Was on another account, deleted it and reposted it on this account. Thank you.

Tears had been leaking down her cheeks for some time now, accompanied by the occasional chocked sob as she hugged her knees to her chest and buried her face in her hands. Folding herself into a ball-like shape was something she had done when she was younger too, and for once she was glad Leo had earned the presence of mind to design the cabins mostly soundproof.

She could hear the faint beats of the Coach's TV show pounding in the background, followed by yells of mixed words in the background. It was nearly midnight, according to the old-fashioned clock that was perched on the wooden nightstand next to her bed; her back was pressed tightly to the wall and she could feel the ship moving back and forth among the waves, far away from land of any sort.

It had been a few days since she and Percy had made it back to the ship alive and – mostly – in one piece. Her boyfriend had been strangely distant as that time had elapsed and for the first time she had found the time to sit alone – be alone. The tears had come almost immediately and they were a sudden relief – she had barely held back the tears while she was in Tartarus, alone save for Percy and Bob.

Bob. The soft-hearted Titian had sacrificed himself in order for them to make it out of that hellish place alive. He would've had an honorable death at the hands of the most evil of monsters; he deserved more than to die, alone, in a place that made the bravest of demigods wet themselves. And Tartarus…what would happen next?

She fought back another lump in her throat.

Suddenly, there was a knock at her door, before a muffled voice came through: "Annabeth?"

It was Percy, so she stretched out on her bed and wiped her tears from her eyes. "Come in," she spoke, voice hoarse.

He peeked his head out from behind the door, eyes narrowing a shade when he saw her raw eyes. "Are you – are you okay?"

"Describe okay," she croaked, and he slipped in a closed the door, releasing a slight thump into the air.

The boat rocked back and forth, almost as a smooth lullaby as her boyfriend stepped towards her. Hedge's show had mostly quieted and the sudden silence made her freeze. "You shouldn't be in here; what if Coach catches you?"

He hovered near her, as if afraid to sit down on the bed. "I'm not afraid of that satyr," he teased, and her lips quirked into a smile.

But then she remembered why she was crying in the first place and her smile faded, tears leaking down her cheek again.

She made to brush it off, but Percy beat her to it, moving her legs to he could sit across from her and cradling her head in his hands. "Hey," he whispered, thumb wiping away the water. "It's okay. We're alive. We survived."

A lump rose, once again, in her throat. "Gods, Percy," she started, but was cut off by his lips on hers.

She responded eagerly, her fingers moving to his neck while he continued to hold her head in his hands, his fingers slipping into her golden curls. He tasted like seawater and she relished every moment of it; but the kiss ended far too soon and he pressed his forehead to his, fingers moving her hands into his. "We're alive," he repeated, "we're together, and that's all that matters."

She kissed him again, and he pulled her closer to him. The kiss broke when he formed a barrier with his hands around her lower back, her head resting against his chest. He held her tightly and she fought back the sobs. "We're alive," he said again, the words becoming a mantra of sorts. "We're alive."

Her fingers absentmindedly traced patterns on his upper arm – he was weaker than usual, the result of malnutrition in the world of hell. She tilted her head up and looking into his eyes, which were more tired than usual.

Her finger raised itself and almost absentmindedly, moved along his set jaw. "You need to sleep," she whispered, her voice no louder than the waves crashing against the side of the hull.

But he heard her, nodded, and slowly turned around, keeping her on his chest. Her eyes closed as he gently settled them both on the bed, legs entangled. He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Love you," he muttered, before pulling the blankets out from under them to cover them, the smooth sheets reaching her shoulders.

"Love you too," she whispered back, and slowly but surely, she was lulled to sleep by the sound of his heartbeat.

When she woke it was slowly, and with sleepily eyes she realized that she hadn't had any dreams for the first time in weeks – a feat rarely accomplished by a demigod. She was still pulled up to Percy's chest, the blankets protecting them from any cold that might have seeped it.

The porthole above her bed was spilling in splits of pale light and the clock was slowing the small hand on the five and the large hand settled between the six and the seven. 5:32. It was early in the morning; usually Pepper and Jason were up around six, Leo and Hazel around eight, Frank around seven-thirty, and Hedge up around noon or so. As for Nico…that boy was the slip of a shadow, slinking around the ship at whatever hours he pleased.

She turned to stretch, elbow hitting Percy's taunt stomach. Her breath was held for a split second to see if he would react; but he didn't, only letting out the slightest bit of drool onto her pillow.

Affectionately, or in just a moment of realizing how adorable he was in his sleep, she leaned up and placed a gentle kiss to his jawbone before turning a stepping out of the bed. She had fallen asleep in the clothes she'd worn the day before, so she quickly grabbed a simple white tee and jeans from the dresser in the corner before slipping out of the room, closing the door firmly behind her.

The bathroom was occupied only by Hazel, who was pulling her curly hair into a ponytail. When she noticed Annabeth she smiled, whispering a tiny, "Hello."

