Melancholy At its Best

A/N: Hey. It's been years since I was here. A few days ago, I decided to read Percy Jackson and the Olympians all over again, and well, just as it did years ago, I couldn't sleep because of Percabeth! My mind just raced and I itched to write something. It's a drabble, really, and I just kind of went with the feeling. It's kind of rough, but I hope you like it. :)

He missed Camp Half-blood. But he never realized how much he did until he came home this morning. He's got a lot going on in his life recently, despite what the Fates throw at him every now and then. Ever since things have kind of calmed down in the saving-the-world department, or at least, ever since he kind of laid off on major quests, he had been busy living a pretty normal life.

Yes, folks. Who would've thought that would be somehow possible for Percy Jackson?

He spends time on both camps—Camp Half-blood and Camp Jupiter—but its college that has been taking most of his time, especially since academics has never been his strongest arsenal. But mostly he enjoyed going through it as it meant he could be closer to Annabeth.

He glanced at his watch. It's nearing dusk, and still no sign of his girlfriend.

They were supposed to come over together this morning. He was pretty pumped up, actually. He hadn't seen her in a few weeks since Paul and his mom's wedding. Annabeth Chase's known for her pretty hectic schedule. But this morning, when he was about to get in the shower, there she was, in the mist, all blushed and flustered, doing her best not to laugh at him as he tried to cover himself up.

It was a short message. She said something came up, and that she'll catch up with him at Camp Halfblood. Of course he protested, but he knew that was all he could do. But then she said, "I miss you, Seaweed Brain." and it was all he needed to hear.

He spent the day moving through the camp's activities, relishing every moment. He even tried archery with Chiron, and kind of spend more time with it than he used to. Of course, he still sucked. Mostly he taught sword-fighting for the day, which was kind of embarrassing with the kids kind of all over him.

The wind blew, and he yawned. So here he was, at the beach, because there was nowhere and nothing else to do. Besides, he was feeling quite melancholic today. He didn't know why, and he honestly couldn't think of a good reason. It's just...he felt kind of sad, and, well, he probably got something from Jason. That guy seemed kind of gloomy. It's probably the sound of the water on the beach, the seagulls overhead, and the wind on his face that's causing all this drowsy-like melancholy that makes him want to just sit here.

She could see the sky turning orange in the horizon, and she felt a pang of guilt. This was their first day of summer, and she kind of ditched him. Not on purpose, though, she convinced herself. She really had to drop by Olympus for some matters. It was only later that she figured she could've just brought him along. She mentally hit herself for this. She hated it when she doubts herself. What was she getting so worked-up with anyway? She was going to see Percy in a few minutes now.

He wasn't in the Big House when she arrived. Not in his Cabin, either. Sword-fighting was done by then, so she went to the basketball court. She met Will Solace there, had a small chat, and said that he saw Percy by the lake. So she jogged off to see him, only to find out he wasn't there. The water nymphs weren't helpful, not since she and Percy got together, that is. She wandered off after that, hoping she'd finally bump into him, until she realized that if Percy wasn't in the lake, he's probably underwater, or in the beach.

The sand scrunched against her shoes as she walked through the clearing towards the beach. Percy was sitting on one of the benches along the clearing, looking out at the now setting sun. She jogged towards him, feeling her heart skipping a beat. She knew her mother's probably watching now, as always, but she had long stopped caring. Their parents could have their squabbling for eternity, but she's going to keep Percy.

He lounged on the bench like a really bored tourist, and his eyes had this kind of drowsy look on them. But when they flicked to her direction, she couldn't help but let out a grin at the sudden change on his face. She watched his lopsided smile pull-up on his lips, his eyes brightening as she sat down beside him.

She kissed him on the cheek, now grinning. "Hey."

"Hey."

There was a pause as Percy continued to stare at her, and she stared back, suddenly skeptical. "What?"

"You look beautiful."

Annabeth laughed. "Gods, Percy. What do you want?"

He grinned. "Nothing."

"Okay." She said. "I'm sorry about today. You can stop—" She waved her hand in haphazardly, "whatever this is."

Percy's grin dropped to a sheepish smile, his eyes glancing down. "Have I ever told you how much I love you?"

There was a short silence, and Annabeth could feel the blood rush up to her face. Her mind raced. She's pretty sure this was her Percy, so she immediately ruled out the possibility of an impostor. But she knew now that his boyfriend wasn't feeling like himself today. Of course, Percy has always been all kinds of sweet. But they never were typical kind of couple. Sure, they held hands, kiss, but she believed they were pretty private with their affections. And even then, they rarely get mushy. They argue all the time. She beats him up in almost everything, and he loves competing with her. The name-calling has become an endearment amidst the bickering, and even when making up. So the way Percy was acting right now seemed to her like an uncharted territory.

