A Drop Of The Ocean - ( Percy Jackson Fanfiction)- Completed

Ch 3

Still spoilers from The Burning Maze (if you haven't read it and I'm sorry) which is not that these two get married because they're still in high school during that book and that's gross. This takes place sometime in the future. Thanks for reading.

Percy was gone again when Annabeth woke up. True to his word, he'd slept fully clothed on top of the covers. He'd also snored, muttered in his sleep, and thrashed around a bit fitfully until he'd finally stilled around 3AM. Annabeth was a little surprised that he was already awake. She got dressed and made her way out of Cabin Three, feeling a little guilty as she crept past her old Athena cabin on the way to the Big House. The sun was barely up, but there were a few demigods roaming about. Running, practicing, training. She smiled and remembered all too well the early mornings and all of the time she'd spent out in these fields an arenas. As she walked and watched, she noticed one body that was a little different than the rest: taller and lither, more experienced. Percy.

She watched him spar with a young camper, knowing Percy was taking it easy on the kid. He smiled as parried with Riptide, laughing as the boy slashed at him. Percy jumped back and fell onto his butt. The boy held out his hand to help Percy up. Percy took it, then ruffled the boy's hair before heading out of the arena.

"Hey." The corners of Percy's lips pulled up just a little when he saw Annabeth.

She held out her hand and tugged him closer. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and rested his cheek on the top of her head.

"You left again," she said to his shirt.

His arms tightened around her and Annabeth could tell he was suddenly felt guilty.

"Sorry," he said as he pulled away. Percy slipped his hand into Annabeth's and they started back to the Big House. "Bad dreams."

Annabeth squeezed his hand and her steps halted. She put her free hand on the back of his neck and pulled his face to hers, kissing him gently. He responded with a small sigh and rested his forehead against hers.

"New or old?" She whispered, knowing he would know exactly what she meant. Underneath all Percy's bravado and stupid jokes, there was a darkness. A sadness that grew deep in his soul. Annabeth knew, though not many others ever caught a glimpse of it. Mostly people saw Percy as the guy who made dumb jokes, who was full of sarcastic comments, who was scary in battle and was a very powerful demigod.

Only Annabeth knew the deepest parts of him. It was part of what made her love him so much.

"Old," he whispered back before kissing her forehead and pulling her back into his arms.

While she was thankful that he wasn't having any new dreams, Annabeth wished she could make the old ones go away. Sometimes they had the same nightmares: New York, Tartarus, Jason. But sometimes Percy's were worse. Maybe it was because his dad was more powerful. Because he was a child of the Big Three. Maybe that made his pain plague him more so than it did her. Whatever the cause was, Annabeth hated when Percy was sad. It was like the whole world was a little bit darker.

"I'll be fine," he murmured against her forehead. "My mom and Estelle will be here soon. We'll get into the Christmas spirit. It'll be...fine."

His eyes tightened and Annabeth frowned. She knew he was trying for her sake, but he didn't need to. Their pain was often the same, after all.

"I love you," she told him before kissing him again.

"Ditto, Wise Girl." Percy grinned when he pulled away. "Come on. I want pancakes."