Chapter Text
Annabeth
If someone had said, twenty one years ago, that of all people, Annabeth Chase was going to have a grown-up daughter marrying herself off at the tender age of twenty, she would’ve laughed in their face and told them in no uncertain terms what she thought of that idea. Of course her friends, Piper McLean and Silena Beauregard, would have laughed equally as hard, and probably linked arms with her as the trio walked away, mercilessly mocking the kind of person who could concoct such a bizarre, uncharacteristic prediction.
No one had ever said that, but it was funny how the world worked sometimes. Things could change at the drop of a skirt.
(Annabeth knew the phrase was the drop of a hat , not skirt - but in all honesty, the removal of a hat had hardly been the cause of her predicament.)
She stood on the dock with her hands on her hips as the boat grew closer to the island, dangerously overloaded as usual with old ladies, fishermen, and the odd tourist or two hoping to find a small spot of peace. They all filtered past her as she waited, practically a fixture of Kalokairi after so many years there. Unsurprisingly, the passengers she was after were the last ones to disembark, one of them loudly swearing and complaining, the other passionately defending herself as she attempted to lug several large suitcases by herself.
As soon as they were close enough to spot her, Annabeth broke into a grin. “Look at what the tide washed in!”
Piper let out a long, low groan which turned into a squeal of excitement as she opened her arms and began to run, enveloping Annabeth in a tight hug.
“You old bitch! How come you’re so gorgeous even when you dress like shit?”
Annabeth squeezed tighter, just enough to make Piper yelp and let go. “Shut up! They’re practical, they’re comfortable, I’m a busy woman! Silena, she’s attacking my clothes!”
Silena, having wrangled her suitcases, took a moment to look her up and down. “You know, with a face like yours, who cares what you wear?”
Piper started cackling, throwing her arms around her friends’ necks and pulling them in close. Annabeth blinked, too excited at their arrival to be offended, yet too stubborn to let it go.
“That didn’t help , Silena! You made it worse! I happen to like this outfit!”
So much for missing her old friends. It had been around four years since Piper’s last visit, and close to six years since Silena’s, and the rate at which time slipped away from them was consistently alarming. Their arrival had been one of the few things she’d been looking forward to, knowing they would help her to stay sane as the wedding preparations ramped up, but all at once she was reminded of how rotten and evil her best friends really were. And the denim dungarees weren’t so bad, right? They fit well, they had been decently made. Piper had no room to argue, anyway, seeing that Annabeth recognised both the shirt she was wearing and the scrappy pair of shorts, and they were at least fifteen years old.
She decided to ignore Silena’s exquisite designer sundress.
Piper jabbed Annabeth’s side. “Practical be damned, they’re a mess! The knees are all worn out and dirty, what have you been up to?”
She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, Silena joining in with an obnoxious shoulder-shimmy. Annabeth elbowed them both in quick succession.
“Get your minds out of the gutter! I’ve been doing repairs all day,” She rolled her eyes, “Trying to get my hotel into a decent enough shape for a wedding’s worth of guests.”
Silena ruffled Annabeth’s curls. “Ignore Piper, you know she just gets upset when you hide those perfect tits of yours.”
As if to illustrate her point, Silena and Piper cupped one each through her shirt. Annabeth shot them both a withering look.
“If you want my advice, I’d cover yours too. This place is crawling with Jeremy’s groomsmen and you do not want to know how many times in the past week I’ve been called a MILF.”
The three women burst into laughter. Even after their years apart, it was impossible not to fall back into their old rhythms, as if they were all seventeen again and nothing else in the world mattered except each other. Silena and Piper had kept Annabeth afloat when she had been certain she was going to drown, and their love and support had been pretty much all she’d been able to rely on after her family had let her down.
