Hey guys! I’m pretty sure you’re all tired of hearing my lame excuses, so I’ll just get on with it. I found this drabble in one of my folders last night and was laughing at 3AM because it’s hilarious and I don’t remember writing it. Here it is!

Enjoy! :-)

Leather jacket collar popped, dark wash jeans folded, and Chuck Taylors sound and half-tied around his feet, Percy Jackson was ready to make a fool of himself for the thousandth time that school year. 

He jogged into school with his troublemaker grin, winking at the horde of girls by the lockers as he passed. Some of them snickered, plenty of them swooned, but all of them had to agree that he looked exceptionally good. 

He didn’t. Thus, it began. 

#1 He Tries

Today was definitely the day. He wiggled his eyebrows at his distorted image on the locker door. As he was about to open it, however, a waft of citrus-tinged shampoo filled his senses. Percy whipped around faster than he should’ve, evidently hitting his face into the open locker door.   

Wham!

“Oooh,” a voice called from behind the door. Percy slammed his locker closed and cursed, trying to tame the massive blush that stained his cheeks. To his complete and utter dismay, there walked his next door neighbour who was beautiful, blonde, tan, intelligent, hard-working, absolutely fit—Percy wasn’t sure where he was going, but if you summarised Annabeth Chase into one word, it would be perfect.

“Looked like it hurt, Jackson,” Piper McLean sniggered. Percy fingered the large red welt that began to form on his forehead and cursed again.   

“It really does, Pipes. Don’t make fun of him for it,” Annabeth commented from beside her. Embarrassment was smothered under an aura of aloofness and audacity when Percy realized that Annabeth was probably staring at his face. He almost pissed his pants  when Annabeth’s cool fingers wiped at his forehead. Her calculating eyes gave his face a one over and she settled a small pat against his burning cheek. “Ice it and take some aspirin, Percy. Looks like you’re getting a fever, too." 

He gulped. Tried to say something coherent. Failed. 

“I… uh… uhm…" 

“Did you hit your head that hard, Jackson?” Piper laughed. Annabeth sent her a look. 

“Anyways—ice and aspirin, yeah?” Annabeth chided. Percy nodded. “Okay, I’ll see you later, Perce." 

#2 Romans and Holidays 

He just wanted to be nice and offer her a large tub of pricey popcorn—that he’d saved up for all week—but something just had to go wrong. 

As Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck’s voices blared through speakers that surrounded a large white screen and about fifty cars, there were two sure ways that Percy could fuck up. 

‘Mishap A’ was Percy tripping unceremoniously over a stray pebble, only to spray some of the audience with delicious popcorn, while ‘mishap B’ was a little more dramatic, inclusive of pepper being added to the popcorn instead of salt, and getting beat up by girls and roller skates. 

Thankfully, neither happened. 

Percy grinned as he successfully walked to the pink car where Annabeth and her girlfriends were watching the movie. It was pretty challenging, as the car was near the screen and the snack bar was far back, so he couldn’t help but radiate pride when he settled the tub of popcorn on the car’s shiny hood. 

“Annabeth-“ he tried, but a couple of boys began to hoot at him. Soon after, people were throwing candy wrappers at him. “Hey! What the hell-" 

Reyna Arellano jumped out of the pink convertible and tackled Percy to the ground. The popcorn flew everywhere, and as a peppery scent hit his nose, he began to sneeze. 

Annabeth’s head appeared from behind the wheel, and her cheeks were scarlet in anger. “You were blocking the projector, idiot!" 

#3 James Dean is Fictional 

“Bro, sick new hairstyle!” Frank smacked his shoulder, immediately raising Percy’s spirits by five-hundred percent.   

“Thanks, man,” Percy grinned. “James Dean was the inspiration." 

Leo then took the opportunity to stroll into the room, double-taking when he saw Percy’s slicked back and oily hair. His eyes widened. 

“Percy. Tell me you did not ask for my engine grease so that you could put it in your hair,” Leo begged. “You are going to go bald." 

Percy Jackson paled. 

