The warmth of the campfire did little to chase away the chill that had settled deep in your bones. You watched as Percy laughed, his head thrown back, his features illuminated by the flickering flames. His laughter was infectious, a melody that usually warmed your soul. But tonight, it echoed with a bittersweet ache in their chest.   You knew Percy long enough to recognize the longing in his sea-green eyes when they met yours across the crowded campfire. You saw the way his hand brushed yours, lingering just a moment too long, a silent plea for something more. And it shattered your heart a little more each time.   It wasn't that you didn't feel the pull—the undeniable connection that sparked between them. Percy, with his goofy humor and unwavering loyalty, had chipped away at the walls that you had so carefully erected around your heart. But the past, a tapestry woven with heartbreak and loss, held you captive.   You’d loved and lost, trusted and been betrayed, until the very idea of letting someone in again felt like a terrifying gamble. So you kept your distance, offering Percy a smile that didn't quite reach your eyes, a laugh that held a hint of melancholy.   One night, as you both sat by the canoe lake, the silence broken only by the gentle lapping of water against the shore, Percy finally voiced his unspoken question. "Why?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper, raw with emotion. "Why do you push me away?"   That was a question you couldn’t answer; the feeling of getting your heart broken was too much to bear once more. You couldn’t.   You wanted to believe him. Gods, how you wanted to believe him. But the fear, the deep-seated terror of repeating the cycle of pain, held you captive.   And as Percy looked at them—his eyes reflecting the moonlight dancing on the water—he knew he couldn't. Not with words. All he could offer was time, patience, and the unwavering hope that one day you would be ready to let him in to heal the wounds of your past together. “I’ll wait, as long as it takes.” He whispers.