A/N - Hi all. Got bored on the train so here's a Percabeth One-Shot haha

:)


Overwhelming relief. Even now, after Olympus and having had her back for nearly a week, he still felt the relief. He had been so used to nightmares by this point, but the new ones that he was having terrified him even more.

They weren't real, they weren't visions like the others. They were memories or worst case scenarios he had crafted in his head as her absence had gone on. He kept having to tell himself that. Tyson was being very brotherly and attentive about it when Percy woke up yelling, but Percy would just dismiss him. He knew he should talk to someone and Tyson was probably one of the best people to tell. Grover was maybe a little better but... he just couldn't. No one needed to know how much Annabeth's kidnapping had affected him.

Least of all Annabeth herself. It wasn't her fault and she didn't need Percy's nightmares on her conscience. She just needed to unwind after everything that happened.

"You look pathetic, Seaweed Brain." The sound of her voice made him smile and he even hummed in response, ruminating on the knowledge that she was back and she was safe. Then his eyes widened comically as he realised that hearing her voice also meant that she was right there, probably hearing him hum in reaction to her voice and he was jerked back to reality.

He was sat on the beach at Camp, knees lifted in front of him with his arms resting on them. He didn't know how many seconds it had been before he twisted his torso so quickly he felt several things click but he guessed it was quite a few, judging by Annabeth's giddy grin of amusement.

"Penny for your thoughts?" He panicked.

"No." he said nervously, before desperately searching for a joke to try and throw her off the scent. "My thoughts are way too interesting to be that cheap." He let out a relieved breath as she laughed.

"That's funny. But you'd actually need to pay me to go up there and wade through all that seaweed." she responded, shit eating grin on her face.

"Oh, Hades. I feel like this nickname has gone a little too far now."

"Wuss. Just cause you couldn't think of anything better than a compliment. I mean, come on. Wise Girl?"

"Hey! Clarisse came up with that!"

"Wow! So you didn't even come up with a nickname for me yourself? I thought we were closer than that. I put so much effort into yours." she quipped.

"Shut up." Percy chortled. Just like that, he was feeling better. He felt more chirpy, just having her there to joke with him.

"So? What's really up, Percy?" she then asked as she sat down beside him.

"Nothing. I'm just glad your safe."

"You looking for ANOTHER thank you?!"

"No!" She stared at him incredulously before it morphed back into an amused smile, which then became a soft look of something he couldn't quite identify. He just knew it made him feel good.

"Well, thank you anyway. I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't found me." They smiled gently at each other for a moment and he really took her in.

She was so beautiful, just as she always was. It was something about her smile and the grey of her eyes that had him giddy just looking at her. He couldn't help but stare and smile with poorly veiled glee.

Then there was the new streak of grey in her hair. She looked badass a lot, but that just made her look badass 24/7. He was in awe of her. He found, seeing her in action and now, in the quiet moments, she was beautiful not only because she was completely gorgeous, but because she was so impressive. The first time they had sparred together had been the first time he understood the extent of her utter beauty.

The other thing that the grey hairs did was give him something tangible that connected them. They had both held up the sky and both bore the mark of it. He didn't know that he had wanted something like that between the two of them for a long time. Possibly since he first saw her. He hated to agree with Aphrodite of all people, but he could see it. The two of them, together. The more he thought about it, the more he yearned for it.

"But, if anyone hears that I said that, you're a dead man." And all of a sudden, he was back in the real world and didn't know how long he had been staring at her with a gentle smile on his face. Had he looked like a complete idiot? Great, Percy! Well done! Make yourself look like a lovesick puppy in front of her of all people, why don't you! He thought to himself. He quickly averted his gaze back to the lake.

"Oh my Gods, Percy. Chill. Seriously, what's up with you? You don't seem like yourself."

"Nah, I'm good. I'm just tired."

"Oh, I hear that. Ever since that whole lifting the sky thing, I've been sleeping for hours and hours! Haven't even had any nightmares since." Percy forced another smile.

"Yeah." he said with an awkward laugh. Suddenly, she shuffled closer to him and linked her arm with his.

"It's getting late and it's getting cold. We should go back inside soon." she murmured. He was too distracted by how close she was to reply. Her knee was pressed up against his and her hand was stroking up and down his arm as she looked out at the view. He was simply taking a few nervous breaths in and out as he tried to work up the courage to reciprocate some contact.