#4 Falling for You 

“Hi Annabeth,” Percy smiled, waving. He wanted to look cool, so he nodded his head to propel the shades on top of his head to smack right in front of his eyes. When the attempt was successful—Percy wanted to squeal—he leaned back to nod and look cooler as the blonde passed by. 

But Percy Jackson fell out the open window. 

#5 It’s a Split 

Bowling Night.   

As Annabeth’s shoes squeaked on the shiny floor and her hair was up in a really cute ponytail, Percy opted to sit out on the games for the luxury of watching her play.   

He sat by the diner area, eyes glazed over as he watched Annabeth score another Strike. The waitress came over for their orders. 

Percy, dazed and delirious, asked for a large chocolate milkshake with two straws. To share.

“Who will be sharing, Sir?” The waitress asked politely.   

Hazily, Percy looked over his shoulder at his blonde, beautiful soulmate and said, “Us." 

“You and…” the waitress clarified. 

“Us,” Percy clarified. His heart began to palpitate as Annabeth saved that last game with a Spare. She clapped her hands and Percy’s heart flopped. “US!" 

The waitress walked away in confusion and left Percy awkwardly standing with Jason staring at him incredulously from his seat next to him in the booth.   

Jason’s mouth pouted in distaste. “Percy... now she thinks we’re gay."

The sunset was beautiful from Half-Blood Hill.

Blinking, Nico glanced up with his head head nestled warmly in the cross of Will’s lap and clicked his tongue. A strawberry found its way to his mouth, as sweet and red as the lips that placed it there. Will stopped just above him, breathless, with their noses touching.

“You have freckles.” Nico said suddenly in surprise.

His eyes squinted at the galaxy of spots that danced around Will’s high cheekbones and drizzled into the caress of his neck.

Blue eyes rolled. “And the sun is hot.”

Nico’s cheeks pinked and he stirred in response. “Hey! It’s just… I’ve never really looked at you this… close… b-before—”

Under the orange of the sunset, the prince of death breathed the stars.

Happy International Women’s Day!

A blue ball bounced from Percy’s palm to the side of his king sized bed in Cabin Three, one socked leg high in the air and the other nestled comfortably under Annabeth’s thighs. The sound of the ball was repetitive, each beat breaking the silence and interrupting the steady click clacking of Annabeth’s typing fingers.

He sighed. Unable to bear the stillness any longer, Percy threw the ball across the room and twisted in his sheets so that his feet were on his headboard and his cheek was pressed against Annabeth’s shoulder. Biting his lip, he tenderly kissed the scar that saved his life a couple of years ago.

Annabeth exhaled, eyes finally leaving her screen for the first time that morning. Her boyfriend was terribly needy. “Yes, Percy?” She asked exasperatedly.

Percy still had his mouth pressed against her shoulder, but his eyes were wide and green, making Annabeth blush through a dark clump of eyelashes. Her cheeks warmed as she felt Percy smile against her skin.

“You know I love you, right?” He said blatantly. The sincerity of his words pinked even the tip of Annabeth’s ears. “You know that you’re the second most important woman in my life?”

Her grey eyes sparkled as she regarded Percy. Slowly, she closed her laptop. Packed away her books. “You want to make out, don’t you?”

“Well--yes. I mean when don’t I ever want to make out with you? But that’s beside the point. I mean... I would’ve probably died a million times if I never met you, and you’re just... one big wow and I--”

Annabeth didn’t have it in her to let him finish. They made out.

“Okay,” Percy grumbled, strapping and tightening the leather of his armour. His brows were tight in the middle of his forehead, painting a hairy picture of nerves and anxiety.“But whose idea was it to play capture the flag against the girls?”

Jason raised a brow, completely misunderstanding the cause of Percy’s stress. “Look bro, I know you usually play with Annabeth, but we just--”

“It’s not that. I can play with anyone.” Percy growled. “It’s that the girls are going to pulverize us.”

Nico froze. “That’s true. We’re going to die.”

