Chapter Text
the bonfire had burned down to that late-night glow where everything felt softer and more dangerous at the same time. the flames were lower, but the heat had settled into the sand. smoke drifted sideways in lazy ribbons. voices and laughter blurred together, someone strumming a guitar slightly off-key, the occasional crack of wood splitting.
annabeth liked this part of the night. camp felt like less of a spectacle when everyone was sitting with their siblings and friends, too caught up in their own drama of the day.
she’d positioned herself just outside the thick of the crowd, on a worn log half-buried in sand. close enough that she could feel the warmth on her shins, far enough that she didn’t have to sit pressed against anyone.
especially him.
she hadn’t looked at percy in the last five minutes, which meant she was acutely aware of exactly where he was: across the fire, leaning back on his hands, laughing at something leo said.
she could map him without turning her head.
“hey. you’re annabeth, right?”
she glanced up.
new kid—elijah, she thought. dark hair still a little too neat for camp. an orange half-blood t-shirt that hadn’t been frayed by time yet. he looked like he was still trying to decide whether this place was insane or incredible.
“yeah,” she said.
he smiled, nervous but trying not to show it. “i was told you’re the person to talk to if i don’t want to get lost.”
“who told you that?”
“literally everyone.”
she huffed a quiet laugh. “people exaggerate.”
“so you don’t know everything?”
“i didn’t say that.”
that made him grin properly.
he sat down beside her, leaving a respectful amount of space but angling toward her anyway. close enough that she could feel the warmth off his arm through the thin cotton of her sleeve.
across the fire, percy’s stopped laughing.
it wasn’t dramatic, really, just a subtle shift.
his eyes flicked up automatically when someone filled the space next to her. he told himself it was nothing. people talked. she talked to people all the time.
but then she smiled.
not big—just that small, sharp-edged smile she wore when she was actually entertained.
and something under his ribs tightened.
“i got here yesterday,” elijah was saying. “i’ve already taken a wrong turn into three different cabins.”
“that’s impressive,” annabeth replied.
“i walked into the ares cabin by accident.”
she winced. “you’re lucky you’re still standing.”
“yeah, i figured that out fast.”
the conversation flowed easily. too easily.
percy watched the way the guy leaned forward when she spoke. watched the way her body tilted, just slightly, toward him. attentive. engaged.
he didn’t like how natural it looked.
“so,” elijah said after a minute, brushing sand off his hands. “would you maybe… show me around tomorrow? like officially? i’ll owe you.”
there it was.
percy’s jaw tightened.
annabeth hesitated just enough to think.
“late morning,” she said. “i’m not doing sunrise.”
“deal,” he smiled. “i’ll bring coffee.”
she laughed again and that was enough.
percy was on his feet before he consciously decided to move. sand shifted under him as he crossed the space between them.
annabeth felt his presence before she saw him. that change in air pressure, that familiar gravity that pulled them toward one another.
“hey,” he said.
his voice was even—too even.
she didn’t look at him immediately. “hey.”
the guy glanced up, measuring. “hey.”
“what’s up?” percy asked.
“i was just asking if she’d give me a tour tomorrow,” the guy said easily.
“oh yeah?” percy’s tone was light, but something underneath it wasn’t.
annabeth finally turned her head. “did you need something?”
“no.”
he stepped closer, and sat behind her, close enough that she could feel the heat from his chest at her back. and then his hands landed on her hips. then slid to the opposite sides of her stomach. her breath caught before she could stop it.
elijah noticed. of course he did.
percy noticed that he noticed.
“if you’re busy, i can ask someone else,” elijah offered.
“i’m not busy,” annabeth said quickly.
percy’s thumbs shifted almost imperceptibly against the curve of her waist.
elijah’s gaze flicked between them. a beat too long.
“cool,” he said finally. “late morning. i’ll find you.” he stood, brushed sand from his palms, and walked back toward the cabins without another word.
the moment he was far enough away, annabeth grabbed percy’s wrists and pulled his hands off her.
“what was that?”
“what?” he shot back, though he knew.
“don’t do that.”
“do what?”
“walk up and—” she cut herself off, lowering her voice. “put your hands on me like that.”
“he was flirting with you.”
“so?”
“so i didn’t like it.”
the fire popped behind them, sparks jumping into the air.
“that’s not my problem,” she said.
his jaw flexed. “you were smiling.”
“i smile at people.”
“not like that.”
she stared at him, incredulous. “you’re being an ass.”
“am i?”
“yes.”
he dragged a hand through his hair, frustrated. “he was looking at you like you were available.”
her stomach flipped at that. “i am,” she said, sharper than she intended.
the words landed hard. his eyes darkened.
“are you?” he asked.
she didn’t answer. the truth wasn’t simple and they both know that.
“you don’t get to act like that,” she said instead. “you don’t get to just claim space.”
“i wasn’t claiming anything.”
“you were.”
“i just—” he exhaled sharply. “i didn’t want him thinking he had a shot.”
“why?”
“because i don’t want him to.”
“that’s not an answer.”
their voices were low now, the argument contained but intense.
“i don’t like it,” he said.
“that’s not the same as having a say.”
“i know.”
“do you?” annabeth’s eyes were sharp, analyzing.
he leaned closer again without realizing it. not touching her this time. just near enough that she could see the tension in his throat.
“i’m not trying to own you,” he said quietly.
“then stop acting like it.”
“i just—” he looked away for a second, then back. “i don’t like watching someone else try.”
the honesty slipped out unguarded, and it made something in her chest ache.
“that’s not my responsibility,” she said, softer now.
he let out a breath that almost sounded like a laugh, except there was no humor in it. “yeah. i know.”
a beat of silence.
the rest of the beach felt far away.
“go cool off,” she said finally.
his eyes snapped to hers. “i am cool.”
“no, you’re not.”
“annabeth—”
“percy,” her voice wasn’t angry now. just steady. “just go.”
for a second, he looked like he might argue again. but instead, his shoulders tightened.
“fine,” he muttered, stepping back.
the absence of his heat was immediate. he held her gaze for one more second—something unresolved flickering in his eyes, before he turned and walked toward the water instead of the cabins.
she watched him go. the sand shifted under his steps, the firelight caught in his hair.
her hips still felt warm where his hands had been.
and what unsettled her most wasn’t the jealousy, it was that when he’d touched her, some part of her had leaned back into it.