Dependent

Percy plopped down on the sand in front of Annabeth, back towards her. He blatantly ignored the book in her lap as he set his head down between her knees. She quickly moved her book away before he bent the pages.

"Umm, hello," she said wearily, smiling in spite of herself.

"Hey, Wise Girl," he said cheerfully. "What's up?"

"Nothing." She curled her fingers in his smooth black hair. It was always so smooth to run her hands through, and she never got tired of it. "Done swimming?"

"For now." He closed his eyes. He'd never admitted it, but she suspected that Percy loved when she ran her fingers against his scalp. "The sun's setting."

"It is."

"We've been here all day."

"I don't feel like leaving yet," she murmured. It was one of those quiet moments she had Percy had to themselves. She loved them more than she'd admit.

"Time flies with you." Annabeth looked back down at Percy's face. His bright green eyes were staring out at the setting sun in the sky. He probably hadn't even noticed how her heartbeat quickened, or how the air swooped out of her lungs.

"Yeah." She sounded breathless. It was embarrassing. "That's true."

He looked up at her and smiled, and everything inside melted.

They'd been spending a lot of time together lately. They'd always been best friends, but entering a romantic relationship had done something for them. Annabeth kept feeling this constant need to be near Percy. She'd never needed anyone in her life. The need was so unfamiliar.

Or was it?

It must have happened gradually, but it hit her all at once. Annabeth would be fine one minute, but the next, she would be looking over her shoulder, stomach tied in anticipation, distracted. In all those years of being best friends, Percy must've somehow changed the fact that Annabeth was okay with being alone.

Her dad hadn't wanted her - not really. Her mom was a God. Thalia was turned into a tree, and then she became a hunter. Luke had betrayed them in the end. Sure, she had Chiron and friends at camp, but not like Percy. Not someone she could trust her life with. She'd never been able to lean on someone, and Percy demanded it. She couldn't be alone anymore without constantly craving him.

Even now, at the beach, with a perfectly good book in her hands, she was looking for Percy as he swam. Where she used to get lost in the words, she was getting lost in him. And she didn't even mind.

"Hey," Percy said gently, bringing Annabeth out of her thoughts. He pushed aside a strand of hair from her forehead. "What's up?"

She shook her head, smiling a little. "Just thinking."

"About?"

"Us."

"Ah." He grinned. "Always a nice subject."

She hummed on agreement. "We could've done this five years ago."

"We've been way too stubborn for that."

"Absolutely." Her fingers traced the crown of his head. "Just thinking about if you'd become a God."

Percy laughed. "What, and leave you?" His ears turned red, and he quickly added, "And Grover?"

Annabeth chuckled. "Grover would've been heartbroken."

"Very true." He closed his eyes as her fingers played with the hair near his ear. "I hope Chiron's right, and that the prophecy of seven doesn't happen for a while."

"Seriously," she said, trying to laugh, but the fear clenched her heart. "You only just lived up until a few weeks ago. Your sixteenth birthday."

He sat up to smirk at her. "It was a good day."

"Shut up," she said, rolling her eyes. He kissed her in response.

Their kisses were always slow, taking their time. Maybe it was because they were inexperienced and fumbling, but Annabeth thought it was more because things were kind of perfect right now. And you don't rush perfection.

Percy broke away. His hand had made its way into Annabeth's hair, and he kept it there, buried in the mass of blonde curls. She couldn't help but wonder if he felt the same way. That maybe they had something really special. Something that lasted.

Like the future.

Annabeth didn't like to think of the future, because it always seemed as though it was looming, dangling in the air in front of her, waiting to be snatched away. It seemed stupid to think about the future. So many demigods had died.

But with Percy, she couldn't help but hope. Just a little bit. That maybe one day, they would buy a house and think about having children and start their lives together. Sure, maybe she was naive to hope. Maybe he was a boy and never thought that far ahead. But with Percy, and how many times they'd almost died in that year alone... Sometimes she wanted it - him - so bad, it hurt.

And looking in his eyes right then, it was obvious that he loved her as much as she loved him.

"It's weird," she admitted quietly. "I've never been so... dependent."

Percy chuckled. "You? Dependent?"

"Yeah." She dug her hands into the sand as he brought his arms around her waist. "I don't know. We've been friends for years. And now we're dating. You know what I mean?"

Percy scrunched his eyebrows together in that cute way of his. "No."

"I mean..." She shrugged, trying not to blush. "If you, you know, left. I'd get lonely."

He raised an eyebrow. "Lonely."

"Yes."

"If that's how you'd describe it."

Percy chuckled as Annabeth swatted him playfully. He pressed a light kiss to her lips, still smiling as he did so.

"I did say it was weird." Annabeth picked at the sand a little, unable to meet his gaze. His warm but piercing gaze. "You might be the most permanent thing in my life right now."

Percy went quiet.

"I think we're..." He trailed off, pausing. "We've been through a lot. So... we are permanent."

Annabeth tried to hide her grin. "Okay."

"I mean," he said, his ears reddening again, "believe it or not, I'd probably get lonely, too."

"Right." Annabeth looked down, wishing her face would cool down and she didn't feel like her grin would split her cheeks open. But he felt the same way. Maybe being dependent wasn't so bad if they were both dependent on each other.

"Besides," Percy added, his own grin stretching out on his lips, "it'd take a lot to get me away from you."

Annabeth slipped her hand in his and squeezed, hoping what she could say was enough.

A/N: Hope you liked it. Please review :)