A/N: I own nothing but plot. Enjoy! Sorry for cliffhanger in last chapter, literally. Or not, hehe.

Annabeth had been in too much shock and pain to hear what Percy had yelled.

"Promise me!" He yelled at Nico. "Promise me that you'll lead them to the other side!"

"I-I promise!"

And then Percy let go. Jason's scream echoed faintly before gravity, or something more sinister, pulled them down too far to hear any sound. The son of Zeus tried to fly from the ship but it was too late as the other demigods held him back before the pit could suck him in, too.

Annabeth couldn't believe it as Percy and she fell in the dark hole together.

"Why did you let go?" She had to scream in order to be heard at the speed they were falling. "You could have saved yourself!"

Stupid, stupid Seaweed Brain! How could he just let go like that? If Percy had let Annabeth go, then he could have rescued himself at least instead of falling to their deaths together. Her part of finding the Athena Parthenos was over. But Percy was too crucial to the quest to throw his life away.

"You think I'm going to leave you alone? Right after you had to experience that gods-awful quest with spiders?" He yelled back.

Annabeth held onto Percy's hand tightly. Then he adjusted their position until she was tightly hugged against him. In the darkness of the pit where nothing could be seen or felt other than the wind pushing against her face, only Percy's steady warmth was the grim reminder that she was still alive.

She buried her face in the crook of his neck and held back a sob. She had survived a giant spider monster just in time to die in the literal worst place for a demigod.

Percy shifted as his lips accidentally brushed her ear.

"What?" Annabeth yelled as Percy seemed to say something.

He put his face close to where he guessed her ear was. "Is this a bad time to say I like you?"

Annabeth's heart pounded. "You're telling me this now? Of all times?"

"Just wanted to let you know at least before we die!"

Annabeth didn't know whether she wanted to cry or laugh in this situation. She had already planned to tell him that she liked him when all of this was over. But of course life had intervened in her plans again.

"Then tell me that again once we're out of Tartarus!" She yelled back.

It would be another goal worth fighting for to live in the hell-bound place they were going to.

Amazingly, they didn't die right away from Tartarus as they finally fell to the bottom. Some people might have said it would be better to die before having the horrors of Tartarus being burned into her mind.

Trying to find the Athena Parthenos by herself was already a daunting task. Surviving Tartarus alone though? Nico was a strong demigod for having survived all that, though she could definitely tell he was suffering from some form of PTSD.

But Annabeth wanted to live. She had survived for seventeen years and she was determined to live for more than that. A large part of her was seriously glad that Percy was by her side.

Together, they traversed through the glass shard beaches and drank from the fire river that tasted like gasoline mixed with rancid salsa. Somehow, Percy and Annabeth ended up holding hands as though they didn't want any chance to be separated. It was not what Annabeth imagined a date would be like.

Attacked by empousai and then chased by a bunch of murderous giants and Titans, well, that would be quite the memorable date. And when Percy killed Arachne, Annabeth silently gave him a 10/10 for spider-killing talents, a skill she would require from her future boyfriend.

When Percy was suffering from gorgon blood and the curses of all his enemies he had slayed over the years, Annabeth was out of her mind with worry. A skeleton kitten, an amnesiac Titan (what is up with all the amnesia recently), and an apparently peaceful giant weren't the best companions of reassurance. Thankfully, Damasen knew how to treat Percy. She sobbed with relief as she saw Percy's color and breathing slowly return back to normal as the poison worked its way out of his system.

When he finally opened his eyes, she flung her arms around him and held him tight.

"I'm okay, Annabeth, really."

She couldn't even say anything back. If Percy had died down here… No. She couldn't think like that. Hope, she had to have hope.

Annabeth felt his lips briefly touch the top of her head, his arms patting soothingly around her back.

Damasen's drakon bone and mud hut was one of the sole spots of comfort in Tartarus. Annabeth hated leaving the hut and not being able to convince Damasen to fight, but she had to try at least once.

Against all odds, they made it out of Tartarus, reunited with her friends and the giant statue of her mom that didn't contain any superpowers as Leo complained.

Annabeth looked up at the beautiful stars. She could see why Damasen and Bob the Titan missed the stars when out in Tartarus. Gaea and Tartarus were horrible, even to their own children. Their sacrifices would not be forgotten.

Nothing was as beautiful as the stars as she stared up at the inky sky. Well, maybe only Percy's sea green eyes were more beautiful as his eyes twinkled at her.

Percy didn't forget what she had said when they were falling down to Tartarus. As soon as he and Annabeth had a moment alone on the ship, he pulled her into his cabin and kissed her senselessly against the closed door. Their lips found each other, brimming with heat and a sense of longing and relief.

Annabeth's hands wandered across his lean back, feeling how his muscles flexed underneath her touch. His hands boldly slipped underneath her shirt and cupped her breast over her bra, causing her to gasp in their kiss. Percy made no waste of time as his tongue curled with hers.

It was a good thing that Percy had pulled her into his cabin. Hazel would probably faint from their make out session while Jason would now be the one to show an expression of disgust. Coach Hedge would probably ground them forever, condemning them as hot blooded teenagers who were acting on their out of control hormones.

Finally, the pair broke apart, their foreheads still touching.

"Can I tell you now?" Percy said. "What I said when we were falling down to Tartarus?"

Annabeth grinned and beat him to the punch. "I like you, Seaweed Brain. I like you a lot."

"I had a feeling you might." Percy teased.

Annabeth buried herself in his arms again, breathing in the warm scent of the sea that Percy always seemed to smell naturally of. They had both taken showers after what seemed like ages of walking through brimstone, smoke, and ashes. And now, both of them craved human touch as though it reminded them that they were still alive, that they had survived the most recent disaster.

Percy's lips began to find hers again and again, burning and inflamed. His hand gingerly pressed the back of her head as though he didn't want to let go. And neither did she as she returned the kiss with fervor. The deeper kiss fit awkwardly at first until they figured out what was the best way to angle their heads until their lips locked together perfectly.

Somehow, they ended up on his bed, him shirtless and her laying simply next to him with her arm thrown over his bare chest. Percy tucked her underneath his chin. Coach Hedge would throw a fit if he ever caught them like this, but she didn't care at the moment.

There were some slight scars over his body that Percy commented were new after falling down to Tartarus. Annabeth was sure that she probably had some new battle scars as well.

Jason was right, Annabeth thought. Their time right now was precious, even simple moments like these. She couldn't predict how everything would turn out after this war ended, nor could she control how her heart leaned to. When all of this was over, maybe she would go to college in Camp Jupiter or Percy could come up to Camp Half-Blood as exchange campers.

All that was far off into the future with far too many variables to make solid predictions.

But Annabeth knew one thing; that she was quickly falling in love with a son of Neptune. She liked that he was loyal to his friends and would go to hell and back for them. A good friend, a good teammate, and someone who made her feel like the world was worth fighting for. Percy was insufferably kind and witty, even if his sarcasm might get him killed one day. But she would be there to rein him in, fighting back to back to the very last breath.

It didn't make the most logical sense but oh well. They had survived to literal hell and back together and made out in more or less one piece. If anyone disagreed, mortal or god, she was going to punt them all the way to Tartarus without a second thought.

Percy had fallen asleep first. Annabeth kissed his forehead. She curled up closer to Percy and drifted off to sleep with the lull of the ship engine humming and Percy's soft breathing.

A/N: And that's a wrap. I know, I know, you're thinking, um, isn't there still Blood of Olympus? Well, maybe there'll be an epilogue, maybe there won't. The world will never know! But this is definitely the end of this story.

As always, thank you for reading, and see you next time!