A/N: Well, since the Son of Neptune left us hanging, I couldn't resist writing my own version of Percy and Annabeth's reunion. I hope you enjoy!
This is my first time writing one of these, so the characters might be a bit off. c:
Read, review, and enjoy! :) Also, Happy Halloween! :D
Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson. Unfortunately.
Reunion
Annabeth leaned against the upper deck of the Argo II alone, closing her eyes. Everybody else was either sleeping or quietly conversing in their bunks down on the lower deck. She inhaled the scent of the salty sea water, which wafted up from the ocean below. It amazed her how far the scent could carry, especially since they were hundreds of thousands of feet above the water. She smiled. It reminded her of Percy. For a moment, she relaxed, but then the tension in her shoulders returned.
"How are you?" a voice asked her from behind. Annabeth turned, startled. Nico joined her at the edge of the boat. He surveyed the mass of water far below them, then glanced at Annabeth.
"Fine, obviously." She shrugged, making the movement as nonchalant as possible. Nico didn't miss her worried expression.
He grinned, then asked teasingly, "Thinking about a certain son of Poseidon?"
"No! I mean, of course not." Annabeth blushed scarlet, giving herself away.
Nico stared at the intricate designs on the side of the boat contemplatively. "Relax. What, do you think he'd forgotten about you?"
"Well... it's been a long time," Annabeth mumbled. "He probably has a new girlfriend or something." She laughed nervously for a few seconds, then let it fade off into the silence of the boat. She wasn't usually like this, but reuniting with her boyfriend after eight months was a daunting prospect, even for a girl who had started encountering hardship at the early age of 7.
Nico huffed. "Look, as dim as Percy can be at times, I really doubt he'd just forget about you and go get in a relationship with some Roman girl." He paused, then restated, "Relax."
"Relax. I'm very relaxed." Nico smirked at her anxious expression and her tense body, but let her statement stand.
Percy sat on the grass next to Hazel and Frank. They were all quiet, thinking their own thoughts.
"So, Percy," Hazel started, "How are you?" Frank turned his gaze on Percy, wondering how he'd answer.
"Nervous, but excited." Percy grinned.
"About seeing your girlfriend?" Frank winked. Hazel laughed, then threaded her hands into his.
"Annabeth?" Percy cleared his throat. "Yeah.. but I can't help but feel that she's moved on."
"Okay, Percy? I don't think you have a valid reason to feel that. It's her that should be worrying, not you. She's not the one who lost her memory." Hazel shook her head.
"That's not fair! It's been eight months, she could have easily gotten herself into another relationship." Percy glanced away. He was nervous, all right. How would she react to him? Would she have another guy in her life? What if she had changed? He coughed.
"You sound so whiny," Frank snorted, "Just relax. From what you have told us about her, she seems like an honorable person. Not the kind of girl who would go date someone else just because her old boyfriend went missing in action."
"I was not missing in action. I was just... temporarily unreachable," Percy said reproachfully.
Hazel snorted. "At any rate, whether you were missing in action or not, I bet you that she didn't forget one thing about you."
Percy gazed out into the ocean, tension visible in his shoulders. "I hope so."
Jason ran his hand through his hair as he guided the boat down from the clouds onto the land below.
"You think they'll attack?" Annabeth asked from beside him.
Jason glanced up briefly then shrugged. "I doubt it, not while we're flying the truce flag. Of course, don't count on them not becoming violent. They're pretty emotional people. Plus, I doubt they're extremely happy that a Greek camp actually exists."
"I see."
"Do you?"
"Well, maybe not."
Jason smiled. "At any rate, I doubt we'll be welcomed with open arms, but I don't think we'll be greeted with hostility, either. But be prepared for any situation. They- I mean we- are impulsive people."
Annabeth laughed. "I doubt any more impulsive than Greeks." She turned serious again. "Are you... excited to go back? Reunite with some old friends?"
Jason grew sober too. He ran his hand through his hair again. "Well, some people I feel better off not reuniting with. But I do miss some of my friends. And I'll enjoy seeing my co-praetor again."
"Your co-praetor?"
"Reyna. She can be very blunt and harsh, but she's a good person. Mostly."
"Did you guys...?"
He hesitated, then simply stated. "Reyna believes in co-praetor relationships. We came close. But I have Piper now, and I think she's all I really need. Reyna is a good person, but I don't think we were the right fit." He thought for a moment, then nodded satisfactorily, as if he'd said what he'd exactly wanted to say. "How about you? Are you excited to see Percy?"
Annabeth looked down at her hands. "Yeah. I suppose. Nervous."
"How so?
She swallowed before saying. "I'm scared he has forgotten about me. Or that he's moved on. Or something. There are so many things that could go wrong in our relationship. What if he's not even the same person that I fell in love with?"
Jason hesitated again before answering. "I won't pretend to understand you and Percy's relationship, but judging from what I've heard about him from you and the other campers, he seems like a pretty cool guy. I doubt you need to worry; he doesn't seem like the kind of person who would just go and forget about his girlfriend." The boat settled firmly on the ground as he spoke.
