Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from this series

Percy's POV

I opened my eyes to the blinking darkness. I had a moment's panic when I didn't recognize my surroundings. After a second I remembered where I was. I was in the infirmary, recovering from "pit scorpion poisoning." Really I was fine. But no one else knew that. I looked at the clock, which glowed faintly, to look at the time. It was after midnight; time to go.

I threw the blankets off and swung my legs over the side of the bed and dropped to the floor. It wasn't a long drop, but if felt like a hundred feet. My legs turned to jelly with excitement and fear. I'd never snuck out of the infirmary before. Then again I'd never had a secret love before. I went out the back door (I never knew the building had a back door) and dashed into the woods. I passed Thalia's tree, and saw Him waiting at the bottom of Half Blood Hill.

"Hey baby," He said, gripping me in a bear hug. "I'm glad the ploy worked and you could come tonight." He looked at me with his love-filled blue eyes, and I melted a little. He was always so sweet to me, even if no one else thought so. His expression suddenly became bitter. "I saw you with her again," he spat, his soft velvet voice filled with venom and fire replacing the love in his eyes.

"Annabeth?" I asked. He nodded miserably, and I felt my heart break in two. "You know I don't like her," I told him gently, reaching up to run my fingers through his short, blond hair. "She has a crush on you," I added. He made face and wrapped his arms tighter around me.

"I never had the heart to tell her I wasn't interested," he mumbled. "I guess I was just waiting for the right person," he added to me, smiling. I smiled back. "Besides, I'm not interested in girls," he said, wiggling his eyebrows at me. I laughed. I loved it when he did that. It looked so weird, but at the same time it looked so funny. Stuff like that made me laugh.

"How long do you have?" he asked. It was always a tender subject, but over the last few weeks we'd gotten better at approaching it.

"Until eight a.m.," I told him happily. "Argus won't check on me until then." He tapped his watch. Then, unable to hold it in any longer, he danced in a circle, swinging me around.

"That's great baby!" he cried, kissing me over and over. At last I pried myself away from him, but I was grinning.

"And I thought I was the younger one," I teased. I knew what was coming next. As he stuck his tongue out at me, I jabbed it with my finger, quick as a snake. He sucked his tongue back in and pouted.

"I must be too predictable," he mumbled to himself, too soft for me to hear. "I think I'll mix it up now," he announced, jumping me. I was unprepared. My head hit the ground with a smack. Tears blurred my vision. In the few weeks that I'd known him, he'd never been that rough with me. He rolled off of me.

"Percy!" he exclaimed. "I'm sorry. I didn't know that would happen. Baby I'm sorry." He pulled me into his lap and cradled me in his arms. He rocked me back and forth like he was comforting a small child. I cried into his shirt, finding comfort in it. He continued to rock me. It was making me sleepy…

"Percy wake up," he whispered to me. I opened my eyes and was shocked to discover the sun was coming up. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes.

"How long was I out for?" I asked groggily. I was still trying to wake up. He smiled and kissed me on the forehead.

"A few hours," he replied, running his fingered through my hair. "You looked so cute and peaceful I didn't want to wake you." I smiled up at him. He was always so considerate of my needs. And I guess what I needed was sleep.

"Thank you," I said, reluctantly crawling out of his lap. "What time is it?" He glanced at his watch.

"Seven fifteen," he replied stiffly. "You should go back to camp." I frowned. I wasn't ready to go back, but deep down I know he was right. That didn't mean I had to like it though.

"Yeah," I agreed, though it was reluctant. He kissed my lips, slow and sweet, as was custom, when we said good-bye. He walked away then, heading for the trees opposite the hill. He paused at the tree line and turned around.

"Good-bye Percy Jackson!" he called. "I love you!" I smiled to myself.

"Good-bye Luke Castellan!" I called back. "I love you too!" I stood watching him until he disappeared from sight. I made my way up Half Blood Hill, walked passed Thalia's tree, and picked my way back through the woods. I slipped through the back door and laid down on my bed. I was too wired for sleep, so I laced my fingers behind my head and stared up at the ceiling. Then I started to remember when I first laid my eyes on Luke…

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