Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson. All rights to Rick.

Warning: Use of foul language and sexual content implied.

Real love stories never have an ending

- Richard Bach

Somewhere Only We Know

Part II: The Reveal

She missed him.

She missed his smile, his laugh, his bright sea green eyes. She missed the way he would annoy her to no end one minute and act like a five year old the next. She missed the warmth she'd receive when he hugged her and the butterflies that would inhabit her stomach when he'd give her an intense look. She missed the way his eyebrow would raise, making the small silver stud gleam in the light. She missed the dimple on his right cheek that would only appear when his grin spread from ear to ear.

She missed everything about him.

She just wanted him. Percy. Her best friend. Her love. Her true soulmate. But thanks to the rings, she now belongs to another.

"Annie? Are you listening?"

She shook her head and looked at Luke who was eyeing her with a worried expression. "Yes, I was. Keep going."

"Are you sure? You seem a little out of it."

"I'm fine."

She was so far from fine.

She hasn't seen Percy in almost a month. She's called, texted, went over to his apartment, but he's nowhere to be found. She even went to his cousin Nico to ask if he's seen him and if he's okay. Nico just gave her a sympathetic look and said, "Sorry Annabeth, I can't tell you where he is. But I promise you he's doing fine."

It was official. He was avoiding her.

And boy did it hurt.

"Okay well, as I was saying," Luke continued, "I thought that we could get married by next spring. What do you think?"

Yes, she was marrying Luke. A few days ago he proposed after spending almost every moment with her for the past month. It's not that she didn't like Luke. She did. He was nice, sweet, caring, attractive, and loved her without question.

She was just in love with somebody else.

And as he went down on one knee, all she could see was a man with black, shaggy hair and the most captivating eyes, willing her to accept. So she did, and when Luke hugged her instead of Percy, she cried. Luke thought they were tears of joy. She let him believe it.

"I think that's great," she replied, her voice completely hollow. When she glanced at Luke's face, the clear happiness that was displayed became too much for her to handle. Luke deserved someone who loved him back. "Um, you know what Luke? I actually am feeling sort of under the weather. How about we talk about this tomorrow?"

"Oh, of course. Do you want me to drive you back to your place?"

She shook her head. "No that's okay, I'll walk. I need the fresh air anyways."

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow."

He kissed her cheek before she left and she tried not to cringe away from him. His sweetness only added to her guilt.

She usually liked walking outside with the crisp breeze fanning her face and the warm sun shining down on her. But it just didn't feel the same. She hated to admit the fact, but nothing was the same without Percy. She felt like one of those overly obsessed girlfriends who cling even tighter when you try to shove them away. The sad part of it all was that she wasn't even his girlfriend.

Anger started boiling inside of her at the thought.

She needed to grow some lady balls and get the fuck over him. They weren't even in a relationship and she's acting like they've been happily married for twenty years. For Christ's sake, he was avoiding her! If that didn't scream 'I don't want anything to do with you' then she didn't know what would.

So if he never wanted to see her again, then it was fine by her. She had a fiance now and he was very nice, and sweet, and caring, and-

It's not the same.

She let out a frustrated sigh as she turned the corner of a convenience store. She did a double take when she saw the flyer, nearly tripping over her own feet in the process.

MARTIAL ARTS SHOWCASE ON JUNE 3, 2014 AT 3:30PM: MAY THE BEST FIGHTER WIN

Hope sprung in her chest. She remembered Percy talking about some big tournament that he was training for. This had to be the one.

She quickly wrote down the address and rushed home to change. This was her big chance. If Percy was anywhere in this city, it was at this showcase. And this time, she was going to make sure to talk to him.

So much for moving on.

~oOo~

There was some sort of grace to the way he fought.

It was almost like he was going through the steps of a harsh dance. And every punch, kick, and flip was choreographed to demonstrate so much power, strength, and agility, that you couldn't help but just stare at him in awe.

That wasn't the case today.

After she bought her ticket, Annabeth immediately spotted Percy in a very intense fight with a guy who was nearly twice his size. It was the last round in the championship match and she could tell by the way Percy's shoulders moved up and down and the way he held his stance that he was dead tired.

He did a quick combination of punches and kicks, but his opponent was just too fast. In a flash, the guy blindsided Percy with an impressive set of jabs and crosses, allowing him to sweep Percy off his feet and onto the ground. His opponent won the match, and Percy looked pissed.

"That's the third time Riptide's hasn't won first place," commented one of the older men sitting beside her.

"He must be losing his touch," replied the colleague to his right.

"If he doesn't get his head back in it, he's never going to win another title again. His moves were sloppy at best."

