shining in the starlight

by annabethy

In which Percy and Annabeth are actors, Annabeth's confused about what's real and what's not, and Percy's there to answer her question and show her that their love is a movie in itself, Percabeth One-shot, Actor AU, (prev. sky full of stars, and he's staring at her)

Their movie begins like this.

Annabeth is young. Too young to really grasp the reality of what she's meant to be doing. It's her parents, really, that drag her into what would one day be her entire future. All she knows is that when the lights are on and the cameras are rolling, she's meant to play pretend.

Her parents put her on a pedestal, unbeknownst to her, and she's only meant to follow along with their demands. She repeats what she's told, she lets people touch her hair with curling wands and her face with expensive product after product. It's all she knows how to do by the age of seven years old.

It's not that Annabeth minds; she really enjoys playing pretend.

At some point, Annabeth finds herself sitting on a makeshift stage underneath a set of white lights that threaten to blind her. She's somewhat aware that her parents are changing things up, having switched her to a different production studio, so she sits down on the stage, legs crossed in her lap, and waits for further direction.

It's another few minutes of trying not to stare into the blinding light before someone is seated next to her.

Annabeth looks at him, intrigued. He stares back, a little petrified.

The boy must be her age, and he seems to be a bit new to the whole experience. She considers asking him if he's aware that they're actors, but she doesn't get the chance before someone is bending down to their level with a smile.

"You two are going to be best friends," the kind lady says, a soft look in her eyes.

The thing about being in the acting industry at such a young age is that it's made Annabeth unable to differentiate fiction versus reality. Are they actually going to be best friends, or is that just another role she's supposed to play? She really doesn't know—there have been times before where she had thought she was best friends with another kid, only to split ways across the country for their separate endeavors. She supposes she has to wait and find out.

The two of them are left alone after that, meant to introduce themselves to one another. The boy doesn't say anything for a bit. He just stares at his feet and twiddles his thumbs.

"What are you doing?" Annabeth asks finally, genuinely curious and peering into his lap as though she expects to find something there.

He looks up at her now, and the green of his eyes appear much more vibrant than they had been before. "Me?"

There's no one else around them for her to have been talking to, but she chooses not to bring that up. She doesn't want to make him more nervous.

"You're new," she points out. Annabeth shifts her position now, choosing to tuck her legs beneath her as she sits. "What's your name?"

"I'm Percy," he offers.

"I'm Annabeth," she returns. "Is that your real name?"

"I think so," he says. "I don't think I have a fake name."

"But you're here because you're an actor," Annabeth says. "You have to have a fake name."

"I don't know what it is, then."

Annabeth hums, but doesn't say anything more. His eyes wander back down to his lap, and Annabeth continues to stare at him. She thinks she wouldn't mind being his best friend in real life. She hopes they actually become friends and that it's not fake for the cameras.

"Have you ever done this before?" Annabeth asks.

"You ask a lot of questions," Percy says.

She does, but she enjoys learning about the world. She's found that if she doesn't ask, then she won't always know what her reality is.

"You look scared," she teases. "It looks like you've never done this before."

"I saw other people acting in movies, and I wanted to do it," he admits. "I told my momma, and now I'm here. I don't know what's happening."

"I don't either."

"Have you done this before?"

"I do it all the time," she says. "My parents always bring me to new places to act."

"Is it fun?"

"It's lots of fun! I always get to play with a lot of things. Sometimes they give you candy and you get to eat it, and then they make you do it again. And you get to play with other kids sometimes."

"But you're not actually playing?"

"It's like you're playing pretend," she tells him. "You just have to do it in front of cameras sometimes."

"But you like doing it?"

Annabeth freezes for only a moment. She does enjoy doing it most of the time, but sometimes she gets confused because it's as though everything around her isn't real. It takes adjustment.

"Sometimes I don't know what's real life," she admits. "I don't have a best friend, but I have people that pretend to be my best friend."

"Because you're acting."

"Mh-hm."

"I don't have a best friend, but I want one," Percy says.

"Then we can be best friends."

It doesn't take long at all.

Annabeth doesn't recall ever having so much fun on set before. This has to be real, because the other kids she's met before were never this playful with her. Percy makes silly faces towards her when the directors aren't paying attention, and it always ends up with Annabeth giggling until she cries.

They get scolded often enough, but even they can see the adoring grins on the adults faces as they run around set holding hands.

They become a duo, a force to be reckoned with, and they're pretty much unstoppable. In between the actions and cuts, they do what they're told, reciting line after line and moving here and there. But once those lights are off, they're still them, bothering their parents with their whines for a sleepover and adventures out in the city.

There's one day in particular that Annabeth thinks she's always going to remember between the two of them.

It's just another day of work for them when it starts. They sit in chairs for at least an hour while people fuss over Annabeth's hair and makeup, and it becomes boring quickly. Percy doesn't technically need to be there, but she reminds him about his duty as a best friend to entertain her, so he ends up plopped into a fabric chair next to her anyways.

"This is boring," Percy whines. He's slouched in the chair and has a frown planted on his face. She reads right through it.

"Shut up."

"You look like a pumpkin."

Annabeth scowls and considers picking up a brush from the counter in front of him just to hurl it at his forehead. "I do not look like a pumpkin. But you look like something!"

"Like what?"

"A loser."

Percy sniffs and turns his head away.

"Are you almost done?" Annabeth asks the makeup artist, jerking her head away from the brush that finds its way alarmingly close to her eye.

She gets gently scolded by the lady for moving. Her face ends up being held in place so only her eyes can move, and she glares at Percy just like that. They make eye contact in the mirror, and Percy just gives her a devious grin.

Annabeth vows to make his life hell the second she's free from this chair, and she ends up doing just that.

He finds himself screeching as she chases him through the halls, narrowly missing the wall as they twist and turn through the large building. Annabeth can't help the laughter that bubbles out of her throat as she rides his tail, arms reaching out to snatch at his shirt.

They pass by someone that looks alarmingly like the director, who gives them a stern "Walk!" but neither of them listen, of course, too wrapped up in their own glee to even register the words of warning.

"I'm going to catch you!" Annabeth says.

Percy's own laugh rings out, and he makes the mistake of turning his head to look over his shoulder. His face morphs into one of surprise as he only has a moment to prepare before Annabeth tackles him to the ground.

He goes down easily, a bit small to be supporting all of Annabeth's weight, and Annabeth goes right with him. They end up a heap of limbs on the floor, laughing so hard that it results in them crying. It's a miracle that no one comes to check on the kids on the floor with the noise they're making, but it's probably for the best. Annabeth's done this long enough to know they'd get their millionth firm scolding.

"Are you okay?" she asks, still struggling to breathe through her giggles.

"I'm fine," he breathes, but he's still pinned to the ground under her. "Are you going to get up?"

"Hm. No."

Percy rolls his eyes the best he's able to muster and attempts to shove her off to no avail. "Get up, Annabeth."

"I don't wanna," she complains, settling against him as though he's a pillow.

"I'm going to tell on you," he says.

"I'll tell them you called me a pumpkin," she retaliates.

She can feel the way Percy's back shakes in silent laughter, and it brings a grin to her face. She wishes more days were like this, with uncontrollable joy rather than forced lines that are repeated for hours on end. It's more fun, having a real best friend rather than an appointed one.

"They're going to come looking for us," Percy warns.

"I don't want to act today," she breathes.

"What if we hide? They can't make us act if they can't find us."

Deep down, she knows it's not the best idea they've had. But she's desperate to stretch this moment for just a little bit longer, so she gives in and scrambles off of his collapsed body. It only takes a moment for him to be standing next to her and sliding his hand into hers so that they can run through the halls again, this time straining to remain quiet so as to not alert anyone of their whereabouts.

They end up stuffed in a supply closet somewhere down the hall that is pitch black and smells like a faint mix of chemicals.

Percy tucks himself into the corner of the small room behind a table and Annabeth follows his lead, ending up pressed against him once again. It's a few minutes of attempting to stifle their high-pitched laughter before they finally get it under control and they deem it safe to remove their hands from their mouths.

"Do you think that they know where we are?" Annabeth whispers, blinking in the darkness. Her eyes still haven't adjusted well, so she can only see a very faint outline of the objects in the room.

When Percy speaks, it's right into her ear, and the close proximity makes her jump.

"I hope not."

"We're going to get in trouble."

"We can't get in trouble if they can't find us."

"We can't stay here forever or else we'll starve," she tells him seriously.

"We can just say we thought we were playing hide and seek!"

Annabeth elbows him harshly at his exclamation. "Be quiet."

Percy whines. "That hurt."

Annabeth does it again just to mess with him, and Percy tugs on a strand of her hair in return.

"What do we do now?"

Annabeth blinks, not entirely sure of the answer herself. "We talk?"

"About what?"

"We can play truth or dare?"

She feels Percy shrug. "Let's do that, then."

Annabeth goes first. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth," Percy answers. It's the smart choice, considering any dare threatens to reveal their location.

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"

"Does an actor count?"

