So, it's been a while. A lot of time has passed since I updated this story, and I've obviously aged since that time. I've continued reading all of RR's new stuff, particularly the TOA series, so you'll see references to that. Unsure if I'll continue writing. This style of story really isn't my thing anymore. But I felt inspired to write this down and share it.
Continue reading for a reflective Percy.
Memories are a finicky thing.
He had lost his memory once before. More like it was stolen from him. A necessary part of Hera's plan, or so she insisted.
The ordinary ebb and flow of day to day life, since the years that had seemed to be filled only with quests to save the gods, sometimes dulled the reality that this had once been his life.
Of course it still was his life, had shaped who he was and where he was today. But the monsters visited less frequently these days, no gods-turned-mortal showed up at his door, his family and friends were safe from impending apocalypses.
There are some memories that he can never forget, that can never be erased. Even when he forgot everything except his name, he remembered her. There are nights when the darkness still creeps into his dreams, turning them into nightmares. The worst ones are when he sits up, breathing heavily, glancing down at her, the words a whisper on his lips. "Are you real?"
It weighs on him more than he'd care to admit. Tartarus is something that will always be with them. They've moved beyond the worst of it, but it's always there, creeping up behind them when they least expect it. In the way he loses his temper too easily or in the way she calls him, panic in her voice when he's running late.
It's reassuring, he thinks, that even the gods couldn't remove her from him. Annabeth. But at the same time, it scares him. It's a reminder that she is so ingrained into his being, that if anything were to happen to her he doesn't know what he'd do, how he'd continue through this life. Even the thought of it makes it hard for him to breathe. Like he's drowning.
And although the years have passed quietly, surviving college the biggest quest in their lives, he knows that it could all be gone in a second.
He thinks of Jason.
Sometimes, it's difficult for him to recall exactly what Jason even looked like. It seems odd. He thinks about Jason often enough, walks the streets of New Rome, sees the temples that Jason designed but never saw completed. While the essence of who Jason was lives on strongly in the lives and places he touched, the finer details of Jason have faded from his mind.
Perhaps one day, he too will fade from the memories of those he once knew.
But for now, as he watches the setting sun light Annabeth's hair in a fiery glow, he doesn't care if the rest of the world forgets him.
He thinks of all they've lost, all they still have. Closing his eyes, he sends a prayer to whatever god is listening that he will remember this moment forever.
Memories are a finicky thing.