Chapter Text
Percy was still stunned when he woke up the next day. Had all of that really happened in one day?
It was hard to believe that two days ago, he had been waking up wondering if he was ever going to do anything productive this summer.
And in the 48 hours since, he had been promoted to co-landlord, had to help disable the water system, dealt with a rat infestation, and lost several hundred games of rock-paper-scissors to Briares when they were waiting for the water pressure to rise.
Oh, and he had met his estranged father and found out that in addition to being a wanderlusting dickbag, he was also an annoyingly noble risk-taking public servant, who was supposedly trying to be back in his life.
It was frustrating, how much Percy found himself liking his father, seeing pieces of himself in Poseidon, the bold, impulsive streak, the sardonic edge, the repressed emotion, ready to explode, the deep love and the fear of it being taken away from him.
Percy blinked. Whoa, that was a lot for early in the morning.
Then he remembered a couple more things.
Annabeth kissing his cheek last night. Poseidon’s knowing glances. Oh, and Annabeth’s cousin was due in town today. And the health inspector had sent them a letter.
Percy sat up suddenly. Huh. The health inspector. He’d picked that up from the letterbox last night, on his way back from the late dinner.
Annabeth had already fallen asleep on the couch, Netflix autoplaying an episode of Amazing Interiors .
They had had a conversation (just a little awkward) about moving in together for the two weeks, just to simplify things, and especially after Briares had to reroute most of the clean water to Percy’s aquariums, resulting in a lack of showerability.
Annabeth had huffily argued that it would be more efficient to room together, and Percy had reluctantly agreed, packing a small bag and shifting downstairs into Annabeth’s living room.
Where he was…still.
Percy looked around. The apartment seemed empty. He scrabbled around quickly for his phone, and a fluttering caught his attention from his forehead. Percy peeled the Post-It from his forehead.
“Very funny,” Percy muttered.
In Annabeth’s meticulous script, it read: Briares says you need to check the seals on the 2nd floor. I’m heading over to meet my cousin. DON’T destroy the building while I’m gone. Also if you want Piper says you can borrow a mask for your beauty sleep.
Percy stood up, stretching out with a sigh before changing into a pair of sweatpants and heading out the front door.
It was 11 in the morning, and Percy took a quick look around the Camp, taking quick note of the water damage on the second floor, the flickering light on the fifth floor (Mr D had left a list of complaints which he had been consistently ignoring), and the broken lock on the seventh.
Not to mention untangling the long and complex tangle of agreements and contracts which were Mr D’s power bills.
But Annabeth had mainly been in charge of that, and Percy had been more than happy to leave that to her while he stepped outside to remove the pigeon nest from the eighth floor air-conditioning unit.
Percy was propped up on a ladder replacing a battery on the lobby’s smoke detector when he heard a pair of voices.
“This is such a wonderful stink you have,” said a voice with a thick Boston accent. “Or maybe that’s because your sweaty boyfriend is freshening up the ceiling.”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Annabeth sighed, and maybe Percy was imagining it, but it sounded fond.
Percy turned around, and standing below him with a smirk was a tall young man with Annabeth’s blonde hair and grey eyes, in a ratty, oversized jacket.
“Butler, then?” The young man who was almost certainly Magnus Chase raised an eyebrow. “Certainly looks a little unkempt for that. And you’re a little young to be a landlady, not that I doubt you could do it.”
“Percy,” Annabeth had her face in one hand. “This is Magnus. Magnus, this is my regular friend, Percy.”
Magnus scoffed. “Sure, cousin. ‘Regular’ friend.”
Percy laughed. “Hey, I like this kid.”
“Of course you do,” Annabeth threw up her hands. “Sure, gang up on me, you ruffians.”
“Why are you up a ladder?” Magnus asked. “Is it because you live in Manhattan? Skyscrapers got into your brain?”
Percy screwed the cover of the smoke detector back on, and slid down the ladder.
“Well, you could say that,” Percy shrugged. “Or you could say that I’m a landlord now. Doing…landlord things.”
Annabeth scoffed. “Really, Seaweed Brain? That’s the best you’ve got?”
“Ooh, annoying nickname!” Magnus said, rubbing his hands together. “What do you call her, Percy? Annie the Builder? Trigonome-chase?”
