Annabeth rode forward, watching Percy out of the corner of her eye.

She ignored his repeated attempts to ride beside her. She usually wouldn't have minded it, but thought he might try to speak to her or something useless like that. Instead, when he neared, she pressed on, subtly propelling her horse faster.

Still, she couldn't help but acknowledge his movements when he stopped completely. With an annoyed huff, Annabeth slowed her horse before turning around to face him.

"What are you doing?" she questioned loudly from atop her steed.

"Stopping," he replied plainly, gesturing to the town just past the trees.

"Obviously," Annabeth spat with a scowl. "I meant why are you stopping."

"You said we would ride until we reached Valentina," Percy reminded her. "We're here."

"Yes," Annabeth conceded with a quick nod, looking around. Her gaze traced the long lines of the trees, watching for anyone who might have spotted them. "But the weather is still good, we should continue riding before someone—"

"We're halfway there," Percy reasoned with a shake of his head.

Annabeth sighed heavily, turning towards him sharply. His eyes were rimmed with darkness; she hadn't noticed it before. It looked like he hadn't slept all night. She felt a pang of sympathy but reminded herself that he'd forced himself on this journey. She hadn't asked him to come. He had wanted to—no, that wasn't it either. The downward, resigned curve of his lips suggested this was the last place he wanted to be right now.

Obligation. Annabeth decided then. It must be obligation driving him forward.

"If you'd like to stay," she told him firmly, "then stay. I'm going to ride on."

She watched his jaw clench. Even from a distance, annoyance was clear as it swept over his expression. She didn't wait for him to agree, choosing instead to ride on. She registered him join her out of the corner of her eyes and smiled.

Then, realizing it, forced her features into a grim aspect, curling her fingers around the reins until her knuckles were ashy white.

They didn't speak again until it was nearly nightfall. It had begun to rain over an hour ago, the sprinkle quickly turning into a deafening storm. The wind rattled through the trees, swaying them until they seemed just a hair from falling.

Annabeth found herself half grateful, the relentless rain intent on keeping her awake. Even as her arms and legs grew tired, her eyes remained open, suffering the assault. She could only hope they were still riding in the right direction. She had paused earlier to examine her map only to soak it complete. Fearing a tear, she was leading based on memory now. Annabeth looked at the horizon, searching for the last lingering rays of sunlight to lead the way west but any glimmer was drowned out by the rain.

"Annabeth!" She heard behind her and bit her tongue, convincing herself it was just the wind as it stormed through the trees.

Nevertheless, she vaguely recognized the flash of Percy's steed gaining on her.

Then, again, "Annabeth!"

She sniffled, training her eyes ahead the second time she heard her name. She didn't want to talk to Percy. She already knew what he'd say.

We need to stop, he'd tell her and she'd be forced to reconsider her original plan.

Rachel will be okay, he'd insist and she'd begin to believe him.

Annabeth, he'd say and she'd fight a shiver.

"Annabeth," Percy shouted for the third time, his words louder than before—closer than before. She turned to see him beside her. Her distracted quandaries had allowed him to catch up to her.

"What?" Annabeth shouted back, refusing to spare him more than a glance.

The rain was relentless against her skin. The droplets turning to pinpricks of glass in the storm.

"We have to stop," he yelled, and she thought she heard a frown in his words.

"We're almost there," Annabeth returned.

"No," Percy replied without any glimmer of humor. "We're not—we need to get inside, or we'll catch a cold."

Annabeth shut her eyes, running her tongue across her teeth. She felt her horse rumble beneath her.

"Please, Annabeth," Percy insisted, dodging a tree to keep up with her. "You'll get sick—please."

Annabeth's heart stuttered at the concern in his voice, her eyes flashing open. Her gaze darted to his. His hair was matted across his forehead, his cheeks flared red with exertion.

"You'll want to be strong," Percy added, "when you face the rebels, you'll want to have all your strength about you."

Ah, Annabeth bit back a cynical bout of laughter, feeling it reverberate through her abdomen. So that was why he was worried. For the sake of the journey, for the sake of the mission, for the sake of Rachel.

"Annabeth," Percy called again, breaking her from her own thoughts.

She sniffled again, her extremities had begun to go numb. She wished it would persist across her chest. That area seemed to be the root of most of her pain anyway.

"Fine," she agreed softly.

Her words didn't make it past the downpour, but Percy appeared to understand the sentiment as a relieved expression appeared across his face.

To their luck, they managed to spot an inn almost as soon as they stopped. Percy loudly exclaimed his surprise as they were far and few between in the area. Annabeth didn't voice her concurrence, choosing instead to silently nod as she drew her cloak closer around her arms.

