Watching
By: xXxDaughteroftheKingxXx
AN: Um, wow. I totally forgot about posting this... So I'll post it now, I guess.
Wow, I love Chiron. If I had a teacher like that... O.O
Disclaimer: Don't own PJO/HoO.
It's a dark, stormy night when she first meets him.
Once again, Zeus is angry, and he's taking his anger out on the mortal world. An angry Poseidon also unleashes his wrath out on the world with colossal tidal waves and hurricanes that haven't stopped since December.
Last December. When Zeus's lightning bolt when missing.
You know that it's deathly important that someone retrieve that, and you know just the demigod. Still, he is too young, and he might not even be what you think he is. He might be another normal demigod.
Suddenly, over the rain and thunder, you hear a cry for help. The voice sounds exhausted, ready to collapse. Annabeth looks up from her architecture, gray eyes filled with surprise.
"Do you hear that?" she asks, and you nod, gesturing for her to follow you to the door. Again, the voice cries for help, only this time, it sounds closer—almost to the door of the house. You pull the door open, and the two of your scramble out of the Big House, only to see a familiar face.
"Di immortales," you mutter as the boy stumbles forward, dragging another familiar face with him.
Next to you, Annabeth gasps. "Is that—"
She doesn't finish her sentence because Percy staggers onto the porch, collapsing onto his knees, completely exhausted. You both look down at him, and Annabeth whispers, "He's the one. He must be."
The words are so familiar to your ears, but you can't help but agree just a bit. There's something special about this boy, you know it, but you can't let Annabeth know that.
"Silence, Annabeth," you chide. "He's still conscious. Bring him inside."
It's the summer of the Sea of Monsters when you realize that the two might just like each other as more than friends.
You notice many things when you see Percy again. First off all, he's much taller, so now he and Annabeth are roughly the same height. Second, he seems angry and upset and reckless, as usual. Third, he considers Annabeth in a different way. When he looks at her, there is admiration in his eyes. Trust. The same goes for Annabeth. It's much different for them than it was when they first met.
You make Annabeth swear she'll do everything in her power to protect him, not that it was really needed. Ever since they'd met, it was almost as if Percy was Annabeth's to protect. And vice-versa. They watched each others' backs.
Later, when you are finally able to return to camp, you notice again the way the two demigods act around each other. They trained together and prepared for the scheduled chariot races as usual, but there was something different. They seemed closer, almost inseparable.
It's later, after the Percy and Annabeth win the race, that your suspicions are confirmed. It's hard to hear and see the demigods over the crowd, but through a small space, you just barely catch Annabeth leaning over and kissing Percy's cheek, and Percy flushing bright red.
Yes, they'll surely make a good match, you think.
It's the following winter that Annabeth is kidnapped.
Your heart aches just thinking about it. The girl is like your daughter—you practically raised her from the time she arrived at camp. If anything happened to her… you don't know what you would do.
It seems the same kind of feelings are coming from Percy Jackson. When he is declined for going on the quest, he tried to hide it, but he looks so dejected and hurt. You know he doesn't really care about the goddess, he just wishes to look for Annabeth.
Because when it comes to Percy, Annabeth's safety is a top priority.
So, you decide to talk to the boy. Perhaps console him. Reassure him that Annabeth will be alright, despite the fact that you don't know if she will. The Titan's curse? You know what it is, and you don't like it.
"Grover," you say, interrupting the boys' conversation, "perhaps you'd let me have a word with Percy?"
The satyr—bless him—nods, sniffling. "Sure," So, you wait for him to leave, and after a few moments he seems to finally get it.
"Oh, you mean alone." Grover turns to Percy, eyes still sad. "See? Nobody needs a goat." And with that, he sauntered off, blowing his nose on his sleeve.
You sigh, kneeling down. "Percy," you say, looking at him, "I don't pretend to understand prophecies."
He turns to you, green eyes defiant and filled with pain. "Yeah. Well, maybe that's because they don't make any sense."
You gaze at the saltwater spring bubbling in the corner of the room and sigh, "Thalia would not have been my first choice to go on this quest. She's too impetuous. She acts without thinking. She is too sure of herself."
"Would you have chosen me?" He looks at you hopefully.
"Frankly, no," you say, almost chuckling. "You and Thalia are much alike."
"Thanks a lot."
You smile at the boy, whose shoulders are slumped in defeat. "The difference is that you are less sure of yourself than Thalia," you explain. "That could be good or bad. But one thing I can say: both of you together would be a dangerous thing."
"We could handle it." he says confidently.
You raise an eyebrow. "The way you handled it at the creek tonight?" Percy is silent, and you continue, "Perhaps it is for the best. You can go home to your mother for the holidays. If we need you, we can call."
"Yeah," he says with a soft sigh. "Maybe."
You grimace as he pulls his sword that is in pen form from his back pocket and stares of it. Of course. One reason why Zoë would not want him on the quest.
"It's no wonder Zoë doesn't want you along, I suppose," you say finally. "Not while you're carrying that particular weapon."