“What?” Frank asked. “I mean Hazel is really badass, but I don’t think we have any reason to be that afraid--”

“With Piper and Annabeth and Hazel and Katie and Thalia... Oh gods I feel like we’re signing our death certificates--”

“Percy, chill. It’s not that big of a--”

In the end, the boys, even with Percy, Nico, Frank, and Jason combined, were heavily overpowered by the girls. Jason broke his ankle, was hit by a ton of bricks and lost his shoes, Frank had a nasty cut on his arm and a split lip, Nico was bald on the right side of his head and was now staring blankly into space, and Percy was naked and passed out at the bottom of the canoe lake.

[Ring.]

[Ring.]

[Ring.]

“H-hello?”

“Hi mom.”

“... Percy? What-- Is.. Is something wrong? It’s 3:02 am. Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I am. Don’t worry. I’m healthy as a can be.”

“Then... why are you calling? Don’t you have midterms tomorrow?”

“I do...”

“Then...?” 

“That’s the thing. I’m sorry. I’ve been so busy studying with Annabeth that I’ve forgotten to call you the past three days. I just finished studying.”

“... Oh.”

“Mom? You there?”

“I-I’m here. Just don’t... don’t worry about me, Percy. Go rest. There was a time when you didn’t call me for e-eight months, you know.”

“I know.”

“Good. Now go to sleep. I’ll be fine.”

“Hey mom?”

“Yes, Percy?”

“I love you. I haven’t told you in three days.”

“I love you too--”

“You’re the most important woman in my life. You’re the best mom ever.”

“...”

“Mom?”

“And you’re the greatest thing to have happened to me.”

“I- I miss you, mom.”

“I will always miss you more.”

“I know. G’night mom.”

“Good night, son. Sleep well.”

[Call ended. Duration: 10 minutes 48 seconds.]

Going to college changes people. 

For one, the amount of nutrients people need daily are probably cut in half. Instant ramen and packs of chips suffice as daily meals, and coffee will probably taste like water, given a couple of weeks.   

Another drastic change would be eyes getting used to looking at tablets or Kindle screens for hours on end. Prefer paper books over ebooks? Well, they better have a hundred dollars ready if they’re not willing to sacrifice their 20/20 vision!   

Oh, and was it mentioned that consuming a particular amount of alcohol (in liters) meant having the equivalent of that in hours of sleep?  Drank a bottle of vodka? Well, that’s an hour of sleep! Good job. 

This was only the starting list for Percy Jackson, first year Marine Biology, who was on an athletic scholarship for his competitive swimming in CHB University. He knew he should be taking care of his body for the sake of his record times—but the readings and the training and the constant need to be socially active… 

Percy groaned into an odd smelling throw pillow on the library sofa. He just needed a break from this horribly boring reading on the anatomy of sea urchins that he would probably never need in his life. Not a nap break, though—if he closed his eyes for too long, he was certain he would sleep for ten years. Hangovers did that to you. Why he would drink on a Friday night knowing he had a test the next afternoon, he didn’t know.   

Percy exhaled, rubbed his temples, and locked the screen of his tablet. He tucked it into his backpack, safe and sound under a study desk, and decided to take a brisk walk outside, now that the rain seemed to stop temporarily. Snapping on his cap, he pushed the doors that exited the library and began a slow jog to the park on the other side of the campus. Unfortunately, his need to procrastinate led him to the outskirts of the university, near the sketchy roads by the forest. As his head throbbed and his pulse beat loudly against his ears, Percy paused by a stop sign and threw up into the bushes. He slumped by the post and squatted, exhausted by his fruitless exploits. Oh gods. And to think... He had training after the test. 

The sun burnt his neck as he slumped, but a shadow covered his nape after a few moments of sulking. Confused, Percy Jackson looked up. He felt his eyes widen as he was certain he had glanced upon an angel.   

It was hard to really look at her face against the sun, but he could see enough to get his heart back up to over a hundred.   

Blonde hair was tucked nicely into a ponytail that escaped a cap. Her skin was golden and tan, a few sun spots showering the tops of her bare shoulders and thighs. She was also wearing a trendy sports bra and cycling shorts, but that was beside his point.   

She was beautiful.

