Agent Jackson: Riptide: The Avengers + 2

Epilogue - Emily

Do you know what's weirder than actually graduating high school? When your older brother sits in the front row of the friends and family section with his wife, but forgot to look like he was well into his thirties, so there is a nineteen year old version of him looking at you while you're being called up to give the valedictorian speech. I gave him a look and he subtly changed. 

"My fellow graduates, friends, and family. I thank you for coming and celebrating this with me today. We suffered through the four years of this high school and made it out on top. It's been quite the ride with all of you and I enjoyed every moment of it. I'd like to thank all my classmates and teachers for teaching me something new every day. I'd like to thank my parents for providing me with the thirst for knowledge, and the curiosity to reach for it. I will take everything that you all have taught me into college and beyond. But most of all, I wanted to thank my brother Percy and his wife Leo, without whom I wouldn't have been able to make it this far at all. Percy, you continuously provided me with love, adoration, care, humor, and understanding. You became my guardian when I was only one years old, held me, and haven't let me go since. Growing up, I watched the way you interacted with everyone, struggled with your past, and fight with the beautiful woman beside you. For that, you taught me vulnerability is a good thing. Leo, you have been there for me since day one, and I couldn't be more thankful. You showed me what unconditional love for another, who wasn't related to you, was. You taught me how to defend myself both physically and emotionally. You took me on girl's days and let me have sleepovers whenever Percy was on a business trip. I don't know if you ever realized how grateful and blessed I was to see you walk down the aisle and marry my brother. Thank you both so much for being my twin pillars, holding me up even if it feels like I'm falling. Lastly, I'd like to say congratulations to you all for making it, and I hope you become successful with whatever path you choose." 

I looked at my brother the whole time. You couldn't miss the way he squeezed Leo's hands, and the way his green eyes teared up. If you looked at him enough, you could see the small resemblances to mom. He didn't even fail to take pictures of me as I walked across the stage to receive my diploma. 

"You have a way with words squirt." Leo sniffed and pulled me into a brief hug. I gave a small laugh at her nickname for me. When I was released, I was pulled into another hug by my brother, however, this one wasn't light hearted like Leo's. 

"I'm so proud of you Em. And I know they would be too." He meant mom and dad, his stepfather. 

When I had gotten a bit older, we had moved into an apartment close by to the old one. We hardly had any pictures from the past except the ones Percy had tucked away at camp and what was in a small box untouched by the fire. Most of them were before my parents me. Ones like mom and an eight year old Percy on the beach, Percy and two of his old friends (one being Annabeth) when they were like fourteen and he had bright blue braces, and one of sixteen year old Percy on the shoulders of a really tall guy who had only one eye. The rest of the pictures were my school photos, wedding pictures, family vacations, and all of that. But I had gone through the shoe box Percy always kept on the highest shelf in the closet while he and Leo had a mission a little while ago. There were two old photos. Both of them were of Percy and Annabeth kissing. One was them kissing while they both had pieces of blue cake in their hands, and the other was them kissing in a bubble underwater. I guessed they had been taken on the same day. 

Other things in the box was a horn, a couple of other photos containing the two of them and few other people, one photo taken of Percy, Uncle Nico, Uncle Will, Annabeth and their friends Grover Underwood, Gleeson Hedge, Clarisse LaRue, Piper McLean, Jason Grace, Reyna Arellano, Frank Zhang, Juniper, Travis and Connor Stoll, Katie Gardner, and Hazel Levesque. All of them were covered in blood and grime, but were grinning like idiots. I had also found a clay beaded necklace on a leather strap, an old orange t-shirt, and a couple of golden coins with an unreadable language. It was his box from camp, that held all of the memories he finally let go of. 

"Thanks Percy. Thank you both, so much." Percy gave me one of those teary-eyed smiles that showed every ounce of love he had for me. I knew that one day they would be missing me more than they let themselves think, but I felt grateful knowing they would always be in my life no matter what.