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Chapter Text

Annabeth shivered as she walked quickly toward Percy's dormitory, lips pursed as she tried to keep from cursing. People who didn't live there imagined that California was warm all the time, but that wasn't exactly true. Northern California in December could still be chilly, and right now the temperature was only in the forties. A brisk wind whipped across the campus and a curse finally broke through Annabeth's lips.

Five minutes ago, she'd been perfectly warm in her dorm room, trying to finish studying for her first final exam, which was tomorrow at noon. However, it was harder than it needed to be because her roommate, Becca, was fooling around with her brand new boyfriend, and despite having music blasting through her earbuds until she was nearly deaf, Annabeth couldn't help hearing the giggles and whispers. Their beds were lofted, so she couldn't see anything, thankfully, but the noise was making her nuts. It was incredibly awkward. And this wasn't the first time Becca had brought a guy around while Annabeth was in the room. Finally, unable to take it anymore, Annabeth stood up from her desk, threw her books, some clean clothes, and her toothbrush into her backpack, and stomped out of the room, making sure to slam the door hard behind her.

Maybe, she thought viciously as she wrapped her arms around herself, wishing she'd also grabbed a sweatshirt, she should invite Percy over the next time Becca was trying to study. They could mess around on Annabeth's bunk while her roommate attempted to ignore them and stay focused on her work. And she could maybe understand exactly how uncomfortable that situation was.

Except she didn't really want to do that. Annabeth sighed as she leaned against the wall of Percy's dorm and pressed the button to buzz his room. Some things were meant to be private. She just wished her roommate thought that way.

"'Lo?" Percy's voice, thick and sleepy, came through the speaker, and Annabeth felt a surge of guilt. She hadn't intended to wake him up. When she'd come over, she'd assumed he was also still awake. But it was too late now.

"Hey, it's me. Can I come up?"

"Sure." He must have hit the button, since she heard the door click. Annabeth pushed it open and headed up the stairs to Percy's room on the third floor. When she knocked softly, his door swung open almost immediately, and her breath caught because, wow, he looked good. It caught her off-guard sometimes, like now, at almost midnight on a Sunday. His hair was tousled, he wasn't wearing a shirt, and his boxers were peeking out the top of his sweatpants. He stifled a yawn and asked, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah. I just needed to come over." To study, she reminded herself.

Percy stepped back and gestured for her to come in. "Booty call or roommate issue?"

Annabeth snorted. "Roommate. And I'm pretty sure it doesn't count as a booty call when you're my actual boyfriend."

"Whatever you say." Percy smirked as he shut the door. "So Becca brought another dude over?"

"Yes!" Annabeth burst out, dropping her backpack beside Percy's desk. "I don't want to hear them make out. We have a teeny tiny room, and it's just rude. And gross."

Percy hooked an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close and kissing her forehead. "That sucks, babe."

"Yeah." Annabeth let herself relax against him briefly, his warm skin pulling the chill from her cold hands. "You're lucky you have a single room."

"Yes, I am," Percy said. "Mostly because there's nobody here to annoy if we make out."

Annabeth laughed, then pressed a kiss against his bare shoulder. "Exactly. Although right now, unfortunately, I really do need to finish studying for my final. Sorry to wake you up, by the way."

"It's okay. I wasn't asleep long." Percy kissed her temple, then let her go.

"Oh yeah? Studying or playing video games?" Annabeth asked as she bent down to unzip her backpack and get her textbook and notes out again.

Percy grinned sheepishly, running a hand over the back of his head. "Video games."

"Seaweed Brain," Annabeth muttered affectionately as she settled down at his desk.

After telling her good night, Percy went back to bed while Annabeth dove into her notes. Gods, it was so much easier to study in a quiet room. Their first semester at college had been stressful at some points, because going to college was a major adjustment, but there had been a lot of good things about it, too. Annabeth loved her classes. She was taking two at the University of New Rome and three at UC Berkeley. Several were gen eds, but a couple were already primarily focused on architecture. For the first time in her life, Annabeth could just focus on what she really loved.

