EPILOGUE

"Love, for you, is larger than the usual romantic love. It's like a religion. It's terrifying." — R.S.

ANNABETH

The next few hours bled into each other. I stayed with Percy the whole time, refusing to let go of his hand even as Will's medical team loaded him onto a stretcher. Thalia took one look at the state of me and told me to head back to base. "I can handle things here," she said.

Percy didn't wake up. Not that first night. I resigned myself to sitting at his bedside, listening to the endless droning of his heart-rate monitor. Even on the brink of death, he was beautiful—the dark circles under his eyes looked more like crescent moons, and his bruised face held an ethereal quality. I pushed his hair away from his face, watching for any sign of consciousness behind his closed eyelids.

Will had told me how unlikely it was that he would wake up so soon, but...there was nothing stopping me from hoping. I knew I had to give him a day or two, give his body time to heal. Though he was no longer in immediate danger of dying, a thousand things could still go wrong. Still, I had to believe he would be okay. He'd promised.

A day lapsed. I only left Percy's bedside three times: once to shower, once to attend a meeting with Thalia and the others, and finally to take a call with my uncle. Sir seemed pleased that I'd had a hand in preserving the Organisation's powerful influence in New York and crippling SPQR, but he didn't express much happiness about my rescue.

We spoke for around an hour, arguing. "When I come back to Paris in a few days, I'm not going to reassume my position. I will continue to support you, but I don't want to deal with your crap anymore," I'd told him. He'd screamed at me, shouted profanities, but it didn't take long for his anger to boil down to acceptance. I knew he was secretly pleased that I no longer threatened his leadership. Somehow, the call ended civilly. He assented to giving me time away from the Organisation, but little did he know that I never planned to return.

It was early morning the next day when Percy finally stirred. I'd been asleep, slumped in a chair beside him. I woke up to Percy's hoarse voice. "Annabeth. Annabeth."

"Hmm?" It took me a moment to fully realise that Percy was awake, but once I did, I broke out into smiles and encased him in a suffocating hug. "Fuck, you're alive. You're alive," I murmured into his shoulder.

He hugged me back, laughing. "Yeah," he rasped. "Couldn't have died anyway. You told me...you told me not to." I squeezed him for a moment longer, before he groaned. "Not so tight. Can't—can't breathe."

"Sorry," I relented. I let go, dropping my hand to where his own rested on the mattress. "How are you feeling?"

He gingerly touched his bandaged stomach, wincing. "Like roadkill." He paused. "But that doesn't matter, 'cause you're here."

Before Percy and I could head back to Paris, we had a lot of loose ends to tie up. Once he was given the go-ahead to start walking around again, we helped each other pack. Neither of us had many material belongings, so thankfully it wasn't too much of a headache to get all our shit together. What was way harder was saying goodbye to everyone in New York. Thalia had her surgery in two weeks and one more chemo appointment before that, so she couldn't come with us to Paris just yet.

Still, she accompanied us to the airport. We stood in the main entry hall under a shaft of golden evening light, filtered from the ceiling's windows. "You better say hi to Jason for me," she demanded.

I pulled her into a hug, trying not to think about how thin she'd gotten due to all the chemo. But despite the ashen quality of her skin and the way her hair was going all patchy, she still commanded a strength I'd never be able to summon. "Good luck with the surgery," I told her. "It's gonna go great, and then we'll see you in Paris, alright?"

"I can't wait," she smiled into my shoulder. "Fuckin' love you, blondie."

"Love you too, Thals." Reluctantly, I pulled away.

Beside me, Percy stepped forward. "God, I'm gonna miss you." He gathered Thalia into a hug, nosing into her hair.

She wriggled, laughing. "Get off me, you twat."

Percy didn't seem discouraged. He held her for a moment longer, then let go. "Text me every day, alright?"

"I will," she promised. With that, she turned to leave. Waving over her shoulder, she called, "See you in two weeks!"

We waved for a moment, watching her head off. Percy turned to me, offering me his elbow. "Shall we go?"

I laughed, lacing my arm through his. "Sure." Suitcases in hand, we set off.

PERCY

Somehow, the flight wasn't hellish. Yeah, I felt like throwing up as soon as we were airborne, but the warmth of Annabeth's hand in my own had my heart thumping in a different way. We stared out the window together, marvelling at the city lights of New York below us that shone through the obsolete darkness. "I'm happy we're leaving," Annabeth murmured beside me.

I shared the sentiment. Most of the memories I'd gained here were unkind ones; I was grateful to leave the image of Gabe's dying moments in a different continent. Leaning my head against hers, I said, "Yeah. Paris is more like home." Annabeth nodded. From here, I could smell her hair—the new shampoo she'd been using smelled faintly of jasmine. Carefully, I said, "Remember when we were talking about disappearing together? Travelling the world and all that?"

