Chapter Text
“No.”
“Oh, c’mon!”
“Nope. It’s not happening.”
“But it completes the—”
“It completes nothing.”
“Nicoooo.”
Nico responds to the whining with a thumbs down, trying to ignore further protests as he turns his attention back to his phone (truthfully, he’s not even looking at anything—he just needs Percy to leave him alone). Unfortunately, his peace of mind lasts less than a minute as a small hand tugs at his pant leg. He stifles a groan, looking up to find Estelle now standing in front of him, pouting at him.
“Hat?”
Nico grimaces as he sees said hat has been passed from Percy to Estelle, who holds it out to him expectantly. Behind her, Percy is looking infuriatingly smug in a firetruck red wig, a purple bikini top strapped over a white long-sleeve shirt, a green scaly sash tied at his waist, and a fork sticking out behind one ear.
He glances back to Estelle, who is still holding the hat out. He stares for a few seconds, watching as her lower lip begins to wobble before caving and taking the hat. She continues to look miserable until he finally places the atrocious item on his head, scowling as it almost immediately begins to slide to cover his eyes. When he uncovers his vision, he sees Estelle is now smiling once more, clapping her hands proudly. Percy is doing the same, which Nico responds to with the most hate-filled glare he can muster given the stupid hat that keeps attempting to blindfold him.
“Red isn’t your color.”
“I’m hot shit and you know it,” Percy replies, flipping the wig over his shoulder. Again, Nico really cannot comprehend how he is feeling himself so much.
Rolling his eyes, he opens his mouth to really drive home how stupid Percy looks. Percy is saved from the ego crush when Annabeth steps into the room.
“So, they got you to wear the hat,” she says, not even trying to hide her amusement at his groaning. Her dark braids are pulled back into a low ponytail, and she’s dressed in a loose white blouse, jeans, and a pair of dark boots. In other words, she looks infinitely more comfortable than Nico feels, and he instantly resents her for it.
“Thoughts?” she asks, gesturing to her costume. Nico can practically feel Percy’s sappiness permeating the air as he jumps up from the couch, twirling her once with a beaming smile.
“As a wise lobster once said: kiss the girl.” With that, he leans over and pecks her on the cheek.
Nico immediately pretends to gag. To his delight, Estelle begins to mimic him, both of them growing louder until Percy shoots them an offended look.
“Do you mind?”
“Do you mind? Hands to yourself, Jackson.”
Percy huffs, making a dramatic show of removing his hold on Annabeth. She seems much less affronted though, snaking on of her arms around his waist and pulling him back to her.
“Let’s keep the bickering to a minimum tonight, please. Both of you,” she clarifies, poking at Percy’s ribs as he shrieks. She glances to the clock (ignoring Percy’s complaining), then back to Nico. “Are we heading out now?”
He sits up a little, shaking his head. “We’re still waiting for—”
He’s cut off by an impeccably-timed knock at the door, cutting him off. He shoots to his feet—a little too quickly if the look that Percy and Annabeth exchange is anything to go by—but Estelle has already launched herself off the couch, halfway to the door as she flaps the wings of her red-and-yellow onesie.
By the time he catches up, she’s already managed to fiddle with the doorknob enough to swing the door open. And there’s Will Solace—standing in the dimly lit hallway, smiling big as he looks down at Estelle. He’s dressed in patched-up overalls over a blue flannel shirt, a floppy hat tilted over his curls, and bits of straw poking out from his sleeves and pant legs like he’s just tumbled out of a Kansas cornfield. There’s even a rough twine belt tied at his waist, and a faint triangle of makeup drawn on his nose.
He leans down, letting Estelle wriggle her way into his arms before he stands. They make eye contact, and immediately his grin goes from endearing to shit-eating.
“Ahoy there, Captain Hook.”
“Shut up.”
Unfortunately, Will is not silenced, instead glancing to Estelle in his arms. He squints, placing his hands under her arms as he holds her out as if to examine her, before realization dawns on his face. “Oh my gods. A parrot? Are you guys—”
Nico sighs, plucking a giggling Estelle from Will’s hold and setting her down to run to Percy. “This was Sally’s idea, to be clear. Estelle wanted to match and it was the least painful of the options.”
Behind him, he hears Percy bark out a laugh. “Don’t try and pin all this on mom. Ten-year-old Nico would be foaming at the mouth if he saw this.”
