This is a light angst with some humor at the end (which doesn't really fit the story, but it's cute so I left it in). If I post it somewhere else, I probably won't keep the ending. The title kind of goes two ways. If you're confused by the end of it (referring to the title) please feel free to comment about it and I'll explain :)

Warning: PTSD

Percy and Annabeth are in their freshman year of college. 

Enjoy!

------

Percy wakes up to a cold and empty bed. It's isn't an unusual occurrence, considering Annabeth has a tendency to stay up way later than she should studying or working on projects for school until he forces her to get some sleep. And it wouldn't have worried him so much if it weren't for the face they're staying at his parents house back in New York, and he's pretty sure Annabeth doesn't have any immediate homework to work on during the holiday break. He also knows, for a fact, that she came to bed with him a little after the rest of his family turned in for the night.

It's been a little over a year since the Giant War ended. They both struggled with separation anxiety and PTSD throughout the majority of their senior year. Fortunately, they found a demigod therapist in New Rome about a month into their freshman year of college, and after countless visits, they've finally begun to heal. But the deepest scars may never fade. The memories of Tartarus still lurk in the back of his mind, so waking up to his girlfriend missing brings some unpleasant memories to the surface. Especially since it's so close to the anniversary of when he spontaneously disappeared two years ago.

He kicks the heavy blankets off him, slides his legs over the edge of the bed, and sits up. The hard wood floor of his childhood bedroom is cold underneath his bare feet, and even though the small space heater humming in the corner of the room radiates heat, a chill still hangs in the air. He puts on an old hoodie before heading down the hallway.

The hallway is dark, which is nothing out of the ordinary for two in the morning, save for the small starfish night light plugged into the wall outside Estelle's room. The kitchen is just as dark, if not even darker, which makes him even more worried. Annabeth wouldn't sit in darkness after a bad nightmare, so where is she? He's afraid Hera decided to stop by and sweep her away too. But the small green blinking light of the dishwasher provides him with just enough light to make out an unfinished water sitting near the sink that wasn't there before everyone went to bed. Annabeth and he had taken on the responsibility of loading the dishwasher after dinner to help his parents out, and the said cup wasn't there afterwards.

A quiet sniffle catches him off guard. It's not that he isn't used to Annabeth venting out her fears and frustrations in the form of tears, but the apartment is just so quiet, and the sound startled him somewhat. In fact, Annabeth is a crier, but most people don't know that about her. He only found out shortly after they began dating, and quite frankly, it had freaked him out a little bit. But he's gotten used to it over the years and has learned how to comfort her until the tears stop.

He finds himself standing in the living room a moment later where Annabeth sits on the couch, an all-too-big pair of matching sweats and a hoodie swallowing her small frame, and something that looks suspiciously like one of his beanies is pulled over her head (it's cold, okay?). The only light comes from the moonlight filtering through the single window, and Annabeth looks ethereal surrounded by the silver hue.

He snaps out of adoring his girlfriend when she moves. She hugs her knees tightly to her chest, and his heart sinks when he realizes she's trying to control her breathing. Not wanting to scare her, he takes another step forward and quietly says, "Hey."

She still jumps, startled. "Hi."

"Are you okay?" Percy asks softly. He doesn't sit down beside her, much less reach for her. He doesn't want to invade her space when she's in such a vulnerable state, so he waits for her to give the okay.

It's another minute or so before she reaches out for his hand. Percy tangles his fingers around hers and takes a seat next to her, still giving her enough space to breathe. She leans into his side and he lets her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. A comfortable silence passes between them, and he focuses on the steady rise and fall of her chest. He has a feeling she's doing the same.

"Nightmare?" He runs his hand up and down her arm.

She sniffles again and nods against his chest, but otherwise doesn't say anything.

He doesn't press her, just holds her tighter.

Sometimes, he's learned over the many years of being Annabeth's boyfriend, that holding her and just being there for her is more comforting than trying to talk through it right away. Whatever has her so distressed- she'll talk about it eventually, but she'll come to it on her own terms.

"It- it wasn't about Tartarus," Annabeth whispers so quietly, he has to strain his ears to hear her. She picks at the lint attached to the fabric of his hoodie to distract herself. She tries to continue, but all that comes out is a scared, stuttering breath. She screws her eyes shut as a single tear escapes, and buries her face in his chest, shaking her head.

