Third Person POV
Percy dug through his pocket for the keys to his apartment and held them up, the keys jingling against each other when he found them. Mrs. O'Leary barked excitedly, bounding through the hallway. Thankfully, she didn't bring down the whole building, because she was in a more portable form, thanks to a dog collar forged by Tyson and enchanted by some campers in the Hecate cabin. Although the collar made her more inconspicuous without the Mist, she was still a fairly large dog by mortal standards. She waited at the door while Percy stuck his keys into the doorknob and turned. Raising a finger to his lips, he motioned for the friendly hellhound to stay silent, to which she panted and wagged her tail in response. Percy had left a trail of dirt behind him, and the sleeve of his hoodie dangled by a thread, still torn and scorched from the battle with Apollo's giant statue. Combined with his recently developed hay fever, which sent him into sneezing fits— all thanks to Apollo's magical ear-blasting arrow — Percy looked like he had just paid an unwelcome visit to the Underworld.
He tiptoed through the doorway and managed to shut the door with only a faint click, planning to bring Mrs. O'Leary to the upstairs bathroom to wash the dirt off of her before letting her slip into the shadows. He was able to get to the foot of the stairs undetected, when his secrecy was blown. One little thing single handedly destroyed his entire ten seconds of intense, grueling foot work.
He sneezed.
Percy's sneezes are far from discreet or pleasant— a trait that comes from being the son of the earthshaker. One summer at camp, Travis and Connor had tried to prank Percy by infusing a pepper laundry detergent into his pillow. His sneeze caused a sonic boom so big that everyone at camp was deaf for a week. The trees in the forest were almost ripped out of their roots and bent about sixty degrees backwards. Grover was forced to return ASAP from his "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" conference in California to help organize a recovery team to push the trees back upright and to heal the nymphs whose life sources had been damaged by the blast. It had taken weeks to complete the mission. Percy had been banned from going within an one hundred meter radius of any kind of pepper, which was detrimental to his happiness, considering how much he loved pizza.
His godly siblings' sneezes had been known to cause earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from 5.2 to 9.6 throughout history. If Poseidon himself sneezed… let's just say the that New York might end up in Russia, and penguins might end up outside Santa's front door.
The sneeze Percy had just sneezed didn't cause anything of that enormity, but it was enough to make Sally emerge from the kitchen wearing the blue, Finding Nemo apron Percy had given her for Christmas when he was eight. Her brown, curly hair was loosely braided down her back. With the baby coming soon, she was finding it harder and harder to sleep comfortably. Although her eyes looked a bit tired, they brightened when she saw her son.
"Percy! You're home early! I thought you were at the library studying with Annabeth!"
Percy froze for a moment, then regained his composure. "I was, but Annabeth had to leave early— achoo— for a dentist's appointment." Percy hated lying to his mother, but he also hated making her worry. He'd done enough of that to last a lifetime.
Sally frowned, looking slightly confused. "A dentist's appointment? I could have sworn that Annabeth had perfect teeth!" Which was true. Even though Annabeth often neglected brushing her hair when she immersed herself in her architecture projects, she was a stickler for good hygiene.
"Did I say dentist's appointment? I meant doctor's — achoo— appointment. They're checking to see if her leg has completely healed." This was completely false. Even though Annabeth's ankle had been seriously injured back on her quest under Rome, it had healed within a few weeks of the incident with a few helpings of nectar and ambrosia a day.
"And what happened to your clothes?"
Percy looked down at the tattered material that only somewhat resembled what it used to be. His internal panic was growing by the second. "I got attacked by a monster on the way home, but it was no big — achoo— deal."
Sally raised her eyebrows. "That's right, didn't Annabeth go to Boston for a family emergency?
"I- well-" Percy stuttered, having no response to the excuse he had tangled himself in.
Sally sighed. "Percy, I love you more than any mother could possibly love her son, but you're a terrible liar."
Percy's eyes softened, and he engulfed his mother in a hug. "What gave it away?"
"I know my son." Percy smiled.
"That and the fact that Annabeth showed up at the front door half an hour ago looking for you."