She ventured carefully, deciding not to take this too lightly. When she broke the silence, she found herself quite careful.

"Yes."

"No," Percy shook his head. "I mean, like, really tell you how much I mean it. That I…I need you."

Annabeth smirked, lacing their hands together. "Well I know for a fact that you'd be miserable without me."

His eyes bore down on her, and she studied his face. His hair was ruffled by the wind, his eyes had a bit of orange on them from the sunset, but he still looked very much like the boy he nursed back to life many years ago. Still her Percy.

"That's true, you know."

Annabeth paused, not really knowing what to make of this Percy.

Percy, on the other hand, had never felt so…relieved. It was as though a dam inside him was being released for the first time, and there's no stopping it until the pressure's normalized.

"I really missed you, Annabeth."

"Oh, Percy…" The blonde demigod wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled her close. "I missed you too." She mumbled. "I'm really sorry about today."

"Hey, that's okay." Percy said, pulling back and moved a lock of hair from her eyes. "I've been wanting to talk to you since the wedding."

A few weeks ago, Paul and Sally got married. It was an intimate ceremony, and very, very sweet. Percy was wonderful in his tux, and it was clear how happy he was for his mom. Paul's vows were very emotional. With shaking hands, he held onto his paper and read with a shaking voice, how they met, how they fell in love, and how he couldn't imagine his life without her. Of course, that meant accepting Percy, and all that is about him and Sally's life…

"Why?" Annabeth asked, eyebrows furrowed. "We talked a lot in iris-messages."

"N-no, I…" He mumbled, "It doesn't seem right. I-I mean, I don't want to say it in an iris-message."

Another pause, and Annabeth leaned in to his face, probing. "So?"

Percy was all flushed now, but the dam was just too strong to hold in. He looked sheepish. She remembered him that night before they kissed in Fourth of July, right before they dumped them into the lake. "W-well, I got to thinking…"

"Well, that's new."

His eyebrows crunched together, distracted, "Hey. Don't make fun of me now."

"Okay. Sorry." Annabeth chuckled, and kissed him on the cheek, starting to enjoy the conversation despite herself. "You were thinking…?"

"That maybe I wasn't paying much attention to what you feel, you know."

"Like…what?"

"It's just that…" He said, leaning back onto the bench and lacing their hands. "What Paul said in the wedding…"

He faltered a bit, and she waited patiently.

"Percy?"

He tried for a smile, and the butterflies in his stomach stirred. "It's just that…" He sighed. "I haven't really tried to tell you how I feel about you, have I?"

There was a pause. Annabeth stared at his boyfriend for so many years now, and her mind raced. Part of her brain went searching for an answer, leafing through years of being together, through those rare intimate moments that they actually…talked. There were few, but mostly they were talking about the future.

"I…Percy." She mumbled. "I'm not sure if—"

"Look." He cut. His thumb drew small circles on her hand, and he seemed lost at it for a while. "I-I'm not possessed, or anything."

"I was really about to ask you that—"

He chuckled, his eyes meeting hers again. And she realized that those eyes had stared back at hers for so many times that she really didn't notice until now that they seemed a bit more…mature. As though he wasn't just seeing her girlfriend. As though he was seeing someone so much more than that. Her heart beat fast, not really knowing what to make of it.

"M-maybe I just want to take this chance to be honest with you, you know…" He trailed off, and when she didn't say anything, he mumbled, "And the past few weeks of not seeing you…It kind of ate me up."

"Percy…" She said, brushing off his hair from his eyes so he would look at her. "You know you can tell me anything."

"I want to be the man who's not afraid to tell you how I feel." When Annabeth didn't say anything, he sighed, and searched in her eyes. "Promise me you won't laugh at me."

She pursed her lips, and nodded.

"Annabeth," He said. "I…"

"Are you breaking up with me?"

"Wh-what?! No!"

She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Oh." Percy gaped at her and she blushed. "Sorry. You were starting to scare me."

"I love you, Annabeth."

There was a pause.

"Hey." Percy nudged her. "You know that, right?"

Annabeth Chase bit her lip, her throat thickening instinctively. Clearing her throat, she managed, "Yes." Her voice came out weak, so she tried again. "Of course I do."

The air was cool, the beach quiet. But her heart rammed in her chest. She didn't know what has gone into her boyfriend, but she resigned to just listen to him.

"You're my bestfriend." He said, his eyes looking down to their hands. "I may be the stupidest guy around, but I'm the luckiest because I have you."

"Percy..."

"Hey," He cut in. "Just listen."

There was a pause, and she squeezed his hand with hers.

"It's just that I realized that I haven't been very open with you." He continued. "I never talked about my feelings for you. I never really told you that I never want to lose you."

"I think…" She mumbled, flustered with his words. "I think it goes without saying."

