A/N: Hey everyone! 'Tis the season to be jolly! Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas demigods! Here's a short Percabeth fanfic on the holiday season! Nothing too serious in this fic, just plain Percabeth and fluff and Christmas! Hope you all enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series or any of the characters of the said series. All rights belong to Rick Riordan!
Admittedly, there were some downfalls to being Olympus' head architect, one of them being the fact that Annabeth had to report for duty on Christmas Eve.
Christmas Eve, Annabeth thought. Seriously now, why do I have to oversee construction on Christmas Eve?
Not that she was complaining, of course. It was an honor to be chosen by Zeus himself. But being asked to come on such a holiday was beyond her. She should be enjoying the snow with her Camp friends, sipping hot chocolate or ice-skating on the frozen lake. She should be making snow angels with her boyfriend, Percy Jackson.
At the thought of him, Annabeth turned to face her boyfriend, who had been patiently standing by her side for the past couple of minutes that they were in Olympus. He had the posture of the hopelessly bored: hands stuck in the pockets of his hoodie, mouth drawn into a thin line, gaze set faraway. "Seaweed Brain," Annabeth said. "I swear, this will be over really quickly."
Percy shrugged it off and smiled, crinkles forming around his sea green eyes. "I don't mind, Wise Girl."
Annabeth bit her lip. Of course he would say that – that he didn't mind waiting for her. But this was going to be there first Christmas as a couple; of course he didn't want to waste it on Annabeth's architect duties.
"I think we're all good here, Ms. Chase," Agathodaemon finally announced. He nodded at the wind spirits who were working on the renovation of Apollo's statue. "The statue is going as you want it, I presume?"
Annabeth suppressed a sigh of relief. Despite all the pressure she felt, she knew she still had to keep her professional composure. "Yes it is, Agathodaemon. I'll be back in two days' time to check on more progress," she said.
The minor spirit god nodded his head in reply. "Thank you Ms. Chase. Olympus is gladly in-debt to you." Agathodaemon's image rippled just before dissolving into the air.
"Yes! Thank the gods!" Annabeth exclaimed, grabbing Percy's hand as she led him back towards the elevators that would take them down 600 floors. "Our work here is done for today."
Percy scratched his head. "I still don't get that dude's name. Agotha - , Agathdo - , Ago – wha?"
"Agathodaemon,"Annabeth said, trying hard not to laugh. They stepped into the elevator with Percy still struggling with the god's name.
"You know what? Forget it," Percy muttered, finally giving up. He leaned playfully against Annabeth, warmth seeping out from his jacket. "So, back to Camp it is?"
Annabeth shook her head. "Actually, I have a surprise for you."
Percy's eyebrows furrowed. "A surprise? Wasn't this business trip to Olympus enough of a surprise already?"
Between the funky elevator music that was playing (it sounded like something from the 70's) and the detectable annoyance in Percy's voice, Annabeth sensed awkward tension in the air. She cleared her throat as they reached the ground floor and led the way out into the lobby. Their shoes clanked loudly against the marble flooring of the Empire State's lobby as they walked out to Fifth Avenue. "Fine. A fun surprise this time," Annabeth said, trying to keep her voice calm as she watched Percy carefully.
Something seemed off about him today.
"Fun," Percy repeated monotonously. Annabeth glanced up at him, noting the lack of enthusiasm in her boyfriend's voice.
"You okay, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth asked. She felt a guilty pit form in her stomach. She had been the one, after all, to drag him over to Olympus after he had just finished teaching a two-hour sword class. He had willingly agreed though, despite looking ready to collapse. Maybe Annabeth shouldn't have brought him over to tag-along when it was pretty clear that he was tired enough? Gods, she felt horrible now.
"Never felt better," Percy replied. He raised an eyebrow at her and gave her an amused grin. "Why did you ask?"
Annabeth shrugged, but she felt her chest loosen with relief. Okay, he's okay.
"I think I should be asking you that question," Percy said, interrupting her thoughts. "You're shivering like a mad hellhound." He shrugged his jacket off and wrapped it around her shoulders.
"All hellhounds are mad," Annabeth laughed. Percy's jacket smelled of sea and salt, and she wrapped the thick material tighter around herself. It wasn't exactly the chilliest of Christmas Eves, but it was still well below 0 degrees Celsius. Annabeth was thankful for Percy's jacket around her shoulders.
"Hey, Mrs. O'Leary isn't mad," Percy protested. He was smiling now, though Annabeth could still read a bit of exhaustion behind his sea green eyes. "So, what can I expect from this fun surprise?"
"Oh right," Annabeth murmured as they continued down the street. "Well, I was thinking that maybe we just need a break from all the monster-fighting and intense training at Camp, that we need something fun and different to do."
Percy pulled on his hood so that only a part of his face could be seen from where Annabeth stood beside him. "Yeah?" he urged her to finish. "Does this surprise include hot chocolate? Because I am dying for a cup of hot cocoa right now."
He momentarily turned his face away from Annabeth and coughed into the crook of his sleeve.
Annabeth pursed her lips as she noticed her boyfriend try to hide a shiver. His face was pale, save for his cheeks which were splotchy red. "Well, someone's trying to be heroic by giving his jacket when he's about to die of frostbite," she said and made a move to return his jacket. "And did I just hear you cough?"
Percy held a hand out before she could turn his jacket back over to him. "I'm not being heroic. I just want to keep you warm, that's all. And don't worry about that cough, it's nothing."
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Gods, you're so annoying sometimes, Percy."
"So, about this surprise. Does it, or does it not include hot chocolate?"
Annabeth pursed her lips. "Well, we could have hot chocolate after," she suggested. "Because actually, I was planning to take you ice skating, Seaweed Brain."
A/N: See? Wasn't that just full of nonsense and fluff? Tell me what you think of this chapter, and what you think will happen in the next chapters! Read and review please!