Work Text:
Annabeth had to take a deep breath to shut out the loud cheers, the smell of sweat mixed with alcohol, the thumping of the loud bass, and the flashing DJ lights as she, for the umpteenth time that night, regretted agreeing to her friends’ idea of celebrating the end of their internship with a night out at a local bar.
The fact that she would leave New York tomorrow and go back to her monotonous, lonely life in California did not help to quell her irritation. Though Chiron had unofficially offered her the job as soon as she got the degree, she still had to go back for her last college semester. The last three months with all her colleagues and roommate had instilled in her a sense of familiarity, one which had been a foreign concept in all of her 21 years in California. She could not wait to come back here, permanently this time.
As she declined yet another offer from a guy who had offered to buy her a drink, she heard her phone ping multiple times.
She let out a laugh at Piper’s enthusiasm and then proceeded to send Hazel another congratulatory text. Even though Hazel might feel guilty for ditching, Annabeth understood the importance of meeting one’s soulmate. While she was genuinely glad for her friend, she dealt with the concept of a soulmate with a certain apprehension. Being a private person herself, she had always had trouble opening up to people as her fear of abandonment took precedence over the thought that someone out there was destined to be her significant other, someone was supposed to compliment her in every aspect, someone was wired by nature to accept her every flaw and love her regardless. It was nerve-wracking for her to imagine that she would have to give herself wholly to another person and trust them to not break her heart.
Also, she knew she probably wasn’t going to stumble upon her soulmate anytime soon. Maybe they were back in California, while she was here or in any other part of the world. The fact that one had to touch their significant other for the soulbond to become active, and Annabeth not being a particularly touchy person, she thought she probably had a few more years to work on her insecurities.
Hoping to distract herself, Annabeth picked up her phone again and started scrolling aimlessly through Instagram.
“Excuse me?” a voice interrupted her just as she was about to finish her Buzzfeed quiz on whether she would have survived a zombie apocalypse based on her coffee order.
She turned around in the stool she was perched on and was met with two unfamiliar pairs of eyes studying her inquisitively. Both of the men, she noticed looked way too young to be at a bar and were wearing almost identical flannels, just of different colours, offered her quick smirks that ended up looking like grimaces.
“Can I help you?”, she enquired.
The man who had spoken to her nudged his partner and whispered something in his ear, who then started furiously tapping on his phone.
“You look familiar, have we met before?”
Annabeth internally scoffed at the guy’s lame attempt to start a conversation.
“I’m afraid not.”
“It’s just, I swear I have seen your face before,” the red flannel guy moved forward and took the seat next to her.
“I’m sure you are mistaking me for someone else.” Annabeth turned in her stool to face the bar, hoping the guys would take the hint and leave but apparently luck wasn’t on her side tonight.
“Are you a tourist then?” the guy asked, leaning a bit too close for comfort.
Before she could retort with None of your business or remind the boys of their curfew, the other guy, the one wearing a blue flannel, showed her the screen of his phone, and Annabeth’s nostrils flared.
She was familiar with the video playing on his phone, she had been an active participant in it, but one of the reasons as to why she had applied to this internship in New York was to escape the overnight fame that had fallen on her due to the viral video.
It wasn’t her intention to throw ink on her English professor but she had been getting seriously sick of his misogynistic and backhanded remarks. It was the death anniversary of her parents that day and she had blown up when he had tried to make a pass at her. She had wanted to slap him across his face but the ink on the desk seemed much more appealing.
She only had to issue a formal apology but someone had posted the entire encounter online and she was graced with overnight internet fame. Tiktokers reached out to her for collaborations, her DM’s were filled with creeps and she had become a celebrity on campus.
“You're Annabeth Chase!!” The guy hollered excitedly.
“Dude, all I want to know is how much of it was staged?” Blue asked.
“Excuse me?” She raised an eyebrow in indignation.
“I mean, no offense, but that shit is too good to be true, that was hilarious!”
Annabeth was growing uncomfortable and aggravated by the second and if this guy wanted proof of whether her outburst had been real, she wouldn’t mind giving him a first-hand experience.
“Can we take a picture with you? It would look so cool on my feed,” Red made a move to pull her stool towards him but she jerked his hand away.
“Hey, that’s it, I suggest you both leave.” She warned and gave them her infamous glare.
“Oh c’mon, it’s just a picture,” Blue said, clapping his friend on the back.
“I’m not interested,” she gritted her teeth and raised her voice slightly, hoping they would finally leave.
The guy who had the audacity to ask whether the video was staged just shook his head and moved to stand beside her.
