Chapter Text
Annabeth
An arm was curled around Annabeth’s waist. She buried her face into his neck, the familiar ocean smell enwrapping her. Her brain hovered in the Twighlight zone between sleep and awake. The faint sound of the restless city swam in and out of her consciousness-but the dull “thump-thump” of his heartbeat burned in the forefront of Annabeth’s mind. She felt him stir beneath her. Lifting her head, she met his eyes, so close their noses were grazing. He gazed back at her through his eyelashes, sea green swallowed her vision.
“Hey wise-girl" he murmured sleepily.
“Hey seaweed-brain" she whispered back, the words leaving a warm tingle on her tongue. She nestled back into his bare chest.
Wait, his chest...
Percy’s chest...
Annabeth’s eye’s widened- the realisation flooding over her like a tidal wave. Percy froze against her.
“Oh gods-!” they jumped in unison, frantically trying to untangle themselves.
There came a laugh from behind them as Sally passed the doorway. She stifled a giggle watching Annabeth and Percy fighting to escape the twisted covers. Annabeth spat the hair out her mouth and opened it in attempt to explain-but Sally just turned back towards the kitchen.
“Breakfast is ready!” she called chuckling at their unfortunate situation.
Behind her, Percy thumped to the floor. (he had lost his fight against the duvet).
-
Percy had apoligised profusely for the incident and soon enough, they were out the apartment and back into the city. It hadn't taken them long to find the pier-Percy knew this coastline all too well.
As they walked, in a relatively awkward silence, Annabeth couldn’t help but remember Percy’s words back in the big house. He had been with a ‘friend’ of his. Well, she knew what that meant.
He had been with Rachel. Perfect, normal, mortal, Rachel. She was everything Annabeth wasn’t. Easy and outgoing, gorgeous too. In spite of herself Annabeth found she didn't even hate her. She had no reason to really, but that couldn't help the red-hot ache that filled her chest each time she saw her.
Percy came to a halt beside her, breaking the stream of plaguing thoughts.
She turned to him “Is this it? Is it here?”
“Yes ma’am”
She snorted a little. He grinned sheepishly back.
“Okay so I guess now we just wait”
“mhm”
-
They had been waiting for maybe twenty minutes when they heard voices approaching.
It was then when Annabeth realised her crucial mistake.
They were in broad view, no cover to be found in close enough range. The voices were growing closer, and she could make out enough to tell-
“demigods” Annabeth mouthed at him, he nodded.
“there's nowhere to hide!” she whispered frantically.
Percys eyes flashed in sudden alarm, realising she was right.
To their left, dead end; to their right rapidly approaching hoard of angry demigods and-or monsters. Their surroundings were barren, no crate or trolley to crouch behind.
Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.
How had she not realised? She had been too caught up in her dwellings to make a plan. The one thing she was always counted on for.
She was frozen in place, paralysed even, awaiting their certain doom when-
Annabeth had an idea. A dangerous idea, the last thing she should be doing, but an idea none the less.
She looked back at Percy again, straight into his eyes, those sea-green eyes that would haunt her until her until her dying day. Looking into them somehow always made her feel as if she was drowning, plummeting into deep, deep waters. Her mind flooded with memories of that morning, the warmth of him, the comfort.
Gods she was screwed.
“Percy kiss me.”
If their situation wasn’t so dire Annabeth thought she would have laughed out loud at the look on his face.
Percy’s jaw fell wide open. His eyebrows were raised so high that they had almost disappeared in his mess of hair.
“Uh-duh-I mean...what?!” he managed to splutter out, after remaining speechless for several seconds.
“Public displays of affection make people very uncomfortable.”
“So-”
“-so kiss me, they won't recognise us”
“I mean-are you sure?”
She grabbed his jaw, her fingers furling through his hair.
“do it.”
He gave her one last look, a silent reassurance that this was okay. Annabeth melted a little at the plea in his eyes, before giving him the slightest nod.
Then he kissed her. Her teeth clacked against his in the haste of it; she felt his fingers ghost her waist and pulled them firmly against herself. This had to be believable (at least, that was what Annabeth told herself).
It was nothing like the kiss in the volcano.
Their kiss in mt. St-Helens had been one of fleeting-goodbyes and hopeless ‘Goodluck’. But this time here was no excusing her furious flush for the extreme heat.
Although the logical side of her brain insisted that it was just an act, every inch of Annabeth's body screamed in reaction to Percy’s lips, Percys hands, Percys eyes, Percys hair. Percy. Percy. Percy everywhere.
Gods if only he had kissed her back the first time.
His lips tasted like sea-salt against hers-each and every time she pulled back slightly, they stung with the momentary loss. One of his hands fumbled through her hair, tugging slightly on each curl; the other rested gently, hesitantly, at her waist, but almost subconsciously she could feel Percy pull her even closer. She traced his jaw with her thumb, relishing in the excuse to touch him-to hold him. Their noses brushed in the close proximity and Annabeth shifted. Percy let out the smallest noise from the back of his throat at this, which caused her stomach to do a full somersault. He was painfully careful, although there was a certain sense of mutual desperation, fervent longing.
Was he really just acting?
Annabeth’s brain had turned entirely to mush. She felt as if she had taken a large dose of ambrosia, warmth rushing to her head like red-wine, tinging her neck and cheeks scarlet. Faintly, she registered the demigods pass by.
After a few seconds, or hours, or maybe even several sunlit days, (Annabeth couldn’t have told you), they broke apart. Both were panting a little.
There was a deafening stretch of silence. For the first time in her life, she felt entirely tongue tied. And then-
“Annabeth.” Percy breathed, enunciating each syllable like a prayer, like he worshipped her. He glanced, for a fraction of a second, at her now swollen lip. Maybe she was imagining it but she could’ve sworn she saw the faintest trace of a smirk playing on his mouth-but-in an instant, it was gone.
Focus.
She avoided his eye, looking firmly back at the grey, grey, pavement. She couldn't be doing this, not now.
She turned away.
“Come on, we have to follow them”