-
Conversation flowed as easily as the tide as they made their way through the village and towards the hotel. Kalokairi was like its own little pocket of paradise, ringed with white sand all around the perimeter and blossoming upwards and outwards into a marvel of Greek countryside, tall cliffs, dense greenery and a million drachma view. Almost everything in the village itself was ancient and falling apart, patched together with a communal effort and generations of work, and it was the imperfections that Annabeth loved most. If only she could adopt that same attitude in regard to her hotel - perhaps she would be able to avoid the physical signs of ageing she was beginning to notice from the stress it caused her, the odd bit of silver mingling against her blonde. Still, it would always remind her of her youth, of summers spent drunk on sangria, bronzed and tanned, singing and dancing her heart out from sunset to sunrise. She wasn’t sure if she would call them better days, necessarily, but they had been fun while they lasted.
“So, Jeremy, huh?” Silena pressed, pausing to fight with a jammed wheel on her suitcase before resuming their journey. “The leader of tomorrow’s shindig, I take it?”
Annabeth nodded, reaching back to tie her curls out of her face. “Oh yeah. You’ll meet him soon enough. He’s a nice kid, totally swept Kat off her feet.”
Piper grinned. “Chip off the old block, eh?”
“Please,” Annabeth blew raspberries in her direction. “I was never swept off my feet .”
She shrugged. “You’re right. Back in our day, they used to just sweep us into bed.”
“Oh my god!” Annabeth exclaimed, laughing in spite of herself. “You’re not wrong. I mean, I guess I’m glad she didn’t do that. Small mercies.”
“Not ready to be a grandma?” Silena teased.
“Not ready to have a married daughter!” Annabeth lamented, elongating her words for melodramatic effect. “She was born yesterday, how in the hell is she getting married?”
Piper shook her head. “She has her whole life ahead of her! What is it with girls these days and getting married young like it’s some kind of achievement? When we were young we were all about female independence and liberation!”
Annabeth pulled a face. “I mean, yeah, but we weren’t very good at it. She-” She pointed at Silena, “Has been married and divorced three times, I-” She jabbed her thumb towards her chest, “Got pregnant, and you-” She gestured towards Piper, “Are hung up on some guy you refused to ever tell us about. Real great role models for my Kat.”
Both women immediately began to defend themselves, indignant looks crossing their faces as they attempted and ultimately failed to beat her assessment of them. Piper managed to choke out an “Am not!” before giving in, settling to just lightly punch Annabeth’s shoulder.
“Besides,” Annabeth added, “I know she’s young, and it’s not necessarily what I wanted for her, but she’s happy. That’s really all I can ask for, you know?”
Silena cooed, her voice growing high-pitched and soft, as she attempted to wrap Annabeth in an awkward half-hug, still struggling with her bags. “Aww, mom!”
Annabeth rolled her eyes again. “Yeah, mom is one thing. Try mother of the bride. ”
Piper’s eyes grew wide. “Are you gonna wear a fascinator?”
“Of course I’m gonna wear a fascinator. I’m not an animal.”
“Do you remember Silena’s ex mother-in-law at her second wedding?”
Silena’s jaw dropped. “Don’t even go there. That hideous thing was bigger than her head.”
Annabeth snorted, remembering the mess of netting, feathers and tulle that had somehow passed off as a wedding fascinator. “That old bitch had more money than sense, that’s why. Mine is nice, it’s tasteful. I veered as far away from her style as I possibly could.”
She climbed up the final few steps into the hotel courtyard and then groaned. “Dammit! I meant to get the laundry down before you guys came - please ignore how much of a mess my life is.”
Immediately snapping back into business mode, Annabeth started ripping down the various sheets she’d strung along the washing line, all of them thankfully dry, that she’d washed earlier in the day with the intention of remaking all the beds before any guests came. Of course, as usual, time had gotten away from her. It was exceedingly difficult to do the work of five men mostly by herself, but a lack of funding for staff and an unshirkable sense of pride and perfectionism consistently prevented her from allowing someone else to take the reins. It was true, after all, that if you wanted a job done right, you had to do it yourself. It was a rule Annabeth lived by.
