Chapter Text
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Percy Jackson knew the new guy's name.
He did. He just refused to let himself say it correctly.
"So... Liam," he said, pressing the dish towel into a plate with far more force than necessary, as though the ceramic had personally betrayed him. Across from him, Annabeth didn't even look up.
"It's Levi," she corrected, the edge in her voice dulled only slightly by the steady rhythm of running water.
They were on dish duty after lunch at Camp Half-Blood, the kitchen tucked behind the open-air dining pavilion where the scent of strawberries and burnt offerings still lingered in the warm afternoon air. Sunlight streamed through the high windows in hazy beams, catching in the steam that curled up from the industrial sink. The clatter of silverware and distant laughter from campers outside drifted in, but in the cramped kitchen space, it felt strangely enclosed—like the world had narrowed to just the two of them and the stack of plates between them.
Annabeth stood at the sink with practiced efficiency, sleeves rolled up, neat braids pulled back to keep them from slipping into her face. A few strands had escaped near her temples, damp from the humidity, and Percy found himself watching the way the light caught against her cheek. She moved with purpose, scrubbing plates in quick, decisive motions the same way she approached battle plans or architecture drafts—focused, precise, controlled.
Percy, on the other hand, was anything but controlled.
He pushed his blond curls out of his eyes with his wrist, only for them to fall right back down again, and tried to ignore the uncomfortable twisting sensation low in his stomach.
"I'm pretty sure it's Liam," he muttered again.
Annabeth exhaled slowly. "It's Levi. L-e-v-i."
He stacked another plate a little too sharply.
Normally dish duty with Annabeth meant shoulder bumps, easy banter, quiet smiles when their hands brushed by accident. Today, every time she said the name, something tightened in his chest.
"Anyway," she continued, oblivious to the brewing storm beside her, "Levi's from San Diego. He said the West Coast monsters are completely different. Apparently there are more sea-based ones."
Percy's jaw tightened despite himself.
"Oh yeah?" he said, aiming for casual and landing somewhere closer to cold.
"Yeah. He handled one last year, actually. He told me about it this morning."
This morning? So they'd been talking this morning.
"And he's really nice," she added, rinsing a plate. "He helped the younger Hermes kids organize their cabin. They were kind of overwhelmed."
Percy paused mid-wipe.
"Hermes?" he asked, carefully neutral.
"Yes."
"So he's a Hermes kid."
"Yes, Percy."
"And his name starts with L."
That finally made her look at him.
"Yeah... so?"
Percy crossed his arms, dish towel hanging forgotten in his hand. "Annabeth, I think you might have a type."
Her eyes flashed. "I do not."
"Luke."
The name landed heavier than Percy intended, and he saw the flicker of something complicated in her expression before she masked it.
"Don't," she said quietly.
"And now Liam."
"Levi," she corrected automatically before groaning. "You're being ridiculous. He's just a friend."
"I'm sure he is," Percy replied, and he hated how irritated he sounded, like he didn't trust her when the truth was he trusted her with his life.
She shook her head slightly. "He's thoughtful. And he actually listens when people talk."
The words weren't meant to sting.
They did anyway.
Before Percy could stop himself from reading too much into that, the kitchen door burst open.
Trish from Apollo cabin swept in with a stack of dirty dishes balanced against her hip.
"Hey! Are you guys talking about Levi?"
Percy felt something in his eye twitch.
"Yeah," Annabeth said. "He's been helping me with training rotations."
Trish leaned against the counter with a grin. "Oh my gods, he's so nice. And fun. And really cute."
Percy's fingers tightened around the plate he was holding.
Annabeth nodded lightly. "...He also has great hair."
The plate slipped from his hands.
It shattered against the tile, the sharp crack echoing louder than it should have.
"Percy!" they both shouted.
He stared at the broken pieces, but the only thing echoing in his head was cute and great hair.
"He's cute?" Percy heard himself say, and he hated how small his voice sounded.
