A/N: Hey everyone! Not too much to day today, except for have a happy BILL OF RIGHTS DAY and NATIONAL LEMON CUPCAKE DAY (DEC. 15)!

Hope you all enjoy this next chapter; this oneshot takes place after TTC.

Peace out,

~silentwolf111

.oOo.

~ Two Turtle Doves ~

.oOo.

-Annabeth's POV-

"And this would be sage, correct?" I say, pointing to a small shrub nearby.

"Correct," Katie replies with a smile. "You can tell by the leathery texture of the leaves, see? And, also, there's this…"

She bends over and rubs a leaf between her thumb and index finger, then gives it a light sniff.

I do the same and instantly smell the leaf's fragrant aroma.

"Lemon," I say.

"Sage's trademark smell," Katie confirms. "You can check that one off the list."

I pick up my clipboard and draw a line through the word "sage".

Earlier today, Lee Fletcher had approached the two of us with a request on behalf of the Apollo cabin; they were running short on medicinal herbs, he had said, and he then promptly proceeded to ask us if we could go gather some for him from the woods. Out of the sheer goodness of our hearts (that, and the fact that we had already finished the day's activities), we agreed to do it. He'd handed Katie a bag and me a clipboard with a list of the needed herbs, and that was that.

We had already found most of the herbs on the list thanks to Katie, who, being a daughter of Demeter, was a natural expert on all things plant.

I run through the remaining plants on the list and put the clipboard back down. Katie picks a few leaves of sage off the shrub and puts them into the bag just as I suddenly spot something that catches my attention.

"Katie," I say as I kneel down to examine a leafy plant a few feet away. "Is this what I think it is?"

She comes over and kneels beside me, squinting at the plant.

"Now that's interesting," she says. "I mean, I've never seen it around here before, but there's no denying it; it's got the small, white flowers and everything. Annabeth, this is mistletoe."

"Quick question," I say as she picks off a branch to examine it closer. "If it's never been seen here before, then what, exactly, is it doing here?"

"I don't know. Since it's December, maybe someone filled with the spirit of Christmas decided to plant it here. You know, to spread the love."

I laugh.

"That could be a possibility," I say. "In any case, this all seems really inter-"

I am abruptly cut off by a sudden burst of laughter in the distance.

Katie sets down the mistletoe and the two of us step out of the woods to look for the source of the laughter. I manage to catch a glimpse of messy jet-black hair, and my heart skips a beat when I realize who it is.

Sure enough, Percy Jackson and Grover casually walk past us, chatting and laughing about Zeus-knows-what.

Grover suddenly pauses when he sees us and gives a slight bow.

"Ladies," he acknowledges with a grin as Percy elbows him playfully.

"Oh, come on, dude," Percy laughs. "No need to be so formal with these two. I mean, it's not like they're super important or anything."

Katie rolls her eyes.

"It's lovely to see you too, Percy," she says with a sigh, though she can't resist a small smile.

"Hey, Katie," he replies, breaking into a grin.

It's then that Percy turns toward me, and I feel my heart start to flutter as gray meets sea-green.

"Wise Girl," he acknowledges, lips formed into that annoying smile of his.

"Seaweed Brain," I reply curtly, looking him directly in his eyes.

We hold each other's gaze for a couple of seconds, and I find myself strangely entranced by those sea-green orbs that I know so well. Those kaleidoscopic eyes were mesmerizing, currently peering at me with their usual playful expression that, over the past years, had become so familiar to me.

I quickly shake my head and blink, shaking myself out of my stupor as I realize I've been staring at Percy for a split second too long.

"So," I say, trying with all my might to prevent my cheeks from turning bright red, "where are you two headed?"

Percy opens his mouth to speak when he is suddenly cut off by Grover.

"The Mess Hall," he says dreamily, a huge smile filling his face.

"Yeah," Percy adds. "We're just going to grab a light snack before we head off to the arena for a little training."

"Of course," Katie says. "I'm not surprised. With you two, there's almost always food involved."

"Well, yeah, why wouldn't there be?" Grover says. "Now, if you'll excuse us, ladies, my stomach has a raging hunger that can only be satisfied with some food. Like, right now."

With that, he turns to walk away briskly, grabbing Percy's arm and pulling him along.

"Catch you later, Katie," Percy calls out while he's being dragged away. "See ya, Wise Girl!"

We wave goodbye to the boys and watch them leave until they round the corner and are no longer in sight. Katie and I step back into the woods, and I've only just picked up my clipboard when Katie suddenly speaks.

"Admit it. You're totally falling for him."

