I'll Follow You Into The Dark

"Guys should we really do this?" She asked them. Her composure was insecure, so he grabbed one hand of hers, entangling it with his.

"Yeah, I'm kinda scared." His best friend, Grover, confessed. "Though you don't have to grab my hand!"

Percy laughed and walked over to him grabbing his hand as well.

See, they were standing on this cliff, planning to jump from it into the ocean. Percy had done it lots of times but his friends weren't so sure of it.

"We're just going to run and jump. Nothing can happen to you and I'll just drag you with me so you don't almost jump and then fall down and die."

"What if we fall while running?" Annabeth asked, frowning a bit.

"Then we stand up and run again." He deadpanned. When he looked at their doubting faces he sighed and then put a big smile on. "Come on! It's going to be great! And the water doesn't really hurt." He tried to convince them.

"Easy for you Mr. I was basically born in the water." Annabeth sneakily replied.

He didn't reply and only took a step back, "Okay maybe it does hurt the first time, but you're going to love it!" Percy confessed as he already started running before one of them could reply.

They were nearing the end of the cliff, adrenaline and hearing the blood rush in his ears. He could vaguely hear himself shouting jump to his friends and luckily - thank the Gods - they did.

He screamed a triumphant shout as they fell down and eventually fell into the water.

He let go of both of their hands and was smiling so wide that he could feel pain in his cheeks.

"That was amazing!" He shouted, though they didn't seem to agree. Grover just shook his head at him, probably thinking that he was crazy, looking bewildered. While Annabeth kept an angry stare at him though when he stared back she broke out in a grin and hugged him closely, jumping into his arms.

"You two are crazy." Grover muttered, lying down in the water, relaxing.

Annabeth smiled widely as well, but got a more serious look as she looked longer in his eyes. He looked back intensely, never getting enough of those eyes though Annabeth got bored after a while and leaned down to kiss him.

Did he forget to mention that Annabeth was also his girlfriend?

They had been friends since forever and eventually got together when Grover, their other friend, forced them to confess their feelings.

"You're also gross." Grover muttered and that shook them out of their daze. They both sheepishly apologized and let go of each other joining Grover, lying down in the water. Though Percy didn't let go of her hand and was overjoyed that she didn't either.

———————————

"Join our army!" Mocked Grover as they walked past a poster with the advertisement for all the young guys to join the army. It was a silly and stupid war in Percy's opinion; only about some pride and greediness between kings.

Percy laughed and looked aside at his girlfriend Annabeth, who we had his arm slung around.

"What, Anna? Was my impression not good enough? Because that is how they sound." Grover added.

"They're going to add conscription." She muttered, looking straight ahead.

"What?" Percy asked bewildered, "How do you know?"

"My father. He told me this morning. I didn't know how to tell you guys."

"What's the age?" Percy only asked, ignoring her apologies.

"17."

Their age.

"Why didn't my dad tell me?" Percy muttered, not understanding why his father didn't send him a warning since he was a general and probably knew about it.

"What does it matter? We have to go anyway." Said Grover, looking so dull suddenly. Grover was not a soldier and wouldn't be a good fit for the army.

Percy had been trained since birth though; his father being a general and wanting his son always being able to protect himself came with that.

He looked at Annabeth. We have to go anyway. We. Grover and he. Not Annabeth. Only guys counted for conscription. Rules of Ancient Greece he guessed.

Though Annabeth was very highly trained as well. Actually exactly the same as him. Though their parents had been rivals when they were younger Annabeth's mother gave up on it when her neighbor, former rival and general could train her daughter perfectly. Annabeth's parents always wanted her to be able to protect herself and be good at everything. So to be sure that her daughter wasn't excluded from the best training possible she insisted on her daughter being trained alongside his own son.

And that's how Percy and Annabeth spent everyday together since the age of four. They knew each other better than anyone else; including themselves. It resulted in blind trust, becoming best friends in a year and dating after 12. Grover joined them when Percy defended him in school against some bullies.

But Annabeth wasn't joining them, though she could probably beat almost everyone of the guys who were going to join the army. And Percy was going to miss her; of course, but it also gave him some rest to know that she wasn't going to be in any danger.

He suddenly felt a deathgrip on his arm and looked at his side to see that it was Grover, pale as a ghost, he had never seen his best friend like this. "What's wrong?" Percy asked, though he knew the answer.

"What's wrong?" Grover exclaimed, "What's wrong Percy is that I have never had real training in combat and I'm going to a war! Where I'll have to fight. Of course it's not any concern for you since you're the son of a general! You would've been called in when you were 18 by your father anyway!"

Percy was silent at that, he was privileged with his training and his father probably would've asked him to come and fight, but he wasn't sure if his mother would have agreed with that if he had just been 18.

"Yeah," Percy stammered, eventually looking at Annabeth and then back at Grover, "let's train you then."

And so they did; he and Annabeth tried to teach Grover everything they could. But eventually when Grover turned out not to be too great and time was ticking, the conscription would go in in two months, so they decided to focus on defense.

And that went... okay? Grover was improving, but it wouldn't be enough to win a war.

Percy was talking in hushed whispers to Annabeth when he heard a loud clang. He immediately turned around to see Grover's sword lying on the ground and Grover himself standing a few feet away from it, never having looked so frustrated.

"I can't do this!" He screamed, "I can't, I can't, I can't! And you two see it too! Don't you think that I see you two whispering in the corner about me and strategy? Just- we have to try something different!"