Right as she pulled one of the sheets down, a face appeared behind it. Annabeth yelped, clutching her chest as the shock wore off and swatting at the now-grinning young woman as she stepped out from her hiding place to greet them all properly.
“Are you trying to kill me before the big day or something? I’ll warn you now, there’s no inheritance for you to grab at if that’s what you’re after. Unless it’s my debt you want.” She deadpanned, grabbing the girl by the neck and wrestling her into a hug.
Kat did her best to squirm and escape but was unsuccessful, Annabeth determined to smother her in as many embarrassing mom-kisses and cringe-worthy terms of endearment as she could. There were a few things that consistently made the motherhood experience worthwhile, and harassing her kid hovered near the very top of the list.
“Ugh, I hate you! Get away from me, Medusa! ” She shrieked, extricating herself and wrinkling her nose.
Annabeth put her hands on her hips, eyebrows raised. “If I was actually Medusa, you would’ve been frozen in stone long ago, babygirl. I’d keep you cute and little forever, and not let you run off and get married at twenty- ”
Kat grinned again. “I’m not a baby anymore!”
“Ain’t that the truth!” Piper stepped forward, opening her arms for a hug. “Katerina Chase, you get more gorgeous every time I look at you. I don’t recall saying you were allowed to keep growing, though. If anything, I specifically requested that you stop.”
“I don’t play by the rules, Auntie Piper. You should know that.”
Silena laughed out loud. “She’s all you, Chase. That attitude of hers is far too familiar.”
Annabeth shook her head fondly. “Shot myself in the foot there, huh.”
“Completely,” Kat winked, letting go of Piper to squeeze Silena in the same tight embrace. “Auntie Sil, it’s been so long!”
Silena stepped back to hold Kat at arm’s length, studying her with an intense gaze. “Where’s this Jeremy then, hm? If you think you’re getting married without me approving of the specimen you’ve picked, you’re sorely mistaken.”
“She’s an expert,” Annabeth teased, “It only took her three tries to find the right husband.”
Silena stuck out her tongue in response. “Excuse you, Charlie and I are very happy.”
As if on cue, Jeremy appeared from the minibar with a couple of his friends, arms loaded with the crates Annabeth had tasked them all with restocking. He was tall and stocky like a rugby player, with a freckled face and thick brown hair almost to his shoulders, tied back into a ponytail. She’d had some reservations about him initially, finding herself naturally protective over her young daughter after her own experiences, but had quickly grown to like the young man. He’d pulled out all of the stops to try and impress his girlfriend’s mom - admittedly not many, being a clueless nineteen year old at the time, but Annabeth appreciated that he had worn a tie and nervously stuttered his way through dinner with them, promising over and over that his intentions were nothing but good. It was endearing, and as he grew more comfortable, he became more and more integrated with Kat’s life and thus, Annabeth’s too. It was useful to have another set of hands helping around the hotel, even if he had almost made Annabeth faint by proposing to her daughter after a year of dating.
In the end, she couldn’t really hold it against him. They were young and in love, and she remembered what that was like. Love, among its many other effects, made you stupid.
It was amusing to watch Silena and Piper appraise him in much the same way Annabeth herself had done. Kat had said on more than one occasion that it was like she had three moms instead of one, and she wasn’t exactly wrong. During the early years, her best friends had done enough baby changes and feedings that she was more than happy to award them the honorary title of Auntie.
Jeremy was all smiles as he introduced himself, his former shyness long forgotten. “You must be Piper,” He deduced, shaking her hand and moving in to kiss her cheek. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“All bad, I hope.” Piper replied instantly, nodding her approval.
He laughed. “Of course.”
“And all true!” Annabeth added. “Jeremy, these are my backup girls.”
Silena gasped in mock outrage. “Backup girls?! I oughta wring your neck.”
Annabeth shrugged. “And risk breaking a nail?”
She narrowly avoided the playful swat that headed her way, side-stepping and grinning as Silena shot her evil eyes while leaning in to hug Jeremy. All of the ribbing was fair game, Annabeth had decided long ago. Silena’s manicure probably cost more money than Annabeth currently had sitting in the bank. Besides, she always gave as good as she got, so the trade-off was fair.