124.a

The Aphrodite Cabin counted down to the end of the week like it was going to be the start of a new year–

Ten.

Nine.

Eight–

Pink and red post-its charmed with single-digit days littered the whole Camp Half-Blood, needlessly reminding the campers that the National Aphrodite Holiday was fast approaching. NAH, the campers called it. Single Awareness Day, the lone ones called it. But for the rest of the world, it was most commonly known as Valentine’s Day.

There was to be a festival. 

Single campers simply groaned at the thought of having to celebrate something they didn’t have. The heart shaped streamers that hung on the cabin roofs and pine trees were bitter reminders of their relationship status—they were brittle pieces of trash that were found everywhere. 

The cabin took camp by surprise. By the thirteenth of February, the whole place turned into a gigantic love shack, with flowers and fairy lights enchanting the very crevices of the clearing. When the campers—especially the single ones—walked out of their cabins, grimaces lined their mouths. “We don’t have anyone,” they recite in varying tones and choruses.

Piper McLean walks to the set stage in the middle of the mess hall with a grin on her face. “Valentine’s Day isn’t all about romantic love, silly,” she says with charm. “It’s about love in all its forms—usual and unusual.“

Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano sat by the edge of—Was this Mercury? He looked years younger–Hermes’ statue and began munching on the churros that appeared on her golden plate, shaking cinnamon sugar off the doughy sticks. She took a sip of hot chocolate from an enchanted goblet and smiled softly at the accuracy of the magic… It tasted just like Hylla’s. The praetor continued her stroll after a couple of bites, eyes suddenly widening at the massive lava wall and exercise contraption that was nestled against a cliffside. Although the lava was dyed pink for the festival, it still looked dangerous enough to spike her adrenaline. 

Churros and chocolate were pushed aside, and Reyna walked briskly to the area while tightening the bronze belt around her waist. This was good. This was Reyna treating herself to comforts she so rarely allowed herself to experience—churros gave her sugar highs that ended with migraines, hot chocolate caused her lactose intolerant stomach to grumble, and lava walls were not the best way to keep a very important praetor alive. 

“Treat yourself,” Reyna shrugged, charging at the lava wall with a ferocious grin. And she definitely did.  Reyna didn’t need boys to remind her of her self worth and/or spoil her to bits. She did that by herself just fine, thank you very much.

People shouldn’t solely depend on other people for their happiness—in fact, it should come from yourself. 

“Gotcha a ‘lil something,” Percy grinned. He hadn’t been in Atlantis for quite some time, but the walk from Camp to the glistening underwater castle was still an easy breeze. Besides—underwater, he wouldn’t see the twinkling red lights Piper installed in his cabin.

Percy handed Tyson a crudely wrapped box. As the Cyclops’ smile widened and his one eye blinked furiously to hold back tears, he opened the present to find three magical photo frames. They were made of glass, flickering like Iris messages from one photo to another. As pictures of Percy, Annabeth, Grover and Tyson passed, one after the other, Tyson’s breath hitched.

“Waterproof and battery-free,” Percy smiled, clasping Tyson’s shoulder. “I know all the pictures you have end up getting soggy and—”

Tyson embraced Percy with all his might, lifting the smaller boy off the underwater sand. The cyclops hiccuped in happiness. “Happy Valentine’s Day, brother.“

Drew Tanaka smacked her lips enthusiastically as she faced the cabin’s magic mirror, plump red mouth striking against her angular features. The magic mirror zoned in on a section of her eyebrow where the shading was smudged, and she hurried to fix it with a brush of concealer. As she finished, she saw Piper in her peripheral, struggling to zip up her dress as the others exited the room in excitement. 

Drew rolled her eyes, tucked away her brushes and walked over to Piper. Nimbly, she took the zipper from Piper’s fumbling fingers and zipped it up without complain.

“Uh… Thanks?” Piper told Drew, hesitant. Drew rolled her eyes once more and flipped her dark hair over a shoulder as Piper turned to face her. 