Annabeth blinked. "What?"
Trish tilted her head, eyes sparkling with mischief. "Are you jealous?"
"No," Percy shot back immediately, too fast, too defensive.
Annabeth frowned, said she would go look for a broom in the supply closet to help clean up the mess.
The door shut behind her.
Trish's teasing expression faded, replaced by something far more curious. She studied Percy carefully, like she was seeing something click into place.
"...You don't know, do you?" she asked quietly. Percy stiffened, heart beginning to thud.
"Know what?" he asked, trying to keep his tone even, though there was a thin thread of panic weaving its way through it. She searched his face, really searched it, looking lost as she did.
"Annabeth didn't tell you?" His stomach dropped so fast.
"Tell me what?" he pressed, the words coming out tighter than he meant them to.
Trish glanced toward the closet door to make sure Annabeth was still gone, then leaned in closer, lowering her voice.
"Wait," she murmured, realization dawning across her face. "You think Annabeth and Levi are—"
"Are what?" Percy demanded under his breath, and he could hear the strain creeping in now, because suddenly his brain was filling in the blanks on its own and none of the possibilities were good. "Does he like her? Does she—does she like him? Is that what you're implying?"
Trish's eyes widened slightly.
"Oh my gods," she breathed, and now she wasn't teasing—she looked almost startled. "You think he's competition."
Percy opened his mouth to deny it, but if he was being honest—even just with himself—there had been a sharp, unfamiliar twist of something every time Annabeth said Levi's name, every time she smiled while describing him, every time she listed his qualities.
"I'm not jealous," he insisted anyway, but the words sounded thin even to him. "I just... I want to know what's going on."
Trish's expression softened.
"You really don't know," she said again, slower this time.
"Know what?" Percy asked, and now there was an edge of desperation beneath the frustration, because the idea that there was something happening—something obvious—that he'd somehow missed made him feel off-balance.
She studied him for another long second, and then her gaze shifted from teasing to almost sympathetic.
"You haven't noticed anything about Levi?" she asked carefully.
"Noticed what?" Percy pressed.
She let out a soft, incredulous breath. "Wow."
Percy's thoughts spiraled violently.
Does Levi like her?
Does she like him?
Have they been spending time together when I wasn't paying attention?
Is everyone else aware of something I'm not?
The tightness in his chest spread upward, making it harder to breathe properly, like the air in the kitchen had thinned.
Trish leaned closer again. "You poor thing," Trish murmured.
"Trish," he said, voice low and strained now, because whatever she knew, whatever she was about to say, felt like it was about to tip his world in one direction or another. "Please."
The kitchen door creaked open.
Annabeth stepped out with the broom and dustpan. Trish straightened instantly, the moment dissolving like it had never existed.
"You'll find out soon," she whispered quickly to Percy before backing away.
"Wait—" he started, but she was already heading for the door.
Annabeth frowned at him. "Why do you need Trish?"
Percy's brain scrambled for something—anything—to cover the fact that his heart was still pounding.
"She—uh—needs to bring more plates. She's too slow."
Annabeth looked at him like she wasn't sure whether to argue or just accept the nonsense.
"...Okay," she said slowly.
But Percy barely heard her, he was too busy thinking about what Trish said.
Find out what?
—
That night, Percy lay on his bunk in Cabin Three, staring at the wooden ceiling as moonlight rippled faintly across it from the water outside. The familiar sound of waves against the shore usually settled him, grounding him in something steady and eternal. Tonight, it only made him more aware of how unsteady he felt. He folded his hands behind his head and tried, unsuccessfully, to stop thinking.
What if Annabeth got into a relationship?
The thought alone made his chest constrict, not in a sharp, dramatic way, but in a slow, suffocating one—like something heavy had been placed over his lungs. He tried to picture it clearly, almost like he was forcing himself to face down a monster instead of avoiding it. Annabeth at the campfire, laughing—really laughing—the way she did when she forgot to be guarded, leaning slightly toward someone else instead of him. Strategizing late at night with someone else, trusting someone else with the quiet parts of herself. Going on quests and turning instinctively to someone else first.
