Hail Heroes! Welcome to my first sustained series and thank you for coming! This will be a dedicated collection of one-shots featuring our favorite half-bloods with some scenes that either went differently or entirely new ones from the headcanon forges. All characters featured throughout are property of Rick Riordan.
This scene originally comes from The Last Olympian.
As Percy and Annabeth continued their inspection of the cabins, he couldn't shake the growing anxiety that was gnawing away at his consciousness. Destroying the Princess Andromeda seemed too easy, even with the loss of Beckendorf. Not even the Lord of the Titans would be so arrogant to place his entire plan for world domination on one cruise ship. Coupled with his newfound knowledge of what exactly the prophecy said, Percy couldn't shake the feeling that something bigger was coming and they were desperately underprepared.
"Hey! Got some saltwater stuck in your ears, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth asked, snapping Percy back to reality.
"Uhh, what?"
She sighed in frustration and rolled her eyes.
"I asked you what you thought we should score the Hermes Cabin?"
Percy hadn't realized how deep in thought he had been.
"Umm, a three?"
Annabeth turned so she could look directly at him.
"Three? I'll kiss a spider before I give a cabin in that condition the same score as us!"
Percy tried shaking his head and then pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. How can I score cleanliness when I just got told I'm going to die?
Annabeth's demeanor changed and she got a little closer to him.
"Percy, are you alright?"
"I'm just thinking", he replied.
"Do you wanna talk about it?"
Percy looked at her and wasn't sure entirely sure how to respond. He and Annabeth were still in a complicated spot since the previous summer and they hadn't had a chance to talk it out. But Annabeth was still his best friend, even if there was some extremely awkward tension between the two of them. His visions of Rachel drawing pictures of baby Luke and the Empire State Building had been haunting him, but Percy couldn't make sense of them by himself. He needed the smartest person he knew to make sense of it. He needed Annabeth's advice.
"Well..." he hesitated before continuing, "it's about Rachel."
In a split second, Annabeth's entire demeanor shifted. Her entire body straightened and the sympathetic look she had in her eyes had been replaced with a mix of annoyance and repugnance.
"What about her?" Annabeth asked, looking at the horizon.
Percy did his best to try to explain his visions to Annabeth but the entire time he spoke, she didn't move a muscle and never met his eyes. She just kept staring at the canoe lake, only blinking every so often to indicate she was still listening to Percy's ramble. When he finished, Annabeth let out a heavy sigh she had been holding in for a few minutes.
"She's just a mortal, Percy", she said.
"But Annabeth, I think she might know something about Kronos's plan."
Annabeth turned sharply so she could face Percy directly. Tears were starting to form in her eyes as she held back her emotions.
"Then why don't you go ask her?!" she screamed.
A few of the campers that had been walking nearby stopped for a moment to stare at the two of them before moving on.
Percy was fumbling with his thoughts as he tried to come up with an answer that would calm Annabeth down.
"Because I don't think she realizes what she knows and, besides, you're the best strategist I know", he said, trying not to crumble under her furious gaze.
Annabeth threw her clipboard on the ground so hard it split in half. She then got within inches of Percy's face, so close he could feel her breath.
"Here's a strategy for you", she started, "go figure something out with her, because that's clearly where your priorities are."
As she tried to walk away, Percy dropped his clipboard and clasped Annabeth's hand between the two of his. She turned around looking like she was ready to punch him square in the face.
"Please, Annabeth," he said.
The tone of Percy's plea was something new to both of them: desperation. Percy could feel the emotional turmoil building inside of him, much like he could feel a whirlpool forming in the sea. He grabbed Annabeth by the hand and started marching back to the Poseidon cabin with urgency and speed that was sure to draw attention, but he didn't care about that right now.
"Percy," Annabeth tried to say, "you need to slow down."
But he couldn't. Something was broiling in Percy; something he hadn't experienced before and didn't want to show to any of the other campers. And yet, he knew he needed Annabeth there for whatever came next. As they got to the door of the Poseidon cabin, Annabeth once again made a demand that Percy stop, saying that people were starting to stare.
"I don't care. I need to talk to you," Percy responded.
