Disclaimer: Rick Riordan owns everything
Set after the first chapter of Mark of Athena. One shot for now, may continue it. Let me know!
The quietness unnerved her.
Hundreds of demigods, all armed to the teeth and in organized battle formation, watched in silence as Leo threw a rope ladder over the edge of the Argo II, the bottom rung hitting the ground with an audible thud. The campers from Half-Blood hill moved quietly about the deck, the silence from the ground making them uneasy. Every sound seemed magnified. From below came a horse's whinny.
Leo finished securing the ladder to the edge then turned with an expectant expression to Jason and Annabeth. "Well?"
Annabeth took a deep breath, her hands suddenly clammy as a cool wind swept across the deck. She could almost feel the barely restrained attacking power of the legion below them. If given the order, they could easily blast the Argo II out of the sky. Swallowing quickly, she forced herself to concentrate on the situation at hand and not on the uneasy feeling she felt in the back of her mind. Things could get very bad, very quickly. "Jason. You should go down first."
From the corner of her vision she saw him turn his head toward her. "Are you sure? It might be better if the Greek saw…"
"Percy." Annabeth muttered under her breath. "His name is Percy. And no," she lifted her eyes to meet Jason's. "They trust you. They need to see that you're vouching for us before we all come down into their camp. If you don't make an appearance soon, they're going to think it's a trick.
He nodded, the movement quick. "That makes sense. But to convince them that it's really me…" Jason took two steps then launched himself over the railing, dropping out of sight.
Gasps came from the assembled Romans, and Annabeth ran to the railing and leaned over the side, swearing. What a show offy dimwit. He was going to get them all killed. Jason landed in a crouch on the ground, his purple praetor's cape billowing out around him, golden spear in hand. As she watched in incredulous outrage, he straightened up, surveying the crowd.
Even from 100 feet in the air she could see as a smile broke across his face. "Hey guys."
She groaned, hurrying over to the ladder as she stuffed her knife back into her belt. That idiot was going to blow the whole introduction. Even Piper was muttering under her breath, something along the lines of attention seeking moron. Giving the ropes a tug to make sure they were secure, Annabeth hopped over the side.
She glided down the ladder, feeling like she weighed nothing at all. The anger over Jason's ridiculous exhibition receded in the face of the growing anticipation she felt, at the certainty that after months of fruitless searching, Percy would be there. There was a reverberating twang through the rope, and in the thinnest of moments she looked to see Leo's face go paper white. With an odd swooping sensation in her stomach, Annabeth, and the ladder, tumbled toward the ground.
Annabeth screamed, the world spinning closer and closer at a terrifying rate. She heard shouts, explosions, a rush of water.
"Oof!" With a whump she landed squarely in Jason's arms, all the wind knocked out of her. Her eyes squeezed tightly shut, it took her several moments to realize Jason was talking to her. And that they were floating.
"Annabeth, are you okay? Holy Jupiter, are…are you hurt? Do you-"
"I'm fine." With a deep breath, Annabeth forced her eyes open and immediately wished she hadn't. The ground was a dizzying distance away, 70 feet at minimum. The demigods milling around were tiny. She pressed her face into Jason's shoulder, her voice small. "Jason, can we go to the ground please now?"
He seemed to realize that levitating high above the ground wasn't what normal people did on an everyday basis. "Oh. Yeah. Are sure you're okay?" he asked as he slowly floated them toward the ground.
She nodded into his toga. "Mmmhmm." She wouldn't lift her face from Jason's shoulder, but her mind was racing. The rope had obviously been severed, an arrow judging from the vibration. It may have been an overzealous Roman soldier, lacking discipline and spooked by the sight of Annabeth climbing down from the Argo II. She shuddered inwardly. That one arrow could have sparked an entire assault on the warship. Someone must have forced the Romans back to order. That explained the shouts and explosions. But the water?
With a soft thud Jason touched back on the ground, Annabeth still cradled in his arms. She knew she should move, should get to her feet but she couldn't seem to loosen her fear driven stranglehold on Jason's toga. Distantly she heard a girl yelling at the Romans, a chastisement of some sort.
"No! I don't care what you saw, Centurion, we are to hold our position! This is a disgrace of the First Cohort and the entire legion! No, silence, Octavian!"
Annabeth concentrated on loosening the death grip she had on Jason's clothes, relaxing her fingers one by one. "Jason," she said faintly. "Jason, put me down."
