::

You can practically feel the heat coming off of him in waves.

It worries you.

Percy doesn't get sick.

He just... doesn't.

And Tartarus is definitely the worst place to catch something.

So you pull him closer to you and run your fingers through his hair and hope that it's enough. His chest rises erratically and his voice breaks when he whispers your name. You pray to every God and Goddess you can think of, even Hera.

Please let him be alright. Please.

"Wise Girl?"

"I'm right here, Perce. I'm right here and you're going to be fine."

::

"Annabeth?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry."

You look up from where you're trying to build a fire and frown. "What for?"

He avoids your eyes and twists his hands together. "Getting sick. I put you in danger and we lost time we can't afford to lose. I'm sorry."

"Perce, look at me." You stand up and walk over to him, rubbing your thumbs against his dirt-covered cheeks. His arms automatically wrap around your waist and you smile. "I love you."

"I love you too. Forever and always." He leans forward and presses his lips to yours and for a second, you forget that you're in Tartarus and that everything is going wrong. Because you're here and so is Percy. And that's all that matters.

You pull away enough to look at him, your mouth curving upwards. "Gods, you're such a Seaweed Brain."

"Yep. But I'm your Seaweed Brain."

::

Blood.

There's just so much blood.

"Oh Gods. Percy, wake up. Come on, Perce, you have to wake up, you stupid Seaweed Brain. Wake up." You shake him gently as you speak, leaning over him and trying not to cry.

He groans. "And here I thought we were making progress with your anger issues."

You exhale in relief, brushing his bangs back from his forehead. Sweat is dripping down his face, but you don't care. "You're hurt, Perce."

"It's just a scratch. And we've got to be getting close to the doors. We can't give up now." He looks at you with a pleading expression. "You've just got to bandage me up well enough to get us to the end and then we can worry about me later."

"I always worry about you," you say, but open your backpack anyway to find the gauze. You wrap his side tightly, trying to ignore the way his eyebrows scrunch together in pain. He stays quiet except for the occasional deep breath and you marvel at how strong he is. "There. That's the best I can do."

He smiles at you and reaches up to cup your cheek. "Thank you."

"We should get going." You help him stand, pulling his arm around your shoulders and sliding your own around his back.

"This is why you're the Wise Girl and I'm the Seaweed Brain."

You laugh halfheartedly, but you don't feel so wise at that moment. Not when you're walking through Hell with a hundred monsters at your back and an injured boyfriend staggering next to you.

You're not sure how much longer Percy can stay standing.

You're not sure how much longer you can stay standing.

But you'll do what you always do.

Keep going anyway.

::

Your ankle is throbbing and Percy is leaning on you heavily when you see a light in the distance.

"Oh Gods, Percy, look. I see the doors. We're going to get out of here. We're gonna be okay!"

He looks at you in confusion and you frown.

"Annabeth? Why are there two of you?"

Your heart drops to your stomach. You probably have a concussion, judging from the pain in your head, and now Percy is seeing double. You mentally kick yourself, realizing his wound is probably infected.

"It's okay, Perce. We're almost there. Just hold on, okay?"

He nods, wincing afterwards.

You tighten your grip on him and continue forward, praying that you have enough strength to get you both to the doors.

You're almost there.

And then you're flying and you can't feel Percy anymore and you hit the ground hard.

Your knife falls out of your hand and oh gods, please don't let this be the end.

Percy screams and there's a hell hound leaning over you and you close your eyes, waiting for the attack. But it doesn't come.

"Come on, Wise Girl! We've got to get to the doors before they bring back friends!"

You open your eyes cautiously and feel yourself exhale in relief. Percy is standing in front of you, one hand holding riptide and the other outstretched towards you. You let him pull you up and look around carefully. "What happened?"

"Hell hounds. We've got to keep going. Are you okay?" His eyes search you for any injuries and you shake your head.

"I'm not hurt. You?"

He grimaces and looks down to his now bloodstained bandages. You want to cry because you're so close, but it's still so far with your ankle and Percy's side. You peer at him closely and can see him trembling slightly.

"You're in shock."

Percy looks at you in confusion. "No, I'm not."

You sigh and grab him around the chest when he sways. "You don't even realize it because you're so full of adrenaline right now, but you need ambrosia. Come on, Seaweed Brain. Just hang in there for a little longer."

He nods and pressed his lips to the top of your head as you walk towards the doors.

::

The next few minutes are a blur.

Something rips you away from Percy and you see him fall against the doors, barely strong enough to hold his sword up in front of him.

You bite your lip hard enough to taste blood and force yourself to ignore the pain in your ankle.

You won't let this be the end. You can't.

And you're attacking anything that gets too close, standing in front of your now unconscious boyfriend and never letting your guard down.

"Annabeth!"

You freeze, not believing it. "Piper?"

The daughter of Aphrodite is peering at you through the crack in the doors and she nods, a tearful grin on her face. "Come on. Let's get you out of here."

Jason is already dragging Percy safely to the other side and you allow Piper and Leo to tug you over the threshold, the doors slamming behind you.

It's over.

It's really over.

Piper is hugging you and your arms are too weak to hug her back, but your head falls on her shoulder.

You can see Hazel putting Percy's head in her lap and pouring some nectar into his mouth and it makes you smile. Frank hands you a square of ambrosia and you can feel your body healing as it makes its way down your throat. You look around at your friends and then frown.

"Nico?"

And the pale boy is suddenly standing in front of you, throwing his arms around your waist and crying into your neck. "I'm so sorry, Annabeth. I'm so sorry."

You raise your hands enough to lay them against his back and press your nose against his hair. "No, Nico, this wasn't your fault. You led them here. You got us out. It wasn't your fault."

And then the world is spinning and everything goes black.

::

When you wake up, you're laying on your bed on the Argo II. There's a plate of ambrosia and a glass of nectar on the nightstand and you push yourself up on one hand to look around.

Someone wrapped your ankle and left a pile of clothes at the end of your bed.

You eat a few squares of ambrosia and drink most of the nectar and stand up, exhaling in relief when you don't get dizzy. You change into the gym shorts and bright orange t-shirt that reminds you of home and limp into the hallway.

You have to find Percy.

It takes you longer than it usually would to get to your boyfriend's room and you're already getting tired when you do. But you open the door and slide in, smiling when you see the shirtless figure sprawled across the bed, sleeping peacefully.

He's covered in bruises and scrapes, but he's alive. And that's all that matters.

You climb up beside him and curl into his good side, taking note of the fact that his injury is already mostly healed.

Percy stirs. "Wise Girl?"

"Hey, Seaweed Brain."

"We made it."

You grin, your lips pressed against the hollow between his shoulder and his neck. "Yeah, we did."

"I love you." His arm wraps around your waist, his thumb rubbing circles on your hip.

"I love you too."

He kisses your forehead and nuzzles his nose into your hair. "Sleep."

And you do.

::