Disclaimer: Don't own.

Rating: T

Prompt idea: anon (guest)

Synopsis: Hazel does a little Percabeth eavesdropping aboard the Argo II...

Eavesdropping

Hazel wasn't sure what to think of Annabeth.

All throughout her, Frank, and Percy's quest, that girl had been the one thing that Percy had remembered. To be completely honest, Hazel hadn't known what she was expecting. Annabeth had been put at such high standards that it was the kind of thing that you just needed to see with your own two eyes to judge. Unfortunately, Annabeth was making that a little difficult. For the life of her, Hazel just couldn't get a concise read on the warrior, no matter how many times she spied and tried aboard the Argo II.

There were moments when Annabeth seemed nice and funny, and moments when she seemed genuinely frightening. The only real conclusion Hazel had come across was that Annabeth vaguely reminded her of Reyna: they both had that calm, authoritative demeanor that both immediately put them in charge. Other than that, Hazel just wasn't sure what to think of the girl.

The only real thing that Hazel thought about Annabeth was this: she had absolutely no idea how she and Percy stood each other. Hazel believed in the whole 'opposites attract' theory, but Percy and Annabeth were severely testing the limits. They were polar opposites. Annabeth had the intelligent, smart, calculative, dangerous girl look, and as for Percy… well, Hazel admitted that she had overestimated him, but he was still a little idiotic sometimes. They just seemed like the possibility of them being romantically involved was far slighter than the possibility of them being enemies.

Hazel was absorbed in these thoughts as she walked around the Argo II, her bare feet padding on the wood. She held an apple in her hand and was absentmindedly munching on it in her pajamas. Her thoughts were completely and totally absorbed when voices wafted over to her.

She thought back to something that her mother had always said to her: "Hazel, don't eavesdrop. You're never going to like what you hear- very often, it might be about you, and it might not be positive, either. If you do eavesdrop, you'll regret it, Hazel Levesque." Hazel remembered that clearly: her mother's earnest eyes boring into hers. She had never truly resented her mother, but when she said things like that, Hazel had been irritated. Of course, the advice was probably for the best, but still.

Setting her jaw, Hazel decided that she would eavesdrop. She leaned in towards the sound of the voices, wondering if she really was going to regret this. Somehow, she sort of doubted it. There were secrets aboard the Argo II, but she was sure that she knew all of them… well…

Maybe she was a little stupid.

Rolling her eyes, she strained her ears for the sound of voices, and was startled to discover that they were a male and female's voice. A pit of guilt settled into her stomach, and she suddenly felt nauseous. Hazel shouldn't be eavesdropping on that- it was probably a pretty private admission. When she identified the female as Annabeth and the male as Percy, however, her interest was piqued. This was the chance to figure out Annabeth once and for all.

"-you are such a complete and utter idiot," came Annabeth's voice. Hazel raised her eyebrows. Though it was kind of true, no one had actually called Percy that to his face. If Hazel was going to be honest, Percy was kind of frightening, too.

"And you love me for it," Percy said cheekily. There was the sound of an audible smack, and Percy's indignant, "Ow! Shit!" Hazel grinned. In the brief time that she had known Percy, she had known him to have to worst mouth of anyone that she had met.

"Watch your mouth, Perseus Jackson, before I wash it out with soap," Annabeth said sternly. Hazel tilted her head. So was this the relationship that they had- a stern relationship in which Annabeth was the alpha dog, and Percy submitted to her? Hazel waved the thought away as soon as it came to her. Annabeth was definitely an alpha dog, but so was Percy, in all fairness.

"Hmm," Percy said quietly. Annabeth shrieked, and he snickered. "How about this? I'll strike you a deal. How about I wash out my mouth with your profanity-free pair of extremely available lips instead of soap? Sound like a good idea?"

"Who ever said my lips were available?" Annabeth asked, teasing him. Hazel thought that she was beginning to understand just how their relationship worked: a playful, never-ending banter. It was a bit tiring for Hazel, but she was beginning to see just how Percy loved her as much as he did.

There was the sound of kissing. "I did, until I made them unavailable," Percy told her quietly. The sound of more kissing followed, and Hazel stepped away. That's enough sugar for you, Hazel Levesque. You don't eavesdrop on people kissing. Still, she felt color rise to her cheeks. She couldn't' believe how much the world had changed since the 1940s. She waved a hand in front of her face, walking away.

Her mind was whirling. That was why Annabeth loved Percy, then. They had clearly been friends for a while, but he also made her laugh- that explained a lot. It also didn't help that he was somewhat good-looking. As for Percy loving Annabeth, Hazel was no longer in any doubt: the boy adored Annabeth. She made him laugh, too, and was easy to tease, which Hazel heavily suspected that Percy loved. A smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

They were two teenagers, completely and totally in love. As Hazel walked away quietly, she spotted Frank leaning against the edge of the Argo II. She smiled. Someday, she hoped that she and Frank could be as easy as Percy and Annabeth. It would take practice, of course, and genuine love, but Hazel had one of those things down-pat. As for the practice thing…

Hazel figured that she'd start now.

A/N: Whoop whoop! Still daily, on five hours of sleep, exhausted, and in dire need of coffee! Anyway, thanks for the reviews. I also received a constructive criticism remark from 'Sorry' (guest), which, if that guest is reading this, I just want to say: thank you. I really appreciate the critique, and I'll try to keep it in mind best as I can (I am only a thirteen year-old girl, and my knowledge of love is pretty much just middle school crushes). Anyone else who has pointers about how I can improve my writing, please please please let me know! That's why I publish things on FanFiction: so that I can improve my writing.

Off to get some coffee and get myself out of bed... hope you all enjoyed the chapter!

Thanks for the reviews! Please review again!