Piper

Piper ran up to Jason and threw her arms around his neck after the battle.

"Oh my gods." She pulled away from him and looked at him with wild eyes.

"I know. I know. I'm sorry. I couldn't tell you." He pulled her back in and buried his face in her shoulder. She pulled away again and slapped his shoulder, looking furious.

"You couldn't tell me?! Says who, Jason?" She was near tears as she looked over at the not dead Percy Jackson, either holding or laying in the arms of Annabeth. She let out a shaky breath and ripped her gaze off the couple and back to Jason's guilty face.

"Nico. He thought it was for the best." Jason shuffled his feet like a toddler who got caught stealing an extra piece of candy. Jason too was staring distantly at Percy and Annabeth.

"He's really okay?" Piper's voice choked on emotion.

"Well, he's better now. At least he can walk now." Jason shrugged. Piper whipped back to him and slapped his shoulder repeatedly again.

"He couldn't walk?!" She screeched.

"Is that who I think it is?" Frank came charging up to Jason, Hazel on his heels.

"Yeah. He's alive." Jason looked at Frank who closed his eyes and rubbed his hands over his face. He turned towards Hazel and she gave him a tearful smile. Frank turned back to Percy and took a step forward, then back again.

"I know, I want to go see him too." Hazel gave a crying sort of laugh.

"Oh thank the gods." Leo came up to the group, looking in Percy and Annabeth's direction.

"I know. He's actually alive." Hazel smiled.

"I mean, thank the gods for that too, but thank the gods neither of them got hurt. I spent all battle trying to keep monsters away from them. They weren't moving at all." Leo shook his head. All five of them stood together, crying and trying to get over their shock. It was Piper who noticed first. All seven of the demigods from the prophecy were standing together for the first time since a year ago. They were all alive. Even after two funerals, they were all alive.

Nico

After the battle had been won, Nico turned around wildly, trying to find Will. If he had gotten hurt, it was all Nico's fault. He asked various campers whether or not they had seen him, but nobody had. Nico was on the verge of panic when he heard a familiar voice call out his name. He turned and saw Will Solace running towards him. Nico breathed in relief and ran towards him as well, throwing his arms around him.

Will must have been surprised by Nico's public and spontaneous display of emotion because he didn't hug back for a second. He then got over his shock and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's shoulders.

"I'm so glad you're safe." Nico muttered. Now two public displays of emotion. More of a view into his thoughts and feelings than he had ever expressed before. Will pulled back and shock crossed his face.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah." Nico felt embarrassment already crossing his mind. "I just- I realized how lucky we are. That we're both fine." Nico rubbed his face and looked over at Percy and Annabeth. Will looked at him carefully.

"No, we're not fine." He said suddenly.

"What?" Nico looked him up and down as if expecting some injury.

"We're not fine because you left. You discover some big secret and then leave camp without telling me. I was so worried!" He exclaimed.

"I'm sorry. I just... I don't know." Nico didn't have an explanation. The closer Will got, the scareder Nico felt that it all was going to go away.

"Next time you come to me, okay?" Will looked at him, pleading in his eyes.

"I promise." Nico met his gaze.

"Okay then. Come on, let's go help the injured." Will refrained from putting his arm around Nico's shoulders and instead just grabbed his hand. They walked down the hill together, towards the wounded.

Percy

How could he get off the floor? How could he possibly disentangle himself from her arms and walk away from this spot on the ground? How could he leave this moment? So much time had passed that he knew he had to get up at some point, but he couldn't bring himself to step away. She was here, in his arms. The feel of her skin was on his and for right now, nothing else mattered. After so long of a million other things mattering, he could not bring himself to leave a moment where he could just be.

He felt her shaky exhales on his cheek, her tears drying on his face. He could feel her body shaking underneath his arms. All of her was real. It felt impossible to comprehend. How could this moment exist after everything that had happened?

She was the first to pull away. Not by much though, just so she could see his face. She pulled back a couple of inches and cupped his face in her palms. Her bloodshot eyes darted around, capturing every inch of his own face. She let out another sob and fresh tears joined the dried ones.

Percy reached up and intertwined his fingers through her hair. He pulled the top of her head to his mouth and breathed in her lemon shampoo. It was the same scent. She still smelled the exact same. He had forgotten that's how she smelled, but he remembered all those summer days with her lemony smell wafting through the air now. A tear slipped down his face and rolled into her messy ponytail.

He looked up and for the first time since seeing her in the middle of the battle, he remembered where he was. He was on the side of his very own cabin. His red eyes stared at the window, wishing he could see inside. Annabeth seemed to notice his change in focus and turned her head. She looked from the cabin to him.

