Percy was the first to awake the next morning. He looked over and saw that Piper was still rested on her. He laid with her for a while, his fingers tracing along her skin, until she too woke up.
"Perce-?"
"Yeah Pipes?"
"Did we- you know-"
Percy simply nodded his head, confirming that everything Piper remembered about the night before being true. She let out a groan. Despite her mind telling her not to, she was beginning to fall for the boy.
The two tended to their needs. Both of them taking showers and getting ready for whatever the day would ensue. Only 20 minutes later, they were out the door of the hotel and back outside in the seaside French town. The two picked up a map at a nearby stand and found a cheap breakfast place a couple blocks away. They made their way to it, neither of them once mentioning what had happened the night before.
It was once they were both sitting that the real, tough questions came up.
"Percy, we need to talk about this," Percy looked up at the girl, unsure of what she meant, "I mean, we just left everything beside and spent a night in a town in France that I didn't even know existed until yesterday!"
"I don't know- we'll figure something out," he said, "I mean, I've got money in my account that we could." He paused for a minute, thinking over everything, "I don't know, maybe we can just have some fun, would it be that big of a deal if we just had some fun, as friends?" Percy looked down at his crepes, not meeting Piper's eyes.
The daughter of Aphrodite let out a sigh. Despite her efforts to not fall for the boy, his plan sounded so desirable. Leaving everything behind and just going. Just finding somewhere new, turning a new page in her book. She succumbed to her inner desires.
"Ok, let's do it."
・・・
The waves crashed against the shore, the familiar sound of seagulls flying above them, chirping and squawking as they scavenged for food. Percy and Piper sat on the sand, talking and watching as the sun dropped lower and lower in the sky. The conversation began to shift to their future, about what they would do next.
"Paris would be beautiful," Piper spoke, her mind wandering to the city of love.
"Beautiful. And Expensive."
Piper laughed softly. Percy's eyes wandered along her face. Her laugh was pretty, the kind that made you never want to stop cracking jokes.
"Um- I specifically remember somebody mentioning a bank account full of mortal cash."
Percy rolled his eyes, ignoring her comment, "Ok fine. We'll put Paris on the list."
"The list?"
"Oh yeah, there's going to be a list."
The two laughed again, and together, they watched the sun dip over the horizon. In another 10 minutes, nightfall had struck the tourist town.
"Alright Perce, ready to head back?"
He nodded his head and stood up. Piper followed, and Percy did something daring. He grabbed Piper's hand. Piper gave him a strange look, but didn't stop him. The two walked, hands together, back to their hotel.
・・・
Percy's eyes fluttered open. He took a breath in and felt the familiar scent of cinnamon. He pulled Piper closer and kissed her on the back of her neck. He listened to her deep breaths, a warm smile crossing his face. He rested his head on her shoulder and drifted back to sleep.
Piper was the next to wake. She shifted in her bed as her body came out of slumber. Percy awoke from the movement, wincing as sunlight flooded into their hotel room. Percy sat up, Piper following after.
"Mornin," the daughter of Aphrodite said, sitting up and stretching her back.
"Morning," the son of Poseidon said back, crawling out of the warm covers and onto the cold wood tiles. Piper sat back in bed, opting to wake up the more slow and relaxing way, something that Percy couldn't blame her for,
He opened up the mini fridge in the small kitchen unit, looking for something for breakfast. The only things inside were half a liter of orange juice, a couple bottles of water, a couple of beer cans, and half a carton of eggs. He took out the eggs and, in no time at all, had made a gourmet breakfast of scrambled eggs and 2 cups of orange juice. The two ate and then got to their morning routines.
Percy showered first, stripping his clothes off and walking into the warm water. He rolled his head back, the warm water hitting his sore muscles. He cleansed his body, the time alone making his mind wander to the daughter of Aphrodite.
Admittedly, he had taken a liking to the girl. Of course, he had always thought that she was cute. He had never imagined her in the ways he did now, he never thought of wanting to be with her. After all, he had loved his girlfriend. And Piper was in a happy relationship of her own.
But then, everything had come crumbling down. He saw his love leave him, he saw Piper's betray her. Then, they left. He still didn't know why he chose to do it, why he thought it was a good idea to leave everything behind with a girl he had cheated with the day before. Of course, Annabeth hadn't been loyal either.
His relationship with Annabeth had always been a timebomb. Sure, there was a time he loved the girl, there really was. But, his feelings for her were so, so dull. He felt like he didn't even know the girl anymore, like she was telling him less and less everyday.
And then there was Piper. He thought she was cute, the quirky cute that makes bad puns and has a laugh of cold. She fiddled with her thumb, as if she wasn't ever sure what to say. He couldn't help but light up with joy when he heard her voice, he couldn't help but stare when she ran her fingers through her hair.
He closed his eyes, cleared his head of the girl, and turned off the shower. He ran a towel along the back of his head, doing his best to clear his mind of the thoughts of Piper.
・・・
Piper McLean laid in bed, the sound of a shower in the back of her mind. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes and letting the last few days settle in on her skin. It was the first time she had gotten to think, and the realization of what she was doing was beginning to set in.
Here she was, on the other side of the world from home, with no contact to her friends or family. Except for Percy, of course Percy. Percy had dragged her out to another country. Most people would be a little ticked off, wanting a little warning that they should pack their passport. But the fact was, Piper needed this.
She had felt their relationship weakening once Jason began splitting his time, and a part of her knew it wasn't too long until their relationship came to an end. She just wished she could've gotten a better form of closure. Waking up to find your boyfriend having sex with someone else was never nice, even if there relationship was already doomed.
And then there was Percy. The night she had spent with him was so, so stupid. She was drunk, and Percy had just saved her life. The intimacy got to her, and she gave in to her desires. She had always thought Percy was attractive, but you could ask any girl at Camp Half Blood and they would give you the same answer.
But Piper couldn't help but feel like she was falling for him. She tried her hardest not to, saying she still wasn't over Jason, but everyday she felt herself inching closer to him. She caught herself blushing when they caught eyes, or how she had no problem sharing a bed with the son of Poseidon.
She opened her eyes. The shower had just turned off, and Percy would be stepping out of the small bathroom any minute now. She stood up, pushing aside the thoughts of Percy Jackson and focusing on her next steps in their strange, strange journey.