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They’re juniors in college when they make the pact. It’s the night after fall finals, and Annabeth is embarrassingly drunk. She isn’t usually the type, but after mercilessly cramming for her calculus test and only earning a B minus, she’s in the mood to forget the world for a bit. Her friends are talking loudly in the kitchen, filling their cups and shit-talking their worst professors. She stumbles into the den, where her eyes land on Percy, sitting alone.
With a dramatic flair, she slumps down next to him on the couch, clinging to his arm. She’s awfully touchy when she’s intoxicated. “Hey, Perce,” she says with a wide smile.
“Hey,” he says, amused. “You seem to be enjoying yourself. How much have you had to drink?”
She groans, “Not enough. Fucking math.”
“Tell me about it. I’m so glad I’m done with stat.” He leans toward her, a conspiratorial glint in his eye. “Since there’s no way you’ll remember this tomorrow, I have to tell you: Grover’s planning on proposing to Juniper. It’s a secret, though.”
Annabeth’s jaw drops. “NO way,” she says, eyes wide. “That’s insane. We’re fucking twenty. I can’t imagine getting married right now.”
“Grover’s older than us, though, remember? That nature sabbatical he took after high school? He’s twenty-three.”
“Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’m so happy for him! So, so, so happy!” she rambled. “I just can’t imagine. I dunno if I’ll ever get married.” She sinks further into her seat, pressing her face into his shoulder with a frown.
“Do you want to?” he asks.
“Yeah, at some point.” Her voice is muffled. “But I have the worst luck when it comes to dating. You know that. I can’t keep a guy or girl for longer than a few months. Nobody’s gonna want to spend the rest of their life with me.”
It’s mostly the alcohol talking, but Annabeth realizes that she just vocalized a very real fear of hers. Percy must sense it. He says, “That’s not true,” tipping up her chin to look her in the eyes. “You’re amazing. You’ll find someone who sees that.”
Her eyebrows scrunch together. “I guess.” Her addled brain conjures up a trope she’s seen in countless romantic comedies, and in that moment, it’s genius. “But just in case, though, do you wanna be my backup? You know, that thing, like, if we’re both single when we’re thirty, we’ll get married?”
She finds it hard to gauge his reaction. He’s definitely surprised. Eventually, his lips curve up into a cautious smile. “Sure. But I’m warning you, I’ll hold you to that.”
“Deal,” she says, and gives him a half-assed handshake, arm flopping back into his lap. Before she knows it, she’s asleep.
*
The next morning, Annabeth nurses a killer hangover. She has only a faint recollection of the previous night. She leaves her room reluctantly, squinting as she enters the bright kitchen. Her roommate, Thalia, greets her, sipping a cup of tea.
“So, you and Percy, huh? Can I be the maid of honor?”
Annabeth blinks. Did I hook up with him last night? She scours her memory, hoping she didn’t do anything to ruin their friendship, but all she can recall is talking to him on the couch, which seems innocent enough.
Seeing her confused expression, Thalia says, “Do you really not remember? Damn, that’s why I don’t drink. You made a marriage pact with my cousin.”
Oh. Now she remembers. “Oh, shit, yeah. Did I…Did I tell a lot of people about that?”
“Just me. Everyone else had left by then. I had to kick Percy out, though. You fell asleep on him and he didn’t want to move in case it woke you up. I told him it was fine, and that he should get out before you threw up on him.”
“Funny.” She’s relieved, nonetheless. Nobody else needs to know about her crippling fear of loneliness. Or the fact that she sees Percy as the best candidate to solve that problem.
“It was pretty sweet, actually, taking care of his future wife,” Thalia says innocently, and Annabeth wants to deck her.
“It’s not a guarantee that we’ll get married, Thals,” she says, scowling. “It’s a backup plan. That way, if my life doesn’t go the way I planned, at the end of the day I’ll still come home to someone who loves me. As a friend,” she tacks on, seeing Thalia’s wicked smile.
“And the tax benefits are a plus, I’m sure,” her roommate says drily. “I actually have to pick Percy up in a few minutes. I’m staying at his place over break, so we’re carpooling.”
“Oh,” Annabeth says, giving her a sympathetic look. Thalia often takes refuge at her aunt’s house when her own mother is too drugged up to take care of her. Though she doesn’t say it, Annabeth knows this must be one of those times. “I hope you guys have a nice Christmas. I’ll see you in a couple weeks.”
“You too, Annie. I’ll tell Percy that Mrs. Jackson says hi,” Thalia laughs as Annabeth swats at her.
*
They don’t talk about the pact much, besides one awkward conversation confirming they both remember making it, and still agree to follow through. Even Thalia stops teasing them about it when Percy starts dating Rachel their senior year.
Annabeth likes Rachel: she’s creative, funny, and not afraid to express herself. Best of all, she makes Percy happy, and that’s all Annabeth wants for her friend. That said, the longer the two of them are an item, the less she sees of him. She doesn’t blame him for wanting to spend time with his girlfriend, but she misses him. It’s their senior year, after all, the last chance to make college memories before they all separate to get real jobs and be real adults.