“Go easy on him, okay girls?” Annabeth warned, trying to sound as stern as possible despite her smile. “Jeremy might be ripping my only daughter out of my arms forever tomorrow, but they make a great little marketing team. They’ve been working on a website for this place so I can finally pay some bills.”
Kat’s face lit up, her hands tapping excitedly at Jeremy’s chest. “Yes! We did a little research, and apparently the site that the hotel is built on was once believed to be sacred to Aphrodite and her followers. There was a fountain in her honour, like the one in the courtyard. True or not, we’re putting on the website to attract young lovers.”
Jeremy nodded, wrapping an arm around his fiancée. Kat curled into his side. “Apparently if you bathed in or drank the water - they weren’t so aware of hygiene back then, I guess - you would find true love and eternal happiness.”
He paused, looking briefly at Kat and then back up again. “I mean, it worked for me. Gotta be a good sign.”
Silena’s face softened, her lips curling into a pout as she watched the couple beaming at each other. “Oh, isn’t that sweet? I’ll take a glass of that for some extra luck!”
For all her flaws, Silena was a hopeless romantic with an unwavering faith in love, and Annabeth begrudgingly admired her for it. Her persistence had paid off, after all, finding her soulmate in Charles, even if she denied it was simply because she was one of the lucky few. Annabeth knew well that the stars didn’t always align, though she was glad they had for the people she held dearest.
Thankfully, Piper’s style ran a little closer to Annabeth’s than Silena’s. “I think I’ll just stick my head under the fountain with my mouth open and see what happens.”
Annabeth laughed. “Okay, let’s leave the lovebirds to it. In the absence of sacred goddess water, can I offer you guys a margarita?”
“Close enough,” Piper agreed.
Silena grinned, her expression immediately issuing a challenge. “Bottomless margaritas?”
“Only if you remember that we don’t recover from hangovers as quickly as we did when we were twenty,” Annabeth told her. “I can spare about fifteen minutes to drink with you guys before I have to rush off again to organise this goddamn wedding. I’ll show you to your room.”
Piper blew a raspberry in her face as they began to make their way to the suite. “You’re so boring! You used to be fun, and cool. Anyway, that’s like four drinks if you pace yourself properly.”
“Welp, no free drinks for you. Silena, yours are on me.”
“I take it back! You’re the coolest person I’ve ever met! Pretty please let me drink for free?”
Annabeth rolled her eyes. “Get up those stairs, you monster. Those fifteen minutes are ticking by.”
---
Percy
Twenty one years. It had been twenty one years since that summer, twenty one years since the taste of a life he had always dreamed of and never been able to grasp onto. Twenty one years that he had been left only with memories, rose-tinted til the bitter end, of mistakes that he could never undo. Percy Jackson was not often a man prone to regret, but there were a few moments in his life that he had felt its keen sting, and he was eager to never have to feel it again. The invitation may have spelt disaster, but with the promise of just seeing Annabeth again, he would sooner have walked into an active volcano than regret missing out.
Twenty one years, and it would all be for nothing if the fucking boat to Kalokairi wouldn’t come back to the mainland for an extra passenger.
“Hey!” He yelled out, waving his hands for their attention, “Hey! Come back!”
The vessel had barely left the dock, still close enough to land that they could not only hear him, but he could see the amused recognition of his desperation in their eyes as they waved back at him, drifting away into the growing distance.
“Fuck.”
He turned away, looking around to see if any sailboats had been left nearby that were small enough to be operated by one person, and unguarded enough that he could take it and leave a note of apology in its place. Instead, he saw another cab approaching, much like the one he had all but thrown himself out of less than a minute ago. He watched the all too familiar scene unfold as the door flung open, a tall blond man jumping out and running towards the end of the dock, only to slow to a disappointed stop as he realised he was too late. The guy was smartly but inappropriately dressed in a well-fitted navy blue suit, complete with a light grey tie perfectly in place even after running, and his hair was neat and cropped close.
