Chapter Text
Annabeth
Annabeth knew that today was the day. Nothing compared to it: not any of her other birthdays, not her college acceptance, not when she moved from Virginia to New York, and not even when she moved from New York to California. Today was about to be the most important day of her life. She’d never admit it to anyone that today, her eighteenth birthday, was as important as it was. Everyone had been constantly reminding her of it - "it’s almost time to find out!" - and she’d been doing her best to act as though it didn’t matter. But it did.
Today was the day. It was her eighteenth birthday, and she was going to learn the name of her soulmate.
She could hardly sleep the night before, but her roommate, Piper, had practically forced her into bed right before midnight. Piper reminded her (as everyone had been) that if she didn’t sleep, and didn’t have a dream, she wouldn’t get to hear the first words her soulmate will say to her.
The forced sleep still didn’t stop Annabeth from setting an early alarm. It went off promptly at 6 a.m., startling her.
“Holy shit, that’s loud,” she cursed sleepily, wincing at the blaring sound emitting from her phone.
“You know,” Piper grumbled from her bed across the room, “you really shouldn’t start your day by swearing. Bad vibes.”
“Oh shut up.”
Piper stretched, yawning as she said, “Whatever.” Then, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes she asked, “where is it?”
Annabeth jumped out of bed, walking as quickly as she could over to her mirror without tripping on the clutter covering the floor. (Last night’s little get-together had been fun, but she was so not looking forward to cleaning up.)
At her mirror, Annabeth examined the parts of her that were unclothed. When she saw nothing, She reached down to pull off her shirt. Piper whistled, eliciting a laugh from both of them. Annabeth wasn’t embarrassed to undress in front of Piper. It was one of the perks of doing summer classes before the actual semester started: she got to move in two months early and got the chance to make some actual friends. As someone who’d never really had friends growing up, Annabeth appreciated the instant connection she felt with Piper.
Which is why when Annabeth’s eyes zero in on small, black handwriting printed onto the skin of her right shoulder, she isn’t embarrassed to get a little emotional with Piper in the room.
“Well?” Piper pressed, “What’s it say!”
Annabeth stared at herself in the mirror. Her gray eyes were wide with disbelief. For the past few weeks (months, honestly), she’d been terrified that she wouldn’t get a name. She’d heard of stories like that happening. People wake up on their eighteenth birthday and can’t find a name anywhere. Annabeth was never the type to think she needed someone to be happy, but the notion had scared her down to her bones.
But she was staring at it now, relief overwhelming her, and a subtle happiness creeping over her.
“Um, I can’t really read it,” Annabeth admitted, now squinting at the lettering in the mirror. She tried looking down at her shoulder to read the name, but reading upside down was just as bad as reading backwards. Or at all. Dyslexia really makes things like that impossible.
Piper stretched, and motioned for Annabeth to walk over. “Let me see,” she said, pulling Annabeth down to examine her shoulder.
“That is some shit handwriting” she mumbled. Then, she read aloud to Annabeth, “Perseus. Their name is Perseus.”
“Perseus,” Annabeth repeated.
Piper laid back down, scrunching up her face. “What kinda name is that?”
It’s beautiful, Annabeth thought.
“I like it,” she said out loud, “I always loved Greek mythology.”
Piper yawned again. Annabeth was surprised she was even awake right now. She sat down at the edge of her roommate’s bed, pulling her shirt back over her head.
“What did your dream say?” Piper asked.
Oh right! Annabeth squeezed her eyes shut, concentrating. She’d almost forgotten her dream. It came back to her in little fragments.
“He says…ugh, I feel like it was a lot…oh!” Annnabeth snapped her fingers. “He said, ‘here you go, miss,’ and…something about seeing me again?” She thought for a moment more before nodding her head. “Yeah. That’s what he said.”
“Aw, that’s such a meet-cute line” Piper murmured, clearly falling back asleep. “You'll be like...like a regular at his café or sum-” a yawn cut off her sentence.