She hesitates to reach out. She doesn’t want to seem jealous, which she knows is ridiculous, but anyone who knows about their pact would probably find it suspicious. She prays Percy has the tact not to mention it to Rachel.
In the end, he texts her first. Hey, I feel like we haven’t hung out in forever. Wanna go for a picnic this weekend?
She can’t contain her smile as she shoots back a yes.
They meet for lunch in a park near campus. It’s unusually warm out for the time of year, and the bright sun is a welcome surprise. When Annabeth arrives, Percy is already there, laying out a blue plaid blanket.
“Hey,” he says, grinning up at her. “Long time, no see.”
“Indeed,” she says, tucking her legs beneath her. She takes off her backpack and pulls out a lunch box. “I brought sandwiches.”
“Nice. I have some fruit, and those cookies I promised.” He produces a bag of oranges, which contrast nicely with the blue chocolate chip cookies already on his plate.
“How are your midterms going?” she asks.
The conversation flows easily, like no time has passed since they were last together. She’s reminded of little Percy-isms: the way his eyes light up before he laughs, how he listens with his whole body, head tilting to the side when she says something particularly interesting. He’s so familiar, and she feels warmth bloom in her chest the longer they talk.
She tells him about a guy in her writing class, a textbook case of a pretentious film major. “He wears a scarf and a beanie every day, and always tries to correct the professor. As soon as I see that fingerless-gloved hand shoot up, I pray for the sweet release of death.”
Percy laughs and starts peeling an orange. Meticulously, he splits it in half and tears off a single slice, handing it to Annabeth wordlessly. She accepts it with a smile, their fingers brushing for a brief moment, and continues her story. By the time she’s done talking, they’ve each eaten a half of the orange, the slightly sour taste lingering on their tongues. Silence follows. They lay back, staring at the sky and the tree branches reaching across its surface, their small buds signaling the coming of spring.
Though they don’t know it, it’s the last time they’ll be alone together before graduation. Truly, Annabeth wouldn’t change a thing.
*
The summer after graduation is a blur: parties, moving out, finding jobs. Annabeth takes a paid architecture internship in California, and Percy stays in New York. They promise to keep in touch, and they try, at first, but between the time difference and their immense respective workloads, it’s nearly impossible. They go from FaceTiming once a week to once a month, then to scattered text messages, then to almost nothing.
She rarely visits home. She volunteers to work on holidays, even Christmas, trying to prove to her boss that she’s a valuable, hard-working employee. She stays at the firm late into the night, hunched over a drawing table, sorting through junk mail, anything to convince the company to hire her full time.
A year later, her hard work finally pays off, and she starts signing her emails as Annabeth Chase, Architect. She also decides she deserves a break and books a plane ticket to New York.
It’s winter in the city, the streets covered with dirty, mushy snow, a crisp wind whipping through her hair. Thalia is hosting a New Years party, and she wants to be early. All of her college friends are in town, too, and they have a lot of catching up to do.
Thalia still lives at home, though her mother is away at a rehabilitation center upstate. The Grace apartment is theirs tonight. When Annabeth arrives, it’s not much of a party: Thalia, Grover, and Juniper sit at the kitchen counter, reminiscing. The latter pair wear their engagement rings, and something stirs inside Annabeth at the sight.
As the clock ticks closer to midnight, more people show up. Clarisse, a welcome surprise. The Stoll brothers. Reyna, who kisses Thalia on the cheek when she enters the room—Annabeth is so giving her grief for that later. Eventually, the traffic through the front door slows, but she can’t stop herself from looking at it every few seconds, hoping a familiar head of black, messy hair will appear.
The clock strikes eleven, and no sign of Percy. She didn’t realize how much she wanted to see him, but now she’s doubting he’ll show. She worries her lip with her teeth. Finally, she asks Thalia, “Hey, are Percy and Rachel coming?”
“Percy’s supposed to, but Rachel isn’t. They broke up earlier this year, so she hasn’t been around much,” Thalia answers, giving her a curious look.
“I haven’t got the chance to talk to him much lately,” Annabeth admits. “Was it a bad breakup?”
“Not for him,” Thalia says grimly, leaning closer as if to tell a secret. “I think the problem was—”
At that moment, the front door slams open and there he is. She doesn’t think. In a second, she’s across the room in his arms, cooing, “I missed you,” and he says it back, sounding a little surprised. When they lean back and she sees the distance in his eyes, she feels compelled to explain why she hasn’t contacted him in months.
They take their glasses outside to the balcony, and she tells him all about her job the intensity of her dedication to it. She apologizes for not being there for him during his breakup, and missing every other life event that’s happened since they stopped talking.
Bless him, he’s forgiving. His own life has been busy too, he says.
“Don’t worry about me and Rachel, either. She realized before I did that…we weren’t right for each other.” The words are uneven, like he originally meant to say something else, but she doesn’t pry. She’s been too distant to deserve the whole truth, she thinks. At least for now.