He slowly, tentatively reached his hand over and softly planted it on her knee, before stroking his thumb back and forth on the side of it.

As a result, she laid her head on his shoulder and he felt himself get even giddier and had to stop himself from bouncing in his excitement. But the joy was obliterated by what Annabeth said next.

"What do we do, Percy?"

"About what?"

"Luke. We need to get him back. I miss him." He heard the thickness of her voice and could tell she was fighting tears.

"How do you know we can get him back?" he managed through gritted teeth.

"Because I know him. He's been my family since I was 7. There's no way that this is what he is. None."

"He's tricked you already, Beth. He tricked you into taking the sky for him. How can you possibly think there's any way back for him? He tried to kill me."

"I've told you. I know him, Percy. He's not this monster. He's a good man." He could feel her stiffening up next to him and he tried rubbing her knee more with his palm but it didn't seem to work.

"I..." He didn't know where to take it then. She wasn't seeing the facts. There was no way he could see past everything Luke had done and it broke his heart to hear Annabeth try and defend him; try and find the good in him that just wasn't there. The anxiety rose in his stomach at the desperation in her voice and he felt sick to know that whatever he thought they might have would always come second to whatever it was she felt for Luke.

"Go on, Percy." she challenged venomously, lifting her head of his shoulder to look at him dead in the eyes. "What? He was a friend, a brother to both of us."

"Yeah, until he tried to kill me!" he drawled, imploring her to see the evil in Luke's actions.

"Surely you see where he's coming from, though? We all have reason to hate the Gods. Him more than most, so can you really blame him for reacting like this."

"Yes, when his reaction includes trying to kill me and kidnapping my friends and manipulating people who care about him to take on burdens that are way too much for them to handle and put themselves in danger just so he can get revenge!"

"Yes, but we can convince him to come back. We can talk him down and make him see that, while he's not entirely wrong with how he sees the Gods, he's going about it the wrong way." It was the look in her eyes then that broke his heart almost completely. She was truly desperate get Luke back. Luke, of all people. He had demonstrated time and time again that he didn't care about anyone at Camp Half Blood, no matter how much he said differently. If he cared, he wouldn't hurt people like he had been.

But still Annabeth wanted him back. He had never seen that look in her eyes, the complete devotion, for anyone else, let alone him. He had let Aphrodite's words make him believe there was a chance. It was clear to him now that there was none.

"It's too late, Beth. He doesn't care. He's the bad guy here and, if I have to, I'll kill him myself." It felt drastic to him too, but she needed to hear it. If it came to it, they would have to put the traitor down and she needed to prepare herself for that. He didn't want to break her heart, make her hurt like he was, but it seemed to be the only way to get her on side for winning this war the only way they could. And maybe, just maybe, it made his hurt easier to deal with.

"What? You're not even going to try? He taught you how to fight, he accepted me when no one else did. He's my family, Percy. He deserves a chance to make up for his mistakes!" She was letting go of him completely now. Every inch of separation tugged at Percy more but he couldn't lie to her, he couldn't console her about this because she wasn't seeing sense.

"He's had plenty." It was cold but true. Percy didn't look up at her as she stood up slowly, but he could feel her eyes on him. She just stood there for a few moments before she crouched beside, her lips mere inches from his ear.

"He's important to me, Percy. And so are you. Please, let me try. Let us try, together. I know we can do it." He turned to look her in the eyes, finally. He could see the tears pooling in her eyes so clearly. She was crying. For him. Percy wanted to kill him, to hurt him, something after everything he's done. But, looking in Annabeth's gorgeous eyes in that moment, Percy couldn't find it in himself to risk hurting her more. He didn't know which way to turn, so he didn't say anything.

"Hey guys!" came Tyson's voice, accompanied by loud, sandy footfalls. "You guys really are cute, you know? You should be girlfriend and boyfriend." he announced, his voice riddled with innocence and obliviousness. Percy and Annabeth's gazes were still stuck to one another, before Annabeth gave a defeated sigh and stood up again.

"We're not boyfriend and girlfriend, Tyson. Get over it." she bit as she marched away. Percy turned back to look over the lake and made a defeated declaration to himself, internally.

