As the plane soared higher and higher, Percy saw her tense.

"Are you ok?" he asked with the slightest bit of his usual sarcastic flair.

"Yes", Annabeth responded, "It's just… I always get a little nervous in the beginning of flights."

Smiling a bit at her peculiar quirk, Percy settled back into his seat. He contemplated about how he even came to be on this plane. He wasn't supposed to be here, but after Leo came down with a mysterious illness, there was a heavily discounted ticket available. Percy remembered simply thinking, Why not? After all, it was Paris. And with a girl he had always found rather…fascinating. To him, Annabeth was a refreshing alternative to the type of girl he usually found himself accompanied by. She was clever, and intelligent. A pleasant change to the group of desperate airheads that seemed to crave his attention at every moment. She, on the other hand, was independent. She had never been chasing him, or even let on a bit that she looked at him as more than an acquaintance. That is precisely why he liked her.

Coming back to his senses, he felt her gaze pressuring the side of his face. He glanced sideways and saw her giving him an amused smirk.

"What's so captivating?" she smiled, "It must be quite something, that is, in order to keep you quiet."

"Well Annabeth, I suppose that the purpose of being quiet is to not share your thoughts with anyone, even the girl from French class," he retorted light-heartedly.

Annabeth shrugged, "Very well. If it shuts you up, its fine by me." The two lapsed into a comfortable silence for a while. Annabeth could not have been happier in that moment. Percy had never been the type of guy she had expected to like so much, but perhaps thats why she did indeed like him. The pairing was rather untraditional, but also a bit cliché. The whole "arrogant and confident charmer" with the "innocent but fiery good girl". It seemed like something out of one of her books. She turned her head to look at him, and it just happened to be at that same moment, Percy turned his head towards her. They found themselves mere inches apart, both wide-eyed and staring at one another. Percy's mouth twitched into a bit of a smile, and Annabeth rolled her eyes. There was nothing more she liked than to watch his eyes when he smiled, and there was nothing more he liked than to see her gazing at him, obviously lost in profound thought.

"What are you thinking?" he murmured, no sarcasm at all.

"About what people who lived centuries ago would think about all this," she whispered.

"About what?" he questioned.

"Flight." she said simply, "I mean, can you imagine the wonder they would feel if they knew that in the future we could be able to fly even higher than the birds. That we can visit planets that they believed to be unreachable gods. How we understand so much about the world and everyone in it, compared to what they knew."

Percy laughed, "How do you find time to ponder all of that?"

Rolling her eyes again, Annabeth teased, "Oh, it's pretty easy when you're as smart as me."

"Well someone's feeling all high and mighty tonight," he grinned.

Both leaned back again, smiling at each other. One hour gone, fifteen still remaining. Both of them felt as if that was too short a time.

"So…why aren't you dating anyone?" Percy stammered. Annabeth looked up, a bit surprised by the question.

"Um. I guess I haven't found anyone worth dating yet," she muttered awkwardly.

"Well, if you go by that logic, you'll never get any guys," he responded. Annabeth did not answer that. She turned to her other side to stare out the window. Percy sat up. A stomach-turning feeling washed over him as he feared he had offended her.

"Hey, I'm sorry. That was harsh. I just…well…if you want to have boyfriends, you have to put yourself out there." Annabeth, too, sat up and turned to face him, a grim expression etched on her face, "Well then that's the difference between you and I, isn't it Percy?" he looked into her eyes, hardly six inches from his own as she continued, "You want to get all of the girls, while I just want to get a guy and keep him."

"Hey that's not fair!" Percy said loudly, earning him several shushed from the surrounding passengers, "Just because I haven't found someone I want to keep yet, doesn't mean I only care about getting girls!"

"Oh please!" Annabeth shouted back, "All of the girls you've been with have been the pretty, popular ones! You don't care about intelligence, or genuine compassion! All you want is a pretty face!"

"No," Percy murmured, with a deadly quiet tone, "You're wrong. I care about a girl's character. Her kindness, her determination, and her intelligence too. Those other girls…I guess you're right about the pretty faces, but they didn't have anything past that. Why do you think I didn't stay with them? They never wanted to have an adult conversation, or even talk at all. They were airheads, every one." With that, he laid back with a sigh.

