pjo writers

After a few seconds, he nodded thankfully, leaning over to press a kiss to Theo’s head and then to Annabeth’s cheek. He pushed himself up from the couch and stumbled down the hall to Annabeth’s bedroom.

He and Annabeth had been best friends since high school. They teamed up one day on the playground, and for some reason after that, they were inseparable. Even through college when they were both dating other people, and when Annabeth met Luke, and when Percy met Rachel and—they were just best friends. Percy knew Annabeth like the back of his hand, and she knew him better than any of her favorite books.

And sure, sometimes Percy had those same, crushing feelings for Annabeth that he felt back in high school. He wasn’t stupid. He knew what they meant, but every time they came back and he thought about telling her how he felt, that he was in love with her and wanted to be with her forever, something always got in the way. First there was Luke, then there was Rachel, and it had been so difficult since then.

He first ran into Rachel Dare at a coffee shop about two weeks after Annabeth had broken up with Luke. They hit it off immediately. She wasn’t Percy’s first girlfriend per say, but she was the first one that he was really serious about. Six months into their relationship, Rachel told him that she was pregnant, and Percy felt his whole world crash down around him.

It’s not that he didn’t want a baby with Rachel, he just…  He always imagined that he would get that future with Annabeth someday.

But he was still happy—he was happy with Rachel all the same, and he was excited that they were going to have a baby and a family. He loved Rachel, and he would give the world to her.

Things were good for a few months. Percy was teaching at a high school in the city, and Rachel was painting. Since she had told her parents that she was pregnant, they hadn’t spoken. It didn’t seem to bother her as much as it bothered Percy.

A few weeks later, Percy came back to his apartment to find Rachel sitting on the floor in their halfway painted nursery with her knees pressed to the small swell of her stomach. There were dark black circles under her eyes, and Percy immediately dropped to his knees in front of her, asking what was wrong and if she was okay.

She cried when she told him how they had fucked up. How they didn’t need this baby. How she had lost a great opportunity for a career now that she had to stay here and raise a kid instead and and and—

Percy couldn’t stand to hear it. He shot to his feet and ran out.

Apparently, Rachel had gotten an extreme job offer to travel the world and paint because her dad had pulled some strings just because he didn’t want her to be stuck with Percy for the rest of her life. All she had to do was give up the baby for adoption.

When Percy told Annabeth that a few hours later, she stared at him until she reached out for his hand and said, “Let her do it. You take the baby and then send her on her fucking way.”

“Annabeth,” he had said, staring up at her with wide eyes. His voice was hoarse from crying. “I can’t raise a baby on my own.”

Her expression softened, and she gripped his hand tighter. “You’re not on your own, Percy. I’m with you.”

So that was what happened. Percy went back to his apartment, told Rachel he was keeping the baby, and asked her to call him whenever she had her doctor’s appointments. She put up a fight at first, but it took barely an hour before she agreed and pressed a kiss to his cheek as she slipped out.

Besides a few doctor’s appointments and a few other meetings, Percy didn’t see Rachel until her father called him and told him that they were going to the hospital.

Percy rushed down there, and he made it just in time to get to the delivery room before the doctor was telling Rachel to push.

They got a beautiful baby boy, and Rachel held him for a few minutes before she handed him back over to Percy with tears in her eyes. She kissed him quickly and whispered a goodbye before they took her to recovery.

Annabeth came in just as Rachel left. She dashed to his side and peeked over his arm to see the baby. And Percy… he was just in awe. He couldn’t believe that this person was his. He had made this little guy. He was a dad.

“Percy,” Annabeth murmured. Her eyes were wide too, and there were tears there just like Percy’s. “He’s so beautiful.”

Percy could barely nod.                                                      

“Can I hold him?” she asked quietly.

He didn’t really want to let go of him, but he carefully passed him over to Annabeth’s arms.

Annabeth smiled as she looked down at him, and she huddled closer into Percy’s side, glancing up at him and smiling. Percy’s tears rolled down his face then, and he buried his head into Annabeth’s shoulder.

“What are you going to name him?” Annabeth asked.

Percy shrugged. He had thought of a few names, but nothing really sounded right. He didn’t want to pick the wrong name and then have his kid hate it later. Percy looked over to her and said, “What would you name him?”

Annabeth stared down at him resting in her arms. The little guy already had his eyes open—thank god they were green, just like Percy's—and he was staring up at Annabeth too, clenching his little hands into fists.

She looked back up to Percy, smiled, and said, “I’d name him Theodore, and call him Theo for short.”

The next few months were rough. Percy had help from both Annabeth and his mom, but it was…it was weird. He was a single dad. He was doing it on his own.

