Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or HoO
Her days progressed idly as she recovered.
Percy was strict on keeping her bedridden for the first week since she had been discharged from the hospital and only allowed her to wander for as long as she was accompanied by someone he trusted. That narrowed the list down drastically to six people. Annabeth knew it was her fault for placing herself in such a situation in the first place. If it had not been for her own stupidity, she would be perfectly fine. Now she had to worry about an overprotective boyfriend fussing over her well-being.
Not that she minded.
It helped to have someone care about her more than she cared about herself, really. If it had not been for Percy, she would not have given a damn about her aching muscles or fading bruises and proceeded with the training they received to prepare themselves for the world beyond the white walls. She had only been excused for a week, not nearly long enough for her to properly regain her strength but she digressed.
The nightmares that plagued her were mismatched images of the war raging outside and the desperation, the fear, the panic she felt over her situation in that stark white hallway. More often, she awoke with screams burning her throat and tears staining her vision. Chiron did his best to remedy her situation, addressing her trauma more than anything during their therapy sessions. Percy was supportive but even he seemed troubled.
It took another month before the United States of America was completely destroyed. The few hundred survivors were in anarchy as their government fell. Russia had completely taken over all of the surrounding areas and had only grown stronger in the war. The first nation to have fallen was France, she remembered Percy saying. It had happened whilst she was unconscious. Everything went downhill from there.
Evelyn predicted that they would be able to leave the facility in three year's time. It seemed like a long ways away but Annabeth knew otherwise. She had barely felt the two months go by. Three years was nothing. Despite the lack of resources, The Eden Project managed to create a sustainable source of food through the orchard and the farm they had located within the premises. Annabeth was only granted an opportunity to see the field once. It was tended to by agriculture majors and prodigies specializing in the area.
They had made an almost comfortable, livable community within their group. While some of the participants spent their days farming, some others went to help with the research conducted by Eden's scientists to further the advancement of technology. It was for their own benefit as it will aid them in the future once they were to venture off.
Annabeth belonged to the small faction of engineers and designers. They dedicated hours upon hours of research into creating durable construction materials from scavenged parts and debris. If the world was in shambles, they had to adapt. They had made exceptional progress since they started three weeks prior.
The young adults contained within the facility only cooperated for their own survival. If their lives and the lives of the future generations were not at stake, they would not have bothered succumbing to the whims of Evelyn Rose and The Eden Project. It was only natural for the greatest minds of the world to find solutions to their rather large, imposing problem.
She wiped the sweat from her brow as she admired her handiwork. Leo was smiling goofily to her left while a man named Charles Beckendorf seemed pleased by her right.
Before her was a prototype of a machine they had been working on. It was meant to simulate a hundred helping hands when doing a task, though they were designing it specifically for construction. While being far from being done, she felt that seeing the fluid motion of the three arms they had constructed as it picked up a soda can from the table and hand it to Leo was a feat in itself and deserved to be celebrated.
"Briares is getting along nicely, I see," Percy commented as he approached her, his hands in his pockets. He seemed to have come back from training as his skin was beaded with sweat and his eyes were bright with excitement.
Annabeth nodded, handing him her towel. He accepted it gratefully. "Yup!" She exclaimed proudly, "At the rate we're going, he's going to be done in half a year's time." She beamed at him and he laughed.
"She got that right." Beckendorf commented as he wiped the grease from his hands, "Even though we told her that she didn't have to get involved in the dirty work, Annabeth insisted, said that it was the best way to see what was wrong with the plans she designed." The African American man shook his head once, chuckling slightly. "You're something else, 'Beth."
"I'll take that as a compliment, Beck." She mused, accepting the hug that the large man offered.
Percy wrapped an arm around her, squeezing her slightly to show his pride. "That's my girl." He chimed, greeting Leo with a fist-bump. "You staying longer or…?"
She was meant to say yes but the Latino Santa Elf named Leo Valdez interjected before she could get a word out. "I think we've done enough for today." He said. Annabeth gave him a look and he merely rolled his eyes. "Aww come on, Annabeth. It's a Friday. Live a little. Have some fun, if you know what I mean." He waggled his eyebrows and she punched him in the bicep.
"Briares will still be here when you get back tomorrow, Annabeth." Charles seemed to agree with Leo but that was expected. Sometimes, Annabeth swore those two were brothers with different mothers.
They had left while Percy's laugh resounded in the warehouse. Annabeth managed a giggle.
The couple spent their time walking back to their suite chatting idly. She had asked him about his day and he responded accordingly, sharing interesting tales about Jason and Nico that she found amusement in. He had been assigned to both the defense and the leadership faction, a feat only achieved by the greatest. She was just glad that he was not stretched thin. His schedule was the most demanding in the middle of the week as he was out the whole day performing his tasks. When this happens, Annabeth spends her time designing elaborate plans for Engineering.
