A/N: I have to thank fandoms-own-my-soul on Tumblr for betaing this story and listening to my rants.
"Did you hear about the robbery the other night?"
"There's so many of those happening lately that I've lost track. Which one are you talking about?"
"The El Relámpago one. They stole that rare blue diamond from the Spanish Royalty exhibition at the museum."
"Ohh, that one. Yeah, I heard about it. It's unbelievable that the police didn't catch the thief."
"I know right!"
"It makes you wonder if the police are doing their job…"
Annabeth sighed. She was tired of hearing the same conversations about the robberies every time she walked around the city.
Ever since she moved from San Francisco, her stress levels had gone up; trying to stop all the unsolved crimes that the previous detectives had left was, in no way, an easy feat. She accepted the offer they made her because she wanted to experiment new things and in the way maybe get closer to her Soulmate. And it appeared at least one of those things was working out for her.
The mark on her wrist had become more detailed; it had always been just a line, but now that Annabeth was in New York it became a complete trident. Sometimes even a few waves appeared behind it. Unfortunately, her work had prevented her from going on a full search for her Soulmate.
Annabeth swore that for every crime they solved two more cases dropped on her table. It was exhausting. Adding to that, she didn't remember the last time she had free time. Even now she was on her way to a meeting with her partner to go over the leads they had on the latest robbery.
She had to come back to the real world when she saw the coffee shop they were meeting at. When she entered, Annabeth noticed that Jason wasn't there yet. She looked at her watch, 6:30. Still some time left until Jason arrived.
Since there was a long line to order and people kept coming in, she decided to just do the line while she waited for Jason.
After fifteen minutes of being in the line, Annabeth finally reached the cash register. She ordered two black coffees for her and Jason; the line was long and he was probably about to get there, so she didn't see a reason why she couldn't order for him as well.
As she was receiving her change, the barista–a tall guy, with sea-green eyes, and black hair–saw her mark and commented on it. "Huh. Found the lucky one?" Annabeth didn't get what he was referring to at first, but when she looked down at her mark she understood. She must've made a face because he also commented on that. "This is the first time it became complete isn't it? Well, good luck finding them in this crowd." And just like that, he called the next person in line.
Not long after, Annabeth was walking around looking at people's arms trying to find someone with a completed mark. But to Annabeth's disappointment, the more she moved around the more her mark became incomplete.
Her search had to stop when she saw Jason coming in and Annabeth's name was called to indicate her order was ready.
She greeted Jason and told him to get them a table while she went to get their coffees. As she seated down in front of Jason, he looked curiously at her. "Did something happen? You look kind of...disappointed."
"It's nothing, just the usual soulmate stuff." He gave her an understanding look, but not wanting to dwell much on it, she changed the topic to work. "So, did you find something on the thief?"
"Well, various witnesses from multiple robberies," Jason started as he took out some papers from his case, "Have identified the thief who stole El Relámpago as the same one in other robberies."
"Do we have a face or physical description?"
"Not really. Our thief usually wears ski masks that only let his eyes show." As he said this, he gave her pictures of the suspect to look at. There wasn't much to see, but at least they had a photo of him.
Most of their night was spent looking at different pictures and files of the cases. The more they looked at them, the more Annabeth felt like screaming: these cases were over a month old and they still hadn't solved them.
They didn't realize it was late until the barista told them that they were closing. It was then that Annabeth realized how tired she really was. Maybe she was being over dramatic, but she felt especially tired after knowing her Soulmate was there and she couldn't find them. She guessed it was nothing strange: it happened to everybody at one point in their lives. Even though she knew that it didn't help Annabeth with her frustration.
It's useless to think about that. I have to rest my mind if I want to solve all those cases. She repeated that phrase over and over again in her mind all the way to her apartment. By the time she arrived, she was so sleepy that she didn't even remember why she was saying that.
Annabeth was having her much deserved rest when she received Jason's text. Meet me in front of the National Bank in 15. I may have a lead on our thief.
It was almost a week later since their meeting at the coffee shop, and this was the first time they had a concrete lead.
That night she had to cover the night shift since one of their partners had taken the day off, so she was trying to stay awake and not fall asleep. So far, it had been a calm night. That is until she received Jason's text.