“No need to overcomplicate, Magnus,” Percy patted Magnus’ shoulder. “I call her Wise Girl.”
Magnus nodded solemnly. “I see. Annabeth was always wise when she visited. Like that time she decided to blow up Uncle Randolph’s chimney.”
“And the year after that you threw up on his fifteenth century Norwegian textbooks,” Annabeth shot back. “Anyway, they cancelled Chase family reunions after that year.”
Magnus crossed his arms. “Well, you ran away. My mom would’ve put up with you. It was Uncle Randolph who decided to be an asshole.”
Annabeth rubbed her eyes. “Yes, yes. And then last year…tell Percy what you did?”
Magnus gave Percy a bright smile. “I died.”
Percy blinked. “You…what?”
“He fell into the Charles River and drowned,” Annabeth sighed. “I went with Malcolm and my dad to Boston when Uncle Randolph called.”
“Last year?” Percy blinked. “Was this before or after we met?”
Annabeth gave Percy an embarrassed smile. “It was um…just after Christmas.”
Ah. Percy smiled ruefully. That period.
“But I lived,” Magnus said offhandedly. “There was this water-skier, Sam, very handy with an AED. I was dead for only about a minute. Gave me a whole new view on life. Met lots of new friends in the hospital. Anyway, cousin Annie forgot to leave her number, plus I don’t have a phone. So I snail-mailed you guys. Thanks for putting me up in this dump.”
“Hey!” Percy scowled. “It might be a dump, but it’s our dump. And you’re welcome, by the way. What are you doing in New York, anyway?”
Magnus bounced up and down on his toes, suddenly nervous. “Well…well, well, now that’s the million dollar question, hey? Mostly it’s because of Jack.”
“Who’s Jack?” Percy was used to people who were off the rocker, mainly because getting into Olympus University guaranteed at least some level of mental or emotional issues, but Magnus was definitely a little off-phase.
Magnus gave a loud taxicab whistle, and a streak of matted white fur came flying from around the corner of the street and jumped straight up into Percy’s arms.
“Whoa, whoa!” Percy stumbled, managing to land heavily on his butt, as he found his lap fully occupied by a massive husky, panting into his face.
“This is Jack,” Magnus said, belatedly. “I think he belonged to my father. Anyway, I entered myself into the Hudson River Swim tomorrow. I was hoping to use your pool to, y’know, warm up, get myself into the rhythm.”
Percy raised an eyebrow. “After drowning, you want to swim 10 miles in the Hudson River?”
“Why did you enter the Hudson River Swim?” Annabeth prompted.
Magnus knelt down and fingered Jack’s collar. “Well, on Jack’s collar here is a five-year streak medal for the Hudson River Swim. So, um, I’m kind of hoping that I might meet my dad there. And, y’know, impress him.”
Percy whistled. “Well. Father issues, huh, Magnus? Welcome to the club. And by the way, I did the Swim two years ago. I can give you some tips.”
Magnus grinned. “Awesome. And I can give you some tips about how to piss off Annie, the Chase way.”
Annabeth sighed.
--
“Are you sure this was the best idea?” Annabeth was trying to keep a leash on her self-control. Magnus and Percy had got on like a house on fire, with no signs of a fire brigade approaching any time soon.
Jack nudged at Annabeth’s hand, and she sighed and gave in to the urge to pet him. This was really the only part of Magnus’ visit which she liked. Her dad had always had dogs, working part-time as a trainer for a couple years before he’d gotten his promotion at the university.
The dog-training tips had been useful in one of her earlier misadventures involving three vicious black guard dogs, Annabeth thought absentmindedly.
“Probably not,” Percy muttered to Annabeth, although he gave Magnus a big smile and a thumbs-up, “but hey, this is probably the best way for him to get back into it.”
Magnus looked rattled for the first time since he’d arrived in New York, standing 10 metres above the pool at Olympus U.
“Maybe I should scrap this idea!” Magnus shouted down. “No shame in starting small, right?”
Percy crossed his arms and shook his head. “Hey, Magnus, you’re up there. Now, remember what we practised! Arms forwards, head down!”
Annabeth sighed. “Percy, you know that the last time he dived from that height, he was falling with a chunk of asphalt lodged into his stomach? And that he actually died?”
“Yeah,” Percy said, quietly, “and do you remember what happened ten minutes ago?”
