Chapter Text
Camp Half-Blood was quiet.
Not 𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭 quiet—normal at Camp Half-Blood meant the clang of swords against shields, satyrs yelling because someone had accidentally set the strawberry fields on fire again, and the occasional explosion from the Hephaestus cabin that everyone collectively agreed to ignore.
This was... different.
Peaceful.
The kind of peaceful that settled over the valley after surviving too much.
The sun hung lazily over Long Island Sound, warm enough to bake the cabin roofs without making anyone regret existing. A breeze drifted through the pine trees, carrying the scent of saltwater, strawberries, and smoke from the forge. Somewhere in the distance, a pegasus let out an indignant whinny that was quickly answered by another.
Nobody screamed, no alarms rang, and no oracle called for heroes.
It had been months.
𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴.
The realization still felt strange enough that Percy Jackson had to remind himself every morning that yes, he was allowed to wake up without immediately assuming something wanted to kill him.
"...I think I'm bored." He sighed, lazily dipping his fingers into the lake, dragging little cascades as he pulled them out.
"No, you're not." Annabeth didn't even look up from the thick architecture book balanced on her knees.
Percy frowned. "I think I know whether I'm bored."
She calmly turned another page. "I know you," she corrected. "You're not bored."
He leaned farther over the edge of the dock until his fingertips skimmed the surface of the lake.
"I'm pretty sure I—"
"You're restless."
"..."
"You've mistaken the two."
"..."
"..."
Percy sighed dramatically enough to deserve an award. "Okay, maybe."
Annabeth smiled without lifting her eyes from the page. He watched the tiny smile tugging at the corner of her mouth and rolled his own eyes affectionately.
"Nerd." She reached over without warning and shoved his shoulder. He yelped, windmilling his arms dramatically before catching himself inches from the water.
"You almost killed me!" Percy cried out dramatically.
"I barely touched you," Annabeth chuckled, smiling as she shoved him lightly a second time.
"You assaulted a war hero, wise girl." Percy shoved her right back, looking at her as she laughed out loud.
"You are so unbelievably dramatic!" Annabeth continued to giggle as if he was the greatest amusement available.
"I almost drowned!"
"You are literally the son of Poseidon." She deadpanned.
"Exactly." He pointed toward the lake with complete seriousness. "Hostile territory." He waved his hand and little droplets came at her, hitting her on the forehead a little too hard.
"There she is, the wisest wise girl tragically shot by lukewarm lake water!" Percy flung an arm around her shoulder and put the back of his hand on his forehead, feigning devastation. "Oh gods, now 𝘸𝘩𝘰 could survive such a thing!"
Annabeth groaned, rubbing her forehead.
"I regret laughing." She faced him and dropped her head as if she was sad.
"I know," he grinned cheekily as he dropped his hand from his forehead.
"You'll be insufferable now," she sighed, smiling at Percy despite his theatrics.
"I was already insufferable"
"Fair point." She cupped his jaw with a hand and kissed him sweetly.
For a little while, neither of them spoke. But the silence wasn't awkward.
After everything they'd survived, silence had become... comfortable.
Safe.
Percy watched sunlight dance across the lake. Annabeth kept reading. The world kept spinning.
The breeze ruffled the corners of her book, occasionally blowing loose strands of blonde hair across her face. She'd absentmindedly tuck them behind her ear every few pages without interrupting her reading.
Percy knew she wasn't actually reading anymore. She'd been staring at the same paragraph for almost five minutes.
He didn't call her out on it. Instead, he quietly asked,
"What're you thinking about?"
This time, she did look up. Blue-gray eyes met sea-green. For a heartbeat, she seemed to debate lying. Then...
"Nothing."
Percy snorted. "Liar."
"I know." She breathed.
"...You wanna tell me?"
Annabeth looked back at the water.
Her expression softened in a way that only Percy ever really got to see.
Then, after a long pause, she took a deep breath and said "I keep waiting."
"For what?" Percy asked, noticing this wasn't something that light-hearted.
"For something to happen, seaweed brain." She shrugged one shoulder. "Another prophecy, another monster.. the sky to crack open."
She let out a quiet laugh that wasn't really a laugh. "It feels weird."
Percy swallowed. "...Yeah."
He understood that feeling better than anyone. Peace almost felt suspicious, like the universe had gone too quiet.
Like it was taking a deep breath before screaming 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳! again.
"You know what's funny?" Percy murmured.
"Hm?"
"I don't even know what normal teenagers do."
Annabeth blinked. "...What?"
He started counting on his fingers. "We've saved Olympus,"
"Mhm."
"Saved the world,"
"Twice." She nodded thoughtfully.
"We've fought Titans, Giants, Tartarus, Primordials... Romans and Greeks alike. I could go on, y'know.." Percy let his hand flop dramatically into his lap. "We've 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 gone to Hell... And somehow..."
He looked genuinely puzzled.
"I have absolutely no idea what teenagers do during summer break. Well– some ideas.. I think,"
Annabeth opened her mouth. Closed it again. "...Huh."
Percy pointed accusingly. "See!"
"I..." She frowned. "I don't know either."
They stared at each other.
