Percy and Annabeth: Honest, I swear.

Annabeth creeped as silently as she could through the darkness, praying to the Gods no one would hear her. How humiliating would that be? If anyone caught her outside of her cabin this late, they would defiantly know what was going on. She and Percy weren't exactly a secret, you know? And because of that Annabeth had decided that she liked that these little sneak outs were just between her and Percy. Sure they shared plenty of secrets with Piper, Hazel, Rachael, Frank, Jason, Nico, and Leo, but they could NOT know about this. As she stepped away from the stairs leading up to the Athena cabin, the risk of being caught put Annabeth on edge, and brought upon her the unwelcome feeling of nervousness. Annabeth frowned to herself. As a natural born fighter, she wasn't used to feeling jumpy, and she hated it. But Percy was worth it. As she tiptoed through the night she began to think about the first time she ever saw Percy, the first time they ever spoke. "You drool in your sleep." and she had said. She smiled at the memory but her face fell when she noticed something and her back went straight. There, to her right, was tiniest flicker of light near the Hephaestus cabin, something she probably wouldn't have noticed at all if her senses hadn't been on red alert. Her head snapped in the direction of the disturbance to the otherwise motionless night, but the light was gone just as fast as it had come. This worried her. Although this was not the first time Annabeth had snuck out, the idea of the other campers seeing her made her nervous. She then sped up her tip toeing until finally, after what seemed like ages, she arrived at the door of Percy's cabin. She raised her hand to knock on the sea green door *tap...tap tap tap....tap* the special code she and Percy had created for her late night visits. The door opened as soon as she finished knocking and a hand reached out, grabbed her wrist and yanked her inside. The jerk was so sudden that she yelped with surprise, before covering her mouth with the idea of being caught suddenly returning to her head. The hand on her wrist released her but this did not help much as the inside of the cabin was pitch black, the smell of the ocean the only thing letting her know she was in the right place. "Percy-" Annabeth began. "Shhhhhhh hold on one second" Came a voice from across the room, a voice that she would recognize any where, a voice that she loved. "I swear I just put the matches down- ah there they are." Annabeth heard the sound of a match strike and then a sudden blaze of light as one by one Percy lit candles, which Annabeth soon realized were in placed around a large circle. No not a circle, a fort, made out of sheets. Suddenly Percy took her hand again a led her into the structure. When she was inside, she gasped. The minute she entered she was hit with a wonderful feeling of warmth, a contrast to the outside freezing cold. The floor of the fort was covered in pillows and the sheets seemed to form a dome around them. Some how, Percy had managed to string lanterns and old Christmas lights all around the top of the dome, giving the illusion of stars. It was one of the most beautiful things Annabeth had ever seen. "So..." Percy half whispered shyly next to her "do... Do you like it?" Annabeth smiled and turned to him. "Of coarse I do, Seaweed Brain, it's beautiful." She wrapped her arms around his neck. "A true work of art" she continued, grinning. "Wow," he said sarcastically, "High praise from the architecture goddess herself. I'm truly honored." Then he bowed down, face first into the pillow floor. Annabeth laughed. That's what she loved about Percy. He could make her laugh like no one else could. He could make all of her problems melt away just like that. She bent over and picked up one of the feather stuffed pillows and hit the still bowing Percy in the back of the head. "Owwwwwww." He whined jokingly, as if the pillow actually hurt. "Oh stand UP Seaweed Brain." He looked up at her and half smiled "Up? No Wise Girl, I think I've got a better idea." And with that he grabbed her hand and pulled her down onto the pillow floor and they collapsed in a fit of tangled limbs and laughter. And then suddenly she was kissing him. He smelled of the ocean and wind and of Percy. Her Percy. Her beautiful, hilarious, irritating Percy. The Percy she could not live without. Not by a long shot. The Percy she loved. She loved kissing him. It was as if she could only breath right when his mouth was on hers. They kissed and kissed and kissed, enjoying the privacy of the cabin, all watching eyes asleep, free to be totally themselves. He ran his fingers through her hair and finally pulled away, cupping her head with his hands and tracing her jaw with his thumbs. "Do you know how beautiful you are?" He whispered, a sweet sound that made Annabeth's heart flutter. "Well you only tell me every single time we're together." She replies sarcastically, half smiling. "No. I'm serious." His face falls as he props himself up on his side, facing her. "You're beautiful, truly beautiful, your eyes, your nose, your lips, your ears, your arms, your legs, your fingers, your toes, down to every last hair on your head, you're beautiful"Annabeth felt color rush to her cheeks and silently thanked Percy for the dim lighting. But he wasn't done yet. "You're beautiful when you fight, when you sleep and when you wake up. Every second of everyday you are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, and I'm just waiting for the day when you realize you could do so much better than me, and... And leave." He said the last par like it was painful to even think about. At this, Annabeth sat up and her stomach dropped and her eyes watered. She looked Percy in the eyes and said "Perseus Jackson. Why would I EVER want anyone other than you?" And with that he pulled her to him and they lied there for a very long time. For that time nothing else mattered to Annabeth. All that she cared about is that moment with Percy, holding on to him like she was drifting at sea and he was the life raft. Then he said something that startled her. "I love you." He whispered. Three beautiful words. Three perfect words. Three words that she repeated without hesitation. "I love you." And then they lied there, Percy beginning to drift to sleep on those three words repeating themselves over and over in Annabeth's ears. "I love you. I love you. I love you."