I woke up to a punch in the face. Annabeth must be having a nightmare, I thought. I turn to look at her. With her jaw clenched, her hands in tight fists, and her eyes squeezed shut. I watch a tear escape from the corner of her tightly squeezed eye, and drip down her temple to her hairline. I hate seeing her like this. It's as if, we are still in Tartarus, like no matter where we are, we will never truly escape. We have to relive the horrors every time we close our eyes.

Thank the gods we still have each other. It sounds wicked cheesy, but I truly would be lost without Annabeth here. Literally no one else in the world knows what I went through down there except her, and vice versa. She is the only one who understands the intensity of the nightmares, and the fear that never truly leaves. No matter how safe we are, no matter who is around us, no matter how many weapons we have, every second still feels like I'm down there. I hear the whispers of monsters everywhere I go.

I wrap myself around Annabeth; encircling her with my arms typically helps calm her down. After a few minutes she wakes up. She opens her eyes and wipes her damp face with the backs of her hands and looks up at me.

"Hi" I say

"Hi" She replies "What time is it?"

"Around 4 in the morning" I reply

"I've already been asleep for two hours?!" She asks me

It is still technically against the rules for the both of us to be in my cabin alone. But since neither of us can sleep without the other since Tartarus, Annabeth sneaks into my cabin every night after everyone's asleep.

"Yeah, what took you so long to get here tonight?" I ask

She is usually here no later than 12:30

"Malcolm. He still thinks it's irresponsible for us to be sneaking around, so he stays up as late as he can to try and ensure I don't go anywhere. It's annoying as hell."

I think about this for a second

"No, hell is still more annoying." I say

"Yeah, yeah, you know what I mean, Seaweed Brain."

"So, what was the dream about?" I ask as I reposition us so I'm lying on my back and her head is rested on my bare chest.

"That, boyfriend of mine, is a conversation for another day." She replies as she runs her fingers up and down my stomach, giving me goose bumps.

I should be used to the feel of her hands on my skin by now. But no matter how much time we spend together she still gives me shivers. I begin curling her hair around one of my fingers.

"I have a question, Percy." She announces after forever

"I have an answer, Wise Girl." I say cooly

"What happens when school starts?"

"Um,"

"I mean, when we have to leave and go to separate schools. And we won't be able to see each other very often, and I'm barely getting by as it is now, and that's only because I have you. And I don't know if I can do this without you." She says stifling a sob

"Hey, hey look at me," I say pulling her to face me "No matter what, I will not leave you. We'll work something out with our parents. We won't leave each other. We'll stay together. I can't do this alone either. Not that I'd even want to do it without you. You and me, we're a packaged deal, babe." I say pulling her into a kiss.

Not a hard, rushed kiss. But a soft, simple, and sweet kiss, just a brush of the lips. I hear her take in a deep breath.

"I love you, Seaweed Brain." She whispers against my lips

"And I love you, Wise Girl." I reply

She pulls back and sits up.

"And don't call me babe." She says with a scowl

"You love it." I reply with a smirk

She gets up and walks to the bathroom, swaying her hips in a way she knows will drive me crazy. She's wearing one of my Camp Half-Blood t-shirts that just hits the very top of her thighs, panties, and nothing else. Her crazy curly hair reaches halfway down her back, and she looks dead sexy.

After a few minutes I start to get worried. Or just bored, but either way, she is taking entirely too long. I get up and walk into the bathroom. When I walk in she's standing in front of the mirror drinking some water from a plastic cup. I walk up behind her and place my hands on her hips.

"What are you doing, Percy" She asks

Instead of replying I lean down and start placing kisses on the piece of skin at the base of her neck showing from where the t-shirt doesn't quite fit her. She leans her head to the side moaning very quietly. I begin trailing kisses up her neck to the base of ear. I let my teeth graze her ear as I whisper,

"You are taking a million years, come back to bed."

She just laughs and turns around so she's facing me. I wrap my arms around her waist as she encircles my neck with her arms. She pulls me down and puts her lips right up to mine and says,

"Don't be such a baby"

I smile and pull her lips to mine. She pulls me closer to her, and I lift her up. She wraps her legs around my waist and I groan into her mouth. She pulls away and starts placing soft wet kisses across my cheek towards my ear. Once she reaches my ear she whispers,

"Let's go to bed."

And I carry her out of the bathroom and to my bed. It's there where I show her just how much I really do love her.