"No. You're already an actor."

"But that's what I want to do," Percy says.

Annabeth supposes it's a fair response. She's never really thought of it herself. It seems insane, doing something for so long. She can't even remember when she'd first started acting, and doing it even once she's an adult…the thought makes her feel a little overwhelmed.

"It's your turn," he says.

"Truth."

"I didn't even ask you yet." Percy shifts his position crouched in the corner. "Will we always be best friends?"

Annabeth had expected a superficial question like she'd given to him, so the sudden change in intensity makes her pause.

"I hope so," she answers honestly.

"But you don't think we'll always be friends?"

"We aren't going to be here forever. I don't know if we're going to always be friends. But I hope so."

"Is it really hard to make friends when you're acting?"

"Sometimes? I made friends but they always left."

"I don't want to leave," he says. "What if I end up somewhere else and I don't make a friend?"

"Then we'll stay friends," she says. "Even if we aren't together, we'll stay best friends. That way, you'll always have a friend."

And she really does mean it.

The year of acting passes by in the blink of an eye. Soon enough, they're both eight-year-olds finishing up with the movie. Annabeth tries not to think about what comes next because Percy never says anything, and she doesn't know if he truly knows what to expect.

The last day on set is an emotional one. It's happy because they've both finished working on something together, and the air is filled with accomplishment and pride. It's sad because wherever they go next will not be with one another, no matter how badly she wishes it could be.

They find themselves in a park in the middle of New York City. Percy's mom trails behind him as they walk before deciding to sit on a bench.

"I can't believe we finished with the movie," Annabeth says.

"It was a whole year."

"Do you know what you're doing next?"

"I think I'm staying in New York to do a different movie."

"I'm going to California," Annabeth tells him. "That's where my next one is going to be."

"California? That's so far away."

"But we're still going to be best friends! We can write letters to each other, and then one day, we can maybe act together again."

"I don't want to write letters. I just want my best friend."

Annabeth kind of wants to cry. She can tell Percy does too.

She begins to see why all of her past friendships have been pretend. When she plays pretend, she can't get hurt. It makes saying goodbye so much easier when she doesn't have anything to truly say goodbye to.

This was real life. Her friendship was real, the opposite of fiction, and it means that it hurts that much more when she has to leave it behind.

"But we're lucky," she says. "We have something so special it makes saying goodbye so hard."

"I don't want to say goodbye."

"Me either."

Percy looks at her, and she can see the tears welling in his eyes. She knows her own eyes match his. The green of his eyes is glassy, shocking as it was on day one. She desperately tries not to think about how she won't be able to see his eyes or tackle him to the ground, or play one-sided hide-n-seek with the directors in a week's time.

"I'm going to miss you so much," he says.

She lets herself lean in for a hug while everything feels so out of her control. She repeats the words back to him while tears begin to fall.

"We'll write letters," she promises, but her words feel empty. Percy's grip tightens on her, and this feels like a goodbye. "We'll talk all the time."

But real life is much more unfair than that.

Annabeth knows that their friendship was real, but she also knows that not even the best of friendships can withstand distance when they're both so young.

And so they fall out of touch sooner than either one of them would have liked. There are letters written back and forth, but it only lasts two months before they're both back to their own lives with little time for someone across the country that they'll forget soon enough.

It makes Annabeth feel bitter, resentful, because she's spent what little of her life she's experienced dealing with the fallout between fiction and reality.

In the movies, in a perfect world, long distance works. It works for couples, for families, for best friends. They talk on a schedule, wish each other happy birthdays, surprise each other with cross-country trips, and everything turns out okay because they reunite and life is exactly as should be.

That's in the movies.

Reality?

The reality is that long distance doesn't work. It might seem alright for a bit when both parties put effort in and genuinely have hope and wide eyes, but it fades. It ends with a dreadful silence, forgetfulness, emptiness, and a rift in their friendship.

Annabeth knows she's lucky because she's seen both sides. She's in the movies every day, seeing firsthand just how fake it all is. It helps her know exactly what to expect when his letter never shows up for months on end, and it makes it just a little bit easier to accept.

But Annabeth also knows it's somewhat of a curse. Ignorance is bliss, and because she's entered the real world just a little bit too soon, she will never truly get the ignorance that other kids her age wield.

She holds no blame for him because they were truly best friends. She loves him, wishes they got more time, that they didn't have to split to do a job that required so much.

Acting is something Annabeth loves. She loves what it has brought her. It's also something she hates. She hates what it has taken from her.

Annabeth is young, and she doesn't know much. She struggles to identify real versus fake when playing pretend is all she's ever known.

All Annabeth knows is that she really misses her best friend.

---

From then on, Annabeth can't help but see him everywhere.

She grows up watching him on the silver screen. He changes a lot, she notices. His face which was once filled with chubby cheeks and sparkly eyes has matured. He becomes more defined, the definition of what society deems an actor should be.

Annabeth wonders if he's seen her too. She wonders if he's sat in front of the screen with his eyes on her the same way she's done for him. If he's analyzed her features, trying to remember if she'd looked like that when they were together. If he's been as desperate to find a way to message her as she's been just to find out if their vow of a forever friendship holds true.

They haven't spoken since they parted ways, but after twelve years, she still thinks about him. Life has gone incredibly fast as though playing on two times speed. Sometimes she wishes she could press pause and go back to the day they were sitting on the floor of the supply closet to avoid going to set. But if she's being honest, being busy has helped distract her from a lot more than just Percy.

Being in the spotlight is overwhelming, to say the least. She's made other friends, some of which she's kept. She's also met people she thought she loved, but in the eyes of the public, it never ended well.

So she works and works, and it's not all bad.

Annabeth stares out the window of the moving car, entirely distracted by a million thoughts. She almost misses when the person next to her clears their throat to goad her back to reality.

"Do you need something?" Annabeth asks, blinking pointedly at her best friend.

"Only your attention," her friend, Piper, says sweetly. "You know, I don't need to be driving you around, right? I'm doing this out of the good of my heart."

"Hm. I wasn't sure you had any in that icy heart of yours, so I guess that's nice to know."

"I'll push you out of the moving car," Piper threatens, but she has no intent written in her voice. "What are you thinking about, anyways?"

"I'm reciting lines in my head," Annabeth lies.

"For an A-list actor, you're shit at lying."

"We're in New York, Piper," she says. "What do you think I'm thinking about?"

"Your long lost best friend," Piper says. "I really want to be offended by that, by the way, because who's the one driving you to your studio?"

"I didn't ask you to drive me," Annabeth says. "You just wanted to meet someone famous, I guess, which is ridiculous considering who your dad is."

"I'm driving you because I want to meet someone hot. And my dad never introduces me to famous people either."

"You met me," Annabeth suggests.

"Because I was acting with you."

"Exactly! You're an actor too, and a well-known one at that."

"I don't see your point."

"You don't see a lot of things, Piper. You're lucky you're pretty."

"First of all, fuck you."

Annabeth laughs and rests her arm against the window of the car. "I'm just saying I really didn't need you to drive me."

"And I did it anyway because I love you, so stop saying that."

"I can't wait until we get there."

"So you can meet the rest of the cast?"

"So I can leave you behind."

"Strike two," Piper warns. "One more and you're walking."

Annabeth rolls her eyes.

"Do you know who else is even in the movie?"

"I haven't got a clue."

"What if they're, like, super rich and hot and famous, and you forget your lines in front of them."

"That wouldn't be fun," Annabeth says. "I appreciate the confidence. Why would you say that?"

"I'm messing with you," Piper says. "Would you like me to stop talking so you can go over your lines?"

"Yes, please."

Annabeth does try to go over her lines in her head, but it doesn't work. As much as she doesn't want to, she can't help but wonder if Percy's still living in New York City, or if he's moved somewhere else for his job just like she's had to. She'd consider calling him and asking if she had any way of contacting him.

Piper pulls up to the side of a building and nearly hits a couple pedestrians in the process. Annabeth hops out of the car the second they're parked in complete mortification, ignoring Piper's pleas to wait for her.

It's a big building, not too far from the one she'd been using when she was seven, so she gets a bit lost on where she's supposed to go, but someone helps point her in the right direction, and she's on her way before Piper can manage to follow her in.

Annabeth doesn't even know why she's here to begin with. They're not filming, so to her understanding, it's really a pointless get-together so the cast can meet the people they'll be working with. Annabeth hasn't really enjoyed moments like this before; meeting new people is exhausting.

She barely makes it two steps onto set before someone grabs her wrist.

"Annabeth, right?"

Annabeth has no idea who's speaking to her, so she just blinks at them and says, "Right."

"I'm Will Solace, the director," he says, holding a hand out to her. She shakes it politely as he says, "It's nice to meet you. Have you met the rest of the cast yet?"

"I have not," she says, a soft smile. "I just got here."

"Would you like me to introduce you to your costar, or do you have that under control?"

"I think I've got it, but thank you."

Will points her in the general direction of the person she should be looking for before he leaves, and she takes that as her cue to get moving.