"You know," He mused after a moment of shared silence. They rounded the corner leading to the dormitories. "I heard that Charles' girlfriend, Silena Beauregard's pregnant."
She stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes widening. "Really?" She gasped, surprised. "Where did you hear that?"
"I have my sources, Wise Girl." He mused secretively, whistling an innocent tune. "I mean, it's bound to happen sooner or later. They were all over each other since the Pairing." He rolled his eyes at the memory, faking a gag.
A smile broke out of her face, "That's so exciting!" She giggled, tightening her grip on his hand. "There'll be little babies soon." He nodded once, a smirk playing on his lips. "They might make this life we're living more bearable."
She immediately headed to the bed upon their arrival, heaving a sigh as she landed on the comfortable mattress. Percy must have taken this opportunity to undress as, by the time she had finally laid her eyes on him, he was clad merely in his dark green boxers. Light pink dusted her cheeks as her gaze unwittingly followed his graceful movements across the apartment. How he managed to look even more attractive, she did not know. It was unfair how good looking a single man can be.
His journey ended at the foot of their bed, a devilish grin gracing his perfect features. She propped herself on her elbow, raising a hand and moving her pointer finger in a "Come hither" motion. He chuckled, crawling over her on the bed, the strong muscles in his arms easily supporting his entire weight. Their lips met.
"Do you feel left out?" She had asked once they have settled, her head placed on his chest whilst their fingers were laced together.
He hummed, moving his head slightly to look at her. "What do you mean?"
Feeling embarrassed, she chose to hide her face in the crook of his neck, tracing garbled patterns on his muscular chest. "I mean… the other guys are so proud to say that they're…" She trailed off, a part of her not wanting to finish the statement. "Non-virgins." She continued, "You're here, waiting."
For a second, there was silence. He was looking at her oddly, intense green eyes boring into her very soul. "Anna, I'd never do something you're not comfortable with." He answered honestly, his thumb stroking her cheeks. She leaned into his touch, craving for the now familiar warmth that constantly surrounded her.
She sighed, "I know. I know you won't and that's what makes you so incredible." A hand trailed up his arm, resting on his bicep. "I just… there are other girls here, girls who are more than willing to have sex with you."
His resounding laugh caused her heart to beat out of her chest. "Wise girl, I love you. Only you. Sex isn't everything."
Annabeth frowned but conceded. It was obviously still bothering her but Percy could not do anything to change that. Instead, he chose to assure her, planting little kisses on every inch of skin he could reach. He found that she was ticklish on a single spot underneath her ear and her giggle warmed his insides.
The live broadcasts happened rarely nowadays, thus they were more surprised by it happening than not. They were engaged in a rather passionate activity when the blaring alarm sounded from the speakers. Her surprise caused her to nearly jump off of him, the monitor immediately catching her attention. The logo of Eden produced a striking contrast on the otherwise black screen. Percy removed himself from her, his cheeks flushed as he tried to regain his breathing. Annabeth had to exert extra effort into not staring at the delicious way his flimsy boxers hung around his hips.
The feed showed an aerial view of the world's destruction. After the weeks she had been subjected to such images, she could still not get used to seeing everything she had once admired amongst the rubble. Her grip on Percy's hand tightened at the image of a hospital in flames, the residents fleeing from the haven only to fall into anguish.
Then, the drone zoomed in. The image focused on a toddler, merely three years of age on the floor wailing in fear. She was much too far to reach as adults had decided that their lives were more important than a child's. Atop the little girl was a precariously perched steel shaft that must have been used as a support for the decrepit building it belonged to. An earthquake struck, presumably from yet another nuke making contact with the earth. Annabeth did not dare see the rest.
White hot tears rolled down her cheeks when the broadcast ended. She knew that billions were victims of the tragedy. She knew that children were included in the victimized population. It was so much better if she had not known; if, by the grace of whatever god exists, she remained blind to the screaming faces of helpless innocents running away from destruction. That child destroyed her already broken heart.
She was inconsolable. Percy had done everything to cease her sobbing yet he failed. Evelyn had a great way of forcing her participants into submission. She heard that the other women were in the same state of outrage and devastation. A child died at the hands of a nuclear war, killed in front of her.
It had been so long since they had last seen the state of the world. She had been living a dream within the facility, choosing personally to remain blind and deaf to the cries of helpless individuals. She could not help them, she knew she couldn't but their screams haunted her whilst she slept and every day she felt ghosts of strangers watching her. Until, of course, she was pulled out of her dream-like trance with a dreadful image of burning buildings and a crushed toddler. It felt like she had fallen. She probably had.
Like their second night with Eden, the dining hall was silent, the memory of the broadcast fresh in their minds. Piper's eyes were bloodshot when she had seen her, her grip on the edge of the table much too tight for comfort. Thalia was enraged, electric blue eyes seeming cobalt as she buried her pain with fury. No one spoke. They could not eat either. They just… sat there.
"I want out." Thalia managed to say through grit teeth, "I don't give a fuck what Eden says. I'm getting out of this shitty place."
