Sea Green Eyes

Chapter 99

That night had actually been good.

No one said anything when Percy walked into the Dionysus cabin with Cressida and Pollux. The three of them had actually stayed up near dawn teaching Percy how to play Pinochle properly seeing as after he'd played that first time the day he met Cressida and Pollux, he refused to play again, especially against his girlfriend. In all honestly, that was probably a very smart decision. But by the time Pollux had passed out for exhaustion, he'd actually said that they'd maybe found a new fourth member for pinochle nights.

Percy had passed out as he shared Cressida's bunk, but Cressida just couldn't sleep.

She'd saved her notebook that Annabeth and Piper gave her, so she tried writing down all the things in her head, but she ran out of ink long before she finished chronicling all the thoughts in her mind.

So, she pulled on one of Percy's long-sleeved shirts and some flip-flops as she went for a walk.

Camp was peaceful as she walked, the sun barely lighting the horizon as the sky began to brighten. The air was fresh and a little chilly as she hugged herself. She needed this. This moment to just feel content, to just feel at peace for the first time in almost a year.

She was in the centre of the common by the hearth, her eyes closed as she faced the sky and just breathed.

But this time, when her moment of peace ended, it wasn't for something bad.

It was because of the arms that wrapped around her waist, the lips that kissed her cheek and the smell of sea salt that enveloped her senses.

"Hi," she smiled.

"Hey," Percy said, his voice still a little sleepy. "Couldn't sleep?"

"Nope. Which is completely crazy after everything, but I like this. This is nice."

"It is," he agreed. "But, after everything, you do need some sleep. So, how about you tell me what's going on in that gorgeous head of yours?"

He kissed her temple as she sighed in his arms.

"I...I actually have something to tell you," she admitted after a time. "Something that's been on my mind since Tartarus, really."

Percy furrowed his brows.

"Crazy Girl, why didn't you tell me sooner?"

She stiffened in his hold a little bit as if she was worried about his reaction to what she was going to say.

"Well because, the entire time we were down there, we were making plans and talking about the future to keep going. And I just don't know how you're going to react to it when I say -"

"Are you breaking up with me?" Percy blurted, the anxiety getting to him as he spun Cressida around to face him, startling her a little bit.

"What?"

"You are not breaking up with me. Not after everything we've been through. I told you before we started dating that once I got you, I was never letting you go. I was serious about that. So, if you're tired of me, take a nap and suck it up Drama Queen, because we are never, ever -"

She shut him up as she kissed him, and he melted into it. Her arms were around his neck as she pushed herself up on her toes, Percy's hands low on her waist as pulled her to him and kissed her with everything he had.

It was really, really nice to be able to kiss his girlfriend with complete certainty that nothing was about to attack them or kill them. It was nice not to have to be on alert all the time.

And their faces were pressed together when they pulled away and their eyes met.

"I'm not breaking up with you, Barnacle Butt," she panted, her lips curving up in a smile as her hands were covered by the ends of her sleeves, leaving just her fingertips grazing his skin. "We're parasites remember?"