She wanted to smack some sense into these spectators and tell them where to go. Percy's the best fighter in this whole damn place and if they didn't see that then they can just shove it.

But she had to admit that something was different. His eyes didn't gleam in that competitive way when he stared at his opponent. His attacks weren't as swift and powerful as they used to be. Instead, he looked almost robotic, like he was just going through the motions.

That wasn't like Percy at all.

She decided to wait for him near the changerooms, but after fifteen minutes of just standing there and playing pointless games on her phone, she was beginning to lose her patience. So she asked one of the volunteers that were passing by if they've seen Percy anywhere and he responded with, "Yeah, Riptide's in the training room near the back of the arena. I think he's letting off some steam after that nasty loss today."

She ran to the direction of the training room and sure enough, Percy was there pounding his fists against a punching bag. She quietly opened the door as he continued to let out everything he had to the defenseless object. He was breathing heavily as he tried to catch his breath while leaning against the bag. She had to pinch herself so that she could stop staring at his shirtless back. The man was sexy enough as it was, did he really need to go around half naked?

"Nice moves."

He jumped and turned around. His sea-green eyes widened in shock as he stared at her.

Really? A month apart and all you've got to say is 'Nice moves'?

He just continued staring at her, which made her shift uncomfortably. "Uh, yeah so... How have you been?" she rambled. "'Cause, you know we haven't seen each other in a long time and-"

"Annabeth."

"I get that you may be busy with a lot of things and stuff-"

"Annabeth."

"But I just wanted to see how you are-"

"Annabeth!"

"What?!"

He grinned at her and God, her knees nearly gave out right there. "You're rambling."

"Am I?" She felt the heat spread from her neck to her cheeks.

He nodded and his smile faded. He sighed. "What are you doing here Annabeth?"

Well, he clearly still didn't want to talk to her. She didn't care though. She's been trying to get in contact with him for the past month and she was not going to leave him alone until they fixed whatever it was that had created a barrier between them. "I missed you."

His eyes looked pained as he turned his gaze away from her.

"Why have you been avoiding me?"

"I haven't been-"

"Bullshit," she growled. She was not taking that crap from him. "I've called, texted, visited your apartment and received zero response from you Percy. What the fuck is the matter with you? Why haven't you responded back?"

Christ, she sounded needy, but she couldn't really give two shits. He had really driven her over the edge with this.

"I didn't want to hang around you anymore, alright!" he snapped.

Her heart shattered. He really did hate her. "Why?" she whispered, afraid that if she spoke any louder her voice would show her heartbreak.

"Because." Oh hell no. That 'Because' crap was not going to work on her today.

"Because why?" she pressed.

"Because I..." he trailed off. He turned away from her and started punching the bag again. Her anger rose. If he thought he could just ignore her he had another thing coming.

She threw one of the many boxing gloves at his head. "Tell my why Percy!" He didn't respond so she kept throwing gloves at him and yelled, "God dammit Percy! Stop being an asshole and tell me why-"

"Because I'm in love with you!"

She stopped mid-throw and dropped the glove that was in her hand.

Her mouth hung open in shock and her eyes nearly bulged out of her head.

He was in love with...

"What?" she squeeked, her voice cracking.

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. He looked so vulnerable all she wanted to do was run up to him and give him the largest bear hug in existence. Maybe even kiss him. Okay, not maybe. Definitely kiss him.

"I'm in love with you Annabeth Chase." He said it so surely it made her heart soar. "And the moment when you had found your Match was probably the worst moment of my whole life. I couldn't stand the thought of you being with someone else- loving someone else besides me. So I never responded back to you because... Well, because it just hurt too damn much to even look at you anymore."

"Oh, Percy..."

"It's my own fault I suppose." He laughed bitterly. "I should have just shown you my ring when you asked me, and then maybe we would have been each others Matches. I just... I was just scared Annabeth. I was scared that if I showed you my ring, it wouldn't glow. But I should have. And now I regret it every minute of every single day."

His shoulders slumped as he glared at the floor. "I don't even know why I'm telling you all of this. It's too late anyways. You're Puke's Match now."

Despite his sorrowful tone, she couldn't help the small smile that spread across her face. "It's Luke."

He shook his head. "No, I'm pretty sure it's Puke." She laughed and his lips quirked up.

"He does make me feel like I want to throw up," she conceded.

"Must be his cologne," he suggested. "I swear I almost choked from it when I entered the coffee shop that day. I don't even want to know what he's trying to hide under all of that."

She laughed again and this time he joined her. How they could go from a serious conversation to being total goofs in a matter of seconds was beyond her. Everything with him was so easy.

