I have nothing to say, so . . . Let's get started, I guess.

"Operas are stupid. I mean, who puts on an opera in this day and age?" Percy whined. He was usually a pretty patient, levelheaded guy, even if he could come across as childish sometimes. But right now? Right now he was wearing an itchy, uncomfortable, hot suit and shoes that pinched his feet, and he was about to go see the most boring show on earth. Yeah, he was entitled to a little complaining at the moment.

"Oh, it's going to be alright, Seaweed Brain. It's just a couple hours of your precious time," Annabeth rebuffed, her eyebrows knitting as she attempted to fix the travesty that was her boyfriend's necktie. "Honestly, I'm more worried about your tie-tying abilities. How did you even make this knot?" Ignoring her question, he trudged onwards.

"I might never get those hours back! I'm not going to waste them in some stuffy theater listening to some lady sing." She snorted at that, his ridiculousness breaking her concentration.

"You do know that operas are like musicals, right? They tell stories. It's not just endless singing."

"It might as well be. Why are we going anyways?" he grumbled.

"You know perfectly well why we're going, Perseus Jackson." Subconsciously, the son of Poseidon gulped. He did know why - sadly. He was trying to forget, actually.

A week ago, Athena had thought it might be a good idea to give Annabeth and Percy a little visit. So she appeared in their bedroom at 5am to, in her words, "check up on her favorite daughter and her . . . um . . . sea spawn partner." She had looked at Percy with such distaste, he nearly dove beneath the covers. Annabeth, on the other hand, was blushing a furious shade of red. All in all, it was an interesting morning, to say the least. The end result had been a pair of opera tickets, as a parting gift. Ironically enough, the show was on the Greek gods.

Needless to say, Percy hadn't wanted to go. But rejecting a gift from a goddess - especially Athena, who already didn't approve of them - was essentially begging to be killed in the most creative, painful way possible. And thus they had to sacrifice the next friday afternoon to go to an opera.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I have to like it," he informed her. She only sighed and continued to struggle with his tie.

"I can't even imagine the horrors you inflicted upon this thing."

"I'm sure you can, but do you want to?"

"Not really, no. I just want to escape the house without being late, and fixing your tie is somehow stalling this process," the blonde replied choppily, still grappling the thing.

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"Do you want my mother to incinerate you?" she deadpanned.

"No."

"Then no, it isn't." Annabeth yanked the edge of the fabric, finally wrangling the necktie back to a regular position. Percy yelped as she did it, not expecting the tug. "That took forever. Come on, let's get in the car."

"I would rather drink gorgon blood again."

"Percy . . . "

"If your mother planned this night out, it's probably some sort of torture device," he reasoned.

"Probably," Annabeth admitted.

"You're way too calm about this."

"She's my mom. She'll only kill you if things go downhill."

"Touche."

"Good. Now get in the car or my mother will be the last of your worries," she warned. With another mumble, he climbed into their vehicle, arms crossed.

"Operas suck."

"Of course they do, Percy." Even though he would never admit it, he actually enjoyed his night with her. Especially the intermission.