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Percy felt as if his heart was about to burst. After 6 months of relentless searching, and longing, and unanswered prayers from the gods; 6 damn months of restlessness, and constant worry. Gods, he almost went insane.
But seeing those stormy gray eyes that he could stare at for hours on end, and the honey blonde locks he would bury his face into, nothing else in the world mattered to him because she was there, because Annabeth Chase is okay, and she stood mere meters away from him.
His eyes widened and started to fill with tears as her gaze caught his. Taking a small step forward, he felt the atmosphere stiffen. Some reached for swords that weren't there, archers raised their bows, and others stared at him cautiously, like he'd just committed a crime and they were waiting for a signal to strike.
Annabeth smiled, and Percy felt his knees buckle, he felt like he was going to collapse; but he didn't, not in front of Annabeth. He was not going to collapse before he at least got to touch a spot of her skin. Because for 6 months he did not see her, did not feel her, did not talk to her, did not do anything without thinking about her, and those 6 months felt like an eternity in Tartarus.
Without wasting a second, he ran to her and she ran to him, tears threatening to spill out of their eyes as their bodies crashed into each other, Annabeth wrapping her arms around his neck as Percy enveloped his on her waist, their lips pressing onto one another. Percy felt so many emotions wash over him he couldn’t even begin to process what they were. But there was one thing he felt for sure: he was glad; glad that the 6-month chase didn't lead to nothing, glad that Annabeth was still alive and looking better than before, gods, he was so glad to have her back in his arms that he didn’t ever want to let her go, in fear that she would just disappear just like she did that night. Percy never wanted this moment to end. It felt like a dream; and if it were, it's definitely the best one he's got yet.
"Annabeth," he broke the kiss, their arms still wrapped around one another, "you're okay." his voice was trembling from trying to prevent himself from sobbing his heart out. "Yes, seaweed brain, I'm okay." she grinned, and there was a certain fondness in her voice, a fondness that he didn’t think he’d hear again; the same fondness he'd hear whenever she'd whisper the words 'I love you' into his ears. “Don’t you dare leave me like that ever-” Percy only heard Annabeth chuckle, feeling the warmth of her breath against his skin, butterflies occupying his empty stomach. But alas, good things always seem to come to an end as he heard a girl clear her throat and peer towards them with what seemed like daggers shooting from her eyes. “Come on, I can’t wait for you to meet my other friends.” Annabeth giggled as she removed her arms wrapped around his neck and moved them to his wrists, dragging him towards the girl and two others who stood close. Percy happily obliged, he would’ve let her drag him to any place in the world, no matter what occasion, as long as they were together.
There, he decided that Gaea can be dealt with later, Hera’s little mission can be delayed for a few more hours, the rest of the crew could deal with the ship, and he would be with Annabeth for the time being, pretending to be normal teenagers— teenagers who didn't have the weight of the world on their shoulders.