Author's Note: Warning: this chapter contains hazardously high amounts of the substance known as Percabeth, as well as smaller (but no less deadly) amounts of the toxins known as 'fluff' and 'emotional love scenes'. Exposure to this chapter may lead Percabeth addicts to react in adverse ways that include, but are not limited to: fangirlish shrieking, uncontrollable giggling, and saying 'Awww!' over and over. The author of this fanfiction claims no responsibility for any of these, but will gladly accept and listen to any comments/complaints about this. Also, I listened to 'Just Give Me a Reason' by P!nk ft. Nate Ruess while writing this. I felt that it fit the way they are in this chapter.

Now that you have been warned, enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 11: Watiching the Sunrise

Wednesday, May 17th (two days later)

Somewhere in the Midwest

Percy woke up in the passenger seat of an SUV that was driving through some unfamiliar mountains. He was confused for a second as to what exactly he was doing there, but then recalled the events of the past few days. After Annabeth had been stabbed, he'd taken her to the nearest emergency room, then left her there and rented a car. He returned to the hospital the next day, where she'd made a quick recovery, and they left quickly before the doctors could ask any questions. He'd driven out of Vegas as quickly as possible, and was relieved when the last lights of the city had faded into the distance.

Now, where did that leave him and Annabeth at the moment? Percy wasn't sure. Since they'd gotten in the car, the only words they'd exchanged were the occasional "You look tired, I'll drive" or "I think we should stop for gas" He glanced over at her and noted that she hadn't pushed him out of the car while he was sleeping. He decided to take this as a good sign.

"What time is it?" he asked, more to break the silence than anything.

"Almost six. The sun should be up soon," she replied, staring straight ahead at the road.

Okay, so maybe she wasn't feeling talkative. But he felt like he should at least keep trying. "How's your arm?"

"It's okay. It's still sore, but I've had worse."

"I'm sorry," he said, and immediately regretted it. Now she'd probably get angry, and the last thing he wanted to do was jeopardize their already-unstable alliance. But if it did end, was it really for the worse? Though fighting was out of the question now, since she saved his life, it didn't mean they had to make up. After all she had put him through, maybe it would be better to just ditch her and try to forget she existed.

But somewhere deep down, he knew he couldn't do that. He had this strange feeling that they were tied together somehow, and that they couldn't do that, no matter how much they wanted to.

Although, if he didn't want to fight, but couldn't leave, what choice did they have? She was still from a rival agency.

He really wished she would say something.

Finally, she looked at him. "You don't have to say that if you don't mean it."

"I did mean it. I mean... You took a knife for me. That's not exactly something you can just brush off. Wait, what are you doing?"

"Pulling over."

A feeling of dread washed over him. "Look, I really don't want to start fighting again. I don't care if you want to leave me here, I just can't anymore."

She stopped the car in one of those side stops labeled 'Scenic Area' and got out. He jumped out after her, and she turned to face him.

"I don't want to fight, either. Did you think I liked it? The past few days, having to spend the last few days feeling like a lovesick idiot for marrying someone who wanted to kill me? No. It sucked, okay?" Her face was flushed with anger now, and she was almost shouting. She would have looked scary, but the tear trickling down her face betrayed her. "If you're so sorry now, don't even bother apologizing. Just tell me what happened. Did you marry me knowing who I was? Have you and your people been spying on us the whole time? Did they tell you to kill me, or did you decide to do that on your own? Tell me, Percy. Because if you don't tell me here and now, then only one of us going to make it back to-"

He cut her off with a kiss. Instinctively, she responded, wrapping her uninjured arm around him and kissing him back.

Finally, she pulled away. "Wait. What just happened?"

He grinned. "I just realized something."

She stepped back warily. "What?"

"We were both wrong." She looked at him oddly.

"Did you get hit on the head back in Vegas?"

"Probably, but that's not the point. So what you're saying is, you didn't know that I was an assassin until recently? You thought I knew and wanted to kill you?"

"Yeah. What did you think I meant?"

"I thought the same thing about you," he said, waiting to see how she would take it.

She stood there, as comprehension dawned on her face. "So when you found out who I was, you assumed I wanted to kill you."

"And when you found out who I was, you assumed that I wanted to kill you. But I never did."

In the distance, the sun was rising slowly over the mountains. The fresh light of dawn illuminated her face as she said softly, "And I never wanted to hurt you."

Then, she ran forward and kissed him fiercely. He clung to her just as tightly, like he never wanted to let go.

..~0~..

They curled up together in the backseat of the car, watching the sun rise over some distant mountains.

"You know," he said to her casually, "This looks almost exactly like those places where the teenagers go to make out in movies."

"You mean the horror movies?" she asked playfully. "Where a psychopathic killer is always hiding in the background, waiting until they're not looking?"

"Speaking of psychopathic killers, what are you going to tell your agency?"

"One: they're not psychopathic killers. Most just got roped into it against their will. And two: I quit."

"Good. I'm quitting, too. I never really wanted to do it in the first place. I knew from the beginning, it wasn't for me."

She reached over and stroked his face gently. "Then what made you?"

He shrugged. This was something he'd never really talked about. "Well, I guess it was because I started training for it very young, because-well, my father's head of the agency, so he insisted. And when I got older, he told me that he wasn't going to force me into it, but at that time I never really knew what I wanted out of life.

"And besides," he continued, "I liked it at first. You have to admit, it's kind of thrilling, with all the cool toys and whatever. But after a while, you get kind of tired of it. What about you?"

She sighed and stared ahead at the sunrise. "I thought that it was what I wanted. See, i didn't want to choose just an ordinary career, and just end up living an ordinary life. I wanted something exciting, different. I thought that it would be... Well, more fulfilling."

"But it wasn't."

"Exactly. It took me a while to realize how much I hated it, but I know now."

A few moments passed until she spoke again. "So where do we go from here?"

"Beats me. I like living in the moment for now," he said, brushing his lips against her jawline.

She smiled in return and met his lips for a moment before pulling away. "No. I mean, do we go back? And then what do we tell everyone? I'm sure that my agency's going to be suspicious of you, especially under these circumstances. And can you stop that? I'm trying to think."

He had continued kissing down her face and onto her neck, while trailing his fingers up and down her arms and sending shivers up her spine. He paused and looked up at her. "Do you want me to stop?" He looked at her with this cute look on his face.

She sighed in exasperation, but couldn't help but smile. "No. Damn you and your helpless baby seal face."

..~0~..

Las Vegas

Later that day, a thin man in a long dark coat could be seen lurking in an alley several blocks away from the police station. Since suspicious men in long dark coats have been known to lurk in alleys, none of the passerby really thought to think anything of him. But had they stopped to give him a second glance, they would have noticed the frayed patch he wore across his left eye.

The man was speaking on a cell phone. "Yeah, somehow they got away," he said into the phone. "What? I'm not sure. It seems like they're working together now." There was a long pause, as apparently the other person expressed disbelief. "No, really. I think they might have figured out what's going on here. Either that, or they'll figure it out soon." Another pause. "I guess we'll have to track them down, though, before they get back to tell the others that it's all a setup. Should we tell him?" He said this last part with a frown, as if whoever this guy was, he was a little bit worried, or even scared, of him. "Yeah, you're right. But we have to get rid of them fast, or he'll get rid of us quicker. Gotta go, i think I see a cop."

At this, the man ended his call and scanned the street warily before walking off into the shadows.

Author's Note: I hope that the romance wasn't too horribly done. As i have said before, it isn't my strong point, and some advice or constructive criticism would be appreciated. Also, next chapter we're going to see a lot of Nico.