I am Katniss, Daughter of Apollo (Percy Jackson/Hunger Games Fanfic)

Chapter 19

Percy's POV

As Percy packed supplies that morning, there was only one thought in his mind: finding Annabeth.

He had vowed to her before they fell into Tartarus that she would never get away from him again, and that was exactly what he had allowed to happen. If there was an award for worst boyfriend ever, Percy was pretty sure he deserved it. It wasn't just that he felt he needed to be at her side. Annabeth had proven on multiple occasions that she could handle herself just fine. No, in truth it was more that after everything they'd been through together, everything they'd survived, Percy felt like he was the one who was lost without Annabeth. He found himself wanting to look to her for reassurance only to remember she was out on this quest.

The quest. The stupid quest. Stupid because they should've taken more time to figure out what it really meant before sending a bunch of demigods out into the world with only a very vague idea of what they were getting themselves into.

"When have we ever fully understood the meaning of a quest before we undertook it?" Annabeth had asked him from his doorway the night before she left with Clarisse, Nico and Liz. She had come to the Poseidon cabin right after the quest had been decided upon and Percy had realized he would not be going with her.

She knew him too well. She had found him agitatedly pacing around the fairly empty cabin room.

"Just because what you're saying is right, Wise Girl, doesn't make me like it any more. These things never work out well for us, and you know what happened to the last group of demigods that tried to force a prophecy that wasn't about them. What if this one's the same thing? I mean, we haven't even really talked about what a lot of the lines could mean, and I just don't think it's a good idea to rush into it without considering the kind of danger you could be putting yourselves into and—"

"Percy." She caught hold of his arm and stopped him.

That was all it took from her. One look and everything else faded away until it was just them. No quests, no monsters, no gods constantly interfering with their attempts at normal life. When she looked at him somehow Percy knew everything would be okay, as long as they had each other.

"You're cute when you're worried, Seaweed Brain. Your eyebrows get all scrunched together and you look like you would fight the whole world if it gave you the chance."

Percy looked down, taking Annabeth's hands in his own.

"You told me something similar once when I was almost convinced I was going to lose you."

"I did," Annabeth confirmed, "But you didn't lose me then, did you?"

"No."

"And we both made it through Tartarus and everything else the gods have thrown at us since then, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

She reached up and ruffled his hair. "So you won't lose me this time either, okay?"

"Okay, fine, yes," Percy agreed, reluctantly letting her win the argument. As a daughter of Athena, Annabeth usually won most disagreements they had because she had an annoying ability to make all his defenses and protests melt away.

A banging on the door to the Poseidon cabin shook Percy from the memory.

"Uh, open," He called over his shoulder as he hurriedly tossed a bag of ambrosia into his backpack and zipped it closed.

"Percy, you might want to come with me." It was Leo Valdez standing in his doorway this time, accompanied by his girlfriend Calypso, but they both had serious looks on their faces, which Leo never did.