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Annabeth and I took the Governor’s Island Ferry, settling into a comfortable silence as I held her and we looked out over the East River. (Me, not so much, given I have a history with that guy.) It wasn’t that we didn’t have anything to say. The discovery of a new pantheon was… a big deal, to put it lightly. We knew it had implications, and there were probably a bunch more gods and demigods and magicians and whatnot out there waiting to rope us in some way or another. I didn’t know about Annabeth, but I sort of didn’t want that. It had barely been a month since the Giant War, and we were finally settling back into our routines again.
More than anything, we were exhausted. I tightened my grip around her, putting my head on her shoulder. I also couldn’t stop thinking about our new friends, Carter and Sadie Kane.
“So,” I began, “You’re leading the debrief with Chiron, right?”
“Hmm,” said Annabeth. She can be extra eloquent when she wants to.
“Is that a no?”
“I was just wondering if I should do more research before sharing our findings.”
“Your call, Wise Girl. I’m there regardless.”
Just then, my stomach rumbled. Romantically, of course. She craned her neck to smile at me, probably suppressing a laugh, as the ferry pulled into Pier 11.
Seated on the E train heading uptown to P.J. Clarke’s, hand in hand with Annabeth, my thoughts wandered back to how much Sadie reminded me of a miniature us.
Before the rational part of my brain could take over, I spoke up. Because when you’re a demigod, you need every bit of hope there is out there. And even if Annabeth wasn’t on the same page, I’d love her just the same. Heck, she didn’t have to agree at all. If she hadn’t thought about kids, I wouldn't blame her one bit. We were freshly seventeen, freshly out of (hopefully) the most traumatic experience of our lives. I just wanted her… to know.
“Sadie.”
“What about her?” she replied.
I took a deep breath, psyching myself up. “She… kinda reminds me of us.”
Annabeth snorted. “Well, you guys could be related.”
“No, I mean… she looks like you and acts like me, doesn’t she?”
“Yeah,” Annabeth’s gaze softened. “I noticed that. It’s sweet that you did, too.”
“I guess I’m trying to say-” I faltered. Our relationship was strong enough to survive whatever direction this conversation took, but the last thing I wanted was for Annabeth to think I was being selfish. Going to college in New Rome had already been an idea I pitched to her. I didn’t want to call all the shots. I’d do whatever she wanted us to, no questions asked.
I told her anyway. “It sort of makes me think that if we had a daughter, she’d be just like Sadie.”
Annabeth’s eyes took on a contemplative look, like she was thinking hard and coming up with a plan. A strategy to launch me onto the subway tracks? I’m not particularly fond of rats. I gulped.
She turned to face me. Was she… was she tearing up? Good tears? “This boy ruins everything” tears? Oh gods, I didn’t need to give Annabeth’s mom another reason to hate me.
She reached out to gently take hold of my jaw, and kissed me. I exhaled into the kiss, so relieved.
“You,” she sniffed, “are adorable. I can’t believe we were getting ready to take down an almost-god and you were thinking about kids. Our kids.”
I blushed. “Have you thought about that at all? I didn’t want to make it weird by assuming we were gonna-”
“Percy, I don’t think I’ve ever been as serious about anything as I am about us,” she cut me off. “Something permanent, right?”
I nodded, intertwining our fingers.
“And,” Annabeth continued. “I’ve thought about our future before. I sort of depend on these plans that I create—use them to keep pushing. I think I’d be more likely to flip out if something that could possibly thwart them were to happen. That was one of the reasons Tartarus was so bad for me, you know? It was less ‘I could die right now’ and more “I can’t do all these things I have mapped out.’ And one of those things was you. Well, us.”
“I guess what I’m trying to say is I’m two steps ahead of you, Percy,” she smiled softly, flustered. “And I should apologise for not discussing wanting to have kids with you. I sort of assumed you would, which I guess you didn’t assume about me.”
“I think I’m just easier to read,” I snorted. “I knew we’d get around to having this conversation someday, though. We’re only seventeen. I could’ve waited. It’s just that Sadie really made me think about how nice it would be…”
She laughed, and I felt like I’d just inhaled a gust of ocean breeze. “We’ll get there. Someday.”