Annabeth scowled. It turned out that Magnus had managed to retain absolutely no trauma from his death except for an instinctive and adamant fear of bodies of cold water, something which made the Hudson River Swim somewhat…challenging.
“So this is like…exposure therapy, huh?” Annabeth shook her head again. “I don’t like it.”
Percy set his jaw. “He wants to impress his dad. I know that feeling. So do you. If I can help him, I will.”
“We don’t even know if his dad will be there!” Annabeth hissed. “So a Swedish man who did the River Swim lost his dog in Boston. There is a massive leap in logic from that to (a) the Swedish man is Magnus’ dad, and (b) the Swedish man has come to do the Swim again!”
“Count of five, Magnus, count of five!” Percy shouted, pointedly ignoring Annabeth.
Annabeth knelt to run both hands through Jack’s coat, who rumbled in appreciation.
“You’re the smartest out of these boys,” Annabeth muttered to Jack, who watched with intelligent golden eyes. “And you know it.”
Jack’s collar was a weatherbeaten strip of what was once fine leather, and it looked older than Jack did. The name tag, a silver circle with ‘JACK’ inscribed on one side and a stylised sword on the other, looked much newer. It also told the reader to call a Swedish phone number and return to a ‘Frey’.
As Jack leaned into Annabeth’s touch, something caught her eye. There was a faded name written along the bottom of the collar: ‘ Sumarbrander ’.
The handwriting was awfully familiar. It looked quite a bit like her father’s, in fact.
Annabeth glanced up. Percy was unsuccessfully attempting to cajole Magnus to jump.
She sighed and rose to her feet.
“Magnus!” Annabeth yelled. “Bobby says you still lost that last game of Monopoly!”
“I never!” Magnus yelled back, marching up to the edge of the diving board. “You helped him add that hotel on Pacific Avenue!”
“No proof!” Annabeth returned fire.
“Now!” Percy shouted.
Magnus’ eyes widened and he turned just in time for Coach Hedge to appear on the diving board.
“Only one way off, cupcake!” Hedge wielded his baseball bat.
“Ah, damn.” Magnus wheeled around to face Annabeth and Percy.
“But did you?” Magnus crossed his arms. “Huh, Annie?”
“Jump, or you’ll never know,” Annabeth smiled.
“I hate cousins,” Magnus sighed, and in one smooth motion, he dove, letting out an ungraceful squawk before losing his form and splashing wildly into the pool.
Percy was in there in a flash, and Magnus calmed down, breathing hard.
“Okay,” Magnus panted. “Okay, that was necessary.”
“And for the record, I didn’t help Bobby,” Annabeth said, rolling her eyes. “You accidentally pushed a hotel onto Pacific Avenue when you were trying not to puke.”
--
“How did you lose him?” Annabeth was about to tear her hair apart, Percy could tell. Unfortunately, he didn’t quite have a good answer to that question.
Percy shrugged helplessly. “I…he was just here! I looked away for like five seconds!”
Annabeth groaned in frustration. “Great. Three days into being landlords and we’ve already managed to lose a child. ”
“We didn’t lose him!” Percy protested. “Magnus wandered away! He’s sixteen!”
“Sixteen is still legally a child,” Annabeth snapped. “And we are supposed to be responsible for him. I’m not telling my dad that Magnus asked to come to Macy’s with us and we lost him! He won’t even let me take Bobby to the ice cream shop if he hears about this!”
“Wait, you’re heading back to San Francisco?” Percy blinked.
Annabeth paused. “Well…yeah. When Mr D is back. I’m to escort Magnus safely there so we can have a Chase family reunion.”
Percy felt a twinge in his chest. He couldn’t decide whether it was jealousy, disappointment, happiness, or all three.
“Oh. Um…when did that…happen?”
Annabeth bit her lip. “Well, when we met Poseidon…it reminded me that I should…try and make my family work too. If your stupid father could try, then I could damn well succeed.”
“Oh,” Percy repeated, dumbly. The feeling in his chest was now mostly a fond warmth which he couldn’t quite describe.
“Anyway, we’re getting distracted!” Annabeth looked away hastily, a blush building on her cheeks. It was cute.
Percy shook his head. “Right, right, yeah. Um, this place has…how many floors?”
“Eight,” Annabeth narrowed her eyes, the grey pupils flicking up and down as numbers ran in her head. “We split up. You scan this floor, go up. I go down. Call me. Keep a line open and report.”