Which included Percy. Despite their busy schedules, it was strange to realize how much freedom they really had. No curfews, no parents, no harpy or satyr chaperones. They could just relax and hang out without watching the clock or worrying about being back at a certain time. No one cared if Annabeth slept over at Percy's dorm, or vice versa. Technically, students were supposed to sleep in their own rooms, but as long as there were no problems, no one really enforced that rule. For a relationship that had been forged in the fires of multiple dangerous quests and two separate wars, the sudden expansive freedom was both terrifying and exhilarating. They'd had to make some adjustments, but now, as they reached finals week at the end of their first semester, they were in a really good place. Despite the stress of her upcoming exams, Annabeth had never felt more content.

She finished going through her notes about 2 a.m. At that point, Annabeth was having trouble keeping her eyes open, and she knew she needed to get some sleep to keep all this information straight in her head during the actual test tomorrow. So she turned off the desk lamp and dragged herself into Percy's en suite, also private, bathroom to brush her teeth. The perks of being a former praetor, even briefly. Then she crawled under the covers beside her boyfriend.

Percy was sprawled face down on the bed, so Annabeth poked him in the side and whispered, "Scoot."

He grunted, but made room, his arm falling across her waist as she snuggled against him. His voice was thick with sleep when he asked, "Ready for your test?"

"I think so." Annabeth yawned. "At least it's not until noon. Do you have one tomorrow?"

"None 'til Wednesday."

"Jerk."

"Probably. But I have two on Friday, if that helps." His breath ghosted over her skin, sending pleasant little shivers along her nerves.

"A little bit." Annabeth closed her eyes, soaking in Percy's warmth on this unusually chilly night. "Especially since all mine are done on Thursday."

"Jerk," Percy muttered, and Annabeth smiled.

She trailed her fingers along his forearm, draped over her waist. "We should celebrate on Friday. End of our first semester."

"'Kay," Percy mumbled. "But sleep now."

"Sleep now," Annabeth agreed with another yawn. "Night, Percy."

"G'night, Annabeth. Love you."

"Love you, too."

She woke up to the light brush of Percy's lips against her cheek. Without opening her eyes, she said, "Hey."

"Hey, beautiful. Look, hate to wake you up, but it's ten-thirty."

"Ugh." Annabeth rolled onto her back and flung her arm over her eyes. "What if I just don't get up?"

Percy tightened his arm around her waist. "I mean, I don't have a problem with you staying in my bed all day. But I'm pretty sure you'll be pissed if you miss your exam."

"Probably." Annabeth finally opened her eyes. Sunlight slanted across Percy's ceiling. When she turned her head, it was to see her boyfriend propped up on one elbow, looking at her with a goofy, endearing grin on his face, prompting her to ask, "What?"

"Nothing. I just…like waking up next to you."

Warmth suffused her entire body. Annabeth bit her lip, fighting down a wide smile. "Gods, Seaweed Brain."

"What?" Percy's grin turned a little sheepish. "Too cheesy?"

"Just the right amount." She reached up to touch his cheek. "But you can't say things like that when I really need to actually get up and get ready."

His smile widened. "My bad. Should I say it again when we have time to, um, not get up?"

"Yes." Annabeth kissed him quickly, then rolled out of bed. Goosebumps erupted on her arms as the chilly air hit her skin. She grabbed her backpack, then said over her shoulder, "You know, there's time to go get pancakes before my exam. If you want to join me?"

"I'm in," Percy replied, and she heard him scramble up just before she shut the bathroom door.

They got ready and went to breakfast at a nearby café that made some of the best pancakes Annabeth had ever tasted (except for maybe Sally's). Then, after extracting a promise from Percy that he would actually study this afternoon, not just play video games, Annabeth gave him a good-bye kiss sticky sweet with syrup, and headed to her exam.

Luckily, the test went pretty well. She felt like she'd remembered the majority of the material, although a couple questions tripped her up. By the time she finished, though, it was nearly three in the afternoon and her brain felt wrung out. But there was no time to take a break; she went straight back to her dorm to start studying for her next exam, which was on Tuesday morning. Luckily, her roommate was out for the night, so Annabeth was able to finish her studying in her own room and get to bed at a reasonable hour.

Which was fortunate, since she had to be at UC Berkeley by 8 a.m. for her first exam. It was for her visual representation and drawing class, so the exam was pretty hands on, which Annabeth was fine with. Compared to her analytic geometry final yesterday, this was a breeze.