He turned to Percy with a frown. “You wouldn’t happen to know when the next boat is, would you?”
As a matter of fact, he did know. The schedule had been permanently lasered into his memory ever since he had first stepped foot on the wooden planks beneath him, and though he had still checked the chalkboard moments ago, certain it would have changed in twenty one years, he found that it hadn’t. It was like going back in time, and it made his stomach twist.
“Monday.” He answered, unable to keep the irritation out of his tone.
The other man pulled a face, reaching to pull out what Percy had assumed was a white pocket square, but was actually a folded piece of card. “Ah. That’s not ideal - I have a wedding tomorrow.”
Percy blinked, producing his own invitation to compare. “So do I, actually. Bride or groom?”
He peered over at the other invitation. Though most of it was covered by his hand and the crisp centre fold, he could make out the name Jason near the top-right corner.
“Jason, is it?”
The blond man nodded. “That’s right. Uh, bride, it is. And you are?”
“Percy. Bride as well.” He paused, looking around again. “Jason, you wouldn’t happen to know how to sail, would you? Most of the boats docked up here today work best with two people.”
The resulting expression told him everything he needed to know.
“Don’t worry about it, man. We’ll find a way over somehow, just gotta be creative. I wonder if…”
Percy wasn’t entirely sure what he was wondering, as no other ideas had managed to spring to mind as of yet. Thankfully, he was saved from the awkwardness of having to come up with something on the fly by a high-pitched whistle and a “Ooooeee!” from somewhere behind him. Both he and Jason jumped, the sudden noise catching them off guard, and whipped around to find a shorter, curly-haired guy with a wide grin on his face, looking straight at them and pointing to a sailboat bobbing in the water beside them.
“I can sail. If you know how to, I’d say our collective pickle has been unpickled.”
Jason frowned. “Our?”
The third man offered his hand for them to shake; Jason politely took hold, and Percy reluctantly followed after. “I’m Connor, Connor Stoll. Couldn’t help overhearing that you two need to get to Kalokairi before Monday for a wedding. By some strange coincidence, I do too. So, since we’re all in the same boat, maybe we should all get on the same boat.”
Connor’s jokes would be funny if the entire situation wasn’t so fucking bizarre. Sure, it wasn’t so weird that three wedding guests were in the same place at the same time, but with a little further scrutiny, they all seemed to be around the same age, and none of them local to the area. It was unclear whether the encounter was serendipitous, coincidental, or if something bigger was at play. Either way, Percy wasn’t sure he really cared about the nature of it all. Seeing Annabeth’s name, even just written on a piece of paper, had sent a tidal wave through him like he hadn’t felt in years - in twenty one years. It was the push he’d been waiting for, hitting at the perfect time, right as he began to question what the hell he was doing.
“You own this one?”
Percy inspected the vessel that Connor was referring to. It was obviously well-made, but well-used too, the paint and stickers on the outside fading and chipping away, some parts scratched and broken. Overall it seemed in pretty good condition, though, with a large enough deck to spread out a few passengers comfortably and an interior compartment for sleeping. Connor was dressed in khaki, his face tanned and freckled no doubt from a life at sea, exploring, living in the boat. Percy was slightly envious of him.
“This one owns me,” Connor shrugged, leading them towards it, “Been travelling the world with her for nearly two decades. We never stay in the same place twice - until now, I guess. I’ve had to make an exception for a special occasion.”
Jason nodded appreciatively as he climbed aboard. “Bride or groom for you?”
“Bride,” He answered. “I wouldn’t normally bother going, but I’ve never met the girl so it’s a bit more of an adventure than your usual boring old wedding. The thought turns my stomach most of the time. Right, you-”
“Percy.”
“-Percy, if you can just help me with this rope, we should be in business.”
