A/N: Enjoy and leave a review!

Chapter 4

The black-haired male came into view. Percy.

He must not have seen her clothing. She had been so surprised by Percy's entrance that she completely forgot that she could use her charmspeak.

Then desire hit her like she was being slammed into a wall. Her knees automatically buckled and it was all she could do to try not to make a noise. Annabeth must be close by.

Piper quickly turned away, swimming a little down the creek. She had to get away before her power was let loose.

Percy dropped into the pool like a rock, enjoying how the water gave him strength. He didn't even bother taking off all his clothes, just his tunic, leaving his loincloth. He was drained from the past couple days, fighting off monsters and during sparring practices with Annabeth.

Annabeth.

That woman was going to drive him crazy. They had just been joking around, in one of their usual arguments-but-not-really-arguing when he had gotten the urge to kiss her. That was also typical of the night. There were many times when Percy had wanted to kiss her. But this time, the light from the fire had cast a pretty glow on her tanned skin and blond hair. He tried not to stare at her too much, but suddenly he was beginning to notice the soft curves of her body usually hidden underneath her armor.

He had to leave shortly after that, much to Annabeth's surprise. It wasn't that he didn't want to touch her. But he didn't want her to think that he only wanted her for her body. Every time Annabeth smiled at him, even sardonically, or when their hands met by accident or not, he was tempted to kiss her.

The truth was, he was hopelessly in love with her, a daughter of his father's rival, for the past four years. She was intelligent, brave, and had no hesitation about jumping into danger to save her friends.

Just like she did for her past lover, Luke.

A small ugly sprite of jealousy worked into Percy every time he thought of that.

"W-what are you doing here?"

Percy popped his head out of the pool. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he hadn't realized that Annabeth was there. She was blushing, turning away slightly when she realized that he wasn't fully clothed.

"U-um, I'll just leave."

"Annabeth." Percy wasn't sure when his voice had gotten so deep. Her back stiffened as her grey eyes widened. Still waist deep in the pond, Percy extended one hand towards her. "Stay."

"But...", Annabeth looked down at her clothes, apparently determined to look anywhere but at Percy's chest.

"Please." His voice was gentle. Perhaps he was just tired of dancing around. Somehow he just knew tonight that he wanted to let her know his feelings, Luke or no Luke.

Annabeth stared at him. She waded into the pool, not minding her that her chiton were getting wet. The water was a bit chilly, but Percy pulled her into his embrace until she was sitting in his lap.

"Percy," she murmured, unsure of what was going on.

He tugged her closer to his chest until her head was tucked underneath his chin. Slowly, she relaxed in his hug. There would have been a time that she wouldn't be caught dead in his arms, back when they were enemies, but those times were long gone along with her pride and shyness around him.

"I was scared today," he admitted.

"Scared? The great Perseus Jackson scared?" Annabeth teased lightly. The water was still cold, so she snuggled closer to his warmth despite his nude chest. His heartbeat was steady and comforting.

"Shush," Percy said, amused. "But seriously, Wise Girl. When I saw you go down underneath that Cyclopes the other day, I wasn't sure what do to..."

"But I'm safe now. There's nothing to be worried about, and I can protect myself, you know." Annabeth reached up and cupped the side of his jaw. Since the past six years she had known him, he had grown to be more mature and handsome, not that she'd ever admit it to his face. His ego was big enough without her to inflate it.

Percy surprised her by turning his head and kissing the palm of her hand. "I know. But ever since I saw you that night..." His voice faltered as he hugged her tighter. "Did you know how scared I was back then? Seeing him carry your broken body like that? I thought you'd died."

That night had been one of Percy's worse nights in his life. Annabeth had disappeared for nearly a week to save Luke. Luke had been a traitor, using Annabeth and selling out the Greeks to a horde of monsters in return for the power to overtake the city of Athens. In the end, Luke had been betrayed by his own bloodthirsty companions and kidnapped when the Greeks discovered he was the culprit.

It was the worst argument that he ever had with Annabeth, arguing that Luke didn't deserve to be saved. But as stubborn as she was, she left in secret only to come back with barely alive as Luke dragged her back to camp. And even then, Luke deserved to be killed for treason. But she would never forgive Percy if he gave the orders for Luke to be killed as punishment. So Luke was exiled, with Percy's threat that he would be killed should he ever approach Annabeth again.

