"Put the water back in the glass, Percy."

"I don't know what you're talking about." His face is so nonchalant that I might believe him. Except he's literally the only one in the vicinity that has the power to manipulate water.

I take my eyes off my laptop screen and look at the floating sphere of clear liquid that hovers right above the glass it was originally in.

"You're being a child." I stare at him, unimpressed. He shrugs.

"Who says that I'm the one doing it?"

I quirk an eyebrow. Really?

He sighs and as he does it, the water falls back into the cup as a steady stream.

"Thank you."

I hunch forward again and continue to type away. Right now, we're in the Poseidon cabin. Strangely enough, it's one of my favorite places. It's a little messy, courtesy of Percy, but that just adds character. The lights are always dim and the fountain sounds so soothing. The oceanic color scheme makes everything so tranquil. There are pictures thumbtacked on the wall of all of our friends. The comforter on his bed is ridiculously comfortable. The list goes on. But above all, everything smells like Percy. Briny saltwater, sunshine, and something distinctly him. That alone is enough to bring me complete peace.

Well, not complete peace.

Percy lets out another groan and his head falls against the wall over and over again, landing in a series of thuds. Once again, my focus turns back to the complete five year old that is perched on the spot next to me on his bed.

I lean back back against the wall and cross my arms. My eyes flit back and forth across his face.

"What's going on over there?" I ask. I take time to observe the disgruntled expression on his face.

"Nothing." He refuses to turn his glare on me, and instead picks at a nonexistent thread on his green shirt. Man, that shirt brings out his eyes.

Back to the task at hand.

"Whatever. What's wrong with you, Mr. Grumpy."

"I'm not Mr. Grumpy." He mumbles and I laugh. There's something so surreal about seeing the guy with the Curse of Achilles pouting. I love it. It's a firm reminder that after everything, he's still my Percy.

"Yes you are. What's up?" He turns away.

I bring up a finger and poke his cheek. He doesn't budge. I poke his neck. He cracks a smile. I poke the side of his nose and finally he bites his bottom lip and chuckles.

"Are you ready to talk now?"

His glare returns and he looks across the room. "You like your laptop more than me." He says it like it leaves a bitter taste on his tongue.

The laugh that escapes my lips is well justified.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're always working now. I feel like we never hang out." The tone of his voice isn't accusatory. It's just matter-of-fact.

I place my laptop on the floor, and reach over to take his hand. My free hand has a mind of its own and I began to trace his arm with my fingers. Somehow, he manages to feel so strong yet so soft. Invincible, but fragile. A wave of contentment floods my heart.

"We're hanging out right now." I state softly.

He raises his eyebrows. "When I said 'hey you want to come hang with me in my cabin' I didn't mean 'hey you want to come look over building designs while I perish slowly of boredom beside you'."

I laugh loudly and lean my head on his shoulder. He lays his head on top of mine.

"Damn. I guess we were on different pages." I joke. He simply scoffs. I guess I have been pretty preoccupied. When I wasn't away overseeing construction, I had my face buried in a laptop. Now that it's brought to my attention, I realize how little quality time I've spent with Percy. Suddenly, hit hits me how much I miss him.

"I'm sorry, Percy. But, I mean, rebuilding Olympus takes time. There's so much to do, and everybody wants it done so fast. I wasn't purposely trying to neglect you."

I feel his head shake. "No, you don't have to apologize. I'm just whining." His tone turns serious. "I think…it has more to do with the after effect of the war than you." he admits.

My hand tightens around his and I nod for him to continue.

"It just still seems so fresh. Like every now and then I feel like it's not really over. Or I just think about all the close calls." He takes a death breath and something in my heart cracks. "I know that everybody is looking at me. For different reasons. They want to know the next move, or how I'll hold up against everything. But I don't want to be worried about that. I just want to be grateful." He lifts his head and the intensity of his green eyes damn near incinerates me. "I want to be grateful that you're sitting next to me. I guess I just want to spend every moment with you that I could've lost."

For once in my life, I'm rendered speechless.

He clears his throat and pinches my nose.

"Or maybe I want you all to myself, and nobody seems to have gotten the memo." His goofiness is genuine, but the look in his eyes tells me it's forced.

I turn completely sideways and place both of my legs in his lap. I try to dig through my cluttered brain to find a suitable reply for the remarkable man beside me. Everybody tells me that I never shut up, but when it actually counts, I come up blank. But then I think about it. This is Percy. He doesn't value big words or drawn out explanations. Those types of things don't matter to him like they matter to others. Percy cares more for the point you're trying to make, rather than how you make it. He wasn't looking for a grand, poetic reply. He just wanted to confide in me. He wanted me to know how he felt. And suddenly, my reply is simple.

"I love you, Seaweed Brain." It speaks all of the I'm here's and it's okays better than any well crafted statement could have.

I know that I said the right thing when a certain warmth bleeds through the glaze of his eyes.

"I love you more, Wise Girl."

We sit in serene silence for a while

An idea pops into my head, and I gasp. Percy flinches and gives me a weird look. "What if you came with me? I'm going to Olympus tomorrow to see how things are going. You can come!"

He rolls his eyes. "Oh yeah. I'm sure your mother would love that."

"She'll be fine. Please? I'm trying to make an effort to alleviate your attention deprivation." He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively. I slam my fist into his arm and he goes back to pouting.

Finally he gives in. "Fine. I want to see what you've come up with so far anyway. I bet it's brilliant."

His smile melts my entire being.

"Thank you, Perce."

He leans forehead on mine and his eyes take on a mischievous glint. "Now that that's settled, I'm feeling deprived. Alleviate me?"

I shake my head and find myself laughing again. I close the gap.

What an idiot.

::

My dudes, this has been stuck in my head for a week and I had to get it out before I went insane. I'm really happy wih this. It's post TLO and pre TLH.

Please drop a review, they make me exceptionally happy. Stuff you liked. Stuff you didn't. Fav part. Least fav part. Or your favorite Percy Jackson book (that's a loaded question). Thanks for reading!

p.s. If you haven't checked out my story Lethal with a Latte you should head over to my page and do that. You won't regret it. I think. Let's just say you won't.

Gray:: John 3:16