Work Text:
[one summer day last year]
“What exactly does this do, Mom?”
“It’s a comb, honey. You use it for your hair.”
Silena took a deep breath before she lost patience. Aphrodite might be her mother, but she was still very much an all-powerful Olympian goddess. Not to mention, the comb was a birthday gift. And you shouldn’t really complain when a god gives you one unless you want to get incinerated—or in her mom’s case, possibly doom your romantic pursuits for life. Besides, it was really pretty. It was a pink wide-tooth comb with an ornate handle, its edges gilded in gold.
“It’s just a normal comb, right?” Silena felt stupid asking, but it was a valid question. Moms usually give their kids silly little gifts, don’t they? But then again, moms aren’t usually actual goddesses.
Aphrodite laughed endearingly. “Why are you asking that?”
Silena could tell that her mom knows why, her amused eyes gave her away. But of course, she’d try to get it out of her, even when she probably watches Silena’s and everyone else's love lives on a flat screen TV on Olympus, like the entire world is her Love Island. Silena indulged her mom, “I thought it was gonna do that glam-up thing your blessing does at Claiming. But I used it before a date with Charlie and there weren’t any changes.”
She and Charlie have only been dating for a month. If she’d played by the book—or rather, by the infamous and extremely outdated Cabin 10 dating ritual—she’d have dumped him by now and broken his heart. Gladly, a lot of her siblings don’t subscribe to that kind of torture, so she’d been happily following her heart’s desire. But she wished she looked better on dates. Better than usual, at least.
“Hm-mm. And did Charles say anything?” Aphrodite rested her chin on her palm, like a teenager who’s eager for more tea.
“That I was very pretty as always,” Silena replied with a pout, like that was the worst thing in the world.
Aphrodite clasped her hands together. “That’s so sweet! Then you have nothing to worry about, dear!”
“But—”
“Honey, you already have so many problems to deal with,” Aphrodite started, looking at her sympathetically. Silena felt the weight of the scythe bracelet in her pocket and all the guilt that came with it. “Don’t go looking for a zit that isn’t there. Life’s too short to not live and love in the moment!”
It was rich coming from an eternal deity. But Silena figured her mom did see the stark contrast of the short lives of all the mortals she’s come across with—her demigod children, their mortal parents, the mortals that feature in all the tragic love stories she’s designed throughout eons.
“And I swear on love, it’s much more gratifying when you figure it out on your own,” Aphrodite said cheekily. She fondly tapped Silena’s cheek, winked, and then disappeared just like that.
*****
[one summer day between missions]
“You have to make sure your pinky’s getting the strands in a horizontal line, not diagonal,” Annabeth instructed as she demonstrated with Lacy’s black hair.
Silena tried the same technique on Clarisse’s. “So, like this?”
Annabeth inspected Silena’s work before exclaiming, “Yes, that’s good!”
Earlier this summer, Silena had employed Annabeth’s and Clarisse’s help in refreshing her braiding skills. Of course, Annabeth had said yes immediately. She’d learned from Silena that it’d been two years since Tasha, daughter of a renowned hairstylist and one of her older siblings, had left camp to go to college, so it’s been two years since she’d imparted her with lessons on more complex braiding techniques.
It was apparently for Lacy, one of Silena’s youngest siblings. She was a very pretty girl, around eleven or twelve—Annabeth wasn’t sure—with warm brown skin, tight black curls, and braces.
“Tasha always did Lacy’s braids before,” Silena had told Annabeth weeks ago. “When she left, some of my other siblings took over. I did too, but I’m only confident when bigger braids are involved. You know, like how I can perfectly do mine.”
Annabeth couldn’t argue with that. Silena had really long, luscious black hair that reached her waist, and most of the time, she expertly styled them into one big, intricate braid down her back, adorning it with ribbons, flowers, or jewelry. But Silena had defeatedly told Annabeth that her other siblings did so much better with the finer, protective braids.
“Then, why not just ask them to teach you?”
“I do! But I’m head counselor and I’m one of the oldest now, so I should be the one doing most of the teaching, not them. I do have some pride.”
