Annabeth is so sassy in this chapter.

Updated: 08/14/2015

…

Annabeth was smart. She was a daughter of Athena after all.

Everyone knew this.

Including those two idiots in the Hades cabin.

So really, they should have expected this.

Or at least, Percy should have.

Pulling out of her back pocket a worn-down, familiar baseball cap, she slipped it on and entered the cabin, moving slowly as to not make any sound.

She was so glad to see that they were dressed, and sitting vaguely normal for their current situation. Nico's head was on Percy's shoulder and they were holding hands, but that was about it.

Nico's head rose a bit and his eyes scanned the room – he must have heard her or sensed her or something, because he was looking in her direction, but then he laid his head back on Percy's shoulder.

She let out a quiet breath and moved slowly behind them. She had to resist the urge to laugh though as Nico stood up, rather stiffly may she add, and moved to a different part of the room. He just raised an eyebrow in her direction and looked away as she snuck up on Percy.

When her hands landed on his shoulders and she screamed, Percy screamed too and fell off the couch.

''WHAT THE FLYING PEGASUS WAS THAT?!"

Nico was laughing too hard to answer him as Annabeth took off her cap, looking smug.

"ANNABETH WHAT THE HADES ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

"I came to make sure you two weren't doing something stupid like lying to me about becoming soulmates. Oh wait. That already happened." Nico was still chuckling as Percy stood up from the floor.

"How did you find out?"

"Please don't tell me you think I'm that stupid Seaweed Brain. Plus I overheard what the ol' Love Goddess had to say to you."

"You heard that?"

"She wasn't exactly quiet. Now if you don't want my help…" she said, spinning her cap on her finger and smirking at Percy. "I can just leave, ya know."

"Aren't you mad?"

"No, not really. I mean, I still really like you Seaweed Brain, but you can't not be with him," she said, tilting her head at Nico, who was just silently watching the exchange. "And I figure instead of becoming the annoying ex-girlfriend, I'll just be a good friend to the two of you, if you'll have me." She said this last part to Nico, who she knew had been jealous of her for a while but was now nodding at her. "Perce?" Percy blinked at her and nodded.

"Thanks Annabeth."

"No problem. I would say it's not every day that you get threatened by a God –slash- Goddess, but it kind of is for you, isn't it?"

…

At dinner that night, Percy, Nico, Annabeth, and Grover all sat together, even though they really weren't supposed to; they were all at a point in their lives where they just didn't care anymore.

Getting death threats, fighting for your lives, and going through hell and back – pun intended – made you really put everything into perspective.

Kind of.

"Perce, you gotta learn to block your mind sometimes man," Grover was saying, chewing anxiously on a twisted hunk of metal that used to be a fork "I'm glad you two are soulmates and all, but come on, I don't need to feeling… that," he said, waving his hand at them. Nico just snorted and continued to eat while Percy just stared at Grover. Grover just brayed quietly and continued to eat his fork, leaving the two of them in a staring contest.

"Whatcha gonna do about the whole Aphrodite thing?" Annabeth asked, making them both shrug.

"Nothing. She didn't really threaten us, did she?" Percy asked hopefully. Three sets of eyes just glared at him. "Just trying to be positive."

"Please don't be," Nico mumbled, "A threat from a Goddess is a big deal."

"Maybe you should mention it to Chiron," Annabeth said, her thinking face on.

"No. There's no reason to bring him into this anymore than necessary."

"Maybe Rachel could help. Maybe she'll spit out a prophecy for the two of you," Grover asked through a mouthful of metal; he had finished the fork and was onto a spoon now. The three of them just stared at him for a moment before he bleated again and looked away.

"I don't want to think about this anymore," Percy said, rubbing his temples. "It's giving me a headache. I'm going to go for a walk." He stood up and looked at Nico, who just nodded and stood up with him. Annabeth and Grover watched them go, along with the rest of the camp, who were whispering quietly at how close they were.

"When the rest of the camp figures out what's going on between them, all Hades is gonna break loose."

"Yup."

…

"Was that necessary?" Aphrodite turned to see Poseidon and Hades standing together, both watching her.

"It's so good to see brothers on the same side once again. It's been too long, hasn't it?"

"Did you have you those two that way?"

"My son doesn't get scared. He gets annoyed."

"Oh would you two shush already? I was just warning them. Even you two can feel the change in their… beings, ever since they've accepted their status. Monsters will be coming to them from all sides now! And some of them will be so cunning they will know how to get past any charms or anything that camp throws at them. And then what happens? One of them will get snatched up and the other will have to fight for their lives combined. Isn't it better they know to expect it than to just let it sneak up on them?"

"No. We're not supposed to interfere-"

"And I didn't. I just gave a friendly warning from one person of love to another."

Hades snorted, not much unlike the way his son did, and shook his head.

"You just couldn't resist meddling with them, could you?"

"No, I really couldn't. They make it so very easy."

…

This story is turning out much longer than I originally planned.

So, see ya'll next time I guess.

-JustMe133