As soon as they were both in the cabin, Percy shut the door. Not a moment later he crumbled to the floor and began to sob uncontrollably. Ironically, Percy compared his emotional condition to the one Annabeth had after he rescued her from the Sirens in the Sea of Monsters. He was older now and had faced countless more enemies since then, Percy thought. But he also felt more helpless than he ever had in his life.
"Percy...I...are you...I'll go get Chiron!" Annabeth finally yelled and started to walk around Percy. He stopped her by taking her hands and looking straight into her eyes.
"No!" he shouted, "I need you! Only you! Please!"
Even though tears clouded his sight, Percy could tell Annabeth was perplexed about what to do. That must be new for her, Percy thought. For as long as he had known her, Annabeth had always seemed absolute in her emotions and the most steady person in Percy's entire life. Whatever she was feeling, whatever she was thinking, it was never contradictory to anything else going through her head. But Percy could tell this was different. This was a rare instance where Annabeth Chase was dumbfounded. Before he could try and study her more or ask her again to stay, Percy became overwhelmed by his sobs again and his contortions forced his head to look down at the floor.
"Okay," Annabeth said, holding onto his hands as she lowered herself to her knees. "What do you need from me?"
Percy didn't know how to respond; he couldn't think straight. Before he knew it, he had flung himself around Annabeth into a desperate hug, one filled with urgency and vulnerability. The whirlpool that Percy had felt just a few minutes ago building inside of him, had now swallowed him whole like a sea ship of old.
x
"Percy", Annabeth said, caught completely off-guard, "It's okay. Just talk to me."
She took her right hand and placed it at the back of his head, stroking his black hair as she did so. She placed her left hand at the base of his spine and pulled him close to her. He responded by clutching to her more and crying into her shoulder. Annabeth was truly caught for a loop. She had never seen Percy cry, much less lose all sense of himself in a complete breakdown. Percy was always so sure of himself, always getting into trouble and nearly getting himself killed in the process. But Annabeth had come to rely upon that aspect of Percy, even admire it. No matter how desperate or daunting the odds were, Percy always felt like he could take them on. She was invested in Percy, not just for his prowess in battle but for who he was everywhere else.
So, when the boy she had come to admire and crush upon, fell to his knees in complete distress and said that he only wanted her with him, she felt like she was standing on rather uneven ground. On the one hand, this meant that Percy did indeed have intense feelings for Annabeth, though this did not exactly indicate they were the feelings she possessed for him. At least, not yet anyway. On the other hand, the person she believed to be the greatest hero of her generation was unraveled at the seams.
"Percy," she said again, still gently stroking his hair, "All you have to do is talk to me. We've always been able to talk, Seaweed Brain."
x
Percy had managed to get control of his breathing and, with the help of Annabeth, was starting to calm down. Now that his mind was starting to clear, he realized exactly what was happening and what he was doing. If his face wasn't completely red from crying, it was now. He slowly let go of his grip on her, noticing that he had held handfuls of her shirt so tightly it was now wrinkled. Annabeth let go of him as well, allowing him to straighten his back and wipe tears from his cheeks. He still didn't look up from the floor though and he was shaking more than he had during his fight with the Minotaur it seemed like.
"I'm so scared," he finally said.
It wasn't hard for Percy to admit he was scared, even to Annabeth. He had been terrified plenty of times over the past four years for his safety or the maintaining of his very life, but this was different. Percy wasn't attempting to admit he was afraid to die to Annabeth, he was trying to admit something else.
"Everyone is scared, Percy," Annabeth said. "Clarisse is even scared, though we both know she'll never admit it."
Percy briefly chuckled at the dig delivered against his oldest half-blood rival, but it didn't lift his spirits nor change his mood for long. He was still trying to figure out exactly how to convey what he was feeling to Annabeth, but he couldn't determine what the best way was. Percy then decided it was best to fall back on what had almost always worked best for him: his instincts. Nothing held back. He grabbed both of Annabeth's hands with his own.
x
Annabeth said a silent prayer of thanks to the gods that Percy still had his head down as she knew her face was completely flushed now that he was holding her hands again.
"I'm not scared to die," Percy began, "I mean, I don't want to die, but that's not the scariest thing for me. If we're being honest, that's never been the most horrifying aspect of the whole hero gig. I'm terrified of losing people, Annabeth."
