Author's Note: I read the Percy Jackson books a while ago and have only seen the first movie, and even though I wasn't too thrilled about its thinly disguised disloyalty to the books, I was quite taken by the chemistry between Percy and Annabeth. Now I know they end up together in book five, and I love the way it was done, but there is this one scene in my head I can't get rid of: it must be a scene from the second film, I guess (I've only seen a few stills and a YouTube clip without dialogue), featuring Annabeth and Percy sharing a moment by the pool with him in the water and her on the side. And plot bunnies can have really sharp teeth which they dig into you and they won't let go until you've written them down. Go figure.
Classification: Pure fluff. Set at an indefinite point in the series but before book five. No context, no real plot, just a different take on the First Kiss scenario. Annabeth has a moment of self-doubt. Percy comforts. The non-native speaker warning applies as usual, and if you had a moment to spare to write a review, I'd love to know what you think.
Disclaimer: Not mine. Rick Riordan's (thank goodness!). Please don't mind my borrowing. I'm still going to re-read the original! Not making money. Under no illusion that this disclaimer would actually help me legally if Rick Riordan did mind.
I didn't notice her until I literally bumped headfirst against her legs. She had snuck up quietly by the side of the pool, sat down on the edge and put her legs in the water. And I, oblivious demigod that I was, had been diving and swimming around with my eyes closed, deep in thought. My watery super senses would probably have warned me before I crashed into the concrete wall of the pool, but Annabeth's shins apparently weren't worth triggering a warning.
And so I came up for air spluttering and coughing because I had, of course reflexively drawn a startled breath under water without concentrating on my powers first. As a son of Poseidon, I might be immune to drowning, but drawing water in my lungs like that never goes down well.
I brushed my soggy hair out of my eyes and looked up at the unexpected obstacle. Annabeth was sitting on the edge of the pool looking at me unsmiling, and I squirmed uneasily. She couldn't very well be angry at me for bumping into her like that, couldn't she?
"Sorry," I said when I could speak again. "I didn't see you."
"I noticed," said Annabeth wryly, and something in her voice made me stop and look at her closer. She didn't sound angry. She sounded dejected, even thought she tried to mask it. But I knew her well enough to notice the fine difference.
I treaded water, which in my case only required minimal movement of my legs—water usually carried me without me making any effort—and hovered by her knees. Resting my elbows on the side of the pool next to her, I looked up.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
Annabeth stalled. "What makes you think there is anything wrong?" she asked.
I shrugged but didn't answer, only continued to look at her, and she heaved a sigh.
"Am I a bad person, Percy?" she suddenly asked.
I was so taken aback that I almost started spluttering and coughing again. "You?" I asked incredulously. "What in the name of Zeus would make you say that?"
She sighed again and stared ahead into the empty space above the water. "Sometimes I'm not sure," she said. "I feel I've let my mother down. A child of Athena should always strive for knowledge and justice. Be inherently good, you know. But I feel I've been putting my own needs first, and now I'm afraid I'm not the best person I could be."
"That's the most nonsensical thing I've ever heard you say," I said firmly. "You are the best person I know!"
"That's sweet of you to say, Percy." A tear rose in her eye, and she blinked it away angrily. "But is it true?"
"Do you think I would lie to you?" I countered.
"Maybe… I don't know. To make me feel better, perhaps you would," Annabeth said thoughtfully and blinked another tear away.
My heart grew heavy. I could see that she was genuinely distressed. I raised my hand, briefly shook it dry, and then placed it gently on her knee next to her own hand. Our hands brushed lightly. I hooked my small finger around hers and with a flick of my wrist turned my hand, pulling hers with me, to bring our palms together. Her fingers reflexively curled around mine and I threaded my fingers through hers, then squeezed lightly. My forearm was resting against her thigh, but she did not pull away. Instead she looked down at our intertwined hands and I felt her return the squeeze.
My belly fluttered, just a bit. My primary objective was still to make her feel better, to make her understand that she was perfect, but I couldn't help remembering how much I really liked her, more than I had ever admitted.
