A/N: Hellooooooooo, I worked on this and edited it at 2 AM, so hopefully it's well written. I had this in google docs for a while, but I just finished it. I'm unsure of where I want this one to go, but Dark Pasts isn't giving me any trouble.

Chapter Four

It reminded him of when they were teenagers. She had a plan, he'd mess it up, improvise, and they'd succeed anyway. It was how they worked. Annabeth told him the plan before they left. They got to Aaron's house. Biscuit was barking, waiting for her friend to walk through the door. They went through the house gathering her things, packing bags and suitcases and stuffing them in the car. At the last minute, they ushered Biscuit into the car, and drove off, but not before Annabeth let her emotions take over, (a skill she had learned from Piper), and threw rocks through the windows in the front of the house. She left a note on the kitchen island with a simple 'I'm done, fuck you' scribbled in her sloppy handwriting.

She thanked the gods that Aaron didn't know where Percy lived. Percy talked about moving back to New York, which she wholeheartedly agreed with. Annabeth couldn't wait to see Sally again. She was her mom for a year and a half, the only real mom she had ever had. They actually went to the spa once. But she was also terrified to see everybody again. What if they hated her for leaving? What if they couldn't forgive her? She couldn't think like that.

Percy was ecstatic. He was friends with his Wisegirl again. He was planning on moving back home, and he had a new dog. What could be better? He and Annabeth getting back together would be best, but he wasn't going to push it. She just got out of a three-year relationship, a horrible three-year relationship, but it was still a part of her life.

He wanted her to be happy, but he wasn't sure if she would be happy with him anymore, after how he blew up on her. He knew he screwed up when he left her. There wasn't anything he regretted more. When she asked him to help her move out, he felt hope that there was retribution for him. She looked uneasy as they drove to his house. They dragged everything into the house and shut the curtains. It wasn't a lot, but it took up a corner of the living room. They sat on the couch, exhausted, and watched the dogs get acquainted. Annabeth leaned her head on Percy's shoulder.

"Thank you. For everything." She whispered. Tears formed in her eyes as she willed herself not to cry. After everything she put him through, he was still willing to help her. She was grateful, grateful that he was her friend, that she could FINALLY rely on someone. She didn't know if he would want her back, but she knew she would take him back in a heartbeat. She had never fallen out of love with him, which had hurt but she dealt with her choices with as much dignity as she could muster until she met Aaron. Then she lost everything. She let him hurt her instead of letting herself continuously do it herself.

She had started with verbal abuse. Saying she wasn't good enough, that she should have died on the bridge or in the Pit. Then she started slicing her own arms. It only got worse. With Aaron, she didn't have to do it herself. And he got some relief from it too. Once she realized that Percy didn't hate her, she knew she deserved better.

She couldn't have done it by herself so she decided that she needed to ask for his help, but she intended to pay him back for every cent he spent and every bit of effort put in to help her. She wouldn't lose him again. She couldn't handle the thought of it.

"Hey, what am I supposed to do? Let you have all the fun? Not a chance, Annie" Percy chuckled, causing the corners of her mouth to turn up. She turned to look at him, forgetting to wipe her face. "Gods, I hate it when you call me that." She scrunched up her nose.

"Why were you crying?" Percy's face was scrunched with concern.

"I wasn't," She only half lied. Percy took a finger and wiped her cheek. When it came away wet, he held it up to his face, pretended to examine it, then returned it to Annabeth's face so she could see the proof.

"Seems like a tear to me. What about you?" He wiped it on her nose, earning a small laugh. She wiped her cheeks.

"I was just stuck in my mind for a second and I let my emotions get the best of me. I'm sorry," She explained, not wanting to rock the boat too much, out of habit.

"Why are you apologizing?" Percy asked. She shrugged.

"Force of habit, I guess," She mumbled, not meeting his eyes. Since it was late, he decided not to push it. It was probably better if he didn't bring Aaron up. He hugged her.

"How about we go to bed?" He nudged her playfully. She nodded, yawning. They padded up the stairs after locking everything.

After a few hours, Percy gave up on trying to sleep. He looked over at Annabeth's sleeping figure then got out of bed and slipped out of the bedroom and down to the kitchen. He grabbed a Pepsi from the fridge and leaned his elbows on the counter in the dark. He spent a few minutes in silence, staring at nothing. Until he felt someone lean on the counter next to him.

"What are you doing up?" Annabeth asked, sleep slurring her words. She turned and sat on the counter. He looked at her silhouette, barely visible in the pitch black.