Annabeth smiled softly at her friend. “Piper?” she whispered.
“Mhm?”
“Go back to sleep.”
“Mmkay.” Piper snuggled deeper into her covers. “Goodnight.”
Just a moment later, Piper was fast asleep. Annabeth shook her head lovingly, getting up to move to her own bed. She thought about what Piper had said, about meeting Perseus at a café. It made sense considering the connotation of his first words to her. But now she wasn’t going to be able to act normally at any restaurant or café ever again. She’d insist on staring at their name-tag, which could end up looking kind of strange…still, she knew she wouldn’t be able to resist.
She looked down at the mess around her from her birthday get together. She looked across at Piper sleeping soundfully. She reached up to touch her shoulder.
Her whole life was changing. She was in college! She had friends who cared enough about her to celebrate her birthday, however new they still were to each other. She was in a whole new state - sure, her dad lived in California, but she’d gone to boarding school in New York since she was in middle school; this was different. And now…the name of her soulmate was imprinted onto her skin.
And Annabeth knew that your soulmate didn’t technically equal romantic life partner. There were plenty of cases in which people had each other’s names, and turned out to be more like platonic soulmates. There were other cases where the situation didn’t always end up that great, and some people never spoke to their soulmates again after meeting them. Some people never even find their soulmates.
Annabeth knew the facts. She decided she would be logical about this. That’s how she was about everything else: logical. Sticking to what she knew. Going forward with a thoroughly thought out plan. But whether or not she’d be able to find her soulmate herself, she knew that it wouldn’t be up to her to make her soulmate pairing a romantic one. She’d tried masterminding situations like that before. They never really worked out. She didn’t want to get her hopes up. She knew what to expect.
But deep down, she had the tiniest sliver of hope that this would work out for her. That Perseus, whoever he was, would be someone permanent in her life. And if she let herself indulge in that thought even more, she hoped he was someone who could love her.
---
It had been a little over a month since her birthday, and Annabeth was done being chill about her soulmate.
She needed to find him. She was determined to find him. So determined, in fact, she had managed to collect the names of every restaurant and barista worker within her area. The plan was that she’d start with the greater New Rome University area. It was delusionally optimistic of her, and when not a single Perseus came up in July’s files, she felt silly for even trying. So she moved on to neighboring cities: Berkeley, Walnut Creek, and Oakland. If she still had no luck there, she’d make her way through all of California. If she had to, Annabeth was ready to download the files of every single Starbucks worker in America and beyond.
To say the least…she got impatient with fate.
Piper said she was crazy. And sure! Maybe she was! At worst, this was just an obsessive phase Annabeth was going through. Piper kept telling her fate was never going to bring Perseus to her if Annabeth kept searching for him. But fate didn’t seem to bring him to her anyway!
“It’s only been a month, Annabeth,” Piper said, closing Annabeth’s laptop on her typing fingers. “Relax.”
Annabeth glared at her roommate. She reopened her laptop without saying a word. Piper sighed dramatically and waved her off.
“Fine, fine,” she said, exasperated, “you do you, girl.”
“I will do me,” Annabeth grumbled under her breath.
“How about you do your mo-”
“Still not funny, Pipes.”
“Okay, okay! Sorry!” Piper laughed. She grabbed her bag from her desk and jangled her keys at Annabeth. “I’m off to get some coffee. You sure you don’t wanna come?”
Annabeth checked the time and scoffed. “Coffee at two pm? You won’t sleep.”
“I never do anyway,” Piper replied. “C’mon, Annabeth, you’ve been holed up all day. Come get some two pm coffee with me.”
That put a pause in Annabeth’s thought process.
Coffee…coffee could be good…
Piper noticed her hesitation and grinned. “Gotcha! Let’s go.”
With that, Annabeth shut down her laptop and put her work aside. She thought about bringing it to the coffee shop, but Piper was right. Annabeth could use a break from all of this.