It never ceased to astound him how quickly and effectively she planned. Honestly? It was kinda hot.
“Yes, ma’am,” Percy shot her a cheesy grin and a salute as he bounded towards the men’s section, ignoring the disappointed eyeroll as Annabeth disappeared down the escalator.
“Sorry, can we help you?” A smiling young woman popped up beside Percy, looking perky with her brunette hair tied back, dressed in a Macy’s uniform.
Percy scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “Yeah, um, sorry, have you seen a kid, about sixteen, skinny, blonde, running around?”
The woman frowned. “Ooh. Um. I think so. He came skulking past the perfume section just now.”
“Thank you,” Percy smiled.
The woman smiled back. “Oh, um, well, today’s, um, a slow day. And honestly, my supervisor isn’t here today. So, um, I could…help you? I know all the hiding spots in this building.”
“Cool,” Percy shot her a thumbs-up. “That would be really, really, helpful, actually.”
--
Annabeth was trying to search for Magnus, honest! It wasn’t her fault that the moment she’d reached the next floor up, she’d peered back down, hoping to see Percy accidentally run into a mannequin again.
And of course, he was flirting with the part-time perfume salesperson.
Which was…fine. Totally fine. It wasn’t like she was his girlfriend, after all. He was fully allowed to flirt with pretty girls. Even if she looked like a bird-brained brunette.
Annabeth tore her eyes away. Magnus. Find that annoying little hobo, and use him to distract Percy.
For whatever reason, the two of them got along like a house on fire which had then been hit by a hurricane and flung into the sea.
A flash of blonde hair caught Annabeth’s eye. “Magnus?”
There was a rattle of beads, and Annabeth stepped backwards, flinching instinctively.
“Can I help you?” asked a towering woman with snow-blonde hair and ice chips for eyes, with a vaguely Scandinavian accent.
Wow, Annabeth thought. This was probably the first lady she’d ever met who could probably knock out Clarisse with a single hit.
“Sorry,” Annabeth gave her a polite smile. “I uh, thought you were my cousin. Have you seen him, by the way? Skinny kid, long blonde hair, looks like he’s probably about to cause trouble?”
A frown deepened on the woman’s face. “Magnus, you said. Magnus Chase?”
Annabeth blinked. “Huh. Um, yes. Have you seen him?”
The woman sighed. “No. But I think I know why he is here.”
“Why?” Annabeth couldn’t help but ask. “What has my idiot cousin got himself into now?”
“He is probably attempting to crash our Valkyrie outing,” The woman said decisively. “It was bad enough when we had to drag him out of the river. Now he has followed us to New York.”
Annabeth shook her head. “The…river?”
The woman shot her an irritated look. “Yes. My colleague had to resuscitate him. Magnus died. Unfortunately it did not take. We are competitive water-skiers. It was disruptive of him to nearly land on us.”
“Disruptive?” Annabeth echoed, still unsure what was going on.
The woman nodded. “Very much so. It was not his fault, but then afterwards he insisted that he should be our friends. That part was more annoying.”
“Oh. Okay. So, have you seen him? I’m just…I’m taking care of him over the week. Oh, um, Annabeth. Annabeth Chase.” Annabeth stuck her hand out, already stiff-armed in anticipation.
The woman did not disappoint, and promptly crushed Annabeth’s fingers in a devastating handshake.
“Gunilla Thorsdottir,” Gunilla gave Annabeth a critical look. “I see you inherited the brains in the Chase family. Follow me, Magnus is probably annoying Samirah upstairs.”
--
“No,” Sam sighed, “No, Magnus, we don’t know whether your dad will be there tomorrow.”
“Oh,” Magnus frowned. “I was going to ask you if you were gonna wear sunglasses or not at the opening. I always wondered.”
Sam gave Magnus a look of pure disbelief, and Magnus had to admit, that had been one of his weaker one-liners.
“Magnus…please. I know you think that this is going to help you impress your dad, but this is not gonna go well.”
Magnus sighed. “Sam, I have to. Plus Jack is really excited about it.”
“Jack is excited about anything that involves meat or a ball, or both.” Sam flicked through a series of sundresses disinterestedly.
