A/n- Set between House Of Hades and Blood Of Olympus, this one-shot is my view of how Tartarus affected Annabeth and Percy, and how they get through it together!
Disclaimer-Uncle Rick owns it!

Memories!

The light of the moon finally broke through the clouds, for the first time that night.

Moonlight fell on the ocean, illuminating the light waves, making it appear as if the ocean was made of blue light and not water. It looked so different at night, in darkness the wide field of water could almost be mistaken for a desert. The only sound was made by the splashing of water against the warship.

The world seemed so calm, so quiet.

Sleeping and oblivious to the tragedies and horrors that existed. Oblivious to the danger that awaited them all, dangers that could destroy this world. As moonlight fell on the warship, it illuminated a lonely figure sitting on the decks, surrounded by silence.

She had never known that silence could be so deafening.

Annabeth Chase looked around the beauty that surrounded her, but at night the ocean reminded her of that horrid place. It was quiet, a pit of darkness that had no end. And sitting on a warship in the middle of the ocean felt the same to her.

She knew she should go inside, as the cold wind hit her skin, she shivered. But it wasn't this cold that bothered her, it was the chill that had set in her bones, since she'd been back. She wished for a way to block it all out, to escape the memories, she wished she could escape the nightmares. But she couldn't, so night-after-night she sat on the deck, letting the cold wind numb her.

She closed her eyes and let the wind carry away all her demons, but instead she felt someone sit beside her and felt arms slip around her shoulders. It was Percy.

"It's really cold tonight" he said, looking in her eyes for a heartbeat, then looked away , staring at the ocean.

He knew, she thought, knew that she came here every night. And he'd let her be. He hadn't asked questions, hadn't demanded to know what was wrong. He'd just let her fight her own battles, silently watching over her. She felt tears well up in her eyes.

And for the first time since she'd been back, Annabeth Chase cried.

She cried for the horrors they had faced, for all the times she'd been scared that she'd lost Percy. She cried for Bob, who had been slowly figuring out his own identity but had still helped them, for Damasen who had helped two strangers by risking his own life. She cried because she had , had to leave them behind. She cried for herself, for the shell of the girl she used to be, but most of all she cried for the boy holding her, for all, that he had lost in those days.

Percy just let her cry, she knew how much it hurt him, to see her like that. But he just held her, tartarus had changed both of them, Percy Jackson had become a man, though she could still see the hint of the small boy inside him, but there was something in his eyes that spoke of the pain, of all that he had endured to be where he was. When her sobs finally turned to hiccups, he started to stroke her hair.

"I just wish, I could forget it, all that darkness. I wish I could close my eyes and not see Bob's smiling face, not hear Damasen's battle cries." She said, and she knew in her heart that he felt the same, that he knew what she was talking about, she knew that he wished he could take it all away, make it better for her.

"I know" he said, "Gods, Annabeth I just wish there was something we could do, for Bob and Damasen,get them out of there."his words held so much pain that a tear strolled down her cheek.

"I know" she said, not knowing what they could do. Annabeth had always had all the answers, but for the first time in her life she didn't know if there was any way that they could help Bob or Damasen, she felt so helpless as she saw the pain in Percy's eyes, knowing that her own reflected the same.

"I'm sorry, Percy"she said ,"It was all my fault, I should've been more careful, I'm sorry that we fell in there –" but he stopped her,
"It wasn't your fault Annabeth, It was nobody's fault. Bad things happen sometimes, and You know what , If I had to go through that , I'm glad It was with you, because, Honestly? I don't think I would've survived without you" he said, a small smile on his lips "And Reyna was right, you know. I really won't be able to find my way out of a paper bag without you."

Annabeth laughed, and in that moment she fell even more in love with him. It was only him who could make her laugh when she had been sobbing a few moments before. He was it for her, and no matter what, she was sure that she ,too, wouldn't be able to find her way out of a paper bag without him.

"Annabeth , do you know what the only way there is to get rid of bad memories?" he asked, a flirtatious grin on his face, and Annabeth couldn't help but smile back as she shook her head.

"The only way to get rid of bad memories is by making some new good ones" he said, and then leaned down to kiss her.

She wrapped her hands around him and kissed him back, finally feeling warm for the first time in a long time. After a few moments he lifted his lips off hers and laid his forehead on hers.

"You, Annabeth Chase are the most beautiful, intelligent and strongest person, I have ever met. You are perfect and I love you." he said, staring into her eyes, and she barely stopped the tears from rolling down her face.

"And you Percy Jackson may not be perfect, but I love you, anyway." She replied, smiling he leaned down to steal another kiss and as he wrapped her up in his arms, she knew this was one good memory, she would cherish forever.

A/n- Okay, so I know this is A LOT angstier (is that even a word?) than the stuff I normally write, but I think that, the journey they took through Tartarus would have changed Percy and Annabeth forever!

Hope you guys like it! Please review!