Percy was jarred from his sleepy memories when he bumped into the door frame as he walked to Annabeth’s bedroom. He could think later. Sleep. Sleep was what was important.

He left the bedroom door cracked a bit for Annabeth and stripped his shirt off before crawling into her bed and underneath the comforter, sighing at the high thread count sheets. Annabeth had always bought expensive pillows and sheets, which was something that Percy appreciated since he never bothered with it for his own bed.

It didn’t take him long to fall asleep, mostly because he was exhausted and because of Annabeth’s bed and how easy it was to pretend she was right here with him.

Ω

The next morning, he woke up with Annabeth’s arms wrapped around him. There was gentle sunlight streaming in the window around the curtains, making the room feel warmer than it actually was. Percy bit back his smile because there were only a handful of times that this happened, and he had to fucking enjoy it when it did, okay?

She was snoring softly behind him, pressed directly up against his back. Her shirt must have ridden up in the middle of the night because Percy could feel the skin of her belly burning against his back. One of her legs was twisted with his, and her hand was resting over his heart. Her breath was fluttering against his neck, and his eyes were starting to close again and—

A shrill cry broke the calm air, and Percy let out a groan.

Annabeth stirred behind him as Theo started to cry from the spare room. Annabeth kept a pack-n-play here for when she babysat, and really, they had stayed over here so much that it was money well spent.

Percy sighed and started to sit up, but Annabeth tugged him back down and slipped her arms away from him. Her voice was still sleepy when she said, “I got him. Go back to sleep.”

By the time Percy started to object, Annabeth had already slipped out of bed and headed out of the door, pulling at her tank top and sleep shorts. Percy listened as Annabeth spoke softly to Theo, calming his screams instantly. Percy wasn’t sure how she got so good at doing that, but Annabeth could always calm Theo down as quickly as he could.

His eyes were starting to drift shut again when he saw Annabeth come back into the room. She had Theo in her arms, who had already stopped crying, and she was still talking to him quietly. Percy’s heart was about to explode in his chest. He could barely handle Theo in the morning sometimes, and now they were adding Annabeth to the mix and—this was not good. Too much cuteness in one place at one time. Not good for Percy Jackson’s heart.

“Someone,” Annabeth said, leaning forward to blow raspberries against Theo’s neck as she climbed back into bed. Theo squealed happily, and Percy couldn’t help the smile on his face. “Wants his dad.”

“Mmm. Dad’s asleep,” Percy murmured, rolling over so he could look up at both of them.

Annabeth laughed softly and leaned back so she was laying down beside him. Theo was still sitting up on her stomach, fisting her tank top in his little hands and babbling away about something in the standard, toddler murmuring of sounds and words. Or at least, pre-words. Percy didn’t think that it would be long before he was actually talking.

“Dad slept for almost twelve hours already,” Annabeth said, raising an eyebrow at him.

Percy pretended that her saying that didn’t make his stomach flip-flop. That was something that parents did. Percy scrubbed a hand over his face to hide his blush. “Dad could sleep for six more years and still be tired. Aunt Annabeth knows that.”

She rolled her eyes at him, but just as she opened her mouth to say something, someone else cut her off with a soft, “Nanabeth! Nanabeth!”

Percy’s eyes widened, and they both jerked their gazes up to Theo, who was grinning and patting Annabeth on the chest while saying her name over and over.

“Oh my god,” Annabeth said.

Percy jerked up and grabbed Annabeth’s hand so he could pull her up into a sitting position without Theo falling off of her lap.

Theo was oblivious to Percy and Annabeth’s awe because he kept babbling, using Annabeth’s name as almost every other word in his speech.

“You little monster,” Percy said, grinning uncontrollably and ducking forward to press his lips to his son’s head. “You were supposed to say dad first!”

“Nanabeth! Nanabeth! Nanabeth!” Theo chanted, breaking off with another squeal when Annabeth swept forward and kissed across his face. She was laughing happily, but when she leaned back to pull Theo closer, there were tears in her eyes.

Percy brought his hand up to her face and swiped her tears away with his thumb. She cradled Theo against her chest and smiled softly at him. And yeah, Percy’s heart was done for.

He scooted closer to the both of them, settling behind Annabeth so her back was against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his head against her shoulder so he could watch Theo.

Percy could get used to this—waking up with Annabeth every morning, lounging in bed with her and Theo both, watching him grow up with her by his side. Damn. He wanted that. He wanted this.

“Percy,” Annabeth whispered, turning her head toward his a bit.

His heart was hammering in his chest when he said, “Yeah?”

“He said my name first. My name was his first word.”

He grinned at the disbelief in her voice, and he couldn’t help dropping a kiss to her shoulder. “He loves you.”