A/N : Takes place during book 2 in between chapters 12 and 13
They were sailing through the sea now, just the two of them. It was the most peace they had gotten in awhile, and they almost never got time alone, so it was nice. The unfortunate side to getting quiet however was that the silence made it so that they HAD to hear their own thoughts. That wasn't really a good thing considering all the recent trauma they had endured.
"Percy" Annabeth said gently, sitting next to the young demigod at the front of the sailboat. "A lot has happened, are you okay?"
"Doesn't matter" Percy deflected, avoiding her gaze. "We need to find Grover" he emphasized, gesturing out to the vast sea in front of them. "Hey, wait" Annabeth placed her hand on his shoulder. "We have plenty of time before we'll reach land against anyway. What is going on with you?"
"We might not have that much time!" Percy shouted back. Annabeth flinched slightly at the sudden raise in volume, to which Percy quieted down and mumbled a small apology. "It's okay" Annabeth reassured. "You're stressed, I get it"
"Still, I shouldn't have yelled" Percy emphasized. "Percy, it's fine" Annabeth said with finality. Another moment of quiet passed until Percy broke it with a small, broken "I can't lose another person"
The blonde girl looked over to see tears in his eyes, and it was honestly a really worrying sight. Sure, he could get sad or nervous or really down on himself when his RSD was acting up, but she'd never seen him look so hopeless and afraid before. "Hey" she said gently, pulling him into a hug, to which he completely broke down.
"He's gone, Annabeth" Percy shouted into her chest. She didn't need to ask to know he was talking about Tyson. A small boulder of guilt began forming at the pit of her stomach. "I- I- I never got to tell him how much I appreciated or l- or loved him" he cried. "I felt so ashamed and now he's gone"
"He loved you too, Percy" Annabeth said quietly as she rubbed the young demigod's shaking back. "He was glad to have you as a brother, even when you were cold to him" she continued. "He'd be happy just knowing that you survived"
Percy never responded to that, instead just continuing to cry. Annabeth didn't push the subject further. Titan knows the poor boy didn't need any more pressure at that point. Besides, they still had to find Grover...
"We'll find him" she said after a moment. "I won't let you lose anyone else, okay? I'll try my best to stop that from happening"
"Thanks, Annabeth"