Annabeth rose up a bit. Percy was turned away from her, staring with blank eyes. She felt rather bad about saying the things she had. Annabeth put a hand on his arm. She looked at him in a new light than she had before, and said under her breath, "Then you deserve better."

Without warning, Percy sat up suddenly.

"What?" he questioned quickly.

Annabeth looked him straight in the eye and calmly repeated, "I said that I think you deserve better. You know, than conceited airheads. You deserve a girl with an actual brain. One who actually cares about other things besides herself and her looks."

Percy didn't know how to respond to that. Here he was, sitting across from a girl that had finally told him something he desperately needed to hear. He wasn't the bad guy. He hadn't been with shallow girls for the sake of it, he did actually want more.

"You." Percy looked her dead on. His eyes were wide, as if an unbelievable realization had just been made.

Taken aback, Annabeth gave him a confused look, "Me?…Me what?"

"You're better. Better than I deserve, surely, but also better than everyone else I've ever been with put together. You said I deserve better. I want you, although I might not be worthy of that," Percy said with such sincerity, Annabeth was speechless, "You are the one who is all those things. Intelligent, clever, compassionate. You're everything. Everything…besides mine."

They sat staring at one another for what seemed like eternity before Annabeth finally spoke. Whispering, she breathed, "No. I'm not everything…but I can be yours."

Percy took a moment to process what she had said. Reaching out he lightly touched the soft side of her cheek, brushing his hand down her jawbone to her chin. He gently pulled her face towards him, never breaking eye contact, a silent plea for permission. And permission was granted. Their lips met with such perfection, one would wonder whether the angels had pieced them for one another by hand.

After only a few moments, Percy pulled away, saying, "That's no fair."

Annabeth was understandably confused, "What are you talking about, Percy?" She looked like a deer in headlights. Headlights being the fear of him saying she was a bad kisser.

Percy immediately disputed this, "You. You are everything. Including perhaps the most amazing person I've ever kissed."

Annabeth let out a slight smile, hiding the relief that had just been released from her heart. She lifted one hand to the back of his head, feeling his silky blonde hair under her fingertips. The other hand went to his chest, just below the shoulder. She allowed herself another moment to be lost in his deep blue eyes that practically mirrored her own. Percy couldn't help but beam down at her. Annabeth couldn't help but laugh at his expression. He looked like a child on Christmas morning who had just unwrapped the present he had waiting all year for.

"What?" Percy grinned.

"Oh nothing," Annabeth said nonchalantly, "You're just kind of adorable is all."

"Hm. Adorable? Can't it be masculine? Or sexy?" Percy inquired.

Full out laughing now, Annabeth answered, "No! Adorable is the perfect word to describe you right now! You look like a puppy who just found his bone!"

"Fine. I'll be adorable. Just for you, though."

He grew closer as he surrendered to her touch. Warmth radiated from one person to the other as their lips entwined with the other's. Percy let his hand fade down the back of her neck, pushing her hair out of the way as he traced her spine all the way down, making her giggle against him.

This earned him a playful bite on his bottom lip. Alright then, smart girl, Percy thought, two can play at that game. He delicately ran the tip of his tongue across her bottom lip, physically begging for entrance. Annabeth's heart fluttered at this new sensation. Little to his knowledge, this was her first kiss. She (ironically) didn't know how to french kiss. Nonetheless, his request was accepted by the soft welcome of her tongue. Once that barrier had been crossed, the natural rhythm of their bodies took over. Her hands rose to the back of his neck, as his held her face incredibly gently. Annabeth began to wonder where this side of Percy had been hidden. Percy ran his hands back down her sides, encircling her tiny waist with his hands. She wrapped her arms completely around his neck, bringing him all the closer.

A voice cleared behind them and Percy and Annabeth drew apart, "Will you be needed more water, miss? You seem thirsty," asked the sweet, slightly passive aggressive, voice of a flight attended. Annabeth and Percy did not lose eye contact as, nor did their hand leave each others bodies as she answered, "No, I'm just fine."

They were both breathing hard at this point, energy from the long awaited moment surged throughout them both.

Percy stammered looking at his feet , "Um…do.. well, do you want to—"

Annabeth pulled his chin up so that he would look her in the eye, "Join the Mile Hight Club?"

"What!" he blurted, obviously surprised.

"Percy, oh my god, I'm kidding!" Annabeth laughed at his apparent shock. She leaned back towards him and gave him a quick peck. Percy kept his eyes closed for a few seconds before grinning, "Oh, you aren't about to get off that easy." He reached out for her again, dragging her lips to his and they both giggled and laughed together. This kiss was just as spectacular, maybe even more so, than the first. Percy reached for her hand, fingers intwined, he tugged her towards him. Blindly, Annabeth managed to put up the armrest separating them as they crashed together. Hunger drove them both as Percy dragged his lips down the corner of her mouth to her jawbone, giving delicate kisses to her neck as he journeyed down to her collar bone. He planted kisses from one side to the other, lingering for a moment at the tender base of her throat. They were puzzle pieces, perfectly fit and in sync. Annabeth pulled away for a moment, just long enough to look him in the face and give him a secretive, and even seductive, little smile.

This about did it for Percy, as he breathlessly murmured into her ear, "I'm practically going to explode if you keep doing stuff like that, smart girl."

Laughing outright, Annabeth slowly moved herself closer to him. She then disappeared from his view as he felt her glorious lips tracing his neck as well. She looked up at him mischievously and whispered with quick wink, "Like that?"

That was it for Percy. He unfastened his seatbelt, and then hers. He pulled her up by the hand and they briskly headed down the aisles to the bathroom in the back of the plane. Percy didn't bother knocking as he and Annabeth disappeared inside the close quarters.

As far as plane restrooms go, this one was actually fairly decent, and even lacked a pungent smell.

"You know I wasn't serious about the Mile High Club, right Percy?" Annabeth smirked, but a little bit of uncertainty shown in her eyes.

"Of course, darling," Percy murmured softly in her ear, "I just don't think that the middle of an airplane full of people is an appropriate place to show you how I feel about you."

Smiling, Annabeth whispered, "And how do you feel about me, Percy?"

Grinning now, Percy gently pressed her back against the wall beside the sink, "Well… I suppose you'll have to figure that out for yourself." And with that, he kissed her more tenderly than ever before. It was the sweetest kiss either had ever had, or probably ever would again. His lips moved slowly around the frame of her face, smoothly transcending from lips to jaw to cheek to lips again. Annabeth pulled back, wide-eyed.

"I think I figured out how you feel about me, Percy," she gasped.

"I'm not sure that's possible, smart girl," he said, very seriously.

He continued to push her back against the wall. His arms on either side of her head, he slowly moved his lips from hers, and once again began a trail of kisses down her neck and collar bone and across her shoulder.

Annabeth let out a small gasp and breathlessly murmured, "Now its my turn to call this unfair."

Percy paused for a moment and slyly looked up, "And how's that?"

Annabeth indignantly scolded, "Because you can't do that to a girl and not expect- Percy!"

Percy had encircled his arms around her waist, and picked her up. Still pressed against the wall, Annabeth began to laugh as he cupped her chin and led her face down to his. Percy nipped at her ear, as Annabeth let out the slightest moan, along with a breathless giggle. She began to lower herself back to floor as she pulled away slightly. Giving Percy a look of pure desire, she dragged a finger around from the back of his neck, along his jawbone, and let it rest on his lips. Percy groaned, want coursing throughout every part of him.

Now, Annabeth took the lead. She hopped up onto the sink counter and drew him towards her, guiding him to the gap between her legs. She tilted her head down as his arms wrapped steadily around her, created a cocoon of security, like she had never felt before. Their hearts beat together, causing the room to jostle.

Oh! Maybe that wasn't their hearts! The plane shook side to side, as Annabeth slipped forward from the counter right into Percy. She crushed herself against his chest, hiding her face in the collar of his shirt. Finding comfort in his closeness, she whimpered a bit as Percy cooed soothing words in her ear, "Don't worry, it's just some turbulence." At that moment, an especially violent jolt shook them both to the ground. Percy held Annabeth against the ground, wrapping her in his body, creating a force-field to protect her from any falling debris.

Gradually the shaking subsided, and Annabeth's hold on Percy loosened a bit. But Percy didn't loosen his grip on her.

"Are you okay?" he questioned her frantically, "Are you bruised? Cut? Injured?"

Annabeth raised her fright-filled eyes to meet his, "I'm okay, Percy. Because of you."

At that moment, both became aware of how they were positioned. Percy was laying directly on top of her, legs straddling her own, with his hands wrapped around her wrists, pinning them to the floor. As soon as he noticed this, he began to let go and right himself, but Annabeth pulled him back down towards her.

"Wait," she sighed, "Don't get up. Not yet, at least. The turbulence might come back, you know." Her mouth tipped up into a small smile and he lowered himself back down to her.

"You know, smart girl, one might think you did indeed want to join the Mile High Club," Percy chuckled faintly in her ear. Her eyes flickered to his as he said this, a message of passion and hunger passed between them.

"No, Annabeth!" Percy protested, "You'll regret this, I know it! You don't want to do that! Definitely not with some womanizing arrogant jerk like myself."

Annabeth rolled her eyes at him, "I know just as well as you do that that is not who you are at all, Percy!"

He leaned his head down so that it rested just beside her face, "I don't want you to make a decision you'll regret."

Annabeth ran her fingers through his hair, saying, "Percy, listen to me. I won't regret it! I'll cherish it. Really."

Percy stared down at her, "You are the most extraordinary person I've ever known, Annabeth." Annabeth giggled as Percy lowered his head down as their lips met again. They gently kissed each other for several minutes before Annabeth began to fumble with the buttons on Percy's shirt. Then and there, Annabeth decided that eight buttons on a shirt is eight too many.

Percy couldn't help but ask again, "Annabeth, we really don't have to do this. I'd just as happily wait for you to be ready than for you to rush into something."

The kiss that Annabeth responded to him with was all the answer he needed. Annabeth pulled his shirt off of his as she felt his chest, lightly pulling her hand all the way down do his belt. She shut her eyes, so invested in this moment. Percy traced her stomach, hesitant to make a move at removing her shirt. Annabeth reached down and took his hand, smiling at him reassuringly, she brought both of their hands up to the first button of her shirt.

They undid it together, as Percy brought his mouth up to her ear and down to the nape of her neck, making Annabeth gasp with bliss. Soon enough all buttons were removed, and Percy slowly began to pull off her shirt, in case Annabeth decided that they were taking it too far. Instead, she ripped off the shirt for him. Suddenly, Percy stopped everything.

Annabeth opened her eyes, confused, "Percy? What is it?"

Percy looked down at her petite figure and then back at her face, and mumbled, "How can a human possibly be so unarguably gorgeous?" This practically brought tears to Annabeth's eyes. She pressed herself against his chest in a tight embrace. She turned her head and journeyed down the side of his face with her lips until she found his mouth once again. Percy dipped his tongue into her mouth, and they began this dance all over again. Annabeth reached down to unclasp Percy's belt buckle, when he caught her hand. He pushed himself up, elbows on either side of her head, making himself just out of reach from her lips. He reached around to where Annabeth's hand was resting on his lower back, and took her hand. He pulled it close to him, resting her hand under his own on his chest, just over his heart.

"I won't have you throwing yourself out on me," Percy said solemnly. Annabeth began to protest again immediately but Percy continued, "We have all the time in the world to do that. Let's just be happy being together. I love the pure Annabeth. And while I'd be honored to be the person who you choose to be the one that gets it, but it shouldn't happen now. In an airplane. And especially not in a bathroom."

Annabeth met his gaze, "You said you loved the pure me. Loved. Do you mean that?"

Percy smiled down on her, "I've always wondered what love felt like. And what I'm feeling right now. For you. I think that's exactly what it is. So yes, smart girl. I love you. And I definitely love you enough to not ruin your chaste life in a plane restroom.

Laughing, Annabeth grinned, "I never would have thought that you would be capable of such chivalry, Percy."

Sighing he kissed her on the cheek, "Well, I'm full of surprises. Now let's get up. We've still got thirteen hours left on this flight, you know."

Annabeth, gasped jokingly, "Only thirteen! Well, let's make them count."

"Is that a challenge, smart girl?" Percy growled, pulling them both to their feet.

Annabeth stepped closer to his so that her chin was resting on his chest, "You tell me."