Quick author's note!

I'm sorry this took so bloody long and I hope it's good considering I'm writing this rather quickly, but I got a crap ton of work almost as soon as I posted the rule page. Secondly, IF YOU ARE REQUESTING A ONE SHOT, GIVE ME A DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF YOUR OC (If you want a character X OC) AND TELL ME WHETHER I CAN WRITE MY OWN PLOT OR IF YOU HAVE A PROMPT IN MIND. I WILL NOT WRITE YOUR ONE SHOT UNTIL THIS IS CLARIFIED.

~~~~~
Leo had done his best to make the walls of the Argo 2 as soundproof as possible. He really had. Of course, some of the walls were not quite as soundproof as he would have liked considering the time crunch he was stuck in for the quest, leaving Frank to deal with smoke billowing into his cabin in the mere hours of the morning followed by banging and yelling.

The wall between Piper and Annabeth's room was particularly thin. In a sense it was nice, they made a secret code of knocks to hold long conversations at night when they couldn't sleep. But tonight it served a different purpose.

Piper lay in bed, staring at the lamp's flame light dancing across the walls. She was tired but... Something was off. She could tell. She didn't know how but she just could.

Then she heard it.

Faint crying coming from Annabeth's room. At first they started off as sniffles, gradually growing into groans of pain and loud sobs. Piper felt a sense of agony flood over her as she listened to Annabeth cry. She thought back to when they had retrieved Annabeth from Tartarus.

That's right. Annabeth. No Percy.

Percy had died in Tartarus. A curse, Annabeth had explained hastily, her eyes flowing endless tears. A cursed killed him. They had looked for help, Annabeth said. But it was too late. Percy died in her arms. He didn't make it. That was all Piper heard of it.

Another loud sob echoed from the room over and Piper tossed off her blanket, hurrying next door. Annabeth didn't cry often, and anytime she did Piper felt her heart stop and a sense of heavy emotional pain weigh down on her. Aphrodite kid problems: You felt the pain and emotions of others as if it were your own.

She threw open the door, urgency building in her heart. Annabeth lay on her bed, curled into a ball. Her curly blonde hair was a tangled mess and her clothes hung loosely on her surprisingly skeletal frame.

Seeing her like that made Piper's heart ache. Her friend was strong, but she hadn't eaten much since the escape. She had tried to keep going, but she remained laconic and mourning. She was beautiful and powerful as ever, but it was obvious something more than just Percy's death was taking a roll on her.

Piper stepped closely, causing a board to creak and Annabeth to twist around in sudden panic. Her grey eyes were wild and red and puffy, her face blotchy red and etched with regret and misery.

"P-Piper...? W-what are you d-doing here?" Annabeth stuttered out the words and unless the light was playing tricks, her face seemed to redden ever so slightly more.

"I heard you crying," Piper said simply. Asking what's wrong? or are you okay? seemed foolish. Obviously the daughter of Athena was not okay and what was wrong seemed, well, wrong to ask. The daughter of Aphrodite made her way to the bed, and sat down next to Annabeth. She held out her arms and Annabeth leaned in gratefully. Piper laid them both down, tracing her fingers in looping circles across Annabeth's back. Piper could feel her face heat up slightly, but stayed silent.

They lay like that for gods know how long, before Annabeth's crying calmed and she spoke at last.

"Piper... I never explained to you the whole story of Percy's death." Annabeth's voice was raspy and low from sobbing. It sent a shiver down Piper's spine.

"You can tell me Annie," she felt Annabeth flinch at the annoying nickname and resisted the urge to giggle.

"Percy... What he was cursed with put an arrow wound through his side. We visited a giant, actually, but it was too late. His magic wouldn't work." Annabeth's voice cracked and broke and she dissolved once again in tears.

Piper felt bile rise in her throat and swallowed forcefully. "Oh Annie... I know I said this before, but I'm so sorry."

Most say those words have no meaning, that they don't help, but Piper felt Annabeth relax further and melt into her hold. Piper had to force herself to relax a bit as well, she felt herself tensing up as Annabeth got closer. Butterflies were starting to form and go wild in her stomach.

"It's... It's not your fault Piper. You don't need to apologize," Annabeth made eye contact with Piper and forced a small smile.

Piper nodded, not quite trusting her voice yet. After another minute, Piper said, "What was Tartarus like? And Annabeth, as much as I want to say you don't need to tell me right away, it's best to get it off your chest. Now."

Annabeth's expression darkened. "Imagine being inside a giant person. Except each part of their body is one venomous landscape after another. The ground was broken glass, the air was acidic, you could hardly breathe, you couldn't eat, you couldn't drink." Her voice grew quieter and more rushed as she went on. "The water wasn't water. It was poison or fire or misery. It fed off your depression and showed you your worst fears, making you want to die. The monsters... they were worse than you'll ever see here in the mortal world. Most of them you couldn't even fight. Everything was a trap, a game, a hunting method." Her breathing hitched and her eyes flooded again. "I-I wanted to die..." she finished softly.