They're just grey hairs. Just marks of the most recent trauma. They don't mean anything. There's nothing there for them to represent. That much was clear to him now.


This was different. It was a bitter relief. Gaia was gone, but so was Leo. The camp was half decimated and Percy, once again, found himself sat, alone on the beach that lined a few hundred metres of the lake's circumference. The bitter relief of the end of another war weighed on him, more than the last one did. He would look around at Piper, Hazel and some other Campers from both sides of the country and see himself from... how long ago even was it? A year? Two? He could hardly tell at this point. He had hardly had a reprieve between the two wars and now, after it was all over, he was tired. Tired in a way he had never experienced. It almost felt like defeat.

But it wasn't; they had won twice against terrors that he hadn't even imagined as a child. Maybe that was why he couldn't sleep; why he was up in the middle of the night, sitting on cold sand and looking at the stars that were reflected on the smooth surface of the lake. The nightmares had grown worse since they won. He had nothing to occupy his mind with anymore so everything hit him all at once. The empty feeling without Annabeth, that he hadn't even understood at the time, the fear of losing her just after finding her again, the wind whipping at his head as they fell for almost an entire day, the way he felt her tell him that she loved him rather than hearing it, the utter exhaustion and grief when they landed in Tartarus, the flames that they swallowed, Bob, the physical embodiment of Tartarus itself, the look of fear on Annabeth's face when she looked at him, Annabeth walking blind and asking for him...

Just thinking about it while awake made him shudder and he came back to reality, shaking, his head pressing onto his knees and his arms wrapped around his legs. It took him another few seconds to realise he was crying. He moved his arms and gripped his own hair in his hands as he let himself break down, properly, for the first time.

It was a few minutes of near silence, only broken by his sobs, before he felt a sudden, soft touch on his back. He flinched immediately, but stopped just as quickly, recognising the touch.

"You look pathetic, Seaweed Brain." He let out a wet chuckle.

"Yeah, well, I'm feeling pathetic."

"Don't." Annabeth insisted as she sat down next to him, just as she had done all that time ago. "You're not pathetic. You're stronger than anyone I know. You've made it this far."

"So have you."

"Yeah, why do you think I came out here? I felt like cry myself." she teased. He chuckled lowly.

"Feel free to join me then." She barely hesitated to intertwine her arm with his and start stroking up and down his upper arm. Their was no nervousness or hesitation from him either as he planted his hand on her knee and started stroking up and down her lower leg. They then both reached out with their free hands and intertwined those fingers. He couldn't tell how long they sat there for, gripping each other tighter as the memories flowed in and out, making them flinch, shake and cry together. No words were needed as they both faced the worst moments from the past few years and held onto each other as anchors. The feel of her brought his mind back to the day a dove into the Styx. She brought him back that day, and, in the time they spent sat on the beach that night, she brought him back from the brink of giving into his worst memories. Tartarus, separating from her in Rome, the sight of her unconscious and dying during the Battle in Manhattan. All of it.

After however long it may have been, and the sun was beginning to rise, their eyes met for the first time in hours. Again, no words were said but the gratitude and the love he could see in her eyes, and that he was sure she could see in his, was enough. They leant in and met in a slow, gentle but still passionate kiss. They got lost in each other and ended up lying on the sand on their sides as their lips moved together. The kiss deepened and Percy felt the greatest peace he had ever known. The kiss, then, got lazier and lazier as Percy felt his exhaustion creeping up behind his eyes and, eventually, they detached. His eyes opened to find her smiling at him with her eyes only half open. He knew they weren't going to make it back to their cabins before they succumbed.

"Coach Hedge might not be happy with us tomorrow." he mumbled.

"I don't much care." Annabeth replied sleepily and Percy smiled wider than he knew he had energy for

"Good." With that, they snuggled against each other, her arms snaking around his waist and his hands landing on her shoulder and the back of her head. His last thought was of a younger Percy, hardly three years younger than he was now, who had searched so desperately for some tangible sign of a connection between him and the Annabeth he now knew he had been in love with since he was twelve. After all this time, he now knew the truth.

He had no need for grey streaks of hair or any physical sign that the two of them were connected. He felt it in the touches and the looks. He saw it in her eyes and tasted it on her tongue. What connects them was the love that he knew they shared. He would never doubt it again.

With that, he fell asleep in her arms.