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[ birthday ] journey's end
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TYYYYY another year come and gone, and I'm so happy that we can only get to know each other and write more together endlessly. It means so much to me to be able to even just see your plurks from the day to day--you're an amazing person, and I'm endlessly rooting for you. I hope this upcoming year treats you well, because you deserve nothing but the best!
Also I just wanted to write you a cute thing because I think you deserve cute things that will make you smile at all hours of the day. It's just fact. You can't deny it!
And so--
--
When they met again, the circumstances were far, far better than they had been the last time they spoke in private like this.
Barnham wasn't dusty and scuffed up, exhausted and downtrodden. Percy wasn't still covered in blood, still downhearted over killing someone he'd admired, for eating the heart of his friend.
They were better off--but some scars didn't heal completely, even if they faded from the surface, and when Barnham sat next to Percy in the sand and watched the water of the ocean lap against the beach not far from their feet, he knew their minds were on the same moment--watching lake water instead of the ocean, but nonetheless so very similar.
But things were different now.
And after all of this time? Barnham didn't want to dwell on the moment where he left so very much on Percy's shoulders--where he forced Percy to carry the burden of being the hero he'd always been.
"Young Percy, I fear Sara and Russell and I shall not have time to stay long. It seems there is still a great deal of unrest back in Erebonia that we must deal with."
Percy nodded thoughtfully. It made sense, after all. They made it through that death game...but it didn't guarantee that their lives would be peaceful. He, better than anyone, knew that that wasn't the case.
Still...he wasn't ready to say goodbye.
Instead, he tilted his head. "How's that going? The...Sara and Russell and living together all of a sudden thing?"
There were probably more elegant and eloquent ways to say that, he thought, after it was too late to take the words back, but Barnham just chuckled softly, shaking his head.
"I have learned a great deal over my time with them, and I believe I shall continue to expand my worldview. 'Tis... all I could have wished for, after everything."
Barnham's sincerity made Percy smile despite himself; he wrapped his arms around his legs, staring at the ocean, and hummed softly under his breath.
"And yourself?" the question wasn't surprising, though Percy blinked in response. It didn't take him long to recover, though--he just nodded slightly and said softly, "It's good. It's all...really good."
Annabeth. His mother. His home--everything, one after another, fell into place, even if he had to constantly fight for it. Still...he'd become quite the fighter after all of that. He knew how to fight for what he believed in, what he loved and wanted.
It was all perfectly fine.
He did, however, startle when Barnham rested a warm hand on his shoulder, and his touch was infinitely lighter than it'd been before, and he didn't feel as though it was dragging him down. Not this time.
"This is not a long-lived farewell, Young Percy," Barnham said, offering him a smile that was gentle and came more easily than the smiles even of before. It seemed, Percy thought, that Russell and Sara had been good influences on him.
"It is a temporary one, yes, but... before we go, I simply wished to say this one thing. I am proud of you."
It was a surprising statement, though maybe it shouldn't have been. Percy supposed...he did a lot, both to be proud of and not, over the time he wasn't with Barnham and over their time in Whole Ass. But...still. Hearing that from someone like him...
It was strange, but he almost felt the need to swallow, throat strangely tight.
"In my eyes, you are the truest example of a hero--not the sort that must be put on a pedestal, but one who works for those he loves, and protects that which matters to him."
Barnham paused, and then smiled faintly, reaching out to ruffle Percy's hair softly--before he quickly withdrew his hand, expression growing somewhat embarrassed. Some things, it seemed, never changed.
"I wished to tell you that, as I missed my chance properly before."
Even with Barnham's eyes averted...there was still warmth in his tone.
"You've done very well, Young Percy. You have a great deal to be proud of yourself for."
It wasn't long, really, after that that Barnham and Sara and Russell had to leave (Barnham dragging Sara from a bar with a sigh, Sara complaining the whole way with Russell following with what might have been a smile), but Percy knew--even if it took a long time before they were reunited again, he would have those words, and the warmth of Barnham's hand on his shoulder like a proud guide to carry him through any challenge he might face.