He shifted uneasily, his anxious face blocking out the afternoon sun and casting her into shadow. "I don't know Annabeth, maybe-"
"Annabeth!" From somewhere to the side came a strangled cry, then a commanding bark. Annabeth's eyes widened at the sound. "Put her down!"
"Percy!"
The sound burst from her lungs like she'd been holding it in forever. Rolling to her side, Jason backed away in surprise as she caught herself on the dirt and was running, running until she collided with something tall and warm and utterly familiar.
Annabeth cried as she buried her face in Percy's chest, her arms pulling him closer against her. She gasped as she breathed in his heady scent, smelling faintly of ocean water, sweat, and toast. He pressed his face into her hair, arms wrapping securely around her.
It was only then that she noticed the trembling, and she looked up to see a slightly crazed look in his eyes. "Gods, Annabeth, are you okay? I tried to do something but there was no water and-" He shot a glare over her shoulder to where the legion stood, his hands still shaking. "They started to fire at you and you were falling and-"
"Percy. Percy." The tone of her voice made him return his eyes to hers. Gently, she pushed a few stray strands of black hair off his forehead. "I'm alright. Really."
Percy visibly relaxed. "Thank the gods Annabeth, I thought…I thought…" He shook his head and simply squeezed her into a tight hug.
She sighed, snuggling deeper into his arms, though she wanted something more. A thought suddenly struck her and she pulled back, gazing into the familiar sea green eyes. She opened her mouth uncertainly. "Percy…I…do…you do you remember me, right?" A wave of dread swept over her. What if his memory was still gone? What if he had no idea who she was? What if-
Percy cut her frantic mental questioning short as a broad smile crossed his face and he pulled her closer for another hug. "Are you kidding me Wise Girl? Of course I remember you." With a tip of a finger, he tilted her chin up so he could kiss her, his lips warm and sweet. He drew back and hugged her again, whispering in her ear. "I could never forget you."
Tears cropped up in her eyes, and she pulled his face back around so she could kiss him again. He responded enthusiastically, one hand on the back of her head, the other clutching her hand tightly between them. From behind came a dry cough.
Pulling apart, Annabeth flushed crimson at Jason's impatient face as she realized the display they were putting on. "Oh um Percy, this is Jason," she said breathlessly, indicating where Jason stood with a slight frown across his face. "Son of Zeus- no sorry, I mean son of Jupiter. He was the other one Hera took."
Jason and Percy studied each other in silence for several minutes, the tension thick enough to cut through. Though at first glance they were polar opposites, but after gazing anxiously at the two of them, Annabeth saw how alike they really were. Though Percy had black hair, green eyes, and a Mediterranean complexion while Jason was pale, all blond and blue eyes, the way they carried themselves was exactly the same. From the set of their shoulders to the wary way their bodies shifted in response to any possible threats, they were identical. Both were tall, broad shouldered, and to Annabeth's dismay, extremely suspicious of one another. The subtle way Percy moved to shield her with his body was not lost on Annabeth. Finally Jason extended a hand. "Praetor."
Jason's tone was carefully neutral, but Annabeth saw Percy's eyes narrow slightly. "Praetor," he replied in a voice that was equally light but just as clipped, gripping Jason's hand. They let go extremely quickly, a beat of awkward silence settling once more. Percy spoke again. "Guess I have to thank you," he said grudgingly, squeezing Annabeth's shoulders.
Jason's eyes were like flint. "Not a problem. Seeing as though I could save her and all."
Annabeth tugged Percy back as he made to take a step closer to Jason, his muscles rigid. "Percy!" she hissed. He stopped, but the two continued to stare at one another with unblinking intensity.
A girl wearing a purple cape identical to the ones Jason and Percy wore took a deliberate step between them, one hand on the sword strapped to her side. Her voice was careful, slow and measured. "If you'll follow me back into the Senate House, Jason, Annabeth, the Council is in session."
Annabeth recognized her voice as the one who had been yelling at the legion before. Jason finally broke his gaze at Percy to nod slowly at the purple caped girl before striding into the building, followed by several others in white bed sheet togas. The girl, who Annabeth assumed was another praetor of the camp, gave one swift glance at Percy before filing in with the rest of them.
Percy's grip on her shoulders tightened. "I don't trust him." he said in a low voice as people streamed around them. His eyes were hooded, distrust and suspicion evident in their piercing gaze. Annabeth's grip tightened on Percy's waist. Best friends or enemies. Luckily Thalia had turned out to be the former rather than the latter, but judging from the expression on Percy's face…She gulped, allowing Percy to steer her into the Senate House. It seemed that, this time, the children of Zeus and Poseidon would not get along well after all.