He looked at her and their eyes locked, just like the first day she met him. She could tell he was thinking the same thing because he raised his pierced eyebrow at her. She raised hers back. He narrowed his eyes. She did the same. He smiled at her, but this one was different from all the rest he had given her. This one was affectionate, caring, and full of love.

"I love you."

His eyes darkened. "Please don't say that."

"But it's true."

"No. Annabeth, please don't." It looked as if her declaration had physically hurt him. "You don't want me. I'm nothing compared to the person you deserve. I can't offer you anything. The rings were right. You should be with someone like Luke."

She was officially ready to beat him with a stick. "Are you serious right now?"

He just looked away from her in response.

"No, Percy. You have no fucking right to tell me what I do or do not deserve. Not to mention, no one makes decisions for me! Not you! Not the rings! Not anyone! If I want to love you, then so help me God I'm going to love you with everything I have and there is absolutely nothing you or anyone can say that is going to stop me!"

He stared at her in utter disbelief. She was just so Goddamn angry. Her frustration from the past month spilled out of her and damn it, it felt good to let everything she was harboring go.

"So I love you Percy Jackson. And if I ever hear you say that I shouldn't again, then you better pray to every God in this freaking universe because I will honestly beat the crap out of you."

She was breathing heavily once she had finished her rant. The ball was on his court now. So she waited for him to respond.

One minute passed.

Then two.

After what felt like an eternity, he marched up to her, determination gleaming in his eyes. He stopped in front of her. Her breath caught at being so close to his exposed form. She looked at his face and he smirked at her, as if knowing what she was thinking.

He grabbed her face with both hands, looked into her eyes, and crushed his lips with hers.

She didn't know how a person could feel so much with such a simple gesture, but God Almighty, if she could feel this way every second she wouldn't hesitate to take the chance.

His lips were warm, and firm, and they moved with so much passion she couldn't stop herself from reciprocating the feeling. Not that she wanted to stop. Because kissing Percy Jackson was a blessing in itself. A blessing that she wanted to keep for her and her alone.

Their mouths moved in perfect synchronization, even when Percy backed her up against the wall. He softly bit her bottom lip before separating completely and kissing down her neck. She involuntarily let out a quiet moan when he sucked against a sensitive spot near her ear. Her fingers dug into his bare back and he growled appreciatively.

"Why do you have to be so Goddamn hot when you're angry?" he whispered, his breath hot and ragged near her ear.

"It's a talent I guess," she replied while pulling his face back to hers and kissing him all over again. "Say it Percy," she mumbled against his lips.

"I love you." His arms wrapped around her waist, squishing her against his chest. Her hands went to his hair, feeling the silky strands beneath her fingertips. A sound of need hummed through his throat.

"Again."

He pulled back and looked at her. His eyes sparkling. "I love you, Annabeth. All of you. Every single thing about you. You're it for me."

"You're it for me too," she blushed.

He kissed her pink cheeks as they held each other. He nuzzled her neck and mumbled against her skin, "Come home with me."

She suppressed the urge to say that by being in his arms, she was already home.

~oOo~

Warm skin.

Ragged breaths.

Love filled kisses.

And fireworks, exploding behind her eyelids.

~oOo~

She had never felt so happy in her entire life.

The man she loved, loved her back. Percy was hers, and she was his. She smiled against his chest while continuing to draw patterns into his skin with her fingertips.

His arm was wrapped around her, tucking her into the left side if his body. His hand moved up and down her bare back in a soothing motion that made her eyes instantly close. She sighed contentedly.

"What are you thinking about?"

She opened her eyes and looked up at him. His other arm was behind his head, a soft smile gracing his lips. His mouth was too tempting, so she leaned in and gave him a quick kiss. "You" she responded. "What are you thinking about?"

He grinned, his dimple showing. "How beautiful you are. And how much I love you." She could feel his heart pounding in his chest, completely in sync with her own.

Then, as fast as lightning, he turned them over and leaned over top of her. He trapped both her arms with his and kissed all over her face. Her forehead, her nose, her cheeks, her chin. She laughed as she squirmed underneath him. He nuzzled her neck affectionately.

"I swear, you're like a cat in the morning."

He laughed against her skin and looked down at her. She pushed the hair out of his eyes, getting lost in them yet again. She skimmed her fingers over his piercing and he closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers.

"What are we going to do now Percy?"

His eyes opened. The irises changing from a calm sea to a raging storm. "You're not getting away from me, that's for sure."

She put her hands behind his neck and placed his mouth against hers, kissing him long and slow. Once she pulled away, his eyes softened. "I'm yours Percy. Only yours."

