Ghost of Her, Ghost of Him

Hi Guys! I decided to kick off my profile with a short, little one-shot. So, it's two companion pieces (this is the first one), but i'm super excited for this! I hope you like it, but uh... let's get on with the story now! :)


Full Summary:

Two companion pieces on the deaths of their one and only.

Percy's drowning, which is ironic because he's the son of Poseidon. He's been trying to live a normal life, but when you see a ghost of her every day, it's hard. Sometimes, being a demigod sucks.

Annabeth is dying without him. She hasn't lived without him for eighteen years, and she can't help but cry when she sees his little shadow. She can't make him go through what she did, but maybe she understands now.


Ghost of Her

"Percy! Can you wake Alex up?" his wife yelled from downstairs.

Percy groaned. "Yeah. I'll get him."

Percy rolled out bed, rubbing his eyes blearily. Gods. It's Monday again.

He walked down the hall towards his son's room, when a little head of blonde curls stuck out in the hallway.

"Daddy?"

Percy bent down before the little girl. "Good morning, Sil," he said with an affectionate pat on the head.

She smiled brightly. "Good Morning, Daddy. Did you know that a group of owls is called a parliament?"

"Really? Where'd you learn that?" he asked.

"I read it a book at the library," she said in all the matter-of-fact-ness of a 7-year-old. "I think you should too."

"Okay." Percy smiled as she toddled off to the bathroom.

Percy proceeded to his son's bedroom.

Shaking his little son's shoulder, he said, "Alex, it's time for you to get up. You have to go to school soon."

The four-year-old boy rolled over, then popped up in his bed, rubbing his eyes sleepily. "Goo moring, Daddy."

Percy ruffles his son's hair. "Good morning, Alex. It's almost time for school."

"Oh kay," replied the little boy.

Percy quickly left the room and returned to his own to get ready.

He stood idly in the shower, letting the hot water cover his scars.

Water still gave him power, but it didn't give him energy anymore.

It felt sticky as it trailed down his back.

Blood. Screaming. There was a sickening gush. A sudden roar. Then all went silent.

Tears of blood dripped from Percy's hand where his fingernails had cut deep. Six years later, and he still couldn't forgive himself, and there wasn't a soul in this house he could tell.

He knew his wife loved him to death, and he loved her too, but some things he just couldn't tell her because it just wasn't something he could talk about comfortably around anyone.

He could confide in his friends, but even they weren't there that night.

He turned off the water and dried off, rubbing his face in his towel.

Changing, quickly into jeans and a patterned, blue button-down, he headed downstairs.

The kitchen smelled of pancakes. Percy smiled.

He gave his wife a quick hug from behind. "Morning."

She smiled. "Good morning, Perce. Did you wake Alex up?"

He nodded. "Yeah. He's so cute when he's all sleepy."

She laughed. "I know. He acts just like you when you're being woken up."

Percy laughed. "Are you saying I'm cute when I'm woken up?"

"Maybe…" she said slyly as she placed plates of pancakes down on the table.

Sil came down the stairs, reading a book. "Good morning, Mom."

"Hi, dear," she replied. "How'd you sleep?"

Sil nodded to herself. "Good. How 'bout you?"

"Good."

A moment later, Alex came trudging down the stairs. "Good morning, mommy."

"Hi Alex. Ready for school?" she asked as she spooned berries onto their plates.

"Yeah," Alex mumbled in his toddler-y voice through the chunk of pancake in his mouth.

She turned toward Percy. "Are you working late today?"

Percy shook his head. "No. I don't think so."

Her mouth formed a tight line. "Were you going to say something else?

Percy sighed. "Some of my friends were wondering if we all wanted to meet up for dinner tomorrow. You know, from high school."

She stirred her pancakes around in the syrup pooling on her plate. "Oh okay. That sounds fine. Are you sure that's all you wanted to tell me?"

Percy put his fork down. "Well, it's just that they want to check in on me. We haven't seen each other in a while and stuff…"

"Okay, Perce." She paused for a second. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Percy absentmindedly drowned his pancakes. "I don't know, Cass. I'm trying so hard to make everything normal, but I can't right now. But, I promise, I'll make it better."

"Okay," was all she said.

Percy got up from the table, taking his dish to the sink.

