Author's Note: This is just a one-shot about Percy and Annabeth, with the song The Saltwater Room by Owl City. The Saltwater Room belongs to Owl City (Adam Young) and Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase belong to Rick Riordan.

Hint of Love

With your ear to a seashell, you can hear the waves in underwater caves, as if you actually were inside a saltwater room... Annabeth smiled. "Can I really hear the sound of the waves in Poseidon's court?" Percy nodded, standing knee-deep in the ocean off the shore of Camp Half-Blood. "A Nereid gave it to me as thanks when I helped her out last spring," he explained. She frowned. Tomorrow was the last day of summer at Camp Half-Blood. Her last day with Percy, probably until the next summer.

"Time together is never quite enough..." Annabeth murmured. "When you and I are alone, I've never felt so at home," Percy agreed. Annabeth wasn't quite sure she even heard him above the sound of the ocean. "When we're apart, what are you thinking of?" Annabeth asked quietly, almost whispering. Percy looked up. He didn't respond- he wasn't quite sure how to answer- and pretended he hadn't heard her.

"Next summer... it'll be here before we know it," he said, in attempt to reassure her. However, she knew him well enough, they'd been through enough, that she knew he felt the same way she did. The sun was beginning to set. "We'd better get back. Dinner will be soon." Percy nodded in agreement. He waded out of the water, emerging completely dry. Being a son of Poseidon had its advantages.

* * *

Soon, Percy was home in his Manhattan apartment. He sighed, lying on his bed. "When we're apart, what are you thinking of?" Annabeth's voice rang through his head. He thought about it. "If this is what I call home, why does it feel so alone?" he muttered aloud. His room seemed almost foreign to him, he'd been away from it all summer. He missed Camp Half-Blood. He missed Annabeth.

* * *

Annabeth was home as well. She looked out her window, thinking about camp. No. Thinking about Percy. "What will it take to make or break this hint of love?" she asked herself. She didn't want to risk their friendship. They'd been through far too much to throw it all away, but... "Only time. Only time," she answered herself. She stifled a smile for the first time since leaving Half-Blood Hill.

* * *

Nearly a month had passed since Percy and the other campers had left Camp Half-Blood. Annabeth hadn't heard from him since. She looked at the small fountain on her desk, a miniature model of the Fountain of Love in France. It was a gift from one of the girls from the Aphrodite cabin. A lamp was behind it, pointed through the fountain at her sketchbook, filled with ideas for buildings she planned on making when she got older. She turned it on, casting a small rainbow amidst the spray of the fountain. She reached for a single golden coin in her pocket and tossed it in. "O, goddess, accept my offering. Show me Percy Jackson, Manhattan." The fountain shimmered, and soon she could see Percy laying on his bed.

* * *

"Annabeth?" he asked, turning to see the Iris-message. "Hi, Percy..." Annabeth said, her voice faltering sheepishly. Her blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and he could see a Yankees cap on her bed behind her, a magic gift from her mother, Athena. He grinned. "It's nice to... see you again," he said happily. "You're okay?" he added worriedly. "Of course I am, Seaweed Brain!" she responded, almost instinctively. "I mean... Percy...." Annabeth faltered. "So tell me, Percy, do you wish we'd fall in love?" she blurted out. Then what she said hit her, and she blushed, scared of his answer. "All the time," he replied. "All the time."

"Time together is never quite enough."
"When you and I are alone, I've never felt so at home."
"What will it take to make or break this hint of love?"
"Only time, only time."
"When we're apart what ever are you thinking of?"
"If this is what I call home, why does it feel so alone?"
"So tell me darling, do you wish we'd fall in love?"
"All the time, all the time." ~ The Saltwater Room, Owl City


End Note: I'm pretty proud of this, despite the fact it didn't take that long. The song is one of my favorites, and the chorus just fit so well with these two I couldn't resist! :3