Annabeth has been acting weird since breakfast. Usually, she would greet Percy outside the pavilion, before or after they ate depending on how long it had taken them both to get out of their respective beds. But today she hadn’t. She had barely glanced up from her half eaten bowl of porridge to acknowledge him, in fact. Percy knew he tended to get inside his own head about these things, so he tried not to overthink it or take it personally, but this was hard to shrug off.

It wasn’t like they spent every day together, but while they were at camp they did try to match their schedules up as much as they could. The Winter Break had brought a welcome to their respective busy school schedules which had been crammed full with boring mortal things like studying for finals and college applications. In addition, it would be the first Christmas they spent together as a couple, thanks to Hera’s little abduction the year before. And Annabeth had been enjoying that time spent together. But today she was definitely avoiding him.

Percy decided he wouldn’t take it personally and gave her some space, if that’s what she wanted.

He goes about his day, supervising the lava wall and grabbing the scruff of one daughter of Apollo before she landed butt first in the molten stuff. The afternoon kept him busy teaching some of the younger campers sword skills as he wrought his mind away from memories of Luke teaching him the very same instructions when he first landed here six years ago. Meanwhile, Annabeth was on the other side of Camp, overseeing construction of an extension to the Hermes cabin, long-overdue.

It wasn’t until after dinner that his resolve broke, sending him to cabin six while the others headed to the campfire, already warbling some horrendous renditions of Santa Baby. Travis Stoll’s voice could be heard most distinctly above the others’.

The Athena cabin was almost completely dark, with only one lamp turned on between two of the beds closest to the door. And that’s where he found Annabeth, a hunched figure sitting on the edge of her neatly made bed with her back to him. Percy took a steadying breath, feeling unreasonably nervous, before walking over, circling the end of her bed and ending up sitting on the one opposite. Their knees were close to knocking together but he kept the distance there, wary of her unspoken desire for space.

Annabeth startled as he sat down, blinking at him like he’d spooked her out of some reverie. Her hands played with a thin chain in her lap and stilled as she looked up at him with wide eyes.

“I just…” he started, uncertain. “I wanted to check you’re okay?”

Horrifyingly, her eyes filled with tears and she looked down at her lap as she released a shaky breath. And Percy was helpless to an Annabeth in pain, so he moved to sit next to her, wrapping an arm over her shoulders and pulling her against him. She went willingly against his chest and he could feel her cold nose through his shirt as she shakily hiccuped through a sob. Growing increasingly concerned, Percy rubbed her arm and kissed the top of her head, grateful at least that she was letting her comfort him.

“What’s wrong?” he asked her in a hushed voice.

It took another moment for Annabeth to control her breathing and she clutched his shirt in her fist, leaning against him.

“It’s his birthday today,” she whispered eventually, so quietly that Percy nearly missed it.

“Whose birthday?”

Finally, Annabeth sat up, wiping her face on her own sweater in a way that would have been completely unattractive if he wasn’t so completely in love with her. She met his gaze, her eyes hardening to steel, ready to challenge his response before he could even ready himself to give it.

“Luke’s,” she said.