GUYS. I don't know what happened okay? I was writing and then suddenly whoa -where did these ten thousand words come from? I originally intended this to be only like five thousand words max but the head wants what the head wants.

I got a few requests for another Nico centric after Dark Side (which I can't still believe got like 25+ reviews like woah) but this had been spinning in my head for a long time and I had to write it! Maybe I'll do one in the future but I don't have any ideas currently. Plus like Percabeth and Caleo in one fic, what could be better? :D

Art is by Viria who is like on fire nowadays.

Disclaimer: Book Nine: still don't own Percy Jackson.

Sorry for OOCness and typos! Enjoy! :*

When Piper had told Annabeth about the rest of the crew's quest in detail, she had immediately guessed the story behind Leo's mystery escapade. The similarities were too apparent to be ignored: disappeared for days, reappeared on a wooden shaft and carrying a mysterious masked melancholy. She knew where he'd been and felt an immediate sorrow settle at the bottom of her heart; for the poor girl and for Leo who she knew wasn't quite the same anymore. She could never had imagined she would feel sorrowful on Calypso's behalf but the encounter with the Arai was a day she would never be able to wash away from the depths of her mind. She had never felt so helpless, so abandoned, so miserable, so broken. Now, even back above ground, she couldn't think of that day without panicking immediately and searching for Percy just to reassure herself that it was over, that they had survived and they were okay. She had wondered whether this was how Calypso had felt every time a hero had to leave her island and at that moment, Annabeth had forgiven the girl of any kind of minute resentment she still held against her in her heart.

"He went to Calypso's island." she told Piper as the three of the girls lounged atop Piper's bed. Annabeth was reclining against the headboard of the bed while the two other girls sat beside her feet, Piper meticulously braiding Hazel's hair with her face furrowed in concentration. Piper instantly looked up in disbelief while Hazel just winced when a strand of her hair was pulled upon too harshly.

"Calypso?" Piper stammered, her eyes wide and rapidly changing colors. "You mean the Calypso….the seductress on the secluded island?"

"The one and the same." Annabeth responded an affirmative. She frowned and leaned back against the pillow that was squashed between her body and the back of the bed, suddenly recalling the crushing loneliness that she had experienced on the girl's behalf. "Although, I wouldn't necessarily call her a seductress."

"Who's Calypso?" Hazel intruded, her curiosity definitely piqued regarding Leo's mystery girl. She had managed to acquire one of Piper's old magazines and was flipping through the laminated pages, wrinkling her nose in disgust more often than not.

Annabeth decided to narrate one of the most popular story of Grecian times. "She was a minor goddess who sided with the Titans in the Great War. So, as a punishment, she was sent to an island called Ogygia where she was trapped for eternity." Annabeth supplied, eyes turned towards the ceiling in thought as she curled and uncurled a blonde strand absently around her finger.

She had never been too taken with the story herself, unlike few of the Aphrodite girls, but now that Annabeth was looking at it with her newfound knowledge, she couldn't help the bubble of guilt and sorrow that was expanding rapidly in her chest. She had always looked at the story from an outsider's eyes but now she had gotten a much deeper insight to the girl's soul than she would've liked and try as she might, she would never be able to erase the nightmarish memory from her depths of her heart. "Every once in a while, the gods send her a demigod who she can't help but fall for and who can't ever stay with her on her island. That's her punishment."

Hazel winced. "A little harsh don't you think?"

Piper interrupted before Annabeth could answer. "But Calypso?" she asked, disbelief heavily lacing her voice. She had messed up Hazel's hair in surprise and was trying to untie a rather thorough knot. "Leo went to Calypso's island? This is Leo we're talking about, Annabeth. I mean-"

Annabeth waved her off with a hand. "I know the signs." she said, self-assuredly. "Vanished into thin air, no sign for days and then suddenly decided to reappear on a wooden raft with an absolutely heartbroken look on his face."

Piper raised an incredulous eyebrow. "And you know the signs…how exactly?"

Hazel abandoned the magazine and focused her attention on Annabeth too, apparently finding Annabeth's story far more intriguing than 'Who wore What to Where.' Annabeth didn't meet their eyes and instead pretended to pull off a few loose threads from her jeans shorts. "Percy's been."

Piper looked at Annabeth in disbelief while Hazel's mouth fell open in a little 'o'. Piper recovered from her astonishment only seconds later and waved her hands dramatically in the air. "Percy…you…Calypso…why did I not find out about this earlier?!" she demanded indignantly, finally deciding upon a suitable question.

"I forgot?" Annabeth offered with a little grin, giving her a half shrug. Piper crossed her arms and gave Annabeth the best glare that she could manage- which probably couldn't do nearly as much damage as Annabeth's. Hazel's bafflement still hadn't ceased.

"But I thought…" Hazel started before switching thoughts and changing the course of her sentence. "Percy was with someone before you?" she asked Annabeth in a tone that suggested that she found the idea completely unconceivable. Annabeth hid the smirk that was threatening to cross her mouth. The girls' reactions were far more entertaining than she would have anticipated.

She snorted loudly at Hazel's words. "He wasn't with Calypso, he just landed on her island." she replied, easily. Her brows furrowed again. "Although he got a lot closer to being with her than I would've liked."

This time it was Piper's turn to snort. She finally managed to untangle Hazel's hair with a lot of exclamations on Hazel's part and decided to restart the entire procedure, while Hazel glowered at her with her huge eyes. "Please. Percy's got it bad for you." she said flippantly. "Like falling-into-Tartarus bad."

Piper winced as soon as she realized what she had said. Ever since Annabeth and Percy had collapsed out of Tartarus, everyone on the ship had restrained from saying the 'T-word' in front of them. None of them were treating the two any differently except for the fact that they got extremely concerned and fretful every time the subject came up. Percy and Annabeth still hadn't recounted the happenings of Tartarus and it had left the rest of them up to the devices of their imagination, conjuring up the worst possible scenarios that their originality was capable of envisioning. Annabeth still wasn't sure whether she was ready to reencounter the ordeal but she knew that she would have to someday. Until then, the memories would never diminish, only continue to lurk around the nooks and crannies of her brain, slowly but surely managing to drive her mad.

