Percy's Other Family

"Come on," he said. "Let me introduce you to my other family."

     "Okay," Hazel said, her chocolaty eyes shining with excitement.

     Normally, the walk from the Senate house to the forum seemed short. Now, though, it felt like it took forever. Percy slipped his arms off of Frank and Hazel, and he jogged over to a frustrated Terminus.

     "You do NOT have permission to land here! I forbid it!!" Terminus yelled up at the Argo II, which had almost landed.

     "Terminus," Percy said, trying not to laugh at his flustered expression. "They're my friends."

     Terminus scowled. "Well, tell you're 'friends' that this is not some airport!"

     "As praetor," Percy stated, holding up one side of his stupid purple cape. "I give them permission to land."

     "Ugh—fine," Terminus huffed. A crash sounded behind them, which signified that the Argo II had either landed or crashed. Percy really wanted to run over there and see his girlfriend, but Terminus probably wouldn't have liked that. "But they'd better have boarding passes."

     "Uh, sure," Percy said, crossing his fingers behind his back.

     The god nodded. "Alright."

     Percy started running off towards the ship. A ramp was leaning against it, and he could see a few people in front of the ramp. Annabeth was probably one of them.

     "Oh, Percy?"

     Percy skidded to a halt. "What, Terminus?" he snapped. His words came out harsher than he intended. Percy really hoped Terminus wouldn't turn him into a compass or something.

     "I'll want to see their passports, too."

     "Fine!" Percy just wanted to get out of there. "Is that all?"

     Terminus sighed. "I guess so."

     Percy took off sprinting. Reyna, Frank, and Hazel were already over there, talking to that guy from the video—Leo. A blond girl—his girl—stood next to them. Percy could tell she was looking for someone. Then, Annabeth saw him, and her face lit up.

     "Seaweed Brain!" she gasped, running towards Percy and tackling him in a hug.

     "Hey, Annabeth," Percy murmured, squeezing Annabeth so tightly he doubted she could breath, but Annabeth didn't seem to mind.  

     Annabeth laughed, and Percy thought it was the best sound he'd ever heard. "I take it you remember me, huh?"

     He nodded enthusiastically. "I remember everything."

     "Good." She pulled away slightly, and her expression turned determined. "If you ever do that to me again you will wish Kronos had beaten you. Understand?" Annabeth's voice shook slightly and her lower lip trembled.

     "Hey, it's okay," he said, wiping her face with the edge of his cape. Percy hoped he didn't sound as panicked as he felt; crying girls were definitely not his specialty. "I'm not going anywhere, okay? I promise."

     Percy cupped her chin in his hand, and kissed her. Annabeth responded enthusiastically, jumping up and wrapping her legs around Percy's waist. His arms went through her hair and around her back, deepening the kiss. Annabeth pulled away slightly and began kissing his jaw softly.

     "Missed you, Wise Girl," he murmured, loving how melty and warm her kisses felt.

     "I missed you, too," she sighed.

     It was so nice to hold Annabeth and kiss her and feel her fingers running through his hair…

     "Okay, where are those boarding passes?" Terminus boomed.

     "Oh, gods," Percy groaned.

     Annabeth untangled her legs from Percy's waist. "Boarding passes?"

     "Okay, I have no idea what you're talking about, but thank you for interrupting because I really didn't want to watch them make out for another twenty minutes," Leo said, flashing Annabeth a grin.

     The daughter of Athena blushed, and Percy could feel his own face growing hot. "Shut up, Leo."

     "Whatever. Anyway, what boarding passes?" Leo asked.

     Terminus looked confused. "You're friend Percy told me you would show me you're boarding passes from you're flight. Then I could verify their authenticity."

     "Oh, Percy did, did he?" Annabeth said, her lips twitching violently. "Well, we used a boat, not a plane, so it's not like we could have gotten, er, boarding passes from an airport."   

     Terminus sighed. "I guess that's alright. But—"

     "Okay," Reyna interrupted, stepping over to Leo. "I'm glad we got all that figured out. Now, it's Leo, right?"

     The curly-haired boy bowed. "At your service."

     Reyna's hands were clasped so tightly her knuckles turned white. "Is, uh, Jason with you?"

     "Oh, yeah. He and Piper are just making sure the ship's rigged correctly."

     Percy could see Reyna tense with anticipation. He really hoped this Jason guy had missed her.

     "C'mon, let's go meet my friends, okay?" Percy asked Annabeth, grabbing her hand tightly.

     She beamed at Percy and let him drag her over to Frank and Hazel. "Okay, Percy."

     "Hazel, Frank, this is my girlfriend Annabeth," Percy told his friends proudly.

     Frank smiled. "It's nice to meet you."

     "Likewise. And thanks for keeping him out of trouble," Annabeth said, smirking at her boyfriend.

     "Hey! I do not need to be babysat!"

     Hazel laughed. "No problem. Jason's with you guys, right?" Her expression turned hopeful.

     "Yeah. He and Piper were securing the sails and stuff, but they should be out here so—oh, there he is."

     A tall blond guy and a brown-haired girl walked down the ramp that was in front of the Argo II. A small crowd had gathered, and some of the people gasped.

     "That's Jason, isn't it?" He heard a girl whisper.  

     Jason stopped in front of Reyna, and the brunette—Piper, Percy guessed—went to stand by Leo.

     "Reyna? I—um—don't have all of my memory back, but I'm pretty sure that's your name," Jason offered nervously.

     "Yes, that is my name. How much do you remember?"

     "Uh, a lot, but some things are still fuzzy. I missed you, though," Jason said, stepping forward to give her a slightly awkward hug.

     Reyna almost collapsed with relief. "I missed you, too, Jason."

     "Oh, gods," Annabeth muttered. She glanced at Piper, who looked like she was about to start crying.

     Percy frowned. "What?"

     "That girl over there—" Annabeth motioned to Piper. "Well, she and Jason were sort of dating. They definitely like each other, at least."

     Percy winced. "Ouch." He paused. "Wait, is Jason still praetor?"

     Annabeth shrugged. "I'm not sure how that'll work. And, we need to decide where we're going and how to defeat the giants…"

     "Hey, Wise Girl, we'll figure it out. Quit worrying so much," Percy said, kissing the spot on Annabeth's forehead where a crease had formed.

     She smiled at him, leaning her head against his shoulder. "Okay, Seaweed Brain. I'm glad you have your memory back. I'm surprised Hera gave it to you so soon."

     Percy shifted nervously. "Um, actually, you know how gorgon's blood can either heal or—"

     Annabeth's eyes widened. "You didn't."

     When he didn't reply, Annabeth smacked his arm. "Percy, that was dangerous!"

     He blushed. "Yes, Annabeth."

     She sighed, shaking her head. "What am I going to do with you?"  

     He smirked. "I know, I know. That was stupid and reckless and I'm an idiot, okay?"

     "That's all true."
     
     "Hey!"
     
     "But you're my idiot," she said, pecking his cheek.