The war with Gaea was finally over. Even though everything was calm, the effects of the war were lasting on the heroes. Jason threw himself into the project of blending the camps with Reyna and Chiron. Nico had been welcomed home like a hero, something that still bewildered him, although Hazel helped him navigate it. The two children of Hades/Pluto spent a lot of time together, which meant, of course, that Frank was never far behind, always hovering like a mama hen. Leo frequently locked himself inside of Bunker Nine with the Archimedes sphere for long periods of time. Piper was always a little lost when she wasn't in the presence of Jason, Annabeth or Leo, and she stepped down as cabin counselor until she felt up to it again. Annabeth and Percy hadn't left each other's sides except to sleep, and even then, most nights one of them would sneak into the other's cabin. The rest of the camp was subdued, as well. The threat of battle with the Roman demigods had taken a lot out of them.

Eventually, Chiron knew he had to do something. He needed to raise morale, and he thought he knew a way to do it.

So at the beginning of October, he announced that this year would mark the beginning of a new camp tradition: trick-or-treating.

Ω

The entire camp had been looking forward to Halloween this year, especially after Chiron's announcement that there would be trick-or-treating on the night of, and every cabin was to make something to hand out that represented their cabin. Even Percy seemed perked up, and for the first time since returning, he began leaving Annabeth's side for brief periods of time to hang out with Tyson, which Annabeth viewed as good progress.

Annabeth knew that her boyfriend was excited (he hadn't had a proper Halloween since he was young, since he had been at boarding schools for as long as he could remember) but she didn't realize just how much until Percy barreled into the Athena cabin on the 31st, dressed as a merman. He had a long, white Santa-esque beard strapped to his face, a purple toga wrapped around his waist and upper body, and where his legs were supposed to be, a makeshift fish tail poked out.

Annabeth could hear some of her siblings start to giggle, and she flashed them a look. Taking a deep breath, she turned back to Percy, who was grinning from ear to ear. "Um, Percy… What exactly are you wearing?"

Percy's grin, if possible, got even bigger, and he twirled around to show off his outfit. "Isn't it awesome? Tyson helped me make it!"

"That's what you're going to wear to hand out candy? Isn't it a little, um, excessive?"

Percy's buoyant expression faded. "Hand out candy? Tyson's doing that with Ella. They volunteered." Suddenly, he seemed very aware of the fact that Annabeth was only wearing a camp half-blood t-shirt and a pair of jeans. "Aren't we going trick-or-treating?" He asked uncertainly, nibbling his lower lip.

Annabeth didn't know how to respond. She really did not want to have this conversation in front of her siblings, which her brother Malcolm seemed to understand. "Alright, guys, uh, let's go, er… to the kitchens! Yeah, we're going to make owl cookies. Yup, that's what we're going to do."

Annabeth watched her siblings shuffle out of the cabin, the youngest, four-year-old Xander, running over to hug her legs before taking Malcolm's hand. Annabeth mouthed a quick 'thank you' to her half-brother, and his lips quirked up into a grin. "No problem," he murmured, patting her shoulder quickly before he vacated the cabin.

"I guess since Malcolm got everyone out that this isn't gonna be a happy conversation," Percy mumbled dejectedly, hanging his head. His beard slipped, and the mustache portion was now at Percy's chin.

Annabeth chuckled softly, reaching over to fix it for him. She stroked his cheek lightly, sighing. "It's just, the trick-or-treating is mostly for the younger kids. We're older; I mean, we're counselors. We're supposed to be in charge."

Percy's face crumpled. "Oh," he said quietly, "okay." He pulled the beard off, scowling as he dropped onto Annabeth's bunk.

Annabeth bit her lip before taking a seat next to him. "Percy," she murmured, reaching out to card her fingers through his hair. He leaned into the touch, and Annabeth couldn't help but feel bad. Percy hadn't been this excited about something since they returned. "You know what, now that I think about it, I haven't been trick-or-treating since I was six, and Malcolm is more than capable of handling the cabin tonight…"

Percy lit up. "Do you mean it?" Annabeth nodded, and her boyfriend grinned, planting a kiss on her lips. "Yes! Free candy."

"Now all I need is a costume," Annabeth remarked, and was instantly wary of the smirk on her boyfriend's lips.

"You can be Andromeda, from the myths. She's the one who married the original Perseus, you know." Percy had the nerve to wink at her.

"How fitting," Annabeth deadpanned, rolling her eyes.

"It really is," Percy enthused, grinning. "She was supposed to be super-beautiful, too, so you already have that part down."

Annabeth blushed scarlet, shoving Percy lightly. "Shut up," was her intelligent response. She took a minute to collect herself and chuckled. "If you don't mind me asking, what are you supposed to be?"

Percy rolled his eyes. "Duh! I'm king Triton from the Little Mermaid!"

Ω

I used a headcanon as a prompt for this, and credit for that goes to percyjacksonheadcanon dot tumblr dot com