Chapter Text
Happy would be an understatement to describe how Annabeth was feeling right now. Actually, Annabeth didn’t know if there’d be a proper word to describe what she was feeling. Because Percy was here. With her here, like here. With her.
Annabeth thought her mind would probably get tired of her from repeating the same words again and again. But she couldn’t help it. She felt a wave of emotions wash over her. Relief that Percy remembered her, ecstatic that he only remembered her, radiant that he kissed her, slightly bothered that he grew even taller, and slightly surprised that he got more muscular.
Yeah, the eidolon possessed Leo, and he attacked Romans, adding more tension. They all had more challenges ahead. Annabeth had more questions about the whole Mark of Athena, but right now all she could think of was how strong Percy’s arms were when he held her, and the way his lips tasted salty when he kissed her.
Annabeth shook her head. Come on, we have more pressing matters to think about.
“Hi Chase, what are you thinking?” Of course it was Piper Mclean, and Annabeth didn’t have to look up to know the teasing expression on her friend’s face.
“As you can see Mclean, I am looking at maps, directions.”
“Uhuh...okay because I was wondering if you were just thinking about your boyfriend and blushing”
Now Annabeth looked up at Piper giving her a scary stare, but of course none of that works against Piper Mclean, because her smile just got wider.
“I guessed right, didn't I?” Piper asked, wiggling her eyebrows, earning a soft punch on the arm from Annabeth.
“Ouch”
“You deserve it Mclean. And don’t be dramatic it doesn’t even hurt.”
“Alright then. Tell me are you planning how to sneak into your boyfriend’s room tonight?”
“How’s Jason?” Annabeth tried to change the subject.
“He is fine, didn’t you just see him like half hour ago, talking to Leo?”
Right. He was fine. Annabeth really forgot that. Piper’s lips twitched upwards.
“Well again I don’t blame you Annabeth, I guess you’re in this state where you can’t think straight and only fantasize about your boyfriend so.”
Annabeth felt a blush creep up her neck.
“I am not. I wasn’t even thinking about Percy. I was thinking about what we should do next you know.”
Piper narrowed her eyes at Annabeth.
“Nah I don’t buy it.”
“Really? We are on a quest, and yesterday we just had this huge fallout with Romans.”
Piper shrugged.
“We always have something going on, that doesn’t mean we don’t sit and talk, and Annabeth Chase don’t even try to hide anything. I can tell you’re glowing with so much love.”
Piper exaggerated the last sentence with dramatic gestures. Annabeth sighed.
“Alright, ask away.”
Annabeth knew there’s no use in hiding anything anyway. Piper had always been there for her and Annabeth liked when they talked about life, boyfriends and school. Easy, simple talks like that. They both really got along so well.
“So, did you sneak into your boyfriend’s room last night?”
“No.”
“Really?” Piper asked, clearly not buying my answer.
“I didn’t. I just showed Percy, Frank and Hazel their rooms and went back to mine.”
“You're not even slightly disappointed?”
“Why would I Pipes?”
“Huh, lies.”
“Alright very slightly. Because we weren’t able to spend enough time.”
“So, you didn’t try and sneak out because your boyfriend was tired?”
Annabeth rolled her eyes. She was aware the Aphrodite cabin keeps tabs on her and Percy when they started dating, actually way before that. And Annabeth was also aware that they’ve told Piper about Annabeth sneaking into Poseidon cabin every night.
“Yeah, are you happy?”
“Okay. Are you planning to sneak into his room today?”
“Well, you seem really interested Mclean. I... I don’t know.”
Piper’s eyes glistened with mischief, “So you did think, oh my sneaky chase.”
Annabeth rolled her eyes at the endless nicknames.
“Well yeah, but I was thinking to show him around the ship, just him and me.”
Piper smirked and wiggled her eyebrows, “Just you and him huh? What else are you planning?” Annabeth was about to tell something, but a voice cut her off.
“Hey good morning.” It was her boyfriend, Percy. Annabeth just stared at him. Maybe because she couldn’t believe this was real. Maybe because she’s been dreaming of meeting him for months, and this one felt like a dream. Her eyes shined and her smile widened when she noticed him wearing his camp half-blood t-shirt and jeans. It was faded, and a little tight around his biceps. Annabeth just took in the sight of her boyfriend in his camp clothes, it made her feel so much better. Better than seeing him in camp Jupiter shirt and a toga.
“Good morning.” Annabeth beamed, and she didn’t care about Piper being there or about how she’d tease Annabeth over how wide she was smiling.
Percy leaned down and kissed Ananbeth, a small soft kiss, which made Annabeth smile. He then turned to Piper and smiled at her, “Hi, morning.”
Piper smiled back, “Morning Percy. It's nice to meet you in person I've heard a lot about you.”