"Well, Grover, what do you suggest?" Percy shouted back, ignoring Annabeth gripping his arm as he stormed forward to Grover.

"What do you want to do? Because if you have a better solution then please tell me! Tell me what is better than to prepare you and not let you get slaughtered like a fucking lamb. Tell me how I can help you better. Come on, tell me!" He shouted, seeming to tower over Grover.

"That's enough!" Annabeth screamed, stepping in between them.

"No it's okay, Anna." Grover muttered quietly and a pang of guilt hit his chest.

"I'm sorry man," he started to apologize, "I shouldn't have yelled at you. But you can't quit now. If you at least know some defenses I can help with protecting you on the field and once we're there for a while you can slowly disappear. But you've at least got to defend yourself as a plan B, because if these generals get wind of what we're doing they're going to seperate us. I know them; they're at my house all the time, going through strategies with my dad and trying to hit on my mom when they think he's not looking. They are jerks. And they will do everything they can to win the war."

"You're right, Perce. I know that. I truly do, but it just all seems so hopeless." He admitted

Percy said nothing in return but did something that was more effective in his mind; he walked over to him and wrapped him into a hug.

They'll try.

He beckoned for Annabeth to join them after a while so that they were hugging each other closely with Annabeth squeezed in the middle.

"We're both going to try our best to protect each other. Because you have to keep me normal off of the battlefield. Or I'm going to lose my mind, I'm already cracking." He sighed, admitting his feelings about this useless war and what it was doing to him.

"Maybe it's all going to be okay." He tried to reason with himself as he looked at his friends, though deep down he had this itching feeling in his stomach that he always got when he lied.

———————————

Death.

Cold and bloody death.

Glorious and prideful.

Grim and painful.

Envied and infamous death.

"It's getting me." He muttered and stood up, walking out of his room and outside. Not being able to be alone in his room stuck with his thoughts and guilt and his already packed bag.

He knew what it meant if the generals saw him tomorrow and saw that he hadn't slept - his dad had told him all about it - they would sample him as the weak link and he would embarrass his dad.

And the stress he got because of Grover dying, the dreams that hunted him. The fear of actually killing someone. Even though he was trained to kill. Wasn't this what he was born to do?

And just to add up to that the extra weight that was pushing on his heart heavily was the need to please his father and to not disappoint him.

Yes, his father was proud of him and loved him. But he's also a general. And his own son being a complete and utter failure would make him feel different towards him and he couldn't blame him.

It all just went against each other. Making his whole head tangled in deep knots.

He didn't- no couldn't disappoint his father. But he was going to do so if he did badly in the army which would happen when he would protect Grover. But not protecting Grover wasn't an option either.

Even before he realized where he was, he sat down and felt the cold stones as his legs dangled over the cliff.

He closed his eyes and laid down and thought about the nice times here.

Like coming here with his father when he was younger and jumping off in the cool water. Or just sitting here with him until his mother came to get them. Coming here with Annabeth secretly and having their first kiss here. And coming here less than a week ago with Annabeth and Grover and jumping off together.

He felt a presence joining him, but didn't open his eyes since he already knew who it was. He had thought that she would've joined him sooner since he had felt her behind him in the shadows the whole time. But he was grateful for the time she had given him alone.

"Did I wake you up?" He asked sitting up and finally opening his eyes because he wanted to see her. He wasn't disappointed as he saw her beautiful as ever in the moonlight. Clever eyes sparkling brightly. He was really going to miss her.

"No," she answered, sitting down next to him, "I couldn't sleep and was already staring outside of my window when you walked by."

"Why couldn't you sleep?"

"Same reasons as you probably." She answered.

"So you're also afraid of disappointing my father?" He wanted to ask, but swallowed the words back knowing what she meant.

"I don't want to let anyone down, Beth."

She grabbed his hand in response, rubbing her thumb over his knuckles and laying her head on his shoulder.

"And I don't want to see you go."

"Well I don't want to go." He admitted quietly. Probably for the first time out loud. And it was one of the truest things he had ever said. He didn't want to go. He didn't want to see friends and fellow soldiers die. He didn't want to kill.

But of course he had to go.

"I love you." He suddenly told her, it wasn't like he hadn't said that to her a million times before but it still felt different this time. Maybe because it would be the last time he said for only the two of them to hear.

"I love you too, Percy."

"Let's get married." He muttered, squeezing her hand softly. He didn't want this to be the last time they were together. He wanted to see her again. Again and again. For forever. And he didn't want to think about his fears. He wanted to love her forever and just forget about all of this.

"What?" She asked, her head going off of his shoulder and he could feel her eyes bearing into his side. He turned his head so that he could look at her and was surprised that she didn't look angry. Maybe confused, but there also was a hint of happiness and excitement in her eyes that gave him the courage to repeat it.

"Let's get married. I love you and I want you to be my wife and me to be your husband."

"But you're leaving tomorrow."

"I don't mean tomorrow but when I come back."

"Ask me properly." She demanded, a big smile gracing her face.

"Okay." A big grin matching hers. He stood up and grabbed both of her hands, looking directly in her eyes where tears were already forming and started talking with a soft voice, "Annabeth, I've known you since the age of four and loved you ever since. I've loved you since you beat me at fighting and pulled me up right after. Since you held my hand and ran if we were going to be late. When we kissed here for the first time I told you that I loved you for the first time and I meant it then and still do every time I say it."