Annabeth turned her head away from the window to look at me. "What are you saying?" she asked cautiously.

Unable to bear the weight of her gaze, I looked down at where our fingers were intertwined on my knee. "Well," I started, "What if we just...did that? Sir's already given you leave. What's stopping us?"

Annabeth didn't answer for a moment. She sighed, looking back out the window. Our plane was still rising through the clouds, having not yet reached its final altitude. "That would be heaven," she said quietly. "And utterly insane."

I laughed, self-deprecating. "Probably. But don't you want to know what it feels like to have real freedom? To see everything that's beautiful in the world?"

At that, Annabeth looked back at me. "I already have." But before I could ruminate on how fucking sappy that was, she kissed me on the tip of my nose, stealing my breath. "But yes. I'd like to go. I'd go anywhere with you, to be honest."

"Where first?" I asked.

Annabeth shrugged, settling her head onto my shoulder. "Somewhere with history."

I cocked a brow, smiling. "Or somewhere with a beach—we could sit by the waves, sipping cocktails."

She laughed. "I'd be happy with sitting by a goddamn warzone, as long as I was with you." At that, I was silent for a moment, struck by the freckles on her nose. There must be hundreds, I mused internally. I must've had a dumb look on my face, though, because Annabeth pushed me away with a laugh. "Don't be a fucking sap."

Incredulous, I pushed her back. "Says you!"

Rolling her eyes, she said, "Whatever. Now quit moving, okay?" She lay her head back on me, making a content noise. Above us, the plane's strip lights dimmed to a soft, sleepy blue. "Wake me up in a few hours," she whispered.

Something melted in my chest. "Okay," I whispered back.

Emerging from Paris' airport felt like a homecoming. As we hailed a cab, rain began to drizzle from the skies. We stood on the sidewalk, enduring the rain as it intensified, soaking us to the skin. Our ride pulled up. We clambered in, laughing, hands still joined. Being here again was a fever dream—a welcome one.

Even though it was midday, both of us were bone-tired due to the jet lag. Still, I don't know how I could've slept. When we walked back into the base, we were immediately surrounded by old faces. Reyna hugged me stiffly, but her expression betrayed relief. "Heard you almost died," she muttered into my ear.

I laughed sheepishly. "Kinda, yeah."

As soon as Reyna pulled away, Lou Ellen was on me. "Fucking hell, Jackson. Should've known you'd go to New York for an innocent recon mission and return having killed the Butcher."

"Leave off him," a familiar voice ordered.

I turned to see Jason walking up behind us, a smile on his face. Annabeth shrieked and ran at him, throwing her arms around his neck. "Grace!"

He hugged her back, grinning even wider. "It's good to see you both alive."

"You too," I smiled.

"By the way, Thalia says hi," Annabeth added. "She's gonna head over to Paris after her surgery."

"I know," Jason said. "Can't wait for her to come back. It feels like she's been gone forever."

I turned to Reyna. "What's happened in Paris since we've been gone?"

She groaned. "Too much. I feel like I've aged sixty years."

"You're right about that one," Jason said. "I'm ready to fucking retire."

Lou Ellen laughed. "Good luck getting Sir to agree to that."

"Don't remind me," he muttered.

"How's Piper been?" I asked. "You've still been visiting her, right?"

To my surprise, Jason blushed. "Well, um...She's good."

I raised a brow. "Good? Am I right in thinking something happened between you two?"

At that, Jason groaned, burying his face in his hands. "At first, she was a goddamn nightmare. But then we warmed up to each other." He shrugged. "She's kind of magic, okay? Fucked to hell in the head—I mean, we all are—but she's kind of magic."

I grinned. "Have to say, I never expected that. Thought she'd kick you to the curb as soon as you showed your face."

With a laugh, Jason shook his head. "I never expected it either."

Annabeth nudged him with her elbow, a half-smile on her face. "You're getting soft. Also, you better tell us everything at feeding later."

He folded his arms. "I'm not soft. And what makes you think I'm telling you anything?"

"Well, I'm visiting Piper tomorrow," I said, "so I'll get the details either way."

Jason looked put out. He turned to Annabeth and said, "You should've left this one in America."

Annabeth laughed. Looking up at me, she slipped her fingers between my own. "Actually, I think I'll keep him here."

That evening, Annabeth and I wandered up to her dorm, kissing and talking the whole way. She looked like an angel. Her curly hair was all messed up from me running my hands through it, and, though it was impossible, her lips seemed to get softer with every kiss I placed on them. Once, kissing her had been like waging wars between our lips, but now it felt like finding a hard-fought peace.

