𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 (Annabeth X Malereader)

[17] The Grace of a God

That afternoon was one of the happiest Percy and Y/N had ever spent at camp. Which was strange, considering there was about to be one hell of a revelation. Grover announced that he'd be able to spend the rest of the summer with them before resuming his quest for Pan. His bosses at the Council of Cloven Elders were so impressed that he hadn't gotten himself killed and had cleared the way for future searchers, that they granted him a two-month furlough and a new set of reed pipes. The only bad news: Grover insisted on playing those pipes all afternoon long, and his musical skills hadn't improved much. He played "YMCA," and the strawberry plants started going crazy, trying to strangle everybody's ankles.

As for Tyson, the campers treated him like a hero. Percy said he would've been happy to have him as his cabin mate forever, but that evening, as they were sitting on a sand dune overlooking the Long Island Sound, he made an announcement that completely took Percy by surprise.

"Dream came from Daddy last night," he said. "He wants me to visit."

Percy's eyes widened. "Poseidon sent you a dream message?"

Tyson nodded. "Wants me to go underwater for the rest of the summer. Learn to work at Cyclopes' forges. He called it an inter... an intern..."

"An internship?"

"Yes."

Percy didn't say anything for a while. "When do you leave?" He asked.

"Now." Tyson's face was sad.

"Now. Like... now now?"

"Now."

Percy stared out at the waves in the Long Island Sound. The water was glistening red in the sunset. "I'm happy for you, big guy," he managed. "Seriously."

"Hard to leave my new brother," he said with a tremble in his voice. "But I want to make things. Weapons for the camp. You will need them."

"You'll make the best weapons ever," Percy told Tyson. He held up his watch proudly. "I bet they'll tell good time, too."

Tyson sniffled. "Brothers help each other."

"You're my brother," Percy said. "No doubt about it."

He patted Percy on the back so hard he almost knocked him down the sand dune. Then Tyson wiped a tear from his cheek and stood to go. "Use the shield well."

"I will, big guy." Percy tried to keep his voice from cracking.

"Save your life some day." Tyson said matter-of-factly, as if he had already seen it happen. He headed down to the beach and whistled. Rainbow, the hippocampus, burst out of the waves. Percy watched the two of them ride off together into the realm of Poseidon.

Once they were gone, Percy looked down at his new wristwatch. He pressed the button and the shield spiralled out to full size. Hammered into the bronze were pictures in Ancient Greek style, scenes from our adventures this summer. There was Annabeth slaying a Laistrygonian dodgeball player, Percy fighting the bronze bulls on Half-Blood Hill, Tyson riding Rainbow toward the Princess Andromeda, the CSS Birmingham blasting its cannons at Charybdis, Y/N stabbing Polyphemus in the belly. Percy ran his hand across a picture of Tyson, battling the Hydra as he held aloft a box of Monster Donuts.

"Hey, Percy."

He turned. Annabeth, Y/N, and Grover were all standing at the top of the sand dune. Percy was blinking a lot, trying to hold back tears.

"Tyson..." he said. "He had to..."

"We know," Annabeth said softly. "Chiron told us."

"Cyclopes forges." Grover shuddered. "I hear the cafeteria food there is terrible! Like, no enchiladas at all."