Annabeth bumps his shoulder playfully.

"That's sweet," she says, smiling a little. "But I'll be fine. We all will. We were brought up to understand the reality of being a demigod, you know?"

She isn't afraid to die, if it comes to it.

In fact, it's probably the best way to go.

(Not that she'll tell Scorpius all of this or anything.)

"Anyway, it makes you really appreciate living in the moment."

She glances at him, grinning.

Annabeth can definitely appreciate little moments like that, that's for sure.

"Well, I've told you a little bit about Percy," she starts, suddenly feeling just a little weird bout of guilt at the mention of his name.

It's - well, it's probably nothing.

She finds Scorpius' hand and takes hold of it, winding her fingers through his.

"He's a son of Poseidon, so technically he and I weren't supposed to get along. Poseidon and my mom have been at odds with each other for quite some time."

She shrugs.

"There's also Grover and - well, before he left, there was Nico. I guess most of my closest friends have left Camp for some reason or another. Like Thalia. And Luke."

"Yeah," Annabeth says. "Luke ... when I was really small, I pretty much hero-worshipped him."

She smiles.

It's a little sad.

"He's ... working with the Titans now. I think he's just confused about it because he's so angry at the gods. But everyone else, besides Thalia, has pretty much condemned him."

"Well ... the thing about the gods is that they're not the best parents," Annabeth says. "In fact? They kinda suck."

It might sound harsh, but it's the truth.

"They have this stupid rule where they're not allowed to get involved in the affairs of their kids. So there are all these demigods running around without a mom or a dad. A lot of them don't even know they're demigods - not until a seeker, like my friend Grover, goes out and finds them and brings them somewhere safe."

She shrugs.

"The thing is, the gods say they can't interfere, but history shows that they do. It's just that they do it whenever they want to. So, to me -" She glances up at the sky, vaguely wary "- it almost feels like they're just trying to shirk their responsibilities as parents, you know?

"And clearly Luke couldn't accept that."

"I guess I never really learned exactly what I was until I got to Camp," Annabeth admits. "In a way, with all the monsters, and traveling with Luke and Thalia, I learned I wasn't 'normal' or whatever, and that I was definitely something other than mortal like my dad and his wife, but -"

She shrugs.

"I think she guided me whenever I've needed help, but we've only ever talked face to face a handful of times. It's that way with a lot of the demigods I know, the ones who've been claimed by their godly parent, anyway."

"Well, they're still our parents," Annabeth says weakly. "And we're still demigods."

She sighs.

"Besides, our gods might suck sometimes, but a world ruled by the Titans? That'd be a complete nightmare. They're kind of obsessed with violence and destruction."

"Yeah," she agrees. "They're family. Good or bad, they're still family.

"Of course, Camp's my real family, when it comes down to it. Chiron, and Grover, and Percy - all of them. They have my back and I have theirs."

Annabeth grins, then leans over to kiss him.

It's a fairly lengthy kiss, as far as kisses go.

"They know I'd do the same for them. It's totally not necessary," she says.

"I'd almost let you write those notes, just for the colour-changing ink," she says, thoughtful.

Really, there are days when she almost thinks she'd like to live in Scorpius' world for a while.

(And then she'll realize how selfish that is.)

"You'd write me notes?" she asks, smiling.

Even if, indeed.

Annabeth knows if he did write her notes, they'd have to stay within the confines of the Bar.

Explaining them to people back home would cause a whole lot of confusion and a few messes she'd really rather avoid.

Plus -


Well.


"Yeah," she says, looking at him with interest. "I would, actually."

"That's a pretty good start," Annabeth says, smiling. "And then?"

She grins.

"I like it," she says. "So, could I write a reply?"