The inn was small and cold, a bitterness clung to the walls. Percy was the spoke to the innkeeper, finding him far more agreeable than Annabeth did. She was beginning to believe Percy could befriend anyone he met. She wondered if she admired the quality or feared it. Then, was suddenly offended he hadn't intended to befriend her when he'd first met her.

As Annabeth glanced around the inn to gauge their less than ideal sleeping situation, she felt a pair of eyes on her and turned to see the innkeeper watching her. He averted his gaze at her attention but the uneasy feeling lingered.

"Unfortunately, we only have one room available"

She barely heard the innkeeper say it, his voice having become a buzz in the background of her teeth chattering. Percy was right, she would have likely caught pneumonia if she'd stayed out in the rain much longernot that she would ever admit that to him.

She was forced to acknowledge the fact though, when Percy turned towards her, shooting her a questioning look. She returned a stiff nod, knowing traveling to another inn would require them to continue riding.

A shiver wracked Annabeth's body as they reached their room. She tried to shut her eyes and tune out the sound of Percy amicably conversing but couldn't shake the apprehension. She settled for turning away from the pair, examining the rickety cot. There was a cold bead of sweat slowly sliding down the ridges of her spine, testing her patience as she was forced to listen to the innkeeper drone on and on, asking question after question.

Annabeth sighed, exhaustion weighing heavily in her bones, as she heard the telltale sound of the door shutting and the clunky pitter of descending footsteps.

"Thank god—" she remarked, turning back to find Percy pulling off his jacket.

Her gaze swept over his shoulders before she could remind it not to. His billowy white shirt had was nearly completely transparent from the rain and was stuck to his— everything.

"Oh," she mouthed soundlessly, averting her eyes, feeling her cheeks flush despite her increasingly low temperature. She clenched her jaw, praying it didn't show.

Annabeth snuck another glance in his direction, but Percy caught her eye, throwing her a lopsided grin. His jacket was off now, hung up next to the fire. His fingers were fiddling with the buttons of his shirt, making quick work of them with ice-cold fingers.

"What?" Percy requested evenly.

"Why?" Annabeth questioned, trying to appear composed. She'd seen countless shirtless men before—well maybe not countless, but certainly enough—so why should this be any different. Her chest objected to her rational, sending fluttering through her abdomen.

"I'm soaking wet, Annabeth," Percy stated, lazily gesturing to himself as he finished with his buttons. He dragged the wet fabric off his skin, leaving horrid dips of moisture along his chest.

Annabeth's hands clutched at the back of her dripping cloak with clammy fingers.

Surely, she was being punished for intruding on her sister's betrothal. Surely, it wasn't normal to be so affected by another individual.

Percy hung his shirt beside his jacket and turned back towards her, his hands lazily strewn over his hips. She wondered what they would feel like tossed over hers and chastised herself for the thought a moment later.

"Annabeth," he sighed, allowing her momentary peace as she forced herself to focus on the words coming out of his mouth. "You have to at least take off your cloak. You'll catch a cold if you don't."

Annabeth considered disagreeing. She considered growing agitated and arguing with him. Something deep in her chest stirred with familiarity, but she wasn't sure her body could take any more exertion.

"Yeah," she agreed softly, undoing the tie that held her cloak together and watching it with half-lidded eyes as it fell to the floor with an unceremoniously flop. She stared down at it, frowning as water began to pool beneath it.

Percy stepped forward to grab it, but she stopped him.

"No," she rejected, feeling foolish. "To the kingdom's great surprise," she snipped, "I can do some things myself."

She picked up her soaking wet outerwear and brought it closer to the fire, hanging it on the opposite side. She glanced up at Percy to find him smiling. She tried to return the expression but was interrupted by yet another shiver.

Percy frowned, his features quickly taking on an air of concern. "Are you still cold?" he asked her, then before she could answer, replied himself. "Of course, you're cold," he chuckled, "you're drenched."

Annabeth was tired. She was exhausted. She had to be to justify the way her eyes flickered at his words.

"I think I need to lay down," she mumbled, avoiding his eyes.

She tried to step away but found a hand circling around her wrist. She was accosted by the memory of their interaction on the balcony a few weeks ago, or had it been years? She couldn't be sure. So much seemed to have changed since then.

She recalled the way she had yearned for him to touch her only to be horrified when he finally did.

"I am not one to surrender to threats," she'd assured him.

"We'll see," he'd replied.

In the dim light of the inn, Annabeth raised her eyes to meet Percy's, a question whispering across her features. He was hesitating, a thought caught at the edge of his tongue.

"You need to take off our clothes," he said finally.

Annabeth blinked, thinking she'd heard wrong for a second. "Excuse me, Duke," she returned sharply, scoffing.

"Annabeth," Percy sighed, rolling his eyes at her assumption. "I assure you," he began, "I have very little interest in seeing you naked—"

She swallowed back a gasp at his candor. She regretted once wishing her acquaintances would be blunter.