They’re left with empty cups and comfortable silence. Objectively, Annabeth knows it’s freezing outside, but she feels warm enough. A growing commotion is heard inside, and they exchange a look, hurrying back through the door so they don’t miss the ball drop.
Everyone is crowded around the bulky, old TV set in the den as the one-minute countdown begins. The Stolls each have a party blower, one giving a tentative honk before his brother smacks him on the head. “Too early,” he scolds.
Annabeth and Percy stand together in the back of the room. Her blood is buzzing and she isn’t sure why until the countdown hits seven and his fingers cautiously entangle with hers. It’s a tradition to kiss at midnight, of course, so it’s perfectly acceptable when she turns to face him at four and wraps her arms around his neck at two and captures his lips with hers at Happy New Year. His arms tighten around her waist as the kiss deepens. Finally, they pull apart as their friends pop confetti poppers and blow their party horns.
“Happy New Year,” he repeats, giving her a shy smile. She tries her hardest not to melt.
“Happy New Year.”
Later, in her hotel room, Annabeth thinks what a shame it is that she’s only twenty-three.
*
Much like the pact, they don’t talk about the kiss. It can’t mean anything—no matter what they feel, at the end of the day, they live on opposite sides of the continent, and history proves they aren’t good at long distance. That said, they try to rejuvenate their friendship, texting more often and FaceTiming on the rare nights they’re both free. If Annabeth goes to bed with a smile on those nights, no one has to know.
She isn’t back in New York until the following summer, for Grover and Juniper’s wedding. She wasn’t chosen to be a part of the bridal party, which suits her fine. She couldn’t have been in town for most of the pre-nuptial celebrations, anyway. It’s only annoying because Percy is the best man, and she barely gets to see him between all the photoshoots and rehearsals.
Of course, it’s an outdoor wedding. The day of the ceremony, Annabeth is seated by the aisle, Thalia and Reyna on her other side. She makes eye contact with Percy, who gives her a quick grin. Idly, she wonders if it’s legal to look that good in a suit. Her own dress is a pale blue, cascading off her shoulders elegantly. It’s simple, but pretty, and she’s stupidly curious what Percy thinks of it, if he thinks of it at all.
When the wedding march starts, she cranes her neck to get a glimpse of the bride. Juniper looks radiant, happiness shining on her face. She meets Grover under the arbor, which is bursting with flowers and vines. The priest gives a brief introduction, they say their vows, they kiss, and dammit if Annabeth doesn’t cry a little. Her friends are in love.
Weddings meant next to nothing to her for the longest time: her own parents’ marriage was a train wreck for most of her childhood, until her mom finally left. Over the years, though, she learned to admire the courage it takes to get married. A wedding is a statement that says, I love you and I’m committed to you, in the most permanent way possible. It makes Annabeth’s head spin, wondering what it’s like to feel that much love and dedication to another person.
The reception is held at a hotel near Annabeth’s old college apartment. Dinner passes without much of note. Most of her table consists of friends from school, and the few people she doesn’t recognize are nice enough. The toasts are sweet, especially the one from Juniper’s childhood friend, Daphne. Again, Annabeth finds herself shedding some tears. Weddings.
Things become a little more light-hearted when the DJ takes the stage. Assorted music from their high school years plays, and Annabeth is surprised at how many songs she remembers. She’s dancing with Thalia in a fun, reckless way when she feels a tap on her shoulder.
“Hey. Mind if I borrow you for a bit?” Percy asks, and she nods her yes, grinning.
He leads her away from Thalia, who gives her a meaningful look, which she ignores. The upbeat song playing changes to a slow one, and a small thrill runs up Annabeth’s arms. They sway to the rhythm of the music, one hand clasped in his, the other curved around his neck.
“What did you think of the ceremony?” he asks, mouth inches from her ear.
“It was beautiful. Makes me wish I was getting married.” She says it without much consideration, just the first honest thought that came to her head.
“Give me six more years. And a month,” he jokes.
Six years and a month from now would be his thirtieth birthday. Perhaps weddings make everyone sentimental. She squeezes his hand.
Finally, the taboo was broken. A surge of courage flows through Annabeth, and keeping a light tone, she asks, “What colors do you want for our theme?”
He misses a step in their dance, but recovers quickly. “Something blue,” he says, and she snickers at his predictability.
“Okay, I can work with that. What about navy? It would go well with peach, or a light pink. Maybe silver accents. Oh, I don’t know,” she cuts herself off, not wanting to go too far. It’s just a joke, right? She doesn’t want to get his hopes up. Or hers.
He doesn’t respond at first, just looks at her pensively, a furrow forming between his eyebrows. His tongue darts out to wet his lips, and he inhales as if to speak, but their song finishes and Grover drags him away to chat with the rest of the bridal party.
Annabeth stumbles back to her seat, giving a groan of relief when the load is taken off her sore, bare feet. She searches for her shoes under the table by touch, but doesn’t feel anything, not even Thalia’s strappy heels. Annoyed, she lowers herself to the floor to look, but her sparkly silver flats are nowhere to be seen. She spots Thalia across the dance floor and makes her way over to her.
