"Don't you ever do something like that again!" she's yelling, angry, but happier than she's ever been.
"I'm not planning on getting blown up again anytime soon." he's guilty, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. It's all he can do not to hug her.
"Where were you? I was- well, we were all so worried. I was burning your shroud. You were dead. You can't call?"
"Cell service isn't great on islands that don't exist."
"What do you mean islands that don't…"
He shouldn't have said that. He's sure she's just figured out where he was. She knows things like this. She doesn't look happy anymore.
"I came back. I couldn't stay there."
"Well so glad to know that you'd deign us with your presence."
"Annabeth…"
"Leave it seaweed brain."
She turns to stalk off, but he stops her. She glares at his hand on her arm and then up at him, storm grey eyes challenging and deadly.
"I couldn't just leave you to fight a war on your own could I?" he tries, he smiles.
"Always the hero, giving up paradise for the greater good. How noble." she pulls away.
"Come on!" he all but yells.
"Come on what?" she mimics his voice while wrenching her arm from his grasp.
"For gods sakes Annabeth I-"
The argument could go two ways. As he looks at her he knows that he can yell, he can scream, he can give her the fight she so desperately seems to want. Or. Or he can refuse to fight. There's an idea. He really wants to fight; she's being mean because he almost died saving her life. But maybe that's it. He's never thought something through like this before. He remembers how he felt when she went over the side of that cliff. He remembers how he felt when he saw her holding up the sky. He remembers how he felt when he thought she was going to join the Hunters. Is that how she felt?
He remembers dancing on Olympus and the song that was a little sad, but maybe a little hopeful too and suddenly he knows what he has to do. A real, big, goofy, stupid, seaweed brain smile breaks out on his face and he reaches for her again.
"Percy just go awa-"
He shuts her up with a rib-crushing hug that would make Tyson proud. "Come on wise girl, you can't get rid of me that easily."
She cracks a smile.