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Previously—

"Jackson," the girl said impatiently.

As the words registered in his head, his face became stuck in a countenance resembling the surprised Patrick meme. His mouth formed a large 'O' as he looked at the shrewd gray eyes staring back at him.

She didn't comment on his expression, her mind worried about something else, "How does it look? Is it casual enough?"

Percy couldn't stop himself as the words tumbled from his mouth, "You…look gorgeous."

He stood there dumbstruck for a second. Did he actually just say that? No way could he have had the nerves to say that. What had come over him? He had no idea whatsoever, but either way, Percy knew he'd be dead meat any second now.

Annabeth's face had turned into a curious scowl, her hands now on her hips. Damn it, she looked so sexy like that. Stop it Percy! No more dirty thoughts about your Captain. It's just not right.

"What did you say?" she sputtered out.

"I— I mean…" he tried his best to save himself but he was in too deep.

"Jackson!" she barked, tapping her foot on the ground impatiently, still awaiting his response.

Percy gulped once in response, "It's…it's nice. It looks good."

"You think so?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Hold on a second while I pay for this."

"Wait!" Percy rushed over to Captain Chase, putting his hand on the wallet she had brought out, "Let me pay for it."

"I am perfectly capable of paying for myself," she replied through gritted teeth.

"No, I'm paying," Percy pushed her aside, asking the register to ring up the purchase. Annabeth stood impatiently with her hands crossed over her chest with a look of infuriation on her face. It was hard to make out, but Percy was certain she was muttering about misogyny or 'sexist pig' under her breath. He had to smile at the comment, but kept his chuckle to himself lest she hear.

The cashier gave him a knowing grin as he asked, "Girl issues?"

"Don't even get me started," Percy muttered while rolling his eyes.

The two went to deposit their uniforms in the Hummer parked in the parking lot before deciding where to go next. More like Annabeth decided where to go next.

"Jackson, I'm hungry. Let's find a place to eat."

"You know this place better than I do. Where do you want to go?"

"Chipotle, Panda Express? Either of those sound good to you?" she asked.

"How about Chipotle?"

"Panda Express it is then," she replied throwing him a teasing smile. Percy caught his breath at the dazzling smile she had given him. Was he hallucinating? Snap out of it Percy. He pinched himself in the arm, making sure it wasn't some sort of dream.

"Hey!" he cried out, but still followed her. They entered the fast food complex, waiting in the long queue that had formed and the line going far beyond the door of the entrance. Annabeth didn't have much say, so Percy took this time to get a better look at his 'new' Captain.

He had to admit she looked good, like really good. Her short curly blond hair was flying in the soft breeze that seemed to be in the air. Percy watched as the curls bounced, tempted to touch one.

But he felt that would have been too creepy and restrained himself. He wondered what had gotten into her, what had gotten into him. It wasn't as though he hadn't seen in her normal clothes before. Maybe it was the relief of seeing her awake and well after the coma.

No, he wasn't supposed to be happy with this. The reason for Annabeth's coma was to facilitate his revenge after all. Annabeth noticed his blank stare, her mouth turning down a little, "What are you doing?"

Percy blinked, focusing somewhere else, "Nothing, just thinking."

The line moved slowly, but eventually, the pair had finally found a seat in the corner of the rather busy restaurant. It would have been a nice little alcove had it not been for the other dozens of people also squished in nearby in too close of quarters for comfort.

He downed his bowl of Beijing beef along with a side of fried rice and eggrolls almost within seconds of sitting down. Annabeth, on the other hand, took her time eating, glancing at a newspaper article that someone had left behind while eating.

"So, ah…" Percy cleared his throat, realizing this was going to become awkward real soon if someone didn't start speaking. It would also distract him from staring at her without a reason. "What're you reading?"

Annabeth flipped to the next page in the newspaper, "Hm? Nothing. Just catching up on what I've missed out on these past few weeks while I was out." She gave Percy a pointed glare, reminding that in her eyes, he was still the reason for her coma. She had no idea about Nico's treachery, and that's how it was going to stay.

"I… I really am sorry about that. I wasn't thinking and let the anger get the better of me," he apologized sincerely.

"I'd say," Annabeth didn't appear mad. In fact, she seemed to be teasing him more than anything. Percy was confused. What the hell was going on?

By the time Annabeth had finished her meal, the remainder of the restaurant had disappeared, leaving them to be the last ones to finish.

"Slow eater, huh?" he joked.

"You try not eating for three weeks and then going to a fast food restaurant," she punched him playfully in the shoulder.

