Summary: "Stop thinking, Wise Girl. Just trust me," he brought her hands into his, but that didn't ease her mind or heart at all. /Percy teaches Annabeth how to swim, and Annabeth tries not to drown. AU.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters; they belong to the great Rick Riordan. The swimming experience is based on my experience as a person who can't swim, so if there are swimming things that I presented wrongly, please just keep in mind that this is from a non-swimmer's point of view :))

Thank you, Sonochu for pointing out the punching thing to me! I've edited accordingly.

"I've Got You"

Chlorine soothed Annabeth—at least it did when she was studying its oxidation states of chlorine, hypochlorite, chlorite, chlorite dioxide, chloryl, dichlorine hexoxide, and perchlorates—but chlorine in water was a different universe altogether. Chlorine wasn't even the issue. It was the water. Yes. The water. All 2,500,000 liters of it that was collected in this hole called a "pool."

"Olympic swimming pools are the best! Don't you think so too, Annabeth? Look at all of the space we have for playing." Percy beamed at her like a two-year old child given a fluffy dinosaur stuffed toy.

She grunted in reply, clinging to the edge of the pool for dear life. Her eyes followed his figure as he swam underwater. He was beautiful, like a merman gliding gracefully through the water near the ocean floor. He moved rhythmically, swaying like he was dancing a slow waltz with the water around him. She watched as he resurfaced. His hair glistened with water. Droplets slid down his neck.

"Fun. Very fun." She kept her voice flat, trying to keep herself composed—like she wasn't worried about drowning in thousands of liters of water.

Percy swam towards her and inspected her. He gently patted the top of her hair, and she felt like the ground beneath her disappeared. Except her feet really couldn't touch the floor of the pool anymore, so technically, the ground beneath her had disappeared.

"Why isn't the top of your head wet at all? Have you even gone under water for the past hour we've been here?" He ran his fingers through his hair as he always did when he was troubled. "How are you going to learn how to swim if you won't try? You know Coach Hedge won't allow floaters, kick boards, and other things for that swimming exam."

"I'm sure Coach Hedge would allow me to make up for the exam by contributing research on how to effectively train his precious swimmers." She gave him a pointed look.

His arched eyebrow challenged her, battling against her confidence. He won.

Her voice soft, almost a whisper, "I don't like being under water."

His eyes widened. His hands clutched at his chest like she just stabbed him. "What do you mean?"

Annabeth lifted her shoulders and lowered them with a sigh. "It's hard for me to willingly bring myself under the water okay? It takes a lot of self-convincing."

Resolve and determination danced through his eyes. "Let's do it together then."

Panic filled Annabeth. "What?"

"We'll do it at the same time," he answered, giving her a lazy smile, the one that made her forget her name sometimes. Not today, though. Not today. She was going to fight.

"What part of 'It takes a lot of self-convincing' don't you understand?" She exclaimed, as she gestured air quotes using one hand (her other hand was securely attached to the edge of the pool).

"All I heard was that you haven't tried it at all, and you should."

She rolled her eyes at his simplistic thinking. As if it was that easy for her to just try. "What exactly do you propose we must do, Ariel?"

"Well, legged human, I want you to not breathe and just go under water."

She held on to the edge of the pool tightly. "Do you want me to die?"

"I just want you to experience the coolness of being under water," he argued.

"Coolness"

"Underwater."

"Right."

He reached out to her like he might pinch her cheek. She felt a soft poke on her forehead. "Just forget how to breathe for a while, then hold your breath and experience the awesomeness of being underwater."

She feigned disbelief. "You keep your eyes open underwater?"

He laughed because he knew she was just buying time. "That's how you see things, Annabeth, by opening your eyes."

She kept trying. "Right. Exactly how sure are you that the chlorinated water won't destroy my eyes once I keep them open?"

"Here I'll show you." He kept his eyes open as he went underwater. He resurfaced before Annabeth could calm herself by naming the elements in the periodic table. "How are my eyes? Are they gone? Were they destroyed?"

They're beautiful. "Right. They're still there."

He grinned at her, pleased that he was able to prove his point to her without needing to attempt to understand the science behind chlorinated water. "Okay then, on the count of three. One, two—"

"Wait, wait, wait. Percy I can't—" Percentage of her system taken over by fear= 110%. It was greater than her system now. She was going to drown and die.

"Relax, Annabeth. Just try it." He held her wrist. "One." She forced herself to take a deep breath and hold it in. "Two." Her other hand clung to the edge of the pool for safety measures. "Three." He pulled her down with him.

The water wasn't melting her eyes, but she was still afraid, so she kept her gaze on him. He was smiling at her underwater. A smile so blinding she almost forgot she had to hold her breath. Crinkles formed at the edges of his eyes. His hair swayed underwater, looking so soft that she wanted to run her fingers through it.

Before she could do something stupid, she quickly pulled herself above water and closer to the edge of the pool. Gasping for air. Needing to breathe.

He was by her side not long after. "See? That wasn't so bad." He was still holding her wrist. Her skin was starting to burn from his touch.

"Right. My eyes were not burned by the chlorine content of the water," she stated drily, trying to salvage the remains of her confidence.

"You're insulting Chlorine. They have proper levels of Chlorine here. Chlorine wouldn't hurt you."

"How about Chloramines?"

He squinted his eyes. His version of a glare.