“Did you move my shoes?” she asks loudly. Someone must have requested that the DJ turn up the music, because she can barely hear herself.
“What?” Thalia yells back.
“Have you seen my shoes?”
“Oh, yeah, I put them over by the cake stand. Why, are you leaving?”
“Thinking about it. I have to fly back tomorrow.”
“Oh. Alright. It was great seeing you. I wish you’d visit more often,” Thalia says, giving Annabeth a heartfelt hug. “Keep kicking ass out there.”
“Will do,” Annabeth grins. “Bye.”
She scans the crowd until she finds Juniper and Grover, chatting with their parents, and quickly interjects to thank the hosts and wish them a happy honeymoon. She wants to say goodbye to Percy, too, but doesn’t see him. She waits around another five minutes before deciding to leave. She’s worried she might have made him uncomfortable earlier. Hell, she’s kind of uncomfortable now.
She and Percy seem to walk the line between being friends and being more, and she is no longer sure which side she wants to be on.
*
All the time she spends working at Kronos and Associates turns out to be time wasted: she is fired with no warning, and gets replaced almost instantly by a new designer from Los Angeles. So much for a ‘corporate family,’ she thinks bitterly. Her dedication and loyalty obviously meant nothing to them.
With nothing to keep her in California, she decides to return to New York, permanently, but in her haste to leave, she forgets that finding adequate housing in a large and expensive city takes time.
So now she’s twenty-five, more than a bit jaded, and homeless.
She’s okay with living in a hotel for a little bit, but the bed is uncomfortable, the heating unit can’t keep up with a northeastern winter, and she swears she saw a roach in the shower one morning. Hesitantly—she hates being a burden—she reaches out to a few friends, asking for a place to stay while she searches for a new home.
Much to her chagrin, she receives gentle yet resounding nos. Thalia’s mom is back from rehab, and they no longer have a spare bedroom. Grover and Juniper are out of the country, attending a conservation summit somewhere in Europe, and won’t be back for a while. Annabeth realizes she is getting desperate when her fingers start to dial Travis Stoll’s number.
She bites her lip, sinking down into her pillow, which smells like industrial grade cleaner. It’s not very homey. There is one person she hasn’t called yet. And he probably has an extra room, since Grover moved out. For some reason, it seems unthinkable to ask for his help. He would say yes, without question, and deny her attempts to pay rent, because his big stupid heart is too kind, and she can’t take advantage of that. Right?
She groans, heat pricking her cheeks as she opens her contacts and clicks Percy Jackson, who answers on the second ring.
“Hey, what’s up? Are you back in the city?” he says, so casually that it winds her up even more.
“Yeah, I am,” she says, feeling instant regret. Should it be this weird to ask a favor of him? Or were her feelings getting in the way?
The silence lingers until Percy asks, “You still there?” His voice is teasing, but holds a note of concern.
“Yeah.”
“Where are you staying right now? You moved so fast, I’d be surprised if you found a place already.”
“…A hotel,” she grits out, knowing what his next words will be.
“A hotel? Aw, Annabeth, you don’t have to do that. I have a spare room if you want to stay with me for a while. Just until you find your own place.”
She exhales, pinching the bridge of her nose. Annabeth Chase: charity case. “That would be great, actually. No shade to the cleaning staff, but I swear I saw a—” Suddenly, she screams as she notices the bug crawling on the opposite wall. “Spider!”
Right. So, her original plan was to give him a few days to prepare the space for her—honestly, he’s never been the tidiest—but the spider is the final straw. So, she ends up lugging her essentials to Percy’s place. It’s almost midnight, but he doesn’t seem bothered.
“Are you all set for tonight?” he asks, lingering by the door to what is now her room. He sways on his feet, as if deciding whether he should come in or not. Perhaps to give me a goodnight kiss, she thinks, only a little sarcastically.
Because really, she wouldn’t mind if he did.
“Yeah, I’m alright,” she says instead, moving to turn off the overhead light. “Goodnight, Percy.”
*
She adjusts to New York quickly. It’s nice to be back in a city where she belongs. Her daily routine leaves a bit to be desired, though. Annabeth likes being busy, being challenged, so unemployment does not suit her well. She spends a couple hours each day searching for a job online, but doesn’t find much of interest.
As she suspected, Percy’s dumb, wonderful self doesn’t charge her rent. She tries to make up for it by buying them groceries and cleaning supplies, but still feels woefully indebted to him. The guilt is almost enough to make her want to move out. Almost.
She loves living with him.
“Good morning,” she says as he shuffles into the kitchen, hair mussed from sleep.
“Morning,” he yawns.
She hands him a cup of coffee, and his sleepy smile makes her heart skip a beat. They both sit at the kitchen counter and dig into breakfast. It’s absurdly domestic.
Annabeth does the day’s crossword on her phone, occasionally glancing up at him to gauge his sleepiness: Percy can’t carry a conversation until he’s been awake for at least twenty minutes.
Once she sees a semblance of alertness in his eyes, she asks, “Any plans for this weekend?”