He sighed deeply, letting out a nervous laugh as tears were also in his eyes right now. "What I mean is that you're my best friend in the whole wide world and know me better than anyone else. I love you and promise that I will love until my last breath and beyond in the underworld. So Annabeth, will you make me the happiest man alive and marry me?"

"Well, I need to think about it and probably ask my parents but-"

He rolled his eyes, but a big smile was still on his face. "But?" He bemused.

"But yes. I'll marry you." She answered and jumped in his arms.

They melted together in a hug and tried to kiss, but both of their smiles were too big to do so, so they just put their foreheads against each other and looked in each other eyes', smiling brightly.

They eventually sat down again, moving a bit from the edge of the cliff with Annabeth sitting between his legs. He rested his head on her shoulder, pressing light kisses on her neck.

"Promise that you come back." She eventually said, turning around between his legs so that she was now facing him and straddling him at the same time.

"I know that it is easier said than done, but at least try. I can't bear the thought of you not coming back. I can't beat the thought of you getting hurt while I'm just waiting here, completely useless and helpless."

"Okay, I'll promise." He muttered without thinking. "I promise that I will come back."

"Good." She answered cheekily and leaned down to give him a kiss.

———————————

"Bye, mom." He muttered as his mother hugged him closely.

"Bye, Percy. And remember, not everyone can be a hero. It's okay to flee sometimes."

He thought about that completely differently, but didn't want to upset his mother even more, so he only nodded and finally let her go and turned to Annabeth.

"You're really leaving." Was the fact that she stated as he looked directly in her eyes, people always thought that Annabeth was too intimidating and scary and never looked her in the eyes, but he never understood that as he only saw love and now fear in her eyes.

"I am. But I'm coming back, remember?" He said while adding a small smile.

She nodded, her lips pursed. A tear rolled down her cheek, but before it could fall he catched it with his thumb and brushed her jaw softly, giving her a soft and sweet kiss.

"I love you."

"I love you too." He muttered back, placing his forehead on hers after another, yet final, kiss. Then he took a deep breath and took a step back and climbed on his horse.

He smiled, though tears were firmly placed in his eyes, and waved before riding off with Grover to the army.

———————————

"Percy!" Grover exclaimed as he ran up to him and gave Percy a big hug. They had lost track of each other during the battle. It had been six months ago since they left for the army and he was really sick of it by now. It wasn't at all like the warriors that visited his father had told him when he was younger.

He didn't get a kick out of killing someone. He didn't like to talk about the battles during dinner. And he certainly didn't like being away from home.

But he wished that a part of home had stayed home.

That was his first thought as dinner was interrupted because of the arrival of some new soldiers. Normally he didn't really care about the new soldiers. But when he looked over at them, his mouth fell open.

"What the hell." He muttered, making Grover look up at them as well, but apparently he didn't see it.

"It's nothing I think. I'm just going to look for a second." He said in an attempt to reassure Grover and fuming at the same time.

He walked over there as casually as he could.

Though he was fuming inside, because there standing by the other soldiers was Annabeth.

"Hi." He greeted, his hands stuffed into his pockets.

She looked up at him and he had to admit that she looked different but he would recognize her everywhere. Her hair was shorter and she talked with a deeper voice but it was still her.

"Hi," she said back, her eyes piercing into his, did she really think that he would not recognize her? "I'm Chase." She introduced, holding her hand out for him to shake it.

"I'm Percy." He replied stiffly with a tight and obviously fake smile and shaking her hand.

"Can I talk to you, Chase?" He asked and she nodded so they walked outside of the camp in complete silence until it was safe to talk.

He turned around to face her and hissed, "Have you lost your mind? What are you doing here?" Afraid that someone would still hear them.

"How did you know that it was me?" She asked, more intrigued by that than his questions.

"Come on, I would recognize you anywhere." He answered his voice turning softer and suddenly being so happy that she was there, as she was the only one that he could fully trust.

"But why are you here?" He asked again, softer now.

"I think that that speaks for itself; I'm here to help you. I don't want you or Grover to die. And after 6 months I couldn't just sit at home to wait for you anymore. So I figured that I could disguise myself as a guy and come here to fight."

He was speechless for a second, not knowing how to reply to this. On one side he was overjoyed that she was here. But on the other side he was furious at her to risk her own life like this. Not only was it dangerous to be in the army - he saw soldiers dying every day - but there was a death sentence for lying to your general and pretending that you're a guy, fell under that agreement.

"Percy, this is my choice. I just want you to support me." She said, knowing him and his thoughts too well.

He looked at her for a long time, looking deep in the eyes that he'd missed so much. The grey eyes that he had dreamt of every night. And then he hugged her. It wasn't a hug that said that he thought that it was a good idea - she knew how he thought about it - but it showed that he supported her and was glad that she was here.

"I love you." She said softly. His heart clenched painfully as her voice was something that he had missed so much.

"I love you too. So much." He mumbled in her hair, which was now so much shorter. Though it didn't matter. Nothing else mattered now that she was here.

———————————

He looked frantically around, searching for his friends, on the battlefield, sweaty and his sword in his hand.

They got seperated about what he hoped was the half of the battle, this happened more often and normally they found each other back quickly. But that didn't happen this time so he hoped that Grover and Annabeth at least were together, and fought on.

They were taking in this village, something that he hated doing most. When it was a battle against soldiers, at least the people that he was fighting against were there - somewhat - voluntarily. But now, with the villagers, he felt so bad. They only had some experienced people to defend them. It felt a bit like fighting Grover.

That's why he tried not to kill anyone or fatally wound them. And was looking for an exit, so that they could leave peacefully. Their village was already lost, but their lives were not.

