Disclaimer: There once was a man named Rick. The book he wrote was a hit. But, alas, his ownership was strict. As shocking as Clarisse's Maimer, we still have to write a disclaimer; to those who may be blind, are you out of your mind? So, bottom line: Percy loves blue and Annabeth loves gray.
Disclaimer written by Amy's Mischievous Little Owl, DreamingOnMarshMellows73, and Mighty Ruler of Gummi Bears!
Summary: Of all the hijinks and pranks pulled by Leo, the flirty and awkward glances between Piper and Jason, and Coach Hedge's violent fits, none are more scandalous than the midnight encounters and fooling around between Percy and Annabeth. Join the crew aboard the Argo II as they stumble upon the spontaneous romances of Percabeth!
Setting: Argo II, various unwritten scenes in the Mark of Athena
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Antics Aboard the Argo II
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"Oh, forget it!" Frank tossed yet another ripped pair of "Chinese" handcuffs into the waste basket. Annabeth's trick had worked beautifully for a while until he had started using the ones from the cheap bag of handcuffs Frank had bought at a party favor store. The woody material was frail and started fraying as soon as he stuck his fingers inside.
Frank glanced over to the alarm clock on his nightstand and inwardly groaned. It was nearly three in the morning and sleep had yet to consume him. Even demigod nightmares were better than being up to let his thoughts wander. What the heck was that Leo guy's problem? Hazel already had a boyf-Stop it, Frank! You are no longer allowed to think.
After several useless moments of counting sheep…and pigs, cats, dogs, chickens, and cows Old McDonald had a farm! Yeah, the ADHD was still definitely a problem. Anyway, after a few moments, Frank decided to just give up on sleep and lay in bed until breakfast.
However, with the gentle thrumof the ship's engine and the muffled sound of the waves sloshing against the side of the ship, Frank began to drift off to sleep. Sleep was just about to consume him when a noise in the corridor jolted him awake. Frank sat up and tilted his head toward the door. It sounded like a gentle rustling and…footsteps?
Frank clambered (rather ungracefully) out of bed and padded over to his door. The wooden floor was uncomfortably cold against his bare feet. Frank honestly had no idea what had driven his half unconscious self to have the need to desperately find out what that sound was.
He cautiously cracked open his door just in time to see a flurry of blonde curls materialize in the hallway, clutching a blue cap. It was Annabeth creeping down the hall. If it wasn't for her hair and height, he almost wouldn't have recognized her. Annabeth always walked with an air of confidence with her back straight and chin up-much like Reyna did. However, tonight, Annabeth was slouched with her head low and her arms clutching her torso; as if physically holding herself together or she would fall apart. Frank suspected she never wanted anyone to see her this way. He watched as she stopped in front of Percy's door and quietly knocked once before cracking the door open and slipping inside. It was absolutely heartbreaking and confidence diminishing to see someone as headstrong and confident as Annabeth let out a quiet sob in the middle of the night.
What was Annabeth doing? Certainly if this was just another one of their dirty, teenage hormone-fueled rendezvous she wouldn't look so dejected. Suddenly Frank's curiosity overpowered his rationality and he found himself a small fly buzzing at an alarming rate towards Percy's rapidly closing door. Frank's tiny insect form slipped through the centimeter wide crack. He and his millions of eyes flew over to the dresser and perched on a stack of papers.
He honestly should've been very embarrassed to be perving on such a sight, but he felt more like a psychologist studying irrational and rare behavior. In fact, he kind of was.
Percy sat up in the dark, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he mumbled a slurred, "Annabeth?"
Frank heard her sniffle as she stood with her arms around herself in front of him. She must've been cold since she was in a thin, baggy v-neck and rather short sleeping shorts and the Argo's heating system wasn't the greatest. Frank didn't hear Annabeth say anything, but suddenly Percy seemed alert and fully awake. He silently kicked his blanket off of him and stretched out his arms. Equally soundless, Annabeth collapsed into his arms and sobbed into chest.
Percy wrapped his arms around her as he pulled her legs around him so she was cradled in his lap. Annabeth's arms wound around his neck as her sobs racked through her body as she cried into the crook of his neck.
Percy murmured into her hair, "Another nightmare?"
Annabeth wordlessly nodded.
"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked, gently as he traced circles into the small of her back with his thumb.
Annabeth slowly shook her head.
Percy nodded, seeming to understand and didn't persist about her night time fears.
Frank was utterly mesmerized by the scene. He realized that if he was Percy, he'd have been extremely embarrassed in that particular situation. Annabeth was scantily glad and sitting on his lapand Percy was (for a lack of a better word) topless! His perfectly chiseled wash board abs were out there on display. (Honestly, Percy's looks could make any straight man question his sexuality.) How could Percy remain so calm and innocent in a situation like this? Just the thought of being in the same dilemma with Hazel had him blushing.
