Thank you for giving this a chance! For those familiar with my work, fair warning. It's a bit grittier than my usual stuff, but it's still me so nothing too bad! Important note after the chapter.

XxXxXxXxX

Letting out a sigh, Annabeth twirled her engagement ring around her finger. Just looking at it made her heart swell with joy, and she nearly started crying just looking at it again. But it also filled her with a crippling guilt that made it hard for her to look at it.

Closing her eyes and letting her head drop onto the steering wheel in the parking lot of the grocery store, Annabeth made up her mind.

Today was the day.

She would come clean to Percy, and tell him everything.

Annabeth knew she couldn't marry Percy with it still hidden from him. The burden would be too great, and it taint what she was sure would be the happiest day of her life. Ever since she had seen that trouble maker smile on him 3 years ago, her heart had been slowly wrenched from her grasp. He had stolen it, and taken better care of it than she ever could.

Her hands tightened on the steering wheel as another wave of guilt washed over her. While he had been nothing but honest and open with her, she had been hiding so much from him. Would he forgive her? Could he forgive her?

Sure she could list plenty of reasons, ample justification, and basic logic. But that wouldn't change the fact she had been lying to him for years. Since the start. But she cared far too much for that man to let it go. To let things go down in flames. She'd do whatever it took to make him understand. Annabeth knew he looked up to her, and breaking his trust was going to wreck him. She just hoped he'd let her pick up the pieces.

Sitting back in her car, she finally buckled her seat belt, started the car and made her way back to their house. It took all of her will power not to just take the off ramp and go and visit Piper instead of confronting him. But this needed to be done.

Her schedule was open for the next few days, and a quick message to Piper had given her a place to stay if Percy needed space. Annabeth was ready to tackle the fallout from this situation. It was time to pay the pied piper. Percy would be back from firefighting in about an hour, so she had time to start a wonderful dinner, and do everything she could to prepare.

As she made her way up the small path towards the front door, digging her keys from her pocket, she paused as she saw the door was slightly ajar.

Feeling her blood turn to ice, and her instincts kick into overdrive, Annabeth set down her bag of groceries. Reaching into her purse lining, she withdrew the compact pistol she kept in it.

Percy never left the door open. Plus, as she got closer she saw the splintered wood around it. It had been kicked open.

Praying that it had just been some over-zealous thieves, Annabeth silently made her way down the hallway.

Her footsteps were silent as she approached the walkway that lead towards their kitchen and dining room.

"Stop squirming, or it'll be worse, punk."

Freezing in place, Annabeth felt her heart rate triple. She didn't recognize that voice. Though, she did hear a muffled voice next to him. From her experience, it was from someone's duct-taped mouth.

Quickly pulling out her phone, she sent 5 words to Piper before putting her phone back into her pocket.

Taking a deep breath, Annabeth knew what to expect when coming around the corner. She had to stay calm, and level headed if she was going to get through this situation properly. Just like always.

Counting back from three, she stood up and turned the corner, pointing her gun instantly on the unfamiliar voice.

No matter how much she had expected it, seeing a bruised Percy tied to their kitchen chair, with duct tape over his mouth and a gun to his head set Annabeth off. Never in all her years had she been so ready for blood. If Percy's safety wasn't her absolute priority the man wouldn't still be standing.

"There you are." The strangers voice said expectantly as he stepped behind Percy, his gun never leaving her fiance's head. "Didn't hear you coming. You're as impressive as they say. Smart too, if you had tried anything I would have ended him long before you could have ended me."

Annabeth just stayed quiet, her gun trained on the assailants head. She trusted her accuracy, but the risk was too great. The man only needed half a second to remove Percy from her life. She had to be patient.

When Percy's eyes met hers, they widened, and he began to violently thrash as he motioned with his head, telling her to run.

God, her fiance was tied to a chair, battered, with a gun to his head, and he was trying to save her life. The irony made her sick.

The man slammed his fist into the back of Percy's head, making the boy slump forward unconscious.

Annabeth bit her lip so hard it started to bleed. The man would pay.

"Let him go, now. This is your only warning." Annabeth's voice was ice cold. "If anything happens to him, you will wish you were in his position."

