ꜱᴘɪᴅᴇʀ ʙɪᴛᴇꜱ: ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴇʀᴄᴀʙᴇᴛʜ/ꜱᴏʟᴀɴɢᴇʟᴏ ᴘʀᴏᴊᴇᴄᴛ

xʟᴠɪɪɪ ᴘᴇʀᴄʏ | ᴀɴɴᴀʙᴇᴛʜ ᴀɴᴅ ᴘᴇʀᴄʏ ʀᴇᴠᴇᴀʟᴇᴅ

"Dangit," Percy says again. He's in a tough spot. He can dry his shirt with his powers, and let a stain set in, or he can try to get the spot out of his shirt using the hand soap. It's a true loss either way. At least it's not the shirt he's wearing for the wedding tomorrow.

Oh well. There are always plenty of people wandering around the resort in ridiculous attire. Leo wore a green fedora with matching suspenders to the rehearsal dinner, so it's incredibly doubtful that any heads will turn if Percy walks back to the hotel in just his pit-stained undershirt.

And he's right. Nobody even bats an eye. It's a relatively quiet trip. The bars are open, but happy hour doesn't start for another couple of minutes, so they're mostly empty. Besides, there's an open bar at the rehearsal dinner. Percy may not be well-versed in alcohol, but he knows his friends. They won't pay for beer if they don't have to.

It comes as a surprise when he makes it through the revolving doors without having some encounter with someone he knows. It's not good for Percy, being left to analyze his feelings. That's what his therapist Cletus is for.

Percy supposes that if he's going to be left to his thoughts, he better commit to it. Instead of going up the elevator, he follows the signs in the hotel until he reaches the indoor pool. He was never allowed to play in these when he was a little kid. His mom always said it was because they're gross and full of pee. Now that he's older, he wonders if there was more reasoning to that.

This is going to look weird on the security cameras, some guy about to sit in the bottom of the pool fully clothed for a concerningly long amount of time.

And then he wonders what Annabeth's doing here, sitting on the ledge at the shallow end of the pool, legs dangling in the water. She looks pretty much the same as she did at dinner, except now her hair's pulled back into its usual bun, complete with chopsticks. He can't say he misses the weird lip piercings.

"Funny seeing you on my turf," Percy jokes.

She doesn't answer. She's probably mad.

Instead of pressing her, Percy removes his undershirt and Rachel's bandana and hops into the pool, not bothering to keep from splashing Annabeth.

The water is unnaturally warm; he can't decide if he would prefer it cold or not. It's nice to be in the pool though, even if there aren't any fish to talk to.

He sits at the bottom with his legs crossed and says a little prayer to Poseidon.

Percy prays for his mom to get better soon. She remembered his name when he checked in on her this morning, but last night was pretty scary. He thanks his dad for friends like Nico and Frank and Leo, who've promised to be there for his mom when he can't.

He also prays for some way to patch up his relationship with Annabeth. At this point, he doesn't even care if they get back together or not; all Percy wants is a chance to talk it out, maybe to get some closure. If only there was some sort of sign, some outlet where they can open up to each other.

Percy takes a deep breath and opens his eyes. Praying to his dad isn't exactly the most fruitful thing to do. Gods aren't typically responsive, especially when their kids are grown-up adults, but he does feel better.

He notices Annabeth's feet stirring the water ever so slightly. He remembers a time when he might have grabbed her ankles and pulled her underwater with him for a sweet kiss.

Oh, wait, this might be that sign he asked for. Thanks, Dad.

He tickles the bottom of her foot, trying to be friendly, but she kicks him in the face. He's going to pretend that's just a reflex.