“Good things I hope.” Percy said while having his arm around Annabeth.
“Well yeah, camp told me some stories, but I heard a lot about you from one specific person actually.”
Annabeth glared at her best friend, and she made up her mind, she was going to drown Piper Mclean later. Percy turned toward Annabeth, and she didn’t have to turn around to know that he was smiling.
“Uhuh”
“Yes, I was telling her all your seaweed brain moments in our quest together.” Annabeth looked back at him and Percy’s smile only widened.
“Nah, you were telling more, remember, how you told me when you started having a crush on—”
Before Piper could spill all her secrets, Annabeth covered her mouth with her hands and gently nudged her to go to the mess hall. When she turned back to look at Percy, he was beaming. He tilted his head and gave Annabeth a cocky smile.
“What?”
“Nothing. So, you talked a lot about me, huh? What was that crush thing about?”
Percy was smirked and Annabeth’s cheeks heated up.
“Nothing. She's just babbling something.”
“Well, if she’s just babbling something, why would you cover her mouth and push her in the other direction huh?”
Percy came closer to Annabeth and pulled her by the waist. Annabeth just looked up at her boyfriend. She missed this. She missed being in his arms.
“If you keep asking about it seaweed brain, I am going to leave.” She wrapped her hands around his neck. Her actions contradict her words.
“Yeah? That’d be a problem, because I don’t think I can handle that, being away from you.” His voice was softer and more intimate. His eyes scanned her face and Annabeth felt like he was memorizing every detail about her.
“It’s not fair.” Percy’s voice was barely above a whisper.
“What is not fair?”
“You are getting seriously beautiful. Are you trying to kill me wise girl?”
Percy gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Annabeth kept looking at him completely mesmerized. She gave him a smile, a genuine one.
“Are you trying to be romantic seaweed brain?”
“Is it working?”
“It definitely is.”
Annabeth pulled him closer and kissed him again. This one was slow. Percy’s kisses have the power to wash away bad thoughts, because all Annabeth could think now was the feeling of his lips on hers and her body relaxing and melting into his touch.
“Annabeth I, Oh Sorry.”
Annabeth quickly pushed Percy away when she heard Leo’s voice. If her face wasn’t already red, it was now.
Unlike her, Percy seemed to be calm, like he clearly didn’t mind being seen, but his slight pout when she pushed him away indicated that he was just annoyed at being interrupted.
“What is it Leo?”
“Oh, I just, I just wanted to bounce an idea off you. But we can do that later.”
“No. I’m free now. Let's go.”
Annabeth turned to Percy, “I’ll come back to you.”
He nodded and kissed Annabeth’s cheek and left for the mess hall after bidding Leo bye.
“Your boyfriend seemed mad, this is the second time I pissed him off.”
Leo mumbled the last line, but Annabeth heard it clearly.
“Come one, he’s not mad at you. I guess it was just a spur of the moment when he realized you fired at the Romans, he was cool when he heard after he knew about the eidolons.”
Annabeth knows Percy well, and she also knew the reason he was mad was because he was scared if anyone from the Roman camp was hurt. Percy can never stand his friends getting hurt, and it was safe to say just like Jason he made friends with people at camp Jupiter.
“Yeah, I get it. I was scared because he looked just like Jason when he summoned lightening.”
Ananbeth nodded. She had seen Percy and Thalia — the big three kids, when they use their elemental powers. She'd never been scared of both of them, but she can understand why Leo got nervous.
“I get it.” She patted his arm, “By the way, do the Pegasi use the stables?”
“None. Hazel also told me that Arion won’t be using it either. I’m starting to think, it wasn’t needed.”
“I like it though.”
“Well, I'm glad someone does.” Leo smiled.
That night Annabeth did sneak inside Percy’s room. She didn’t wake him up right away. She just looked down at him sleeping peacefully, however, it didn’t last long. His eyebrows furrowed in his sleep and he groaned tossing and turning. Annabeth knew he was having a nightmare, but before she could wake him up, he slowly opened his eyes. He stared at Annabeth as if he was still dreaming.
“Annabeth? Is that you?” He reached out his hand and Annabeth helped him sit up.
“Are we here?” Percy asked, rubbing his eyes.
“No.”
“No? Then why are you in my room?”
“Are you seriously worried that I sneaked in? Were you not planning to meet me? You know what I’ll leave.”
But before she could leave, he held her hand.
“No, no, I was planning to meet you, not in the middle of the night. Especially when that five-foot satyr made it so clear about the no sneaking rule.”
“Percy you’re going to be seventeen soon, please don’t tell me that you’re scared of coach Hedge.”
“Have you seen his basketball bat?”
Annabeth just rolled her eyes.
“I was thinking I’d show you my favorite place on the ship. But if you want to stay then go ahead.”