Eventually he found one, a small path at the back of the village. Every villager he passed he told them that they needed to leave now, explaining to them that this was the only way that they would live without being slaves.

He was doing the exact thing when he was explaining to a woman with a little girl that this was the only way, the girl squaked something about her doll.

"My doll! My doll, it's still in our house. Sir, I can't leave without my doll!" The girl shouted, tears already in her eyes, as she pointed to the burning houses.

He thought about his options for a second, if he told them that they needed to go without the doll, the girl was going to cry and scream even louder than now and would get everybody busted. But if the woman and girl went back to their house and got the doll, another soldier would probably get to them and kill them or take them as prisoners to make slaves of them. So he only saw one option left over, he sighed and looked the girl in the eyes knowing that it was the only option.

"I'll get it." He said, "Go to the end of the village, towards the path. Wait there and I'll get the doll."

The woman thanked him, but he was already sprinting to the house that the girl had pointed at. Luckily, the soldiers didn't suspect anything, he only got some weird look because he ran into one of the burning houses. He saw the doll lying on the ground and took it before sprinting to the path. Coughing because of the smoke, but his stress about being caught being a bigger motivation to keep running instead of coughing a good cough.

He saw the woman and the girl standing anxiously by the path. He gave the girl the doll and urged them to go, afraid that they would get caught. He didn't know what he would do if his father would hear about this.

"Let me see your face so that I can thank you properly." The woman said, but he shook his head, his stereotypic greek helmet staying firmly on head, "We don't have time for that." He said.

"At least give us your name then, so that we can pray for your safety to the gods." She begged. He sighed, but he could do this, it wouldn't really matter if they knew his name right?

"Percy." He said, "And now leave. I can't do anything more for you. You're on your own now."

The woman nodded and quickly left.

He let out a relieved sigh and ran back to the battlefield helping his fellow men to finish the battle to not stand out too much.

———————————

"Everybody gather at the center of the camp now!" Percy's father shouted loudly. Percy hadn't actually seen his father that much in the eight months that he was here now. His father didn't meddle too much with him, leaving that task to other generals and his father was so busy with the war that they didn't spend much time together. Which was probably better since his guilt and worries about letting him down only welled up even more when he was around him.

He frowned at his father as he walked by him, normally his father was kind and not that strict, but now he looked furious as he shot, especially him a furious look.

He looked at Annabeth and Grover questionly, in the hope that they knew what was going on, they shook their heads and stood up, setting their dinner down. Since they had just been eaten after the battle from this day where he had evacuated the villagers in secret.

They walked over to the center of the camp, which was nothing special; just a grass field, where his father was impatiently waiting for something - someone - probably to lecture someone. The generals did that often, mostly to set an example for the rest.

So he just looked down, waiting for it to end when he suddenly thought that maybe someone had found out about Annabeth. But, no, that couldn't be. They had been so careful.

So when her name wasn't called he sighed of relief until he realised whose name it was; "Percy! Percy, come here!"

His eyes grew wide and he looked panicked to Annabeth for a second before walking forward through the crowd to the middle of the field to his father.

"Hi." He mumbled, but his father wasn't having any of it as he spoke loudly, "For anyone who doesn't know; this is Percy. A soldier who was at the battle today. The battle where we took the village, only there weren't any villagers, they had escaped."

His father was explaining the whole day, but he could only vaguely hear him because of the loud thumping in his ears. His stomach turned sickly, a foresight already forming in his head. And the fact that he hadn't been introduced as his son. His father had always been proud of him and always wanted everyone to know that he was his son, so when he didn't do it now only gave him a worse feeling.

"What were you thinking?" His father screamed, shaking him out of his thoughts. And making him look down at the ground. "You helped useful villagers escape and then when you were supposed to help your fellow soldiers you ran into a fire to get a-"

"A doll." He quietly admitted, lying and denying anything was no longer needed.

"A doll! A little girl's doll! You aren't a nanny, but a goddamn soldier! You need to fight and kill, not get little girls their dolls! You shouldn't help villagers at all! Their fate isn't yours to decide!"

"I know dad, but-"

"It's sir for you and never interrupt me again." He said slowly with a deadly undertone in his voice so Percy tightened his lips together, his heart aching.

"And what was the point of going back into the village for the girl? What did you think that you were going to achieve?"

He didn't know if he was allowed to speak again, but chose to stay silent, trying to push the tears away.

"You achieved nothing with it! Nothing! Because look-" He pulled something out of his pocket and threw it at him, he caught it and immediately wished he hadn't. Because now he held the little doll that he had had in his hands only hours ago again, only now burnt and shattered. He could only imagine what had happened with the villagers who had fled.

"The little girl's mother was screaming your name when the soldiers caught up to them. Hoping that you would come and help them. They didn't make it as you may already guessed. None of the villagers did. They're all dead, Percy. But maybe they wouldn't be if you had minded your business."

He looked down on the ground, taking deep breaths as he tried to calm himself.

"You've disappointed me, Percy, don't ever let that happen again."

"Can I leave?" Was his only response, his voice hoarse and tears at stake of breaking out.

"Yes. Come by my tent later. We're not finished." He said and Percy nodded numbly, still not daring to look his father in the eyes. So he just started walking away, dropping the doll on the ground as he wasn't able to be near it anymore, leaving the prying eyes behind.

He kept walking, not wanting her to catch up to him. He knew that she was following him and he would eventually slow down and let her catch up, but not right now.