Annabeth pretended that she hadn't noticed Piper's slip or the small grimace that had momentarily flashed across her friend's features. Instead she focused on the rest of the sentence and grinned. "Yeah, I suppose he does have it a little bad."

Hazel grinned and Piper teasingly rolled her eyes. "So to sum it up, we've got two guys on our ship that fell in love with a seducing immortal goddess who's stuck on a secluded island?" Piper said, her eyes sparkling with humor.

Annabeth laughed; a feeling that still felt unusual and liberating after her little detour through the pits of hell. "She's not a seductress." she said. "But yeah, basically."

Piper walked into the control room in search for Leo, her brain still buzzing from Annabeth's revelation. She still couldn't wrap her mind around the idea. Leo, her Leo, went on a little tour to an island somewhere off the charting of the world, met an immortal goddess, fell in love, got his heart broken and returned to join their quest, all in the time span of a week and a half. She knew of course, from her knowledge from camp that time worked differently in Ogygia and weeks on the island could be only days in the real world but the information didn't necessarily help the utter disbelief that she was experiencing pertaining to the mere thought of Leo actually falling in love.

A lot had changed in the few weeks after Percy and Annabeth had fallen into Tartarus. A lot had changed about the seven of them, each in their own different way. Hazel was now more confident, surer about herself, her capabilities and the extent of her powers. Frank had gone through such a big transformation that Piper had to blink every time she looked at him nowadays. He had changed from a timid, chubby, klutz to a valiant leader who led armies of ghosts to war. Not to mention his appearance which was a different story altogether. Piper still didn't completely know what was going on with her boyfriend but she knew that Jason was starting to find himself. He seemed more at ease nowadays as if he had suddenly figured out a great mystery that had been itching him from under his skin for the length of their quest.

Percy and Annabeth; well, it was obvious that the two of them had gone through the strongest transition. She was still left awestruck every time she looked at them and was reminded of the fact that they survived Tartarus. Living, breathing hell of doom full of monsters, Tartarus. She had been so jubilated when she had seen them for the first time in weeks, holding onto each other, closely resembling living corpses and still baring slight smiles on their faces that she had almost cried with relief. Her mind had somehow managed to convince itself that she would never be able to see them again and she had never been so glad to prove her own conscience wrong. But something was different of course. Percy's smiles no longer lifted to his eyes. Annabeth's eyes swam darker with newfound pain rather than just glinting with knowledge. The constant violet shadows under their eyes or the way they sometimes clutched each other's fingers until she could almost see the skin turning purple. Looking at the two of them, Piper had never felt so much hatred directed towards the gods before.

Piper was jolted out of her thoughts as she spotted Leo sitting in front of the controls, overlooking the large window that spanned through the length of the wall; half manning the ship, half working on the astrolabe that he held between his fingers. For a moment she stood their leaning against the door, just observing him. Leo had changed too, she decided. In more ways than one. There was a new kind on determination she saw every day in his eyes, not just the I-gotta-kill-queen-dirtface-before-she-destroys-th e-world kind of determination. And, Piper never thought she'd say it, but he seemed more mature. His brown eyes that almost always glittered with mischief held a tinge of regret, maybe guilt, and odd sense of experience. Piper wondered whether this was because he had to abandon the girl he had fallen in love with to follow through with a quest that was most likely going to get them all killed. She believed Annabeth's theory of course- she knew from experience that Annabeth was almost always right - but she had to make sure.

"Hey." Piper said as she finally walked into the Control Room, interrupting Leo's unintelligible mutterings under his breath.

Leo jumped in surprise, losing his hold on the astrolabe before diving downwards and catching it midway from the ground. "Gods, Piper, a knock on the door maybe?"

She rolled her eyes and crossed the room, taking a seat beside him in front of the controls. "What's up?"

"The sky." Leo grinned.

"Hardy-har-har." Piper replied, though a smile was threatening to grace her lips. She had to admit, no matter how much ill timely or infuriating Leo's humor was, it almost always managed to uplift her mood. Leo flashed her another grin before he focused his attention again on the instrument he held between his fingers and started to tinker and experiment with the large disk that closely resembled the inside of a clock. Come to think of it, he had been spending a lot of time and energy on tinkering with the astrolabe although Piper was pretty sure that the navigation system on the Argo II could work better than any astrolabe would ever be able too.

For a moment, Piper reclined back on her revolving chair and swung from side to side, the ADHD side of the brain enjoying the motion. She watched Leo tinker and mutter and occasionally look up to wiggle his wii controller to set the ship in the right direction. When it became clear that Leo was too busy to strike up a conversation, she spoke.

"So…" she said, drawling out the single syllable. "When were you going to tell me?"

"Tell you what?" he asked in reply, his eyes flicking up momentarily before returning to his work.

Piper decided that there was no point of beating around the bush and trying to pry the answer out of him; she got straight to the point. "When were you going to tell me that you landed on Calypso's island?"

This time Leo really did drop the astrolabe from his hands. The large golden disc rolled around the floor until it came to a halting stop right at Piper's feet. Leo looked at her with a look of complete and utter bewilderment with his mouth hanging open and his eyes almost bursting out of their sockets. Piper reached over and closed his mouth with the push of a finger.

"Wha-I…I don't k-know what you're taking about." Leo spluttered, his words barely comprehensible. Even if Piper hadn't been assured just by the way he had reacted, she would've been sure by the heavy blush that was staining his cheeks.

"Yeah, you don't." she retorted sarcastically, moving around her chair in a little circle. "I thought you're supposed to talk to your best friend about your love life."

For a moment, Leo looked like he was about to protest before apparently he saw better and decided not to argue. He leaned back against his chair, acquiring a posture that was similar to Piper's.

"How- how did you know?" he asked instead, his face still a little ashen from the shock. He bent downwards and retrieved the astrolabe, this time not tinkering but just turning it between his hands just to keep his fingers busy. A blush was still tinting his cheeks and he wouldn't meet Piper's eyes.

"Annabeth." Piper replied simply.