Pride was something Annabeth could definitely understand. Besides, she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to impart knowledge that involved her weaving expertise. Maybe her mom would appreciate that—though she learned not to count on it.
So now, Annabeth and Silena were standing behind Lacy and Clarisse, who were both seated in front of Cabin 10’s extremely long, Hollywood-styled vanity mirror. Cabin 10’s dressing room setup was impressive, but what impressed Annabeth more was the fact that the entire thing was portable.
Actually, what impressed Annabeth the most was Clarisse agreeing to this. Clarisse and Silena had been friends for years, but they’d bonded a whole lot more when Silena started helping Clarisse out with her dating endeavors last summer. In turn, Clarisse did one-on-one combat classes with Silena. Maybe they struck a similar deal for the braiding sessions too.
“Hang on,” Annabeth stopped Silena before she could proceed on her fifth loop.
“It’s horizontal, see?”
Annabeth inspected her work. “Yeah, but now the chunks you’re getting are uneven.”
“Don’t rush, beauty queen,” Clarisse chimed in teasingly, to which Silena huffed, lightly tugging her best friend’s hair in frustration.
“You can do it, Silena!” Lacy cheered on her big sister.
After a few misses, Silena finally finished the braid, mirroring what Annabeth had done on Lacy’s. Annabeth left a few loose strands though, which had been the routine since the first session, so that Lacy can also master self-braiding. She bent her knees just a bit—Lacy wasn’t that much shorter than she was—and tilted her head so that the young girl could see what she was doing. Grabbing a comb from the vanity table, she proceeded to demonstrate while instructing, with Clarisse dropping useful tips every now and then.
“That’s it for today!” Annabeth exclaimed after Lacy had finished. “You both did a really good job.”
“Not bad, Silena,” Clarisse said, inspecting her braids in the mirror. “You’re getting better.”
Silena and Lacy looked pleased. But Silena suddenly gasped, her smile wiped from her face. “Oh no.”
“What?” Annabeth asked in alarm.
“So uh,” Silena looked at Annabeth’s hand with worry. The vanity lights danced off the pink comb in her hand, almost as if the supposedly magical item was teasing Silena. “That comb was a gift from Mom. I totally forgot to put that away today.”
Annabeth immediately dropped the comb on the table like it was coated with monster poison. Gifts from gods were not to be taken lightly. “What does it do exactly?”
Silena looked apologetic. “I…don’t know yet.”
Annabeth was in problem-solving mode. “You’ve received gifts from her before, right? What did they do?”
“Well, Mom’s blessing was kind of a makeover,” Lacy answered timidly. Annabeth remembered that Aphrodite kids got Claimed with her blessing—a full-blown glam-up. Lacy would’ve been one of the more recent ones to get it and recall that.
Silena nodded. “My gut feel is that this worked in a similar way, but to a smaller degree. She gave it to me on my birthday last year, right when I started dating Charlie.”
“Alright,” Annabeth said, thinking to herself. She looked at herself in the mirror. She still looked like herself, for now at least. “Do I look any different to you, guys?”
“No, you don’t,” Clarisse answered unequivocally, but her tone was tinged with worry.
“You look the same,” Silena followed, offering her a reassuring yet guilty smile.
“Okay,” Annabeth said. “Then I’ll just carry on with camp activities. Best case scenario is it only has an effect on children of Aphrodite. Worst case scenario is I look ridiculous, right?”
“Well, if anyone messes with you today, I can take care of them,” Clarisse said, firm and certain.
“And I’ll charmspeak them to do something humiliating,” Silena said with a passion.
That wasn't necessary, but the thought made Annabeth smile. At least her friends had her back.
*****
[a few summer hours later]
Just like Annabeth had planned, she carried on with camp activities for the rest of the morning. Her first theory was proving to be right—the comb might only be working its thing on children of Aphrodite. In any case, as long as she can use her brain and body in their full capacity, Aphrodite’s magic doesn’t matter.
I’ll make your lives more interesting! Oh, the things I have in store for you, darling? You just wait! Aphrodite had once told her with glee, back when they were celebrating on Olympus during the winter solstice. As if getting kidnapped and tricked by the brother she loved wasn’t interesting enough.
