I had originally believed that this story would be around 15 chapters long. It is now officially 3x that length. This is your heads up for major feels!

Important thing to note... This will be yaoi (boy-boy). Don't like? You do not have to read.

Disclaimer- I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus series. (One can dream though) All rights go to the proper parties.

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Percy POV

The world around me froze. I couldn't believe my eyes. After not seeing her for so long, I didn't know how to respond.

She walked down the dock towards me. I couldn't even move. My mind didn't seem to know how to accept the knowledge that she was here. I stared at her in disbelief. I wasn't aware of the world around me. The daughter of Athena came to a stop right in front of me. Before I could even react she had reached out and wrapped her arms around me.

I hadn't even noticed that Nico had let go of my hand...

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Nico POV

The pain that I felt when I saw Annabeth standing there was a hundred times worse than I had expected. I was hardly even aware of anything other than the daughter of Athena walking towards us and the beautiful son of Poseidon staring at her in complete shock.

She started to get closer and closer but Percy didn't move. I took a step away from my boyfriend. I continued stepping back as she reached out and pulled my sea prince into her arms. I allowed his hand to fall from mine.

I had thought that I had known the meaning of a broken heart, but I was wrong. Nothing could have prepared me for the utter agony at seeing the love of my life, who had at last returned my feelings, in the arms of another.

I couldn't take the pain. I stepped into a shadow and disappeared.

The last thing I saw was her holding him, with no sign of him pulling away.

ΩΩΩ

Percy POV

It's amazing how something can be the exact same in execution and yet feel completely different.

I had grown used to Nico being my friend. Yet once I realized my feelings for him, things felt different. Holding Nico on our date had been so similar to how I had held him in the past and yet my heart felt like it had grown wings.

Annabeth's arms around me were the exact opposite. They still held me and allowed me to feel the remnants of the comfort that I once found in them, but it was different. It didn't make me want to wrap my arms around her and never let her go. I was happy that she was back and yet, the feelings I had expected to be waiting for her were different then they once were. I still loved her, but I was no longer head over heels in love with her. I could tell that the feelings I still had for her would one day fade as well. Our love wasn't timeless like I had once believed...

I tried to dispel the train of thought as I pulled away. I felt the blood rush to my face as I realized that Annabeth had been holding onto me for quite a while. I looked to Nico, hoping that he would realize that I hadn't really wanted to hold her. I had simply been frozen in shock.

I suddenly realized that Nico wasn't beside me. I looked around but I couldn't see him anywhere. I felt nervous. Now that I knew how he felt I was worried that he would disappear. I didn't want him to leave. I looked at Jason in panic and he seemed to understand what I was silently asking. He nodded and then ran off, presumably towards the Hades cabin.

"I missed you sea-weed brain."

I smiled sadly at the old nickname. "I missed you too wise girl." I had so much to tell her, I didn't know where to start. "When did you get back?"

She gave me a smile and leaned up to kiss me. I turned my head so that she only caught me cheek. "Just last night."

I nodded and stepped back. "How was your trip?"

She smiled sadly at me. "Long and lonely, but it was worth it. I feel much better now. I just needed some time to work things out. What's all been going on in my absence?" She reached out for my hand but I pulled it away.

I took a deep breath and met her gaze. "Let's go for a walk."

The daughter of Athena seemed to pick up on my mood. I could see that she knew where this was heading but she didn't want to believe it. She bit her lip and nodded.

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We ended up heading to the forest. It wasn't the safest place to talk but as long as we didn't go in to deep we wouldn't be attacked by anything.

There were too many people around to speak freely anywhere else. Annabeth had just gotten back. There were lots of campers who still wanted to see her. Even worse, now that I was back, it seemed as though the camp was waiting for the two of us to get back together. We stopped at a random grove of trees and sat down.

I didn't know how to start the conversation that we needed to have. I was glad when she broke the silence.

"They told me that you guys had left to free Calypso. I'm sorry I wasn't here to help you."

"It's okay, Ryan is actually not all that bad. He's arrogant as the day is long but he's a pretty good fighter... when he's not panicking that is."

Annabeth shook her head, "I still should have been there."

I shrugged and gave her a sad smile, "You did what you felt you needed too. You always do."

