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Annabeth snuck a look at Percy. It wasn’t something she was used to. The sneaking, the staring.
She was much more accustomed to looking at him openingly, longing glances across the camp; dark brown eyes meeting the rough sea.
But now she snuck glances at him as he conversed with Reyna and Jason, far out of her earshot. It didn’t feel fair. She’d spent all this time looking for her boyfriend, but now when they were finally reunited, she felt like a stranger, an intruder.
“You’ll get to talk to him soon.” Piper appeared next to her, eyeing the three. “They just have details to hash out so we can leave.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Annabeth tried to shake herself out of her thoughts, but she couldn’t. Her brain couldn’t escape the way she’d looked at him after the Argo II landed, looking into his eyes for any hint of excitement. For any sign that he’d even recognized her. The way she’d found nothing, just the relentless ocean staring back at her.
It was a stupid thought.
Jason hadn’t remembered anything, after all. Why should Percy remember her? What did it matter that she was his girlfriend? That was nothing to the power of a goddess.
They were nothing, to the power of a goddess.
The huddle broke, and they jogged back to them, a mixture of excitement and anxiety scattered across their faces.
“You’re clear to go.” Reyna nodded to them as Leo, Hazel, and Frank joined them. The seven were set in stone, their mission ready and waiting.
Annabeth tried to meet Percy’s eyes, but he was looking at where the Argo II floated, just above Camp Jupiter.
“I don’t remember you being scared of heights.”
Percy started, his stormy eyes meeting hers then darting away in a flash of lightning.
“I’m not. I’m just scared of the sky. I have a feeling that Jupiter doesn’t like me.” He frowned. “I think I remember that.”
Annabeth took a step towards him. “How much do you remember?”
“Nothing. Just-“ he paused, looking back to her. A hurricane swirled in those eyes, whirling too fast for her to read. “Feelings.”
“What do you feel when you look at me?” The wind roared in her ears, overwhelming her senses and capturing her in the relentless whirl of the hurricane.
“I don’t know. I think you were something to me.” He shifted on his feet, settling his weight on the foot away from her. “But I don’t even know who you are.” A piece of shrapnel came loose from the storm, piercing her right through the heart.
“I was your girlfriend.”
She almost expected him to shrink under the weight of her gaze, the borderline accusatory words dripping from her tongue.
Instead he set his jaw, tilting his head and studying her with the intensity she was used to from him.
“We could try being,” he shifted his weight again, this time towards her. “In a relationship. Again.” He gulped, and the sound reverberated through her skull. “I liked you before, right? I could do it again.”
He grabbed her hand, stormy eyes searching hers, but for what she couldn’t tell. After they’d pierced her, she couldn’t tell much of anything at all.
“Yeah.” A weak smile was on her face, now. It wasn’t what she’d hoped for. Not the reunion where he ran up to her, engulfing her in a hug and never letting go. But it was something. A step towards that, towards them.
And she would do anything she could to get back to that.
-
Annabeth was curled up in her bed when Piper came in. She didn’t hear her enter, but she knew she knocked. She was always respectful of her space, always kind and way too knowing of her feelings. She always felt like Piper could see straight into her soul. Maybe it was a daughter of Aphrodite thing, or maybe they just spent too much time together. Annabeth could never tell.
“Annabeth.” Piper frowned, sitting down on the bed next to her. “You okay?”
Annabeth shrugged. “Yeah. We’re giving it a try. What more could I want?”
“Him to remember you.” Annabeth fixed her with a glare. “Are you convinced that he’s your-“
“Yeah. He’s my soulmate.” Annabeth got out of bed and went into her walk in closet. “I know he is.” She put on a tie dye shirt, a whirling mix of pink and blue, paired with pristine white shorts. “And that’s only going to be confirmed in a month when I get my soulmark.”
She stepped out of the closet. Piper was worrying her lip between her teeth, on the verge of drawing blood. She stopped the second she noticed Annabeth, swiping her tongue out to wet her lip, trying to hide the movement.
