Title: Something Always Brings Me Back To You

Rating: T

Pairing: Percy J./Annabeth C.

Word Count: 4,300

Beta: Kimmie G914

Summary: No matter how long they're separated, no matter how far apart they are, something always manages to bring them back together.

~Something always brings me back to you. It never takes too long—Sara Bareilles~

The moment she first saw him, she didn't know exactly what to think.

He wasn't the strongest person she'd ever seen. In fact, he was quite scrawny. Not that impressive at all. At least, not to her. He was probably shorter than she was, and his clothes were torn, but somehow he was kind of cute, with his messed up black hair. He was bleeding all over the porch, and he smelled like he had been in a barn.

A few feet away, on the ground, was her friend Grover Underwood, unconscious. He too was beaten up. Both of the boys would definitely need medical attention. Annabeth moved closer to this strange, young boy.

Her heart skipped a beat.

He was still conscious, staring up at the ceiling fan. His eyes were an intense, bright green, like the sea.

. . .

The last thing I remember is collapsing on a wooden porch, looking up at a ceiling fan circling above me, moths flying around a yellow light, and the stern faces of a familiar-looking bearded man and a pretty girl, her blonde hair curled like a princess's. They both looked down at me, and the girl said, "He's the one. He must be."

"Silence, Annabeth," the man said. "He's still conscious. Bring him inside."

. . .

Of course he was a son of Poseidon.

He was trouble. He was careless. He was infuriating. He was the son of her mother's natural enemy. But oh, he was powerful, and funny, and now, cleaned up and in an orange Camp Half-Blood shirt, he was even cuter than before. She shouldn't have thought those things, especially with the family history and all that, but she couldn't help it.

He was going on a quest.

Quests naturally had three members. Standing there, in her Yankees cap of Invisibility, she wasn't ashamed to admit that she was spying. She liked to find out things and she liked to be in the know. Right now, only Percy and Grover were going on the quest to find Zeus' master bolt, which had been stolen.

She had to be the third one. She had already asked Chiron and he had said yes. This was her only chance of putting her skills to use.

Now, Percy had to agree, whether he liked it or not.

. . .

The air shimmered behind Chiron.

Annabeth became visible, stuffing her Yankees cap into her back pocket.

"I've been waiting a long time for a quest, Seaweed Brain," she said. "Athena is no fan of Poseidon, but if you're going to save the world, I'm the best person to keep you from messing up."

"If you do say so yourself," I said. "I suppose you have a plan, Wise Girl?"

Her cheeks colored. "Do you want my help or not?"

The truth was, I did. I needed all the help I could get.

. . .

Somehow, they'd managed to survive their quest, but that wasn't the hardest part of the summer.

Taking Percy's advice, she'd wrote her father a letter, asking if it'd be okay for her to go back and live with him for the year, go to school and everything. She loved Camp Half-Blood. That was her real home, but as always, a chance to get out a explore was too hard not to accept.

When her father had written her back, he had agreed.

But now, she was sitting next to Percy, who had nearly just died from being attacked from the guy she'd had a crush on for years. Luke Castellan. He'd been like a brother to Annabeth, even though she had always wished for more. Looking out from the Big House towards Thalia's pine tree, she saw her dad and step family.

Normally, Annabeth tried to keep her cool, but right now, she was freaking out. She tried her best not to show it, but she couldn't help but wonder if she was making the right decision by going back with them.

She glanced over at Percy and wondered what the next year would hold for them. She wanted to give him a hug, but that would just be awkward. For now, they were actually friends, and that made her smile.

. . .

Annabeth pursed her lips, then said quietly, "I'm going home for the year, Percy."

I stared at her. "You mean, to your dad's?"

She pointed toward the crest of Half-Blood Hill. Next to Thalia's pine tree, at the very edge of the camp's magical boundaries, a family stood silhouetted—two little children, a woman, and a tall man with blond hair. They seemed to be waiting. The man was holding a backpack that looked like the one Annabeth had gotten from Waterland in Denver.