Without saying much to her colleagues at the station, she rushed out towards one of the stationed patrol cars.
As she approached the bank, she visibly slowed down and tried to stay in the shadows. Annabeth located Jason at the far off right corner of the bank parked in his car. Look to your left. I'm already here, she texted him.
I see you. Park somewhere close to the entrance, but that your car won't be seen from there. Annabeth did as she was told and parked opposite to Jason in a concealed space with a clear view of the bank's entrance.
What are we waiting for? Is the suspect going to rob this bank?
Yeah. According to a reliable source, he plans on robbing it tonight. Reliable source or not, they seemed to be right.
As soon as she finished reading the text, and focused on the bank's entrance again, she saw a figure pass by it. Annabeth figured that the thief had already made a map in his head of the bank and all the possible entrances with less vigilance.
I saw him. He passed by the main entrance going in your direction. Did you see where he went?
I did. He entered through one of the staff entrances. It seemed he had an employee card. We should call for reinforcements and wait.
Why? He's alone and there's two of us. Besides, if we wait he could exit through another side and we wouldn't notice. If we want to catch him we have to act now.
Annabeth, I don't believe that's the safest plan of action. I know that you want to solve this the fastest way possible, but many things could go wrong, he might be armed, he could end up hurting you and escaping.
Even though Annabeth knew he was right, she didn't want to chance the suspect escaping. If they could catch him tonight, most of the causes for her stress would be gone. So, she got out of her car and followed the path the thief had taken.
As she walked, Annabeth felt her phone ring multiple times. She put it on silence.
She entered the bank through the same door the suspect had entered. The door led directly to a hallway that she guessed connected the vaults with the main room. Annabeth decided to go right: deeper into the bank, and hopefully closer to the thief. When she was approaching the first vault, she spotted him.
He was strolling with his hands on the pockets of his hoodie as if he had all the time in the world. That irritated Annabeth deeply. She took out her gun and pointed it at him.
"Hey, you! Nice night to rob a bank, right?" To Annabeth's amusement that seemed to scare him. "Now, put your hands up and don't move. If you do, I'll shoot you."
He was putting his hands up when suddenly something fell to the floor and smoke began to fill the hallway. Before Annabeth had time to react, the thief had disarmed her and throw the gun away from them. Why he had done it, she had no idea. If he disarmed her, he could've used the gun to end this confrontation quickly. That puzzled her, but she didn't have time to ponder about it. Apparently, his goal now was to knock her out; he kept trying to land a punch in the sensible area behind her ear.
Their fight didn't last long. Annabeth was giving him a run for his money until she had to trip with the remains of the smoke bomb. She cursed and fell on her back.
Thanks to that she left herself wide open, giving the thief a chance to position himself on top of her. But Annabeth wasn't done just yet. When he tried to throw the final punch, Annabeth blocked him. And their struggle began yet again. Neither was going to let the other win. It was evenly matched even when one of them was lying on the floor.
It could've gone on like that for minutes, even hours until one of them tired out, but Annabeth stopped fighting when amidst their struggle she saw her mark. Like the other time in the coffee shop, it was complete. A trident with waves behind it. Annabeth looked at his covered face and sea-green eyes. She knew who was behind that mask. It was the only explanation for her completed mark.
"I know who you are," she said softly. At that, the barista's eyes widened. "You're my soulmate."
"How are you so sure?" Came his reply muffled by the mask.
"Your mark. Have you seen it?" He hesitated for a moment before rolling his right sleeve up. What she saw there confirmed her theory. In his wrist was an intricate design of an owl holding in its claws an olive branch.
Everything went quiet. Annabeth wondered what Jason was doing: had he followed her inside? Had he called reinforcements? The thought was so random that she chuckled a bit. Then she remembered what had just happened and chuckled a bit more. Then she realized how ironic it was and started laughing uncontrollably.
It seemed her sudden outburst made him get out of the trance-like state he was in. "What are you laughing at?"
"At all this." He seemed even more confused by her response, so she explained. "Look at us. You're a thief and I'm a detective, who is no less trying to catch you. And we are soulmates. On top of that, we don't even know each other's name. Don't you find it ridiculous?" With that, she got a few laughs out of him.
