Okay, this a short, sweet, and fluffy chapter. :)

Annabeth POV: Set after the Blood of Olympus

"Not bad, Travis and Connor," Piper said as I scribbled down some notes on my clipboard. Most of the Hermes kids were outside while we inspected their cabin. They did have a pretty hard time cleaning up, but it was easier now, considering Percy's request to the gods. The parents of the demigods were pretty quick about claiming their kids. Now it was mostly just Hermes kids in their cabin, no extras.

"So like, a five not bad?" Connor inquired, saying the highest rating you could get, eyebrows high and hopeful. "Or like, a two not bad."

Piper smiled at him, not revealing anything. "A plain old not bad. You'll see soon."

Travis sighed dramatically. "I hate waiting." Piper and I both rolled our eyes, trudging out of their cabin to the next one on our list. Piper and I were on cabin inspection, if you hadn't picked that up. This job is pretty decent compared to others (like bathroom cleaning) but since we got more cabins, it took a lot longer. Though doing it with a friend made it better.

We were just in the Hecate cabin, where we had to make sure they didn't put up a charm that made people see a perfectly clean room. They did that last time, and we only found out by luck. They were on kitchen duty for a week for pulling that stunt. But if you think that's bad, you should hear some of the stories of what Travis and Connor Stoll would do. Most of it concerning the inspectors. Piper and I were fortunate we got out of the Hermes cabin without anything happening to us. "Normal" was just not in the Stoll's vocabulary.

Now we were headed to the Poseidon cabin. I knew this cabin pretty well- I'd been in it a lot with Percy. I know, there's that rule that says no boy and girl alone in a cabin, but after the war with Gaea a year or so back, and falling into that hellhole we called Tartarus, I didn't get that much sleep. I usually ended up going to Percy's cabin, where he would be wide awake as well, and just sit and talk or cuddle or kiss. He's the best. And as long as nobody found out, we were safe doing it.

We entered the big coral building to find it empty. And not only of Percy, but also trash and dirty clothes. It looked like Percy actually cleaned up surprisingly. Piper and I walked around, looking at bookshelves and evaluating his bed. It smelled like Percy in here.

I wanted to crawl onto Percy's bed, snuggle up in the covers, and wait for him to come back. But we had a few more cabins to inspect.

I looked at Percy's pillows. Piper came over to me to look as well.

"I bet you a drachma that there are dirty clothes shoved under his pillows," I said to her, smirking. She returned the expression. There was no way Seaweed Brain made it this clean without stuffing something where it wasn't supposed to go. I flipped around the pencil I was using, taking the eraser and pushing off pillow. It rolled away, and there was nothing but a small box.

"Ha," Piper said smiling. "I get a drachma." I scowled at the brown haired girl as she leaned down to grab the box. I had walked away a little, inspecting more things, like the dusty cabinet, ruffled bed (though I suppose that was my fault, seeing as I was sleeping in that bed last night), but perfectly folded and lined piles of shirts (me again). Then I heard a squeal behind me. The kind of squeal that Aphrodite makes when they find something adorable. I frowned. My messy ponytail swished behind me as I pivoted, looking toward the daughter of Aphrodite. She had a hand over her mouth, and her other hand was holding the box, which was now open. I couldn't see the contents because it was turned away from me. I walked briskly over to her to see what she was looking at.

She glanced at me over the top of the box and her eyes grew wide and panicked, like she wasn't suppose to let me see something but it was happening. My eyes narrowed, and I went faster.

But then, of course, I saw something else. A small, black and furry thing rushed across Percy's bed, disappearing over the side of the covers. I stumbled back, pointing and letting a scream come out of my mouth. My clipboard clattered to the floor, the pencil rolling around. Piper turned to see what had scared me, and she shut the box at the same time. But I saw something glinting in it, like a gem. But it was tiny, equivalent to the one on Sally's hand that was her wedding ring.

I didn't know where to look; should I focus on the spider or on the thing in the small box that Piper had just thrown under Percy's pillow once more? What was that? Actually, I had a pretty good idea, but I didn't want to get my hopes up.