The boy just stares down at the pen, then at you, confused. After a few moments of silence, you toss him a drachma with a smile and say, "Call your mother, Percy. Let her know you're coming home in the morning. And, ah, for what it's worth…" You grimace. "I almost volunteered for this quest myself. I would have gone, if not for the last line."
"One shall perish by a parent's hand. Yeah." Again, you grimace while Percy looks distracted, his ADHD mind probably in another world.
"Chiron," he says finally, looking up at you. "You know what this Titan's curse is, don't you?"
The room seems to get quiet, and you frown. Of course, you know what it means, and you don't like it a bit. As an ancient gesture of ward off evil, you make a claw over your heart.
"Let us hope the prophecy does not mean what I think," you say finally. Percy looks deflated after you say that, and you almost smile. You pause for a moment, mentally trying to decide whether or not to mention Annabeth, but in the end, you decide not to.
"Now, good night, Percy," you decide to say. "And your time will come. I'm convinced of that. There's no need to rush."
It's the day Percy returns from his two week disappearance that you become a hundred percent sure that the two best friends like each other very, very much.
"And that's my plan," Percy completes.
You contemplate his plan. Allowing a mortal to go on a quest? The thought sounded absurd at first, but the more you think about it, the more you realize that the boy is right. This mortal girl is needed if they were to succeed on their quest.
Annabeth, on the other hand, does not agree. Her jaw drops open, and she stammers, "Percy, that's crazy!"
You lean back into the uncomfortable wheelchair, stroking your beard. "There is precedent, however," you say thoughtfully. "Theseus had the help of Ariadne. Harriet Tubman, daughter of Hermes, used many mortals on her Underground Railroad for just this reason."
"But this is my quest," Annabeth argues. "I need to lead it."
Part of you wonders if that's the entire story. Yes, you're sure that Annabeth wants to lead her own quest, but it was plausible that she was jealous of their mortal girl's relationship with Percy.
You shift uncomfortably and try to console her by saying, "My dear, it is your quest. But you need help." but it doesn't work.
"And this is supposed to help!" she exclaims angrily. "Please! It's wrong. It's cowardly. It's—"
"Hard to admit we need a mortal's help," Percy interrupts as-a-matter-of-factly. You nearly groan. It seems like Percy was just trying to make it worse. "But it's true."
Annabeth's gray eyes narrow at Percy dangerously. "You are the single most annoying person I have ever met!" she screams at him, storming angrily out of the room.
Percy's eyes linger on the doorway, and he looks ready to scream himself. "So much for being the bravest friend she's ever had," he says, voice full of confusion and hurt.
You chuckle. "She will calm down," you reassure. "She's jealous, my boy."
Percy whips around to look at you so quickly that he probably got whiplash. His face is flustered, and he stammers, "That's stupid. She's not… it's not like…" The look on his faces lets you know that he wants it to be like that, and you chuckle again.
"It hardly matters," you explain. "Annabeth is very territorial about her friends, in case you haven't noticed. She was quite worried about you. And now that you're back, I think she suspects where you were marooned."
He looks you in the eye, a slightly surprised expression on his face, then runs a hand through his hair, looking more confused and hurt than ever.
"We won't dwell on your choices," you say, changing the subject. "You came back. That is what matters."
Percy once again stares at the doorway, shoulders slumping dejectedly. With a sad sigh, he says. "Tell that to Annabeth," and you almost laugh.
The summer of the Titan War was quite awkward for the two.
They skirt around each other, still talking, but it didn't seem the same between them. Percy seem jealous of Annabeth's relationship with Luke, and Annabeth of Percy's relationship with Rachel. And with the war dawning quickly on them, their relationship becomes very strained.
But, as the war actually starts, the two quickly become the closest of friends again, depending on the other always.
By the time you come back, you hear that Annabeth has taken a stab wound to the shoulder by protecting Percy, who had decided to swim in the Styx to become invulnerable. There had been many causalities—everyone but Percy was now injured, or dead.
Things take a turn for the worst when Rachel Dare, the mortal girl who aided Percy and Annabeth last year, shows up.
Strangely, she isn't asleep like every other mortal. That just screams that there is something special about her, and when you two speak in private, it becomes more and more clear what that special thing is.
Near the end of the war, you are incapacitated, and miss the rest of it. Part of you doesn't really mind, but gods, the other part is cursing the day your father was born. But, thankfully, the Crooked One is gone once again—spread so thin that it would take a miracle for him to return.
It's later on at Camp Half-Blood that you watch Rachel Dare take the oath of the Oracle, praying to every god that she would not be cursed like May Castellan was. Luckily, the process goes well, and she lives, becoming the new Oracle of Delphi.
Later that night, you are actually among the crowd that spies on Percy and Annabeth. At first, you are ready to send every demigod back to their cabin, but then you realize this is a perfect opportunity to see the two finally admit their feelings to each other, so you let it slide just this once.
You get there when Annabeth is just saying, "You got something to say to me, Seaweed Brain?"