“Magnus, how are you even in New York? Last I heard, you, Blitz, and Hearth could only afford one Greyhound between the three of you.”
“I’m crashing at my cousin’s dorm,” Magnus said cheerfully, “She’s pretty cool, actually. You’d like her. Her boyfriend’s giving me tips about how to do the River Swim.”
Sam shook her head, her lips twitching. “Wonderful. More Chase psychopaths. Magnus, I appreciate that you came to look for me for advice, but my advice is don’t do it. You’re skinny, malnourished, and trying to prove a point to someone who probably doesn’t care, and who might not even be there.”
Magnus ignored the sting of the comment. “Come on, Sam. Please. Just get my name onto the list. I know the Valkyries can swing it.”
“Magnus Chase!”
Magnus winced. Annabeth had mastered the whipcrack of the instructor’s scolding ever since Magnus had first tripped and embarrassed himself in front of her. Which was a long time ago.
“Annabeth!” Magnus plastered an innocent look on her face. “Oh, sorry. I just bumped into my friend Sam and…”
“Two floors up?” Annabeth looked unimpressed. “Your other friend Gunilla says you’re a pest. Not that I’m surprised.”
“Where’s Percy?” Magnus tried.
Surprisingly, it worked. Annabeth’s eyes narrowed in annoyance and…was that genuine anger or repressed sexual tension? It was hard to tell sometimes. Probably the latter, though.
“Downstairs, looking for you.” Annabeth’s voice was clipped. “Stop bothering your friends, and let’s go. I gave Gunilla my number, so we can stay in contact.”
“Oh, it’s wonderful to watch Magnus get scolded,” Sam gave Annabeth a wide smile and a handshake. “Sam.”
“Annabeth,” Annabeth returned the smile. “Sorry. He’s always been like this.”
“Well, coming back from the dead didn’t change anything, I see,” Sam shook her head. “Magnus…I’ll do what I can.”
Magnus shot Sam a grateful smile. “Thanks, Sam. Really. I need this to work out.”
“Magnus!” Percy appeared at the top of the escalator, accompanied by a brunette saleswoman who Magnus had briefly checked out earlier.
Ooh. Magnus had a sudden realisation. No wonder Annabeth was a little…on edge.
“Afternoon, Percy,” Magnus grinned. “You’re a terrible babysitter. Should’ve expected that from a New Yorker.”
“And you’re a terrible kid,” Percy shot back, “Must be all that Boston in you. Can’t understand a word you say.”
“It’s nice that your boyfriend hates me,” Magnus said conversationally.
Sam patted Annabeth on the shoulder. “That’s a good sign. If they really got along it would probably be a bad omen.”
The look on the brunette saleswoman’s face was dramatic. Partly because of the “boyfriend” remark, but also because Annabeth was attempting to melt her face with her eyes.
“I, um, looks like my job is done,” She said awkwardly before sidling off.
“Bye!” Percy waved to her.
Annabeth grabbed Magnus’ hand, and then Percy’s and dragged the two of them forcefully towards the elevator.
“Nice meeting you girls!” Annabeth called over her shoulder.
“Ow, ow, ow!” Magnus complained. “And thanks again, Sam!”
The elevator doors closed just as Sam facepalmed.
--
Percy clapped as Gunilla, Sam, and five other girls on water-skis zoomed past. “Whoa!”
The Hudson River was looking slightly less dirty today, which was great for Magnus, and the fifty other people who were heading this way for the River Swim. Jack strained against the tight grasp that Percy had on the collar, his eyes tracking the water-skis with a manic intensity.
“Easy, boy,” Percy ruffled Jack’s ears. “Magnus’ll do just fine. Here, have a treat.”
Jack snapped up the treat from Percy’s palm, and turned straight back to the river, whimpering lightly.
“Stop feeding Jack treats,” Annabeth’s voice was nervous. “You’ll make him hyper. Remember that we’ll be standing here for at least another twenty minutes.”
“Nah,” Percy grinned. “Magnus told me he was gunning for my record. That means he should be here any second.”
“And you think he’ll beat your record?” Annabeth raised an eyebrow. Then, as Percy opened his mouth triumphantly, Annabeth held up a finger.
“Ah, never mind,” Annabeth twirled her hair thoughtfully around her finger. “You’re mentioning it now because it’s already passed. Very funny, Percy.”