"Percy. My name's Percy." After he said that, he lifted his mask and put it on the side. Annabeth was left staring at his face, dumbfounded. Why did he tell her his name? Why did he lift his mask? A few minutes ago she was trying to catch him. With what he did he gave Annabeth the information she needed to find him again. He knew that and yet he did it anyways.
Percy looked expectantly at her with a soft smile on his lips. That's when Annabeth realized he was waiting for her to tell him her name. "A-Annabeth."
He stood up, letting her free, and offered her a hand. "Pleasure to finally meet you, Annabeth." She took it.
"I would say the same, but your robberies have been causing my partner and me many inconveniences." Talking about her partner made her think about what Jason was doing again, so she checked her phone.
"Oh." Annabeth heard Percy say.
As she scrolled through all of Jason's messages she became more and more alarmed.
Annabeth, don't do this.
Annabeth, please think rationally. Something could go wrong.
Annabeth, did you find him? Is everything okay?
Are you even reading my messages?
…
Okay, Annabeth I'm calling reinforcements.
They are coming.
I'm searching for you now. Where are you? That was the message that most alarmed her. She knew what she was going to do wasn't what a professional detective would do, but she couldn't lose her soulmate the same night that she found him. And she couldn't let Jason find out about it.
Against all of her common sense and professionalism, she spoke the following words to Percy, "My partner is searching for me and reinforcements are on the way...You should get going."
"Why are you letting me go? Haven't I caused you enough 'inconveniences'?"
She sighed. "Part of the reason for which I moved here was to find you. So, yes, I'm letting you go. I'm not going to be separated from my soulmate, that I just found, because of you going to jail if I can help it."
"But, wait. How are you going to find me again? I didn't tell you where to find me."
"Don't worry about that. I know where you work. Now go."
Percy appeared to take her words to heart, and with one last glance sprinted away. Annabeth was left standing in the hallway, making up a convincing story for her to tell Jason.
By the time Jason found her, Annabeth had her act ready. In reality, her story was true, but it wasn't the whole truth. She told him all up to the part where Percy dropped the smoke bomb. Annabeth just said that he ran away, scared of being caught.
Nothing else happened that night. They returned to the station, filed a report on what happened, and went back to their previous activities. Jason went back to his home. Annabeth finished her shift as if a life changing event hadn't just happened to her.
The following day, Annabeth went to visit Percy at the coffee shop. She didn't know if he'd be working or not, but she wouldn't know unless she went. If he wasn't working, Annabeth could ask one of his co-workers to leave him a message from her. Either way, it was worth the try.
It was around 7 pm when Annabeth entered the coffee shop. She was a little worried about how it might go, but she swallowed her fear and approached the cash register, where Percy was taking the order of an old lady.
This time the coffee shop was almost empty and the wait was none; Annabeth guessed today was one of those slow days in businesses.
Percy didn't notice her until he was done with the old lady. "Here's your receipt, and you can claim your order over by that counter," he explained to the lady while pointing out the counter that he was referring to. "Have a nice day!" He watched her go with a big smile, and Annabeth couldn't help but feel warm on the inside.
He turned around again, and that's when he saw her. "Annabeth! What are you doing here?" He paused for a moment before speaking again. "I-I mean, it's nice seeing you here and all, but I didn't expect you so soon. I thought you'd take your time after that happened or… I don't know."
"Percy, at what time does your shift end?"
"Ten. Why?"
"Okay, I'll wait for you until then so you can tell me all about you." Annabeth's tone didn't leave room for objection, nevertheless, Percy objected.
"Wait. You're going to sit there for three hours? Waiting for me? I'm sorry, but I'm not letting you do that. I have caused you enough inconveniences as it is." Percy gave her a cheeky smile, and Annabeth had to roll her eyes at that. "Why are you rolling your eyes? I'm serious. I can ask one of my co-workers to cover for me while we have that talk you are oh so anxious to have."
"Do whatever you think it's best. Meanwhile, I'll have a black coffee and a chocolate croissant."
"It's gonna be five dollars and twenty cents." She gave him six dollars and told him to keep the change.
As Annabeth went to find a table, she heard him yell, "I'll be there in a few!"
She found a table next to the window. While she waited, she stared out the window watching many couples past by. It was weird to think that she and Percy could be one of those couples walking around after all was sorted out.
