A/N: MAJOR MARK OF ATHENA SPOILERS. LIKE FROM THE GET GO, MY FRIENDS! This is for sunburst_city on livejournal and on tumblr, because she needs fic to get her through exams and she sort of prompted me and I sort of threw myself head-on into it!

I hope you enjoy! Read, review, love!

1. Times She Showed It

The first time Percy was convinced that Annabeth had to love him in some way, he barely had time to register anything other than, "crap, I think I love her too," before having to defend her When she took the knife for him, it was clear and it was blatant and he didn't even have to think twice about whether or not she cared for him.

But he had no idea if that was love-love or just "hey I helped you out when you drooled on your pillow as a kid and your mom and I get along, better not let you die" kind of love.

He hoped it was the first one.

So he told her about the Achilles spot.

And somehow, somehow they survived. He thought he maybe conveyed the fact that he loved her back – but he couldn't really be sure – when he caught her and refused to let her fall from Olympus. He'd been to Ogygia. He'd lost friends. He'd worried that he was the one who was going to end up in the Underworld. And yet he was still there. And she was always beside him, keeping him from losing his head when the worst was staring at him through the eyes of a friend.

So, when he and Annabeth were kissing at the bottom of the lake, he tried to make her understand that he loved her too.

"So, Seaweed Brain," said Annabeth, after another fairly vigorous, if sloppy and unpracticed, round of kisses, "got any idea what you want for your birthday?"

"Not dying and being here with you is pretty acceptable for today."

Her eyebrows raised. "Oh really. I'm up at the level with not being the hero of the prophecy and NOT dying? That's such a turn on."

Immediately Annabeth and Percy began to blush. He'd have a hard time admitting it, but that's the second most beautiful Annabeth had ever looked to him, slightly embarrassed and disbelieving that she said something so ballsy. She was always so tough, and the best she'd ever looked was in battle, eyes dark and blazing, as she took on a hellhound, a wind spirit and an enemy demigod at the same time, taking them out like it was a piece of cake, wielding her dagger like it was just another part of her arm. But here? Here she was vulnerable. She had a different sort of innocence about her. Annabeth was not naïve or confused or in any way silly. She knew the worst of the world and had dealt with the worst in people, too. But she looked like she hadn't been touched by these things yet, like she was just a regular teenager spending time with her boyfriend.

Percy grinned at that. They were, like, actually boyfriend and girlfriend. This was kind of awesome.

"You're laughing at me!" giggled Annabeth. "Hey, no fair, only I'm allowed to make fun of you."

Percy leaned closer to her, taking her face in his hands and kissing her firmly. "I'm not making fun of you, Wise Girl," he said, "I smiled because I remembered I'm your boyfriend now."

"Oh, are you."

Percy rolled his eyes and kissed her again. "Well I figured if you'd rather find somebody cooler than the son of Poseidon who saved the whole wo –"

"Oh, shut your mouth, you complete buffoon," laughed Annabeth. And with those words and the way that she was kissing him, he was pretty sure that was another one of her "I love yous" right there.

2. Times She Showed It

"What if we get caught?" laughed Annabeth. "Wait, forget it, let's go anyway."

Annabeth grabbed the front of Percy's shirt and pulled him into her dorm room. Madison, her roommate, was out of town for the weekend, and she figured no one was going to be passing by for surprise inspection on a Saturday morning. Before Percy could say anything, Annabeth pressed her lips to his firmly. As per usual, he felt shiver shoot down his spine and glue his feet to the ground, making him dizzy and flustered and gods, she smelled like lemons and – oh that was new.

"Miss Chase," said Percy, trying to sound snarky and witty but instead his voice began to crack, "did you just grab my ass?"

A gasp fell out of his mouth as she gripped it again, the most evil little grin on her face. "Perhaps I did," she said, aligning her body to his. He felt his breathing stutter a bit. He had no idea how he could battle the god of the Titans and hardly break a sweat, but when this maddeningly attractive girl was next to him he couldn't even breathe. "Is that okay?"

