"Annabeth, I need your help. It's urgent. Get to my apartment as soon as possible, I already called Jason and told him we wouldn't make it to brunch. He said he understands and agrees the problem is imperative and needs your attention." That message had been left thirteen minutes ago, who knows what could have happened to him in that time. He'd had time to call Jason and assess the problem, but it was bad enough that he called for help. He rarely called her for help when facing a monster; he usually had made it worse at least twice before it got to that point. Either way, Annabeth was running there, new dagger in hand.
When she burst through the door, she saw nothing out of the ordinary, except Percy wasn't in there. "In here!" Percy called out. She trailed his voice to the kitchen and almost stabbed him when she looked at the kitchen.
"Percy?" He murmured a noise of acknowledgment as he intently focused on a sheet of paper. "Look me in the eye and tell me you didn't make me think you were about to die because you needed my help with baking. Swear it on the River Styx."
"I'm sorry Annabeth, but I cannot fulfill that request at this particular moment in time. I can, however, tell you your help is necessary. Remember how tomorrow is my mom's birthday?"
Annabeth nodded, although her knuckles were turning white from how tightly she gripped her dagger. "I know you, of all people, didn't forget your mother's birthday. Since even before summer ended I noticed you trading favors. I saw you exchange outside candy for that magical picture frame that replays memories with the Hephaestus cabin. I know you traded the best shower times with the Persephone cabin for the never-wilting flowers that smell like Sally's favorite perfume. I know you have even more planned because you're you. So what baking emergency - that I sprinted all the way here for- could there possibly be involving tomorrow?"
"I still don't think I've done enough. So, I want to make her cupcakes-"
Annabeth cut Percy off before he could finish that sentence and risk angering her further. "So? You're an excellent cook. You don't need my help, Seaweed Brain. Now, I have to go apologize to the fifteen pedestrians I nearly murdered getting here."
"Wait! For the amount of cupcakes I plan on making, I definitely need your help." With merely a sigh of defeat, she wordlessly put her dagger on the counter and began moving around the kitchen to get the supplies. Percy smiled and ran around, fetching ingredients.
Not once did Annabeth dare ask how many cupcakes he wanted to make. She already knew the number would be insane and extravagant, and there would be no way for her to talk him out of it. "Now the recipe says-"
"Who cares what the recipe says? You need to go with your gut to get the perfect cupcakes."
Annabeth frowned. "You'll end up with terrible cupcakes if you don't follow the instructions."
Percy's eyes gleamed with another idea that would probably end terribly. "Let's have a bake off! We each bake fifty cupcakes, with equal resources, and at the end whoever's taste the best is the winner. Agreed?"
Now Annabeth smiled like the Chesire Cat. "Agreed." She knew she couldn't lose to whatever 'instinct' goop Percy made, no matter how good of a chef he was because of Sally's genes.
"Okay, we start in five minutes."
Annabeth stared at Percy as if evaluating him. "Why in five minutes? You did say this was urgent."
Percy smiled his mischevious troublemaker smile that had gotten him expelled. "Well, I forgot to account for how distractingly beautiful you would be when you got here." Annabeth blushed, and Percy lifted her up so she could sit on the kitchen counter. He kissed her chastely and pulled her into an embrace.
"How do you always manage to smell like sea air and toasted marshmallows? I have it on good authority you haven't been to the ocean in weeks, and you haven't had a single s'more since we left camp two months ago. So what gives?"
"As a daughter of Athena, I'm pretty sure you know why I smell like sea air. As for the marshmallows, I have no idea, but it's good to know that I can distract you too, Wise Girl." Annabeth's crimson blush spread past her cheeks and throughout her whole face. Percy was the only one who could ever manage the slightest embarrassment from her, but no one else said some of the things he said to her either.
"It's hardly my fault if I distract you, and I sure hope it doesn't detriment your baking skills in the upcoming competition," Annabeth grinned evilly.
"There's nothing you can do that I can't deal with. I have had years of experience ignoring the distractions you cause," Percy replied casually. He checked his wrist even though he knew there was no watch there. "Looks like our five minutes is up. Best of luck to you and all your recipe-obedient cupcakes, Wise Girl,"
She hopped off the counter and set to work. That boy was playing with fire, and he knew it, and it wouldn't be too long before he got burned. She calmly followed every instruction exactly as instructed, and before long her cupcakes were in the oven. She set a timer until it needed to be rotated and watched Percy work. It was like observing a mad scientist. He added a dash of sea salt, then a drop of blue food coloring, then some blackberry juice. It was utter insanity, and Annabeth loved it. It was practically a guarantee she would win. Once his tray joined hers in the oven, Percy made a truly evil move. He had somehow gotten covered in flour, and now he pulled Annabeth into a hug.