"I can't sleep. Sorry if I woke you up," He finished his pop and threw the can in the recycle bin. He felt her hand on his shoulder, then he was enveloped in her arms. He hugged her back, letting the familiar feeling of her wash over him. He missed her immensely. He squeezed, a gesture he had started when they had begun dating. He didn't realize how much he had missed it until now. He leaned his head on her chest, her breathing causing her chest to rise and fall. She placed her chin gently on his head, holding him closer.

She pushed him a little, just far enough away that she could kiss him. He grunted in surprise but returned the kiss. He laid his hands on her waist and stood between her knees. Her ankles locked behind him, her heel putting pressure on the small of his back. He broke away, just for a second, to hold her face, bringing her closer, and deepening the kiss. The kiss was sweet and full of longing.

They showed each other exactly how much they needed each other in that one kiss. Her hands traveled to the hem of his t-shirt and started pulling up. They broke the kiss for just a second to get the shirt over his head and dove right back in like they had been starving for years and the kiss was a banquet. His hands explored her body, familiar yet foreign, as they kissed, her hands doing the same. They had no other cares but that moment.

Soon, her shirt came off, too. His hands felt the newly bared skin greedily. They were panting, their kissing messy and spastic, Percy kissed her neck, never staying on one spot too long, driving Annabeth insane. She reached down to his pajama pants when Percy stopped her.

"Beth, what are you doing?" He panted, holding her hand on his stomach just above the drawstring of his pants. They looked each other in the eyes and something clicked. They couldn't do this. Not right now. But they would someday. He hugged her to his chest and kissed her head.

"Go back to bed, Annie" He breathed, pulling away. She scoffed at the nickname, but gave a small laugh nonetheless and pushed herself off the counter. She grabbed his hand, pulling him along. He followed reluctantly, not wanting to continue to toss and turn, but not wanting to leave her to fall asleep on her own.

She climbed into the bed, leaving Percy to follow her lead. They lay facing each other, looking at the other in the dim light. A blue night light shone in the corner of the room, allowing just enough visibility to see every movement but not much else. They laid there for a few minutes, embracing the silence. Finally, she spoke.

"Percy, did you ever forgive me? For telling, I mean." She looked everywhere but at Percy's face. He reached over and ran a thumb over her cheek.

"It was the first thing I did when I calmed down. I couldn't stay mad at my Wisegirl." He rested his hand on her chin. "I looked for you. All over. I asked everyone. I almost put a missing persons report on you but your mom told me you were fine." He paused.

"I was fine as long as I knew you were okay, but I got restless. Finally, she told me to move on. She was sympathetic towards me. But I couldn't let you go. Aphrodite had tried to help me get over you but I didn't want to." He looked her in the eyes for the first time. She was crying. She pushed herself up on her elbow, letting Percy's hand fall to the mattress. She leaned over to him, hovering just an inch above his face.

"Did you ever forgive me for what I said?" He whispered, terrified of the answer. She shook her head.

"There was nothing to forgive. You were angry and I-" He didn't let her finish.

"You tried to help me. And it did. I just wish you had been there to help me get through it all. It was so hard talking about you when I thought you were gone forever. I would do it all over again just to keep you with me." He felt one of Annabeth's tears hit his face just as she closed the distance and kissed him. He hadn't been ready for that. He pulled her closer, his hand barely resting on her neck. He pulled away.

"Annabeth, I don't want to push you into another relationship. I mean, don't get me wrong, I've always loved kissing you. It's my favorite thing in the world, but three years is a long time. It's a big part of your life and you need to heal a little bit before anything." He watched her face, scared of making her upset but all he saw was understanding. She nodded and kissed his cheek.

"Again, when did you get so smart?" She whispered, earning a laugh from Percy. "That sounded like something my mom would say." She explained laughing softly. He looked at her, a gleam in his eye. She sat up, Percy following.

"Please do not compare me to your mom. It makes me feel weird." He cringed slightly. She got up in his face and grinned.

"You do realize that we're cousins, right?" She laughed as his face crinkled up in disgust. He pushed her arm playfully, leading to a wrestling match. Annabeth always won. This time, her victory was cut short. She sat on his stomach, looking at his face. It was still bruised. She frowned.

"What's wrong?" His eyebrows knit together. A small smile crept onto her face.

"You're still cute when you're worried," She whispered causing Percy to chuckle. She got off of him and laid down. They stared at one another until they fell asleep.

Percy woke up around five in the morning. He looked at Annabeth, curled up against his side and moved the hair out of her face to kiss her cheek. He moved as softly as he could to keep from waking her. He treaded downstairs and into the kitchen, got out the waffle iron, the waffle mix, the blue food dye, and the milk and started mixing. He caused a mess. By the time Annabeth woke up and came down to the kitchen, Percy was covered in waffle mix and had sticky blue hands.