He kissed Sil on the forehead, said goodbye to Cass and Alex, and left.


The next day, Percy loaded his family up in the car, and, for the first time in what felt like years, they went to dinner all together.

They managed to only arrive ten minutes late for the dinner. Plus, considering the city traffic, it was pretty good.

They were able to find a parking spot only a block away from the restaurant, which was probably the only good thing that happened to Percy because now his children didn't complain about walking too far.

A familiar kaleidoscope eyed girl met them as she pulled a sweater out from her car.

"Percy!" she squealed. "Oh my gods! It's been so long!"

Percy smiled. "It's good to see you too, Piper. Is this your daughter?" he asked gesturing toward the little blonde girl at Piper's side.

Piper nodded. "Yep. This is little Lea. And, I'm assuming this is your own family?"

"Yeah. You know Cassandra, I think," he said, gesturing to his wife, "and this is Sil, and this is Alex."

"Aww… that's sweet." Piper knelt down beside Sil. "Hi. How old are you?"

Sil shied away a little. "I'm seven."

"Well, I think seven is a very fantastic age. I love your name too. It's so pretty," she said.

"Thank you," Sil responded, gaining back some confidence.

Percy turned to his wife. "Cass, you remember Piper, right?"

Cass nodded. "Yeah. Good to see you again, Piper."

Piper smiled warmly. "You too."

They started walking towards the restaurant. Piper's daughter, Lea, and Sil were talking together.

Piper fell into step beside Percy. "It's been so long, Percy."

"Yeah. I know."

"Too long." She paused. "I haven't seen Sil since she was born."

"Yeah. I know."

"You know what, Percy?" she asked.

"Nothing really. I'm barely holding myself together these days," Percy mumbled.

"I can tell. I'm proud of you for trying to move on though." She stopped as if trying to decide whether what she was going to say next was okay. "She would've wanted it that way."

"Yeah. I know."

"Would you stop saying that?" she asked.

There was an edge to her voice.

"Sorry," was my only answer.

"You should be, Percy. You haven't talked with us for years, Percy. I mean, years. Don't you think that maybe your sulking and attempt to try and "leave us out of it" is hurting us more than it is helping? Did you know that Jason and I wonder about you every, single day? You have to stop trying to leave us out of it, Percy. We were just as hurt as you were when Anna—"

"DON'T," Percy growled. "Just don't. Don't say it."

Piper stepped back. "I'm sorry."

Percy calmed himself. "It's okay. It's not your fault."

Piper paused. "I don't know. Maybe it is. Maybe I should've been there."

Percy sighed. "There wouldn't have been anything you could change. It happened. Somethings just do."

"I know, but sometimes, I just feel that way anyway," she said quietly.

"Yeah. Me too."

Piper looked back at Lea and Sil talking enthusiastically. "Just like us. Don't you think?"

Percy nodded. "A splitting image."

"No kidding. It's kinda cute."

"Not when you have to face her every day," Percy muttered regretfully.

Piper paused, looking a little concerned. "Percy," she said quietly. "you don't really think of her that way, do you?"

"I wish I didn't sometimes. I try not to most of the time, but sometimes, it all comes flooding back, and it's hard to forget."

Piper eyed Percy sympathetically. "Maybe it's not about forgetting, Percy. Maybe it's about accepting. Maybe it's about remembering that not everything is your fault. Maybe it's about not letting your loyalty – your fatal flaw – get to your head too much."

Percy paused. "Maybe it is."

They had arrived at the front of the restaurant, and Alex was enjoying the idea of a revolving door (perhaps a little too much).

Inside, Piper led them to where the table was.

They were greeted by warm hellos from Thalia, Nico, Piper, Jason, Will, Frank, Hazel, Leo, and Calypso, plus all the children.

"Geez," Percy said. "This is quite the party we got going. What happened to just the seven of us?"

Everyone laughed as they went around hugging each other and introducing their children. When you've been through war and death with people, a couple years apart won't break that bond.

The party enjoyed their dinners and recounting snippets of their lives for each other.

Leo and Calypso have been traveling around the world together with Festus, though they plan to settle down soon since Calypso was expecting.

Frank and Hazel were living at Camp Jupiter still. They had two kids now, and they shared stories about camp.