Nico placed a hand on his mate's shoulder, his expression unreadable. "This is the only safe place." His voice was rough. He cleared his throat once.
"I don't care. I need to save them." She sobbed, her desperation evident in her tone. She was in so much pain. "We need to stop this. Too many people… they're all gone."
It was strange seeing her in such a state. She had been so strong before. "And what would you do, Thalia." Percy injected harshly, eyes flashing. "Stop the war? Save every fucking child that lived. What would you do?"
The older female stood from her seat, slamming her hands on the table. Everyone's eyes were on them now, not that Annabeth cared. "I don't know but it's better than staying here and doing whatever the fuck Eden wants." She had looked at him with an animosity she had never seen before. "I expected more from you. You're supposed to be the damn hero and you're here, doing fuck all."
"You didn't lose anything in that war, Thalia!" Percy growled, meeting her eyes. "Jason is here and he's safe. I lost everything that I've ever loved. Stella was three, damn it."
The dark-haired vocalist sobered, running a hand through her hair. Percy collapsed back into his seat, remaining silent as he gazed at the high ceiling. "If you think for a second that I want to be here, you're damn wrong. I lost everything but what can I do?" His voice was barely above a whisper, his face contorting into such sorrow that it pained her. Annabeth gripped his hand tightly in her own.
"Percy…" Thalia started, seeming apologetic, but she closed her mouth when he raised his hand.
"Don't." He breathed, "Just don't. I'll head back to the suite." Burning green eyes turned to look at her. He need not say a word. She understood.
Together they waltzed out of the dining room, shoulders heavy as they avoided the eyes of the other inhabitants. She had realized only three minutes into their walk that they were, in fact, not returning to their living quarters. Instead, Percy had been en route to his chosen place of comfort, where they had first officially met.
The pool was empty when they entered, sparkling blue water reflecting warm afternoon sun through the panoramic windows opposite their current location. He had not even missed a beat as he undressed, not once faltering with any piece of clothing as he walked. Once he reached the end of the pool, he was down to his boxers.
She watched as he swam, usually graceful movements seeming rushed and sporadic as he did his laps. She knew that he spent his time near water as a form of comfort. He was raised to love the ocean. Since they had no access to the beach surrounding the facility, the pool was the closest thing he had to his old life. She waited patiently on the edge of the pool, naked feet dangling in the water.
He began slowing after what seemed to be the fiftieth lap. He stopped in the middle of the pool, allowing himself to sink to the bottom. She sighed, knowing that it would be a while before he was to resurface again. That man had the lungs of a diver, she swore. He could stay underwater for as long as forever.
Stella was a taboo topic between them, just like how she could not, for the life of her, speak about Bobby and Matthew without breaking into tears. It was evident in all the stories Jason and Thalia shared that Percy adored his little sister. He had been her sole companion as their parents spent their time working. They were not neglected, far from that, but Thalia mentioned that they shared a bond that could not be replicated.
He was her hero and that broke him even further.
After the second minute that he remained at the bottom, she decided it was time for him to resurface. Sometimes, when Percy was buried in his thoughts, he tends to forget menial things such as eating or sleeping or, in this case, breathing. She had jumped into the water, having long discarded her clothes when a situation such as this arose.
She strained through the chlorine-tainted water to find him seated cross-legged at the deepest section of the pool. His eyes were closed, his expression blank. If it were any other situation, Annabeth would have just stayed there and stared at him. He was ethereal, almost, the way he was. She shook herself from her thoughts, swimming to him.
The moment her skin made contact with his, he had awoken from her reverie. He suddenly realized his lungs straining for breath and he propelled himself to the surface. She followed afterward, choosing to face him.
There was an empty, pained look in his eyes as the despair consumed him. She sobbed at the sight, grasping at his cheeks to anchor him to the ground. His lips parted but no words came out. She covered his mouth with hers, a reminder that he was not alone. It was enough.
"Tell me about New Rome." She breathed their familiar, comforting words. It had started not long ago, though she could not quite remember the specifics of the situation. It was a beautiful analogy to a world rebuilt, where humans prospered and lived happy lives with their children.
Green eyes met grey and he nodded dumbly, sopping black hair clinging to his cheek. "Come back to me, Seaweed Brain, yah?" She smiled kindly at him, despite the tears mixing with the pool water on her skin.
"Okay." He responded, though she had barely heard it. "I'm sorry."
She shook her head. Gods, he could be so stupid sometimes. "You have absolutely nothing to be sorry about." She said firmly, her thumb stroking his cheeks gently. "I know that I can't replace your family. No one can, but remember that you're not alone. You haven't lost everything. I'm here, Percy Jackson. I'm here with you for as long as you want me here."
"I don't want you to feel that you're stuck with me." He breathed, his voice hoarse and strained.
She kissed him softly, meeting his eyes with a determination she had never known. "I'm not."