PRETTY PLEASE READ THE A.N. WHEN YOU ARE DONE READING!!!

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As I brought Annabeth to the park, my nerves were higher than ever. We walked side by side down the path in silence, eventually coming to a halt at a bench. It was overlooking the same pond that we had taken pictures by on our friend-aversary a little over two months prior.

I plopped on the seat and Annabeth followed suit. She sighed. "I love this time of day," she admitted, "with the sun shining down, about to set, and a nice breeze. It's really peaceful, don't you think?"

I nodded and directed my attention to her face. The sun glistened against her high, fierce cheek bones and made the tip of her cute button nose shimmer. I cleared my throat and looked out on the water. "Yeah, I love this place."

"So, do you have any other plans for the night?" Annabeth asked curiously.

"Later I was thinking we could head back to my apartment for dinner or maybe dessert, and then I could take you home. I mostly just want to spend time with you."

Annabeth smiled and looked up at me. "Aw, that sounds perfect."

I grinned sheepishly, leaning into the back of the bench. My gaze shot around the park, having a hard time focusing on one thing. It was now or never, I decided.

"I have something to say," I started nervously, focusing my stare on the pond.

"Yeah?"

"Mhmm," I hummed. "You'd probably kick my butt."

"You know I'd kick your butt."

 "I - I thought I knew what I was going to say, but I don't really know how to..." I paused and removed all thoughts from my brain.

Whatever happened between us would happen no matter what, I convinced myself. Maybe something good would come from me confessing, maybe not. Perhaps things would stay the same. No matter what, Annabeth and I would make it through. We had made it four years through many fights and disagreements, so I was sure one small awkward patch would be no match for our friendship.

I looked into Annabeth's wide, bright grey eyes. "During our time apart, while I was at camp and you were in Greece, I was almost always thinking of you. Missing you, you know? Whenever I had free space in my head, you would immediately come to mind. I couldn't help myself from thinking of what we could have been doing together, or anything about you, really. Even before this summer, I've been, well, kind of obsessed with you. The entirety of sophomore year was comprised of me practically worshiping you, and I didn't even realize until these past few months. I've been thinking that our relationship has been really great and all, but I'm ready for a - a change."

"A change? Anything in particular?"

I took a big breath, shut my eyes, and rubbed the nape of my neck. "What I'm trying to say is, well, Annabeth, I really, really like you. Like, in the more-than-friends way."

I was blushing so hard and sure I had made a fool of myself. Annabeth's brief silence and surprised expression definitely didn't sooth my anxiety. I opened my eyes and realized that she was smiling, almost as if she was restraining herself from laughing.

"You're laughing at me," I complained.

"I am not!" she countered.

"You are so not making this easy for me."

After a strenuous pause, I got an answer. Boy, and a nice one at that.

"I am never, ever going to make things easy for you, Seaweed Brain. Get used to it." Then Annabeth leaned closer, cupped my jaw, stared into my eyes, and smiled. "I like you too, Percy."

Before I could process anything, those sweet, smooth lips of hers were pressed against mine for the second time in my life and I couldn't have been happier. I realized that nothing in the world felt like a nice kiss with the girl of my dreams.

Unlike our previous kiss, this one was not a momentary meeting of lips, a peck if you will. It was more of a hug, or even a dance, as cheesy as it sounds. Her lips were moving ever so slowly against mine, and I was reciprocating the movements straight back.

After a long moment, although not quite long enough for my taste, Annabeth pulled away with a bright grin gracing those amazing lips of hers.

I blinked a few times, a dazed yet happy expression adorning my face. "Uh - duh - mmm," I stuttered out.

She laughed and cupped my cheek, brushing her thumb against my cheekbone. "You're such a goof," she teased.

I blushed, smiling sheepishly. "So, do you want to...you know..."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow, still only a few inches separating our faces. "Do I want to what? Come on now."

I bit my lip. "I would really appreciate if you were a little more giving," I joked. "What I'm saying is - "

Before I could continue, a familiar voice barked out a laugh. "Look at this, little Prissy is making a fool of himself."

I turned and saw a few of our friends, including Clarisse, Silena, Beckondorf, Grover, Juniper, Rachel, and Calypso, as well as the Stolls. "What are you guys doing here?" I asked, a little upset but also grateful for a moment to think.