“Nah, it’s felt like a long week. I hate working in an office,” he grumbles.
Percy works for a nonprofit focused on marine life conservation. It seemed like a dream job when he graduated college, but he failed to consider there is very limited access to the ocean in the city. So, he handles paperwork and acts as an “idea man” for the people out in the field. It isn’t quite what he envisioned, Annabeth knows, and it can be draining.
“I just want to stay in.”
“Guess you’re all mine, then,” she says impulsively, fighting the blush on her cheeks.
“Guess so,” he grins.
That night, they decide to build a blanket fort—Percy’s idea—and watch a movie—Annabeth’s idea. The fort is built in front of the TV, and their backs rest on the front of the couch. It’s not very wide, Annabeth notices, but she doesn’t mind.
Her arm brushes Percy’s as she browses through Netflix.
“What about this one?”
“Huh?” He looks up from his phone and pulls a face. “I’ve seen that before. Not very good.”
“You pick, then.”
Percy claps a hand over Annabeth’s eyes and takes the remote. “Okay, tell me when.”
“…When.” She’s certain he can feel her face heat up against his palm.
“Technically this is a TV show, but I can’t complain.”
It’s Avatar: The Last Airbender. Percy and Annabeth both loved it when they were kids, and they smile with nostaliga as the title sequence starts.
“Water…earth…fire…air,” Percy quotes, waving his arms around like a lunatic.
Annabeth catches his hand right before it smacks her in the face. He grins sheepishly, but doesn’t let go. Cautiously, she pulls both their hands into her lap, drawing him a little closer.
She pretends not to notice the widening of his smile, and he does the same for her.
Are you still watching? Netflix asks, hours later.
Annabeth wants to say yes, but Percy has fallen asleep on her arm, and she can’t reach the remote with her other one. She rolls her eyes, and they land on his sleeping face.
Annabeth isn’t a creep…but the opportunity to just stare at him doesn’t arise very often. She looks with an architect’s eye; noting the angles and planes of his face, the soft curve of the tip of his nose. His lips are set in a slight pout, and she tries not to twitch when she notices a trickle of drool down his chin, onto her shirtsleeve.
Idiot, she thinks fondly.
Gently, she reaches out and brushes a strand of hair from his forehead. For a moment, she pretends they’re together: Annabeth and her boyfriend, Percy, have a low-key date night in their apartment. They fall asleep in the blanket fort, bodies and hearts entwined, and in the morning, the first thing he does is kiss her.
But that’s not her life.
“Percy,” she whispers, shaking his shoulder. “Hey. Wake up.”
“Mhuh?”
“It’s time to go to bed. You’re falling asleep on me here,” she says, wearing a soft but teasing smile.
“Oh. Sorry.” He glances at the TV, stretching. “We’ll have to watch more of that soon.”
Annabeth turns off the TV and decides taking down the fort would be a task for another day. She shuffles back to her room in the dark. Across the hall, Percy’s door is already closed. She pauses in front of it, not really knowing why, before she goes to bed.
*
Annabeth starts to take her search for a house more seriously. Being in the same space as the person she’s in love with is excellent, most of the time, but it’s tainted with the knowledge she can’t act on it: Percy might not feel the same way, and she would ruin their easygoing relationship. How awkward their breakfasts would become if she confessed; trying to avoid each other’s gaze, jerking back when they both reached for the salt…
The tension would be ridiculous. She resolves to put it out of her mind until she moves out.
In the meantime, she manages to find a job at a local architecture firm. It isn’t as prestigious as Kronos and Associates, but she’ll deal. Places like that are overrated.
Her new boss seems to actually believe the company’s mission statement about building a better tomorrow. It’s something she can get behind, though her job is less engaging than before.
The PR lady, Piper, is someone Annabeth could see herself being friends with. Maybe more, if she wasn’t so hung up on her roommate. Piper has a choppy haircut, a fiery attitude, and such a charming way about her, it’s no wonder she excels at her job.
They become fast friends, and it isn’t long until Piper meets the rest of Annabeth’s inner circle. She and Percy get along famously, and Annabeth swears introducing them was a mistake. Not that she’s jealous, but they act like total hooligans around each other, like their individual brain cells cancel out and they’re left with only one.
One day, from her room, Annabeth can hear muffled, excited chatter. She sticks her head out the door and identifies the voices as Percy and Piper. Probably about to do something stupid.
She speed-walks down the hallway and turns into the kitchen just in time to see Percy attempt a backflip off the table. He lands hard on his shoulder, and Annabeth gasps. Both her friends’ eyes snap to her guiltily.
“Shit. Ow,” Percy says as he scrambles up off the floor, one hand flying to his face. A slow trickle of blood runs down his chin.
“What did you do?” Annabeth squeaks, equally concerned and irritated. What did he think was going to happen?
“Piper told me I couldn’t do a flip, and I needed a…ow…a platform to stand on.” His words are clumsy. “I bit my lip pretty hard on the landing.”
“Some landing.”
Piper stands to the side, avoiding Annabeth’s eye like that will save her from chastisement. Annabeth sighs and addresses them both, “You guys have to be more careful with your stupid bets. Seriously. You’re adults. Act like it.”