Frank the fly flew closer to the couple and rested on Percy's nightstand.
Slowly, Annabeth sobs receded into just quiet sniffled with the occasional hiccup. Even with his animal hearing, he could barely make out the words Percy was mumbling to her.
"I've got you, Annabeth," He murmured into her ear, his breath rustling the strands of hair escaping her ponytail. "We're together now. I'll protect you."
Frank noticed how he didn't say anything like "It's okay" or "Everything's fine". That's the thing about being a demigod. You never knew for sure what the Fates would do. You didn't know if everything would be okay or fine in the end. Percy was right. All that mattered was that they were together and he would never stop protecting her.
Suddenly Frank became even more uncomfortable than before. This whole scene just became too personal for him. He couldn't live with himself if he kept spying on their private (and oh so very precious) moments. He needed to get out of there quickly.
Frank buzzed a curse. He clearly did not think this through. As a fly, he could definitely not open the door to escape and turning back into a human was definitely out of the question. He buzzed around looking for vents or cracks in the door, but to no avail. After a few moments, he decided on just resting in a crevice in the wall and waiting for morning to come.
Frank the fly awoke to the sound of Coach Hedge's daily wake up routine which consisted of smashing pieces of Leo's scrap metal with his baseball bat to "wake up his muscles." He immediately started freaking out. How was he going to explain this awkward scenario if someone discovered him out of his room? He glanced over at Percy's bed.
Sometime after he had drifted off, Frank guessed the couple had as well. Percy was spooning Annabeth. He arms rested snugly around her waist. His face was buried in her hair as he lightly snored.
Frank would've thought the whole sight was endearing if not for the awkward and dire situation he was in.
Suddenly, a particularly loud whack from Coach Hedge's bat made both Frank and Percy jolt. Annabeth, however, remained asleep, probably because of her rough night. Percy clambered out of bed to peek out into the hall. This was Frank's chance! He dove towards the barely opened door and slipped out just as Percy closed it once more.
When Frank was sure that he was the only person in the hall, he transformed back into his human self and quickly entered his room.
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Frank sat in his usual spot in the dining room as he poked at his cereal. He wondered if anyone could tell he was on edge. He felt as if someone took one look at him they would instantly know that he had been perving on Percy and Annabeth all night! However, Coach Hedge was occupied with popping out all the dents in his aluminum bat and Leo was messing with some scrap metal. Piper and Jason were being gross and romantic in the corner. Frank looked up as Hazel walked in. Much to his annoyance, so did Leo. Hazel glanced at Leo, smiling a bit before quickly looking away as she blushed and went to sit next to Frank. Frank grimaced.
Hazel, still red in the cheeks and refusing to acknowledge Leo, scooted her chair closer to Frank, "Um, good morning."
"Morning," Frank mumbled.
Hazel, looking a little miffed about the lack of attention from her boyfriend, turned her back and struck up a conversation with Leo.
Annabeth and Percy walked into the dining room. This was quite a shock. Usually, in the morning, everyone could tell when Percy and Annabeth spent the night together. Their routine was quite simple. Annabeth would walk in first, briskly, and looking stiff as she avoided all eye contact. She would look way too nonchalant than what was natural as she bid everyone a good morning. Percy would follow suit exactly ten seconds later. He, too, would look much too nonchalant and "natural", but he would always have a trace of a bad boy smirk. Their eyes would meet as they shared a special secret on the events of the previous night.
This morning, however, they didn't even bother to cover anything up. Percy and Annabeth walked into the room together. He had his arm loosely around her waist as he whispered things into her ear. Annabeth's face wasn't blotchy anymore from tears, but her eyes were slightly bloodshot and Percy had slight bags under his eyes. They said good morning to everyone as they walked to their seats at the head of the table. Percy's hand dropped from her waist to her hand as they sat down.
After everyone recovered from the shock of Percy and Annabeth walking in together, the group resumed their breakfast.
Frank noticed that they never stopped contact. Throughout breakfast, they were always touching. Percy's palm would graze her shoulder blade or the back of her neck as he stretched. Their hands would intentionally touch as he reached for the butter and when she reached for the orange juice. Frank saw their fingertips brushing against one another under the table and how Annabeth had her hand on his knee.
Suddenly Frank felt something strange. No, it wasn't jealousy, but it kind of hurt like sting of jealous. Although, a good kind of sting. Perhaps this is what girls felt when they watched The Notebook or what Piper described as "feels" whenever she read romance novels. It felt weird though.
Frank came to a conclusion. Percy and Annabeth were love in its truest form.
Fin.
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