After a quick lunch with some friends from the class, Annabeth headed back to New Rome to go over her notes again for her English final. Why a composition class even needed a final, she wasn't sure, but apparently there was an essay exam requirement. Annabeth was dreading it. Writing an impromptu essay was particularly miserable for someone with dyslexia. She was even less happy, when she sat down to the test that afternoon, to find herself having to plow through several pages of multiple choice, true or false, definition matching, and short answer questions before she even reached the essay prompt.

By the time she turned her exam in, just before the time limit, Annabeth was exhausted and cranky. It was a relief to find Becca alone in their room, seated at her desk and diligently studying. After a muttered greeting, Annabeth microwaved some dinner and dropped onto the futon to watch TV while she ate. Then, since she didn't have another exam until Thursday, so she had all of tomorrow to study, she went ahead and got ready for bed. Climbing under the covers, she intended to read, just for fun for a few minutes, but she didn't get past a page before she was out.

She woke up, disoriented, when someone knocked on their door. "What time is it?" she slurred, lifting her head just enough to look at Becca, who had stood up, lips pressed into a thin line.

"Ten-thirty. At night. In the freaking middle of freaking finals week. So I don't know who the hell—I swear, if it's Brandon, I'll kill him. I told him I was studying all night."

Annabeth rolled her eyes and pulled her covers back up as Becca went to open the door. It probably was Brandon, the boy of the moment who'd been over the other night when Annabeth was trying to study. Now, she wondered drowsily if she should grab her earbuds to drown out either the yelling or the kissing that was about to happen.

"Oh, it's you," Becca said flatly when she swung open the door.

"Uh, hey, Becca," a recognizable voice replied. "Is Annabeth here?"

"Bed." Becca moved out of the way to let Percy in, looking over her shoulder at Annabeth and adding, somewhat unnecessarily, "This one's yours."

"Thanks. I know." Annabeth propped herself up on one elbow, leaning toward the edge of the bed. It was lofted high enough that Percy could just rest his chin on her mattress, which he did, while already giving her a pleading look with his sea-green eyes. Although she suspected what this was about, Annabeth still asked, "What's up, Seaweed Brain?"

He was clearly trying to look as pathetic as possible. "I need help."

"Calculus?"

"Yeah."

Annabeth yawned. "Fine. I'll help you. If you admit that you should have started studying sooner, instead of playing video games yesterday and today."

Percy's pleading expression turned offended. "How did you—" he stopped when she raised her eyebrows. A guilty smile snuck across his face. "Okay. You're right. I should have started studying earlier. Now, will you help me?"

"Of course." Annabeth lazily raked her fingers through Percy's hair, just because it was right there and she could. "But I'm too comfortable to come down, so you come up."

"Fine by me."

Annabeth moved her pillow out of the way while he clambered up, so they'd have somewhere to set his books. Percy flopped down on his stomach beside her, though he was still on top of the covers. He gave her a quick kiss. "Hi, by the way."

"Hi." She pulled his textbook toward her. "Okay, what are you stuck on?"

It took them until nearly 3 a.m., when they were both almost delusionally tired, but, finally, Percy said he felt ready for his exam.

"Thanks for the help." He leaned over the side of her bed to drop his textbook, notebook, and pencils onto the futon below. The books landed with a muffled thump, while one of the pencils clattered to the floor. However, Becca, snoring loudly in her own bed, didn't even twitch. Percy's eyes were slightly bloodshot when he turned back to Annabeth and said, "Sorry for keeping you up so late."

"You're lucky I love you," she replied as she put her pillow back in its spot, then wiggled over to give Percy more room.

"I know. That's exactly what I've been thinking for the last two and a half years," Percy said as he climbed under the covers.

"Dork," Annabeth said, because she was too tired to handle the way his words made her heart beat faster. But she slung an arm across his chest, tucking herself into his side and breathing in the familiar faint aroma of ocean air. "What time is your Calc final?"

"Nine a.m."

"Percy! You're barely going to get any sleep."

He shrugged, fingers playing with the ends of her hair. "I've done more on less."

That was true, but, "Still."

"It'll be fine." He kissed the corner of her eye. "Sleep."

"You sleep," she muttered, fingers curled in his t-shirt. She thought Percy might have murmured something else, but Annabeth didn't catch it because she was already drifting off.

