"Oh, hi." (Private: Anime)

Pretty much the only thing getting Alison Grey through this day was the fact that she knew that her dutiful boyfriend Fabian would be picking her up from school; he'd promised her that he was taking her out somewhere later. She felt as if she'd done nothing but study for the past few weeks, and today was her final day of finals. She'd been stressed beyond belief, but somehow she'd made it and she found herself dumping books in her bag, ignoring the looks she got from her best friends at this school. After her awful first day last year, Alison hadn't been the most popular student at the school. Regardless, she had acquired quite a few close friends, and that was enough for her to tolerate the awful girls in her grade. She made her way quickly out to Fabian's car, breathing in the thick, warm air that greeted her and sliding into the passenger seat, dumping her bag in the backseat. 

"One more year," she breathed, as if she could taste freedom on the tip of her tongue. She couldn't wait to go to college, to be free to do what she pleased, away from the petty institute that was private high school. She slipped off her blazer- gods, was it hot out- and wondered if it was even legal to force students to wear uniforms anymore. At some point she realized that this was Fabian's car, and so Fabian was there, and she turned to him, a small smile making its way across her lips. 

"Oh," she spoke, laughing softly and trying to hide her embarrassment. "I'm sorry. Hi."

Fabian relaxed against the hood of his car, eyes closed, and his senses trained on the people around him. Girls giggling and gossiping and guys were having grunting matches. A few girls commented on Fabian leaning against his car and he smiled slightly before recognizing the citrusy scent of Alison.

“Sorry?” He mused, taking her bag with ease and slinging it over his shoulder. “You don’t have to apologize for being distracted.”

Fabian snagged the door with his left hand and opened it for Alison, before going around to the back and tossing her bag into the back seat. 
“How was your day? Trouble from the usual mutts?”

His grey eyes found the rearview mirror before he rotated around to back out of the parking lot.

Before they got into the car, Alison couldn't stop herself- she leaned in and planted a kiss on Fabian, right where everyone could see her. Mine, she thought, grinning wryly as she pulled away from him, sure she'd gained at least a couple looks from the girls who irritated her to no end. Sure, it was a petty and childish display, but Alison couldn't resist. Plus, it gave her an excuse to kiss Fabian, and no one would argue that that wasn't a good opportunity. She allowed him to take her bag and she got into the car, studying him as she drove out of the parking lot. She cranked up the A/C, rolling up the windows and leaning back, taking in the view as they made their way away from the school. 

"My day was fine," she answered finally. "It was alright. It's better now that you're here," she admitted, grinning at him. "Where are you taking me, anyway? So long as you let me go back to camp and change out of this awful uniform first, I'm okay with anything."

Fabian turned to ask her a question when she planted a kiss on his lips, causing him to jump. After it ended he glanced around as if feeling guilty and catching several of the looks the people had given them.

“Showing off just a little bit?” He teased lightly, arching a pale brown eyebrow. The son of Bast’s hair had gotten darker over the years, it used to be dark blonde but now it was a pale brown color due to the lack of sunlight.

He listened to her demands before smiling slightly, “As you wish,” He stated simply, quoting princess bride, pulling out of the parking lot. Fabian Black had no intention of telling Alison where they were going. It was a surprise and it was going to stay as such and no amount of bribery, pestering, or rib poking was going to make him loosen his tongue.


Pulling into camp, Fabian kidnapped her bag and walked her back to her cabin. After she was a few steps in front of him, he swooped in and snatched her around the waist, carrying her bridal style. “You are my prisoner now,” He stated simply.

"I see how it is, Mr. Mysterious is keeping a secret," Alison spoke, arching an eyebrow back at him as they departed from the school parking lot. Alison's sense of freedom blossomed in her chest more fully as they headed back towards camp, and she found herself grinning like a fool subconsciously, which was maybe just a little bit embarrassing but could be at least partially attributed to the fact that she was with Fabian, who tended to make her act this way. It infuriated Riley, but Alison didn't really care what Riley thought at this point. Fabian was Fabian, and Fabian was a good person. If Riley refused to see that, then that was his problem, not hers. 

