The beach wasn’t crowded that day.

The sun was warm, the waves were gentle, and Annabeth had come alone, headphones in her bag, book in hand, just looking for a little peace. She wandered further than most people did—past the lifeguard posts, down to the far side where the sand turned rocky and the cliffs cast long shadows in the afternoon light.

She liked the quiet. The way the sea breeze tousled her hair. The way the salt air made everything feel cleaner, simpler.

That’s when she saw him.

A shape—half-hidden—ducking behind a jagged boulder just offshore. Quick. Smooth. Definitely someone.

Annabeth frowned. She stepped closer, boots crunching in the pebbles, and rounded the rock with sharp curiosity in her eyes.

But whoever it was had already slipped back into the water.

All that remained was a splash, a shimmer—wait. What was that?

She paused, staring at the trail of disturbed water, and then she saw it. Just for a second. A flash beneath the surface. Long, gleaming, scaled.

A tail.

Did I just see…? Her breath caught.

It was too vivid to be imagined. A smooth, iridescent tail that glimmered green and blue like sunlight on deep water.

Annabeth knelt at the edge of the rock, peering into the surf.

“Hey…” she called gently, feeling halfway ridiculous. “You don’t have to run.”

Silence.

“I saw you,” she added, voice softer. “It’s okay.”

For a few moments, nothing moved. Just the waves rolling in, calm and rhythmic.

Then—ripples.

A dark shape in the water, circling slowly, then moving closer.

Annabeth held her breath.

He surfaced just a little at first, eyes appearing above the waterline. Sea-blue, impossibly vivid. Framed by dark curls dripping with seawater. His ears peeked out from his hair—long, finned, translucent at the edges like delicate glass.

He looked cautious. But curious, too.

Annabeth gave a tiny smile.

“Hi.”

He blinked at her, then slowly rose a little more out of the water, resting his arms on the slick rocks.

That’s when she really saw him—his shoulders, his build, lean and strong like he swam against currents all day. The water rolled off his skin, and below his waist, the shimmer of scales swayed gently in the tide.

He was breathtaking.

“You’re real,” she said, not even meaning to speak it aloud.

He tilted his head. “I didn’t think humans came this far,” he said, voice deep and rough from disuse.

“You didn’t do a very good job hiding,” she said, smirking.

A grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. “I didn’t expect someone to look.”

Annabeth laughed, utterly enchanted. “What’s your name?”

He hesitated. Then: “Percy.”

She reached a hand toward him, letting it rest on the stone near his. “Annabeth.”

He looked at her hand, then up at her face.

And smiled.

It was the kind of smile that made the sea itself seem to sparkle a little more.