She's not sure who she's looking for exactly because she doesn't know who the 'costar' is meant to be, but she's confident she'll figure it out. She'd rather converse on her own terms, too, than have someone else initiate things; it would only lead to a tense conversation.

Annabeth stands in one spot after she can't find anyone, instead letting people come to her.

Her mind wanders off to New York City, of course, and who might be in it. It's not as though Annabeth usually spends every waking moment thinking about him because she truly doesn't. It's just being back here, she thinks, so close to where she lost her best friend, that makes her want to know how he is.

The last time she had seen him on screen was a little over a year ago, when he was nineteen years old. She's not naïve—she knows he's had romantic escapades of his own—and she just knows that if she ever does see him again, she's going to tease him over it. Getting caught with a hookup is such a rookie move, and she'd be lying if it hadn't amused her greatly when she first saw it in the tabloids.

A hand presses to the small of her back as someone says, "Looking for someone?"

Annabeth is almost annoyed that someone had interrupted her train of thought as she turns her head to look at the person whose hand is still against her, and—

The person standing there with a grin is all too familiar, and her heart threatens to leap right out of her chest.

"Percy?"

"Annabeth," he teases.

Percy seems to have himself much more together than Annabeth does as he just smiles, completely unaware of Annabeth's mind breaking into bits.

"What are you doing here?" Annabeth asks.

She realizes how rude it sounds after she says it, but she's genuinely confused. Percy doesn't seem to be offended, thankfully.

"It's nice to see you too," he says, playful.

"I'm sorry," she says. "It's nice to see you, but…"

She trails off, unsure of what she's supposed to say. She's still a bit in doubt. It feels odd, not knowing what to do.

"I'm in the movie," he explains to her. "Don't tell me you didn't know."

Annabeth laughs and she lets a hand reach up to thread in her hair. "I'd be lying."

"Well, I'm your costar! We get another year of acting together. Isn't that so exciting?"

"I—I'm still in shock over here. I'm going to need a second."

Percy gives her a lopsided smile and holds an arm out. She knows he's acting for a hug, so she steps into his embrace, and it—

It feels like she's never left.

He's taller than her now, which she makes a mental note to complain about later. She had been a couple inches over him last she saw, but now, her head fits underneath his chin. It's not a bad place to be, she decides. Especially when he smells as good as he does, clean and so much like home.

"So." Percy pulls away and lets his arm fall from where it had been nudged around her waist. "I haven't seen you since you were, what, eight?"

"Oh god," she mutters. "You talk like you're older than me."

"Maybe you're just not used to my sophisticated voice," Percy jokes, and yeah, that could be it.

Annabeth assumes he means his extended vocabulary, and the way he's able to piece together sentences like any other adult, which isn't necessarily an accomplishment, but it's certainly different from when the both of them were eight. Still, there's a lot more to his voice than just the words he uses—it has a low timbre she's not used to, but it sounds great, and it fits him.

"I'm not sure I'll ever see you as sophisticated after watching you choke on air," she teases.

"So I guess a decade wasn't enough time for you to let that go?" But Percy says it was a smile, and she knows he's not actually upset.

That's something she's not surprised about. He used to always be the more laid back of the two of them, so it makes sense that he's still that way.

"Not a chance," Annabeth says. "But I'm sure you've got your own stash of things to blackmail me with."

"Blackmailing? Uh-oh."

"You better behave."

"For you? I don't think I will."

"So I'm going to be finding myself running through the halls and hiding in supply closets again?"

"Oh, for sure. I'm alright if we skip the whole tackling ordeal, though."

"Well, that's the only reason I came here."

Percy snorts. "Bummer."

Somehow, Annabeth can't help but think about how nothing has changed. Sure, he's bigger and his voice holds a delicious scratchiness, but as far as conversation between them, it's like she's never left. She just feels comfortable with him, like he already knows everything about her, which wasn't possible, but it might be now.

"We'll have to catch up soon," Percy says. His hands find their way into the pockets of his jeans as he looks at her earnestly. His eyes trace over her face and then a bit lower, and she finds that she likes the way he's looking at her, as though he's analyzing every piece of her, burning the new her into his memory in the same way she wants to do. "Maybe sometime next week?"

"Oh, I'm not sure with everything going on," she says. Percy nods, thoughtful, and she feels bad. "I'll figure it out."

"We've got plenty of time, so it's no rush," Percy says.

"Filming just seems to get more insane as you get older. Without those child labor laws, it's nonstop, and sometimes you just need to breathe, you know?"

"Whenever you feel like you need to breathe, just let me know. I know some pretty nice places here that I think you'd love."

"In the city?"

"I've lived here most of my life," Percy says. "You really don't think I created a list of places to take Annabeth Chase in case she ever returned, say, during a movie I'm in?"

"I don't know. That sentence was a little too detailed to have been made up on the spot. Do you have some diary that I don't know about that you professed your love for me in when you were a kid?"

"Shit. You weren't supposed to find out about that."

Annabeth bites her lower lip in a smile. "I wasn't?"

"I may have a shrine for you in my bedroom."

"Oh. I'd love to see it."

"The shrine or my bedroom?"

Annabeth's jaw drops a few millimeters as she looks at him, shocked, but he's just giving her a bright grin. He knows exactly what he's doing, and she hates him for it (but she also really, really loves him for it).

"I'll take you to see both of them," he promises.

"Percy."

"For our traditional sleepovers! Don't be nasty, Annabeth."

"I'm the one being nasty?"

"Your last movie was pretty nasty," Percy says, a teasing tone. "I mean, don't get me wrong, the guy was good looking, but—"

"You watched it," she accuses.

"Well, of course I did! I was supporting my best friend."

"Was it that bad?"

"I'm messing with you," he tells her. "It was amazing. You did amazing."

"Aside from sliding into bed with him on screen, right?"

"We do it for the money." Percy tilts his head and his eyes seem to laugh at her, but he doesn't say anything more. She waits for him to speak, but he just mocks her with his eyes as though waiting for something.

"Yes?"

"I just—you did look over the plot of the movie, right?"

"I skimmed it, but."

"So you know that we're going to be sliding into bed with each other? On screen?"

And no, Annabeth didn't know that. She had planned on finding out everything she needs to during the table read, but maybe it's for the best that Percy's the one telling her, because her reaction in front of everyone else would have been ten times worse than the one she's currently having in front of him.

Annabeth sniffs and turns her head. "I did know that," she lies.

Percy blinks at her, humored and clearly not believing her. "Sure."

"I did."

"Has anyone told you that you're a shit liar?"

Piper did that morning. He doesn't need to know that.

"No," she says. "You're just bad at reading me."

"Yeah, because that's so much more believable than you just being a bad liar," he says.

"I'll hurt you."

"I'm pretty sure the director will still yell at you for that, even if you're twenty now."

"I'm pretty sure I'll still kick your ass, even though you're practically double my size."

"Double your size is a bit dramatic, don't you think?"

"It makes it more impressive when I win the fight."

"I have no doubt you'd beat me up and win," he says. "I learned not to mess with you a long time ago, Annabeth."

It's funny, she thinks. He's the one person she's wanted to mess with her, just so she could talk to him.

Irony at its finest.

"We'll have to do something," she says. "There's so much to talk about, and now isn't the best time."

"I'm not even sure what we're supposed to be doing right now," he says. "Everyone is kind of just…sitting around?"

"Do you think we could sneak out?"

"Us? Probably not. Maybe if we weren't the leads, though."

"It's a curse," Annabeth jokes, "being as talented as us."

"Oh, it's an honor to be considered the same level of talented as you."

"Shut up. You know you're talented. Everyone loves having you on screen to look at."

Percy raises an eyebrow and smirks. "Are you saying I'm talented or I'm hot?"

"Talented."

"It sounded like you were also calling me hot."

"I would never call you hot. Your ego is inflated enough as it is."

"That's a lie," someone else says, popping up behind Annabeth. She rolls her eyes and pleads internally that Piper doesn't absolutely mortify her. "She's called you hot before."

Percy laughs.

"Piper," she drawls. "Always such a pleasure."

Piper stands beside Annabeth, letting an arm raise up to wrap around her as she looks to address Percy.

"I'm Piper," she offers. "Annabeth's girlfriend."

"Oh my god," Annabeth breathes, but even she can't help the twitch in her lips. "Can you go?"

"Go where?"

"Literally anywhere else."

Piper shoves Annabeth lightly before looking back at Percy. "It's so nice to finally see someone famous here."

"You want to see someone famous?" Percy asks. "You seem to know Annabeth quite well."

"She's also Tristan's kid," Annabeth says, elbowing Piper off of her. "She meets famous people all the time. Ignore her."

"Percy isn't some famous person," Piper argues in Annabeth's ear. "He's the famous person Annabeth used to be friends with." She turns to him now. "Do you know how difficult you've made my life? I always have to hear about how Percy was such a good best friend, and Percy did this and Percy did that. It's insulting, actually."

"I don't do that," Annabeth says.

