Chapter Text
Annabeth had just gotten off the Argo II, making her way through the crowd of Romans with Piper and Jason following closely behind her. Many people greeted Jason with enthusiasm, but her full attention was on finding him. She was searching for messy raven-black hair, beautiful sea green eyes, and a carefree crooked smile.
They reached the center of the crowd where a girl in full battle armor and a purple cloak stood. She didn't even say anything, but she radiated power and confidence. She opened her mouth and the entire crowd went silent.
Reyna, Annabeth recalled. Jason described her perfectly. She was addressing her new visitors, but Annabeth wasn't really listening.
Suddenly in the corner of her eye, Annabeth spotted him, wading to the front, trying to figure out what the commotion was about.
Her eyes lit up. Percy was looking as handsome as ever, and surprisingly more lean and tanned. Her insides churned as she processed seeing him for the first time in months.
He met her gaze. Before she could read his expression, she surged forward to embrace him. He stumbled backwards. She felt that his body was rigid as he slowly put his hands on her back.
Then he pulled away confused.
"Hi? That was, uh, unexpected, but nice to meet you, I'm Percy," he said as he held his hand out to shake hers.
Annabeth stared at him in disbelief. There is no recognition in his eyes. It was obvious. He seemed to see her as an enemy. She recognized the little scrunch in his eyebrow that he only reserves for people he hasn't developed trust for quite yet. This broke her up more than she would care to admit.
"Sorry, can you just remind me what your name is again?" he says.
Her expression quickly sours hearing this.
"I'm really sorry," he asks bashfully, as if he isn't quite sure what he did wrong.
Annabeth's heart shattered. The words she prepared on the ship for if Percy, her longtime best friend and boyfriend, had forgotten her, died in her throat.
Her worst nightmare just became a reality. Her heart felt as if it was being trampled and tossed and torn with each progressing second that she spent with this new, Perseus.
It wasn't supposed to be like this. Annabeth was half joking when she thought he would forget her. She was truly imagining their reunion for months: it was going to be full of fanfare, love, and relief. So in the absence of that, there is nothing but emptiness, pain, and trepidation.
Giving herself a mental kick, she attempts to reason.
I need to accept the facts: this person in front of me is a stranger, whether I like it or not.
If he doesn't recognize Annabeth by the Argo II, he probably never will. Percy used to be a care-free goofball that was hers. Now, she wasn't really sure who he was anymore. She was not sure who they were anymore. Or, if they exists beyond the confines of her mind.
Percy's hair ruffles through the wind in a way that makes it seem like he'd just stepped out from an afternoon chilling by the ocean, before with her. She remembers the looks of it all too well, but the essence of the familiar scene feels wrong.
I guess remembering doesn't matter anymore.
The years prior have shown her that memory is a fickle thing: was there ever really a thing between the two of them if only one remembers any trace of its existence?
Her mind couldn't bear to think about it.
She thought back to those cold days in the Aphrodite cabin, where Annabeth sat next to Piper and just cried with her after finding out that her memories with Jason were as good as fabricated. She thought back to just moments prior, how blankly Percy studied her.
That's what Hera had gifted Annabeth at her front doorstep with no warning: a curse that only she bore the imprints of. But, she should be able to bear it all – she must.
She kept trying her hardest to wrap her mind around this... anomaly. She needed to find a way to either get used to his amnesia or figure a way to cure it. She should be able to solve this. To fix him.
Annabeth turned her head away at the thought. He didn't need to see the teardrops welling in her eyes. The only sound she could hear now was Piper whispering, "Uh-oh," and walking up to comfort her.