Percy replies, "You'd probably kick my butt."
"You know I'd kick your butt." You look through the trees and notice that the two seem to be scooting closer together, looking happier than you'd ever seen them.
Percy rubs the cake crumbs off his jeans and says softly, "When I was at the River Styx, turning invulnerable . . . Nico said I had to concentrate on one thing that kept me anchored to the world, that made me want to stay mortal."
Annabeth keeps her eyes on the horizon, a ghost of a smile forming on her face. "Yeah?"
"Then up on Olympus," he continues, "when they wanted to make me a god and stuff, I kept thinking—"
"Oh, you so wanted to." Annabeth smirks, interrupting him.
"Well, maybe a little," admits Percy, smiling sheepishly. You and everyone else can see where this is going; he gave up immorality for her. He envisioned her in the Styx.
"But I didn't, because I thought-I didn't want things to stay the same for eternity, because things could always get better. And I was thinking . . ."
"Anyone in particular?" Annabeth asks, her voice soft, holding back a smile.
Percy crosses his arm with a fake pout on his face. "You're laughing at me," he whines.
"I am not!"
"You are so not making this easy."
"Here it comes," Connor Stoll whispers excitedly, and everyone in the area shushes him loudly, including you.
Then she laughs for real, putting her arms around his. "I am never, ever going to make things easy for you, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth said, smiling. "Get used to it."
You smile as she kisses him, and he merely freezes. It seems picture perfect until…
Clarisse walks into the pavilion with most of the other campers, laughing as they all hoist the two onto their shoulders. You don't really approve of it at first, but when Percy and Annabeth are dumped into the lake, you have to laugh.
You hear from Percy later that is was 'the best underwater kiss of all time'.
It's that December when Percy goes missing.
Annabeth is so distraught, and she seems ready to pull her hair out. She searches endlessly, day and night for him, despite you telling her to get rest. She won't listen; she continues to look for him.
Then, you all meet Jason, Piper, and Leo. The first thing you notice when you meet Jason is his tattoo. Twelve barcodes, an eagle, and SPQR burned onto his skin. He is a Roman from Camp Jupiter. The oath has been broken by someone, but who?, you wonder.
As time progresses, you unravel Hera's dangerous gamble. Your prized pupil, the Hero of Olympus, was taken and sent to Camp Jupiter as an exchange, and even worse, Gaea is awakening from her slumber, and the Giants are rising.
The final chapter is upon you all.
Still, you have an oath to uphold, so when Annabeth begs and pleads with you, asking if you know anything about where Percy is, you have to tell her no. Of course, she sees you're lying, and is angry, but what can you do about it? Tell her that Percy is missing and probably remembers nothing? No, it might not even be true, but if it is, that's something Annabeth must find out for herself.
And as you glance out at the ocean, you pray with all your heart that your assumption is wrong.
It's five years after Gaea is defeated that Camp Half-Blood is filled with people—mortals, demigods, satyrs, Cyclopes, etc.—are gathered on one day for on special event.
Percy and Annabeth's wedding.
For this one occasion, Mr. D allows mortals to enter his camp—mostly because Poseidon commanded him to—so Mr. and Mrs. Blofis and Mr. and Mrs. Chase can see their children get married. Demigods from Camp Jupiter, such as Jason, Reyna, Hazel, and Frank, come to camp all the way from California. Tyson and the other Cyclopes come from under the sea with Poseidon to watch the wedding. The camp is packed.
Another thing is, you will be walking Annabeth down the aisle. After some convincing, Annabeth is allowed to let someone other than her father walk her down the aisle, and that someone is you. Mr. Chase seems a bit miffed about that, but he looks happy for his daughter all the same.
The wedding is ordained by Hera, ironically. Apparently, Percy and Annabeth had claimed the rights to a happy marriage after everything they'd been through, and Hera had grudgingly agreed to bless their marriage and stop sending cow poop after Annabeth, thank the gods. And not only that, but she helped Athena and Aphrodite to plan the wedding just a bit.
And then the time finally comes, and you trot next to Annabeth, who's arm is linked with yours, down the aisle. Percy is smiling widely, Grover next to him, at the front, and he looks like he had just won the lottery.
When you two finally get to the altar, Annabeth releases you, then wraps her arms around you in a tight hug. "Thank you," she murmurs. "For everything."
You smile and pat her back lovingly. "You're welcome, my dear," you say back as the bride lets you go. You smile at Percy, patting his shoulder.
"Take care of her, my boy," you say.
Percy nods, taking Annabeth's hands in his own, a loving smile on his face. "Trust me," he says softly, "I will."
Confident in his words, you nod, and walk over to where you'll be staying for the rest of the wedding. The ceremony goes well, and before you know it, you're looking at Mr. and Mrs. Perseus Jackson.
Ironically, Percy lives up to his namesake, Perseus's, example. He gets married, has a couple of beautiful children, and pretty much lives happily ever after.
And you knew it would happen all along.
Fin.
AN: *sighs* Gotta love Chiron.
Hope you enjoyed it!