A/N: Winter Percabeth fluff :)
I do not own PJO/HOO.
Annabeth pursed her lips to keep her teeth from chattering. She wrapped her scarf even more tightly around her neck and buttoned her coat up to her chin in a lame attempt to stop the piercing wind and snow away from her skin. Still, she couldn't stop the shiver that ran through her body.
Percy grabbed one of her gloved hands and smiled. Even though his cheeks were pink from the cold he didn't appear to be freezing as badly as her. She frowned at the thought.
"Cold, much?" he teased.
Annabeth snorted at this. "My nose and ears are freezing! I wish we had stayed at your apartment," she complained. It was all she could do not to pout.
"You were the one who wanted to visit Camp!"
"Well, now I'm the one who wants to be taken back." And now she pouted.
"Aww, come on! You have that little wool hat-" he pulled it down to her eyes so it covered her vision and she smiled, "-to keep you warm. And both sweaters. The coat. The scarf. AND the gloves. You seriously can't be that cold, Wise Girl!" she could practically hear the smile in his teasing voice.
Annabeth bumped him with her hip to keep him away while she adjusted her hat.
She looked around. Snow covered everything: the lake was almost frozen, the ground was slippery, there was not much green visible. Gods, how she hated winter.
A bitter cold hit her ears and temples suddenly and Annabeth noticed she no longer had her hat on. "Percy!"
"Hmm?" he smiled. He had put on her pink wool hat (she received it one Christmas, and although it was meant to be a joke and Annabeth had sworn to never put it on, she was forced by the circumstances) on top of his blue one and was smiling smugly at her.
"You look ridiculous," Annabeth stated flatly, already missing the warmth her hat provided. "Give it back."
"Never!" Percy announced and sprinted, ready for one of their catch-me-if-you-can races they often had. It would have worked if not because Annabeth tripped him before he could get far.
"Gods!" Percy landed with a thud face-first into the snow; instead of placing both hands on the snow to soften his fall, he had grabbed both hats so Annabeth couldn't get them. Talk about having your priorities wrong.
He groaned as Annabeth laughed. "You're mean." He sat up, leaving a Percy-shaped hole in the snow and rubbing his now red nose, then shrugged off the snow that covered him. The two hats had almost fallen off. Almost.
Annabeth sat on her heels next to him and kissed him gently, placing her hands of his shoulders, as she did every time Percy managed to trip or fall during their races (which was surprisingly often considering how he was "The Savior of Olympus" and all of that). She leaned away and whispered teasingly to his ear, "Am I, now? You left me hatless!" as if it was the worst crime in the world and kissed him again. She felt him smiling and she smiled, too, then adjusted her position as if to kiss him better... and snatched both hats off Percy's head. She bounced up to a standing position.
"Ha!" she exclaimed, triumphant, and put both hats on. She turned and sprinted off, leaving a dazed Percy behind.
"Hey!" she heard him exclaim the moment he realized what she was doing.
"Now who is the hatless one? "Annabeth smiled and ran towards the Big House, the cabins, the pavilion. Some of the year-round campers were staring amusedly at them, others laughing.
Annabeth could feel Percy closing in slowly but surely. When had he gotten so fast? Or was it the snow? As if to make its point, she almost tripped on a snow-covered rock. She cursed under her breath: that had to have certainly cost her some seconds.
Annabeth's breaths became short and quick from the run, but it no longer mattered, for she no longer felt cold. She looked behind her for a brief moment before seeing Percy reach towards her and try to grab her coat. She shrieked away from his touch, and stuck out her tongue at him.
She looked straight again and headed towards the lake, where she planned to make Percy fall in somehow. Of course, he wouldn't get wet, but it was worth a try.
She looked behind her again. Percy was even closer, his green eyes glinting playfully with excitement, his grin wide, his now uncovered ears as pink as his nose and cheeks. Adorable, Annabeth thought, even though she would never say that out loud.
She looked in front of her and suddenly skidded to a stop, almost falling in the lake. She hadn't realized how close she was until it was almost too late. She sighed, relieved.
And then something slammed into her.
Percy.
That idiot.
The impact sent them both sprawling to the icy waters of the lake, much to Annabeth's dismay.
Seconds later her face broke the surface, and she gasped at the cold that surrounded her. Percy was a meter away, looking sheepishly under her I'm-killing-you-once-I'm-warm-again glare.
Annabeth made a face at him and slowly swam to land, her various layers of clothes weighting her down. She felt arms wrapped around her torso and sighed as Percy commanded the waters to take them faster. She crossed her arms, still angry.
Percy was dry, no surprise there- but she was dripping wet. She squeezed water out of her hair just to do something other than shiver and stand stiffly there.
"Sorry," Percy whispered. Annabeth huffed in response but did not scoot away when Percy wrapped his arms around her. "Hey," he whispered again. She turned to face him, ready for snapping something at him but immediately was forced quiet by Percy's lips.
She turned her body completely so she now faced Percy and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer.
When they pulled back, Annabeth realized she was no longer wet; she was completely dry. She raised an eyebrow at Percy but didn't say anything. Probably his powers, she guessed.
"Don't you think you'll get away that easily, Seaweed Brain!" she warned, but her smile gave her away.
"I was not thinking that, Wise Girl," he murmured and wrapped an arm around her torso.
"Hot chocolate?" Annabeth guessed.
He kissed the tip of her icy nose before heading out towards the Big House. "Hot chocolate."
He reached out with his free hand lifted Annabeth's pink hat, took his blue one and placed it in his head. He then solemnly gave Annabeth her hat as a silent peace offering.
Annabeth looked at it with amusement, but took it nonetheless. "Seaweed Brain." She smiled at him.
"Wise Girl," he smiled back.