"I would hope not," Percy says, amused. "I'm sorry I've made your life miserable by being the better best friend, Piper."

"It's alright," she says. "Just remember that I'm her best friend now if that's alright. Having two best friends might stress her out. She doesn't do well under pressure."

Annabeth scoffs, insulted. "I do great under pressure."

"I'm sure I can find ways to be close to Annabeth without taking your newly proclaimed position," Percy says, coy. "But I was her best friend first, so suck it."

Piper scowls.

"You're free to go at any moment," Annabeth tells Piper. "We're supposed to be working."

"I'll leave," she relents, already turning on her heel. "I just wanted to say hello."

It takes a couple more minutes to get Piper to actually leave, and when she does, Percy says something to her, which Annabeth assumes to be a kind goodbye, but she's too distracted by the things Piper said, and Percy may have actually believed.

He had said he could find ways to be with her without being her best friend. It surely sounds some sort of way, and she wonders if he meant it in the way she thinks he did.

"She's a joy," Percy says, finally.

"Only sometimes."

"I'm insulted she thinks that she can replace me," Percy says. "I thought we promised to be best friends forever?"

"She's a bit psychotic sometimes, you know? It's best to just put her on a leash like an untamed puppy."

Percy just looks at her softly.

"She's not actually my girlfriend," she says.

Percy laughs. "I didn't think so."

Annabeth shifts on her feet. "Is it alright if I ask you something?"

"Go for it."

"You'll find a way to be close to me without being my best friend?"

"You caught that?" Percy runs his hand through his hair. "I'm not surprised that nothing gets by you. You've always been brilliant."

"Care to explain what that means?"

"Not really," he says. "I'd rather you find out on your own."

"And how do I do that?"

Percy grins. "Next week. Whenever you have time, sometime after we start filming, we'll go out. We'll get to catch up."

"That sounds like being best friends," she warns.

"Maybe it is," he says. "We just have to wait and see."

Annabeth thinks she knows what he's hinting at now, and it makes her a bit excited for the next week. Even after so many years, over a decade, she feels like he's such a big part of her life. Like he's been cheering her on without even being there physically.

Now he's here, watching her with those eyes, and she can't wait.

---

Acting together again is surely something that Annabeth has to get used to.

It's not a bad thing at all. It's rather amazing, seeing how much he's improved. It's also hilarious when they fuck up their lines, and the other teases them for it. Being so close again is a relief because she hadn't known how much she had truly been missing him until he was finally right there again.

They're a little over a week into rehearsal and filming, and while things are the same, they're also different.

Percy still waits with her for wardrobe and hair and makeup, except he's also sitting in a chair being worked on, which prompts her to tease him to no end. She does try to be cordial and not poke fun at him, but he's such an easy target, and she does have twelve years to make up for, after all.

During their breaks, they're always with each other, messing around and getting scolded by the director because they're adults who should be professional, but how professional could two twenty-year-olds who met at seven really be when they're reunited on set?

The answer is: not at all.

Everyone loves them, though. When Annabeth jabs at Percy's emotional voice crack and he gives her a lovely presentation of a certain finger, they're told to stop being silly, yet she's able to see the soft giggles behind their hands at their antics.

She's missed this so much.

"Annabeth," Percy prompts while people move around them. "You doing okay there?"

She's pulled from her reverie as she blinks at him. "What?"

"You look distracted."

"I'm just thinking."

Percy pokes at her temple. "Tell me what about?"

"How awful your acting is."

"You're looking in a mirror?"

Annabeth pokes him back. "I'm thinking about how nice it is to be acting with you again."

"Because of how much money I'm going to make you when everyone watches my movie?"

"I've been doing this longer than you have, ass."

"That's true. Besides, if anyone is really driving this movie, it's you. Everyone's in love with the gorgeous Annabeth Chase."

"You're right."

"Hey!"

"You said it," she says, laughing. "But this is special because it's both of us. We're really treating the world with this one. Maybe we can retire early now."

"What would we even do if we retired early?"

"I don't know. Travel the world together?"

"If it's together, then I'm down. Everyone would be so jealous of us."

Annabeth rolls her eyes and steps closer to him so that she can rest her head against him. He lets her, his arm coming to wrap around her back and hold her so that she cannot move. She closes her eyes and breathes him in.

"How much longer do we have?" she asks.

"An hour, maybe? We could always just run, though."

"Hm. Maybe we can run later."

"Where to?"

"You said you have your list of places in the journal of love?"

Percy pinches her on the shoulder but keeps her in his embrace.

"Why don't you show me what I've been missing in this city?"

"Do you think you can handle a night out with me?"

"I'm really curious to find out what you meant by being close to me without being friends," Annabeth says. "So I guess I don't really have a choice."

"Something tells me you know exactly what I meant, and you just want to make my life difficult."

"You're right." Annabeth lifts her head. "Do you have anything to do after this?"

"If I did, it can wait," Percy says.

Annabeth can see it in his eyes. He looks at her gently, soft as he always is with her. It makes her feel warm and safe, and she never wants to leave. She really loves him, her best friend, and something else.

By the time they're done filming for the day, it's absolutely pouring outside, and there's zero chance of them making it anywhere without being drenched from head to toe.

They stand next to each other in front of the open glass doors of the production studio staring into the dark streets. The rain can be seen in the headlights of the cars, and it nearly covers the sound of the bustling city with how hard it's coming down. Annabeth had been looking forward to going out with him, but she doesn't know how they're going to be able to do that when it's pouring the way it is.

"Should we just wait until tomorrow?" Annabeth asks, poking her head through the doorframe to look down the road.

"You're afraid of a little bit of rain?"

"I'm afraid of a little bit of getting struck by lightning."

"I won't let that happen," he says. "I'll tell the lightning to get me instead."

"That's not how that works."

"No, I'm pretty sure it is."

Annabeth giggles but does as he says, turning quiet as she resumes peeking out into the street. Percy's hand subconsciously goes to rest against the dip in her waist as he peers out over her, and it makes Annabeth stifle a grin into the palm of her hand at the contact.

"If you're alright with it, there's a diner down the road I think you'd like," he says. "It's not too far from here."

"I'm fine with that, but we're going to get soaked."

"Take my jacket."

Annabeth looks at him to protest, but he's already sliding his jacket off of his arms and forcing it into hers. She glares at him and tries to shove it back, but he moves away from her.

"I'm not taking your jacket."

"I'll be fine," he promises. "But you're wearing a white shirt that looks like it would become see-through, and I get the feeling you wouldn't feel very comfortable if that were to happen."

Annabeth sighs and doesn't move.

"Take it, Annabeth," he says.

"It's just going to get wet if I wear it," she says.

"It'll get wet if I wear it too," Percy says. "But it's made of some expensive plastic material, or something like that, so it'll keep most of you dry. I want you to have it."

"You're sure?"

"About you? Always."

It's cheeky as the smile he gives her seconds later, but she lets herself put it on. It's oversized on her, the sleeves falling beyond where her hands are, but it's warm and smells like him, and she debates on keeping it for more than just tonight.

The way Percy looks at her makes her think that he wouldn't mind if she did keep it. He's eyeing her as though she's his, and seeing her in something that belongs to him is only making him feel more prideful, possessive. It makes her feel heat in the pit of her stomach—one that she's desperate to take care of, to intensify, to find out how far she can drive it.

"Let's go?" Percy asks, holding a hand out for her to take.

Her hand finds its way into his, and he laces their fingers together like he does it every day.

They race into the rain, and she has to rely entirely on him to guide them. True to what she had expected, the rain comes down on her hard, and her hair is immediately plastered to her face, her curls quickly wrung out to waves. Percy never lets go of her hand, instead squeezing it tighter, and it brings a smile to her face despite the rain strengthening around them. She can hear Percy's laugh resound outside, right next to her, and then she hears him ask if she's alright, which she's barely able to answer before she nearly slips. Percy catches her by her arm, helping pull her back to her feet, which adds a few seconds to their trip, but she doesn't mind. Not when he's facing her like this, brushing her hair out of her face to ask if she's really alright this time. Not when he's looking at her like she's the world, looking at her in the way she's felt every time she's watched him on screen, beautiful and perfect.

He pushes her hair behind her ear, and it falls right back out as the water makes it heavier, but he just pushes it back again and holds it there while his other hand tries to caress her cheek. If they weren't in the rain, if they were anywhere else but here, she thinks she would have kissed him.

But they were here, and it's not the time, so they keep moving for a few more minutes. Percy keeps her closer now, and it feels like eternity by the time they're finally pushing through the swinging door of the homey diner.

Percy holds the door open for her as she walks through, and his hand drags across the small of her back as he follows her in. Annabeth pauses to look around as Percy talks to the waiter; it's small and looks to be family-run. There are a few neon signs around the place, she notices as they're led to a booth, and it's honestly the perfect sort of place to go for midnight snacks in the rain. It seems to be a place where she could get lost in time with him.

Percy slides into the booth across from her while Annabeth's eyes are still tracing across the tiny restaurant. He stays silent while she observes the area before moving to interrupt her view.

