Heya!

Percy: Looks like I'm the hero in this one, too!

Me: Um . . . It's more like Annabeth's the hero in this one.

Jason: Haha! Take that, bro!

Me: *sigh* Come on, guys. I'll get some things outta the way:

1. This is a prompt (Allergies to nature) story/submission in the Camp Half-Blood forum (link on my profile).

2. Words without A/N: 1,080 (got a bit out of hand; it was supposed to be a drabble up to 700 words . . .)

3. PJO/HoO series belong to Uncle Rick, people.

And final thing: Enjoy!

Worth It

Spring's a season enjoyed by almost all of humanity. The earth is dotted with colorful flowers, the atmosphere is light, and the weather isn't too hot or too cold. All in all, spring is great for some. But some people have allergies, and for them, it is not a time to be too joyful about.

Some people including Annabeth.

She would always sneeze like Hades (no, she had never seen the god of the Underworld sneeze), shaking violently, her itchy eyes pooling up with water. In short, the sneezes were always brutal and ugly. As grateful as she was for her strong immune system, it did nothing to prevent the allergies. Every time she sneezed, it was a situation you'd wish to stay away from, which was technically whenever she got a cold.

Annabeth Chase did not have a cute sneeze and she knew that.

It didn't stop Percy from finding it 'adorable' though.

Her seaweed-brained boyfriend was an idiot. A very cuddly, attractive and lovable idiot. He was a pain in the ass; still, he was her pain in the ass.

Annabeth sighed thinking of Percy, who was currently teaching a sword class, wishing that he was here with her. She struggled a little to sit upright on her chair as she worked away on the blueprints of Olympus. The war with Gaea had left the home of the gods in ruins. How that had happened, what with Olympus being above the clouds and all, was not something Annabeth understood clearly.

Sneezing, she looked at the digital clock on the wall behind her. Her brothers and sister continued working on their own projects, not even flinching. They were so used to this.

4:40 pm.

It meant that Percy's class was over. It also meant that he was going to come to the Athena cabin after a shower and see her as the mess she was right.

Nah, Annabeth wasn't worried about her looking so shitty. She was apprehensive of his reaction to her achoo-ing every two seconds.

The few times when Annabeth got even mildly sick, whether they were at camp or at one of their parents' houses, Percy would just completely freak out. He'd run to the store and get the medicines, compel Chiron to restock their nectar and ambrosia, cook soup for her, and even massage her head. Yes, he'd call her pretty, but not before wrapping her up in a blanket, turning her into a human-burrito.

That was exactly what happened when he barged into the cabin, jogging lightly towards her.

"Hey, Wise Girl. What are ya doi—"

Annabeth counted to three under her breath, a lot nasally than she had wanted, predicting exactly when Percy's eyes would widen.

"You're sick!" he exclaimed loudly, earning looks from the rest of the cabinmates.

"It's just hay fever, Percy," Annabeth replied, rolling her eyes.

Percy pulled up a chair beside his girlfriend and took her face in his palms. Annabeth felt her cheeks burn, sensing the eyes of the others in the room on them. That is, before Malcolm cleared his throat and slowly, everyone cleared out of the cabin, trying to act nonchalant. Annabeth flushed even more so when she noticed some of the more older ones giving her a thumbs-up.

Soon, they were the only ones left in the cabin.

"You know I hate it when anything happens to you."

Annabeth closed her eyes, getting exactly what he was trying to say. The horrifying images from Tartarus began to dominate her thoughts. She shook her head as Percy placed his hand on hers.

"I know, Percy — ACHOO — but it's alright. We're together. And that is what matters, right?"

Silence fell over them but Annabeth couldn't help but feel . . . peaceful, like this. No prophecies to worry about for the time being, no one to disturb their mindset.

"I love you," Percy suddenly spoke, sighing contentedly with his eyes closed, as if something in his rib-cage pined for her affection. "I love you so much."

"I know."

She could tell that it wasn't enough for him. Her guess proved to be a reality when Percy squeezed her hand, saying, "Please tell me that you love me, Annabeth. I-I need to know that."

It hurt her to see him like this: too vulnerable, too unprotected. But it also meant that he trusted her enough to show his weakness to her. Annabeth knew that already; it was just good to have him admit that himself, to make sure that she was not making any assumptions.

"I love you too much, too, Seaweed Brain," she said, caressing the nape of his neck and he shivered slightly.

They stayed like that for a while, just enjoying each other's company, knowing that the other would always be there for them.

"What were you doing when I came in?" Percy asked once his ADHD became too much for him to bear.

"Redesigning Ares' statue," she replied. "He broke the previous one. He wants this one to be perfect."

"Well, Ares does have a nasty temper," Percy remarked, rolling his eyes when thunder rumbled outside. "See what I mean?"

"Don't piss him off, Seaweed-" Annabeth sneezed mid-sentence. "-Brain."

A grin began to form on Percy's face.

"You are too cute, Wise Girl," he said, chuckling when he saw Annabeth glare at him from behind the tissue. "What? It's true!"

Annabeth scoffed, albeit grinning herself.

"Shut up."

"Only if you let me kiss you."

"No. You'll get sick, Percy."

"You are not pollen, Annabeth." His retort made her laugh.

"Just a tiny one, then," she finally conceded, succumbing to his baby-seal expression.

Percy cheered and then kissed her lips in a swift motion. She replied wholeheartedly. However, much to her dismay, the kiss ended as soon as it had started.

The son of Poseidon got up like the chair had shocked him or something.

"I'll get you some ambrosia and nectar from Chiron."

She tried to stop him but his reflexes were too fast for her sick self.

"Idiot."

Still, Annabeth smiled.

Because some instances like this made her feel that all of her allergies were worth it.

They were worth him.

And she hoped that nothing would ever change.

. . . Except maybe him panicking this much, 'cause that was unhealthy for his handsome butt.

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