A/N: Sorry this is getting to you a little late in the day. I want to say thank you for all the reviews I've gotten on the story, I really appreciate them.
Another big thank you to ananbeth on tumblr for being an amazing beta and helping make this story happen.
Annabeth twists her slowly cooling cup of coffee in her hands. There's something cliche about sitting in a coffee shop staring out the window and watching the sun rise but here she is anyways. Jason will be here in a few minutes, giving her a little more time to watch the colors reflect off darkened windows across the street. These once a week early morning meetings started after Annabeth graduated and moved out of their shared apartment. She and Jason use it as a chance to catch up without Piper pestering them or making jokes about her 'pair of sexy blonds.' Though Piper says they really just use it as a chance to indulge their inner nerd.
Someone tries to pull her coffee from her hand and Annabeth snaps out of her train of thought, ready to snap at whoever decided to bother her. She's stopped by a pair of electric blue eyes and a smirk.
"You were really tuned out there," he says, slowly pulling his hand from the cup.
"Sorry, just thinking about things."
"About Percy?"
Annabeth grimaces and stares at her cup. She and Jason have been honest and upfront with each other since their mutual meltdown finals week of their first semester. After being able to share about the pressures from their respective parents it never felt to Annabeth like she had to hide anything from him.
"Mostly, work too, and your engagement." She gives Jason a grin. "Speaking of which how's that going?"
Jason's face turns serious and she sees the muscles in his arms tense as he grips the arm of his chair.
"Well, I've got the ring figured out but I have no idea how I'm going to propose." The worry on his face could probably be seen from space.
"The ring we looked at?" Jason nods. "Jason, she's going to love it, and you'll figure out how to ask her." She leans forward and takes his hand.
"You know how Piper is, it has to be perfect," Jason says with a shake of his head.
"I know exactly how Piper is. I know she's crazy about you and I know she's been waiting for you to propose for years."
"That's exactly why I'm worried!" Jason hisses and runs a hand through his hair.
"Jason," Annabeth squeezes his hand to get his attention. "How do you want to ask her? Don't worry about anything else. Just explain to me what you'd do."
"The restaurant where we had our first date," he says after a second.
"During dinner?" Annabeth prompts.
"No, I'd be waiting for her like I was the first time, and she'd come around the corner and see me and I'd have the ring, and our friends would be inside to surprise her." The plan sounds like it comes to him as he speaks but Annabeth grins and feels her heart speed up. "Oh man, I- I have a plan, I have a plan and a ring, Annabeth this is happening." The realization rolls over his face and Annabeth can't help but laugh.
"This better be happening, I was getting worried Piper was about to trick you into proposing," Annabeth jokes.
"You and me both, we've been 'accidentally' getting bridal magazines." Jason actually uses air quotes and Annabeth laughs until her sides hurt.
Jason's face relaxes and he even manages to smile.
"So, how's your arrangement going?"
Annabeth feels a knot of tension build in her shoulders suddenly and slowly leans back.
"That doesn't look like a good sign," Jason says with an undertone of worry.
"How does Piper feel about it?"
Jason hesitates and screws up his face before answering.
"She called Percy and talked to him about it and he seemed okay with it." Jason shrugs. "But other than that she hasn't really said anything."
Annabeth nods but bites at her cheek, the worry that a rift is opening between herself and Piper still gnaws at her.
"I'd understand if Piper was worried, Percy is her friend from high school, if things go sour-"
"You mean if Percy gets hurt," Jason says over her.
"If things go sour," Annabeth repeats, "she's his friend who set him up with me."
"Are you planning on hurting him?"
"No," Annabeth snaps defensively.
"Then there's nothing to worry about," Jason says like that's all there is to it.
"You really don't understand girls very well do you?" Annabeth glares at him.
"Admittedly no, not very much. But maybe you should just, I don't know, talk to her?"
"You know," Annabeth says dryly. "I'm supposed to be the smart one."
"Your throne has been usurped, I am now the smartest in the land." Jason sits up triumphantly and grins.
"You're an idiot," Annabeth grumbles.
"I'm your best friend, and I'm right." It's Jason's turn to lean forward and hold her hand. "Just talk to her, I'm sure the two of you will work this out."
Annabeth mulls the conversation over in her head for the rest of the day. Jason's words stick with her and she asks herself again and again the same pointed question he asked her. Is she planning on hurting Percy?
The quick answer is no, the longer answer still boils down to no, but it's a messy no. A no that's ragged and steeped in clauses. No, she's not planning on hurting him but she could. The nagging detail of Percy is her concern. Annabeth has her plan and knows what she's doing here, knows what she wants out of this. This is a social activity for her, a way to appease her friends and keep work from burning her out, but it's not just that for Percy. If he gets invested in this and if he falls for her it could, and probably will, end up ugly for both of them. So Annabeth reevaluates the arrangement and factors in the fallout for the equivalent of an emotional Chernobyl and things get much more risky.
