Percy and Annabeth-Their future

Empty Nesters

"Annabeth, you've got to stop doing that," Percy laughed, watching as I aimlessly wandered around the kitchen. It had only been a day since we'd dropped Taylor off at Julliard, but I already felt pointless. "It's making me anxious, Wise Girl."

"What am I going to do with my life now?" I cried, throwing my arms up in the air. "Wait for Sophia to give me grandkids?"

Percy's face blushed at the thought of his daughter having children. "Oh Gods, Annabeth, please stop talking about grandkids... Sophia's hardly old enough for that..."

He stood up, wrapping me in a hug, and I could smell his cologne making him all too manly. I didn't care. I just stared into his eyes, searching for something, anything to comfort me. The lull of the sea in the iris of his eyes lengthened my breaths to a healthy, non-panting tempo, but still I felt as though I'd been robbed of my purpose in life. 

"What are we supposed to do now?" I whispered, leaning my head against his chest. Instead of saying anything, Percy just kissed me, long and soft, until the rest of the world slipped away. For a moment, I felt like that little 16-year-old having her first real, passionate kiss at the bottom of the lake at camp. Everything else was gone, and it was just him and me and the happiest moment of my short, teenage life. But when our kiss ended, the world came back, and I was a mother without kids to take care of. 

"Anything we want," Percy responded quietly. It was so strange to have the whole world beckoning you after so much time. I'd never realized how tied down we'd been these past years, with all the kids. And while they were all the best additions Percy and I could've asked for, I never realized how out of touch he and I had gotten. 

What ever happened to those moonlit walks on the beach? Or those underwater kisses? What ever happened to sneaking off like thieves in the night, just to save the world?

Some people might say we're a little old for that, but that's what we were meant to live for. When I'd first met Percy, I swore him my enemy, but now here we are, battling through the emptiness we both felt as empty nester parents! 

And now, the chance to do whatever we wanted, to fulfill our dreams together, was just laying in front of us, waiting to be taken up. And how on Earth could I turn that down?

"Okay, Seaweed Brain," I smiled, lacing my fingers through his. "Let's do this."

Two and a half hours later, we both had suitcases packed, and the car was loaded with blue food for Percy to snack on on our way. We'd decided the first thing on our list was just to drive, making random turns until we arrived somewhere amazing. To be quite honest, that was the way we'd seemed to live our life together so far- just turning when we felt the urge, and going with the new road.

"Turn left," I smiled, sipping some blue Iced Tea as Percy veered off the main road onto dirt. I could hear waves crashing, and I could see Percy's smile growing bigger by the second. The smell of sea air filled the car, mixing with the thick pines that flanked the road, creating a very eccentric scent that reminded me so much of Camp Half Blood. We continued down the road for what seemed like eternity before pulling onto an empty, white sand beach. 

"Wow," I murmured. The sky was now a deep orange color, pushing the sun below the ocean. 

"Wow is right," Percy said, looking awe-struck. He popped open a beer, opening the car door and smiling even bigger, which I thought was impossible. Slowly, we both walked closer to the water, the waves virtually nonexistent, but splashing against our ankles. Our hands automatically interlocked, spreading warmth though my whole body. 

But naturally, since we're demigods, our peace never lasts long. 

"What is that?" Percy asked, glancing at the slowly rising fog. Not only was it coming out of the water, it was green. Not faintly, pure and distinct green. I could feel the chills already running down my spine as he reached for Riptide.