Will looks a little too pleased to hear this information. “Really?”
“Oh yeah,” Percy says. He starts swinging his arm around, like he’s waving a sword. “Dude was obsessed with pirates. I remember one year he got this dorky foam sword and refused to go anywhere without—“
Nico’s patience died about two sentences prior, so he quickly crosses the room to slam a hand over Percy’s mouth. However, he forgot to consider that Percy is indeed shameless when it comes to ruining Nico’s day, and is rudely reminded when he feels his palm get wet.
“Ugh, you—! Stop licking me!” he hisses as he drops his hand. His protests do no good other than reveal the triumphant grin on Percy’s face.
“Maybe you should stop trying to silence me!”
He responds by trying to wipe his infected hand on Percy, who grabs Estelle to use as a very small human shield. They get nowhere with this, finally both stepping away when Annabeth hands over a tissue and steals Estelle from Percy’s grip.
“Poor thing… I bet these two drive you bananas, hm?” she coos to Estelle, who, like the traitorous toddler she is, immediately goes from laughing to nodding solemnly. Neither Percy nor Nico get the chance to argue as Annabeth moves closer to Will—still hovering by the doorway—tilting her head as she takes in his costume.
“You’re a scarecrow?”
Will grins and does a little twirl, scattering straw with the movement. “Mhm. A little Wizard of Oz moment.”
Annabeth squints for another second before her face lights up. “Oh my gods, wait—you, Cecil, and Lou Ellen did a trio a few years back, didn’t you?”
The twirl falters. Will’s smile dims just slightly, but it’s enough for Nico to notice. “Ah—yeah. Cecil had a hair mishap and decided he had to be Dorothy, so…”
Annabeth laughs, setting down a now-squirming Estelle, who promptly starts gathering the fallen straw and shoving it in her costume pockets. “Cute. So are you guys doing it again this year?
Will shakes his head, one hand fiddling with a loose curl at the nape of his neck. “Nah, just me this time. So… um, I guess it’s kind of an odd look on its own.”
Nico raises an eyebrow at the bashful reply. He doesn’t understand why, but Will looks like he wants the floor to open up and swallow him whole.
“Well, I think you look great,” Nico says. He crosses the room to where Will is standing, bumping their shoulders. “Just keep the straw off the floors.”
Will glances over, eyes a little wide with surprise. Then his smile comes back, brighter this time, soft at the corners. “Thanks.”
He returns the smile, and for a moment they stand there in a comfortable silence. Then, Estelle wedges herself between them and tugs insistently at his hand. “Candy time?”
He hums, glancing to Percy who’s currently juggling all four of their bags. When they make eye contact, he mouths help me.
Nico turns away without remorse, flicking the hood of Estelle’s onesie. “Lead the way, birdie.”
Trick-or-treating is surprisingly fun.
Well, Nico can’t be too surprised. The entire concept revolves around costumes and candy—arguably two of the most powerful forces of fun in the universe. Still, he hadn’t expected to enjoy himself quite this much.
Despite the perfectly-adequate houses in the area, Percy insists on driving them out to one of the nicer neighborhoods (“Give me king-size or give me death”). The moment the car stops, Estelle practically flings herself out of her booster seat and grabs his hand, dragging him toward the first house on the street. He glances helplessly over his shoulder to Annabeth, who is stepping out of the passenger seat. She is completely unhelpful in his predicament, giving him a smile and wave as he’s carted off.
The house isn’t even all that decorated—just a few plastic pumpkins and a cardboard headstone—but there’s a little plastic stool placed thoughtfully beneath the doorbell for vertically-challenged trick-or-treaters like Estelle. She practically jumps up on it before slamming a hand on the button.
A few seconds later, as Nico is pulling her away from slamming the doorbell a fourth time, a man opens the door, holding a a bowl of candy. He smiles at the two of them, showing off plastic fangs. “Well, look at this! What are you guys?”
Estelle puffs up her chest, fanning her arms. “Parrot,” she says proudly, and lets out a squawk so loud it startles Nico. Then, without warning, she jabs him in the leg. Hard.
He straightens, forcing a grimace into something vaguely friendly. “And I’m a pirate,” he mutters.
Another jab.
“Uh. Arghh, matey.”