Annabeth didn't reply.
"Romans, formation!" Reyna yelled as they lined up in their cohorts. Percy knew he should be helping, but he stood frozen in place.
"Percy, are you alright?" Hazel asked, concerned.
"Yes," he choked out. Then, in a more confident voice, he said, "Yeah, I'm good."
Hazel didn't look convinced, but she let it go.
"Percy!" Reyna called. "Come here, in the front." Hazel and Frank gave him encouraging nods as he passed them. Octavian rolled his eyes and looked away in disgust.
"Traitor," he whispered venomously. Percy ignored him.
"Do you know their leader?" Reyna asked quietly as he joined her.
Percy shrugged. "Well, I was kind of their leader before- you know. I can think of some possible replacements." He thought for a moment, watching the ship grow larger.
"And?"
Percy shrugged again. "Maybe Jason was put in charge." He went on to rattle off a list of people that he thought might have filled in his position in his absence. Finally, he said, "Well, maybe Annabeth." His voice broke a bit as he said her name.
"Ah. And do you think they'll attack?"
"No. Not with the truce flag."
They stood in silence, watching the ship grow larger and larger until it finally landed with a soft thump on the ground.
Jason tugged at Annabeth's arm. "Come on, they'll want the leader of the Greeks to come negotiate terms."
Annabeth swallowed, apprehensive. "Me? Um, is there a way I can duck out of that responsibility?"
"No. Hurry, they're waiting." Jason tugged at her again. Piper, Leo, and Grover came over to wish them luck.
Leo grinned. "I guess it's a good thing that they haven't fired at us. Yet."
Nico hung back, but he smiled at Annabeth when she looked at him. She groaned as she followed Jason off.
In truth, she was pretty impressed by the Roman camp. It was probably twice as big as Camp Half-Blood, and the buildings were spectacular. She would have to study the architecture later. After a small glance around, she started to look for the guy that she'd been waiting for for eight months.
"I'm guessing Percy is the one next to Reyna? They're standing at the front," Jason murmured. Somehow, he'd known who she was searching for.
Her throat constricted as she spotted him. Their eyes met. "Yeah. That's him."
He was just the way she'd remembered. Sloppy black hair falling into his eyes and his sea-green eyes twinkling. He'd grown a bit taller, though. Immediately, she relaxed. But thoughts like whether he remembered her still plagued her as she stopped in front of him and Reyna with Jason.
She heard whispers. Who is that? She's so young. Is that their leader? But she looks so inexperienced!
She barely heard Reyna introducing herself; her eyes were locked on Percy. She murmured a quick greeting to Reyna.
"... And the Greeks will be assured to be able to land safely without any disharmony," Reyna finished. Annabeth started, and nodded, thanking her. Turning her back on the Romans, she yelled for the rest of the campers to start disembarking.
Jason grinned at Percy. "Percy Jackson? I've heard about you."
"At your service. And Jason Grace? I've heard lots about you, too." Percy winked. "By the way, you can have the praetor position back anytime. Personally, I think the Romans would prefer it if you lead them. I'm still the random graecus that popped out of nowhere. You have more public appeal."
Jason laughed. "Are you kidding? Everybody loves you at Camp. It's always Percy this,Percy that.What did you do to make you so popular?"
Percy hesitated, then replied, "Well, I-"
"Right, boys. You two can swap war stories later," Reyna interrupted.
"Reyna!" Jason greeted. Annabeth saw Piper narrow her eyes.
Jason switched positions with Annabeth so that he was in front of the Roman leader.
The Greek campers filed down in a line, laughing and talking and arguing. The Romans remained stone silent. Somewhere, in the back of her mind, Annabeth registered how different their cultures were.
She remained off to the side as Percy reconciled with his friends and met new ones.
"Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus!" Leo bounded up to him the moment he was free. "Wow, dude, I've heard so much about you."
"Don't mind him. He's weird and hyper," another girl said, rolling her eyes at Leo. "I'm Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite. Nice to meet you."
"Nice meeting you guys, too!" Percy smiled good-naturedly before he was tackled by Thalia and Grover.
Finally, he broke free of the crowd and went to stand in front of her. They stared at each other for a few moments before speaking.
Percy's voice jarred her out of her muddled thoughts. "Wise Girl."
She breathed in sharply. "You remember?"
Percy grinned at her, the smile she loved. "Obviously. Why else would I call you Wise Girl?"
A smile lit up her face. She felt like loads of pressure had been lifted off her shoulders. In one movement, they came forward and joined in a hug. "I missed you, Seaweed Brain," she whispered.
"I missed you, too."
She broke away to say, "So, how did you remember?"
"You?"
"Yeah."
"Well, you see, Wise Girl, I never forgot you." Percy grinned at her surprised but happy expression, and pulled her in for another hug.
A/N: Cheesy, I know. I hope you enjoyed it anyways :)
~love-serenades