Yo sup. How long has it been since I last posted here? Okay don't answer that. Well, ahaha. In case anyone's interested I'm alive. This actually isn't much, just a surge of pain and overwhelming feelings after I finished both The Lost Hero and the Demigod Files (AH HOW I MISSED PERCY AND GUHUHU ANNABETH). Might have a sequel, or companion piece, who knows? I've actually been on a writing spree lately (HAHA OH REALLY NOW, KEMI)

Written for iu_fanfiction's WC#39 prompt: My Growing Pains because I'm really driven to finish all the prompts yay~ Timeline is roughly between The Last Olympian and The Lost Hero. Spoilers may occur? Also, not beta-ed, don't sue me. orz;;

It was one of his empty questions while he watches her do his Math homework (after a series of begging, pleading, and puppy dog eyes), while playing with her blonde curls, by his bed, inside his room. ("Oh Annabeth dear, thank goodness! You're a lifesaver." "Oh. Ah, it's really nothing Sally. I guess." "Mom." "Okay, okay. I'm going. Don't do anything funny, you two!")

"Hey Annabeth, what will you do if I'm gone?"

Gone?

It had a lot of meaning.

And being a daughter of Athena, she had been on automatic hey-brain-let's-think-outside-the-box-and-mooooore mindset each time. Though it's sort of unlikely that she'd ask "What do you mean?" since she should, actually she did, know what he meant.

It also didn't help that he had this… serious expression she couldn't read, despite her blessed wisdom and common sense (although she was momentarily distracted by the thought, 'Since when did my boyfriend look so hot when serious?'). And he calling her Annabeth, rather than the usual Wise Girl or any other unintelligent nickname his kelp brain could think of, certainly proved to her that he meant what he asked (not to mention he sat up from his previous comfortable position—that is, lying down on her lap).

She was on the verge of answering "You think I haven't thought about that?" while she punch him hard on the face to teach him a lesson of not asking nonsensical questions again, but she couldn't make herself to open her lips and mouth the words.

But yes, it was the truth.

She thought about that.

She thought about that first when they helped, hand in hand - together, Clarisse and saved Grover back in the Sea of Monsters, as she faced (or rather heard) the sirens, revealing her of her fatal flaw, hubris. When she carried the sky in place of Atlas, not caring so much that she had been tricked despite her wit (then again, she was maybe too weak to even do that). When they set out to the Labyrinth to find Daedelus before Kronos and his servants do (explaining the…kiss. And she hadn't been lenient with herself – especially the emotional part – after it for a while). When they gathered around at camp to officially announce his… right, before he appeared safe and unharmed.

Then when Chiron announced of the Great Prophecy, when she fought alongside with him on the Titan war, and even took a sword for him.

And then when she kissed him again after wishing him a happy sixteenth birthday. Then he kissed her back. Underwater.

Actually, now that she realized, she was thinking about it all the time.

Even right that moment when he snuggle to her closer than he usually does, surprise-kiss her, hold her hand…

Doesn't mean she'd like him to know that, huh.

"Simple. I'll find you, you Idiot," she finally said, as she tried regaining her smile like it was the most typical answer she'd give. "But well, you have to make it easy for me to find you. Or I'll kill you myself."

She actually thought Percy would laugh and make fun of her by saying, "Oh yeah? I thought you like challenges. Why would I make it easy?"

But instead, maintaining that serious face (she actually thought that he was playing her about it—like when she bought it and leveled his seriousness, he'd go "Pfft."), he spoke, "You better." And if it wasn't for the added 'Or I'll haunt and kill you myself,' she would've thought that the empty question made sense enough to make her cautious.

Too late, Annabeth. You're way way too late, was her silent chant as she set for the Grand Canyon, holding on to the tiniest hope that he'd make it easy for her, like he promised.

Or at least she likes to think he did.

FIN.