Chapter Text
The official last day of Camp Half Blood is the third of August. Chiron watches over the strawberry fields, now without campers, who are busy in their cabins packing their belongings. Their sweet smell still permeates the air and he smiles softly. The past three weeks have been peaceful at camp. And he knows why.
Annabeth and Percy have been dating for that time and they no longer fight every day about who gets to use which weapon or who gets to climb the rock wall first.
Camp Half Blood will never be the same.
July 20th
The day after they confess their love for each other, Annabeth and Percy take the day for themselves. Chiron grants them this, simply because he’s so happy they won’t tear the camp apart with their fights anymore. Percy takes Annabeth on a hike, to the middle of the woods where he finds a small natural spring.
“I had no idea this was here,” Annabeth says as soon as she sees where he’s brought her. In true Annabeth fashion, she had learned the entire layout of the camp and the surrounding area out of curiousness.
Percy grins at her. “I, uh, had some help.”
She tilts her head to the side, thinking. A moment later, she realizes what he meant by that. “You…you prayed for this?”
He nods, blushing slightly. “I had a lot of help, but I would do it all again for you.”
“Percy, I don’t know what to say…”
“What if you say yes to being my girlfriend?”
She nods her head as fast as she can and launches herself into his arms, laughing and shouting “Yes!”
July 27th
It’s late at night in their cabin. They had come back from the campfire and climbed into their joint bed (which means Annabeth had the genius idea of combining their beds so they had more room and got Percy to push them together).
Annabeth is resting her head on Percy’s shoulder while reading a book. He’s stroking her head, lulling himself almost into sleep with the consistency of his movements. She turns the page and the sound of rustling paper disturbs the otherwise complete silence of the cabin.
“Annabeth?” Percy whispers, his eyes already closed.
“Hm?” Her eyes don’t lift from the page, but just continue to digest the words. When she pours herself into a book, it takes a lot to get her out of it. Percy knows this, and tries harder.
“Sweetheart,” he breathes, stopping the movements of his hands.
Annabeth, who had been genuinely enjoying her boyfriend running his fingers through her hair, finally looks up from her novel. “What?”
“When are you going to be done reading?” Percy wants to sleep, and the light on the nightstand is making it hard for him to slip under. “You can read in the morning and I promise I’ll keep touching your hair.”
“A few more pages,” she murmurs, turning the page again. “What about when I finish this chapter?”
“Annabeth,” Percy whines, stretching out her name.
“Shh,” she replies, still not straying from her spot in the book.
“That’s it,” he murmurs, shifting his body so Annabeth isn’t leaning on him anymore. He reaches over, snatches the book out of her hands, and puts it on the nightstand. While his hand is there, he turns off the light. He lays back down, pulling Annabeth close to him.
“I was reading that, you know,” Annabeth says, her voice without heat.
“I know,” Percy replies, leaning in to kiss her.
August 3rd
The official last day of summer. Percy did not expect the summer to go the way that it did but wow, was he okay with it. He’s dating the most beautiful and smart girl in camp—hell, probably in the state—and he’s still happily in shock about it. It is bittersweet that this is the last day that he’ll get to spend with her for a while.
Annabeth was also surprised about the result of her time at Camp Half Blood. Percy has been the best boyfriend in every single way possible and she’s almost mad at herself for not acting on her feelings sooner. All of those wasted years spent bickering and arguing instead of kissing and telling each other how much they love each other. But, in a way, it’s good that it took so long. They have a lot to laugh about.
Currently, their favorite memory to laugh about is when Percy had yelled at Annabeth for the pegasus dung. Annabeth had never been so surprised and whenever they need a laugh or feel like making the other smile, they quote Percy’s argument.
Now, they’re sitting on the porch of their shared cabin. They had packed their bags the night before, per Annabeth’s request, and Annabeth is resting her head on Percy’s shoulder. They’ve been quiet for a long time now, probably close to an hour.
“What time is your mom going to be here?” Annabeth asks, breaking the silence.
“After one,” he replies, excited to see his mom but dreading leaving Annabeth.
It’s already twelve.
“And what time do you think your dad will show up?”
“He said it would be later afternoon. His job won’t let him off until two.”
Percy sighs. “Are you excited to live with your dad again?”
Annabeth thinks for a moment. “Yes and no. It’s going to be weird at first, but I think it’s going to be good that everyone is trying again.”
Percy smiles. “And how far are you away from my mom’s apartment?”
“Oh, I wanted to tell you,” Annabeth says, straightening to face him completely. “My dad moved.”
“Oh, where?” Percy immediately prays that it’s not even further away that the original home was.
“It’s in a different school district, so I’ll actually be at the same high school that Paul works at.”
Percy’s eyes widen and his mouth opens in disbelief. “So…we’re going to be going to the same school?”
“Yes, Seaweed Brain, that’s what I’m saying!”
Percy grabs her face with both hands and kisses her. “That is literally the best thing ever.”
Annabeth grins, her cheeks almost splitting in two. She had been a bit worried to see how he would take the news, but his response only made her heart swell.
“I love you,” Annabeth tells him, meaning it with every cell of her body.
“And I love you,” he replies, kissing her again.
When it’s time for them to say goodbye, it’s only for a week. School would be starting the following Tuesday and they couldn’t wait to see each other again. Sally is excited for Percy to have such an amazing girlfriend as Annabeth, who could also tutor him as needed. She loves Annabeth already.
They kiss each other goodbye, promising to call when they got home safe. With one last wave, Percy leaves Camp Half Blood. Annabeth waits until she can’t see Sally’s car before returning to the center of camp. When she spots Chiron on the porch of the Big House, she walks up to him.
“Have a good summer?” He asks as soon as she’s within earshot.
“Yes,” she answers, smiling. “Thanks for pointing out some stuff in the beginning of summer.”
“It was integral to the survival of the camp,” he admits.
Annabeth simply laughs.
“I wish you two all of the happiness this world can give you,” Chiron says, meaning it.
“Thank you, Chiron,” she answers. “For everything.”
He nods and smiles. “Anything for my two favorite campers.”
Annabeth grins and leaves, grabbing her bags so that she could meet her dad and move in at her new home. She gets to see Percy soon and she had the best summer ever. With one last look over her shoulder, she goes to her dad’s car.
Chiron watches her go. Grover comes up next to him and joins him on the porch. “So, how do you think the summer went?”
“The camp didn’t get torn apart, so I’m pretty happy,” Chiron answers.
“You knew what you were doing, didn’t you?” Grover asks.
Chiron laughs, watching Annabeth’s car disappear over the ridge. “My boy, I don’t have the slightest idea of what you’re referring to.”
Grover looks up to the centaur, not believing him. He doesn’t miss his wink.
THE END