And true to her word, things got way, way, way more interesting after that. The little girl who just wanted to run away from everything was coming back to the surface—like all the progress she’d made since she got to camp, since she’d made friends, was slowly slipping away.
But quite frankly, she cared more about her world, this camp—her family—more than her feelings. There was a whole war to prepare for. The head strategist should not have space for any kind of distraction.
This afternoon, cabin inspection was next on her list. She loathed doing inspections when she could be doing something more useful. She’d built a routine with one of her best friends to make it bearable, but this summer was different, and she tried not to think too much about that. No distractions, she thought.
Luckily, Brontë offered to help her so she could cross it off her list quickly. Her second-in-command still had reports to go through, but she had more free time to spare than Annabeth did.
“Great idea. While we’re at it, we can go through refinements for next week’s missions,” Annabeth said, writing into her clipboard before they go inside their cabin to start inspection.
“Works for me,” her sister replied with a nod. “I don’t want Clarisse and Ellis trying to hijack the offensive line again.”
Annabeth chuckled. “Clarisse has some good insights, but sometimes, she's just too stubborn to listen—”
“Hey, Wise Girl.”
Annabeth’s ears perked up, not expecting to hear that annoyingly endearing nickname today. She turned her head at the sound of her best friend’s voice. Percy smiled at her, holding the camp’s inventory sheets so mundanely, like he’d been at camp this entire time and not out there in the city doing gods know what.
Her heart did a flip that she desperately tried to ignore. She could almost imagine Aphrodite thinking: No distractions, you say? Maybe the magic of the comb was to be the goddess of love’s entertainment for the day. She tried to sound as neutral as possible. “You’re back early.”
“Why wouldn't I be?” Percy answered with a question, like it was ridiculous to think otherwise. He waved at her sister, “Hey Brontë.”
Shouldn’t you be at the movies? In a mansion somewhere in the city? A contemporary art museum? Annabeth thought with resigned bitterness. Where else do mortals have dates during the summer? Daedalus' laptop didn't have intel on that.
Before Annabeth could answer, Percy asked eagerly, “Can you do inventory with me?”
“Actually,” Annabeth started. “I have cabin inspection, so you can ask—”
“I’ll do inventory!” Brontë interrupted, sounding a little too enthusiastic. “You can help Annabeth with the cabins, Percy. You can go through these reports while you’re at it too.”
“Yeah, sure!” Percy responded, also sounding too happy for Annabeth’s liking. He hated reading reports. Then again, it was their routine to go through the chores they hated together.
Annabeth raised an eyebrow at her sister. “And you can’t help me because…?”
“I’ll head straight to the forge after I’m done in the armory,” Brontë responded. “Beckendorf needs input on the shield prototype.”
“Oh, he didn’t tell me that—”
“I got it covered!” Brontë exchanged her stack of reports with Percy’s inventory sheets before Annabeth could say no. “I’ll fill you in later,” she reassured, heading off to the armory.
Percy was now staring at her expectantly, like a blue-eyed, curly-haired golden retriever waiting for commands.
Annabeth let out a sigh. “Alright, let’s go,” she motioned and went inside their empty cabin. After a quick minute of looking around, she started filling out the evaluation sheet, “Four out of five.”
“This is clearly a five.”
Annabeth replied without looking up, “Those blueprints are scattered on the table.”
Percy knew better than to argue with her. She continued writing while he went through the reports one by one. This was how it usually went and it was usually a comfortable silence, but the air was so much heavier between them now.
Annabeth spoke up, her attention still on the sheet. “Why are you back so early?”
Honestly, there was no point in asking the question. She didn’t even want to know. The facts were pretty straightforward. Missions were ramping up this summer because of the war—combat missions, raids, supply runs—fact. Percy was always around for the missions—fact. When there aren’t any missions, Percy’s not around—fact. The implication hurt, but it was also just a cold, hard fact she needed to accept. And it was for the best.
When Percy didn’t respond after some time, Annabeth looked up from her sheet and found him staring at her. “Percy?”
Percy blinked hard. This boy probably had the shortest attention span out of everyone Annabeth had met, and that’s saying a lot, having been surrounded by demigods. “Uh, we have a supply run soon, right?”