"Hi," he says.

Annabeth can't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. Her smile matches Percy's. "Hey."

He leans on the table then, his arms out in front of him. She notices how broad his shoulders look right now, and how the water makes his already tight shirt cling to his skin. "Your hair is an absolute mess."

"Yeah, well." Annabeth attempts to drag her fingers through her hair for any semblance of neatness, but it's too tangled to get very far. "That's what I get."

"Hold on. Let me…" Percy reaches across the table to smooth down her curls. He's gentle so as to not pull her hair. His fingers just barely graze her neck, and it's featherlight to the point that it almost tickles. "There you go."

He leans back, but Annabeth doesn't quite want the contact to end, so she pushes onto her own elbows and runs her fingers through his black hair. She pushes it out of his face for him.

"You look like a wet dog yourself," Annabeth says playfully. Percy leans slightly into the palm of her hand.

"Wet dogs are cute, though," Percy says. His hand comes to rest over hers.

"You're not wrong," she says.

Percy doesn't point out the insinuation that she thinks he's cute too. They both know it.

"Do you know what you want to order?" Percy inquires.

"Um…I have no idea. Order for me?"

"Are you a coffee or hot chocolate person?"

"Hot chocolate, please."

"Just my kind of girl," he says, flagging the waitress down. He's whispering their orders, quiet so that they don't disturb the peaceful silence that litters the diner. She just watches him—admires him—and wonders how she's missed this. He seems to know what he's going to say before he says it, and it makes her think that he's been here before, doing this with someone else.

Annabeth shifts and moves her hand away from him and towards the center of the table.

Percy turns back to her, and his hand finds hers again, intertwining them and letting them rest against the glossy wood of the table. They look at each other for a bit; this is the first time they've been able to really sit together outside of set, but it feels natural, like they've been doing it for months.

"I've missed you," Percy says after a beat of silence. "I've been seeing you on screens and keeping up to date, but we haven't spoken at all, and…I just really missed you."

"I've missed you too."

"How have you been?"

"I've been alright," she says.

He tilts his head to the side, and it's so cute she feels a little lightheaded. His grip on her hand firms as he rubs his thumb against her skin. "How have you really been?"

"I'm surviving. It's just a lot of work, moving from one place to the next. It's exhausting."

"I saw what happened last year," Percy says, voice gentle. "I'm so sorry."

Annabeth had been so distracted by her work that she had almost forgotten the past year until he brought it up.

"Lots of people experience breakups, Percy," she teases.

"Not everyone does in the eye of the public," he says. "I'd imagine it's harder like that, when everyone just wants to know what happened, and you just want to forget."

That's exactly how it had been.

It really was just a breakup, and nothing more than that, but he's right when he says the public tends to amplify things beyond reason. Annabeth had loved him, maybe not in the way she should have, but she did love him. They were together for nearly two years, which isn't all that long, but it's longer than anyone else has stuck around, so it stung that much more when he told her that what they had wasn't real.

It was always her struggle, real and not real.

Annabeth thought they had been real, but clearly, it didn't go both ways.

"Castellan was a prick anyways," Percy says. "His acting was shit."

"He seemed so nice when I met him."

"All that went out the window the second he decided to go spewing details about your relationship to the world," Percy says. "I never did like him, though."

"Did you meet him?"

"Once," Percy admits. "Before you two were dating. He just had this vibe about him…It was like he had prick written across his shirt. I just didn't like him."

"He might as well have," Annabeth says, a hint of amusement in her voice. "You let me date him for almost two years?"

"It wasn't my place to say something. You liked him, and that was enough for me."

"You really should have tracked me down and smacked some sense into me."

Percy looks at her, humored. "I wanted to call."

"You're alright."

"I know, but—I wanted to make sure you were okay, you know? It had been forever since we spoke, but I never stopped caring about you. I wanted to call, but I didn't know how or where to find you."

"Don't worry about it," she says. "I'm alright."

"Of course you're okay. You're Annabeth Chase. The strongest person I know. I still wish I would've called."

"You're here now, and that's exactly what I need."

Percy's thumb stops its motion against her skin. "Maybe it is a good thing you dated him, though."

"Oh, yeah? Why's that?"

"Because now he knows what he's missing."

"Does he?"

"He's somewhere out in the world, and I'm the one here with you."

"You're certainly better company," Annabeth says.

"That's because I'm a polite date."

"Date?"

"Mh-hm."

"I guess you are," she says, a light giggle. "How about you?"

"What about me?"

"Any messy breakups? Kids?"

Percy snorts. "Kids? Give me some credit, Annabeth."

"You know what I mean," she says.

"None quite as public as yours," Percy says. "A few people, here and there. Never for a long time."

"Tell me about your favorite one."

"My favorite? They're all exes."

"Just tell me," she says, mocking annoyance.

"There was one person when I was sixteen—Rachel—she was nice. I did like her, but it didn't last more than a year."

"Why not?"

"Different lifestyles, I guess. I believe she recently came out and only dates girls now, so that may have had something to do with it too. We're still friends, though, which is nice. I think you would have liked her."

"It sounds like you still like her."

"As a friend, sure," Percy says, shrugging. "But she's not you, Annabeth."

"I wasn't there," she teases.

"Maybe not physically, but you were always in my mind. It got annoying at times because people would be like 'what do you want to audition for now,' and I'd just be like Annabeth."

It makes her feel better, knowing that he's been keeping up with her the same way she's been doing. It reassures her that what they have is real, so different from everything else she has that's perfectly constructed by society. They're together because they want to be in each other's lives—not just each other's films.

Annabeth covers her mouth, smothering her wide smile. "Oh, god."

"I thought about you all the time. Especially in the last year. When I got the casting list for this movie, I nearly dropped dead on the spot."

"You had no idea I auditioned?"

"Not until about a week before we reunited. The only reason you didn't know is because you decided not to read the casting list," Percy says, scolding.

"What can I say? I'm a very go-with-the-flow type of person."

"That could not be further from the Annabeth I know. You like control, which is perfect because I'm the opposite."

"I don't know how you do it, just taking whatever comes your way. I'm not sure I've ever seen you mad."

"I make it a point not to show that side of me," he says. "There's already so much anger and hostility, especially with what we do, and I'd rather not add to it."

Annabeth hums.

It makes sense, the point he makes. It's insane how cutthroat film production truly is. Annabeth's made it far, but it didn't come without sacrifice—losing friends over roles she gets and they don't, having to miss holidays to be on set. People are never happy because no matter what she does,they'll always find a way to complain about something she's done wrong.

That's what frustrates her the most. She's well known, and so people hold her to impossibly high standards. No matter how hard she tries, they will always be out of reach, entirely unattainable, because people pinpoint something wrong. But it's not real. People make her out to be a villain or an idol, thinking they know her, but all they know is what they've seen, the things that are scripted, performed hundreds of times, and not real.

Still, she finds it hard to believe that Percy withholds anger so he doesn't contribute to that sort of society. He's always been so sweet and gentle, especially with her, and she attributes that to his loving nature. His hands are gentle on her because he loves the her that's not on the screen.

"Did you mean it? When you said that none of the girls were ever me?"

"I mean everything I say."

The thought makes her head spin.

"You know I love you, right? Since we were little until now."

"I know," she says. "I love you too."

Both of them know they mean it in a way that's more than how best friends love each other. He knows her well enough to know she loves him too. It hangs in the air, and both of them know it, but right now, she has him back, and she's going to enjoy that for just a little bit longer.

What they have? Their love for each other?

That's real.

---

Annabeth knows that their sex scene is going to happen at some point, but she's not at all prepared for when the day actually comes.

Standing on the stage in a robe and not much else is certainly debilitating. It does help that Percy is next to her, shirt off and looking just as mortified. He's pressing against her subtly, his arm resting against hers, and it's reassuring in a way. She would laugh if she weren't currently standing nearly naked about to film a sex scene with her best friend.

"How do you feel?" Annabeth asks, lightly elbowing Percy's stomach. She ignores when she accidentally knocks against the defined muscles of his chest that will be pressed against her in no time. She has plenty of time to focus on it later, anyways.

"This is not how I imagined us sleeping together, I must admit."

Annabeth snorts.

"It'll be fine," Percy says dismissively. "It's just like our old sleepovers. We had plenty of those."

"I mean—not quite. You've got the spirit, though."

"I might end up laughing a lot."

"You better not laugh at my efforts in bed."

"No, I'll be laughing at the fact that when I'm supposed to kiss down your stomach, there's going to be a camera in my face when I look up."

"You're about to see my boobs."

"I won't look. I promise." He even does some sort of salute towards her.

Annabeth tries to laugh and give a smart quip back, but then they're being called to their positions, and icy terror comes running back into her veins as she's told to drop the robe.

She imagines crawling into bed with Percy to be embarrassing with so many eyes on her, but then she locks eyes with Percy, and all she can feel is amused. He's eyeing the camera crew then looking back at her, and it's just so ridiculously cute that giggles bubble out of her.

