the sea swallowed percy whole, his ship torn apart by scylla and charybdis. tyson gone. grover busy with his upcoming monsterly wedding. no matter how hard he fought, the current dragged him under — water couldn’t kill him, but guilt could drown him just fine.

his eyes slipped shut, letting the moirai do whatever they wanted with him. flashes of his mom, camp, tyson, the countless times he almost lost everything — all flickering behind his eyelids. and then, suddenly, light. warmth. air.

when he opened his eyes again, he was lying on the shore of an island — soft pasture rolling into thick oak and beech woods, cliffs stretching high above deep blue water. he pushed himself up slowly, instinctively checking behind him… only to find empty sea. no one else made it out with him.

a sharp crack somewhere along the tree line snapped him alert. he whirled around, ready for a monster, sword-hand twitching at nothing.

but instead of fangs or claws, he saw… you.

a girl stepping out from the shadows, sun hitting you like you were made for it. your smile warm, almost dangerous in how easy it pulled him in. and for the first time since he hit the water, percy’s breath caught — not from fear, but something else entirely.

he didn’t move. he didn’t speak. he just stared, like the tide itself had dragged him forward and dropped him at your feet for a reason.

“…hi?” he managed, voice rough.

and gods, he couldn’t look away.