Chapter Text
Annabeth’s breaths came slow and measured, each inhalation filtered beneath the white mask. Her eyes, sharp as the edge of a blade, remained fixated on her opponent, a total contrast to her usual habit of having everything under her vision.
Right now, her focus concentrated on the game unfolding before her. And in that moment, nothing else mattered. It was all about the game.
Only if it wasn’t for the throbbing pain in her ankle.
It had been that cursed watermelon, lying innocently on the ground during her farm work. It had sabotaged her at the worst possible time. Now, with the stakes high and half of the island counting on everyone to be at their best, she knew she couldn’t afford another injury.
Everyone was desperately eager for improvisations. Plans shifted every day, trying out new innovations. In a tight-knit community like theirs where every move mattered, she refused to fall behind.
A sudden sting in her stomach jolted her back to reality, withdrawing from her thoughts. She looked down, slightly aggravated. The grip on her sword tightened as she straightened her spine. Across from her, her opponent exhaled audibly, looking up to meet Annabeth’s eyes.
Stay in the zone, Chase. You’re off today.
Annabeth sighed, hearing her father’s voice ring in her head. She quickly refocused on the game, ignoring the ache lurking inside her ankle and thinking about her next move. For some reason, she always liked thinking competitively while doing sports-like activities, testing strategic movements inside her head. Or maybe, this was one of the only ways for her to distract herself from the ongoing events around her. Concentrating on the things that didn’t really matter or couldn’t reach her.
She bit her inner cheek; a futile attempt to distract from the pain. She longed desperately to massage her aching ankle, just for a moment. The pain had been stinging for the past five days, but she kept telling herself that maybe it would disappear next week. Maybe.
Her gaze flicked to her opponent. Without a warning, she lunged forward, aiming her sword with precision and her back knee bent, trying to ignore the worsening throb.
The attack caught her opponent off guard, and the blade grazed her torso before she could react.
Annabeth licked her lips, savoring her victory. That small, sweet taste of triumph even if it was temporary. It felt worth it.
“Darn it,” her opponent hissed, lowering her weapon with a defeated sigh.
Annabeth pulled off her mask slowly, letting the cool air brush her face. “Good game, Ramirez,” she said, offering her hand.
Reyna rolled her eyes but took it. Despite the loss, Annabeth could see from how she bounced back fast that she wasn’t affected at all. They could barely have any rivalry between each other even if they wanted to— practice sessions were a routine, and it wasn’t the first time she had lost. Definitely not. Maybe even the twentieth time. Still, Annabeth checked her expression out of habit, scanning for any lingering frustration. And, as always, there was only amusement.
“You’re annoyingly unbeatable,” Reyna scoffed, nudging her shoulder. She let her black hair slip loose before gathering it into a fresh ponytail. “If we weren’t on the same team, I’d probably dream about killing you in my sleep.”
Annabeth laughed, taking off her hairband and fluffing her blonde curls before tying them again. "Well, lucky for you, we're on the same team,” she shrugged. “Though I don’t mind having to kick your ass every now and then.”
Reyna’s smirk lingered as she retrieved her sword from the ground. “You think we’re done for the day?” She asked. “A couple extra hours tomorrow wouldn’t hurt.”
Annabeth’s brows furrowed. The thought of adding another hour to her training on top of her busy scouting activities didn’t seem like the brightest idea. “Is there a specific reason?”
“I just..” Reyna trailed off of her words, searching for the right ones. “I like doing this with you. Keeps my mind away from all the work I have to deal with.”
Annabeth felt a smile creep up on her mouth. “Of course.”
“And, who knows, we might become Olympic-level players,” Reyna shrugged with a smirk. “And actually win medals.”
“Maybe in a thousand years, sure,” Annabeth scoffed.
The idea of having an Olympics again was far from possible.
Definitely not when every community was on each other’s throats, constantly trying to find an excuse to kill and ready to tear apart everything over the slightest spark. Even though hypnoses were long gone— everyone accepted that by now —that certainly didn’t mean that the world was at peace. Humanity had always been skilled at one thing: finding new ways to hate each other. Even though the world was at peace with Mother Nature, it never was with its own kind. The taste of blood and victory could turn anybody on in seconds.
Still, the thought of competing and diving into a path of competitive sports gave a new thrill of excitement in her. Winning medals, earning grand titles, letting her work amount to something beyond staying alive— it sounded like a dream. And dreams could come true, if you pushed hard enough. At least, that’s what she hoped.
“God, I feel like I’m getting too old for this,” Reyna exhaled, stretching her arms overhead until her joints cracked.
“You? Old?” Annabeth laughed. “If you’re old, then what am I? Digging my own grave by now?”
Reyna snorted. “You might as well be if you keep zoning out in the middle of drills.”
Annabeth rolled her eyes. “Just distracted sometimes, that’s all. No biggie.”
***
They both headed towards the locker room. Annabeth took a quick shower with the left-over bucket of water, comforting herself in a pair of grey sweatpants and a plain white t-shirt, towel-drying the ends of her hair. She exited the showers just as Reyna entered.