It feels so natural in an unnatural way, and she knows that however long it takes to film this scene is going to be filled with endless laughter and teasing.

Percy opens his arms beneath a thin blanket for her, and she settles into his embrace. She's thankful Percy has a pair of skin-tight shorts on still, and that she's allowed to at least keep her underwear on, but it doesn't seem to make much of a difference when they're pressed this close up against each other. Every part of her seems to touch him, and he's incredibly warm, complementary to the cold she feels.

Annabeth shoves her face into Percy's chest as he begins laughing, letting his hand trace up and down her back.

"The worst part is over," Percy promises.

"I like to think it's only begun," Annabeth says.

"Should I make jokes?"

"That depends. Are they bad jokes?"

"That's subjective."

Annabeth smiles against his skin.

Percy shifts his embrace. "You want to know something embarrassing?"

"What?"

"I can feel your dick rubbing up against my leg," Percy says.

"Oh, yeah? What's funny is that I can't feel yours."

She can feel Percy's body shaking in stifled laughter. Her hand comes down on his bare back hard, the slap sounding out through the vast studio.

"You two need to relax!" Will calls out. "Warm up."

"The fuck does warming up mean?" Percy mutters.

"Foreplay?" Annabeth suggests.

"I don't think that's quite what they meant."

Percy hears someone call out for him to give her a kiss; he does as he's told, a simple peck on the lips before lifting his head to look over at something out of her reach. It's not the first time they've kissed for filming, not by a longshot, but it is the first time they've done it half naked. Still, it does work to calm her a little bit when he looks at her again afterwards and gives her a lopsided grin.

She notices the little things he does to try and make her more comfortable. He traces shapes on her shoulder and keeps his hands high on her back while he makes jokes to try and ease the situation. It doesn't take long for her to start laughing at the ridiculous things he says, and suddenly, the scene feels a lot less like a burden.

The director yells action, and everything turns into a blur. Sure, it's intense, the way he holds himself on top of her, the open-mouthed kisses he trails down her stomach, the way his fingers grip her thighs, but it's also funny, the way they painfully bonk heads during one of their more heated kisses, or the look he gives her when the director tells them to give it a go for the tenth time that hour.

Percy's lips on her neck make her dizzy in a way she can't explain. He's so careful with her, and she won't break beneath him, but he acts as though she will anyway. He's caring with everything around him, careful not to press his whole weight into her, or to push the blankets too far down the bed. Percy is her best friend and everything she wants and needs wrapped into one.

She has to remind herself this isn't real.

But at the same time, they both know that it is. It's done for the film production, but it doesn't make it any less real to the two of them. It's a sizzle, some sort of electricity in the air that she can't shake. Annabeth likes his hands on hers, and the way he praises her lips as though it was just the two of them. It makes her laugh too, which only ruins the scene and makes their teeth clash painfully, but also makes it that much more perfect when Percy starts laughing into her mouth, shoulders dropping as he gives up at maintaining any composure.

It's still so odd, something that's meant to be natural being so mechanized that every detail matters.

By the time they're told to go take a break, her stomach hurts from laughing so much, and Percy's undoubtedly feeling the same burn in his abs.

They decide to go back to Percy's dressing room together for the break, so they walk back together, Annabeth tucked back into a robe and Percy having just thrown a sweater over himself. The moment he opens the door labelled Percy Jackson, Annabeth finds her way to the futon and settles onto it, stealing a blanket that Percy has hanging over the edge of it.

"Do you want anything to drink?" Percy asks, over by his mini fridge stuffed into the corner of the room.

"I'm alright," she says.

He comes back to her side, two water bottles in hand, tossing one to her anyways as he settles next to her. He angles his body towards her and gives her a humored look as he opens the water and takes a sip.

"That wasn't so bad," Percy says.

"At first, it was so bad," Annabeth says. "Then it just became funny."

"At least you have some insight as to what to expect in bed," Percy says. "Also, you know I'm a good kisser."

"Oh, you poor thing," Annabeth pouts. "You fuck like a virgin."

"You've got some audacity. We didn't even actually have sex, so I find it insulting that you think you can diminish my skills."

Annabeth ignores him, remembering the headlines she'd seen years ago of Percy with a girl. She had no intentions of bringing it up to him now, but he's surely going to make a jab back at her, and it's too funny to not hang over his head.

He'd been with the girl, and she'd been in his sweater and seemingly not much else with the way it hung big on her. "Oh, I totally forgot! You have had sex, and you let the whole world know it."

Percy groans.

"I remember seeing that, and when I tell you I laughed so hard—"

"I got in so much trouble because of that," Percy tells her, but he's laughing with her. He leans an arm against the back of the seat and rests his head in his palm like that. "Most unfair moment of my life to this point."

"So it was true?" she asks. "She was a hookup?"

"If that's what you want to call it, yeah."

Annabeth snickers.

"It's not funny! That was so embarrassing. I don't think I left my house for a month."

"Because you were too scared, or you got in trouble?"

"Both."

"That's what you deserve! You got caught with a fling! You weren't subtle at all. It's like you weren't even trying."

"I realize that now, but I was seventeen," Percy says. "I didn't know what subtle even meant."

"It's just hilarious, the fact that you lost your virginity and immediately got caught by not just one person, but the entire world."

"What's worse?" Percy asks, musing out loud. "A public breakup or a public hookup?"

"Public hookup? You did it in public!?"

"I'm not an idiot!" he defends. "I was walking her out and the paparazzi was just there! I'm half convinced the girl called them herself."

Annabeth lifts her feet up and tucks them in front of her; her foot presses against Percy's thigh, but he just glances down and smiles at the position.

"Do you really think she did that?"

"I wouldn't put it past her, if I'm being honest," Percy says. "She was a little self-obsessed."

Annabeth lets herself snicker lightly at that as they fall into silence. Percy's thumb finds its way to her ankle where he just rubs in little circles. It almost tickles her, and she has to fight the urge to jerk her foot away from him.

"Do you want to know something?" Percy says, breaking the moment of silence.

Annabeth hums and looks at him, curious.

"I've never told anyone this."

"I want to know."

"Between you and me, that wasn't actually when I lost my virginity."

"Oh my god."

"I let my mom think that, because otherwise, I would have really been in trouble."

"You lied to everyone?!"

"I never asked everyone to get so up close and personal with my sex life!" Percy says, laughing and nudging her leg. "They're the ones that got it wrong. I just didn't bother correcting them so I could save my own ass."

"When was it, then?"

"When was it actually?"

"Mh-hm."

"Like a year before. Something like that."

Annabeth can't help the giggles that bubble from her throat. "So you got caught and decided to play it off?"

"I think it would have been worse if I were to say 'actually, I've been having sex' than to just suck it up."

"It was for the best."

"How about you?"

"I'm a virgin."

Percy snorts. "Yeah, right."

"I was older than you were," she says finally. "Eighteen, actually."

"With Castellan?"

"Unfortunately. Our sex scene was more enjoyable."

"That bad?"

"Isn't every teenage boy?"

"I'm not a teenager," Percy argues. "I'm twenty."

"Internally, you're like six at best."

"Fuck you."

"It's okay though because I'm also six!"

"You're more like eighty."

Annabeth scowls and Percy looks at her adoringly. She's still focused on how his hand has found its way to her ankle, such a simple form of contact. It's lovely, the way he just wants to have some piece of him touching her—she's found that to be his way of showing love to the people around him.

"Do you regret it?" Annabeth asks. She doesn't directly state what she means, but he knows. "Sometimes I wish I hadn't ever been with him."

"In a way, yeah," he says. "Like, I can't change the past, so how much can I really regret it? But I don't think it was with the right person. I guess I just felt that the one person I genuinely wanted and loved was so far, and like it was pointless. I would go back and just wait, especially knowing what I know now, but I can't do that."

"And who was the right person?"

"Hm. I've got someone in mind."

Annabeth nudges his leg. "I get what you mean. We haven't spoken, but we were always there, you know? Sure, it was through screens, but we knew each other beyond that."

Percy breathes, deep in thought. "I remember you saying something before about how different acting is from living. I think it was when we first met. I've been thinking about that recently."

Annabeth tightens her robe around her while Percy keeps his hand resting against her ankle. "Yeah?"

"There are people that don't live in real relationships. Plenty of people end up dating their costars for publicity, or just because they're acting in front of screens to the point that they think they love each other, but they don't. Not really."

And his words make her panic a little bit, because maybe she'd been reading him wrong if he really thought that. If he'd been picking up on the way she feels, and she'd been entirely wrong, and this was his way of telling her, then—

"Is that what you think about us?"

Percy glances at her, alarmed. "No. That's what I'm saying—I've loved you for the past twelve years, even though we never spoke. We weren't acting together, so there's no pretend with us. We're acting together now, but it's still real. You used to worry about who was really there for you and who wasn't, and…I'm saying I'm here for good, and I think that we could make this work if that's what we really want."

Annabeth cracks a grin. "Are you confessing your love for me?"

Percy matches her smile. "Hey, at least you know I'm a good kisser."

"Are you? I can't seem to remember."

"That's such a shame. Maybe I should try again?"

Annabeth tries to smother the rising grin she feels. "I guess you should."

Percy takes that as his cue to pull her in for a kiss. It's slow and sweet, but it's real. It's just the two of them and no one else watching, no cameras to be performing for, no take after take to make sure that they get the perfect shot. There's genuine love and emotion, and that's what makes it special.

When he pulls away, he's looking at her, green eyes soft like the waves on a calm summer day, and she thinks that it matches the internal storm she feels, the storm she's been told matches her own eyes. They're complimentary, pieces of a whole.

"I do love you, Annabeth," he says, voice soft. His face is still in front of hers, the faintest hint of a grin twitching up at his lips. "I always have."

"You loved me at eight?" she asks, teasing.

"Maybe not at eight," he says, pinching lightly at her nose. She scrunches her nose and pulls away, but he kisses it in apology before she gets very far. He follows up with a press of his lips against her temple, her forehead, and her lips again. "At least not in the way that I do now. But watching you on the screens, growing up with you even though I wasn't with you—how could I not fall in love with that?"

"Stop it or I'll kiss you."

"That's hardly a threat," Percy says.

"Maybe I want you to keep flattering me and I want to kiss you."

"I would not complain if you did that."

Annabeth thinks this feels alarmingly normal. The way they're messing with each other, acting as though nothing has happened. It's like it's just natural, being with each other like this, like they belong in each other's arms and lives.

"Is this actually what you want?" Annabeth asks. "I mean–you could have anyone you wanted."

"If the whole world was watching, I'd still choose you."

If the whole world was watching, he'd choose her. It's a heartfelt sentiment, one that has her stomach fluttering. Still, the whole world wasn't watching, and he chose her anyway.

Off camera, on their own terms and time, he chooses her.

"I love you so much," Annabeth says.

"I know you do," he says.

"I don't know what I'm going to do if I have to leave again."

It's true. Neither of them know where their next job will be, but the chances are that they won't be together. They'd survive, but she doesn't want them to have to put themselves through it. Not when they're finally whole again, when so much yet nothing at all has changed.

"I don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon," Percy says, humor in his voice, written across his face. "Your birthday is next month, and I'm going to be there for that. I'll be there for your twenty-first, and your eightieth, and every single one in between."

"Not my eighty-first?"

"I'm not sure. That's a lot of years to be buying birthday presents."

Annabeth gasps in mock offense.

"The point is I'm not going anywhere."

It was always going to be them. Maybe it was chance, or some invisible string that was tying them together. Being apart for so long fades relationships, but it didn't for them because what they have is stronger than just that. That's the difference, real and fake.

He's beautiful, the way he looks at her like she's the brightest thing he's laid eyes on. He's tracing over her face, memorizing every piece of her. He can trace the slope of her nose, the curve of her eyelashes, a million times over, and he'd do it again because here she is, away from the camera, perfectly imperfect.

Annabeth knows he could have anyone. There are plenty of people like them, carrying out their dreams, dancing across different universes in front of the camera, and he could have any single one of them, but he doesn't. He wants her.

There's a sky full of stars, and he's staring at her.

---

"I found you."

Annabeth nearly jumps out of her skin when Percy whispers those words into her ear. She whirls around, ready to shove him, but she doesn't get the chance before Percy's wrapping her tightly in his arms and tucking her head beneath his chin.

"You really thought you could escape me on your birthday?" Percy asks, sarcastic.

She tries to escape his embrace, but he only holds her tighter until she gives up, resting her head against his chest with a huff.

"I was planning to run away for the rest of eternity, but you found me before I could get anywhere."

"Why were you running from me?"

"I heard rumors you were going to spray me with silly string when I walked on set."

"Bitches."

Annabeth snorts. "So they were telling the truth?"

"I am legally not allowed to answer that."

"What? Were you going to murder me?"

Percy throws his head back in a laugh as he loosens his grip, allowing her to straighten up a bit. She crosses her arms and she looks at him, but Percy just eyes her like he's seen a cute puppy, which to him, she probably does look like that. She's in his sweater again, the name Jackson splayed across her back, and it's overwhelmingly large, so she couldn't possibly look as menacing as she would hope.

"You're adorable."

"I don't like you."

Percy just tucks an arm around her and lets himself give her a soft kiss. She tries not to react, but she ends up melting into him anyways as he says, "I love you. Happy birthday." When he pulls away, he bops her on the nose, prompting Annabeth to roll her eyes but settle back into his arms again. "Are you ready to go back to set?"

"Am I going to be attacked by the crew with silly string?"

"Seeing as you are the birthday girl, I would feel guilty lying to you. I'm not going to say that you will be, but I also won't say that you won't be."

"I'm going to be attacked the second I walk through the doors, aren't I?"

"One-hundred percent."

Annabeth shakes her head at him fondly.

"If you really don't want to, then we could go somewhere else just the two of us. We could both hide from them."

"Hide where?"

"We'll figure it out," Percy says. "By the time they realize that I left with you, we'll be far enough that they can't hurt us."

"You seriously want to hide from them?"

"It'll be like the old times!"

Annabeth laughs. "As long as you promise that no one is going to come jumping out of any corners."

"I promise to guard you from the greatest enemy that is silly string with my life."

Percy grabs her hand and winks at her when she shoots him an unimpressed look, and they begin moving through the building. She feels like a kid again with the way they're trying to keep quiet so no one knows they're trying to escape. They're much better at it now than when they were seven, but they still let themselves laugh when they have to end up hiding in a supply closet while someone passes through the hall. It's reminiscent of where they came from, and it's hard to hide the excited nudges she gives Percy's back to remind him to keep moving.

They do manage to make it out of the building unnoticed, and they don't even wait two seconds before bolting down the street. She has no idea where they're going, but Percy seems to have somewhere in mind as he tugs her across the street and down a few blocks.

They don't talk for a few minutes as they walk, but it's still a comfortable silence. Annabeth settles for looking at all the shops they pass on the streets and the people around them, and Percy focuses on her.

"Where are we going?" Annabeth asks suddenly when she notices they haven't ever been this far down.

"I know a place that makes the best homemade ice cream," Percy says. "You're obligated to get birthday cake, of course, but I'll share some of mine with you."

"Can't I get more than one?"

"Sure, if you're paying."

Annabeth pulls on the lobe of his ear, and Percy is dramatic with his fake hiss of pain. "You invited me out and aren't even going to pay!?"

"I'm kidding," Percy says, shooting her a bright smile that battles the sun. "You get everything for free today."

"Even kisses?"

"Do you normally pay for my kisses?" But Percy lets her bounce onto her toes and press a kiss to the corner of his mouth anyways.

The rest of the walk passes quickly as Percy keeps playfully pushing her away and pulling her in close again. They're probably a menace to the rest of the people that walk around them, but neither of them have it in them to really care all that much.

When they walk into the parlor, Annabeth must admit that it exceeds her expectations. It's small, but it's cute. The tables are white and sleek, certainly a more modern feel, and the walls are decorated with pastel paintings of different ice cream cones that look straight off of pinterest.

Percy orders for the both of them, so she stands behind him, leaning into his back and smothering her face in the small of his back. It's cute, she thinks, how he just lets her as though it's a normal occurrence (which by this point, it might as well be). Percy's just the perfect size for her to lean into and hug and kiss, and so it's hardly her fault that she takes advantage of the fact.

They sit at one of the tables along the window so they're able to look outside. Percy gives her a spoon for her cup, and he doesn't stop watching her until she takes the first bite.

"Do you like it?"

Annabeth looks at him, because of course he chose the second she started eating to ask how it was.

"It's actually really good," she says. She holds it out to him so he can try it for himself, but he just shakes his head.

"That's for you," Percy says. "I'll be alright with mine."

"Which did you get?"

"Cotton candy."

"A child, as always."

"I can't help being born after you," Percy says, laughing. "You know, you used to always make fun of me for being younger than you. How does it feel to be the old lady now?"

"It feels great. Every joint in my body has begun cracking."

"You wish you were me, huh?"

"Not a chance."

Percy's eyes look at her, adoring and amused.

"Seeing as I'm your elder, does that mean I get to boss you around for today?"

"That depends. Are you going to be mean?"

"I may tell you to go get me a giant bottle of vodka."

Percy snorts into his ice cream. "You know, I actually was going to. I wanted to take you to a club, but then I remembered I'm still only twenty and can't buy you alcohol."

"We'll just wait a month, then we'll buy each other drinks," she suggests. "I wouldn't want to get so drunk I forget my birthday, anyways."

"So we'll just forget mine?"

"Exactly!"

Percy chuckles lightly as his spoon steals a scoop of her ice cream. She decides not to scold him for it considering how he hadn't wanted any when she'd offered.

