A/N: Because I got bored ugh summer can actually be boring
Just (another) follow-up fic to Saving Christmas because a little plot bunny has been chasing my imagination around!
Disclaimer: I don't own PJO boohoo
It took three days for Percy to get better. He was still coughing by the evening of December 28th, but at least his temperature was back to normal and he could keep his food down.
Meanwhile, it also took three days for Annabeth to catch the same bug. Go figure.
"Wanna go for a walk outside?" Percy asked her later in the afternoon. It was the 28th of December, three days after Christmas and they were both seated on the couch at the Jackson's apartment. They had just finished an afternoon-long X-Men movie marathon and Percy seemed restless to finally step out of the apartment. Annabeth hadn't expected Sally to allow her to stay over for three days, but the daughter of Athena had proven herself useful in taking care of her sick boyfriend. She took his temperature every few hours, brought him tea and soup, and ran back and forth to replenish his supply of tissues.
Annabeth still found it funny how their supposedly Christmas Eve dinner had turned into a three-day sleepover take-care-of-my-sick-boyfriend event. The past three days have been dragging, not to mention tiring (it was not fun staying up 'till three in the morning as your boyfriend puked his guts out into the toilet), but Annabeth wasn't sick of Percy yet...even if he was pretty gross when he was sick…
"Outside?" Annabeth repeated. She glanced out the windows; it was snowing quite heavily, the sky lank and gray. She looked back at her boyfriend, who was smiling widely at the snowfall like he'd never seen anything more exciting. Annabeth smiled and chuckled. "It looks like a snow storm coming...but fine," she gave in. She couldn't blame Percy for feeling a bit of wanderlust; after all the poor boy had spent Christmas day within a five-foot radius mark of the toilet and a tissue box. He deserved a break from being stuck in the apartment.
"Yes!" Percy exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air. "You have no idea how tired I am of staying at home." He ran ahead of Annabeth to grab his coat by the door.
Annabeth stood from the couch, ignoring her aching muscles. Ugh, she could definitely feel the flu coming. Her head had been pounding the entire day and she was feeling cold, even if she knew the heater was turned up to maximum. But she swallowed all her complaints and forced a smile. If going outside in that storm made Percy happy, she was going to do it.
Okay, nevermind! She took it back.
She did not want to be out here, in the freaking storm with the temperature well below 0 degrees. She shivered in her parka, wanting nothing more than to be back at the Jackson's apartment, not matter how sick of that place she was.
On the other hand, Percy seemed to be a bundle-full of energy. He reacted at the sight of everything; the Christmas lights lining the sidewalks, the mistletoes ("Hey, maybe I can kiss you now!"), the cheerful preparations they saw for New Year's Eve ("Seaweed Brain, I think we can wait until New Year's Eve. You might still be contagious right now.")
Percy skipped and practically danced his way down the street, oblivious to the fact that Annabeth was having a difficult time keeping up with him. She silently trudged behind her ecstatic boyfriend, trying to keep her teeth from chattering too loudly.
"Come on, Wise Girl! You're walking too slow!" Percy called from up ahead.
Annabeth shoved her gloved hands even deeper in her pocket and ignored the wave of nausea that passed over her. For Percy, just keep it together for him, she thought desperately.
Then all of a sudden - "AAAAAAAAAAAACHOOOOO!"
"Whoa, bless you," Percy said. He stopped in his tracks and spun around to face her, eyebrows scrunched up in concern. "Was that you who sneezed?"
Annabeth rubbed her arms. She tried to smile up at him but her teeth couldn't stop chattering. "No," she lied, avoiding his eyes. She was usually a convincing liar, but her pounding head and frozen extremities seemed to be getting in the way of her abilities now.
"Annabeth? You're shivering pretty bad," he said, frowning, taking a step towards her. Annabeth stepped back almost instinctively, not wanting to Percy to see past her "I'm-okay" facade.
"B-b-badly," she corrected him. Sick or not, her inner Grammar Nazi was still strict.
Percy put his hand up and waved her comment aside. He drew his glove off his hand and felt her forehead. "Hades, I think you're running a fever."
Annabeth tried to argue but her tongue betrayed her. She let out a whimper instead as another wave of pain washed over her head. Seriously, Annabeth? she scolded herself. Percy's finally better and you two can finally have fun but now you're sick?
Percy grabbed her wrist. "We're taking you back home," he announced, grabbing hold of her hand again.
Percy settled her on the couch and wrapped her in blankets as soon as they reached the apartment. He made her chamomile tea and soup and brought her a box of tissues. He brought her pillows and a bottle of Nyquil. Annabeth smiled to herself as she watched Percy run around to make her comfortable. The scene looked oddly familiar.
When he was done, he settled onto the couch beside Annabeth. "How are you feeling, Wise Girl?"
"Is this really you, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth asked, incredulous at how he was handling the situation at hand.
Confusion passed Percy's face. "You're sick and I think you've lost it." He waved a hand in front of her face. "It is me, I'm your Seaweed Brain."
Annabeth made a face and attempted to slap him. Percy's reflexes were faster than hers now, so he caught her hand before it reached him. "Stupid, I didn't mean it like that," she muttered softly. Her throat was starting to hurt. "How do you know how to take care of a sick girlfriend?"
Percy grinned, elbowing her in the ribs. "Well, what can I say? I learned from the best."
Annabeth winced. On a normal day, she wouldn't have felt that nudge at all, but her sore body intensified the pain today.
"Ooops, sorry Annabeth," Percy apologized. He reached over to the coffee table to get the mug with tea. "Chamomile tea?" he offered the mug to her. Annabeth took it and laced her fingers around the warm ceramic cup.
"Thanks," she said and took a sip. The familiar scent and taste made her eyelids heavy. She leaned against Percy.
"I was never really fond of chamomile," Percy muttered. "I guessed you liked it though, because you kept giving it to me while I was sick. Like you thought it was going to help."
"I know you aren't fond of it. You made that point profoundly clear when you threw up on me on Christmas morning," Annabeth said, rolling her eyes.
Percy winced. "I'm sorry! My stomach really didn't agree with it." He stuck his tongue out, mimicking disgust.
Annabeth shook her head and continued sipping her tea. It was soothing for her throat and it warmed her freezing limbs. She could feel her eyelids drooping.
Percy eyed her warily. "You won't...puke on me, right?"
In response to this, Annabeth cupped a hand over her mouth and faked a gagging sound. Percy jumped off the couch and landed on his butt on the rug.
Annabeth broke into laughter. "Oh-my-gods! You - should - have - seen – the – look – on - your face!"
Percy glared at her, obviously not amused. "Ha ha, very funny Wise Girl." He started to stand but was cut-off midway by a round of coughing. "Ugh, I still don't feel a hundred percent okay. I'd choose battling Gaea again over influenza any day" he groaned.
Annabeth nuzzled into his chest, enjoying the warmth he gave off. "I feel a hundred percent not okay," she murmured. Her head was beginning to kill her again, and she was starting to feel dizzy.
"Well, that explains why you were so quiet during our X-Men movie marathon," Percy said. "Why didn't you tell me you weren't feeling well?"
"Not an X-Men fan. And besides, I didn't want to worry you. I know you're still feeling a tad bit under the weather yourself," Annabeth said. She closed her eyes as Percy pulled her into his chest so that they were tight in an embrace. Percy coughed, his chest heaving against Annabeth's head, to which she replied with a series of sneezes. She laughed. "At this rate, we both won't get better."
Percy kissed the top of her forehead, his lips cool against her feverish skin. "I hate being sick, but I don't mind being sick with you."
"Yuck," Annabeth whispered into his chest. "I hate you for getting me sick."
"Hey, I didn't kiss you. And I didn't force you to take care of me," Percy countered. His voice echoed in his chest where Annabeth's ear rested against.
"Well, we're both sick now, so I guess I can do this," Annabeth said. She tilted her head up and kissed him on the lips. She felt Percy stiffen against her for a second, but he later slipped his hands around her neck, his fingers like ice against her skin. "You've been waiting for this, haven't you?" she whispered against his lips.
Percy smiled. "Yeah, but you taste like chamomile tea and it's disgusting." He laughed and pulled her closer. "But for you, I'm gonna try not to complain." He brought his lips down to hers and Annabeth could have sworn, it was the best holiday season of her life.
A/N: So what do you guys think? Read and review, pretty please! I look forward to your reviews because I'm bored as hell stuck at home huhu I can't believe I'm saying this but I miss school already