“Here,” Reyna said, tossing her a boxed sandwich. “You wanted tomato and basil, right?”
“Yup,” Annabeth caught it one-handed and placed it on the bench.
As Reyna rummaged through her locker for clean clothes, Annabeth drew one knee up to her chest, resting her foot on the bench and massaging her ankle absentmindedly. The locker room hummed quietly around them, with the running water and the rare distant echoes of people talking. She watched her teammate in thought, silently.
Annabeth definitely wasn’t the type to get injured often. Her tendencies were high— in fact, she cared about her movements a bit too much, always acting with precision even during missions. However, of course, she couldn’t hide her imperfect clumsiness. Tripping over produce wasn’t an everyday occurrence that happened to most people, especially when watermelon was one of the biggest fruits known to humankind.
She sighed and stretched her arms, her eyes tracing her teammate’s reflection in the mirror, tiding her clothes. Reyna’s long, black hair somehow always fell neatly into place, something Annabeth couldn’t get herself to understand how. Her tan, chestnut-toned skin complemented her dark eyes as they scanned the room. Annabeth had often wondered how she could look this good so effortlessly.
Her glance caught on the sword on the ground, gleaming with an unfamiliar pattern covered with silver lining. The blade was razor-sharp, as if it was polished a few minutes ago.
“You got a new sword?” Annabeth asked curiously.
Reyna glanced over her shoulder. “Oh, yeah,” she smiled as she stretched her arms, groaning. “That old one was getting too rigid.”
Annabeth nodded and reached into her bag. Knowing Reyna’s dad was one of the best blacksmiths in the community, it wasn’t shocking to see her with a new sword. Reyna wasn’t the type to beg for things and want everything at the palm of her hands— not with everything their community went through. But she did receive small gifts once in a while, small thank you gestures from her father for all the work she did as a scouting leader.
Annabeth pulled out a small towel and pressed it gently against her ankle, rubbing in slow circle to soothe the damaged place. She knew it wasn’t actually helping, and an ice pack would’ve been the suitable option. But ice packs were stored in the community household and prohibited from any use unless there was a major emergency. A sprained ankle definitely didn’t count.
She instead made a mental note to check her cabin later for some kind of cream— anything that could take the edge off.
“Your ankle giving you a hard time?” Reyna asked as she noticed Annabeth’s fingers lingering on the sore spot.
“Just a sprain from a few days ago,” Annabeth replied casually. “Nothing serious.”
Reyna raised a brow. “Don’t you have work tonight?”
“I do,” Annabeth pulled a blue cap from her backpack and brushed a thumb across the rim. “But I don’t think a sprained ankle counts as an excuse.”
“You can make it worse, though,” Reyna shrugged, running her fingers through her curls as an attempt to detangle them. “You know you push yourself too much.”
“I promised Uncle Jones,” Annabeth replied assertively. She appreciated Reyna’s concern, but she didn’t want to let anybody down. Not when the community had finally been calm these past few days. These were the times that had to be savored since they were free from any chaos or disturbance. “Besides, I still have two tasks from yesterday to finish.”
Reyna frowned in response and sighed.
She’d known Annabeth ever since they’d crossed paths upon arriving at Camp Orion for the first time. And if there was one thing she was certain about her, it was that Annabeth would bite her cheek and keep pushing forward, working like an ant and stretching her own limits.
“Well, your boyfriend won’t let you handle all that work with that ankle, trust me,” Reyna exclaimed to ease the atmosphere while retrieving for her shoes from under the bench.
Annabeth rolled her eyes and shoved the sandwich and sword into her bag, swinging the strap over her shoulder. Although the familiar phrase ‘He’s not my boyfriend’ crossed her mind, she knew saying it out loud would only deepen Reyna’s grin and have no effect whatsoever. “Ha ha,” she deadpanned. “Funny.”
Reyna couldn’t stop her smirk from growing, arching her brows. Annabeth decided she wasn’t giving that expression another second of oxygen and headed toward the exit. She leaned her shoulder against the doorframe, glancing back. “Tomorrow, same time?”
“You know it. See ya, Beth.” Reyna replied, letting her past statement slide swiftly. It wouldn’t be answered anytime anyway.
Some things were meant to be unanswered, at least not yet.
***
Annabeth trailed past the dimly lit hallway of the building, holding onto the strap of her backpack as she shifted her weight, forcing herself to put more pressure on her right foot. It was nice seeing some renovations done to the gym, knowing that it had been abandoned for nearly fifteen years. People suddenly started caring more about their fitness and physical appearance again now that the apocalypse was over.
No signs of infected meant that there wouldn’t be any excuses left to do any hunting or half-sprinted escapes or hours spent tracking game through ruined forests. Now, without the constant threat creeping at their heels, people were finally looking forward to life, rather than just surviving to exist. Civilization was starting to calm down, cautiously trying to replicate the lives they once had ages ago; even if they were still miles away from reaching them.