(And, when things grew tough, there was always texting, of course; Percy had gotten very good at parsing Barnham's autocorrected disasters.)
Also I just wanted to write you a cute thing because I think you deserve cute things that will make you smile at all hours of the day. It's just fact. You can't deny it!
And so--
--
When they met again, the circumstances were far, far better than they had been the last time they spoke in private like this.
Barnham wasn't dusty and scuffed up, exhausted and downtrodden. Percy wasn't still covered in blood, still downhearted over killing someone he'd admired, for eating the heart of his friend.
They were better off--but some scars didn't heal completely, even if they faded from the surface, and when Barnham sat next to Percy in the sand and watched the water of the ocean lap against the beach not far from their feet, he knew their minds were on the same moment--watching lake water instead of the ocean, but nonetheless so very similar.
But things were different now.
And after all of this time? Barnham didn't want to dwell on the moment where he left so very much on Percy's shoulders--where he forced Percy to carry the burden of being the hero he'd always been.
"Young Percy, I fear Sara and Russell and I shall not have time to stay long. It seems there is still a great deal of unrest back in Erebonia that we must deal with."
Percy nodded thoughtfully. It made sense, after all. They made it through that death game...but it didn't guarantee that their lives would be peaceful. He, better than anyone, knew that that wasn't the case.
Still...he wasn't ready to say goodbye.
Instead, he tilted his head. "How's that going? The...Sara and Russell and living together all of a sudden thing?"
There were probably more elegant and eloquent ways to say that, he thought, after it was too late to take the words back, but Barnham just chuckled softly, shaking his head.
"I have learned a great deal over my time with them, and I believe I shall continue to expand my worldview. 'Tis... all I could have wished for, after everything."
Barnham's sincerity made Percy smile despite himself; he wrapped his arms around his legs, staring at the ocean, and hummed softly under his breath.
"And yourself?" the question wasn't surprising, though Percy blinked in response. It didn't take him long to recover, though--he just nodded slightly and said softly, "It's good. It's all...really good."
Annabeth. His mother. His home--everything, one after another, fell into place, even if he had to constantly fight for it. Still...he'd become quite the fighter after all of that. He knew how to fight for what he believed in, what he loved and wanted.
It was all perfectly fine.
He did, however, startle when Barnham rested a warm hand on his shoulder, and his touch was infinitely lighter than it'd been before, and he didn't feel as though it was dragging him down. Not this time.
"This is not a long-lived farewell, Young Percy," Barnham said, offering him a smile that was gentle and came more easily than the smiles even of before. It seemed, Percy thought, that Russell and Sara had been good influences on him.
"It is a temporary one, yes, but... before we go, I simply wished to say this one thing. I am proud of you."
It was a surprising statement, though maybe it shouldn't have been. Percy supposed...he did a lot, both to be proud of and not, over the time he wasn't with Barnham and over their time in Whole Ass. But...still. Hearing that from someone like him...
It was strange, but he almost felt the need to swallow, throat strangely tight.
"In my eyes, you are the truest example of a hero--not the sort that must be put on a pedestal, but one who works for those he loves, and protects that which matters to him."
Barnham paused, and then smiled faintly, reaching out to ruffle Percy's hair softly--before he quickly withdrew his hand, expression growing somewhat embarrassed. Some things, it seemed, never changed.
"I wished to tell you that, as I missed my chance properly before."
Even with Barnham's eyes averted...there was still warmth in his tone.
"You've done very well, Young Percy. You have a great deal to be proud of yourself for."
It wasn't long, really, after that that Barnham and Sara and Russell had to leave (Barnham dragging Sara from a bar with a sigh, Sara complaining the whole way with Russell following with what might have been a smile), but Percy knew--even if it took a long time before they were reunited again, he would have those words, and the warmth of Barnham's hand on his shoulder like a proud guide to carry him through any challenge he might face.
(And, when things grew tough, there was always texting, of course; Percy had gotten very good at parsing Barnham's autocorrected disasters.)