A/N: I own nothing but plot. Enjoy!

The time came to fly to Camp Jupiter. Annabeth could tell Percy was both excited and nervous. He was wearing a purple shirt like he had when she first met him, ready to go home.

The regal color suited him, Annabeth grudgingly admitted. But he still pulled off orange pretty well.

Then she saw the blur of something flying towards the ship as it began touching down above Camp Jupiter.

"Jason!"

Annabeth screamed and flung her arms around her best friend before he even had time to land on the ship's deck.

"Oof! Good to see you, too, Annabeth." Jason grinned, patting her around her back.

Her best friend was safe and sound, and he even had a SPQR tattoo like Percy did, albeit with just one black line.

"Not bad, Grace. Ink's a good look on you." Annabeth noted.

"Thanks. Hurt like a bitch when I got it, though, thanks to Octavian."

"Who's Octavian, and why do I get the feeling I should beat him up?"

Waiting on the ground were two other demigods, Frank and Hazel, whom Annabeth had no doubt were part of the seven demigods in the prophecy.

All in all, things were going pretty well until their ship fired onto Camp Jupiter.

Fuck, Annabeth thought. These days, things never went as she planned as they hightailed the ship out of there.

Besides, Leo did accidentally fire into the Roman camp. Even if he was possessed by the eidolons, she was sure the Romans would skewer first, then ask questions. With such a bad beginning to the trip and all seven Roman and Greek demigods on board, Annabeth was worried that they might end up killing each other before they even reached Greece.

Three of them seemed to have some sort of friction between them with Leo being a jokester, Hazel seemingly skittish around Leo, and Frank glaring at Leo at times. Meanwhile, Jason and Percy had come to terms that they were both children of the Big Three, both superb leaders and fighters in their respective camps, and kept the peace by having Annabeth as the head leader and a bridge. But at least two of the seven got along very well. Maybe too well.

"I never want to see my best friend sticking his tongue down the throat of another person again," Annabeth said, her face full of disgust, as she regretted her choice of coming out onto the deck.

Piper flushed and coughed. Jason wasn't looking any better, clearing his throat in embarrassment as he wiped saliva off of his lips. Her straight-faced best friend, who always liked to play by the rules, had been caught making out after curfew. Roman camp sure did a number on him. And here Percy was adamant that the Romans were the more strict and disciplined group.

"I could say the same to you," Jason shot back. "Everyone knows that you and Percy have a thing for each other. Which, by the way, I win the bet." Jason said to Piper smugly.

Piper scowled. "Damn. I really thought they would get together faster than that. It's been like months, seriously."

"That's Annabeth for you. She'll deny everything, since being in a relationship with a son of Neptune isn't in the realm of what a daughter of Athena should do."

This time, it was Annabeth's turn to blush. "W-what? What are you talking about?"

Jason and Piper exchanged a look.

"Gross, it's nothing but couples on this boat." Leo muttered. Everyone turned to him as Leo shook a wrench at them. "Where's my hot prom date? And no, I didn't hear or see much. And yes, I never want to see that again about my best friend," Leo said to Piper. "Can't you two at least wait until I'm out of the room before sucking each other's face off? That goes to you, too, young lady." Leo pointed to Annabeth.

"Young lady? Excuse you, but I am a whole year older than you! And who do you think I'm sucking faces with–"

"What's going on?" As if on cue, Percy arrived with Hazel and Frank in tow. "Who's sucking whose faces?"

Hazel flushed at Percy's words, fanning herself.

Everyone shut up and just stared.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" Percy looked at everyone, his eyes landing on Annabeth last. She averted his gaze as if the wall next to him was suddenly very interesting.

Thankfully, Coach Hedge entered to break the awkward atmosphere, banging his baseball bat and told them all to shut up and go to sleep and drop and give him ten, not necessarily in that order.

"Ugh, even Coach Hedge got married to Mellie…" Leo muttered. "While every hot girl I meet on this trip wants to kill me or is my friend's sister."

"Ew, I forgot you hit on Thalia." Jason grimaced.

"Piper, you told him about that? How am I supposed to make a good impression on Thalia now?"

Everyone left bickering, leaving Percy and Annabeth who trailed a little behind the others.

"Annabeth, are you all right?" Percy asked, his green eyes concerned.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"I just thought that if Jason and Piper are––never mind." Percy muttered. He scratched at the back of his head.

"Oh my gods!" Annabeth laughed, realizing what Percy had misunderstood. "Oh, no, Jason and I are best friends. We've known each other for five years but we've never seen each other like that. When I saw him and Piper kissing, it just felt like seeing my brother make out with my friend. Just gross and weird, you know? I'm honestly going to have to bleach my brain to get that memory out."

"Right," Percy said. "Well, that's good, I guess." He muttered.

Was that a note of relief Annabeth detected?

"Well, good night, Annabeth."

Before she could study his expression, he had closed his cabin door.

The next day, Annabeth was talking with Jason at the helm of the ship on their night shift together.