Percy closed his mouth, and simply looked at Annabeth, his lips curling fondly.
“What?” Annabeth muttered, blushing cutely. “Stop looking at me like that.”
“Like what?” Percy asked automatically. She felt it. Surely she did. And so did he. I mean, come on, Percy thought. It was absolutely killing him to wait, but he had to. It was him who had messed this all up, after all.
“Like…you still don’t think you deserve me,” Annabeth muttered, avoiding Percy’s eyes. “You look at me like I’m a constellation; unreachable.”
“There’s that mind I remember,” Percy just let the words slip out. “And for the record, you are unreachable. You’re…well, I can’t describe it.”
“I’m not perfect, Percy,” Annabeth shook her head, smiling wanly. “Don’t count on me to be your perfect girl.”
Percy snorted. “Annabeth, you know that I know that you’re far from perfect. You’re overly obsessed with details, you make coffee without sugar or milk, you get blinded by your plans, and blue isn’t your favourite colour.”
A light cheer rose from the other spectators as the first swimmers emerged from around the curve of the river and headed to the bridge, where two boats hung a long banner between them marking the endpoint.
Neither of them even noticed it.
“And I know that I’m too unserious, that I joke about too many things, most of them not even funny, and—”
“And you drool when you sleep,” Annabeth blinked, her eyelashes fluttering as her eyes shone with tears. “Like an idiot.”
Percy couldn’t help it, he smiled. “Yeah.”
“Can we please stop…dancing around what we feel?” Percy opened his hands. “I…I don’t know, maybe it’s just the ADHD part of me, but I feel like I can’t wait any longer. I have to tell you. I—”
The crowd reached a crescendo as the top two swimmers bore down on the finishing line, and one of the boat’s speakers blared out at full volume.
“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE WINNER OF THE 2024 HUDSON RIVER STAGE 7 SWIM…MAGNUS CHASE!”
Percy couldn’t just ignore that. They turned simultaneously to watch Magnus whoop loudly, treading water in the river. There was loud barking as—
“Oh, shit!”
The leash leapt straight out of Percy’s grip, Percy lunging for the rapidly unspooling leash desperately. He missed it by a second as Jack achieved subsonic speeds usually reserved for aircraft and leapt straight into the river.
Jack made a beeline straight past Magnus, and scrambled desperately onto one of the boats, his tail wagging like a helicopter.
Percy placed his hands on his hips, sighing. Behind him, Annabeth stifled a laugh. Well, there went that moment.
The Valkyries swept back across, this time attached to parasails, and Sam plucked Magnus from the water with ease, manipulating her parachute to lightly drop Magnus into the boat alongside Jack, before dropping back down onto her waterskis to shoot off down the River.
Jack was barking excitedly, dancing around the feet of a tall, older, blonde man.
“No way,” Annabeth said. “Do you think…”
Percy watched the way the man stiffened when Magnus turned to him. They were too far away to hear anything that was being said, but Percy could see the man’s face light up with joy, and he knew.
“Come on,” Percy nudged Annabeth’s shoulder. “Let’s give Magnus some alone time. He knows how to find us.”
“Okay,” Annabeth sighed. “I suppose that this was inevitable that father-related trauma would be solved in a trip involving the two of us helping him out.”
“Quite a team we make, huh?” Percy quipped. Annabeth rolled her eyes, but Percy’s heart leapt in his chest.
She took his hand.
“Let’s go, then.”
--
Annabeth was still finding dog hair in the apartment, and it had already been eight days (and one fumigation) since Magnus and Jack had left. Frey Valarson had turned out to be a decent, if naive, former competitive swimmer, and more than willing to take Magnus under his wing.
Annabeth had, of course, cornered Frey and threatened him just to make sure that he wasn’t a fraud, but Frey had just laughed and hugged her while she was still holding the knife.
Scandinavians were weird.
But that had meant that the rest of the past week or so had been spent alone with Percy, except for when they had to send for pest control because no one had noticed Ella slowly growing the rat population within the building to a nearly uncontrollable level.
And then there had been the Pigeon Incidents.
Annabeth had banned Percy from mentioning it to anyone, mainly because he always kept framing it like it was Annabeth who had started it (she hadn’t, for the record, that grey bitch was asking for it).
The thing which Annabeth honestly couldn’t figure out was how exactly they’d found the perfect rhythm which they were in now.