The blonde said a greeting back, before slipping into one of the stalls in the back and changing. She had always been a little self conscious about the scars on her body; even at her old school, in gym class, she had been the longer who changed in the bathroom stalls.

When she excited Hazel was still there, brushing her teeth. The other girl spit out the toothpaste and rinsed, before turning to look at Annabeth, who had begun to wash her face. "So," the other girl said, "Why are you up so early?"

Annabeth finished rubbing the soap off with one of the hand towels before she answered. "Dunno," she answered politely. She wasn't sure where her relationship with Hazel was yet; the younger girl was a Roman, yet she seemed more in manner like a Greek. In another life, they might've become friends, but coming back from the dead seemed to set a barrier between two people.

Hazel eyed her. "Are you alright?"

Annabeth shot her a glance. "Is anyone?"

The other girl nodded in reply, before gathering up her stuff and exiting the room.

Well, Annabeth thought, that was slightly odd. But she finished washing her face quickly and tip-toed back to her room as not to wake the other members of the boat. As she passed Frank's room she heard a noise, and paused; there were the sound of two voices in there when it began to sound like an argument, Annabeth just continued walking.

She had just slipping into her room when she noticed Percy wasn't in her bed. Her eyebrows furrowed and she had the slightest of seconds to think before ruffled hair was on her shoulder and strong hands were linked around her stomach.

A little laugh escaped her lips. "Percy," she warned, though her voice had no malice in it. "Let me go."

His head shook. "No," he said, voice sounding slightly childish. "Mine."

She laughed, and his face turned, placing the slightest of kisses on her neck. "Mine," he repeated, and she shivered under his hot breath.

"Percy," she warned once again, but he paid no attention, only moving his hands to her hips. He had a light touch, though the way his lips were trailing up her jaw suggested he wanted to be anything but gentle.

She managed to get a hand to his ribs and she poked him in a place only she knew he was ticklish; he reacted immediately, choking back a laugh and falling backwards toward her bed. He landed there, a hand flying in mock anger to his chest.

"Why Annabeth," he said, "One may think you don't like me!"

"Please," she scoffed, throwing her dirty clothes into the woven laundry basket tucked into the corner. "Why would I go through all that trouble of saving your ass if I didn't like you?"

"Saving my ass?" He sounded scandalized. "When have you saved my ass?"

"Bunch of times," she replied calmly, turning and placing her hands on her hips. The small cabin allowed only a few feet of space between him and his feet scuffed the floor. "Like when I–"

She got no chance to explain, because suddenly there was a knock at her door. "Annabeth?" a voice came through, and they both froze. "Hedge called an emergency meeting. He wants everyone in the dining area now."

"Okay," she called back, eyes locked with Percy's. "I'll be there in a second, Piper."

"'K," Piper said, voice sleepy. "Also, have you seen Percy? I looked in his room but he wasn't there."

She swore her heart skipped a beat, but quick thinking was faster than Percy's panicked expression – they didn't want a repeat of the stable incident. "I think he was in the bathroom."

"Thanks," the charmspeaker called before moving away from the door, her footsteps heavy against wood.

In front of her, Percy breathed a sigh of relief. "Gods, that was close." His voice was low.

"You better get out," she said, before whirling around and peeking out from the door. The hallway was empty, and she turned around. "Go–"

But he was already gone, her porthole window was wide open, blowing in bits of water. She hurried to shut it, cursing her boyfriend under her breath.

When she saw him again, he was seated calmly at the wooden table, sipping a glass of blue coke-cola.

She punched him in the arm. Hard.

He looked up innocently at her. "What?"

"You're an idiot," she shot back, but dropped a kiss to his cheek as she sat down beside him. As scrambled eggs and pancakes appeared on her plate, he wrapped their fingers together, settling them on her thigh.

Then Hedge entered the room, a stern expression on his face. Nearly everyone was already seated, except for Nico, who was just now slipping into a chair at the far end of the table.

Coach cleared his throat. "Now," he said, expression a mixture of grim and happiness. "I've received some news."

"Yeah?" Jason asked.

Hedge paused for a moment. "I'm a dad," he said quietly.

For a moment, there was silence. Then everyone jumped up and congratulated him, but as Annabeth hugged him, she noticed Percy stayed glued to his chair. She turned to ask what was wrong, but then she felt his arms around her, his head on her shoulder.

"Hi," he whispered.

"Hi," she said back. Around them, everyone was cheering and patting the satyr on the back. "What's wrong?"

He turned and kissed her neck gently. "Someday," he whispered, "I'd like that to be us."

She snorted. "Raising half-satyr babies?"

He chuckled. "No," he said. "I'd like to raise a family with you."

Her heart was pounding, but she turned in his arms and kissed him. "I'd like that," she whispered, and it was that moment she knew they'd be alright.

The end! This is only a one-shot.