“In four days, yes. Let’s go,” she started heading out to proceed to the next cabin, not looking to see if he followed. Katie was already waiting for her in front of Cabin 4. “Five out of five,” Annabeth noted after she and Percy quickly looked around, to which Katie smiled. “Keep it up, Katie!”
Annabeth continued the conversation while they were headed to Cabin 10. “Four days. So you still have a lot of free time till then.”
Percy scrunched his eyebrows. “I mean, where else would I be?”
Before Annabeth could stop herself, she replied, “I don’t know, you tell me.” She internally winced at how harsh that came off.
Percy whipped his head toward her, looking like he was wronged. “Don’t you want me here?”
Annabeth couldn’t believe he was the one asking that between the two of them, so she threw the question back. “Do you wanna be here?”
Percy stopped in his tracks, looking incredulous and hurt at the implied accusation. “Annabeth—”
“Hey guys, come in!” Silena greeted them from Cabin 10’s flowery entrance, waving from a few feet away and clearly unaware of the impending fight. Trust Aphrodite’s daughter to unknowingly have Annabeth’s back when their mother’s been making her life miserable. “Percy, you’re back!”
Annabeth and Percy greeted her and went in, as if nothing had happened. Annabeth started writing on the sheet. “Five out of five. Great job as always, Silena.”
Silena clapped her hands. “Yay! So, how’s your day been?”
Annabeth paused her writing and looked up. “Normal. Thankfully.”
“Why, what happened?” Percy chimed in with a curious tone.
Annabeth took a deep breath, remembering the events in the morning. “We were worried my appearance would change or something. Magical item incident.”
Percy immediately turned to Annabeth, looking her up and down. “You look…great.” Silena let out a soft giggle, which made Percy blush. Annabeth felt her cheeks heat up. Percy cleared his throat and recovered, “I mean, you look like yourself.”
“I know, Seaweed Brain,” Annabeth replied with an exasperated tone. Percy was still looking at her, almost studying her, so she focused on filling out the sheet to ignore whatever weird, fluttery feeling she felt.
“Save for the blue owl earrings,” Percy observed. “Which are really cool, by the way.”
Annabeth looked up at that. She wasn’t wearing earrings today. “Blue—”
“The important thing is she looks the same to us!” Silena exclaimed too cheerfully.
Annabeth figured Silena might have a stronger theory now. Even if she didn’t, imaginary earrings weren’t so bad. She had bigger problems. She sighed, “I’ll talk to you later.”
With Dionysus’ cabin being the last on the right wing, they went on to inspect the left. The entire time, Percy was sharing important notes from the reports, and Annabeth affirmed whenever she also felt it was worth noting for later.
The incoming spat from earlier never resurfaced and Annabeth internally thanked her best friend for that.
Cabin inspection went as smoothly and normally as expected. Annabeth gave Percy a three and a half out of five and he knew better than to complain. When they got to Cabin 5, Clarisse asked Annabeth if anyone had messed with her today, to which she said no.
“Why would they mess with her?” Percy butted in.
“Nothing. Shut up, Jackson.”
But things got interesting when they arrived at Cabin 11. To be fair, inspecting Hermes’ Cabin was always interesting. You never knew if there were snares and traps that weren’t accounted for. But those were expected. What wasn’t expected was Connor’s comment.
“Whoa, Annabeth! I’ve never seen you in makeup,” Connor said, pleasantly surprised. “You look like a million golden drachmas. You headed somewhere tonight?”
Percy spun his head toward her so fast, and then looked at Connor like he was crazy.
The gears in Annabeth's head started working. She always wore basic makeup, but Connor was clearly seeing something out of the ordinary, so she figured it was a hundred times her usual. She had to gather more information. “What exactly do you see?”
Connor tilted his head. “What do you mean? You’re rocking a dress and your hair’s all pretty.” Annabeth felt her cheeks heat up. It was a pretty harmless compliment, but he said it so matter-of-factly that it kind of flustered her a bit. Aphrodite was doing a number on her today, apparently.