"It's okay. You don't have to talk about it. Just know I'm here for you," Percy says and kisses the top of her head.

He feels Annabeth smile against his chest. "Thank you. But I... I want to talk about it."

"Okay," Percy says, loosening his grip on her as she sits up straighter. "Take your time."

Annabeth takes a deep breath. "I was back in my room in Virginia."

He squeezes her hand, already knowing where this is going.

"It was dark- so dark," she says shakily, "and I was hiding under the covers. I could hear their tiny legs scuttling across the floor and the walls, and my stepmom- she was yelling at me down the hall to be quiet," she breaks off with a harsh sob, digging the heels of her hands into her eyes.

Percy closes his eyes and pulls her closer. She climbs into his lap, arms wrapping around his middle and she cries into the crook of his neck. He holds her. He knows this was a really traumatic part of Annabeth's childhood. She told him a little about it after the Titan War when all the anger and built up confusion that existed between them finally dissipated, but she didn't go into detail. He knows spiders snuck into her room three nights in a row, biting her and covering her in cobwebs, and by the last night, she ran away. Her dad had been out of town at the time, but her stepmom hadn't allowed her to call him, but Percy figures there were a lot of other things that drove her into running away from home that night.

"I could feel them bite me. The spiders, I mean." She shifts in his lap so she's sitting with her back against his chest, his arms wound tightly around her waist. She rubs her arms where he can only assume the spiders had bitten her in her dream. His heart aches for her, and he wants to comfort her in words, but she needs time to get this off her chest, so he stays quiet and patiently waits for her to continue. "I couldn't help but scream, but the spiders- they covered my mouth with cobwebs before anyone could hear, and they did the same to my nose and eyes. I couldn't see or breathe, and I was so scared, Percy."

"You're safe," he mutters, pressing his cheek against hers, and she leans into his touch.

"I'm sorry I left you alone in there," she apologizes. "I just- I couldn't be in a bedroom."

"You don't have to apologize for that, 'Beth. If you want, I can set up the air mattress out here?"

"Can you?" she asks hopefully, lolling her head back onto his shoulder to look up at him.

Percy nods. "Yeah, definitely. Mom will just think it's the neighbors vacuuming again."

Annabeth laughs quietly, and Percy smiles at the sound. "Okay."

"Will you be okay alone for a couple minutes while I go get it?" he asks and slides out from under her, but he doesn't let go of her hands. She stays seated on the couch, pulling her knees back into her chest. She stares at him for a moment, uncertain, before hesitantly nodding. Her eyes close as he presses a whisper of a kiss to her cheek. "I'll be right back, okay?" he whispers, lips brushing her cheek again before leaving to retrieve the air mattress.

He returns five minutes later with the air mattress, along with a couple pillows, a blanket, and a thin sheet. He drops the items on the couch, next to Annabeth, who seems to be dozing off with her head resting uncomfortable on her knees, arms wrapped around her legs for warmth. She blinks her eyes open, though, when he starts blowing up the air mattress. He seriously hopes this doesn't wake up Estelle.

Once the mattress is blown up, Percy pulls the sheet over it so they aren't sleeping directly on top of the itchy surface. By the time he has the pillows set at the head of the mattress and the blanket draped across it, Annabeth's dozing off again. His eyes soften as he watches her head drop to her knees before she jerks it back up again, trying to stay awake. He doesn't know how long she's been out here, awake and alone. For all he knows, it could've been hours.

"C'mon, 'Beth," he says, holding out his hand. "Let's go to bed."

Annabeth drowsily stands from the couch and grabs onto his hand before her knees give out and she drops to the ground. Her sweatpants had ridden up her calves, so she pushes them back down with her feet before stretching out on the mattress. Percy smiles softly as her eyes blink close. He pulls the blanket up to her chin, kissing her forehead before he lays down beside her.

The beanie sitting atop her head had partially fallen off, and Percy removes it completely, tossing it over to the couch. He settles back down next to her and reaches over, brushing the blonde curls that had fallen over her face. He can tell she's already asleep by the even rise and fall of her chest, and her slightly parted lips. In any other circumstance, he probably would've kissed her, but he thinks that's totally inappropriate of him to do after the night she's had. She deserves some space and privacy.

It doesn't take much longer for his eyelids to grow heavy, and he lets sleep take over.

