An Elegy Sung in Cricket Chirps
Percy didn't remember it being so freezing in April. But it fit the mood.
The air had that bite to it. Sharp and uncertain, like the feeling that settled in his chest the second he stepped back into Camp Half-Blood. The place looked exactly the same. The strawberries still grew in neat rows. The Big House leaned at the same odd angle. Chiron waved from a distance, but didn't come closer. He knew better.
She was already there.
That familiar mess of dirty blonde hair was impossible to miss. She sat at the edge of the canoe lake, her boots skimming the surface, still as stone. Even with her back turned, she looked the same. Like no time had passed at all.
But it had. Years, actually. And it showed, just not on her.
Percy's steps slowed as he approached. He could smell lemons on the wind. Her scent, unchanged. It hit him like a punch.
Stormy gray eyes turned toward him, soft and tired. Her smile wavered. "Hey, stranger."
He lowered himself onto the wooden pier beside her, keeping a solid foot of space between them. It felt like a canyon.
"Hey."
He'd told himself he wouldn't look. That he'd keep his eyes on the water or the sky or literally anything else.
But he looked anyway.
The diamond on her ring finger caught the last sliver of sunlight. A cruel kind of sparkle. Perfect and pristine. Laughing at him. Taunting him.
His chest twisted.
Annabeth followed his gaze. She didn't cover her hand. Didn't hide it. But her fingers curled slightly inward.
"Percy…"
"You never wanted to be anybody's girlfriend," his words were careful. Measured. Like they might break something if they came out wrong, "and now you're somebody's wife."
"It surprised me too."
"I don't think I'll ever understand that," A dry laugh escaped his throat. "I mean, it doesn't make sense."
"It just… happened."
"Right, but that's what I don't understand. What just happened?" Percy forced himself to look her. To stare into the face that, for so long, had been the only thing that mattered to him. "You and I—we went through everything. We made it through all of it. And still."
Her shoulders scrunched like they always did when she was stressed. "I just woke up one day and I knew."
"Knew what?"
Annabeth didn't answer right away. The silence jutted out between them, writhing.
"What I was never sure of with you," she said eventually.
The sound of nature waking to the light of the moon filled the space after that. Like the bugs were humming a funeral dirge.
"You're my hero, Percy," Annabeth whispered. "You always will be. A part of me will always love you."
Just not in that way.
She didn't have to say it. He already knew.
And maybe that was the worst part, he'd seen it coming. He'd felt her slipping through his fingers, even when she was holding his hand.
He bit the inside of his cheek, praying for blood. "I kept waiting for the day it would click for you."
Annabeth's laugh was brittle. "You were always so patient. Too patient. That's the thing, isn't it? You were always waiting. And I kept walking."
"I would've waited forever," Percy said, and hated how honest it sounded.
A breeze danced across the lake. The surface rippled.
"I didn't come here to hurt you," Annabeth said.
"You didn't need to," Percy replied. "That part took care of itself."
They both fell quiet. The kind of quiet that didn't feel peaceful.
"I heard you're a Senator for New Rome," she offered, trying to pivot.
"I heard you designed an entire city." He shot her a sideways glance. "I'm sure your mom is proud."
She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.
"I'm happy for you," he added. And he meant it. Sort of.
"I wish I had the right words," she replied.
"There are no right words." Percy sighed. "That's the problem with us, isn't it? Words always fell short."
Annabeth stared down at the water. "Do you regret it?"
"No," Percy studied his own reflection. "I just wish it ended differently."
The sounds of the forest sang louder now, the stars blinking into existence overhead. The same constellations they used to name together.
Same sky. Different lives.
Percy stood first.
"Take care of yourself, Wise Girl."
Annabeth blinked fast. "You too, Seaweed Brain."
He paused. One last look.
Then walked away before the ache could make him stay.
Author's Note:
Inspired by the final scene of '500 Days of Summer,' and, well, my own personal life as well =/
I promise I'll write a happy Percabeth story at some point. Maybe... Do let me know if you like reading regular PJO-verse stories. Always down to write more! Have ideas for Percabeth, Perachel, Preyna, Perlypso and Percy x Khione (Perione? lmao).
Check out my other stories :)