“Are you-”
“Excuse me?” A deep voice coming from behind her cut in.
“Yes?” Red asked, looking over her head, clearly annoyed at the interruption.
“I couldn’t help but overhear, you need a picture taken? Want me to take one of the three of you?”
“Oh, yeah sure man, here you go!” As Red bent over to hand his phone to whoever was on the other side of the bar, Annabeth swiveled her stool to give the person a piece of her mind.
However, as soon as she turned, the guy took the phone and dunked it into the drink he had in his hand, completely submerging it.
”Say Cheese.” He said, offering a blinding smile.
Annabeth’s mouth fell open and she had to bite her lips from bursting out laughing from the horrified expression on Red’s face.
“Yo Man! What the hell?” Blue left her side and launched at the man, who held the phone hostage and fixed both of the guys with a glare.
“Can I have your IDs?”
“Man, c’mon! We were just joking around!”
“IDs? No? Then I suggest you leave and put this phone in rice, maybe it’s still salvageable.”
“Bro listen-
“Or maybe I’ll clean it again.”
Cursing and red-faced, the two boys grabbed the phone and rushed out of the bar.
Annabeth was sure her face was red too from snorting and laughing at the exchange. However, as soon as she got a good look at the bartender, her expression completely sobered up. A dimpled smile, strong jaw, olive skin, dark hair, and intense green eyes sparkling with mischief almost took her breath away. She had a sudden urge to comb her fingers through a cowlick that had formed on his head and then immediately berated herself for such unwarranted thoughts.
She opened her mouth to thank him for the interruption but could not stop her perusal of the stranger. Something about the man just seemed so familiar to her, but she could bet good money that they had never met before. Feeling embarrassed by her shameless gawking, she pinched herself and tried to speak again but noticed that he was also looking at her with pinched eyebrows.
“Uh- I hope that wasn’t too presumptuous of me,” he slid his forearms on the bar and a woodsy scent reached her nostrils, instantly mitigating her headache a bit. Weird. “But those guys seemed like assholes.”
“No-I mean they were asshole-ish,“, she responded, “I don’t know if they were $1500 worth of assholes though, but… thank you.”
“No, thank you,” he smiled, a tiny dimple popping up in his left cheek,” I’ve always wanted to bathe a cell phone.”
“Check that off your bucket list then, though I had the situation under control.”
“I noticed you were two seconds away from punching the guy and it’s not a New Moon today so a blood bath wouldn’t have been suitable for me. “
At that Annabeth let out a loud laugh, throwing her head back and when she looked at her partner in crime again, his posture held a sense of accomplishment. That look warmed her cheeks.
“Oh, so when you’re not being a werewolf or vampire, on normal days do you play a knight in shining armor with a glass of whiskey as your weapon of choice?”
“Only to be beaten by a good Old fashioned, fashioned by yours truly, pun intended.”
“I’m a visual learner and honestly I haven’t had whiskey in a while, our relationship has been on the rocks as of late .”
Annabeth let out a nervous chuckle when for a few seconds, he just stared at her.
“ Damn, that’s the first time someone has made a bar pun with me, but let me tell you, you can’t be better at it than me.”, he raised a challenging eyebrow at her and Annabeth found herself getting overly excited by the prospect of engaging in such childlike banter with this stranger.
“Bring it on!”
“Okay, why do ghosts haunt bars?”
She waited patiently.
“Free boos!” He exclaimed with a flourish and a smile so endearing, it shot a jolt of electricity straight to her heart.
“Well, I think that pun really hit the bar.”
“Okay, now I need to know the name of my competition.”
“Do you now?” She smirked, raising her eyebrows and leaning forward slightly.
Oh, God! Was she flirting with this bartender?
“ Of course, can’t just boast around that I bested a beautiful girl with pretty grey eyes. Who would believe me?”
And he was flirting back!!
“Oh really, shall I give you my last name and home address too? “
“And your social security number, please.”
Before she could tell him her name, a burly man sitting a few tables down called for him. He shrugged apologetically and seemed upset at the interruption.
“I’ll be right back, stay here please.”
“Of course, you owe me a drink”
“And you, a name.”
With a last glance towards her, he made his way to the other side of the bar and Annabeth let out a shaky exhale. Those were the most entertaining few minutes of her entire life and she immediately caught herself wanting more of his company. She tried to sneak a glance at him but something shiny blocked her vision and suddenly she was enveloped in a hug.
“Piper, can’t breathe,” she tried to croak out.
“I missed you and I’m gonna miss you, so suck it up and let me squash you.”
