"Do you wanna watch a movie?" Annabeth asked, moving over to her tiny closet to grab a set of comfortable, yoga-ish lounge wear. The cuter sort of pajamas you wore around your boyfriend, without looking like you were trying.
"Sure." Percy said, in a way that did not particularly sound like he wanted to watch a movie. He was stretched out on her narrow bed in her high school dorm room. It was surprisingly easy to get him in here, now that it was winter break and most of the school had cleared out, including her roommate.
"You can pick something." Annabeth waved toward her laptop, waiting until he picked it up. "Just none of those national geographic documentaries you love so much. You put me to sleep last time."
She waited until he gave her the face she knew he was going to give her, and then moved halfway into the closet to swiftly change. She was aware that he hadn't really looked away, that he was much less engaged in Netflix and much more interested in watching her. The sports bra and underwear she was wearing was, when you got down to it, less revealing than a typical swim suit. And yet there was an undeniable intimacy to it all the same. Because it wasn't a swim suit; it was her underwear, and they were in her bedroom. And he was lying on her bed, all of him, with his messy hair and lean muscles and tan arms and tattoo.
She tightened her messy ponytail and came over to the bed, flicking off the overhead light so it was just the softer lamp. He scooted closer to the wall and she curled sideways into him, inhaling his fresh, minty, sea-water scent. "You smell good," she said, lifting his arm so it was curled safely around her.
His mouth twitched, and he pressed his lips to her forehead, then buried his face in her hair. "You always smell good," he returned. "I picked a really good show," he continued. "It's called, 'Percy finally gets to be alone with his adorable girl and he really wants to hold her now.'"
She breathed out a laugh; he was using that low, quiet voice that made her neck all shivery. She shifted slightly, so her back was protected by his chest, and his arm curved firmly around her waist, her head pillowed on his other arm. She hadn't always been smaller than him, but she was now, and rare times like this, she loved it. There was something delicious and utterly content about him holding her, no space between them, the feeling of complete security.
She grabbed his hand and started sliding her fingers slowly in and out of the spaces between his. "What time do you have to be home tonight?"
"Not till 1am."
"What time is it now?"
"It's 11. Stop talking about it."
There was silence as he breathed into her neck, his breath tickling her hair, his lips barely brushing her skin.
"That's just two hours."
There was a creak as Percy shifted upward, almost off the bed, and grabbed her light up nightstand clock. Before she could say anything, he'd chucked it across the room to land on her roommate's bed, face down.
"Percy!"
"It's no hours. Time is a social construct. A really cute, annoying girl taught me that."
"I really, really don't want your mom to hate me."
Percy leaned into her ear. "Actually, she loves you almost as much as I do."
Shivers erupted all down Annabeth's arms and legs. She twisted so she was slightly under him, looking up. A tiny smile played around her mouth. "You what, now?"
He tsked. "Don't go fishing."
He dipped his head, leaving a lingering kiss on her collarbone, then lower down her shoulder as she shuddered and squirmed her toes. He kept slowly leaving kisses down her arm, then pushed himself back up to look her steadily in the eye. "I love you," he told her in a low voice, like a secret.
She immediately pushed her face upward into his, so their mouths were touching, almost touching, not quite kissing; noses sliding and air breathing into each other's mouths. He said it so little that each time did feel like a rare, wondrous secret.
"I want to be with you forever," she breathed, without giving herself permission to say it. But it was out – it was out.
He saw the surprise and vulnerability in her eyes. A sure smile tugged at his mouth, and he started to play with her hair, still hovering slightly above her. "Forever, huh?"
He shifted then, moving behind her, slightly above her to reach her ear, where she couldn't see him. His voice in her ear was quiet and warm and absolutely sure.
"I'm going to marry you, Annabeth Chase. And I'm going to be with you every single day of our lives. The most permanent thing you've ever seen."
It was like Annabeth's heart stopped, as her entire psyche adjusted to what she'd just heard. Never, ever before had she heard any string of words that caused the physical and emotional reaction that Percy's just had. She twisted back around to face him.
There was little to no chance of him making curfew now.