Before long, they were off, Percy breathing a sigh of relief as he settled into a chair on the deck and watched the waves pass him by. A knot of anxiety in his stomach that he hadn’t even realised had formed was dissipating, washed away by the reassurance that he was going to make it there, after all. He had felt slightly insane, uprooting everything he’d known for the last twenty one years, barely stopping to think about it if only because he knew he’d end up psyching himself out. Everything had been done in a rush - packing suitcases, buying last-minute plane tickets, watching as the New York City skyline grew smaller and smaller beneath him and noticing how the sight of it disappearing was a surprisingly welcome one. There had been no time for thinking until now, and as he relaxed under the baking Greek sun, surrounded by nothing but blue skies and blue seas, he finally felt human again.
It was so easy to lose himself somewhere like New York. The concrete jungle was fast-paced and unforgiving, and Percy had spent twenty long years sprinting to keep up with its demands. His life had been nothing but gleaming glass elevators, shiny chrome, business offices with huge windows and everything in shades of beige and grey and black. Of course, his divorce from the Dare heiress had seemed as good a step as any in distancing himself from his caged-in life, but the fear of not landing on his feet had kept him in his same position with their company for a further ten years, almost. The proper mid-life crisis, as he had decided to call it, had well and truly hit at the start of the new year, when Percy realised he was staring forty in the face and had very little to show for it. No freedom, no family, nothing he was genuinely proud of. He’d ended up quitting his fancy high-paying job for a part-time one while he figured out what the hell to do next, and then the invitation came. No warning, nothing else written other than a name he had long failed in forgetting.
He found that even after all this time, the feeling in his gut was the same, the intrinsic knowledge of how close they were despite seeing nothing but ocean, the building excitement that made way for a comfortable giddiness. Everything about the island had been burned into his mind, thankfully, never erased by the monotony of his now-former life.
“Shouldn’t be too long, now,” He commented, then cringed at himself. Jason and Connor hadn’t been as taken to introspection as he was, clearly, using their time onboard to get to know one another. “Ah, sorry. Didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“Not a problem,” Jason smiled easily.
“I was about to say the same thing myself, you’ve got a good eye for this. You travel a lot?” Connor asked.
Percy shook his head. “Nah. Always wanted to, but life got in the way. It’s just something about this place I guess.”
Connor sat forward, looking interested. “Ooh, what’s your story? Jason and I were just catching up on the basics ourselves. I’m a travel blogger, wrote a couple of books about wild places, all that good stuff. Learned about this place years back after I met Annabeth while researching for a piece about the Parthenon with my brother. I told her I love little hidden spots of nature and she took me here.”
“Did you ever write about Kalokairi?” Jason asked. “I have to admit I own a few of your books - Traversing Twins in Tanzania, I think? Total blessing on dull business trips.”
Connor laughed. “Did you know we’re not even twins? But that was a good one! Very fun trip. And no, never wrote about Kalokairi. Finished the Parthenon piece, obviously, but the island always felt like it should stay its own little secret.”
Percy agreed. It was far too special.
Jason nodded. “I would hate to see it ruined by too much intrigue. I wish I’d travelled more adventurously, all I know these days is plane trips to various world meetings. I spend most of my time in meetings about- well, I won’t bore you with the details. It’s all very dull. It’s nice to know you’re making a difference, doing the right thing, but- I always wondered what it would be like to come back here. I was still a university student when I met Annabeth, much more wild back then. She was singing in a nightclub on the mainland, told me about Kalokairi when I asked if she would be performing again. That voice!”
The three men all vocalised their agreement. It was hard to forget the sound of Annabeth’s voice once you’d heard her sing.
After a moment of quiet, Percy realised their eyes were on him. It was clearly his turn to share the events leading up to this - he was going to call it serendipitous, for now - moment.
“Um - I’ve spent most of my life with Dare Enterprises, now I’m just trying to figure out who I am outside the soul-sucking void of corporate America. This invite came at just the right time, to be honest. It’s been way too long since I’ve been here, even though I fell in love with the place.”