“Alright,” she said, “let’s go.”
Percy
Today was Percy’s golden birthday.
Eighteen on the eighteenth! His mom had made a big deal out of it, and an even bigger deal out of the fact that this would be his first birthday away from home. She wanted to be there with him when he bought his first lottery ticket, wanted to see the moment he handed his ID to the cashier, and boom! Lottery ticket purchased! ID real and valid! She had gushed about baking him the most magnificent blue cake, and making all his favorite foods. He told her once, just once, that he wanted to be with her on his birthday too.
Moving across the country for college hadn’t been easy. It wasn’t even his first choice, especially not after the birth of his baby sister, Estelle. But New Rome University was the only place that hadn’t waitlisted or denied him. They even offered him a swim scholarship and work-study so he could get a job on campus! When his mom and stepdad, Paul, had moved Percy into his dorm, they’d gone with him to the library to print out copies of his resume (that Paul had made for him, thank you very much). They made Percy promise he’d hand them to any place that said they were hiring.
Being on the swim team meant that he had to move in on campus earlier for training that started at the beginning of August. It also meant that by the time his birthday rolled around, Percy did actually get a job on campus. It wasn’t anything crazy - just a barista position at one of the university’s cafes - but it was something. Paul had told him a job was a good way to make friends. His mom said he had just the perfect amount of charm to be a barista.
They were just being nice, but Percy was excited to start! It even added to his golden birthday, as his first day at his new job landed on the eighteenth. He’d be working his first ever full shift, and couldn’t wait.
The other thing that made him so excited for his golden birthday? It was the birthday he was going to find out his soulmate’s name.
He couldn’t even wait for his alarm to go off before he was wide awake in the morning. He jumped out of bed, nervousness buzzing through his brain. He immediately checked his arms, chest, and legs.
Nope, nothing there.
Too embarrassed to go to the communal bathroom to look for the name in the mirror (since he still didn't have one in his room), he propped his phone up against his water bottle and opened up the camera app. Grateful for the privacy of a single dorm, he turned around and checked his back.
Bingo.
Just there on the small of his back was a longer name written in neat handwriting. Percy couldn’t read what it said - he wasn’t even going to try to - so he did what he always does when he needs help with something: he called his mom.
She answered his FaceTime call on the second ring.
“Percy! Happy birthday, baby!” she exclaimed.
“Thanks mom! Can you help me-”
“Oh! I just wish I could be there with you!”
“Me too, Mom! But hey, I was wondering-”
“Sally?” Percy heard Paul call out from somewhere in the background. “Is that Percy?”
“Yes! Come, get Estelle so we can sing happy birthday!”
Percy started to object, but his voice faltered as the three of them - his wonderful, little family - began singing. He was grateful for them, and now that he thought about it, he really did miss them.
Once they were done, he said, “Thanks guys. That was really nice!”
“Of course, Percy.”
“But I was wondering if you could help me with something?” he asked.
His mom raised her eyebrow. “What’s up, honey?”
“Could you read the name on my back for me?”
His mom’s face lit up with excitement. She quickly told him yes, scolded him for not bringing it up earlier, and demanded for him to turn around. He propped up his phone again and showed her where it was.
She squinted at the screen. “It’s kind of hard to read…Anna…oh, Annabeth!”
Annabeth, he thought, I like that name.
“That’s pretty,” he said, turning back around to pick up his phone. “Annabeth.”
“That’s very pretty, Percy.” Sally had tears brimming her eyes. Percy smiled. It warmed his heart that his mom still thought of him as her little boy. “Are you going to try to find her?”
Percy shrugged. “I dunno,” he said, “I think if she’s my soulmate, I’ll find her eventually.”
Paul nodded approvingly. “Letting fate take its toll,” he said, “Very wise, Percy.”