The man just laughed. "Come on, you're smart enough to understand your position. Drop your gun."

Annabeth just stared at him, unflinching.

The man shifted his head inches, and fired the gun. The bullet ripped through the side of Percy's leg, grazing him before the gun was back at his temple.

This caused Annabeth's fiance to roar back to life with an muffled scream of agony.

Annabeth saw red, and almost fired right then but the man was right. If she even flinched towards firing, Percy would be dead regardless of whether or not she hit her target. Slowly, and deliberately Annabeth moved her gun to the side and dropped it onto the ground.

"Good girl. Kick it to me." Annabeth slid the gun across the floor towards him.

The man just knocked it away from them. "Now I need you to answer some questions about Olympus, agent Athena."

Annabeth's eyes widened. Her cover had been blown? How?

"Shocked? Everyone knows now. We got your roster." He said with a wicked sneer. "A benevolent gift."

Annabeth's eyes narrowed, her brain starting to overload. There were too many things to process. To much was happenin-

A weak groan escaped Percy's mouth and he looked up at her, tears brimming as he jerked once loosely with his head with a simple message.

Run.

Right. The situation was simple. Percy's life was the only thing that mattered right now. Everything else could wait.

"Who talked?"

The man just laughed. "Dunno. Don't care."

Annabeth froze with her hands still in the air. Her fists clenched, barely able to hold herself back.

"Now talk. Where is CHB?"

Annabeth stayed quiet, until she saw the man move the gun closer towards Percy's head. "Fine. CH-"

RIIIINNNGGGG

Both of them froze in place at the sudden sound of the telephone. They were too well trained to make a panicked reaction to it, but both of their attention had shifted to it for the briefest moment. That was when the sound of glass shattering rang out. A bullet ripped through the man's shoulder, causing him to drop the gun, as he stumbled.

Annabeth's hand whipped out to her belt, drawing one of the hidden smaller knives and flicking it into his leg.

Before the man had hit the ground, Annabeth had lunged forward, tackling him down and grabbing her gun back up.

Annabeth knelt on him, giving him a swift punch for good measure before she turned to Percy. Wincing, she ripped the tape off his mouth, before kissing it quickly to muffle his scream. "Sorry." She muttered gently.

Percy just stared at her, wide eyed and in a panic. It was clear to her how freaked out he was. His fear broke her heart into a million pieces, but she didn't have time to deal with it yet.

"What's going on?" He asked desperately, looking at all the blood around them.

"He really doesn't know anything. How precious." The man's rough voice sounded.

In a flash Annabeth turned, and knelt down on him, digging her knee into his shoulder wound. She pressed her gun to his head roughly. "Quiet. Not another word unless it's answering my question. Who was on the roster."

The man just laughed. "You don't scare me girlie." His eyes shifted to Percy. "She's not who she says she is kid. She's a spy."

Ripping the knife from his leg, Annabeth stabbed it into his bicep, and knelt a little harder on his shoulder wound. "QUIET. Answer me now, and it will be painless."

The man gasped in pain, sending a murderous glare up to her. "Everyone. All 6 of you."

Annabeth's brow furrowed. That wasn't good. But...

"Who sent it."

"I don-"

The knife twisted a little bit.

"Agh! Luke! Luke leaked it!"

Annabeth faltered, sitting back a bit. Luke? She knew he had gone rogue but...

"Annabeth!"

Percy's voice cut through her train of thought, snapping her back. The man's hand had moved towards his side but Annabeth was quicker, another gunshot, and the man stopped moving.

Standing up, Annabeth quickly moved over to Percy. She pulled her knife from her boot and quickly cut the ropes away from him.

"Percy, we need to go." Annabeth offered. It was really the last thing she wanted to tell him in the situation, but it was the most important. She didn't have time to explain everything. There was no guarantee that guy was alone.

"Y-y-you k-killed him."

Annabeth nodded solemnly. "I had no choice, plus after what he did to you? He deserved worse." Annabeth muttered, casting a cold look over her shoulder.