Annabeth’s watchful eyes saw it all.
“You ready to bake?” Piper rose from the bed, leading the way to the door and holding it open for her.
“Sure.” Annabeth’s limbs were heavy, and sleep addled her mind. The sun had barely risen, rays soft in the morning light.
“Where’d you learn how to bake?” Annabeth asked, when they got to the kitchen. Piper was fiddling with the speaker by the wall, eventually succeeding in getting the radio station to play the top hits at a low volume.
“I taught myself. My dad wasn’t around often, so I had to learn. And being a kid, I wanted to eat as many sweets as possible.”
“Can you teach me?” Piper turned towards her, confused. “My dad only taught me how to cook, I’ve never done any of this before.”
“Yeah,” Piper smiled, a soft thing, pink and sugary sweet. “Yeah, I can teach you.”
“Where do I start?”
“With flour. You need to fluff it first.”
Annabeth grabbed a spoon, stirring the flour and looking at Piper, searching her gentle eyes for approval. Piper shook her head, reaching down, guiding her motions with a gentle hand.
“You need to bring it out of the flour.” Piper brought her hand up, taking Annabeth with her. The spoon broke out of where it was deep into the bag, the pressure releasing. “Then again.” She brought their hands back down into the flour, then up. Again and again, until the flour was fluffy and light. “Perfect.”
They worked slowly, every movement precise, every ingredient measured. It felt familiar, mathematical. Something she was used to doing; spending late nights designing every structure with an accuracy and precision only a daughter of Athena could have. And yet, she found it here. In warm, delicate hands engulfing hers. In lips pink like strawberries, in eyes like waves lapping against the shore; again and again until it felt wrong not to see the motion, not to hear her presence even when she was miles away.
“You’re getting good at this,” Piper praised, always sincere, always kind. “Should’ve known that you were such as fast learner.”
Annabeth had a feeling that she already knew. That she watched her, knew more about her than she let on.
“Thank you, Piper. You’re a really good friend.”
Piper’s smile was soft as butter in the gentle morning light, and Annabeth melted at the sight.
-
“When’s your birthday?”
The question startled her, though it shouldn’t have. She knew what starting over meant, her having to tell him who she was all over again. Having to explain why he loved her, hoping he would understand. But the question still hurt.
“July 12.”
“That’s only two weeks from now.”
In two weeks, she would turn 16. And more importantly, in two weeks, she would get her soulmark.
She’d talked with Percy in depth about it before. The initials P.J., the way they’d look on her wrist, the matching A.C. on his. They’d always thought they’d be teal and gray, just like their cabins.
It felt weird to think like that about a boy who barely knew her name.
“It is,” she nodded. “I’m excited. Do you want to,” the words died on her tongue, a thousand possibilities racing her mind. But most prevalent, the one they’d always fantasized about. Her getting her soulmark, a month before Percy. Him waking her up in the morning, checking her wrist and kissing her tenderly, with the love that came only from knowing they were meant to be. “We should do something that day. Maybe we could have a party?”
“We.” He said the word under his breath, not even negatively. Like it was a new concept, something he was considering for the first time. Somehow, that was worse. “You should do it the night before.”
“Before?” Annabeth frowned.
“Yeah. You party the day before with everyone, then your birthday is a more private thing.”
“Oh.”
He grabbed her hand with his, rubbing circles into the skin just above her wrist. “That way you have more time to talk about it with your soulmate.”
She didn’t need time to talk about it. She’d had enough time talking about it with him, and was ready to get it over with. She was ready to see his initials engraved into her skin for all time.
And she, most of all, was just ready to be done with this. This awkward stage of relearning how to be together, how to know each other, inside and out. She wanted now what she’d longed for for months. To be back with Percy, her boyfriend, her soulmate.
“You’re right.” He always seemed to be right, when it came to her. He knew when to leave her alone, when to draw her into the crowd. She trusted him with this, just like she did her life. “We can party the night before, and I’ll spend the birthday with my soulmate.”
