I know I'm not alone -because I'm not even one of the worsts about this- but who kept having Percy/Annabeth flashbacks or melting moments while reading the Son of Neptune? You know, random 'awww!' breakouts in the middle of a chapter? I thought so. This was one of them, and I always thought 'how did Annabeth do it?' Here it is!
Disclaimer: If you've read the books you've probably noticed that the name writen at the bottom of the book is 'Rick Riordan' not 'HecateA'.
As they jogged through the lobby, Percy figured Annabeth would like this place. It was spacious and brightly lit, with big vaulted windows. Books and architecture, that was definitely her . . .
He froze in his tracks.
"Percy?" Frank asked. "What's wrong?"
Percy tried desperately to concentrate. Where had those thoughts come from? Architecture, books . . . Annabeth had taken him to a library once, back home in-
"I don't want to go," Percy whined like he was about 5 years old.
"Well, you don't, I do." Annabeth said. "Common Seaweed brain, this is important."
"More important than actually doing something actually enjoyable while we have a chance to be together?" Percy pouted. Annabeth kissed him.
"Enjoyable?"
"Yes."
"Then let's go." She said.
Percy rolled his eyes and let himself get dragged to the one place where no demigod wanted to get dragged; the library. The New York City Library- whose stone lions had just been restored after being borrowed in the Titan war.
Percy wondered numerous times how the Hades he and Annabeth had landed themselves as a couple, and this was one of those. This was her idea of fun. He was indeed saying it with a straight face. No, better question, why had he agreed to this? Man, he loved her so much.
Annabeth knew exactly where to go. He was about to ask her if she'd been here before or if library plans just appeared in her mind as she went, but Annabeth stopped and pulled out an old book. She flipped it open as she sat down at a table, and Percy saw it was a bunch of ripped up pages, parchment and such, in clear plastic cover sheets. They were also written in Greek.
"Annabeth, why are you looking up… Archives of Greek Mythological Pages?" He said decoding the mumbo-jumbo on the sticker at the bottom of each sheet, identifying where it was supposed to go.
"Because I need to know what there is to know about the Gigantess wars." Annabeth said it like it was the most natural thing. Like, 'because I need it for school' instead of 'because I need to look up some new myth that already gives my boyfriend shivers when he hears the name'.
"Why, so you can add to it?"
Annabeth looked up with daggers where her eyes should've been.
"You are such a Seaweed brain. But I don't know this myth really well. It's old and dusty and the pieces are spread so thin… Like nobody wanted it to survive. I'm trying to figure something out."
"Why? What's making you worried? The Titans were just months ago!" Percy said, sitting down on the corner of the table.
"You know, the Giant wars came after the Titan wars. Gaia sent the giants to avenge the Titans."
"Is Gaia not asleep?"
"Yes, but that means nothing." Annabeth said. "What I want to know is how long after. Do we get a millennia, a few years, days, months before this starts… Decades?"
"You are not saying that there's a next war." Percy said.
"I told you at Camp last August, Percy."
"You didn't sound so confident." He said. She was clearly worried. Percy pushed a strand of blond hair out of her face, tucked behind her ear. She looked so focused, and her grey eyes were showing how fast the gears were spinning in her massif brain.
"I wasn't." She said. "Now… Things aren't looking 100%."
"Things never look 100% if we're involved. Except for you." Percy said.
"Stop trying to bail your way out of this Seaweed brain," she said.
"I was serious."
"Then you're really sweet, and I love you." Annabeth said, not even looking up.
"But can we leave anyways?"
"No," Annabeth said. "So let me read and we'll go as soon as I finish."
"The book or the myth?"
"The myth." Annabeth said.
Percy started looking around the rest of the library and shifting his weight from foot to foot. Man, he hated libraries. They seemed to hate him too. It sounded like the most ridiculous thing, but books always fell from their shelves around him. Since he'd started dating Annabeth.
Percy wasn't looking at any particular grey-eyed-female-immortal, but he had his doubts. He'd gotten in so much trouble when a shelf of dictionaries had just unbolted itself when he was right there. The teacher had searched him for a screwdriver –unsuccessfully- because she personally blamed him, but she'd sent him to the principal anyways. Percy could just totally see all these archival books plummeting and folding corners or ripping spines or whatever.
"Please," he said. "I don't like libraries."
"What are you talking about? This building is beautiful! Have you seen the stone its made out of? Or the detailwork on the ceiling? I read once-"
It was about 10 minutes of architecture trivia and bits and bobs that Percy tried really hard to pay attention to, but didn't catch as much as he'd like to. He wished they made dreamcatchers for trivia. He would so buy those.
"It's not that the building's bad. They make me think of reading and that's never good."
"There are some books you might like, why don't you look around?"
"Because they're books and they hate me and so does your mom!"
Annabeth looked up from her book with a raised eyebrow.
"I don't even want to know," she said looking back down.
"No you don't. As far as you know fish doesn't jump up from your plate and attacks you. Nice to know which immortal is taking this best, here." Percy said.
"Look, your dad's... Your dad is more relaxed than my mother. And less strategic."
"So it's a strategic mistake for you to go out with me?" Percy said. "Well gee, thanks."
"Percy; this is in her head, not mine. And you'll have a knife sticking out of yours if you don't let me finish this!" She sighed.
It seemed like forever, like reading period during English class. He was trying to read over Annabeth's shoulder, and the myth was actually… Interesting.
Percy started reading more. More, more, more…
Wow if this was what they were in for...
"Umm, excuse me, you two?"
They both looked up at a bald security guy with a suspicious snake smell and suspicious looking gun pouches on his waist. Percy was on his guard ASAP. His hand was reaching for his pocket, just in case he lunged for Annabeth.
"Yes, sir?" Annabeth said, playing it careful.
"You do realise that that book is in Ancient Greek, right?" He said as if they'd possibly missed that.
A girl stepped out from behind a shelf and looked at them.
Styx it's Tami the empoussai! He thought. Percy recognised her immediately. Could she really not have stayed dead a little longer? And boy, she did not look happy to see him with Annabeth…
She showed some teeth that made Percy expect to see her mouth foam. Her hair burst into flames, and while they were surrounding with combustant and fire-prone paper, plus it was them, Percy was not going to even try his luck.
He took Annabeth by the hand and they both ran out of the building, down the stone steps. This was some basic event during one of their dates. They usually ended with one of them soaked in ichor and monster dust, running, or odd kitchen ustensils and gadgets (last time Mom was letting them mess around in the kitchen and even slightly buying the excuse that maybe Percy had inborn fish-cooking skills).
"Another reason why I don't like libraries," Percy said when they'd stopped running seven blocks, many disturbed hot-dog men and mucho traffic lights later. "I can only read in dead languages. It sort of raises suspicion."
"Especially when you're the one going in a library. That must've caused a disturbance in the force." Annabeth said.
"As if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced ." Percy said, doing his best to imitate Obi-Wan Kenobi. Annabeth laughed.
"Okay, okay fine. We'll stick to movies and sparring and such, not libraries. I got what I wanted, anyways. What's the most violent thing playing?"
Success! Percy thought, slipping his arm around her shoulders.
- in - The memory faded. Percy slammed his fist into the side of a bookshelf.
-The Son of Neptune