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The cleanup from the final battle had been going on for a couple of days now, leaving most of the campers exhausted, the adrenaline from the war wearing off. Will and Jason had all but ordered Percy and Annabeth to take a break, assuring them that the rest of the camp could handle the main cleanup. The two heroes had tried to argue with them but Jason would not back down (plus they really didn’t want to fight Will whilst he was in healer mode).
Now they sat in Percy’s cabin going through his things, neither of them being content to sit and do nothing, confining themselves to the small task. His cabin had been left mostly undamaged compared to the others. Unsurprisingly the Poseidon cabin was able to withstand a pretty substantial Earthquake. (Percy suspected there had been some incidents in the past with his father's children that had made that necessary). The only “damage” there was was his things having been strewn all over, mostly from when Annabeth and Thalia had frantically searched through it the night he disappeared.
He was currently going through the clothes he had in the cabin, surprised to find a camp shirt that had to have been from when he was twelve considering how tiny it was.
He held it up for Annabeth to see, causing her to let out a small laugh, “Hard to believe that was ever yours huh?”
“Yeah,” He chuckled, “Was I really that small?”
“Seaweed Brain you were Nico’s size when he first got to camp.” She teased
“What? No, I wasn’t.” He argued, “Nico was two years younger when he got to camp.”
She shrugged, “You were really small for your age. I was taller than you until your growth spurt when you reached my height.” She paused to laugh, “I remember that summer when you refused to wear anything but platform shoes so you wouldn’t be shorter than me.”
He shot her a glare holding no real anger, tossing the shirt lazily at her, “Not my fault you’ve always been really tall Wise Girl.”
She laughed again as he turned back to his pile of clothes, sorting through what he could still wear and throwing out the clothes that were either too small or so destroyed it looked like he fell into the lava pit with them. (Which he might have done if he was being honest).
“Hey Perse,” Annabeth called from where she was on the floor. “What's this?”
He turned to find her holding a leather bag with the SPQR symbol on it, “Oh, just some of my stuff from my time at Camp Jupiter- You can go through it, I’m not entirely sure what's in it.”
She hummed thoughtfully as she began to pull things out of the bag, chucking a dirty SPQR shirt at him to add to the pile of clothes. Next, she pulled out an old notebook with papers falling out of it. She flipped through them, pausing when she found some of his drawings.
“Percy-” She started, her breath catching, “What are these?”
He moved next to her, pausing as he saw the artwork, “Oh,” He flushed slightly.
“This is me.” She stated simply, admiring the several drawings of herself, some of which were half-finished and some that were crossed out from when he wasn’t happy with them.
He nodded shyly, “Whe-when I was on the run after Hera took my memories, I only remembered one thing.”
She looked at him with tears in her eyes, “Me?” She asked with a shaky breath.
“Of course, you.” He said, trying to stop the tears that were forming. “I remembered your face and your name and-” He cut himself off, face reddening. She squeezed his hand, encouraging him to continue. “And the fact that you kissed me, a lot. I knew you were important so after I left the Wolf House I sent off looking for you. But as time went on I started remembering less and less details about your face that I never wanted to forget.”
“So you started drawing.” She said, tears free falling down her face, her heart swelling with love for the boy next to her.
He nodded again, “I got the notebook from a small grocery mart- I didn’t get a lot of downtime but when I did I would draw. Th-The pictures aren’t that great 'cause my memories were so hazy at the time but I just.” He paused to take a breath before continuing with a shaky voice. “I was just so scared of forgetting you entirely, It got to a point where I wasn’t sure I’d ever see you again-”
She cut him off with a kiss. She wrapped her arms around him, wanting to be as close to him as possible. “I love you so much.” She whispered, disconnecting their lips but keeping their foreheads close.
“I love you too, Wise Girl. I don’t think I’ve ever told you just how much you mean to me, you’ve kept me alive all this time, in more ways than one. I need you to know how important you are-”
“I do, Percy.” She assured him, placing her hands on his face. “I do.”
“You slept in here?” He asked her softly, having noticed a few of her things on his bed earlier.
She nodded, “I did,” She breathed shakily. “It was the closest I could be to you while you were gone- I kept hoping that one day, I’d wake up and you’d be beside me-” Her words were cut off with a sob and he pulled her close again, wiping her tears.
“I’m here now.” He said, now crying himself. “You're not getting away from me-”
“Never again.” She finished for him, resting her head on his shoulder.
They stayed on the floor, uncaring about anything around them, content to stay in each other's arms. Eventually, Annabeth fell asleep on Percy’s chest. He didn’t dare wake her, she seemed peaceful, something that had been a very rare occurrence since- that place. He laid his head on her back, happy to sit and just listen to her heartbeat.
******
Jason made his way to Cabin Three, going to go check on Annabeth and Percy after not hearing from them for several hours. He wanted to check in on them several times throughout the day but had always had someone ask him for help with something; And well, he was never great at saying no to people. Plus he knew that Percy would just make fun of him again for being a “mother hen.” He couldn’t exactly argue with that, he had been very worried when they came back. And much as he tried to keep his Roman poise, he knew his concern showed.
Plus now that Hazel and Frank (The other two most motherly members of the crew) Had returned to New Rome, he took it upon himself to make sure that Percy and Annabeth ate and had everything they needed. He also spent a bit of time making sure Nico was alright but he knew that Will had him well in hand while he was spending his mandated days in the infirmary.
He entered the Cabin, knocking softly as he opened the door, not wanting to startle the two teens. He scanned the room before he heard a soft voice speak up, “Over here.” Percy called. Jason’s eyes landed on the couple on the floor, wrapped in each other's arms. Percy put a finger up to his lips signaling for him to be quiet. He now noticed Annabeth was asleep and he relaxed a bit, relieved to see the both of them alright.
He watched the couple for a few moments, the two demigods he looked up to the most. Sure he and Percy may have fought a little but he did admire him, even if that admiration had turned to jealousy before he really got to know him. And he had really always looked up to Annabeth, she was always so determined and seemed much more level-headed than he ever was. There was no way he could fathom what the two of them had been through, all they survived. But he would make sure they didn’t have to recover from it alone.
“Need some help?” He asked quietly, trying his best not to disturb the sleeping girl. Percy considered for a moment, looking at Annabeth with more love than Jason had ever seen between two people before. “It's almost dinner time, I could bring you guys some food?” He offered.
“Yeah- um, give me a sec,” Percy answered, turning his attention back to Annabeth. “Beth-” He whispered, nudging her shoulder. “Annabeth, wake up, Wisegirl.”
The girl slowly roused, taking in her surroundings, “What time is it?” She asked.
“Around six thirty,” Jason replied, “I was gonna see if you guys wanted me to bring you dinner.”
She looked at Percy and it looked like they were having a conversation with just their eyes, something Jason never understood. After a moment they apparently came to a consensus and she said “I think we are gonna go to the dining pavilion tonight.”
Jason couldn’t help but smile that they’d be joining them. He had been kinda lonely at his table ever since the New Rome Campers left and Hazel, who he sat with at the Hades table, had gone with them. (He didn’t think Hades would be too happy with that but he hadn't gotten struck down so he figured he was safe, plus Hazel insisted).
He helped Annabeth to her feet before turning to Percy. “Give me a sec.” Percy said again, “My legs are asleep.”
Annabeth and Jason both laughed, each going to one of his sides and helping him to his feet, making sure he didn’t collapse. Percy put his arm over both of their shoulders, not letting either of them go as they walked to dinner.