DISCLAIMER: I do not own Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus, all rights to Rick Riordan! I also don't own The Avengers either, so rights go to Marvel or whatever.

"I am never letting you do that again," Jason grumbled, brushing a popcorn kernel off of his sleeve.

"Hey, if it works…" Piper said, grinning.

"Yeah, that almost didn't work." Jason allowed himself a small smile.

"Good work, Piper," Annabeth intervened. "We wouldn't even be alive right now if it weren't for you."

"I'm just grateful Leo made me bring along that popcorn bomb. That certainly came in handy." The daughter of Aphrodite waved to one of her siblings leaving cabin 10.

Annabeth veered away from the couple and started towards the Poseidon cabin. "I'm going to see Percy. I'll meet you guys at the Big House."

Jason nodded.

Annabeth paused momentarily to watch their hands intertwine as they headed toward the cozy building where Chiron would be waiting for them. They were so happy now that the war was over. She didn't want to see another one break them up.

Before she could knock, the door swung open and there was Percy, a thick blanket wrapped around his shivering frame, green eyes looking alive. Thankfully.

"Hey, we're back. How are you feeling?" She took a step forward and wrapped her arms around him gently. She buried her face into his hair and breathed in, happy to be home and safe with her boyfriend.

Rain.

"Better, actually," Percy replied, holding her close. "Still not great, though."

She pulled away and stared at him. Why had she smelled rain on him? He always smelled like the ocean, but this was different. Fresher and…well, not like the ocean. That's when Annabeth realized his hair was wet. Not just damp, like he'd just taken a shower, but wet, like he'd just jumped in the lake.
"Did the truce work out? I'm gonna guess no." He said, looking her in the eyes.

Annabeth sighed. "Not exactly. But good news, we got Captain America on our side. He's fighting for us now."

Percy stopped cold. He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. "No…Annabeth…this isn't right. I knew this would happen." His voice was edged with frustration.

Annabeth remembered how her boyfriend had pleaded with her not to go help with the negotiations, saying that he'd had a dream. They're going to attack Camp Half-Blood and we're going to be slaughtered.

Percy tilted his head back, staring up at the ceiling. His quilt had fallen to the floor and was now puddled around his feet.

She didn't try to tell him everything would be okay. She didn't deny the fact that most of a demigod's dreams came true. And Annabeth also didn't tell him she was sorry for what had happened. Because none of it would help. Those words were empty. And they had long since discovered the uselessness of desolate words.

Heaviness descended upon the two until Annabeth couldn't take it anymore. Not only was she brimming with curiosity and annoyance, but she was also happy to break the aura of sadness around them.

"Percy, what did you do?" She demanded.

"What do you mean, Annabeth?" He looked at her, his mouth in a confused smile. He seemed ready to forget about his prophetic dream and the Avengers, too. "I was laying in bed and then I got up and opened the door and—"

"No, before that. Did you go outside?" Then a thought seemed to hit her. "Did you follow me, Percy? Because I swear to the gods if you did I will—"

"No, Wise Girl. I didn't follow you." The son of Poseidon was grinning. His cheeks were flushed, and Annabeth knew that going out in the rain probably gave him a cold. "I trust you too much for that."
"That's good to know," she mumbled. "But where did you go?"

Percy sighed, then stepped back into his cabin. He held the door open for his girlfriend, then closed it behind her. "I wanted this to be a surprise, but…" He opened a drawer in his nightstand. "…I guess you're too smart for that." He flashed her a cheeky grin.

Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Close your eyes."

He opened her left hand palm up and placed something in the center.

"Okay…open."

Annabeth's gray eyes opened slowly and she stared down at the object in her hand. "Wow…Percy…"
"It used to be Paul's, back when he was into guns and stuff. He figured that we could use it more than he could."

The polished pistol was heavy in Annabeth's hand as she stared down at it. When she didn't say anything more, Percy's smile fell.

"Yeah, its kind of a lot to take in. I'm not sure if I'm ready for it, either." His voice was quiet. "I just wanted you to be able to defend yourself. In case…" In case my dream comes true. The unsaid words lingered in the air.

Annabeth nodded slowly. "It's a scary thought. Actually killing…people. Not just monsters." They were both silent for a moment. "Thank you, Seaweed Brain." She leaned forward and kissed him, growing worried at how feverish his skin felt. Being out in the rain definitely hadn't helped any, and Annabeth figured he'd been too busy trying not to pass out to keep himself dry.

Percy closed his eyes for a minute, and a deep shudder ran through his body. "So I guess we're going to war."

"Again."

"I knew this would happen." Percy repeated. "I should have…" His shoulders sagged.

The daughter of Athena set the gun down on the nightstand and took Percy's hand. "There's nothing any of us could have done. Don't blame yourself, Percy." Pain shone in his eyes—both physical and emotional.

"I don't think I can fight another war, Wise Girl. I don't want to do this again." Fear lingered behind the tears shining in his eyes. "After…" he swallowed thickly, trying to force the word out. "…Tartarus, I can't do it anymore."

Annabeth squeezed his hand and rested her head against his chest. "I know," she whispered. "Neither can I."

"Why can't they just leave us alone?" His voice broke, and tears filled Annabeth's eyes. "First it was Kronos, then it was Gaea and her giants, and now SHIELD…What have we ever done to them?"