They both nod, heads down, like repentant schoolchildren.
She grabs Percy’s elbow and drags him to the bathroom, where they keep the first aid kit. He sits on the edge of the sink and she reaches around him to soak a washcloth.
“Does your shoulder hurt? You landed on it pretty hard,” she says, wiping the blood off his chin. The cut on his lip has started to clot, which is good, she thinks.
“Not really.”
Annabeth nods shortly and wrings out the washcloth. Reddened water flows down the drain. When it turns clear, she turns her attention back to Percy, continuing to clean up his face. Her eyes flit up to his every few seconds, monitoring his reaction to her care. Then he decides to be a little shit.
“So, about Piper…” he says, a teasing glint in his eye. “You like her or something? She’s over here a lot.”
“I—no,” she stammers. “She’s cute, don’t get me wrong, but...”
“Got your eye on someone else?” he asks softly.
It occurs to her that they’re standing very close to each other. She moves to take a step back, but her foot hits the wall. She gives a small, nervous laugh, and says, “Nah, I only see her as a friend. Bi people don’t have to be attracted to everyone they meet, Perce.”
“I know. Just thought I’d ask, so I’d know if our wedding was off.”
What the hell?
“Did you hit your head?”
“No,” he says defensively. “Forget I said that. It was just a joke, like, ‘okay, I’ll stop waiting for you, then’—well, not exactly like that—”
A knock on the doorframe saves him from that mess of an explanation.
“Hey guys, I think I’m gonna head out, I have a family dinner in about an hour,” Piper says, looking between them curiously. “Uh. Hope you feel better, Percy.”
She leaves an awkward silence behind her.
Annabeth appraises Percy’s lip one last time before clearing him. It was a shallow cut, after all, and all he needs to do is wait for it to heal. He thanks her quietly before sliding off the sink and out of the room.
Annabeth barely recognizes herself in the mirror. Her face is flushed, hair disheveled from lying in bed, and there’s a pathetic look in her eye that she knows is pining. She’s certain she will latch onto his strange comments for days, overanalyzing each possible meaning.
Was he really jealous of Piper? Was his reference to the pact a joke, or something more meaningful? Does he think about it as often as she does? They’re coming up on twenty-six, it wouldn’t be surprising if it crossed his mind from time to time, especially since they were both single…
Ignoring her feelings was proving harder than she imagined. Gods, she should really move out.
*
When she actually tries, it’s easy to find a place. Annabeth signs a lease for an apartment a short subway ride from Percy’s. The rent is a bit high, but it’s a nice place in a somewhat nice neighborhood, and it’s good enough.
Percy, sweetheart that he is, offers to throw her a moving out party the night before she leaves. Annabeth protests at first, because that’s not a thing, so they agree to make it a birthday party instead. After all, hers is only a couple weeks away.
Thalia comes, of course, and Piper, and Percy’s mom, which is a nice surprise. She seems like more of a mother to Annabeth than her own, sometimes. A few other familiar faces flit around the kitchen, snacking on chips and chatting.
Annabeth resists rolling her eyes when they bring out a cake—she never knows what to do when everyone sings Happy Birthday at her. She resorts to looking around the room, making brief, unpleasant eye contact with all the guests. She doesn’t know what to wish for when she blows out the candles.
Sally Jackson sits with her as they both dig into their cake.
“So, Annabeth, are you excited to have your own place?”
“Yeah, I guess so.” It sounds unenthused even to her own ears. “I’ll miss having Percy around, though.”
“I understand,” Sally says kindly, and Annabeth blushes at the (absolutely true) implication. She pats Annabeth’s hand before rising. “It’s getting too late for an old lady like me to be out. I hope I see you soon, Annabeth.”
“You too.”
Sally looks like she wants to say more, but opts not to. She finds Percy across the room and kisses his cheek in farewell.
Annabeth’s gaze stays trained on Percy after she leaves. He is absorbed in a conversation with Piper, and it’s fascinating to watch his expression change and try to guess what they’re talking about. She can only hope it isn’t something that would cause another injury.
Lost in thought, she barely notices when Thalia slides up next to her.
“Hey,” Thalia says, snapping her fingers.
“Hey. Sorry, didn’t see you there.”
“Right, because you’re too busy staring at my cousin. Drooling over him.”
Annabeth’s mouth falls open. “Thalia! I was not!”
Thalia gives her a look like yeah right, but lets it go. “How did you go about finding a place, anyway?”
“Realty websites, mostly. I could give you the name of a few. Why, are you in the market?”
“Yeah, hopefully.” Thalia turns bashful, an unusual look for her. “I want to ask Reyna to move in together. If she says no, I guess I’ll stay with my mom.”
“Oh my god, Thals, that’s amazing!” Annabeth says, wrapping her friend in a hug. “She’s gonna say yes, I know it.”
“Don’t make a scene,” Thalia scoffs, but can’t hide her smile. “I didn’t want to announce it to everyone, since it’s your party.”
