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Hazel walks into the cold, untouched room, her lips pressed into a thin line.
Percy and Annabeth had been gone for a good week, and their absence was very much noticeable.
Whether it was poking fun at Percy for his blue pancakes; or listening to Annabeth’s ramblings and facts while she would work on something on her computer; or the talks that she and Percy would have while they made sure to keep a look out for monsters on their night shifts.
Hazel missed them. More than she thought she could miss someone that she had only really started to get to know.
They had been sitting around the table, Leo still slightly dirty from repairs he had been making. Everyone had been eating, though most of them didn’t really have an appetite recently.
The boy had chewed on the inside of his cheek, before finally talking. “It’s going to be a little more thorough than I’d originally thought.”
Jason had furrowed his eyebrows. “Is it gonna be difficult?”
“No more than I thought.” Leo sighs. “But I need the blueprints.”
Frank had huffed out a laugh. “Let me guess, you forgot to bring them?”
“No!” Leo says defensively. “But… I gave them to someone on the ship for safekeeping…”
That somehow got the table to become even quieter than it already was.
“They’re in Annabeth’s room.” Leo sighs, his head moving to the table.
Nobody had dared go in either Percy’s or Annabeth’s rooms since they left. It was a violation of privacy, they told themselves. They would come back, so why would anyone go through their things?
Finally, Coach Hedge stood up, literally standing in his chair.
“I’ll get them!” His voice had practically boomed through the silence.
Everyone shared a look with each other.
Biting her lip, Hazel had stood up, putting a hand on Coach’s shoulder. “Actually, I’ll get it. I have to get back a sweater that I lent her, anyway.”
Coach raises an eyebrow, but goes back to his seat without further coercion.
In all honesty, nothing that Hazel owns could fit Annabeth. But Hazel had a feeling that Annabeth wouldn’t be too appreciative of Coach going through her things when she wasn’t around.
And she will be back. They both would.
Now, Hazel stands in Annabeth’s room, her eyes scanning for the blueprints.
She didn’t want to pry. She would go in, get what she needed, and get out. Nothing more.
Hazel searched the bedspread and Annabeth’s desk to no avail. The blueprints ended up being placed on top of Annabeth’s dresser, rolled up with an elastic band.
The young girl turns to go, before her breath catches in her throat. She was staring at the photos that Annabeth had hung up on her wall.
She walks closer, and looks at her favorite photo. It was a wedding photo.
Annabeth and Percy stood in the middle, arms around each other, and brilliant smiles on their faces. Next to Percy stood a satyr with dark, curly hair: Percy’s best friend and best man, Grover. Beside Annabeth was Jason’s sister, Thalia. And standing in front of them all was Nico. Even he was smiling a little bit, holding a basket of flowers.
Hazel moves backwards, the back of her knees hitting Annabeth’s mattress. She slumps down on to the bed, and feels another wave of sadness fall onto her.
It was a sadness that had been building in the quiet of the crew. In the awkward silences not filled with Percy’s stories, or Annabeth’s plans. In the overwhelming thought that it didn’t matter how many monsters they defeated if they were just being sent back to their friends either way.
Hazel lightly shakes her head, her curls bouncing with the motion. She presses her hands onto the soft blanket, and leans back, just as she would do while Annabeth told her stories of her and Percy in the ‘old days’.
She turns on her side, facing one of the night stands. Hazel stares at it for a long time, until she notices something on top of the nightstand.
Hazel stretches her hand out, her fingers wrapping around glossy photograph. Or, at least, she assumes it’s a photograph. It was flipped over on the desktop.
Written on the back in black marker were the words: Merry Christmas, 2019! Love, Sally.
Hazel flips it over, and stares at what she found.
It was a captured moment of Annabeth and Percy, obviously during Christmas, though the tree in the background would’ve given it away without the caption.
Annabeth was sitting on the couch, looking tired, with her hair thrown into a messy bun. Percy sat beside her, rubbing one of her shoulders. A little girl, probably Percy’s little sister, sat on his lap, giving a gap toothed grin.
That wasn’t what gave Hazel pause, though.
What had her gripping the photo so hard, was a little baby settled in Annabeth’s arms. She wore a grinch onesie, and her head of black curls was held back by a green bow. Annabeth and Percy both looked at the baby with such affection. Even Estelle looked at her with a softness in her eyes.
Hazel found her mouth go dry. She rubs the glossy photo in between her fingers, as if trying to see if it’s truly real or not.
The door opens, and she jumps up, clutching the photograph to her heart. Hazel slightly relaxes when she sees who’s in the doorway.
“Hazel? Is everything okay?” Nico asks softly, walking awkwardly into the room, as if he didn’t belong in there. To be fair, Hazel also didn’t belong in the room, but whatever.
“Hey. What’s wrong?” He asks, probably taking in her palid complexion, and her distant eyes.
Hazel swallows thickly. “Why are you here?” She hopes that it didn’t come out as harsh as it sounded to her ears.
“You’ve been in here for a while. Hedge wanted me to see if you found your sweater.”
Hazel actually laughs a little at that, before staring at the photo again. That sobers her up.
“What do you have?” Nico questions, sitting down beside her.
Hazel hesitates, before handing him the photo. He stares at it, before shrugging. “Yeah, Christmas. I was actually there for that.”
“They have a baby?” Hazel asks in a rush.
Nico turns to her, eyes wide. “They didn’t tell you…” he realizes slowly.
“I think I’d remember.”
Nico bites his lip, running a hand down his face. “I didn’t know you didn’t know… I can see why they kept it a secret though. It must be hard going on a quest with a bunch of teenagers, especially when you’re parents…”
“So!” Haze said before she could stop herself. “The baby… they’re…”
Nico digs into his pocket, taking out a brown leather wallet. He takes out a photo of his own.
It was of him awkwardly holding a bundle of white blankets. His boyfriend, Will, stood beside him, laughing at the way Nico looked uncomfortable.
“Her name is Jada. She turned one a few days before Percy disappeared.” He says it so sadly.
Haze swallows, staring at the child. “When they were on the quest…”
Nico blinks a few times. “Percy said that Grover was watching her. Before-“ he cuts himself off. They both knew what he was going to say, anyway.
How much had they given up for this stupid quest? All of them. They’d lost so much. And now this little girl that wasn’t even two, was being terribly affected. It wasn’t fair.
But she would make it fair if it was the last thing she did.
“They’ll be back.” She says softly. It wasn’t wishful thinking or lies. It was a promise to herself. To them. To the others. And more importantly, to the little girl that would not have to live without her parents.