Annabeth stayed quiet, knowing that sometimes the best comfort you could give was a willingness to listen.

"I thought we could finally be normal. Have a nice, quiet life in New Rome. I guess not…"

Annabeth's body began to shake with quiet sobs. She knew exactly how he felt. She didn't want any of this either. And honestly, she wasn't sure either of them would survive the upcoming held Percy tightly, and he held her, as they finally stopped trying to outrun the grief and cried.

-PAGE BREAK

Nico hated it when he accidentally killed the flowers; especially around the Demeter cabin. He tried to ignore them as they hurriedly revived their plants. Thankfully, none of them seemed angry with Nico. It was hard to keep things in check when he was injured or exhausted. Both of which he was right now, but he couldn't take one more minute stuck in his cabin. He needed to get out.

Reyna had Iris-messaged him—a skill Grover had taught her—almost forty-five minutes ago. The son of Hades and the daughter of Bellona had grown really close over the summer after the giant war. The two really connected on a deeper level, and they both shared a mutual trust.

Reyna had vented her emotions for ten minutes before Nico finally got her to calm down. He was the only one who ever saw that side of her, and part of him was glad for it. Finally, he had found someone who liked him—trusted him, too. They talked quietly for another twenty minutes before Reyna had to leave. There wasn't much time to socialize when you needed to save your whole race of half-gods. Again.

After that Nico had decided to take a walk. His head no longer spun when he stood, thanks to the ambrosia and nectar Will Solace had given him.

After he passed the Demeter cabin, he wandered towards the volleyball pit, which was currently empty. He stood at the edge of the grass for a moment, thinking of what Reyna had told him almost a month ago.

You should try it sometime; it can really help with anger.

Nico glanced around, then kicked off his shoes and stepped barefoot into the pit. He let the cold sand cover his feet and sat down. He rubbed idly at the wound on his arm, dislodging the bandage a little bit. It was almost completely healed, but it still ached. Nico didn't mind, though. The dull pain helped him think.

His eyes were just beginning to droop with exhaustion when he heard footsteps behind him. His head snapped up and he was on his feet in a millisecond, eyes wide and startled.

"Hey, Nico. It's just me."

The son of Hades relaxed when he realized who it was.

Jason Grace sat next to him, pulling off his sneakers and tossing them into the grass. "So, we've got a new ally."

Nico glanced at him, puzzled. "Who?"

"Captain America. Reyna convinced him to join us. Personally, I don't trust the guy, but…hey. We need all the help we can get."

Nico's eyes narrowed. "And you're sure his loyalties are with us?"

Jason sighed. "No. We brought him in behind the Big House to talk to Chiron. He'll make sure things go smoothly."

Nico stayed silent, unsure of how he felt about all this. "Where's Piper?" He glanced over his shoulder, expecting to see the daughter of Aphrodite standing there.

"One of the campers got bubblegum stuck in her hair. Piper was trying to help her get it out without shaving her head last time I saw. We just finished talking to Chiron. He's having a one-on-one with Mr. America now." He paused. "I was getting ready to go find you, but then I saw you down here. All by yourself." He gave Nico a sideways glance.

Nico considered ignoring that comment, but decided against it. "I needed some time to think." There was a moment of silence before Jason spoke again.

"I used to come here all the time, right after Hera had taken my memory. It helped me remember."
Nico looked over at him. "How?"

"I don't know. I think it was the sand. It was almost…therapeutic, you know?" Jason started to bury his feet in the sand.

Nico couldn't help but think how much he looked like a kid at that moment. After all, he was only a teenager. He wasn't even a legal adult yet, and already he had fought more monsters than Nico could count, saved the world, and still somehow managed to keep his sanity.

"How do you do it?" Nico asked suddenly, surprised at himself for saying anything.

Jason frowned. "Do what? The sand thing?" He kicked the sand off of his feet. "I was just using the wind currents to make it float up onto my feet—"

Nico shook his head. "No. I mean, how do you keep from going insane when you're fighting a war every other weekend. The fate of the world resting on your shoulders…"

Jason paused, letting a few grains of sand he'd been levitating fall back into the court. "Well, technically fate doesn't rest on my shoulders, since that's up to the Three Fates." He shot a glance at Nico and saw he wasn't appreciating his humor. Jason sighed gently and leaned back a little. "You just have to have someone with you, I think. I mean, when I was at Camp Jupiter I had my cohort, then I had Reyna, and now I have Piper. You gotta find someone who will never leave your side." He looked over at the son of Hades, who was staring distantly at the sand. Jason could tell he was listening, though. "And then you never let that person go. Hold on to them with all your strength, and you'll pull through."

Nico opened his mouth to speak, but he was interrupted by a loud shout coming from the Big House. The two demigods exchanged a glance. A scream rent through the air, and Jason and Nico were running toward the noise.

Okay, so I thought I knew where this story was going, but all of the characters just kind of ran away from me. Does that happen to you guys? It's like one minute I'm controlling them, and the next they're just doing their own thing. Like…bruh. Sorry if this chapter is a bit confusing, I didn't have enough Annabeth and Jason to go around. Next chapter will include a few details filled in and a much needed chat with Chiron, Percy, Annabeth, Jason, and Nico. And thank you for all the kind comments on the last chapter XD

Arrow :D