humbly submitting “Why are you awake?” xoxo love u queen
[it really be your own people sending you angst prompts smh love u tho queen]
“Why are you awake?” Annabeth asks as she rubs the sleepiness from her own eyes. She looks down at her phone to see the time, scowling as she sees it reads 1:05am. “You’ve got school tomorrow.”
Amelia slowly inches her way out of the shadowy doorway and into the dim light of the kitchen. “I need to ask you something,” she says sheepishly.
Annabeth neatly stacks the sketches she had been working on and tells herself to stay calm. “Okay,” she says in as even a tone as she can manage.
Lately, the Jackson home has been a muted version of its usually boisterous self. Dinners are quiet and stiff, and weekends have turned into battlegrounds with no winners in sight. Even her and Percy have withdrawn from each other some, unsure how to provide comfort when they each feel so unsteady. All because of one not-so-little offer that had knocked their world off its axis.
“What happens if I join the hunters?”
The question may as well be a punch to the gut. Annabeth’s fist closes around her pencil, which she begins to twist nervously as she tries to keep her nerve.
“What do you mean?” she asks, unable to look at Amelia while she speaks.
“I mean,” Amelia says as she slides into the chair across from her mom. “Will I ever be allowed to come home?”
Annabeth’s eyes stay on the table. “Lady Artemis has pretty strict rules for her hunters. I’m not sure how much time you really get to do your own thing.”
“Actually,” Amelia starts. “I was asking more about you and dad.”
Annabeth looks up then, and she can feel the wrinkles in her brow. “What?”
“If I join the hunters, will I… will I still get to be a Jackson?”
Annabeth is sure the sound of her heart cracking must have woken up the whole block. “Amelia—“
“I’m not saying I am gonna join, I just think I should know all the facts. That’s what you would do, right?”
Annabeth swallows hard and nods, not yet able to speak.
“Cause… I really like being a Jackson. I think I’d like to stay one for a while.”
“I know the feeling,” Annabeth says with an exhale and the slight upturn of her mouth. She puts her pencil down and holds both her hands out, palms facing up. “Here.”
Amelia slides her hands into her mom’s, sighing as they grab hold of each other. They sit in silence for a moment, enjoying some peace in the eye of the storm they have been weathering for weeks.
“I know things have been really hard,” Annabeth finally says, her voice barely louder than a whisper. “For all of us. And probably especially for you. But your dad and I… We are always going to love you no matter what. Even if you make choices we don’t fully understand.”
Amelia sniffles and turns to hide her face in her shoulder. “Do you hate me, mom?”
Annabeth squeezes her daughter’s hands, getting her attention back. “I couldn’t hate you if I tried, Amelia.”
“But you’ve been so mad.”
“I’ve been scared,” Annabeth admits, breathless. “The two emotions usually get mixed up in my head. Just ask your dad.”
Amelia laughs a bit, the bounce of it dislodging a tear from her eye. “So you and dad,” she says with another sniffle. “You’re not gonna, like… disown me if I join?”
Annabeth shakes her head. “Never. I mean, this family doesn’t make sense without you.”
“Yeah?”
“Oh yeah,” Annabeth assures her as a tear slowly slides down her cheek. “I mean, if you’re not in this family who on earth is gonna make sure we obey maritime law?”
“That’s a good point,” Amelia agrees. “Dad’s a lost cause.”
“And who would remind me that I’m a better architect than all the men at my company put together?”
Amelia shrugs. “It’s just true.”
“You know what else is just true?” Annabeth asks as she tries to hold back a sob.
“What?”
“You, Amelia, are the greatest legacy Athena could ever ask for. You’re strong and brave, and so loyal. Not to mention how wicked smart you are.”
“Mom—“
“I have never doubted why the hunters want you,” Annabeth continues. “Anyone in their right mind would want you on their team. And I… I’m selfish. I’ve been dreaming about watching you grow up since the first time I heard your heartbeat, and even now, I’m not ready to give that up.”
“I get that,” Amelia says quietly.
“You have to decide this for yourself, Amelia. I know that. Even though as your mom it scares the hell out of me, I know what it is to make this choice.”
“I heard the story.”
“That was a really hard time for me and your dad, too. In a different way, of course, but also really similar. We were scared to lose each other, and now we are both dealing with the thought of losing part of you.”
“You’d still have me.”
“I know, but I also know it wouldn’t be the same.”
Amelia pulls a hand back and puts her elbow on the table, resting her cheek against her clenched fist. “Probably not.”
Annabeth forces herself to take a deep breath and exhale slowly. “Definitely not, but if joining the hunters is really what you want, we would all find a way to be okay.”
Amelia wipes a tear from her face.
“Listen,” Annabeth says, squeezing Amelia’s hand again. “I didn’t always feel like I had my mom on my side, and so when I had you, I promised myself I would do everything in my power to make sure that you never felt that way. So please… please just know that no matter what you choose, you are always gonna have me. Always.”
“Are you sure?” Amelia asks, her voice hoarse.
They look into each other’s eyes for a moment, grey meeting blue like the ocean on a cloudy day, and despite the anxiety that keeps its vice grip on Annabeth’s heart, she knows her daughter needs this. And so, she provides.
She gently pulls Amelia’s hand up and places a firm kiss to the top of it. “I swear it on the River Styx.”















