Landlubber
A Percabeth Fanfic
Hi guys! So I decided to do something a little different this time around and do a little Percabeth one shot...because I love the Percy Jackson series and the couple so very much. This may have also been inspired by my own inability to swim. So yeah! I hope you enjoy this fluffy fic! I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians/Heroes of Olympus series...those belong to Uncle Rick!
Annabeth Chase drew her eyes away from the laptop, feeling a heavy weight on her chest. For at least eight hours, she sat cooped up in her cabin, hunched over the brightened screen. She pushed the laptop away and stretched, arching her back like a cat. Her body felt numb from sitting in the same position for so long.
"Ugh." She said to herself, feeling fatigue wash over her.
Annabeth guessed it to be around seven in the evening. The other campers were probably out and about, sitting around campfires, tossing a volleyball back and forth, stuffing their faces with hotdogs. She simply didn't have that luxury. Ever since she was given the laptop of Daedalus, she'd become obsessed. For hours she scoured every detail, working on it day and night, sifting through old inventions, studying architecture, even designing some of her own models when she had the time. However, the all-nighters were starting to take their toll on her.
For the first time in hours, she allowed herself to close her eyes. Annabeth cracked her stiff neck and absorbed the silence. Not a second later was the quiet broken by the sound of soft tapping. She groaned, wishing she could go to sleep. Annabeth enjoyed one more moment of silence before she yelled, "Come in!"
The door swung open and Percy Jackson sauntered in, flashing his pearly white teeth at her. Annabeth smiled, despite her drowsiness. He never failed to put a smile on her face.
"Hey!" he said, plopping down on the foot of her bed.
"Hi, Seaweed Brain." She replied, using the old nickname. "What's up?"
Percy crossed his legs and folded his hands all business like. "Can I perhaps interest you in a romantic evening swim tonight? Complete with water, the occasional Nereid, and well…swimming, obviously." He paused as if pondering something. "I can even throw in a serenade if you want!"
Annabeth smiled but inside she felt sick. Her stomach flipped upon hearing the word swimming. In truth, she wanted nothing more than to take a break with her eccentric boyfriend. However, she'd have to turn him down.
"I can't, Percy. I-I have to get this done." She gestured towards her laptop. "I've been working on it all day, I can't get distracted." The lie sounded wrong even to her. Percy's face dropped in disappointment.
"Aw, come on…you've been typing on that thing all day. You're getting dark circles for crying out loud! A half hour couldn't hurt could it?" He leaned forward and gazed at her with the classic baby seal look. Annabeth had to look away, fearing she'd melt. She bit down on her lip to keep from laughing.
"Don't give me that look…I told you I can't do it today!" she said, fighting a smile.
"Ten minutes? I can bring chocolate too if you want!"
"Sorry." Annabeth drew out in a singsong voice.
Percy threw his hands up but she could visibly see him smiling. "I…I will buy you an entire library if you come with me, I swear on Poseidon."
Annabeth giggled and shook her head. "Bribery will get you nowhere, Seaweed Brain."
Percy sighed again, drumming on his legs, trying to think of another rouse to get her out of Cabin Six. "I cooooould tie you up and carry you out there on my back. I'll have the rest of the campers chant. It'll be like sacrificing you to a volcano."
She simply smirked, eye focused on the computer. "Try that and I'll judo flip you."
Even though she didn't look, she could sense him cringing. "Alright if you say so…"
"Goodnight, Seaweed Brain."
She felt her bed shift as he got off of it then heard his footsteps trail away. Once again, she was lapsed in silence. Then, something attacked her. A big mass slammed into Annabeth, catching her off guard. Percy laid one top of her, a mischievous smirk on his lips. Before she could speak, he began tickling her.
Annabeth giggled madly as his hands ran up and down her sides, where she was most sensitive. Through bursts of laughter she tried to scold him, with no success.
"Not-not fair! NO! Oh my gods, Percy, stop! You-you jerk!" She struggled out of his grasp and scooted to the very edge of her bed. She held her hands up in surrender as Percy looked towards her expectedly. "All right…all right! You win! I'll go splash around in the water with you."
Percy smiled widely. "Yes!"
She pushed him off the bed, "Just give me like five minutes. I needa change!" Annabeth noticed, then, that Percy was already dressed in his swim trunks.
He knew she thought he knew he was going to be able to get me to come. If Percy Jackson was anything, he was determined. One of the things she loved most about him.
"Okay! See you outside." He leaned over and planted a quick kiss on her cheek.
"Gooooo!" Annabeth said, shooing him out of the cabin. Percy flicked a wave and waltzed out the door, softly shutting it behind him.
"Dork."
Five minutes later, Annabeth came out in her white bikini. Just as promised, Percy stood right outside her door. He leaned against walls of the cabin and smiled upon seeing her.
"Ready?" he asked, offering his arm.
"As I'll ever be."
Side by side, they walked down to the lake. They passed campers, hanging around Camp Half Blood, waving as they passed. As soon as the lake came into view, Percy ripped off his camp t-shirt and cannonballed into the water. A moment, later he emerged from the water, grinning like a child on Christmas Day. Annabeth settled down on the dock, dipping her feet into the cool, dark waters. Percy gestured to her to join him.
"Come in! The water's great! Not cold at all."
Annabeth forced a smile and shook her head. "No thanks! I'm good here!" she called to him.
Percy's dark eyebrows drew together in confusion as he swam up to her. He looked up to her with bright green eyes.
"Is something wrong? Didn't you want to go swimming?"
She shook her head uneasily, "No, it-it's nothing. Enjoy the water! I know you've been wanting to go all day."
Percy frowned and cocked his head. "Hey, I'm sorry for dragging you out here, I shouldn't have pushed you."
"No! No! It's not that…I'd love to swim. It's well….it's just that…" Annabeth trailed off, unsure if she should finish.
"It's just that…what?" Percy prodded gently.
"I can't swim! Okay! I sink like a rock whenever I go into water. I can't even doggy paddle properly! A total landlubber!" Annabeth huffed, taking a deep breath. She'd never really told anyone before. She was too darn proud to admit it. Yet, here she was spilling it all out to her Seaweed Brain. And if she was being honest with herself, it felt kind of nice.
"Well, that's nothing to be ashamed of! Here, I can teach you." Percy said, holding out his hand.
Annabeth felt her stomach drop. Even the mere thought of water frightened her. "No, no, it's okay! You don't have to!"
Percy gave her an easy smile and refused to leave the edge of the dock. "If you want to learn, you're going to have get in eventually. I honestly don't mind at all! You can trust me. It'll be fun, I promise."
Annabeth gave this a little thought. Although Percy can be a little ADHD, she knew she could trust him. Without giving time to rule out the cons, she nodded. Percy gently took her hand and started pulling her off the dock. Annabeth closed her eyes and she pushed herself off and into the lake. Instantly she was greeted by the cool waters. In her head, she panicked, worried she would drown. She flailed around in the water, trying to clear her head. Then she heard the sound of laughter. Annabeth opened her eyes and found Percy giggling at her. The water only came up to her upper chest and her toes could touch the bottom of the lake just fine.
She shot him a mock glare and his mouth shut closed quickly. A beat passed and Annabeth found herself laughing as well.
"Okay…it's not that bad…" she admitted. "So how do you do this whole swimming deal?"
Percy simply shrugged, "There's no real way to explain it…you just have fun with it! Here…follow my lead!" Before she could blink, Percy disappeared under the water and he started swimming out to the middle of the lake. Annabeth hesitated, clutching the wooden stakes that supported the dock. Percy's head popped out of the water a moment later.
"All you have to do is rotate your arms and kick your legs to keep yourself afloaty float!"
"What!?" Annabeth called.
"It's easy, trust me! Now swim to me!"
Rotate your arms…kick your legs. Sound easy enough.
Annabeth took a deep breath then plunged into the water. Using her legs, she propelled herself forward. She closed her eyes and swam forward. The water felt cool on her skin. A relief from being in a hot, uncomfortable room all day. Then her head hit something. She opened her eyes and saw Percy's chest. He was smiling at her. She looked back and saw that she was several yards from the dock.
Hey…I made it!
Percy held up a hand. "Nice, Wise Girl!"
She awkwardly slapped his outstretched hand. "Okay now hold your breath…and don't be afraid to open your eyes underwater. It's pretty amazing under there."
She nodded and took a breath. They both plunged under water and Annabeth opened her storm gray eyes. The water was clear and impossibly blue. Bits of seaweed stuck out of the ground far below. She even saw a water sprite, swimming by in the distance. In front of her Percy smiled, waving at her. Annabeth laughed but soon realized this was a mistake as her mouth started to fill with water. Eyes widening, she flailed and broke the surface, spitting out sea water. Percy's head resurfaced. Again, he was sniggering at her. Annabeth glared at him then her lips curled into a smile and she spit the rest of the water from her mouth onto his face.
"Ah! No! Not the face!" he wiped his chin then drilled his eyes onto hers. "Take this, Athenian scum!" he sent a small wave of water her way, splashing her in the face. Annabeth laughed and splashed the water towards Percy.
"Take that, Seaweed Brain!"
In seconds, it turned into a full out war, the two teenagers splashing and creating waves, determined to outdo each other. They flung insults at each other and let out mighty Greek battle cries. In the end they both just ended up out of breath, laughing with tears in their eyes and water up their noses.
"Come here." Percy scooped Annabeth up in arms and held her up bridal style. "I'm going to teach you to float."
Annabeth closed her eyes and relaxed her muscles as she lay in his arms. He whispered encouragements to her as she felt the water on her back. Soon enough she was floating along the glassy surface of the lake.
"You're a quick learner!" Percy told her.
"Well I am the child of Athena. It's in my blood."
"I think we should take a break." Percy again scooped her up, slightly startling Annabeth. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he slipped his arms around hers. They stared, forgetting all of their worries, letting the summer wind ruffle their hair. Annabeth cupped Percy's chin and kissed him. She noticed over the last couple months of their relationship that his lips often tasted like saltwater. Annabeth felt him smile against her lips as he kissed her back.
"Ooooooh, Per-cy and Annabeth sittin in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G." Two voices teased in unison.
The two pulled apart and found the Stoll brothers perched on the dock, wearing identical grins. Percy sighed and with a snap of his wrist, sent a mini tidal wave crashing their way. They yelped and scrammed away into the woods. Once they were alone, Percy turned back to his girlfriend.
"Now where were we?"
"Swimming supposedly…but this is good too."
Percy grinned at that and they fell into another kiss. At that moment, Annabeth knew that she wouldn't rather be anywhere else then right here, in a cool, serene lake with her Seaweed Brain.
So, there you have it! I hope you enjoyed this short little fic. I'm a bit horrible at romance and explaining things using words but none the less...hope you liked it! Next up I'm planning a little cross-over. What if...the heroins of Maximum Ride and Virals (Max and Tory) switched places? Stay tuned! Bye!