Loverboy (PERCABETH AU)

Chapter 42

I ran through the airport, heart hammering, lungs burning. Every step was fueled by panic, by a desperation I had never known, by the stark fear that I would reach the gate too late. The polished floors blurred beneath my sneakers, and I dodged rolling suitcases, businessmen, and startled travelers, barely registering them as I sprinted. The announcements above the loudspeakers seemed distant, like echoes from another world. Only one thing existed in my mind: Percy.

"PERCY!" My voice cracked, bouncing off the walls, struggling to rise above the hum of the crowd. "PERCY!"

For a moment, I didn't see him. My stomach twisted in knots, anxiety clawing at my chest. I imagined him boarding the plane, glancing out the window and not seeing me, a faint, startled expression in his sea-green eyes, the finality of his leaving closing around him. I couldn't breathe. I felt like I was sinking in a sea of panic, and every step forward was a desperate attempt to reach him before it was too late.

Then I saw him.

Percy. Standing near the gate, slightly hunched, one hand running through his dark, messy hair, the other holding a bag over his shoulder. His sea-green eyes scanned the terminal, tense, as if expecting something, or perhaps running from something. Relief slammed into me so suddenly it felt like a punch, and my legs found new energy.

"PERCY!" I screamed again, louder this time. My voice was raw and broken, carrying through the terminal.

He froze. Head snapping up, his gaze locking on mine. Time slowed. The noise of the airport, the shuffling crowd, the rolling luggage, all faded into nothing. All that remained was him—and me, barreling toward him with every ounce of strength I had left.

Percy's expression shifted in a way that made my heart clench: shock, disbelief, then—something I had never seen before—soft vulnerability. His lips parted slightly, as if he were about to speak, and my chest tightened with anticipation.

I skidded to a stop in front of him, hands gripping his arms, as though anchoring myself to him. "Don't leave," I whispered, voice trembling. "Not without me. Not without me knowing you're really gone."

Percy blinked, and for a moment, his face was unreadable. Then a small, sad smile appeared on his lips, one that made my stomach twist with emotion. He looked at me, eyes locked, and in them I saw everything: regret, longing, hope, and love.

I reached closer, breath catching. "Why are you leaving?"

He let out a slow, almost imperceptible sigh, his poker face unbroken but the sadness in his eyes betraying him. "You told me to leave, right?" His voice was low, steady, tinged with that quiet melancholy I had missed so much. "So I... I am."

I felt my chest tighten. "You are so stupid, Seaweed Brain," I said, voice shaking, part frustration, part relief. And then, without another word, I acted. I pressed my hands against his face, drew him down, and kissed him.

It was tentative at first, testing, tasting, hesitant—but all the walls, all the distance, all the pain of the past months melted away instantly. Percy's arms wrapped around me without hesitation, pulling me flush against him. His hands trembled slightly as they held me, and I could feel the same tremor in my own fingers.

The world around us faded completely. The airport, the crowds, the announcements, all of it disappeared until there was only him. Only me. Only the warmth of our bodies pressed together, only the beating of our hearts in unison.

I rested my forehead against his, letting the soft heat of him fill me, letting myself feel everything I had suppressed—the fear, the longing, the love, the heartbreak. "Don't you ever do that again," I whispered, voice breaking. "Not without me."