"Of course." Leo cursed under his breath, muttering furiously to himself. "Stupid Athenian children. Always figuring everything out."

Piper grinned, despite Leo's sudden change of mood. "You better not let Annabeth hear you say that."

Leo suddenly sat up, looking back across his shoulder as if making sure that Annabeth wasn't standing right across the doorway. Once reassured, he faced Piper again, while she let out an entertained snort. Once, her amusement had faded, she decided to return to her question.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Piper addressed him, her voice turning soft. She knew that although, Leo was the most cheerful person on the ship, he had a dark past and was not in the habit of confiding anything that was troubling him. He kept his emotions balled up behind a wall of humor and hilarity. He thought she didn't know but Piper had been aware how abandoned he had been feeling ever since she and Jason had started dating and she also knew that something had been going on between him, Hazel and Frank that had bothered him for some time. This time though, she was determined to be there for him whether he liked it or not.

Leo still wasn't looking at her but rather down at his lap. His perpetual cheerfulness had abandoned him momentarily and he looked forlorn- an emotion that seemed alien on his face. He spoke after a while. "I was going to tell you of course." He said, looking up. "Uhh…I thought I'd tell you when I fixed this thing." He pointed to the astrolabe with his eyes.

Piper scrunched her nose in confusion. "What has an astrolabe got to do with any of this?"

For a moment, Leo's eyes lit up like they did when he talked about machines and engines and other contraptions that she didn't even remotely understand. He held the disk between his hands, twirling it round and round in his fingers and looked at it like it was map to a hidden treasure. He blushed again, "Uhh…I'm going to use this to find my way back to Ogygia."

Piper immediately felt a wave of sympathy wash over her. She had an inane urge to hug him tightly but instead she just reached forwards and squeezed his arm. "Leo…" she said carefully. "You know that nobody finds Ogygia twice, right?"

Leo rolled her eyes at her. "Yes, I do know." he said, his voice holding a tinge of sarcasm at her concern and caution. "But that's where the astrolabe comes in. This fellow made it so he could go back too. Only there was a piece missing."

Piper quirked an eyebrow. She didn't rebut his ridiculous theory. There was something so pure about his optimism; she didn't have the heart to tell him that his chances of actually succeeding were highly improbable. "What piece?"

His eyes glinted again as if he was pleased about his success when he predecessors had failed. He rummaged inside his tool belt and fished out a small piece of translucent white crystal. Piper couldn't deny the beauty of the small jagged rock as Leo turned it around in front of her face and it reflected the ample rays of sunlight that were filtering into the room. She voiced her thoughts, "A crystal?"

Leo nodded an affirmative. "From Ogygia. I still have to figure out how to insert it in so that it coordinates with the working of the astrolabe. I have a pretty good idea though." he said.

Piper frowned her confusion. "How does an astrolabe work exactly?"

Leo held the rusted golden disk in front of her eyes, for her to analyze. He pointed to certain parts of the device and started to explain. "You see these moveable components here?" She nodded and he continued. "Well, normally you can adjust the date and time with these, so that the whole sky fans out in front of your eyes both visible and invisible. You can measure latitude, find out the time of the day and a bunch of other stuff." he explained. "Understand?"

"Uh…yeah."

"So," Leo continued, animatedly with his eyes glinting. "I'm still not sure how I'm going to do it but I have to use the crystal to chart the sky of Ogygia on the astrolabe. Ogygia has a different sky, right? Since it's not actually in the mortal world so I brought apart of it into the mortal world to locate it." He paused as he allowed Piper to take in the information. "Simple, right?"

"Uh…yeah."

Leo rolled his eyes at her again and grinned. "Honestly Piper, do try to keep up."

She hit him on the arm but his grin only widened. She tried to process everything that Leo had explained to her. It made perfect sense yet no sense at all. Piper had caught the gist of what he was trying to explain but there had also been something in Leo's voice that she couldn't help but catch. He talked about the astrolabe as if he was absolutely certain that he was going to succeed. He was sure of his capability and he was sure of his inventions and he was sure of his contraptions. Piper couldn't help but think that maybe his plan wasn't that absurd after all. For a moment they sat in companionable silence before Piper's curiosity caught up to her again.

"So," she piped up. "What's she like?" Piper couldn't help the devious smile that was quickly spreading across her face. She had been looking forward to the day where she would get a chance to tease Leo about his lady friend. "What's Calypso like?"

Leo's elfish ears burned crimson and Piper had to bite her lip to contain her laugh. She reached forwards to pinch his cheek and he slapped her hand away. He was still blushing when he said, "She's uh…nice."

Piper couldn't contain the burst of laughter that escaped her mouth. "Nice?"

Leo blushed harder, if that was even possible. He then grinned suddenly as if he remembered a rather happy memory. "No, not really."

Piper couldn't keep her own smile off her face when she saw the stupid goofy grin that split across Leo's lips. She poked his arm. "Tell me about her."

A dazed look appeared on Leo's face as reminisced about the few choice weeks he had got to spend with the girl. Piper couldn't help the burst of happiness she felt when she observed his face. Seeing Leo happy made her happy. He spoke after a momentary pause.

"She's really fierce." he said, with a small happy smile, not looking at Piper but through the large window that spanned out in front of them. "And really funny" He blushed harder. "And really pretty."

Piper was grinning so wide, the muscles of her mouth were starting to tire. "How pretty?" she teased.

"Like really pretty. Prettier-than-Thalia-pretty."

And suddenly Piper was laughing and Leo was laughing with her until both of them were overcome with hysterics. When they finally calmed down, Piper clumsily got out of her chair and squeezed Leo in a hug.

"You're gonna find her Leo." she said, and she was starting to believe it too. "I know you will."

Leo couldn't keep the grin off of his lips as the island came into view. It was still a good distance away but Leo felt like the happiest man on the Earth. He was still drowning in the euphoria from his success and the complete and utter happiness showed no signs of disappearing anytime soon. His ADHD had been acting up more than usual if that was even possible and he had spent the length of the afternoon pacing the deck back and forth. He was going to see her again; in just a few hours. He was going to see her again. His smile expanded even wider on his mouth.

