December 18th, 2017

Annabeth looked down at her phone for the tenth time in as many minutes, impatiently bouncing one leg on the ground. When there were no new messages, she grit her teeth to stifle an annoyed groan.

She was really starting to regret letting Piper talk her into a blind date because she was confident that she was being stood up by this point. She didn't even want to go on the stupid thing, but Piper had insisted that Jason's friend and her would make a perfect match, and…

And now Annabeth was stuck in the biting cold, waiting for a guy that probably wasn't going to make an appearance.

Annabeth, and the guy, Percy, had agreed to meet outside of the apartment complex at nine o'clock. They were going to be going out for dinner, and then maybe a few drinks if everything went well. It was supposed to be a fun night, except Percy was nearing forty-five minutes late and Annabeth was nearing the brink of insanity.

Annabeth's downright pissed because she had actually put effort into this date too. She had on a sequined cocktail dress that left just enough to the imagination, and her hair was actually tamed for the first time in as long as she can remember, and—

The point's that she looked hot, and Piper's boyfriend's best friend that was apparently an amazing guy was standing her up in the middle of a harsh New York winter.

Annabeth glanced back at her phone again, and when there was no explanation from the guy or either of her friends, she just gave up. She wasn't going to stand here looking like an idiot waiting for some random guy to show up when she didn't even want to be here in the first place.

She uncrossed her arms from across her chest to head back inside. Wrestling the black fence of her complex open was a bit of a challenge to do in the dark, but she eventually succeeded and worked her way through the creaking metal.

Being stood up was embarrassing, yes, but at least now she had an excuse to never go on another date. She might even be able to guilt trip Piper for getting her in that position, so maybe the night wasn't entirely as useless as previously thought. At least now she could—

Annabeth whipped around as a car door slammed shut behind her, her heart immediately picking up speed as she couldn't see who was there. It was a few anticipating seconds before a person stepped into view, and the rage sparked back to life inside of her.

"You're Annabeth?" the guy asked, hands shoved lazily into his pockets. If Annabeth hadn't already lost all respect for him, this did the trick. If you're going to be almost an hour late to a date, you might as well not show up at all.

Annabeth straightened herself against the fence she was holding, glaring at the guy. She had no idea if he could actually see her, but she'll take it on faith. "I am."

The guy stepped forwards some more until she could see more of his features. Piper had told her what to expect, so Annabeth knew about the black hair and green eyes, but no words could do him justice because he was gorgeous, his locks blowing in the wind and the shadows of his cheekbones putting some delicious thoughts in her mind.

Annabeth had to remind herself that he was late, and her face fell back to a deep scowl. Sure, he might be attractive, but being late was definitely a turn off in her eyes.

"I'm Percy," he said, and Annabeth detected a hint of boredom in his voice. "Jason's friend."

"I know who you are." Annabeth's proud to say her voice was dripping with apathy of her own. "Though I do have to say I'm thoroughly unimpressed. Almost an hour late?"

"It wasn't exactly my idea to come on this date," he said. "I don't even know you."

Annabeth couldn't believe her ears.

"Now, since I'm here, let's just go get dinner and get this over with."

Her jaw dropped. "You're kidding."

"Do you want to go or not?" Percy's hands still hadn't moved from his jean pockets, and she had no idea that people this indifferent existed. It was like he didn't care about a good first impression at all.

"First you show up an hour late, and now you're making it seem like you'd rather be anywhere else," she said, clenching her jaw. "Why would I want to go anywhere with you?"

"Oh princess," he said, clicking his teeth. "Don't make it seem like you want to be here either. We both know that there is no attraction between us, and I don't need to spend another second with you to know that there never will be."

The audacity.

"You can forget it," Annabeth said, holding her hands up in a defeated manner. "I'm not doing this."

She turned around to make a dramatic exit because she just felt like a situation like this called for it, but then he decided to call out to her.

"Get in the damn car."

And then—

"Excuse me?" Annabeth whirled on him, ready to smack the living daylights out of him.

"You heard me," he said, raising an eyebrow. "Get. In. The. Car."

"Why would I ever get in a car with someone who hasn't shown me even an ounce of respect?"

"Because from what I've heard about you, you're a smart person. That means you're smart enough to know that Piper and Jason won't leave us alone until we go on this date." He glared at her. "So get in the car."

Annabeth bit on the inside of her cheek, fuming but refusing to look him in the eyes. Every part of her was screaming not to get into the car because if this is only the first five minutes of knowing each other, can you imagine how hours would go?

Still, he was right. Piper would keep bugging her to go out with Percy, and she would rather shove a knife up her ear than deal with that.

How badly could one dinner go? All she had to do was survive and it would all be over.

"Fine." Annabeth's fist tightened around the clutch she'd been holding as she started towards his car, not bothering to wait for him to get there first. If he was going to be a terrible human being, she had no problem returning the favor. "Don't expect me to enjoy this, though."

"Wouldn't dream of it," he called out sarcastically, following her to his Prius.

As he slid into the driver's seat, Annabeth tried not to gag at the condition of his car. There were crumbs all over the seat that would no doubt be stuck to her bare legs by the end of the drive, and the car was grossly warm, and it smelled very musty.

Annabeth waited until he pulled out of his position on the curb and into traffic before questioning him pointblank. "Your car is disgusting." Okay, so less of a question and more of an accusation.

"I don't see how that warrants a comment from you," he said. He sounded as though he genuinely did not care, which made her skin prickle.

"You must've used this car a million times and haven't cleaned it once."

"I'm sure you've been used a million times without cleaning too," he said.

Annabeth bit her lip until she tasted a hint of copper. The hypocrisy in his statement was just insane. He wants to treat her like a slut when there's no doubt that he's much worse if the smell of his car is any indication, and she finds that laughable.

"How original," she mocked, crossing her arms and deciding to look out the window until they got there. Anywhere except his stupid face with that stupid smirk that makes her want to smack his stupid head. "It's really not that hard to keep a car clean after your daily conquests."

"Then do it for me," he countered. "Be my guest."

"You can go screw yourself."

"Or you could do it for me."

Annabeth's head snapped towards him in surprise. He just laughed in her face.

"Don't attack me and not expect to get your ass handed to you," he said. "It's not very wise."

"You're not very wise," she mumbled, sliding lower in the seat.

"Yes, but then again, I'm not supposed to be the wise one, am I?"

Annabeth's glower didn't fade as the minutes passed. Something about that kid made her want to jump out of the car on a moving highway. It would surely be more bearable than sitting in this car with his insufferable personality. She swears that she's choking on his own ego.

The second she got back from this date, she was going to march on down to Piper's apartment and grab her by the hair. Annabeth might even spit in her face because that is how annoying Percy was to her. It's no wonder the two hadn't met before, because if Annabeth was any younger and in less control of her emotions, let's just say that there probably would've been a second-degree homicide.

Annabeth really just hopes that she can make it through this date. If she can make it through, she'll never have to see his face again and it'll be like it never happened. All will be right in the world again.

Also, he's paying for the meal so at least it's a free dinner on her behalf.

By the time they were finally rolling up to the restaurant, Annabeth had nearly suffocated on the toxic smell of the car. With time, it only got worse, so it was a very good thing she made it out of the car when she did.

"You didn't give me a chance to open the door for you," Percy said as he followed her towards the front door of the diner. "How can you expect me to be a gentleman if you don't even give me the chance?"

"I'm surprised you even know the definition of a gentleman," she seethed. "Didn't think someone as stupid as you would have such an advanced vocabulary."

Percy's jaw clenched. "I'm not stupid."

"Could've fooled me." Annabeth yanked open the door of the restaurant, and Percy tried to walk through thinking she was holding it open for him. He was proven wrong as the glass nearly slammed him in the nose.

Percy joined her by the waiting area, glancing around the room nonchalantly. Annabeth stared at him expectantly for a few seconds, but still no response, so she elbowed him in the ribs. Hard.

"Ow!" Percy rubbed his side. "Why would you do that?"

"Check us in," she spat.

"Why do I have to do it?"

"The reservation is under your name, dimwit!"

"What reservation?"

Annabeth exhaled dangerously slow. "What do you mean what reservation?"

"I didn't make a reservation?"

Annabeth's left eye twitched. She rubbed her face tiredly. "May I ask why you didn't make a reservation when you told me you would?"

"I don't recall saying I would."

"I can literally show you the messages that say otherwise."

Percy grinned deviously. "Oops. I forgot."

"You forgot," Annabeth muttered under her breath in disbelief. "Of course you forgot."

"What can I say? I'm a dimwit." Percy snickered and Annabeth immediately mocked his laugh before approaching the lady standing at the check in station herself. Percy stood behind to watch the scene unfold.

"Hi," Annabeth started, giving the lady a forced dazzling smile. "I was just wondering if there were any seats available?"

The lady looked at Annabeth in disbelief then over her shoulder at the group of families waiting to be seated. Annabeth's gaze followed and then her face flushed at the obvious answer to her question.

"It's just— my date here's kind of slow, and he forgot to make the reservations." Annabeth giggled, still keeping a wide smile on her face in fear that if she dropped the grin, she'd start crying tears of hatred towards the green-eyed monster. "It's kind of an important night though, so if you could figure out a way to make it work, I'd really appreciate it."

"I'm afraid that it'll be over a two hour wait without reservations," the lady said apologetically.

Annabeth looked over her shoulder at Percy, eyes dangerous as lasers, before turning back. "I understand that, but surely you can figure something out. We– we really need this, so…"

"I can't jump you two ahead of the queue," she said, looking at Percy questioningly. He just shrugged, choosing to let Annabeth play it out.

Annabeth smiled sweetly, tilting her head menacingly. "You're going to have to."

"I'm afraid—"

"I'm afraid you're going to do it before I make a scene," Annabeth threatened. Annabeth's very aware she sounds insane, or like what some would call a Karen, but she can't go on another date with him. She just can't.

The lady opened her mouth to respond, but then Percy placed a hand over Annabeth's shoulder, squeezing as he spoke. "It's under Percy Jackson."

Annabeth's brain reeled as she watched the lady look his name up in the computer database. "You mean…"

"Mhm."

"I have you two right here," the lady said, glaring pointedly at Annabeth as she grabbed two menus. "Follow me."

Annabeth stood dumbfounded as Percy grabbed her upper arm and dragged her along. "You said you forgot to make reservations."

"Oh, did I?" He laughed. "I must've lied."

"You made me look like an asshole."

"I didn't make you look like anything you weren't already." Percy pressed a hand to her lower back to guide her along to their table. When they did get there, Annabeth stubbornly dropped into one side of the booth with a face of fury, Percy doing the same except he appeared more humored than her.

The waiter took their drink and meal orders, and right before she left, she gave Annabeth the dirtiest look she could muster, which left Annabeth to just awkwardly wave. Annabeth let out an audible breath once the angered waiter was gone.

"So," Percy started, leaning forwards and lacing his hands in front of him. "Have you always been so stuck up?"

"Have you always been so deceiving?" she countered.

"You had it coming," he pointed out, gleam in his eye. "Either way, what did the poor waiter do to deserve that?"

"Perseus Jackson," Annabeth seethed, finger extending to right in front of his nose. Percy grimaced at the use of his full name, which had Annabeth delighted. "You are a menace."

"Yeah, yeah." Percy waved over his shoulder dismissingly. "Young and a menace. Got it."

"I swear to god—"

"You're so easy to get riled up," he stated, leaning even closer to whisper in her ear and then she could feel the shift in the mood of the diner. When he spoke again, his warm breath sent chills down her spine and she had to fight the urge to shiver. "I wonder if you're as… easy in other ways."

Annabeth took a moment to process his words, and when she did, she grabbed a fist of his hair and pulled to the side. "The only relation we'll ever have is one of enemies."

Percy took it all in stride. "Think about it, though."

"I don't need to."

He ignored her. "We both hate each other, so it could be a no-strings-attached situation. Besides, I'm not blind. I'm well aware that you're an attractive girl, and in good shape. I know you think the same of me, no matter how hard you try to hide it."

Against her will, a dull ache began in her lower tummy at the sound of his raspy voice.

"The best relations often come from two people who want nothing to do with each other— two people who are both so worked up that they can barely think." Percy tilted his head at her and gave a lopsided smirk. "So what do you say? We could head on back to the bathroom, lock the door, and no one would ever know we were even there."

Despite the persistent heat racing through her body, Annabeth wasn't that stupid. It didn't matter how good looking someone might've been; people like Percy were a trap, and she wasn't about to fall for it.

Leaning in to play along anyways, see if she could bother him any back, she said, "You seem wound up tight. You think you could make it to the bathroom?"

"I have control over myself," he said. "The question is do you?"

Annabeth snarled.

"Maybe you do," he continued. "But maybe you don't want to make it to the bathroom. Maybe you want to end up in the hallway, muffling your cries and praying that no one walks by."

For someone as intolerable as Percy, he sure knew how to talk his way through a girl's pants. Not including Annabeth, of course.

"You're flushing red, Beth," he mumbled for just the two of them, thumb moving up to drag on her bottom lip. She couldn't bring herself to stop him because even though she would never actually do anything with him, the whole teasing thing was just too entertaining to stop. Mainly because he sucked at it, or at least that's what she tried to tell herself. "You feeling alright?"

"I'm feeling…" Annabeth worried her bottom lip with her teeth and then gave a sultry grin. "I'm feeling like you're just so desperate that you'll do anything to get laid."

Percy leaned back, pouting, and it was over. "You ruined the vibe."

"Oh, yeah, okay," she snorted. "I would never be so desperate that I resort to someone like you."

"I wouldn't actually ever do you either," he protested. "I'd probably catch a disease or something, like chlamydia."

"Oh, please. Like you haven't already got it."

"Point is," he said, and Annabeth noted how he didn't deny it, "I just wanted to bother you. It worked."

"It didn't," she said. Maybe if it was anyone else, something could've blossomed, but Percy? Yeah, no thanks.

"Whatever you say." Percy paused. "For the record, I don't have chlamydia."

"Sure."

"I don't."

"I said okay." Annabeth smirked at his glare.

Before Percy could argue back, the waiter returned faster than expected with both of their meals. The food was slid in front of both of them and then the waiter disappeared after making sure they were both good. She was probably smart enough to not get in the middle of whatever was going on with Percy and Annabeth.

"So," Percy started up again, picking up his knife to cut through his steak. "Tell me about yourself. What went so wrong in your childhood that you became such a horrible human being?"

"It was more of a recent occurrence, actually." Annabeth picked up a fork. "It all started when my best friend Piper said You should meet Jason's best friend! I think you'll really like him, and then said best friend proceeded to show up forty-five minutes late, insult me, then try to seduce me."

Percy nodded appreciatively. "Maybe the guy had an excuse if you would've taken your head out of your ass for more than two seconds."

"There it is again," she pointed out, rolling her eyes. "What happened to you to make you such a dick?"

"I got thrown onto a date with a girl who thinks she's superior to those around her."

"Again!" Annabeth threw her fork down onto her plate. "God, do you have to be so unbearable all the time!?"

"Says the haughty Annabeth Chase."

"Says the low-class Percy Jackson," she countered.

"Why did I ever think that tonight might have even been the slightest bit enjoyable?"

"It could've been if you hadn't been a douche the second you showed up! You made it clear from the beginning that you did not want to be here, so I am not the problem!"

"I wonder why I didn't want to be here," he said sarcastically.

"What?" she asked, exasperated. "You have never met me before tonight, so what could've possibly made you not want to be here?"

"I've heard of you before. The great Annabeth Chase who has a successful life with loving friends. The Annabeth Chase that never once had to lift a finger."

"What's that even supposed to mean?"

Percy's glare turned icy. "Lots of people seem to think that Miss Perfect over here only has the things she does because of her rich daddy. Some of us weren't handed everything in life."

Annabeth's retort died on her tongue. And then—

"Don't you dare say that I didn't work for everything I had." Annabeth leaned forwards on the table, fuming. Who was he to make assumptions about her, not even giving her the benefit of the doubt? "If you want to insult me, tell me I'm a terrible person, fine. But don't you dare dismiss everything I have worked my entire life to get!"

"You had it easy," he spat.

Annabeth actually reached forwards and slapped him across the face. Her hand stung from the impact, but it's barely noticeable as she appreciates the way he looked up at her with a hand on his burning cheek, shocked.

She doesn't even give him a chance to get a word in before she's calling for the check and picking up her clutch.

"You're just leaving?" Percy hissed, standing up after her, brooding. "You're just going to forget about the food you ordered?"

"If you think I am sitting here one second longer after you told me I didn't earn anything I have, then you're severely mistaken." Annabeth gestured towards him. "Pay the check."

"You seriously think I'm paying the check after you just slapped me?"

"You're paying the check because you brought this on yourself," she argues. There seemed to be a crowd of people turning towards them to watch the commotion, and as the waiter returns with the check, asking if everything's alright, Percy pats around his pockets, face slowly morphing into panic.

He looked up at her. "I don't have my wallet."

Annabeth nearly screamed. "How do you expect to pay if you don't have your wallet?"

"I don't—" He looked at her pleadingly. "Can you—"

"No." Annabeth reached into her clutch to pull out forty dollars and slam it onto the table, telling the waiter, "Our meals are separate. This should cover mine."

"Wait— you're just going to leave me here!?"

"Maybe you should've been nicer," she called out over her shoulder.

"I drove you here!"

"I'll walk!" Because, yeah, she's not getting in a car with him again.

And then—

"Annabeth! You can't just leave me here!"

She turned around at the exit to address him one last time. "Better start looking for that wallet."

Percy called out from behind her again, but she didn't catch his words because she was already out the doors, flipping him off over her shoulder.

Maybe next time he would learn not to insult her like that. There are certain things Annabeth won't stand for, and her life is one of them. To say that she never worked a day in her life is ridiculous and downright not true.

She's still just in total disbelief over the entire night— well, the entire hour she spent with him. How someone as ignorant as Percy could even possibly exist is beyond her. And the fact that Piper thought she'd like him is just the cherry on top. Annabeth feels sorry that Piper has to deal with him because of Jason, but she certainly wasn't putting up with him.

A part of Annabeth is actually really pleased with what she'd done. She took a moment to glance in through the glass window and see Percy arguing with one of the waiters, and she actually smiles before heading home. The biting cold is no match for the fire running through her veins at the moment.

