop everything at her slightest beck and call. She liked it better the way they had it now; when he would happily ignore her and go about his business if she was being needy, knowing that she would always be there for him.

"Can I ask what you're working on, at least?" Silena asked, sliding down so that she was sitting on the workbench next to him, leaning back against the table. It was loaded with tools, scrap metal, rolled up blueprints, and wires. If she hadn't known that the table was made of sturdy oak that had survived generations of children of Hephaestus, all she would have seen was the glint coming off its silvery clutter.

"I'm writing an essay to try and nab this scholarship," Charlie asked. "Can you believe that NYU's application fee alone is $80?"

He stopped and pondered the screen for a minute, before deleting the last few sentences he'd written. He had increased the font size and changed the background colour to a pleasant and calming blue to make it easier to read—one of the best ways to balance computer usage and dyslexia.

Silena's heart sank when he said it and she only realized that she left too long of a pause in the conversation when Charlie stopped typing and spoke up.

"I thought you said it was a good idea?"

"What?" Silena asked.

"Engineering school. I'm smart enough to do it," he said. His tone was somewhat defensive, after a lifetime of being ridiculed for being different.

"Of course you are, of course you are babe!" Silena said, tripping over herself to undo the damage of her silence. "You're brilliant, I know that—I'm so sorry, I didn't doubt that at all, not for one second. I know how brilliant you are. I just think it's incredibly… brave."

Charlie relaxed. He returned to his regular composure—so calm, cool, and collected that she may have thought he was indifferent if she didn't know him better.

"Yeah?" he asked. "I mean, it's not rocket science although that will be what I'm trying to learn."

"Not the application, well… yes, the application," Silena said. "But I mean the application in the middle of a war. At a time when it's all falling apart, I can't believe you're looking around you and planning for… for a future in this world."

"Well... yeah," Charlie said with that stunning simplicity he sometimes had that blew her away. "I mean, you'll be there, yeah?"

The guilt in her chest was as stifling as the joy she found in the question he asked. Morality was complicated, Silena had learned this quickly. Charlie was easy, as if their hearts were made of the same stuff. He spoke of them so genuinely and so matter-of-factly, it was hard not to believe in him and his quiet bravery.

"Yeah," Silena promised. "I will."

"Then it will be," Charlie said. He reached out to loop an arm around her and leaned in to kiss her. "It will be a future worth fighting for."

She let herself enjoy the kiss she maybe didn't deserve for a moment.

"You always make the world so much better," she said. "You make it… glitter and shine."

"This is why you should listen to me." Charlie said, deadpan. She laughed some more and he cut her off by leaning in and kissing her again, scruffy cheeks rubbing against hers. "I'll make sure to give you all the hope you need and something worth listening to."

"Are you flirting with me?"

"I have been for the past year, yeah." Charlie said, playing along as she flipped the script on him from the night where he'd finally realized she was crazy for him. Silena's laugh was like a hum and she leaned in to kiss his cheek again and again, slowly inching towards his ear—a very well-established sensitive spot.

"Do you think I can give you a reason to work on that essay later and leave the forge?" Silena asked.

"Don't you want to read my essay?" Charlie asked. "I worked really hard on this. I hope you like it."

Silena pulled away.

"Yes," Silena said. "Yes, you'll get your kisses as a reward later."

"I like the sound of that," Charlie said. He pulled her onto his lap and looped his arms around her waist as she scrolled up to read his essay.

Shipping Wars

Ship (Team): Charles Beckendorf/Silena Beauregard (Beautifully Forged)

List (Prompt): Summer Medium 1 (Physical Touch)

Word count: 875