Hello my guys, gals, and non-binary pals! I haven't written a FanFiction story in years, but with the new Percy Jackson book coming out, I re-read the entire series and I AM HOOKED… again! For those of you that remember me, I never did anything above T. Well, that was a long time ago. This is now rated M for a reason. Enjoy!
*Set the first night after the Romans returned to Camp Jupiter*
Annabeth was running. She heard the quick scuttling of Arachne's eight legs down the pitch black corridor closing the distance between them with alarming speed. Annabeth's legs ached with the strain of running. Her lungs felt like she was drinking from the River Phlegethon again, except this time Percy wasn't there choking the rancid water down with her.
"There is no esssacpe, girl," Arachne's voice echoed in the cavern around her. Annabeth could tell she was close, too close. She kept pushing her legs faster and farther, her lungs burning with the effort.
Suddenly, a cobblestone wobble underneath her bad ankle and she hit the ground hard. Pain shot up through her shoulder and down her arm. It didn't feel broken, but it hurt like a bitch. Her eyes began to water and she strained to see through her tears as the massive spider lept towards her. Annabeth's screams were lost in the eternal darkness of the cavern.
She only had time to think, "This is it," before she heard a familiar voice.
"Annabeth? Annabeth wake up," the voice whispered urgently. She felt hands on her shoulders trying to pull her from her nightmare. Slowly she opened her eyes through the tears streaming down her moist cheeks. Her vision was blurry, but she was able to make out the familiar face in front of her, her half-brother, Malcolm Pace. Slowly she began to calm down and take in her surroundings. She was sitting up in her bed now in Athena's cabin at Camp Half-Blood.
"Annabeth?" Malcolm's steely gray eyes, so like her own, stared at her with concern. "You were crying," he explained. "I was up working on a strategy for the celebratory capture the flag game tomorrow when I heard you whimpering."
His face was filled with concern waiting for her to respond. She felt her breath beginning to even back out and wiped the tears from her damp cheeks.
"Thanks, Malcolm," she whispered in the quiet cabin. All around her she could hear the soothing sounds of her other half-siblings lost in sleep.
Malcolm brought his hand to cover hers on the mattress, "Of course," he replied earnestly. He looked at her for a long moment watching as her posture relaxed.
"I–I was in…" Annabeth's voice cut off as her eyes peered off into the distance. She started shivering, remembering the feel of the spiders crawling over her skin in Arachne's cavern beneath Rome.
"It's alright," Malcolm reassured her, putting his hands on her arms. "You don't have to talk about it until you're ready."
Annabeth felt him give her a small squeeze of encouragement.
"Try to get some rest," he offered comfortingly. "There's still hours before sunrise."
"Thanks, Malcolm," her voice came out weaker than she had hoped. "I think I'll run to the bath house first and then try to get some rest."
Malcolm removed himself from her bunk and waited as Annabeth stood. The gash on her thigh from the fight with Gaea was healing, but she still had a slight limp and she stumbled a bit. Malcolm reached out to steady her–this was really not her finest moment–and she offered him a grateful smile as she started to make her way to the front door of the cabin.
She heard him rustling behind her, finally crawling into his own bunk for the night as she walked out the door. Scanning the grounds for any patrol harpies, she shuffled to the bath house. Once inside, she took a long look in the mirror. Her hair was still the same gently curling blond and her eyes still held the same stormy gaze. Her features though had sharpened. Her cheekbones pointed at an angle she had never seen before and the dark circles under her eyes were as deep as the pit itself. Thinking of Tartarus sent a shiver down her spine.
Annabeth pulled her bed-ruffled hair into a ponytail and bent to splash water across her face. The cool liquid helped to calm the heat brought by her tears. Her face was still splotchy, but at least she felt a little better. Giving herself a final glance, she turned to walk back to her cabin.
After scanning the grounds for patrols again, she headed toward the large cabin she called home.
"Psst," a familiar voice whispered to her right. She looked to the noise and saw Percy standing in the doorway of Cabin Three. He wore pajama pants with little tridents on them and a plain white t-shirt. His hair was ruffled from sleep and she could tell he hadn't been awake very long.
"Hey, Wise Girl," he drawled, his voice still thick with sleep. Annabeth's heart gave a hard lump at the sound. As she neared him, the smell of salt and the sea flowed from the cabin, nearly intoxicating her. She had always loved the beach before Percy, but now the smell made her feel like she was safe and protected.
"What are you doing up," she inquired with a gleam in her eye.
"Oh you know me," he smiled and tilted his head slightly to one side as he had so many times before. "The sea is always restless," he grinned. "Also I heard someone walking around and I was being nosy. When I was it was you…" his voice trailed off as a soft fluttering noise drifted toward them.