Piper and Jason were living in Los Angeles with their three kids. They spent a lot of time with Coach Hedge and Mellie these days, and Piper has since restored her relationship with her father.

Nico and Will were living in New York still, but they traveled quite a bit between the coasts to visit their various friends.

Thalia was still with the Hunters, and she was loving life. She spent a lot of time hanging out in California with Jason and Piper and Reyna in her time off.

Later in the evening, Percy got up to use the restroom. It was still locked, and so he stood outside, waiting idly.

Nico arrived a minute later.

"Hey," Nico said.

"Hey. How've you been?" Percy asked.

"I've been well. Will's thinking about adopting now that we're more settled," he responded.

"Oh. That's nice."

There was a minute of silence before Nico spoke up. "Look, Percy," he started, "I know what you're going through. Bianca's been dead for eighteen years now, and it still hurts. It never goes away, so don't wait for it to. It's better to accept it and move on."

Percy laughed tiredly, as if he couldn't believe what he just heard. "But how, Nico? It's been six years and it feels like it was yesterday."

"Simple," he said. "You need someone. Someone you can trust your whole life with. Someone you could lean on."

Percy leaned back against the wall. "But she was that for me."

"I know. So was Bianca. I didn't even realize I needed her so much until she was gone. It took me years, but I found Will. Not to replace her, but to be someone else you could rely on. And it doesn't necessarily need to be Cassandra."

"And what if I can't find a Will for me?" Percy asked skeptically.

"You will. Trust me."

The bathroom door unlocked, and Nico just went right on ahead.


It was a partly cloudy day. Cass was out at a birthday party with the kids, so it was just Percy at home. She knew Percy would rather be alone today.

Percy sat on the floor of his closet, beneath the dim, yellow lights as he dug through some old boxes tiredly. They were still there. The rings.

They were an alloy of both Celestial Bronze and silver. Percy still remember designing them together. They had decided that they wanted a part of their godly side and their mortal side in the ring. On top of that, and this was to her credit, it represented that she would be with him in immortal life and in mortal life.

He loved the rings to death, but when he married Cass, he put them away.

Percy stuffed the rings into his pocket and headed out.

When he arrived at camp, it was pretty empty. It was the middle of the school year, so most kids were out.

Percy headed over to the lake quietly where they buried her.

A small shimmering crystal gravestone had been placed there, courtesy of the Hephaestus Cabin.

Engraved on it was the following:

Annabeth Chase

July 1993 – December 2017

Loving friend, mother, wife, and daughter

She will always be remembered for her

Intelligence, wit, wisdom, and leadership

May she live on forever as

A Hero of Olympus

Percy stared at the gravestone, then proceeded to bury the rings beside the grave.

He sat in silent contemplation as he stared off at the lake.

A moment later, there was a small rustle in the bushes, as a figure appeared.

"Kelp Head? I thought you'd be here."

Thalia emerged from the bushes in her Hunters' uniform.

Percy didn't say a word.

Thalia placed an affectionate hand on his back. "It's gonna be okay, Kelp Head."

Percy nodded mindlessly.

"I think we'll be okay," Thalia said in a shaky voice. "I… I'm sure we'll be."

Thalia's body shook with tears. It was rare that Thalia, the lieutenant of the Unbreakable Hunters, was crying her eyes out.

Percy didn't move. He couldn't move. A traitorous tear slipped onto the grave stone from Percy's eyes.

He didn't bother to try and wipe away the rest as they poured down on the gravestone.

Percy thought of Sil. Her gray eyes. Her wild, blonde hair. Her wide expanse of knowledge. Her pride in everything she knew.

Percy thought he should bring her here one day. Just maybe not when he's breaking down in front of her mom's grave. Just maybe.

Maybe when he could stop keeping secrets from Cass. Maybe when he could face his daughter for more than ten seconds without breaking down. Maybe when he was stronger. Maybe when he could be better. But, maybe, maybe that would never happen. So, maybe... maybe he couldn't. Maybe he'd just have to face the ghost of her every day.

But, maybe, just maybe, he could stop seeing a ghost, but a beautiful reminder of her instead.


Ahhh! It's over! I actually posted my first "story" (I dunno if this actually counts as a story tho). So, thanks if you read it! I'll hopefully post the next part soon. If you think my writing sucks, tell me in the reviews so I can work on it!

- tea-made-bean