"I wrote him a letter when we got back," Annabeth said. "Just like you suggested. I told him ... I was sorry. I'd come home for the school year if he still wanted me. He wrote back immediately. We decided ... we'd give it another try."

"That took guts."

She pursed her lips. "You won't try anything stupid during the school year, will you? At least … not without sending me an Iris-message?"

I managed a smile. "I won't go looking for trouble. I usually don't have to."

. . .

The song… it was so beautiful. Enchanting. And now that she was free there would be no stopping her.

Everything she ever wanted was in the words. They held the wisdom. The sirens sang to her and told her everything. They gave her more insight than a million books. They told her all about what she could do, who she could be, and how she could accomplish everything that she dreamed of. She kept swimming towards the voices, and the closer she got, the better she could hear the plans.

When she started to approach the shoreline, the scene before her made her heart stopped. It was the world, a better one, the one she had always wanted to design herself. Manhattan was beautiful and perfect, the architecture stunning. She wanted to live there.

She swam faster.

And then she saw her mother and father, sitting next to each other on a picnic blanket, holding hands. They were laughing and smiling, their expressions full of love. Their eyes lit up when they landed on her, and she almost wanted to cry with joy. It was her true family together again.

Next to them was Luke—the way she remembered and loved him. He gave her the biggest grin and motioned for her to sit down next to him. They would all be together, just as she had always wanted.

But then, someone grabbed her from behind, and no matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't break away.

. . .

I grabbed her around the waist and ordered the waves to push us down.

We shot into the depths—ten feet, twenty feet. I knew I had to be careful because I could withstand a lot more pressure than Annabeth. She fought and struggled for breath as bubbles rose around us.

Bubbles.

I was desperate. I had to keep Annabeth alive. I imagined all the bubbles in the sea—always churning, rising. I imagined them coming together, being pulled toward me.

The sea obeyed. There was a flurry of white, a tickling sensation all around me, and when my vision cleared, Annabeth and I had a huge bubble of air around us. Only our legs stuck into the water.

She gasped and coughed. Her whole body shuddered, but when she looked at me, I knew the spell had been broken.She started to sob—I mean horrible, heartbroken sobbing. She put her head on my shoulder and I held her.

. . .

Their chariot was going to crash without a doubt, and they were going to lose the race and possibly die

How lovely.

She switched positions with Percy and took the reins. The chariot was falling apart now and she could hear the fight going on behind her. She wanted to join in, because fighting was her strong spot, but Percy could hopefully handle this. So she paid attention to the track ahead of her.

The Hephaestus chariot was pushing into theirs, which wasn't good. And then, Beckendorf threw a leather pouch into the chariot with a wicked grin.

Greek Fire. Never good.

Percy was still fighting Beckendorf and Annabeth was screaming at him to get it out there, and then he pressed a button on his watch and it expanded taking a new form until it became a giant shield. That watch was from Tyson, she remembered. Because of that Cyclops, they might actually have a chance at finishing the race in one piece.

Raising the shield, Percy shattered Beckendorf's sword and then knocked the demigod out of his own chariot and sent him flying back down the track.

She screamed at him to get the Greek Fire. He seemed to remember then that they were going to blow up.

He used the tip of his sword to lift up the pouch and throw it into the Hephaestus chariot. The driver yelped and jumped out at the last second before the entire chariot exploded. But now that that was done, they had other things to worry about. Their entire chariot rattled and she thought it was going to fall apart, but she turned it and somehow, they crossed the finished line.

She and Percy won the chariot race.

. . .

Once the chariot stopped, our friends mobbed us. They started chanting our names, but Annabeth yelled over the noise: "Hold up! Listen! It wasn't just us!"

The crowd didn't want to be quiet, but Annabeth made herself heard: "We couldn't have done it without somebody else! We couldn't have won this race or gotten the Fleece or saved Grover or anything! We owe our lives to Tyson, Percy's..."