“Thanks, but it’s kind of an illusion,” she said dismissively. “A glamour, I think. Aphrodite’s doing.”
“Well, she did a really good job,” Connor replied with a grin. “You look…” he finished the statement by giving Annabeth two thumbs up.
Annabeth chuckled lightheartedly and shook her head before writing into her clipboard. “Flattery won’t get you anywhere, Connor. Three out of five.”
“Hey, a four’s just fair,” he complained with a pout.
“She’s already being generous, man,” Percy commented. “I’d give it a two.”
“Then it’s a good thing you’re not on duty, sir,” Connor replied with a solemn voice, though the teasing glint in his eyes gave him away.
Before Percy could reply, Annabeth beckoned him to move so they could finally be done with inspection. On second thought, she looked back at Connor before leaving and said, “Sweep all that sand up and I might just add a half point.”
Connor gave a salute. “As you wish, Princess!”
Percy—the petty little thing—complained even as they got back to Annabeth’s cabin, his frown never leaving his face. “Unfair. I have two socks left unattended and I’m just half a point higher than Cabin 11?” Annabeth couldn't believe the child of the Prophecy had the maturity of an actual child. And she couldn't believe she was endeared.
“You have at most two people to account for in your cabin, Percy,” Annabeth argued, although she was grateful that these were the things they were arguing about.
“Which means I can’t divide chores with more people,” Percy countered.
Annabeth scoffed. “You don’t even divide chores. Tyson does it for you while you sit pretty like a princess.”
“Hey, we divide just fine,” he was almost whining, which was both amusing and infuriating for Annabeth. In a slightly more serious tone, he added, “Also, what’s up with Connor seeing you in princess wear but I can’t?”
Annabeth thought about it as they got inside her cabin. Everyone was still out for camp activities and Brontë apparently had not returned from the forge yet. “Maybe Aphrodite took pity on me. You already saw that crazy makeover at Circe’s.”
“That wasn’t crazy,” Percy mumbled. “I mean it was, but…good crazy.”
He is such a Seaweed Brain, Annabeth thought as she organized the evaluation sheets. Percy was also sorting out the reports they both thought were worth noting. Annabeth was going to form better hypotheses about the comb’s magic later, but for now, she was just throwing out ideas in the air. “Or maybe because you’ve already seen me all dressed up at Westover before.”
“Yeah, I really don’t wanna be reminded about that,” Percy said flatly.
“Wow, thanks.”
“No! You looked amaz—I meant because you were—nevermind,” Percy exhaled, sounding defeated.
Having organized the sheets, Annabeth went to gather the supply run plans she was going to show at the war council meeting later. She looked over at Percy, who was making painfully slow progress sorting reports. She laughed to herself, shaking her head.
“What was the magic item? What exactly happened?” Percy prodded, clearly still hung up on it.
“A comb,” Annabeth indulged him. “Aphrodite’s gift to Silena on her birthday. I used it accidentally, nothing serious. Stop talking for a bit, I’m working on the plans.”
Annabeth sensed Percy shift closer at her side. She began labeling her diagrams and blueprints to make them easier to present later.
Peering over her shoulder, Percy started pointing at one of the supply run maps Annabeth was writing on. “AC should be here. PJ should be here in this corner.”
“PJ can raise his concern during the meeting tonight,” Annabeth countered.
“Or AC could hear PJ out when he says this is a blind spot for this vantage point—”
“Get your hand off my plans or AC will personally break all of PJ’s fingers,” Annabeth warned.
"Aye aye, Captain." Percy quickly put his hand down and stayed quiet—if only for a few minutes. “Annabeth, your grey streak does look more…” Percy spoke so softly that Annabeth didn’t catch the last word. Her hyperfocusing on the plans probably didn’t help either.
“What about my streak?” she pressed, but only with partial attention. Percy’s suggestion wasn’t bad at all. The chances of Alison and the other archers spotting him here in this corner…
She noticed Percy didn’t answer. She stopped writing and finally turned to look at him—and realized his face was mere inches from hers. Why was he this close? Had he been fixating on her grey streak? Maybe there was a good comb theory there?