Piper's own eyes filled with tears and she clutched her best friend as tightly to her as possible. "I'm glad you're not dead Annabeth. I'm sorry about Percy, I wish I could bring him back. I know you loved him. But I'm glad you're still here." Piper gently kissed Annabeth's forehead and this time, the daughter of Athena's face definitely did turn visibly red.

"About that Piper... I loved Percy platonically..."

Piper jumped back a bit in surprised and stared at Annabeth's face as if looking for reassurance that she was joking. "What? You didn't love him? I thought you two were dating!"

"We were. I broke up with him just before we fell into Tartarus. I... I didn't love him anymore and I didn't want him to suffer for me. I-I think that's what killed him. I know he loved me, and I took that away. I didn't give him a reason to live."

Piper took a minute to let the shock dissipate. Annabeth looked void of emotion and it scared her slightly. It wasn't a good sign, she looked like she was breaking. Slowly and painfully like the poison she breathed in daily in Tartarus.

"Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson's death was not your fault. You could have never predicted the fall. You would have never known that would happen. You would've never known any of this would!" Piper say straight up in bed and waved her arms around.

Annabeth hung her head, blonde curls enshrouding her expression but Piper could see her body quivering.

"I like someone else..."

Piper cocked her head to the side. The butterflies went nuts and part of her brain felt like she knew the answer. "Who?"

"You, Piper McLean."

The words came so softly, Piper didn't even know if she heard them right. But the awkward glance upward and shy smile from Annabeth confirmed it and Piper felt her face heat up.

Piper had been harboring a crush on Annabeth for a while. They knew each other for such a short period of time yet she felt complete with her. Annabeth was strong, independent, ambitious, powerful, and logical. Piper was emotional, romantic, and down to earth.

"Annabeth?"

"Yeah?"

"Confession time for me too." Here it goes. "I broke up with Jason a few days ago."

Annabeth's face contorted. "Really? Why?"

Piper smiled. "I fell in love with someone else."

Annabeth blushed and stared, her jaw slack. It looked adorable and Piper couldn't help giggling.

"And yes it's you Annabeth, you can close that mouth of yours. You look like a fish."

Annabeth, to Piper's surprise, let out a wholehearted laugh. "Never would I have thought..." She pulled Piper back on the bed and murmured in her ear, "Aphrodite better not take this love away from me."

Piper leaned forward and closed the gap between the two. A thousand sparks replaced the butterflies and shot through her entire body and she felt herself heat up. She was kissing Annabeth Chase, and Annabeth Chase was kissing back. She felt like she was flying and nothing else mattered.

The two broke apart after a minute and smiled at each other.

Finally Piper put on a serious face and Annabeth's expression seemed to crumble. "Now Chase, tomorrow morning I expect you to be at breakfast, eating a full meal. You're not going to feel any better if you don't accept things and move on. We need you. I need you."

Annabeth smirked. "Alright Beauty Queen."

"And ya know..." Piper leaned and spoke into the other girl's ear. "You're a pretty damn good kisser."

Annabeth blushed a deeper red and Piper took the opportunity to hover her lips over the other's before kissing her again, putting in more passion and love. A few minutes later, they were both asleep in each other's arms, and Annabeth slept the best she had since before Tartarus.
~~~
The next morning, Piper awoke to see her arms empty, Annabeth missing. She sat up curiously and dressed quickly before heading to the mess hall.

"--and from there we fly further east until we reach this island. There should be a gathering of Gaea followers Piper, Jason, and myself can infiltrate. Hazel we'll need your help with disguises."

At the head of the table was Annabeth. Her long blonde curls had been washed and combed and shone like honey in the sun. Her expression looked more more confident and cheerful and some of her tan had returned as if by magic. She glanced up at Piper, shooting her a confident smirk that made Piper flush before looking down at a map and debating frantically with Frank.
~~~
They really did make a great team and Piper was not going to let anything happen to her new love. No matter how much Annabeth tried to convince her she could take care of herself now. But late night kisses and talks kept them both going. Each in their own fantastic ways.

OKAY HOLY CRAP THIS WAS LONGER THAN MOST OF MY OLD SCHOOL ESSAYS WHAT. I seriously love Pipabeth though and might write more in the future for the heck of it. Rock on demigods. (I keep questioning if that's an okay sign off. Idk I'm very overly cheerful when writing.)