"I'm not lying, Annabeth," I said quietly. "You couldn't be a bad person if you tried. You're strong and brave and wise, a true daughter of Athena."
I felt her fingers twitch as she tightened her grip on my hand and heard her draw a shaky breath. "Is that really how you see me?" she asked.
Instead of answering, I pulled her hand towards me and briefly touched my lips to her knuckles, all the while holding her with my gaze. I wanted her to know that I really, truly meant it.
"That's how I've always seen you," I said gently. "Your mother couldn't be anything but proud. But you must also remember that you're human, too. There's a reason we're called demigods. We have these annoying little quirks called feelings. And sometimes we just need to put ourselves first. It's not selfishness. It's survival. Sometimes it's okay to rely on others. You can rely on me, you know," I added in a quieter voice. "I'm here for you. I'll be whatever you need me to be right now."
"What I need," said Annabeth slowly, "is someone to stand by me. Someone who knows me and believes in me and takes me as I am. Someone who will always have my back no matter how crazy my actions may seem at times."
"I already am that someone," I replied.
My head was reeling. Annabeth had a way with words, and Zeus knew I had said and done the wrong thing more than once because her subtlety had escaped me. But this time it had not. I had listened, and I had noticed that in her entire little speech she had not once mentioned the word "friend." She could easily have said she needed a friend. Heck, I probably would have, and without any second thoughts. But Annabeth had avoided using the word friend when saying what she wanted me to be, and I took that as a message. A message I would never have dreamed of getting from her.
I raised her hand towards my lips again, but this time she tugged on me instead and scooted back at the same time, and I followed her lead, rising out of the water, higher and higher until I smoothly slipped out of it and slid on my knees on the tiled floor in front of her. Her arms went round my neck and she pulled my head closer until our foreheads were touching. Her breath fluttered across my face. Her eyes were closed.
My heart was drumming out a solo that would have made John Bonham go green with envy. My hands crept towards her waist, tentatively touching her and, when she did not protest, closing around her back. I enveloped her in my arms and pulled closer.
"Yes, you are," whispered Annabeth, and it took me a moment to remember what I had said last and how her reply fit in. And then her lips were on mine and she was kissing me.
For a moment, everything else in my head was a complete blank and I was reduced to the soft sensation of her lips on mine and my wildly beating heart. One of her hands traveled to my cheek and down my jaw line before she pulled back, fingers lightly touching my chin, to look at me with a big question mark in her eyes.
It only took me a split second to reassure her. I tightened my hold on her and let one of my hands slide up her back to disappear in her hair while I leaned forward almost aggressively to reclaim her mouth. Where the first kiss had been tender and innocent, this one was passionate and much more demanding. It was as if the feelings which had made my heart hammer and my belly flutter were now bubbling up and boiling over, and I advanced on her with a fervor that surprised me probably more than it did her. I still remained sensitive to her reactions, though, and was conscious of how she responded in kind, how she wrapped her arms back around me and held me close, how she took and gave as much as I did.
At some point we had to come up for air and there was a moment when we both pulled back where we were both at a loss for words. I saw something in her eyes cloud over, saw her begin to pull back, and acted on instinct. I caught her face between my hands, my thumbs brushing useless little patterns near the corners of her mouth.
"I know this is where the scene in a movie usually fades to black," I said, my voice hoarse. "Unfortunately we're not in a movie, so we have to deal with the immediate… aftermath of this." I gave her another kiss to leave no room for doubt about what I meant by "this." I felt her mouth twitch under mine, felt her begin to smile, and heaved a sigh of relief. "I know this will change things between us," I continued, my face only millimeters from hers, "but I want this. And I think so do you. Please, please don't let this get awkward!"
"Awkward," repeated Annabeth, and this time she laughed in earnest. "That was exactly what I was afraid of." She furrowed her brow. "Strange, now you've said it, it doesn't feel like that at all anymore."
"Yeah, that's me," I said. "I have a way with words, you know."
And with that, I dove for her once more and kissed her again. Before she could think of a comeback that would ruin this magnificent last thing I had to say in the matter.
THE END