"And I'm yours, Annabeth," he smiled.

"So since we're officially together now," she did a mental happy dance at the thought, "we need to form a plan since the rings have placed me with someone else."

He paused for a moment, then looked at her with a newfound determination in his eyes. "Run away with me."

Shock rippled through her. "What?"

"Run away with me, Annabeth," he repeated.

"I don't know Percy..."

"Look," he said, positioning himself to lay beside her, "we don't have that many options here. One, we could come out as a couple and risk being separated from each other by the authorities and then you'd have to go through with your engagement to Luke. Two, we don't do anything and sneak around, but then you'd still have to marry Luke. Or three, we run away to a place where the rings won't affect us."

"Well, I see your point, but- Hey wait a second. How did you know I was engaged to Luke? That happened just a few days ago!"

He cringed. "I may or may not have called Piper a few times to ask how you've been doing for the past month."

She glared at him. "We'll talk about that later. Anyways, I see what you're saying Percy, but if we're going to do this then we'll have to leave everything behind. We won't see our friends again. We'll have to find new jobs. We'll have to search for a new place to live. It's a lot of sacrifices and-"

He interrupted her with a searing kiss. The kind that made her toes curl and her stomach do acrobatics. He pulled back after a minute, his lips barely touching hers. "I'll do anything to be with you. You're all I care about."

God, he really needed to stop saying stuff like that or else she'd never win an argument.

His hand traveled along her side, softly caressing near her ribs before stopping at her hip. She shivered and scowled as he grinned at her. "Okay," she sighed. "I'll run away with you."

His eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yeah. Now kiss me before I change my mind."

He climbed back on top of her and kissed her fiercely. She closed her eyes, wrapped her arms around his neck, and drifted off to complete bliss.

~oOo~

They had made it.

It took them longer than expected, but with the help of Piper and Nico, they were able to make it out of the city. And eventually, the country.

It was definitely hard, as Annabeth had figured, but they were both very determined and stubborn people. So after years or working hard and building everything they had from nothing, they were finally in a safe, stable, and free environment where they could be together without question.

She had said goodbye to Piper before they had left so long ago and told her that they may never see each other again. Piper cried. Annabeth cried. Despite the circumstances they promised to remain friends, even if it could only be in their hearts.

Percy's only family was Nico and Annabeth will admit that seeing them depart ways broke her heart. She felt so selfish to tear him away from his only family, but he assured her that they would see each other again one day. Nico would try to find them when the hype of their disappearance was blown over. She just hoped he was right.

It didn't feel right to leave Luke without any explanation, especially since he had been nothing but nice to her. So she wrote him the briefest letter explaining how amazing of a person he was, but that she just couldn't love him the way he wanted her to. She apologized profusely, but even she knew that giving him a vague explanation would still hurt him immensely.

She still feels guilty about it.

On a (very) positive note, she's with Percy. The man she adores. The man she cares for. The man she loves.

And this time, there would be no rings, no Match, and no system to stop them from being together. Because they complete each other. They belong together. They are one.

And at the end of the day, what's most important is that they love each other. Their love survived all of their past anger, sadness, and struggles that now, they can live completely at peace with one another.

Sure, there were moments when Percy came home late and she thought that they've finally been found. That the authorities are about to burst into their home any second and separate them for good. But after years of worrying they never do, and she finally accepts that they're safe.

She looked around her apartment and sighed. They had moved to the new building nearly a year ago, but the place had already started to become too small. Especially with the knowledge she carried about what would occur in a few months time.

She heard the front door open and smiled as Percy walked up to greet her. "Hello beautiful," he said, kissing her cheek. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah I am," she replied, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer. "How was work?"

"Good as always." He scooped her up in his arms and plopped them both on the couch. "All of them passed their belt exams today."

"That's great!"

"Yeah, I'm really happy for them." Percy was now teaching martial arts to young kids every Tuesday to Friday. It made Annabeth's heart leap every time he talked about his work. And the large ecstatic grin he'd wear when he'd speak of his students made him look like a proud father.

Her heart did an extra somersault at the thought.

"So," he said, prolonging the word, "I was thinking of taking you out to dinner tonight."

"Really? What's the occasion?"

"No reason. Just want to take you out and spend some time with you." He started scratching behind his ear, a habit he only had when he was either nervous or hiding something from her.

"Alright," she agreed warily. "Where are we going?"

"Uh, to that Greek place you like so much."

Her eyes widened. "Elysium?! But that place is so expensive!" He started scratching again. "Percy... What is this about?"

He stood up from the couch. "Nothing, Annabeth. I'm just going to take a shower while you get dressed. The reservation is for eight so we better hurry."

