Book Two: Chapter Five

When Annabeth arrived at the Waffle House, Percy had already ordered for the both of them—their favourite breakfast foods were waiting for her, and she slid into the booth with ease, ignoring the mutterings that came from the other guests, and the flashes from cameras as photos were taken.

"Just you so you know, I gave all my money to a bartender tonight, so you'll need to pay for this." Percy told her easily, leaning back into his seat. "Also, if you don't want any photos getting out, I can deal with it for you."

"You gave all of your money to a bartender?" Annabeth blinked. "Why?"

"She wants to go to Paris." He shrugged. "So I helped a little."

"How much is a little?"

"I dunno, fifteen, sixteen hundred bucks? I wasn't keeping count."

"Jesus, Percy, that's not pocket change!" She exclaimed. That earned her looks from some of the other occupants, but they quickly went back to their meals. Except for the journalist and bloggers, who kept their cameras trained on Percy. And herself, she supposed. "For a trip to Paris?"

"She studies architecture." He said mildly. The implication behind his words hit her like a truck. And then, because he was a bastard, he clarified for her. "She reminded me of you, when we were younger. Which is dumb, because I'm only like, five years older than her at most."

"You gave her easily enough money to get to Paris and back, just because she reminded you of me?" Annabeth blinked.

"Well…that, and she gave me really good rum. Underappreciated drink, if you ask me." Percy shrugged. "And by the way, it kind of is pocket change to me. But that's beside the point. I want to know about this alert system you have set up. Is it just for when I'm in town, or do you have all stories about me set to notify you? Because if so, I hate to tell you that some of those are lies. I've never met the Princess of Luxembourg. It's landlocked, for Nept—crying out loud."

It was a casual slip of the tongue, but Annabeth caught it. Percy was going to say something else. Nept…Neptune. That was news to her. Using an ancient Roman god as a exclamation…did he worship the old pantheon? But Atlantis predated Rome by thousands of years, so unless the Roman names were originally Atlantean, she had no idea how the names could have gotten mixed up. But this wasn't the time or place to bring it up.

"Hey, I have a question for you." She said. "Completely off topic."

"My favourite kind." He grinned at her. "Hit me."

"The Argonauts." She said. "Do you guys actually work together? Like, I know you've been doing monthly meetings, those things are televised to hell, but what do you actually talk about?"

"Huh. Well, we kind of work together?" Percy rested his chin on his palm. "Aside from Praetor and Reyna, I haven't worked directly with any of the others since DC. But we exchange information when its beneficial. You know, stuff that overlaps. Ships that I lose track of once they hit port, ships they lose track of once they leave port. The ocean is big though, and I can't be everywhere at once."

"Okay…next question. Coolest thing you've seen underwater?"

"Pavlopetri." He answered immediately. "There's just something about the ruins," then, he smirked slyly at her, "maybe it has to do with the legends of Atlantis. Wondering if an event like that is what inspired the story. I want to believe it's true, that there's a city out there that I belong in, but…it's just a myth. I've searched far and wide, north to south, and there's nothing."

"But anyone can scuba dive there!" Annabeth protested, deciding not to go down that particular rabbit hole. "What about something that no one has seen?"

Percy was silent for a moment, drumming his fingers on the booth before snapping them.

"U-398." He said. "Full of gold."

"Wha—a German U-Boat? Full of gold?" Annabeth shook her head. "And you kept it to yourself?"

"Yeah. When I come across shipwrecks like that, aside from going through them, I don't take anything." He said quietly. "They're graves, especially such recent wrecks. It sank in the arctic, and deep underwater. Some died when it initially went down, but based on what I found, others survived in compartments for a few days. It's…solemn."

"You know, you could report the site to the German government. So that they know, at least."

"Yeah." He nodded. "Maybe I'll do that."

"So, Princess Reyna is the only Argonaut you call by name." Annabeth noted. "You're closest with her?"

"I only know her name." He replied. "The others are just whatever name they want to go by. But yeah, I'd say I'm closest with Reyna. It's not a secret or anything. We…understand each other in a way that not many other people can, even in our line of work."

"You wouldn't elaborate if I asked, would you?"

"I've answered enough questions, I think." He smiled softly at her. "How about you answer some of mine?"

"…sure. What could go wrong?"

That, it seemed, was the wrong question to ask.

XXX

It was nearly four in the morning by the time by the time they left the Waffle House, most of the paparazzi having wandered off when they realised that they weren't going to get anything interesting. It was just two friends catching up, and there was nothing tabloid about that—especially because it took place in a Waffle House. Annabeth was really looking forward to see which sleezy paper tried to spin that as the start of an affair. There was still a couple hours until sunrise, but Annabeth followed Percy to the beach when he asked. It was weird. She had always remembered Percy being a little dorky. Clumsy, but with moments of intense introspectiveness. Now, he was a presence. The fact that he stood among titans like Praetor and the Princess Reyna and still seemed bigger than them was weird for her. He was charismatic. Charming. And he was dangerous. There was always a childish fascination with things and people that were dangerous, and Percy seemed to tick all the boxes for sixteen-year-old-Annabeth. Twenty-seven year old Annabeth was a different story.