Chapter Text

Luckily the alarm, and Becca's grumbling about it, woke them up in plenty of time for Percy to make it to his exam. After grabbing a quick breakfast, Annabeth headed over to the computer lab at UC Berkeley to finish the model for her design presentation tomorrow. She finished in time to meet Percy back in New Rome for lunch, and hear how his Calc final went ("surprisingly decent" was his assessment), then they headed to the library on the university's campus to study for their physics final.

Since it was required for both of their majors, they'd been able to take the class together. They had plans to do the same with a psychology class next semester. Because, Annabeth had to admit, it had been pretty nice. Especially like today, when, looking over the exam study guide, she realized she'd missed a crucial lesson.

"I don't even remember her going over this," she said, frustrated, after flipping through her notes a second time and still finding nothing on the topic.

Percy, who had been working out some practice problems, glanced over. "Wait, what are you looking for?" When she explained, he made a soft noise of recognition, then began flipping through his own notes. "That was the week you were out. Sorry, I thought I already gave you those notes. Hold on." He shuffled through a few more pages, then stopped, scanned the writing on a particularly densely covered sheet, then handed his notebook to her.

"Good thing we took this class together." Annabeth took his notebook with a smile, which Percy returned.

"Guess so."

They went back to work, Percy on his practice problems, Annabeth going over his notes. She could tell he'd put in extra effort on his note-taking since he'd be sharing them with her, which was really sweet. Annabeth had gotten strep throat a little over a month ago. Demigod remedies like nectar, ambrosia, and even unicorn draught were surprisingly ineffective against basic illnesses. She'd had to fall back on old-fashioned mortal antibiotics and rest. It had been bad enough that she'd actually stayed at her dad's for a few days, and missed most of her classes that week. Luckily, she'd been able to get notes from friends in her other classes, and, fortunately, she had Percy for physics. But about halfway through his notes, she frowned. "Wait, what is this concept referring to?"

Percy scooted closer, looking over her shoulder. "Oh, that. Okay, so it's basically the same principle as this…hold on…" He flipped through his textbook, then explained what their professor had said about it. "Make sense?"

"Yeah." Annabeth couldn't help the small smile that crept onto her face.

"What?" Percy asked.

"It's just kind of nice," she said, nudging him with her shoulder, "you explaining something to me for a change."

Percy chuckled. "Don't get used to it. I just get this concept because it's similar to the explanation for how ships stay afloat. So it just kind of, you know, made sense to me."

"I'm still impressed." Annabeth kissed his cheek. "Thanks."

"Anytime, Wise Girl."

They stayed pretty late at the library, except for a quick dinner break, but, unlike the previous night's study session, it was still well before 3 a.m. when they headed back to Percy's dorm. Since they both had to be at the 9 a.m. Physics final, Annabeth figured she'd better stay to make sure Percy made it to the exam on time, too.

Because of the alphabetical seating at the exam the next morning, Annabeth was near the front, while Percy was a couple rows back. He was still working when she turned her test in, and since she still had to get over to Berkeley to give her presentation, Annabeth went ahead and left, but not without giving him a tiny wave, which he acknowledged with a small smile.

Her design presentation went really well. Plus, it was surprisingly enjoyable to hear her classmates' presentations. Hearing how other people thought through their designs and processes was fascinating. Annabeth actually walked out of the class feeling exhilarated and excited for next semester. After a nice, long winter break first, though.

As she left the building, Annabeth drew in a deep breath. Her finals were done. Her first semester of college was officially finished. She felt as light as she had when the weight of the sky had been lifted off her shoulders. She'd done it. She'd survived. One step closer.

Strolling along with no particular destination in mind, Annabeth pulled out her phone and texted Percy. Since he spent the majority of his time safely shielded by Camp Jupiter's magical barriers, it was mostly safe for him to have a phone. Annabeth liked it; being able to just randomly text her boyfriend felt so wonderfully normal.

According to his texts, he thought he'd done okay on his physics exam. And he asked how her presentation went.

Really well, she replied. Plus it was actually cool to hear about everyone else's designs too. Do you want to meet for dinner tonight?

Her phone buzzed with his response. I'd love to, but I really need to stay in and study. Gotta get this bio grade up.