It had taken a lot of time to convince the crew to make the little detour to Ogygia, once he had figured out how to work the astrolabe. Piper and Hazel had agreed almost instantly, both giving him such wide grins that he actually had to fight of the blush that was slowly building up in his cheeks. Frank had been a little skeptical but had eventually given Leo a shrug of his now-broad shoulders that said 'Whatever makes you happy, man.' It was Annabeth and Jason that had flat-out refused to make the detour considering how little time they had had left until Gaea awoke. He could see from the sympathetic look on both their faces that told him that they didn't want to but they had to. Once Leo had finally managed to convince the two of them –after five continuous hours of blabber- he wondered when he had learned to be that persuasive.

It was Percy's behavior that had made Leo a little curious. The guy had just stood in a corner, unusually quiet, scuffing one of his ratty sneakers against the wooden floor and shrugging or nodding once in a while. He hadn't offered an opinion –which had been strange since Percy almost always offered a view being one of the de facto leaders of the quest. Leo had looked specifically at Percy to judge his expression but for the first time Percy's face was completely blank. No sarcastic or ill-timed comment, no humorous glint in the eye. Leo wondered whether Tartarus had done that to him or the news that he had just sprouted out. Even then, Leo suspected the latter because Tartarus may have damaged Percy one way or another but it hadn't crushed his humor or his spirit.

Leo had of course been angry at Percy for just simply forgetting about Calypso, even furious, but he a looked at Percy for a single second after he had stepped out of Tartarus and he hadn't known how to be angry at the guy. There was something about seeing a person that had gone through so much; you simply couldn't stay mad at them. And Leo had been so glad to see him and Annabeth that he had completely forgotten that Percy even had something to do with Calypso. He still had the sudden urge to accuse him once in a while and spit some choice words in his face but then he would remember that he only had a couple of months of normalcy between two end-of-the-earth wars and he would keep his mouth shut.

Leo was jolted out of his thoughts when the island was too in-front-of-his-face to ignore and he almost shouted with jubilation. He sounded the alarm and the rest of the seven were on deck within a moment's notice. Piper laughed at seeing the expression on his face,

"You're practically jumping!" she exclaimed with a laugh.

"Shut up." Leo replied; although, he couldn't keep the grin off of his face long enough to even pretend to be mad. The island was getting nearer and nearer, until Leo could see the multicolored trees instead of random blur of color. He could see the golden sand on the beach, wet nearer the edges to the ocean, dry further up. He could see the little garden sprouting with plants that he knew emanated an eerie silver glow in the night. He could see the fountain that he had fixed, bubbling with water that would forever be sparkling and clean. Leo stopped breathing.

From behind him, he heard the diminished jumble of his friends talking over each other but he had suddenly lost his ability to hear. He didn't know whether his heart was beating too fast take notice or it had stopped working altogether. The ship docked onto the beach –Leo barely registering that he wasn't controlling it- and Leo was running.

The sand beneath his feet felt familiar. The fresh smell of pine felt familiar. The warm sun on his skin felt familiar. But not as familiar as her face when she came into view.

She was wearing red. Of course she was. He noticed ever minute detail. Her red top that was his favorite color. Her baggy jeans because she only knew how to make them like his. Her long soft caramel colored hair tied in a loose braid that hung over her shoulder. The small circlet made from dry golden leaves that was set upon her hair. Her feet were bare and her hands were dirty. There was a bracelet made of lilies circling her lithe wrist. But what he craved to see most were her eyes, her large honey colored eyes that were only a shade darker than her hair and were looking at him with such bewilderment that he laughed- a laugh that sounded pure and happy even to his own ears.

And suddenly he was running and then they were face to face and he could do nothing more than to look at her and absorb every tiny detail about her everything and her eyes were infinitely larger with abashment.

Her hands shook as she held them to her quivering mouth and then said in a trembling voice, "It…it can't be"

He could do nothing more than to stare at her, completely and utterly transfixed, so he said the only things he was capable of saying, "It is."

Then she was in his arms and he wasn't sure who reached for the other first or maybe they reached for each other together. She still smelled like the fresh dirt from her garden and like caramel and like sunshine –although; he wasn't aware before now that sunshine had a smell. He was laughing with joy of finally holding her in his arms but there was an annoying prick in his eyes. Her body shook with laughs and sobs all mixed up together in a bundle of hysterics as he held her maybe a foot from the ground although, they were roughly the same height.

When he looked at her, there was something so euphoric and meaningful in her eyes that he couldn't help but kiss her which was pretty surprising for him because since when did Leo kiss hot girls? She tasted like sunshine too, Leo decided. It was like their first kiss, short, innocent and sweet because Leo didn't exactly have an expertise in that department. But it was everything he wanted it to be and maybe more.

When they broke apart, she was looking at him in amazement and wonder like he was going to disappear any second and she would find that it had been just another dream. Hesitantly, she reached up a hand to touch his cheek, her pale skin a stark contrast with his darker one, as to reassure herself that he was real and this was happening. Her soft fingers touched his cheek, her thumb slowly moving up and down in a repeated motion that was threatening to drive him crazy. "You stupid, stupid boy." she whispered shakily, her eyes glassy.

"I thought we were over the insulting part of the relationship." he replied, though his voice was soft instead of teasing and he knew that he was pretty much looking at her the same way she was looking at him; with bewilderment and wonder and adoration. His heart was threatening to burst with emotion, something that had never before happened to Leo in his life. Man, he was getting cheesy.

She laughed a laugh that was rich and untainted and Leo's heart swelled with happiness. Then she stared at him adoringly and whispered, "Never."

Before Leo could say something stupid in reply, their little bubble of happiness was burst open with an awkward cough from behind. Suddenly, Leo was reminded of the fact that other people in existed in the world that didn't just comprise of himself and the beautiful girl that was currently residing in his arms. Bashfully, both of them turned around to face the rest of the crew, not losing their hold on each other.

It was Piper that had coughed and Leo offered her a mock glare which she expertly ignored. She was struggling to hide the smile on her lips. "Uh…as sweet as this is –and trust me, it's very sweet- we're on a schedule." She tapped the imaginary wristwatch on her arm as to say 'time's running out."