It was around midnight by the time we stumbled into her dorm. We changed into some more comfortable clothes—Annabeth wore an oversized shirt and shorts, while I borrowed a baggy pair of Annabeth's sweatpants and a hoodie. After making some hot chocolate, we lay on Annabeth's bed to relax. "Can I choose a movie?" she asked, opening her laptop.

"Only if you pick a good one." I took a sip of my hot chocolate, then made a face when it burned my tongue.

I watched Annabeth scroll through 123Movies, her brows all scrunched up in consideration. "Oh, I know. Have you seen Les Enfants du Paradis?"

"Don't think so."

"It's an old French noir. You'll like it, honestly."

I made a face. "Foreign movies are kinda hit or miss in my opinion."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "You speak French! It's not like you'll even need the subtitles." She got up quickly to turn off the lights, then bounced back onto the bed. Pressing play, she moved the laptop closer and sat back with me against the headboard. I turned up the volume, sliding my arm around her.

Now that the lights were off, the light cast from the screen created an eerie glow. Paired with the silvery moonlight coming through the window and the fact that the movie was in black and white, it was sort of like my vision had faded into monochrome.

Annabeth's face was ghostly, all slanted cheekbones and shadowed eye sockets. I couldn't stop staring at her. A moment passed before Annabeth realised my gaze hadn't left her face. She smiled softly, reaching up to tilt my head back towards the laptop. "Come on, watch," she told me.

I did.

The next day, I woke up to hazy sunlight filtering through Annabeth's blinds. She was still asleep. A golden shaft of light had fallen across her face, lighting up her blonde eyelashes. I just looked at her for a moment, smiling, then reached out and gently shook her shoulder. "Hey, Chase. Wake up."

She mumbled in her sleep, turning over. "Just a minute."

Shaking my head, I got out from underneath the warm covers and started changing out of my pyjamas and into the clothes I'd left on the floor. "I'll see you this evening, alright? There's a train to Versailles I've gotta be on."

At that, Annabeth reached out, eyes half-lidded. "Kiss?" she asked.

Laughing, I started buttoning up my shirt as I walked over. Pressing a kiss to her cheek, I tucked a messy strand of hair behind her ear. "I'll be back."

"You better," she mumbled, closing her eyes again.

I managed to catch my train—barely. I was panting slightly by the time I slid into a vacant seat. Thankfully, it was by a window, so I could lean against the cool, condensation-covered glass and watch the world go by.

It took me just over an hour to get to Versailles, and then it was another twenty minutes by bus to Piper's rehab. Like last time, they patted me down for substances before waving me through a metal detector. The receptionist pushed a small, yellow slip towards me and then pressed a pen into my hand, telling me to sign my name. "You're here for McLean? She's in the mess hall," he said, then gave me some brisk directions.

I wandered through the hallways, poking my head around corners as I searched. Finally, I walked into a large cafeteria. Various people were sitting around tables, playing board games and eating lunch. I cast my eyes across the room until my gaze snagged on Piper. She was sitting on a bench by the glass door that opened into the institution's courtyard. I called Piper's name, smiling as I raised my hand in greeting.

She looked up. At first she seemed confused, but when her eyes landed on me a halting smile tugged at her mouth. Standing up, she took a few lurching steps towards me. "Jackson?" she asked, hesitant, as though she could scarcely believe it. Her accent rounded out the vowels of my surname in such a familiar way that I almost crumpled in relief.

"McLean!" I sped up, eliminating the rest of the distance between us.

We collided, arms slotting around each other. "Dieu, I thought you were still in America," she said, her words half-muffled by the fabric of my jacket.

"Came home yesterday," I grinned. We pulled away, but only by an inch—neither of us could let go just yet. Piper looked so healthy, healthier than I'd ever seen her; she seemed to have gained back most of the weight she'd lost when she'd relapsed, and her smile looked beautifully genuine. Unable to stifle the urge, I hugged her again. "God, I missed you so much."

Piper laughed. "I missed you too." We pulled away for real this time, smiling at each other like idiots. "How was New York? You better not have had too much fun without me."

"Well, you know me. I'm such a party animal. Can't go anywhere without getting stabbed or shot."

At that, Piper winced. "Jason mentioned that," she said, reaching out to lift the hem of my shirt to reveal my still-bandaged torso. "I'm starting to think you're indestructible."

"Me too, if I'm honest." I was quiet for a moment. "So...Jason?"