At least she'll never have to see him again. Even never seeing him again would be too soon, but she's just glad that it's finally over.

July 17th, 2019

Annabeth wanted to die.

She wanted to go home and jump out of her apartment window. She'd even settle for getting hit by a car on the highway.

Anything was better than sitting at a one-year-old's birthday party with Percy Jackson.

Annabeth has no idea how this happened.

She had been so hopeful that she'd never have to see Percy again in her life, but then Piper had to go announce that she and Jason were expecting a baby, and suddenly Percy and Annabeth were stuck in each other's lives because they were the kid's godparents.

Not to say that Annabeth was ungrateful, because she really did love Piper's little girl, but come on. How does someone get so unlucky that they literally have to spend so much time with the person they hate most all because their friend got knocked up? It's just unfair in her eyes.

"Stop it," Annabeth hissed at Percy, snatching the party horn he'd just blown in her face away from him.

"So grumpy," he said, tugging at her party hat that looked like a unicorn horn. She just growled and tried to adjust it on her head. "It's little Sophie's first birthday and you're being a terrible godmother."

"It's because you're here," she said. "You ruin any attempts at fun."

"You just snatched my party horn. I think you're the one ruining fun."

Annabeth bonked him on the head with the party horn. Unfortunately, it didn't cause brain damage.

"You suck just as much as the day I first met you," Percy said.

"Yeah? Well, you're still just as much of an asshole as the day I first met you too, so."

"You're such a bi—"

"—Hey!"

Percy and Annabeth's heads jerked towards the voice, looking sheepish. In reality, they probably looked pretty silly sitting by the cake with unicorn horns on, all while sharing a bench with each other because Piper wanted pictures of Sophia and her godparents.

"Be nice, you two," Piper warned playfully, carrying Sophia on one hip. "My baby's listening."

"Tell that to Percy," Annabeth grumbled, crossing her arms across her chest.

"I would like to say, for the record, that I have done nothing wrong." Percy preened.

"You guys were supposed to be friends," Piper sighed. "Why couldn't you two just become friends?"

"You sent us on a date," Annabeth choked out. "What about that screamed friends?"

"A shortcoming on my part," Piper admitted, lifting Sophia from her hip and placing her into Annabeth's hands. "Jason and I are gonna go set up the cake. Try not to rip my baby apart fighting over her."

Annabeth waved Piper away, distracted by Sophia already. Even though the kid forced Percy and Annabeth to tolerate each other until she was eighteen, she was awfully cute. She looked almost identical to Jason, which Piper loved to complain about, but Annabeth knew she secretly loved it.

"Hey birthday girl," Annabeth said softly, fixing the tiny pigtails on the girl's head. "I love your shirt. It has unicorns all over it."

Sophia babbled and Percy snorted.

"She said you're annoying," Percy said. "Give me her."

"No. Mine." Annabeth turned away from Percy, ignoring his protest.

Sophia grabbed a fistful of Annabeth's hair and her heart soared. Being a godmother was kind of awesome because she got to play with the baby but when it came time to diaper changes or spit up, she could just hand her back to Piper or Jason. All the fun of being a parent and none of the cleanup.

"Who do you like more, Sophie?" Annabeth asked, lifting her in the air and making her giggle delightedly. "Me, or stinky Percy?"

Sophia babbled some more, and Annabeth pretended to listen.

"Oh, me?" Annabeth nodded. "Wise choice."

"Please," Percy said, putting his hand on Annabeth's shoulder and pulling until she turned to face him. "I'm obviously her favorite."

"In your dreams, loser."

"Let's put it to the test, then."

"How would we— Hey!"

Percy held his arms out in front of Sophia and called her. Annabeth tried to hold onto the squirming child, but she was already crawling out of her arms and into Percy, and Annabeth did fully intend on not ripping Piper's child apart, but, just saying, if anything happened, it was Percy's fault.

Percy grinned, now with the baby in his arms, and Annabeth just pouted as she watched them together. It was sickening because it was Percy holding her. He was going to infect her with his obnoxious behavior.

"We showed her who you like more, didn't we?" Percy tossed Sophia in the air and nearly gave Annabeth a heart attack. "Didn't we?"

"You didn't even give me a chance," Annabeth said, standing and trying to snatch Sophia back. "A biased experiment."

"It was not." Percy shoved Annabeth off his shoulder. "Go away."

"Give me the baby."

"No."

Annabeth pulled his hair until he yelled out in pain. "Gimme."

"No. Fuck off."

Turns out Annabeth didn't need to smack Percy for his language because Piper returned and did it for her.

"My baby is right there," Piper said, hitting him upside the head again for good measure. "Use kind words with the babe."

"Annabeth was being mean to me!" Percy exclaimed, bouncing Sophia slightly.

"I was not. I was simply trying to assist him with the baby."

"And then she hit me!"

"I didn't see anything," Piper said, setting some candles down.

"Get me a CT scan and you'll see the bleeding in my brain," he said, frowning. Huh. Maybe she did cause brain damage.

"Stop being dramatic," Annabeth said, preening.

Percy glared at her.

"Piper, darling," Annabeth said sweetly. "Would you mind telling Percy to give me the baby?"

"Percy. Give her the baby."

"What? No!"

Piper looked at Annabeth, shrugging. "I tried."

"Thank you," Annabeth said.

Percy went on playing with Sophia while Annabeth was forced to watch glumly. Sophia was giggling and giving a toothless smile, and Annabeth had to look away before she combusted of jealousy. She settled for watching Piper put together the cake, eventually standing to help her after five minutes of Piper hesitating to ruin the perfect icing.

"You're quiet," Piper pointed out, pressing a candle into the frosting of the unicorn cake. "You're never this quiet when Percy's around. Always fighting loudly."

"We were just fighting two seconds ago," Annabeth said, laughing. "You don't have to worry."

"That was nothing compared to last time."

"Last time was not that bad."

"You shoved him down the stairs and gave him a concussion."

"I wouldn't have done that if he had the baby," Annabeth promised.

Piper blinked. "I sure hope you wouldn't have."

Annabeth winked, successfully confusing even herself.

"But seriously," Piper said. "Everything alright?"

"I'm fine," Annabeth said, giving a tight smile. Really, there wasn't anything going on in her life. It was just boring. Going to work every day and coming home, maybe going on a date that was bound to fail, but not as badly as her and Percy had. "A little miffed that he stole Sophia from me, but it happens, you know?"

Piper snorted. "Okay."

"I mean it!"

"Okay!" Piper chuckled, moving the cake to the highchair for Sophia. "You'd maybe be happier if you got yourself a man."

"Oh, yeah? Who?"

"You have one right over there," Piper said, eyeing someone behind her. Annabeth didn't have to turn around to know it was Percy.

"No."

"Come on! You two were supposed to become best friends on that date because I knew I was having a baby and I didn't want to leave you behind!"

"I get that, but no. He makes me want to dunk my head in a deep fryer."

"You're practically married already," Piper said pleadingly. "Please consider it."

"I'll consider it." Annabeth paused. "I considered it. No."

Piper shoved Annabeth's head. "I hate you."

"No, you love me."

"Unfortunately."

Annabeth laughed, tugging on Piper's braid. "I think—"

A yell broke out across the backyard the party was being held in, and both Piper and Annabeth turned towards the noise, alarmed.

What they were met with was a Percy holding Sophia away from him, face contorted in disgust. Did he always have to have the attention on him? Attention-seeking whore.

"She just threw up on me!"

Annabeth started laughing, whipping out her phone to film as Piper went to grab the baby. Percy's shirt was covered in the baby's spit up and he looked less than pleased as Annabeth got in his face, recording.

There were a lot of people giggling around them and Percy had to force a smile on his face, but even Annabeth knew deep down that he was seething. Not necessarily at the baby, but at the fact that he'd have to spend the rest of the party in wet, vomit-covered clothes because he didn't bring anything else.

"I think that's her way of telling you that she likes me more," Annabeth said.

Percy shoved her phone out of her hand. "Is that really necessary right now?"

"Oh, yes," Annabeth said, guffawing. "It's just— karma."

"I get it. Karma's a bitch." Percy looked down at his shirt, holding it away from his skin by the bottom. "Can you please help me here?"

"Why would I do that when this is so entertaining?"

"I'll give you a nice big hug if you don't," Percy threatened.

Annabeth took a large step back. "I dare you to try."

"Seriously, Annabeth. Can you at least try to be useful?"

Annabeth sighed, looking him over. He looked so stressed and was actually starting to plead with her. The sight was so sad, and she almost pitied him. Keyword: almost.

"No."

"Damn it, Annabeth." Percy pulled his shirt over his head and balled it up before tossing it aside. Annabeth stared at his abs for a second.

"You look stupid without a shirt," Annabeth said.

"Haha." Percy looked her up and down, eyes pausing on her torso.

Annabeth looked down, and all she saw was her sweater, and she really should've expected him to ask.

"Give me your jacket."

"Uh, no."

"Don't make me snatch it off your body."

"I'll scream kidnapper."

"So will I," he challenged. "Take it off."

"If you wanted to see me take my clothes off, you didn't have to wait two years to do it."

Percy grabbed her and started to take the pullover hoodie off of her himself. Annabeth gave in, pushing his hands off of her and taking it off herself. Once it was off, she shoved it into his chest.

As Percy pulled it on, Annabeth noticed people staring at the two of them, and it didn't take a genius to figure out why. They bickered a lot— like, all the time. It never stopped for even a second since they first met each other.

Over time, their fights have blown over easier because they were so used to it. Now, they still didn't like each other in the slightest, and it wasn't necessarily easier to spend time with each other, but it was easier to just let the insults fly over their heads. On the plus side, Annabeth also got much better with spitting out mean comments.

Percy and Annabeth were just so used to being in each other's lives as much as they hated it, so the teasing, though they both meant everything they said, was much easier to handle. By this point, it was nothing they hadn't heard before anyways.

"They're staring at us," Percy whispered in her ear, now stretching out the fabric of her favorite jacket.

"They're staring at you," Annabeth muttered through the corner of her mouth. "Because you look…"

"Look what?"

"Like a moron," she stage whispered.

"Go fuck yourself," he said in the same manner as her.

"Percy! Annabeth!" Piper motioned for the both of them to go over to the highchair for pictures and both of them stifled a groan. At least they could both complain about all the pictures that came along with a baby that wasn't even theirs.

Annabeth settled next to Sophie, pressing a kiss to the tiny fist, and saying just loud enough for Percy to hear, "Nice job with Percy."

Percy yanked her ponytail.

Piper and Jason took a few pictures of Sophia with Percy and Annabeth before moving onto themselves. Annabeth bothered Percy by poking him for a few minutes until the people at the party were singing happy birthday, the two of them competing on who could sing louder. ("I win." "Annabeth. You do not win because you covered my mouth and suffocated me." "I win anyways.")

"Annabeth," Piper said, dragging her by the arm. "I want you to stand on the left of Sophia, and Percy, you'll be on the right."

Annabeth obliged, bending down to be eye level with Sophia, whose face was covered in mushed cake now. Percy's face appeared on the other side of her, and he winked at her. Annabeth suddenly felt very worried.

"Annabeth! Look at the camera," Piper called, snapping some more pictures.

Sophia tried to shove cake into Annabeth's mouth, and Annabeth pretended to eat it but realistically kept her mouth shut tight because slobber.

"You're a charlatan, Annabeth," Percy said from the other side of Sophia. "Pretending to eat her cake but lying to her. You're deceitful."

"I love her, but I don't want to shove her hand in my mouth when it was probably in her diaper two minutes ago."

"But don't you want a taste of the yummy cake?" he asked, laughing. People around them started laughing too and Annabeth looked around, bewildered. She had no idea why they were laughing.

"There's an adult cake over there," she said as though she was talking to a child. Perhaps she was. Percy was quite childish. "I suggest you go eat that one if you're so desperate for cake."

"But this one looks so delectable, don't you think?"

"Not really, but—"

Percy's hand came up behind her head and pushed, forcing her face into the pile of moist cake and frosting. It went up her nose and got in her eyes and her hair, and she going to stab him with a party hat.

"Percy!" Annabeth wiped her eyes and slowly blinked, wincing as it started to sting.

"I wanted you to try the cake!" he defended, eyes mirthful. "How was it?"

Annabeth tried to wipe the excess cake off her face before answering. "It was actually not so bad. I think you should try it."

"I'm good. You tried it for the both of us."

She shook her head sympathetically. "Oh, buddy. That's not how this works."

Percy's eyes widened as she reached for his head. "Now, Annabeth, let's think about our actions. We want to act rationally here."

"Screw rational." Annabeth's hands threaded through his hair and clamped down so he couldn't escape, before she forced his face forwards and directly into the clumps of cake.

Percy came up sputtering, and he looked like a mess of pink and white and rainbow. He looked like a unicorn, and Annabeth told him just that.

"I hate you," he said, wiping the frosting from his face and plopping it into her hair as she shrieked and tried to get away. Percy ended up throwing frosting at her, except it smacked Sophia in the face instead of Annabeth.

"Look what you did!" Annabeth said, holding a hand out to Sophia as she giggled, just happy to be included. "You just hit the birthday girl."

"It was an accident!"

"That's funny! I think your mom said the same thing about you!"

Percy gasped, hand over his heart.

Amidst their bickering, Piper kept taking pictures. A good ten minutes passed as they hurled insults at each other, smiles still plastered to their faces. It was probably alarming how easily they took the snide comments, but it was just fun to them at this point.

They eventually did calm down enough to eat some of the real cake and act like adults. The rest of the party went well enough. Annabeth held Sophia for a while and Percy tried to steal the baby from her to no avail. It was a good first birthday for Sophia, and Annabeth had fun, but by the time it came to a close, Annabeth was ready to head home and just knock out on the couch like a proper twenty-six-year-old.

"I think I'm going home now," Annabeth said, standing from her position on the floor with her back pressed to the couch. The only people left were Piper, Jason, Percy, and her, so it's not like she'd be missing much at this point. Even Sophia was asleep.

"Aw," Piper said, kicking at her lazily as she laid in Jason's arms. "You need a ride?"

"I'll just call an uber," Annabeth said, grabbing her purse.

"I don't like those things," Piper said, sitting up. "I'll take you."

"Don't worry about it," Annabeth said, shifting her feet. "I'll be fine."

Piper pouted.

"I should probably get going too," Percy said, standing from where he'd been laying on the couch and stretching until his back popped. "I can take her home."

"That's not happening," Annabeth stressed. "Seriously, I'll be fine."

Percy just picked up his keys and approached her. "I know we hate each other, but I'd rather not see you kidnapped because then I'd have no one to bother." He passed by her. "Let's go."

Annabeth threw her head back, wishing things could just be easy for once, before waving goodbye to Piper and Jason and following Percy out the door. Once she was settled in his passenger seat, she leaned against the window and closed her eyes, thinking maybe she could take a quick nap on the ride.

She was severely wrong.

"So when you get home and I give you your jacket back, you're going to perform some voodoo to get me to fall in love with you, aren't you?"

Annabeth groaned, wishing she could just get a single moment of peace. "How'd you know?"

"You're just freaky like that, babe."

"Hm."

Percy must've sensed her exhaustion because he fell back into silence for the remainder of the ride. The hum of the car was hypnotizing, and she hadn't even realized she had been pulled into a deep sleep until Percy was shaking her awake, parked in front of the curb of her apartment.

"Wake up before you drool on my seat," Percy said, shaking her shoulder gently. His words were a tease, but the way he was actually acting was very soft as though he didn't want to accidentally scare her awake.

"I'm not the one who drools on other people's hair," she muttered, rubbing her eyes and unbuckling her seatbelt.

"One time, Annabeth."

She opened the car door, opting not to tease him any further, and she was about to close the door and walk off before she remembered the jacket he was currently wearing. "Can I have that back?"

Percy's hand touched the fabric of it hesitantly. "Can I wash it first and then give it back?"

"There's no need," she said.

"It's the least I could do. It's probably infused with baby vomit."

"Next time I see you, you better have it for me," she relented. "Or I'll have no choice but to kill you."

"You couldn't kill me if you tried," he said lightly. And then he said quietly, "Goodnight, Annabeth."

"Watch your back, Jackson," she said instead, slamming the door shut.

She heard Percy laugh from inside the car, so she squinted her eyes at him before turning to head inside, so ready for sleep she could already imagine herself warm under the covers. As the gate closed behind her, she noticed that Percy had waited until she was safe inside before driving away.

So maybe Percy wasn't such a terrible person, but he was still terrible to her. And no matter how amazing others think he is, he would always be the kid she couldn't stand. If people seriously thought that they would ever get together, they were in for a treat because that would literally never happen.

Ha. As if.

July 24th, 2019

Annabeth lounged lazily on her couch, scrolling through her phone aimlessly, repeatedly opening and closing random apps.

The entire day just went by so slow and she was ready for this to all just be over. It was a Sunday, so she didn't have to work, which usually meant a day spent with Piper and Jason, but she had last minute decided against it. She was just feeling kind of funny about the whole day, and she didn't know if she was just paranoid or getting sick, but she didn't want to risk transferring that over to Sophia, which is why she was doing nothing except contemplating existence itself.

Annabeth's brows furrowed as she opened her messages again, looking at the last text she'd sent. It had been over five hours ago to Piper, and there was still no response which was out of the ordinary. Piper always responded, so it was a bit confusing, but she tried not to dwell on it too much.

Setting her phone down, she returned to watching Friends that was playing on her tv, bored out of her mind. She even considered asking Percy to come over so they could have a cake decorating competition or something, anything to get this feeling out of her system, but she's not that desperate.

Eventually, she ended up falling back asleep, her neck awkwardly angled against the pillow on her couch, and one of the legs of her grey sweatpants riding up. She'd probably have a stiff neck when she woke up, but it was a deep nap, and those were the best kinds of naps.

She would've probably kept sleeping until way past midnight, but she was startled awake as her phone started going off beside her head. Annabeth had almost let it just go to voicemail, but then she figured maybe it would give her something to do, so she fumbled to grab it, sliding it open before pressing it to her ear.

"Hello?" Annabeth's voice was still dripping with lethargy.

"Hi, this is Officer Young. Am I speaking to Annabeth Chase?"