"Brother!" I said, loud enough for everybody to hear. "Tyson, my baby brother."

Tyson blushed. The crowd cheered. Annabeth planted a kiss on my cheek.

The roaring got a lot louder after that. The entire Athena cabin lifted me and Annabeth and Tyson onto their shoulders and carried us toward the winner's platform, where Chiron was waiting to bestow the laurel wreaths.

. . .

She wouldn't let Percy, Thalia, or Grover die.

Annabeth would gladly give her life for either of them. Perhaps it was the smartest thing to do, but it was the bravest. And right now, they were fighting off the Manticore, Dr. Thorn. He was repeatedly shooting spikes at them, and she dodged them narrowly.

One zipped past her face and she bit back a curse. Though she would defend them, she didn't want her life to end like this. She was going to put up one hell of a fight, one that they were not going to like. And if they somehow got her and kept her away from those that she cared about… well, she was going to make their lives hell.

The Manticore was going to wish that he had stayed in Tartarus.

Annabeth couldn't see Bianca or Nico anymore, and she hoped that they were okay. When she had first seen them, she had known for a fact that they were powerful demigods, even if they were unclaimed. They had to stay alive. They couldn't slip into the clutches of the Titans.

When the Hunters of Artemis showed up, Annabeth felt her muscles relax, just a little. They were strong girls that she had met years ago, and they would be able to help them. That Manticore was definitely going to die.

But then, the Manticore lunged towards Percy and Thalia, and her heart skidded to stop.

She could just see both of them dying because of that monster. He'd kill them. Or they would go over the side of the cliff. Percy could survive the fall into the water, but Thalia wouldn't. And if they both lived they'd be given over to the Titan's, and that was almost worse.

Annabeth made up her mind in a split second, and she had a feeling that Percy would never forgive her.

She also had a feeling that she would never see him again.

. . .

"No!" I screamed.

But the Hunters let their arrows fly. The first caught the Manticore in the neck.

Another hit his chest. The Manticore staggered backward, wailing, "This is not the end, Huntress! You shall pay!"

And before anyone could react, the monster, with Annabeth still on his back, leaped over the cliff and tumbled into the darkness.

"Annabeth!" I yelled.

. . .

He'd saved her.

Percy, the guy she had a crush on, had saved her life. She thought that she would never see him again, but somehow he and her other friends had managed to make it to her rescue. Sadly, though, lives had been lost. But she didn't want to think about that, not now.

She reached out and touched the streak of gray in Percy's hair, identical to the one in her own. This was the burden they both received for holding up the weight of the sky. It was like a scar that you couldn't cover up. Percy blushed bright red but didn't back away. She fought the pressing urge to run her fingers through the locks of black and succeeded.

Annabeth was tired. She wanted nothing more than to go back to Camp Half-Blood and fall asleep in her cabin. But Mount Olympus was wide awake with festivities, even after the rather morbid conversation in the throne room.

She remembered what had happened when Artemis had mentioned that she needed a new lieutenant. Of course, Annabeth had always considered joining the Hunters of Artemis, but now, after meeting all of her friends—and dare she say Percy—she couldn't go through with it.

But the one thing she wouldn't be able to erase from her mind was that look of sheer terror on Percy's face when Artemis had said those fateful words. She wouldn't be able to forget how their eyes met and he struggled for words to say to her. Annabeth had a feeling he was going to say something to make her not leave, and she didn't know why. Did Percy like her?

. . .

She studied me with concern. She touched the new streak of gray in my hair that matched hers exactly-our painful souvenir from holding Atlas's burden. There was a lot I'd wanted to say to Annabeth, but Athena had taken the confidence out of me. I felt like I'd been punched in the gut.

I do not approve of your friendship with my daughter.

"So," Annabeth said. "What did you want to tell me earlier?"