As much as she loved that he wanted to take her on a special dinner, the thought of food made her think of the morning. She had woken up sick to her stomach and she's pretty sure that half of her organs are now in a better place. Not to mention, the morning had also brought on unexpected news that she had to share with him. The longer she prolonged it, the more anxious she became.

"Percy, is there any way we can cancel the reservation and go another night?"

His head whipped back at her. "But... I've been planning this for months."

She raised her eyebrow in question. "You've been planning this dinner for months?"

"Whaaaat? No! I was just messing with you. Of course I wasn't. Why would I say that? I have dinner with you every night, so there's really absolutely no reason as to why I would be planning such a thing. You're so silly, Annabeth."

She stared at him.

He blushed and looked at everywhere except her, scratching behind his ear yet again. If he kept doing that, his ear might eventually fall off.

"Okay... Well, after this morning I'm just not really up for eating anything besides some soda crackers and juice." She took a deep breath before continuing. "And besides, I have something I need to tell you."

He immediately sat down next to her. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

His concern was adorable. Especially when his eyebrows would get all scrunched together.

"I'm fine Percy. I just have some big news."

"What is it?" he asked curiously.

She took a calming breath and looked into his sea green eyes as she said, "I'm pregnant."

He didn't say anything. He just stared at her with his eyes as wide as saucers and his mouth slightly hanging open.

After a minute of utter silence, he stood up from the couch and started pacing back and forth in front if her. "I can't believe you beat me."

"What?" Now she was just confused. This was not what she's imagined he'd say after knowing that he's going to be a father. "What are you talking about?"

"I thought my news was going to be the highlight of tonight, but yours just blew mine out of the water. It was going to be awesome with the food, and the atmosphere, and you wouldn't even suspect a thing. But finding out that we're having a baby is probably the most exciting thing that's ever happened to us!"

Her head was getting dizzy with all of his rambling. "Wait, what was so important that you had to tell me over dinner at one of the fanciest restaurants in all the city?"

Percy looked at her, and it seemed as if he was contemplating on whether or not to tell her, but eventually gave in. He went down on one knee in front of her and that's when she knew for certain what he was planning to do tonight. She nearly had a heart attack when her suspicion was confirmed once he pulled out a dark blue box from his pocket.

"I've had this for a while now," he said sheepishly, a nervous smile spreading across his face. "I didn't mean to make you wait for so long, but I just wanted everything to be perfect and memorable for you because well, you're the love of my life, Annabeth."

She just stared at him in shock as he opened the small box containing a simple silver ring with three diamonds in the center of it. The middle one larger than the others.

"From the first day I saw you in that library, I knew you were special. Because of my reputation no one even dared to look at me, let alone have a staring contest against me." She laughed at the memory and he smiled. "And after talking to you for the first time, I knew that we belonged together. I was a goner from the start, Annabeth."

Tears blinded her vision as he took her hand in his and placed a gentle kiss at the top of it.

"You've been there for me since the beginning and your belief in me fascinates me to no end. I love how caring, determined, courageous, intelligent, kindhearted, compassionate, trusting, and beautiful you are. But most of all, I love that out of all the people in this world, you chose to love me. And I promise you that for the rest of my life, I will treasure your love as well as yourself... And our little Percy Jr."

Okay, she was definitely crying now. She blamed it on the pregnancy hormones.

He wiped a tear that was trailing down her cheek. "So Annabeth, if you'll allow it, I vow to protect you, care for you, and love you for the rest of eternity. Will you please do me the honor of being my wife?"

She could only nod before tackling him to the floor and kissing the daylights out of him. He laughed as she kissed every part of his face. "God, I love you so much."

"So I'm guessing my speech was alright then?"

She grinned down at him. "It was better than alright. And for the record, this was way better than doing it in a restaurant. I don't think they would have appreciated me making out with my new fiancé on the floor."

"Probably not." He tucked the loose strands of blonde hair behind her ear. "But I certainly wouldn't mind."

He then pulled her face down to his and kissed her, but not before slipping the silver ring onto her finger.

She already knew that she wouldn't mind wearing this new ring because unlike her last one, it symbolizes her choice. Her choice on how she decided to live her life and who she believed her true soulmate really was.

And as she gazed into those hauntingly beautiful green eyes that captured her attention so long ago, she knew she had made the right choice.

Fin.

Author's Note:

I hope you guys enjoyed reading the story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you for all your kind words and for giving my story a chance. You're all wonderful and please don't hesitate to read my other stories.

Until next time!

P.S. You may have noticed that I haven't put this story under 'Completed'... Well, stay tuned because there may be a reason why. ;)