"Harpies," Percy whispered and reached for her hand to pull her in the cabin. Annabeth wasn't sure why but she hesitated, she had been in Percy's cabin several times. He tried to hide the hurt expression at her apprehension, "You know, only if you want to." The hurt in his voice pricked at her heart.
The sound of fluttering wings neared and Annabeth realized she wouldn't be able to make it back to the Athena cabin in time. Without hesitation, she pushed Percy back through the door frame and followed after him, closing the door quietly behind her. Immediately Percy looked at her, probably realizing she wore only a thin tank top and sleeping shorts. His eyes drank in her form in the soft blue-green light of the Poseidon cabin, slowly making their way to her eyes. When he realized what he was doing, he glanced at her and blushed.
She rolled her eyes and said exasperated, "We have literally been to Tartarus and back, Seaweed Brain." Her tone was playful as she teased, "You're allowed to check me out without blushing."
Percy turned a deeper shade of red as he tried to stammer a response, "It's not that," he said defensively, his voice cracking a little. "This is the first time we've been alone since…" He didn't finish the thought, but Annabeth knew what he meant. It was the first time they had been alone, none of the seven of the prophecy, no coach hedge telling them to put some clothes on, no Gaea whispering horrible futures into their thoughts, no monsters following their scent through Tartarus. They were finally together with no one to spectate. She felt heat rise to her face as well and she wrapped her arms around her midsection protectively.
What was wrong with her? This was Percy afterall. She had known them since they were kids. They had always been there for each other. She knew him better than anyone. Unfortunately, that included knowing all that he was capable of. Images of Percy choking the goddess Misery in Tartarus flashed back to her mind. Fear and anger bubbled in her chest.
Noticing the change in her mood, Percy stepped closer, "Annabeth?" His eyes seemed even greener in the dim light of Cabin Three, but she couldn't hold his gaze.
"Annabeth, what is it?" The concern in his voice pulled her back from her terrifying memories. Her mind whirled trying to put the right words together, but failed. The tears in her eyes burned painfully as she tried to hold them back. She didn't even know what they were for. For returning from the quest alive? From saving the world, again? From all the stress inflicted the past, well, forever. All Annabeth knew was that she couldn't stand it anymore. The tears began streaming down her face and Percy stepped toward her. She backed away.
"No," her voice came out as a quavering whisper. "I–I can't yet," her words struck Percy like a surprise blow to the face and he recoiled back stepping until he felt his bunk hit the backs of his legs. He sank on to the mattress and placed his head in his hands as Annabeth tried to find the right words. Her heart hurt at seeing the pain she had caused him, but she needed him to hear this, to understand and promise it would never happen again. Slowly she unwrapped her arms from her midsection and strode to Percy's side, placing a hand on his shoulder. He too was crying. She knelt and pulled a hand away from his face holding it in her own.
"Percy," her voice was so soft, she didn't even recognize it as he looked into her eyes again. She saw the anguish there.
"Annabeth," his voice was so delicate it was like glass. "I know something has been different since Tartarus and I know it's my fault," his words got more difficult to understand as he went on.
"I–I failed you down there," his shoulders shook with a sob. "When we faced the embodiment of Tartarus, I… I was terrified," he looked down in shame.
"I felt so helpless and shocked I just… couldn't do it," he sighed heavily. "I couldn't protect you then. Hell, I dropped my sword! I was useless against–"
"Wait," Annabeth cut him off. "You think I'm upset you weren't the perfect protector? Percy, I'm a child of Athena. I'm not exactly helpless," her voice was light as he looked up from his bare feet.
"Wait," he wiped the stray tears from his face. "If it's not about that… what is it?" The openness of his face pulled painfully at her heart. She rose from her crouched position and sat beside him on his bunk, he shifted to face her with his other hand clasping hers.
"I can understand you were terrified," she began softly. "I was too," she took a deep breath.
"It wasn't that you weren't the perfect demigod through the entire journey," her voice faltered. "When… when you controlled the poison," her voice trailed off and Percy met her eyes, recognition dawning.
"It was too far," he finished for her and Annabeth felt like the weight of the Athena Parthenos had been lifted off her chest.
Her voice shook as she tried to hold back her sob, "It wasn't just that it was too far, Percy. You, you have always been so heroic and noble. I trust you completely, but what I saw down there…"
Her voice was low as she continued, "I didn't recognize you at that moment. That's what scared me. You weren't the Percy that set zebras free from a semi truck in Nevada, you were…"
"A monster," he finished for her. Annabeth sobbed at the admission.
"You weren't the Percy I know and love. You weren't my Percy," she cried. "There we were in the deepest pit of the universe. I had my person with me and then, then it felt like I was with a total stranger. I felt I was alone and it was paralyzing," she finished and let the tears flow freely as she looked into his eyes.
