"Wise girl, are you sure?" Annabeth and Percy sat hunched in the school library, books propped up to provide the illusion that they were studying. Librarians prowled like vultures up between the shelves, hissing at students and slapping them on the head with newspapers and old school journals. They bore such an uncanny resemblance to Hades's Furies that each time she looked at them, Annabeth's insides froze over. She never wanted to have anything to do with The Lord of The Underworld's realm ever again. Not until she died.
Shaking her head, she chided herself. Get a grip, Annabeth Chase.
"Of course I'm sure!" She exclaimed, far too enthusiastically to be completely convincing. Truth be told, Annabeth wasn't exactly sure how her family would react if- when- she finally brought Percy home. There wasn't a logical reason to be nervous, but there was an uneasiness that lingered just out of reach, a nagging hammer somewhere in a small part of her head, that came down again, and again, begging for attention. There must be an issue that she was ignoring, forgetting. But a child of Athena didn't just forget. But what was it then? What made her uneasy about bringing Percy home?
But she desperately wanted to show Percy the house that they were renting in Manhattan for the year. Annabeth's dad had needed to move close to the Eastern coast for a while. Something to do with his fascination in aviation, but what about the planes, she could not say. She hadn't questioned the move, hadn't argued, because it had opened up so many possibilities that would not have been possible in San Francisco. Namely, Percy. And Camp Half-Blood. It always came back to Camp Half-Blood, the only real home that she had ever known. At times, even, although she would never ask her father, she wondered if the real reason behind the move was to demolish yet another of the walls that separated Fredrick Chase and his daughter.
"Yooo..." A hand passed in front of her face. Glancing up, she realised that Percy was gazing at her with barely concealed amusement. That small, endearing smile played around his lips, and his eyes crinkled in laughter. Gods it was that face. It was so damn annoying, but Hades, it was so damn handsome too. It was that face that had first drawn her to the mysterious twelve-year-old that had come charging over Half-Blood hill. First the face, then everything else. Annabeth flushed. She'd been staring again. Was she always staring? Di immortales, cut it out.
"Wise Girl? Gods, Annabeth, I'm trying to have a conversation here." Percy was pulling a serious face. It wasn't working. The laughter in his eyes, that, even as she watched, spread from the those sea-green depths to rest of his face, gave him away. Soon, he was grinning madly, and Annabeth was slowly reddening. How could she drift away so easily? Percy was talking to her. She shouldn't be so distracted. "What you thinking 'bout, hmm?" Percy asked, tackling her in a hug.
"Percy!" She screamed, even as she returned the embrace. She heard the deep rumble in his throat as Percy laughed, holding Annabeth too him, as she made lousy, half-hearted attempts to free herself of the orderly chaos of hair and limbs. Soon, she was laughing too, melting against her Seaweed Brain, and paying no heed to the old ladies who glared at the two of them, repeating shushing noises, and motioning towards the exit. "We stay together, Wise Girl," He muttered into her hair.
Annabeth kicked up a puddle of water, still not completely gone after yesterday's storm. They were approaching her apartment, walking hand in hand, over bustling Manhattan streets, stumbling through crowds and weaving between traffic. It seemed to Annabeth that Manhattan was more crowded than usual today, as if all these people had planned to come out at the same time, same place, just so that they could be there to get in her way. The honking of horns, the screaming of children, the angry shouting of pedestrians, it was all so unbearable, so impossible to endure, that by the time they rounded onto Annabeth's street, and came within sight of the house, she was sure her brain would explode from all the information it had received on the way home.
Percy started to tug more insistently on her hand, gazing around with the eagerness of a child in search of candy. However, noticing his girlfriend's reluctance, he slowed his pace, and flung an arm around her. "C'mon," he told her, hugging her close. "It'll be fine." Annabeth nodded imperceptibly, trying to draw a sense of reassurance from the warmth and steadiness of Percy next to her. It worked a bit, and she straightened, drawing a breath.
"Let's go then," she said.
Annabeth prized open her bedroom door and stepped inside. Only now did she realise what a damned mess it was. Clothes were strewn across the floor, notes were piled up on her desk and weapons and other deadly instruments littered the far corner and the underside of her bed. On the tangled sheets was a laptop, still running from where she had left it early that morning and beside and around it, several crumpled pieces of paper and broken pencils. Remnants of a fit of frustration she had had before school.
Behind her, Percy gave a low whistle, and it took all in her not turn round and punch him. He was right of course. Her room was not a pretty sight. "Well?" She said. "What d'you think Seaweed Brain?" Percy nodded appreciatively.
"It's... interesting."
Annabeth laughed and chucked a pillow, before plopping down onto the carpeted floor and lent against the bed frame. "Come on," She said, patting the floor next to her. "Sit with me a while." Percy obliged and slumped down next to Annabeth. They sat there for a while, each one leaning on the other, eyes closed and simply enjoying each others company. They hadn't been able to do this since- since when? The realisation struck Annabeth hard. It couldn't be that the last time she had been truly alone with Percy had been Tartarus. That was impossible. But it was also true. Gods, what a depressing thought. It also made this golden moment so much more precious. Eventually, he kissed her. Or did she kiss him? Annabeth wasn't sure, nor did she care. The kiss took her back to other times, to an underwater bubble, to straw-filled stables, letting her relive again and again, that feeling of elation amongst the chaos, the bright spots that lit up the darkness of her past. It was a wonder that she could so easily find a way to lose herself. She had always felt stronger being with her Percy, but now, she realised how easily he could also make her weak.
Finally, they broke apart. Percy was staring at her with a strange expression. There was such love there, such tenderness, but there was something else too. A look in his eyes that suggested he was seeing memories that they together had tried to bury. Tartarus. The way that that cruel place could change someone, it was so unfair. How long would it be until either of them could sleep peacefully? How long until they stopped being haunted by these blinding visions of the past?
"Come on Seaweed Brain," She patted him on the leg. "Let's watch a movie."