Annabeth was pleasantly surprised, but she liked seeing Percy determined to meet the goals he'd set for himself. She started to type back, but before she finished, she got three more texts from him in quick succession.

Can't believe I just wrote that.

Wat has happened to me?

Who even am I anymore?

Annabeth laughed. Deleting what she'd written, she instead typed, You're a college student now. This is how it goes sometimes. But I'm really proud of you for working hard.

She sent that, then added, We'll do dinner tomorrow, after all our finals are done.

Awesome! Percy responded. Pizza?

Sure. Love you.

Love you too. Wish me luck.

Good luck! You're going to do great. Now get back to studying.

Annabeth tucked her hair behind her ear, smiling as she dropped her phone back in her bag. Since she was already over in Berkeley, she decided she might as well stop in to visit her dad.

To her delight, he was the only one home when she arrived. Her relationship with her family had definitely improved over the years, especially in these last few months since she'd officially moved to California. But there were still occasional strained moments, and sometimes Annabeth just really liked having time with only her dad.

They actually had a really good visit. He asked about her classes, so she filled him in on her exams, and how she thought her final grades would probably come out close to where she wanted them. When she asked about his research, he excitedly led her to his study, where he had a full scale model of a battlefield laid out, complete with miniature soldiers, tanks, artillery, planes, and even trees. Annabeth studied it critically while her dad explained the layout. When he asked, she made a couple suggestions about the most likely tactics deployed or at least attempted, based on the terrain and the layout. He seemed thrilled by her input, quickly making some notes before frowning at the battlefield, muttering to himself as he moved a couple things around. Sensing that he would soon be lost in his thoughts, Annabeth said good-bye.

Her dad looked up, startled. "Oh. Okay. Well, will we see you for Christmas?"

"I thought we agreed to do dinner and presents on the 22nd?" Annabeth said carefully.

"We did?" her dad asked blankly. "Hold on, let me check."

Annabeth followed him back down to the kitchen, where a large whiteboard calendar was hung on the wall above a messy desk. Sure enough, in the box for December 22nd was written Annabeth and Percy coming for Christmas in her stepmother's neat handwriting.

"I guess we did plan that," her father said. He offered her an apologetic smile. "Sorry, honey. I got a little distracted by my work again."

Annabeth couldn't totally hold that against him, since she often did the same thing (it drove Percy nuts). "I'm glad we checked. But remember, we talked about this a couple weeks ago? Since I spent Thanksgiving here, I'm going to New York for Christmas with Percy."

"I do remember now," her dad said. "You're flying out on the 23rd, right?" Since it wasn't on the calendar, he must have actually remembered that.

"That's the plan." Which had involved calling in several top-tier favors to ensure Zeus wouldn't blast them out of the sky. Because Percy. But they had multiple reassurances that they would be able to safely fly home for Christmas. However, she knew her boyfriend was not looking forward to the flight and was already talking about using Mrs. O'Leary to shadow-travel back to San Francisco after the holidays. Annabeth inwardly sighed, then said, more brightly, "I really don't want to miss Estelle's first Christmas. I mean, she's barely nine months old, so it's not like she'll have any idea what's going on, but it should still be cute to see her try to open her presents and play with her new toys."

"It should be," her dad agreed. A mischievous twinkle appeared in his eyes. "So, Christmas with his family. Baby sister's first Christmas, no less. I guess you and Percy are really in it for the long haul?"

Annabeth felt heat creep up her cheeks. "I hope so."

"Well," her dad mused, "I think he'd make a good son-in-law. Eventually," he added hastily. "One day. Get through college first."

"Okay, Dad." Annabeth was definitely blushing, but she gave him a hug. "I'll see you next week."

"Sounds good. Thanks for stopping by." To Annabeth's surprise, her dad kissed the top of her head. "I love you, honey."

She swallowed the unexpected lump in her throat. "Love you, too, Dad."

Since it was still relatively early, and she didn't have to be anywhere at a certain time, Annabeth ended up going Christmas shopping. She'd been putting it off to study, but with her exams over, she had all the time in the world.

It was getting late by the time she returned to New Rome. Annabeth had been hesitant about the place at first, but now, as she watched demigods drill over at Camp Jupiter while lights twinkled on in the buildings of the city, Annabeth had to admit that it was starting to feel like home.