He sat down on the grass, leaning against a tree and looking at a lake.

He wiped the tears out of his eyes when he mumbled that she could come closer to him.

Annabeth sat down next to him and grabbed his hand, but luckily didn't say anything to him. Which reminded him again why he loved her so much.

They sat there for hours, not talking. Just her comforting him. Occasionally she would squeeze his hand or kiss his hand or lean her head on his shoulder. He only sat there trying to accept that he had brought death upon these innocent people, but wasn't that better? At least better than a life in slavery.

Eventually he decided that he couldn't change anything about it anymore. He could beat himself up about it as much as he wanted but it wouldn't change a thing. So he let it go. After hours of pondering he let go. And damn did feel good.

———————————

Another two months passed where he avoided his father completely and tried to protect Annabeth and Grover.

And he was exactly trying to do that. He told Grover to go to the west side of the battle because it seemed to be calmer there. Grover nodded and they agreed on a place to meet when the battle was over.

He left Grover alone, they were here for a year now and Grover had picked up a lot more on fighting and he didn't want to disappoint his father any further.

He ran into the battle, trying to find Annabeth as they fought together since they knew exactly what the other would do and they fought best together. Plus her presence always gave him some reassurance.

They fought and he could feel the prying look of his father and the other generals in his back, but he still didn't hurt anyone fatally.

As they fought towards Grover they began to realize something; how further they got to Grover the harder it got to beat their opponents. It was quieter over there, but that was because the best warriors were there.

There... with Grover.

Percy muttered a string of curses as realization hit him and he looked over at Annabeth who'd realized just the same he guessed.

He looked at her for a second before sprinting off. His feet carried him as fast as they could as he sprinted to the end of the battlefield where he'd left Grover with the most experienced soldiers, who he himself could just handle.

He was so stupid. He didn't want to disappoint his father so he had taken his distance from Grover. But that only made it worse.

You want to protect everyone close to you and make them proud.

You want to have it both ways.

You want to protect and keep them safe.

But sometimes you just can't.

Sometimes you keep the people you care about most the closest to you but lose them anyway.

Sometimes you hold them too close. So close that you don't see the danger coming.

Those were Percy's thoughts as he saw a sword go through his best friend's stomach.

The world seemed to fall silent around him; with the only exception his pulse beating loudly in his ears, his ragged breath and the scream that escaped his mouth.

Grover looked at him, fear in his eyes as he fell to the ground.

———————————

His mind was a bluff from then on.

He vaguely remembered Annabeth coming and helping him carry Grover to the infirmary. Them being sent away to fight again.

He vaguely remembered the end of the battle where they had rushed back to the infirmary to check up on Grover.

Grover told them how he had held up a pretty good fight.

But not good enough.

The doctor who had told them that he was going to survive but was going to be sent home since he couldn't fight anymore.

He had almost broken down sobbing in relief at that news. Grover was going to go home. He was safe.

His mind immediately seemed to clear after that and he went to tell the news to Grover, who did cry of relief.

"You're going home man." Percy whispered, a grinning spreading from ear to ear.

"I'm going home."

They talked for the rest of the night, Annabeth dropped by as well with some dinner for them but didn't stay long as she didn't want to get noticed too much.

After well around midnight they still hadn't stopped talking. They were simply too happy. Talking about what he was going to do at home, the places and people that he was going to see again.

"To be honest I'm kinda relieved that you're going home," Percy confessed, "now that I don't need to protect you I can just focus on keeping Chase safe and patching things up with my dad." He said Chase, Annabeth's fake boy name, instead of Annabeth in case someone was listening in on them.

Grover's smile immediately faded and Percy wondered what he had done wrong, but before he could ask what it was Grover already started to make things clear.

"Percy," he started doubtfully, avoiding his eyes, "Chase and I talked about this and we both think that you should stop trying with your father. He-"

"What?" He asked, angrily, "He's what? Yes there were some times that he yelled or embarrassed me but that's- that's only because I embarrassed him and failed to make him proud but I can make it up to him. I know I can. He was once a good man who loved me and now he's just stressed and doesn't want to give the image that he's favoring me. That's it." He said in hushed desperate whispers.

"Percy, you- you can't okay? I know that your father loved you and that you want to cling onto the memories of him when you were younger and when you idolized him, but that's over now. You both changed. And believe me publicly shaming his son and manipulating him and only showing hate towards him isn't improving his image."

"Manipulating?" He muttered confused.

"He's manipulating you into thinking that you're the one to blame. That it is your fault that he's not proud of you. But you can't make him proud, Percy. There was never a chance that you could have. Maybe if you hadn't been so loyal towards your other loved ones, but you are. And you would see how wrong it is from him to manipulate you into thinking like this."

Percy couldn't speak. He just sat in silence, staring at Grover and trying to take it all in. Was it true?

"I- I need to talk to someone about this. I'll come back later, Grover." He mumbled and walked away out of the infirmary towards the richer part of the camp.

He had come here a couple of times but only in one tent. And he went into the exact same tent and spoke, "Sir, can I come in?"

"Yes. Come in Percy." The voice returned and Percy stepped into the tent.

His father was standing behind his desk, working on some strategy probably since someone who he recognized as one of the higher ranked strategists, was standing next to him as they were both pointing and looking at a map.

"Take a break, this will be short." His father said tuning to the strategist who grabbed some stuff and then walked off, avoiding Percy's greeting.

"Dad, can I ask you something?"

