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Percy's birthday had never been anything too special. Quiet nights with his mother, who always found a way to make him a blue cake no matter what was going on or how busy she was.
He didn't mind. Sure, when he was little, he found himself jealous of his classmates who would have huge parties (that he was never invited to) and who would make a huge spectacle out of the fact that they were getting older. But, at the end of the day, he was content with how things were with his birthday.
One year, he found himself at Camp Half-Blood on his birthday.
This hadn't happened before, as his birthday usually fell into the period that he was with his mother over the summer. However, this particular year, the monsters had been a bit more aggressive with the demigods, so Camp started early.
He didn't say anything on his birthday, because he knew everyone was stressed and he didn't want to make things about him when everyone had more important stuff to deal with.
Sure enough, the day went on without incident. Privately, Percy was a little bit hurt that nobody remembered his birthday, but he couldn't bring himself to be mad at them for it. After all, he'd specifically avoided telling anyone and everyone at camp had ADHD, which often led to poor memory when it came to things like dates.
Still, it was the loneliest he'd ever felt on his birthday.
His mother wasn't there with him and she couldn't even send him a birthday text since there were no cell phones at Camp Half-Blood. There was no blue cake or rendition of the Happy Birthday song with his name in it. No presents or streamers or cone hats. Nothing.
Dinner came around and, still, nothing. He just sat alone at the Poseidon table and ate silently, feeling more isolated than he had since his first year there. Hell, maybe even more isolated than that, because at least then he had Luke and the rest of the Hermes cabin, however ruined that memory now was.
After dinner, he walked back to his cabin quietly and just sat on his bed, staring at the wall.
He had no right to feel so miserable, right? He'd brought this upon himself. He didn't have to feel shitty and alone on his birthday.
There was a knock on his door.
"Come in" he said, hoping his voice didn't come out as dead and awful as he felt. The door opened and he was met with the familiar grey eyes of Annabeth Chase. Ah, yes, he thought, slightly bitter. My girlfriend didn't even remember.
"What's going on with you today, Seaweed Brain?" the blonde asked bluntly. Percy didn't respond. "Percy?"
"Do you need something?"
"Hey" she said, concerned now. Percy was never this cold with her. "Did I do something?"
"Not necessarily..." Percy muttered. She hadn't done anything, and that was exactly the problem. He tried to remind himself that she had the same attention and memory issues as he and everybody else at Camp. He tried to remind himself that he very well could have just told her it was his birthday at any point throughout the day.
Still, he couldn't help but feel hurt that she'd forgotten. He hadn't forgotten her birthday. July 12th. He practically had the date tattooed on his brain and always made sure to send her a birthday text right at midnight since he could actually do that over the summer.
"What is up with you?" she asked him again, sitting next to him on the bed. "You've been off all day"
"Sorry"
"No, Percy, I-" Annabeth sighed. "I'm just worried"
"It's my birthday"
...
"What?"
"It's my birthday" Percy repeated, turning to look at her. "Today was my birthday" he clarified. It was getting close to midnight, after all. His eyes darted between her two eyes rapidly, processing the guilt that crossed over her face as she realized that she'd missed it. She was the one to break her gaze.
"Oh" she breathed. "Percy, why didn't you say anything?"
"Because everyone is stressed and I don't like making things about myself" he told her blankly. "Besides, I didn't think I'd have to remind my girlfriend" he added bitterly, anger taking hold and forcing him to say the things he hadn't been planning on saying. "I have your birthday memorized, so I guess I just thought..." he sighed. "Sorry" he muttered. "I'm being unfair. I'm sorry"
"No, hey" she said, reaching out a hand to his face and turning him toward her. "I'm sorry, Percy" she told him earnestly. "I should've at least had it written down or something"
"It's fine"
"It's not..." she told him. He didn't say anything. "Happy birthday, Seaweed Brain"
Percy felt a pang in his heart at those words. Before he knew it, he was crying. He wasn't even entirely sure why he was crying. It was just his birthday, it wasn't a big deal. It never had been a big deal. Why was he crying?
She held him close as he cried into her chest.
"How about this..." she spoke up once his cries began to die down. "We'll sneak down to the food pantry and see about making you a cake" she suggested. "You deserve to get that, at least"
"...I'd like that"