She then did a little inspection of Calypso with her eyes and then waved at the girl and gave her a warm smile, as if deeming her worthy of Leo's attention. "Hi. I'm Piper. Nice to meet you Calypso." She grinned a little devilishly. "Oh, I've heard so much about you."

There was an amused snort that followed her comment, presumably from Annabeth or Hazel, though Leo couldn't tell. Leo himself was busy half glaring at Piper and half trying to prevent the flush that was rising up his neck. Calypso was looking at Piper oddly and Leo realized that it had been three thousand millennia since she had last seen a specimen of the female species other than herself. Still seeming a little bashful, Calypso returned Piper's smile and said "Hello. Nice to meet you too, Piper. It's been a while since I last talked to girl."

Before Leo could protest, –he had just reunited with the girl of his dream, it couldn't be that hard to give them some alone time- Piper had launched into a lengthy introduction of the crew starting with Jason that was standing beside Piper and who offered Leo a wink. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until Piper motioned to Annabeth and Percy who were standing close to each other like they had been doing since Tartarus and the furthest apart from Calypso. "This is Annabeth and you know….Percy."

Suddenly everyone quietened. Leo could feel the tension quickly spreading through the air and he turned to look at Calypso so quickly, he might as well have gotten whiplash. He knew that he shouldn't worry but he also knew that Calypso still felt something for Percy, whatever that something was and the thought didn't necessarily help the bubble of insecurity that was suddenly building up in his stomach.

Annabeth had an odd look upon her face that Leo couldn't properly judge, maybe a weird mix of understanding and accusation. She was looking at Calypso like the way she would've looked at a complex part of machinery, analytical and investigative. Her face wasn't hostile but not necessarily friendly either. Leo was left thoroughly confused but then again, who had ever figured out Annabeth anyway?

Percy was a completely different story. His mask from earlier was back up and it seemed like he was at loss at what to say or what to think. His face held a hard look but Leo could detect the guilt that was peeking out from behind his emotionless mask. And there was something else too; an odd mixture of pain and anger and remorse that was clear from the look in his eyes or the way in which he was squeezing Annabeth's fingers extra tightly. It made Leo realize that maybe there was more to the story between Percy and Calypso than anyone knew; maybe except Annabeth.

As for Calypso; it seemed as if she had suddenly remembered all the hurt and abandonment that she had experienced on Percy's behalf. There was an almost strangled look upon her face as if she was deciding whether she wanted to hug him or tear him to shreds –Leo not being fond to either of the options. When her eyes inspected Annabeth, they hardened just like Annabeth's had done previously but he could tell both of them had different reasons for their rigidity. For a few seconds all three of them stared at each other before the spell was broken by Annabeth who said in a casual voice. "Hey, Calypso."

And then Percy nodded and said in a peculiarly emotionless voice, "Yeah… hey." Then he looked away as if Calypso's gaze was going to sear through his skin.

Calypso was inspecting the duo with a little bafflement before she decided to return the greeting. Leo thought it was a little unfair that Percy hadn't gotten the I-hate-you-this-is-so-unfair speech. But even so, he wanted Calypso a little to himself no matter how childish that was and he grabbed her hand to tug her back to the ship. Leo noticed that it was the first time that they had held hands and he also noticed how much he liked it. Her skin was soft but her calluses were rough from years of gardening. Her fingers were lithe and fit nicely between his hard ones. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't help the stupid smile that stretched across his mouth.

Calypso reverted her attention back to him when she noticed the pull on her fingers, her animosity suddenly forgotten and he didn't miss the adorable smile that had spread across her features too.

"You can pack some stuff up and then let's get to the ship." he told her, his excitement leaking into his words, so that he was practically jumping.

For a moment, Calypso's eyes lit up before her lips furrowed into a small frown. She tugged on his hand unsurely. "Do you think the gods are going to let me leave?"

He frowned; it hadn't even crossed his mind that he would've gotten this far to be thwarted by the gods. He had to admit that it was a serious lack of insight on his part but when had Leo ever been insightful? Before he could answer her worries, another voice interrupted his words,

"They can't stop you from leaving." Percy said. When the both of them turned to look at him, Leo found that he wasn't meeting Calypso's eyes but looking at a spot above her shoulder. "They swore on the Styx."

Leo suddenly remembered that Percy had tried to help Calypso only that the gods hadn't followed up on their promise. He was suddenly thankful for that even if he had wanted to shout at Percy before. When Calypso looked at Percy her face softened as if she realized the fact too. She looked at Leo again and the little spark of hope had reignited in her eyes. He couldn't stop staring at her.

"Let's get you out then." he said. His voice was considerably lower than before.

She kissed him and whoa- what was he thinking again? "Okay."

It didn't take Annabeth long to notice that Percy was not in the room. And even less long, for the logical side of her brain to discern why he had vanished. In fact, it only took her mere seconds. She had unconsciously developed a sixth sense to his presence to the extent where she could tell that he had entered the room with her eyes closed and her head facing the opposite wall. Of course, Tartarus played a large role in this particular development but a part of it was attributed to the creeping fear she still felt residing deep in her heart. Her brain was convinced that he was going to spontaneously disappear on her again and she wouldn't be able see him again for months, no matter how illogical and un-Athena like thought that it was. After Tartarus that wasn't something she was willing to risk.

She quietly slipped out of the conference room where all of them were gathered and started to make her way to the deck. After confirming that her boyfriend was not in fact staring out to his father's domain, she headed to his room, the next place she knew that he would go to. She opened his door quietly and, true to her suspicion, she found him sitting on his bead, leaning his elbows on his knees and tiredly rubbing his eyes with his fingers. She knew of course that something was wrong. Percy had left merely minutes after the newest member of the crew was welcomed on board. Of course, something was wrong. But suddenly in the few seconds that she hadn't seen him, he had begun to look so much older, like he had just carried the burden of the sky on his shoulders a second time. Neither of them had fully healed after their escapade through Tartarus but at that moment, his complexion was paler than usual, the thin network of veins winding through his arms was more defined, the bones on his cheeks more hollow. She knew that nowadays she looked no better but every time she saw this pale, gaunt version of Percy with dark eyes and ribs almost poking out of his ribcage, her heart broke.