His father nodded, seeming impatient, probably because he had interrupted an important meeting. But at least he didn't tell him to call him sir, he had found out that he could call him dad in front of him alone, but not in front of other soldiers. Which was weird since he had always called his father 'dad' all the time in front of other soldiers, but he figured that now he was too old for that and was a 'man' and stuff.

"Could you ever- would you-" He stuttered out, wanting to ask the question that Grover had planted in his mind.

Could you ever be proud of me? Would you ever be satisfied with my accomplishments?

But he didn't. He was too afraid of the answer of that question, but maybe that was enough of an answer.

So, he asked the lame question, "Dad, did I get any mail? Maybe from mom?" instead.

"Uhm," His dad answered, scrambling to some papers and clearly confused about the question, expecting something different.

"Yeah, yeah. I've got something here. From your mother. I heard that Grover's going home." His father continued, trying to talk to him. He handed him the letter and Percy read it quickly, scanning over it. His mom was talking about some animal that was stalking near the house, some news about the neighbors and asking how he was and that he had to write back.

"Yeah, he's leaving soon. They don't want him here too long since he's leaving anyway." He was too afraid to tell him that Grover was happy to leave.

"I noticed that I haven't seen any news about Annabeth for a long time, about 4 months." He remarked, looking Percy in the eyes.

Did he know?

"She's busy. Her father took her on a trip through Greece to learn more and kind of continue school." He lied, Annabeth had told him that her father was in fact on a trip through Greece, though Annabeth was of course not there but his father didn't know that so he should be safe.

"Mmmh, seems important. You must miss her."

"Of course. I love her. You miss mom right?"

"Yes. Of course I do. Just a shame that you're so far apart."

"Yeah." He agreed, hiding a smile at the irony. He wanted to talk longer to his dad, actually loving the small talk, but they were interrupted by the strategist who had gotten sick of his break apparently.

He walked out, saying bye to his father and the strategist and wanted to walk away when he decided to listen if they maybe had to say something about him.

"That was your son, right?" The strategist asked, "Sorry for asking, it's just impossible not to notice. He's a spitting image of you. What's his name?"

"That was indeed my son and his name is Percy. Short for Perseus."

"A talented boy. I saw him on the battlefield multiple times. He fights well. You taught him well." The strategist complimented, making Percy smile.

"Yeah he's fine. Though there's still lots of room for improvement."

"Well he's young. Give him time to grow."

"Sometimes there is no room to grow!" His father snapped, "People die a lot here and they're going to be remembered for their skills and time on the battlefield. If he dies now he won't be remembered enough. He needs a legacy if he dies." His father said, voice low.

Percy shook his head softly, not knowing how to interpret the words. Were they good or bad?

He didn't know. Maybe he didn't want to know.

———————————

Laughter filled the infirmary because of the two boys. They were eating some bread and laughing about something stupid.

It was a few days later and Percy hadn't left the infirmary much, wanting to keep him company as long as possible before Grover left.

He had told him about what his father had said and unfortunately Grover didn't know what to say about it either. Maybe Annabeth would they had agreed.

The doctor shot them a firm look as he walked past them, annoyed with them since it was long past midnight, but he apparently didn't have the heart to sent him away as he just asked them to keep it quiet for the others around them.

The laughter had died down and Grover was still smiling when he spoke, "Maybe you can ride along with me. If we leave in the morning you can visit your mom and be here again with dinner."

Percy lit up and almost jumped up from excitement. "Yes! That'd be great, there's only training tomorrow anyways."

"Okay, but we'd have to leave really early then. Which is probably for the best since they don't want me here since I'm leaving. So we would have to leave in a couple hours. So I don't want to send you away or something, but I do want to sleep, Percy. I kinda got stabbed a few days ago."

"Yeah, yeah okay. We can go to sleep. I'm going to find my blanket then." He had slept in this chair every night since Grover was here and the doctor always gave him a blanket out of pity.

"No man, I mean go back to your tent. If we're going to travel tomorrow you need to be well rested. And I don't think that Annabeth even knows what you look like anymore." He joked.

"But what if something happens? I can't leave you again, Grover."

"Percy," Grover said with a stern tone, "nothing is going to happen. Otherwise it would have happened way earlier. So don't worry, okay? Everything is going to be fine. Go back to your girlfriend, sure she misses you." He said, the last part whispered and teasing.

"She would've come more, you know, but-"

"Yes, I know. Now go before I ask the doctor to kick you out."

He stood up, looking at Grover who was smiling widely. He smiled back, "Bye, have a good sleep."

"Bye, you too." Grover answered. Percy waved and left.

If only he had known that would be the last time that he would see him.

———————————

"Where's Grover?" Percy asked the doctor who didn't look him in the eyes. The sun was barely up as Percy had entered the infirmary, only to find Grover's bed empty. "He didn't leave without me, did he?" He joked, but got worried when the doctor didn't even slightly

"Percy, come with me." The doctor ordered, though his voice was soft and didn't hint at any hostility.

"No." Percy answered, not moving an inch. "I'm not moving until you say where Grover went. He would never leave without saying goodbye."

"Percy-"

"Just tell me."

"Last night after you left Grover got some internal bleeding. And-"

"He's dead?" Percy asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

The doctor nodded and tears welled up in his eyes. He turned around and began to run. Feeling numb as he ran faster and faster. Leaving Annabeth behind him who was waiting outside for the both of them.

He was running as fast as his legs could carry him through the forest. He wasn't able to stop. To breathe. To think.