“No, no. I am coming with you. Show me the place. Uhm, do you mind if I brush my teeth?”
“Yes, you should. Because I’m not kissing you if you don’t.”
He made his way quickly to the bathroom which made Annabeth laugh. She led him past the engine room, and Percy commented on how dangerous it looked. Then they worked their way past the supply rooms and armory. When Annabeth opened the wooden doors, she smiled. The room smelled of fresh hay and wool blankets. It reminded her of old days. When they reached exactly where she wanted to be, Annabeth grabbed a blanket and spread it across the glass floor.
“When Leo built the stable, he didn’t realize the Pegasi preferred to roam free. So, the stables are always empty. Come sit with me.”
Percy obliged.
“What do you mean easily? Wouldn't they have to make it down two flights of stairs?”
Annabeth enjoyed the look of disbelief on her boyfriend’s face when she said these were bay doors.
“They won’t open Percy, most likely.”
“Great. That's reassuring.”
Annabeth laughed, “Doesn’t this place remind you of something?”
Percy looked at her and then looked around, he had a small smile playing on his lips.
“The zoo truck, the one we took to Las Vegas.”
“Bingo.”
Percy laughed and pulled Annabeth closer by her shoulder.
“You came here often because it reminded you of that?”
Annabeth smiled. “Yeah, also it reminded me of you. Actually, every single place did.”
Percy kissed her forehead.
“I am sorry.” He mumbled.
“It’s not your fault, Percy. It's Hera’s.” Annabeth reassured him.
“Still.”
Annabeth shook her head, “No you’re not supposed to blame yourself for things out of your control.” Ananbeth said sternly, “I am just glad that you’re okay. Well, not just me, it’s your mom, Paul, Grover, Chiron, the—”
Annabeth was cut off by Percy’s lips on hers. He didn’t kiss her to stop talking, that wasn’t the message of this kiss. It was an apology, a promise to never leave her again. Annabeth teared up a little. He knows exactly how she feels. She never had to explain it to him, he knew her so well.
Percy broke the kiss, still cupping her cheek. He gently wiped away her tears.
“I missed you, Percy.” Annabeth’s voice broke, “So much, you have no idea. Everything was hard without you. Waking up, eating breakfast, going to school, being at camp everything. I was losing my mind. I missed you, I missed you so much.”
Annabeth hugged Percy, she was sobbing, and she didn’t care about wetting his clothes. Percy held her tight and placed kisses on top of her head, occasionally saying things like, ‘I’m here’, ‘I’m sorry’ or ‘It’s okay, we’re together now’. His reassurances helped her.
When she looked up, his eyes were brimming with tears too.
“When I was on the Roman side, I kept myself alive, solely thinking about you, Annabeth. I miss you don’t really cover that.”
Annabeth was teary eyed, but she still smiled. She heard him say how she only remembered her name back at camp Jupiter. Her heart told her to give Percy a long kiss then and there, but her mind scolded her to stop. But now Annabeth was no longer listening to her mind, she followed her heart.
She pulled Percy by his shirt and gave him another long kiss. She panted a little when they broke the kiss.
“You keep talking like this seaweed brain, I’m going to end up with getting back all the kisses you owe me when you were away, right here right now.”
Percy smiled. That trouble-maker smile that made her heart skip a beat.
“Threatening me with a fabulous time wise girl?” He pulled Annabeth closer by her waist.
That made Annabeth laugh. Like actually laugh. When was the last time she genuinely laughed like this? Perhaps before, Percy went missing.
“I wanted you near me, Percy. When I was in your cabin or in your room, I wished you would show up and join me. I want to make new memories with you, but I also want to do the old things with you. Like watching movies in your house, sparring with you in camp, talking about my day and kissing you underwater. I want to do all the things we did again and again.”
Percy listened to her intently. His serious expression said her that he didn’t take any of her words lightly.
“We will Annabeth. We will do everything you want, and we’ll make more memories too. I’ll make up for all the time we lost. I’ll make up for all the pain I caused. I promise.”
Ananbeth’s eyes glistened. Percy leaned and kissed her forehead. And then they spoke about his nightmare, about their parents. Ananbeth didn’t tell Percy about the whole thing she had with Athena, since he seemed pissed about just the fact Athena called Annabeth a failure.
“Okay, enough talking about everything. Just hold me seaweed brain.”
And he did. Maybe it was because of being with Percy after months, Annabeth drifted off to sleep without even realizing. When she woke up all she saw was the startled face of Frank Zhang, Percy’s friend. He looked like he saw a hellhound charging at him. He quickly averted his eyes from her and Percy. Annabeth was cuddled against Percy. Nothing happened between them, but it was easy to misunderstand their situation.
“Nothing happened Frank,” Annabeth said hurriedly, “We were just talking and just fell asleep.” Annabeth left out the making out part, but her wonderful boyfriend seemed to include it.