"I called your house," Grover said. "I was planning to hang out with you and Annabeth now that you're back, but your mom said you were out. I came with Juniper and Rachel to the pizza place, but Clarisse said you guys headed this way. Silena and Beckondorf were there too. We ran into the Stolls and Caly along the way."

I resisted the urge to groan out of frustration.

"Looks like the lovebirds need to cool off," Clarisse said with glee.

"The pond!" Connor Stoll shouted.

They managed to get us standing up and we were caught in a wave of teenagers. I was suddenly lifted up onto the shoulders of one of the Stolls - Travis? - and Beckondorf. Annabeth was on my left, held by Clarisse and Rachel. We were close enough to hold hands, so we did as we were carried down the path to the water. I was blushing and laughing a lot, as was Annabeth. Even as we were dumped into the water we were holding hands, and we were still clutching on to each other as we swam up for air.

The swarm of our friends had conveniently left just as we were able to chase after them, so instead of finding, them Annabeth and I decided to head back to my place to dry off.

All the while back, Annabeth and I were holding hands. My cheeks were still tinted red and a permanent grin was etched into my lips. I hadn't been that happy in a very long time.

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As we walked up the stairs to my apartment, still sopping wet, I suddenly remembered that I hadn't brought my keys with me. Hopefully my mom was still home and not busy.

I knocked on the door, sending a bashful glance in response to Annabeth's inquisitive stare. "I forgot my keys," I explained.

She nodded, a small smile gracing her lips. Her lips. Man, I really had to stop looking at them. Annabeth noticed my line of sight and laughed under her breath. My cheeks burned a little red, but before I could attempt to clarify my actions, she rose onto her tip toes and pressed her lips against mine.

"You're so cute," she whispered against my lips.

"As are you," I replied. "I mean, come on, look how short you are."

She wasn't really that short, just compared to myself. I was about six feet tall, maybe a smidge under, while Annabeth was about 5'8".

She grinned, giving me another lingering kiss.

Just then the door swung open. Annabeth leaned back and turned to face my mother, as did I.

"Oh, hey, Mom."

"Oh my goodness! I am so sorry! I didn't mean to...wait, are you two finally dating?" she asked.

A deep blush coated my cheeks and I looked at Annabeth while rubbing the back of my neck. She looked up at me and smiled.

"To be determined," she answered quietly.

Mom stepped back and let us in. "Why are you guys soaked?" she inquired.

"Well, our friends thought it would be a good idea to dump us in the pond at the park," I said, jokingly acting angry.

Annabeth laughed. "Yeah, such wonderful companions we have," she mocked.

"Why don't you two dry off and change into warmer clothes. I'll whip up something for us to eat. Does Shepard's pie sound alright?"

We both nodded, so Mom veered into the kitchen while Annabeth and I directed ourselves down the hall.

"Um, you can pick something of mine to wear, if you'd like," I told her. "I have a few old pairs of sweats that might fit, or whatever works. I'll go change in the bathroom."

I swooped up a pile of clothes containing a pair of sweatpants and a tee shirt and ducked off to the bathroom. On the way I grabbed a towel from the linen closet and brought it back to Annabeth. She took it gratefully and I left to go change.

I quickly dressed into my dry clothes and wondered what would happen throughout the rest of the night. I assumed that Annabeth and I would have to discuss what we 'were' and all, but what would that consist of? All I knew was that everything would end up alright, because it almost always did with us.

I opened the bathroom door up and went to the kitchen. I leaned against the counter out of Mom's way and listened to her chat about what she and Paul had been getting up to throughout the weeks I had been gone.

After a few minutes Annabeth came out dressed in my old sweatpants with the string tied tight and the legs cuffed, as well as my swim hoodie. I smiled, loving how adorable and small my clothes made her look.

"I saw this on your bed," she said, holding the fabric of the hoodie between her thumb and forefinger, "and it looked comfy. I hope you don't mind."

I shook my head. "It's fine."

My mom smiled. "Well, this'll be ready in less than thirty minutes. Until then, why don't we bake some cookies to eat after as dessert?"

I grinned. "Sounds great. Have you ever attempted the Sally Scramble?" I asked Annabeth.

She shook her head slowly. "No...Should I be concerned?"

I smiled. This was going to be fun.