The man chuckles, and behind him, a woman peeks over his shoulder, clearly trying not to laugh. Two people to witness his humiliation. “You two are adorable,” she says, as the man hands over king-size bars from one bowl before gesturing for them to take from the mini-sized one too.
He grabs his candy quickly, trying to not look too eager to leave as Estelle takes her time selecting her candy. Once she’s done, they both give their thanks and wave goodbye, heading back down the driveway. Percy, Annabeth, and Will are standing near the sidewalk, waving them over as they get closer.
Estelle runs up to them, immediately showing off her king-size bar to Annabeth. Next to her, Percy is wearing a shit-eating grin as Nico zeroes in on him.
“You did not get dressed up just to stand around and not go up to any of the houses.”
Percy shrugs, and before Nico can react, he shoves his hand into Nico’s bag, producing one of his mini-candies. “Trust, I will get my candy.” He quickly unwraps it and shoves it in his mouth, dodging Nico’s attempts to smack it out of his hand. “Besides, it’s been a while since you’ve come trick-or-treating—I do this every year. Figured it’s your turn to have some fun.”
Nico scoffs. Maybe when he was ten, he would have jumped at the opportunity to go out like this. He would have shamelessly run from house to house with Estelle, banging at doors and pleading for extra candy.
But he’s fifteen now, with all the crippling mortification that comes with being a teenage boy, enhanced by the thought of Bianca rolling her eyes at him, pulling him by the arm with a lecture about learning to act his age.
He’s trapped, momentarily, in that imagined judgment when Estelle’s hand wraps through his again, small and warm, grounding him like an anchor. She babbles something about moving on, tugging him forward.
So he follows. Lets her tug him ahead a few steps before pausing, glancing back at the others. Annabeth shakes her head before he can even get the question out, which leaves—
“Solace, you coming?”
Will blinks, glancing to Percy and Annabeth, both of whom nod encouragingly. “Uh—”
Whatever overthinking he was about to do is cut off as Estelle releases Nico’s hand, doubling back to grab Will’s and begin pulling him along. He lets out a surprised laugh, glancing at Nico with a smile.
“Well then, guess I’m going.”
He only makes it a few steps before Percy stops them, ignoring Estelle’s pouting as he hands over one of the bags. “You can’t go without this, dude.”
Will makes no move to grab the bag, just staring at it. A look settles over his face and his brow pinches slightly—an expression that Nico’s read enough times now to know that he’s worrying.
“Aren’t I a little old to be asking for candy?”
Annabeth rolls her eyes at the question and walks over, taking the bag and sliding the handle over his shoulder before he can protest. “Oh, please. You’re never too old for candy. Go. Have fun.”
Percy nods, clapping a hand on his shoulder, “If you see any Swedish Fish, grab them for me, yeah?”
Will adjusts the strap awkwardly. He looks tense for a few moments longer, like he’s waiting for the other shoe to drop. But then his hand brushes the fabric, and something about it seems to click. He smiles—small and soft. “Okay.”
With that, Estelle happily leads them to the next house.
They get a decent haul in the next hour—and thankfully, Nico does not have to perform a pirate impression again for any of it. His main focus, of course, is keeping an eye on Estelle as she runs from house to house, babbling to strangers and collecting more candy than seems physically possible for a child her size.
But his attention keeps drifting to Will.
Despite his earlier reservations, Will relaxes quickly once they get going. He’s not nearly as begrudging as Nico feels when it comes to ringing doorbells or rattling off facts about their costumes to cooing adults. In fact, Nico realizes pretty quickly that the candy isn’t what interests him most.
Out of the corner of his eye, he watches Will light up at the decorations—wide-eyed at fog machines and dollar store cobwebs alike. There’s something easy in his expression now, the tension from earlier fading under porch lights and in the cool autumn air.
He’s having fun. And it’s infectious, the way Nico finds himself grinning back every time Will excitedly points out the time and effort that every house went through to get spookified for the holiday.
His favorite reaction comes when they round the corner to their thirteenth house—one clearly out to win Halloween. Fake cobwebs hang from trees, fog drifts along the walkway, and light-up animatronics twitch in the yard. Will actually stops walking, eyes shining as he stares up at it.
“Oh. My. Gods.”