"Why did you let me back into your life?" She asked once they were on a long stretch of empty beach. Percy glanced over at her as he kept moving, a curious expression in his eyes. "Sorry. It's been on my mind."

"You were my first real friend." He said after a moment. "Kids used to make fun of me. I was…different, even before my powers fully manifested. But one day, your dad introduced us, and it was like we clicked, you know? I said that Reyna gets me better than most people, and that's still true. But you still know me best, even after nearly a decade separated. I don't want to get into the notion of 'soulmates' because that would open a whole can of worms I really don't want to think about, but I can say without a doubt that you're my platonic soulmate. Everyone sees something different when they look at me. Not you. You see—and always have seen—me. It's…nice."

"I—wow." Annabeth blinked. "That's actually really sweet. But you didn't answer my question."

"I was getting there." Percy huffed before sobering up. "And this next part isn't as sweet. I love you, Annabeth. Like I just said, you're my platonic soulmate. But I hate your father more than anyone else. Even more than I hate Gabe. See, Gabe was an abusive asshole. It was just who he was. There was no changing him, no fall from grace. Once he had what he wanted, he showed his true colours. And I endured years of pain at his hands. And during that time, I saw the way your dad treated you, Bobby and Matthew, and I saw what a real dad was supposed to look like. And I thought to myself, maybe if I do everything to the best of my ability, Fredrick will love me like a son too. Part of me wanted to be part of your family. But I wasn't. I wasn't really even a part of my family. I'm still not, if we're being honest, but I'm getting off track. Your dad was my role model. I wanted to make him proud. But then, he got greedy. He got selfish. It became less about helping me not expose myself and more about his failing academic reputation. And we know how it ended. He sent a mercenary after me, and Mom died for it. Those first few months were hell. Every night, I needed to talk myself out of killing him. I'll never forgive him. That's not realistic. But you…Gods, it hurt just to think about you, for years. My best friend. The one person who more than anything I had wanted to tell the truth to. And I hadn't, the coward I was. And it ended with me hurting you, and running away."

"Eventually, thinking about you hurt less." He continued, finally coming to a halt in the middle of the beach. "I was able to look at things a little more rationally. You weren't at fault for what your dad did. But the association, again, was painful for me. So while I could think about you, I didn't want to do more than that. And then I found the Trident. It opened my eyes to a world I had never imagined. And then it almost killed me. I found myself on the brink of death trying to save a group of people who will hate and distrust me on principle. It really makes a person think. And I thought hard. What's the point in holding a grudge against someone who isn't at fault? Why should I deny the truth of my feelings? Why should I let my best friend go because of my vendetta? It was all so stupid. I let you back into my life, Annabeth, because I find it easier to forget about your father and what he did, than remembering it and forgetting you. I don't care if it causes me years of pain. I want you in my life. I want your friendship. I want our friendship."

Annabeth threw her arms around his neck the moment he was finished. Percy smelt like sea-salt and felt like pure warmth. He wrapped his arms around her in return, and she felt safe. She had watched Percy from the moment he reappeared, and while there were a lot of terms that could be used to describe him, flattering or otherwise, aloof had seemed to be the best. Aside from his odd friendship with Reyna, he treated most people with a degree of separation that didn't suit him. His explanation broke a barrier she hadn't known was in place, and just like that, it was like they were seventeen again, before everything went wrong.

"I missed you." She mumbled into his chest. "An entire decade Percy."

"I missed you too." He said into her hair. "Sometimes fate just plays out that way."

"Fate?" She chuckled. "You've become superstitious."

"I've…been exposed to some things." He admitted. "Things that I will keep to myself. It's just better that way."

"I get if you can't talk to me about everything." She told him. "But do you have someone you can talk to about those things?"

"…yeah, I've got a few friends." Annabeth didn't have to look up to see the smirk on Percy's face. He was predictable like that. After a long moment, she grudgingly released him, stepping away from his embrace. The moon was unusually bright, illuminating him, and it was all Annabeth could do to not stare. He probably wouldn't appreciate the descriptor, but Percy was beautiful. In the dark, his eyes seemed unnaturally brighter, but not in a bad way. His hair was longer than normal, swept to one side from the ocean breeze, and the thin layer of stubble only served to enhance his jawline. "You're staring."

Damn it, she had been trying to avoid just that. "I'm sorry. You're just…okay, screw it. Percy, you are a beautiful man."

"Thank you." He said without a hint of annoyance, embarrassment, or shame. "You're very beautiful too, Annabeth. I mean, nothing compared to me, but who can match my beauty and grace, really?"

She scoffed at him, getting ready to protest when a new voice cut in. From the water.

"How pathetic." A low, almost guttural growl came from the surf. "A prince of Atlantis consorting with some surface-dwelling peasant?"

Percy had spun around faster than she could follow, placing himself between her and whoever had snuck up on him, Trident lowered defensively. Annabeth peered around his broad back to get a glance. It was a man, taller and wider than Percy, wearing similar scale armour to him, though his was a red sleeveless top and black pants, rather than the gold-and-green that Percy wore. He had an ugly sneer on his face, and two swords in his hands.