He still wasn’t sure which he’d fallen for first - the surroundings, or if it was her. Annabeth had a way of colouring everything around her, making everything more beautiful by sheer proximity. Even the bad memories, the ones he tried not to think of and ended up ruminating over during sleepless nights, seemed prettier when he remembered her presence.
His answer seemed to be enough to satisfy their curiosities, and they fell into easy conversation after that. Connor was pretty funny, clearly a lifelong jokester who was full of interesting stories, and despite his very conventional life and appearance, Jason was charismatic and quick-witted. Getting to know two strangers on a boat in the middle of the ocean was already miles better than the way he’d been living before.
“So, a wedding. Either of you two married?” Percy asked, enjoying the newfound friendship.
Connor immediately pulled a face, retracting his head into his neck and widening his eyes in horror. “Fuck no! I go wobbly at the thought of walking down an aisle.”
“The groom usually waits, it’s the bride that walks.” Jason added helpfully, cracking himself and Percy up.
Connor waved them away. “Turns my stomach, honestly. I’m a writer, a traveller, a- a free bird! I couldn’t tie myself down like that. My brother did that, despite my warnings, and now I travel solo because he’s got a house and a dog and a baby. I could never.”
Jason chuckled. “I’m not married, but I’m not that against it. Never really found the right person. You married, Jackson?”
“Divorced.” Percy waggled his empty ring finger. “Amicably, I might add. Stuck it out for as long as I could, but I was never properly in love with her. Better off this way.”
Connor shrugged, as if to say see? “I knew I was right. Just not worth it. Humans should be free to just-”
“Fuck!”
“Exactly, Percy, I was just gonna say-”
Percy blinked. “No, I meant fuck! As in- there it is.”
It had finally appeared, materialising across the horizon like a mirage. Kalokairi in all of its glory, the white sand stretching around the perimeter, the tall cliffs and endless greenery, the worn footpaths he remembered so well snaking up and down throughout the island. Seeing it was like a dream, and yet it was very, very real.
-
Almost everything was the same, but this was certainly new. There had never been a hotel when Percy had first been here, and standing where he once remembered only rocks, sand and trees was an open pavilion, all in white, leading off in different directions with prettily decorated paths. Flowers bloomed along the walls, and traditional mosaics wove out epic scenes beneath their feet, the colours faded and sun-blanched with time. The air smelled fresh and familiar, honeysuckle and jasmine mingling with the saltiness of the ocean.
Percy wheeled his suitcase forward and looked around in amazement. It may not have been perfect, but whoever had thought to build a hotel here was a genius. It seemed to have connected to the old taverna, which had been standing well before Percy had ever arrived and lived fondly in his memories. Ancient Greek inspirations were everywhere he looked, small carvings of Athena in the walls, nude statues of Aphrodite in the centre of various fountains, elaborate pillars lining the walkways that led into the courtyard and beyond.
Following the signs, the three men walked forwards until they came to the centre of the courtyard, away from the main bustle of the island and into the hotel. It was open, like the pavilion, the sun blazing down on them, and surrounded on all three sides by tall white buildings with light blue windows and door frames.
It was the perfect Greek paradise. Of course it was Annabeth’s vision - he could see her in all of it.
Jason’s voice pulled Percy out of his thoughts, too busy admiring the hotel’s design to notice that someone else had appeared in the courtyard.
“Hi, good afternoon! Would you be able to help us?”
Percy turned. The girl Jason was addressing was young, with wavy dark-blonde hair and striking heterochromatic eyes - one ocean blue, the other sea green. She had freckled, suntanned skin and an exceedingly familiar face, standing before them in a light pink sundress with a pleasant smile on her face.
“Of course, hi! My name’s Katerina, you can call me Kat. You guys are here for the wedding?”
Jason nodded. “Yeah, all booked in. I’m Jason Grace.”
Something in Kat’s face changed. Her smile grew wider, though she seemed to catch herself and rein it in before it became too noticeable.
“I’m Stoll, Connor Stoll.”
Her eyes darted over to Connor, and then to Percy, thinly veiled excitement in her gaze. “So you must be… Percy Jackson?”