Percy shrugged again. He wasn’t sure how much he believed in fate . He was more of a coincidence kind of guy. Fate seemed like everything was already pre-planned, like some higher being was pulling the strings of his life. Maybe that could give him someone to blame when things went wrong, but for the most part, Percy just thought that coincidences were more realistic.
“Oh!” Sally exclaimed suddenly. “What did Annabeth say in your dream, sweetheart?”
Right! Percy concentrated, then it clicked.
“She just said, ‘order for Annabeth.' That's all, I think.”
“Ooo,” Sally teased, “maybe you’ll meet her at your job!”
Percy laughed. No way he'd be that lucky, and if he was, well, that would be a coincidence calculated enough to make him believe in fate.
He chatted with his parents and cooed at Estelle for a little while longer as he got ready for work. They gave him advice on customer service skills, on what to do versus not to do on his first day, and how to make sure he stayed focused the whole time. As nervous as he was, he was excited! It felt like the start of a whole new chapter in his life.
And when he hung up the phone with his parents and started making his way to New Rome Café, he thought about his soulmate.
Annabeth. Wow. He obviously knew this day would come, but having her name was a totally different feeling than he thought it’d be. Annabeth, Annabeth, Annabeth. She was all he could think about all day (which probably wasn't good on a day when he needed to be learning how to make drinks). He didn’t even know the girl and yet a warm feeling spread all throughout his chest at the mere thought of her name. He wondered who she was. He figured he shouldn’t get too attached to one fantasy in case she didn’t end up being like how he thought. But still, he couldn’t get her off his mind. He was in such a good mood all day, he didn't even mind when his boss - a grumpy man named Mr. D - gave him a name-tag with the name Peter instead of Percy on it.
Because for the first time in his life, Percy hoped that fate was real.
Annabeth
“Oh gods,” Annabeth groaned, “I love that smell.”
She and Piper entered New Rome Café, the glorious scent of coffee and pastries wafting through the air.
Piper laughed. “Gods?” she asked, “As in, plural?”
Annabeth sighed dramatically. “At this point, maybe believing in multiple higher powers will increase my chances at finding him.”
“Wow.” Piper regarded Annabeth with amusement. “You really are desperate.”
Apparently so, Annabeth thought.
The gods were seemingly not on her side, however. The line to order was nearly at the door. Piper and Annabeth opted for ordering online and sitting down. Annabeth pulled out her phone to order a vanilla chai latte Piper and an Americano for herself. Piper called their friend, Leo, to figure out plans for the day. Annabeth scrolled through her phone aimlessly.
She really did need to let this whole ‘finding her soulmate’ thing go. It was consuming her every waking moment. She knew she wasn’t the most relaxed person ever. She knew she also wasn’t that good at letting things go unplanned. “Fate” wasn’t a concept she was familiar with. Annabeth liked plans. She liked knowing what was ahead of her. It only added to her stress that the timing of when she’d meet her soulmate was something she had little to no control over. Fate was too wishy-washy for her taste. She didn't like the idea of not being in charge of her own life.
She was still deep in thought when she got a notification on her phone that her order was ready.
Her head snapped up. One of the baristas had put a drink on the counter (she knew mobile ordering was the way to go), but as far as Annabeth could see, there was only one. She told Piper she’d be right back and stood to get the drink.
At the counter, Annabeth peered over the bar at the barista making drinks. Annabeth and Piper had been coming to this café practically all summer. She’d even gotten to know some of the workers by name. But the boy working wasn’t someone she’d seen before. He was taller than she, and had a lean build, like a swimmer’s physique. She could see him finishing up the second drink in her order, and waiting just a moment before saying anything.
She cleared her throat. “Order for Annabeth,” she said.
He turned around and her breath caught (just a little bit) at his startling blue-green eyes. And, was it her imagination, or did his face go slack for just a second?
He seemed to remember he was holding the second drink in her order, and reached out to hand it to her directly. The slack expression he’d had was replaced with a charming smile.
