Percy wanted nothing more than to lie down under the shade of Thalia's Pine tree. A wave of warm summer air sent cold shivers on his slightly sweaty skin. Camp Half-Blood's magic spared the camp from the apparent heat wave outside of its borders. And to all the campers, it was the perfect day to enjoy and relax but instead Percy found himself being bossed around by Annabeth, Clarisse, and Piper. The other guys disappeared to gods-know-where and he was unfortunate enough to have been caught by the girls.
Currently, he was trying to persuade the naiads into helping with the Demeter and Dionysus cabins in tending to the plants around camp. They were all playing hard to get and kept on flirting with him, making him uncomfortable and blush.
"Okay, fine. We'll help around, sea prince" one of the naiads said with a teasing tone causing the others to giggle at the blushing demigod.
"Did you really have to call me that though?" The naiads just giggled more. Percy managed a tired smile through the embarrassment of being called such a nickname and thanked them. They waved at him before disappearing into mist.
Percy felt a presence coming over to him and turned around when a hand was placed on his shoulder.
"Hey, Perce" Percy wiped at his forehead more from the heat than from any sweat that threatened to roll down his cheeks. He still had on his smile but sighed from exhaustion. "What's up, Jay-man?" There was a pause before Jason spoke up.
"Uh, just wondering if it would be okay to hang around your cabin with the other guys—"
"Other guys?" Okay, so that answers the question of where in Hades were the other guys. Still, Percy felt a little jealous of not working on such an afternoon.
"Yeah. Nico, Will, Leo, Frank and some others." He nodded at the names absently. How the heck did they even manage to sneak around the girls? The son of Poseidon thought.
"It's just that… My cabin's too stiff and intimidating, you know? We can't exactly relax with my father's statue looking like it wants to smite us." Percy immediately covered his mouth with a hand trying to hide his startled giggle. The visual of statue-Zeus instilling fear in his friends with his mighty and literal rock-bod made him shake with laughter.
"Oh, I bet it probably does" Jason laughed at how not so farfetched it sounded.
"So, is it fine? I mean, we just heard from Annabeth that it's like really homey there and stuff. It's no problem for us if you— " Percy smiled at the son of Jupiter's rambles that even he found sort of cute—for a 6'2" guy much larger than him.
"Don't worry, man. It's fine!" He squatted, stretching his limbs before giving Jason's back two slaps. "I get you, bro. You guys can chill at my cabin just don't mess up the stuff on my nightstand and the photos, alright?" He warned. Percy wasn't a fan of his sentimental stuff getting messed up, stolen, or worse, broken. He thanks Smelly Gabe for that little tick.
"Yeah, uh, yeah" Jason said a bit surprised. Percy wanted to laugh at his face but he knew that even his friends were surprised at how strict the warning was. "Thanks a lot, Perce" They high-fived and let their hands linger a bit before going their separate ways.
After the talk with Jason, Percy continued to be at the mercy of the girls. Doing every work, dirty and otherwise, by himself since the other guys still MIA. He prayed to the gods he favored that the guys would heed his warning and not touch his stuff.
Hours passed and the son of Poseidon found himself near the Hecate Cabin or what remains of the cabin after a spell gone wrong had made it disappear in an explosion. According to the head of their cabin, it would take a while before they could restore the cabin so they decided to clean up the rest that broke or had blown up from the blast. Percy was crouched down, willing the water to clean up the tinier pieces of debris and letting them get carried in the flow towards the trash bags beside him. One of the girls offered him some snacks and he turned to decline, saying he'd finish cleaning up before eating anything. His mother taught him not to eat when cleaning when he was younger and it stuck. The girl pouted and blushed.
"I could make 'em blue?" she offered. She fidgeted under his contemplative gaze. He was about to take her offer when a puff of smoke blew towards him and a loud 'sorry!' could be heard from someone. The smoke was black and clung to his face, he blew and coughed it out and he could hear dear Annabeth laughing aloud with the other girls. He sighed and let out a small and entertained smile before wiping his face with his shirt. He turned to look at the girl with the snacks and saw her trying to stop her giggling. He smiled again and stood up. He tried using the water to get the black stain out of his shirt but it just wasn't doing anything. He heard footsteps and poorly stifled giggles coming towards him.
"Seaweed Brain" Annabeth said in between laughs.
"Wise Girl" he replied with a pout.
"Come with me" She grabbed his arm and gestured for him to follow. They walked away from the giggling girls and proceeded to wherever the blonde was taking him. They let their hands fall and intertwine with each other's.
"Where are you taking me, Wise Girl? This is scandalous!" He joked and when Annabeth turned her head to look back at him—with an amused smile—they laughed together.
It took a few moments before Annabeth answered him with a 'your cabin, duh' and he just let her drag him along. He wiped the hem of his stained shirt on his face again with a scowl. They were nearing his cabin and he could hear the guys talking about something or the other. Muffled laughter and yells vibrated from the wooden walls of the cabin and he could only sigh as he opened the door.
He wiped at his stained shirt again before looking at eight pairs of eyes looking at him. He felt himself redden under the stare, not really relishing in the attention, but hardened himself not to give in.
"Oh, hey guys" he smiled at them and moved towards his dresser. He made a quick survey of the cabin and checked if they listened to his warning. Pleased that they had, he took out a white shirt from the drawer.
"Seaweed Brain, you just got your shirt dirty and you decide to pick a white one?" Annabeth tutted, crossing her arms as she leaned on the doorframe.
Percy frowned deeper, feeling his face redden from the stares again. Why the Hades were they so quiet now?
"The heat's not making me think properly" he took off his stained shirt and put on a new one.
"I dunno, Perce. Since when have you ever thought 'properly'?" Ah, there it is. He could always count on Nico to make fun of him. Everyone laughed as he pouted his lips in mock offense.
"Ha ha. Very funny, Neeks" this started another round of everyone having a turn at teasing him which he took in good nature. He could still feel the redness of himself and it got to the point that Annabeth had to drag him by the ear in fake impatience and they both left the cabin.
When they got farther from his cabin, he thanked Annabeth by putting his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close for a kiss on the temple. Annabeth only giggled as they went back to work with the Hecate children.