Percy managed to nod and, gathering up a decent amount of strength, shifted the hand that was in her hair to her ass, cupping it softly. "Your move, Chase," he managed to choke out."

Annabeth pushed him up against the wall and linked her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a deep, blinding hot kiss that he felt all the way to his Achilles' spot.

And then she accidentally bumped her forehead against his.

"Ouch," she muttered. "Gods, it's really nice that I can't hurt you." She began moving her lips to his jaw. Percy's head hit the wall with a loud yet painless thunk as Annabeth touched a certain spot on his neck with her lips. He groaned loudly. "Oh," said Annabeth, looking up at him with a strange sort of academic interest. "Let's see…" She returned to that spot and gave it a hot, opened mouthed, positively filthy kiss that nearly made Percy lose his balance.

"Gods, Annabeth," he moaned. No, not moaned. Whined. A half pathetic, half desperate expression that fell out of his mouth before he could stop himself. "You're…"

"Amazing?" she said, "a queen among mortals? A fantastic kisser?" She pressed a soft kiss to his lips. "I know."

"All of that and more," he said. "I…You're…" He cleared his throat. "I kind of love you."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "You kind of love me."

"I mean, you know I l-love y-you, have since I, fourteen, thirteen, I." Percy let out a strangely donkey-like laugh. "You're my Wise Girl."

Annabeth, who, through this entire exchange, had been looking remarkably serious, grinned. "You actually thought I was mad, didn't you."

Percy was indignant. "You were upset I messed up our one month!"

"Yes," said Annabeth, "but then we went to Paris and you kissed me on top of the Eiffel tower and, boy, you won some serious brownie points that day."

"I did?"

She laughed. "Why did you think I've been so nice to you these past few days since then?"

Percy cleared his throat. "Uh, well, I figured I was just, erm…"

"Oh, right, like you were actually winning those games of Words with Friends."

"Aha!" exclaimed Percy, twisting away from Annabeth and pinning her against the wall. "So you were letting me win."

Annabeth was breathing heavily, their eyes locked. "Maybe."

Percy ran his hands down her arms, and then took her hands in his, lacing their fingers together, still with his eyes on hers. "Maybe I'm letting you win right now."

"That doesn't even make sense, Seaweed Brain."

Percy leaned toward her, kissing her hard, and she pulled him closer. It was a few minutes later when the two of them realized Annabeth had her legs locked around Percy's waist, his shirt was up around his chest, and his hands were roaming around her stomach.

"Um," said Percy, fairly eloquently. "We s-should."

"Right, of course," said Annabeth. "But, um, I kind of can't get down." She laughed lightly. "You still have me, um, pressed against the wall. And I think you're still grabbing my ass."

Coughing a little, he let go of Annabeth and set her on the ground.

Unexpectedly, she hugged him tightly. "I really – thank you for coming to visit me," she said quietly. "I don't like being on my own so much."

"Hey," Percy said, running his hand over her hair, "I'm always here for you. You know that."

Her grey eyes met his green ones, and the expression in her eyes was fierce. "I do. And I will always – ALWAYS – be there for you. Even if the world threatens to end…Again."

She didn't say it back, he would notice hours later, but the smiles she sent him and way she held onto his hand when they went out to dinner later told him. She loved him. Words weren't even necessary. She was Annabeth. He was Percy. They were better with actions.

3. Times She Showed It (part 1)

He saw her. And even though Reyna was speaking, even though everyone in the Roman camp was watching, he needed her. He needed to know that it was her, that she was really there, that it was his Annabeth standing there and it wasn't something in front of him that was a lie. He didn't know if he would be able to stand it if she was another one of Gaea's tricks. So he couldn't stop himself.

It was as if the world stopped as the two of them crushed together, lips meeting their counterparts, connecting each other to the one person who could keep the other safe. Percy couldn't believe he'd gone this long without her – without holding her, without touching her hair, without the smell of her lemon shampoo. It was just wrong to be without her. Percy didn't feel right without her with him. She was a part of him, not a missing piece, but an addition he'd always wanted but never knew what it meant.

