Nothing Else

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This was the day. This was finally theday. Percy was coming home.

Chiron had contacted Lupa via IM at the Roman Camp and she had agreed to send Percy home in exchange for Jason. So as Jason, Piper, and Leo along with some other Hephaestus kids sailed across the sea in the Argo II, Percy and a handful of Roman Campers had sailed to CHB

This was the day Annabeth had been waiting for. She had spent countless hours dreaming and imagining what it would be like to be reunited with him. But, now as she stared at the big white sails attached the boat, it's like her mind was cleared. Her mind was blank. Nothing else mattered except for right now.

The ship was nearing the dock now. Annabeth could barely make out tiny figures along the deck. She wondered which one was hers. Would he remember her? Would he know her or would he be as blank as Jason was?

As Annabeth slipped away into her thoughts (as she often did ever since Hera had taken him away) the ship had drawn closer and the crew was now unloading from the deck. One by one cold, harsh faced Romans walked onto the sandy beach, each greeted from the warm and friendly Chiron.

There he was.

Annabeth finally found him among the small crowd gathering. His face was now sterner and he looked a little more disciplined. His always messy, black curls hung over his face in beautiful locks. His muscled swimmer's body was now even more defined with the weeks of training he had been put up to.

Then there were his eyes. Annabeth caught a short glimpse of his eyes. One glimpse was enough. They were still the same sparkling sea green that Annabeth dreamt about every night. Despite, the harsher look of his face, his eyes stayed the same. They still sparkled and danced and always looked like laughter. They say the eyes are the window to the soul.

Throughout the period of his disappearance, Annabeth had stayed strong. She never stopped searching relentlessly for him until they knew of the Roman Camp. She had maintained a strong face and always had a confident aura around her. She was the motivator that had kept the other campers going. She never let one tear be shed in public and Annabeth was always so strong.

But at that one moment, all of that changed. She lost it. She lost her control and everything she was determined to keep hidden. All of the emotions and feelings she had just suddenly overcame her. So she did the only thing she was capable of doing at the moment. Annabeth turned and ran. She didn't know where. She just ran. She didn't notice until she got there that her feet had taken her to the eating pavilion and she automatically sat down at the Poseidon table. Annabeth didn't know why she ran. She suspected that if she would actually confront Percy at the moment, she would explode. All the pain, anger, sadness would just boil up and she would burst.

Everyone suspected Annabeth to be at the front of the crown of people ready to greet Percy as he got off the ship, but no. She was here almost a mile away from the beach. Annabeth just sat there for a moment thinking about what had happened in her life and how she had been looking forward to this moment for such a long time. Now here it was and she was hiding from it.

Suddenly there were footsteps behind her. Even though she couldn't see the person, she instantly knew who it was. She slowly got up and turned to face him. Just the mere sight of looking at his perfectly round lips and defined cheekbones made Annabeth faint, let alone look into his eyes.

"Do you remember me?" Annabeth finally said after a long silence. Percy silently shook his head. Annabeth's heart sank.

"I've seen you before. I dream about you every night. You never speak and I don't know a single piece of information about you, but I know you're special to me." Annabeth gives an almost imperceptible nod.

"Annabeth. My name is Annabeth." She finally said. She saw a brief second of recognition flicker into his eyes but it died out just as quickly it came.

Suddenly Percy enveloped her into his embrace. It was utterly spontaneous and done out of instinct. He wrapped his strong arms around her waist as her hands slowly moved up to cup his face. As soon as there skin touched everything disappeared.

Nothing mattered except for that one moment. A spark of electricity and compassion passed through them. Everything that had yet to be said was spoken, not through words, but through their touch. Everything they need to hear was heard through their bodies. Everything was one.

He stared into her deep gray eyes, now as stormy as the sky in Zeus's anger. Memories flooded into Percy's mind. Blank spots that he had longed to fill were now drowning in thought and happy memories of the past.

"I love you, Wise Girl." Annabeth almost broke down crying from her nickname. She crashed her lips into his. Her hands tangled in his hair. A million words were said silently through this one kiss. All the lonely days of desperation and need were filled. He wrapped his arms tighter around her waist as if to never let her go.

"I love you, Seaweed Brain."

Fin.