As soon as Piper released her, she was flanked by Connor and Amanda, who both apologized for being late and then gestured towards the booth they had booked for the night. Annabeth had half a mind to stay put for a few more minutes, in hopes that her green-eyed companion might return but she also didn’t want to give her friends any ammunition against her. They could blow anything out of proportion. So with a last hasty glance to the counter, she let herself get carried away by Piper towards their booth.
Three drinks and 2 hours later, she almost forgot about her encounter and was now merrily moving her body along the beats with Piper, while Connor and Amanda’s moves seemed to border on the line of public indecency a few paces away.
After shedding all the uncertainties and tensions about her future and dancing and singing her heart out for the last 20 minutes, she was sweating buckets. As she made a move to take off her jacket, which she had been coaxed into wearing by Piper, her hand collided with something hard, and a sudden sharp current shot through her entire hand. She whipped around so suddenly to look at the source that she stumbled over her step, her ankle twisted and she was pushed forward into Piper’s arms. Another sharp jolt flew across her leg, overwhelming her senses, and her vision momentarily blackened.
“Whoa there Beth, are you alright?” Piper asked, grabbing her by the shoulders.
She took a moment to compose herself and again glanced behind her to search for what she had initially collided with.
“How much did you drink Annabeth?” Connor questioned and Annabeth observed that she was being led away from the dance floor but before she could protest, the searing pain in her ankle shut her up.
Amanda helped her shrug off her jacket and Connor knelt to inspect her ankle.
“I’m fine guys, I just lost my balance, I think someone might have bumped into me.”
“You sure? Wait, let me grab you some water.”
“Pipes, chill, I think it’s just a sprain, I’ll be fine.”
“Okay, I think that’s it for tonight, we should head out, you have a flight to catch too.”
Annabeth wholeheartedly agreed, even though she hadn’t had much to drink, she was generally a lightweight and the pain in her ankle accompanied by the weird tingly sensation in her arms made her want to shut her eyes and sleep.
After heartfelt goodbyes from Connor and Amanda, with promises to FaceTime frequently, Annabeth and Piper ordered an Uber and made their way to their apartment.
Annabeth had not planned to go out yesterday and stay well past 2 am. She hadn’t meant to be ambushed by two juveniles and then get rescued by a gorgeous green-eyed man with a dimpled smile and a captivating charm. She hadn’t meant to have one too many drinks, had no intentions of dancing like crazy, hadn’t meant to sprain her ankle and she most definitely hadn’t meant to welcome her last day in the city with a damn soul mark on her body.
As she made her way to the pit stop of her journey to the airport, nervous energy coursed through her entire body.
“Can I at least get a picture?” Piper’s voice implored once again through her phone.
“No, Piper.”
“C’mon, I’m deprived, two of my best friends met their soulmate, let me live vicariously through you.”
“I will show it to you Pipes, just not now and I don’t even know who the other person is!”
“You did say that you felt a connection with a cute bartender, why can’t it be him?”
“Because, I told you, I’m pretty sure we didn’t touch!”
“Maybe you did, you were pretty out of it yesterday.”
Annabeth let out an exasperated breath at that. She had just had one drink at the time she chatted with that guy and even though she had a sliver of hope that maybe they had touched, it was next to impossible.
“I’m pretty sure I touched them while dancing, I did feel something.”
“Yeah, you felt your ankle spraining.”
“I don’t know what to do now Piper, it’s not like I can hunt down everyone who was at the bar last night and ambush them.”
Piper caught on to her dejected tone and softened her voice.
“Don’t worry honey, it will all work out alright, you found your soulmate once, I’m sure you will find them again.”
She ended her call with Piper, promising to keep her updated, and pressed a hand over her chest, where now a dark tattoo lay. Apparently, soul marks formed in a place of the body that reflected the person’s personality, so she wasn’t surprised when hers was just above her heart, at a place where it wouldn’t be easily visible.
She was now en route to the bar to check whether she had left her jacket there last night but her visit did have an ulterior motive. Annabeth wanted to check whether Piper’s inkling was right and if the bartender was her soulmate. For some reason, she didn't want to think of the alternative.
Percy wanted to hurl himself into the ongoing traffic as he rushed to the bar. He had set 5 alarms for today but slept through all of them. He didn’t have an afternoon shift at the bar, but he wanted to be there as soon as possible in case he missed her. As he stepped into the subway, he studied his forearm, or rather the new linings and designs of black on it. His mind wandered to last night when he had accidentally bumped into someone while delivering drinks to one of the VIP booths of the bar. As soon as his skin had made contact with the other person’s, he felt as if he had grabbed a naked electric wire. Before he could turn and get a good look at the person, he was beckoned by the impatient customers, but he did succeed in catching a glimpse of a silhouette that seemed somewhat familiar.