He smiled. “It’s perfect.”
And just like them together, it was.
-
“Leo’s doing something later.”
“Really?” Annabeth asked, popping another lemon square into her mouth.
“He says he wants a ‘fun party’ before your actual one tomorrow,” Piper laughed, rolling her eyes. Annabeth wanted to bottle up and save the sound.
“Hey, my party is gonna be fun tomorrow,” Annabeth pouted.
“I know,” Piper smiled, soft and sweet as sugar. “But at least this way you can get all your energy out today, and not stay up all night before your birthday. Gods know that’s what I did.”
“How was it, by the way?”Annabeth wiped her hands on her pants, dispersing the crumbs lingering on her fingers. “Getting your soulmark.”
Piper hummed, grabbing Annabeth’s plate and putting it in the dishwasher for her. “Confusing. At first, I didn’t think I knew anyone with those initials, but when I realized I did,” she laughed, hollow. “It felt like a joke.”
“A joke?”
“This person was,” Piper bit her lip, “preoccupied. I didn’t think they’d even look at me, they were so in love with someone else.”
“Maybe they’re not your soulmate?”
“Maybe not,” Piper frowned. “That’s why I’m waiting to tell them.”
“You haven’t told them?” Annabeth gasped.
“They’re clearly in love with someone else, Annabeth. Why would I tell them now, when I could just wait for them to get their soulmark?”
“I guess,” Annabeth conceded. “I just hope you don’t have to wait long.”
“I’ll be fine,” Piper pushed the dishwasher shut, turning to give Annabeth her full attention. “So, what do you want to do tomorrow?”
“I’ll be exhausted after whatever Leo has us do, I guess I’ll just want to chill on the couch and read a book.”
“Read a book?” Piper raised an eyebrow. “You could do that any time. You should actually try and hang out. We could have a chill get together, play a game or something, it’ll be perfect.”
“Perfect?”
Piper took a step forward, her eyes holding Annabeth’s from just inches apart. “Absolutely. You’re going to love it, you just have to make it through tonight first.”
Annabeth scoffed, taking a step back, though the weight of Piper’s eyes holding hers didn’t lessen. “I’m going to be fine tonight.”
“Are you?”
Annabeth inhaled sharply. “I’m fine. It’s just going to be the seven of us.”
Piper stepped forward, closing the gap Annabeth had created. She couldn’t breathe, couldn't move. All she could do was stare as she said the words that she wished weren’t true.
“You can’t stand loud noises. You can barely handle crowds of over five people, and you can’t trust them all. Hades, you’ve barely known some of them for a week.”
She wanted to fight, to say something stupid like ‘Percy trusts them’. She bit her tongue.
“Hades, can you even trust your own boyfriend?”
“Yes! So what, he has amnesia? That doesn’t change anything. I can still trust him. He’s still Percy, still the person that I know and love.”
“I don’t think so, Annabeth.”
Annabeth turned, unable to meet her eyes anymore. Those eyes were calm as the sea, but they burned with a shocking intensity.
“Well, I don’t care what you think. I know him. He’s my soulmate.”
Annabeth left, not turning around, even as Piper yelled after her. Not even as she asked the question that had been lingering in her mind, the one she had been trying to ignore ever since his blank eyes met hers two weeks ago.
“Is he?”
-
Piper wasn’t at the party that night, but she felt her presence nonetheless.
She flinched at the volume when she entered the room, and heard the ghost of a whisper in her ear, taunting, knowing. She danced by herself and felt a phantom hand on the small of her back, guiding her movements like those early mornings in the kitchen.
Percy finally arrived, at a time some would call fashionably late, but one thatAnnabeth frowned at. He grabbed her arm, pulling her into a constricting hug. “Annabeth!” he yelled over the music. It was stupidly loud for the small number of people on the ship.
“Percy!” she yelled back, voice dripping with exhaustion and poorly hidden anxiety.
