Annabeth — Alike

Annabeth (7) - Travis (7) - Connor (6)

January

"Are you sure you're not twins?" Annabeth asks for the umpteen times. And for the umpteen time, Connor rolls his eyes, shoving cereal into his mouth, and Travis groans, letting his head fall smack on their dining table despite it being stone. That should have hurt and if the following wince means anything, it does.

It is a week after New Year's. Everybody has already left for school since Winter Break is over. Cabin 11's table is wonderfully free. Free enough that Annabeth can sit cross-legged on the bench and there's still room for others.

She doesn't want to admit she has done nothing but pester the brothers since their arrival, but she will. She has done nothing but pester the brothers for the entire two weeks since Luke found them and today is the 15th morning of pestering.

They sit together on one side of the table with Luke and Chris on the other. Castor and Pollux sit further away on their own table. They think they're being inconspicuous but Annabeth can see they're interested. Who isn't? It's been forever since Camp got someone new and as weird as Travis and Connor.

They say they're not twins. They're positive about it. But there's no way that's true. It's impossible.

Travis, who sits closer to her, picks up his head and looks her in the eye. "Yeah, we're sure. I'm older and Connor is younger."

"Even with twins, someone has to be born first," she points out.

And Travis nods, concealing a yawn behind a hand. "But I'm a whole 11 months older than Connor, so we can't be twins."

Annabeth presses, "But how do you know? You can't really remember Connor being born when you were one year old."

Travis yawns again and turns around, talking with Connor in a weird tongue.

Chiron says it's a mixture of Chinese and Spanish.

Supposedly, some children of Hermes can pick up languages quickly. For some, it's innate and they just know it all like it's their native tongue. Chris thinks it's cool to have someone to speak Spanish with. Annabeth thinks it's rude because now there's no way for her to understand what they're saying.

They talk fast, way too fast for Annabeth to pick up any words she might know. When they are done, Travis turns back to her, a bit more awake now, a bit more alive.

"We just know," he says as if that means anything. Connor shoves another spoonful of cereal into his mouth.

Annabeth grits her teeth. It bothers her how they don't seem to care. Something as big as being twins, something as important to their identity, and they just don't care.

"Gods don't stick around to make a second child," Annabeth tries again, "The only way for someone to have a sibling is to be like Castor and Pollux, born as twins."

Travis sighs and leans his cheek on a hand. "We're special then, I guess."

Luke pipes up from the other side, flicking his spoon accidentally and spraying the table with oatmeal. "I don't know, guys. I met dozens of demigods while running and I never met non-twin siblings with the same parents."

Travis pouts and crosses his arms. "Well, you just haven't looked around enough."

Annabeth bristles at the dig at Luke. Luke met plenty of demigods while on the run. Probably more than these two. Definitely a lot more than these two.

"Hypothetically speaking, if you guys are really not twins," Annabeth presses on, "Then that must mean your mom is really special."

Travis stabs his fork into a strawberry with more force than necessary. "I don't think so because I barely remember her. She left us a long time ago."

"Then who raised you?"

"No one. We raised ourselves. Dad, George, and Martha come to visit sometimes and give us food."

Luke slows his chewing at the mention of his dad, his face turning resentful. Annabeth shakes her head. "That's even more impossible. Are you dumb?"

Travis pouts, frustration in his blue eyes, and opens his mouth to retort, but there is a clang of metal against ceramic. Connor leans in towards the table till he can see Annabeth past his brother.

"What is your problem? We already answered your questions. Why would we lie?" Connor snaps, his first words in this conversation. He's irritated too, but that didn't deter Annabeth.

"I think you're misremembering and I also think you're twins," she states.

Connor glares at her as he declares firmly, "We're not twins."

"You are."

"We aren't."

"Are."

"Aren't."

"Yes."

"No."

Travis pulls on his brother's sleeve, a forced laugh coming out. "Let's just all forget about this. Fighting isn't good."

Annabeth scowls as Connor pulls back, but he catches her scowls and gives her one in return.

Connor pulls his sleeve away and jumps over his brother's lap until he is the one sitting next to her. "You're wrong," he insists.

"Prove to me you're not twins then."

"Fine. I will," Connor states, "When I prove you're wrong, I want to know your biggest fear."

"And if I'm right?" she counters.

"You're not," he says with a note of finality. It bugs her.

"But if I am?"

"You get the same deal." Then Connor is marching away towards Hermes Cabin.

Travis is quick to follow, abandoning his strawberries (Annabeth swears all he eats is strawberries…) and running after Connor, but not before turning around to blow a raspberry at her.

Luke snickers and Annabeth turns her glare at him.

"You know," he says between slurps of orange juice, "You and Connor are so alike. It's scary."

"Us? How? I don't get so worked up," she snaps.

And Luke rolls his eyes. "Okay~, Annabeth. But just so you know, from my point of view, it looked like there were two of you."

Before Annabeth could give a retort, Connor came back. He climbs onto the bench and slams a stack of paper between him and her. "So I got pictures, papers, and something called birth tickets or whatever I snagged before we ran. What do you want to see first?"

Luke gives her a look and Annabeth blows a raspberry in return.

She holds a hand out. "It's called a birth certificate and I want to see those first."

Author's Note:

It always stuck out to me how Travis and Connor are really not twins, but are like what Jason and Thalia, Nico and Bianca are. Same father and same mother with a god that went back a second time.