PJO/HOO One Shots

All I Ever Wanted

She knew it was too good to last. But it never hurts to hope.
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Annabeth remembered every detail about the day it happened.

It was supposed to have been a regular Friday night. The TV was playing some tragic news story about a car accident on the freeway, and Annabeth was humming along to some music as she prepared dinner, waiting for Percy to come home from work. He'd just landed a job as a history teacher at the local middle school, and he loved being with the kids so much that he often spent hours at the school after the day had ended.

It was Percy's birthday, and she had special news for Percy about the wedding, so she was making his favorite: blue pizza. All the toppings were laid out neatly on the island while she prepared the dough. There was a glass of wine popped open, because Annabeth just couldn't resist herself.

That was when the call came. The phone began to ring on the opposite side of the counter, so Annabeth dusted her floured hands on the apron Sally had gifted her and rushed to pick up. The food coloring tipped over just a little bit, staining the white marble counter with blue splatters. Cursing, Annabeth righted it hastily before retrieving the phone.

"Hello?" she asked, leaning her head to the right to hold the phone and get back to her dough.

"Hi, is this Annabeth Chase?" replied a crackled voice on the other end.

"Yes, this is she." Annabeth smiled to herself. It was probably an office assistant from the school again, telling her that the school was closing for the day and she needed to collect Percy before they kicked him out.

"Hi, this is the hospital. We have some news for you." A pause. "Ma'am." The voice was solemn and grave. "You may want to sit down for this."

Annabeth furrowed her brows, but obliged, crossing into the living room to sit in front of the TV. That same news story was still playing.

"I- I'm sitting." Annabeth was thoroughly confused. What was happening? Who was calling her?

"Ms. Chase, we understand you are engaged to Perseus Jackson?"

"Yes, I am. I don't understand. Is something wrong? Is he okay?" Annabeth felt her voice growing more frantic.

The news from the TV seemed to grow louder.
Horrible crash on I-59, came the female newscaster's voice, with one already reported dead. Traffic has been blocked up for miles as police try to-

"Ms. Chase. We regret to inform you that your fiancé has been in a tragic car accident and passed at approximately 4:00 today. Our doctors did everything they could to..."

The woman's voice faded out as Annabeth went into shock.

The TV then flashed a picture of Percy- her Percy's- face, as the reporter stated grimly, "So far authorities have identified one fatality, identified as a Perseus Jackson."

Somehow, Annabeth didn't cry. Probably because she couldn't believe it. Percy couldn't be dead. He just couldn't be.
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Things had started to come together after Annabeth accompanied a hysterical Sally to the hospital. She looked a mess when she arrived; her hair was disheveled from pulling it in distress, her blue tank top was ratty and oil stained, and she was wearing a pair of Percy's old shorts. A doctor came and spoke to her and Sally after a couple minutes of trying to garner information from passing nurses.

Percy was driving, on his way home from work, when a semi-truck rear ended him and sent him flying through the windshield. Although reluctant, they let Annabeth see the body, and that was when she knew.

The Mist was playing tricks again. Three deep slash marks marred Percy's chest, the kinds of injuries given by empousai, not fatal car accidents. Apparently they had been bothering someone, and Percy, ever the hero, stepped in and sacrificed himself. Annabeth hated it, but she found herself wishing he had just been selfish for once and thought about her before tossing himself into a fight.