“Are you excited?” he leaned down to speak in her ear, sending a shiver down her spine. She leaned into him, inhaling the scent of the salty ocean.
“Yeah,” she whispered, breathless. “It’s just weird to think that I only have two days left. Nothing feels real.”
“I think I’ve felt like that for a while, now.” Of course he had. He’d woken up surrounded by wolves, and the only thing he had remembered was his name. He had been thrust back into life without so much of a second to stop and breathe. “That doesn’t matter, though. I think everything is starting to make sense again.”
She had to laugh at that. “Percy, we’re dancing on a warship.”
“So? I’m accepting where the Fates take me, living my life to the fullest. And right now, that means having fun and celebrating your birthday.” He brushed a black curl behind her ear, causing a furious blush to spread across her cheeks. “You must love parties.”
Her face turned even redder, instead being flooded by a different emotion. Shock.
“What?”
“You dressed up,” he nodded towards the skirt she was wearing. It was far from fancy or put together, but she’d wanted to put in a little effort tonight. Not because she was excited, but because she was truly giving her all to having fun tonight, at just the mere prospect of proving Piper wrong.
“Oh, I don’t like parties. Just thought it would be nice to change things up a bit.”
“That’s fun,” he nodded absentmindedly, and Annabeth let her mind drift. The music was pounding even louder now, if that was even possible. The bass reverberated through the ground, traveling up her spine and infecting every inch of her body in a barrage on the senses. The rooms felt as if they were closing in on her, as if the crowd of five was suffocating.
“Hey Percy,” she yelled, “I’m gonna go get some air.”
She didn’t wait for a response as she walked up the winding steps, breathless until she pushed the solid metal door to the deck open.
The soft sea breeze filtered into her nose, letting her exhale in relief. It was nice in there, with Percy, for a moment. But it was still a party- still strange, still loud.
The night was tiring. The sea rocked soothingly, the darkness pulled her in. It was hard not to fall asleep on her feet, even with the music still audible, thumping in the distance, reminding her of what she had to get back to.
But it was nice out here, all alone.
“Annabeth?”
She turned, and Percy was there. He stood in the doorway, letting in the noise of the party. The stupid, unnecessary party that was probably going to leave her with ear damage.
She should’ve said no to Leo. Should’ve just had the one party tomorrow.
“Percy.”
He stepped forward, letting the door slam behind him. “You kind of ran off, there.”
“Oh,” Annabeth frowned, turning back to look at the ocean. The waves were more tumultuous now, rocking the ship hard enough to unsettle her. “I guess that I did. I just-” didn’t trust the people, even though they were her only friends. Didn’t like the music, even though it played her favorite songs. Didn’t like the dread that was rising in her stomach, that had started the day Percy went missing. “Needed a break. Someone needs to tell Leo to turn the volume down,” Annabeth laughed, forced, but Percy joined in blindly, their discordant laughter filling the night.
“We should do this more often.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, but make it official next time. A real date.”
Images flashed through her mind at Percy’s words. Their picnic dates, their underwater kiss.
Dancing at the party with him, but still overwhelmed. His presence not being enough like it used to.
“Yeah, a date would be nice.”
She stared down at the ocean, watching the waves crash against the boat, rocking them deep into the night.
-
Annabeth was up the next morning before Piper came to wake her.
“You didn’t come to the party last night,” she said as she stood, voice filled with all the vitriol of an accusation.
“I didn’t,” Piper leaned against the doorframe. “And you didn’t like it, did you?” she asked, but it wasn’t a question.
She knew she was right.
“It was good.” For a time.
“Then why do you look like you’ve barely slept?”
“It ran late. Don’t all good parties?”
“I heard when the music shut off, Annabeth. It didn’t run late enough for you to be this tired.” Her glossy blue eyes were worried again, her strawberry sweet lips bitten raw.
“Fine. I couldn’t sleep. I just- I don’t know how to feel anymore, Piper. I thought that all I had to do was tell him who I was, and it would all be okay again. He’d miraculously fall back in love with me, or remember who I am. But he doesn’t know me, and I don’t think I know who he is either.”