"See?" He chuckled. "Everything goes without saying. That's how it is with us." She smiled, and he continued. "Paul tells my mom every single day that she's the most beautiful person in the world."

When she didn't say anything, Percy added. "I think I should tell you how beautiful you are to me more often."

She flushed, and she chewed on the inside of her cheek, trying to suppress a smile. "I could get used to that."

"You're the prettiest girl I know ever since I met you, Annabeth." He said. "Did you know that when I first saw Aphrodite, I thought it was you?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Now, get real, Seaweed Brain."

Percy chuckled, finally starting to feel like he could actually do this. "I love the way your eyes search for answers when you stare; I love how your eyebrows slightly wrinkle when you find something dubious—" He grinned, and brushed his thumb between her eyes. "—just like this."

She smiled, and did not say anything, now resigned to the conversation however mushy it's getting.

"I love watching you walk towards me." Percy droned on. "It's like there's no one else in the world. And that's when I feel like I'm the luckiest guy there is. And that's me talking."

Annabeth laughed. "I'm starting to like this."

"You're still unbearable at times—"

She raised an eyebrow. "And you're still impertinent."

Percy ignored. "But I like hanging out with you."

"You're pretty lucky, you know." Annabeth chewed on her lips.

"And you're just..." He muttered, "You're just so amazing in the things you do." The words won't stop coming now, and he let them. "You single-handedly redesigned Mt. Olympus, Camp Halfblood, and now you've got cool plans for New Rome."

Percy paused, his eyes searching hers as she let out a chuckle, and mumbled tentatively, "I'm a daughter of Athena, Percy. It's expected of me."

But he shook his head, clearly defiant. "I think that's just half of it." He said. "The rest is that you're really good. Athena or not."

He watched a smile slowly pull up on her lips. "You could get in trouble for saying that."

Percy shrugged, as though the wrath of an Olympian was the last thing in his mind. It was darker now, the night closing in. The wind was calmer, the tide had risen but it was generally calm. After a while, when he spoke again, his voice sounded sad.

"It killed me to let you go on that Mark of Athena quest."

She remembered the quest all too well. The dread, the fear...but above all else, the thought of going through it alone. Everything she did, all that she'd accomplished, it was largely because they were together. She nodded, squeezing his hand. "I don't know what to do if the gods do that to us again."

Her fingers traced his knuckles absently, and Percy said, "I don't want to lose you, Annabeth."

She looked up and her grey eyes met his. "When I hold your hand like this I feel...I feel alive." He continued, his eyebrows furrowing. "No. I-It's like..." He glanced away, finding the words. "It's like I know why I'm alive, and that I would fight to stay alive to be with you."

She understood that. It's exactly how she felt with Percy. They've been through a lot together, and although it was Percy who went through that river for invincibility many years ago, she had come to understand what it meant when they said the phrase, "anchored to mortality".

"Annabeth..." Percy mumbled, his voice almost pleading. "Don't leave me for someone or something else."

Suddenly the words hit. And her voice betrayed her. "What makes you think that?"

"Hey." He said, not missing the hurt in her voice, and tried to meet her eyes when they instinctively looked away. "I didn't mean that you would. I was just…just saying it."

Annabeth paused, and tried to rationalize. Percy was trying to be honest. So she would, too.

She took a deep breath, and sighed, meeting his eyes again. "I won't do that to you."

He tried for a smile. "I know."

"But if you do," Her eyes narrowed. "I'll impale you and swear to the Styx you'll bring you to Tartarus myself."

Percy laughed, and Annabeth rolled her eyes. When he leaned in to kiss her, it was sweet, lingering, and it made a shiver run down his spine. She felt him pull her closer, and she resigned to the embrace, the kiss deepening. She had never felt so loved in her life.

They could've went on with it if not for the sounding of the conch shell.

They stared at each other for a while, all flushed and giddy.

"We're not usually like this..."

She chuckled, "Thanks for noticing."

"And are you okay with that?"

Annabeth stared at her boyfriend, and her heart beat fast, but content. "I'm fine with everything, Percy." She said. "But thank you…" She blushed, "For this."

He smiled, the dam inside him equalizing its pressure.

"I'm going to marry you someday, you know."

Annabeth's blush deepened, but she smirked. "Is that a proposal?"

"It is, actually." Percy said, smirking as well as he teased. "But you've got buildings to build. So…"

"Well you can spend the summer trying to convince me." She said, getting up on her feet. Holding out her hand, she said. "Maybe I'll say yes."

"What's the point of all this if you won't?"

Annabeth laughed, and Percy grinned, taking her hand and lacing them together.

"Come on." He said, pulling her into the night. "All the mushiness makes me hungry."

End

A/N: There you go! Tell me what you think. :)