"But he was down. You didn't need to..." Percy's voice shook a bit, and Annabeth felt her resolve crumbling. She could see Percy starting to fall apart, and God, it tore her up inside. But she couldn't deal with it right now. They needed to leave, plus Percy's leg needed to be treated. It was just a graze of course, but still bad.

Annabeth reached down, pulling another gun from the man's waist line. "He was going for this. That guy may not have been anything special, but he wasn't useless. He would have killed us both a second later."

Percy just stared at the gun, and Annabeth saw his gaze shift to her bloodied hand.

Annabeth scowled, frustrated that everything had gone so wrong. The situation was slipping through her fingers and she wasn't sure how to salvage it, for Percy's sake.

"Annabeth. You're a spy? What is going on." Percy said, trying to stand up before he stumbled and clutched his leg.

Annabeth barely managed to catch him before he could hit himself on the counter.

"I promise you. I will explain everything, but it can't be here. We're not safe."

Percy looked at her with an expression she hadn't seen in a long time in his eyes. Mistrust.

That single look sapped her strength and she almost buckled. Percy was scared of her. It was her biggest fear come true.

"Annabeth." His voice was guarded. "I don't know..."

She paused, looking into his eyes for any sign of hope.

"Percy. I know you're probably terrified. I know you don't know what's going on. But I swear to God, right now all I care about is getting you to safety. You let me do that, and I will answer any questions you have. Just right now, please, if there's any love left for me in your heart, let me keep you safe."

Annabeth poured her heart out into each word. She was desperate, she needed Percy to listen to her, just this once.

Slowly Percy nodded. "Okay."

Annabeth felt a new wave of strength flood her. She had done it. She had bought herself enough time to get him to safety. And maybe... there was a little hope there after all.

A familiar sound of an engine revving came from outside and Annabeth wrapped Percy's arm over her shoulder. She quickly began to lead him out of the house.

"What about the body? The house? The cops surely must be coming."

Annabeth shook her head. "We have a clean up crew. Plus connections. By the time anyone gets here it will look like a simple break in. Don't worry about it."

Percy just looked confused, but kept hobbling along side her.

"We?" He asked after a moment.

As they reached the large black SUV, the door opened and Jason extended an arm to help him Percy inside.

"Jason?" Percy asked, eyes wide. He looked to Annabeth in shock. "He's one too?"

"Hurry up guys, we need to be gone. Now." A female voice sounded from the driver's seat.

"Piper?" Percy said, belief leaving his tone. "You guys are spies too?"

Jason and Piper shared a look as Annabeth climbed in the car after Percy, applying pressure to his leg.

"He knows?" Piper asked after a moment.

"There was a man in there. Some grunt. Our cover's been blown, and he let it slip I'm a spy. Considering I just killed him, I couldn't really play it off at the time." Annabeth offered, still pressing down on Percy's wound while studying his face. She was pretty good at reading people, most of all Percy who she had spent years adoring his face and memorizing his every heartwarming expression.

But what she saw right now just made her heart hurt. He looked scared, confused, betrayed, tired, and just plain shell shocked.

"Annabeth, what the hell is going on?"

"Percy. It's okay. We'll explain..." Jason tried but Percy snapped his head to him.

"You are one too? Both of you? You just hid it from me?" Percy snapped at him.

Jason just stayed quiet, a look of guilt crossing his face.

"Percy..." Annabeth's voice was gentle, like she was approaching a dangerous animal.

Percy's hard gaze snapped to her, before it softened ever so slightly. "You've been lying to me all this time? You don't work over seas as a deal maker for the government?"

Annabeth chewed her lip, her gaze falling. "In a way I do..."

Percy just let out a hollow laugh. "Of course. My fiances a spy, she just killed a man." He muttered to himself in disbelief. "I knew you were too good to be true. There was no way someone like you could love me." He muttered.

Annabeth's jaw dropped, and she felt something in her chest die. Percy was losing all trust in her, and the worst part was she couldn't even blame him.

"Percy!" Piper's voice snapped from the front, a blaze of anger in it. "Don't you dare say that. I know you're scared, confused, and pissed off. But don't you dare say that Annabeth doesn't love you. You don't know the hell she's been through for your sake. All the stuff she's done and had to deal with in order to stay in a relationship with you." Her voice was shaking slightly.