Gently, she crossed the room until she was standing directly before him. She reached forward and put her hand on top of his, softly removing his fingers from his eyes. His green eyes looked up at momentarily before they flashed to his lap as if he was afraid of what she was going to see in them. She already knew what this was about. Her heart clenched pathetically in her chest.

"Hey." she said, intertwining both of their hands together, gently urging him to meet her eyes. "Talk to me."

He breathed deeply and his hands squeezed hers tightly. She would have been pissed by his reaction to Calypso's appearance if she hadn't understood what it was actually about. It wasn't about seeing her again, nor was completely about the fact that he had abandoned her. It was a matter that ran much deeper than that, winding stealthily through the depths of Tartarus. The moment Annabeth had seen the girl, she hadn't exactly admired her appearance or teared up at the heartfelt reunion. Instead she had heard Percy's voice in the back of her conscience, low, ragged and broken as he whispered the words. She would never curse me.

She stopped her mind before it ventured further into the memory. When he finally looked up to meet her gaze, she witnessed a much heavier emotion than the one she was prepared for. Guilt. Pools of guilt swam heavily beneath the depths of his irises, deep and profound, turning the sea green she so loved to an infinitely darker shade. Suddenly she could see the slump in his shoulders, she could feel the desperation in his grip. This wasn't just about Calypso. This was about Tartarus. This was about everything they had been through.

"I… just…" he struggled to find his words. Annabeth wanted to hug him and run her fingers through his hair and tell him that she understood. Instead, she let him speak, knowing that he needed to get it out lest he should implode. She squeezed their interlinked fingers to encourage him to continue. "I'm sorry I ran…I was just overwhelmed."

She nodded in understanding. "It's a lot to take in."

He continued after a momentary pause, his frustration leaking into his words. "It's just that…" he exhaled deeply. "When I saw her face the first thing I thought about was Tartarus and….I just remembered everything I didn't do for a lot of people and-" he broke off suddenly, unable to continue with the stream of the sentence and his eyes flashed backed to his lap.

Annabeth could actually feel the guilt and remorse and frustration emanating from him in waves and her heart hurt. He was supposed to be the cheerful one, the one who remained optimistic no matter what the world threw at them. But this time, he had been burdened with a different kind of weight altogether. The weight of guilt and grief that diminished over time but never truly went away, dragging you down inch by inch until it finally managed to submerge you underwater. She knew he had been struggling with his guilty conscience ever since they had toppled out of the Doors of Death but she hadn't known that the blame he carried with himself ran so deep. She extracted one of her hands, finally giving into the urge, and gently brushed his hair away from his forehead with her fingers.

He relaxed under her touch. The wrinkles on his forehead flattened and he closed his eyes, letting out a small sigh. "I could've done more." he said in a small voice. "I should've done more. For Calypso and Bob and who knows how many other people I've just forgotten about."

As she mulled over his words in her head, something about them ticked her off. What did the people expect from him? That he would remain stuck in their problems instead of moving on with his life? Didn't he have a right to, maybe once in his life, not be the hero? Couldn't they realize for one second that he was just a sixteen year old whose main goal was to get to his next birthday instead of fulfilling other people's expectations? Suddenly, she felt an upsurge of anger at Calypso. How dare she curse Percy when her curse wasn't even his fault? How could she curse him after the fact that he was the only person who had ever actually tried to break it?

"It's not your fault." she said fiercely, staring straight into his eyes as if it would help to get the message across better. "You couldn't have done anything, Percy."

"But that's the thing." he burst out in an exasperated tune, his voice laced with shame and regret. "I know I could've gone to visit Bob. I know I could've checked up on Calypso." His voice turned a few octaves lower. "But I didn't."

Annabeth could feel her brain churning and immediately filtering her thoughts into words. She moved closer to him, so that she was standing in the space between his legs. "Did you ever think, Percy," she asked, her voice turning low to match the tone that he had used earlier, "that maybe the gods didn't release Calypso earlier because Leo had to be the one to break her curse?"

Percy looked at her with a dumbfounded look as if the thought hadn't even been close to crossing his mind. Personally, Annabeth loved when he looked at her like that, all curious and amazed and seeking answers from her. It made her feel a little special and not to mention he looked exceptionally cute.

"What about Bob?" he asked, his eyebrows forming a little frown, "And Damasen?"

Her fingers resumed their slight motion through his hair when she answered, a little thoughtfully. "I like to think that the Fates have a part in that." she told him, thinking his question through. She looked into his eyes again and was glad to find that the level of guilt in his irises had diminished after her reasoning; although, it was still perceptible beneath the sea green. "We could never have closed the Doors without them and that was vital for the quest." she said, her voice bordering on a whisper. A deep wave of despondency overtook her, something that had been recurrent ever since they had returned. "It had to happen, maybe because prophecies are inevitable or maybe because of the greater good."

He was still looking at her that way but now there was an air of understanding and resignation on his features. His arms unconsciously wound around her waist, her skin tingling in response to his touch. His voice held a quiver when he whispered, "I wish it didn't though." He paused. His features twisted into an expression she couldn't identify; one that she never wanted to see on his face again. "I just feel so guilty all the time and so angry at the gods and so angry at myself." His arms tightened around her unconsciously and for a moment he avoided her gaze as if he was suddenly ashamed of what he had confessed.

"What if I'm becoming bitter?" he insinuated, his voice cracking. He met her gaze again, looking at her with big imploding eyes like he believed that she could somehow make it all better. "What if I'm turning into Luke and all the other demigods that sided with Kronos? What if I just lose it one day and…something bad happens?"

Her mind suddenly flashed back to Tartarus, the one memory she had been trying to suppress for a long time. She saw Percy's gaunt and ghostly face holding an expression of ruthlessness as he used his powers to raise the torrent of poison around Misery and she saw the vengefulness splattering across his features as he sliced Arachne into dust, prepared for more. No, wanting more. For a moment she had been afraid; she had been afraid of the pure hatred and bitterness that blinded his face; she had been afraid of him. It had been the moment she had realized that Percy Jackson was close to reaching his breaking point and she had been afraid even more. The words he said now made sense. She suddenly realized that Percy was afraid of that side of himself too.

