The nightmares didn't always start the same, but they always ended the same. He would wake up, panting and sweating, eyes wide and frantic, fists clenched around her waist. And she would awaken next, aware of his fright, sometimes sharing in it. The nightmares plagued Annabeth as well. On some nights she would be the one to wake up first, sometimes with a gasp or a scream, sometimes with nothing but a silent jolt. No matter which of them was dragged out of the terror first, the other one always followed shortly after.
Two weeks after they escaped Tartarus Percy and Annabeth couldn't sleep apart. Some campers found their night time junctures scandalous, but no one had the nerve to do anything about it. No other demigod besides Nico DiAngelo had ever gone through Tartarus. No one else knew the literal hell they had gone through. So when Percy started bringing Annabeth by the hand to the Poseidon cabin every night after late night training or capture the flag, no one argued. Chiron brought an extra set of blankets in the hopes that the couple would detach from each other when it came time for sleep. On the first few nights Annabeth started off in a bed across the room from Percy, but each time she ended up drawn to the familiar safety of his arms. They were unable to sleep at all when they were apart, and together, they were sometimes able to get through the nightmares.
Sometimes it was he Annabeth saw in her nightmares. Controlling the poison and choking the evil goddess with her own watery weapon. As Annabeth screamed for him to stop, Percy just pushed the venom harder down on Misery as she screamed in agony. Annabeth had never seen Percy inflict such pain on purpose. Now he seemed to be thinking of nothing else. As Misery died before her, Annabeth screamed her throat raw and began backing away, but not before Percy turned on her. Where his beautiful sea-green eyes had been were now black marbles, shiney and cavernous. He descended upon her with the conviction of a snake striking a mouse, and Annabeth awoke with a real scream this time, sweat soaking her pajamas.
And there he was. Descending on her with the conviction of a dedicated boyfriend who wanted nothing more than to comfort his petrified girlfriend. "It's just a nightmare, Wise Girl. Shhh… Shhhh. Do you want to talk about it?" She shook her head into his chest, her breathing slowing back to a normal pace. It's okay. She thought. This is Percy. This is my Seaweed Brain. She let him stroke her back as she gradually transitioned back into reality.
"You did what you had to do," She said, finally. "I understand. But you scared me. It will take some time for me to recover."
There was a long pause. At first Annabeth thought Percy didn't know what she was talking about. Then his muscles tensed and she knew he knew very well what she was talking about, and it tortured him even more than it tortured her. Finally he said, "I'm sorry I scared you. I scared me to. I was just… so angry that she wanted to kill us. That she wanted to kill you. I got carried away. But that was Tartarus-Percy. We left him behind, and I'm never letting him back. I promise." Annabeth sobbed into him and kissed his chest and shoulders and neck and chin, and he kissed her back. They were so desperate to feel each other, to feel anything good. She wanted to feel the real Percy, not the Percy from Tartarus and her nightmares. He wanted to be that Percy. He was so relieved she would still have him, he could have cried.
It was a long time before they fell back asleep that night, but when they did, both of them were met with a peaceful blackness entirely void of dreams. They could finally rest.