Nico barely refrains from laughing. “Yeah, I know. These guys go crazy every year. Good candy, too. Speaking of—” He glances forward to see Estelle already heading up the yard. Without thinking, he takes Will’s hand in his own, pulling him forward. “Let’s get a move on before Estelle tries to take a skeleton with her, hm?”
Out of the corner of his eye, he thinks he sees Will’s gaze flicker to their joined hands. But Will says nothing, still wide-eyed as they walk up to the porch.
The front steps are significantly less decorated than the yard, lined with flickering lanterns and a bowl of candy sitting innocuously on a stool. A sign above it reads TAKE ONE OR ELSE.
Estelle stops in front of the bowl, studying it for a moment. Then she steps back and points at the bowl, looking up at Will. “Go please.”
Will’s eyebrows shoot up. He glances at Nico and mouths, Do I have to? Nico nods, dropping their hands and stepping back. Admittedly, he doesn’t have much pity for what’s coming—Percy made him do this exact thing their first time trick-or-treating together.
Will makes a face, then takes a slow, hesitant breath. When Estelle tugs at his pant again, he steps forward carefully, reaching into the bowl.
A skeleton hand shoots out of the bowl with a sharp THWAP, grabbing his wrist, and Will actually shrieks as he jumps, flinging the candy he managed to scoop out away.
Nico can’t help it as he doubles over in laughter, Will’s shrieking still ringing in his ears. He vaguely registers Estelle cheering as she collects the fallen candy, but it takes him a solid minute to collect himself before he can look to them again.
When he does, his attention is immediately on Will. He’s got one hand over his heart, but he’s smiling big despite his lingering flushed expression. They make eye contact, and both almost immediately break into giggles.
It takes them a few more minutes to collect themselves and the candy before they leave—mostly because Will tries the bowl a few more times, convinced that this time, surely, he won’t trigger the hand (spoiler alert: he fails). They breeze through the rest of the neighborhood in the next ten minutes, Estelle’s bag slowly growing to her size as she skips between houses. Percy and Annabeth trail behind, mostly just stealing from their loot bags like overgrown raccoons.
As they round the corner toward the last house on the block, Will falls into step beside Nico. “So… there’s a Halloween party tomorrow night.”
Nico hums, glancing over as he rummages through his bag for a Twix. “Really? Who’s hosting?”
“Not sure. I just know Lou wants to go.”
His rummaging ceases. “Hm.”
Will lets out a quiet laugh. “It’s cool. Cecil’s going too. So, you know, it’ll be a good time.”
Score. Nico lets his bag drop to his side as he unwraps his chocolate, thinking over his response. Cecil seems alright, from what Will’s said. Still, Nico can’t quite shake the memory of the state Lou Ellen left Will in at the last party they went to. He keeps it to himself. “Well, hope you have fun.”
He doesn’t realize Will is still looking at him until the silence stretches. “...Yes?”
“So?”
“So what?”
Will rolls his eyes. “I wasn’t just telling you for no reason, dork. I’m asking if you wanna come.”
Oh.
For once, Nico doesn’t even hesitate. “Of course, yeah.”
He glances over at Will’s beaming grin, then down at the flannel and patchwork burlap hanging off his shoulders. “Are you planning something with Cecil and Lou Ellen?”
Will blinks, then glances down at himself, smoothing out a wrinkle in his shirt. “Oh—uh, not really. I was probably just gonna wear this again.” He gives Nico a crooked smile. “Why? Is costume repeating a crime now? Because I already did time for that one.”
They’re just now reaching the walkway up to the final house—one of those storybook-looking places with ivy curling along the porch rail and tea lights flickering beside the candy bowl. As they step up onto the first step, Nico squints at him momentarily.
“You said you grew up in Texas, right?”
Will’s smile falters. “Uh, yes?”
“Do you have cowboy boots?”
“Okay, that’s an insane stereotype.”
“That’s not a no.”
Will folds his arms. “Yeah, okay. I do. What are you cooking up, di Angelo?”
Nico can’t help the smile that pulls across his face. “Just saying… if you can put together a full cowboy outfit, I might have an idea for a pair costume.”
Will tilts his head. “And do I get to know what it is?”
Nico shrugs. “You’ll have to trust me. Or don’t. My half of the costume will still look cool as hell on its own.”
Will laughs—though any more questions are cut off as Estelle hops up the steps ahead of them and jabs the doorbell.