Percy woke up to head to the pool just as Annabeth would be coming back from the gym, and he’d come out of the shower just in time for Annabeth to have breakfast ready.
She’d head down to Dionysus’ office to check the inbox and deal with the bills, while Percy did the rounds and checked in on his aquariums upstairs, and then they’d head out for lunch.
Percy had quite a selection of surprisingly tasty seaside vendors, and Annabeth returned the favour with the fancy restaurants Piper occasionally dragged them to on Dionysus’ dime (Percy had found a debit card Dionysus had left behind labelled “compensation”).
And then they’d head back up to Annabeth’s apartment, throw on a movie, or a TV show, or argue about where to go before dinner.
Annabeth won most of the time, but she usually relented. They’d visited three aquariums around Manhattan, as well as the Centre for Architecture, the Guggenheim, and the Skyscraper Museum.
She never knew coral structures could be so endlessly entertaining. Annabeth was already starting doodles about coral-inspired facades.
Then after that was dinner, a quick check back at the office, then they’d clean up after themselves, which was where Annabeth had swept up yet another clump of white fluff.
Annabeth absentmindedly poured two cups of lemonade when the obsessive need for cleanliness finally abated.
“Thanks,” Percy murmured, as he stepped away from the washing machine. He picked up a glass and took a long drink. “It’s been hot out today, huh?”
“Yeah,” Annabeth said, blinking. “It has.”
It was the first time that she’d sort of realised that somehow, she was entirely content. Everything had been mostly quiet, and she hadn’t really done anything productive, but still.
She felt fine. More than fine. Relaxed. And still they hadn’t really done anything more than hold hands or fall asleep on the couch with the next episode of Community autoplaying.
Annabeth had to think about it. Was this how it was supposed to feel?
“Percy,” Annabeth started, uncertain, “What-what happens now? With this? What happens when everyone comes back?”
Percy shrugged. “Well, I was hoping nothing. Annabeth, I…this has probably been the best couple weeks I’ve ever had. Doing landlord stuff in an empty building has never been more rewarding.”
Annabeth sighed. “I’m heading to San Francisco next week to see my dad, Percy.”
“And I might be flying to Alaska to join my dad,” Percy retorted. “Annabeth, I’m not going to ask you to stay because I know what that means. Because you know what heading to Alaska would mean for me.”
“I know,” Annabeth sipped her lemonade.
Percy shuffled closer, his shoulder pressing up against hers.
“Annabeth…I’m just going to say it, okay? Don’t freak out.”
Annabeth leaned in instinctively. “You don’t have to.”
She could feel the muscles flexing uncertainly in Percy’s neck and shoulders.
“Annabeth, I think I love you.” Percy let out a long, long breath. “There. I don’t know how this is gonna work, but I think it will. We’ve both got shit to figure out, and…and I think we shouldn’t put anything into stone until it’s done, but…yeah. Yeah. Just…in case you didn’t know. I love you.”
Annabeth closed her eyes and let the words sink in. Thought about Percy. The messy hair, the oh-shit smile, the fish facts, the kindness, the ironclad loyalty.
“Percy?”
“Hmm?”
“I love you too.”
“Oh.”
“Yes.”
“Huh. Good.”
“Good.”
--
Piper hauled her suitcase over the threshold of the Camp, her mouth already running. “Hazel, I have got to tell you about this crazy thing that happened over at Glastonbury! Me and Jason bumped into—”
She frowned. Hazel was leaning out of Mr D’s office, waving.
“Why are you in Mr D’s office?” Piper stepped forwards, half expecting to hear the unmistakable hiss-pop of a can of Diet Coke emerge from the shadows like a Five Nights at Freddy’s jumpscare.
Fortunately, no jumpscare came, except that of a stressed Frank sitting behind Mr D’s desk, typing slowly.
“Well, remember how Annabeth told us that Mr D left her in charge and went on vacation?” Hazel sighed.
“No,” Piper’s jaw dropped. “Again?”
Hazel shrugged. “He said it was a two-day trip to show his dad the Empire State Building. Besides, I suppose the school term only starts after the weekend. We can cut him a little slack. Terminus said this is Mr D’s first vacation in a decade.”
“Oh, I suppose,” Piper ran a hand through her hair. “How are you doing, Frank?”