“Do you still think you belong together?”
“Of course we belong together,” Annabeth laughed hollowly. “He’s my soulmate.”
“Wouldn’t your soulmate remember who you are?”
“Hera erased his memories, of course not.”
“Soulmate bonds are Aphrodite’s doing. She’d make sure Hera left him with something, even if it was just a faint memory.”
“Not if the world was at stake.”
“Even if the world was at stake.” Piper crossed the room, coming to stand inches from her. “She’d make Hera leave him with something. Maybe your name,” she reached her hand up, palm gently cupping her chin, “a glimpse of your face.”
Annabeth shuddered, a strange emotion filling her veins with gasoline. Her eyes darted down to strawberry lip gloss, and she almost wanted to light a candle, see how it felt to burn. “Liar.”
“I wouldn’t lie to you, not about this.”
“Then tell me the truth, Piper. Why are you trying to make me doubt him? Why are you trying to destroy our relationship?”
She pulled her hand away from where it had been cradling Annabeth’s face, wincing like it burned. “I’m not. I’m trying to help you.”
“None of this helps, Piper.”
“None of it?”
Annabeth nodded, but she had never been good at lying, not to her. Not to Piper, who watched her like she was the most interesting person on the planet. Not to Piper, who knew her emotions better than she herself did.
“Then why are you awake right now?”
“It’s morning.”
“It’s early morning,” Piper took a step forward.
“So?” Annabeth took a step back.
“You’re dressed.” Forward.
“I got ready, so what?” Back.
“You’re never ready when I come to get you in the morning.” Forward.
“So?” Back.
“I think you wanted to see me today.” Forward.
Annabeth took a step back, and hit the wall.
“I think that’s why you’re up. Because you wanted my opinion on your relationship, because you care about me more than you let on.” Piper took one final step forwards, and Annabeth was trapped. Pinned against the wall, forced to look at Piper, forced to acknowledge the truth.
“Then what’s your opinion, Piper?”
“My opinion is that he’s not your soulmate.”
“But-“
“I think that’s why you’re up right now. Because you wanted my opinion on your relationship, because you care about me more than you let on.” Piper took one final step forwards, and Annabeth was trapped. Pinned against the wall, forced to look at Piper, forced to acknowledge the truth.
“And why does that matter?” Annabeth pushed off the wall. Her face was inches from Piper’s, their mouths sharing breaths. “I get my soulmark tomorrow.”
Piper took a step back, and Annabeth followed her with a quick step forward. It felt like some twisted chase, where the prey became the hunter, where the lion and the mouse were one and the same.
“I don’t know why it matters, Annabeth. I should just wait to tell you, let you figure it out on your own but-“
“Tell me what?”
Piper’s body went rigid. “Nothing.”
“It’s clearly related to my soulmark. Did Aphrodite mess with it?”
“No.”
“Then why-“
“Because I might know who your soulmate is.”
Annabeth’s jaw snapped shut.
“But if I’m right, and I tell you now,” Piper inhaled deeply. “I can’t tell you.”
A thought started to form in Annabeth’s mind. A small fire, lit in her mind.
“Will you tell me tomorrow?”
Piper was nervous, Annabeth could tell. But she still said, “I think I can,” and Annabeth knew, as she always did, that she could believe her.
-
“Annabeth!” A warm smile and a hug greeted her as she sat on the couch that night. “You ready to play some games?” Piper elbowed her playfully, eyes bright.
“You mean lose some games,” Leo taunted from where was setting up.
“I still can’t believe you managed to get games on here without us all dying,” Jason frowned.
“I have my ways,” Leo grinned, jumping onto the couch next to Jason and shoving a remote into his hands.
“Better than yesterday, right?” Piper whispered into her ear, and she momentarily forgot how to breathe, forgot what she was even talking about. “No music, just a bunch of idiots and Mario Kart.”