"Yes," she said, blinking slowly.

"I'm calling about two of your friends, Piper and Jason Grace."

Annabeth sat up, more alert. "Is everything alright?"

"There's been an accident. Do you think you could meet me at the New York Police Department?"

Annabeth's mind reeled. "Wait, what happened?"

There was a pause on the other end. "I think it would be best to discuss this in person."

"No, no. I need to know what happened now." Her heart was pounding painfully, breathing turning ragged. "Are they okay?"

"I'll explain everything in person," the officer promised. "Do you understand where to meet?"

"Yes, but—"

"I'll see you then, Ms. Chase."

The line clicked silent, leaving Annabeth on the verge of a breakdown. She had absolutely no idea what was going on, beyond an accident having occurred. She didn't know what type of accident, if it was serious, but she was being asked to show up at the NYPD, so it had to be serious.

And, oh god, Piper hadn't been answering her phone.

Annabeth threw clothes on, not even looking in the mirror to make sure she looked decent enough to be in public, before she was out the door and hailing the first taxi she saw.

Her brain was on overdrive as she muttered out the destination to the driver before pulling out her phone to shoot a quick text to Percy, telling him that there was an accident with the Graces and to meet her at the NYPD. She didn't tell him anything more; she didn't even know anything more other than whatever was happening was bad.

She had no way of knowing the severity of the situation, but she did. Something deep inside of her told her to prepare herself because things were about to change beyond recognition.

She noticed her phone getting messages back from Percy as he questioned her, but she ignored them. Not even a minute later, her phone was ringing with a call from Percy. She let it go to voicemail; she didn't have the strength to talk to him right now, preoccupied with trying to calm herself.

The fifteen-minute ride felt like hours, but she was eventually rolling to a stop and hopping out of the car after throwing a random amount of cash at the driver. She yanked open the front doors of the department, nearly running into a rogue cop, and then she was at the front desk, staring a lady with a manager haircut in the eyes.

"I need to speak to Officer Young," Annabeth breathed, rushed.

"That would be me," someone said from behind her.

As Annabeth turned around, she was met with someone in a black police uniform. He had brown hair and brown eyes, and Annabeth wanted to wipe he sympathetic face he had on.

"Can you tell me what's going on?" she asked pleadingly, stepping towards him.

"Follow me," he said. He led her to a more secluded area of the department and tried to get her to sit on one of the small seats they supplied. Annabeth refused.

"What happened?" she asked again. Her voice was strained, and she couldn't stop picking at her lips even as she tasted blood.

"Ms. Chase," he said. "There's been an accident. Piper and Jason Grace were in a car accident. A driver came over the median and hit their car, going almost one-hundred miles per hour. Their car flipped."

Annabeth gave a sharp intake, praying he wouldn't say what she thought he would.

"They didn't make it. They died on impact."

Her hand pressed to her mouth as a sob worked its way up her throat. This couldn't be happening. She had just talked to them that morning, and now they were in an accident, probably lying in a hospital somewhere covered by a black bag.

Her best friends were dead, and this couldn't be happening—

"The car flipped?" she asked. Everything seemed so far away, and she didn't know how to react because she never expected something so– so bizarre to happen to them. They were Piper and Jason, the life of the party, except they weren't. Not anymore.

"I'm afraid so." The cop gave her a moment to gather herself before continuing. "You were listed as their emergency contact. Anything you could give us would be of great help— next of kin, or their health directives."

"Uh." Annabeth threaded her fingers through her hair, dazed. "I don't know. I can't think of anything right now."

"That's alright," he said. "Take your time. It's a lot to process. Are you sure you don't want to sit down?"

"I can't—" Annabeth bit her tongue as tears that she hadn't known she'd been shedding fell onto her lips. "I can't sit down. Not right now."

Piper and Jason were dead. The people she'd grown up with were dead. The two people she loved more than anyone else in the world were gone after they spent their lives building what they had, and—

Sophia.

Annabeth started panicking all over again because there hadn't been any mention of Sophia, and she couldn't be gone too. She had just turned one a week ago, and she couldn't be gone. Not her too.

"They had a little girl, Sophia," Annabeth said, unnerved. "Was she in the car?"

"She was with a babysitter," he said, and Annabeth breathed a sigh of relief. "The babysitter was a minor, so she was taken to CPS."

"CPS?"

"Child protective services. They deal with cases like these."

"Cases like these?" Annabeth said, numb.

"Cases in which a child has been… orphaned."

More tears flew down her face as it really hit her. They weren't coming back, and now their baby who they loved more than anything was left without parents. She would never see her parents again, or truly understand why they were gone. She didn't know that the last time she was her mom and dad would be the last time, and that was heartbreaking.

"Can I see her?"

"You'll have to talk to social services," he said. "I'd be happy to give you their number."

Annabeth nodded, and then the police officer walked away to get it. She ended up sitting down with her head cradled in her hands, just letting the tears fall to the ground. Everything around her blurred together— the passing of people and the thrum of voices throughout the office became nonexistent against the pounding in her skull.

This was too much.

She felt like she was going to explode. This wasn't the life she'd imagined for herself. She never thought she'd lose the people most important to her, and now it was a reality. It was her reality, but she had to hold it together. For Sophia, who was too young to understand, who needed someone there for her because her parents couldn't be.

Still, she couldn't bring herself to focus. She couldn't bring herself to the present, until:

"Annabeth?"

Annabeth's head snapped up, and there was Percy looking at her with his green eyes so scared. He was so tall hovering over her, and he looked so worried, and she didn't even care that it was Percy before she flung herself into his arms, sobbing into his shirt. He just held her, arms around her waist, letting her try and catch her breath.

"They—" Annabeth gasped for air, but none came in. "Car crash. A car hit them, and they flipped, and they didn't—"

Percy's grasp tightened around her.

"They're dead."

She broke into a new round of tears, or maybe they continued to flow since they started. She didn't know, but he just stood there holding her, his own tears falling from his face and into the top of her hair.

She realized that he had just lost his friends too, and the two of them might not be close, but they were the only ones who could come remotely close to understanding what the other was going through.

"Sophie?" he managed through a wobbly voice.

"She's okay," she whispered against his chest. "She was with a babysitter."

She could feel a breath of relief against her, and then he was tucking her head under his chin. They stayed like that for a while, just standing in silence, understanding what words could not describe, until the cop came back with the number.

"They're expecting you," he said, handing them a card with an address on it. "You can wait until tomorrow, or you can go right now. They'll assist you from there."

Annabeth glanced at a clock on the wall that read one in the morning, before shaking her head. "We'll go now."

The cop nodded to the both of them, then said, "I'm sorry for your loss," before walking away and leaving them to themselves.

"They have Sophie?" Percy asked, pulling away from the hug.

"Yeah." She wiped at her face. "I want to see her."

"Did you drive?"

She shook her head, whimpering.

"I'll take us," he said, and then he was helping her towards the car, and she was helping him. As they got in the car, Annabeth realized that she'd never felt so drained before yet unable to sleep. She needed to see Sophia; the poor baby was probably terrified surrounded by new people. Annabeth knew she didn't do well with strangers.

The ride was so tense she could cut it with a knife. Percy stayed silent, and she did too. Their presence was enough for them. She spent the drive trying to prepare herself. Sophia was barely one and she would no doubt be terrified, and it wouldn't do her any good if Annabeth was a mess as well.

The second the car was in park, Annabeth was throwing the door open, desperate to wrap her arms around the baby. Percy followed right behind her into the foster home Sophie was staying the night at, knowing that the social workers were already there based on the other car parked by the curb.

Annabeth knocked at the door, and it was swung open seconds later by a woman in a pressed suit. She could only assume that it was Sophia's social worker who welcomed them into the home and led them into the living room.

Annabeth's heart panged as she heard the sharp cries coming from the infant, and she was itching to work through the house by herself. Percy talked behind her to the social worker, explaining who they were, and then they were showed the way to through the halls until they reached the room set up like a nursery.

There she was, face red as she wailed, inconsolable.

Annabeth practically leaped towards the baby, and the foster parent let her take Sophie. For the first time since Sophia was born, Percy hadn't argued against it.

Sophie's small arms wrapped around Annabeth's neck, screaming harder at the sight of someone she recognized, and Annabeth started sobbing too, holding onto her fragile frame. Percy came up behind them, but let Annabeth have a moment with Sophie, settling for looking at them.

The social worker gave Annabeth a second to calm down, and Sophia started to calm down too, only hiccupping every few seconds. It was ten minutes after their arrival that the questions about Sophia really began.

"What's going to happen to her?" Annabeth managed, cradling the baby's head to her chest.

"That's what we'd like to discuss with the two of you," the lady said, gesturing towards the couches. "Come sit."

There were six different people in the room: two foster parents, the social worker, the baby, and Percy and Annabeth. It was silent for another minute as they all looked at each other, and then the social worker spoke again.

"There's a lot we'll be needing to discuss, but let's start with the basics. There are the foster parents she's spending the night with," the social worker said, letting them introduce themselves. "She needs to stay here, at least for tonight, and then I'm sure we can arrange for the two of you to spend time with her until everything is sorted."

"You're more than welcome to stay the night here if you'd like to stay with her," one of the foster parents added.

"The next few weeks are going to be hectic depending on what happens with Sophia, and she's going to need a rock until everything goes back to as normal as possible for her."

Annabeth looked at the baby leaning against her chest, sucking on her thumb. "What's going to happen?" she asked, wiping the silent tears away. "I want to know."

"Are you sure you wish to discuss this now?" the worker asked. "We can wait until morning when you've had some more time to process everything."

Annabeth and Percy shared a glance of questioning. Whatever the lady had to say would undoubtedly be painful, but Annabeth wanted to be prepared. She wanted to know what was going to happen with the girl— the thought of Sophia being sent to live with strangers for the rest of her life didn't settle well with her.

Percy nodded at Annabeth, so she said, "We want to do this now."

And then, "Alright." The lady pulled out a briefcase from beside the couch, and Annabeth's surprised she didn't notice it any sooner. When it clicked open, it was filled with stacks of papers and folders. "There's no easy way to put this, so let's just begin. In March of last year, Piper McLean-Grace and Jason Grace had their will revised. In this revision, they included the directory for their daughter, Sophia Grace. They stated in case of emergency, where they would like Sophia to reside."

Percy's hand tightened on Annabeth's knee and she felt sick to her stomach.

"It states here that if anything were to happen to the two of them, Sophia Grace's care shall be transferred to Annabeth Chase and Perseus Jackson."

Annabeth came to a screeching halt. "What?"

"In case of either one of them rejecting their duties, Sophia shall be directed to the next nearest family member," she worker finished. "They had been quite adamant that the two of you become the legal guardians of Sophia."

Annabeth choked. "But— they never…"

"We were never told of this," Percy said for her. "They never told us that we were to take over for them."

"Well, based off of their will, this is what they wanted. I do understand this is a big responsibility, and I don't mean to pressure either of you, but this is a drastic change in Sophia's life. It's best if she's around people close to her, and I presume the both of you knew her well?"

"We did, but…" Annabeth looked at Percy. She still wasn't convinced that this wasn't a dream, because how? How does something like this happen? How does she end up supposed to take legal responsibility for a baby whose parents just died? How does any of this happen without Annabeth having even the slightest clue of anything?

And she's on a high right now, because it's the middle of the night and everything is zooming past her ears. Time is fluid, moving as it wishes and leaving Annabeth drowning in the midst of it. She shouldn't make decisions in this state, but this is Sophia, her best friend's baby, and she has no one. A one-year-old is all alone in the world, and it's not fair, and Annabeth knows she's not going to leave this baby to stumble her way through life.

"I want to do it."

Percy looked at her, and his eyes screamed that he was shocked by her decision.

"Now, I don't want you two to jump to a decision. You need time to think it over, so for now let's just weigh the question."

"I want to do it," Annabeth repeated. "I'm not going to let her just be sent off to two strangers, that, for all we know, are serial killers!"

"Annabeth," Percy said. "This is— I get that you don't want her to be alone, but this is a baby. You didn't get time to prepare for any of this."

"This is their child," Annabeth stressed. "They trusted us to take her if anything happened. They wanted us, because we were the ones there for them. We know Sophia better than anyone else in this world now, and I'm not going to take away their dying wishes."

"I get that, but—"

"There is no but," Annabeth hissed. "If I do this, then we both get to still watch her grow up, to protect her, and that's what she needs. If I don't, then we both lose her forever. By the time we get to see her again, if ever, she won't know who we are. I'm doing this with or without you."

Percy went to open his mouth, but the social worker interrupted.

"I'm afraid you've got the wrong idea," she said. "In the will, it was stated that the two of you take legal custody together. They wanted both of you to become her guardians."

Annabeth heard Percy's sharp intake of breath.

"The only options are the two of you both agree, or she's put into the foster system. One could still receive sole custody, but that would likely be years from now after endless court hearings and adoption agencies, and even then, it still might not be approved because the will states both of you, or neither."

"But they just wanted her with someone close to them!" Annabeth protested. "They wouldn't send her away just because of one us refused!"

"I believe that to be the case as well, but the wording in the will could cause a lawsuit down the line if it is not a joint-custody situation, so I'm afraid only one of you agreeing would not be possible."

Annabeth whirled towards Percy. "Please."

"Annabeth—"

"Please, Percy."

Percy looked stuck, and he audibly sighed when the social worker interrupted, taking the focus off of him.

"There's a lot of paperwork we'll have to go through regardless, so we can continue this another time," she said, standing up. "I'll be back in the morning to check in. You two can discuss what you plan to do, but don't feel pressured to have a decision for me by tomorrow. We have time."

Annabeth stubbornly stayed silent, still holding Sophia in her arms. Percy stood up to exchange goodbyes on Annabeth's behalf, and before she knew it, Percy and Annabeth were alone with Sophia in the living room, the foster parents having migrated to their bedroom to give them space.

She immediately sprang into action.

"We have to do this."

Percy sighed, running his hand through his black locks. "Annabeth… this is so much bigger than that."

"I want to do this, Percy."

"That's exactly the problem!" Sophia began stirring from her sleep at his outburst, so he forced himself to lower his voice and calm down. "You want to do this. Wanting to do something and actually doing it are very different."

"It's not—"

"It is. You might want to help, but what do you know about raising a child? You have a heavy job, and so much you wanted to do. Are you seriously willing to drop everything to raise a baby you didn't ask for?"

"Are you not?" she challenged. "This isn't just some baby. This is Jason and Piper's baby, and they trusted us. How could you not want to help?!"

"I do! I do want to help, but I know that I am not ready for a baby!"

"You can learn! No one's ever ready for a baby!"

"It's not that simple," he tried. "They didn't even ask us, Annabeth."

"Because they trusted that we would help them when they needed it most!"

"It's not responsible!" Percy threw his head back, muttering something under his breath. "What they did wasn't responsible. They shouldn't have expected us to drop everything to raise their child without so much as mentioning it."

"Maybe not, but they did! They can't change their decision now, and we can't just throw Sophia to the wolves."

"We wouldn't be throwing her to the wolves," he said. "We'd still be there until she was safe in a home. We'd make sure she was okay. It just wouldn't be us raising her for another seventeen years."

"And you're okay with that?" she asked. "You're honestly okay with someone else taking her and making her life decisions? You're okay not knowing if or when you'll see her again, or if she's safe, or sick, or sad? You're okay letting someone else have full control over her?"

Percy's silence was enough for Annabeth to press on.

"We have to do this."

"We are not made for this," he warned. "You and I— we don't work, and we never will. How do you expect us to work together enough to raise a child when we can barely even speak without fighting?"

"I—"

"We aren't together. Sophia would grow up with split parents because we just can't do this together. I know firsthand how it feels to have split parents. It sucks, and I wouldn't want to put her through that."

"This is Sophia we're talking about."

"We can't do this. You and I couldn't possibly do this. It's our responsibility to choose the path that's best for her, and that involves knowing our limits. This is our limit."

"Then leave! You don't have to do this with me! We can just say we both agree, and then you can go off and live your life, child-free."

"Do you seriously think that they won't find out? They watch us for years, analyzing our every move! There are check-ins, background checks, and they probably test our compatibility, or something. Trust me when I say that they will know if only one of us is taking care of her."

"Then step up and do what's being asked of you!"

"I already said it's not that easy!"

"Why not?" Annabeth got to her feet, putting them inches away from each other. "Why can't it be that easy?"

"Two people who raise a child— half of them, if not more, get divorced. You and I can barely stand each other. We aren't friends. How can two people who aren't even friends co-parent?"

"We are friends!" she protested, trying not to start crying under the pressure. She was losing the fight, and if that happened, she was going to lose Sophie forever, and she'd never forgive herself. "We've been friends for years, Percy."

"Really? I have two years of memories that beg to differ."

"I know I tease you and bother you all the time. I—" She licked her lips. "I know I made it seem like you were the last person I would want to talk to, but right now you're the only person who I can talk to, so please, just let me do this."

Something flashed behind Percy's eyes, and it was a look she recognized but could never pin. She still didn't know what it was.

"Do you genuinely think we can do this?" he asked. "Two people from opposite worlds, who for the last two years have made each other's lives living hell?"

"We can if we try," she whispered. "We have to try."

He rubbed his face again. "Annabeth…"

"It's as simple as stopping," she pleaded. "We don't have to fight. We just have to decide to work together, and we will."

"There's still so much outside of that," he said. "We'll have to live in their house to keep a steady environment for her, and that house isn't cheap. Our jobs combined still won't pay off that house, and that's only the beginning."

"The house is already paid off. We just need to cover the bills and everything else."

"In a house like that, our paychecks just aren't enough."

"Yeah, but we have their life insurance, and Piper's dad has money! He can help us, and even if he doesn't, I have my dad, and—"

"—And if we ask them for money, we risk losing her because we seem incompetent."

"We will figure it out," she said. "It's a lot, but this is Piper and Jason and Sophie."

Annabeth could see Percy's barrier crumbling. His shoulders fell and he looked so done with everything. Above all though, she could see that he wanted to do it so badly, but he didn't know how.

"We can do this, Percy." She waited until he looked her in the eyes again, and then she whispered, "Together."