Becca was gone when she reached her dorm room. She might have had an evening exam, Annabeth remembered as she set down her shopping bags. Or she'd finished all her finals and gone out to party with friends. Either way, it was nice to have her room to herself for a bit.

She was curled up on the futon, reading, when her phone buzzed. When she opened the text from Percy, her heart stopped.

I'm dying.

Annabeth shot to her feet, already calling him. While it rang once…twice…three times, she threw on shoes, grabbed her sword from the corner, and was nearly out the door when he picked up and said, "Hey."

"Where are you? What's wrong?" Annabeth demanded.

"In my dorm room. Studying." Percy sounded completely confused, and also completely fine. "Why?"

Realization smacked her in the forehead. In an instant, she saw how she'd misinterpreted the text. Extra glad that her roommate was gone, Annabeth stepped back into her room, shut the door, and leaned against the wall. Her knees were shaking. "Um, you sent me that text and I thought…I thought…"

"Oh gods." Percy sounded horrified. "Annabeth, I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking. I was just talking about studying, you know, because it's been a rough week, but…" His voice trailed off. She heard him exhale heavily, then he said, "Shit. Baby, I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I know you didn't mean it." Annabeth pushed herself away from the wall, kicked off her shoes, set her sword back in the corner, then flopped on the futon. Leaning her head back, she closed her eyes. "I kind of overreacted. I should have known what you meant. But I saw that and it just…I mean, all I could think…like it triggered…I don't know, my mind just jumped to an attack."

"I'm sorry," Percy said again. "I was just joking, obviously, but I should have thought about that, you know, out of context. Pretty dumb move."

"Maybe a little," Annabeth admitted, relief battling annoyance. However, she said again, "But I know you didn't mean it."

"Definitely not," Percy said firmly. "I would never intentionally do that to you."

"I know." Annabeth inhaled, held it for a few seconds, then breathed out. Feeling calmer, she opened her eyes and asked, "So how is the studying going?"

"It's going." His voice was so sheepish she could almost see him run his hand over his head. "I'm about burnt out, to be honest. But I've just got to get through this bio test and then give the final speech for my, uh, speech class, then I'll be done."

"Yeah, being done feels great," Annabeth said, smirking slightly.

"I bet," Percy replied. "Until your boyfriend is an idiot."

"I'm used to it," Annabeth said, her voice teasing. "Mostly he's great, though."

"Good to hear," Percy said, and she could hear his smile. "You sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," Annabeth said. "Seriously. So you'd better get back to studying." When Percy groaned, she added, "And you are absolutely not allowed to die on me, Seaweed Brain. I've put way too much effort into keeping you alive."

Percy laughed. "Got it. Maybe I should try using Riptide on my notes?"

"Let me know how that works out for you."

He laughed again. "Okay, I really probably better go. But I'll see you tomorrow evening right? Pizza to celebrate the end of exams?"

"Definitely." She tried to keep her voice light, but there was a little more feeling behind it than usual when she said, "I love you, Percy."

"I love you, too, Annabeth," he said quietly. "Have a good night."

"You too."

After they hung up, Annabeth sat there for a few minutes, thinking. In retrospect, she should have realized immediately what Percy was talking about. He was always melodramatic when he got tired of studying. And it had been a while since either of them had dealt with a serious monster attack. She should have felt safe. She'd thought she did actually. But obviously not. It was disconcerting to find that even after months of relative calm, her fear was still so near the surface.

Annabeth took another deep breath, then let it out. Percy was fine. They were fine. Everything was fine. The biggest danger facing them right now was final grades. And that was a surprisingly happy thought.

Settling herself more comfortably on the futon, Annabeth turned on the TV for some background noise. Then she picked up her book again and went back to reading.

The next morning, Annabeth slept in. By the time she woke up, it was nearly eleven. She stretched lazily. Gods, it felt good to be done with finals. Free for the next three weeks. She laid there for a couple minutes, going over her plans for the break. Then, yawning, she sat up and climbed down from her bed.

It ended up being a surprisingly relaxing Friday. Becca, possibly hungover, stumbled in shortly after Annabeth got up. She immediately climbed up into her bed and passed out without much more than a grunt of greeting. Annabeth smirked as she continued wrapping the Christmas presents she'd bought yesterday. If Percy came over, she didn't want him to see anything yet. Then, she went to meet Hazel for lunch, shutting the door quietly behind her to avoid waking her roommate.

