You can feel it on the way home

One-Shot

When Percy opens the door to his house, it's almost two in the morning. He is still in his uniform as he walks lightly through the dark space, sleeping the only thing on his mind after the night he just had.

When he opens the door to the bedroom, the first thing he notices is how the moonlight is strong as it comes through the window, completely bathing the sleeping body of his wife. She's lying face down on the mattress, the covers up until almost the middle of her back, and she seems very peaceful. Even in his groggy state he can't stop himself from appreciating just how effortless beautiful she is. Sometimes he honestly can't make himself believe that this is real.

And that's when Percy spots a spider on her shoulders.

This is about one of the worst scenarios to happen in the Jackson household. Even though her fear subdued a lot since the Arachne thing, there's just a mutual understanding between them that Percy should take care of every spider that would appear in their house without her acknowledgement.

He moves closer and prepares to attack. He just really wants to do it without waking her.

The clapping sound is louder than he expected.

"What?!" Annabeth practically screams as she sits up, awaken by the loud sound, her hand going for the dagger on the nightstand. She's alert and seems to be tense by the sudden awaken, her heart rate fast.

"Hey, sorry, didn't mean to wake you." Percy says nonchalantly as he quickly cleans his hands and starts changing into his sleeping boxers.

She looks at him for a couple of seconds, as if she's accepting he's there, and then she goes back to the subject. "What happened?"

"Nothing." He dismisses.

"Percy." She threatens.

"Ok, promise me you won't freak out."

She rolls her eyes. "Just tell me already what could have possibly caused you to make such noise at" she looks at the clock "two in the morning."

"There was a spider on your back."

"There was a what?!" She yells and jumps to the far end of the bed, slapping her arms and legs in a futile attempt to eliminate some non-existent spiders.

"It's alright, just a spider, it's gone now."

"Ugh, that's disgusting!" She says as she continues cleaning herself, as if she can feel webs everywhere.

Percy can't help but feel amused by this, staring at her from his place besides the bed.

When she notices his face, she glares and points her index finger at him. "If you laugh, you're sleeping on the couch."

His mouth twitches, but he tries his best to stop the grin. She lets a small smile cover her own mouth, but still inspects his with a fake glare.

"You should have more respect for a hero who was just out until two in the morning saving lives." He says in an extremely cocky way as he draws the covers and lies down beside her.

"Oh, wow, a national treasure." Annabeth mocks as she adjusts the pillows. "A hero who saved, how many again?" And before he can say anything, she's counting on her finger. "Three... four... five! Five cats this past month. Wow."

He laughs with her as she sets her head on his chest and they stay quiet for a while, letting their laughter die.

And that's when she notices he's way too stiff.

"Something wrong?" She asks moving her head up so she can look at him. "Percy. What happened?" Her eyes soften alongside her voice and her hand moves to cup his cheek, concerned.

He sighs. "There was this kid... he had some condition, they didn't explain it right. Something on his lungs. I pulled him out alive, but the smoke had a terrible effect on him. He's in the hospital, but they didn't... They don't think he's gonna make it."

He doesn't meet her eyes as he tells the story, instead fixing his glare on the ceiling. She doesn't know what to say – there really isn't much to be said - so she just waits a little and lies down on his chest again.

"Tell me about the other people that you saved."

"'Beth..."

"Just tell me. I wanna know about them."

She can feel he takes a deep breath as his chest expands a little.

"Uh, well... the little boy has a sister. An older sister. She was still inside because she went back to- to save their cat, actually." Percy explains with a chuckle and she laughs lightly with him.

"Look at that, we're at six cats this month. Two more and you'll break your record, Jackson."

He laughs again and starts stroking her hair. He loves what she's doing, loves how much she knows him.

"Looking forward to that."

She smiles. "Now go on, the girl?"

"Yeah, uh. I saved her – and the cat. Their parents were already outside, they were taking care of the boy, waiting for the paramedics. They were really grateful. The girl... she said she wanted to be a firefighter someday."

Annabeth smiles, knowing how much it means to Percy when a kid says that to him, just as much as when a parent thanks him, and because she wants to and feels like he needs it, she raises her head again and kisses his lips. It's light and sweet, just a reminder that she is there even when things don't work like they're supposed to, and he kisses her back.

"You know you are my hero, right?" She asks with a playful tone, but they both know she means it.

He grins. "Yeah, well, you're mine."

She lies down again, listening to the calm beat of his heart, and asks him to continue. He tells her about the old lady, and the dog, and the unconscious guy on the highest floor of the building. His voice is quiet and it almost lures her to sleep, but she wants him to know she's there.

When she can no longer keep awake, she kisses his chest and murmurs 'I love you'. She can hear he's calmer now, remembering all the lives he's saved, all the people he's helped.

He replies that he loves her, too, and in seconds she's asleep.

She doesn't hear his 'thank you', but deep down she doesn't need to.

She knows.

{B