As Long as I Have You

Nothing a Friend Couldn't Fix

ANNABETH

Annabeth barely managed to get Percy out of the apartment in time for work. It had only taken a thousand "I'm fine" s, five hundred kisses (don't worry, she brushed her teeth), ten "Piper is coming over to take care of me" s, and one shove out the door.

As Annabeth waited in the now-empty apartment for Piper, she nibbled on the stale saltine crackers that had somehow survived the move. Even eyeing the eggs that Percy had so kindly cooked for her before he left made her want to retreat back to the bathroom.

While the stale cracker dissolved on her tongue, her mind drifted back to the past two mornings, where she had found herself in the same situation, hunched over the porcelain toilet. Thankfully, those mornings, unlike today, Percy had already left for work, meaning Annabeth hadn't had to deal with the typical Percy overprotectiveness that she faced this morning. If she had always felt better by the time she saw him in the evening, then what was the point of telling him? Give him more worry and stress? With two jobs to handle, he had enough on his plate already.

The sound of the lock turning and the shake of the doorknob twisting awoke Annabeth from her spiral of thoughts. As her adrenaline spiked, she reached for the closest weapon available; unfortunately, all that meant was a rogue spoon left on the counter.

"You should really get a stronger lock," Piper noted, waltzing into the room, her choppy hair clipped in a half-up, half-down, highlighting her eccentric earrings; today's choice: starfishes.

"Thankfully, you're the only person we know that can charm-speak locks into unlocking," Annabeth replied with a sigh, putting her spoon down and walking over to lock the door behind her friend before being embraced in Piper's arms.

It was a bit alarming to Annabeth how quickly she and Piper had bonded. The only one who had broken her shell that quick was the doofus she shared a bed with. But, then again, it sort of made sense, considering they had quite literally saved the world together.

A year younger than her, Piper had thankfully followed Annabeth to NRU. From there, their friendship truly blossomed. Piper quickly became more than just a friend—more than someone Annabeth had defeated giants and monsters with. Piper became Annabeth's confidant, her listener, her secret keeper. Although Percy already claimed the role of Annabeth's best friend and boyfriend built together, Annabeth still considered Piper to be her BFF. She had always wanted one of those, envied the kids at the playground with their matching necklaces. Now she had one of her own: a turquoise and gold necklace that Piper had gifted Annabeth on her last birthday. Since then, the necklace hadn't left her neck, complementing her Camp Half blood beads perfectly.

Piper was always there for Annabeth. When Annabeth needed to complain about some of Percy's more annoying traits, she was a quick iris message away; when Annabeth needed a girls' day, Piper was at her door, car keys in hand; when Annabeth needed a shoulder to cry on after just throwing up while giving her boyfriend a blowjob... well, Piper was here now.

Every summer, the two couples, Annabeth and Percy, Piper and Jason, returned to Camp Half-Blood to volunteer as staff and continue to work on Jason's never-ending project of constructing cabins and shrines for the minor gods. This year, however, Piper and Jason had gone alone, as Percy and Annabeth had been a little consumed with all that college graduates had to deal with when entering the real world. The entire summer, Annabeth felt like a small piece of herself was missing. That was until Piper returned again for the school year. Thankfully, they had returned to Camp Jupiter early to get a jump start on their senior year, meaning Annabeth had only really been without her friend for less than two months, but those two months had felt like a lifetime. With Piper and Jason's college apartment only a couple blocks away, Piper had already made herself a little too acquainted with Annabeth's locks.