Reunion (Post Son of Neptune)
A/N: I actually wrote this before the offical chapter was released online - and this there is no comparison in quality. In my head, I always pictured all the cabin leaders going to visit the Roman camp, and Grover would want to see Percy as well. I'm so excited for the next book, although I fear the 'sacrifice' Percy has to make may be Annabeth and that makes me very panicky. I know Annabeth's section is very short, but I've been in Percy's head for six books, so he is easier to write for.
As always, the characters and story does not belong to me, all credit goes to the amazing Rick Riordan.
Annabeth
Annabeth sighed. Again. She stared blankly out of her cabin window, watching, waiting. She had managed to hold herself together for the past eight months, two days and 18 hours, she couldn't break now, not when she was so close. She closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against the cool glass, hoping to calm the thoughts whirling through her mind. She couldn't worry about what was to come, what might happen, she had to be a leader for the camp. Even if Percy didn't remember her. Annabeth recalled sitting in Mrs Jackson's kitchen, holding her hand and telling her that she would find Percy, that he would remember everything and that everyone would be safe.
"We've already saved the world once, Mrs Jackson. Once I find Percy we'll remind everyone of this, and they'll probably left us leave, and we can all recover from this," Annabeth remembered saying. They both knew it was a lie. Even if they found Percy – when, not if – when they found Percy, he may not remember, Jason could recall some things, the past eight months had allowed him to piece together a lot of his past but it was still very confusing to him. But even if Percy did remember, he wouldn't leave, Annabeth acknowledge this with a small smile, Seaweed Brain was an idiot hero, he wouldn't leave the task of saving the world to anybody else. Annabeth sighed again, she needed to find him, not only for her own peace of mind, but she knew, wherever he was, he would need her to watch his back. Annabeth started when she heard Leo over the loudspeaker.
"To the lovely crew of the Argo, this is your Supreme Commander speaking. I'm just informing you that we are about to land in some badass Roman camp, so if you wish to see the sights or prepare for landing, please come to... Piper, where are we assembling?" There was a muffled noise in the background, "Jeez, Beauty Queen, I'm not kidding, okay, we're assembling on the deck, so don't fall off." Before Leo had finished speaking, Annabeth was running out of her cabin, knife strapped to her belt and her Yankees cap tucked into her back pocket. She rushed past other assembling demigods and burst onto the deck, stunned by what she saw. A beautiful, but slightly trashed, Roman city lay before them, and in it somewhere, was Percy, and whether he liked it or not, whether he remembered it or not, she was coming for him, to watch his back. Annabeth steeled herself, her emotions almost becoming as cold as her eyes and went to join the others.
Percy
Percy walked – well, stumbled was a better description, how Romans did anything in their stupid get-up was beyond him – arms still around Frank and Hazel, with almost a spring in his step. It was very tempting to skip, maybe run, although he wasn't sure how long he would last before he was flat on his face.
"Percy," Hazel said, "You're sure about this, right? Greeks and Romans getting along? If anything, I mean anything happens, Octavian will turn it to his advantage, and you will probably die."
Percy was feeling pretty good right now, but Hazel's dire announcement cut through a little of his excitement, "I'm sure. Jason will have the Greeks all informed and while you guys could have used some more time to get used to the idea, we'll just have to see it through. We'll have to work together if we're to save the day." They were close to what everyone was assuming the landing zone was, the Fields of Mars. Terminus was going a bit nutty, shouting, "Jackson, should we take them down too? Where's my assistant, we'll need a lot of containers to put that warship in. No weapons past the Pomerian line." Reyna walked up to Percy, frowning, "I hope you're right about this", she muttered. Percy wished people would stop questioning his moment, if it went on for much longer, he may lose all of his excitement altogether. Before he could reply, a voice boomed from the ship, the same one from the message Tyson carried to them.
"Greetings, Romans. I am Leo, Supreme Commander of the Argo II, son of Hephaestus... Or the Stark Trek guy. Vulcan! We come in peace, see the flag? We will be landing and docking in a moment so please don't attack, we'll have a landing party of... Uh, how many, four? And we all just want to talk and roast marshmallows around a weirdly colourful campfire. Peace." Without further ado, the warship landed and a gangplank was lowered. Percy took a deep breath, trying to quell the nervousness that suddenly bubbled inside him. Was Annabeth on that ship? He'd been away for eight months, maybe she'd moved on or gotten over him or... Percy shook his head and tried to think of everyone else he wanted to see. Grover, Rachel, even Clarisse would be a welcome sight. Four people stood on the edge of the ship, waiting for the gangplank to be released. Reyna, remembering herself, stood taller and barked, "Form ranks, orderly lines, show our guests some discipline and be prepared for anything".