“I don’t bite, McLean,” Drew guffawed. She eyed a smudge of unkept lipstick near the side of Piper’s mouth and a misplaced braid atop her hair. As Drew’s hand fixed the small messes, Piper froze under her expert touch. “There, now you’re perfect.”

Piper blushed in reply. “Thanks, Drew.“

Feeling just a tiny bit proud of herself as Piper looked at her with admiration, she settled for kissing her brown, flushed cheek. “Even if you’re mom’s favourite, doesn’t mean I can’t love you. You’re still my sister.”

They were daughters of Aphrodite, after all. 

“Mrs. O’Leary, this is Will,” Nico grinned softly. “Will, this is Mrs. O’Leary.“

Gently, Nico beckoned the large hellhound to nuzzle Will’s shaking, outstretched arm. But before Will could touch the large muzzle, the dog tackled Will to the floor of the clearing, licking wildly at the blonde’s freckled face.

Nico joined in the fun, laughing softly as he jumped and tried to wrestle the hellhound off of his boyfriend. 

“I think he likes you!” Nico said breathlessly. Mrs. O’Leary got off of Will after a few moments and resigned to mouthing the heart-shaped chew toy Nico offered him. With his pale hand in Will’s warm, tan one, he looked at his two puppies.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, girl.”

Thalia stood with Annabeth near a pine tree, dangerously close to the Half Blood hill where she spent years as a tree herself. She ceremoniously blew at the dangling silver moon from her headdress, looking up at the stars as she did so.

“Aren’t you spending the night with Jackson?” Thalia asked Annabeth, hands in her pockets.

“In a while,” Annabeth answered. “This is important.”

Thalia watched as she got down on her knees and dug into the soil with her dagger, blonde hair glistening under the night sky . There, she planted seeds that immediately blossomed with the light of the moon. The buds resembled hearts, gliding slowly from green tendrils sprouting from a base. Lamprocapnos, the Demeter cabin told her.

She closed her grey eyes and held Thalia’s hand.

“For them,” Annabeth muttered, wiping at her eyes. “Piper said to give love to those who had given us love.”

Thalia bowed her head in agreement, staring at the stars.

“For them,” she breathed, blue eyes sparkling. “For Luke. For Zoe. For Bianca. Naomi. Phoebe.” Thalia choked.

“For Bob and Damasen,” Annabeth whispered to the sky. “Lee. Ethan. Michael. Charles… Silena.”

“Happy Valentine’s Day.”

The lights flickered a warm yellow as Percy switched them on, leaving the door open for Annabeth to walk through. His legs were jelly as he plopped onto the sofa and closed the door. Maybe jogging in this extreme cold under four layers of clothing wasn’t too good of an idea-- 

“You’re going to overheat,” Annabeth chided, standing in between his open legs. She bent down, albeit a little funny looking in her layers, and pressed her nose against his. “I can’t kiss you if you get sick." 

“Fine. Fine.” Percy relented. He allowed Annabeth to pull him up from his sprawled form on the couch and into his bedroom, both clumsy and chunky in winter clothing. The blonde pushed him onto the bed and scrambled to the drawers to look for looser, cooler clothing.   

“Change,” Annabeth ordered. Percy caught the shirt and boxers in the face, physical exertion not an option in his warm, exhausted form. A smile graced her lips when he acted like the clothes weighed barbels.   

“Ouch!” He exclaimed, falling onto his back and raising his arms and legs like a child. At least the pillows were soft.  “You broke me—now you have to change me." 

A snigger caught his attention and Annabeth watched him with a fond smile. He knew his heart palpitated faster when he got this look compared to any high intensity workout. Percy was pretty sure that she was all the exercise his heart needed. 

“I can’t change you,” she smirked. Her eyes gleamed as she pulled off the scarves and the beanie. “I’ve tried before. No one’s stupidity is at par." 

“Hey!”   

“I love you, too." 

With that, Annabeth winked and turned around, leaving Percy to stare at her blonde curls bouncing as… she… stripped. 