Only one word - one name - rang through his head; Grover.

Tears streamed down his face as he ran and ran, his legs carrying him deeper and deeper into the forest.

"Real men don't cry." His father's words rang through his head, but he didn't care anymore. The pain was too big to just not cry.

He kept running until he arrived at this open spot. It was in the middle of the forest, the grass nice and green and seeming so peaceful while he was a raging storm.

He fell on his knees then and there screaming. Deafening screams came out of his mouth. He didn't recognize himself as he screamed and sobbed. Screaming everything out of him. All the pain, the loss, the guilt, the regret and hatred and angriness he felt.

Towards his father for making him feel so lonely and alone here. Maybe if he hadn't been so desperate to please him Grover would've lived. There was also some towards Grover because he left him. He was going to go home. Couldn't he just hold on a little longer? He was almost there.

But he felt the most resentment towards himself. It was his fault after all.

He had stopped screaming so much and was now just sobbing. But it was still too loud that he couldn't hear her approaching. Though he could've seen it coming. Her arms wrapped around him and he wrapped his around her as well. Still crying but softer so he could hear her crying as well.

She knew. He didn't have to tell her luckily. It had been clear from his reaction. He felt bad; Grover had been her friend as well. Another reason to be angry with himself.

They held each other for hours, mourning their loss and comforting each other.

He looked into her eyes, the grey always making his heart do a somersault. He kissed her forehead and hugged her closer, never wanting to let her go.

He decided that he was going to do everything he could to keep her safe. Annabeth could not die. He wouldn't survive that if this already hurt this much.

So he vowed to keep her safe forever.

——**——

"I'm scared." A six year old Percy admitted to his father who immediately crouched down before him and looked him in his eyes. "There's nothing to be scared of, buddy. You're very brave right? The bravest of all. And we're going to do it together. Just hold my hand and I'm going to count to three and then we're gonna run. Okay?"

Little Percy nodded confidently, wanting to make his father proud and so he held his father's hand and began to run at three.

And he jumped. His father would never put him in danger, so he decided to always trust him blindly.

——**——

He thought about that memory and the ironicness it brought along when he stood in front of his father who was telling him something. But he didn't listen; he could only look at the urn that was standing on his father's desk.

The doctor wasn't there but there was the apprentice of the doctor, Will or something, who eventually spoke up as well and to his words he actually listened.

"Grover died peacefully. He didn't notice too much of it. He did tell us his last wish though. He wanted his ashes to be scattered home. The place he loved the most. He said that you knew where."

Percy nodded numbly, thinking about the beautiful grass field under the mountains where Grover had always loved to go.

"Who are his parents? So we can give them something in his honor."

"Grover didn't know who his parents were. He grew up in an orphanage with this guy named Pan as guardian."

He was the owner of the orphanage and helped a lot of children. But one day he didn't come back from his usual hike. Everyone thought that he died or that the pressure had been too much for him and that he had run off. But the children of the orphanage wouldn't believe it and always kept looking for him even though now he had been gone for more than two years. Grover had always told him that he had probably gotten lost and that they just had to find him and show him the way home. He was planning to go search for him as soon as he got home.

Now Percy really hoped Pan was dead so that Grover could look for him in the afterlife and reunite.

"Will you take his ashes then?" Will asked, snapping him into reality once again. He nodded and was handed the urn.

He thanked Will, said a goodbye to his father and left, needing to get ready for the battle.

Days of battles turned into weeks, which turned into months. He got happier again with time, Annabeth and the end of the war approaching. The other king and his army were wavering and as ready with the war as he was. So now both parties tried to claim as much territory as possible and end the war as well. Though the latter was coming sooner than it sounded, rumours about meetings with the other side were everywhere.

But then it happened.

The day had started out just as any other day. Getting ready for the battle, a secret kiss from Annabeth and heading off together and staying together.

Eventually there had been a little more distance between them and he panicked at first, but reminded himself that Annabeth was strong and brave and could hold her own.

They were both fighting side by side when he heard it, "Percy?" The voice was soft but he would recognize it everywhere. She looked up at him, tears in her eyes as she gripped her arm, blood streaming down. Her braid had fallen out of it's normally tight bun tucked under her helmet lay loosely over her shoulder.

Suddenly a wall of soldiers seemed to have formed between them. He slashed through them, wanting to get to her. No. Needing to get to her.

Soldiers were staring at her. Their soldiers. Soldiers from the other side. She seemed like an easy target, bleeding and her being a woman.

He only ran faster, she seemed so close before. Normally they stayed together, why didn't they today?

But even though she was bleeding she defended herself, as much as possible with her injury. Some soldiers from their side had gotten their senses back as they started to defend her. Though some attacked her as well and some just stared.

He pushed past them, Riptide clattering at the ground and sitting down next to her.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded weakly, "Losing a lot of blood."

He shrugged his armour off and tore a piece of his tunic off, wrapping it tightly around her arm, hoping it would delay the blood a bit.

"You need to get back to the camp." He muttered, looking for an easy exit. He found one right from them, it was next to a few houses, they could disappear from there and go back to the camp.

He muttered that exact plan in her ear and she nodded.

"We're going to run really hard. They won't suspect a thing and when they do it's already too late. Take my hand and run at three okay?"

She nodded, determined as ever and squeezing his hand.

The soldiers who were protecting them looked at them expectantly and probably thought that they were crazy; he couldn't blame them though. This could succeed or go terribly wrong.

"One." He muttered arching his head to the side to a few soldiers so that an opening formed.

"Two." He could hear Annabeth whisper, squeezing his hand, trying to fight the pain.

"Three."

And they ran.

------------------

"You'll be back!" His father screamed at him, throwing some book after him that he nearly dodged. "Soon you see you belong to me!"

"Yeah don't count on it." Percy replied coolly.

He turned around, back to the generals who were all sitting around one large table.

Percy and Annabeth had called over to them an hour ago, the minute they had arrived back at the camp. Word traveled fast. And they had taken a detour to discuss what they were going to do next.

The meeting had started with his father yelling at them, especially Percy, at how stupid they could possibly be and what sentence there was on this behavior.

Percy had told him that they would just leave and that he would never have to see them again.

"Give us one good reason why we shouldn't kill you right now?" One of the generals asked.

He was silent for a minute, Annabeth still protectively put behind him. Until he let his thoughts go and let his instincts take the lead. His sword, that he had been holding all this time, slipped out of his hand and dropped to the ground. "There is none." He answered.

"There is no reason why you shouldn't kill me." He sighed deeply, letting his arms fall down at his sides, "I'm done. I don't care what happens to me. I've been so afraid to disappoint anyone that I eventually disappointed everyone. I don't care if you kill me. It doesn't matter; everyone dies."

The generals looked confused, but the threat still hung thick in the air.

"I was so afraid to let my father down." He allowed himself to let his gaze wander off to his father, whose expression he couldn't really place. So he decided to continue, "To let my friends down. But it doesn't matter anymore. Nothing does. My father is already disappointed whatever I do - I realize that now. He's probably furious right now. And my best friend died. Because of this stupid war. So just end it if you want. I don't care anymore. I don't want to go on anymore. Just spare her. She had nothing to do with this. She's a victim and deserves to go home. So do whatever you want with me but let her live."

"No!" Annabeth exclaimed, she pushed past Percy and now stood in front of him. "Don't kill him! He has done nothing wrong. He only tried to protect me! I'm the one who pretended to be a man and deceived you. He's done nothing wrong and you shouldn't punish him for my wrongdoings." She pleaded and Percy quickly pulled her next to him, knowing that she would never accept to stand behind him again.

Everyone in the room was silent for a really long time. Nobody knowing what to do.

"Let them go."

Percy's head snapped up to the person who had spoken those words. The last person who he had expected to say them. But it really was him. His father.

"Let them go. The war is practically over anyway. Let them go home."

The generals began to nod around him and Percy had never felt so relieved in his whole life.

"But one thing." His father said, his look piercing into Percy's, "You spread his ashes, pack your stuff, say goodbye to your loved ones and leave. You never come back home. When I get back I don't ever want to see you two again."

His heart wrenched his pain but he understood that it was the best deal he was going to get.

"Agreed." Annabeth answered and turned around, giving him a moment alone with his father as she already left the tent.

He looked into his father's eyes one last time, seeing the loving and caring man who had been there his whole childhood and there at that cliff with him through the monster that war had made him.

He smiled and nodded and left, not waiting for a reaction and leaving as a free man.

------------------

"Do you promise to love her until the day you die?"

"I do." He said confidently, holding her hands and smiling as wide as ever.

The priest asked her the same question.

"I do." Annabeth replied softly, smiling just as bright.

"Then I now pronounce you husband and wife." The priest said and Percy leaned forward to kiss her.

As soon as they had gotten home they had asked the priest if he would marry them in front of their family. Since they couldn't do the wedding traditionally with Greek wedding traditions because of the short time they had, it had taken a lot of convincing and explanation to finally get the priest to do it. But he eventually did and it felt amazing to call Annabeth his wife and for their families to be there.

They had released Grover's ashes at his favorite spot, so that he could rest in nature forever at a spot he loved the most. Releasing Grover actually felt like finally letting him go and being able to move on.

Their horses were already waiting for them to leave. They had planned to go to a different island and start a new life there together. They said their goodbyes to everyone and tears welled up as they stumbled upon the last person waiting for them. His mother.

At first she hadn't agreed to the plan, but after also a lot of explaining and convincing she had agreed with them that this was for the best.

She hugged the both of them tight and then had two separate hugs with them. Annabeth and his mother whispered things to each other and then pulled away. Letting the two of them have their moment.

He looked in his mother's eyes for the last time. They would never see each other again. It was tearing him apart from the inside, but when she muttered, "Come here, my beautiful boy." With tears falling down her cheeks he fell into her arms, crying as well.

"Everything is going to be okay, Percy. You're going to have a great life. You're going to live at the sea and have kids and look at them one day as how I look at you; with pure love. You're going to be so happy with Annabeth. And if you ever get lonely remember that I love you and that I'm thinking of you."

"I will mom. I love you too."

He climbed on his horse and waved at everyone one last time; scared and excited for the future before he rode with Annabeth towards their new future.

A/N

Finally updated a real one shot again. And I'm happy with this one! It took me a long time to write this and I hope you like it. For what's next up; First there's s a second part of Days of Summer and after that Riptide part 2. After that I'll just see what happens next, I have some ideas, but please leave some suggestions if you have any, I would love it!

And thank you so much for the 10k!! I would never ever think I would get that many reads. Thanks to everyone! To celebrate I'm going to do a chapter where I thank some people, some fun facts about this book and go by every one shot and give my opinions and fun facts about it. I promise that it's going to be fun, so I would really appreciate it if you would read it.

Well that's it, have a nice day or night and see you soon at the 10k chapter hopefully!