Piper groaned. "He just had to open his mouth, didn't he?" She grabbed my sleeve and spun, dragging me along behind her. "Before I fill you in, let's go outside. I need a fag."

In the courtyard, nothing much had changed. We sat down at the same bench as last time. It was cold out here, but thankfully the rain had stopped a while ago. I blew on my hands while Piper got her papers out. She rolled herself one, then passed me her baccy pouch so I could too. My fingers were beginning to go numb in the bitter air, but I still made quick work of it; rolling cigarettes was muscle memory at this point. Piper handed me her baby-pink lighter. "Thanks," I said. With one hand cupped around the weak flame, I singed the end of my fag.

"I'm glad you came back," Piper said, wrapping her jacket tighter around herself as she leaned against me. She blew out a plume of smoke. I watched as it dissipated into nothing, torn apart by the biting breeze.

"I'll always come back. I'd get homesick otherwise."

"Homesick...being so far from Paris?"

I nudged her. "No, idiot. Being so far from you."

Piper's resulting "Oh," was soundless, but it was clear as day that her mood lifted from the way the crease between her brows smoothed over. "You know, I'm getting out of here in a couple months. I might go live with Jason in the city."

I turned to her. "Really? Piper, that's amazing."

She smiled. "Yeah. I'm completely past the withdrawal stage now. I kinda realised how much I never want to relive those days, so that's my motivation. Also..." A red blush rose to the heights of her brown cheekbones. "I'm glad you sent Jason to check on me. Even though I was irritated by him at first, he was what I needed. Someone to talk to, to lean on when you couldn't be here." She paused. "After Roxanne died, I thought for so long that she'd taken all my affection with her. Jason was—is proof that I was wrong."

"I'm sorry I left," I said quietly. "I know you needed me here. I know things would've been easier."

Piper shook her head. "No. No, Percy. I missed you, but it was enough to know that you weren't gone forever. I know you had shit to deal with in America. I doubt it was fun for you, either."

"Maybe not, but I should've prioritised you. I should've—"

"Percy, no." Her voice was absolute. "I don't need your guilt. You sent me Jason, and that was enough, alright? I'm grateful. Not...not resentful."

I sighed, staring at the ash that had accumulated on the end of my cigarette. "God, I know. I'm just overthinking."

"You always do," she murmured in French. Piper finished her fag, stamping it out on the bench beside her. Its wood was slightly pockmarked with circular burns; they were evidence of how many times she'd sat here. "So, how's Annabeth? I heard you two are doing good."

"Yeah, well..." My mind wandered to this morning, waking up to see Annabeth still sleeping, hazily beautiful under the golden morning light. She was something I knew I'd probably become addicted to. Something I never wanted to give up. "We're okay. Happy, finally. Annabeth's uncle has agreed to let her abandon her office, so I think we're gonna fuck off for a little while. See the world, maybe. But we'll be back."

Piper grinned. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

I scoffed. "Shut up. There's nothing you wouldn't do."

"Fair enough." We both laughed. I realised that this was the first time I'd seen Piper properly happy since we'd been doing our performing gigs.

I took a final drag of my cigarette, then stamped it out on the wood like Piper had. "I'm cold. You done smoking?"

She stood up, tugging me with her. "Yeah. Let's go in."

ANNABETH

Only four months had passed since Percy and I had started travelling, but since we'd left it felt like I'd been living in a different lifetime. We'd left in the middle of the light, laughing as we piled our luggage into a cab and high-tailed it to the airport. When we'd landed in Italy, my vision had been drenched in euphoria.

Rome was our first destination. Then Venice, then Naples. The entire time, neither Percy nor I could stop smiling. Surrounded by history that was bigger and more important than us, we somehow still felt larger than life. We held hands on a gondola, floating down Venice's canals. I remember Percy kissing me, telling me he'd decided that he must be dreaming.

Another thing: since we'd started travelling, Percy had started wearing long-sleeved shirts less and less, no longer hiding his scarred forearms. He'd claimed it was because it was hot and he didn't want weird tan lines, but I knew it was more than that. His headspace had changed for the better. I was proud of him.

After Venice, we took a ferry to Greece. We realised we'd burned through half our money, so Percy busked on the streets for a few days to pool some extra cash. It'd been a long time since I'd heard his singing voice—hoarse yet fluid, like the wind. The locals seemed enchanted by him; he made us a hundred euros in three days.

We ended up on Crete, where a small flat became our home for two weeks. It was far more affordable than most of the accommodation we'd stayed in due to its leaking pipes and drafty walls. Barely comfortable, by most people's standards, but it was enough for us.