He just stared at her, and then at Sophie. She somehow knew exactly what he was thinking. It was going to be near impossible if they wanted to do this. They would feel so close to failure at times and want to just give up in its entirety. There was so much they didn't know and so much that would go wrong before anything went right, but…

It was all for Sophie. She needed them now more than ever. They were all she had left, and even if it killed them, they were always going to do this.

Percy nodded, chewing on his lip. It was going to be an adventure, but they could handle it. They would handle it. They had no other choice.

"Together," he said, and Annabeth smiled.

July 31st, 2019

Annabeth screamed, holding the baby up and away from her body. "She's pooping!"

"Why'd you take her diaper off?" Percy yelled back from the kitchen, frantically looking around for a clean bottle in the mess on the counter.

"I was changing her diaper!"

"Typically, you change diapers after they go!"

"Shut up!" Annabeth stared at Sophie in slight disgust, watching as she just gave Annabeth a small grin, oblivious as to what was currently happening. "Can you find the wipes?"

"I'm a little busy!" Percy grinned, triumphant, as he pulled a bottle out of the sink.

"She's still pooping!" Annabeth cried, looking to him for help.

Percy looked at her, and then promptly burst out laughing, pointing at them and doubling over from the force of his gasps for air. Annabeth looked down at herself and started laughing too because she looked ridiculous. Everything about this situation was ridiculous.

The past week had been so hectic, filled with appointments and court hearings. They'd been all over the place, signing papers and getting everything transferred over to them. Thankfully, things had been done at triple speed to make things easier, but there were still a few more things to do to officially have custody over Sophia. For the time being though, they got to watch over her, and it was definitely much harder than expected.

Sophia cried, like, a lot. She cried all through the night, and Annabeth's heart panged because she knew it was for her parents. And then she woke up all too early, demanding attention, and they barely got time to breathe anymore.

It had only been a week, but they'd aged at least ten years.

And because Sophia was very demanding, they were rushing around taking care of her, and not themselves, meaning Annabeth's hair was in a very greasy bun, and she was dressed in two-day-old grey sweatpants and a white t-shirt that she was pretty sure belonged to Percy.

Annabeth looked around the room as Percy kept cackling, and it just got worse. Piper and Jason's house —no, their house— was a complete mess. There were toys strewn around the living room, and pillows and blankets scattered every two feet. Annabeth can't even count the amount of times she's slipped on a toy car in the last hour.

They were still figuring things out, clearly.

"Stop laughing," Annabeth said, but she was still choking on air herself. "Make her a bottle."

Percy breathed heavily for a few times before straightening and nearly tripping over Annabeth's jacket that somehow ended up hanging from the fridge handle. Annabeth looked around her feet, nearly crying tears of joy as she found the wipes. She set Sophia down on the floor, only feeling a little bit guilty for not doing it somewhere more comfortable.

"I can't find any milk," Percy said to no one in particular, shuffling around the food inside the fridge.

"It's in there somewhere," she said, grimacing as she wiped Sophie. Percy cursed loudly as he stepped on another toy, and Annabeth glared at him. "There's a baby in the room, Percy."

"She can't even talk," he dismissed, flexing his foot that felt broken. "That hurt."

"Put some shoes on," she suggested. "Or clean the living room like I've been asking you to do."

"I can't find my other shoe," he whined, totally ignoring the second part of her statement.

"Cry me a river, build me a bridge, and get over it."

Percy flicked her off behind her back before turning back to the fridge and shuffling around some more. "Yeah, I can't find any milk."

"Are you blind?"

"I'm telling you there's no milk!"

"Keep looking!" Annabeth finished changing Sophie's diaper and lifted her up to sit on the couch, praying she would just stay still for two seconds while she threw away the dirty diaper.

Percy muttered something under his breath, and it sounded a lot like what is it with women these days, but she no longer had the strength to argue. There had also already been plenty of that in the last week.

Annabeth sat down next to Sophie on the couch, and then immediately plopped over, not even bothering to push Sophie off as she started to climb on her and slap at her stomach. She really needed a nap.

"I found it!"

Annabeth looked at him. "The milk?"

"My shoe!"

She rolled her eyes, rubbing Sophia's stomach as she laid down on Annabeth's chest. "She's going to want a bottle soon."

"Well, I can't find the milk, so…"

Annabeth thought for a moment, then snickered. "I drank the rest of it last night."

"I'm going to murder you."

"You can't! If you do, then Sophie will have lost three—" Annabeth cut off as she realized what she was about to say, and the mood effectively fell.

There were moments that everything felt perfectly normal, as though nothing bad had happened and they were simply watching her for a moment. Then, they would be reminded, and everything would fall apart once again, leaving them struggling to keep it together.

Annabeth felt so guilty in moments like these because she had forgotten for a while. She had forgotten that the two people she loved most were gone. It had felt normal for a while, and she feels bad even saying that. She didn't want things to go back to normal because she felt like she was betraying her friends, but… this was their new normal. It sucked.

"Hey," Percy said gently, appearing over her on the couch. "We haven't left the house in a while. Let's go food shopping; we need milk anyways."

Annabeth wasn't fooled. She knew he was trying to distract her, and she appreciated it. Percy was probably the one person keeping her together right now, besides Sophie, but she couldn't really do anything at such a young age, so mainly Percy.

It was ironic how much she needed Percy right now and how much he needed her. They went from constantly making fun of each other to helping keep each other up. He brought her food sometimes when she forgot to eat, and she was occasionally finding herself throwing a blanket over Percy when he knocked out against the cold wooden floor while searching for a pacifier. It was different from their usual dynamic, but a good different.

"Yeah," she breathed. "Okay."

"You can take a shower first," he said. "And then we'll go. You look disgusting."

Okay, so maybe they were still making fun of each other from time to time. Had to keep the spark alive, you know?

"Rich coming from you," she said, letting him pick Sophie up and take her away to get ready. She sat up, just now realizing how sore she was as she stretched, before standing and working her way towards the guest bedroom to take a shower.

Neither her nor Percy felt comfortable sleeping in the master bedroom so soon after their friends' deaths, so she was sleeping in the guest room and Percy settled for the couch. He assured her that he was perfectly happy where he was, but she was already planning to take the couch and give him a change to actually sleep in a bed.

As Annabeth undid her bun and then stepped into the shower, she thought of the long road ahead of her. Her boss had been kind enough to give some time off of work, something of a maternity leave, but she knew she'd have to go back eventually. How she was going to juggle everything, she had no idea, but she'd cross that bridge when she gets to it.

The hot water ran over her skin, soothing her aching muscles. Her fingers massaged her head as she washed her hair, and she can't remember the last time she'd washed her hair. It was probably only a few days ago realistically, but it just felt like an eternity ago, so it felt downright ethereal.

This was probably the most time she'd spent alone in a while too, so she used the time to just stand there under the running water, savoring the fact that she didn't have to pay any of the water bills just yet.

All too soon, Percy called her from outside the unlocked bathroom door, telling her something about Sophia getting impatient and hungry, so she shut off the water and stepped out, wrapping a towel around herself. Her hair dripped onto the bathroom floor, so she tried to wring it out a bit before getting dressed into a pair of leggings she hoped were clean and a sweater two sizes too big.

She wiped the condensated mirror with the back of her hand to make sure she looked at least somewhat presentable. Her face was amazingly clear after the amount of stress she was under, and the dark circles under her eyes weren't as horrendous as she'd expected them to be.

They were much, much worse.

"Whatever," she muttered, leaving the bathroom and finding Percy standing by the front door. She didn't need to look good if she was just going to buy milk at the store, so she figures it doesn't matter if she looked like a ghost.

Percy buckled Sophia into the car seat as Annabeth hopped in beside her, choosing to sit in the back rather than the passenger seat. There was just something in the back of her mind recently that had her scared to leave Sophie alone in the back after what happened with her parents. It wasn't necessarily a rational thought, but she felt better sitting with her.

On the way to the supermarket, Percy looked into the rearview mirror at Annabeth, raising an eyebrow at her as she stared out the window.

"Are you okay?"

She glanced at him before looking outside again. "Yeah. Why?"

"You look miserable right now."

"Just tired."

There it was again, the flash of something she couldn't quite pinpoint. He gazed at her deeply, and he seemed genuinely concerned as he asked, "Have you been sleeping?"

"You've been with me for the past week. You should know I haven't been."

"I'm serious," he said. "You can talk to me if something's bothering you."

She laughed, and he looked a little offended. "Right."

"You can," he said again. "We're in this together now, and I want to make sure you're okay."

"I'll let you know if there's something serious going on."

A pause.

"Do you actually feel like you can't talk to me?"

Annabeth shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know. I mean, if it's about Sophie or something that involves the both of us, then it's fine, but… I don't know. I don't think you'd really want to hear about my personal life."

Percy looked at her and Annabeth thought he resembled a kicked puppy. "I care, Annabeth. If there's something going on, please tell me, even if you think it's not important. I want to know."

She nodded slowly, surprised. She had always thought the last thing he'd want to know about is her feelings or whatever. Even though they were living together, she just hadn't expected him to show concern for her. "Okay."

Percy's eyes flicked back to the road. "So is there something going on?"

"No, Percy."

"After being around you for so long, even if we were trying to rip each other's heads off the majority of the time, I know when you're lying."

"There's nothing wrong," she repeated. "Not now anyways."

"Care to delve deeper?"

"I'm not sure what you want to hear. I really am just tired."

"Of what?"

"Sleep deprivation."

"And?"

Annabeth threw her hands up, exasperated. "I don't know, Percy. Tired of everything? Is that what you want to hear?"

"Kind of, yeah." Percy gestured for her to go on.

She twirled her damp curls around her finger, looking down. "Not tired of the situation because we volunteered, and I want to do it, but… I guess tired of the thought that it'll always be like this?"

"Like this?"

"This insane. The house is a mess and we have no idea what we're doing. I just want it to get better— to get easier. I'm worried it never will."

"It'll take time, but it'll come."

"I don't plan on leaving or anything," she said, the words just flowing out. She hadn't even acknowledged this herself until now, so she was really talking for the both of them. "I just never imagined myself to be so lost."

"You're not lost," he assured. "You have me."

"Thank god for that," she laughed. "I don't know what I would've done without you here."

"You would've made it work. You always do."

She shook her head. "I wouldn't be so sure about that."

"I think you're being too hard on yourself. Most parents have time to work their way into it. We didn't get that time, so for what it's worth, I think we're doing great."

"But do you got get worried about everything?"

"Sure I do, but it's only been a week. You've gotta give it time."

This — it was a whole new side of Percy she'd never seen before. Or maybe she's seen it, but never focused or cared long enough to comprehend it.

"Regret asking?" she joked.

"Not at all," he said, eyes flicking back to the mirror. "It'll get better. I promise."

Annabeth felt just a little bit better than she did when she got in the car. For the rest of the ride, she watched Sophie and played with her a little bit, wishing that she could just get out of the suffocating car already.

Thirty minutes later, they were walking aimlessly around a huge market, picking up random foods that they thought they might need (gummy bears and ice cream are life essentials, okay?). When they first got there, Annabeth bought a tiny milk carton and poured it into a bottle so Sophie could eat while they shopped. She was happily sucking on the bottle, kicking her legs from the seat in the cart.

"Do you think we'll need cereal?" Percy asked, eyes scanning the aisle.

Annabeth stopped pushing the cart to look at the assortment of boxes. "Just get a box of cheerios. She likes those."

Percy obliged, grabbing plain cheerios off the shelf, and then looked at another box. "Do you want anything else?"

"I don't like cereal, so no."

Percy shrugged, grabbing another for himself and dropping it into the cart. "Shopping for a child is hard. I have no idea what she needs."

"Hm." Annabeth looked around. "We just need to restock on everything she already has."

"Like what?"

"I'd say diapers is a safe bet."

"Good call." Percy grabbed the end of the cart as Annabeth started pushing it again. The wheels kept screeching, and it was really starting to get on her nerves. "We look so much like a couple right now."

"Oh, stop. You're going to make me throw up."

"I'm not that disgusting," Percy said.

"You look like a dad who doesn't have his shit together."

"I think you mean I look like a dilf."

Annabeth made a throwing up motion, and Percy rolled his eyes at her antics, stopping the cart with his hand once they got to the baby section.

"Why are there so many sizes!?" Percy exclaimed, picking up two different boxes. "And why are they so expensive?"

"Not all babies are the same size," she answered, nodding towards the size three box. "Get those."

Percy stuffed the other box back and then grabbed a few boxes of baby wipes before tossing everything into the metal cart with a loud bang. A few people glanced at them, and Annabeth was mortified.

"Could you act like a normal human being, please?" Annabeth hissed when he returned.

"Who cares what they think?" Percy looked at Sophia as she started babbling to herself. "We should potty train her."

"She's twelve months old."

"So?"

"She has to at least be able to walk."

Percy frowned. "You're right."

"I'm always right."

"Debatable," he deadpanned, taking the cart from her hands and pushing it away himself. "Do you think we have everything?"

"I can almost guarantee we're missing a lot and won't realize it until we get home." And there it was again, calling the house they were living in home. It felt like they were intruders in the house, except they weren't, because it really was their home now. They were both in the process of giving up their apartments, and this was their home. Each other.

"What about bananas?" he asked.

Annabeth blinked at the randomness of the question. "Bananas are good."

Percy led them back into the produce area, placing the cart by a barrel of fruit before disappearing off to get only the finest, yellowest bananas, according to him. Annabeth was left alone with Sophie for a moment, watching over their things.

Annabeth picked up an apple from a shelf near her and held it up to show Sophia, who was thoroughly amused. Sophie reached towards it and Annabeth didn't have the heart to take it away from her, so she just let her have it.

Sophie stuck it into her mouth, and Annabeth smiled, running her thumb over the baby's tiny chin. The little girl began to mindlessly babble, and Annabeth pretended to listen, even nodding and occasionally saying, "Is that so?"

When someone tapped on her shoulder, she had expected it to be Percy, so she turned around, asking, "Did you find the—" She blinked. "You're not Percy."

A guy smiled at her, dimples in his cheek appearing, and Annabeth shamelessly noted that he looked really good. His blonde hair was perfectly swept to the side, and his blue eyes were clear and shocking and perfect. There was even a scar under his right eye that added to his mystique.

"I'm sorry," Annabeth said. "I must be in your way."

"Not at all," the guy assured, laughing again. His laugh was smooth as honey. "I just saw you across the store and thought you looked lovely. I just had to come say hello."

Annabeth blatantly looked down at herself. Despite the fact that she had taken a shower, she was still sure she looked like a total mess. Her sweater was so big it dropped to her thighs, and her leggings were plain and black— nothing about it screamed lovely. Quite the opposite, actually. Her hair was even still limp and damp in the low bun she'd thrown it into a while ago.

"You're messing with me," Annabeth said, looking back to the guy with chiseled cheeks.

"I'm not," he said, eyes gleaming. "You caught my attention with your divine beauty."

Oh, wow, she thought. He has some game. And balls. Metaphorically, of course. Also not-so-metaphorically.

"This has got to be the worst I've ever looked," Annabeth said, laughing.

"I can't imagine you ever looking bad." The guy's eyes darted to the baby behind her. "I don't think I've seen you around here before. Are you new to the area?"

"To this specific area," she confirmed. "I lived in the city for quite some time now, though."

"Well, welcome," he greeted. "Is this your daughter?"

Annabeth chuckled nervously. "It's something like that."

"She's a little beauty," the guy said, looking back to her.

Annabeth shifted from one foot to the other. "I don't believe I caught your name."

"Oh! My apologies." The guy stuck out his hand for her, which she took gracefully. "I'm Luke Castellan."

"Annabeth," she exchanged, not willing to give her last name to a stranger off the streets. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise."

"So…" Annabeth lifted the side of her mouth in a smile. "I must admit I'm not sure what to do now. This doesn't normally happen."

"What doesn't normally happen?" he asked, but the look in his face told her that he knew exactly what she meant and just wanted her to say it out loud.

"This," she said, gesturing between them. "The whole guy-walks-up-to-me-and-tells-me-I'm-pretty thing."

"You mean the whole guy-walks-up-to-you-and-tries-to-ask-for-your-number thing?"

Annabeth smirked. "Cute."

"I try." Luke tilted his head, and god, his jawline was so sharp it could cut her. "So what do you say?"

"Say to what?" she asked in pretend indifference.

"Cute," he copied. "Is it alright to ask for your number?"

"I'd say so."

"May I have your phone number?"

Even the way he spoke was fluent and sophisticated. She wouldn't mind getting some of that in her life. "You may," she teased, leaning in close to type her number into his phone.

Percy chose that moment to come back, bananas in hand. He looked between them, face neutral, and as he set things into the cart, he said, "Everything okay?"

Annabeth jumped, gathering herself, before saying, "Uh, yeah. Percy, this is Luke."

Percy nodded politely, but he looked a little ticked off. Percy and Luke stared at each other in silence, until Luke decided to give in, turning towards Annabeth.

"I should get going," he said, already beginning to walk away. "It was incredibly nice meeting you."

"You too," she said, feeling dizzy when he gave her that grin again. Luke turned at the end of the aisle and went off somewhere else in the store, and once he was completely out of sight, she addressed Percy. "Are we ready to go?"

"Yeah." He raised an eyebrow. "What was that?"

"I'm not sure," she admitted, a dumbfounded smile across her face. "He asked for my number."

"And you gave it to him?" Percy bit his lip, and he gazed at her with something akin to disappointment. Annabeth couldn't imagine why he'd look at her like she was just some stupid girl off the streets, and truth be told, it was hurting her feelings.

"What?" she asked defensively.

"I just didn't think you were the type of person to do that," he said, grabbing the cart from her. "Let's just go."

"Did I do something wrong?"

"No." The way he snapped it made it seem as though something was definitely wrong, but she knew that he wouldn't tell her, so she dropped it, instead settling for marveling over what had happened.

Just as she was beginning to think that she might not get to live her life to the fullest, at least for the time being, there was one of the best-looking guys she'd ever seen walking up to her and asking for her phone number. It was something of a fairytale.

Annabeth followed Percy to the checkout line, helping him place things on the conveyor belt, and then nearly choking as the price came out to over two-hundred dollars. Percy paid, which was good because she's pretty sure her card would've declined, and then they were off.

