***So, it's August 18th, which seems like the perfect day to post this story. I actually wrote most of it last year, but it wasn't quite done by the 18th, and so I finished it, then held onto it until today. It's basically just tooth-rotting fluff. For real. You've been warned.

As always, the characters belong to Rick Riordan, I'm just borrowing them for a bit. Thanks for reading!***

August 10

"Absolutely not." Annabeth smacked her hand on the ping-pong table. "That's completely unfair."

"We're not breaking any rules," Jason pointed out.

"I agree with Annabeth," Clarisse grunted. "It's not right."

Will Solace smirked. "You're just mad you didn't think of it first."

That was completely true, but there was no way Annabeth was going to admit it. "You can't have Percy, Jason, and Nico all on the same team. The game will be completely one-sided."

Piper twirled her knife on the table. Her eyes were dancing. "You know, Annabeth, it sounds like you don't think you can beat us."

"Not true." Even if it kind of was.

The head counselors were gathered around the ping-pong table in the Big House rec room, trying to iron out the details for tomorrow night's game of Capture the Flag. It would be the first game since August first. Everyone was looking forward to it. The game would be a nice return to normal camp activities after the craziness of the past few months. But somehow the Aphrodite and Apollo cabins had recruited all three sons of the Big Three. Annabeth wasn't surprised that Piper and Will had recruited Jason and Nico to their side. What she didn't understand was how they had also ended up with Percy.

"I don't think it's that unfair," Lou Ellen from Hecate offered. She was making a playing card appear and disappear between her fingers. "You guys got three of the largest cabins—Athena, Ares, and Hermes. We got the three smallest—Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades."

"Seems fair to me," Katie Gardner from Demeter added, smirking almost as much as Will.

"Whatever," Travis Stoll said. "We've got Annabeth and the Ares cabin, plus Hephaestus. You guys are going down."

"We'll see about that." Nico grinned evilly and fist-bumped Jason.

"Oh, we're going to take you out." Jake Mason ran a hand through his hair. "But I still don't understand how you all got Jackson on your team."

"Did you charmspeak him or something, McLean?" Clarisse asked.

"Nope," Piper said happily.

All heads turned to Percy, the only person at the table who hadn't yet said anything (except for Clovis, who was snoring with his head resting on a stack of ping-pong paddles). Percy was slumped in a chair at the end of the table, clearly trying hard not to draw attention to himself. When he realized everyone was staring at him, he looked up.

"Uh, so the game starts after dinner tomorrow, right?" Percy asked. He was looking everywhere except at Annabeth, who was giving him a death-glare.

"Come on, Prissy, what did they offer you?" Clarisse demanded.

"It must have been pretty good to beat Annabeth's deal," Connor Stoll snickered. Annabeth kicked him under the table. "Ow! Geez!"

"Uh, well…" Percy's eyes flickered around the table, begging for help.

Piper came to his rescue. "It's not important. Point is, it should be a good game tomorrow."

"Especially once we win," Will added.

Annabeth stood up. "Clarisse, Jake, Stolls, let's go. We need to talk strategy." She put her hands on the table and was slightly gratified when the other counselors leaned away from her. "And Travis was right—you guys are going down."

They barely made it to the Big House porch before a voice called out, "Annabeth, wait!"

"Impressive," Travis muttered to Connor. "He held out about ten seconds longer than I thought he would."

Clarisse crossed her arms as Percy came running out of the Big House. "Changing teams, Jackson?"

"Uh, well, no." Percy gave Annabeth a pleading look. "Can I talk to you? Without the audience?"

Annabeth pursed her lips. "I guess."

Percy grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the strawberry fields.

"We're meeting at your cabin in ten minutes," Clarisse called after her. "You better be there! Don't spend too long fraternizing with the enemy!"

Annabeth waved to show she'd heard.

Percy stopped near the edge of the strawberry fields, which were deserted. The late afternoon sun was scorching. Insects buzzed and the intoxicating scent of the ripe fruit wafted through the humid air.

"What do you want, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth crossed her arms. Her annoyance made her feel twelve years old again.

"Look, I just wanted to make sure," Percy stumbled over the words. His brow furrowed the way it did when he was worried. He met Annabeth's eyes. "Are we okay?"

She held out for a few seconds, then relented. "Of course we're okay, Percy. It's one stupid game of capture the flag."

Percy looked visibly relieved. His shoulders relaxed, like a weight had been lifted off of them. "Oh. Okay, good. Because you seemed really upset."

Annabeth looked out over the strawberry fields. It was embarrassing to admit, even to herself, that she was a little bit hurt. "It's just, after everything this year, I guess I thought—don't you want to be on my team?" She hated how small her voice sounded.

"Annabeth." Percy put his hands on her shoulders, gently turning her to face him again. "Of course I want to be on your team."

"Then why did you make a deal with Piper and Will?"

Percy grimaced. "It's complicated. But you just have to trust me. This time, I actually have a plan."

"For capture the flag?"

"No, this is something bigger than capture the flag. But the game is part of it now, I guess. But not really."

Annabeth sighed. "That makes absolutely no sense."

"It will," Percy promised. "Eventually. Just don't, you know, break up with me over this. I'll be on your team next time, I swear."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I would never break up with you over something this dumb, Percy. I love you, remember?"

He gave her a nervous smile. "Still?"

"Always, idiot." Annabeth gave him half a smile back because, despite her annoyance, in the grand scheme of things, one game really wasn't that important. But she still added, "I'm holding you to what you said. Next game, you're on my team. And you better find a way to recruit Jason and Nico, too."

"Deal."

"Also," she poked him in the chest, "we are so going to kick your butts tomorrow."

Percy grinned his sarcastic, troublemaker smile. "We'll see."

Capture the flag was an epic disaster.

Despite the Athena cabin's strategy, Hephaestus's traps, Ares's strength, and Hermes's enthusiasm, they were soundly beaten by the other cabins. Apollo's archers easily took out most of the Ares and Hermes kids, helped by the magic and charm of Hecate and Aphrodite. And the sheer force of Jason, Percy, and Nico's combined powers secured their team a relatively easy win.

Annabeth was trying very hard not to be a sore loser, but it had been a pretty humiliating loss, especially when it was her own boyfriend who had gotten the flag across the creek boundary line. She was venting her frustration by throwing stones into the lake as twilight settled over camp. The singing was beginning around the campfire in the amphitheater, but tonight Annabeth didn't really feel like participating.

She was searching for more rocks to throw when Piper came up to her. "Hey, Annabeth."

Annabeth just nodded. She spotted two big rocks the size of her fists. They made a plop sound as she pulled them out of the mud. She held one out to Piper. "Want to throw one?"

"Sure." Piper hefted the rock. "On three?"

Annabeth nodded. "One…two…three!"

Both rocks flew about twenty yards, then smacked into the surface of the lake, sending ripples shivering across the surface.

"Are you trying to make the naiads mad?" Piper asked.

Annabeth shrugged. "Just wanted to throw something, and rocks into the lake are a safe choice."

The two fist-sized rocks came flying back out of the water. Annabeth and Piper ducked as the rocks landed in the mud at the water's edge with two huge splats.

"Or maybe not," Annabeth amended, brushing mud off her shorts.

"Don't take it personally. The naiads have been hacked off since the Roman guys left. I'm starting to think we may need that huge tank of water at the end of summer after all."

"Give them a few more days. They'll forget all about wanting to go to California."