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An hour or two later, dinner was finished and everybody was munching on blue chocolate chip cookies with milk in the living room. Annabeth and I were sat on the loveseat while Paul was lounging in his large recliner and Mom was relaxing on the couch.

"Annabeth, are you spending the night?" she asked.

Annabeth bit her lip. "I don't know. I'd have to ask my dad. Do you want me to stay, Perce?"

I looked down at her, curled against my side, and decided I wasn't quite finished with her for the day. "Yeah," I said.

"Alright, can I use your room to call in then?"

I nodded. We both stood up and headed down the hall. We both sat down on my full size bed and Annabeth whipped out her cell phone. She started a call with her father and began to chat with him.

I noticed how her hair, still restrained by a hair tie, curled into several individual ringlets, and some were more defined than others. Barely even realizing what I was doing, I reached out and tugged one, watching it bounce back into place. Annabeth glanced at me distastefully and pushed my hand away from her head. I latched my fingers between hers as compensation.

She smiled at me, saying good bye to her dad and ending the call. "He said I could stay over, but I have to head back tomorrow before noon."

I nodded, smiling. "Alright. I think we can manage that," I teased.

Annabeth laughed. "So, what do you want to do?" she asked.

I pursed my lips. "We should probably talk about what happened today, don't you think?"

She nodded. "Definitely."

I turned to face her better, still clasping her tiny hand in my own. "Well, I clearly like you, a lot, and I'd like to think you like me too based on the fact you've now kissed me three times."

She rolled her eyes. "Speaking of, you know that you can kiss me too, right? I'm not going to bite you. But yes, I like you too, Perce. What would you like to - "

Without thinking I interrupted her with a kiss of my own. I had been watching her mouth move as she spoke, a risky move, and it had lead to the same result as always. Desire.

As we parted, Annabeth grinned. "Well then, I see you've figured it out," she teased.

I smiled. "Do you want to be together?"

"I mean, you know that I've never had a boyfriend before, and I am pretty sure you haven't either."

"I know, but we can figure it out together. Unless, you know, you don't want to."

Annabeth shook her head. "No, I do. I want to be in a relationship with you, Percy."

I smiled. "Good, because so do I and I don't know how I would feel if I had to be apart from you any longer."

She jokingly pushed my chest, and I reseated my self so that we were facing each other again.

"You're so sappy," she teased. "But speaking of, we need to talk about how we want to act with each other."

I nodded. "Yeah, we do. What do you want from me?"

"Well, like I said, you can kiss me, or hug me, or hold my hand. I love your hugs," she admitted. "You smell really nice, like an ocean breeze or something. I would prefer if you didn't do too much PDA, though. Like, don't make out with me at the pizza place."

I smirked. "I wasn't aware we were at the 'making out' phase."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Moving along...Please do not call me too many soppy nicknames. I think this'll be basically like how we've always been, just more..."

"Kissing?" I offered.

She laughed. "Yeah."

I smiled. "I agree. I think we are already so close that there isn't much to improve on in that aspect. I really think this'll work out, Annabeth."

"I sure hope so, Seaweed Brain."

We continued to talk about our summers after that, feeling much less awkward now that things between us were settled. Around ten o'clock Annabeth drifted off, and I soon followed. 

I awoke the following morning to Annabeth's arms wrapped around my waist. I was on my back and she was on her side. Her long hair was tickling my cheeks as her head was laid against my chest. I decided that wasn't too bad of a way to wake up each day.

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2474 WORDS! WOOOO

IT'S FINALLY HAPPENED. THE MOMENT. I hope it was up to par with all of the amazing Percabeth fanfics out there. I decided to mix in a bit of the actual canon scene with my own creation...did you like?

We have a few important matters to discuss. Firstly, are there any loose ends that you especially want me to clear up? This story is (sadly) coming to a close and I want you all to feel resolved. I will of course include a Grace sibling reunion, as well as Annabeth and Calypso coming to terms with one another. But is there anything else you want?

Secondly, we have surpassed another milestone! 4,112 reads as of 11:32 AM on 1-28-19, as well as 270 votes! We've also stayed at number one in #percabethau and number two in #camphalfblood for a very long time, so thank you! I have an idea for a bonus chapter that would take place between titan's curse and battle of the labyrinth, but if you have any ideas feel free to comment!

Thanks again for 4.1K, and I'll see you soon <3