Within a few minutes Fabian had parked in front of camp, and Alison let him take her bag with no objections; after all, it was quite heavy since she'd emptied out her locker. It was when he scooped her up that she protested, shrieking in surprise and blushing as she realized that- godsdamn it- she was still in her school uniform, in a skirt and knee-high socks of all things. Her cheeks reddened as she gathered the ensemble in her hands, squirming out of her boyfriend's grasp.

"I'm wearing a skirt, you idiot!" she protested, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment, but the smile that formed on her lips betrayed her as she tried to avoid laughing. She pressed a kiss to his cheek once safely on her feet, wrapping an arm around his waist and pressing close to him as they made their way back to her cabin. 

"Guys really have no judgment sometimes," she commented, shaking her head slightly in amusement. They'd arrived before her cabin, and she pulled regretfully away from him. "I'll be ready in a half hour or so, okay? Don't go sweeping anyone else off her feet while I'm gone," she said, grinning at him.

Fabian grinned roguishly, showing his sharp teeth jokingly. He dropped her onto her feet and nuzzled her neck.

“Only if you want me to put you down,” He mused before letting her go. “As for sweeping other women up, please. We need to be broken up for at least twenty four hours.” He teased her before walking over to his cabin. He flopped onto his bunk and played a game of tug of war for most of the time while Alison was changing, the muscles standing out rigidly on his arms after he had shifted to his knees onto the floor.


He looked up and gave Alison a crooked smile as she walked into the Egyptian cabin.

Within a half hour or so Alison had managed to shower and get herself dressed in a much more comfortable outfit; that school uniform was abysmal. In its place she donned a pair of dark-wash shorts and a nice top. She considered grabbing a jacket, but it was about 87 degrees outside and she figured that she wouldn't be needing one no matter where they were going. Her excitement about being out of school had just about caught up with her as she ambled over to the Egyptian cabin giddily, bursting through the door only to find Fabian wrestling with his lion, perhaps her least favorite creature in all of camp- and that included the hellhounds and creatures in the forest. The creature was enormous, and Alison froze in her spot, Keds skidding to a stop against the wood floor. She offered a weak smile, her fingers gripping the doorknob until her knuckles turned white. She had tried to warm up to the creature over the past few weeks, but she'd had difficulty. Still, Fabian had a bond with the creature, and it was kind of cute to see him playing with it. 

"Hi again," she said softly obviously uncomfortable with the presence of the lion.

Fabian stopped playing with the lion causing Simba to chuff at him in disappointment, butting his head against. Then the human pushed the lion away gently with his hand and the big black creature walked dejectedly out the door. Simba made a faint mewling noise in Alison’s direction before he took off towards the forest again.

“That poor guy is so heartbroken, you don’t like him.” Fabian murmured, snagging her around the waist and shutting the door behind Alison and letting his fingers trail over her arms for a few moments. The lion and girl had not met under the best situation therefore marring any companion like relationships.


“You look lovely,” Fabian murmured, allowing a low purr to rumble forth as he pressed his nose to her hair.

"I'm so-" Alison began, visibly relaxing once the lion retreated from the room. She felt a twinge of guilt at his innocent, docile reaction, but she was still relieved; those things frightened her. Soon she was tucked into Fabian's arms, and she had tried to respond but she couldn't finish. Fabian had a way of drawing the words from her lips, whether it be compelling her to speak them or preventing her from remembering what they were. This time, it was the latter; as he ran his fingers over her she shivered, leaning into his embrace and tucking her head against the crook of his neck, where it fit perfectly. She blushed as he complimented her, purring lightly as he cuddled her in. It had taken her some time to get used to it, but by now Alison had learned to take Fabian's catlike mannerisms well. 

"Thanks," Alison breathed, kissing his cheek gently before pulling back. "Where are we going?" she asked insistently once again, always curious, as they began to make their way back to Fabian's car.

Fabian felt her relax into him; he moved his arms up and ran his fingers through her hair trying to get her to relax even more; Even if the consequence was turning Alison into mush.

“Always ever curious,” He mused, taking her hand and leading her out the door. The walk back to the truck didn’t take long and before long he had Ali pacified with a cupcake in the car. Hopefully it would distract her for a while so he could concentrate on driving. The drive took half an hour and during that time Fabian is proud to say he did not get lost. Durring this drive Fabian had a pleasant conversation with Alison about how she felt about Salone and Riley having triplets, being able to age herself, and other non important things.