"Me too," she said softly.
"Every quest we've done, the scariest part is where I thought I was going to lose someone. My mom, Tyson, Grover, Chiron, and then…", Percy stopped himself before continuing. He knew if he traveled down this road he would not only be making major confessions to Annabeth but also himself. Screw it, he thought, I've never been one for holding back. He tightened his grip on her hands ever so slightly before finally looking up and meeting her eyes.
"Two years ago, when Atlas kidnapped you, I was going out of my mind. I hadn't been that scared since I lost my mom. And then the thought of you joining Artemis, I couldn't stand it, Annabeth. I can't imagine losing you."
Annabeth's mind immediately went back to that night at the throne room at Olympus. She remembered Percy trying to talk to her and how he looked like he was about to be sick.
"That's what you wanted to say to me that night. You thought Artemis was going to ask me to lead her Hunters."
Percy nodded and continued speaking.
"I know that things were weird at the end of last summer, and I didn't do a lot to clear anything up."
"Percy, wait," Annabeth interrupted. "It's not fair for you to blame yourself for how things were between us last summer. I wasn't exactly being fair to you."
Indeed, Annabeth hadn't exactly been hiding her feelings for Percy before they ventured into the Labyrinth together, but she thought everything was abundantly clear after she kissed him in Mount St. Helen. She was a mess when he was gone for the following two weeks, hardly eating or sleeping. It was just her luck, she remembered thinking, that after she finally demonstrated to him in unambiguous terms how she felt that he would die. But he didn't. Instead, he came back after meeting Calypso, a beautiful goddess that fell in love with every hero she met. And then he got Rachel involved. The Fates were rarely ever kind to heroes, especially when it came to love, but Annabeth felt particularly targeted by them last summer as two of the most important things to her life's ambition, a quest of her own and Percy's love, were taken from her.
"I was angry and I took it out on you," Annabeth began, "And I'm sorry that I didn't explain why."
"Well, I guess we could talk about it now," Percy said.
Annabeth hesitated. She did feel bad for how she acted last summer, but she didn't believe those feelings to be exactly unwarranted. Percy had missed, or deliberately ignored, her cues that she wanted something more than friendship, despite Annabeth's best intentions to make it clear. He had continuously brought up Rachel Dare even though it was obvious Annabeth didn't like her in the slightest capacity. She wanted an opportunity like this; to take out all her aggression and frustration on him.
But looking at him now, on his knees and vulnerable, Annabeth could not bring herself to do it. She was angry with him, yes, but that didn't cancel out her other feelings for him. She still needed him, just like he needed her.
x
Percy was terrified. Annabeth was thinking hard about what she wanted to say and how she wanted to say it. As Percy sat there, he became increasingly worried that Annabeth would unleash every scorn filled insult she had held back for a year upon him. He certainly deserved it, he thought. Percy had thought about Annabeth a lot since last summer, but he wasn't sure what his feelings were for her. He remembered his conversation with Aphrodite when he went looking for Annabeth and how she supported the two of them falling in love. But Percy was worried that that meant Aphrodite was interfering in both of their lives, forcing them to each other, as she had done with Paris and Helen. Percy had had enough of gods interfering with his life since he first found out he was the child of one; he wasn't about to let them dictate his love life. Percy's fears mounted when Annabeth started to speak. It was her turn to look at the floor now.
"It hurt, Percy," Annabeth began, "to see you with Rachel. To see that you looked happy with her." She took a long, deep breath before continuing. "I've wanted you to look that way with me, at me, for a long time. I thought I had lost you to Hades, but it turns out I lost you to her. And it just really hurt."
Now, Percy didn't know much but he did know Annabeth. And there's no way that what Annabeth had just said to him was under the influence of any god. He looked down and realized they were still holding hands. When he looked up, Annabeth's eyes were visible again, though she didn't look at him. Tears were starting to form and Percy realized his greatest fear of losing Annabeth was reciprocated by her.
"You've never lost me," Percy said.
Annabeth turned and looked into his eyes again.
"But do you want what I want?" she asked. "Do you want me?"
