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Percy was going back and forth in his room, toying with his last drachma in his hands. Although the sun was still visible, the rain outside was picking up and the clouds were starting to gather and grow bigger, ready to hide the last hint of light behind their grey exterior.
“Dude just sit down and make the call,” said Grover from where he was lying on his bed. Or maybe half lying because his goat legs were on the bed but the human part of his upper body was hanging from the bed upside down.
“You can’t be comfortable like this.”
“Well I am. And don’t try changing the subject,” and with that he sat up properly, a little red in the face and probably a little dizzy too, and continued, “seriously, you’re not gaining anything by overthinking it so much just throw that coin you’re holding right there and say hey Iris call Annabeth Chase. Done.”
“It’s not that simple,” said Percy pulling anxiously at his hair in the back of his neck. It was a habit he developed when he was very young but found himself doing a lot more after his last day at camp last summer. “She hasn’t responded to any of my letters or answered my iris messages. I have not spoken to her since camp Grover, she clearly doesn’t want to talk to me ever again.”
“Okay do whatever you want but I have to remind you that we have an empathy link so everything you’re not telling me I already know it and trust me, it’s not fun being in your head right now,” Grover said and got up from his seat. “Now, I’m going to check on the food. We don’t want Sally to find the place in flames when she gets back”
And with that he disappeared from the room.
Percy sat down on his desk chair with a huff, still contemplating if he should throw the coin in a makeshift rainbow or in the open drawer next to him, when he heard a light tap on his window. He turned towards the sound and saw nothing.
Maybe calling Annabeth again wouldn’t be so bad this time. She might even answer him. She might even tell him that she missed him just like Percy missed her. Was still missing her. Another tap came from his window, with a little more force than the one before. Percy turned once more and had the urge to pinch himself in case he was dreaming because Annabeth was standing on the fire escape right outside his window. Maybe she was a figment of his imagination, appearing in front of him out of the sheer force of wanting to see her so badly or maybe he did throw that drachma to the goddess of the rainbow without noticing. Nope still in his hand.
Annabeth looked at him exasperated and mouthed something.
It was then that Percy realized that he had been staring at her for what felt like an eternity. He got up to open the window and she stepped in, quite gracefully too.
“Hi?” God he sounded like an idiot. “What are you doing here?”
“Well I wanted-” she shivered and Percy noticed the droplets of water dripping down her face and her t-shirt being almost completely soaked through.
Without giving it a second thought Percy grabbed a hoodie that was thrown over the back of his desk chair and handed it to her. He gave a silent thanks to the gods that it was relatively freshly washed. “Here.”
Annabeth took it, her fingers touching his in the process, sending millions volts of energy through Percy. She looked at the piece of clothing in her hands, then around the room.
“Oh. Right.” Idiot idiot idiot. “I’ll turn around. Sorry,” he said and turned to face the wall in the opposite direction of where Annabeth was standing.
“It’s okay,” he heard her answer in response. There was the faint sound of fabric being moved around and the wet plop of what must’ve been her t-shirt falling to the ground. Percy could feel his cheeks growing hot.
“You can turn around now,” she said after a minute and he exhaled the breath he was holding.
When he turned, his breath caught in his throat again. Annabeth was wearing his Goode High School hoodie, the one Paul gave him when he started school in September. It fit Percy just fine but it swallowed Annabeth, going past her thighs though it seemed she had turned the sleeves to fit her arms better. The idea of Annabeth wearing more of his clothes made his heart do somersaults in his chest. Her braids were collected in the back of her head in one single braid, pieces of hair framing her face. The grey streak, their shared reminder of holding the weight of the sky, making a striking contrast against her dark skin. She must’ve wiped her face too because it was clear of any sign of rain. She looked as beautiful as ever.
For a minute they were sitting in silence, not knowing who should break the ice first. They both attempted to speak at the same time.
“So what-” started saying Percy as Annabeth said “I was-”
“Sorry. You go first,” said Percy. He was well aware of how uncomfortable this was for the both of them. These last few months without the presence of Annabeth in his life, without even speaking a word to each other have been a mere agony. Percy thought all his efforts had been in vain considering Annabeth not once replied to him. But no reply doesn’t necessarily mean she wasn’t reading his letters, wasn’t seeing his feelings of regret and want hidden behind every word on the paper. Maybe that’s why she came here in the first place, to resolve the situation they had gotten themselves into. Percy had the urge to throw up at the thought of Annabeth wanting to distance herself more from him. Even keeping things between them as they’ve been lately, was enough to make Percy sick.