There’s a pause before the door creaks open and an older woman steps out, smiling warmly. She lowers the bowl of candy for Estelle to start fishing through, though her eyes immediately fix on Will
“The scarecrow!” she says, clearly delighted. “I just showed my grandson the film—oh, can I get a picture of you to show him?”
Will’s eyes go wide for half a second, then he laughs. “Uh—sure! I mean--it’s a little homemade but…”
She waves off his concerns, waddling back into the house before returning with a phone. After she gets at least fifty photos, they end up chatting for a few minutes about the movie, while Nico hangs back, doing his best to entertain Estelle. He’s quietly amazed at how easily Will connects with people—how quick strangers are to smile back at him like they’ve known him forever.
When they wrap up, the woman presses extra candy into each of their hands “for being so sweet,” and waves them off. Nico ends up carrying both his and Estelle’s bags back to the car as she rushes ahead to show Percy the ring pop she got. He doesn’t mind, especially with Will falling into step beside him.
“We done for the night?”
“Yeah,” Nico says. He glances down at Will’s face. There’s something soft there, a little wistful. Will looks down at his own overstuffed bag, smiling faintly.
“Thanks for inviting me.”
Nico shrugs. “Of course. You looked like you had a lot of fun.”
“I did,” Will admits, his voice quiet. “I haven’t seen decorations like this in years. Not since… I don’t even know. We used to go all out in our apartment back in Texas—not as fancy as this, but our complex did hallway trick-or-treating.”
His eyes drift across the neighborhood, taking in the lights and pumpkins, the little flickers of candles in windows. Like he’s trying to press the moment into his memory. “I liked spending time with my mom then. Fun times.”
Nico watches him for a moment, something tugging in his chest. It’s always a rush, he thinks—every time Will gives him that bit of trust. Every time he lets that raw feeling show, the one always thrumming just beneath the surface.
“Well,” he says, nudging Will slightly as they come to a stop a few feet from the car, “guess we’ll have to do this again next year. We’ve got the time.”
Will looks at him then, really looks at him. The smile that spreads across his face is full and warm, as bright as the glow of the overhead street lights. “Yeah,” he says. “We do.”
They head out about twenty minutes later—delayed only because Percy insists everyone pay a driver’s tax. It takes Estelle and Will handing over packets of Swedish Fish, Annabeth claiming one of Nico’s Hershey’s bars to offer on his behalf (rude), and Nico pelting Percy with unwrapped malted milk balls before he finally agrees to start the car.
As he begins to pull out, Annabeth glances back in the rearview mirror. “Will, you sleeping over?”
Will shakes his head, choking down the Twizzler he just shoved into his mouth. “Nah, I should probably head home tonight.”
Percy hums, grabbing his phone from the cupholder and tossing it back. “Put your address in then. I’ll drop you off.”
He stares at the phone in his lap, then glances to Nico. He shrugs—unsure of what he’s looking for—and reluctantly, Will turns back. “Oh, you don’t have to—”
“Already driving,” Percy says, shrugging as he checks their turn. “Just put it in sooner rather than later so I don’t take us to the other side of town.”
Will hesitates a beat longer, then relents, punching in his address. He hands the phone back to Annabeth, and they ride in relative silence the rest of the way—save for Estelle’s soft snoring and the quiet buzz of the radio.
Nico raises an eyebrow at how long the drive takes. He knew Will had probably been underselling how far he lived from their apartment, but by the twenty-minute mark, he makes a mental note to never let Will slink off and walk home again.
His disbelief only grows when the GPS says they reached and Percy pulls over beside a small, aging playground. Nico thinks he remembers it from years ago—back when the paint was fresh and the swings didn’t creak so loudly in the wind.
Percy turns in his seat, frowning. “I told you to put in your address, man.”
Will’s already unbuckling his seatbelt, his leg bouncing. “Sorry, just—my street’s kind of narrow, and there might still be kids out. It’s easier if I just walk the last bit.”
Percy glances at Nico, as if silently asking what they should do. Truthfully, Nico is tempted to tell him to turn on the child locks and drive straight back to the apartment—but something tells him Will would be perfectly happy walking the entire way home if it meant avoiding questions.
So, he just shrugs.
Percy glances back to Will, watching for a few more seconds before sighing and unlocking the door. “Alright, dude. Just text Nico when you get home, yeah?”
