Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or any of the characters. Any similarities between this story and anything else is purely accidental.

Percy Jackson's eyes slid over to his girlfriend, Annabeth Chase's face. Her eyes darted across the horizon, her hand twitching towards her waist where her dagger used to be. They had just gotten away from an angry telkhine, and Annabeth had mostly thrown rocks while Percy killed it. Percy knew that Annabeth hated feeling useless. He wished he could tell her that it wasn't her fault that her dagger had been lost, or that they had fallen into Tartarus, which he knew she blamed herself for. He took her hand and squeezed it. Annabeth gave a weak smile in return, but then turned away. Percy didn't miss the tears gathering in her eyes.

"Hey." he asked gently. "Are you okay?"

A tear fell down her face as she turned around to face him.

"Why us, Percy?" Her voice was weary and cracked. "After all we've been through, why did we have to fall into here? And why-why did you fall after me? Why didn't you just let me go?"

"Annabeth-" Percy started, but she kept going.

"We've been through so much together, and this-this is just like the icing on the barbed wire the Fates are using to spin our futures." She looked at him. Her eyes were filled with despair. They looked exhausted. She was giving up, and realizing this felt like someone had smashed a sledgehammer into his heart.

She sank to her knees and buried her face in her arms. Percy sat down next to her and put an arm around her.

"Come here." he whispered, and Annabeth scooched closer, leaning into his side.

"You asked why I fell here with you?" Percy asked, smiling a little. "That's easy. I'd rather do anything than let you fall alone. You really thought I was going to let you go without me coming with you?"

Annabeth didn't seem to be able to say anything to that.

"Well, I'll be." said Percy lightly. "I made the Annabeth speechless."

A little laugh bubbled out of Annabeth. Percy hadn't heard it in so long. The simple sound filled him with hope.

"As for why us, I can't answer that." Percy said. "But I can tell you this." He pulled out Riptide and held it in front of him, the soft light illuminating her face. It was scraped and bloody but still looked beautiful. "We're in this together. I'm not leaving you alone."

"I miss home." She sounded younger and more scared than he had ever heard her, and even though it killed him to see her so vulnerable it still made him feel a little honored that she could be so unguarded with him in rare moments like this. "I miss the Argo II and Camp Half-Blood and all of our friends."

"I know." Percy murmured. He felt the exact same way-heck, even on the Argo II he had missed Camp Half-Blood. The Capture the Flag games seemed like the least dangerous thing on the planet after this place. "I know."

Annabeth's eyes were drooping. Riptide's light reminded him of Camp Half-Blood, and the few candlelight dinners he and Annabeth had managed to have before Hera had whisked him away. "Imagine...imagine us back in New York. Imagine...we're back at Camp. We're going on a date. A candlelight dinner." He took a deep breath, letting the image wash over him. Annabeth sighed a little, and he knew she was thinking about it also. "And before you know it, we'll be back there. And I can take you on a real date, okay? Just hold on for a little while longer."

"I didn't know you could be so romantic, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth said, smiling a little. She snuggled into his side. "Wake me up in a little while. Don't be a gentleman."

Percy smirked. "Who, me?"

She rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. She laughed again. Her eyes closed. Percy felt her relax next to him.

Maybe sitting out in the open here was dangerous. But honestly, they were both at their wits ends. They needed time to rest and heal. He didn't see any immediate threats anywhere. This was probably the safest he had felt since he had fallen here.

"I love you, Annabeth." he murmured, the soft glow of Riptide lighting up their faces.

Thank you for reading! I hope you liked it! Please review, and see ya later!