Percy pretended to wince in pain, "Where to next, Captain?"

"Do you ever make up your own mind? And stop calling me Captain here. People are going to give us odd looks."

Percy smirked, "I didn't know you were one to care about what others thought, Captain Chase."

"What did I just tell you?!" she almost hissed in retort.

"You want me to call you Annabeth?" he asked hesitantly, stuttering on her name.

"While we're here, yes, Jackson."

"I might get too comfortable with calling you that. Who knows, I might slip when we return to base. Besides, if I have to call you by your first name, what about me?"

"What about you?"

"You almost never call me Percy."

"Well, yeah, it's awkward."

Percy stopped in his tracks. Did Annabeth Chase just say 'awkward'? What was the world coming to? "Why is it awkward?" he asked, turning to face her.

She, too stopped, the sidewalk now separating the too, "I'm your Captain. I've always addressed my subordinates as Private or by their last name."

"Then what about for me? It's just as weird to call my Captain by her first name?"

Annabeth sighed, her arms crossed once more as she looked up at him, "You know, you might have a point there."

"What was that?" he asked playfully. "Did you just concede to me being right?"

"Don't push it, Jack—Percy…" she stumbled over the name but continued to march on as though nothing had happened.

"You still haven't answered my question," he pointed out.

"Which one? You've been going on about it all day, and frankly, you've asked so many that I've lost track."

"Where are we going next?"

"Do you need a destination in mind when you walk? Is it too much to ask just to walk around for a bit in this weather? The sun's out, and it feels good on my skin after being cooped in those white walled cells for three damned weeks."

"You don't say," he mused. "How about ice cream after a while? You might not have been outside for the past three weeks, but I've had enough with Mother Nature, and the sun is starting to get under my skin. Can't deal with the heat."

"Alright," she conceded. "Deal?"

"Deal."

The two began wandering aimlessly along the streets of Charleston, neither saying much. But when one had something to say, the other too was about to comment at the same time.

"So, what do you…"

"The weather's nice…"

Those normally resulted in a good, long silence after that. Percy made some weak comments about the plants on the ground while Annabeth completely ignored him, understandably.

"Capt—Annabeth," Percy began, "Can we please sit down somewhere in the shade? It's so freaking hot outside." He gestured towards a bench that he had found alongside the sidewalk, under the cool shade of an oak tree.

"We agreed on stopping only for ice cream."

"I'm getting a bit tired from the sun," he admitted, scratching his forearm in embarrassment.

Annabeth snorted, "And you call yourself a Marine. Fine, let's sit down."

The two sat themselves down on the bench that Percy had found, basking the coolness of the shade. Annabeth absentmindedly kicked at a pebble by her foot when Percy spoke up, "So, I take it that you used to come here often?"

"Almost every other weekend," she replied, "My house was on the border of Virginia and South Carolina. The ride took about 4 hours, but I'd come. Sometimes with my family, sometimes with my friends."

"Why not anymore?"

"Because, Percy," she rolled her eyes at the ridiculousness of the question, "One doesn't simply get to choose when they want to go somewhere when serving in the Marines. Besides, my friends, we're not as close as we used to be."

Percy heard a catch in her voice as she spoke, like she was holding back something, "You alright? Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Ok then…" the two sat, simply staring out into the parking lot in front of them when Annabeth spoke up again, "My two best friends, Thalia and Luke, they…"

"Wait, Luke as in Major Castellan Luke or another Luke?"

"Yes, as in Major Castellan."

"You've known him since high school?"

"Middle school actually."

"He's older, isn't he?" Percy asked dubiously. "Did you join the Marines…" his voice trailed off under Annabeth's grimace.

"You're suggesting I joined because of him, right? Well, yes and no. I've always wanted to be in the military. But Thalia was my best friend and like a sister to me. She was also Luke's girlfriend," Annabeth swallowed once before continuing as though she was holding back tears. "Thalia was killed by a drunk driver a month before Luke's graduation. He loved her, a lot. It affected us both; it took a toll on both of us. But Luke was like my brother, and I his sister. We comforted one another every time Thalia was mentioned. But, to this day, I know it affected Luke a lot worse than it affected me."

"Hey, I'm sorry I asked," Percy put his arm her shoulder comfortingly. Annabeth flinched at the presence of the arm but let it relax. She had her face in her hands so that he couldn't see her broken expression.

"Thalia was the older sister I never had, and sometimes, like this, it comes back rushing, remembering the times with her."

Percy desperately wanted to find a way to change the subject. This touchy, sentimental, emotional Annabeth was not someone he could deal with it.