It took a month for her to be fully healed. During that time, he stayed by her side as much as he could, feeding her nectar and ambrosia as needed. "Percy," she had murmured once in her sleep. That word had given him hope, even when she murmured his name much more.

Slowly, she recovered. Her smiles and eyes held pain for a while, and he knew that she was thinking about Luke. And then the pain lessened, and she was giving him full-blown smiles full of sunshine. The hug and the small peck on the cheek she had given him on his birthday was one of the best days of his life.

Then during that ambush, seeing her golden hair disappear underneath an ogre, had him seeing red. He didn't know how he got there so fast, but with one sword swipe, the ogre turned into a flurry of dust. Annabeth had only been stunned, coming to in a few seconds, but those seconds were heart-wrenching to him. The sight of the normally strong woman turned into a battered and fragile woman had been traumatizing, bringing back memories he didn't need.

"I'm here. I'm safe." Her voice was tender.

Annabeth shivered, remembering how many monsters she had escaped during Luke's rescue. Even with her battle helm that granted her invisibility abilities, she had barely gotten back with her life.

But Luke was now a distant memory, a blip of golden hair and blue eyes. Now her life was filled with sarcastic humor and sea-green eyes that gazed her with adoration. She was a daughter of Athena, for gods' sakes. She knew what those glances had meant.

But she was afraid, too. Scared of losing another love and being betrayed. Annabeth was always the one to take a step backward whenever Percy took a step forward.

Despite being in the freshwater pond, Percy always smelled faintly of the sea, salty but with a crisp air. While his heart was steady, hers was still conflicted. "I-I'm just scared," she admitted.

"I'm here, too, Wise Girl. I'll always be here. I promise." Percy leaned his head down until their foreheads touched. Her eyes fluttered close and she hugged him a little tighter. She wanted to believe him, to trust him. She could already entrust her life to him, could count on him to have her back in battles. She would immediately jump into whatever trouble there was to rescue him. But could she trust him with her heart? Her heart had already been trampled to pieces once, and it had taken months for her heart to heal.

Percy leaned down a few inches and captured her lips with his. She forgot about her worries for the time being. It was not the first time that they had kissed, but it was the first time that Annabeth didn't freeze for a second and then push Percy away. She leaned into the kiss, hand hesitantly entangling in his inky black hair. Gods, he was amazing.

Both of them weren't sure whatever magic was taking hold of their bodies, but they didn't mind it. Percy's tongue swiped the bottom of her lip before he nipped it slightly, asking for permission. His tongue then delved into her mouth, teasing out a light moan that made her lightheaded. One of his hands was placed on the small of her back, holding her. Luke never made her feel this way. So revered, so worshipped.

"Don't," Percy whispered. "Don't think of him. Just stay with me, please."

How he knew she was thinking of Luke, Annabeth would never know. Percy's voice was so light, almost heartbroken in his plea. She kissed him again, much harder and urgent. All thoughts of Luke drifted out of her mind as Percy held her, his lips making everything so woozy. The water may have been cold at one point, but her body was hot, craving more heat.

"Stay with me, Annabeth." His emerald eyes were so earnest, so full of life, so different from Luke's blue eyes.

Her answer caught in her throat. Her own grey eyes were brimming with unshed tears. When had she been so afraid? She was a daughter of Athena, but all of her intelligence couldn't tell her what to do. She wanted to trust him, she really did. But she was just so damn scared that he would leave.

Percy sensed her hesitation, but he didn't want to push her any further.

"Will you...will you wait for me?" Annabeth murmured. "Until I'm ready?"

"Of course. I'd wait until the end of earth for you, Wise Girl." Her eyes fluttered close as he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

He cradled her in his arms as she buried her face in the crook of his shoulder and neck. For now, they were both content with this.

Piper half-waded, half-scrambled away, trying not to make too much noise. The sensation of whatever Percy and Annabeth were feeling was much too powerful. If she wasn't careful, she could unleash a powerful wave of desire and passion that could affect the combined Greco-Roman army.

She shivered in the creek, as the water only came up to her waist. She inspected her surroundings. A bunch of trees, bushes and rocks. Maybe some kind nymph could offer her something to wear until Percy and Annabeth were done? But nymphs were fickle, more likely to turn her into a laughingstock. Her charmspeak could help though.

She dipped back below the creek, trying to keep her teeth from chattering so much. For sure, she was going to catch a cold or something. It was autumn and the temperatures were cooling as the seasons changed slowly to winter.

"Piper?"

She froze, her hands flying to cover her chest.