Annabeth's POV

Percy wanted to go out for dinner today. I said yes, of course. We were going to go to the boardwalk and then sit on the beach for a while.

Percy had looked nervous when he asked me, as if we hadn't been on dates before.

There was 15 minutes left before I had to start walking to the boardwalk. It was pretty chilly today, even though it was still mid-August. A beautiful day outside, though, with sunshine gleaming.

I threw on my clean Camp Half-Blood t-shirt, pulled my wild hair into a ponytail, and with a quick check in the mirror, I walked outside.

Darn it, why didn't I bring a jacket? It was windy as Hades.

I shuddered and tried to get the stray pieces of my hair out of my face. As I was busy doing this, I didn't see a familiar green-eyed, black-haired person jogging towards me.

"Having trouble, I see?" He smirked but gave me a quick, sweet peck on the lips.

"Shut up, Seaweed Brain. It's colddd."

"C'mon Annabeth." He put an arm around me and steered us towards a restaurant.

I was grateful for his warmth, and snuggled tighter into his half-embrace. He smiled at me, and I felt a familiar feeling in my stomach.

Throughout dinner, Percy was a lot quieter than usual. He would normally be cracking corny jokes and teasing me.

"You alright?" I asked.

"Yeah. Just thinking."

"That's weird." I jabbed, and he fake scowled at me. Fast as lightning, he reached over and stole one of my French fries.

"Hey! You're gonna regret that, Percy!" I swiped his drink off the table and took a big swig.

I could feel people around us staring at our loud conversation, but I didn't care, and Seaweed Brain sure didn't either. He started tickling me, with a smug grin on his face.

I gasped and felt tears rise to my eyes from laughing.

"Stop! I will kill you, Percy!" I finally squirmed out of his reach, and shot him a death glare.

"I want to see you try, Wise Girl." He replied.

And with that, he was back to normal. He laughed, and I did too. Finally, after nearly an hour causing ruckus, we left the restaurant, with Percy insisting on paying the bill.

He reached for my hand, and our fingers entwined. The adrenaline from dinner wore off, and it was quiet between us two. I savored this moment, when we weren't fighting for our lives, or worrying with the fate of the world. When it was just us.

The sun was beginning to set, and we kicked off our shoes and sat down on the soft sand.

Percy and I sat shoulder to shoulder, and I rested my head on his strong but comfy shoulder. He smelled like he always did, fresh like the sea.

He gently put a hand under my chin and tilted my head towards his face. A light smile was on his face, but his eyes held something hesitant, fearful. I filled the remaining space between us and felt my lips meet his. It wasn't like any of our other kisses before, which had either been soft and gentle, or passionate with longing.

This kiss had been just in between those two. His hands were caressing my face, and mine were in his mussed hair.

After a few minutes, we finally broke apart, but were still close enough so that if I moved forward just a tiny bit, we'd be kissing again. I looked up into his eyes, and realized something.

Something that ignited me, that made me scared, and delighted, and uncaring about everything else.

He turned his head a little, leaning towards my ear, and as the sun shone bright and beautiful, he whispered three words to me, just for my ears.

"I love you."

My heart stopped, and then swelled with love for this boy. The boy who had grew into a man, without me realizing it. Who was kind, and brave, and courageous. Who teased me, and started fights with me.

"I love you, too." I murmured, and we smiled with the knowledge that everything would be okay, forever.