He patted her on the back with a sense of discomfort, "It's alright. I know how it feels…to lose someone like that who means a lot to you."

Annabeth sat up sharply, "Your mother you mean?"

"What?!" he asked disconcertedly.

"You said she had been battling with cancer. She didn't…pass away, did she?"

"No! No, she's doing fine," Percy remembered the white lie that had led her to the conclusion. It had been the day that he had first contacted Nico on the phone. Annabeth had misheard the conversation, and Percy had led her to believe it was his sick mother.

"Then?"

"My fiancée, Rachel, was killed in combat," he replied after a long pause. He had said it so quietly that Annabeth wasn't quite sure she had heard correctly.

She drew in a deep breath, "I had no idea. Do you want to talk about it? If not, it's fine. I understand."

"It was in the Middle East a few years ago," Percy paused, deciding how to narrate the story.

Annabeth, on the other hand, wasn't focusing. The Middle East? It couldn't be. Was this what Percy had mentioned when they had first met, about not remembering. His leg had been injured.

"Excuse me? What was that again?" She asked, having zoned off from Percy's conversation, trying to decipher the pieces of information she had just gathered.

"Never mind," he replied, sighing deeply. "Don't want to ruin the mood by talking about it. Maybe another time."

Annabeth felt her heart squeeze a little. Another time? So, there would be another time? Percy got up, Annabeth following suit immediately.

"Read to go get some ice cream?" he asked, looking at the clock. "It's already 4:30."

"Sure thing."

They fell into step as they began walking towards the Ben & Jerry shop on the other side of the parking lot. The strip mall had become awfully quiet outside, most people preferring to rest inside then deal with the sweltering heat.

Percy told Annabeth to go hold a spot while he went ordered, just in case they ran out of places. Annabeth, luck in her favor, found the perfect seat next to the window. She sat there with one leg over another and her arms crossed as she looked outside, waiting for Percy to come with the ice cream.

Percy, on the other hand, couldn't resist looking at Annabeth, noting the way she sat. His mind went back to the conversation they had had by the bench regarding Luke. He had known that the relationship between the two had been close, but he didn't know just how close.

This was going to be more difficult than he had thought it would be. Maybe Nico had had the right idea in mind. Shaking himself of those thoughts, and deciding to live in the moment, he found himself at the front of the line.

"I'd like a banana split and Strawberry Shortcake Greek Frozen Yogurt," he told the cashier, holding out his credit card to be swiped.

The order was ready within minutes, and he cautiously picked it up, balancing them in one hand while trying to grab napkins and spoons with another. He headed over to the table Annabeth had secured for them.

He handed her the Greek yogurt while he dug into the banana split, savoring every bite.

Annabeth had an amused look on her face as she spoke, "You eat like you've never eaten before."

"Look who's talking. Did you see yourself at Panda Express?" he replied with a mouthful of ice cream. "Why aren't you eating?"

Annabeth had been poking at her frozen yogurt, staring at wistfully instead of eating. "I suddenly felt like I lost my appetite."

"What? Why? This stuff is amazing after that heat we sat out in."

"Don't mind me," she waved her hand. "Just finish your ice cream. We should head back quickly."

Percy looked at her once, bewildered at the sudden change in mood, but he simply shrugged before going back to his dessert. Annabeth took a few tentative bites of her ice cream before stopping, waiting for Percy to finish.

He finished within a few minutes, leaning back in his chair for a moment as he spoke, "Ready to go?"

"Yeah."

As they walked back to the car, Percy spoke up, "You know Annabeth. You're not half bad. I really did enjoy spending my day with you. Who knows? If we had stayed longer, I might have fallen senseless for you."

Annabeth stopped dead in her tracks, her heart thumping fast. He hadn't just said that, had he? Right before she was going to confess. It was now or never, right?

"Percy," she began doubtfully. "About the kiss earlier…"

Percy turned back to look at her, surprised she was going to actually give him an explanation.

"Truth is, I like you and have done so for quite some time."

Longest chapter yet for this story. It cleared 8 pages. Make sure to fave, follow, and review.

Especially fave and follow. Like I said, I want to hit 100 faves and 300 reviews before I finish the story. I think there are about 5/6 chapters remaining. So, review.

And make sure to read my other current Percabeth story, My Gay Best Friend. I have five chapters up so far. I'm hoping to get another one up tonight. I have to start it once I upload this. If not today, I'll update tomorrow.

As for this story, I want to finish it soon, so I'll do my best to update…If y'all review.

~TJ