His eyes softened as he stared down at her sleeping figure. Perched on the edge of the bed, he ran his hand along her cheek lightly so not to wake her up. A smile traced his lips as he watched her.
She was beautiful. Tendrils of blonde hair draped over her mouth, rising and falling when she breathed. A line of drool spread along her chin but, for some reason, it only made her seem cuter.
When she felt the cold touch of his hand on her cheek, she squirmed beneath the covers, trying to get away from his fingers. As she curled into herself, he let out a small chuckle before lying down beside her, separated from each other by the thin sheet.
"Wakey, wakey," he muttered, jabbing her side with his finger. She squeezed her eyes tight, wriggling away from him again. He couldn't help but let out another laugh. "Come on, Annabeth, get up. It's twelve o'clock."
She let out a moan, signalling that she would not, under any circumstances, be getting out of bed any time soon.
"I made you breakfast," he persisted. Annabeth remained silent, barely peeking from under her eyelids.
"There's an archaeology channel on the TV," he continued and one of her eyelids shot open. She twisted around to face him.
"You better not me lying to me, Seaweed Brain," she murmured, not sounding very threatening due to her drowsy tone. Her eyelid began to droop again and, soon enough, she was drifting off to sleep once more.
"Oh, I'm not," he said innocently, prodding her stomach. She let out a half-hearted growl, slapping his hand away with barely any energy put into it. He grinned, poking her again.
"Stop it, Percy," she groaned, pouting. Her grey eyes fluttered open so she could stare up at him with her puppy dog look.
"That's not going to work this time," he told her, tickling her side. She let out a shriek of laughter, batting his arm with more force.
"No, really, Percy. That's annoying me now." Her tone was stern but he took no heed and, instead, continued to tickle her. Annabeth laughed against her will, wrapping her hands around her waist in an attempt to stop him. Percy was relentless, tickling her feet, neck, head and anywhere else he could reach. Soon enough, she surrendered, chuckling.
"You win, you win," she said, raising her hand in a 'I'm giving in' way.
"Sorry, what was that?" he asked, cupping his hand around his ear.
"You win," she repeated through her teeth, her eyes narrowing dangerously. She hated admitting that she lost and he knew it.
"Oh, what did I do?" He'd pushed his luck. Annabeth leaped at him, trying to pin him to the bed but he was too fast. Percy had jumped away from her as soon as he saw the danger signs.
"I'm going to get you, Jackson," she called to him as he ran away.
"Not if I run away first, Chase," he mocked. She chuckled before pushing herself fully out of bed, stretching to get the last lingers of sleep from her muscles. Once she was completely awake, she sprinted after him.
Their apartment was rather small but not in a claustrophobic way; it was more snug and comfy than tight for space. As they raced around, over and under furniture, Annabeth couldn't help but smile. Despite the fact her exterior radiated hatred, she was feeling warm and happy on the inside. Percy always had that effect on her. He'd always been able to cheer her up when she was down or ill. It had been like that ever since he'd come to Camp Half Blood.
"Gods, Wise Girl, you're so slow," he teased, putting a table between him and Annabeth. She glowered at him.
"Says the guy who can't even beat a dryad at the one hundred metre sprint. Jeez, Percy, train more, would you?" she retorted lightly, feinting to one side just to run around the other. Once again, he got away.
"You told me you wouldn't mention that again!" he whined. Annabeth shrugged.
"I can't help it. You're so easy to wind up."
"And you're so easy to outrun."
"Shut up!"
Several minutes went by and Annabeth was still trying to catch Percy but, for some reason, speed wasn't on her side today. With a stubborn 'hmph', she flumped back on the comfortable, red sofa with her arms crossed. She'd get him eventually but, right now, she couldn't be bothered.
The gentle ticking of the clock caused her mind to shut down. Her head rested against her left shoulder as she went to sleep. She didn't even feel the couch bounce as Percy sat down. In his hands, he held a woollen blanket that he draped over Annabeth.
His eyes had softened again, that same smile spreading across his face. She looked so natural when she was asleep. He couldn't bring himself to wake her up again. Instead, his eyes narrowed on the television screen, watching the boring program that seemed so fascinating to his girlfriend.
After a few minutes of watching it, he began to feel very drowsy and, eventually, he, too, began to drift off.
The flat seemed eerily quiet. All that could be heard was the traffic on the street, the low humming of the TV and the ticking of the cuckoo clock. Until…
"Got'cha!" Annabeth yelled in triumph, pouncing on Percy. He jumped in surprise, his eyes shooting open.
"W-What are you talking about?" he asked, slightly disorientated from his nap.
"Well, you told me I couldn't catch you… and I did." She grinned, radiating an aura of accomplishment.
"Really?" he asked, tilting his head. Her smile faded. "The joke's on you. I just woke you up." She realised that he was right and, with a groan, she sunk back into the cushions. "Come on, sleepy head, let's get some breakfast."
And, with those last words, he led her to her cold tea and toast which had lain forgotten on the chequered table for those few hours.
A/N: I DO NOT OWN PERCY JACKSON! Let's face it: I'm not Mr. Riordan and I certainly don't have the same writing skills as him. But I hope you enjoyed and, if you did, leave some feedback... Even if you didn't leave something for me too!
As it says in the summary, it's been written for Akasuki Child's competition. If you liked this, go enter! Just search in google 'Percabeth Beats Prachel' and it should come up.
Wish me luck!