This Cold Year ― Percy Jackson & Annabeth Chase²

―v. down the abyss

NAOMI, UNLIKE THE SUBJECTS OF HER DREAMS, did not sleep well. She opened her eyes to darkness, feeling as if she could sleep for another five years and still not be fully rested.

It took three breaths to remember where she was—in the endless pit of Tartarus, by the shrine of Hermes.

"Hey." Naomi looked to her left to see Percy still awake. Annabeth was still sound asleep next to Naomi, arm still curled around her waist. Naomi didn't move, too afraid of waking her.

"Hey," she whispered back, managing a smile as he brushed a stray piece of hair out of her face.

"Sleep well?" he asked.

Naomi made a face. "Hardly," she muttered. "Weird dream."

"Nightmare?" he asked.

Naomi considered the question. "Not really," she said. "Just... hard to understand." 

"Want to talk about it?"

"Maybe later," Naomi said quietly. "How long were we asleep?"

Percy shrugged. "Couple hours."

Naomi poked his knee in admonishment. "You were supposed to wake us."

"It's fine," he said. "Besides, I was too excited to sleep." He nodded toward Bob, who was sitting cross-legged by the altar, happily munching a piece of pizza.

Naomi frowned, opening her mouth to ask where he'd gotten that when Annabeth woke with a start, arm clamping around Naomi's waist. 

"Hey," Naomi said, resting her hand on Annabeth's cheek. "It's okay. You're okay."

Annabeth blinked, coming out of the edges of whatever dream had scared her so bad. "Is it—is it my turn for watch?"

"No, we're good," Percy said. "I let you sleep."

"Percy!"

"It's okay," he said. "'Sides, it was kind of hard to sleep. Look."

Annabeth sat up, spotting Bob with his pizza. She rubbed her eyes. "Is that... pepperoni?"

"Burnt offerings," Percy explained. "Sacrifices to Hermes from the mortal world, I guess. They appeared in a cloud of smoke. We've got two slices of Hawaiian pizza, half a hot dog, some grapes, a plate of roast beef, and a package of peanut M&M's."

"M&M's for Bob!" Bob said happily. "Uh, that okay?"

No one protested. They had a short, impromptu picnic in Tartarus. Naomi couldn't remember the last time she'd had pizza. It was a strange thing to miss down here, but gods was it good. 

"I think it's from Camp Half-Blood," Percy said. 

The idea made Naomi homesick. At every meal, the campers would burn a portion of their food to honor their godly parents. The smoke supposedly pleased the gods, but Naomi had never thought about where the food went when it was burned. Maybe the offerings reappeared on the gods' altars in Olympus... or even here, in the middle of Tartarus. 

"Peanut M&M's," Annabeth said. "Connor Stoll always burned a pack for his dad at dinner."

Naomi thought about sitting in the dining pavilion, watching the sunset over Long Island Sound. That was the first place she, Annabeth, and Percy had truly kissed. The memory made her heart ache in a way that wasn't good or bad—just nostalgic. 

Percy managed a smile. "Hey, this is good. Actual food from home, right?"

Annabeth nodded. They finished eating in silence.