 The area he was driving to was quite far away from human reach and they would have to walk some ways on foot. After parking the car and taking care to lock it, Fabian got Alison’s door.  

“We are going to need to be relatively quite from this point on.”

Fabian was far too good at distracting her. It only took a touch from him and her curiosity had lessened as she focused in on the moment at hand; he was there and so very close to her, and although their closeness waned when they got in the car, he provided her with a cupcake to quell her curiosity two times over. Contented, she sat and ate her cupcake, offering him a piece every now and then as they made their way to their destination, conversing lightly. Finally they arrived in a deserted region, and she had no clue where he was taking her. If it was anyone else, she may have been suspicious, but this was Fabian and she trusted him. She took his hand, lacing her fingers through his and feeling a nervous energy run through her veins. Still, she managed to respond. "Quiet?" Alison asked, gazing from him to the land before them, no sign of development in sight.

"I can do quiet," she agreed.

“Good.”

Fabian grinned and took her hand, leading her foreword for some time in silence. The natural noises of where they were kept him alert. They stopped at one point as a deer came bounding across their path and he grinned slightly as a young faun scrambled after his mother.  It was so awkward and gangly it couldn’t help but be adorable.  

After another five minutes they came to another stop, this time Fabian climbed up into a tree so they could see over a row of hedges, after pulling Alison up he pointed.
“I think,” He whispered in his ear, “this is an amazing sight.”


Over the hedges was a clearing and twenty or so wild pegasi were grazing and several young frolicking around. They took no notice of the two demigods… that or they didn’t remotely care.

Alison gripped Fabian's hand tightly in hers as they walked; while sunlight glittered through the trees in some places, in others it became dark, and the dark was one on a list of many things that disconcerted Alison. After what seemed to be ages of walking, they came across a row of hedges, and Fabian began to climb a tree. 

"Are you nuts?!" Alison hissed, a hint of a smile crossing her features as he hoisted himself up into the tree. "At least I changed out of that skirt. You could have warned me-" 

Before she could finish complaining, Fabian hoisted her up into the tree behind him, and she squealed in surprise, locking her hand in a vise around his. Thank the gods, because she would have fallen out of the tree upon seeing the view if she hadn't. He caught her around the waist as she took in the view before them; a seemingly endless expanse of field spread outward before them, pegasus horses scattered throughout it as if their appearance there was completely natural. It took her a moment to catch her breath, and she shivered as Fabian whispered to her.

"I think-" Alison spoke breathily, "that you're correct." 

“Am I nuts?” Fabian breathed into her ear, while watching the pegasi mill about. “You should already know the answer to that question; I am half cat after all.” He had his arm tucked around her waist, carefully securing her to him. Leaning back against the branch Fabian just let her look at the creatures frolic below.


“Darling, I’m always right. You just need to accept that fact.” He muttered this under his breath teasingly before helping her down again. The next thing was a cheesy picnic, filled with sandwiches and other things.

It was a night filled with teasing jokes and ridiculously delicious picnic-food. Fabian never ceased to surprise her; beneath his rough exterior he was molten, warm and comforting and compassionate. The sun was setting quickly, and Alison settled herself under Fabian's arm, content to stay there forever. For the first time in a while, the burden of school was off of her shoulders, and she had a good two months to rejuvenate herself. It was weird that the only worry she had had in the past year was about school; after the whole fiasco with the hospital and Riley and Salone's wedding, a strange sense of normalcy had set in. 

The hospital. Alison shuddered at the thought. It had stolen her life from her for almost a year. But it had brought her a whole new family. Without it, Riley probably wouldn't be with Salone, and she definitely wouldn't have met Fabian, although it was still a little cloudy as to what role Fabian had played in the whole hospital thing. But it didn't matter. The hospital had been gone for a year now, and it didn't seem like it had a chance of returning. Did it?

"Fabian?" she spoke, and upon receiving an answer in the affirmative she launched into her question. "Do you know exactly what happened with the Hospital?"