How cute. "Okay, okay. At least now I know it won't hurt me."

He looked at her with a satisfied expression. "We learn new things every day, don't we?" He stretched his arms in front of him. "Now the next thing you have to learn is how to float."

And she thought this couldn't get any worse. "Can't I call putting my head underwater swimming? That should be enough to appease Coach Hedge."

"You're settling for enough?" His eyes were wide in shock. "The Annabeth I know would take any challenge thrown her way and beat it to a pulp." He knew pride was her weakness, and he knew how to use it to win in arguments. Especially if said argument would be for her own good.

She frowned. "I hate how you know me too well."

"I love that I know you well." He grinned, feeling slightly high from winning against Annabeth. It was a rare occurrence after all.

She refused to think deeper into what he said (as how she usually would) and punched his arm playfully instead. "You're unfair."

Percy clutched his arm dramatically, "Annabeeettthh, Its going to bruise. Nooo-" His theatrical attempt was silenced by her glare. He let go of his arm and bumped against her shoulder lightheartedly. "I always play fair," he chuckled, "Now let go of the edge of the pool and try to swim here. The poor edge has been under your death grip since we got here."

"Isn't that just another way of saying: flap your arms frantically as you try to help yourself drown? No way am I letting this go." Letting go meant she had to magically learn how to swim or float or tread water within a blink of the eye. She blinked. The magic knowledge of swimming did not dwell in her. No way was she going to try it.

He looked at her like she was an adorable baby bird cowering in its nest. "Come on, Annabeth. Floating is simple."

She glared at him, noticing how he looked amused by her distress. "What do you mean simple?"

"It's like this." He does it gracefully and effortlessly like a fish in its element. That's her best friend for you, a skilled fish. Smoked fish.

She gave him a blank look. "I don't see how that's simple."

"It's easy. Just lift your feet off the floor and lay your back on the water like it's a blanket of clouds carrying you across the vast sky while you watch the birds fly in formation."

"Wow. That's what swimming feels like for you? Floating on a cloud?"

"Stop looking at me like I'm crazy!" He covered his face with his hands, flustered. "You just have to let the water carry you. Be one with the water, Annabeth."

"You mean surface tension and buoyancy will carry me," she countered.

"Whatever you want to call it, Wise Girl." He grinned at her and tucked a chunk of her wet hair behind her ear. "It's still floating anyway. Better to use your imagination to calm yourself than thinking of the technicalities of it."

She lost her train of thought when he touched her. "I don't see how this is calming."

He tried using his most reassuring voice. "I'll be here holding your back anyway to make sure you stay afloat."

"How can I be sure that you won't let me go?" She searched his face for answers.

A short pause. "Of course I won't." An exasperated sigh. "Stop thinking, Wise Girl. Just trust me." He brought her hand into his, but that didn't ease her mind or heart at all. "You do want to at least pass that swimming exam right?"

She bit her lip in hesitation. "Fine." Reluctance brimming from her voice.

"Give it a shot then." He smiled softly. "Think happy thoughts. "

What do happy thoughts mean anyway? Rolling baby pandas? Chubby bunnies munching tiny carrots cutely? What does he even mean? She pushed her thoughts aside as she took a deep breath. Bracing herself as she let go of the edge and lifted her feet.

How could she think of happy thoughts when all she could think of was him. The color of his eyes. The curve of his brow. The set of his jaw. The firmness of his arms.

She laid her back against the water and felt the light press of his fingers on the skin of her back. A spark of electricity passed through her spine. God. How could he have that mind numbing effect on her? Just a single touch, and she was gone. She felt like she was floating. He made her feel weightless. Like she could fly. Like she was at the top of the world.

"You're getting it, Wise Girl!" His voice was distant. Water was muffling his deep voice. "I'll let you float by yourself okay? Don't worry my hands will still be near your back. Just keep doing what you're doing."

She felt his fingers leave her skin—the rush of adrenaline no longer there. Panic was flowing back into her mind. Water was all around her. Where was the pool edge? The pool edge? She was going to drown, oh God. Water was pulling her down. Two million and five hundred thousand liters of water. Her face was submerged in water. Her whole head was underwater. Her nose forgot not to breathe. Her mouth was gasping for air when it shouldn't be. Her arms were flailing helplessly in the water.

Suddenly his strong arms were around her, hoisting her up, pulling her towards him, letting her rest against his chest. "Don't worry, Wise Girl, I've got you." She coughed violently as he held her. Her cheek against his rapidly beating heart. Her stomach against his. "I've got you."

He let her arms drape around his neck to keep her afloat as he treaded water. He brushed away the hair from her face and placed his hands on her cheeks. "You alright?" His voice was gentle, comforting.

She tried to smile for him. "I'm just going to fail the swimming exam terribly, if that's what you mean by alright."

He grinned at her, placing his arms around her waist again. He brought them closer to the edge of the pool so she could reunite with her lifeline. "I could be your floater for the exam."

She stifled a laugh. "As if Coach Hedge would agree to that."

He kept a straight face. "I could dress like a dolphin so he doesn't have to know."

A laugh escaped her lips. Relief filled her when she was finally able to cling to the edge of the pool again. But they didn't move apart from one another.

He grinned as he held her tighter. "As I've said, I've got you."

End

A/N: It has been a while, fanfiction world :)) I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing~