A/N: One-shot. For cuteness sake, reread the first series this weekend cuz I hadn't read them in years. This little funness is a little plot bunny for how I though Riordan might have added to the Last Olympian.
Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or Percabeth. Dang it! ;)
Annabeth fussed with Daedalus' laptop, boggled by an automaton he'd been designing as an assistant. She was curled up on her bunk, blue prints everywhere about her. The floor, her nightstand, her bed, taped to the bottom of the top bunk. She growled in frustration and closed the laptop, setting it in the drawer of her nightstand, which she slipped closed. Lifting her head, fierce grey meeting untamed, oceanic grey, was the first time she noticed the other presence in the cabin. She hadn't heard the door open, or close for that matter. Nor had she perceived the groaning of the springs as he'd sat down on bed across from her. How long had he watched her work?
"Percy, what are you doi-" thoughts swirled into her brain as reality came back to her with a bone crushing hug to welcome. "Oh, Percy, I'm sorry. I was busy trying to figure the calibration mechanics of magic for the artificial animus and totally lost track of time…" she drug out the last word, when he held up her bedside clock. It happily glowed 6:47. Nearly twenty minutes late for their 'walk'. "Gods…" she breathed.
"It's alright," he smiled, setting down the clock. "We still have, what, ten minutes of free time left? And we can always skip the sing-along tonight, after dinner. Maybe take an evening swim?" He eyes seem to glow at the thought, and Annabeth smiled at the prospect, but still, she felt awful for having forgotten their not-date.
After dinner Percy immediately found Annabeth, she was waiting just outside the dining pavilion. He laced his fingers through hers and they strolled leisurely to the docks, taking the long as they skirted the woods. He could hear tree nymphs giggling as they strode past, arms swinging. Annabeth talked happily about the things she'd found on Daedalus' laptop; architecture she planned to use on Olympus, automatons she was already collaborating with Hephaestus cabin to build, and simpler things she'd planned to improve with her own ideas. He loved listening to her when she was like this. She sounded so happy, like their lives hadn't been Hades these past few years. It made him remember the good in those years, not just the chaos.
"Hey, Percy." She said. He raised his eyebrows in response, turning his eyes to meet hers. They'd stopped walking, though he'd barely noticed. She took that as an answer, as it had been, and continued. "I've been thinking about the new prophecy. What is it isn't for years to come? What if it's just around the corner."
He frowned, "No one really knows I guess. But the world is saved, no monsters are at our throats and the lake is like glass. Please, for once in our lives, let's not focus on the future. It's been too long since I've lived in the moment. And right now, this moment, with you, this may not happen again for months. I want to experience this." His frown faded as he spoke, a smile forming on his lips.
She opened her mouth like she wanted to protest, but instead nodded. A smile crept to her lips. "So, seaweed brain, what have you got planned?" she asked, leaning into him, ever so slightly; pushing down on his hands for balance, causing him to lean over her. Their shadow mirrored the romance of the moment perfectly.
"Oh, I have a new idea." He smiled, a mischievous gleam in his eye. "Never before have I attempted such a feat, especially with a partner in tow." Annabeth responded only with a curious look, but cautious. Sometimes Percy's ideas weren't as stellar as he thought. His grip on her hands tightened, pulling her in the direction of the canoe lake.
"Percy…" she warned, but followed him none the less. Her curiosity always got the best of her. He broke into a run and she was forced to comply. Keeping up with his pace, she realized he didn't slow down. Not when they reached the shore, and certainly not as they made their way down the pier. "Percy!" she yelped, as he leaped off the edge taking her, still fully clothed, with her. She waited for the water to soak her clothes, but no such thing happened.
His arms were wound their way around her in a protective embrace. They were standing, though she wasn't quite sure how, atop the water of the canoe lake. Her eyes widened and he grinned. "Cool right? I've been dying to try it, but wait it gets better!"
"Better?" she asked, though not in such an enthused tone. She was perfectly content, with just this. If he hadn't tried this before she didn't want to push it. Never mind her obvious displeased tone; he loosened his grip on her. Not letting go, but now just bracing her arms. He stepped backward, pulling her along in an ice-skating like way. Without the ice.
"Keep calm, just follow my footing. I've changed the water pressure to support me, and you if you follow carefully." His voice was soft, it was obvious, now that they were out on the water, he was less sure of his powers. He guided her along, in a trance like state, as they danced across the lake. He started to feel more comfortable with the motions, and finally brought his eyes up from their feet.
The look on her face made his day. The wonder in her eyes as she followed his steps. She was still looking down. "Annabeth?" he whispered. She brought up her head quickly in a flurry of blonde curls. Her wondrous grey eyes, meeting his in a moment he'd never forget.
"Percy, this is… I didn't know you could do this! How are you-"She kept losing her train of thought and skipping around. Like she always did when she thought too much, he normally would have listened and smirked, just content watching her. But this time, he cut her off with a kiss. Later, he'd think back and be surprised it all worked out so well, how he'd managed to hold her, but keep them above water. He'd marvel at the powers of the subconscious. Right then, he was lost in the moment.
After their kiss he felt power rush through him. He smirked just before they plummeted into the lake, an air bubble forming around them like the time in the sea of monsters, or the last time in the canoe lake. When they came up, some campers were calling their name. Both of them immediately blushed.
"We should get back." Annabeth breathed.
"Uh, yeah… We… yeah." He walked her back to shore and they head towards the cabins. Hands laced still as they came up the hill.
Travis and Connor Stoll came running up, "Hey, you two have been gone for over an hour! You know that?" Some people, who didn't know Travis, might've thought he was angry, but the mischievous glint in his eyes told those who knew him different.
"Yeah," Connor smirked, eyes flashing playfully, "someone might think ya'll were up to something."
"Y'all are ones to talk." Percy laughed.
"Well, you might want to get back to your cabins anyway. It's almost curfew, and only troublemakers are allowed out after curfew." He waggled his eyebrows.
"Oh hush." Annabeth laughed. "See ya, seaweed brain." She squeezed his hand before running off to explain things to her cabin mates. Percy nodded to the Stoll brothers before following suit. When he reached the Poseidon cabin he stood on the porch for a while. He watched the Athena cabin kids tease Annabeth as they welcomed her back. He glanced back to his own empty cabin with a heavy sigh. He was glad for friends like Annabeth and Grover. They made his life seem a little less lonely, but walking into his cabin, and getting ready for bed, the solitude only reminded him that he was still very much alone. The only demigod child of Poseidon. An outsider wherever he went.
He climbed into bed and pulled up the covers. Tyson's hippocampi designs hung from the ceiling, casting odd shapes on the walls when light from the moon reflected off them. No, not alone at all. He had great friends, three parents, and a great home. Two of them, really. And who knew, maybe things would be more normal from here on it. At least as normal as things ever were for halfbloods.
A/N: So, yeah. My very first Percabeth. Or for that matter, my very first PJO at all. Hope you enjoyed. Please review if you like it, or if you'd like to see more like it.