“I don’t even know how to play Mario Kart.”
“I’ll teach you,” Piper tucked a stray piece of hair behind Annabeth’s ear. “I’ve been told I’m a great teacher.”
“Did you charmspeak them first?”
“Annabeth!” Piper laughed, pushing her in faux offense. “It was only a little bit,” she pouted, and then Annabeth was laughing, too.
She never did win a game that night, but with the sound of her friends’ laughter in her ears, and Piper's body pressed against hers, she felt like she did.
-
Annabeth woke up on the couch.
Leo and Jason were tangled together on the other end, but her end was empty, save for herself. The sun had risen into the sky hours ago, and with it, Piper.
Annabeth stood, footsteps light on the floor, careful not to wake her friends as she stepped towards the window, golden sunlight setting her skin alight.
It was finally morning, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it, couldn’t bring herself to pull down her sleeve and see the initials engraved there.
So she went to him. To the man she’d believed was her soulmate, to the person who always knew what to do, to her other half, soulmate or otherwise.
“Percy?” the door creaked open. Stormy eyes met hers, expectant and sleepless. “What does it say?” she pulled down her sleeve and watched those eyes, always steady, falter.
“I’m not your soulmate, Annabeth.”
“What?” Annabeth turned her wrist around, and there it was. Cursive letters engraved in her skin, neat and swirling, gray and pink.
P.M.
“She was right,” Annabeth exhaled.
“What?”
“That you would’ve remembered me, if we were soulmates.”
It was something she’d known, no matter how much she tried to ignore it. But the knife still twisted, and her heart still fell out of her body, bared for all the world to see.
“I guess I would’ve, yeah,” he grabbed her wrist, and she let him. “Aphrodite and Athena,” he murmured under his breath.
She tilted her head in confusion, and he picked up on the subtle movement.
“The colors. Pink for Aphrodite, gray for Athena.”
“So my soulmate is a child of Aphrodite,” Annabeth stared at the initials on her wrist, the intricate P. It almost put her off balance, seeing a P where she’d always imagined it, but in a different color. It felt odd, just like everything felt odd lately.
“It’s Piper, isn’t it?” Percy broke the silence.
“It has to be,” she rotated her wrist, watching the early morning rays catch on the initials.
“Go talk to her, then.” His gaze was piercing, but not uncomfortable, not like it would’ve been if he still had his memory.
“Percy- We’re okay, right?”
“Of course we are. I may not remember our time together before, but I remember what’s been happening now. I know that in the last few weeks we’ve had our problems,” he laughed, and Annabeth joined him, but her laughter was wet with tears. “But you’ve been a good friend. And no matter what happens, I’ll always be your friend.”
“I think I can live with that,” Annabeth smiled. “As long as you tell me who your soulmate is next month.”
“You’ll be the first person I tell.”
It wasn’t what Annabeth had imagined, what she’d fantasized about for months. But it was real, it was them.
And that was enough.
-
“Hi,” Annabeth said when she finally found Piper. It wasn’t what she had been planning to say, but her mind was whirling faster than even a daughter of Athena could keep up with. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“What?” her eyes widened. “Are your? Is your-“
Annabeth held up her sleeve.
“Oh, Gods!” Piper laughed, breathless. “I was so scared to tell you that I acted like an idiot, and I shouldn’t have made you wait to find out that you’re my-“ her eyes shone, wet with joyous tears- “soulmate. You’re my soulmate.”
“I am,” Annabeth took a step forward, pinning her against the counter. The counter they’d spent their mornings at. People were starting to rise, the world coming to life around them, but it still felt the same to her.
Their voices were the only sound, the sun the only light. She watched Piper carefully, cataloging her every feature, and she let her. She studied the flutter of her eyelashes, the way she bit her lip in a nervous gesture.
Annabeth knew that if she wanted, Piper would let her have more. Would let her close the gap, taste her strawberry lip gloss, sweet and heady. But they had eternity for that.
For now, she was content to stare.