One night, we found ourselves walking barefoot along the vacant beach, hand-in-hand. The sand was cool and damp between my toes. The sun had set a while ago, but it wasn't cold; the day's warmth still clung to the air around us.

I looked over at Percy. Awash in moonlight, he was a landscape of soft shadows and glowing skin. A fag hung from between two of his fingers. These days, it was rare I ever saw him smoking. He raised it to his lips, exhaling smoke that was barely visible in the dim light. He wasn't looking at me. No, his attention was on the silver-speckled ocean that stretched out infinitely before us. Where it overlapped the horizon, its shimmering waves melted away into quiet, earnest oblivion.

I let myself stare at him for a moment. He was beautiful, a cigarette daydream—all musty, yellow fingertips and glassy green eyes that seemed to spark in the darkness. I nudged him, squeezing his hand. "You alright?"

He tore his gaze away from the ocean and back to me. "Yeah. Just…" He waved his hand where it was intertwined with mine. "Just thinking."

"About good things or bad things?"

Percy laughed. "Good things."

I smiled. "I'm glad." He dropped his cigarette, stamping it out on the wet sand. Before I could chide him for littering, he grabbed my waist with both hands and lifted me up, spinning us round and round in circles. Laughter exploded from me. "Put me down!" I demanded, struggling in his arms.

He nosed into my neck, smiling. "Never." Still, he did—but not before pressing a kiss to my mouth. Once my feet were firmly back on the ground, I kissed him back. "I love you," he mumbled, his words lost to the kiss.

I twined our hands together, resting my head on his shoulder. "Love you too." His hands drifted to my waist, and mine to his shoulders. We started swaying, dancing beneath billions of stars. A quiet, rasping hum echoed from Percy's throat, committing a rhythm to our aimless motions. I was reminded of months ago after I'd saved him from Juno's interrogation, of slow-dancing in an abandoned parking lot. We'd barely even known each other, but something about him had drawn me in. Even then.

"We've come so far," I said suddenly. Percy's humming stopped, but we kept swaying. The breeze picked up, a whispering warmth that ruffled our hair and clothes.

He met my eyes. "I know," he said. "We're lucky."

I knew what he meant. There were a thousand things about our lives that made us unlucky, but I wouldn't change a single thing if it meant I lost this. Leaning down, he pressed his lips to my jaw, my cheek. Our kisses became fluid, a legato melody coaxed from a soft venture over piano keys.

Percy grinned, pulling away. He took my hand, pulling me towards the foaming shoreline. "Come on!"

I resisted at first, but soon gave in with laughing acceptance. Shrieking, we crashed into the foaming, cool water. As it splashed over our bare ankles, Percy whirled me around in an easy pirouette. He pulled me back into his arms, latching onto my waist like he never wanted to let go. We stared at each other a little helplessly. Moonlight reflected off the waves and up onto his face, painting his features in shifting silver.

His thumb brushed over my cheekbone. "Can we live in this moment?" he asked, fervent.

I was in a daze. Had my surrender been conscious, or not? I wove a hand through his salt-stiffened hair, gently tugging him down for another kiss. Against his lips, I murmured, "We can try."

And that's a wrap, everyone! I'm both in denial and in shock that we've finally reached the end. Can you believe that this fic has been a YEAR AND A HALF in the making?! I feel like I've just stumbled off a rollercoaster, feeling nauseous but giddy enough to want to do it all over again.

I had a lot of fun writing this epilogue—it's the culmination of all the blood, sweat and tears I've poured into this fic. It felt so great giving Percy and Annabeth the happy ending they deserve. I tried to make it seem realistic; after being through so much, they still have a lot of healing to do. Hopefully I wrapped up all the other characters' stories in a good way as well! Piper's arc was one of the first things I planned when I first started cobbling together a (very messy) outline and her character continues to be one of my favourite things about this fic.

If you vibe with my writing, you could go check out my other fic Body Gold! It's a long two-shot with plenty of percabeth, angst and excitement. I also have poetry on here, if that's your thing! I'm working on a million things right now, but high priority is a fic in which Percy is a fallen angel and also a cute yet angsty five feet apart au.

Reminder: the aesthetic board for this fic is on Pinterest at my account suicidal_stolen_art.

Finally, thank you SO much to everybody who's been reading and supporting this fic! Each of your reviews gives me the motivation and validation I need to keep writing and improving. My writing has gotten infinitely better and more self-aware since I uploaded the first chapter—not to mention my style has changed, though it isn't super noticeable as I tried to keep it consistent. I don't think I'll ever write a fic in first person POV again lmao.

Feedback is what fuels my desire to write and I cannot stress enough how much I love everyone who has reviewed/will review my work. SERIOUSLY. YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING.