Annabeth

Percy sat on the dock in Camp Half-Blood, swinging his legs over the edge. He wore shoes, but even though the tip of the sole was in the water, they weren't wet. Annabeth walked up from behind him, rubbing her shoulders in the cold, and sat down next to him. He looked at her and smiled as if his day had just gotten better just by her being there.

"Got you another cookie. Sorry it's not blue." She took off her shoes and let her feet touch the water.

"Thanks." He grinned as he took a bite. He looked at her and they lapsed into silence. Annabeth's smile faded.

"What's wrong?" He asked her.

"Nothing." She shook her head. She looked out at the lake and watched the sunset.

"It's Luke, isn't it." Percy looked down.

"I just can't believe he's gone." She sniffed. It had been three months since the war, and since Luke had died, and the winter break was coming up. Percy had come up for the break before heading back to his mother's house.

"I think he found peace." Percy said suddenly. Annabeth gave an amused look.

"Since when are you so insightful?" She laughed slightly.

"I just- He wanted to do the right thing always. And in the end he did the right thing. That's good." Percy kicked his shoes through the water, clearly embarrassed. Annabeth watched him for a minute. She thought of Luke, then her thoughts shifted to Percy. After everything that happened, she was just so glad that he was alive and here with her. If she could have chosen one person to be here with her, she would have chosen him.

"Thank you for not dying." She said quietly. He looked at her with concern and lifted her chin with his finger.

"The fates are gonna have to drag me into the underworld themselves to get me to die, alright?" He laughed. "I'm never leaving you, Annabeth. Too much has happened to leave you. I love you."

She looked at him, eyes shining and kissed him. He put his fingers through her hair and for that one moment, everything was at the perfect place in the perfect time. They broke apart and she smiled at him.

"Well you better not." She rolled her eyes breaking the emotional tension. "Winter break starts tomorrow and we're spending the entire thing together, right?"

"Course." He grinned at her. She smiled back and stood up, walking back down the dock. She turned one last time to see him sitting there. He was still watching her and she remembered really noticing his eyes. Sea green and scrunched up in a trouble maker way. But they looked at her in a tender kind of way that was reserved for her only. The next morning, he had gone missing. Hera had stolen him.

She kept picturing his eyes over and over after he had gone missing. She would see his eyes in everything. She would see it in the ocean most of all. She caught eye of the certain color and felt a painful feeling in her chest. So, when she finally saw him again in New Rome, it was his eyes she saw first.

He was staring at her as he always did. Like she was the only person in the entire world. Nothing existed except for her standing in front of him. She had him for nearly four weeks after that. He was finally her's again after all that time searching.

But then the last millisecond of him she ever saw was his eyes disappearing behind those doors. A flash of sea green, then the mocking closure of cold grey metal doors. She thought that was it. The last she would ever see of his eyes and the last she would ever see of him.

Then, she saw those eyes staring at her from across a battle field.

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Annabeth watched the figure run down the hill and towards her. He was so far away, but she knew who it was. She knew his walk, his run, the way he held his sword, his posture, everything about him. Even after all this time, she could identify every aspect of him.

Even though logically Annabeth's mind recognized that the person running was Percy Jackson, she couldn't comprehend this occurrence. It couldn't be him. It just couldn't be. But there he was, running as fast as he possibly could across a battle field.

She couldn't look away, so she completely did not recognize when Leo came from the side and body slammed her into the ground. Her vision was like a television that was slightly delayed to the sound. The image and the knowledge of what was happening didn't exactly line up. Leo killed some monster over top of her. He grabbed her from under her arms and dragged her across the battle field. She lost sight of where Percy was.

Leo propped her up against the wall behind a cabin. He was looking around wildly, then put his hands on her shoulders and looked at her sharply.

"Annabeth." He started, "You can't do this. Run."

"But he..." Annabeth was breathless.

"I know. You can't fight right now. Get out of here. Run." Leo looked over his shoulder and killed another monster charging towards them. He looked back at Annabeth, wanting to stay with her, but couldn't. He left to go fight.

She was left alone, ears ringing, vision dreamlike. Maybe that's what this was. A cruel dream sent by the gods, reminder her what she lost. That was a logical explanation. But him being alive? There was no way.

He would have to have been alive in Tartarus this whole time. Living in Tartarus for a year. With no one trying to help. Everyone had given up on him, written him off for dead. Including her. She gave up on him.

She barely noticed herself sliding down the wall and onto her knees. She forgot the battle was happening. She just stared, with a vision that was no longer attached to her mind, towards the ground. She only looked up when Percy Jackson was five feet in front of her.

After charging the half mile across camp, he skidded to a halt in front of her. His stare was crazed and desperate. He let out a single sob and shook his head as if he had no idea how to react.

Annabeth pulled herself to her feet and felt a sob rip out from her throat. It was him. Not some trick of light or dream, but the real Percy Jackson. Percy stared at her for a second more, then threw his arms around her body, gripping her shoulders painfully and digging his face into her neck.

He sobbed into her neck and she was almost shaking too much to hug him back. She tried to form words, but nothing came to her lips. She instead only cried. He moved his hand up to her hair, grabbing fistfuls against his face. His cheek was pressed into hers and their tears intermixed.

No words were spoken between them. They held each other as if they were one another's lifeline, which was true. Reality was crashing down on Annabeth all at once and her crying turned into heartbreaking sobbing.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry." She finally managed to say muffled into his shirt. Somehow he heard.

"Annabeth. Annabeth." He continuously choked out. Finally after all this time he could say her name directed at her herself. She was actually here. She was no longer just an apparition to keep him alive, but a real person. She was real.

"Please." He managed. Please let this be real. If the gods ever did anything for him, let this moment be real. Let him really be here with Annabeth Chase, the girl he couldn't even begin to explain how much she saved his life. Let this be real and not a cruel illusion in Tartarus. Let her really be here.

Annabeth let out a thick breath on his chin and kept her eyes squeezed shut. It didn't matter about the battle. It didn't matter if they were killed right then and there. Her grief was pouring out of her after a year of being bottled up.

"Percy." His name. She could say his name again. That simple act brought her to heights of emotions she never thought possible.

Percy Jackson was here with Annabeth Chase. They said each other's names over and over and didn't let go until the battle was long over. And even then, they refused to let go out of fear that if they did, they would be gone. So they continued to hold one another and let the grief they now shared drown them until they could float.

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