Annabeth just stayed quiet, unable to trust her own voice. Piper knew better than anyone how much she cared for Percy, and the hell she had to go through with CHB in order to stay in a relationship with Percy as a spy. It was unheard of.

Percy just looked over at Annabeth, his eyes a mixture of pain and mistrust, before they looked down at his lap. The rest of the car trip had been quiet, only the hum of the engine making any noise.

Soon enough they were at one of their safe houses, an apartment in a massive complex. Taking a side entrance, they quickly made their way up to the 7th floor before they approached a door.

Percy paused outside of it, a little flush from the effort he had to make to move with his wound. "If I go in there, will I ever leave?" He asked, in a surprisingly scared voice from the usually tough, and brave tone she had grown so fond of from him.

"Percy... I swear, I just want you safe. We'll treat your wounds, then I'll explain everything. We'll move on from there." Annabeth offered, proud of how stable her voice had sounded.

Percy looked at her one more time, before nodding.

Piper opened the door, and immediately Hazel bounced out of it, looking Percy over. "Are you okay?"

Percy's jaw dropped. "You too?" Glancing behind her, he saw Frank standing in the room, and Leo in the back typing on a computer. "All of you guys..." His voice trailed off into a tone that once again broke something in Annabeth.

Percy just limped into the room, staying quiet.

Annabeth slowly walked in after him, ignoring the sympathetic looks from the rest of her crew.

"Seaweed Brain..." She said gently, resting a hand on his shoulder, until he flinched.

Percy just looked at her with broken eyes. "Is... is there a shower? I just want to get changed..." He muttered, gesturing to his outfit that was still stained with blood.

Annabeth nodded, gesturing to one of the doors.

Frank offered him a towel and a fresh pair of clothes, which Percy silently took before he headed into the room. The sound of a shower going started up a moment later.

Annabeth stared at the wall blankly for a moment. "I'm going to the spare bedroom. I'll explain things to Percy in there afterwards." She offered, before numbly walking over. None of the crew seemed to find anything to say to her. They all knew this day would happen eventually.

Making it a few steps into the spare room, Annabeth just sunk to her knees, clutching her chest. She started sobbing uncontrollably as she felt her world crumbling to pieces all around her. Her cover had been blown, her fiance nearly lost his life, and she had broken his spirit and betrayed his trust in ways she wasn't sure she could ever repair. The love of her life, the reason she had been able to keep going in the most difficult missions she had been in possibly hated her now. She had given up so much to be with him, and she knew how much he had loved her, cared for her, and helped her even when he didn't know the full story. Sure they didn't have a perfect relationship, they bickered more than she cared to admit, but they had been inseparable. Percy had always picked up the pieces of her after a difficult mission, even if he didn't know why. He had taught her to enjoy life, to see the world for more than just the string of missions her life had become. He had coaxed her out of her shell, and inspired her to reach new heights, all the while volunteering his free time as a fire fighter to save lives. She had ground all that trust and love they had built into the dirt, and she wasn't sure she could handle it.

Annabeth wasn't sure how long it had been before Piper had entered the room and just hugged her tight, offering quiet, reassuring words as Annabeth cried like she hadn't in a long time. Her foundation had just been ripped from her, but it wasn't over yet. Piper helped her remember that.

Percy still trusted her enough to go with her. She had One chance to save this, and she wasn't about to ruin it.

Eventually the shower shut off, and Piper excused herself, saying that the rest of them were going to give the two space, and that she'd be sticking around on the opposite end of the apartment just to be safe.

Annabeth had managed to change clothes into sweat pants and a tanktop, and cleaned all the blood off of her. As she sat on the bed, fidgeting with her engagement ring, she heard the door open.

"We need to talk."

XxXxXxXxX

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. This is going to be my side project. I'll update it occasionally, but Cafe Half Caff is my current PJO project, I just liked this AU too much to not start it. So don't expect regular updates till I finish CHC please. If you need Percabeth fluff, please check out that story! It's a Cafe AU I'm in love with and focusing on.

Also, I know the beginning sounded like a affair, but I promise you it isn't. Annabeth is nothing but faithful, just in case there had been any confusion.