I just realized that I never made a solely college/high school AU for Percabeth. Since I’ve been in college for a little over two years, I thought that my experience might make things a little more accurate! All of these events have happened to me or my best friends personally. Hopefully, this isn’t too similar to Jasper’s “Fated” a couple months back. (Also, the trope isn’t childhood friends to best friends to lover, which is honestly my favourite trope, so I’ll be doing more college AUs in the future to compensate. Watch out!)

Other insp [x] [x] [x]

Enjoy!

The Five Times Percy and Annabeth Almost Met

Annabeth was tired of all this crap.

She was tired of having to run off to the bathroom before each class to make sure no curl was out of place. Tired of having to plaster a smile onto her face-- tired of attempting polite small talk with the strangers around her. She hated having to introduce herself to a roomful of people who were probably going to control her social life in the next four years she was staying in New York.

Gods, she was exhausted.

Nevertheless, she tucked her blonde hair behind her ear, applied a sheen of lip balm to her chapped lips and exhaled. Just one more class and this day would be over. Annabeth clicked her boots and popped her lips, ready to conquer AP Greek History with a smile on her face.

“I’m Annabeth Chase,” she said brightly. “I’m from San Francisco.”

“My, my,” said a burly girl at the back. She had a bandana around her head--Annabeth wasn’t aware those were in fashion again. “That’s a mouthful. Annabelle, is it? Or was it Anneline? Either way, I don’t have time for that fancy schmancy, princess.”

The back of the class erupted into bouts of laughter.

Hm. Must be the obnoxious bullies, then. What they were doing in an AP class, she’d never know.

Annabeth was used to it—her dad was to blame for the obnoxious name and the wild tufts of untameable princess curls. Shrugging it off, she smiled pleasantly at the girl and stared at her straight in the eyes.

“It’s Annabeth, actually. And I thought we were in AP Greek History?” Her smile turned lethal before facing the teacher. “Professor, I’d like to volunteer personally as this girl’s tutor. I have a feeling that as she is unable to pronounce my name, she will have difficulties pronouncing or even spelling Hecatonchires or even Cychreides, which we both know are hardly the most difficult terms in the books. I’d very much like it for her to remain in the class."

The professor’s lip twitched under his beard, and the glimmer in his eye suggested that Annabeth’s snark wasn’t worthy of detention. “I agree, Ms. Chase,” he commented, handing her the required reading. His ID was labelled with a CHIRON, and there was a hint of pride when he sent her off. “You may sit down."

As Annabeth turned around, a skinny boy in a hoodie stood up in a hurry with a blush staining his cheeks. Grabbing his books, he ran a hand through his hair and bit his lip. “Damn. I knew this wasn’t Biology.” The class laughed as he clumsily made his way out the door. “Gotta go.” Before his extremely messy mop of black hair disappeared through the door, she swore she caught a glimpse of his unbelievably green eyes.

Her stomach dropped.

Trying to ignore the strange flutter of her heart, she looked around for an empty seat and found one beside a very pretty girl with feathers in her hair. Annabeth wondered why guys weren’t flocking around her and walked to it instead. Before she could make it, a girl with dark spiky hair and freckles offered her a high-five. Ah, this must be the reason.

“That was savage,” the girl whispered in awe as Annabeth sat down.

Her pretty seatmate glared at the spiky girl and turned to Annabeth with a smile. “What she meant was—that was amazing, Annabeth. It’s great to meet you. I’m Piper and this one here is Thalia."

Professor Chiron cleared his throat in front of the classroom. “Okay, everyone. Before we get started, how about a round of names?"

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

i.

“There are several legitimate reasons why we cannot watch the ball drop in Times Square on New Year’s Eve,” Annabeth said. Her golden hair swished as she hurriedly stuffed clothes into a duffle bag. “Plus, you better hurry with your packing so we don’t miss the train.”

Percy pouted as his chin rested on the back of the dining chair. His green eyes flashed at his girlfriend, but after a few moments of eyebrow scrunching and sighing, he squared his shoulders and shrugged. 

“Alright,” he grumbled. “We’ll head straight to Montauk for the weekend, then?”

