Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
Percy had always appreciated his relationship with his mom and valued it above countless other things. They were extremely close and he knew he could always talk to her whether it was about school or camp, or anything else; she would always be there for him. There was nothing that could compare to what he and his mom shared. Despite this fact, there were some things that Percy couldn't bring himself to tell her. Usually, it was the more dangerous or gruesome details of his quests. Sally Blofis, nee Jackson, had spent most of her time worrying about her son's wellbeing, and well, what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her as long as he was still alive.
The other thing that he tried to withhold from his mom was his relationship with Annabeth. Even without their relationship as ammunition, Percy's mom knew exactly how to embarrass him. So, Percy could vividly imagine the kind of embarrassment his mom would subject him to if she knew about the two of them. Sally had been teasing her son about Annabeth from the moment she had met her and Percy was sure a big I told you so would be waiting for him as soon as his mom found out, along with excessive squealing and giggling worse than a daughter of Aphrodite. Sometimes, Percy imagined that facing a hydra would be better than his mom gushing over how cute he and Annabeth were together.
"Sorry we couldn't go to the park like you wanted, Wise Girl." Percy was at the front door of his apartment with Annabeth. She was slipping her jacket on over her school uniform.
With school and homework, and general bad timing getting in the way, Percy and Annabeth hadn't been able to see each other in over a week. When both of their schedules had finally cleared that Friday, they immediately planned to hang out in Central Park. Well, Annabeth had planned to go to Central Park; Percy was willing to do anything, as long as he got to spend the day with her. But as soon as she had reached Percy's apartment, a long and heavy storm arrived and settled over Manhattan.
"Don't worry," she said as she zipped up her jacket, "I had a lot of fun, and it was nice spending time with you again." She smiled, "Besides, it's not like you have control over the weather. Zeus must've been having a pretty bad day."
Instead of going to the park like they (or, rather Annabeth) had originally planned, they decided to stay in and watch a movie. Although, after half an hour into the action flick, Percy and Annabeth had started a conversation, and the movie was left as the soundtrack to their bickering and laughing.
Percy leaned on the wall next to the door, watching as Annabeth shouldered her bag.
"We'll go next time?" He lifted the end of the sentence so it came out as a question.
"Definitely."
She was leaning in to give him a kiss goodbye, when they heard Percy's mom stepping out of the kitchen. They pulled back suddenly, attempting to act nonchalant, and trying (and failing) to hide the blush creeping onto their cheeks. Luckily for them, Sally noticed that Annabeth looked like she was on her way out before she could notice their red faces.
"Annabeth, you're leaving already?" A slight frown graced the older woman's features. "Can't you at least stay for dinner? The food at your school can't beat a home-cooked meal." Sally's maternal instincts kicked in as she watched her son's best friend (unbeknownst to her, his girlfriend) at the door.
"That's really tempting, Mrs. Blofis, but I should really be getting back to my dorm. The administrators are always super strict about curfew."
"But it's still raining outside!" Sally glanced out the window, quickly taking in the cloudy, gray sky, before returning her gaze to the two teenagers. "I can't send you out there. If something happened to you, I'd never be able to forgive myself."
When she had first met Percy's mom years ago, Annabeth took an instant liking to her. Sally was what she imagined a mom would be like in a mortal family, the one she never had, and she relished the handful of moments that she was able to share with her, even if she could be slightly overbearing and protective.
Before she could reply, Percy spoke up, "There's no stopping her, Mom. I tried to convince her to let me walk her back to her dorm building, but then she went off on a tangent about 'sexism and gender-based societal roles.'" A smirk was on his face as he recited what she had said not ten minutes before.
Annabeth couldn't stop the heat from rising to her cheeks, "I'm sure he was trying to do the chivalrous thing, Mrs. Blofis, but it's fine. It's not even raining that hard anymore and my dorm is only a few blocks away."
"Sweetie, I've already told you tons of times, you can just call me Sally. And are you sure you'll be okay?"
"I'm sure Mrs. Blo-Sally," she quickly amended. "I've fought monsters the size of Ford F-150s, I know I can handle a little rain or a rude pedestrian." She gave a reassuring smile.
Percy's mom stood with a reluctant look on her face, before she finally let out a sigh and gave in. "Well, if you're sure, but promise you'll call once you've reached your dorm? Just to make sure?"
Maybe other teenagers easily got annoyed by their parents endlessly worrying about them, but Annabeth always welcomed Sally's mother-hen antics.
"I promise."
"So," Percy started, "can I walk you to the elevator, or does asking you make me a sexist pig?"
Annabeth rolled her eyes, "Har har har, Seaweed Brain."
Percy turned to face his mom, "I'll be back in a minute, Mom."
"Bye, Sally."
"Bye, Annabeth. Come back soon, okay?" Sally called as the pair exited the apartment.
"That was close," Percy breathed as they walked down the corridor to the elevator.
The halls seemed relatively empty and the only noise that could be heard was the constant traffic coming from outside the building.
"I'm guessing that means you aren't planning on telling your mom about us?" They had reached the elevator at the end of the corridor.
An alarmed look suddenly crossed his features, his eyes widening comically. Annabeth tried to suppress the laugh she could feel threatening to come out. "Please, don't take it personally!" he practically yelled, his voice echoing off the walls. "It's just, my mom can be really... embarrassing." He pushed the down arrow button next to the double elevator doors.
Annabeth watched as the digital numbers above the elevator gradually increased. "Oh come on, Percy. It can't be that bad."
"Yeah, it can. Remember the drive up to Westover Hall when we were in the eighth grade? The whole drive up, all my mom talked about were embarrassing baby stories of me."
Actually, Annabeth did remember those stories. Her favorite had been the one about when Percy was two and had gotten his little behind stuck on the toilet seat when he was being potty trained.