It wasn't until the words were actually out of my mouth that I realized just how true they were. I had always thought that she was my rock and that Nico was like the tide. She kept me grounded and Nico flitted from place to place as he desired, never doing the same thing twice. I was beginning to see how the opposite was true.

Nico may have physically moved from place to place but his motives were always the same. He was always working to protect and help me. Annabeth had always needed to do everything herself. No matter how much it would hurt either her or those she loved, she would do it. When she had felt unwanted by her family, she ran away. When she felt like she couldn't tell me about the quest Athena had given her, she didn't. When she felt like she needed to heal her mind, she left alone...

Nico was the rock; he was the constant support in my life. If I needed to, I could rely on him and he could rely on me. Annabeth would always feel the need to go at it alone; she would never be able to accept my help. She would always feel the need to do it herself.

Annabeth narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"

I blinked in shock, my epiphany still fresh in my mind. "That you feel the need to do everything yourself. Even if doing so hurts either you or those closest to you." I winced. I could have worded that better.

Annabeth glared at me, "What would you have done then?"

I frowned at her, "If it was me, I would have asked you to come with me. I would have gone with you in a heartbeat. Nothing would have kept me from following you. But you felt like you needed to do it on your own. You always do. I understand it's your hubris. You think you can do everything by yourself and so you try to."

She looked away for a moment before she turned back to me, "What about you? Isn't your fatal flaw supposed to be loyalty? The first thing I heard when I got to camp was how you and Nico were supposedly dating."

I felt my eyes widen in surprise before I shook my head. I should have known that she would have heard the rumors. I sighed; I guess that is my cue to say what needs to be said.

I looked into her eyes and I saw a flash of pain cross her face. She closed her eyes for a moment and I knew that she didn't need to hear me say it. However I felt that she deserved to hear the truth. "At the beginning we were only pretending. Nico and I started going out as a way to stop girls from following us around. After a while though, I... I realized that I had really started to enjoy his company. While we were on our quest I came to comprehend just how deep my feelings for him ran... I love him Annabeth."

She finally met my gaze. I could see tears in her eyes but I knew that she wouldn't cry. No matter how much pain she was feeling, she had never been one to admit a weakness. It was one of the things I respected most about her.

"He loves you too, doesn't he?" I nodded. I knew that no matter how strong she was, my speaking would only hurt her more. She looked away and took a deep breath, "What about us?"

I frowned and looked down, "I will always care about you. You are an amazing person but... I'm with Nico. Now that I know how I feel about him, I could never go back to just being friends. I need someone who not only loves me, but can rely on me too. You could never allow me to take care of you. You would always feel like you needed to do it yourself. I want someone who I can protect and who will protect me when I need it. Nico is that person."

I saw her shaking with the effort of keeping in her tears, "This never would have happened if I had taken you with me, would it?"

I shrugged at her and swallowed around the lump in my throat, "I don't know. Maybe it would have, maybe it wouldn't. I was happy with you, I really was. But I can't turn my back now. Nico can take care of himself, but we can still protect one another. We always have. I just never realized I wanted that until I had it."

I stood up and offered her my arm. Annabeth shakily took my hand and pulled herself to her feet.

I bit my lip and looked away. "I would still like to be friends, you've always been my best friend, but I know that will take time. I just want you to know, just because we're no longer together, doesn't mean I'm not here for you. If you ever need someone to talk to, or a shoulder to cry on, I will be here for you wise girl."

The daughter of Athena nodded. I could tell that she didn't trust herself to speak. I gently tugged her hand towards me and I wrapped my arms around her, "I'm sorry."

I felt her begin to shake. She pulled away and turned around. I watched her walk away until I could no longer see her. I pretended that I hadn't seen the tears streaming down her face. I would allow her to act as if that she hadn't been crying.

ΩΩΩ

I walked out of the woods with my shoulders slumped. I may have no longer been as in love with Annabeth as I had been, but hurting one of my best friends was still agony. I was so distracted that I walked directly into Jason.

I took a deep breath and looked up at the son of Jupiter. He had a pained look in his eye. "Where's Nico?"

The golden boy looked down and shook his head, "I don't know. I've checked the entire camp. I couldn't find him anywhere," He met my eyes and took a shaky breath. I felt my heart plummet. "When I went back to double check his cabin just now... his stuff was missing."