Both of them silently realising the same horrifying truth. Neither had any hobbies. Well, some hobbies.. if skating once every two months or battle strategy making counted.
"That's–ss..." Annabeth said slowly, stretching out the 's'. "...kind of depressing."
"A little," Percy considered.
"A lot." She settled.
Percy drew out a long 𝘴𝘪𝘪𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘩. "A lot."
A voice interrupted from behind them.
"I bet twenty bucks that Aquaman junior starts wrestling fish by tomorrow."
Percy twisted around.
Leo Valdez strolled toward the dock carrying three sodas balanced precariously in one arm while his newest invention– a modified phone– rested in the other hand. He snapped a picture before either of them could react.
𝘍𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘩!
Percy squinted. "Seriously?"
Leo inspected the photo proudly. "Oh, that's gold."
"What is?" Percy questioned him, a little anxious of the answer he'd receive. Leo had gotten exceptionally good at taking really bad candid photos.
"'Two old people contemplating taxes by a lake.'" Leo announced to the world, which consisted in the almost empty lakeside.
Annabeth made a face. "We're nineteen and eighteen."
"Exactly. You're 𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵." Leo preached. Percy threw a pebble at him.
Leo dodged without looking.
"I can't believe you survived Gaea." Percy voiced as he stared him down from where he was currently being smothered by his Wise-girl's beautiful, magnificent form.
"I ask myself that every morning." Leo grinned cheekily, before taking another picture featuring a reading Annabeth and a halfway-through blinking Percy.
Another voice floated down the hill. "Leo!"
Piper jogged toward them, slightly out of breath, one hand waving over her head. "You stole my—"
She stopped beside him. "...Phone."
Leo innocently slid the device behind his back. "No..."
"Leo." Piper deadpanned.
"Nope." Leo denied, popping out the 'p'.
"Leonidas Marcos Valdez." Piper growled, looming over him by half an inch.
"It was borrowin–ng" He conceded, looking at her innocently.
"You've taken 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥 pictures of Coach Hedge asleep!" She crowed, startling a naiad who was collecting seashells nearby.
"They're historically significant!"
Piper pinched the bridge of her nose. "Delete them."
"Never–rr!" Leo teased as he ran away, clutching Piper's modified phone to do who knows what to it.
She sighed the sigh of someone who had known Leo far too long. Then she looked toward Percy and Annabeth. "You two look weirdly serious."
"We discovered we don't know how to be teenagers." Annabeth answered.
Piper nodded once. "...Yeaaah."
Percy blinked. "...That's it?"
"That's a normal realization around here, I fear." She sat down beside Annabeth, stretching her legs out toward the lake.
"I don't think any of us know." Her voice had grown quieter. "Not really. I mean.. the funniest thing I've done is accidentally stealing a car with charm speak. And that was like.. a year or two ago.."
The joke evaporated.
Even Leo (who had come back) stopped fiddling with the phone.
The air shifted. Not painfully. Just... heavy. There were too many years behind them.
Too many burned shrouds. Too many battles.
Too many moments where growing up had happened because it 𝘩𝘢𝘥 to.
Nobody noticed the approaching footsteps until a familiar, cheery voice said,
"So..."
Will Solace looked around the little group, one eyebrow raised. "why does everyone look like they collectively realized they're in therapy?"
Behind him, Nico stood with his hands buried in the pockets of his black hoodie despite the warm weather, an MP3 player clipped to one pocket. One earbud dangled loose around his neck while the other remained tucked into one ear. As he reached up to brush his dark hair away from his face, the tiny silver star hanging from his left ear immediately snagged in a lock of hair.
"...Seriously?" he muttered under his breath, already trying to untangle it. Will watched for exactly two seconds before gently batting Nico's hand away.
"Hold still," he ordered.
"I can do it.." Nico muttered under his breath.
"I know darlin'" Will said as he reached for Nico's hair.
"You don't have to—"
"I know." Will interrupted. With practiced ease, Will carefully worked the strands of hair free from around the star pendant. His movements were patient, slow enough not to tug, and Nico—despite the fact that he normally recoiled from unsolicited attention—stood perfectly still, staring determinedly at the ground as if pretending this happened every day (it happened every day).
Which, judging by Will's complete lack of surprise... It probably did (told ya)
"There." Will smiled. "You're free."
Nico huffed. "It wasn't trapped."
"Oh, it was absolutely trapped dear"
"It was thinking about it." Nico protested, shooting a not-so-dirty look at his boyfriend. Will laughed.
Percy glanced sideways at Annabeth. "...See?"
She smiled knowingly. "What?" She asked sweetly, pretending to be unaware of what he was talking about.
Percy nodded toward Nico and Will. "They're disgustingly cute."
Nico looked up just in time to hear that. "I heard that," he observed, shooting a 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 dirty look at Percy.
"I know," Percy acknowledged, leveling his personally-considered cousin with a smug look of his own. "You were supposed to."
Nico rolled his eyes so hard it looked physically painful. Will, meanwhile, was trying very hard not to smile. It wasn't working.
Somewhere in the distance, the horn rang for lunch. None of them moved though. Not yet.
For the first time in a long time, there was nowhere they had to be. And somehow, that felt stranger than any prophecy ever had.