The entire ride home, they sat in uncomfortable silence. She could tell Percy was tense and frustrated, but she didn't know what had changed to make him like that, and she was too afraid to ask because whatever it was, it undoubtedly had something to do with her.

She tried to push it to the back of her mind. She could deal with that later, because as she sat there, phone in hand, it went off with a text from a certain someone.

As she smiled and started to text back, Percy looked over her shoulder with a frown, but of course, he stayed silent.

January 22nd, 2020

"Come on," Annabeth said, waving a spoon of nasty looking goop in front of the baby's mouth. "Open up."

Sophie did not open up. Instead she tightened her lips some more and squirmed around the highchair, whining excessively. Annabeth sighed, dropping the spoon in defeat. The now eighteen-month-old hadn't taken a nap that day, so she was fighting everything either Percy or Annabeth did, and it was getting old fast.

"You have to eat, Sophie," Annabeth tried, bringing the spoon back to the kid's mouth and attempting to force it through her lips. Sophie did not budge.

"Try the airplane," Percy suggested from where he was sitting on the kitchen counter, looking over some important looking envelopes.

"I already tried that. She still won't eat." Annabeth pursed her lips, trying again to no avail. After about six months of caring for Sophie, things were going back to normal and Annabeth was adjusting well, but she felt like she was right back at the start when Sophie threw tantrums. "I'm about to force this through her mouth."

"Don't be a bad cop," Percy said, still not even glancing at them. "She just needs to get on board."

"Uh, she's one. At a certain point, she doesn't have to get on board. You just have to force her to eat."

"That's what you do, and then she cries."

"What do you suggest I do then?" she asked, exasperated. "By all means, show me how it's done."

Percy hopped off the counter promptly, coming up behind Annabeth and taking the spoon from her. He shot her a look that said just watch, and then he pressed the spoon to Sophie's lips as Annabeth watched, arms crossed expectantly.

Sophia's small fist came flying down on the bowl of green mush, sending it toppling off the chair and splattering it on the floor, sharp cries starting up again.

"Amazing," Annabeth deadpanned, watching Percy's jaw tighten. "Life-changing, truly."

"Shut up," he muttered, dropping the spoon to the table to clean the huge mess Sophia made in less than two seconds.

The baby kept crying as Percy dropped to his knees with a few paper towels, and Annabeth wanted to slam her head in a door. This day had been particularly difficult, especially towards dinner time, clearly. The infant just kept screaming over every tiny thing, her face turning tomato red, and Annabeth knew it was because she was tired, but she couldn't put the baby down without eating, which just created a never-ending competition with a baby.

It was even worse because Annabeth was losing the competition against a one-year-old.

Annabeth doesn't know how Piper and Jason did this. They had always made it seem so easy raising a child, but Percy and Annabeth were struggling. Sure, they weren't as much of a mess as they were the first week because, true to Percy's words, things did get better, but they still felt like they were treading dangerous waters here.

Annabeth missed them so much. She hated that she was getting used to this life— a life with their baby. By this point, Sophia felt like Annabeth's own daughter, and that sinking feeling of guilt in the pit of her stomach never quite went away.

Now, Sophia cried for her instead of Piper. Sophia treated Percy and Annabeth as she once had treated Piper and Jason, and it hurt to see the baby forgetting.

"Just put her down," Percy said, still wiping the floor. "She'll let us know if she's hungry."

"We can't just send her to bed without eating."

"There's nothing we can do if she refuses to eat." Percy stood up and went to throw away the soggy paper towels.

Annabeth picked up the handle of the spoon again anyways to try again with what little food was even left. This time, Sophia actually did open her mouth.

"Ha!" Annabeth stuck her tongue between her lips in concentration. "And you wanted to give up—"

Sophia chose that moment to blow her lips, sending the food flying through the air and spraying all over the place, including right onto Annabeth's face. She pursed her lips, wiping at her eyes, and then dropped the spoon aggressively.

"I literally just cleaned over there," Percy chastised, sounding frustrated.

"I didn't think she'd spit on me!"

"You should've listened when I told you to just put her to sleep." Percy ripped another piece of paper towel and headed towards her as Annabeth unbuckled the baby from the chair and lifted her onto her chest. Sophia immediately rested her head on Annabeth's shoulder, thumb going to her mouth and sucking.

"Poor thing's tired," Annabeth sympathized, grabbing the wipe Percy offered her to clean Sophie's face.

"She'll wake us up to eat," he promised, accepting the now dirty wipe back from Annabeth. "Go ahead. I'll clean this up."

Annabeth nodded in thanks and made her way back to Sophie's room, not even switching on the lights as she entered. The second Sophia was set into the crib, she started to whine again, but Annabeth could tell she was right on the verge of sleep, so she just let her cry, settling a small blanket over her.

She stood over the baby for a few minutes, wanting to make sure she was actually asleep, before quietly shutting the door and taking light steps towards the kitchen to avoid any creaking floorboards.

"That was fast," Percy noted, already back at the marble island looking at the back of a small cardboard box.

"At least she made something easy for us." She hopped up onto the island beside him, snatching the box from his hands to analyze it. "You want to make brownies?"

"I think it'd be fun."

"Go for it." She dropped the box down, blinking hard to clear her fuzzy vision. "I'm going to sleep."

"You're supposed to make the brownies with me."

"I'm too tired."

"It's eight."

"I woke up at five in the morning," she said, flicking the bridge of his nose and making his face scrunch up. "Not all of us got to sleep in."

"Live a little, grandma."

"I'm not even thirty," she whines, insulted.

"You might as well be, going to sleep at eight."

Annabeth hissed in his face, and he playfully shoved her head away. "Fine. I'll sit here and watch you cook."

"You are a boring old lady," he complained, but he was already ripping the box open and dumping the contents of the bag into a metal bowl.

Annabeth really did just sit there, letting him drone on about something that had happened to him at work a few days ago. She tried to listen, but she just got distracted as she stared at his shoulders, and really his entire body.

Living with Percy for a few months meant that she saw him shirtless often enough, and she learned that he looked really good. She'd sort of already known that, but then the shirt came off and it just got better as she traced the hard lines of his abs and the defined v of his hips.

So yeah, she learned to appreciate his body from a distance, and that was exactly what she was doing in that moment, watching his muscles flex under the thin material of his shirt. His shoulders flexed deliciously as he mixed the batter, and the too-small-shirt nicely complimented him.

"Annabeth?"

Annabeth dragged her eyes up from his torso, not even the tiniest bit ashamed that she'd been caught, and she said, "Hmm?"

He smirked at her but chose not to call her out. "About these brownies…"

"What about them?"

"A friend of mine gave me a little something and I was thinking we should put some in the brownies."

"What'd you do?" she asked accusingly.

"Nothing! Not yet, anyways."

"What do you want to put in the brownies?"

He looked at her sheepishly, and that's when it clicked.

"Percy."

"Yes?"

"Don't tell me you want to make pot brownies."

"I was just thinking that it might be fun!" Percy slowly kept mixing the batter, eyes trained on her face to gauge her reaction. "We've been so busy taking care of the baby that we've barely had any fun. Don't you want to have fun?"

"We're twenty-seven."

"Exactly! Live while we still can, right?"

Annabeth shot him a reluctant look. She wasn't so sure it was a good idea to make weed brownies while there was a child living in the house. With their luck, Sophie would accidently eat one and they'd definitely be sent to prison for a good while.

"What are you? Scared?" Percy tilted his head, analyzing her. "Don't tell me you've never done weed before."

"I have! I just don't feel like it's smart to do that right now."

"Who's going to know?"

Annabeth gave a strangled groan. The day had been a difficult one, and the baby was asleep… It was only once, and besides, how much damage could it do?

"Just this once," she agreed, but he was already reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small plastic baggie. Annabeth gaped as he opened it and poured the entirety of it into the batter. "I— Why do you have that in your pocket!?"

"Relax," he said, tossing the bag into the trash and returning to mix the batter some more. "It was only there a few hours."

"You handled our child with weed in your possession!"

"Our child?" Percy asked with the raise of an eyebrow and a lopsided grin.

"You know what I meant," she said, sniffing the air and moving to be by his side and look into the bowl. "Are you sure you're supposed to pour the whole thing in?"

"I'm going to be honest and say that I have no idea." Percy shrugged. "We'll be fine, I think."

Annabeth practically shoved her face into the bowl to smell it, see if the weed is detectable, but then Percy stuck his finger into the batter and dragged it down her cheek so there was a sizeable streak of chocolate. Annabeth squawked, but she quickly changed to a surprised squeak as he pressed his lips to her cheek.

Percy pulled away, and he had the audacity to lick his lips of the batter, his eyes twinkling the entire time. Annabeth felt the blood rush to her face and a hot tingle travel down her spine, and it didn't pass unnoticed to Percy. Instead of acknowledging his actions, Percy just gave her a dish towel to wipe her face, and it felt so domestic to her.

They were two people sitting in the kitchen making brownies together after their child fell asleep. They were just friends, but it felt so familiar and warm and controlled, and it felt like home.

For a moment, it was silent as they both waited for the other to speak, and they were clearly feeling the same sense of comfort, but then Annabeth shoved at his chest playfully and they were back to normal.

"How long do they need to cook?" Annabeth asked, her voice only slightly wobbly. She still couldn't wipe that foreign feeling that was growing inside of her as she watched him, as she watched them. They were just friends, bordering the line of family. Nothing more.

"I guess we're going to find out," he said, putting them into the oven and cursing when his finger just barely grazed the scalding metal.

An hour later, they were lounging on the couch, carelessly thrown on top of one another. Annabeth had been sitting straight on the couch, legs crossed, but then the brownies started to affect her brain, and she somehow ended up falling over with her legs weaving over Percy's stomach. And Percy wasn't much better, laying completely horizontally with one foot bent on the couch and the other uncomfortably hanging off the ledge.

Annabeth grabbed another brownie, determined to finish the entire dessert with Percy that night. They were making decent headway, only about a quarter of the brownies left. Annabeth was still in control of her movements, but less than normal, as she kept giggling at everything in existence.

"What time is it?" Annabeth managed to ask in a serious manner, but then she broke out laughing again, ruining the effect.

Percy bopped her head with his socked foot, glancing at the watch on his hand and then speaking with a mouthful of brownie. "Almost half past nine."

"I'm too high to figure out what that means," she muttered, pressing a hand to her forehead and sinking deeper into the seat. Wow, these cushions were much more comfortable than she remembered then being.

Percy grunted like even he didn't understand what he'd said, and then he ate another brownie in one bite. It was a good thing one couldn't overdose on weed, because Percy and Annabeth were really going for it.

"What should we do now?" she asked, nibbling on the warm, gooey, delicious treat. She could live like this and forever be content.

"Let's play a game," he offered.

"You hate playing games with me because I always lose," she said factually, even holding up a finger and everything.

"I wouldn't count me out quite yet." Percy sat up and stretched as though coming out of a nap. "Even if I lose, you win and get all happy so it's okay."

There it was again, the uncontrollable flutter of her stomach that was there when she saw him handling Sophia, when she saw him fresh out of the shower, when she saw him mixing damn pot brownies.

"You want me to be happy," she joked with a hand over her heart, but also not really.

"I have to live with you, so I do prefer you to not be grumpy all the time. You get very grumpy when you don't get more than six hours of sleep, you know?"

"I do not."

"You most certainly do. You're grumpy right now."

"I am unbelievably lax right now." Annabeth blinked. "Shut up."

"I didn't say anything."

"I don't care."

Percy laughed, and then she was laughing too, until they were both giggling at the top of their lungs, having to remind themselves that there was still a baby sleeping down the hall. Their attempts at calming themselves failed, actually having the opposite effect.

Their bouts of laughter kept up, and at some point, they didn't even know why they were laughing anymore. It went on for longer than they realized, and it probably would've continued longer than it did if they hadn't caught the doorbell ringing.

"Who is that?" Annabeth whispered, wiping her teary eyes and she tried to stifle her snort.

"I'll go check," he said, disappearing off to behind a wall as Annabeth thoughtfully chewed on her brownie. She rather liked moments like these, alone with Percy and just having an overall good time between two friends.

Annabeth hummed, and then she kissed her brownie because she loved it that much. She grabbed another before even finishing that one for good measure, and then gave it a big smooth so it didn't feel left out. She should really do this more often because it was rather fun and—

Percy broke off cursing loudly, and Annabeth jerked to a sitting position again, the stimulant making her very jumpy.

"What is it?" she called out, picking at the chapped skin of her lips.

"It's the social worker!" he said, and then she was stumbling to her feet and freaking out along with him.

One glance around the house and she knew that they couldn't let her in. It was a complete mess, almost as bad as when they first got custody, and it wasn't normally like this. It was only this awful because Sophia was being difficult all day and they were doing everything to calm her down, but it didn't matter because they still couldn't let the social worker in without looking negligent.

Annabeth threw a throw pillow over the brownies just in case the social worker saw inside, before she went to find Percy standing by the door waiting for her and looking downright terrified.

"Are my eyes red?" he asked rushed, because in a few seconds he was going to have to open the door, especially now that the worker saw both of them standing through the glass.

"No," she said, pointing to herself. "Are mine?"

"You're good," he said, and then he pulled the door open, trying to appear as casual as possible. (He looked like he was hiding drugs, and he kind of was, but she decided not to tell him that. She probably looked no less guilty.)

"Hey, you two!" the girl called politely, glancing between the two. "I was afraid you weren't going to answer the door!"

Annabeth gave a strangled laugh, brushing shoulders with Percy. "Is everything alright?"

"Oh, yes! I'm just here to perform one of those unscheduled check-ups, if that's alright with you."

Percy scratched his head, and his neck felt super hot. "It's late."

"I figured with a baby, it would be best to do this at night," the lady said, a creepy smile still plastered on her face. "Is now a good time for you two?"

Percy and Annabeth exchanged a glance, and then they seemed to come up with the same idea. At least, Annabeth thought they did. She was very wrong.

"You know what?" Percy looked at her with a sympathetic glance. "Now really isn't the best time, actually. Today has been kind of insane with the little one."

Annabeth nodded, even lifting the side of her mouth and shrugging to go along with it.

"Plus, Annabeth isn't feeling well. She had some gnarly diarrhea."

"Yeah— wait, what?"

"I mean, it was explosive. All over the place."

The social worker's eyes widened, mouth falling open slightly. "Oh…"

Percy winked. "When it comes out like a fountain, amirite?"

Annabeth choked, her face flushing instantaneously, and she was going to kill him. The second that door closed, she was actually going to strangle him with her own two hands, and she was going to enjoy it.

The thing is, she couldn't exactly deny it because then their whole plan of scaring her off would fail and they'd look pretty suspicious. The only thing she could do was add fuel to fire.

So she did.

"It happens," she said, elbowing Percy. "And poor Percy was recently diagnosed with a medical condition, and it's just been so hard on him."

Percy's smile fell.

"He keeps waking up in the middle of the night thinking he's some sort of creature. For example, last night I found him under my covers with my big toe in his mouth. He was just… licking it."

"Well, Annabeth had a huge accident today. We were playing in the backyard and I guess she lost control of her muscles because it all came gushing out like a geyser. It smacked Sophie in the face and everything!"

The social worker looked terrified, and rightfully so, but they were too far in now, and also too high to know when to stop.

"And it must've brought Percy back to that creature-like state because I had to stop him from licking it off of her!" she exclaimed, looking at Percy with mock sympathy. "But believe me when I tell you that he was really going for it."

The social worker raised a finger as though to say that she'd heard enough. Her face read that she was unbelievably disturbed. "I'll just come back another time—" Her eyes shot down to Annabeth's hand where she was still holding one brownie. "Is that a brownie?"

Annabeth blinked, unsure of what response she wanted to hear. "…Yes?"

"I haven't had one in forever! Surely you wouldn't mind if I plucked one for myself?"

Annabeth clicked her teeth. "Actually, I do…" She trailed off, not knowing how to deny the treat without explicitly stating that they were filled with weed. Thankfully, Percy knew just what to say.

"The thing is, they're filled with laxatives. Annabeth wanted to see if maybe she could get it all out at once, but between you and I, it's not working." He whistled to prove his point. "If anything, it's just making it worse, but you know Annabeth. Impossible to convince otherwise."

Annabeth's face scrunched in a fake smile. "Thank you, Percy."

"Of course. I know how difficult it is for you to talk about your stomach issues."

The worker must've felt another bout of personal comments coming because she interrupted with a quick goodbye, not even waiting for a response before she was practically running down the driveway, leaving Percy and Annabeth standing in the doorway, bewildered.

Percy slowly shut the door, and he and Annabeth made direct eye contact, holding it for what felt like a good few minutes, before Annabeth broke the silence by bursting into laughter and leaning against the doorframe.

"That was fast," Annabeth snorted, tears falling from the corners of her eyes. "Did we really just do that?"

Percy followed after her, practically collapsing onto the ground and shaking from the force of his sobs. "She thinks I have a foot fetish now and— and that I enjoy licking your shit!"

"She thinks I have uncontrollable diarrhea!" she said, convulsing as she tried to calm herself. "I— where did you even come up with that?"

"I don't know," he choked, still crying. "I pulled it out of my ass."

"Literally!"

That set off a whole new round of giggles, and their heightened state of euphoria made them completely unaware of their volume, until there was crying heard down the hall, bring them to a halt.

"Are you going to go get her?" Percy asked when Annabeth didn't move.

"I need a second," she said, tugging at the end of her hair as she waiting for the random giggles to stop.

Once they did, she was already to Sophie's room, pushing the door open and being greeted by the smile she adored the most. And when she picked her up, she noticed with a sigh of relief that the wandering thoughts about Percy had finally stopped.

February 7th, 2020

"I can't believe you're going on a date."

Annabeth rolled her eyes, continuing around the kitchen as she cleaned. Percy was looking over at her from the couch, Sophia in his arms playing with a few blocks. He actually seemed offended that she was leaving, and it was enough to make her snort.

"Especially with Luke," he continued, oblivious to the fact that she didn't really care what he thought. "He's a gross old man."

"He's only two years older than me."

"Gross old man!" Percy huffed, smiling at Sophie when she whined for attention. "You have a child right here and you're leaving her to go hook up with that guy."

"Don't make me out to be the bad guy," Annabeth said, setting some dishes in the sink. "I'm allowed to have fun, and so are you."

"It's disgusting."

"I'm not going to hook up with him. It's just dinner."

"That's what people say, but then oops, my panties slid off."

Annabeth choked, throwing a dish rag at him. "Oh, shut up! That is not what's going to happen!"

"All I'm saying is what's so bad staying home with me?"

Annabeth sighed, shifting her weight as she pressed a hand to the kitchen island. Truth be told, there really was nothing so bad about staying home with Percy. Quite the opposite, actually.

She was perfectly content to stay home with him forever. Things had changed so much from only a year ago, and not only was she able to tolerate him, but she actually liked him as a human being. A huge improvement from the past.

She couldn't just stay with him forever, though. The… feelings, she could say, began to build up higher and higher and she needed to get out of the house with a new person, because she may not know what exactly she was feeling for Percy, but she knew she didn't like it.

Besides, Luke was a really nice guy. They'd been talking, and he'd been hinting at a night out together. She just finally took him up on that offer, and she was going to have fun and forget her messy thoughts, if only for a few hours.

"Nothing," she settled for, resuming around the kitchen. "I just need a night out."

Percy grumbled something under her breath, but she let it go, fully aware that if she picked at it, it would likely blossom into a fight that never got resolved.

"I'm going to take a bath," she announced, already halfway down the hall. "You got her?"

"Yeah," he called, playing with the baby. When he spoke again, it was towards Sophie, but clearly meant for Annabeth to overhear. "Can you believe she's going on a date with that creepy guy that talked to you while I was getting bananas? This is bananas!"

She just rolled her eyes fondly, continuing down to the bathroom of the master bedroom. After a few months of living in the house, Percy and Annabeth decided that she would take Piper and Jason's old room and he would get the guest bedroom. It had been creepy at first, living in her dead friends' bedroom, but life had to go on. It would go on whether or not you want it to.

She left the bathroom door open to hear into the living room and went to turn the bathtub faucet on, pouring in a few bubbles and waiting until it was warm enough (scalding, actually. If it's not giving her a second-degree burn, she doesn't want it) before stripping of her clothes and stepping in.

Annabeth sighed as the warm water hit her skin, settling deeper into the tub. It had been so long since she had some time to herself, so this was a wonderful change of events.

She still had another two hours before she had to leave, so she figured that she could afford to take a quick nap. Her eyes were already drooping, and the comforting feel of soap and heat around her only made it even worse.

She would've fallen asleep. She really would've, if it hadn't been for Percy screaming bloody murder from the living room, making her jerk upright in alarm.

Percy screamed again, but he didn't sound particularly like he was about to die this time, so she called out loud enough for him to hear, asking, "What is it?"

A pause, and then, "She's walking!"

Annabeth screamed at the top of her lungs, practically flipping herself over the edge of the tub in a desperate attempt to get to the living room and watch Sophie take her first steps.

"Annabeth! Hurry up before she stops!"

"I'm trying!" she yelled, strangled, as she looked around for her towel, oh god, where did she put her towel. She searched frantically, but the adrenaline coursing through her body made her somehow miss the fact that it was right in front of her.

She gave up, about to just pull her clothes over her soaking wet body, but he started screaming again.

"Annabeth!"

"I can't find my towel!"

"Hurry up!"

Annabeth cursed, near having a panic attack. If she missed Sophie's first steps, she was going to actually murder someone, no doubt about it. She span in circles, brain buzzing too much to actually get it together and do something.

"Where are you!" he screeched. "Hurry up!"

Fuck it.

Annabeth ran out of the bathroom without thinking, her body on autopilot now. She turned around a few corners, nearly slipping and cracking her head open each time, before she was stumbling onto the living room.

"She's walking!" Annabeth cried, dropping to her knees in front of the baby and holding her arms out. Sophie's steps were wobbly, and she almost tripped a few times, but she managed to make it to Annabeth anyways, and her heart felt complete. "Oh my god, she's walking!"

Percy was actually about to cry when she looked over. His line of sight was directly on Sophie, who was now nestled comfortably into Annabeth's arms.

If she thought Percy was crying though, then she was falling apart. Tears rolled down her face as her smile was so wide she thought her face would get stuck like that, and she was just so happy that she was here to see it.

Annabeth pressed her nose to the top of Sophie's head, laughing wetly. "You just took your first steps, Sophie!"

She just turned around and started walking back to Percy, which set off another round of ecstatic screams and curses.

Percy ticked the baby's side, grinning like a maniac. "You little monster! You almost made Annabeth miss it!"

Sophia babbled a bit, grabbing at his face.

"Oh, I see. You wanted to be a troublemaker," he said in response, and then he was looking to Annabeth to say something, but never got the chance, shock appearing on his face. "Uh…"

Annabeth blinked away her joyful tears, unaware of what was bothering him. "What?"

"You're… naked."

Annabeth looked down, completely having forgotten, and then she was scrambling to grab a random blanket off the couch and cover herself all while Percy watched her, cackling.

"Why are you naked?" he choked out, now crying for a different reason.

"I was in the bath!"

"You didn't think to put clothes on first?"

"I was going to, but you kept calling me!"

Percy just snorted, and then he fell onto the floor dramatically to keep snickering at her, leaving Annabeth blushing with the blanket wrapped around her, trying to preserve what dignity she had left now that he'd seen her naked.

"Stop laughing at me!"

"It's just— you ran out here naked just to see her walk!" Percy choked on air, sputtering for a few seconds, and Annabeth pointed at him to mock him. "You're such a mom!"

"I am not!"

"Sorry to break it to you, but that was such a mom thing," he managed, and then he started tearing up again as another bout of giggles began, and Annabeth thought he was going to drown them with the amount of tears he was shedding. "God, you were NAKED!"

"Stop it!"

"You just walked out here, buck ass naked, to see her first steps!"

"You would've done the same thing!"

"But I'm not the one who did it, am I?" Percy smirked at her. "Oh, you'll never live this down."

"You tell anyone about this, and I'll be sure to tell them that you enjoyed it."

His eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't."

"As you said, I came down here naked, and I didn't hear one single complaint! You're teasing me, sure, but if I didn't know any better, I'd say you thought I looked good."

"That's not fair!"

Annabeth pouted mockingly. "It's not?"

"I— I live with you!"

"So?"

"You're impossible," he complained.

"And you like seeing me naked," she retorted with a gleam in her eyes. She was just messing with him though, because it was fun to see him all flustered, and now it was more funny than anything. It was bound to happen at some point, so at least it's a hilarious memory.

"Don't you have a date you have to go on?" he grumbled. "Go bother him instead."

"Oh, you big baby," she said, scooching closer to Percy to snatch the baby away. Percy's flinch just made her feel delighted. "I'm too excited to go on a stupid date now."

"He's going to be here soon, so too late. Go away and stop making fun of me."

Annabeth groaned, standing and handing the baby back to him before tightening the blanket covering her. Honestly, the last thing she wanted to think about was sitting in a dinner for hours when Sophie had just taken her first steps.

She wonders if this is what it feels like to be a mom.

"I'll go call him, and then I am going to watch her walk around some more because she's just too cute."

When she was dressed again and back in the living room after having made a call, Percy was still sitting on the floor, crawling around with a toy for Sophia to chase after. The scene put a sweet smile on her face, and she felt the warmth begin to crawl down the back of her neck again.

She forced herself to push away the longing, or whatever the hell it was, settling for sitting beside him and watching the scene unfold. As she did, she thought to herself about how she never imagined this life for her. She never imagined herself to raise a baby with someone like Percy, to befriend someone like Percy and spend her days wanting nothing more than to stay by her family's side, to want something more.

"How'd it go?" Percy asked, leaning his back against the couch to look at her.

"He took it well," she said. "We'll plan another time, or something."

Sophia took steps towards Annabeth, and she opened her arms to welcome her. Sophia fell into the open space, hands on Annabeth's shoulders to stable herself, and Annabeth's hands went to support Sophie's back as she started bouncing.

"You're my favorite girl," Annabeth said, fixing the baby's hair. "Growing up too fast."

"You need to stop growing," Percy agreed, leaning towards Annabeth and an arm subtly resting on the ground behind her. "Soon you're going to be going off to college and I'm going to cry."

"Why would you say that?" Annabeth flicked his face. "Are you trying to make me cry?"

"I'm trying to convince her to stop growing."

"Oh, okay. Carry on."

"I can't. I'm going to make myself cry."

"Too many tears today."

"Right? I feel like I just ran a marathon from all the screaming and crying."

Annabeth snorted. "And it's only—"

"Mama."

Annabeth froze, looking down at her lap where Sophie was looking up at her, a tiny smile on her face. "Did she just…?"

"Holy shit! A double whammy!"

"She just said mama!" Annabeth's grin fell as she interpreted what she said, suddenly feeling incredibly guilty. "She just said mama…"

Sophia just called Annabeth mama.

Sophia had forgotten her parents. She thought Annabeth was her mother, and Annabeth felt so wrong for letting it happen. She wanted Sophie to remember her parents. She didn't want to take their place; this was their baby, and they never got to hear her first word.

What's worse is Annabeth enjoyed it.

This baby felt like her own. She would die for Sophie. She would do anything and everything just to make sure she was okay. Sophia wasn't her daughter, but she felt like it, and she felt such pride when the baby called her mama.

Annabeth felt like she was betraying her friends, yet she couldn't help the sense of adoration that took her over when she heard it.

"Mama."

Annabeth looked at Sophie again, tears in her eyes as she brushed the baby's hair away from her face. "No, baby. I'm Annabeth."

"Mama."

A tear slid down her face, but this time it wasn't of joy as much as it was remorse for letting this happen, for letting the baby forget her own parents.

Percy's hand slid up Annabeth's back, rubbing soothingly. "It's okay, Annabeth."

Annabeth bit her lip until she tasted copper. "I just feel so—"

"I know." Percy kept rubbing her back gently. "I know. But the good thing is she can have two moms. Piper was her mom, but you can be too."

A single tear fell from her eye as she thought over his words. Piper was her mom, but she could be too. Family was more than just blood, and even if it wasn't the family she'd ever thought she'd have, it was the family she'd do anything to keep.

This was her daughter, and she was Piper's too, and that's okay.

So when Sophia called her mama again, Annabeth just nodded, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Yeah, Sophie," she said, a tiny smile on her face. "I'm your mama."

Percy gave Annabeth a side hug, and she's thankful for it because it was what she needed. He let her just cry, and he cried too as they remembered the friends they had, as they thanked the heavens that they got the family they did.

By the time Sophie was in bed, having both Percy and Annabeth kiss her goodnight, Annabeth was all out of tears, and so was he.

For a while, they just sat in Piper and Jason's old room, side by side. It wasn't until she felt Percy's eyes on the side of her head that she turned to look at him.

"Are you okay?" he asked, concern written across his expression.

"I'm okay," she whispered, wringing her fingers. "I just miss them."

"Me too." Percy's hand reached to grab hers, and she didn't try to stop him. "I miss them so much, and sometimes I just wonder if we'll be enough for Sophie, but then I see you with her, and I just know we'll be okay."

"Do you think they'd be upset? Knowing that Sophia already forgot about them?"

"I think they'd understand. They left knowing that their baby was in safe hands, and I just think that's all they could hope for." He elbowed her gently. "But, hey, cheer up. Today was an amazing day! She took her first steps and said her first word all within an hour of each other!"

Annabeth laughed wetly, leaning slightly against him. He squeezed her hand comfortingly. "That is pretty amazing. Maybe we're doing pretty good of a job after all."

"Of course we are! We're not like the other parents— We're cool parents."

She chuckled. "Good thing I have you here though. I don't know what I would've done if you weren't here with me."

"I trust you would've been just fine, but if it makes you feel any better, I'm not going anywhere."

"Promise?"

Another squeeze of the hand. "I promise."

Percy looked at her earnestly, and then her eyes were stuck to him as the tingling sensation started on the back of her neck again, flushing her face and making her stomach flutter.

She didn't know what was happening until it already was. There was a magnetic force pulling them together by this point, and she was too far in to leave. She wouldn't leave even if she could, because she has needed this for far too long.

Percy leaned in, and then she did too, her eyes fluttering closed as their lips met. Percy's lips were warm and soft and perfect, and she never wanted to stop. His promise was whispered against her again, and her stomach tightened as he deepened the kiss.

All at once, she knew what this was. She had been falling for him for longer than she'd been willing to admit, and right here, right now with him kissing her, she knew it was inevitable. It was always going to be him.

Percy's hand came up behind her head, and her fingers threated through his hair. He pulled away for a second, and then he was moving down, pressing a last kiss to her lips before trailing to her jaw, sucking gently, and then peppering kisses down until he reached the base of her neck.

Annabeth sighed quietly as he sucked a bruise into her skin before running his tongue over the red spot to soothe the heated skin.

A blazing heat started up inside of her, and when Percy was tugging at the rim of her shirt, she let him peel it from her skin, and then he let her take his off before he was back to attacking her mouth, leaving Annabeth breathless and wanting.

Annabeth's legs wrapped around him as he leaned over her, nipping at her collar bone, and already she could feel him pressing hard against her. A groan slipped through her lips, hot breath hitting his lips, encouraging him.

Percy pulled away once to ask, "Do you really want this?"

She knew exactly what he was asking, and she almost laughed because of how ridiculous the question seemed in her eyes. She wanted this, but she needed it so much more.

She needed to know that he was with her always. She needed to feel him under her fingertips. She's needed him for so long, and she doesn't even know when it started.

Maybe it began when they moved in together, united as one by the child they gave their everything to protect, or maybe it all started that first night they met and built up from there until it consumed everything inside the both of them, until it was all they could think.

She needed him, and she's known that somewhere deep in the back of her mind since the beginning, and that's what prompted her to gasp into his mouth, saying, "I need this."

Percy got back to work, kissing her until she was dizzy, and reaching behind her to unclasp her bra before ducking lower, and then her eyes were fluttering closed, relishing the soft contact.

"I love you," he whispered against her, and she doesn't mind because she's been feeling it for so long. It was early, but it also wasn't because it was him and she loved him too. She always has, whether it be platonic or romantic or anything in between.

She always has.

"I love you too," she breathed as he mouthed her jaw and then nudged the base of her neck, beginning to tease her, and then the rest of their clothes were flying off. When her legs fell open to him, there was no hesitancy— only comfort, familiarity, home.

Everything that happened was tragic, but it brought them together. They were family, and they always would be, and even if things aren't always neat and pretty, that would be okay because they had each other and that was enough.

She loved him. It had been there, lurking in the shadows of her mind, waiting for the right moment to tip the iceberg, and it had finally happened. It was there the moment she needed a shoulder to cry on the day everything flipped upside down, the moment she needed help with Sophie, the moment she took her first steps and said her first word and he just held her, and it was here with them now.

She loved him, and he loved her, and that was all that mattered, here in this very moment.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, relishing his soft grazes against her skin, and she let him love her.

March 3rd, 2020

"Someone's calling you."

Percy's eyes slid open slowly, blinking away the weariness as he was brought out of his nap. Annabeth was holding Sophie on her hip with one arm and the other was holding up a ringing phone in his line of vision.

"Are you going to answer it, or should I?"

Percy groaned, flipping onto his side on the couch and hugging a throw pillow. One arm reached out to grab the phone and offhandedly slide it open before pressing it to his ear. He yawned silently before speaking. "Hello?"

The person on the other side of the phone spoke for a while, and his face lit up with recognition. He looked at Annabeth, and she noticed nervousness in his eyes that made her raise a questioning eyebrow.

"Yeah, I've already talked to him about it," Percy spoke, avoiding looking at Annabeth now. "I still have to figure it out…"

Annabeth mouthed who is it? Whatever it was sounded important and he seemed very on edge for having just come out of a nap.

"Listen, I'll have to call you back later." Another pause, and then Percy nodded even though he couldn't be seen over the line. "I'll let you know soon."

Annabeth frowned, adjusting Sophie's placement.

"Okay, talk soon. Goodbye." Percy clicked the call off and tossed his phone beside him on the couch, languidly stretching his back. "Did you have to stand there the entire time?"

"I was barely standing here thirty seconds," she said, face still scrunched. "What was that about?"

"Just some stupid thing for work," he assured.

"It sounded like there was a lot going on. Why haven't I heard about it?"

Percy gave a strangled groan, looking at her now. "I'll talk to you about it soon, but just— Don't worry about it for now."

A warning flashed through her mind. "What do you mean don't worry about it for now? Do I have something to worry about?"

Percy forced his face to relax, dragging Annabeth closer by the waist and pulling her into his lap to press a kiss to the corner of her mouth. "You have nothing to worry about."

Her uneasiness persisted, but she decided to let it go. At least for now, anyways.

Annabeth stood back up, letting Sophie to the ground so she could waddle around. She'd only been walking about a month and she was already getting so much better, and it made Annabeth's heart warm.

Actually, everything was starting to get a lot better. Not that it wasn't great before, but now Sophie was so much more interactive and every second spent with her was a party, and now her and Percy weren't together, per se, but they might as well have been. They didn't have an exact title yet, but it went unsaid by this point.

"So are you just planning on sleeping the entire day, or were you ever going to help me with the house?"

Percy took a quick glance around the house for what seemed like the first time that day. "You cleaned the house?"

"I did, and I'd like to thank you so very much for your assistance."

"Smart ass," he said, standing up and giving her another quick kiss and a little tap on the butt, which made her glare at him. He just winked. "You're the best."

"I am. I even vacuumed."

"What? How did you do that without waking me up?"

"You were out, Percy. I don't know what could've possibly made you that tired, but it happened."

"You know very well why I was so tired."

Annabeth smirked. "Oh, yeah? Do I?"

"You were greedy."

"Oh, shut up," she said, stopping to tell Sophia not to touch something, before turning her attention back to him. "Well, it's almost ninety out and Sophie is driving me nuts, running all over the place, so what do you say to the pool?"

"I say that it's abnormally hot for this early in the year and we have a pool in the backyard begging to be used."

"Then you can go open the gate and get towels while I get Sophie ready. Hopefully she'll be so tired she goes right to sleep afterwards."

"Like you last night!" he exclaimed cheerily.

"This fist will go so far up your—"

"—Children present!"

"Go get the damn towels," she said, smacking the back of his neck as she passed by to gather the baby.

Annabeth put Sophie in a frilly pink one-piece and set her on the bed, slathering her in sunscreen, before getting into the first bathing suit she saw, which turned out to be a black two-piece. She threw on a pair of water shorts over it before calling it a day and heading out to the backyard where Percy set a pile of towels and opened the mesh gate.

"You can be the one to go in the water," Annabeth told him, sitting down next to the pool to put floaties on Sophie. "I don't want to get wet."

"Then why are you even in a bathing suit?"

"You can't go to the pool and not wear one. It's just wrong."

"I think you just want me to shove you in." Percy stuck his tongue out at her. "Is that what you'd like? I'd be more than happy to deliver."

"Go ahead and do that if you want to die."

Percy held a hand up in defeat as he grabbed a floatie and tossed it into the pool. He settled beside Annabeth before slowly sliding into the water and reaching for Sophie to put her in the children's floating ring.

The baby immediately started splashing at the water, and Percy copied her for a second, before holding a hand out to Annabeth.

"Come on," he said. "Just get in the water."

She pointedly avoided his hand. "I don't want to."

Percy shrugged and then looked back down to Sophie, who was mindlessly babbling. She didn't talk much even though she was able to now. "What's that, Sophie?" He addressed Annabeth again. "She wants you."

"Yeah, right."

"No, seriously. She's calling for mama."

"Why don't I hear anything then?"

"You know her. She doesn't talk very loudly. If you scoot closer, you'll hear her."

She shot him a skeptical look.

"I'm not going to pull you in," he promised, motioning for her to get closer to the ledge. "Listen! She's calling you."

Still not totally believing of him, she got closer anyways, bending down to listen to Sophie's whispers. Of course, she heard nothing except mindless babbles as she was totally preoccupied by trying to grab a fistful of water.

"She's not saying anything," Annabeth accused.

"She was, I swear."

Annabeth blew air through her lips, pressing her hands to her legs to stand back up, but then Percy's hand was wrapped tightly around her wrist, and this is exactly what she was worried would happen. He yanked hard, sending her flying forwards over his shoulder, headfirst, into the pool.

She came up sputtering on water, hair all over the place, and an accusing glare on her face. Percy just snickered, pulling her close to give her a hug, chest shaking as he suppressed his laughter.

"Why would you do that?" she whined, very clearly upset and pouting.

Percy grabbed her face and squished her cheeks, pecking her lips, before grinning right in her face. "I couldn't resist it."

"You lied to me."

"I did. I'm sorry."

"You're sleeping in the garage tonight."

"I'm sorry!" he pleaded, but still couldn't take her seriously. "You wouldn't come in unless I lied, so I did what had to be done!"

"You did not have to throw me in the pool! What if I drowned?"

"I'd be right here to save you because I'm your knight in shining armor."

"I'd drown you with me because your armor would rust in water. Come on, didn't you take chemistry?"

"I was too busy being distracted by the pretty girls," Percy whispered, and Annabeth playfully slapped his chest. "I expected you to be more mad."

"Oh, I'm absolutely livid. Expect a spanking tonight."

"Okay, but I could be into that."

"For my sake, I hope not."

Percy threw his head back as he laughed and hugged her again, pressing his nose to her neck and then blowing a raspberry against her skin.

The next hour in the pool was exhausting, but so much fun. Annabeth's actually very glad that Percy pulled her in because she would've missed out on so many memories to last a lifetime. She'd never tell him that though because he'd probably take it as encouragement and then do it every single time they were at the pool.

Annabeth pulled herself out onto the ledge of the pool once she was tired of chasing them around the water, sprawling out dramatically. "I think if I swim anymore, I will actually drown."

"We wouldn't want that, Soph, would we?" Percy looked adoringly at Annabeth.

"If you don't want me to drown then we should probably get out soon."

"Or you could get out and get us a snack because we're so very hungry?"

Annabeth glanced at Sophie who had her hands in her mouth, and she actually did seem quite hungry, so she gave in, forcing herself to get up and wrap a towel around herself. "What do you want?"

"A snack for now." He puckered his lips as he thought before exclaiming, "Aha! We still have goldfish, right?"

"As long as you didn't finish them, then we should."

"Get those, please." Percy swam to the edge to grab her hand and pull her in for a sweet kiss. He held her in place for a few seconds, and then pulled away so she could head inside and grab the snack.

While she was pouring a few different snacks into a large bowl, she noticed Percy's phone ringing again from its position on the ground by the couch. She went to inspect, because the ringing started up again as soon as it stopped, and she noticed that there were three missed calls and a voicemail.

She picked it up, and then grabbed the bowl to head back outside, entering his password to unlock the phone.

"Someone called you," she said, setting the bowl by the ledge he was hanging onto.

"Who was it?"

"I don't know." She set the voicemail to speaker and set it on the ground by the bowl so she could grab a towel for Sophie since she didn't want her to eat while in the pool.

A voice she didn't recognize began speaking on the phone, and she thought nothing of it.

"Hello, Mr. Jackson. This is Triton speaking again. I'm just calling to let you know that they're requesting a decision by midnight tonight. If you are to take the job offer in California—"

Annabeth slowly looked at the phone, eyes deadly calm. Percy stumbled to reach over the edge and stop the message from going, but Annabeth got to it first, snatching it from his grasp and holding it away from him to keep listening.

"—you need to let me know by tonight so we can get everything settled for your departure. Give me a call back soon to let me know you got the message. Thank you."

The second the message clicked off, she was whirling on him, a million thoughts on her mind. He had never mentioned a job offer in California, but it seemed like much more than a simple thought, which could only mean that he had been thinking about it for a while. He'd been lying.

"What the fuck was that?"

"Annabeth—"

"What was that!?" Her voice raised in pitch, and Sophia immediately began crying, but she couldn't pay attention to that because there seemed to be a much bigger issue on her hands.

"It's not like that!"

"Then tell me what it's supposed to look like!" Annabeth threw his phone at him, and he scampered to grab it before it hit the water. "Tell me why I shouldn't think it was a very serious job offer across the country!"

"That's all it was, I swear," he pleaded. "It was just an offer."

"Is that who called this morning?"

His silence answered her question.

"Oh my god," she said, pacing closer to him. Her blood was boiling. "Oh my god."

"Please just listen to me."

"How do you expect me to listen to you when you've been keeping this from me!?"

Annabeth's heart pounded in her chest. She knew they looked ridiculous fighting by the pool with a toddler screaming her soul out, but she couldn't find it in her to care about anything except this.

What really bothered her is how she didn't know. She tells him everything, and he tells her everything. At least, that's what she thought, but now he had kept something like this from her and she doesn't know how to trust him in the moment because he wanted to go.

She knew Percy. She knew that he wanted to go because otherwise, he would've told her the second he found out. She just knows that this has been going on for a while behind her back. There is that feeling inside of her that pulls her away from him, because this is not him.

More than frustrated or angry, she feels hurt.

Hurt that he hadn't told her. Hurt that he would want to leave when she thought they were just getting where they needed to be. Hurt that somehow, even though he hasn't said it and neither has she, she knows that what they have is about to be torn apart because he wants to go.

"Can we talk about this later?" he asked, setting Sophia onto the ledge and then pressing himself up and out of the pool.

"Later?" She laughed incredulously. "You want to talk about you moving thousands of miles away later?"

Percy had been trying to keep his cool, but the way she was talking down to him made him explode. "Yes, later, because in case you haven't noticed, your child is screaming at the top of her lungs and you're not helping!"

"Oh, I'm sorry I'm a bit more concerned about this!" she said, motioning between them.

Percy ignored her, rushing past her to grab a towel and head inside. Annabeth followed right on his tail, throwing insults and curses at him, but he slammed the door to Sophie's room shut in her face, forcing her to silently seethe and wait in the living room when he couldn't escape the conversation.

As she waited, tears fell down her face. She was panicking because she knows a serious call when she sees one, and the way the call went meant he had said he was considering it. He was considering putting this life behind him to leave, and that wasn't fair.

She tried not to jump to conclusions, but she couldn't help herself. There was only one conclusion to jump to at this point, and it wasn't going to be leaving her mind, but she needed to hear it from him. She needed to hear that he was going to drop everything and leave his family.

Only twenty minutes later, Percy was opening Sophie's bedroom door silently and sliding out towards the living room where he was met with Annabeth glaring at him from the couch. He knew that there was no deterring her, so he had no choice but to stand there and take what she was ready to throw at him.

"A job in California?" Her voice had a new stability to it, but there was still a clear hint of underlying rage.

Percy scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah."

"You're going?"

"I never said that."

"Then tell me you're not going."

He stayed silent, and then she couldn't control the strangled sob that left her throat.

"Why wouldn't you tell me this?"

"I was going to when I made a decision."

"You can't make this decision without telling me!"

"It's my life! I don't need you to decide things for me!"

"It's not just your life anymore! You have a child here!"

Percy exploded. "I didn't ask for this life!"

"Excuse me?"

"I didn't ask for any of this! I never would've said yes if you hadn't been standing there pressuring me from the start!"

"So now you regret this life!? You wish you never took Sophia in when she had no one? You would've rather left her to struggle her way through the foster system?"

"No! Don't put words into my mouth!"

"That's exactly what you just said! You never wanted this life, and now you're looking for a way out."

Percy clenched his fist. "That's not what I meant, and you know that."

"Then tell me what you mean! You're not telling me anything!"

"Because you're not giving me a chance!"

Annabeth's jaw snapped shut, even though that's the last thing she wanted to do, and she motioned for him to speak.

"I didn't set out wanting to take this job, but my boss suggested my name, and the next thing I knew, they were offering me the job three weeks ago."

"Three weeks?"

"Please," he said, eyes glossy. "At first, of course I said no because I don't want to leave you two, but Annabeth. This is an amazing opportunity for me."

"So you're taking it?"

"I haven't made a decision."

"Why not? You seem to know exactly what you want to do."

"I don't want to leave you, okay? I want to be here with you."

"Just not as badly as you want to be there, right?"

"Stop doing that!" Percy sighed heavily. "We could all move there, or I could come back and forth—"

"This is Sophia's home. This is where her life began, where all her friends and family are, and you want to leave rip her away?"

"It's just a place, Annabeth."

"It's just a place, and we're not leaving."

"Why do you have to make this so difficult?" His next words were muttered under his breath. "I forgot you were like this."

"You don't get to act like you're the good guy here! You're choosing to leave your family! The people you made a promise to!"

"I haven't chosen anything! Don't act like you wouldn't ever consider something like this!"

"I wouldn't! Remember when we first got custody and I got the offer to move up? I chose not to because I knew that this was more important! I could've been doing so much more, but I chose not to betray my family!"

"That was your decision! I didn't ask you to do that!"

"You didn't have to ask me because I did it anyways! I did it for Sophie and Piper and Jason, and I did it for you!"

"I am not betraying my family just because I want more to my life than just this! I had dreams and now I get the chance to make them come true, except I have you here making me feel like a piece of shit! I can't enjoy the fact that I achieved something because you're here nagging me about it!"

"Someone has to! You were ready to just up and leave without even telling us!"

"Why can't you just believe me when I say that I wasn't going to do anything without talking to you!"

"It's like you've never heard the phrase actions speak louder than words!" Annabeth's lower lip trembled as she tried to hold herself together. "You promised me. You promised that we would do this together, that you wouldn't be going anywhere. What happened to that?"

"I can do this and keep my promise."

"You already broke it. This is not staying together."

"Annabeth…"

"So you want to go?"

Percy stayed silent, looking at her with guilt in his eyes. Annabeth already knew. She knew he wanted to go more than anything. She just needed to hear him say it.

"I already know the answer to that, but I want to hear you say it. Tell me that you want to go, that you want to leave your family, abandon your promises. Go ahead. Say it."

He sighed because there was no winning this argument against her. "I want to go."

Annabeth pursed her lips, arms hugging herself to offer some semblance of comfort, even though it didn't work. No amount of warmth could blow away this icy feeling within her. She nodded slowly, considering this. And then, "Leave."

"What?"

"You heard me. Get out."

Percy scoffed, not believing what he was hearing. "You want me to leave?"

"If you don't want to be here, then I don't want you here, so leave!"

"Annabeth, please. Don't do this," he pleaded. "It's not the end of the world. We can—"

"I don't think you're hearing me. There is no 'we' anymore! I don't want you here, so get out!"

He looked around in disbelief. "So you're just sending me off to California? Not even going to try to resolve this?"

"I don't care if you go to California anymore. Move there or don't, but you're not staying here."

He looked at her, surprised. "You can't just push me away from Sophie!"

"I'm not the one who pushed you away! You did that all on your own!" Annabeth dropped her hands from around herself and took a menacing step forward. "You chose to leave her, to drop everything because she wasn't important enough, so now you can go. She doesn't need you, and I certainly don't either."

Percy didn't say anything. He just kept the disappointed look on his face and stood still.

"Pack your bags and go. I want you gone tonight."

"Annabeth…"

"Go!"

Percy stepped back, shocked, and she could feel the rift between them. There was a crevice between them that was growing and if one of them didn't try to say something, say anything, then it would get so big there was no going back.

Still, they both stayed silent.

Percy turned around, immediately heading towards his room. The second he disappeared through the door, she burst into tears, heart ripped out of her own chest.

He didn't take long to grab a quick bag of things because only minutes later, he was walking back out, making eye contact with Annabeth only once. In her eyes, pain was present, but she maintained her icy exterior, and he did too.

He ripped his eyes away from her and headed towards the front door to do exactly as she said.

He left. He never once looked back.

May 19th, 2020

"Oh you poor thing," Annabeth sympathized, picking Sophia up off the ground and feeling her forehead. "You're not feeling very well, are you?"

Sophia's head went to rest on Annabeth's shoulders and her fingers ended up in her mouth. Annabeth had been trying to stop Sophie's habit of putting her hands in her mouth, but right now the toddler with a one-hundred-degree fever looked too miserable for Annabeth to correct her.

"Do you wanna watch a movie?" Annabeth tried, gently swaying the twenty-two-month-old. "Or we can color or snuggle."

Sophia shook her head and rubbed at her eyes tiredly, and Annabeth felt so bad for her. Usually, she was a complete chatterbox, but she was barely even speaking today which just went to show how sick she was feeling.

Annabeth frowned, hand slowly rubbing over the toddler's feverish skin. She paced around for a while, gently trying to coax Sophie to talk, but she didn't budge, and Annabeth had never felt more useless before.

"Do you need help?"

Annabeth jumped, startled, as she looked at Luke. She had completely forgotten that he was there, which was weird. He was always there nowadays because she needed the help with Sophie, between work and everything else going on.

"If you don't mind," she said, passing Sophie to his arms and then settling a children's blanket from the couch over her.

"You look tired," he noted, passively watching Annabeth massage the back of her head.

She was tired.

She was absolutely exhausted. The past three months since Percy had left were so much worse than she thought. It was amazing how much he did went unnoticed until she was without him. It felt like she was constantly running around just trying to keep everything in place, but she was struggling. She couldn't ask Percy for help.

And Percy, oh goodness. She missed him so much. She told him to leave, and it was unfair, but she wanted him to stand up to her. She wanted him to come back and refuse, to tell her that she was more important, but she told him to leave. She shouldn't have expected him to magically reappear.

Annabeth couldn't ask him to come back either. A mix of pride and spite was holding her back, but even if it weren't, he wanted to be there. She wasn't going to beg him to come back, even if right now, that's the only thing she wanted in the world.

"I'm fine," she managed with a tight smile. She wasn't fine. She was surviving.

"I can watch her for a little while if you need a break."

Relief flooded her body, and she stepped forwards to give him a hug. "Thank you," she whispered against his neck.

He pressed a kiss to her cheek, and she tried to smile through it, but right now all she could focus on is how unlike Percy it felt.

Annabeth ended up in her bedroom, laying on her side and curled up into a ball, trying to stop the flood of tears. It had been a while since she cried over Percy, but on days like this when everything felt like it was being torn apart and twisted upside down, she couldn't help the break down.

To distract herself, she picked up her phone, which ended up being the wrong decision because right there waiting for her was a transfer of money from him. He'd been sending her weekly checks to help with Sophia, and even when she told him to stop months ago, he never did.

She kept them in the account, not a single cent touched.

She was compelled to reach out to him, especially when her phone lit up with another text from him. She hasn't answered a text in weeks, and she doesn't now either, even if she has to forcefully pry her fingers off the glass screen.

She watched as the messages trailed in, frozen.

From: Percy [3:17 PM]

hey

From: Percy [3:17 PM]

are you willing to talk to me yet or no

From: Percy [3:18 PM]

well you've clearly seen it so i'm going with no

From: Percy [3:19 PM]

please just call me. i wanna know how sophie's doing

From: Percy [3:19 PM]

i miss you

Annabeth bit her lip, trying to ground herself using the sharp pain that resulted. She missed him too. So much more than she thought possible. She knew Sophie did too.

He was trying so hard to piece together what they had broken— what she now knew was mainly her doing— but she couldn't do it. It was all her fault; she wasn't stupid. Of course he would've stayed if she really just talked to him, but the point was that he didn't. He left anyways, knowing what she wanted, or maybe he didn't.

It was all so confusing to her, clouding her mind of rational thinking.

She didn't text him back.

Annabeth quickly dropped her phone, wiping at her eyes that were now raw and sore from all the rubbing, as Luke walked into the room with Sophie fast asleep in his arms.

Looks like Annabeth wasn't the only one just tired.

Exhausted.

Done.

"Everything alright?" Luke whispered, settling beside her on the bed. She tried hard not to squirm, disgust creeping into her veins at the close contact. He wasn't a bad guy at all. He just wasn't Percy.

"Yeah," she said, but her voice betrayed her. "Just dealing with some messages."

Luke read right through her, giving her a sympathetic look that she wanted to wipe off his face. She didn't want sympathy. She wanted Percy. "You should call him."

"There's no need. I'm okay."

Luke set Sophia down on the king-sized bed, adjusting pillows around her so she didn't roll off. He was so good to Sophia. Percy was better.

Luke's arm went to wrap around Annabeth, pulling her close and placing his lips over hers. She let him because she felt like she had no choice. He was helping her so much, and she didn't know where she'd be if he wasn't there supporting her. She did like him too. (Of course, just not as much as Percy. Everything always circled back to Percy.)