He confirmed it with a smile of his own. For a moment, Kat didn’t seem to know what to do with herself, but quickly managed to pull herself together, snapping into action.
“Right! Okay, you guys just wait right here, I’ll run and get your keys. Um, thank you so much for coming!”
She was back moments later with three sets of keys dangling from her grasp. As she divided them out, both Percy and Jason looked down at the same time, noticing the dainty silver ring on her finger.
“You’re the girl getting married? Congratulations,” Jason told her, a rosy blush coming to her cheeks at his words.
She grinned, tilting her hand properly so the three of them could get a better look. “Yep, that’s me!”
The realisation hit Percy like a lightning bolt - no wonder she looked so familiar. “You’re Annabeth’s daughter.”
It wasn’t a question; there was absolutely no denying it. Kat was the image of Annabeth, sweet-faced and pretty as she had been, the same welcoming energy and bright smile, the same piercing quality to her eyes. She gestured at herself to confirm, breaking into jazz hands and making Connor laugh. Percy’s head was spinning, all too aware of his age and yet somehow in shock that he lived in a world in which Annabeth Chase had a grown-up daughter. He was happy for her, though, he realised. She had moved on, and made something amazing of herself, just like he knew she would. It only intensified his desire to see her, to thank her.
“Is she around? I want to let her know how grateful I-”
Kat’s eyes went wide, a flash of guilt crossing her face. “No! Well- Yes, she is around, but uh- okay. I sent the invitations, she doesn’t know you’re here. I wanted to surprise her with her friends from the old days, but she’s gotten herself so worked up planning this wedding that if she finds out about unexpected guests I think she might have a heart attack and die. So- keep this between us? Please?”
Percy collapsed into the nearest chair. Connor burst out laughing.
“I love this. I love this kid,” He chuckled, slapping her on the back. “Well played, Kat. We’ll keep your secret, right guys?”
Percy shook his head, getting back to his feet almost as soon as he’d sat down. “I have to go. I can’t be here if- if Annabeth didn’t write those invitations. Kat, your mom hates me. She said she never wanted to see me again. And- rightly so, if I’m honest.”
Kat rolled her eyes. “That was forever ago! No one can hold a grudge that long. Besides, I invited you because I want you here.”
None of this made any sense.
Percy sighed deeply, years of emotion heavy in just one exhale. “ Why? ”
The question seemed to stump her at first. She took a moment to think about it, her eyes unfocused, before her face changed. It was bizarre to watch - it was Annabeth all over, her exact expression, a smugness crossing her features, eyebrows raising, self-satisfied smile on her lips like she already knew she’d won. Percy had seen it on her mom too many times, and she always ended up winning.
“Because it’s my wedding and I want everyone to be friends ,” She said simply, her sing-song tone perfectly matching her faux-sweet face.
Percy blinked in disbelief at himself. “You… You’re dangerous,” He managed, resigning himself to the fact that she, too, had won. “You’re just like your mother. She’s taught you all her tricks.”
Kat grinned, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “She did her best, what can I say? Now, the rooms: I’ll just-”
She stopped dead at the exact same time as Percy’s ears almost pricked up, tuning in to an achingly familiar sound approaching from somewhere nearby. A voice - her voice, softly singing to no one in particular. Kat’s face went pale, her eyes widening in horror as her entire covert operation began to crumble in front of her.
Panicked, she hissed, “Hide!” and dashed away, disappearing from view.
Annabeth’s singing grew louder. The three men stared at each other in frenzied confusion, a palpable sense of what the fuck do we do thick between them. Percy ducked behind an open door, holding his breath and praying she would see no need to close it. Connor slipped into a gap between two buildings, practically hidden in plain sight, while Jason, left without any other option, poorly attempted to conceal himself behind a large potted plant.
It wasn’t exactly how Percy had first imagined seeing Annabeth again after so many years, but as he was beginning to learn, life was very rarely as straightforward as it seemed.