For the first time since they stepped out of Tartarus, she understood that the demons he had been battling were far worse than the nightmares they both experienced in the wake of the night. He wasn't just being plagued by the memories, he was being tormented by his own conscience, his mind turning all the rage and guilt and hurt into one big bubble that was bound to burst. There was a physical pang in her heart when she realized the extent of all the hurt he had been carrying around with him and she wanted nothing more than to end it and make him happy. In that one second, she wanted to give him the world.

She cupped his face between her hands and made him look up. "You're not a bad person Percy." she told him, her voice holding more conviction to it than she had realized. He looked at her with such a heartbroken expression, she wanted him kiss him right there and then. "But bad things have happened to you. What's important is rising above it all."

She leaned down and touched her forehead against his. Their eyes were locked into each other's, mere centimeters apart. Annabeth didn't think she would ever get tired of looking into them.

"And we will rise above it all." she whispered. "Together, okay?"

Some of the worry on his face vanished as he looked into her eyes. His face softened and the worry lines on his face lessened. He suddenly looked a decade younger. Her heart swelled at the thought that she had been able to make it better for him.

"Yeah." he breathed slowly and then said, "You're amazing, you know that?" His eyes inspected her with amazement and awe and complete and utter adoration and love.

"I've been told a couple of time." she grinned before she closed the distance between their lips.

Percy awoke with a racing heart, a pounding head and beads of sweat running down his brow. His blinked his eyes several times as if trying to erase the lingering remains of his nightmare from his mind. He wiped the sweat off of his forehead and tried to untangle the sheets twisted around his legs. Beside him, tucked snugly to his side, Annabeth slept soundly, unperturbed by his nightmare in her current state of comatose. Seeing her there still made Percy blush but hey, he wasn't complaining. The two of them had gotten a pretty large variety of funny reactions when they had emerged from Percy's room together one morning. He had only managed to grin stupidly and thanked whatever god that Coach Hedge wasn't there to witness the scene.

Right now, he wanted to wake her so badly but one look at the deep purple shadows fanning out beneath her eyes and his resolve crumbled. As gently as he could, he removed his arm from around her waist and then lifted her arm from around his middle, while slowly untangling their legs. Thankfully, the movement didn't wake her and she continued to sleep soundly, once or twice letting out a gentle snore. Heart still thrumming loudly, he sat up and leaned against the headboard of the bed, closing his eyes, breathing heavily and trying to shut his mind against the memories that were crashing continuously against the walls of his brain.

When he couldn't get his mind to go on a distinctly different path, he switched to staring at random objects around the room. The idea was a complete failure until his eyes landed on Annabeth and decidedly settled there. She looked younger somehow and peaceful, away from all the burdens of the world. His eyes scanned the silhouette of her closed eyelids and her blonde eyelashes that were pretty long but almost invisible. His gaze travelled to the length of her pointy nose and then to her lips that were chapped. Her cheekbones were still a little hollow but were starting to fill out once again like the rest of her body. He ran his fingers through her princess-curled-hair that was starting to reclaim some of its gilded color and former softness. Lastly, his gaze landed on the scar that ran down her neck and disappeared inside her shirt. The pair of them supported an array of different scars of various shapes and sizes but this was the one that was the most visible on either of their bodies. He ran his thumb over the thin jagged white line. He thought she looked beautiful.

He sat there for some time before he came to the conclusion that sleep was not returning to him that night. Slowly, he got out from under the covers and slipped his feet into his shoes. He looked at Annabeth one last time to make sure that she was still sleeping, dropped a little kiss on her forehead impulsively and quietly slipped out of the room, making his journey to the deck.

Thankfully, the Argo was traveling upon the sea today instead of floating through the air. He felt a surge of strength as the cool sea breeze hit his face and he breathed deeply then slowly expelled the air from his lungs. He leaned against the rail, the metal cool beneath his fingers and closed his eyes again, only focusing on the churning water that he could almost feel beneath his feet. When he opened his eyes, he made a sphere of water float up to his face and then entertained himself by altering it into different shapes. All of a sudden he heard a commotion from behind him and his concentration broke as he whirled around, causing the sphere to burst into thousands of tiny droplets and fall back into the sea.

Behind him stood Calypso dressed in a simple white top and jeans with Leo's army jacket draped across her shoulders in the nighttime chill. The wind teased her hair that flowed down her shoulder and she raised a hand to tuck some strands behind an ear. Percy stood for a few minutes, at lost to what to do then blinked a couple of times and muttered a barely audible greeting.

When she remained silent and moved to stand beside him in front of the railing, he decided to speak up. "What are you doing here? It's dead in the night; you should be sleeping."

"As should you." she replied in a voice that seemed oddly pallid.

Percy didn't say anything in reply. He had no idea what to say anyway. What could you say to the person you had probably loved at some little part of your life and then forgotten about completely and then met them again to find that both of you had fallen in love with other people? Oh, and add a tail of abandonment and false promises and curses to the mix. Needless, to say the result wasn't something very pleasant.

Right now, he had no idea how he felt about Calypso or how she felt about him. He didn't know whether to feel guilty for not going to her help or be absolutely mad at the fact that she had cursed him, being fully aware that the cure to her own curse was out of his hands. No matter how many times he had tried to forget that night in Tartarus, the memory of Annabeth's frantic and despairing face refused to disappear out of the deepest recesses of his mind as she reached and called out for him blindly, thinking that he had abandoned her in the deepest pits of hell. He didn't know whether to be angry at Calypso for bringing that look upon Annabeth's face or ridden with guilt on the fact that he had probably made Calypso feel the same way. It was all so twisted, it was giving Percy a recurring headache.