"You're Atlantean." Percy said. "But lower city, I'm guessing. Upper and Middle City…they'd never speak to me like that without knowing they were dead. And only a man who was incredibly foolish or incredibly confident would approach me with weapons drawn. You don't strike me as the former. You can bring your reinforcements out now."

The man gave Percy a bloodthirsty grin, and without a command, five more men emerged from the surf. They wore heavier armour than Percy and the new man, with the same scale armour underneath, but heavier plates on the thighs, calves, chest, and shoulders, as well as helmets with holes cut out at the eyes and mouth. There were stylised wings flaring back, like fins, or flippers. Their armour was entirely red, and they all carried five-pronged tridents. Quindents? She wasn't sure. But Percy seemed to recognise something about them.

"Ah-ha." He muttered. "Red Current. Pretty stupid to send only six men after me. I've fought better opponents in worse odds. And ex-military too! The question is, are you Atlantean or Olympian?"

"You won't live long enough to think about it." Two-Swords said. "Neither will she."

"See, threatening me is something I've come to expect." Percy said coldly. "But the moment those threats extend to my friends, all bets are off. Would you give me a moment before we begin?"

"You have a minute." Two-Swords agreed. "Then we fight."

Percy turned to Annabeth, not even bothering to cover his back.

"When things kick off, I need you to do two things. The first is to run. Inland, as far as you can. The second is to scream Praetor as loud as you can. He'll hear you, and he'll get you to safety."

"What about you?" She asked.

"Hmm, I'll be fine." He grinned at her. "I've honestly been expecting this for a while now. Don't know what's sparked it, though. Can you do what I asked?"

"Yeah." She nodded firmly.

"Good. Run."

Annabeth pivoted on her heel and sprinted away. She had reached the edge of the beach when she called out for Praetor, once, twice, three times. She glanced over her shoulder to see Percy engaged with three opponents already, one already laid out at his feet. Suddenly, a firm pair of hands were gripping her shoulders, and she felt a whisk of air, before finding herself inside her apartment. Her head spun for a moment, and she just barely managed to grab a trash-bin before she threw up. She felt a breeze of air, and looked up to see her window open, and none other than Praetor hovering outside.

"I'm glad you're safe, Miss Chase." He said to her. "Please stay that way."

And just like that, he was gone in a flash of purple and gold. Annabeth rushed to her television and turned on the news, but there was nothing yet. It was only five in the morning, and none of the news cycles would be looking for Percy…yet. But it wouldn't be long.

XXXVXXX

The moment Annabeth took off, one of the Red Current tried to go after her. He ignored Percy, and he suffered for it, having the butt-spike of the Trident driven through the side of his armour, just behind the armoured plate—its weakest spot. Three others leapt at him, but like he had told Annabeth, he had been expecting an attack for a while. A long while. He dropped to a knee, spinning the Trident in his hands, and deflected the blows from the oncoming attacked. He then launched himself upwards, driving his knee into the chest of the attacker immediately in front of him, his chest armour crumpling under the force of the blow. He leaned back from a jab, grabbing the shaft of the weapon and jerking it from the terrorist's hand, before swinging it like a club and connecting it with his temple. Three down, three to go.

A familiar whoosh and the sound of a man grunting told Percy that Jason had arrived, but he didn't have time to think about it yet, catching another jab with the haft of the Trident, before jerking it counter-clockwise, disarming the fool who had tried it. Then he punched the man in the face. Hard. His helmet cracked, and the combatant dropped to the ground, his face broken.

"Thanks for the assist." Percy said to Jason, who had released the guard who had attacked him. "I'm gonna handle the last one. Toss these guys into the deep end, will you?"

"You sure?" Jason asked, glancing over at the last remaining Red Current member. "I can help."

"You got Annabeth to safety, that's all that matters." Percy told him. "Besides, this is a me problem. I'll handle it myself."

"Alright. Stay safe, Percy." Jason said, launching the men into the ocean. Chances were a Red Current vessel would recover them, and if not…they were Atlanteans. They breathed underwater. Then, he zoomed off, vanishing from the beach.

"Look, frankly, I don't want to fight here." Percy said in Atlantean. "I have the advantage on the surface, no matter how much you've trained, so why don't we even the scales and take this into the water?"

"An honourable move from an honourless bastard." The man declared. "I accept your terms."

"And just for peace of mind, your name?"

"I am Mavors." He stated proudly. "I will be your death."

"Buddy, you're not the first to claim that, and you're not going to be the last." Percy laughed. "Shall we?"

MMXXI

And another one gone, another gone, another one bites the dust.

Platonic soulmates are a concept I dig heavily, especially since it allows me to have two characters be deeply intertwined without there being a romance between them. And even better, if one develops, then it's natural, and not shoe-horned in. Honestly, the canon depiction of the evolution of Percy and Annabeth's relationship is kind of exactly that. Friendly reminder that I am miles ahead of what I'm posting, so keep that in mind when reading. Anyway, let me know what you thought of the chapter.

Cheers, CombatTombat