A/N: New story, hurray! But it's not new at all; in fact, it was published two months ago on my tumblr. Which is now intensecondsflat, and if you can find the reference there, I'll clap. Real hard.
Anyway, the author's note in that is: "It was originally supposed to be a silly drabble that had Annabeth being a worry-wart and a shirtless Percy distracting her. It was supposed to end with Annabeth thinking that having the hots for Percy was completely logical. Instead, this happened. So, Annabeth angst. Enjoy." Which is the honest truth. This bundle of angst was supposed to be a bundle of laughs, and Percy's body appreciation.
These things write themselves. That is the lesson I learned that day, and fuck it if I don't take advantage of it. So, here's a fic, with little to no editing, and based on brain farts.
For the people who can't do the math, this fic was written before Mark of Athena, when I believed Athena marked Annabeth and was planning to use her for vengeance, a feat - I believed - she hasn't done in years. I was partly right, though. So I rejoiced, reading MoA.
I also do not own Percy Jackson, Heroes of Olympus, and the like. Just a reminder.
It had been three days since they left Camp Jupiter.
Of course, Annabeth wasn't counting. It wasn't as if she had spent eight months, three weeks, six days, thirteen hours, forty-seven minutes, and twelve seconds worrying herself sick about all the possibilities of Percy running away, Percy dead, Percy not remembering her, Percy being tortured, Percy on another quest, Percy finding a girl that wasn't her, Percy being lost and confused, Percy not knowing how to defend himself, Percy being surrounded by a ridiculous amount of red liquid, Percy with his eyes closed and never opening again, Percy captured and serving Gaea, Percy just gone, Percy, Percy, Percy…
She shook her head clear. No use dwelling on that. Besides, her boyfriend was perfectly safe and happy in the swimming pool Leo had somehow managed to install. ("It's a brilliant addition to the Argo II!" He grinned, ignoring the judging stare she had given him. "We're going to have happy times in this ship, and don't you want to be happy, Annabeth? It'd be like, you know, uh, team-building!" Piper sniffed from her place behind the overly excited son of Hephaestus, "You just want to make sure Percy Jackson likes you.")
With that sudden burst of memories, Annabeth's eyes swept over the the scene. They were happy, if that concluded being stupid enough to act like a bunch of seals. Her eyebrows furrowed and she gave a slightly exasperated look to their little group of 'heroes.' How the world expected them to save them to defeat an earth goddess with her legion of giant children, she would never know. Perhaps she would ask her mother when Zeus decides to stop ignoring them and help, for once.
Gods, she thought, what selfish beings. Annabeth's hand ghosted over the horrifyingly realistic owl just by her shoulder. Not realizing it, she shivered. She hated that thing. She hated what it stood for. She hated what it happened for her to acquire it. She hated her mother's unnaturally cold voice. She hated her mother for leaving her alone, crying, with a mark she didn't understand. But most of all, she hated the owl's eyes.
Big. Never blinking. Always watching. It was a gruesome reminder that Athena was always one step forward, she knew your next move and your next five, and that she was always judging. She was always up there. Annabeth didn't like it. She got the feeling Athena would actually come down and slap her for so much as breathing wrong. She felt a sharp pain blossom in her chest. It was as if her mother really did slap her.
And all of a sudden, she winced. For once, she felt like crying. But she tried to reign it in.
So she watched. She saw the water splash, she saw the others laugh, she saw Percy smiling, she saw them happy. She saw the waves lap innocently at the bottom of the Argo II, she saw the clouds pass by in their usual easy rhythm, she saw the sun gleam beautifully at the golden mast that was once Festus the dragon, and despite all that, she frowns.
Because she saw the world in danger once, and Annabeth wondered if she could find a plan to save it this time. The picture was still in her brain. Because she never forgets.
Of people screaming, of the trees burning, of demigods fighting, of too much monster dust, of darkness, of last breaths, of blood, of swords clanging against each other, of golden eyes, of desperation, or war and love and pain and loss and Percy and her and the relief when it was finally over.
For those few seconds she was lost in thought, Annabeth saw the world. And she hated it.