"No! Percy!" She squealed, maneuvering and running away from him.
"Annabeth? Come on, won't you give your boyfriend a hug?" He playfully asked as he begun chasing her. They made a full circle, and as she ducked behind the counter, she threw powdered sugar in defense. "If it's a food fight you want, then it's a food fight you've got." He challenged. The next thing Annabeth knew, flour was being poured over her head.
"You're dead, Seaweed Brain!"
Neither of them entirely remember what happened between that and Annabeth's timer going off, but suddenly not only were both of them splattered in white powder, one of them- most likely Percy- brought frosting into the mix. Blue appeared in little spots of frosting freckling their skin and clothes. Annabeth made a mad dash for the oven and quickly rotated her tray before Percy could launch another attack. Percy caught her not a moment after and succeeded this time in hugging her.
"I think you got something right about here." He kissed her forehead, where a spot of blue frosting had been a moment before.
"Percy, can I at least set the timer until I need to take the first batch out?" He released her, and as soon as the timer was set he reeled her back in again. She pretended to pout, but a smile broke through. It was hard not to grin like an idiot in a situation like this.
Percy kissed her on the lips this time, and she leaned into him, even though she was already standing on her tip-toes to reach his height. He broke it off to tell her something even more urgent than the cupcakes. "Gods, I love you so much. Especially since you didn't kill me earlier."
"I'm glad I didn't kill you too. It would have made celebrating Sally's birthday tomorrow significantly more awkward."
"Is that the only reason you're glad you didn't kill me?" Percy asked, although he already knew the answer. She had told him a hundred times before and each time he heard it, he felt whole.
"Of course not. I'm glad I didn't kill you because I love you, Seaweed Brain. Even though our nicknames for each other make up the worst crime-fighting duo of all time."
"What are you talking about? I would love to read a comic starring Seaweed Brain and Wise Girl. I might need to rethink our relationship if you wouldn't." She gently whacked him, and he gave her this big goofball smile that made her forget she was covered in cupcake ingredients.
Percy startled her when he suddenly jumped up to get his cupcakes out of the oven and put the tray on a rag onto the counter. He put the second tray with the rest in the oven before returning to Annabeth.
"Once they're cool, I'll frost mine and then you'll learn it pays to trust your instincts."
"How does your mother ever win with you?"
"You'd be surprised."
"Well, once mine are done cooking and have cooled for exactly five minutes, as the recipe suggests, they will be frosted, and you'll learn why listening once in a while pays off."
"Where do you think recipes come from? Bakers follow their intuition to deliciousness. Ever since better bakers have fixed the recipes and created their own."
"Either way, I'm sure you've done something to mess yours up because you don't have a recipe to follow."
"We'll see when you eat your words in a few minutes." When the timer dinged, Annabeth moved to pull her cupcakes out and pop the second batch in, while Percy began to hum "Under the Sea" while frosting. Annabeth started cleaning up the evidence of their war, when Percy broke the silence, "Do I really always smell like sea air and toasted marshmallows?"
Annabeth laughed, she knew it was a little bit mean, but she couldn't help it. "Yep. Is there anything I always smell like?"
Percy pondered this for a moment. "Warm cinnamon and new paper, with a hint of vanilla. If I had to guess, I would say that."
"So I suppose that makes me autumn and you, summer."
"I don't know it that's good or bad for me, but I have good news." Percy held up a tray full of twenty beautifully frosted cupcakes. Percy took one from the tray, cut it in half, and offered one-half to Annabeth. She reluctantly accepted it and took a bite.
"Okay, admittedly, yours are the best thing I remember eating except the food at camp, but we have yet to try mine." Annabeth frosted a single one and cut it in half. When they each took their bites, Annabeth knew she had lost. "Damn you, Perseus Jackson." Her cupcake wasn't bad; it was just more generic and common. There was no doubt that Percy's instincts were better than her go-to cupcake recipe. Despite what Percy had been trying to teach, at the end of it all, Annabeth couldn't help but ask, "Can I get a recipe for yours?"