Lost in her mind, Annabeth didn't realize that Percy had sat down across from her with two coffees in his hands, so when he spoke she jumped a little on her chair. "Nice view, isn't it?"
"You surprised me. Don't do that ever again." She sighed. "And yes, it is a nice view. But didn't you feel… jealous watching all those couples, who were probably each other's Soulmate?"
"Yeah. I felt jealous sometimes, but others, I was worried about something else." Percy answered thoughtfully as he passed her her coffee.
"Like what? Your next robbery?" Annabeth asked curiously.
"Something related to that." He chuckled a bit but turned serious a moment later. "I was worried about my mom."
She took a sip of her coffee and encouraged him to continue.
"My mom...she has not been okay for the past year, ever since she had a car accident. It wasn't too serious, but after, we had to deal with all the legal stuff… Sue the one that hit her, deal with the car repairments...By the end of all that we lost more than we could've gained. We were left without a car, my mom was left with PTSD, and with a huge debt to the lawyer that helped us with the case."
"While we tried to pay that debt, we struggled with other things: like paying the rent and buying basic necessities. We asked our landlord to give us an extension three months in a row, and now we owe them almost 4,000 dollars. If we don't pay them by next month, they are going to kick us out. I didn't see another alternative, so I started stealing."
Annabeth considered that a good enough reason to steal, but it was still the wrong way.
"Percy, didn't you try other ways?"
"I did, but I didn't get enough money from that. There was a time when I had four jobs. Don't ask me how. It was still not enough."
"How much do you owe now?"
"We already finished paying the lawyer. What's left is the 4,000 of the landlord." Annabeth raised her eyebrows. One would think that with selling El Relámpago all monetary problems would've been gone.
"What happened with the money you got from El Relámpago?" She lowered her voice in the final part.
"I used it to pay our debt to the lawyer. With what remained I bought my mom's pills and this month's groceries."
"Does your mother know you're doing this?"
"Ehh… Well, I think she knows since she has been scolding me indirectly about it," he said sheepishly. Annabeth gave him a disappointed look.
"Look, Percy. I understand why you're doing this, but you need to stop. Eventually, you are going to get caught. If that happens you won't be able to help your mother anymore, right?"
He sighed. "I know, but if I don't…"
"If you are willing to stop stealing, I'm willing to help you," Annabeth proposed.
"Are you serious!?"
"Does it look like I'm not?"
"No, not really. But how are we going to raise 4,000 dollars in a month?"
"Don't worry about that; I have a friend that might be able to help us."
A month and a half later…
"I can't believe it. We did it." Percy stared at her with a shocked face. "I can't believe we actually raised 4,000 thousand dollars in a little over a month."
"I can't believe it either. I'm glad everything turned fine at the end," Annabeth agreed. In the past month, they had been spending sleepless nights trying to find ways to raise the 4,000 dollars and many times they almost lost hope. Luckily, they had the help of Jason, who agreed to help them with a little push from Annabeth. Annabeth didn't really tell him that Percy was the thief, so he would cooperate.
Between the three of them, they managed to plan activities to raise money. It was hard, but fun at the same time. During that month, she got to know Percy and have some of the best experiences of her life.
"Annabeth. Annabeth. You still with me?" They were sitting at a table in the coffee shop were Percy worked.
"Uh? Were you saying something?"
Percy laughed at her question. "I was saying that Jason helped us a great deal. You kind of spaced out just now. What were you thinking about?"
"I was thinking about the past month and how you really are a seaweed brain," she teased.
"Why do you call me that? I still don't understand it."
"Because you are," Annabeth said matter of fact.
"If you get to call me that, then I get to call you something too." He seemed to ponder it for a moment before spouting, "You're Wise Girl from now on."
"Oh, really? And why's that?" She rested her chin on her hand and leaned towards him.
"Well, because you just are." He imitated her position and slowly leaned towards her, closing the distance that separated them, until finally reaching her lips. Warmth blossomed across Annabeth's chest, an amazing sensation she had never felt. She finally felt complete, the kiss giving her something that she didn't know was missing in the first place. Regretfully, Percy ended it a few moments after it started. "Thank you, Wise Girl."
Annabeth was still a little dizzy from the kiss. "You're welcome, Seaweed Brain."