But now, Percy was staring at her so intensely, and a theory on a totally different matter was dangerously forming in her head again. Her heart raced, and she couldn’t help remembering that cursed moment under Mount St. Helens—only that had passed in an instant. Right now, everything was suspended. His gaze flicked from her eyes to her lips. She knew she definitely should push him back because two campers shouldn’t even be left alone in a cabin and it was unwise—
Somebody cleared her throat, and the two of them jumped apart faster than their battle reflexes. Brontë was right by the entrance, pursing her lips to stop herself from smiling. Annabeth wanted to die on the spot, maybe fall into Tartarus and never return.
Percy stammered, his face and ears all red, “We were just—”
“Looking at maps again? Sure,” Brontë cut him off amusingly, crossing her arms. She turned to Annabeth, “Chiron wants a rundown of this week’s and next week’s runs before rounding up the war council tonight.”
Annabeth composed herself, still catching her breath. “Yeah sure. I’m about to bring these to the Big House anyway.” When Brontë left, she near-scrambled to gather the evaluation sheets and plans, her fight-or-flight instincts in full blast. She felt Percy following right on her heels when she headed outside, so she turned around abruptly to stop him. “I’ll meet Chiron alone. I’ll bring you up to speed with the rest during the war council meeting.”
Percy stepped back hesitantly. “Don’t you have a lot more errands to do?”
“I can manage on my own,” Annabeth replied a little too sharply than she intended. Seeing the look of hurt on Percy’s face, she added, “Besides, the younger campers have sword-fighting in an hour. You should head over there.”
She turned around without waiting for Percy’s reply. It didn’t make sense to bring him with her anyway. She and Chiron might discuss the full prophecy again and Percy didn’t know he might…she stopped her thoughts before she could spiral, a lump forming in her throat. No distractions.
*****
[a few summer days later]
Silena and Annabeth were tending to the pegasi when Annabeth brought up the magical comb situation, most likely because they were also down to brushing and combing pegasi coat and hair.
“I think it’s like a wardrobe simulator for pretty things,” she said, as she was brushing Porkpie’s tail.
Silena tilted her head, seriously considering it, “Care to elaborate?”
“It shows the things that you find pretty but how it looks on another person,” Annabeth replied, although even she sounded unsure about her own theory.
Silena still indulged her though. “What made you think that?”
“Percy saw blue earrings on me and he likes blue. Connor saw a dress and my face all made up…” Annabeth faltered right at the end.
Silena’s hand paused mid-brush on Guido’s coat. “Did he?” Silena raised her eyebrows at that. That was a new outcome. She turned to Annabeth, her interest piqued. “What else?”
“My hair was different too, apparently,” Annabeth recalled, a puzzled expression on her face.
“Uh-huh. So you’re saying Connor likes pretty dresses and pretty hairstyles?” Silena supplied.
“Yeah?” Annabeth replied, her tone full of uncertainty. “Nothing wrong with that.”
“Of course!” Silena exclaimed. “And…Percy likes blue earrings?”
Annabeth moved on to brushing Blackjack, who whinnied appreciatively. “I mean, he really likes blue,” Annabeth remarked, this time sounding really sure of it. “He drinks blue Coke, his mom makes him blue cookies—best cookies in the world, by the way. He eats blue pancakes, blue nachos, owns too many blue shirts…”
She’s got it bad, Silena thought, although she would never say it to her incredibly smart but incredibly dense friend. Silena glanced at Annabeth sideways. “He looks good in blue too, doesn’t he? Complements his blonde hair and blue eyes.”
“I…guess he does,” Annabeth mumbled.
“So he loves putting blue on the stuff he likes,” Silena said slowly.
“Yeah, something like that.”
“And then, he saw you with imaginary blue earrings,” Silena said even slower, patiently waiting for her friend to catch on. He’s got it so bad too.
“So then, my theory is plausible,” Annabeth said, clearly not getting what Silena’s implying. “It could be a glamour showing pretty things they like.”
Silena internally groaned, but she only smiled at Annabeth. “Could be.”
“You don’t think I’m right.”