“Whatever. It was all Percy’s idea, anyway…Shut up!”
“I didn’t say anything,” Thalia laughs. “Didn’t have to.”
Annabeth playfully pushes her. “I’m sick of you. Go bully someone else.”
When the party is over, Annabeth is stuck cleaning up. She doesn’t mind, it gives her time to reminisce. She has only lived in this apartment for six months, but it feels like every inch is covered in memories. This is the spot on the floor where Percy once dropped an open can of soup. While sweeping, they found carrot slices for weeks after. This corner is where the last of her move-in boxes sat before Percy told her to unpack them, saying with a smile, “Seems like you’ll be here a while.” This bathroom is where Annabeth asked him through the door, red-faced, to please run to the store and get her some tampons.
She doesn’t realize she’s crying until she feels a hand on her shoulder.
“Hey, you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she sniffs, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “It’s just dusty in here. You know, allergies…”
But he sees and he understands, so he wraps his arms around her. “I’m gonna miss you, too.”
“This is silly,” she says, hugging him close. “I won’t be far.”
“I know. But it feels like it.”
“Thank you for letting me stay here. For free, at that. I’ll find a way to repay you, I promise.”
“You don’t have to. You don’t. You were a great roommate. Your company alone was…more than enough.”
It overwhelms Annabeth, how right this feels. His chin rests on her shoulder, and he leans his head to hers. She reciprocates, burying her nose in the crook of his neck. She feels warm and pliant all over, like her body is melting into his embrace.
Gradually, her breathing slows, and her tears dry up. Sensing that she’s better, Percy smacks a kiss on the top of her head—not without some effort; they’re very close in height—and pulls away.
They’re left staring at each other, not quite a foot apart. How easy it would be to kiss him right now. She has half a mind to do it, too.
But she doesn’t.
*
Annabeth often wonders what would have happened if she had. She likes to imagine he would have kissed her back, followed up with a confession of love. A darker corner of her mind assures her that he would have pushed her away, said, “Thank god you’re moving.” Neither scenario seems that plausible, really, but she can’t envision a middle ground that satisfies both her own desires and cruel reality.
Even worse, Percy seems distant after she moves out. Or maybe she’s experiencing withdrawal. She’s addicted to him: the disheveled way he looks in the morning, golden sunlight on his skin, the soft smiles she thinks she isn’t supposed to see, his warm, comforting embrace…everything.
Living by herself highlights her feelings of isolation. It reminds Annabeth of California, though New York is where her friends are near.
It isn’t an uncommon occurrence to run into them out in the street, so she isn’t surprised when she sees Rachel Elizabeth Dare at the grocery store.
They strike up a polite conversation, which quickly fizzles. Annabeth can’t tell if the awkwardness is only on her end, or if Rachel feels it too.
“I heard you were living with Percy now,” Rachel tries. “Glad you guys finally got your act together. It was kind of sad to watch you pining for each other.”
Annabeth blinks. “I got my own place about a month ago, actually…Also, um, what?”
She’s eloquent when confused.
“Shit, I didn’t mean to sound like the jealous ex,” Rachel says, missing the point entirely. “I’m really happy for you guys. But I could tell when we were dating that Percy wasn’t into me. I couldn’t figure out why, at first, but then I realized all he ever talked about was you…When I broke up with him, I tried to knock some sense into him, and told him to just ask you out, because you obviously liked him, too, but apparently it took years.”
She rolls her eyes, then pauses. “Wait. Did you say you left?”
It takes Annabeth a moment to find her voice. “Yeah,” she croaks. “I moved out, but Rachel, we were just roommates, we weren’t together.”
Rachel’s eyes widen. Her whole face turns as red as her hair. “Oh. Sorry for assuming.”
She makes an excuse to leave, and Annabeth lets her. She doesn’t move for a few minutes, trying to process what she heard.
It’s raining when she leaves the store, but she barely notices. Her paper bags get soaked, nearly tearing under the weight of her groceries. She can’t form a coherent thought until she gets home, sets her bags on the table, and collapses into a chair.
Her fingers fly across the buttons on her phone, and she taps her foot as the busy tone plays. Finally, she hears a click.
“Hello?”
“Thalia, oh my god. Help me.”
Annabeth quickly describes her encounter with Rachel at the store.
“So…what do you need my help with, exactly?”
“What should I do?” Annabeth’s voice is shrill. “So, he had a crush on me six years ago. What does that mean now? Is it still true? I can’t fucking process this.”
“Okay, calm down, Annie. Why is this such a big deal? You like him, too.”
“That’s the fucking problem! I wasted years of my life hiding it, and it turns out we could’ve been together this whole time, if we weren’t so fucking obtuse. I was so worried about messing up what we had…I knew there was a chance we’d end up married anyway. It felt like there was no reason to rush things, but that was wrong. So wrong.”
“It’s not too late, you know,” Thalia soothes. “I’m pretty damn sure that boy’s in love with you.”