What if she didn't look for him in a crowd anymore?
That thought hit the hardest.
Because Annabeth always looked for him.
No matter how chaotic things got, no matter how loud or crowded or dangerous, there was always that split second where her brown eyes scanned until they found him—and then she relaxed, just a fraction.
What if one day she scanned... and looked past him?
He swallowed hard.
Somewhere along the way, Annabeth had stopped being just his best friend.
She was in every version of the future he imagined, whether he'd consciously admitted it or not.
College visits.
New York apartments.
More quests.
Growing up.
In every image, she was there—arguing with him, challenging him, standing shoulder to shoulder with him.
Trying to picture a life without her in it didn't just feel lonely.
It felt wrong.
Like trying to imagine the ocean without water.
The realization settled heavily over him.
He wasn't scared of Levi.
He was scared of losing her.
And that fear made it nearly impossible to breathe.
—
The next morning at the archery range, Percy's palms were already slightly damp before he even approached.
Levi stood with easy confidence, adjusting his stance, sandy blond hair catching the sunlight in a way that felt almost unfair.
Percy swallowed.
His heart was beating too fast for something that wasn't even a fight.
"Hey, Liam—I mean, Levi," he corrected, the name catching in his throat.
Levi turned with an easy smile. "Percy, right? Annabeth talks about you."
The words sent a jolt straight through Percy's chest.
"She does?" he asked, and he hated the way hope slipped into his voice before he could stop it.
"Yeah. Nice to finally meet you."
Percy shifted his weight, suddenly hyper-aware of everything—his posture, his voice, the fact that his chest felt tight again.
"I, uh... actually wanted to talk to you about Annabeth."
The moment the words left his mouth, his heartbeat spiked. His throat felt dry. This shouldn't have been this hard—he'd faced titans, for gods' sake—but somehow this conversation felt more dangerous.
Levi's expression shifted immediately, concern flashing across his face. "Is she okay?"
The instinctive worry in Levi's tone made Percy's stomach twist.
He cares about her.
"She's fine," Percy said quickly. "I just—she's very close to me. And I care about her a lot. I just want to know if you two—"
"Babe!"
A dark-haired guy jogged up and kissed Levi on the cheek.
Percy froze mid-sentence.
Levi laughed. "Percy, this is Danny. My boyfriend."
For a split second, Percy's brain didn't process the word.
Boyfriend.
Then everything clicked into place.
Trish's expression.
Trish's words
Relief hit him so suddenly and so completely that his knees nearly went weak. The tight band around his chest snapped, air rushing back into his lungs in a way that almost made him dizzy.
"It is very good to meet your boyfriend," Percy said, and he couldn't stop the grin spreading across his face.
Levi smirked, clearly connecting the dots. "If this is about Annabeth and me, we're just friends."
Percy let out a slow breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
"And honestly," Levi added, "it was pretty obvious from day one that you two have something going on."
Percy flushed immediately. "We do not."
Levi gave him a look.
"We're just friends," Percy insisted, though the word didn't sit the same way it had the day before.
Levi chuckled. "You should tell her how you feel, Percy."
"Tell me what?"
Percy nearly jumped out of his skin.
Annabeth stood behind him, sunlight catching in her braids, brown eyes curious and sharp.
"Umm..." Percy started blanking out, he turned back to Danny and Levi, and then back to Annabeth.
"I just wanted," Percy started, he was now sweating profusely, "to say thank you for helping me clean up the broken plate earlier, I'm sorry about that."
Annabeth smiled and shook her head.
"What are friends for Percy? Anytime!" She said, bumping his shoulder, Percy smiled lightly.
He looked at her, really looked at her, and felt that same terrifying certainty settle into place.
He didn't want a future where she wasn't there.
And maybe it was time she knew that.