The Romans shuffled around behind Percy, but his eyes were glued to the four figures, he couldn't see much, but it looked like one had blonde hair ruffling in the breeze, she was so familiar. The four walked down the gangplank, the blonde's head swivelling left and right and Percy found himself moving forward, breaking ranks. His feet were moving faster now trying not to trip over his stupid sheet, catching the attention of the blonde, whose face lit up with a beautiful, bright smile. She pushed past her companions, stopping a few steps ahead of him, uncertainty on her features. "Percy", her beautiful voice sang, stormy eyes joyous and cautious at the same time, "Are you okay? Do you know me?" Percy was stunned, how could he forget her, she was the only thing that kept him tied to his past life, so he tried to put this into words and came up with, "Hey, Wise Girl." The familiar spark was in her eyes and she suddenly reached out to punch him in the shoulder, "'Hey, Wise Girl'", she mimicked, "You've been gone eight months, two days and 18 hours, and all you can say is 'Hey'. Seaweed Brain – Why are you laughing?" Percy was still chuckling, smiling with real pleasure but she was mad and all her wanted to do was see her smile and hold her, "I missed you", he said and he got his wish. Her eyes, as stormy as ever, lit up and she flew into his arms. Her head rested in the nape of his neck and she whispered, "Oh, Seaweed Brain, please don't leave me again". He tucked a finger under her chin and looked into her eyes, "I don't intend to", he promised, sealing his oath with a kiss, one even better than their first, more fulfilling than their underwater kiss, because she was real, more than a memory and that made it all worthwhile.
After they broke apart, smiling, Percy noticed an uneasy tension in the air as his Roman companions were staring at him like he had grown another head and Reyna was rolling her eyes and appeared to be cursing. Then Octavian was marching to the front, his eyes alight with triumph, "See where our new Praetor's loyalties truly lie, not with us, my friends, but with his Greek lover and their-", thankfully before he could continue and Percy smacked him in the face for ruining his reunion, there was a bleat from the deck of the Argo II and a furry blur was running down the gangway, to give him a goat tackle. "Percy", Grover bleated again, "I couldn't feel you through the empathy link, we were all so worried", Percy could see his friends eyes start to water and clamped him on the shoulder, hoping to stop the flow, "I missed you too G-man, although I've only actually remembered you for around two days". Before Grover could reply Octavian was speaking again, "Already the Greeks defy their agreement, four were said to greet us and five they have sent, who haven't even greeted-", again, Octavian was cut off by the sight of the blonde Greek walking forward, someone Percy had never met before but Percy could take a guess. He moved before the Roman ranks, who were mainly gaping like fish, before speaking, "Romans, it is so good to see you again after my long absence, my name is Jason Grace, son of Jupiter, child of Rome, consul to demigods, previous praetor of the First Legion, and leader at Camp Half-Blood. I would like to discuss our alliance without bloodshed and while I apologise for our lack of respect, the Greeks have been tirelessly searching for Percy Jackson for months now, and the reunion seemed too sweet to interrupt."
Annabeth blushed at this, moving out of the circle of Percy's arms. Percy smiled regretfully and mouthed, "Later", before he too moved back into rank. "Octavian, stand down, they have four people and one satyr, or faun, if you prefer, no rules have been broken". Reyna frowned at Percy, most likely annoyed for ruining what would have been a perfectly terrifying and intimidating greeting, "Welcome back, Jason Grace, Percy had informed us of your imminent arrival but it did not seem likely at the time." Jason smiled ruefully, "All is well, eight months ago, I do not think I would have believed it either, may I introduce my companions? This is Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite", waving to a pretty girl with choppy hair and a braid down the side of her face, "Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus", indicating to the twitchy boy with a mischievous impish face, "Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena and Grover Underwood, Lord of the Wild". Introductions done, he waited for Reyna to make the next move. Eyes calculating, she said, "Welcome all, to Camp Jupiter, if you five would like to leave your weapons with Terminus and follow me, I fear we should talk in the senate", with a signal to the remaining soldiers, "Return to previous duties". Percy followed Reyna and looked back at Annabeth, hoping that the meeting would go better than their introductions so he and Annabeth, and all of his friends, could have a proper reunion. Remembering all of the events that were occurring – Gaia, possible destruction of the world – he thought it would probably be the shortest reunion in history.