“What?” Annabeth asked. She raised an eyebrow at Percy, surprised to see a pleasant smile on his face. “No whining about not seeing the fireworks? No puppy dog eyes and trying to bribe me with good Chinese takeout and your mom’s cookies?”

“Nah,” he replied, stretching on his chair. His cheeks were a rosy pink from the cold. “You’re right. It’s too dangerous. There'll probably be a hundred demigods there already, and with me around-- it’ll become a shining beacon to all the monsters. ‘Stoo risky.”

Annabeth paused and almost dropped the pair of socks she was holding. Her head fell to the side as she stared at her boyfriend in bewilderment. “Percy Jackson... I never thought I’d see the day--”

Before she could continue, Percy grinned and grabbed her waist, pressing his chin to her stomach. He looked up at her with his trademark smile and puppy dog eyes. She wasn’t safe from that, after all. “What, like I never admit that you’re right?”

“Maybe not out loud,” Annabeth exhaled. Her cheeks were glowing redder by the minute, and it wasn’t because of the cool weather. 

“Besides,” Percy whispered, slowly rising from his chair. “If it’s all about the fireworks--” Once their breathing slowed and Percy’s forehead touched hers, he gave her a long sweet kiss. They parted breathless, as always. “I’m pretty sure I don’t have to wait 'til New Year’s Eve for that.”

ii.

“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” 

Nico’s cheeks flushed pink in determination. Under his three layers of clothing, you wouldn’t think he could still be cold, but stiff anticipation settled at the bottom of his stomach. He nodded forcefully.

“Are you very, very sure?” 

He nodded again. “As sure as your love for the summertime,” Nico said as he rolled his eyes. 

“Hey,” the blond said haughtily. “It’s not a bad thing to love the season where your body is the strongest, when your health is at its best, or when, you know, when your father shines brightest--”

“WILL!” Nico said in his loudest voice. He grabbed Will by the lapels of his fleece coat to emphasize just how absolutely and positively sure he was. “My father shines brightest when people are dying. Don’t make me jealous. Now can you please just get on with it?”

The blond blushed furiously. “Alright, alright,” Will answered, brushing off his sleeves. “If I knew you wanted it this badly, then I wouldn’t have done all that stalling.”

Nico frowned and shut his eyes as tightly as he could. He wrapped his arms around himself too brace for the worst. Think happy thoughts. McDonald’s and new Mythomagic cards, he chanted.

Although Nico had become a battle-hardened warrior, he was still extremely young. The loud, heart clenching, bass dropping sounds that were all too familiar from the grand battles he had experienced developed a negative effect on his nerves and overall well-being, so... New Year’s? 

The fireworks scared him shitless. 

However, with Will right there, Nico was certain he could get through it without the usual blankets and earplugs. But... it just so happened that Will was in charge of directing the camp’s yearly midnight fireworks display. To showcase his support, Nico had no choice but to come along and watch the show with front row seats. 

Nevertheless, he was ready.

“Okay, it’s a go!” Will shouted.

The countdown began and Nico braced himself against Will’s side. The blond faced him with a determined look on his face, and Nico felt a flutter of gratitude. He tried to focus on his Will’s blue eyes. 

“Three! Two! O--”

He didn’t hear the one, because all Nico could feel were soft, warm lips on his, and a soft flurry of curls brushing against his forehead. It left him breathless and warm. Warm all over. tremors shook the ground and his ears popped, but he was certain it was because of whatever they were doing. Whatever this was. His first kiss.

The fireworks boomed and they parted.

“What in Hades was that?” Nico screamed through the blasts. His cheeks could start a fire. 

“You said you were ready!” Will shouted. The explosions quaked the ground. “You said you were very sure--”

“For the fireworks, you idiot!”

Will froze in place, eyes wide. “Oh.”

As Nico stared at the stupidity molding the blond’s face, he couldn’t hold it in any longer. 

His laughter was a riot, chortles heard above the display. He had to lean on his knees to support himself, but continued to shake and shake. When his laughing fit was over, he looked up at Will’s face and began to laugh again.

“I’m glad you think my stupidity is amusing,” Will tried to say disdainfully, but a curve formed at the side of his lips. 