Will nods, giving him a small smile as he pops open the door. When he’s outside, Annabeth rolls down her window, leaning out with a smile. “It was fun hanging out with you today. Maybe next time you’re at the apartment we can do some work together.” She shoots a distasteful look behind her. “It would be nice having someone else when dealing with the wonder twins here.”
Both Percy and Nico make offended noises in unison. Will laughs, his smile widening. “That’d be awesome, yeah.”
He glances at Nico. “I’ll see you tomorrow, hopefully. All gussied up, cowboy-style.”
Nico wrinkles his nose. “Don’t ever use that word again.”
Will just laughs again, waving them off. After another round of promised texts, Percy pulls a slow U-turn. Nico keeps his head turned, eyes following Will until he’s out of sight—relieved when he sees him finally turn and start walking down the street.
For a moment, there is quiet. Then—
“Soooo, what’s with the see you tomorrow?”
Nico turns back—and grimaces when he sees both Percy and Annabeth wearing identical shit-eating grins. His face heats up.
“Can you not?”
Annabeth folds her arm, turning to Percy with a triumphant smile. “I told you there was something. Giving them space worked like a charm.”
Percy nods, as if any of that means something. “Never seen him so dopey around a guy.”
Nico’s face burns hotter, like pavement in the sun. He briefly considers kicking the back of Percy’s seat but decides against it—Estelle’s still asleep, and he doesn’t want to jostle her. Instead, he slumps as much as he can in his seat.
“Whatever.”
Annabeth huffs out a laugh but, after a moment, turns back around, her teasing softening as she glances at him. “We’re just messing with you. Seriously though—what’s happening tomorrow?”
Hmph. As much as he’d love to keep pouting, he does need a ride. “There’s some party,” he mumbles. “Will wants to go. If one of you could drive me or something…”
Percy doesn’t respond right away. At the next red light, he glances at Annabeth. They exchange a look—who’s the wonder twins now?—and then Percy flicks his gaze back to the rearview mirror.
“Actually… we might come with you.”
Nico frowns. The we of the sentence throws him off—he knows Annabeth will occasionally frequent a party or two, but Percy dodges invitations like the plague. Not that he expects him to go—he’s sure Percy has hated the few instances he has had to haul his drunk ass back to the apartment. He doubts Percy would have any fun in a sea of drunk teens.
He’s quiet a little too long, and Percy clears his throat. “We’re not gonna hover. Promise. I just… um.” The light turns green, and his eyes go back to the road, but Nico doesn’t miss the way his grip tightens on the wheel. “I’ve been thinking of checking one out. High school experiences and… and Silena’s isn’t supposed to be huge, so.”
Nico doesn’t love the sound of that reasoning. He’s about to say something, but catches Annabeth’s gaze in the mirror, giving him a look that seems to say don’t worry about it.
“You better not be in the bikini top for the party.”
Percy lets out a surprised laugh, some of the strain bleeding from his shoulders. “What else am I supposed to wear? Gotta get max usage out of this fit.” His eyes flick to Annabeth. “Besides, some would say this is the best I’ve ever looked.”
Annabeth looks severely unimpressed. “Some are lying to you.”
Nico tunes out the inevitable bickering from the two, closing his eyes for a few minutes. He opens them again when he feels his phone buzz, flipping it over and squinting at the bright light.
(9:38 PM)
will:
I have arrived
To my glorious bed
Goodnight
(9:38 PM)
nico:
?? it’s not even 10
(9:38 PM)
will:
Zzzzz
(9:38 PM)
nico:
WAKE UP
(9:38 PM)
will:
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
(9:39 PM)
nico:
how tf did you get yourslf home
(9:39 PM)
will:
Sugar rush!
(9:39 PM)
nico:
…
you had like
nothing
(9:39 PM)
will:
I demolished two more twizzlers packets on the wlak back
(9:40 PM)
nico:
freak
(9:40 PM)
will:
<3
Goodnight!! Cya tomorrow
(9:40 PM)
nico:
night cowboy
(9:41 PM)
nico:
<3
With that, he turns off his phone and lets it drop in his lap. Outside, the familiar streetlights roll by in soft, broken rhythms. He leans his head against the cool window glass, lets the hum of the car and the quiet bickering of Annabeth and Percy settle around him.