It's not just she and Percy who have a stake in this, Piper and Jason are in this too and that means another couple's relationship and friendships that have lasted years. Annabeth takes her time to figure out if the risk it at all worth the reward and comes up with contingency plans. Ways to mitigate damage and prevent fires from ever happening. It's these plans she takes to Piper that night.
Annabeth ends up at Piper and Jason's apartment with plan after plan and ready to explain all of them to her friend. She doesn't bother to knock and uses her spare key to open the door and barge in with the hopes of catching Piper off guard. Her plan succeeds and she finds Piper sprawled across the couch holding her laptop with a cookie in her mouth.
"Hi," Piper greets wide-eyed and through a mouth full of cookie.
"We need to talk," Annabeth says and swings the door shut.
She lifts Piper's legs, drops down onto the couch and puts Piper's stupidly perfect calves back in her lap.
"Annabeth, is everything okay? Are you pregnant? I'm not ready to be a parent." Annabeth groans and lands a playful blow on her friend's shin.
"Piper, I need you to be serious for a minute." Piper's grin fades at Annabeth's tone and she sits up.
"What's going on?"
Annabeth keeps her eyes on Piper's feet as she speaks, "I'm not planning on hurting him, or myself, or anyone else, with this arrangement. I know he's your friend and you're worried about him so I'll end it if you want."
Annabeth watches the muscles in Piper's leg tense and hears her let out a long breath. There's a second where Annabeth expects a lecture about how Annabeth shouldn't have come up with this arrangement in the first place, that this wasn't supposed to be Annabeth just picking and choosing the parts of a relationship she likes, and that Annabeth should have known Piper wouldn't be okay with it. She starts planning on how to break it to Percy, the thought of which creates a sinking feeling in the center of her gut and pulls the blood from her face.
"I'm not worried that you're going to get hurt, we're all big kids and can handle getting a little hurt. What I care about is that you actually get what you're doing here." Piper wiggles her toes but Annabeth clenches her jaw.
"I know exactly what I'm doing! I've thought about this over and over-"
"What you've thought about is thinking, you haven't thought about how you're going to end up feeling. What if you guys get attached?"
"I'm not going to let Percy get attached, if that starts to happen I'll kill the dates," Annabeth says simply.
"What if you start to fall for him?" Piper's words are serious and they make Annabeth blink.
"What? Piper I'm not- that's not going to happen."
"Of course it's not, because as soon as you start to actually like him you're going to blame him, or work, or something, and end it." Piper's tone has dropped and Annabeth can feel her hackles rising.
"Piper, I know what I'm doing. I'm not some teenager, this isn't going to end up in a mess of high school drama." Annabeth is defensive and it seeps into her words.
"If you say so," Piper says and drops her head back onto the couch armrest.
Annabeth stews in her anger and stares at the carpet under her feet. Piper doesn't seem to have anything else to say and they sit in silence for a few minutes, each assured in their stance. It boils down to the same argument since Jason introduced Piper to Annabeth, logic versus emotion. Piper argues that Annabeth doesn't process her emotions enough and let her mind take a rest at times while Annabeth argues that she shouldn't be subject to the whims of hormones. They've argued this over everything from dessert choices to jobs and now relationships.
The minutes count down in Annabeth's mind until one of them speaks again. The longest they've actually gone is forty-seven minutes but they average nineteen. They haven't even reached half that time when Piper clears her throat and Annabeth swivels her head to look at her friend.
"Do you think Jason actually wants to marry me?" The question knocks the air from Annabeth's lungs and she's glad she doesn't have the chance to admit anything.
"Why are you worried about that?" Annabeth grabs Piper's foot and squeezes.
"Because he hasn't proposed yet! Because we graduated months ago and he has a great job and I have a blog and nothing! Is he not sure if he wants to marry me?" There's desperation in her voice and Annabeth has to tread carefully.
"Piper, your boyfriend isn't a complete moron. Maybe he's nervous, maybe he will soon. Don't freak out." Annabeth gently rubs Piper's foot in an attempt to help sooth her.
"What if he's not? What exactly is he waiting for?" Piper groans and throws an arm over her eyes.
"Knowing him, the perfect proposal. So, yeah, maybe you're never getting proposed to." The joke doesn't go over well and Piper lifts her arm to throw Annabeth an angry glare.
"The idiot just needs to ask already." Piper seems to sink into the couch with defeat.
The door swings open and Jason appears at that moment like he's been summoned, walking in on an irate girlfriend and an irate girlfriend's sympathetic friend who both give him death glares.
"Hi," he says meekly. "So I'm just," he says edging towards the bedroom, "gonna hide for a while in there." Jason ducks into the bedroom and the two girls exchange a look.
"I'll talk to him and get him set straight," Annabeth says reassuringly.
"Thanks," Piper mutters and Annabeth doesn't fail to notice the look she throws in the direction of where Jason disappeared to.
Annabeth puts putting the pressure on Jason to pop the question at the top of her list.
