Percy POV
Argus II, three months after the fall of Gaea.

We all sat around the large table. Annabeth, Hazel, Jason, all my friends were gathered in a rare moment of peace as we sailed calmly through the water. A feeling of bliss was in the air but you wouldn’t know by looking at us. Everyone was scratched, bruised, or mangled in some fashion. Grover still covered in a thick clear liquid in places.
“Well that was… Interesting.” Jason said finally breaking the silence.
“Yeah,” Thalia pitched in, “I’m a huntress of Artimis and I’ve never seen chipmunks that big.”
“Those claws almost shredded my hair off,” Nico chuckled.
“I just wish I wasn’t carrying my tracking acorns with me.” Grover added, “Have you ever wanted to know what the inside of a chipmunks mouth looks like? Trust me, you don’t. It’ll take weeks to get this saliva out of my fur.”
“You think you had it bad,” Leo said, “At least you weren’t bitten by one of their giant fleas.”
He lifted arm to show off the softball-sized welt on his wrist. The skin from the welt to his hand had turned slightly purple.
“Well at least Greenland is safe now,” I said reassuringly, “If we had arrived any later Necronis might have found some other creature to size up.”
“Yeah,” Annabeth joked, “We could have been squashed to death by giant rabbits if we stopped for coffee on the way.”
Even like this, scratched up and exhausted, we were happy. I was glad to have Annabeth back from Tartarus, Leo was glad to have Calypso back from her Island, and Nico was just glad to be here after weeks of living off nothing but pomegranate seeds. Thalia, however, seemed the least content. I couldn’t blame her, the man she loved had been possessed by Kronos and killed, she had joined the hunters and swore off all other men, and rarely got to hang out with us. Still, it was nice seeing her now. It took me a while to realize but I noticed something rubbing against my leg, Annabeth’s. Ever since out escape from Tartarus she has rarely let me out of her sight, and her mine. She was slowly moving her leg back and forth, brushing against my calve. Our hands slipped from our sides and our fingers intertwined. I was so lucky to have her. I loved it every day when she called me seaweed brain or ambushed me at my cabin when I woke up just to kiss me. I loved her, every minute of every day and I wasn’t about to let her go again. We had literally been through hell and back together and I wanted to show her how much she meant to me. As we sat there laughing, chatting, and eating I could feel her breath and heartbeat, elevated. She seemed nervous about something and her knit eyebrows showed that she was contemplating something. I decided to find out, the sun was about to disappear after all. I pulled her close and whispered in her ear.
“Meet me in my room in half an hour.” I whispered.
Her face turned bright red but she gave me a devious smile and bit her lower lip. I stood up with my hand on my neck.
“Hey guys, I’m kind of sore so I’m going to take a hot shower and hit the hay.”
I walked out after being showered with a few goodnights from the group. As I walked on the metal floor to my room I began thinking. Was I finally ready for this? Was Annabeth? I loved her but I didn’t want to push our relationship too far. That look she gave me definitely showed me she wanted it but was she truly ready. I kept thinking as I turned on the shower. The steam and hot water felt immensely good as I washed my body from sweet and dried blood. I immediately felt better and re-energized. Too energized. My thinking became a little less strenuous as my hormones took over. With what little self-control I had left I asked my heart if I was ready for this. Of course I was, I loved Annabeth. I wanted to spend my life with her and this would only make us closer. She and I had been talking about this for a while so it’s not like I was springing this on her suddenly. This was it. I stepped out and dried myself, my strength going down from excess to normal. I knew I was ready and I knew she was ready. We lived at Camp Halfblood together already. Sure two demigods of different parents sleeping in the same cabin wasn’t exactly smiled upon but when I prayed to my father about it I got a positive answer. Well, okay, HE didn’t appear but Aphrodite did and said that whatever Chiron didn’t know couldn’t hurt them. Ever since Annabeth and I had been sneaking around the camp to be intimate with each other. It never got serious, until now. The more I thought the more this sounded like a good idea. I slipped into a pair of boxers and a t-shirt and waited for her. After a few minutes a knock came at my door.

Notes

So what did you all think? I know this chapter wasn’t GREAT but it’s just the first one. It’ll get better, I promise.

Notes