Sorry for the slight wait. I had a short bout of writer's block, but don't worry, it's over now.

This chapter and the next few aren't gonna have too much action. For all the readers out there who love blood and gore and violence and all that, don't worry, there'll be plenty of that by the end.

Chapter XIV

Annabeth

Percy eats while he talks, which, all things considered, is just a little gross. Blue syrup from the blue waffles he's eating drips down his chin, and it's always made Annabeth's stomach churn when she sees-and hears-people talk with their mouths full. It doesn't bother her so much now, though, after Tartarus, for some reason.

He talks with his hands, too, which gets a little dangerous, especially when he almost stabs Frank, who's sitting to his left, in the eye with his fork. Frank leans back to avoid it, and falls backwards. Percy looks down at him on the floor, asking why Frank fell, completely oblivious to the fact that the whole thing is his fault. Annabeth has to stifle a laugh, and she sees a few others hiding smiles as well.

When Annabeth hears how Percy defeated Pontus with his new trident, it troubles her. It shouldn't have been so easy to defeat one of the oldest gods. Especially not one as powerful as Pontus. Percy tries to play it down, telling them about the green-blue light that pulsed into Pontus' chest, and how it was all probably just thanks to some help from his dad. But Annabeth is pretty sure it's more than that, and that Percy knows it too. She sees something in his eyes, something a little like fear. As if he's afraid of himself.

Hearing about Thalassa troubles Annabeth even more, especially the fact that the woman got away. She could be a problem later on. But Annabeth is too happy that Percy is back, unharmed, to worry for very long. She watches him instead, at how his eyes sparkle with mischief as he talks, at how animated his features become. He's trying really hard, Annabeth can see. But she can also see the underlying shadows-the haunted look in his eyes behind the mask of happiness, how most of his smiles are forced.

When Percy finishes his story, the room is silent. Except, of course, for the sounds of him eating. The fact that pretty much everyone in the room is staring at him doesn't seem to bother him. Leo is the one who finally breaks the silence.

"So, basically, you stabbed an evil old man with a giant fork." He says, grinning. Percy grins back.

"Yeah, pretty much." He admits.

"Where is it now?" Jason asks. "The trident, I mean." Percy's grin only widens.

"Give me a second." He says. He stands and sticks a hand in the pocket where he always keeps Riptide, and comes up with a Celestial bronze tube, maybe four inches long. It doesn't look very special. "Okay, this is really cool." He looks up at the ceiling, calculating. Then he looks around the room, at the people standing or sitting near him. "You guys might want to stand back." And then he puts the hand holding the bronze cylinder out to the side, and after a few seconds, both ends kind of...erupt, really, since it's so fast, and the cylinder elongates into a deadly-looking bronze trident that stands a few inches taller than Percy himself. He handles it easily, naturally.

"How does it do that?" Leo asks. "Is there a button, or something? I know with Riptide you have to uncap it, so what do you have to do with the trident?" As he talks, Annabeth realizes that Percy didn't appear to have to do anything special to get his trident to spring into being. He just held it.

"That's the best part." Percy explains. "I don't really have to do anything. I just think about what I want it to do, and it does it. See?" And the trident shrinks back into a cylinder.

"Can I see it?" Leo says, always curious. Percy hands it to him. Leo inspects it, looking it all over for anything out of the ordinary. Then he holds it to the side like Percy did, trying to turn it back into a trident. It sort of flickers a little, but remains a cylinder. "Huh." Leo says thoughtfully. "I guess it only works for you, Percy." He tosses the cylinder back to Percy, who pockets it.

"I'm still amazed at how you managed to beat one of the oldest gods. Good job, man." Frank compliments, clapping Percy on the back. Percy winces in pain, and Annabeth is instantly worried. But he covers it up just as quickly. Still, Annabeth catches his eye, asking what's wrong with her eyes. He smiles slightly back at her and mouths, I'll tell you later. Then he stretches, raising his arms over his head so that his shirt rises up and reveals his well-muscled abdomen.

"I think I'm going to take a nap. If that's okay with you guys?" He looks around, questioning. "I don't think we'll have any attacks for a while, not with Roseus circling the ship."

"Yeah, that's fine, Percy. There isn't much to do right now, anyway." Leo answers. Percy heads out the door, catching Annabeth's eye as he does so. She knows he's not really going to bed. As everyone else starts talking about Percy's adventures, she quietly slips out the door and heads to Percy's room, where she finds him waiting for her, sitting on the edge of the bed. He smiles at her when she enters, but she can see the pain in his eyes.

"What's wrong, Percy?" She whispers.

"Nothing much." He tells her. Annabeth can tell he's lieing. She glares at him. He raises his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. When I was fighting Pontus, it really wasn't as easy as it sounds. When I turned away from him, he cut my back." Annabeth opens her mouth to say something, but Percy cuts her off. "It's nothing too serious. I should probably eat some ambrosia, to be safe, but I didn't want to worry anyone. That's why I didn't say anything."

"Why didn't the water heal you?" Annabeth asks.

"I think it's because we're in the Ionian, and it's being controlled by Thalassa right now. It's where she and Pontus were restricted to when Oceanus and then my dad took over. I doubt the water will be able to heal me as long as we're here."

Annabeth stands and goes out the door, motioning to Percy to stay where he is. He watches her go, his eyes curious, but doesn't say anything. She grabs some ambrosia from the infirmary and is back at Percy's room in seconds. She hands it to him and watches to make sure he eats it. He rolls his eyes at her attentions, but he eats it.

Annabeth visibly sees as the ambrosia does its job. Color rushes back to Percy's pale cheeks, and he sits up straighter. But at the same time, she sees something in his eyes. Worry, maybe. Or confusion. Whatever it is, she doesn't like it.

"Are you okay now?" She asks suspiciously. He sees her concern and grins, reaching out and pulling her to him.

"I'm great." He answers. She's about to ask something else, but he kisses her, and she forgets what she was going to say. She wraps her arms around his neck and kisses him back, hard.

When she finally pulls away, their breath comes a little fast. Percy brushes a strand of hair out of her face and looks down at her with eyes so full of love that his gaze warms Annabeth from head to toe.

"I love you." He murmurs.

"I love you too, Percy." Annabeth says back. She kisses him again, just once, and then pulls back. "You should get some sleep, Percy. You need all the rest you can get."

"I'm not really all that tired." He answers.

"You should still try to sleep. You need it." He rolls his eyes at that, but then grins.

"Alright, I'll sleep. But only if you'll stay here with me." Annabeth smiles at him, cuddling against his chest.

"Always." She says softly. They curl up together on the bed, Annabeth on her back, staring at the ceiling, and Percy on his stomach, one arm draped over Annabeth, pulling her to him. He kisses her on the forehead, and then the lips, just once, before resting his head on his arm and then closing his eyes. He's asleep within minutes.

Annabeth rolls onto her side and watches him sleep, sprawling on the bed. She moves as close to him as she can get, feeling his warmth, and places her head next to his on the pillow. She closes her eyes, warm and content. It isn't long before she, too, drifts off into sleep.

PERCABETH! YAY! Although I gotta say, I think the mushy stuff could be a bit better. I'll work on it.

Hey, what do you guys think about me maybe writing a read the books fanfiction? I know it's pretty common, but for some reason I really like those fanfictions. And on most of the ones I've found, the author has stopped writing. But before I started working on it, I wanted your opinion.

What do you think?