Though, he doesn't stay asleep for long. Not because of a nightmare, or anything. When you're on high alert for monsters and running for your life 24/7, you tend to become a light sleeper. So when Annabeth shifts against his side and her blonde curls tickle his neck, it jostles him awake.

"Sorry," she whispers and he just about jumps out of his skin.

"I didn't know you were awake," he explains.

"I woke up maybe... ten minutes ago?" she says with a shrug.

Percy turns on his side to face her and she averts her eyes away from him, swallowing thickly. He frowns and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, his hand lingering near her jaw, but he lets it drop between them when she blinks frequently. "Hey, you okay?"

Annabeth nods. "I'm still shaken up."

"You're safe. I promise," he reassures her. She nods again and starts rubbing her left arm again, but much harsher this time. His frown deepens when her sleeve rises, revealing a collection of red scratches, which she probably did to herself in her sleep. He grabs the hand rubbing at the scratches and laces their fingers together, laying their linked hands between them. "You'll irritate it."

She stares at their hands. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize." Percy squeezes her hand.

She releases a breath and scoots closer to him, intertwining their legs. "I hate feeling like this."

"Like what?" he asks softly.

"Scared. Helpless. Alone," Annabeth answers.

His heart sinks to his stomach at her confession. Annabeth only opens up to him like this if she's really in pain. She doesn't like anyone seeing her in a state like this, but then again, who does? Percy remembers trying to hide his pain from his loved ones during his senior year, and that didn't end very well. He's glad Annabeth trusts him enough to tell him these things, but he wishes she didn't have to suffer at all. He wants to take all the heartbreak off her shoulders and put it upon his own so she doesn't have to deal with it. He wants to see her smile; hear her laugh; watch her eyes brighten when she talks about architecture. He does see those things, but rarely. Because Tartarus and other traumatic events had taken its awful toll on both of them, and it's going to take a lot of time to fully heal.

"Annabeth, you're never alone," he says sternly, tilting her chin up so she meets her eyes. "You once were, a long time ago. But things have changed, and now you have people who actually care about you and they will never leave you. You aren't alone in any of this. You may be scared, and you may feel helpless, but I do too, and so do a lot of people like us. You aren't alone in what you're going through, and you're not alone in feeling alone. We all do at some point, but we have to keep reminding ourselves that there's at least one person who will never leave."

"Percy, I-" Annabeth cuts herself off and buries her face in his chest.

"You don't have to say anything," Percy murmurs and wraps his arms around her trembling frame.

"I love you," she says honestly.

"Annabeth, I love you, so much. Don't forget that."

"I'll try not to," she responds, a teasing edge to her voice.

Percy laughs and nuzzles her neck. "We should try to get more sleep before Stella wakes up."

"She's gonna jump on us, isn't she?"

"I don't know about jumping. Maybe fall. She can't walk yet."

"She can if she's holding onto something, and the coffee table is right there."

"Shit."

"Maybe she won't see us if we hide under the blankets."

"Glad to see you're back to yourself."

"I'm not one hundred percent, and I don't feel up to do anything exciting today- maybe take a nap, but you're pep talk cheered me up. Plus you said you love me which always makes me feel better."

"Oh, look at you! Getting all soft on me." He presses a sloppy kiss to her cheek.

Annabeth pushes him away with a laugh but immediately curls back into him. She may be feeling better, but she isn't ready to be apart from him, he knows. "But I am serious about hiding under the blankets. I don't want to get jumped on by an enthusiastic one year old. Their knees and elbows always know how to find your stomach." She winces at the thought.

"And we both know Paul won't stop her."

"He'll encourage her, most likely."

"He's so mean to us."

"I know, right?"

"But at the same time, he's a great dad."

"He is. Mean but great."

"Sounds like you."

"Hey!"

"Just telling the truth," Percy says matter-of-factly, shrugging.

"You are so annoying," Annabeth mumbles but leans over to kiss him. "But I love you."

Percy smiles. "I love you too, but we seriously should-"

"Mama!"

"Shit. What time is it?" Annabeth asks, directing her gaze to the window where the early morning sunlight seeps into the living room.

"I don't know. My phone's in my room."

"I'm coming, Stelle. Hold on," they hear Paul say.

"Hide!" they both shout and slip under the blanket. 

-----

I feel like the ending might have ruined the somber mood, but it was funny so I kept it in. But maybe it doesn't take long for them to feel okay again after being reassured by the other countless times, but I don't have PTSD, so I don't know.

I hope you all enjoyed!