Annabeth's POV
Annabeth woke up in high spirits. She was glad that the biggest weight had been lifted off of her chest. And, he hugged her. Progress.
It was just a hug. She kept reminding herself. Just a friendly, hey-we-aren't-mad-at-each-other-anymore hug.
Still, she couldn't help but smile when she thought about it.
:::::::::::
After breakfast, they landed in Salt Lake City, Utah. Leo claimed that the Argo II wouldn't be able to fly much longer unless he fixed everything that the Roman cannons had done.
While the rest of the crew split up and went off to get supplies, Annabeth asked if she and Percy could stay to watch the ship while they tried to stir up some more memories. Leo agreed, but Annabeth was pretty sure that that was partly because she scared him.
They sat side by side above deck, legs dangling over the lake below. Annabeth became instantly aware of how close their hands were, and she had to restrain herself from lacing her fingers through his.
"So, have you remembered anything else so far?" she asked, not sure where to start.
"Just one thing," he said.
Annabeth nodded, encouraging him to go on.
"When we hugged last night..." Percy blushed slightly, and Annabeth felt her cheeks grow hot as well.
Just a friendly hug, the voice in her head chided.
"I remembered hugging you like that another time, in some sort of library," Percy finished.
"The Athena cabin, actually," Annabeth said. "That was right before our third quest together."
"The Labyrinth," Percy said instantly.
"Yeah. And we were going there because..." she urged.
Percy concentrated for a few seconds. Annabeth loved when he concentrated. He made this face where he scrunched his eyebrows together and his bottom lip jutted out ever so slightly. "Blank," he said finally.
"Okay, let's try this. I'll ask you questions about yourself, basic ones at first, and answer them with the first thing that comes to mind," she said.
Percy readjusted himself on the railing. "Okay."
"Your birthday," she said.
"August."
"School."
"Expelled," he said.
Annabeth couldn't help but burst into laughter. Percy joined, blushing.
After she'd collected herself, she said: "Mom."
"Blue," Percy said, then sighed. "Can't even remember my own mother."
"Hey, it's okay. Blue was a big thing for you and your mom. Although now that I think about it, I still don't really know why."
"Me neither," he said dejectedly.
"Okay, what about... best friend."
"Goat," Percy said, then blinked. "My best friend is a goat?"
Annabeth contained her laughter this time, although it was a bit of a struggle. "Half-goat, but yeah. Grover's a satyr."
Percy nodded, then motioned for her to continue.
"D.O.A."
"Records."
"Clarisse."
"Hates me."
"Manhattan."
"Home," Percy smiled slightly at this one.
"Cheez Whiz."
"Ping pong," he said. "Wait, what?"
Annabeth just smiled and said: "Blackjack."
"Nothing," he winced.
"Hermes."
"Snakes."
"Kiss," she said, trying to spark a memory of their first kiss, or their underwater kiss on the day they started dating.
Instead, Percy said: "Me."
Gladly, Annabeth thought.
No! Another voice in her head said. Not gladly! That was an accident, ignore it.
Percy blushed so furiously, his neck turned red.
"No! U-um, I mean..." he stuttered.
"It's okay," Annabeth said, smiling. "That was pretty good for a first try."
"Sorry?" Percy still looked flustered.
"Your memories. You remembered quite a bit, even if some of it didn't make sense to you."
"Oh. Right, yeah," he said. "Should we try some more, then?"
Annabeth shrugged. "Sure. Let's see, um... Mr. D."
"Wine dude."
Annabeth laughed again.
"What, isn't he? The god of wine, right?" Percy looked embarrassed. Gods, he was so adorable when he was embarrassed.
"I guess," she said, once the laughter had subsided. "Brother."
"Peanut butter."
"Dam."
"Snack bar," Annabeth had heard Grover, Thalia, and Percy make "dam" jokes at least a thousand times.
"Gladiola."
"Pink."
"Paris."
"Caduceus."
"I'm running out of ideas," Annabeth admitted.
"That's okay," Percy said. He stared at the water, swinging his legs slightly. Then he said: "Annabeth?"
"Hm?"
"How long were we together before... all of this?" He was definitely avoiding her eyes.
"Oh. Almost two months," she said, caught off guard.
"And then I just... disappeared?"
"Yeah, pretty much," Annabeth sighed. "You went to bed after sitting at the campfire for a while, and the next morning you were just... gone. Without a trace."
"Oh," Percy was quiet for a little bit. "I'm sorry."
"Hey, don't be. It's not your fault that the gods like to screw with demigods' lives just to get what they need. Although I don't know about you, but the next time I see Hera I definitely have a few colorful things to say to her."
Percy cracked a smile. "Oh, me too."
They sat in comfortable silence for a little bit.
"Annabeth, look, I--"
"Oh, gods," she said.
"What?" Percy asked.
"Look," she pointed to a spot in the distance where she could barely make out Leo and Hazel approaching the ship on Arion. Annabeth could see a large square of copper in Hazel's hands, and a mob of what looked like angry people with cell phones was following close behind.
"Oh schist," Percy said.
Annabeth hopped off of the railing. "What were you saying?"
"What?" Percy pulled a ballpoint pen from his pocket.
"Before that. You said 'Annabeth, look'."
"Oh," Percy hesitated, then did something completely uncalled for. In one fluid motion, he placed his hand on the back of Annabeth's head, pulled her closer to him, and kissed her right on the lips. "That," he said, after pulling away, smiling slightly.
The kiss had only lasted a few seconds, but it was enough. Enough to make Annabeth realize that maybe Percy didn't need his memory. Maybe things would work out on their own.
A/N: Ok I know that kinda sounded like an ending but there's one more chapter coming (let's see if you can catch the foreshadowing in this chapter).
Hope you all are doing well, personally I'm still freaking out about the adaptation.
Also, thank you so much for 400 reads! That's literally insane you guys are the best <3