He suddenly wondered where the Calypso had gone that had taken care of him and nursed him back to health, with the sweet and gentle hands and the mellow voice. Then he realized that the fact that she was no longer that way was probably his fault and he was overtaken with another bout of guilt. And then he thought that maybe Leo was the only one that got to see that side of her now. The thought saddened him and the fact that it had saddened him confused him even more. His fingers wound even tighter around the rail until his knuckles turned white and he knew that he had to say something. He knew that the pair of them had issues that needed to be resolved. He opened his mouth to say something –he didn't know what- but Calypso interrupted him before the words could escape his larynx.

"Hermes came to visit." she said in a light tone as if stating that the sky was blue. "Told me about…Tartarus."

Percy licked his lips. His mouth did the thing where it refused to cooperate with his brain. "You cursed me." he accused, bluntly. Annabeth would have scolded him for his lack of tact.

"Are we going to start blaming each other?" she asked turning around to face him. Her eyes held a fiery sort of gleam. "Because I can add to the list."

He shrugged. Then before he could stop them, the words suddenly came rushing out of his mouth. He had never been much of a thinker anyway. "You could have cursed me but you had no right to make Annabeth go through…that."

When the words were out in the open air, Percy suddenly understood the actual reason for his resentment. The reason why this was such a big issue anyway. It was because Annabeth had been forced to suffer on his behalf. She had already been through so much more than probably the rest of the seven combined and the thought that Annabeth had gone through so much pain just because he had been forgetful, was something he had trouble forgiving himself for. It was like the time that Arachne had attacked them; he had been so angry at everyone for hurting Annabeth that he had been unable to contain his own wrath and bitterness.

"I didn't curse Annabeth." Calypso almost spat. Her face no longer held that expression of calm and her own hands were wound tightly around the rail so that Percy could see the thin veins through her pale skin. "I cursed you. It so happens that the best way to hurt you is to hurt Annabeth."

Her words were like a blow to his stomach, managing to knock the air out of his lungs because he knew that it was the truth. He swallowed the lodge in his throat with difficulty. His mouth seemed as dry as sandpaper and her words reverberated inside her head back and forth, back and forth. The best way to hurt you is to hurt Annabeth.

Calypso's face softened when she saw the expression on his face. Suddenly, her countenance was vulnerable, her hands were shaky. She looked down so that her hair framed her face and obscured it from Percy's view. "It was an accident." she said with a quivering voice, all pretenses of her anger unexpectedly fading. He suddenly realized that maybe she was feeling as guilty as he, for the part she had played in the little ordeal. "I didn't mean to curse you…or Annabeth. It was just a moment of weakness."

He nodded weakly, unable to say anything. What could he say anyway? He understood the feeling of losing a loved one, and one after another for almost three millennia? That wasn't something he would have been able to go through if he was in her place.

"You don't know how it feels." she continued and the pain in her voice was palpable. "To hope again and again and again for I don't know how many times… only to have it crushed once more." Her voice cracked at the end of the sentence and Percy could feel his heart slowly breaking for her. "When Hermes told me about the promise you made, I allowed myself to hope and then wait…one day, two days, a month… until it became enough and I lost it."

She stopped and hugged Leo's jacket closer to herself as if seeking comfort from the immaterial object in the absence of its owner. She sniffed quietly but he heard it nevertheless. He felt numb, inside and out. It was like hearing he pain in her voice had suddenly arisen all the emotions he had been trying to suppress for so long. Guilt and rage and bitterness and other hateful feelings that he couldn't name. He didn't know that he was capable of inflicting this much pain upon someone. He knew how it felt to be abandoned, by his dad, by his friends, by the gods and wasn't it the worst kind of pain that he had ever felt?

"I'm sorry." he choked out. "I'm so sorry." He pretended not to hear the tremble in his words and ignored the sudden feeling of vulnerability that was encompassing him. "I didn't know that the gods wouldn't keep up to their promise." He paused and then considered his own words. "Come to think of it…I should have expected it." He gave a weak laugh that sounded a little bitter to his ears. "But I never was much of a thinker."

She nodded and he liked to think that maybe she understood, that maybe his reasons were as justifiable as hers. "I had a two month break before Hera whisked me away." he added, not only trying to justify himself to her but also to himself. "I like to think that I would've come to you… if my memory wasn't wiped and another Great Prophecy wasn't handed out to me on a silver platter."

She nodded again and looked up to meet his gaze once again, tucking her hair behind her ear. For a moment they looked at each other and there seemed to be an odd type of communication between them, one that didn't require any words. He could feel himself forgiving her as looked at her. This wasn't her fault and maybe she was beginning to realize that this wasn't his fault either. He could maybe see a silver of forgiveness shinning in her eyes and he suddenly felt lighter, like the weight of the world had been lifted off of his shoulders and the feeling was incredibly liberating.

"I'm sorry." he said again, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I'm sorry too." she said.

They stood side by side, looking at the dark waters that churned underneath them. Percy knew that their issues were far from over and the awkwardness would still linger in the air between them but he like to think that they were on a road to recovery. He hoped that one day, he wouldn't think of the curse every time he looked at her and he hoped that one day she wouldn't feel the crushing abandonment when she would see his face.

When Percy started to feel his ADHD getting out of his hand, he tried an attempt at normal conversation which was going to be pretty hard. But he could always try. "So you and Leo, huh?" he asked and he could feel the grin splitting through his lips, the expression a complete contrast to the one he was wearing before. "I've got to admit that's kind of cute."

She smiled and for today that smile was going to be enough. "You and Annabeth are kinda cute too." she said and he laughed.

Maybe they weren't okay but maybe that was okay too.

So what do you think? c: I'm not really satisfied with the Caleo reunion scene but oh well,

This is how the characters would react to these situations in my head. Could you maybe rate how well I got my character? Pretty please? Criticism is the road to improvement c:

But guys I'm still not over HoH because like what. Rick basically gave us another epic love story in like four chapters. Are you a wizard or what? If you need to fangirl, feel free to PM me :D

I'm thinking of doing another oneshot which basically is a thing where some of the characters speculate on why they hate Iris messages. It kind of popped up so stay tuned :)

And Review! (I have this dream where one of my favorite authors on will find one of my stories and could you guys give me a little help? c:)

Until next time sweeties :*,

-EG xoxoxo