I suddenly turn to the left, scowling as I catch sight of her smirking at me.

"I am not!"

Katie rolls her eyes and scoffs loudly.

"Oh, come on, Annabeth. I don't even have to be an Aphrodite kid to see it, it's that obvious. The entire camp knows, for the gods' sake. It's about time that you figure it out yourself and admit to your own feelings."

"Well," I say, my arms crossed. "You see, I would own up to my feelings, except there happens to be one tiny problem; there are none."

"You know, Annabeth," Katie replies softly, "it's okay to love someone. It's nothing to be embarrassed about. I know that you won't admit it, but I, for one, am absolutely sure that you have feelings for Percy Jackson."

I raise an eyebrow and utter only two words.

"Prove it."

"I can see it in the way you look at him," Katie says matter-of-factly. "You get lost in his eyes and kinda zone out for a few seconds."

"Well, but-"

"You have cute nicknames for each other," she continues, counting out on her fingers.

"Okay, but that's not-"

"You have matching gray streaks in your hair."

"All right, but I still don't see-"

"For the love of Zeus, Annabeth, you kissed him on the cheek after the two of you won the chariot races!"

I didn't even bother speaking this time.

"Plus, you two have been through so much together throughout the past three years; it's impossible to consider yourselves as nothing more than just friends," Katie finishes. "Admit, it, Annabeth: you are in love with Perseus Jackson."

I fall silent and, for the first time, actually consider her words.

Was it true? Did I love Percy?

Logically speaking, I was sure I felt something toward him; after all, it's not every day that someone makes me totally space out just by looking into their eyes.

But did I love him?

I mean, now that I start to think about it, it couldn't possibly be true. Granted, Percy's not the wisest of the bunch, but I absolutely hate the way he acts like a total moron. On purpose. He asks the most stupid questions at the most stupid times, and he's made it pretty clear that he lacks a common sense filter.

But, on the other hand, there's a lot to appreciate about the guy. He's courageous and willing to risk it all to help out those he loves. He's an excellent swordsman, I'll give him that. He's funny and knows just what to say to make people smile. And, he's even – dare I say it – pretty, well, cute.

Okay, so what if Katie's right? I can't help it that Percy has such mesmerizing eyes and an attractive personality and just happens to be fairly good-looking. If anything, it's the fault of none other than Seaweed Brain himself.

"Stupid Seaweed Brain," I mutter under my breath.

Katie smirks at me from where she stands.

"So," she says, "is that a yes?"

For some reason, her words suddenly spark a strange feeling at the bottom of my heart, and I find myself overcome with a wave of emotion.

"Fine, okay?" I say loudly, throwing my arms in the air in exasperation. "I love him. There, I said it. I love Percy Jackson!"

The reality of what I've just declared hits me in the face all at once, and I let out a small gasp.

"I love him," I whisper to myself. "I love him."

I look up to see Katie smiling at me knowingly, an I-told-you-so expression displayed proudly on her face.

"Katie," I say softly. "What… What do I do now?"

She gives me a slight nod.

"Leave that to me," she says, her smile growing.

She steps out of the woods and motions for me to follow her, and I immediately see what – or, more specifically, who – she's walking toward.

Percy and Grover have returned from the Mess Hall and once again pass by us as Katie suddenly steps forward.

"Hey, Percy!" she calls out.

Both boys stop dead in their tracks and Percy looks over at us.

"What's up?"

"Come here for a moment, would you?" Katie says.

He gives her a curious look but nods, and Katie leads him over to where I'm standing.

She then does something unexpected; she reaches into our bag of herbs, pulls something out, and holds it over our heads.

I look up at what she's holding and my eyes widen when I catch sight of the small white flowers we'd seen just moments ago.

Mistletoe.

Percy realizes it too, and I see a mischievous smile appear on his face.

And then, all of a sudden, I feel his lips against mine.

Oh, my gods…

My heart starts pounding madly as I come to terms with what's happening.

At first, it feels so unnatural that I restrain myself from kissing him back, but then something funny happens.

Percy wraps his arms around me, and suddenly, despite everything my instinct was telling me… I stop holding back.

I let myself give in to the kiss, and my eyes close as I wrap my arms around Percy's shoulders. I sink deeper and deeper into his lips, smiling as I relish the moment.

Needless to say, I no longer doubted my feelings for Percy. Katie was right, all of them were right. They'd been right all along, but I'd just been too blind to see it; I loved Perseus Jackson.

I loved him.

I loved him, and he loved me...

…Yeah, this could take some getting used to.

But the strange thing?

I was all right with that.