So, I got this idea because I was reading The Lost Hero again, mostly because I like the beginning, but I thought it was kind of weird how Annabeth hesitated when she said he kissed her goodnight. Then I was also thinking about how she said her feelings were really intense, and she didn't know if it was better with him or without, which is an insecurity you would definitely have if you never talked about it the morning after. Also, sex is a lot about trust, and they definitely had already established that a long time ago. Anyway, then it just got me thinking, and this happened. Nothing super explicit, but definitely mature themes. Enjoy!
Annabeth wasn't sure how her winter break would turn out – with Percy you never could really know – but she most definitely did not expect what ended up happening.
It was chilly even for a New York winter. It was snowing lightly at camp, a thin film. Just enough that your shoes made an imprint, but it wasn't enough for snowball fights. She and Percy were hand and hand, taking a walk on the beach as Percy talked animatedly about everything they could do during the next two weeks.
"We can go swimming!" He said, pointing towards the almost iced over river.
"Percy." Annabeth chastised, rolling her eyes. "Not everybody can go swimming in the dead of winter."
"Oh." He frowned, and Annabeth laughed. "Right."
"But, yes." She said, leaning up and kissing his cheek. It was still taking some getting used to, the fact that he was taller than her now. "It's gonna be awesome."
"And the food." He mentioned. "I missed the food. And campfires, and we can spar anytime we want, and play UNO, and have sleepovers."
Annabeth blushed, but laughed. "Sleepovers." She echoed, and he stopped them, grabbing her by the waist.
"That's what I'm most looking forward too." He whispered, pulling her into a kiss. Annabeth let out a little sigh as he nibbled on her bottom lip. They had gotten pretty good at this, among other things. Lately, things had been really… intense between the two of them. They hadn't gone all the way, but part of that was because they couldn't find the alone time. They had almost, a couple weeks ago, but Percy had stopped them, saying he needed to do it right, whatever that meant.
They couldn't keep their hands off each other, and it was really starting to intrude on Annabeth's everyday life. She had always thought about him constantly, but now it was sometimes in a different way. A few days ago, she had been in biology class and had gotten turned on because the word ocean reminded her of him. They had planned on going to a movie last weekend, but had ditched the entire thing to make out in the back of Paul's Prius. Monday had been pretty embarrassing, coming in and having Paul nonchalantly ask if that was her white lace bra in the back of his car.
"So," Percy said, once they had caught their breath and started the walk back. "Want to come over tonight?"
"Maybe." Annabeth smirked. "What do you have planned?"
Percy shrugged, but his smile gave him away. "Lots of UNO." Annabeth had to resist the urge not to laugh. UNO had kind of become their thing, partly because it was one of the few games Annabeth didn't outright beat him at. UNO was pretty much all luck. "Talking. Cuddling. Maybe one kiss."
Annabeth smiled up at him. "I'll take it."
Percy laughed. "Okay, Wise Girl."
Pizza was served, and she and Percy exchanged little smiles the whole night. Malcolm laughed at them, shaking his head.
"What?" Annabeth demanded, her eyes turning back to their normal stormy grey when she looked back at her siblings.
"Nothing." Malcolm said, snickering.
Her sister, Isabelle rolled her eyes. "Ignore him. You guys are cute."
Annabeth picked at her pizza. "We're not cute. I hate that word."
Crystal, another one of her sister's laughed. "Passionate." She suggested, and Annabeth blushed. "In looovveeee."
"Gods," Annabeth said, but she was smiling. "You're as bad as the Aphrodite girls."
They played Capture the Flag that night even though it wasn't Friday. She and Percy were on the same team and won hands down even with the breaks they took for kisses in between. Percy fighting was hot, and she was pretty sure he felt the same way.
They cuddled up on a log at campfire, Annabeth slipping his sweatshirt over her head and inhaling the calming scent. He smelled like the ocean, clean sheets and boy. You wouldn't think that would be the best smelling thing, but Annabeth loved it.
People wandered off towards their cabins at the end, and eventually by ten there were only a few of them left. Percy kissed the top of her head. "You wanna head back?"
Annabeth nodded wordlessly, and he walked her to her cabin. He had done this every night since they started dating. Annabeth had insisted she could walk five feet without him, but Percy had been adamant. "It's called being a gentleman, Annabeth." He said with a little eye roll, and Annabeth hadn't argued. She liked being spoiled, just a little, but she would never admit that to Percy.
They were standing outside the Athena Cabin, arms wrapped around one another. It was freezing and Annabeth was shivering, but she couldn't bring herself to go inside.
Percy pressed another kiss to her lips. "Give me half an hour, okay? At the earliest 10:30."
Annabeth giggled, which she had found herself doing more and more lately. It was annoying. "Okay, Seaweed Brain." She said between kisses.
"Okay." He said kissing her jawline. "I'm gonna go." He said, pulling her in for another kiss.
Annabeth kissed back, but eventually pushed him away. "Go, I'll see you soon."
"Okay, okay." His goofy little grin appeared. "I love you."
"I love you too." Annabeth said, smiling. "Now go. See you later."
He grinned, backing off their porch backwards until he slammed into a support beam. He turned red, gave her one last wave and ran off, leaving Annabeth laughing on her porch.
Annabeth gave him forty-five minutes, partly because Percy was kind of a slow person, and mostly because her siblings wouldn't settle down. She was a pro at sneaking out of here, but tonight they were making it difficult. She was about to just give up and announce to the two sisters who were still awake that she was going to Percy's, but they said goodnight before she had the chance. She laid there in the dark, heart racing just a little, because Percy's ideas kind of scared her. They were either amazing or horrible. There was no in between.
It had been quiet for a little over ten minutes when she snuck out of there, cap on. She opened the Poseidon door slowly. "Seaweed Brain?" She said quietly.
"Close your eyes!" He said, and she did, feeling him come up behind her and wrap his arms around her waist. She heard the door shut, and he led her to the middle of the room. "Okay, you can look." He sounded nervous, which worried her a little, but that passed pretty quickly.
Annabeth gasped. "Percy." She said quietly, a hand over her mouth.
"You like?" He said, grinning down at her.
"I – I." Oh wow. The cabin was decked out in candles and rose petals. There was a bottle of champagne in one corner and Annabeth's head started running a million miles an hour. "It's beautiful."
"Look." He came around in front of her, shaking her out of her trance. "We don't have to do anything you don't want too. I mean, I thought this was kind of where we were heading, but we can just kiss, or we don't even have to do that, I mean I like cuddles and-"
Annabeth cut him off, laughing. "Percy, stop." She kissed him, hard. "I love you. I want you, okay?"
He gave her his classic grin, kissing her again. It wasn't long before it got more intense, his tongue swiping across her bottom lip. She let his tongue in, and he picked her up, hands on her ass. Annabeth giggled and wrapped her legs around him as he carried them to the bed.
Clothes were shed, and eventually Annabeth was laying there, naked besides the lace panties she had luckily put on before she came over here. She ran her hands up and down Percy's chest, feeling the muscles ripple beneath her fingertips, grinning.
"What's so funny?" He asked, kissing a trail down her stomach.
She arched her back, gasping. He came back to eye level, and smiled at her. "I'm just lucky." She said, pulling him down for another kiss. "Percy." She gasped after a while, hooking her foot in the band of his boxers.
He opened his eyes, looking down at her, green eyes shining with love or lust or maybe both. "Are you sure?"
She kicked his boxers off in response as he wound a finger through her panties, pulling them off. "I've never been surer of anything." She said and he nodded. They spent the night together, for the first time. Between the laughter and the moans and him, Annabeth couldn't have asked for a better first time. Sure, it was awkward, definitely, but this was Percy. Nothing was really very awkward with him, and once they got the hang of it… well, Annabeth had never really felt this way before. It was crazy and beautiful and intense to be connected like this to him. To know nobody else had even come close to feeling this intimate with him. This was there special thing.
They lay there, silent for a few seconds after, breaths coming short. A little grin spread across Annabeth's lips, feeling a little lovesick and happier than she had in a long time. Percy pulled her close, their naked – naked – bodies touching. He pressed a kiss to her head, eliciting a little sigh from Annabeth. "I love you." She murmured, and she could feel his breath hot on her ear as he said those three little words back, getting the same warm feeling she did every time. Annabeth didn't think she would ever get tired of hearing that.
Annabeth wiggled out of his grip, grabbing his camp t-shirt and slipping it on, the hem hitting her upper-thigh. "Where are you going?" Percy whined, slumping down on the bed, his post-sex hair stirring something in Annabeth's stomach again.
Annabeth just giggled, and made her way to the champagne, popping the top off. "Where'd you get this, anyway?" She asked, taking a drink from the bottle. They never really did this. She had been drunk a couple times with her friends back in San Francisco, just during girl time, not any big party, and she knew Percy had with some friends from Goode, but they had never done it together.
"My mom's liquor cabinet." Percy shrugged, and Annabeth's eyes widened.
"What if she notices it's missing?" She asked, her mind running through all the kinds of trouble they'd get in when they got home.
"Wise Girl, relax." He said with a little smile as he pulled her back onto his lap. "I wouldn't have taken it if she was going to notice."
Annabeth sighed, leaning her head back on his chest. Usually, she would have argued, but she really wasn't feeling like that at the moment. She took another drink, the bubbles popping in her mouth, and passed it to Percy. "This is what I was talking about, when I said you go over the top sometimes." She murmured, tracing circles on his lower chest, referring to the many crazy dates they had gone on; Paris, the Parthenon in Nashville, five-star rooftop dining.
Percy smirked. "It's a good kind of over the top, though." Annabeth rolled her eyes, but gave him a little grin. "Besides," He added, tangling his hands in her hair. "We survived a war, Annabeth. We have to live a little."
Annabeth laughed. "I know, you're right."
Percy's eyes widened, "I should write this down. December…" He thought about it for a second, sending Annabeth into a burst of giggles. "Whatever, Annabeth says I'm right."
"Let's not make a habit of it." She said, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips, but pretty soon it turned into something more. She was faintly aware of the bottle being dropped on Percy's floor, but they could clean it up tomorrow. She swung a leg over his hip, revving up for round two.
-0-
It was almost two AM when Annabeth woke up, Percy's arm wrapped securely around her waist, his head buried in her curls. Annabeth couldn't help the little grin that spread across her face. She was about to curl up and go back to sleep, but she stopped herself. They had no alarm, and if they were caught like this tomorrow, she would be watched like a hawk, and she was definitely planning on this happening a few more times while at camp. As much as she wanted to enjoy their morning after, it was irresponsible. She sighed, unwrapping herself from Percy's grip. She heard him groan in his sleep, but he didn't wake up. She scrawled a note on a slip of paper from inspection she found, telling him she'd see him at breakfast and she loved him. She stuck the note on his nightstand with a little smile, and slipped her Yankees cap back on, practically skipping back to her cabin, Percy's t-shirt swishing around her little body.
The minute Annabeth woke up, she knew something was wrong. A sinking feeling, like a part of her was gone. She felt… disconnected from something, but she couldn't put a finger on it. She almost went to check on Percy, but that was stupid. She shook her head, convincing herself everything was okay. Nobody else seemed on edge.
When Percy didn't show up to breakfast, she knew something was wrong. The kid didn't miss a meal time. She excused herself from the Athena table, and knocked on his cabin door. "Percy?" She called out, but she got no response. Her stomach dropped to the floor, but she pushed the door open firmly.
His bed was slept in, but he wasn't in it. The bathroom door was wide open, no shower water running. She started to shake, sliding against the door frame, vaguely aware of the other campers coming up behind her. The bottle of spilled champagne was by her feet, the little note she left him sitting right where she had left.
Annabeth clutched her stomach, suddenly feeling as if she couldn't get enough air. One of her sisters, she didn't know who, rushed forward and steadied her. Annabeth's head swam, people were yelling, Annabeth was crying, and Percy… Percy Jackson was gone.
Let me know what you guys think! The whole candles thing was a little over the top, but then Percy always does things over the top, and he also would most definitely want to make their first time amazing for Annabeth. Also, it's just cute to think a guy would do this.
On another note, Different Cities is halfway done, and I'm hoping to have that chapter out either tomorrow or Saturday.
Review!