She was his Wise Girl. And he was her Seaweed Brain.

Connecting with her lips, Percy was jolted back to the moment just before he disappeared.

1. Times She Said It

"Wait," Percy said, grabbing Annabeth's arm. There was a devilish grin on his face. "I have an idea."

"You're insane."

"Just – my cabin."

Annabeth's grin became devilish as well. "I like the way you think, Jackson."

"And I like the way you like the way I think, Chase."

He opened the door, careful not the let it creak, but before he could shut it, Annabeth had shut it silently and was now leaning against it.

"You've got me alone," said Annabeth, putting the back of her hand to her forehead and fanning herself with the other hand, making all the efforts to seem as goofy as possible. Then she turned on a southern accent. "What will you do with me, sir?"

"You're really weird sometimes," laughed Percy. "And this is coming from me."

Annabeth shrugged. "I blame you for my weirdness. You've corrupted my sanity."

Percy laughed and pulled her toward him. "You love it."

"No," said Annabeth, suddenly a lot more serious than she had been before, "maybe I love you."

Percy brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes. "Oh, do you, now?" he said, fighting back a grin.

"Of course, dummy," she said, smiling now. "Have since I was, what, twelve?"

His eyebrows went up to his forehead. "Wow," he said, "twelve year old me had some game, huh?"

"Oh, stop being so cocky."

"Well, I mean, you do love me, so maybe I –"

Annabeth laughed and pushed him onto his bed, cuddling up next to him and breathing in his seabreeze scent.

"So," said Percy. "Can I ask you something?"

"Course."

"Why now?"

Annabeth sighed and snuggled into his side as Percy wrapped his arms around her. "I always have," she murmured, "I just thought now was a good time to say it."

He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. "Are you sleeping over for Cuddlemus Prime time?"

She nodded. "Yep. But seriously - Cuddlemus Prime? I should never have let you watch Transformers."

3. Times She Showed It (part 2)

After a lifetime, it felt, Percy pulled away from her. "Gods, I never thought –"

That's when she judo flipped him. SHE. JUDO. FLIPPED. HIM.

Gods he loved her.

She was just like he remembered.

And just like everything he had dreamed.

Someone somewhere said some sort of words, and then Annabeth's knee was on his chest. He had a fleeting flashback to that night before he disappeared and Annabeth had straddled him and kissed him like her life depended on it to wake him up. The thought kind of overwhelmed him until Annabeth's arm was at his throat and things got a little less romantic.

"If you ever leave me again, I swear to all the gods –"

Percy laughed, relief feeling as if it were pouring out of him in torrents. A death threat. It's like she was proposing to him. Someone trying to kill him was never so beautiful.

"Consider me warned," he said, "I missed you too."

He hoped she understood that the "I missed you" also meant "I love you."

2. Times She Said It

If he was being honest, he was kind of just meditating, pretending the entire world wasn't real. He was having trouble with this quest, he was having trouble with himself and, really, he was having trouble with the fact that his own father wasn't paying an ounce of attention to him even though he was hours away from dying at any given time. All the gods were acting like lunatics lately. And he wasn't really a fan of doing the dirty work anymore while he got no appreciation.

He half considered building a little sea hut underwater and just hanging out there with Annabeth until somebody came to find them.

That's when the knife fell down into the water.

Now, it was nowhere near him. Literally. He sensed it because it was Annabeth's knife of Celestial bronze in the ocean where he could feel every single vibration.

Usually Annabeth related things were good. Usually. This time, however, something seemed wrong.

Immediately Percy shot over toward the dagger, grabbed it and then followed its path straight up, sending water out to grab the figures – human or monster, he wasn't sure and didn't care – and throw them into the water.

"You dropped this," Percy said, straight faced.

Annabeth, with bright eyes and a beautiful smile, launched herself toward him and gave him a firm hug. "I love you!" she shouted.