It seemed weird. Throughout history, humankind had always learned from their mistakes in the past and had an enhancement or innovation in the future. The world wouldn’t be the same even after 10 simple years, because technology would always advance. But now, people were trying to trail back to their old, past lives rather than creating something new.
And honestly, Annabeth couldn’t blame them. Even though there were still many achievements to be accomplished to get to their past state, everyone was just relieved that there wasn’t an imminent threat anymore. Expect for neighboring communities, of course, who were monstrous enough in their own right. But at least not any unnatural creatures to fight.
“Beth?”
A voice echoed down the hallway, and a smile grew on her lips almost immediately. She didn’t even need to turn to know who it belonged to, having heard that voice every single day of her life for the last decade. And somehow, impossible, she’d never grown tired of it.
She turned anyway, and as soon as her eyes met his, she could see the immediate warmth in them. She couldn’t hide how much she’d missed his smile— how it felt like an eternity since she’d last seen it. Her boring, tiring and uneventful day was lightened up just because of that stupid smile on his lips. And Annabeth couldn’t wrap her finger around it. She felt a very real, very embarrassing wave of relief wash over her.
She approached closer, closing the distance and letting herself sink in his arms, feeling recharged again after a long, exhausting afternoon. Although she could feel the throbbing of her ankle, she held onto him, embracing the warmth.
“Hey you,” he whispered, his voice muffled against her shoulder.
“Hey to you, too,” she replied, pulling away just enough to see his grin stretching across his lips, wide and stupidly contagious.
“I left a note on your doorstep, y’know,” he exclaimed, tilting his head lightly to display his pretend-scolding. Typical Perseus Jackson behavior— attentive to his fault.
“And I saw it,” Annabeth replied, lifting her chin. “I was waiting for you to come.”
“Reasonable,” he chuckled before the silence roamed the area, letting air through the space between them. This gave Annabeth the chance to view his current state, something that had grown into a habit over the years whenever one of them crossed the community borders.
Percy was in his army green pants— now streaked with dirt —and a long-sleeved hoodie. His black Converse were obviously ruined in mud, which didn’t surprise her in the slightest. His hair was messier than ever, but he still always managed to look painfully good looking, even when he wasn’t trying. His tired, puffy eyes portrayed his mindset clearly, and Annabeth had already organized a plan to help him relax for the rest of the evening.
But, above everything else, and the most important thing was that he had returned home safely, once and for all.
“Missed me too much?” Percy smirked, slipping his left hand into his pocket. “I thought you were wishing on my tragic farewell death while I was gone.”
“You bet I was,” Annabeth shot back, leaning against the wall with an exaggerated sigh. “Reyna and I were secretly rooting for your downfall. I mean, nobody in that scouting team particularly likes you, so it wouldn’t be shocking to know that you were left behind to die.”
“Wow, harsh,” he laughed, crossing his arms. “You’re in a good mood. A roasting mood, especially.” He mirrored her posture on the opposite wall. “Anything interesting happened today?”
“Not really,” Annabeth replied. “Just practice, chores, giving Hazel the leftover candy from yesterday— nothing exciting.” She stretched her arms with a groan, feeling her muscles soften. “It’s weird that barely anything happened while you were gone.”
“Four days isn’t exactly a lifetime,” Percy replied.
“I know,” she shrugged, eyeing certain seagulls flying above her through the window. “But y’know, the apocalypse is over. Technology’s supposed to be advancing way faster now.” Her eyes flickered with the sun slowly going down. She knew she’d probably end up watch the sunset during her shift.
“Maybe people just got.. lazy?” He answered after a while, pursing his lips.
Annabeth laughed. “Knowing this community, we should’ve been advancing three times faster than everyone else by now.”
Percy nodded slowly, then straightened, leaning just slightly toward her. “Well, how about we put our community problems aside and just relax for the rest of the day?”
“Couldn’t agree more,” Annabeth replied, but the smile on her lips faded slowly as the realization hit her. “But I, unfortunately, have a shift. I promised to Uncle Jones that I’d crop the garden and pick the to—“
“Already done.”
Annabeth blinked, looking up at him with her brows furrowed. “What?”
“You don’t have to do it anymore,” Percy replied with a small, satisfied smile.
Still confused, she let out a sheepish huff. “Did you… do it for me? How did you even know?”
He chuckled, slipping his fingers through hers before turning them both toward the exit doors. “I may or may not have run into him on my way back. And I may or may not have used my charm and elite persuasion skills to convince him to let it slide until tomorrow.”
Annabeth’s grin bloomed instantly. A sunset shift off. An evening with her favorite person. A chance to rest her arms and ankle before tomorrow’s scouting. Maybe even one of those sweet, uninterrupted sleeps. It couldn’t get any better. It felt like the universe had handed her a win on a silver platter, a bigger win than the game against Reyna.
“I don’t deserve you,” Annabeth mumbled, watching Percy push the door to step outside.
She felt his grip on her hand tighten at her words.
“Funny, I was thinking the same thing about you.”
***