"You sure you're okay?" Luke mumbled against her lips, and she wanted to fall apart. His lips were rough, and his stubble scratched her skin. Luke's edges were sharp. He didn't taste or smell of the ocean or have that particular softness to him. Percy did. Percy had everything.

"I'm sure." I'm not. I miss him.

Luke may not have been what she needed, but it was as close as she'd be getting, so she let his arm slide around her waist, let him lay her down and press himself against her back so she could fall asleep (or ponder life as we know it).

Luke fell asleep, but she didn't. Her conscious was rearing its ugly head, telling her that this is not the man she loves. This is not where she belongs at this moment in time, and it never will be.

So when she was sure he was in a deep enough sleep, she set off to the living room for a moment alone, trekking lightly to avoid creaky floorboards. And when she was on the couch, staring at her phone, she wished with everything in her that he would just call her.

She won't call him. She can't call him. But if he called her first, then maybe, just maybe, she would have the strength to pick up, to try and fix this self-imposed mess.

Annabeth waited. She waited for what felt like hours, staring at her phone and then at the wall, the anticipation overwhelming her senses. It was ridiculous. She looked like a lovesick teenager, waiting for a guy to call first when she was just as capable of doing so.

But this was the boy she loved.

Everything about him fit with her. She doesn't understand how they had spent so long distrustful of each other because he was the person she trusted most. At least, she used to trust him most until everything changed in the snap of a finger. At the snap of her finger, really.

It was so much worse because it was her fault.

Annabeth snorted to herself, dropping backwards onto the couch. She was delusional if she thought he was going to call. Even if he did call at some point, why would it be right now? Out of every time he could've called, the probability of it happening now is impossibly low. And if somehow it happened, what could she possibly say to him?

She stayed awake until she couldn't anymore. Her eyes pulled lower and lower, and then she was in a light sleep, only to be yanked out of it by her phone ringing right next to her face. When she picked it up, she near went into cardiac arrest because the caller ID read Percy, and why the fuck was he calling her how is this even possible what the fuck?

Annabeth's hands scrambled to grab it. She waited until it rang three times to answer, trying to get herself under control, before sliding the bar and holding it up to her ear, still in shock. Now that she thinks about it, she might've been dreaming.

There was silence over the line for a few painfully long seconds before he spoke.

"So you finally decided to stop ignoring me, huh?"

Definitely not dreaming.

He spoke again. "I'm not sure what to say. I didn't even think you would pick up. I just felt like I had to call."

Annabeth bit her lip. "Me too."

"You didn't call," he pointed out.

"You did," she countered.

"Well." Percy sighed over the line. "How is Sophie?"

"She's fine."

"Is that really all I get?"

All this time waiting for him to call in agony, and it took two seconds for the fire to reignite inside of her, hating that accusing tone he was taking on.

"It is."

"Why do I even bother?"

"You chose to leave."

"You told me to leave."

Annabeth pinched the bridge of her nose, frustrated that they were getting nowhere. "She's doing okay. She has a cold, but she's doing okay."

"Can I talk to her?"

"No."

"Annabeth."

"She's sleeping," she excused, but it was really because she knew Sophie would not react well. She missed him and hearing his voice would just make things worse.

"Another time, then." Percy paused as though struggling to get his next words through. "I miss you."

"I know." And then, "I miss you too."

"I can come home. You just need to say it."

"No."

"You just need to say the word and we'll find a way."

"I can't. You know that." Annabeth teared up because everything she'd been dying to tell him was stuck in her throat. She couldn't tell him that she needed him because he would come home. Above all, he still left even if she made him. He was where he wanted to be, and she wasn't going to pull him away. He needed to make that decision himself. "Don't worry about us. We're doing alright."

"I do worry because I love you and I love Sophie. I didn't want to leave."

"Then why did you?" she whispered.

"You asked me to."

"You still did it."

"I know." Percy sniffed. "I still did it."

"You should stop sending money."

"I should. I'm not going to, though."

"You're… gone. This is over, Percy. Just go live your life, and we'll live ours."

"It's not over. Not until we say it is."

"I'm saying it is." Annabeth bit her tongue harder than anticipated, trying not to get a strangled sob work its way out of her. "It— it was nice talking to you again. I needed to hear your voice."

"It'll be okay, Annabeth."

"It's hard without you here."

"I don't need to be there to know that you're doing alright. Better than I would've been, anyways."

It hits her then that he has no idea about Luke staying with her recently. It's not like she isn't allowed to be with Luke because her and Percy had broken up. Technically, they were never together in the first place so why does she feel like she's betraying him.

Her mind wants so badly for her to tell him, so she does.

"Percy, I— Luke's been staying with me, just helping around the house."

Percy stayed silent, contemplating this. When he spoke, his voice had a new layer of defense. "Huh."

"I just thought you'd want to know."

"Thank you. For telling me."

"Of course."

Another painfully long silence, both of them not wanting to say anything first. A silent challenge. And then, "I should get going."

Annabeth's heart sank. "Okay."

"Goodbye."

Annabeth didn't have time to say anything back before he hung up, leaving her more shaken up than she was to begin with.

He wasn't coming back.

She had the opportunity to get him back, but she didn't. She'll have to learn to live without him, and maybe things wouldn't be okay for a while, but it would get better.

After all, a wise person once told her it would get better.

Things always get better.

July 17th, 2020

"Hey!" Annabeth smiled at the small group of friends standing outside the front door, Luke's arm fit comfortably around the curve of her figure. "So glad you could make it! Come on in!"

As Leo stepped over the threshold, he caught sight of Sophia shyly grabbing onto Annabeth's leg and bent down to be eye level. "There's the birthday girl!"

Sophia kept herself tightly wrapped around Annabeth, but a tiny smile slid onto her face as she waved at him.

"You're so big! You must be turning ten!"

"Two!"

Annabeth fondly caressed Sophie's head, moving aside to let the rest of the friends in. There were her friends from work, Hazel and Frank, and of course Leo, another one of Piper and Jason's closest friends. There were still many more people coming for Sophie's second birthday.

(Maybe those people would distract from the fact that none of them were Percy. Probably not, but who knows?)(Annabeth knows. It definitely won't.)

More people slowly trickled in, and apparently Sophie was going through a newfound shy phase because she refused to move from Annabeth's side, even though there were a few other kids there for her to play with.

"Sophie," Hazel said kindly, a glass of champagne in her hand. "Are you excited to be two?"

Sophie nodded slowly, and then pressed her face into the crook of Annabeth's arm.

Hazel laughed, gently fixing Sophie's white dress. "I heard you wanted a pony for your birthday!"

That got Sophie up, large and hopeful eyes looking straight at Hazel while Annabeth tried to stifle laugher, because yes, Sophie wanted a pony. It was all she would talk about anymore.

"Pony?"

"Yeah," Hazel said seriously. "Did you want a pony?"

"Yes!"

"I see." Hazel settled back on the couch. "Let's wait until you open presents," she said with a wink, taking another sip of her drink.

About an hour into the party, Annabeth found herself playing with paint because Sophia didn't want to do it alone. Annabeth painted a simple butterfly, and then it was stolen by the birthday girl and painted over.

Annabeth let her do what she wanted, including destroy her wonderful pieces of art, because she looked too cute doing it in her white dress (now complimented by different shades of blue and purple) and tiny pigtails.

Someone called out to let Annabeth know the doorbell rang, so she set the paint down, making sure Sophie was situated with Luke next to her, before heading to the door to greet the new guest.

Annabeth was looking down at her clothes as she opened the door, trying to rub the dried paint off her jeans, so she was entirely unprepared when she looked up and saw him standing there.

"Hey," he greeted with that same lopsided smile he'd had for years.

Annabeth stared, dumbfounded. She hadn't known he was coming, and she had no idea how she was supposed to react. She had spent months imagining this moment, practicing the things she'd say or do, but right now, she was lost.

"Are you going to let me in or…?"

Annabeth just shifted her stance. "I didn't know you were coming."

"Of course I would come for Sophie's birthday. I'm a little offended I didn't get an invite to the party."

"We sent you one. When you didn't rsvp, I just assumed you weren't gonna show."

"Well, I never got an invitation." Percy stepped around Annabeth, letting himself into the party. She didn't say anything, simply shutting the door and facing him, shock still coursing through her.

There was a tension between them, and maybe it was better without him there because it would surely be felt by the other partygoers.

"So," Percy said, looking around. "It looks like you've kept things in order around here."

"What are you doing here?"

Percy faced her, cocking his head. "Me? I'm just here for Sophie's birthday."

"Yeah, right."

"Don't I get a kiss, though? It's been too long."

"Ask me again when you tell me why you're really here."

Percy softened. "I'm here for you and I'm here for Sophie."

"What about work?"

"A vacation of sorts."

"Hm."

Percy rolled his eyes at her passive antics, looking around the house again that was bustling with people. "Where's Sophie?"

"She's in the backyard," Annabeth said, scratching her neck as he worked his way through the house. Some of his friends greeted him, and others sent Annabeth worried looks, fully aware of what had gone down between them almost five months ago.

Percy and Annabeth came up behind Sophie who had her back turned to them and was still struggling to hold a paintbrush, covered in much more paint than Annabeth left her with.

Luke was squatting beside her, hand on her back supporting her as he admired her painting, and Percy's face morphed into a subtle frown. Anyone else might not have noticed, but Annabeth did because even after all these months apart, she still knows Percy better than she knows herself sometimes.

Percy bent beside Sophie, peering over her shoulder and waiting for her to notice. She didn't, obliviously continuing on with painting, excitedly showing Luke a very noncircular dot she was proud of.

"That's a pretty painting," Percy said nonchalantly. "What is it?"

Sophia looked over her shoulder, alarmed, but the alarm quickly turned to recognition and she was throwing her stuff down to tackle Percy, just like a two-year-old does. He ended up also covered in paint, but he didn't seem to care in the slightest.

Percy laughed, picking her up and tossing her slightly in the air, before giving her a big hug while she talked excitedly but also without structure, making it difficult to understand her.

"You're so big!" Percy tugged on her pigtails. "Why are you growing so fast without me!"

Sophia giggled and pressed her hands to his knees while she bounced on the ground excitedly. "Daddy stay?"

"Mhm. Daddy's staying," Percy said. "Daddy's going to stay home, so now we can go play and do whatever you want."

"Percy," Annabeth interjected. "Don't do that. Don't get her hopes up."

Percy's smile fell as he looked back at Sophie. He asked her to show him her paintings, and she went on happily talking, leaving Annabeth standing behind them beside Luke.

"You okay?" Luke asked, gently nudging her with his elbow.

"Yeah. It's just weird, I guess."

"Come on." Luke pressed a hand to her lower back to guide her away. "We should probably set up the cake soon anyways."

Annabeth spent the next hour preparing the cake, which was much more difficult than expected because she couldn't actually find the cake for a good half hour. Also, she was very distracted by a certain green-eyed boy that she was pretty sure she was in love with.

As she set the candles into the unicorn cake, she couldn't help but think about Percy. He was here, and one of the first things he asked for was a kiss, after everything, and that had to mean something.

Months spent wanting him back beneath her fingers and here he was, but Luke was here too, and she felt so bad for it. She wasn't doing anything wrong, but still. Luke was a good guy, yet here she was pining for another man.

Setting the last candle onto the cake, she began to call people over. As people crowded around, Luke stood next to her at the highchair, and she didn't think anything of it until Percy came forwards, holding Sophia.

Luke tried to respectfully step away, but Annabeth grabbed his arm to stop him because Sophia might refer to Percy as her dad, but Luke was the one actually there for her for the last five months. Percy would have to wait.

Leo was in charge of getting pictures, so he lit the candle on the cake, and Annabeth had to stop the toddler from grabbing it. They took a few pictures before singing, one of which included both Luke and Annabeth pressing a kiss to her cheek while Sophia gave a huge smile, showing off her tiny teeth. (Percy watched in silence, and for the first time ever, she couldn't read him.)

Annabeth decided to give Percy a moment with Sophie too, Annabeth and Luke stepping aside before Percy looked at her like really? so she ended up taking a few pictures with him too which was awkward. She felt like the whole party was staring at her even though they really couldn't care less.

And when they sang happy birthday, Sophia was happier than Annabeth has seen her ever, and that was saying a lot. Sophia was a generally happy baby, so having both her parents there was really the cherry on top for her.

Annabeth tried to be cordial to Percy for the next few hours of the party, but it was easier said than done because she was itching to just fall apart and find out where they stood. She hasn't gone a clue as to what's going on anymore.

It wasn't until Percy cornered her in the kitchen once there were only a few people left that she got her answer.

"You are always surrounded by people, you know that?" Percy leaned his elbows on the kitchen island while she washed the dish the cake had been in. She looked around and noticed that they really were alone. "You're impossible to get isolated."

"I didn't know I needed to be isolated," she said, keeping her voice at bay. "Did you need something?"

"I just wanted to talk."

"About what?"

"You're a smart girl. I don't think I need to answer that for you."

"You really want to do that in the middle of her birthday party?"

"Yeah, I do." Percy raised an eyebrow. "I think you do too."

She dropped the dish into the sink aggressively. "What are you doing here?"

"I already told you—"

"—that you're here for me and for Sophie. I heard you the first time, but why are you here? What do you want?"

"Christ, Annabeth. Do I really need to spell this out for you?"

"You left! You promised me you'd never leave, and I believed you, so I guess I don't know you as well as I thought I did."

"Yes, I left, but here I am! I came back!"

Annabeth distantly noted how their voices were slowly getting louder, but she couldn't bring herself to stop because everything was bubbling up and it was going to overflow now, whether they wanted it to or not.

"Why!? You were so sure that you wanted to leave, that this wasn't the life you wanted for yourself, so why are you back!?"

"This might not have been the life I wanted, but the life I did want had you two in it! You're the one that asked me to leave!"

"But you did!" Annabeth was practically screaming, blood rushing through her ears. "I asked you to leave, but you're the one who did! You didn't fight for your family! You gave up!"

"I don't understand you! One second I think you want me here and the next, it's like you wish I never even existed!"

"Where were you when I needed you?! I have been struggling for months, and now you have the audacity to show up!?"

"You've been doing fine without me, playing house with that other guy!"

"He was there for me when you weren't!"

"And whose fault is that?"

Annabeth gave a strangled cry, about to throw a glass cup at him. "You left!"

"And I came back!"

"Why!?"

"Because I'm in love with you!" Percy closed his eyes, muttering something under his breath. Annabeth's heart stopped and they came to a screeching halt.

He was in love with her.

"I quit my job in California, Annabeth." Percy spoke like he was just done. "Even after all the shit you put me through, I came back because I fell in love with you."

"Percy…"

"I will always come back, even if I don't want to, because it's for you. I don't even know how, but it happened. I have spent months wishing that I would've just stayed and fought for you, and I can't change the past no matter how much I want to. I'm sorry, but I'm here now."

Annabeth's jaw slackened. She wanted to say so much, but she couldn't. Her voice was gone the moment she needed it the most.

"I'm not going anywhere."

An awkward silence fell between them as they stared at each other. In his eyes, she saw so much. He looked at her with regret, sadness, but most of all, he looked at her with love. Through everything, he still looked at her like she was the only thing that mattered.

Someone cleared their throat behind them, and Annabeth swung around to see Luke looking at her. She hoped he hadn't heard that, but the look in his eyes told her that he did. Loud and clear.

"Everyone's gone now."

"Luke—"

"Don't worry about it," he said. "We were on nothing more than borrowed time. I understand."

"I'm sorry."

"I should get going." He was already backing away, and Annabeth saw that he was hurt, but he didn't look mad. He seemed disappointed as though he already knew. He probably did. "Sophia's in the living room playing with some toys."

"Luke."

"I understand, Annabeth. Really." Luke looked at her earnestly. "I wish you the best. The both of you."

And then he was gone when she still had so much to say, and she knew that she wasn't going to be seeing him again.

Annabeth did start crying then, because he deserved so much better than to stand there taking care of her kid while she was in love with someone else. He deserved better than her, and she hopes he gets it.

"Annabeth," Percy called, getting her attention. "Say something."

What could she say? Everything was a mess right now. Percy was back and he was back for good, and Annabeth just lost one of the closest friends she'd had, and her two best friends were dead, and everything was just wrong.

Nothing was as it should be, but then there was that spark inside of her. That hope that maybe one day it would be. She just had to give it a chance.

"Please?" Percy worried his lower lip with his teeth. "Say something."

The only thing she could think to say was, "You quit your job? That's a little reckless."

Percy gave a wet laugh. "I did. It was spontaneous but nothing that can't be fixed."

And then, "You're in love with me?"

"I am."

"Why?"

"Have you met yourself? You're impossible, but you're just what I need. You're you."

Annabeth waited for a beat to pass, and then she was rushing around the counter to press her lips to his, and god she had missed this. Yes, everything was a mess and crazy and insane, but he was here, and with him, she could do anything.

"I'm in love with you too," she breathed into his mouth because she was mad at him and loved him a little bit.

Things get better. You just have to give it a chance.

Sometimes, darkness cannot consume light.

Sometimes, light will win.

Give it a chance.

"You're never going to leave me?" she asked, her face now buried into the crook of his neck. She loved him so much. They had come so far in life. She belonged to him and he belonged to her.

There was so much wrong right now. So much they had to talk over, to fix, to figure out. It'll take a while rebuilding what they broke. But it would be okay because he is here, standing by her side. He won't ever let go, and she won't either. They are going to give fate a chance, and she just knows that they're going to be okay above all.

"We're staying together. You're not getting away from me. Never again."

Haha "out of ideas" my ass. Don't look too closely at the timeline because I don't think dates and ages align. (Also yes babies talk before eighteen months so shut up). Based on the movie Life As We Know It.

Also I'm not sure if I've ever actually said this but my PM's are always open! It makes me so happy to get those so always feel free to just hop on in and start a conversation about literally anything, or if you just need someone to talk to, I'm here.

Okay! That's it! And as always, if you enjoyed this heck of a ride, consider leaving a review! You're not obligated to, but it makes me smile like a maniac when I get them so do what you will with that information! Thanks for reading babes, see you next time (no clue when) love you!