Hello, everyone! I know, I know... lack of posting. Sorry. :L It's exam week next week, so I'm studying a lot... urg. So I wrote this and posted it on tumblr, but since it was fairly substantial I decided to post it here, too. It's more Percabeth angst... but I'm trying to work on a Thalia fic for everyone so I'm not repeatedly posting percabeth. xD

Enjoy! P.S. This wasn't beta-read... so expect mistakes.

Disclaimer: I don't own PJATO.

- Happy With My Choices: Annabeth's POV -

Annabeth tossed and turned restlessly in her bed.

She felt cold and numb, like she was still in Tartarus, where the chill pulled at you and tried to drag you down like lead weights. Her mattress seemed too uncomfortable, which was ironic because she'd been sleeping on cold, hard gravel and earth for the past two weeks with nothing more than Percy's chest as a pillow. She should've been sleeping like a baby—passed out from lack of substantial rest and just pure exertion. But instead she was awake, laying in her bed and staring at the ceiling with the sheets twisted hopelessly around her legs.

She shivered involuntarily, goosebumps rising up on her arms. She shouldn't be cold. Leo made sure to keep the Argo at a fairly decent temperature, and it was the middle of the summer. But she had a sneaking suspicion that her body wasn't craving just any heat—but the warmth of someone else's body. Specifically the boy with the messy black hair and the sharp green eyes.

An image of Percy's face came to mind, and Annabeth suddenly realized that she'd memorized every line of his face by touch alone in Tartarus. She could remember exactly how it felt to trace the outlines of his jaw and nose while he slept. Had she really touched his face that much?

She tried to push him from her mind. There was no use in her going to wake him up for something as trivial as the fact that she was cold while he was getting good sleep that he definitely needed. And the worst part was that she knew he wouldn't even be remotely mad if she woke him up. Because he was sogod damn sweet. He'd give her anything at his own expense, and he'd proved that well enough by uttering the words "You're not getting away from me."

Annabeth's hand fumbled out in the darkness, and she snatched one of his hoodies he'd lent her off the top of her dresser. It was plain and black, and she knew it was his favorite one—he'd never told her that, but he'd been wearing it religiously since he was fifteen, so she gave it her best guess. The material was soft and warm, and of course, it smelled like him when she hugged it close. She couldn't believe she was doing something was obsessive and boy-crazy as sniffing his clothing, but it was comforting. It left no doubt in her mind that she wasn't going to fall asleep unless he was next her. The things having a boyfriend could do to you…

Sighing heavily, she slipped out of the bed, placing the jacket back on top of her dresser. She moved swiftly out of the door and across the hallway, carefully tip-toeing around the creaky floorboard she'd discovered when she'd been sneaking into his cabin the first time, when they'd gone to the stables. She twisted the knob, and silently slipped into the room, flipping the lock on the door.

She glanced over at his bed, and almost jumped out of her skin when she saw that he was, in fact, awake, and sitting on the edge of his bed, watching her.

Silence settled over them as they stared at each other, Percy's eyes seeming incredibly green in the dark. It wasn't the comfortable silence that normally occurred when they were just enjoying each other's company, nor was it the awkward silence that had been all-too-prominent the first week they'd been dating and whenever one of them slipped up a little with their words. It was the heavy, bone-crushing silence that seemed to rush in Annabeth's ears and make her head pound. The one that had occurred so much when they were fifteen, when their feelings accidentally came gushing out and neither of them were sure what they wanted or what they were doing and they would just stare at each other and forget it ever happened. The one that settled on their shoulders every time they had an argument and were forced to be near each other, that silent tension that pulled at the air like it was a taunt rubber-band.

What did you expect? she thought. You just literally came from hell and back with him.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Annabeth broke the silence. "Hey…"

He continued to stare at her for a moment before croaking out a weary, "Hey…"

Annabeth stood rigidly for a moment, and then walked over and perched awkwardly on the bed next to him. The silence returned as they just sat there, staring at their feet. She wasn't quite sure what to say. This was, after all, the first time they'd had alone since they'd gotten out.

"Couldn't sleep?" Percy asked softly.

Annabeth nodded. "You?"

"Yeah."

More silence. Then the words just tumbled from Annabeth's mouth like a waterfall. "Can I stay with you tonight?"

Annabeth's cheeks turned scarlet, and a small, nearly vacant smile slipped across Percy's face. "I was kind of hoping you'd ask that."

They both climbed under Percy's sheets and laid on their backs, staring at the ceiling. Only their elbows and shoulders brushed occasionally. Annabeth didn't really feel like cuddling—they'd had to do enough of that in Tartarus just to keep warm. He didn't really seem to want to, either. She was just glad to know he was next to her.

As she felt his knuckles lightly brush against hers, she thought back to the last time when they'd had any close contact—back in that… hellhole. Annabeth had been badly injured and was loosing a lot of blood. She'd been slashed across the stomach, and it'd done quite a bit of damage to her. Percy was carrying her, running down the tunnels of Tartarus, and she'd been just about to pass out from blood loss when it had happened.

She could remember ever single detail of it—it felt like it was burnt into her mind. She remembered how he'd pressed his mouth against her ear, and how the warmth of his breath had felt in stark contrast to Tartarus' cold. He'd whispered those three little words in her ear just as she was fading out, and she distinctly remembered feeling a small tear drip onto her face before she'd blacked out and woke up laying on the marble floor of the House of Hades, already out of Tartarus.

They hadn't been able to talk about it, not while everyone was rushing around, trying to close the Doors of Death, trying to get food and fluids into them so they wouldn't keel over… and quite frankly, Annabeth hadn't known what to say. She still didn't know what to say, but she figured that maybe she should at least try. She had to sit there for another minute or so, feeling Percy's thumb run along her fingers, before she could ask her question.

"Did you mean it?" she whispered.

He was silent for a moment, and she thought he might not have understood her, or he might have been asleep. But eventually he said softly, "Of course."

She relaxed into the sheets, the words popping from her mouth before she could really think about them. "I love you, too, Percy." Maybe she didn't need to think about things sometimes.

"I know."

"You do?"

"It's not hard to tell, Annabeth. I'm not that obtuse."

"It feels good, though," she admitted, smiling. "I've only told a few people that."

"I'm special," he teased, poking her side.

She laughed softly. "Yes, yes you are."

He turned on his side so that he was facing her, even though she was still looking at the ceiling. "I hope you like your choices," he murmured, twirling one of her curls around his finger, "because you're stuck with me forever."

"I don't mind that," Annabeth said, grinning. She turned her head so she could look into his eyes. "I'm very happy with my choices."

This isn't my best by a long shot... but I felt like I owed my followers on here something.

Reviews are forever still appreciated. :)