Percy Jackson

I do not own any part of the Percy Jackson novels by Rick Riordan and the following sequence is entirely imaginary.

Camp Chores

Annabeth's POV

Annabeth hated doing cabin inspections, and Percy hated sorting through Chiron's mail; this made it logical to do the chores together. Many hands make light work, as Annabeth (daughter of Athena, Goddess of Wisdom) had observed while making the suggestion and Percy had happily agreed. Old Seaweed Brain was never good with the intellectual side of being a half-blood, namely thinking. She flicked her blond hair out of her face and rolled her eyes at Percy's repeated muttering,

"Iota before epsilon, except after chi."

Annabeth smiled at him as he looked up from the pile of letters he was alphabetising. "Anything interesting today?" she asked mildly as they trudged towards the twelve cabins.

"Not really," Percy mused as he flicked through the correspondence. "Oh, how 'bout this," he said, brandishing a sheet of paper aloft. "One satyr asks Grover, 'What is the correct note on the reed pipes in the fourth bar of "Staying Alive" that sends pea plants into a frenzy?' Any ideas Wise Girl?" He teased, wiggling his eyebrows at her. "We seem to be okay at staying alive... Most of the time."

Annabeth nodded absentmindedly, touching the clay beads on her camp necklace. As they neared the cabins, she headed towards the first door – Hermes. "Let's get this over and done with first," she grumbled, already imagining how many washes it would take to get the stench of rotten smuggled in food from her hair.

"Hey," Percy protested lamely. "It's not that bad-"

Annabeth cut him off with her signature 'you must be joking or else you're stark raving mad' look, and he obligingly shut up. His green eyes shone with unconcealed mischief. "Pity there's that rule about boys and girls being alone in a cabin together..."

She whirled around, grabbing him with one hand by the collar of his camp t-shirt. "Oh no you don't Jackson," she growled, face inches from his. "If I have to go in, you bloody well do too."

Percy winced in mock pain. "Gods Annabeth, you really are trying to kill me," he groaned, reaching out and turning the door knob. The stench was like a solid wall hitting them. "After you," he smirked, all gentlemanly all of a sudden.

She smiled prettily. "Why thank you," she said too sweetly, sidestepping him and entering the body of the Hermes cabin. It was in its usual state of disarray, with sweet papers and coke cans lying in a thick carpet on the floor. Dirty laundry was shoved hurriedly beneath the unmade beds, although someone had missed a sock which turned above their heads, stuck on a fan. Annabeth made a noise of disgust while Percy muttered some stuff under his breath, most likely "Where'd they get the coke?"

She quickly marked down a zero out of five on the score sheet, then wondered if she was being too kind.

"Ugh, Annabeth... Can we beat a hasty retreat yet?" He looked at her almost desperately, even though he had barely passed the doorway. She nodded and raced past him out the door, gasping for fresh air untainted by too much deodorant.

"Please tell me yours doesn't stink like that," she said to him seriously. "I'm hoping yours will smell like the sea?"

"Always," he smiled, green eyes churning like the depths in their conversation.

The pair slowly worked their way up the cabins, sorting out the mail as they went; Hephaestus cabin was hot (as always) and steamy, but still scored a three. Apollo and Ares' cabins both got four out of five – despite Percy's complaints. They had now reached the Poseidon cabin, and Percy eagerly slipped in before her.

The cabin was long and low to the ground, the walls studded with shells and indentations of coral. The floor was made of smooth rocks and splintered light like the kind found underwater danced along the ceiling. A saltwater fountain gurgled cheerfully in one corner, sending a spray of light mist into the air. Annabeth was pleasantly surprised – it was clean for once, and did smell like the sea.

"I'm impressed Percy," she said, nodding in appreciation of the effort he had obviously made.

"So you should be... Took me hours..." he groused. "Come on, it's easily worth a five." He snatched the clipboard off her and pencilled a five next to his cabin.

Annabeth laughed. "Nice try Percy. Four." She scribbled out his note and adjusted the score.

"Compromise?" he asked pleadingly.

"Fine," she sniffed, tapping her pencil against her lips. "Four and a half."

Percy shrugged, accepting this. He was cool with meeting her in the middle. He had finished his chore, so stuck the sorted letters under his arm, and whistled as he walked jauntily alongside her. They skipped the Zeus and Hera cabins – there was no need to check them out, since they didn't have any inhabitants.

Next was the Demeter cabin, which scored its usual five out of five. "So unfair," Percy moaned. "They can do all this sort of stuff." He motioned to the grass growing on the roof, the roses climbing up the walls and the lilies blooming in the window boxes. It was immaculate.

Annabeth then led the way to her own cabin door, with the owl above the frame watching them expectantly. Inside the cabin was crammed with books and papers, somehow strewn into a form of order. The beds were pushed tight against the walls; silver blankets spread tidily over the beds. A few odds and ends cluttered work tables and a wardrobe door was thrown wide open.

She cursed in ancient Greek, marking down her cabin with a three. Percy ambled around the room, peering at strategy maps which were plastered on the walls and tossing bookends and letter openers around in his hands.

"Thinking of taking up juggling, Seaweed Brain?" she called to him as she examined her list.

"Oh, no," he muttered vaguely. "I've found something far more interesting."

Annabeth looked up to see Percy's head buried in the open wardrobe, which didn't worry her until she realised it was her wardrobe. She squealed and threw herself at the door, vainly trying to slam it shut before Percy could filter through all her stuff.

"Trying to take off my head, were we?" he chuckled. "Well don't worry, I've already found some very... fascinating things."

Annabeth tossed her clipboard aside, howling even as she blushed tomato red. She threw herself at her unsuspecting boyfriend, knocking him to the ground; she pummelled his chest with her fists, shrieking "Give whatever you just took back!"

Percy laughed, then easily flipped them over so that he was on top. "What do you think I took Wise Girl?" he asked teasingly, bringing his face tantalisingly close to hers. "It's making you blush!"

Annabeth harrumphed in embarrassment.

"I'll make you a deal – you give me a kiss and I'll give you a clue what I smuggled out from your clothes collection."

She squirmed under him, but sensing he would win in the end – mostly because she wanted him to – she touched her lips to his, brushing them together in butterfly soft kisses. Percy then took advantage, kissing her more deeply, tracing her lips with his tongue. She happily granted him access to her mouth and met his eager invasion with a well calculated defence, causing them both to moan quietly. Percy held her tightly to him, tracing his hands teasingly up and down her sides, making Annabeth whine in desire. She tugged roughly at his midnight hair and pulled herself closer to his body still, moulding her figure to his.

"Ahm..."

The pair leapt apart, both blushing incredibly red. Percy dropped the letters he had taken so long to order while Annabeth hid vainly behind her clipboard.

"Having fun doing cabin checks, are we?" Chiron raised an eyebrow at the couple, stamping one of his horse's hooves in the doorway. They tripped over one another trying to explain, before Chiron held up a hand, silencing them simultaneously. "Don't you have something else to be doing Percy?"

The boy in question nodded guiltily, rising to his feet with the correspondence in disarray. "Umm..." he stuttered, unable to meet his girlfriend's grey eyes. "I'll see you later Annabeth..."

"Sure," she smiled at him as he made a sharp exit from the Athena cabin. She blushed again under Chiron's penetrating gaze. "I'll just finish grading the rest of the cabins then," she muttered, eyes downcast as she sidled past the trainer.

"Annabeth-" Chiron called as she walked towards the next cabin down the row with purpose. "I don't mind you and Percy doing whatever you want to do in your own time but please..." she bit her lip anxiously. "Not in cabins where anyone can walk in on you."

Annabeth nodded mutely, her cheeks scarlet. She ducked her head into her hair and that was when she realised...

She never had found out what Percy had nicked from her wardrobe!