As he made his way over to the booth and served the people there, his eyes had once again wandered over to the blonde girl he had spoken to before. She was sitting at her booth, while her friends flanked around her. She looked dazed but beautiful nonetheless. As he studied her for the tenth time tonight, he had a sudden urge to go over to her and ask her if she felt something a few moments back. After he had come back to keep the empty glasses behind the bar, he had made his way over to her booth, only to find it empty, aside from a jacket that lay on the small couch.
Percy was well aware of whom it belonged to and had thus taken it home for safekeeping. Alright, it had also given him an opportunity to meet that girl again. And so he had planned to be at the bar as soon as it opened, in hopes that the owner of the jacket might make an appearance.
But being the sleepyhead he was, and the fact that he went home at around 4 in the morning, he was now late. Maybe she had already visited and he had missed his opportunity, and if such a thing happened, he would surely kick himself.
Thankfully, as soon as he had left his house, he had messaged his friend Leo.
The bar was right across the street now and he dashed for the door, disregarding the honks and shouts of the New York traffic.
“Is she here yet?” He panted, leaning against the counter to catch his breath.
Leo looked up from where he was cleaning a few glasses and gave him an amused glance.
“Dude, what’s going on?”
“Nothing, just answer if she was here?” He deflected.
“Yeah, a blonde girl was going through the lost and found when I came in, I told her that a guy named Percy had her jacket and gave her your shift timings.”
Percy slumped on the counter, cursing his alarm system. Maybe he should move back in with his mom, at least she used to make sure that he woke up on time. Now, he wasn’t sure how long he would have to wait to see her again.
“Did she say anything else?”
“No, just looked a bit put down when she couldn’t find her jacket, but hey at least I assured her that you aren’t a thief or something, maybe she will be here tonight.”
“Yeah, well thanks man, appreciate the help.”
“Are you really okay though?“
“Yeah of course, why?” He questioned, hopping behind the counter and pouring himself a drink.
“Uh-You’re wearing a full sleeve T-shirt in July and you’re drinking at 1 o'clock.”
“Yeah, I think I caught a bug last night, don’t worry I’ll be fine.”
As long as she showed up tonight, or tomorrow or sometime really soon.
Percy could only hope.
Annabeth put her phone down and made her way to the bathroom. She pulled down the neckline of her shirt and stared at the new tattoo, gently running her fingers over it in hopes that it might give her any hint. She was scared for how her life would change if she did find her soulmate again, all her life she had kept herself guarded and she wasn’t sure if she was ready to completely open up and lower her defences. She was scared of the idea of completely falling in love with them and then being abandoned. What was she supposed to do now anyway? Her soulmate was miles away, somewhere in New York and even though she had hoped and was still hoping it was him, she didn’t know if she was strong enough to take that leap and be disappointed.
Moreover, she was terrified that she had missed her window and would now have to spend all her time with this imprint on her skin, a glaring reminder of something that could have been. What if they moved on? What if they gave up?
She could take a flight back to New York and go to that bar and seek Percy out. But what if she went there and made a complete fool of herself? What if he wasn’t even the bartender she had spoken with? What if he was but he already had a soulmate? If he was the bartender or the person she had bumped into, he surely would have said something more to Piper, right? But he hadn’t and Annabeth didn’t know what to make of it.
So, taking a deep breath, she compelled herself to put this soulmate talk out of her mind and focus on getting her degree as soon as possible to finally move to New York for good. Giving a last glance to her soul mark, she shut the bathroom lights and made her way into her room.
5 MONTHS LATER
The big Christmas tree was finally in his sight, and Percy frantically whipped his head all around, trying to find Estelle. The person he had spoken to on the phone had told him to meet her near the tree. Estelle had gone to use the restroom when he had gotten an important work call and he had moved a few paces away to get better reception. However, after the call, he had waited almost 5-6 minutes more for her to come out and when she hadn’t, she had asked a girl to check whether a four-year-old was still in the restroom. That’s when he almost had a panic attack.
But after a few minutes of searching, he had gotten a call, informing that they had found Estelle using the small card which was in Estelle’s coat pocket on which his and his Mom’s phone numbers were written. Judging by the voice on the other end, it was a girl with a vaguely familiar voice who told him that she and Estelle would wait for him near the Christmas tree.
When Percy finally saw the sight of his little sister, he immediately rushed towards her and gathered her up in his arms.
“Thank God! Estelle, you scared me!”
She hugged him tighter and mumbled something incoherent in his neck.