His voice was so filled with emotion when he spoke, it was almost hard to understand him, "I–Annabeth, I am so deeply sorry." He pivoted then and knelt at her feet, laying his head on her thighs. His tears were cold on her bare skin and her hands couldn't resist tangling in his dark hair. After everything they had been through, it was still soft and familiar to her.
"I don't know what was going through my head. I was scared out of my mind and in pain, when I finally had a chance to dish it out instead of take it…" his voice wavered and she stayed silent.
"It was wrong, I know that now. If you hadn't been there, I would have lost myself," he admitted and looked into her eyes. "Without you, I don't know who would have made it out of that pit. You, you kept me from losing myself and I will never be able to thank you enough for that."
"Percy," she began, but he cut her off.
"I know I messed up and crossed a line," his voice grew more serious. "But, Annabeth, you are the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. Without you, I would have been dead twenty times over." He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him. "Words can't express the regret I feel for that moment. I am so sorry," his voice was muffled from pressing into her abdomen, but Annabeth caught the meaning. She pulled him up to look into her eyes, still not speaking.
His face was red and puffy from crying and she could see the turmoil he was in. She could see the storm of self-loathing waging in the depths of his eyes and it broke her heart.
He thinks I'm breaking up with him. That's why he's holding on to me for dear life.
Annabeth placed her hands on both sides of his face and brought him level with her own.
"I understand if you can't forgive me," his voice broke and something in her heart snapped. She kissed him gently on the lips and he leaned into her. The kiss was soft and lingering. She felt his arms slide around her lower back as she peppered light kisses on him. He tasted like salt–not sea salt like usual–but the salt from his tears.
"Of course I can forgive you," she whispered quietly and placed another short kiss to his lips and he let out a half sob, half sigh of relief. "Where else would I find a Seaweed Brain that is willing to battle the entire earth just to save the world?"
That elicited a small laugh from him and Annabeth realized she hadn't heard that sound from him in a long time.
"However," she stated matter of factly and Percy's expression became deadly serious again and he tensed like he was readying for a battle. "I can't see that side of you again. I need you to tell me when it feels like you're close to the edge."
He shook his head earnestly, "I promise I will do everything I can to stay away from the edge or let you know when I feel like I'm getting close." He buried his head in her lap again and took a deep breath, inhaling the proximity of her.
He looked back up into her eyes, "I swear it on the River Styx." Thunder rolled in the distance and Annabeth gasped.
"Percy," she chided, but he interrupted.
"I don't want you to have any doubts that I am serious about this, Chase," his tone was low and serious, sending chills down her spine. "You are the last person on earth, Olympus, and the Underworld that I want to hurt or lose. I'll do whatever it takes to make you feel safe again."
She kissed him again, this time tasting her own warm tears.
"Oh, Percy," she sighed. "I know, I really do."
"I love you, Annabeth Chase," he promised.
She pulled his face back to hers and kissed him, "I love you, Perseus Jackson."
Slowly she pulled him into the bunk with her and he settled over her. She could see the dark circles under his eyes that matched her own. He leaned down and placed another kiss on her lips then rolled to the side of her, taking her small form into his arms.
"Let's get some sleep," he said groggily. "Gods know we deserve it."
Annabeth giggled and settled back into his warm embrace. Eyeing the clock, she saw it was 2:00am. Plenty of time to cuddle in and sneak back to her cabin before sunrise. Annabeth closed her eyes and melted into the sound of Percy's even breathing.
—
Percy felt Annabeth's breathing even out into the slow, deep rhythms of sleep. He pulled her tight against his chest, loving the feeling of her pressed into him–maybe a little too much. Of course Annabeth was beautiful, any teenage boy could tell you that, but it was more to Percy. She wasn't just a pretty girl to him. She was the savior of the Athena Parthenos, the mender of the rift between the Greeks and Romans. Hell, she'd even gone through Tartarus with him acting like a monster. She wasn't just any girl, she was the girl.
Percy's mind drifted to the thoughts he'd had about New Rome and raising his children there–no, their children. Looking down at Annabeth's sleeping form, he knew with all the certainty in the world that he would do anything to make himself worthy of the goddess that was sleeping in his arms. He knew it was probably blasphemy to call Annabeth a goddess, but as he stared down at her in the dim light of his cabin, there was not another deity he wanted to worship.
He placed a kiss on her temple and inhaled the smell of her. Gods, she was perfect to him. He felt sleep slowly creeping in and since his first night back from Tartarus, he welcomed it.
Thanks for reading! I had fun writing these two again. Let me know what you think in the comments!
Warning for chapter two: the spice/smut level increases exponentially from here.