Annabeth cleared her throat, bringing Percy back to the present. Always his tightrope when his thoughts got out of control, like he was drowning and Annabeth was standing right above him telling him to take her hand.
“I was at camp and I really needed someone to talk to about Kronos and Luke,” she whispered that last part and avoided eye contact. Even now she couldn’t bring herself to say his name with confidence around Percy. He would always be a sore point between them.
“-and the imminent war and…about you, and us” she met his eyes again. “And I realized that there’s really only one person on this planet with whom I want to talk about that stuff. You.”
“Annabeth-,” he said and took a step towards her, reaching out to touch her as he’s done countless other times, but she stepped back, placing her hands up as if to stop Percy from getting closer to her.
“Boon,” said Annabeth. Hearing that word stopped Percy in his tracks, knocking the wind out of him. It was a word Annabeth had used once and Percy came up with the idea to turn it into a code word two years ago while they were on board Luke’s ship, the Princess Andromeda.
If you see me doing something that leans in a bad direction, you stop me with a code word, he had said.
A code word?
Yeah, I was thinking “boon”, he felt so good in that moment, using their little joke as something more. You say “boon” I back off.
And that’s what Percy did now, he backed off from her. It kind of hurt him that Annabeth used their code word in this context, but another part of him liked the idea that after two years, Annabeth still remembered one little conversation they had in the ocean of words they’ve exchanged since then. Maybe Annabeth was memorizing every little thing Percy has ever said, just like he did.
“Please, let me get everything out. I just need to get these things off my chest and then I can go.” her voice was sad but sure. Percy thought if maybe she had rehearsed it in her mind before she decided to finally get in contact with him.
“Last summer was probably the worst summer I’ve ever lived through. I know you don’t understand my position or how I’m feeling about this matter but Percy…Luke was someone that cared for me for years. For years it had been me and him, especially after what happened to Thalia. He was my brother for all intents and purposes. And seeing him like that…turned into a monster I don’t recognize…that hurts me Percy. And you not understanding my pain really hurts me.” her voice was starting to break. Percy wanted to respond, tell her that he could never forgive him for what he did to her, that it didn’t matter if Luke was simply a puppet and the one pulling the strings was Kronos. But he held his tongue because maybe they would never see eye to eye on this matter. Annabeth cared too much about Luke and Percy cared too much about Annabeth.
“And finally getting my own quest and it getting derailed,” she continued. “I know I played a big part in this by bringing four people along, but I couldn’t leave any one of you behind. And then getting sidelined on the quest I was leading, by a mortal girl of all people. She was helpful in the end, I’m not too proud to admit that,” she looked at him pointedly.
Percy knew what was coming next. He braced himself for impact, ready to hear about the kiss and how it didn’t mean anything for her.
“And then…I kissed you. And you kissed me back. You disappeared and when you came back you seemed fine with it. Bringing the mortal along like some kind of buffer. I was on the brink of breaking apart and you didn’t even acknowledge what happened between us.”
Percy didn’t have the courage to interrupt her. While Annabeth talked he was brought back to that time, realizing just how wrong his stance on the matter had been.
“All these years you have shown me a kindness and love I didn’t even know existed. Maybe I took it for granted. Somewhere along the way, what I felt about you changed, my emotions grew tenfold, became uncontrollable. But fate is cruel and keeps teasing me with what I want most but can’t seem to have.”
They have crossed the thin line between friendship and something more what feels like an eternity ago. Maybe they were always on that stage, too afraid to break out of it. Percy had thought Annabeth kissed him in a moment of weakness and he didn’t know what to make out of it. But now she was standing in front of him telling him clear as day she wanted something more and it fell on Percy to decide if he would jump with her.
“Maybe the last line of my prophecy was really about you,” she spoke softly, as if the thought just now crossed her mind, “because I did lose you somewhere in the process.”
Annabeth turned to leave and Percy was looking at losing her from his life forever or taking a leap of faith into something with her. He grabbed her arm before she could take another step towards a universe where they weren’t in each others lives anymore.
“What are you doing?” she whispered, with their faces so close he could feel the warmth of her breath as she spoke, he could smell the lemon soap she favored for her hair, he could count every eyelash fluttering against her cheeks.