The music was playing. People were dancing in the streets. I said, "I, uh, was thinking we got interrupted at Westover Hall. And... I think I owe you a dance."

She smiled slowly. "All right, Seaweed Brain."

So I took her hand, and I don't know what everybody else heard, but to me it sounded like a slow dance: a little sad, but maybe a little hopeful, too.

. . .

Percy was telling her to go, to run, but she wasn't having any of it.

This was Annabeth's first quest, and she had reasoned with Chiron into letting her take Percy, Tyson, and Grover along. Four was a bad number when it came to quests, but she had this feeling that she would need them.

Everywhere she went on the quest, the words of the prophecy haunted her. She was too selfish and scared to tell anyone, and the lines the Oracle had spoken were all too fateful. She spoke of a child of Athena dying, and that made her shiver. But there was that final line that haunted her.

And lose a love to worse than death.

Who was it? Her gaze focused on Percy as she remembered the lines. She couldn't lose him.

But now they were in Mount St. Helens and she had no idea where Tyson and Grover were. They had gone off to find Pan, but that didn't help her at all. The telekhines were everywhere and there was no way they were going to be able to escape or fight them all off.

Percy said he had a plan, but she didn't trust that he did. But he was just as stubborn as she was, and this was all he could do. His eyes were desperate and pleading, wanting and needing her to leave, to save herself but not him. It was as if someone had impaled her with her bronze knife. She couldn't breathe. There was only one thing she could do.

She leaned forward and kissed him, right on the mouth. Seaweed Brain, she thought, please be careful. Don't leave me.

This kiss wasn't much, but she hoped it would be enough.

. . .

"Put your cap back on," I said. "Get out!"'

"What?" Annabeth shrieked. "No! I'm not leaving you."

"I've got a plan. I'll distract them. You can use the metal spider—maybe it'll lead you back to Hephaestus. You have to tell him what's going on."

"But you'll be killed!"

"I'll be fine. Besides, we've got no choice."

Annabeth glared at me like she was going to punch me. And then she did something that surprised me even more. She kissed me.

"Be careful, Seaweed Brain." She put on her hat and vanished.

. . .

With Kronos' army surrounding them, Annabeth was in the fight of her life.

Annabeth wasn't about to kill another demigod, because that was like murder, completely different than killing a monster with no soul. These people had probably once been her friends that had long gone missing from camp. She couldn't think about that though. She had to keep fighting, because this was the Titan army.

She tried her best to just maim the demigods and not kill, but that was taking longer. Her and Percy were surrounded on all sides, and these kids weren't trying to just give them an oversized boo boo. They wanted the both of them dead.

She kicked out at one guy and struck him in the knees while bringing the hilt of her blade down on another's helmet, causing both of them to crumble. She allowed herself to smile a little. And that's how it's done, she thought.

Annabeth turned around to face Percy, but his back was turned to her, and in a flash she saw the demigod moving towards him quickly and swiftly, a knife in his hand. Her heart skidded to a stop, and in that moment, she saw the future and what was going to happen.

This demigod would stab Percy through the back, and knife would come out on the other side. They had great healers, but no one would be able to heal back from something like that. A small part of her mind screamed at her about how he had the curse of Achilles, but it was still too much of a risk. He would die from something like this, and she loved him too much to let that happen.

His life was much more valued than hers, and she wouldn't be able to live on with him dead.

And then she lunged.

. . .

We'd almost made it to the middle of the bridge when something strange happened. I felt a chill down my spine-like that old saying about someone walking on your grave.

Behind me, Annabeth cried out in pain.

"Annabeth!" I looked in time to see her fall, clutching her arm. A demigod with a bloody knife stood over her.

In a flash I understood what had happened. He'd been trying to stab me. Judging from the position of his blade, he would've taken me—maybe by sheer luck—in the small of my back, my only weak point.

Annabeth had intercepted the knife with her own body.

But why? She didn't know about my weak spot. No one did.

. . .