Percy went completely deer in headlights. "Does she know…" Sally nodded. "And she's here?" Percy asked, pointing to the floor of the apartment. Sally nodded again.
"Chiron contacted us a couple minutes ago."
"Mom, I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I just got the distress call and I just couldn't leave them… I hate making you worry but—" Sally cut him off with the wave of her hand.
"It's okay Percy, I couldn't ask that of you, to abandon the camp when they need help. Just promise me you'll always be careful."
"Of course Mom. I love you. "
Sally smiled. "I love you too. Now you better go talk to Annabeth; she's upstairs in your room waiting for you. I'll go wash off Mrs. O'Leary."
A look of terror crossed Percy's face. "Oh my gods… Annabeth is going to kill me."
She laughed and ruffled his hair. "I'll be in the kitchen if you need me." Sally walked back into the kitchen, and Mrs. O'Leary followed her, barking and wagging her tail happily, leaving sizable muddy footprints all around the living room floor. Percy sighed, making a mental note to clean it up later— if a certain grey eyed child of Athena didn't murder him before he could find a mop. Taking a deep breath, he headed upstairs to face his predicament, praying to all the gods that he would return alive, and hopefully, still in a relationship.
Annabeth's POV
I could hear Percy running up the stairs, and then a loud -thump, followed by a cry of pain, then more thumping, and finally a long series of groaning with what sounded like a sneeze attack in the middle of it all. I rolled my eyes. Seaweed Brain is the one person can defeat Kronos and survive Tartarus but can't remember to tie his own shoelaces. I had just returned from Boston a couple hours ago when Sally called me and told me about the Apollo situation. I sat on his bed, staring at the collage of photos tacked on the wall. A few photos of the Seven on the Argo were scattered here and there. I smiled when I saw my favorite, a photo we had taken on the Argo II next to the ship's festive golden figurehead, where everyone was laughing and smiling into the camera with our arms around each other. There was a picture Tyson had sent to Percy of him and Ella, his harpy girlfriend, on a date in a little rowboat, Tyson grinning broadly, and Ella showing her beautiful shy smile. Next to that was a picture of Grover, Percy, and me when we were only twelve years old, climbing into the back of a van that read "KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL: HUMANE ZOO TRANSPORT" on the side. Percy looked all grumpy in that photo, having just been told off by a god. Grover looked horrified by the condition the animals were being kept in, and I looked nervous, one hand reaching for my camp necklace, the other holding the van's back door open. Percy must have somehow gotten ahold of the picture Ares snapped before the truck left the diner back in Denver. There was one of us and Thalia when we were about 14 that Percy's mom took right before we got in the car to go pick up Bianca, Nico, and Grover at Westover Hall.
I brushed my fingers over the photo in the center of the collage. It was a picture of me and Percy in Paris on our one month anniversary after we had started dating. Percy had called in a favor with Hermes after making us go fight through the sewers of Manhattan and play a giant claw game with a giant. Even though he got me drenched in sewer water, it was definitely worth it. The picture had been taken by the waiter who served us, and it showed Percy with his arm wrapped around my waist. I was wearing a deep green dress, and Percy was wearing a tux, which he looked extremely good in. Of course, I'd rather die than admit it to him. I had teased him that night about drooling over me, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't check him out when he wasn't looking. The city lights glimmered behind us over the rooftop. I remember feeling like the most special girl in the world and thinking about how lucky I was to have Percy. I guess it Aphrodite's gift to us before her royal Highness split us apart, wiped his memory, and flung him across the continent.
All of these memories reminded me of how much we had been through. Year after year, we've been flung into life-threatening situations, somehow always making it out alive. Although this seems unfair, I know that this our responsibility as demigods to protect both worlds that we live in. It's a role we've been born to play.
I sighed. Even though we had successfully ended two of the biggest wars in demigod history, and we finally seemed to be in a peaceful age peaceful age, Percy still managed to find a way to put himself in danger. I knew it wasn't his fault, I just wished that this era of disaster could have started just a couple decades ago. It was as if everyone planning for world domination had lined up as soon as Percy and I were born, waiting for their turn to take a crack at the demigods of the 21st Century. I mean, three wars in one lifetime? What were the fates thinking?
