Trade Places

"Crap."

The hissing sound of a familiar voice immediately awakened the sleeping blonde. Her head was resting on Percy's lap who seemed to be panicking about something. His hair was a complete mess, the smear of blood on his forehead had gone dry. There were beads of sweat forming at his hairline. His green orbs looked tired and worried. Annabeth slowly sat up and swept the lock of hair falling on his face.

"Sorry." The son of Poseidon muttered apologetically. She shook her head slightly and gave him a smile. He returned the smile but his eyebrows were still scrunched up. Annabeth's heart did a quick jump. His look reminded her of the time she got poisoned at Krono's battle. She was laid down on a couch and Percy knelt beside her with the same expression. She remembered herself saying, 'You're cute when you're worried. Your eyebrows get all scrunched together '. "What's wrong?" She croaked.

"I can't feel any water that's safe enough to drink. The toxin seems to be too infused with the fluid." He took her hand that was previously on his hair and placed it on his cheeks. His calloused palm felt good on hers.

Annabeth was about to reply when she felt a searing pain in her ankle. She bit back her lip so hard that she tasted blood. Her face became paler, if that was even possible. She gripped on Percy's arm, it must've hurt since he groaned but did his best to hide it.

When the pain subsided, Annabeth released a breath she didn't even know she was holding. A few cubes of ambrosia or nectar would be nice right now, she thought.

"Annabeth..." Percy mumbled. "I'm so sorry, I-"

"How is this your fault, Seaweed Brain?" She laughed, a real and loud one. However, the son of the sea god didn't seemed to be amused.

"Seeing you in pain and not being able to do anything... Gods, Annabeth, I'm sorry..."

Annabeth has been with Percy ever since they were twelve but she never saw him look as disappointed as he is now. They were still holding each other's hand. She gave it a gentle squeeze, looking for a way to reassure him.

"Percy, if you had let me go, I'd be all by myself here. But you didn't. You chose to fall into Tartarus with me. No, if anyone should be apologizing, it's me."

She was rewarded with a small smile.

"I'd still trade places with you if I could." He muttered almost inaudibly. He lazily let his fingers play with the tips of her hair. Annabeth smiled. He may be an idiot most of the time but he knew the exact words to quicken her heart pace.

"Seaweed Brain..." She shook her head and scooted closer to him. His hands were on her waist to help her drag her body.

"How do you think we'll get out of here?" Percy scanned the scene. It was very dark and cold, just like when they went here when he was still branded as the lightning thief. There were stalactites bursting from the ceiling, dripping with liquid. He silently hoped it was just water. The only light source was from their left, a small hole through the rocks.

He thanked the gods because there were no signs of monsters or titans. Yet. They were in Tartarus, of course they're bound to meet some soon. While Annabeth was sleeping, he was trying to think of ways how he could fight the monsters while carrying her. Only a piggy back ride came to his mind and that wasn't very good at all. He had no way of knowing if the attacker sneaked up on him from behind.

He looked back at her, only to find her resting her head on his shoulder. She'd fallen asleep once more. He couldn't blame her, being on a quest all alone with a broken ankle really is tough. And he'd been through a lot of tough stuff.

Percy released a small breath through his nose, sounding like a laugh. "You didn't even answer my question, Wise girl."

You won't. You're trapped in here for good. His pessimistic side nagged him but he ignored it. They'll figure it out. He promised her that they would try to reason with the Roman camp- to try and live the way they lived. He's not ready to give up that dream just yet.

"We'll get out of here. Somehow." Percy promised her but it appeared to look like he was reassuring himself.

Yay! A Percabeth fanfic :) So sorry for making it COMPLETELY OOC (not sorry). So excited for the House of Hades, October is just two months away! Eeep! Are you excited? Should I make more Percabeth Fanfic? Let me know in the comments :)