As she sat down beside Percy and handed him his sixteenth birthday cupcake, she knew there was only one thing that she wanted to do.

Annabeth and Percy had been through hell and back for the past few days, watching friends and allies die before their eyes. There had been certain moments where she had believed that it was the end for her, or that Percy was going to die, but they were both alive and in pretty good shape. They were together.

Together.

Oh gods, it wouldn't be the same without him. Not at all. And now that they were finally alone, she did what she had wanted to do for far longer than she cared to admit.

. . .

"You're laughing at me," I complained.

"I am not!"

"You are sonot making this easy."

Then she laughed for real, and she put her hands around my neck. "I am never, ever going to make things easy for you, Seaweed Brain. Get used to it."

When she kissed me, I had the feeling my brain was melting right through my body.

. . .

Two hours, five minutes. It was as if someone was stabbing her with a knife.

Five hours, twenty-two minutes. She felt like she had fallen on her spear.

Seven hours, eleven minutes. His mother didn't know anything.

Twelve hours, four minutes. The gods and goddesses weren't talking.

Twenty one hours, fifty eight minutes. She didn't know what to do.

One day, ten hours, forty six minutes. Her heart was breaking, piece by piece.

One day, twenty three hours, fifteen minutes. Reassurances meant nothing.

Two day, six hours, one minute. The tears wouldn't stop.

Three days.

It had been three day since Annabeth had last seen Percy, because now he was gone and she had no idea where he was or how to find him. Had he been kidnapped? Had he just left? No… he wouldn't do that, not without telling someone, not without telling her. She was crying and her brothers and sisters were trying to help, but they didn't know what to do.

She checked her watch. A minute had passed. Three days and a minute.

Where was Percy?

. . .

He thought about Annabeth, the only part of his old life he was sure about. He had to find her.

. . .

Somehow, they always managed to find each other, no matter how much time passed or what they went through.

After going through the impossible for months, they were reunited. Unfortunately, they were going on a quest, and Annabeth knew what it would entail. She had all these secrets, and she only felt safe in discussing them with Percy. But that wasn't the only reasons she had asked him to join her down in the stables.

It had been so long since they had just had a quiet moment together, alone.

So as they laid down next to each other, holding on as if the other person was going to float away, she allowed herself to close her eyes for just a minute. Nothing was ever going to be the same. They weren't going to ever have a normal relationship like other teenagers, and she had a feeling that they would be separated in the future just as they had been in the past.

But right now that didn't matter, because they were together, and even if they weren't always side by side, she knew that was never going to change.

. . .

Annabeth managed a faint smile. "Some romantic evening, huh? No more bad things until the morning." She kissed him again. "We'll figure everything out. I've got you back. For now, that's all that matters."

"Right," Percy said. "No more talk about Gaea rising, Nico being held hostage, the world ending, the giants—"

"Shut up, Seaweed Brain," she ordered. "Just hold me for a while."

They sat together cuddling, enjoying each other's warmth. Before Percy knew it, the drone of the ship's engine, the dim light, and the comfortable feeling of being with Annabeth made his eyes heavy, and he drifted to sleep.

. . .

And now, as she gripped his hand, she didn't know what to think.

She wanted him to let her go and to save himself, because there was no way they would survive this fall into Tartarus. And she was terrified and cold and tired and in pain.

They'd been separated once more, and she had thought that she was going to die, but something always seemed to bring them back together.

. . .

Percy tightened his grip on Annabeth's wrist. His face was gaunt, scraped and bloody, his hair dusted with cobwebs, but when he locked eyes with her, she thought he had never looked more handsome.

"We're staying together," he promised. "You're not getting away from me. Never again."

Only then did she understand what would happen. A one-way trip. A very hard fall.

"As long as we're together," she said.

She heard Nico and Hazel still screaming for help. She saw the sunlight far, far above—maybe the last sunlight she would ever see.

. . .

And then, he let go, and together they fell.