Third Person POV
The door creaked open, and there stood Percy, looking like he'd just been attacked by a hellhound. He sneezed and stumbled through, looking at Annabeth with eyes of adoration, mixed with fear and guilt. She broke away from her thoughts, turned her attention to the sound, her expression unreadable. Digging through the backpack she had brought with her, she grabbed something and tossed it to Percy.
Jumping as he let the object hit the floor, Percy stumbled and backed away from it as if it were a grenade.
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "It's medicine for your hay fever. I picked it up from the pharmacy on my way here."
Percy inched closer to the small box. That was certainly what the label told him, but who knew if the contents inside were as advertised. "Are you sure it's… safe?" A couple months ago, the Stolls had tricked Percy into taking medicine that "cleared acne." The "medicine" certainly made his pizza face less noticeable, but only because the Stolls had turned his skin into a bright shade of blue. As much as he loved the color, he was not too pleased when he had to walk around camp all week looking like a smurf. Annabeth had laughed at him, joking that she should ask the Stolls for a sample of the medicine in case Percy ever did anything stupid. Running into a battle with a giant statue definitely qualified as stupid.
Annabeth looked at Percy with a serious expression. Softly, she said, "I'm not mad at you, Seaweed Brain."
Percy looked slightly confused, almost in a cute way. "You're... not? But I promised you I wouldn't get myself killed, and I practically ran towards danger but I'm so sorry..."
Annabeth patted the spot on the bed beside her, and Percy walked over and sat down. "I would have done the same thing you did if I were in your position. Camp Half Blood is our home, and we owe it to them to protect it however we can."
Percy wrapped Annabeth in a one armed hug. "I missed you Wise Girl." He murmured.
"I missed you too Seaweed Brain."
"There's another prophecy. The Olympian world is about to go through chaos again."
Annabeth rested her head on his shoulder. "We'll get through it together, just like we did before."
Percy smiled, and the two of them just stayed that way, enjoying being together for a while. Until Annabeth spoke again. "Why does it always have to be us? Why can't we just be regular teenagers whose biggest worries are when the next episode of Shadowhunters is coming out or our grade on our last math test."
Percy answered quietly. "This is the life we were born to have as demigods. The gods need us to defend our world, to go on quests for them. It's either fight or die, and we chose to fight."
Annabeth snuggled her head against Percy's shirt, seeking comfort. "Do you ever wish our lives were different? That our parents weren't gods and were were just normal kids?" Annabeth asked, almost wistfully.
Percy shook his head. "Never."
Annabeth looked curious. "You never wanted a life free of the monsters, the constant danger?"
Percy looked at Annabeth as if she was his entire world. "If I wasn't a demigod, I never would have fought the Minotaur, and I never would have ended up in the infirmary, and I never would have met you."
Annabeth eyes shined. It was impossible to forget how amazing her boyfriend was. Even though he really was a Seaweed Brain at times, he made up for it by being the most loving person she'd ever met. She leaned in to kiss him, when she heard Sally calling from downstairs.
"If you guys want cookies, you'd better come down here fast before Ms. O'Leary eats them all!" They heard a bark from downstairs and laughed. Percy shot up and sprinted for the door, ready to fight for his food, when he stopped for Annabeth and walked down the stairs with her.
"How did Apollo take being mortal?" Annabeth asked.
"He nearly has a heart attack every time he catches a glimpse of his face. He just can't accept that he now has acne. Apparently his mortal name is now Lester Pomeranian or something, but he still insists we call him Apollo, or Lord Apollo." Annabeth laughed. Of course Apollo would be terrified of his own, ungodly appearance.
"How was Boston?" Percy questioned.
"Well, my dad and I went to look for my cousin, Magnus..."
A/N: Thank you so much for reading my story! Please review and tell me what you think, or if you want me to write more! I'd love it if you could give me some ideas (headcanons/thoughts) of what one-shots to write next! Check out my other story "Finally Forever" if you want to read more, and tell me if I should continue it! Once again, thank you so much for reading :) I hope this story brightened your day!