"So you and Piper, huh?" She teased.

Jason's ears were slightly red but he was grinning. Annabeth knew him long enough to know he was sincerely happy.

"Well, you know, things just clicked after we took some night watches together."

"I'm happy for you. Truly." Annabeth said. "So what's up with Reyna, then?"

Jason groaned. "Did Frank or Hazel tell you about that? I don't know her too well, to be honest. Most of the time, Frank, Hazel, and I were on that quest so I didn't spend too much time in Camp Jupiter. Reyna did make an offer for me to be a praetor with her, but nah. Camp Half-Blood is the home for me."

Annabeth grinned at Jason. "Indeed."

"I do think Reyna was trying to hint that co-praetors sometimes had romantic relationships with each other, but that's not for me. It just didn't feel right like it does with Piper, you know?"

"Ah, I see." She felt her heart grow cold. "Praetors sometimes had romantic relationships with each other, huh?"

To her knowledge, Percy had never mentioned anything about having a girlfriend or liking someone. True, he was amnesiac and was still recovering his memories. But one would think that one of the earlier memories recovered would be of one's romantic partner, no? If she was his girlfriend and he didn't remember her by now, she would honestly be pissed.

"Oh, hey. I didn't mean it that way." Jason held up his hands. "Percy and Reyna didn't have anything to do with each other. Reyna said something about Percy being too dense at times?"

"She could say that again," Annabeth muttered.

The two best friends were quiet for a while.

"Does everybody think I like Percy?" Annabeth asked, softly.

"I wouldn't say everybody thinks that…more that everybody knows it."

Jason grinned at Annabeth's glare.

"I don't understand why you don't tell him. It's pretty obvious he likes you, too."

Annabeth leaned on the ship banister and sighed. "I guess I'm just, I don't know, worried? I mean, starting a relationship right before the world's going to end is such a terrible idea. Besides, he's a son of Neptune. Not just Poseidon, but Neptune! Athena and Poseidon have been rivals for centuries. My mom would probably blast him to pieces if she knew and then we'll have another war on our hands." Annabeth stared glumly out at the night. "Even if we do live through all this, he has to return back to Camp Jupiter in the end. We won't be able to see each other after this." She said, softly.

She would miss him, so, so much. Percy probably wanted to return to Camp Jupiter as fast as possible, and she wouldn't blame him. He'd spent practically his whole life there. Everything he knew was there. He had friends there, like Reyna.

"Isn't that precisely why we should take advantage of the time we have now?" Jason smiled. "Sometimes relationships don't have to be logical. Emotions rarely are. Besides, if you and Percy get together, wouldn't that be like healing the rift between both Athena and Poseidon, the Greeks with the Romans?"

Annabeth gave her best friend a look. "And what if we end up breaking up? All of that pressure on us to heal centuries long rivalry. I don't want to be a cause of another stupid war because of a Roman-Greek break-up."

Or if one of us dies, Annabeth thought. The lines in the Prophecy of the Seven, "to storm or fire, the world must fall" and "an oath to keep with one last breath." Either Leo, Percy, or Jason could be the one the prophecy foretold. And she didn't want any one of them to die. It would break her heart to see another demigod friend fallen.

"You're so pessimistic these days." Jason noted. "It's not like you."

"Ugh, I know." Annabeth banged her head in her arms. "It's just these stupid dreams that are starting to get to me. Mom's been fractured just like the rest of the gods, and my Yankees cap doesn't work anymore. And then there's that quest I have to accomplish all alone. With all these nightmares, I just wish that I could sleep peacefully for once."

"I'm sorry." Jason's tone was sympathetic. He, too, and well, probably every demigod on the ship were victims of the demigod dreamverse. Annabeth could only imagine what dreams Jason, or Percy, were having.

"Well, I suppose even if the world's ending soon, at least I'm glad I can fight to the Doors of Death with you, Jason." Annabeth grinned.

"Just like old times?" Jason offered his fist for her to bump.

"Just like old times."

Behind them, a figure's shadow disappeared back into the cabin hold.

That morning, Annabeth found a bowl of buttered popcorn and a glass of warm milk by her cabin door when she returned to rest after the night shift. Who had it been? She didn't think it was Jason since she was just with him. But the only other person she had told what ambrosia and nectar tasted like to her was…

Percy's cabin door was shut. Annabeth listened but she wasn't sure if there was anyone inside.

"Thank you," she said, softly.

Annabeth felt the tug of spider silk snag tighter against her ankle. She knew instinctively that she wasn't going to make it. Her grip on Percy was loosening. She would have to let go and fall to Tartarus. Would her friends be alright? Would Nico replace her to become the seven demigods who bear arms to the doors of death?

"I'm too heavy, Percy." Annabeth said, her voice cracking. "You'll have to let go of me."

Above her, Percy grimaced and looked up to where their friends were trying to reach them. His grip was slipping, too.

She felt the silk around her ankle pull tighter and tighter. Arachne's last revenge.

And then, Percy…let go.