Silena could hear the disappointment in Annabeth’s voice. Athena kids always just have to be right. But love is so much more complicated than that. Silena was obviously not an expert, but gods does she know how to navigate this more than her closest friends at camp. “I just think you should stop thinking too much, my sweet summer child of Athena.”
“But the magic…” Annabeth sounded resigned.
“Connor saw you with a makeover. And Percy said you looked the same, right?”
“So?”
“So don’t go looking for a zit that isn’t there,” Silena advised, repeating exactly what her mother had told her. She was slowly getting it, maybe. “You’re either glammed out or just the way you are. Glammed out is pretty. And just the way you are is already gorgeous, mind you.”
Annabeth was about to protest, but Silena held her manicured hand up. This girl better accept that she was beautiful, even by Cabin 10’s standards. It was a crime that there was at least one person per cabin crushing on her, yet she could barely clock two of the most obvious ones. One of them almost lost his mind a year and a half ago when she was taken.
“So just let it be,” Silena concluded with a smile.
“Just let it be,” Annabeth repeated, though she didn’t sound convinced at all. After she finished brushing Blackjack’s mane, she prepared to leave for combat training. She smiled at Silena gratefully, “Thanks for calling me pretty. Means a lot coming from the prettiest person at camp.”
Silena blushed at the compliment and immediately corrected her friend, “I called you gorgeous. And I don’t give that away freely too. You’re very welcome!”
Annabeth chuckled and left. Silena exhaled a long sigh while gently brushing Guido’s mane. “Gods, I really hope Percy and Annabeth figure it out in this lifetime. Been a long time coming, don’t you think?”
Guido stayed still and pretty. But Blackjack let out the biggest snort, which made Silena jump.
She giggled, “Oh you would know, wouldn’t you?”
She had a running bet with Charlie and Clarisse on how long it would take. Clarisse had joked about dumping them into the lake so they can figure their schist out. Silena had told her they’d gladly help.
*****
[the last sunset of summer]
Percy was about to poke Annabeth behind her back to surprise her (she was very cute when she’s startled), but he decided otherwise when he saw her somber expression. He plopped down in the sand next to her. “Wise Girl, you okay?”
Annabeth looked up and gave him a sweet smile, the sunset light gleamed in her dark brown eyes. “Yeah.”
Percy was glad they had the beach to themselves this afternoon. He would be heading back home to Manhattan tomorrow morning to prepare for another year at Goode, while Annabeth was off to a boarding school in New York—thank the gods.
He noticed what she’d been holding. It was a pink comb with gold lining. “Is that a new comb? It’s pretty.”
“Do you remember the time Connor saw me in a dress and all that?” Annabeth asked out of nowhere.
Percy tried to mask the twinge of jealousy in his voice. “I mean, sure. I kinda remember,” he mumbled. Kinda was an understatement. “He…gave you a comb because of that?”
Annabeth chuckled fondly. “No, Seaweed Brain. Didn’t I tell you what possibly caused that glamour?”
Realization dawned on him. “A comb from Aphrodite.” It seemed so long ago, even if it was just this summer too. So much had happened since then. “This was that comb?”
“Yeah, it’s Silena’s. Was,” she corrected herself, her voice tinged with so much sadness. “Lacy and her other siblings were clearing out her stuff. She said Silena would’ve wanted Clarisse and me to have this.”
Annabeth told him about the braiding sessions they had earlier this summer, how Silena took the initiative to master braids for her younger siblings.
“Clarisse said I could have it. She couldn’t even look at her things.” Annabeth was trying to blink her tears away. When a tear broke free, Percy gently wiped it with his thumb. His heart ached for his girlfriend. He’d also mourned Silena, but he knew the three of them had formed a special bond only they would understand. And he was eternally grateful to Clarisse and Silena for being there for Annabeth when he was…not.
He put his arm around her shoulders, letting her head lean against his chest. After a while, Annabeth spoke again, “We never really figured out how it worked, you know. I think Silena did, but she wanted us to figure it out on our own. I do have a theory…”
“And that is?”
Annabeth pulled away—to Percy’s dismay—and turned to face him, holding out the comb. “Can you try it for me?”
“Absolutely not,” Percy protested. “What if the comb dresses me horribly?”