She bit her lip to keep the grin off her face. "Yeah, so?"
"So, imagine that except ten times worse, and instead of me being the only victim, it'd be the both of us."
"I think you're being melodramatic." The elevator doors finally opened on their floor.
"Trust me on this one. What she doesn't know won't kill her."
Annabeth got into the elevator, then turned so she could meet his eyes. "Whatever you say, Seaweed Brain."
Before the elevator doors could close, she leaned in and gave Percy a kiss. It was short, but enough to make Percy lose all train of thought. At this rate, his brain would be comparable to a melted popsicle. He attempted to form a coherent sentence, but his mouth kept opening and closing like a fish.
This time, Annabeth let her laugh escape. "Bye, Percy." The elevator doors closed, and Percy was in the corridor alone.
Finally, he whispered to the closed doors, "Bye, Annabeth." He made his way back to his apartment in a daze, a blissful smile on his lips.
When Percy made his way through the front door, he could hear the clinking of dishes coming from the kitchen. He walked to the entrance of the kitchen and saw that his mom, wearing her white and blue striped apron, was busy at the stove.
"Hi Sweetie, could you set the table for me?"
"Sure."
Percy went to the cabinet and grabbed three glasses, trying to balance all three of them on one arm so he could grab the silverware too.
"So, did you say goodbye to Annabeth?" she asked, stirring what looked (and smelled) like a pot of tomato sauce.
"Yeah. We haven't seen each other in a while. It was nice hang out together again." He had placed the silverware into the glasses and was now reaching for a stack of plates. "I think next time we're gonna go to the park since it rained today."
Sally made a sound of acknowledgment while she tasted the sauce. Percy had, amazingly, carried all the dishes back to the square dining table off to the side of the kitchen.
"It's too bad the weather ruined your date. Central Park can be so romantic."
At the word date Percy turned his head to his mom so quickly that if it weren't for his invulnerability, he definitely would've gotten whiplash. As a result, the plate he had been holding suddenly slipped from his fingers. Luckily, Paul had entered the kitchen a moment before and caught the dish before it smashed into little pieces.
"Whoa, why don't I finish setting the table, Percy?" Paul said putting the plate down gently, but Percy had barely caught what Paul had said. His attention was still on his mom.
It suddenly felt ten degrees warmer. "D-date? Mom I-I don't know what you're talking about." He stuttered through the sentence trying to stay composed, but Sally could see through his act.
"Oh, Paul, look at how flustered he's getting! You must really like Annabeth, Honey."
"Mom!" Percy shot a pained glance at Paul, but his expression look just as helpless as Percy's.
Before Sally could speak up again, Paul quickly interjected, "Sally, why don't you tell me about the new chapter you've been working on for your novel?"
The relief on Percy's face was evident and he quickly mouthed to Paul Thank you while his mom continued to describe the new characters she was introducing into her story.
A few minutes into dinner, the phone rang.
"That must be Annabeth!" Sally gave her son an expectant look. "Don't you think Annabeth will want to speak to you, Percy?"
He couldn't be sure, but Percy had a feeling that his face was as red as the tomato sauce on his plate. "Uh, yeah, I'll go answer it," he mumbled.
He made his way into the living room where the land line was ringing. There was a wall separating the kitchen and the living room, but, knowing his mom, she was probably going to try and eavesdrop on his conversation.
Clearing his voice, Percy answered the phone. "Hello?"
"Percy? I made it back to my dorm, so you can let your mom know I wasn't robbed or kidnapped."
He could hear the grin in her voice.
"I think I'd rather take either of those than the cruel and unusual punishment I'm being subjected to right now."
There was a pause on the other end, but Percy knew Annabeth was rolling her eyes.
"You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd guess that you're a son of Apollo. You're definitely theatrical enough."
"I'm serious, Annabeth. I think she's onto us." His tone was a harsh whisper, afraid that his mother would be able to hear.
"Percy, you do realize that she's going to find out sooner or later, right? Why put off the inevitable?"
Leave it to Annabeth to be the logical one. As great as it was having a smart girlfriend, there were some moments, like this, when Annabeth's intellect frustrated Percy to no end (it was usually how most of their arguments began).
"Just wait," his voice rose louder than he had intended, but he hadn't noticed, "the moment she finds out you're my girlfriend, she'll be planning our wedding and picking out baby names."
He could tell Annabeth was about to say something, but he never heard because in the next moment his mom's voice hollered from the kitchen door, "I knew it!"
"Uh oh."
Sally did a little jig out of the kitchen and danced right up to Percy. She stopped and gave him a half-hearted glare. "Percy Jackson, how could you keep this from me for so long? You should know better than to keep secrets from your own mother." But as quickly as the smile disappeared, it was back on her face and, to his horror, she picked up the phone and began blathering away to Annabeth. He only heard snippets of what she said. "Oh, I'm so happy for the two of you!" "I know Percy can be difficult, but he's such a sweet boy!" "I can't wait until I hear about your first date and your first kiss!"
Percy turned to look at Paul. He had come to stand next to him by the sofa. "I'm sorry, Percy. I tried to stop her, I really did."
Percy's only response was the resigned expression on his face.
The one silver lining to this situation? Annabeth was on the phone with his mom, getting a taste of exactly what he had said. Well, she can't say he didn't warn her.
When Sally, had finally relinquished the phone, Percy wondered how her voice wasn't hoarse.
He picked up the phone again.
"Wise Girl?"
A muffled groan was the response.
"I told you so," he said, his own grin settling on his lips.
"Shut up, Seaweed Brain."
AN: I'm still pretty new to this, but here's my second story. Plot bunnies are the bane of my existence, but I suppose they keep me productive. *Shrug*
I hope you liked it! Reviews are welcome and appreciated!
xoxo Cherie