Percy felt himself grinning broadly. Annabeth needed his help for once. That never happened. And he was able to kick somebody's ass for her this time. This was kind of a nice change.

He hugged Annabeth tightly, pressing a kiss to her cheek that he was pretty sure no one else noticed, and broke apart when Hazel said, "Guys, we need to hurry."

But she was totally smiling at him.

Octavian screamed, "Get me out of here! I'll kill you."

Percy rolled his eyes. "Tempting."

They made it back onto the Argo II and Percy couldn't think of anything he would enjoy more than sailing a ship with Annabeth.

Maybe when things calmed down for the two of them (yeah right) the two of them could get a boat and just sail for a while.

He let the thought overwhelm him as he mechanically set the sails.

His future with Annabeth was always the thing that got him through the worst moments. It gave him something to look forward to.

As she worked on the controls, a look of intense concentration overtaking her, he couldn't help but smile. Percy was pretty sure there was no one else on the planet who could look so beautiful while the world was about to end.

4. Times She Showed It

"We're in Tartarus."

"I know."

"But we're in freaking Tartarus."

Percy turned to Annabeth, who was looking absolutely terrified. "Wise Girl," he said, "calm down. I swear, you don't have to worry about anything. We're going to be fine." He looked down. At their feet were the items that had fallen into the pit before them. "Look!" he said. "We've got your knife!"

Annabeth, without even looking at him, grabbed the knife. "Where's Arachne?" she asked seriously. "I'm upset and scared out of my mind and the only thing that might make me feel better is being the hell out of that stupid spider lady. Where is that evil little demon woman?"

Percy stared at her. "You're in the scary place, Annabeth," he muttered. "Maybe I should take your knife away."

Annabeth turned to him. "Okay do not 'scary place' me, Mister. I feel like killing an immortal being and I feel like doing it now. And you are NOT taking my knife." She frowned and crossed her arms, and for a moment Percy had to fight back a bizarre laugh. She looked like a petulant third grader told she wasn't allowed to go to Chuck E. Cheese for her birthday. Except the mouse was a spider woman and the pizza was a dagger. And Annabeth was a lot scarier and more intense than an eight year old.

"Look, we'll find her. First let's make sure we have all the things that were in your backpack, okay? We'll be okay."

"I know," said Annabeth, feeling around on the pitch black bottom – or whatever - with only the glow from her knife to guide her, "but we're in Tartarus. It's like we're not standing on anything. I don't even know if we have a floor."

"Hey," said Percy gently. "I know you're worried, but I'm here with you. We'll get through anything with the two of us."

For a brief moment, Annabeth just stared at him. Percy had no idea if her next move was going to be hitting him or giving him the hug of a lifetime. Annabeth, for her part, wasn't exactly giving off a vibe of either reaction. "Annabeth…?"

She launched herself at him, giving him a more firm hug than he expected.

"Thank you for being here," she murmured, "I…I couldn't do this without you."

"And I'd rather be in Tartarus with you than out in the mortal world without you," Percy replied. Her hair still – somehow – smelled like that lemon shampoo. And she fit perfectly in his arms, like the puzzle piece that completed his existence.

Annabeth pulled away and suddenly kissed him firmly on the mouth. "We're going to get out of here," she announced, fact rather than question or suspicion. "I'm going to slice and dice Arachne and send her to super-Tartarus –"

"Is there a super-Tartarus?" Percy asked.

"Shut up," replied Annabeth, "of course not, I'm being facetious. But after Arache is Arach-bye-bye, we're going to get out of here and we are going to destroy anyone who tries to get in our way of survival. Do you understand?"

"I – yes?" Percy said. He tried very hard not to say the wrong thing when Annabeth was in her take charge mode (or scary place), as usually when she was like this she was very clearly in the right and didn't enjoy it when a certain Seaweed Brain inserted his kelp ideas into her plans.

She hefted the backpack over her shoulder and turned to Percy now grinning. "Well then," she said, holding out her hand to him. "Let's get started."