“The worst it’s ever done to me was something like a princess,” Annabeth pointed out.
“Yeah but that’s because you already look like one,” Percy replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world (which it was). “It can’t make you ugly.”
Annabeth rolled her eyes, but she was clearly trying hard not to smile at the compliment. It was cute. “I already saw you in a loincloth at C.C.’s years ago.”
Percy gasped, remembering an incident at Circe’s that was more traumatic than a loincloth and a side part. “What if I turn into a guinea pig?”
Annabeth let out a delightful laugh that warmed Percy’s heart. Her eyes were teasing when she said, “You were a cute guinea pig.”
“Would you still love me if I was a guinea pig?” Percy asked with wide eyes and a pout.
“Percy.”
“Annabeth.”
They were stuck in a staring match until Annabeth widened her big, brown eyes, moved in a little closer, and slowly smiled. “Please.”
Percy sighed. He’d always lose whenever she used those puppy-owl eyes. “Here goes nothing.” He brushed his curly hair with the comb of doom and closed his eyes.
Annabeth was quiet.
He started panicking. “Annabeth? You there?” He knows his girlfriend was still beside him, he’d memorized that lemon soap scent years ago. “Annabeth?!”
“Keep your voice down, Perseus,” Annabeth scolded lightly. “And open your eyes. I don’t even know why you closed them in the first place.”
Percy obeyed. “So? What are you seeing?”
Annabeth looked him up and down slowly, which made him self-conscious, his heart skipping a beat. After a full scan, she said with a smile, “I see a cute curly-haired blonde boy.”
Percy knew he was blushing hard. He tried not to sound too flustered. “I swear, if you’re lying…”
Annabeth studied his hair and touched some strands in front—she was definitely touching the grey streak that matched hers. “Your grey streak looks retouched,” she said softly. “But yeah, you look the same.”
Percy frowned. “Are you disappointed?”
“No, this was my ideal result,” Annabeth answered genuinely and planted a quick kiss on his cheek. “I like you just the way you are.”
Percy couldn’t help himself. He gently cupped Annabeth’s face and kissed her softly, the faint taste of the strawberries they’d picked and shared earlier lingering on her soft lips. “I love you just the way you are.”
“I love you too,” she whispered on his lips.
Years ago, Percy had discovered his fatal flaw. He knew he would give up anything for the people he loved. He’d told Annabeth he would burn it all down for her if he had to choose between her and Olympus.
For years, he was scared of that part of himself. He wanted to run from it, to escape the weight of his feelings. Maybe then, he wouldn't have to make impossible choices.
But you couldn’t run from who you were. He kept making the same choice over and over and over again.
In the end, it was that very flaw that saved him, because he trusted Annabeth with everything he was. He would follow her to the ends of the earth if it meant they could be together.
He was loyal to a fault—and no prophecy, no godly offer, no enchanted river, not even a magical comb, could ever change that.
*****
[bonus; the last night of summer]
Nico was instructing the undead builders where each torch should be placed on the exterior of the Hades cabin when something caught his eye.
To his amusement, some camper with their back turned to him was wearing full battle armor from Mythomagic, complete with an ancient Greek helmet and sandals. The person was far north on the left wing but Nico would recognize Mythomagic cosplay from a hundred feet away. Pretty cool. Does it really count as cosplay here though?
He was about to approach the Mythomagic enthusiast when a horn was blown, announcing dinner at the pavilion.
“Nico!” Annabeth called out to him one cabin away. She’d been talking to someone from Hypnos, but was now approaching Nico. “Let’s get dinner?”
“You go ahead,” Nico said sheepishly. “I want to get the torches done first and then I’ll head over. But thanks, Annabeth.”
“You keep going at this rate, and pretty soon no other cabin will be able to outdo Hades,” Annabeth said, clearly impressed as she glanced around Nico’s cabin. “Alright, we’ll get going.”
Nico smiled at the compliment. He turned to check if the Mythomagic camper was still there, but of course, they headed to the pavilion too. Everyone seemed to be savoring the last night of summer before they left camp tomorrow. He should probably wait until the crowd simmered down. Oh well, next time then.
*****