“Here you go, miss,” he said. An alarm went off in the back of Annabeth’s head, like she was about to miss something important happening. Not taking his eyes off her, he added, “Hope you come around again. Enjoy.”
Annabeth blushed. She could tell when she was being flirted with, and he was definitely not someone she minded flirting with her. She reached out to grab her drink from his hand, their fingers brushing in the exchange.
“Me too…” she said shyly, not really knowing how else to respond. Her eyes flickered down to look at his name tag and -
Hello! My name is: Peter.
Before she could show any disappointment in her face, she scooped up the second drink on the counter and scurried back to the table with Piper.
“Leo says we need to head over now if we wanna make the movie showing,” Piper said right before Annabeth could sit down. She took her coffee from Annabeth’s hand and got up as well. Elaborating on the movie Leo wanted them to go see, Piper started to lead Annabeth out of the café.
Annabeth wasn’t listening to anything that Piper was saying, if she was being honest. Just before they walked out of the door, Annabeth looked up, hoping to catch a glimpse of the cute barista. He was at the register now, taking another customer’s order when their eyes met once more and -
“Annabeth? Come on, we’re gonna be late!”
Still distracted, Annabeth let Piper drag her away. While Piper rambled on about what snacks Leo wanted them to pick up and what seats in theaters Leo thought were the best, Annabeth wondered why she felt so weird after her interaction with the barista. She still felt like she’d missed something important, like some obvious clue was placed in front of her face and she hadn’t seen it.
His name is Peter, she thought. Why did I think it would be…
“Ugh!” Piper yelped, snapping Annabeth out of her thoughts. “This is horrible! What the hell did you order me, Annabeth?”
Annabeth scrunched her face in confusion. “A vanilla chai latte, like always,” she replied.
“Well I don’t know what this is,” Piper continued, “but this is not a chai latte. Try it.”
Annabeth took a sip and recoiled. “Oh my god,” she said, “Yeah, no. That’s disgusting.”
“Is yours bad?”
Annabeth lifted her drink to her mouth to drink. She’d ordered an Americano - her regular drink. She quite liked how New Rome Café usually made it. What she tasted right now though…that was definitely not made by a regular. The espresso shot was terribly pulled. She swallowed the drink with a grimace.
“I take it the answer is yes?” Piper asked.
“Yes,” Annabeth said. She gripped the coffee cup and thought, this is what I get for going outside. “Should we go back and complain?”
She was secretively hoping Piper would say yes, so that Annabeth could see the barista Peter again (because for whatever reason, she felt almost drawn to him, but maybe that was just because he’d flirted with her), until she remembered he was the one who had made their drinks.
“Nah,” Piper said, walking over to a trash can to toss her cup. “Sorry we wasted your money, Annabeth, I’ll pay you back.”
Annabeth waved her off, slightly disappointed they weren’t going back. “It’s fine,” she said dejectedly, “you can just pay for it next time.”
Piper looked at her oddly, no doubt picking up on Annabeth’s distractedness. “Okay,” she said, “what’s up with you? You’ve been weird since we left the café.”
Annabeth hesitated. For as much as she wanted to tell Piper how she felt, she also wanted to figure out what it was she was feeling first. She shook her head dismissively.
“It’s nothing,” she said, walking ahead, “Come on. We’re gonna be late for the movie.”
Piper didn’t look like she wanted to drop the subject, but followed Annabeth without questioning her. They met up with Leo at the theater, who complained thoroughly that they hadn’t come with snacks. They sat through the movie, snack-less, but having a nice time anyway.
At least, Leo and Piper seemed to be having a nice time. Annabeth was stuck in her own mind, playing the exchange with the barista over and over in her head. She still couldn’t place the feeling she had.
When she got home that night, she didn’t bother checking her downloads. It seemed pointless now. Maybe she really would just have to wait and let fate take its toll. At this point, she’d wait forever if she had to.
(She didn't know she wouldn't have to.)