She and Hazel tried to meet for lunch or dinner at least once a week, when they could make their schedules work, just to catch up, hang out, and occasionally complain to a sympathetic listener. Today was no different, but Annabeth felt a particular surge of pride for her friend when Hazel talked about going up against the Senate in support of an unpopular proposal. It had taken a lot of guts, and several impassioned speeches, but Hazel had gotten the job done. Her excitement was palpable when she told Annabeth the result, and Annabeth couldn't help beaming. Hazel was absolutely shining as a praetor. Plus, as a team, she and Frank were a sheer force to be reckoned with. Camp Jupiter was in very good hands.

After lunch, Annabeth went for a run, something she hadn't had much time for in the last couple weeks. It felt good to exercise, to make her muscles work. Running cleared her head. Even, sometimes, when she was running from monsters, although, luckily, today that wasn't the case. She just went for a leisurely jog around New Rome, passing some of her favorite spots, like the garden of Bacchus she'd first visited with Reyna the day Annabeth had arrived in the city, and the street with all the amazing fountains. As she jogged down it, she remembered Percy telling her about this street, and how he'd thought she would like it, while they'd been trying not to drown in the Cocytus. Here now, zig-zagging around the fountains and letting the mist kiss her skin, with a brilliant blue sky above her, Annabeth felt herself relax. They had come a long way.

Back at her dorm, after she'd showered, she sat at her desk for a while, sketching. She was still feeling inspired by her classmates' presentations yesterday, and she wanted to play with some ideas while they were fresh in her mind. At one point, Becca dragged herself out of bed and moved like a zombie to the door, muttering something about one last exam. Annabeth wondered briefly how that was going to go, then went back to her own work.

It was approaching dinnertime when her phone buzzed with a text from Percy that said, I'm free! He'd also sent her an image of people cheering.

Annabeth smiled as she set down her pencil and responded with a smiley face and, Congrats! Where are you?

While she waited for his response, she closed her sketchbook, straightened up her desk, then threw clean clothes and her toothbrush into her bag. She was just putting her shoes on when he replied.

Back in my room, laying on my bed and staring at the ceiling because I don't have to use my brain again for the next three weeks.

Dork, Annabeth replied, then finished tying her shoes, a smile dancing over her lips.

Her phone buzzed again as Percy asked, What are you doing?, but Annabeth didn't bother to respond. She was already on her way out the door.

A few minutes later, she was hitting the buzzer at his dorm and saying, "Hey, it's me." When she reached the third floor, Percy was waiting in his doorway, a big grin on his face. Annabeth's pulse started to race. When she reached him, he asked jokingly, "Roommate issues or booty call?"

Annabeth shot him a wicked smile as she walked into his room, dropped her bag on the floor, then turned back to hook her fingers in his belt loops, tugging him towards her until she could shut his door with her foot. "Booty call," she said, moving her hands to his chest and backing him into the wall. "Definitely a booty call."

His eyes lit up, but before he could say anything, Annabeth kissed him, hard. Percy responded enthusiastically, one hand threading through her hair, the other at her waist, fingers slipping under her t-shirt to brush her bare skin.

Before they could get too lost in the moment, though, Annabeth pulled back and said, a tiny bit breathlessly, "We did it, Percy."

"Huh?" His eyes were a little foggy.

Annabeth just laughed and kissed his cheek. "We just finished our first semester of college." She squeezed his arm. "We did it."

Percy's expression softened into a genuine smile as he met her eyes. "Yeah, we did." He leaned down to kiss her again, and this time there was more emotion than hunger behind it. She could feel the unspoken I love you, along with maybe a hint of other promises for the future that they'd made to each other. It left Annabeth with a giddy feeling of possibility. But she wasn't mad when Percy pulled away and asked, almost pleadingly, "And now we get to celebrate, right? Because this has seriously been a long week and—"

Annabeth cut him off with another kiss. Then she brushed her lips along the line of his jaw to his ear, just to feel his breath hitch, before she said, "That's the plan, Seaweed Brain."

"I love your plans."

And all in all, it was a pretty great end to finals week. They'd survived their first semester of college. It was a solid step on the way to making their plans for the future a reality.