“I’m so sorry for letting you out of my sight, so sorry.”
“I’m sorry for scaring you, Percy.”
He set her down and wiped a few stray tears from her cheek.
“Mom would have hidden all our gingerbread cookies if we didn’t reach home on time you know, so next time please don’t go anywhere okay?”
She gave a shaky nod and finally looked up to see a girl standing beside Estelle, a gentle smile playing on her lips. Percy did a double-take as he stared at the familiar face.
“You-I-uh-” he cleared his throat, “Thank you so so much.”
“That’s fine… Percy, right?” She offered him another smile and lightly pinched Estelle’s cheeks in an affectionate gesture.
“Yeah, and you are… Piper?”
“You remember, I’m impressed.”
He let out a light laugh. ”Seriously, thank you! you’re a lifesaver.”
“That I am, generally, but not in this case.”
“What do you mean?”
“Actually, my friend Annabeth found her crying and she was the one who called you, she had to rush to the restroom so she told me to wait here for you.”
“Annabeth?” As soon as he said that name, a rush of familiar warmth spread through him as if his lips had formed those syllables before, but that was the first time in his life he had heard that name.
“Oh yeah, she’s the jacket girl, I told her to hold it in and not go away running but she is one stubborn girl.”
“Not go away running?”
“Nothing, it’s a long story, when she told me the name of Estelle’s brother, I had an inkling it could be you, and listen,” she stepped a bit closer to him, “I have to ask, back in July-”
“ Piper!”
Percy turned his head at the voice at such a breakneck speed that he almost got whiplash. When his eyes landed on those grey eyes, all breath left his lungs. Percy felt as if the cold atmosphere around him had completely ceased, and he was being embraced by the warm sun.
As he continued to gaze into the eyes he had often dreamed about, he felt his forearm tingling and felt a tug. As if his eyes had a mind of his own, they shifted and landed on Annabeth’s chest and her eyes widened. What the heck? Now she must think he was a pervert.
She stepped forward, and parted her lips as if to say something but closed them. Her gaze shifted to his forearm and then moved back to his face.
“Percy,” she whispered and he was sure that his name had never been said in such a beautiful lilt.
Uh-May I?... Could you?-”, she asked him, gesturing towards his hand.
She didn’t have to finish that sentence for him to understand what she was asking.
He rolled over the sleeve of his coat and sweater, as soon as the ink on his skin came into view, he heard her sharp inhale, and a smile formed on his lips. He looked over at her, mesmerized by the way her eyes were moving from his arm to his face and back. No words of final confirmation were needed, though Percy wanted to shout YES, I KNEW IT! To the entire world.
“I KNEW IT!” Piper shouted from behind him. ”God, I told you Beth, ha!”
“It’s you! Oh God, I've been so stupid!" Annabeth muttered, facepalming.
”This is great! You've been pining over him for months! It's really the most wonderful time of the year."
"Piper!"
"Oh shush!" She turned towards him and gave him a conspiratorial grin. "You're gonna enjoy finding her tattoo."
Percy blushed red while Annabeth elbowed Piper.
He then took a step forward and stared into Annabeth's eyes.
"Thank you, for finding her."
"Seems I have to thank her actually."
“Okay, Estelle sweetie, do you wanna get hot chocolate? Percy needs to thank Annabeth and I’m sure it’s gonna take a while.” Piper gave them both a mischievous look and dragged a confused Estelle away.
At that Annabeth laughed, her voice shaky, and Percy was transported 5 months ago when he had first heard that sound. He had spent those months wishing he had done more, said more to her before she had disappeared, but now hearing her laugh made up for all the months he had spent berating himself.
Annabeth turned to him and smiled, nervous and hesitant.
“Hey.”
“Hi.”
“So…” He started.
“So, I think we’re orna-meant to be.”
“What?” He burst out laughing.“Oh god, I’m so sorry that was horrible, I’m gonna go hide in the restroom again.” Annabeth pouted and ducked her head and she looked so adorable that Percy wanted to gather her up in his arms and never let go.
“Hey, it’s okay, your skills are a bit rusted but there’s still hope.” He took her gloved hands in his and gave her a comforting smile.
“Is there? That was so bad!”
“It was, but good for you, you have me now, I’ll teach you how to be cool.”
“Knock it off!”
He laughed again and pulled her in the direction of the milkshake stand.
“Hey, Annabeth.”
“Yeah?”
“For the record, I’ve been pine-ing over you too.”
The blush that settled on her cheeks made him want to spend all his life telling her puns to make her laugh, and when she leaned up and brushed her lips against his jaw, Percy knew he was done for.