A million thoughts were running through Percy's head all at once. He needed her with him to whatever end awaited them, but Percy had become so wrapped up in the prophecy and stopping Kronos that he had never given thought to what would come after. What after would even look like for him. But as he looked at Annabeth, in a moment when both of them were completely vulnerable, he knew he would need her for whatever lied ahead, even in a future he couldn't yet imagine.
x
Annabeth had done it. She had finally come right out and verbally admitted her feelings to Percy and even asked him what his feelings for her were. Now she would get the closure she so desperately craved. As Annabeth sat there residing in certainty there was one thing she was sure of: she would never move past Percy Jackson. He could shatter her heart into a million pieces right there, but she would never be able to feel this way for another person ever again. She could feel herself close to bursting into tears when Percy started rubbing her knuckles with his thumbs. She could feel her face getting red again.
"It's not about what I want. It's about what I need," Percy said, "And I already told you that I need you."
Percy took his left hand and placed it against Annabeth's cheek. She felt like she was going to melt away at any moment.
"You're the best person I know. Everything about you I admire and adore. You even make a suit of armor look cute," Percy said. He then took both hands and held her face in between them. Annabeth's heart had never raced faster.
"I don't know what's going to happen. But whatever happens, I need you, Wise Girl."
When Percy kissed her, Annabeth felt like her whole brain was melting through her body. She had kissed him before, sure, but this was different. For one thing, neither of them were under immediate threat of death. At least, as far as she knew. Percy was also clearly caught off guard when she kissed him in the volcano and hadn't done anything to reciprocate the action. Neither of those factors was present here. This was a real kiss, one that Annabeth had dreamed about for years. Granted, it certainly hadn't unfolded the way she had imagined, but she wasn't going to complain right now. Right now she had him all to herself, and that was enough.
When they broke apart, they held each other close and Annabeth remembered a horrifying truth.
"Percy," she started, tears streaming down her face, "the prophecy…"
"I don't want to talk about that right now. I just want to be here. With you," Percy said.
"I'm so scared."
Percy smirked a little. His saying those exact words brought them both to this point. Deep down, he was still absolutely terrified. Annabeth bringing up the prophecy didn't bode well and he knew it. And he had no idea how he was going to beat Kronos. But he had her, and he wanted to fight all the more desperately to keep it that way. At that moment, Percy was ready to fight all of Tartarus to keep Annabeth with him.
That's when there was a knock on the door.
"Percy? Annabeth? Is everything alright?"
It was Chiron. His arrival meant that the entire camp was now aware of Percy essentially dragging Annabeth into his cabin.
Percy and Annabeth quickly looked at each other. The roles were now completely reversed as Annabeth was trying to regain control of her emotions and she silently pleaded with Percy to keep the door shut. Percy just nodded.
"Uhh, yeah Chiron!" he shouted after a few awkward moments. "We're just planning some battle strategies!"
Percy knew that absolutely no one outside that door would believe what he just said but he hoped Chiron would pick up on the signal that they didn't want to be disturbed. Hopefully, Percy thought to himself, the old centaur would even take a few of the half-bloods that were no doubt attempting to eavesdrop away with him.
"Very well, children," Chiron said. "But I must encourage you to finish quickly. A council of war must be called and you have not finished your cabin inspections."
"I don't think finishing quickly is going to be a problem for Percy!" Connor Stoll shouted.
Percy could hear someone smack Connor in response, and he was appreciative for whoever it was.
As he heard Chiron's hooves fade away, Percy put his forehead against Annabeth's, who was still sniffling and had puffy eyes.
"We should probably get ready to go," Percy said quietly.
"Hold on," Annabeth replied. "Let's just stay here for a little longer."
Percy just kissed her forehead as an affirmative response. Annabeth wrapped her arms around him, and he did the same to her. They stayed like that for a few moments until Percy broke the silence.
"Are you still scared?" he asked.
"Immensely. You?" Annabeth responded.
"Absolutely," he took her face in his hands again before continuing. "But I know I've got you, and that's all I need to face what's ahead."
"As long as we're together," Annabeth said before leaning in to kiss him.
Once they broke apart, they both stood up and walked out of Cabin 3 holding hands feeling scared but a little optimistic. And that last feeling was a change they could both get used to.
Have thoughts or have a request for a specific scene to change? Let me know!