My scream had apparently attracted someone. Percy came bolting into his cabin, his hand already reaching for his pocket where he held Riptide. He looked around desperately, his eyes flooding with relief when he saw me all fine and standing in the corner of the room. Whenever he heard my scream (he could identify it in a crowd of screaming girls) he would rush over, scared of what might be happening. I was the same. We were both extremely protective of each other ever since the second war.

"What's wrong?" He asked, coming over to me. I swallowed, still scared.

"There was a- a spider," I replied, pointing to the bed. "Over there."

I loved Percy for many reason, but one of them was his understanding for my fear. Some people might laugh at my seemingly pathetic fear of arachnids, but Percy didn't. He knew what I'd been through with Arachne herself, and he understood. He walked over to the bed where Piper was standing, ruffling around covers and looking for the spider. He couldn't find it, but I saw him exchange a look with Piper. She glanced once over at his pillow that was covering the box. His eyes widened and he sent a questioning look at her, to which she shook her head and then Percy's shoulders sagged with relief. I had no clue what just happened, and I hated not knowing.

"What?" I said, looking between the both of them. Percy turned his gaze to me, his sea green eyes staring into mine. He looked like he had been sword fighting. His shirt clung to his body with sweat, showing every muscle on his stomach and shoulders. I had to keep my gaze on his face, but it took all my willpower not to glance down.

"Nothing," he said. He was a bad liar, and even if he wasn't, I knew him too well to know that he was telling the truth. "I can't find the spider." He walked over to me.

I glared at him. "Well, I'm not sleeping in here again until you find it." Percy made a pouty face as I looked on sternly. He looked like a baby puppy with those big round eyes, but I stood my ground.

"I thought..." Piper said into our conversation. "I thought campers can't sleep together in the same cabin if they're not siblings." Percy and I looked like deer caught in headlights.

"Um..." Percy said as I tried to stutter out a good enough answer.

Piper smirked at us, then held out her hand in a placating gesture. Her choppy hair bounced around on her shoulders as she shook her head in amusement, her kaleidoscope eyes laughing. "I won't tell. Promise on the Styx."

I smiled in gratitude toward her. She went to grab the dropped clipboard and pillow, walking out the door.

"Come on, Annabeth," she called behind her shoulder. "We got more cabins to inspect."

"I'll be right there." I turned to Percy just as he approached me and enfolded me in his arms. I loved his hugs; I felt totally safe and comfortable. I snuggled up against him, not even caring about how sweaty he was.

"I missed you," I said into his shirt.

His chest rumbled a bit as he chuckled. "You just saw me this morning." I didn't answer, just smiled. I felt his mouth touch my hair, and I leaned back so he could reach my lips instead. He complied, kissing me softly.

I tangled my hands in his hair, then a thought struck me. "You know," I told him, "this won't make me give you a better rating on the inspection."

"Dang it," he said, wrinkling up his nose. I laughed, going up on my toes to kiss his nose as I detached myself for him.

"Though I would like to see what was in that box," I said as an afterthought. I felt Percy stiffen. "It made Piper squeal."

Percy didn't say anything as I started cleaning the bed I had slept on last night. I was a little hesitant, with the spider and all, but I did it anyway. When I still didn't hear Percy say anything, I turned to see if he was still there.

He was. Percy stood there, just watching me thoughtfully, as if contemplating my question. "What're you thinking about? Don't think too hard, you might hurt your head." Percy didn't react to the teasing.

I frowned, "Seriously, Perce. What are you thinking so hard about?"

He took a deep breath. "The future. Our future." I liked those words. Our future.

I grinned at him as he said, "Soon. Soon I tell you what was in the box. You need to go finish inspection."

I walked up to him standing there, placing my hand on his cheek tenderly. He leaned into it, whispering, "I love you."

"I love you, too, Seaweed Brain."

I kissed his cheek, then walked past him and out the door.

I smiled, looking out onto the sunny field. I couldn't wait for Percy to show me what was in the small box, that's for sure.

Aww. Percabeth mushiness. :)

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