Just something I whipped up really quickly. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own PJO!

Percy's Preferences

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"I can't pretend I hadn't thought about Rachel. She was so much easier to be around than…well, than some other girls I knew. I didn't have to work hard, or watch what I said, or rack my brain trying to figure out what she was thinking. Rachel didn't hide much. She let you know how she felt."—The Last Olympian, page eight.

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Percy was in one of the strangest places he had ever gone to when he needed to think. He was sitting on the roof of his and his mom's apartment building, legs dangling over the edge. It was actually becoming a popular place for him to go to whenever he just needed to get away and think some things through.

Things had been moderately easy after the war, but things were still a little tense between Annabeth and him. It didn't help that Rachel had come back after about a month to just hang out with Percy. Even though she was now the Oracle, Annabeth still took a disliking to her because she assumed Rachel liked Percy before she was the Oracle. To Percy, it was a ludicrous idea. He was sure he would have noticed if Rachel had any feelings like that for him.

But then again, Percy wasn't exactly the brightest kid…

Anyways, he and Annabeth had had a little squabble earlier, which was why he was up here. Their squabble, of course, had been about Rachel. Percy thought about the two girls. He was always aware of how easy it was being around Rachel. She was pretty blunt with what was on her mind and what she was feeling, and in a way he liked that.

On the other hand, Annabeth was a mix of both, oddly enough. Some days, she was like Rachel—she would say what she was thinking and they would be fine and they could enjoy each other's company. Other days, she was the exact opposite. She would get stubborn and keep everything locked inside of her. She wouldn't talk to him, she wouldn't answer his questions…she would just keep everything to herself.

Oh, and there was that really annoying habit of hers that she had always had—keeping things from him whenever he asked about them. She always, always did that when they were at camp. And she still did it. If she was hiding something and he found out about it, she would say something like "it doesn't matter," or "just forget about it."

To say the least…it pissed him off.

But—and this was the peculiar thing—he loved it. He loved that she was different—granted, it wasn't like Rachel different, and that was a good thing (Percy wouldn't be able to handle two people like that). He preferred her golden locks and jeans-and-a-t-shirt attire. He loved that she refused to go along with the crowd if the crowd was wrong. He loved her sarcastic, witty, and stubborn personality. He loved watching her eyes sparkle whenever she talked about something she cared deeply about. He loved the sweet things, too—the way she fit in his arms perfectly, her hugs, her kisses.

He loved everything about her, and he didn't want to let her go. He never would. He refused to.

In summary, he'd rather have Annabeth than Rachel.

In his defense, though, there had never been any competition. He knew that he would have done anything to get Annabeth. He just couldn't imagine himself with anyone else, and just the thought of Annabeth with another man made him want to punch a hole in something.

Annabeth was stuck with Percy whether she liked it or not, though he was pretty sure (at least he hoped) it was the former and not the latter.

He sighed as he looked down to see people walking down the street without a care in the world. If only my life was that easy… he thought wistfully.

But even accepting the knowledge that Annabeth would always be his, he also knew that Rachel was his friend. She had helped them when they needed it most. Without her, they might not be where they are today. He couldn't just drop her like that—he owed her some gratitude. But Rachel had to know when she was going too far, and coming down to hang out with him—not matter how thoughtful that was—was going a bit overboard. And because of that, he and Annabeth had fought.

He sighed. I better go apologize.

He got up and turned around but stopped when he found Annabeth standing on the roof with him. They stared at each other for a bit.

Percy finally looked down. He scratched his neck. "I'm…I'm sorry, Annabeth. For yelling at you and stuff." He apologized.

Annabeth bit her lip. "I'm sorry too, Seaweed Brain."

Percy smiled. He knew that when she used his nickname, everything was fine.

He went up to her and wrapped his arms around her in a hug. She returned it gratefully. When they pulled apart, she raised a brow. "New thinking spot?"

Percy felt his face heat up a bit. "Y-yeah. How'd you find me anyways, Wise Girl?"

She laughed. "Mothers know everything, Seaweed Brain." She said, smirking as she walked towards the stairs.

Percy smiled deviously and followed after her.

Their playful banter was just another thing to add to the list of reasons why Percy loved Annabeth.

I hope you liked it! I literally wrote this in like fifteen minutes, so it's a little rushed. Obviously, it's inspired by the paragraph from TLO.

Thanks for reading and review please!

--Akatsuki Child