"—but if you don't disrobe," he explained, a flicker of emotion echoing across his features before being swallowed up, "then you'll surely freeze."

"Fine," Annabeth sniffed, snatching her arm back from his grip. She was determined not to look embarrassed, as abashed as she was at his words. "Don't look," she ordered with tight lips.

"Obviously," Percy replied curtly.

He looked displeased. She wasn't sure why. She had followed his instructions. She had bent.

Before she could further analyze his features, however, Percy closed his eyes, turning away from her.

Annabeth crept away from him, leaving the fire's warmth to escape him. She stood for a minute or two, simply observing him. He was true to his word. He didn't look. He didn't even move.

Once she was convinced of his honor, she reached behind her, trying to feel for the ribbons that held her dress together. They were slick with moisture but she managed to catch them between her fingers, the heavy fabric falling easily off her shoulders.

Stepping out of the dress, she felt for the tie of her corset, but it was out of reach. There was no doubt anymore—some otherworldly power was punishing her. After a dozen or so failed attempts, Annabeth sighed, calming her panicked breaths and casting an annoyed look in Percy's oblivious direction.

"I need help," she announced, ensuring her voice didn't waver.

"Can I open my eyes?" he asked, sounding bored.

"No!" Annabeth protested loudly, the alarm she had sought to erase rising into her cheeks.

His brows rose in surprise, but he didn't say anymore.

"It—it appears I cannot get my corset off with the help of my ladies," Annabeth explained primly, grateful he couldn't see her flush.

"So I must act as your lady?" Percy interjected. There was humor hidden between his words, but Annabeth could not hear it in her panicked state.

"Hardly," she returned sharply, tasting blood. "I just need you to untie the bow at the back and then—um—loosen it."

Percy nodded, his lips dropping from a smile to fall silent again.

Annabeth pursed her lips, taking a tentative step forward. She drew closer to him, to the fireplace, until she was nearly burning up.

He was taller than her. She'd nearly forgotten.

She turned so her back was facing him and pulled aside her hair, feeling the wet locks icy against her shoulders.

Her throat felt scratchy. "Here," she indicated, surprised the words made it out at all. She took his hand in hers, raising his fingers to where her corset met her shoulder blade. Then she—let go.

He stopped, paused, as if unsure how to proceed.

Facing forward, she could just barely make out the shadow of his movements along the floorboards, illuminated by the flickering flames.

She thought she saw his hand tremble and wondered if he were as nervous as she; but the illusion quickly left her as she recalled the stories she had heard—of prostitutes and parties. She wondered if his fingers had memorized the movements.

She felt his breath dance across her collarbones, his warmth bleeding into her skin, momentarily halting her tremors only to reignite them tenfold.

Then he moved—shifted really. She observed it in his stance more than his hands, the way his weight fell from one foot to the other—but then his fingers ghosted over the curve of her shoulder and she could hardly concentrate on anything else.

It was too much.

She shut her eyes, feeling herself inadvertently stiffen at his touch. His rough fingertips slid over her shoulder, his thumb kissing the nape of her neck before tracing the rivets of her spine until he reached the fabric of her corset.

She felt his other hand, at that moment, collide with her waist. Her insides curled. His hands began moving together, traveling towards each other until they met in the middle.

Annabeth tried counting, savoring the seconds as Percy worked to undo the bow, but found herself holding her breath until her lungs burned.

There was still icy moisture clinging to the slopes of her back, hidden between her bones. She could feel it thawing as Percy's fingers dug into the ribbons of her corset, loosening the fabric.

It was sensory overload

It was all too much.

"Done," Percy announced softly when he had finished, lingering an extra second before drawing away from her.

"Thank you," she choked out, and when she finally opened her eyes, the room burned gray. It pricked at her skin as she rushed over to her bag and took out the nightgown she had hastily packed the night before. Eternally grateful for her forethought, she slipped it on, the corset joining her dress at her feet beneath her.

She audibly sighed, releasing an anxious pressure from her chest. She sucked in a sobering breath and raised her gaze only to find Percy watching her with scorching eyes.

She gasped. It was as if something had come alive in the air, turning it angry and volatile.

"You promised me you wouldn't look," she uttered in a hushed tone.

It was as if something had come alive in her.

"I know," Percy replied, looking caught between shame and loss.

And Annabeth was sure she would be eaten alive by the sin, but before she could say something—say anything—Percy had whipped on his still sopping jacket and fled the room.


a/n: im sorryyyyy for the brevity, for the cliff hanger, and for the wait. next chapter should come relatively soon tho.

didn't edit, obvi. love u all.

dedicated to big fan, goldenemk, and akisabookworm

ciao!