“You have no idea how sorry I am about everything,” he rested his forehead against Annabeth’s, “I should have known, I never should have left camp without running after you when we spoke last.”
Percy moved the hand that was holding Annabeth’s arm up to her shoulder and then to rest against her jaw. His touch was featherlight, afraid that any sudden move would break the spell they were both under.
He pulled closer and pressed his lips to hers, soft at first as if testing the waters. His self control was a dam ready to combust. Annabeth exhaled in the kiss, responding with more vigor.
Percy wasn’t religious, just because gods exist doesn’t mean A God exists too. But as he was kissing Annabeth he thought this is the closest I’ll ever come to heaven.
They pulled apart, pupils dilated and breathing heavily. They looked at each other, asking the silent question is this really happening? Is this real? Are you real?
He was well aware that Grover could come in the room any second now, but in that moment Percy felt like this was the last day before the world ends and he and Annabeth were the only people left standing on earth. There was nothing he wanted more than spend that last day going after the one thing he breathed for.
The dam broke.
Their lips came together again, like waves crashing down the shore. Kissing Annabeth felt like rebirth. They were both hungry and desperate as if what was missing their whole lives was this moment— the realization that they both ached for the same thing.
Percy pulled her face closer, deepening the kiss but no amount of closeness felt like it was enough when it came to Annabeth Chase. Her hands found a place in the small of his back and pulled him closer as well. The touch made him feel like he was getting drunk on her.
Their kiss seemed to say everything they kept locked away since the invisible string that kept them connected throughout their lives finally brought them together. He must be the one.
There was a cough and then Grover’s voice came from outside Percy’s room.
“Okay I think I gave you enough time,” said Grover and stepped from behind the wall and rested his body against the doorframe, eyes going back and forth between them.
Annabeth and Percy pulled apart so fast, he almost fell to the ground. He saw Annabeth covering her mouth with the sleeve of his hoodie. Percy thought she might get the urge to flee but when she looked up at him and their eyes met, she was exuding a deep feeling of affection— love, and it was targeted at him.
“You didn’t tell me Grover’s here,” Annabeth said and squatted his arm.
“Big time,” answered Percy. Although it was embarrassing getting caught making out with Annabeth, he still couldn’t hide the smile on his face.
“I’m always here Annabeth,” said Grover and placed a heart over his heart, “and here, because of Percy,” he moved the hand from his heart to the side of his head.
Percy felt Annabeth’s hand reaching out to grab his, interlocking their fingers and squeezing tightly. He didn’t want Annabeth to leave yet, wanted to postpone their goodbye for as long as humanly possible.
“Do you want to stay for dinner?” he heard himself ask, “me and Grover cooked,” he saw the question in her eyes and added, “it’s edible Wise Girl. Wow you really only like me for my good looks.”
“No, I also like you for your inability to be right in an argument with me,” she said and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I’d love to stay.”
Once Sally returned and exchanged pleasantries and hugs with Annabeth, telling her how much she had missed seeing her around, how much Percy talked about her every day, at which Percy simply groaned mom, they all sat around the table. After, it was getting late and they had moved their little party in the living room to watch a movie, with Grover, Annabeth and Percy taking the sofa and Sally the chair. Percy and Annabeth spent the duration of the movie stealing glances at each other and holding hands under the blanket that was thrown over them. By the time the movie ended it was way past midnight and Sally recommended Annabeth sleeps over tonight.
“Oh! I don’t know if-” she said and looked over at Percy.
“You should,” he nodded emphatically, “Grover is clearly staying also.” and he pointed at Grover who was lightly snoring on the corner of the couch, the blanket pulled tightly up to his neck.
“Okay,” she smiled, “I’m gonna have to borrow something to sleep in.”
Percy’s heart did yet again another somersault thinking of Annabeth in more of his clothes.
“I’ll bring out the air mattress for you to sleep in Percy,” said Sally and excused herself.
Percy and Annabeth spent all night moving from talking about everything they had in their minds during those vicious months apart, to kissing again, to crying and laughing and crying from laughing. Once they were too exhausted to speak, they laid in their respective beds but still held hands. They spent all night like this, their fingers interlocked.
Percy fell asleep with the hope that tomorrow was going to be a better day, because even though nothing else had changed, at least now he gets to hold Annabeth’s hand, through everything, for the rest of his life.