#tsott chapter update

The Shape of the Tide

* A Percabeth AU *

Chapter 15: A Stupid Idea

"I need to know you're telling the truth. I need to hear it from her." Everything felt heavy, one thing stacking on top of the other and burying her further. Connor, Percy, her mom.  But there was Malcolm in front of her, his outline gilded, his hair glinting like hay at sunset as he nodded. “Entirely understood. If it were me . . . I’d want to know, too.”

The Shape of the Tide

* A Percabeth AU *

Chapter 14: Message Man

The walls started closing in the moment the door clicked behind Connor. His footsteps creaked into obscurity until it was just Annabeth. And the simmering crackle in the wood stove. And the gaping wide fissure that had cracked its way across her bed. She wanted to go to him, wanted to comfort him, to apologize again and again until everything was okay. But she knew that was the last thing he needed from her...

The Shape of the Tide

* A Percabeth AU *

Chapter 4: Fire and Ice

If it weren’t for that storm, his little entourage never would have had to pass through Dromolis . . . but it was too late to dream about what-ifs. Somewhere down the hall he was likely still asleep beside his fiance, and eventually Annabeth would have to face them both with a casual smile as she brought coffee and breakfast to their table downstairs. She wondered how easily she’d be able to pull it off, wondered if he’d let her get away with not addressing the elephant in the room.

The Shape of the Tide

* A Percabeth AU *

Chapter 8: To Define Desire

It was a good thing—a very decidedly, definitively good thing—that Percy would potentially be leaving soon. No more annoying Rachel, no more tense conversations, no more risk that he would bring up something she didn’t want him to, no more stupid, familiar Percy. But then, why did she keep picturing his laugh across the cards table, the way his eyes had almost sparked in the firelight? For all the ways Percy had changed, for all the ways he was a stranger now, he was just as much still the Percy she knew so intimately all those years ago. At least some part of him was still her Percy.

The Shape of the Tide

* A Percabeth AU *

Chapter 13: Unraveling

Questions rattled around in her head, trying to expect how much longer it would be before Connor finished his chores, what he would say when he came to her room, what he himself would expect, how he would respond. As it turned out, he didn’t say anything right away, just closed the door behind him and took two steps toward the bed before flopping on top of it.

The Shape of the Tide

* A Percabeth AU *

Chapter 1: The Cold Front

It wasn’t even like she thought of Percy that much these days. Between the inn, her (admittedly slow-going) studies, her friends, and Connor . . . she had a lot of things to fill her time, her mind, and her heart. But it was still somehow never enough for the dreams to stop. It was like her brain needed her to know just how much of a mistake she’d made all those years ago, leaving her first love, claiming to return.

The Shape of the Tide

* A Percabeth AU *

Chapter 12: Catching Up

There was still a lot to catch up on, and Annabeth was more than happy to hear it all from Katie—for now, at least. With everything going on the night before, it had felt natural to let the subject of Connor’s confession be tucked away for later. But, well, it was later now, and Annabeth didn’t know how much more time she could realistically spend around him without the truth of the matter coming to light of its own accord.

The Shape of the Tide

* A Percabeth AU *

Chapter 10: Parting Confessions

Honestly, she wasn’t surprised they had left without much fanfare, but it still felt odd, somehow, that Percy would have left without saying goodbye. Or at least, that she hadn't gotten one last look at him before he was out the door. It seemed maybe she wasn’t as ready for him to leave as she’d told herself. No, she had been ready. She had just expected to see him at least once more, though she didn’t know why that mattered.