She tried so hard. She just tried and tried and tried. But every second that passed, every minute which bought another overwhelming nightmarish sight back to her was worse than the last. Much worse.

She sighed heavily in frustration, and raised her head to fluff her pillow for about the gazillion time that night.

The blood pouring from the deep gashes on either side of his waist, his face twisted in agony and anguish

She turned onto her left side as the wooden bed creaked below her. A small part of her mind worried about waking the other Athenian campers, but frankly, she didn't care anymore.

The sudden shock of the black darkness reverberated through her bones. She couldn't see.

Hell, the other campers deserved to feel her pain. How could they deserve such happiness when she would forever be haunted by the blinding images which flashed through her mind every time he looked at him?

The sudden emptiness. His warm body leaving her side. It all made sense. She knew this day would come someday. What would someone like him want to do with a smart-ass like her? But still, she could have never been prepared for how much pain him leaving her side left her with. Especially if he did it in the deepest pits of hell.

She let out a quiet frustrated groan.

And then came the worst part of all. The part where the anger -such red hot anger she had never seen before- flashed in his eyes, setting them ablaze. And she remembered praying so sincerely to all of the gods who would bother listening to her to never have to see him like that again.

Her skin felt damp and sweaty. The sheets twisted uncomfortably around her bare legs. No matter how had she tried, she couldn't sleep. She hardly ever could now. Especially after being cruelly jolted awake by another horrifying nightmare. Of that place. Of Tartarus. And of him dying.

But now she was sure that he loved her. And she was positive that she loved him. More than anything. Like seriously, why else would someone fall into Tartarus for her? To enjoy the leisurely 5 star hotel? Maybe to even book a massage at the world's darkest spa, which played 'world's most bloody death scenes' every Friday night? No.

Ok, that was it. She was done with trying to force her mind to sleep when it knew there were just another bunch of visons created to torture her and rip away her sanity. Cautiously sitting up, she allowed her dazed mind to adjust before lightly stepping up and slipping her feet into her shoes. She wore nothing but a tank top and short shorts, but she couldn't care less at that moment. All she wanted to do was get to that person. To step into his waiting arms. Always waiting arms. To the one person she could call home.

She scooped up her invisibility cap from her bedside. It's powers had returned, thanks to her mother and the events which took place during her unexpected meeting with a demigod named Sadie Kane. She placed it on her head and stepped out of the doorway into the cool air. And she began to move towards Cabin 3.

But as she began to move closer, a familiar emotion began to move through her body. The fear which had clawed at her heart, the sudden surge of panic at finding an empty bad in cabin 3 early in the morning. Then the next few months living in utter misery. This feeling only propelled her to move faster towards the cabin, and soon enough she was sprinting through the field. She had to make sure he was safe. That he was still there.

She bounded up the steps and slammed the door open, not caring about the noise. But the sight which met her made her stop in her tracks.

Percy Jackson lay on his side upon the only occupied bed in the cabin, facing towards the direction of the door. His lips were slightly parted, and his hands were folded beneath his cheeks. He looked adorable. Not to mention that he always chose to sleep shirtless.

He also looked peaceful. But the daughter of Athena knew better. This was probably the only night he would get this entire year where he could sleep without nightmares. It had been a year since they had escaped, a year since the war had ended, but they both knew Tartarus would leave an everlasting impact on their lives. A scar no one could heal. But a scar they could treat only with the help of each other. And who knows, maybe someday they could be okay.

Stealthily creeping towards his bed, she lifted her Yankees cap off of her head, allowing loose blond curls to tumble down her shoulders. She placed her cap on his bedside, and sat down on the next bed, facing him. And during the next five minutes, she revised everything about him. How he would breath in through his nose and exhale through his mouth. How the corners of his eyes had light crinkles from smiling. How his hair flopper up on one side, leaving it in a disarrayed arrangement.

Her hand moved of its own accord. And she felt the smooth skin of his cheekbones on her fingertips a second later. Then her hand was shaping his face, tracing every feature. And she remembered. Not the bad things. But the good things.

Suddenly, a slow lazy smile spread across his face, and his eyelids fluttered open. She bit back a gasp as his bright sea-green eyes reflected in the moon light through the window. She would never get over that. He always said her eyes were pretty, but no one could compare to his. They were like the Bermuda triangle on his body. They sucked you in and would never let you out. And Annabeth Chase had a certain habit of getting sucked in quite a lot.

Without a word, he scooted over on the bed and patted the space beside him. Wasting no time, Annabeth gently lowered herself onto the bed and turned to face him. This wasn't the first time they'd done this. No, they had done this quite a lot. Most nights, they couldn't sleep at all without being able to hold each other. It was a wonder Chiron himself hadn't recommended Annabeth make Cabin 3 her permanent home.

Through all of this, Annabeth had never stopped gazing into his eyes. And she didn't now. As she lay pressed against his warm, bare chest, she stared into the heart of his eyes with one of her thumbs still lightly rubbing the skin in front of his ear, with the rest of her fingers lost in the tangle of hair. And Percy was studying her eyes too.

He eased a strong arm around her waist and pulled her too him, as she burrowed her head in his chest.

"Couldn't sleep, wise-girl?"

She shook her head against his chest. "Sorry if I woke you. I didn't know where else to go."

She felt him smiling. "I should consider it an honor that you came to me first, right?"

Slapping his chest lightly, she lifted her head to look at him. "Yeah. You should."

Still grinning, he caught her off-guard by suddenly leaning down and pressing his lips to hers. The kiss was slow and comforting, meant to calm her and tell her that he was still there. These slow kisses were very unlike their usual ones, as they hardly ever felt the need to emphasize their love for each other. They already knew it was there. But this kiss translated into three simple words: I. LOVE. YOU.

When they finally broke apart, she was gasping for air.

Lightly stroking his warm face, she smiled at him, and fit a leg between both of his to keep it warm. Percy pulled up the covers to cover both of them, and they both continued to nestle in each other's warmth and safety. They also continued round 2 of the staring-into-your-true-love's-eyes contest.

And as finally, finally their eyes began to flutter shut, she heard Percy whisper into her ear.

"I love you, okay?"

"I love you too."

"And we will get through this. We'll be fine. No matter how long this takes, we'll be fine."'

Annabeth gently pressed a feather light kiss to his bare chest as his hand crept under the hem of her shirt, allowing his fingers to rub smooth, comforting circles on her lower back. She stared deep into the sea green eyes which were threatening to envelope her in their warmth. Then she tried to identify each color which drifted there. And she stared good and hard.

"As long as we're together."

And both damaged lovers could have sworn they had never fallen asleep faster than that.