What Happened After Happily Ever After

#2 - Drinks On Me and My Misery

Chapter 2 - Drinks On Me and My Misery
published: Wednesday, 30 December 2020

The sound of a mug slamming down on the table snapped Annabeth out of her reverie. Next came a stack of papers and a laptop.

Annabeth blinked and glanced up as Nico di Angelo yanked a chair out and slumped into it, pressing his forehead into his hands.

"Shut up," he muttered immediately.

Her jaw dropped. "I didn't even say anything!"

Nico rolled his eyes. "I can hear you thinking." The thing about Nico was that his humour was so dark and so niche that only a handful of people could tell when he was joking. Annabeth considered herself one of the people who understood him; they got along well, for coworkers. She had spent many Christmas parties with Percy at her side being terrified of this 5-foot-6, pale man.

"And what's wrong with you?" Annabeth demanded, crossing her arms. Out of all the junior associates the firm had taken in last year, she had fought tooth-and-nail just to get on this case, and she knew that Nico had too. She'd worked late hours, appeased Mr D's every single silly request, churned out endless reports to Mr Brunner, all to be here. "Don't tell me you want off the case?"

"Please." Nico righted himself. He picked disdainfully at his case files. "I tried to say 'Hello' to Will, but I got stuck between 'Hello' and 'Morning' - trying to be casual, right? - and said 'Mellow'."

Annabeth held a snicker in so hard she almost popped an eardrum. Will Solace and Nico's office romance moved about as quickly as a snail. Both of them had been sneaking glances since Nico's first day. Will was in admin, so Nico passed his desk every time he walked into the office, but he wasn't exactly...the smoothest person around.

Another chair scraped against the floor as the third and last junior associate on the case took her seat - Piper McLean. When Annabeth first met Piper, she had been so envious of the other woman she almost turned green. There was just something about Piper that was so...effortless. Her Cherokee braids swung over her shoulder as she sat down, not a speck of make-up on her face yet looking like she was the main character in a movie. Piper also had a work ethic that surpassed even Annabeth's - "she works harder than the devil", Nico had said. She had a bubbly personality and energy that only came from not being in a tiresome marriage, and she reminded Annabeth of every girl she had hated in high school.

"Am I late?" Piper asked worriedly, pulling her laptop open. Her background was of her with an older man who was probably her father, holding a puppy in her arms and beaming at the camera.

"No. You're right on time," Nico said through gritted teeth.

Piper rolled her eyes. "Stop with the animosity. It isn't a good look on you."

"I hate you," Nico grumbled.

"No, you don't."

The three of them had bonded over being the only junior associates picked for the case, and Annabeth would gladly give them the award for "most unlikely trio".

The front door slammed shut as the two managing partners of Chiron & Dionysus entered the room. A hush fell over the gathered lawyers.

Annabeth did a quick headcount of the room. Three associates - herself, Piper and Nico. Two barristers, Clarisse La Rue and Apollo. Annabeth marvelled at the sight of them; Apollo was an old name in the firm, infamous for his charming manner and Clarisse was only a couple years older than Annabeth but known for her rigorous, unrelenting attacks in the courtroom. A few solicitors she recognised; Luke Castellan, Charles Beckendorf, and, urgh, Hera. Hera Clarkson was one of the highest-ranked attorneys in the firm, and a major pain in Annabeth's ass. The woman had nothing better to do than give Annabeth ugly looks simply because she'd had the guts to call Hera on a mistake in a case from months ago. She was tall, tanned and regal, and probably someone whose bad side Annabeth should avoid.