Annabeth exhales, closes her eyes. She thinks about Percy’s behavior toward her in recent years; maybe it wasn’t so platonic after all. Do friends spoon on the couch when they watch TV? Or use the same fork when they share dessert? Or abide by the "mistletoe rules" even when no one else is around? And some of the looks he gives her—
Hmm.
“I think you’re right,” she murmurs, cursing herself for being so blind. She stands, then falls back to her seat. “God, I have no idea how to start that conversation. But I’m not wasting another four years pretending we’re just friends.”
“Just tell him how you feel,” Thalia says. “Seems simple to me. You got this.”
“Thank you, Thals. Really.”
Annabeth hangs up, cradling her phone to her chest. She debates calling Percy, but worries that’s too impersonal. She could invite him over, she supposes, but it’s getting late. A knock interrupts her deliberation.
As if manifested by her thoughts, Percy is at the door, looking very wet. Clearly the rain has not let up. Her heartbeat quickens.
“Hey,” she says, letting him in. “What-what’re you doing here?”
She tries to avoid his eyes, knowing he’ll see all the vulnerable emotions in hers. She tries to focus on other things, like the drop of water stuck on the tip of his nose, or the pinker-than-usual swell of his lips. His black hair is matted to his forehead, dripping onto his already slick jacket. He looks like a mess, honestly, which makes her even more curious at his presence.
“I had to talk to you.” His voice is raw, and against her will, her eyes are drawn to his face. “It’s about my job. You know how much I hate it right now.”
“I do,” she says cautiously.
“Well, I just had a phone call with my boss. I got offered a promotion of sorts. I’d actually be out in the field, near the ocean, working with the wildlife directly. No more cubicle shit.”
“That sounds great?” He winces. “Well…what’s the problem? Isn’t that kind of your dream?”
“It is my dream. I’ll probably never get this chance again, at least not with this company.”
She raises her eyebrows. That didn’t answer her question. Now he avoids her gaze.
“It’s in Florida.”
Oh. “Florida’s nice,” she tries. “Um, how long would you be there?”
“The contract would be for five years.”
He takes off his jacket and flings it on the back of a chair before sitting down himself. The harsh overhead light casts shadows on his angular face. Annabeth follows him into the kitchen automatically, standing in front of him, as if drawn by an invisible tether between them. She cringes at the thought of him moving away, and that tether snapping.
They’ve spent so much of their lives apart already. Selfishly, she wonders if she could convince him to stay, then rejects the thought. She can’t take this opportunity from him. She’s still coming up with a congratulatory speech when he speaks.
“I’m not going.”
She blinks, so used to understanding him without a word. “What do you mean? Perce, you hate it here.”
“I hate working here. I can live with it, if it means I don’t have to leave you.”
“Me?”
His cagey demeanor falls as he laughs. “Yes, you. Annabeth, I love you. I have for years. I don’t want to run from it anymore. I don’t want to miss our shot. So yeah, I’m staying in New York, if you’ll have me.”
His voice wavers, uncertain, and her heart aches.
“Of course I’ll have you.”
She tilts his chin up and presses her lips against his. This kiss is sweeter than any other she’s had—no fireworks necessary. Instantly, one of his hands cups her neck, the other wrapping around her waist. When the kiss ends, instead of pulling away, they cling to each other. A few happy tears trail down her face, getting caught in her smile.
“I love you, too,” Annabeth whispers. Straightening, she looks him in the eye. “You don’t have to stay for me, though. I’ll follow you anywhere. Even Florida.”
He stares at her long enough to make her wonder if that was too much.
“You would?” Adoration is written across his face, and she can’t resist kissing him again.
“Yes, I would. I want you to be happy with what you do. Besides, I bet I could find work anywhere. As long as we’re together, I think I’d be okay.”
“Okay. Let’s do it, then.” He pulls her into his lap, arms wound tightly around her. “You and me,” he says, like he can’t believe it.
“You and me,” she agrees.
Later, she would think about the logistics, the loose ends in New York, like her lease and her new job and even her family (though they rarely talked), but would find all of it inconsequential. Her new life starts today, and for once she won’t face it alone.
*
One Year Later
Sunset on Key West is something Annabeth doubts she’ll ever forget: the clouds above the ocean glow orange, the surrounding sky tinged with pink and yellow and purple. Percy stands beside her, smiling widely at the beautiful horizon. The sound of crashing waves only adds to the ambience, and she finds herself lost in the magnitude of the scene. She closes her eyes to save it to memory, and is only vaguely surprised to see Percy on one knee when they open.
“I know we’ve talked about marriage,” he begins. “That we dissolved our old pact to take pressure off our new relationship, but I have always seen a future with you, Annabeth. Even when I was twenty, and drunk on your couch, I knew there was something special about you. You’ve been my best friend for over seven years, and every day I count myself lucky to have you in my life. I love you more than words can describe, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Please, marry me.”
“Yes. Yes!” she says, and she’s not sure why, since he didn’t really ask a question, but can’t bring herself to care. The message is clear.
They kiss just as the sun dips below the ocean, and it’s so perfect and right it makes Annabeth’s heart stop.
“I always knew it was you,” she tells him. And it always will be.