MIRELA ➪ PERCABETH

the beautiful kind, making up for lost time

They saw each other on Saturday, but it somehow still feels like it's been too long. She smiles, grins, despite herself—she hadn't had a particularly bad day, but it's always better once she's back with Percy again.

He's smiling, too. "I would have brought flowers, but—"

"I would forget about them and kill them," she supplies. Annabeth might be more of a romantic than she expected, but she just doesn't have the temperament or memory to be a flower person.

"Yeah, you would," he laughs.

They start off walking, Annabeth taking his hand without looking, lacing their fingers together. "So, what's the plan?"

"Pizza—picnic in the park."

Truth be told she's not sure what kind of expectations Percy had set for himself—not only does Annabeth love pizza and picnics, but this will also be the closest thing to a real date they've been on. In the chaos of camp and school and moving they'd done a lot of hanging out, some long meandering walks through the city with stops at fast food places, but never a planned something like this.

For someone who claimed to be terrible at planning things, he's brought a backpack with a blanket and had already ordered their food. Not only that, but he got everything right, down to Annabeth's choice of fizzy drink and pizza toppings.

They pitch their blanket at a spot in central park near Belvedere castle, a bit of a walk, but worth it for the view—something Percy also had to plan and know Annabeth would love. She hadn't even known the place existed before, having done most of her exploring of the city during a war, she hadn't been on the lookout for architecture and amazing views of the skyline.

"This is amazing, Percy," she says as they're splitting up the food. "Really."

"I know it's not much," he counters, which feels ridiculous to Annabeth.

"You realize I don't care about that, right? This is seriously amazing. You have put my efforts to shame."

"I just want everything to be perfect for you," he says, suddenly earnest in a way that disarms Annabeth.

She knows that when he says perfect he's thinking about what they do and where they go—boyfriend/girlfriend stuff. But Annabeth is thinking about how Percy is and has been her closest friend, how at every step of the way he keeps demonstrating that he really knows her and isn't just putting on airs, how she's been so desperately alone for so long and looking for something, something. How she doesn't know what exactly that is, but she'll know when she's found it, and how the happiness that feels like sunshine in her chest whenever she kisses him or even sees his name on her phone screen feels like the start of that something. But that feels too big to say, and she doesn't know if it would make sense anyway. She reaches for his hand across the blanket and says something else true instead.

"Percy, I started crushing on you when we were twelve, in the back of a semi truck full of zoo animals. I don't need everything to be perfect. I need you."

"Well, here I am," he says, squeezing her hand.

"Then, listen to me: this is perfect."

He smiles then, like he actually believes her.

They linger there all evening—catching up, talking about everything and nothing, looking at videos on Annabeth's phone—until finally the late summer sun finally decides to go down, painting the city skyline pink and red and purple. She finds herself thinking, not just once, as she lays lazily on a picnic blanket next to her boyfriend in the warm afternoon, that she wants to stay like this for a very long time. Or at least do things like this again and again. It feels quite freeing to not be under the supervision of school staff or parents, or even surrounded by campers, or under the deadline of a quest, but to just be out in the world alone. Being alone and free is amazing, but being able to turn holding Percy's hand into an abrupt game of thumb war and bicker like second graders is even better.

After, they roll the blanket back up and with much reluctance make the trek back to Annabeth's dorm.

"I loved today," Annabeth says. "We have to do it again."

"Definitely," Percy agrees, then, "Shit I almost forgot," he mutters to himself, hands deep in his pockets looking for something.

He pulls out a tiny drawstring bag and hands it to Annabeth, then runs a tentative hand through his hair. He's actually blushing. "Pretend I didn't forget about this, happy one month."

She pries the bag open with her fingers and shakes its contents into her palm: a small red pendant.

"It's from my father's coral gardens, outside his palace."

"It's beautiful," she says, quietly, turning it over and over in her fingers. She's not sure why this of all things in the night so far makes her throat tight like tears, so she closes it in her fist and pulls him into a tight hug. "Thank you."

"See, now you have a whole month to plan and try and one up me," he whispers back, grinning.

Annabeth laughs out loud. "Oh don't make this into a competition, you will so lose."

He just kisses her good night.

As soon as she gets back into her room she pulls off her necklace and threads it on alongside a decade's worth of camp beads and her father's college ring. It's new, but it's a part of her now with the rest of her history, sitting close to her heart. 

___♪___