"I hope so." Piper glanced at Annabeth. "So who are you more upset with, me or Percy?"

"I'm really not that mad. Honestly," she said when Piper looked skeptical. "I was just surprised. I guess I assumed that the four of us—you, me, Percy, and Jason—would end up on the same team."

"I'm sorry," Piper said. "That probably made you feel left out."

"A little bit," Annabeth admitted. "I know it's stupid, but—"

"It's not stupid. I would have felt the same way." Piper bit her lip. "But trust me, you'll understand. Eventually."

"That's what Percy said, too." Annabeth turned to her friend. "What's going on?"

"I can't tell you. But trust me," Piper added hastily when Annabeth huffed in annoyance, "it's going to be good."

"What's going to be good?"

"You'll just have to wait and see."

"I hate waiting and not knowing things." Annabeth kicked one of the rocks back into the lake.

Piper's smile held just a hint of a smirk. "I know you do. But it'll be worth it. Now, I'm going up to the bonfire. You coming?"

"Maybe in a minute." Annabeth stared out at the lake, growing darker as the sky, too, darkened. The first stars were coming out.

"Okay." Piper patted her shoulder. "Oh, and just remember, I'm your friend; I would've helped for free. Blame Will Solace for the capture the flag incident."

"That makes absolutely no sense," Annabeth said for the second time in as many days.

"It will later." Piper grinned and jogged toward the amphitheater, leaving Annabeth alone with her thoughts.

By the end of the next week, Annabeth was ready to call it quits and move to Camp Jupiter. She figured Hazel, Frank, and Reyna had to be far less infuriating than Percy and Piper. It was clear the two of them were planning something, but she had no idea what it could be or for what reason. And any time she asked either one a question, the only answer she got was, "You'll see" or "Trust me, it'll make sense later." She cornered Jason, hoping for answers, but he stammered an excuse and rushed off to the climbing wall. None of the other campers could tell her anything either, although every time she saw Will Solace, he was either smirking or trying to hide a smile. But maybe that was just because he had finally convinced Nico to go on a date.

By the time Annabeth went to bed on August seventeenth, she was seriously considering killing her boyfriend and her best friend. She actually fell asleep contemplating fairly harsh ways of making them talk. And she was so not happy when Piper shook her awake the next morning, especially after looking at her alarm clock, which read 5:00 AM.

"Piper, what the Hades?" Annabeth hissed, sitting up and throwing back her blankets.

"Annabeth, I'm really sorry." Piper sounded genuinely sorry. However, her eyes were dancing mischievously again. "But I need your help with something."

"Yeah, well, why don't you go wake up Percy, since you two have been such buddies all week?" Annabeth muttered.

"It has to be you," Piper said imploringly. "Please?"
Annabeth sighed, then stood up and began looking for her clothes. "Fine."

Piper beamed. "Awesome. Meet me on the Big House porch."

"Wait, why—" Annabeth started to ask, but Piper was already gone.

Ten minutes later, yawning and mentally cursing her friend, Annabeth climbed the steps to the Big House porch.

Piper wasn't there.

But someone else was.

Percy was standing on the porch with his hands behind his back and clearly trying to hide a smile.

"Percy?" Annabeth struggled between confusion and annoyance. "What is going on? Because, honestly, I've had just about enough of all this mysterious—"

Percy held out the yellow rose he'd been hiding behind his back. "Happy anniversary, Annabeth."

Annabeth's mind went blank. Her jaw might have hit the porch. And then her brain spun into overdrive. Holy Hera, today was August eighteenth—their one-year anniversary and Percy's seventeenth birthday. She silently thanked all the gods (even the ones she didn't like) that she had already figured out his present back in June, before they'd even left for Camp Jupiter; it was now in her trunk in her cabin. It had been a way to convince herself that they would survive and be together on their first anniversary. Her hand was shaking as she took the rose. She blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "Happy birthday."

"Thanks." Percy grinned. "Surprised?"

"Oh yeah." Annabeth twirled the rose between her fingers. "So, is this what you and Piper have been planning?"

"Part of it," Percy said.

"And why does this plan involve me meeting you on the Big House porch at five thirty in the morning?"

"Two reasons." Percy held up two fingers. "The five a.m. is because we have a full day ahead and we have to start early."

The idea of Percy planning an entire day's worth of events both intrigued and terrified Annabeth. "Okay, that explains waking up before the crack of dawn. But why the porch?"

Percy's sea-green eyes sparkled in the porch light. "Because I had an idea—stop smirking, I get ideas sometimes—anyway, I had an idea that since this is our first anniversary, maybe we could start by retracing our steps. You know, like, how we got here."

Maybe it was just because it was so early, but Annabeth wasn't quite following. "To the porch?"

Percy rolled his eyes. "No. How we got here, to, you know, dating for a whole year."

"Ooooh." A lightbulb went off in Annabeth's head. "Like our history."

"Exactly." Percy was smiling again. "So, now, you tell me—why the porch?"

Annabeth looked around as she thought. The dimly lit porch, the darkness over the rest of the camp, Thalia's pine tree softly illuminated by the Golden Fleece, all of it combined to bring back an old memory. Annabeth smiled. "Because this is where we met."

"Right in one. That's why you're the brains." Percy kissed her cheek. "Yep, this is where we met. You said, 'He's the one,' as I heroically passed out at your feet."

"Oh my gods, I did say that." Annabeth laughed. "But I was referring to the prophecy."

"Keep telling yourself that." Percy winked and Annabeth smacked his arm. "This is also where you told me I drool in my sleep and where you volunteered to come with Grover and me on the stupid quest for the master bolt."

"So you're saying this is where it all started."

"Something like that." Percy was giving her a look that made butterflies dance in Annabeth's stomach.

She looked down at the yellow rose in her hands. "Where to next, Seaweed Brain?"

"This next part is going to take us out of camp for a few hours," Percy said.

"In that case, I'm going to need to stop at my cabin." To brush her hair. And her teeth. And maybe put on a shirt that didn't have a hole in it. Plus, she wanted to grab Percy's present. "Just for a couple minutes."

"Sounds good. I'll meet you at the beach."

"The beach?"

"Yep. Oh, and one more thing." Percy stopped her as she started down the steps. "We'll be back at camp later today. So, hypothetically speaking, if you got me something, which you totally didn't have to do, but if you did, the present stuff happens later. When we get back from—where we're going."

"Noted." Annabeth was relieved; his present was kind of bulky and she didn't really want to be lugging it around all day. "See you at the beach."

Fifteen minutes later, hair brushed, teeth brushed, and wearing jean shorts with a purple and gray striped tank top that someone (Piper) had laid out on her bed, Annabeth met Percy down at the beach. She stopped short on the sand.

"Is that a rowboat?"

"Right again." Percy gestured proudly to the rowboat like it was a yacht.

"Where are we rowing to?" She was totally fine going along with whatever Percy had planned for the day, but rowing a boat was a complete pain in the podex.

But Percy waved his hand dismissively. "We don't have to row anywhere. Son of Poseidon, remember? I can control it with my willpower."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "Impressive. But won't you get tired after a while?"

"Nah. Frank, Hazel, and I took a rowboat just like this from San Francisco to Seattle. I'll be fine."

"Whatever you say, Seaweed Brain. So, besides the whole son of Poseidon thing, is there another reason we're at the beach?"

"The quest in the Sea of Monsters," Percy said. "We left from the beach here to go rescue Grove from Polyphemus."

"Oh yeah." Annabeth started to realize exactly how much thought he must have put into this day. "Percy, this is all amazing so far, but you didn't have to—"

"I know. But I wanted to. For you." He stepped away from the boat and took her hands. "Remember on the Argo II when you told me about that essay you wrote? The one about Romeo and Juliet that got you in trouble?"

Annabeth blushed. Last spring, while Percy was still missing, her English class had been forced to read Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Struggling through Shakespeare as a dyslexic demigod was bad enough. But reading one of history's most famous love stories while her own boyfriend was gods knew where had been torture. Annabeth's essay had been a rant about the stupidity of Romeo and Juliet. "Love, real love, doesn't happen overnight," she had written. "It defies plausibility," that one had taken a while to spell out, "that Romeo and Juliet would fall in love in one night. The facts surrounding their deaths are proof that, while they may have been infatuated with one another, they weren't in love. If Romeo knew Juliet, really knew her, and the way her mind worked, he would have guessed her plan to fake her death in order for them to be together. But he didn't actually know her, so he killed himself. And she followed suit, maybe because it was so depressing to realize she'd married someone she knew absolutely nothing about. I say good riddance; they were both idiots. And this isn't a love story. It's a lesson in how not to live your life."

Looking back, she realized that the essay might have come across as a little bitter. Her teacher had been downright alarmed and asked Annabeth after class if anything was wrong. After hearing Annabeth's quickly cobbled together story about how her boyfriend had been forced into a cross-country exchange program by his crazy aunt, her teacher had been less than impressed. "You're going to have to re-do the essay. Romeo and Juliet is a classic. Try to keep your personal drama out of it."

Annabeth had been so irritated, she'd refused to rewrite the essay and ended up with a zero on the paper. The incident still stung, even now, five months later.

"What about that essay?" she asked cautiously.

"I think you had a point. Romeo and Juliet didn't know anything about each other. They didn't have any history." Percy squeezed her hands. "But we do. And after how crazy this past year was, I thought maybe it'd be fun to remind ourselves just how far we've come since we met. But if you'd rather do something else—"

She shook her head. "It's a great idea, Percy. And I love that you put this much thought into our anniversary. Especially since it's also your birthday."

Percy smiled slowly. "I can't think of a better way to spend my birthday than with my awesome girlfriend."

"That was cheesy, but sweet." Annabeth kissed him quickly. "So is it time to take this rowboat for a spin?"

"Yep." Percy took her hand and helped her into the rowboat, then climbed in himself. The hull thrummed with energy as the boat propelled itself out into Long Island Sound.

"We're not going to a cruise ship, are we?" Annabeth asked.

"Definitely not." Percy shuddered. "Besides, a lot of that quest was just you and me on a boat. First that lifeboat from after the C.S.S. Birmingham blew up, and then that pirate ship we stole from Circe's island."

"That's true." Annabeth leaned forward to rest her elbows on her knees and her chin on her hands. "It's weird to think that Reyna was there on Circe's island. It's strange how things work out, isn't it?"

"That," Percy said, "is kind of the point of this whole day."

The sky was lightening to gray as they rounded the north shore of Long Island and headed out into the Atlantic. Annabeth was content just to watch Percy. He always seemed so comfortable on the water. The wind ruffled his dark hair. His eyes were the same color as the sea around them. He had been looking forward, but now he turned and caught her watching him. "I can't believe you haven't asked where we're going."

She shrugged. "This is your show, Seaweed Brain. I'm just along for the ride."

He leaned forward, mimicking her pose. "You really trust me, don't you?"

She smiled. "Well, if history is the theme of the day, you've given me plenty of reasons to trust you. Like in the Sea of Monsters, when you came after me in Siren Bay."

"Well, I couldn't let you drown or be eaten by monsters," Percy said.

"But not everyone would have done what you did."

Percy frowned, like that didn't compute. "You would have done the same for me."

"Yeah, I would have." She reached out and took his hand. "And that's one of the reasons why we're good together."

"Because we're half-insane?" The corner of Percy's mouth turned up.

"Only half?" Annabeth laughed. "At this point, I think we may have crossed over into complete insanity."

"You're probably right," Percy said. "As usual."

It suddenly struck Annabeth how incredibly alone they were, out on the water in this boat, the shore of Long Island a thin line on the horizon. The thought was both terrifying and exciting.

The rising sun tinted the horizon pink. Annabeth finally cracked. "Okay, so where are we going?"

Percy grinned. "I thought you were just along for the ride?"

"I am. I just want to know where the ride is going."

Percy shook his head, but he was still smiling. "First stop is Montauk, to catch a new ride. Second stop is Manhattan."

Manhattan wasn't surprising. Montauk kind of was, but Annabeth knew how much Percy loved the place. What really surprised her, though, was the reference to a new ride. "What happened to 'I can willpower a rowboat from California to Washington'?"

"Oh, I could do it," Percy said. "But there's a limit to how fast this thing can go without falling apart. And at our current rate, it would take about five hours to get to the city. So we're going to switch to some faster transportation."

"Cool." Annabeth scooted forward on her seat. "But before we switch, maybe we should take advantage of the boat first."

"I love the way your brain works."

Twenty minutes later, the boat ran aground on the beach at Montauk. They probably could have made it there a little sooner, but Percy got distracted.

They headed to a relatively secluded area of the parking lot, where Percy gave a good New York cab whistle. A minute later, Blackjack came swooping down. The pegasus had recovered completely from being shot by Orion, and, according to Percy, he now apparently thought Reyna was about as cool as donuts, which was pretty high praise.

Blackjack nuzzled Annabeth, then whickered at Percy, who shook his head. "Dude, you have a one-track mind."

Blackjack huffed and Percy raised an eyebrow. "No need to get nasty. Look what I brought you." He held out a donut covered in chocolate sprinkles.

Percy nearly lost a couple fingers as Blackjack snapped the donut out of his hand. "Geez, Blackjack!"

Annabeth stifled a laugh as Blackjack happily scarfed his donut; a few chocolate sprinkles clung to his nose. "So Blackjack is our faster transportation?"

"Yep." Percy shot a disgruntled look at the pegasus. "Unless he bites my hand off."

Blackjack tossed his mane and licked the last few sprinkles off his muzzle, then nuzzled Percy affectionately. Percy rolled his eyes, but he patted the horse's neck. "Yeah, yeah, buddy. We're cool. Ready to go?"

A few minutes later, they were winging their way over the Long Island Expressway, avoiding the rush of morning traffic. Annabeth leaned forward to ask Percy, "Did you have a symbolic reason for asking Blackjack for a lift or was it just because you knew he was fast and would agree?"

Percy shot a grin over his shoulder. "Mostly the second part. But, uh, he also helped me out that winter you got kidnapped."

"Oh, cool." She wanted to ask for more details, but it was hard to talk with the wind whistling around them.

It wasn't long before the skyline of Manhattan appeared in the distance, the Empire State Building rising above the sprawl of Midtown. Annabeth half-expected that was where they were headed, so she was surprised when Blackjack banked to the right, skirting around the Chrysler Building and finally landing near Rockefeller Center.

It was still early enough that the street wasn't super crowded yet as they slid off of the pegasus.

Annabeth looked at Percy quizzically. "Rockefeller Center?"

"You'll see." He rubbed Blackjack's nose. "Thanks for the ride, buddy. I'll bring you an apple when we get back to camp."

Blackjack whinnied and Percy rolled his eyes again. "Because if you eat too many donuts, you'll get diabetes."

Blackjack snorted and Annabeth laughed. She patted his neck. "Don't worry. I'll make sure you get at least a sugar cube." This seemed to make the horse happy because he whinnied, then nuzzled Annabeth again, before spreading his wings and taking off. No pedestrians screamed. None of the cabs even slowed down. Besides, after they'd flown a bronze warship over the Acropolis, Annabeth wasn't too worried about mortals noticing a pegasus.

"Okay, Seaweed Brain, why are we at Rockefeller Center?"

"Because of this." Percy grabbed her hand and pulled her over to where a courtyard opened up, leading to the Rockefeller building. And in the middle of the courtyard…

"Oh," Annabeth said softly.

It was the famous statue of Atlas, bearing the world on his shoulders. It didn't really look much like the actual Titan, or the actual sky burden, but Annabeth understood immediately why Percy had decided to stop here. However, she felt a little conflicted about it. The experience with Atlas hadn't been a pleasant one.

"I know it's not exactly a happy memory," Percy said hurriedly, correctly interpreting her expression. "But it seemed important. I mean, we held up the sky, Annabeth. There are pretty much only three other people who can say that, and two of them are a goddess and a Titan."

"Yeah. That's true." Annabeth touched his hair where the gray streak used to be. "Why didn't you ever tell me you actually snuck onto that quest?"

A flush crept up Percy's cheeks. "Who told you that?"

"Thalia. And Grover. And, actually, Nico, last week." That had been an interesting conversation. But she'd found she was really starting to like the son of Hades, especially now that he seemed so much more at ease. "So why didn't you? I'm not mad, just curious."

Percy shrugged. "At the time, it seemed like too intense of a thing to admit. Then later, I don't know, it just never came up. I mean, it would have been weird if I just turned to you in the middle of watching a movie or something and said, 'Oh, by the way, remember that time you got kidnapped? I wasn't actually part of the original quest group, I had to sneak my way on because I couldn't stand the thought of doing nothing while you were missing.'"

"Actually, that sounds exactly like something you would do, and that wouldn't even be the most random thing you've said to me while we were hanging out."

Percy considered this. "Huh. You might have a point. But honestly, I wasn't trying to hide it or anything. It just never came up."

"Fair enough. So what's our next stop?"

Central Park, as it turned out. And they didn't even need magical transportation to get there this time. They just took the subway.

It was still so early that the morning rush hour hadn't kicked in yet, so their subway car was nearly empty.

"Are we visiting Central Park because of our one-month anniversary?" Annabeth guessed. "Or because it's near the Plaza and where the fight at the Reservoir happened during the Battle of Manhattan? Or just because we've hung out there so many times?"

Percy's cheeks were red again. "Sure, all of that, too."

"What was your real reason, Seaweed Brain?"

"Um, I told Mrs. O'Leary to meet us at the park because there's plenty of trees for her to use."

"Excuse me?"

"I mean for shadow travel! She's kind of our next mode of transportation." He smiled sheepishly. "But can we pretend it's all those reasons you said, too?"

Annabeth had to laugh. "Sure."

"Thanks." He kissed her cheek. She leaned her head on his shoulder, curious about where they would be shadow traveling to, but content for the moment to just enjoy the ride.

They found Percy's pet hellhound enthusiastically sniffing some boulders. He turned a little pale. "Oh, no way, girl. Not today."

"WOOF!"

"What's wrong with the boulders?" Annabeth studied them, but they looked perfectly innocent. "Former Labyrinth entrance?"

"Door of Orpheus," Percy said. "This is how Nico and I got into the Underworld when I went to go bathe in the Styx."

Their eyes met and Annabeth shivered, but it wasn't from the early morning chill. Just like under the Parthenon, Percy pulled her close, but this time there was no one around to see them. Even Mrs. O'Leary wasn't paying attention.

Percy kissed her and…gods. Annabeth didn't even bother trying to think. She just let herself give in to the moment. It was quite possibly the least Athena-like thing she'd ever done. But she'd been his lifeline. They'd made it through Tartarus together. They'd survived two wars and countless quests, against all the odds. They were planning for college and a future together. And it was their anniversary and his birthday. They deserved this moment.

Annabeth slipped her fingers under his shirt, brushing them lightly over the point that had been his Achilles spot. Another shiver went down her own spine when his breath hitched, but neither of them pulled away.

When they eventually broke apart, Annabeth wasn't sure what to say. Even "I love you" didn't seem right. Instead, she repeated the words he'd told her as they dangled over the pit in Rome. The words she'd said in a dream the night he went to the river. "You're not getting away from me."

"Never again," he promised.

"WOOF!"

They both jumped back as Mrs. O'Leary, who had apparently grown bored with the boulders, bounded over and leapt onto Percy, knocking him to the ground.

"Ah, come on, girl," he groaned as the hellhound licked his face. "Okay, okay, I get it. You're ready to go."

"WOOF!" Mrs. O'Leary's wagging tail thumped against a nearby oak tree, sending down a shower of leaves. Somewhere in the branches, a squirrel chittered angrily.

Annabeth was laughing as she held out a hand to pull Percy to his feet.

"So much for a romantic moment," he grumbled, brushing dirt off his jeans.

"Oh, I don't know," Annabeth said. "Even with the hellhound, I think that'll stay pretty high on my list."

"You have a list? Of course you do. What all is on this list?"

She smirked. "Wouldn't you like to know? Now, where are we going?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" She smacked his arm, but Percy just grinned. He swung himself onto Mrs. O'Leary's broad back, then held out a hand to help Annabeth up. "I guess you'll just have to come along and find out."

"I see how it is." But she was smiling as she took his hand and climbed up onto the hellhound, who didn't seem remotely bothered by the extra weight.

"Okay, girl." Percy leaned down to speak directly into the dog's ear and Annabeth huffed in frustration when she couldn't catch a single syllable. Percy straightened back up and gripped her arms, already wrapped around his waist. "Hang on. This might be a little intense."

"Oh please," Annabeth started to say, but then Mrs. O'Leary charged toward a tree and dove into its shadow.

Annabeth had only shadow traveled a couple times. She'd forgotten the sickening sense of vertigo it left her with. When the darkness thinned and it seemed like they'd arrived, she leaned against Percy's back, groaning.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Just dizzy," she managed. "I'll be fine in a second. Or make that a minute," she corrected as her stomach dropped along with Mrs. O'Leary as the hellhound fell to the ground and immediately began emitting a series of rumbling, snuffling snores.

Percy hopped off the dog's back, then helped Annabeth slide down. He didn't complain when she leaned heavily against him. "Yeah, that was a long jump. She's gonna be out for a while. You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah." Annabeth rested a hand against his chest to steady herself. Just having her feet firmly on the ground made her feel less dizzy. "So where…" her voice trailed off as she looked up and realized where they were.

They were standing on a rocky beach. Stars sparkled above them, but their light was dwarfed by the brilliantly lit bridge that towered over the bay, its color easily discernible. The Golden Gate Bridge.

"San Francisco," she murmured.

"Yep." Percy sounded incredibly pleased with himself. "For lots of reasons. But the main plan is to grab breakfast, then visit Camp Jupiter. Kind of moving from history to, um, the future." His voice changed slightly, taking on a hint of nervousness which signaled to her that this was incredibly important to him, but he wanted to pretend it wasn't. "I want to show you around New Rome. I know you saw a little last time but then, well, things blew up. Literally. And I remembered you said in—in Tartarus that you wouldn't mind going on a date there, so…" Percy's voice trailed off. He was giving her the look that Piper referred to as his "baby seal eyes" ("Seriously," she'd told Annabeth one evening on the Argo II, "I don't know how you actually manage to win an argument with him when he does that." Annabeth had claimed immunity, but that was a complete and total lie).

Now, Annabeth felt completely speechless as realization about the time and effort he'd put into planning this day hit her again. And it was their one-year anniversary, sure, but it was also his birthday.

Oh gods, it was his birthday.

Suddenly, she felt like a really lousy girlfriend.

Immediately, her mind started racing, trying to piece together a plan she could put into effect from three thousand miles away. Tricky, but not impossible.

She realized that Percy was still watching her for an answer. "Percy, that sounds amazing. I love that idea."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

His smile made her feel warm all over. "Awesome! And afterwards, I thought maybe we could meet Frank and Hazel and Reyna for lunch, if you want. You know, catch up."

"Sounds great." On one level, she was still carrying on the conversation, while on another she was working on her own plan. Then a stray thought caught her full attention. "One question, though. Why did we have to get out here so early?"

"I figured we'd get breakfast about seven, no rush, then have the morning to wander around New Rome, maybe check out the university, then meet up with the others for lunch about noon."

"And that's all great, but it's not even close to seven yet."

Percy frowned. "What are you talking about? The clock in the subway said 6:45 when we got to Central Park."

"Well, yeah," Annabeth said slowly as understanding began to dawn. "It's almost seven in New York. But out here in California…"

Percy suddenly looked like he'd taken a pegasus hoof to the head again. "It's three hours behind."

"Did you—did you forget about the time difference?"

"Um, maybe a little."

Annabeth couldn't help it. She lost it. She doubled over laughing. Percy joined in half-heartedly before throwing his hands in the air and saying, "This is why you make the plans!"

Still giggling, but trying to get a grip because he was being so sweet and she really didn't want him to feel worse, Annabeth threw her arms around his neck and managed to say, "This is so perfectly, ridiculously you, Seaweed Brain." She would have kissed him, but then she remembered, "Hellhound drool."

"Oh yeah." Percy's face was bright red. He seemed relieved to have a reason to escape. "Be right back."

He walked down the beach and into the bay. Knowing she didn't have much time, Annabeth whipped out her phone and made a quick call. The conversation was short and sweet, and just like that, her plan was in motion. She was debating whether she had time to make the second call she needed to when Percy's head broke the surface. Quickly, she dropped her phone back in her pocket.

He emerged from the water still dripping wet, so she took the moment to appreciate the view of his dark hair plastered to his forehead and his t-shirt clinging to him before he willed himself dry.

"I think that's better." He shook his head, then glanced at her. "Can't believe I forgot about the time difference. See, this is why I need you!"

Annabeth took a step closer to him. "Is that the only reason you need me?"

Percy swallowed. "There might be a few others."

"Uh-huh."

This time, no hellhound interrupted them, and there was no rush because, hey, right now, they pretty much had all the time in the world.

"Seriously, Percy," Annabeth said a while later as they were sitting on a massive flat stone watching the sky gradually lighten again, "I'm impressed. You put so much thought into everything today. And I know it's our anniversary—"

"Our one-year anniversary," he interjected.

"—our one-year anniversary," saying the words made her feel a little giddy, "but it's also your birthday. You didn't have to do all this."

"First of all, I wanted to. Second of all, I can't think of a better way to spend my birthday than with you. Don't give me that look, I know that sounds cheesy and I don't care." Percy took her hands. "Annabeth, I missed Christmas, New Year's Eve, Valentine's Day, your birthday basically because Tartarus, and that all sucks. So I just really wanted to do something extra-special today. Because you deserve that."

Annabeth blinked quickly, fighting down a lump in her throat. The reaction surprised her, but, gods, all of that had been hard. She reached out to take Percy's hand. "You're an amazing boyfriend. I know I don't say that all the time, but I think it a lot."

They stayed on the beach until the sun started to (finally) rise. Leaving Mrs. O'Leary still snoring peacefully, they walked to the edge of the water.

"You know this bay has some of the most dangerous currents in the world, right?" she said.

He gave her an are-you-kidding-me look. "You know I'm the son of Poseidon, right?"

"Just saying." She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm trusting you, Seaweed Brain."

But there was nothing to worry about. Percy made an air bubble, and while it may have jostled around a little more than usual, they made it safely to the San Francisco shore. The biggest issue they ran into in the bay was when a great white shark gave them a long, lazy look, until Percy said, "What's up?" and it nodded, then swam off.

They found a cute café for breakfast with a view of the waterfront. While they were waiting for their food, Annabeth wondered idly if she should visit her family while she was in town, but decided against it. Their time was limited today and she'd already agreed to fly out and visit for Labor Day weekend, which wasn't far off.

After breakfast, while they were waiting for the check, Annabeth was able to sneak away for a minute and make her second phone call, on the pretense of finding the restroom.

When they left the café, they crossed the bay again, but in a taxi this time, headed for the Berkeley Hills. The driver seemed a little confused when they requested to be dropped off at the Caldecott Tunnel, but when Annabeth handed him an extra twenty, he seemed to decide it wasn't his problem.

A very familiar centurion was guarding the door.

"Annabeth! Percy!" Hazel gave them each a big hug, which was a little awkward since she was in armor, but it was great to see her.

"Isn't the whole point of dating the praetor so you can get out of guard duty?" Percy asked with a grin.

"Very funny." Hazel took off her helmet. Her curly hair was up in a bun. "Actually, I volunteered for this morning."

"Special treatment for a former praetor?" Percy joked.

"Special treatment for two very good friends," Hazel corrected. She smiled again. "It's so good to see you guys!"

"You too." Annabeth gave Hazel another hug, armor and all. It seemed crazy that they'd barely known each other for two months. Seeing Hazel again felt like reuniting with one of her best friends. Amazing how fast you could bond with someone on a deadly quest.

They chatted easily down the tunnel and into the camp, briefly catching up. The only tough part was sharing that there was still no sign of Leo, although his holographic message had arrived over a week ago.

"But time moves differently in magical places," Annabeth pointed out. "If they ended up in the Sea of Monsters or something, they might not even realize how much time has passed."

Hazel left them at the end of the tunnel, saying she had a few more hours of guard duty left. "But I'll see you at lunch. Just follow the road along the river to that bridge. It'll take you into the city. Reyna and Frank kind of let people know you were coming, so don't be surprised if you get noticed. That's the extra special former praetor treatment."

"Oh. Cool." Percy frowned, like he wasn't sure what to think about that. "They don't, uh, hate me for running off on the Argo II like two days after being elected, right?"

Hazel hesitated, then said, "No. Most people have heard at least part of the story about how we battled Gaea and the giants, so they'll mostly be appreciative. There's a few with an attitude, but," she shrugged, "that's always going to happen."

"Can't please everybody," Annabeth agreed. "Even when you've saved their ungrateful butts."

Hazel laughed, then said good-bye, heading back to her post.

Percy was still thoughtfully studying the city. Annabeth slipped her hand into his. "Ready, Seaweed Brain?"

Percy squeezed her hand. "Yeah, let's go."

The city was very pretty, Annabeth had to admit. Even from a distance, she could see the brightly colored villas, the flowers blooming in gardens, even the light mist rising from fountains. She felt oddly nervous, though, as they approached. This didn't feel like a simple tour. It felt like there was much more on the line.

They had nearly reached the bridge into the city when a hawk screeched suddenly and dove towards them. Percy let go of her hand as he went for Riptide. Annabeth instinctively reached for her dagger, then cursed, remembering she didn't have it anymore. Nor had she brought her drakon bone sword—it was a little unwieldy to carry around on a daily basis.

As it turned out, she didn't need a weapon right now because the hawk turned into Frank Zhang.

"Hey, you're here!" Frank gave Percy a big hug.

"Hey, man. Good to see you!" Percy slapped Frank's back.

Frank gave Annabeth a hug too. He looked incredibly relaxed and confident in his purple praetor's cape. It seemed a little strange to see it on someone besides Reyna, but Frank wore it well. "Did Percy manage to pull off the surprise?" he asked.

"He did." Annabeth smiled. "I was not expecting to be in San Francisco today. But I'm excited to see the city and have lunch with you guys."

"Yeah, it'll be good to catch up," Frank said. "Listen, I can't stay, I was on my way to check out some things on the Field of Mars, but I saw you guys from the air and had to say hi."

"Glad you did, man," Percy said.

Frank beamed. "See you at lunch." And with that, he turned back into a hawk and flew away.

"Hard to believe he's the same guy who had to iguana himself out of Chinese handcuffs," Percy said.

"He came to my room after that," Annabeth said. "To learn how they really worked. That's where I got the idea for Arachne's trap. He also made a point of telling me that you were a really good guy." She nudged Percy with her shoulder.

He looked surprised. "He said that?"

"Yep. Of course, I already knew that, but it's always nice to hear."

Percy looked the way he always did when someone complimented him, a bit flattered but also bemused, like he couldn't quite believe someone would say something that nice about him. He rarely even accepted compliments from her. Annabeth always found herself torn, because while she liked that he wasn't arrogant, it was frustrating sometimes that he couldn't see his own good qualities. She pushed this thought aside, though, as they crossed the bridge into New Rome.

Wandering the streets of New Rome with Percy was…awesome. It was much easier to appreciate the city while holding hands with Percy, rather than edgily keeping an eye on Reyna's metal dogs. He'd told her the truth—the architecture was stunning. On any other day, Annabeth would have been seriously wishing for her sketchbook to copy down some of the designs. Scents of delicious foods drifted from the restaurants and cafes, blending with the flowers. And the people they ran into were friendly, which was a relief.

About halfway across the city, they took a detour through part of the university. Even in summer, there were a handful of students lounging on the grass, some studying, some just goofing off. Everyone looked relaxed and happy. It seemed nice. Being here and actually seeing it, Annabeth could imagine what it would be like to go to college here.

Eventually, they stumbled on the street of fountains Percy had mentioned in the Cocytus.

There were a dozen different fountains of varying sizes lining the street. They were covered in intricate carvings of Romanesque scenes, gods and goddesses, satyrs (or fauns), fruits, plants, and various animals. Cool mist hung in the air. Leafy green plants and bright flowers draped the walls.

"It's beautiful," Annabeth murmured.

"I thought you'd like it," Percy said.

She pictured him standing here alone, thinking about her appreciating the fountains. The thought sent her heart flipping like a gymnast. She also remembered the icy numbness of the Cocytus and how thinking of this place, and the chance for a future, had given both of them the strength to go on.

Percy was watching her closely, gauging her reaction. Her heart was still doing Olympic level acrobatics as she met his eyes. He was asking her a silent question. The answer terrified her. It felt too big and important. What had started as Percy's daydream about the two of them living in New Rome had opened the door to a future she'd never imagined was possible for a demigod. She never could have guessed how badly she might actually want it.

Let it scare you, Piper's voice said.

Following her friend's advice, Annabeth allowed herself a three count to let the fear wash over her. Then she brushed droplets of mist from her face and told Percy the truth. "I think I could be happy here."

He searched her face. "Really? Because I know it's different. And it's not our camp. But there's a lot of good stuff. And you'd be closer to your dad. Plus, it's safe. No more looking over our shoulders for monsters all day every day."

"Percy." She touched his cheek. "I'm in."

A nervous smile crossed his face. "You're in. Like for college here and—"

"Let's start with college. But after that, Reyna did say we'd be welcome as long as we want to stay."

Gods, his eyes are gorgeous, she thought when he locked them on hers and said, "You want to go to college here? With me? Really?"

"I really do." Annabeth kissed him before he could ask her a fourth time. The cool misty air made his embrace feel even warmer. For the first time in months, Annabeth allowed herself the frightening and exhilarating feeling of hope.

Lunch with their friends was great, but Annabeth was also starting to get a little tired and there was a lot of day still to go. She did manage to get Hazel's help to send an Iris-message, using that Fleecy direct line thing, to Tyson, who was spending a couple weeks back at the Cyclopes forges, but was excited at the idea of taking a quick trip up to Camp Half-Blood.

Sooner than she was prepared for, it was time to go. Luckily they didn't have to go all the way back to the beach to find Mrs. O'Leary; she met them at the border of Camp Jupiter. Annabeth's heart ached saying good-bye to their friends because she knew it might be a while before they saw each other again. But after a final round of hugs, she and Percy climbed back onto the hellhound and disappeared into the shadow of the hillside.

They reemerged in the shadow of Thalia's pine, startling Peleus the dragon. He snorted flames and stomped a circle around the tree, baring his fangs. Annabeth finally managed to calm him down by singing a few lines of his favorite lullaby "Rock-a-bye, Dragon." Reassured, he let her scratch his scaly nose.

Percy was staring at her.

"Not a word," she warned. He mimed zipping his lips, but he didn't get rid of the grin plastered across his face.

Annabeth's plan-related nerves were jangling as they walked into camp. It was, after all, already past five on the East Coast. She didn't have much time. Fortunately, Tyson must have seen them arrive because he charged up the hill yelling, "Brother!" and grabbed Percy in a hug.

"Ooof. Hey, big guy. Good to see you. How were the forges?"

They'd expected to find Tyson in California, but he'd been called back to the undersea forges for a couple weeks to help with a weapons order. Some ichthyocentaurs needed extra firepower for an assault on Keto and Phorcys in the Atlanta aquarium.

"The forges are good. We made big weapons for the pony fish men. Bad guys will go BOOM!" Tyson said proudly. He then leaned towards Percy and, in a whisper that wasn't much of a whisper, said, "I put the package on your bed, brother."

Percy glanced at Annabeth, then tried to look like he hadn't. "Uh, awesome. Thanks, big guy."

"Annabeth!" She braced herself for Tyson's hug, but there was no way to ever fully prepare. When he let go, he asked, "I will take Percy to the fish ponies now?"

"That sounds like a great idea," Annabeth said.

"Wait, what?" Percy asked.

"It's your birthday, Seaweed Brain. You've spent all day with me. Go hang out with your brother and the hippocampi for a while."

Percy eyed her disturbingly shrewdly. "Are you trying to get rid of me?"

"No." Yes. "I just think you'd have fun hanging out with Tyson."

"Uh-huh." Percy didn't sound convinced, but he kissed her cheek and said to Tyson, "Alright. Let's go find Rainbow."

"Yay! We will go play with Rainbow for one hour." Tyson winked at Annabeth, which on a Cyclops was not that subtle.

"Sounds great! Have fun, guys!" She practically shoved them towards the beach. As soon as they were out of sight, she jogged towards the dining pavilion.

Thank Olympus for Sally Jackson and Piper McLean. Without them, Annabeth would have been sunk. They had been her two phone calls earlier.

"His mom dropped everything off about an hour ago," Piper informed Annabeth when they met up outside the dining pavilion. "I was just waiting for you to get started."

"You're awesome. We have an hour."

To Annabeth's surprise, Piper wasn't the only one helping her. Jason was there, although that wasn't too surprising. Neither was the fact that Grover and Juniper helped. But Piper's half-sister Lacy also jumped in, plus Katie and Miranda from Demeter, Lou Ellen from Hecate, Kayla from Apollo, Jake Mason and Harley from Hephaestus, even Travis and Conner Stoll.

"People missed Percy," Travis said with a shrug. "He's done a lot for everybody at camp. Anybody who fought in New York last year knows that."

By the time the conch horn blew, signaling dinner, everything was ready. The campers gathered like normal, grabbing food and burning a portion for the gods. A few glanced around confused at the decorations, but most had been told what was going on. Clarisse rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath when she came in.

Tyson and Percy came back from the beach laughing. With his hair tousled and windswept and the huge smile on his face, Annabeth had to admit, Percy looked really good.

He froze when they reached the dining pavilion. His mouth dropped open. Annabeth bit back a smile as his eyes traveled slowly around the pavilion, taking in the blue streamers hung up, the blue balloons clustered around, and the banner hung over the Poseidon table that said "Happy Birthday!" in bright, bold letters. In the middle of the table was a display of blue cupcakes. Candles shaped like a 1 and a 7 were stuck in the top two cupcakes.

"Happy birthday, brother!" Tyson shouted, slapping Percy on the back so hard he stumbled forward a step.

"Uh, thanks."

"Happy birthday, man!" Jason called from the Zeus table, and then other campers took up the call, a chorus of happy birthdays ringing around the pavilion. Percy looked floored. He met her eyes and she smiled. Conner Stoll led the charge of several campers, including little Harley, who all dragged Percy to the Poseidon table. When they reached the table, and Percy was standing in front of the cupcakes, Annabeth lit the candles.

"Alright," Clarisse growled, "let's do this, punks."

"Happy birthday to you…"

As the song ended, Annabeth leaned in to kiss Percy's cheek. "Make a wish, Seaweed Brain."

Percy closed his eyes and blew out the candles. Campers cheered. Then everyone grabbed cupcakes and headed back to their own tables. But Annabeth noticed that many of them, especially the older campers who had been around since the battles of Manhattan and the Labyrinth, and before, took a moment to pat Percy's back or offer a gentle punch to the shoulder, saying again, "Happy birthday, Percy," or "Good to have you back, Jackson." There was a festive mood in the pavilion as everyone finished their dinner and dessert.

Annabeth stayed at the Poseidon table with Percy and Tyson. Percy still looked shell-shocked.

"Did you do all this?" he asked her.

"I had help." She patted Tyson's arm and he beamed. "Oh, and make sure to tell Piper and your mom thanks, too."

"Yeah. Yeah, I will."

They joined everyone for the campfire after dinner, but about halfway through, Percy slipped his arm around her waist and whispered, "Meet me at the beach." When she nodded, he squeezed her waist, then left the amphitheater. He wasn't the first one to go, the crowd was dwindling, so it wasn't too obvious. Annabeth counted slowly to one hundred in her head, then she left as well. On the way down to the beach, she made a brief detour to her cabin.

Percy wasn't there yet when she arrived, so Annabeth spread the blanket she'd brought on a sand dune and sat down, looking out to sea with her chin resting on her knees. It was incredibly peaceful.

"Hey."

Annabeth smiled up at Percy. "Hi."

He dropped onto the blanket beside her, then carefully set down the two packages he was holding. "Do you have your phone on you?"

"Um, yeah. Why?"

"Can I see it?"

She passed it to him with a questioning look.

"You'll see," was all he said as he tapped the screen a few times, typed something in, then set it down. He took a deep breath. "So, the final thing I had planned is presents. Not that you had to get me anything, but I got you something."

"And I got you something," Annabeth told him, reaching for the oblong package she'd laid in the sand. "And I'm going first because it's kind of a combination birthday and anniversary gift."

Percy's eyes widened when he took the package. "Okay, I have no idea what this is."

"Open it and find out." Annabeth bit her lip as Percy tore off the shiny blue wrapping paper.

"Holy Hephaestus," he breathed. "Is this—is this a Celestial bronze skateboard?"

"Yes!" Annabeth explained how earlier in the summer, before the Argo II took off, she'd talked to Tyson about making it. They'd worked together to design it for maximum aerodynamics, gotten some input from Leo, and then Tyson had made it. "So I'm sure there are some extra bonus features worked in, which you'll have to ask him about. But it should be impervious to monster attacks. And it could even function as an extra weapon in an emergency."

"Dang, Annabeth, this is awesome. You're awesome. Thank you." He leaned over and kissed her. "I'm going to have to tell Tyson thanks again, too. He never even let anything slip! When did you guys have time to do this?"

"Back in early June. It was kind of an act of faith," Annabeth admitted. "I wanted to believe we'd find you and be able to celebrate your birthday and our anniversary together."

Percy's expression was hard to read in the moonlight, but when he kissed her again, it was soft and sweet.

"My turn," he said when he straightened up. He handed her the larger of the two packages. "So I actually got this just before winter break, for Christmas, but then, well, you know. It's not anything big, but I thought maybe you'd like it."

The box was surprisingly light. When Annabeth ripped off the blue and white striped paper, she found the image of a building staring back at her. "Is that Fallingwater? By Frank Lloyd Wright?"

It was. Actually, it was a puzzle printed with an image of the building. "It's actually a two-sided puzzle. One side is the actual building and the other side is the blueprints," Percy pointed out. "Again, it's not much, but I saw it and it just looked like your kind of thing. I remembered you'd mentioned that building a few times."

"Percy's it's great." She kissed him. The puzzle was cute, but even better than that was simply the fact that he'd seen it, remembered that was one of her favorite buildings, and bought it. Teasing, she asked, "So are you going to help me put this together?"

"Uh…" he ran his fingers through his hair. "I was kind of thinking you could do that and I could play video games on a snow day this winter. You know, still hanging out together, but…I mean, if you want me to help, I totally will."

Annabeth laughed. "Actually, Seaweed Brain, I like your plan."

"Cool." He grinned, then picked up the smaller box. "So that was more like a fun present. This is the for real boyfriend-level anniversary present."

"Boyfriend-level?"

Percy fidgeted nervously with the box, twisting it in his hands. "I mean, I wouldn't have felt weird getting you the puzzle when we were thirteen or fourteen. But this one is definitely a for-my-girlfriend thing."

They'd been together a year now, she'd heard him call her his girlfriend numerous times, yet somehow it still made butterflies skip around her stomach. "Okay, boyfriend. I'm intrigued."

Percy handed her the package. It was a small black box, like for jewelry. Inside, nestled against the blue velvet lining, was what looked almost exactly like, "A camp bead?"

"Sort of." Percy hurried to explain. "It's actually Celestial bronze. I asked Tyson to make it. Apparently you and I sometimes think alike. And we probably need to do something really nice for Tyson before he heads back to California. Anyway, I figured out the designs, and then, yeah."

Annabeth lifted the bead. It was already strung on a fine bronze chain.

"Just as another option," Percy said. "Since I know your camp necklace is kind of filling up. Apparently the chain has a breakaway feature, for safety in monster fights, Tyson said."

Annabeth let the chain slide between her fingers as she studied the bead, trying to make out the designs. Percy helpfully hit the flashlight feature on her phone and held it up so she could see.

The bead was divided into four quadrants. In the first, the etching showed an owl in front of an olive tree. Opposite that was an engraving of a trident with wave designs in the background. In the quadrant between them was an image of a chariot, complete with tiny horses and two miniscule humans. Across from that, in the final quadrant, were simply the letters "A" and "P". The left side of the "A" delicately entwined with the right side of the "P."

Annabeth's fingers trembled slightly as she put the necklace on. The metal was cool against her skin.

Percy was watching her closely. His fingers tapped fast against his leg. "Do you like it?"

Her answer was to throw her arms around him so enthusiastically she basically tackled him into the sand.

When she finished kissing him, Percy chuckled. "I guess that's a yes."

"Percy, I love it. That is the sweetest, most thoughtful…it's absolutely perfect. I love you." She kissed him again.

"Love you, too." Percy brushed a few loose strands of hair off her face. "Happy anniversary, Annabeth."

"Happy anniversary, Percy." She kissed him again, entirely because she just liked kissing him. "And happy seventeenth birthday."

"Thanks." A mischievous expression lit his features. "So tell me the truth. You planned that whole birthday party today, didn't you?"

Annabeth wanted to protest, but what was the point? "Yeah. I called your mom and Piper from California for help. And I swear I didn't forget your birthday, I just lost track of the fact that today was August eighteenth. And you had this whole incredible day planned and I thought, oh my gods, I'm the lousiest girlfriend ever and—"

At that point, Percy cut her off by pressing his lips against hers. "You're not a lousy girlfriend, you're a fantastic girlfriend. And I loved my party. I was completely surprised."

"Seriously? You didn't have some suspicions when Tyson winked at me?"

He laughed. "Okay, maybe a little, but I still didn't expect something like that. Nice save, Wise Girl."

"Thanks." She curled her fingers into his t-shirt, enjoying the warm weight of his hand resting on her back. "So when did you figure it out?"

"When I saw your I'm-planning-something look back on the beach in San Francisco."

"I do not have—"

"You do." He kissed her nose. "And it's adorable, and I like it."

Part of her wondered if she should smack his arm for calling her adorable, but the rest of her was too focused on the way his words made the butterflies in her stomach spin wildly. She settled for sticking her tongue out at him. "Fine. But there's one thing I still don't get."

"Hmm?" Percy was absentmindedly playing with her hair, making it difficult for Annabeth to think.

"What did any of this have to do with you ending up on Piper and Will's team for capture the flag?"

"Oh schist, I almost forgot." Percy scrambled to his feet, then held out a hand to help Annabeth up.

"Percy, what—"

"Hold on." He picked up her phone, tapped a couple things, then held it loosely in his hand. "I asked Piper for some help with planning stuff today, just some little details and like how she came to wake you up. For the record, she agreed without any problem."

Annabeth recalled Piper's words down by the lake. Just remember, I'm your friend. I would have helped for free.

"But," Percy continued, "Will Solace is a jerk."

Annabeth blinked. "Will Solace? From Apollo?"

"Yes."

"Our best medic? The guy who saved my life, plus a lot of other demigods, during the Battle of Manhattan? Literally one of the nicest guys at camp?"

"That's the one."

"I'm going to need more information."

"I went to the Apollo cabin a couple weeks ago for help with…something. Will overheard what I was doing and he said the only way his cabin would help was if I teamed up with them for capture the flag. And actually it wasn't even about Athena. They've apparently been wanting to put the smack down on Ares since last summer. I agreed to help to get them to help me. So, Will's a butthead," he finished matter-of-factly.

"That's devious. He really seized the opportunity." Annabeth was kind of impressed. "You know, he might just be perfect for Nico. Sunny, but with an edge."

"That's what I thought, too."

"And why were you in the Apollo cabin?"

Percy took a deep breath. "I told you this morning about sort of retracing our history or whatever, because of—"

"—my Romeo and Juliet essay, yeah."

"Right. So I was thinking about our first dance at Westover Hall and then on Mt. Olympus. I was trying to track down the songs. But I couldn't figure it out, so I went to the Apollo kids. Austin Lake is like a musical prodigy. He helped me piece it together and find the songs. And then I realized you might have heard a different song on Olympus, but I couldn't exactly ask. But this was what I heard. Austin mixed it together with the song from Westover Hall, and it sounds pretty cool." Percy tapped her phone screen and music started to play, slow and sweet, a little melancholy, but hopeful too. He set the phone down on the blanket and held out his hand. "Will you dance with me?"

So Annabeth took his hand and let him pull her close. They revolved slowly on the sand and it felt a little bit like a memory and a lot like a promise for the future.

Just before curfew, Percy walked her back to her cabin, their hands laced together.

"I think this is you," he said when they stopped outside Cabin Six.

Annabeth lightly touched her new necklace. "Percy, today was amazing. I can't believe you did all that work."

He shrugged like it was no big deal. "It was a tough year. I thought we'd earned something special."

"This was definitely special. Can you believe we made it to our one year anniversary?"

"Honestly? It seems like a real achievement, after everything." He squeezed her hand. "But I'm looking forward to this next year. With you."

"Ditto." Annabeth's heart was so light it felt like she was floating. She tilted her head. "Can I get a kiss for luck? It is a tradition, right?"

A smile flickered across Percy's lips. "Absolutely."

Annabeth hoped no one was watching their last lingering kiss, but she also didn't really care.

"Sweet dreams," Percy murmured against her lips.

"Good night, Percy." She watched him walk towards Cabin Three, hands in his pockets, his new skateboard tucked under his arm. Then she went into her cabin, a dreamy smile still fixed on her face.

She woke up the next morning with last night's song from the beach still playing in her head, which reminded her of something else. She brought it up with Percy after breakfast, when they were sitting on the dock by the canoe lake.

"Don't forget," she said sweetly, "you owe me Jason and Nico for capture the flag tomorrow night. Athena, Ares, Hermes, Hephaestus, and you three versus everyone else. Including Aphrodite and Apollo."

Percy made a face. "Any suggestions on how I make this happen?"

"I'm sure you'll figure something out." She kissed him. "Good luck, Seaweed Brain."

Annabeth had absolutely no idea what favors had been exchanged or promised, but Percy came through. And their team absolutely crushed the other side. After that, Chiron implemented a rule that no team was allowed to monopolize children of the Big Three. Annabeth didn't really care. She would come up with a new strategy. Besides, she had other things to focus on.

That night at the campfire, listening to her friends sing ridiculous songs, with Percy's arm slung around her shoulders, Annabeth felt content. They had a week left at camp, then she and Percy would be going to school in New York City and preparing for college in New Rome, and then, farther in the future…well. She remembered Piper's words in Sparta: let it scare you, trust that it'll all work out anyway.

She leaned over and kissed Percy's cheek, loving the way his eyes lit up when he turned to her. Tonight, she would trust that somehow, as long as she and Percy were together, they would figure it out. There were a lot of good things to look forward to.