Love In A Book

Post-TLO. Drabble. There was something that Annabeth wanted. Percy was going to get it for her. After a fashion.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Percy Jackson series, Modern Architecture Pop-up, and Post-it notes.

It was a quiet night at Camp Half-Blood, the final night before the summer campers were going to return to the mortal world outside. The night hummed with small crickets, who were curiously chirping a tune similar to something that Grover would play on his pipes. Near the canoe lake, Annabeth was sitting underneath a sturdy tree, while Percy rested on her lap, his body sprawled on the ground. In the background, small splashing noises were heard as gentle waves collided on the sand.

"So," Percy was saying, "what was your biggest Aphrodite moment?"

The sky above them rumbled with lightning, as the cloud above grew momentarily darker.

Annabeth ignored the sound, concentrating seriously on Percy's question, "My biggest Aphrodite moment," she mused, while curling her hair unconsciously. "I've never really had one… Unless you count kissing you at the last second before you possibly die."

Percy grinned, "I remember that. You thought I died, and you were giving a speech about how I was your bravest friend."

Annabeth hit Percy playfully, "Don't get a big head, Seaweed Brain. I called you the single most annoying person I've ever met afterwards, remember?"

Percy grimaced, "I only remembered the kiss. I was under a lot of pain, wasn't I?"

"Except that you weren't looking like Mrs. O'Leary's chew toy when you came back," Annabeth reminded him, "Which reminds me, where were you while you weren't at Camp Half-Blood."

"I was," Percy blushed profusely, "What I mean is…"

"On Ogygia? Calypso's island?" Annabeth stared at him with a glint in her eye. Caught.

At this moment, Percy felt it best to be honest, lest he be sent down to Hades early. He could see the headlines now, "Mysterious Death of Suspected Arsonist Percy Jackson," with a big collage of his… disasters in the past four years and a nice mug shot from his school photo.

"Yeah, I was there," Percy mumbled, waiting for the Furies to come and cut his string. So much for that long life.

But instead, Annabeth withdrew from Percy, closing herself from him. Percy raised an eyebrow at her, "You're so cute when you're jealous," he teased.

"What? Me, jealous?" Annabeth's face flushed, her mouth twitched, her blush making her far more beautiful than Calypso and Aphrodite combined. "I'm not jealous."

"Oh, sure," Percy kissed her on the cheek, "For the daughter of the goddess of wisdom, you can be dumb sometimes."

This comment resulted in a smack on Percy's arm, "I'm not stupid,Percy!"

"Mhmm," Percy kissed her on the lips this time, effectively shutting her up.

"So," he said when they broke off, "What's one thing you really wanted, but never told anyone you wanted."

Annabeth mulled it over, "Well, promise me you won't laugh," she said seriously, looking at him straight in the eye.

"I promise," Percy said, a slight smirk on his face.

"Percy!"

"Okay, okay," Percy swore on the River Styx, "I promise."

"There was this pop-up book," Annabeth started, while keeping a close eye on Percy, who remained completely calm. "It's called Modern Architecture Pop-Up. It's really hard to find, but its pretty cool, but it's kind of embarrassing for me to read."

"Why?"

"Cause, you know… it's a pop-up book!" Annabeth said.

"You're so cute when you're angry," Percy said, kissing her as the night sang its quiet melody around them.

School had started, and Annabeth was sitting in her new classroom, drawing a new building design in her sketchbook. True to their word, her parents had allowed her to stay in a boarding school in New York, though she wasn't able to attend Goode High School with Percy. Nevertheless, she was able to still be close to Olympus to oversee the reconstruction.

"Annabeth Chase," her teacher called to her, sharply. "Is there something in your sketchbook that you would like to show the class?"

"No, sir," she replied, nervously closing the sketchbook and shoving it inside her desk. Oh gods, don't make him want to see the book.

Thankfully, the gods answered her prayers and her teacher left the matter alone, turning his attention back towards Crow Lake, explaining the importance of a quote on page 8. He was just about to turn the page, when he noticed someone at the door.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

Annabeth looked up from her notes…

and saw her boyfriend in doorway, his sweater hiding something in his left hand.

"I, uh," Percy stuttered, while the girls in the class were muttering about how attractive he looked. "I'm looking for Annabeth Chase."

"Annabeth is right there," her teacher pointed, "Do you need her right now?"

"I, uh," Percy laughed nervously, "Kinda, yeah."

"Very well," Annabeth's teacher nodded, "Annabeth, you may go with your friend."
Confused, Annabeth packed her stuff and left the classroom, immediately entwining her hands with Percy's. "What did you do," she asked him, when they were out of earshot.

Percy shifted uncomfortably, "Thalia taught me the mist trick," he mumbled.

"Okay," Annabeth looked at the clock nearby, "But you have school, right now. You shouldn't be skipping."

"I know, but," Percy took his sweater off of what he was holding in his hand. Annabeth gasped and reached out for it.

"Is it…" she asked.

"Yeah," Percy said, nonchalantly, "All yours."

"How did you get it?" she asked him in wonder, flipping through the pages.

"Hermes," her boyfriend replied, "He found it for me, but he said that there's a small blemish on the back of the front cover."

"Really?" Annabeth frowned, turning back to the front. On the cover was a small post-it note:

I love you, wise girl.

-Percy

Annabeth smiled, and closed the book. "I love you too, Seaweed Brain," she said as she kissed him.

Well, well, my first attempt at a Percy Jackson fanfic. Love it? Hate it? Leave your reviews please! And some constructive criticism if you have it, I'm more than willing to accept. Not bad for a guy who just read through the entire series in a week for the first time.

Special thanks goes out to my dear girlfriend, who inspired me to read this series!

I don't know if I'll write again for Percy Jackson, but who knows?