“And kissed a couple times.” Percy said. At this point Annabeth didn’t want Frank to go into shock. That poor guy looked like he’d be anywhere else but here.
“Not helping.” Annabeth glared at Percy. She was surprised how calm Percy was.
“The others thought you both were kidnapped. Did you both spend the whole night here? Can you tell the satyr what you did, or what you didn’t do, I....I’ll just.” Frank ran as soon as he said that.
Percy laughed, which earned him another glare from Annabeth.
“Really? You’re laughing?”
Percy got up and adjusted his shirt and dusted his pants. He gave Annabeth a hand which she took, while still waiting for his answer. Percy shook his head, still smiling.
“I’ve seen that guy battle monsters twice his size, face giants, But Annabeth I’ve never seen him this horrified.”
Percy laughed again, and Annabeth couldn’t help but smile too.
“Poor guy he looks traumatized.”
“Yeah.” Percy said, still holding Annabeth’s hand. “Ready to go?”
Annabeth shook her head, “Piper is never going to let me live this down.”
They both walked up to the deck, hand in hand. The truth was that Annabeth wasn’t worried. She can never be worried when Percy was by her side. It's actually quite impossible.
Annabeth was walking towards the mess hall. Yesterday was so chaotic. Starting with coach Hedge losing his mind when he found out Percy and Annabeth spent the night in the stables. Then Percy, Frank, and Hedge meeting Phorcys, and Frank asking her about the Chinese handcuffs and her spending most of her time with Daedalus laptop, it is safe to say it was one hell of a day.
However, today when she made her way to get breakfast, she found Percy standing by the starboard. When he saw Annabeth, he waved his hand and gestured her to come to him. And Annabeth did. She probably thought he wanted to show her something.
“What are you doing here? Did you have breakfast?” Annabeth asked, as she was walked to him, when she was by his side, he smiled at her.
“Soon, but I want to show you something first.”
“I figured, but Why PERCY—”
Annabeth yelled his name when Percy pulled her by her waist and jumped into the water. As soon as her body touched the water, Percy made an underwater bubble. Still Annabeth’s black owl t-shirt, and pink shorts were slightly wet, but of course Percy was dry. That annoyed Annabeth, she glared at him, and Percy just smiled in return.
“What was that for?”
“Well, you don’t remember what you told me?”
“Remember what?” Annabeth was clearly confused. Percy shook his head slightly.
“Wise girl, look around.”
And Ananbeth did. They were in the middle of the sea, not very deep, not very shallow. she wasn't scared. She saw fishes swimming around them, vibrant and shimmering corals, and some crabs climbing on top of it as if they wanted to get a better view of Percy and Annabeth. She also saw a couple of seahorses gliding their way. She remembered this feeling. She looked at her boyfriend who had a smirk playing on his face.
“Our underwater kiss.”
Percy smiled after hearing her answer.
“Yes. And you told me yesterday, you wanted to recreate our memories, I thought we’d start with the best one.”
Annabeth mirrored his smile. She placed her hands around Percy’s neck, pulling him closer.
“Gods, I love you seaweed brain.”
And they kissed. Annabeth thought it was the best second underwater kiss of all time.
When they got back up on the ship, Annabeth was completely dry.
“I’m hungry.” She said, hugging Percy’s waist.
“Me too” Percy hugged her back, “Come on let’s go eat.”
They made their way to the mess hall, which was empty. Did everyone else finish their breakfast early? How long were Percy and Annabeth underwater? Annabeth brushed away those thoughts soon. She was just glad to spend time with Percy alone.
She sat next to him. When Annabeth saw what he wanted to eat, she rolled her eyes (fondly).
“Of course, Percy Jackson wants to have pizza for breakfast, why am I not surprised?”
Percy just smiled at her while munching down the pizza. Annabeth found that too adorable. How can someone be so cute?
“You’re staring wise girl.”
“No, I wasn’t.” Annabeth said and took a bite from her pancake.
“Yes, you were. Thought I was cute?” Percy wriggled his eyebrows, making Annabeth scoff. She still mentally applauded him for exactly figuring out what she thought.
“Well, someone got a big sense of his own importance.”
Percy took her hand and intertwined their fingers.
“I like this. Morning breakfast with you next to me, and no monsters.”
Annabeth smiled, “Yeah me too. I know we have a tough job ahead and everything, but being here with you, feels nice.”
She looked at him, like she was drinking in the fact that he was still there, and she figured he did the same.
“You know, like the one version of fate that doesn’t suck.” Annabeth said, making Percy’s lips curl upwards. He pressed a gentle kiss on the back of her hand.
“Ditto, wise girl.”
At that moment, all that mattered to Annabeth was that Percy was safe, and he was with her.