“Not fine,” Frank sounded stressed, “But it’s good to see you back, Piper. Where’s Jason?”
Piper rolled her eyes. “Having one last ‘man talk’ with my dad outside. Which reminds me, Hazel…is it true?”
Hazel, the sweet, innocent angel that she was, couldn’t stop the big grin from erupting onto her face.
“Yep.”
Piper squealed. “Oh, yes!”
A huge weight drifted off her shoulders. She’d been worried about Annabeth having to spend the summer with Percy alone, worried that they’d miscalculated and Annabeth would refuse to admit that she and Percy were meant to be and stretch herself to much that she’d snap.
“Well, job well done.” Piper hugged Hazel. “How was your vacation?”
Hazel shot Frank a fond look. “I saw lots of baby photos.”
“Please talk about the amethyst deposits instead, honey,” Frank shook his head. “My grandmother told you way too much.”
“Oh, by the way,” Hazel took Piper’s hand. “When you and Jason are done unpacking, Annabeth’s got an announcement. You guys were the last to come back. Cutting it rather close, honestly.”
“An announcement?” Piper echoed. Her eyes narrowed. “You don’t think…”
Hazel held her hands up helplessly. “My imagination is running everywhere, Piper. Everywhere .”
--
Percy shifted uncomfortably as more people filed in.
“Did you invite the whole building for this?” He hissed. Annabeth shushed him with an outstretched finger.
“You’re being dramatic,” Annabeth patted his hand. “I made a slideshow, Percy. I need an audience.”
“Of course you do,” Percy sighed.
Jason and Piper were curled together on the couch, Hazel sat on Frank’s lap in the armchair, Leo and Calypso were bickering on the floor, Reyna stood by the kitchen counter clutching a cup of coffee, and Grover was shooting Percy a big thumbs-up from the back of the room.
“Okay, session to order,” Annabeth said primly, glaring at Calypso and Leo. “All accounted for. So, we have got five slides per vacation here, and everyone will wait their turn. But first, we have an announcement.”
Percy had told Grover already, of course. Just because he was appointed as a full-time ranger in the National Parks Service didn’t mean that Grover was totally out of the loop.
Annabeth had met him yesterday, and they had got on way too well for Percy’s liking. He could already sense the jokes coming at his expense.
Annabeth elbowed him, jerking Percy back into the present.
“Hmm? Oh, um right.” Percy cleared his throat.
“Um, so…Annabeth and I are…we’re…we’re moving in together. Upstairs. So. We wanted to tell all of you, because…you guys are our friends. And floormates. Mostly. Yeah. Just…wanted to tell you…”
Percy trailed off awkwardly, scratching his head.
Annabeth intertwined her fingers with his, and Percy turned to meet those eyes, deep, full of warmth and mirth, and life. He could read her thoughts as if she had said them out loud.
Idiot. Stop being cute about it.
Percy couldn’t help it, he blushed.
“We’re dating.” Annabeth said flippantly. “Okay, so. Reyna, you’re up. I’ve decided to start us geographically from the farthest part of the globe and we’ll spin back to New York…”
They settled together on the rug, in the same spot where they had finished La La Land together those weeks ago, the back of their heads brushing against Annabeth’s drafting table.
Percy pressed a kiss to Annabeth’s head.
“Sometimes I still can’t believe it,” Percy murmured.
Annabeth hummed. “Still can’t believe what?”
Percy glanced upwards, wincing. “How we met. Essentially I was just knocking on your ceiling. Hoping you’d answer. Hoping I’d get your attention. I can’t believe how lucky I got. Of all the ceilings in the world. Of all the people willing to come upstairs and threaten my life, I got you.”
“Sometimes I wonder if you’re really just an English major in disguise,” Annabeth’s head was on his chest, but Percy could hear the smile in her voice.
“You’re just such a romantic.”
Percy tipped her head up with his fingers. “So are you.”
Annabeth rolled her eyes. “You’re an idiot, Seaweed Brain.”
“Love you too, Wise Girl,” Percy smiled. He was going to turn back and pay attention to Reyna’s honestly intriguing presentation on Filipino daggers, but then Annabeth leaned in and kissed him.
As was the case time and time again, and would be for the rest of his life, Percy just couldn’t resist it.
He kissed her back, and the world disappeared for a second, the way he hoped it would for the rest of his life.