"Do you want to go in?" Her voice was gritty and thick from the crying. She seemed almost nervous as if she suddenly had forgotten how to talk to him. He looked at her and nodded. There was a beat of no movement, then she helped him to his feet, shakily.

She led him to the door and pushed it open. The smell of dusty sea water wafted towards them. Annabeth flipped on the lights and the room came into view. Someone long ago had come in and cleaned up his mess from the floor and desk, but his clothes were still packed away in the drawers. Nobody else had lived here since, so there was no reason to take them out. His old shoes were still visible on top of a box in the corner.

With Annabeth's help, Percy limped over to the shoes and picked them up. Emotion crossed his face and he held the shoes to his chest, face screwing up against the tears. How pathetic, he thought to himself. Shoes bringing him to tears. But they weren't just shoes. They were another life. A different Percy had lived here and put those shoes on top of the box. A different Percy had laid in that bed and fallen asleep.

He tried to put the shoes back down neatly, but his broken ribs screamed in agony. He winced at this sudden painful movement and Annabeth noticed. She led him over to his old bed and set him down gently. She backed up and a flare of panic shot through his chest.

"Don't leave." He blurted.

"I'm not." Her voice was slightly less shaky this time. Percy nodded, looking down. What should he say to her? So much time had passed. How would he start a conversation? After everything that had happened, how could he ever be normal again?

"The statues are still here." He said randomly, trying to ignore the tears entering his eyes again. Tyson's statues that he had made years ago. A lifetime ago.

"Yeah." She said quietly, nodding. He watched her again. She had pulled up a chair and sat in front of him, their knees were touching. Her shaking hands were in her lap and she was twisting her fingers over and over again. Trying to prove this wasn't a dream.

"I'm-" She started.

"Well-" He got cut off.

They both stopped and stared at each other. Annabeth gave a ghost of a smile. Percy gestured for her to go.

"I'm just- I'm very you're alive." Her voice caught on that last word. Another lone tear escaped her lids and fell down her cheek. Her mouth wobbled.

"Same. I'm uh, very happy you're alive too. What with the war and all. I was worried about you." Percy had a hard time catching her gaze. They would take turns looking at the floor, then for one brief second lock eyes.

"You were worried about me." She gave the quietest, breathiest laugh. Percy looked down, remembering how she had thought he was dead. His biggest fear was loosing her, and she had actually lost him.

"I talked to you everyday." He blurted again. Her eyes snapped to his and they held eye contact this time. Her eyes were shining with unshed tears.

"You helped me. You're the only reason I lived. You kept telling me to keep trying and to keep living. You're the only reason I'm alive." He said the words he never thought he'd be able to say to her. He started crying half way through his speech. Annabeth kept her eyes on him, not saying anything. Tears filled her eyes slowly and she scrunched her eyebrows to keep them from falling. Her breathing was shaky as she bowed her head and grabbed his hand.

"Thank you for not dying." She said quietly. With her eyes and he hand in his, Percy was reminded how she had sat next to him in those woods while he thought he was dying. It was always her. She was always the one who was there. He grabbed her hand with his other one.

"I love you." How many times had he said that to her over the past year without her ever hearing. She needed to hear it now and for the rest of time and even that wouldn't be sufficient. He could say it for every second for the rest of his life and it would never be enough.

She held his face again and stared into his eyes. "I love you." She said, her voice clear for the first time in the night. He tried to lean forward, but his ribs screamed again. Annabeth helped him ease onto the bed, his pillow and blankets so familiar yet so foreign. After sleeping on the ground for months, the mattress was heavenly.

Annabeth moved, but he continued to hold her hand. She looked at him for a moment, then laid down on the bed herself, pulling the blankets over the both of them. She laid in front of him, pressing her back into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and closed his eyes. Holding her, being warm and impossibly comfortable brought tears to his eyes again. He let them leak out into her hair, nuzzling his face closer. They laid there in silence and comfort for a long time.

"I don't think I can sleep." Annabeth whispered.

"Why not?" Percy opened his eyes again.

"Because I'm scared you won't be here when I wake up." She breathed heavily.

He held her tighter. "I'm never leaving you ever again."

"You broke that promise last time." Her voice broke.

"I don't think I can break it again." He was painfully aware of her shuddering breaths.

"Promise me that you'll be here tomorrow." Her voice was brittle.

"I promise." He said.

They laid there together all night, neither of them actually falling asleep for several hours. They knew that each other was awake, but they didn't say anything. Silence for them spoke much more than words would ever be able to convey.

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