As Nico wiped the tears from his eyes, he waddled up to Will and smiled brightly. “It is,” he nodded, kissing Will’s cheek. “But it doesn’t mean I don’t want it to happen again.”

And so it did.

With that, Nico di Angelo no longer feared fireworks. Never again.

It had been almost five years since Percy had put on anything remotely close to orange,  but once his fingers grazed the soft, worn fabric of what used to be his favourite t-shirt, he couldn’t help but put it on. Sure, he was supposed to be looking for items to be sold in their garage sale through the hordes of boxes in storage, but the familiar pegasus logo emblazoned on his chest made him nostalgic. 

It was a miracle it still fit.

He walked into the living room with a lopsided grin on his face and raised his arms to attract attention. 

“How do I look?” Percy asked, spinning. “Do I still look hot?"

It was an odd thing to hear a thirty-five year old say hot, but the blonde on the couch was used to these antics. 

Annabeth’s grey eyes flitted to the middle-aged dork doing pirouettes on her carpet. She couldn’t help but crack a fond smile. Setting aside some blueprints she had to go over for work, she stood up and wrapped her arms around her husband’s thankfully still muscular torso.

Her lips were soft against his ear. “You look fifteen years younger,” she teased. “Admittedly not as handsome as you are now, though."

As usual, any trace of a compliment got Percy’s cheeks burning a bright red. Some things just never change.

But many things do. 

Like their lives. 

“I miss it,” Percy admitted with a sigh, embracing her tightly. He knew he couldn’t have stayed in camp forever— joints would creak, breaths would fall short and hair would turn gray—but he missed it. He missed Cabin Three, he missed the mess hall, the big house, the strawberry fields, the lake, Capture the Flag, the Fourth of July fireworks—he even missed the lava wall. He missed the first place where he ever truly felt safe. It was hard to stop living a life, to stop going to a home. 

To compensate, he buried his face into the crook of Annabeth’s neck. At least she still smelled like lemons. Other than her and his friends, it was most probably the only other constant thing in his life. “Annabeth, I miss it so much."

“I do, too,” Annabeth sighed. She stepped back with a sad smile. “But—"

“But we have to do it for the kids,” Percy finished. “I know."

For them, the price of their kids’ safety was trying to forget the mythical life they once lived. Monster attacks and strange phenomena were hard to sweep under the rug, but together, they managed to keep the truth from their children for years. Even the aunts and uncles, their good friends, had to keep up with the charade. It hurt them both—to forget their tiring but exhilarating and wonderful adventures and to pretend they were average folk who were stronger than most—but they did it because memories were a small price to pay for their children. He knew that, and he knew that it must be more painful for Annabeth who had spent much more of her life in Camp. They hadn’t step foot in Long Island Sound in years. 

“I miss it, but I love the kids more,” Percy assured her. He kissed her forehead.

As he stepped away, he noticed Annabeth’s eyes blazing. If it weren’t for the soft grey strands that adorned her head, she looked the same as she had years ago. Momentarily terrified, Percy convinced himself that it was because she had a brilliant idea in mind.

“What is it?” He asked curiously.

“You know,” Annabeth started, biting her lip. It got Percy’s heart pumping. “Silena is thirteen and Bobby and Damian are eleven. I started training when I was seven. Also, we haven’t visited Chiron in years. Don’t you think it’s time for them to—"

Percy grimaced in astonishment. “You’re joking.” 

“Am I? We also haven’t seen Rachel in a while. I’m sure she misses us terribly.” Annabeth laughed.

“You can’t be serious,” he replied.

“Doesn’t this face look serious to you—"

He cut her off with a kiss. It was a kiss that reminded them of that time they reunited in Rome almost twenty years ago. A kiss that felt like falling in love—like they were returning to something they had been missing desperately. In this case, it was a home.

“We’re really going?” Percy asked, eyes extremely bright. He couldn’t wait to have a family picture with all of them in orange. He couldn’t wait to let the kids pet Blackjack. 

Annabeth grinned and nodded, equally as enthusiastic. “When the kids get home, let’s pack our bags."