On the first day of filming when they first met, she thinks she remembers them being given ice cream. It had been an absolute mess, melting faster than either of them were able to eat them, but she remembers watching him lick at the cone. She thinks she said something to him as it dripped down his chin, and he said something back. They had vowed to be friends before that, but it was that specific moment that she realized they were actually best friends, something she hadn't had before.

Percy steals another spoonful and catches her staring at him.

"What?"

"Nothing," she says. "I'm just thinking about when we were little, and they gave us ice cream cones. Do you remember that?"

"I remember you making fun of me for making a mess, if that's what you're asking," Percy says. "You were not a nice kid."

"I helped you with acting!"

"You were seven. How much could you really help me?"

Annabeth pouts at him and steals his own ice cream in retaliation.

"I remember," he finalizes. "What about it?"

"I think that's when I thought we were actually best friends. It consciously registered then, and I just now remembered. The nostalgia slapped me in the face."

"And now you're the one making a mess with your food," Percy says. "The tables have turned."

"I am not," Annabeth says, but her hand wipes at her mouth anyways to just make sure.

Percy smiles as she moves to take another spoonful of ice cream, but Percy ends up shoving her hand towards her face so it ends up smearing over her mouth.

"Percy!"

"Now you're the messy eater!" he says brightly.

"That's not fair," she says, but she's laughing with him as she tries to wipe her mouth free of the sticky residue. It's to no avail, and she's about to give up entirely before Percy pushes her hand away and leans across the table to give her a kiss.

The angle is awkward with the table between them, but she's too distracted by the fingers that press beneath her chin to notice or care. He tastes sweet, and the kiss is kind of sticky, and she could just live in this moment forever.

"There you go," Percy says, thumb wiping at the corner of her mouth to remove the rest of the mess. "You're all better."

"That was your plan all along, wasn't it?" Annabeth chides.

"Hm. I saw an opportunity and took it."

Annabeth is about to retort with something, but a bell dings as the door to the shop opens, and she silences herself, eyes glancing towards Percy, amused. What she had been going to say was probably best left unsaid anyways.

She thinks that the people are just going to order and leave, but instead, she finds them standing next to the table, and their eyes are very much on the two of them.

"Can we help you?" Percy asks after a few seconds, not unkind but clearly not appreciating the interruption.

"You're Percy Jackson," one of the people says, a girl who seems to be short and sweet. There's two other people, but one appears to be young and uninterested. The other boy is taller than them, and he locks his hands in front of himself, shy. "And you're Annabeth Chase, right?."

Annabeth smiles in acknowledgement but doesn't say anything.

They don't say anything else, which makes it entirely more just stare, almost accusingly.

"Listen," Percy begins. "If it's the movie you're interested in, it comes out in January. But other than that, if you don't mind, we're just—"

"And are you actually dating?"

Percy's brows furrow as he laughs at the sudden interjection. "What?"

"You're both two actors that everyone knows, and you're dating, so…is it just a publicity stunt? Or something to promote your movie?"

Percy looks just as surprised as Annabeth feels.

It's downright hysterical, the thought of them being a publicity stunt. That publicity stunt would be way too intricate, going back so many years. She wonders if people are really that dense.

"Not a publicity stunt," Percy promises.

"Really?" The guy in the group says it, and he looks genuinely surprised that they're denying fake dating.

"Yes, really. Is there something else you needed?"

Annabeth doesn't bother listening beyond that, choosing to let Percy deal with them. She watches as he does his best to send them away without offending them, avoiding laughing in the kids' faces by hiding behind her cup of rapidly melting ice cream. She does catch Percy's exasperated look her way, like he always does whether people are looking or not, and she relishes in the way Percy grabs her hand and helps her up while the kids are ushered away to order so the two of them can continue in their solo birthday plans.

Percy's hand snakes its way into hers again after they toss their trash into a bin outside, and he immediately begins laughing and poking fun at the comments.

"We're publicity stunts," Percy says. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It seems that everyone knew but us," Annabeth adds, smiling into Percy's shoulder as they walk.

"That's ridiculous. I'm offended."

"Don't be," she says. "They're just silly kids who know nothing about the world."

"Or about being polite, apparently," Percy says. "I mean, they just went for it. No build up at all. No proper hello. Just 'publicity stunt!'"

"Kids."

"If we had kids, they'd never be so misbehaved," Percy says. "We'd teach them better."

"You sound so sure about that. You were a pretty terrible kid yourself."

"You're wrong. Our kids would be angels."

He says it so surely, like they're going to have kids one day. It's just another reminder that he says he's in this for sure, and that he genuinely wants to be with her, to grow old with her. The thought makes her stomach burn.

"Where are we going now?"

"Anywhere without people," Percy says, sniffing the air in offense. "I don't like people very much right now."

"Is your apartment an option?"

The look he gives her answers her question.

When they walk into his apartment, she sits on his couch as she's done many times before and steals a pillow to hold on her lap. She doesn't say anything as he walks into his kitchen, assuming he'll return to her soon enough.

He does, but it's with a bottle of liquor and two shot glasses in hand. She looks at him scoldingly, and he shrugs with an innocent smile.

"How did you get this?" she asks with an accusing tone, but she still allows him to hand her one of the glasses.

"Illegally," Percy answers.

"Are you going to end up in jail?"

"Not if I don't drink," he says, but he's filling both of their glasses with what she believes is pure vodka before setting the bottle to the side. Percy lifts the glass towards her and says, "To Annabeth, the super hot birthday girl, and also the love of my life who happens to be a publicity stunt." Their glasses clink together as she rolls her eyes at his antics, and they take the shot together. It's not great, but it's definitely not the first time she's done it, and by the way he's able to do it relatively unaffected, it's surely not his first time either.

"Are we doing another?" Annabeth asks as Percy takes the glass from her.

"I think I'd like to be sober for the rest of tonight," Percy says.

"What was that for, then?"

"Liquid courage?" When she locks eyes with him, she can read that he feels the same burn as her, and yeah, she definitely wants to be sober for what comes next.

It doesn't take long at all for them to find themselves in his bedroom. It begins innocently enough, stolen kisses in the dark, but then his hands are moving up her side, caressing the skin where his sweater has ridden up on her, and she can't breathe.

Annabeth tugs at his shirt, and it comes off quickly, and everything else follows after that. His mouth finds hers in the dark, and he captivates her with his kisses, deep and passionate, making sure she knows how loved she is. Her gasp is silenced by his mouth when he nips at her lip, and when he hovers over her and traces slow, agonizing kisses down her stomach, she can't help but think that this is what love really feels like. It's the raw, unbearable heat they feel in their fingers, tracing up their bodies to their hearts, blossoming in their minds.

Before when they'd just been filming, she thought it felt real even though it was mechanized, artificial, because it was them, but she couldn't have been more wrong. It's nothing compared to the unscripted now, when his head is between her legs and all that can be heard is the heavy breathing that comes from her as she struggles to stay put together. Percy is Percy though, and every move he makes is designed to have her fall apart.

When he crawls back over her, she drags him up by the hair for another kiss, and time seems to bend before them. Annabeth could stay here forever, feeling his fingers press into her skin, warm and sure and steady, and as he begins to move over her, she thinks about how pure and real they really are.

It's a symbol of the authenticity that is so rare to find among a world of screens.

Annabeth thinks that it's done because they want to show each other that they really exist. It's not for a movie, or for the public, or whatever reason people seem to want to piece together. It's for each other, and only each other. He's perfect, and she tries not to think about where he'd learned to do this, but it doesn't matter because he's here now. There is no masking of emotions between them, and it's that that has them breaking apart in each other's arms.

She ends up laying on his chest, her head over his beating heart, and she feels safe. His arm is around her, tracing shapes up and down her spine while she threatens to drift to sleep when he speaks.

"Can I tell you a secret?"

Annabeth smiles sleepily, peeking open an eye to look at him. Percy brushes a strand of her hair behind her ear and kisses her forehead.

"You're beautiful," he says.

Annabeth pokes his chest twice and says, "You too, pretty boy."

Percy snickers and doesn't say anything else, leaving Annabeth back to her own thoughts.

She doesn't want to, but she can't help but think back to the idea of them being a publicity stunt. It's not true, she knows that for sure, but it really shows how much of the world is built upon lies. Things in this life are plastic. Relationships are so often inorganic, constructed so that people only see what others want them to see, and—

That scares her.

The truth is that she knows the reality isn't always better. People so desperately beg the media to be unscripted and honest, but sometimes, the world is so much worse when it's unscripted.

Being in movies, she gets the happy endings. Annabeth sees the relationships that end in marriage. Breakups always end in a kiss and an apology. Weddings are followed by children, and marriage lasts until death does them part.

That's in the movies.

She wonders how many marriages end in divorce. How many relationships end in breakups? How many children end up with split parents, or no parents at all? She's been desperate for something real, and now that she finally has it, she is paralyzed by the thought of reality. Because the reality is that statistics aren't in their favor, and after living the real and the faux, she knows that better than anyone.

Annabeth knows what she has is so much more real than anything she's ever known, but it makes everything that could go wrong just as real.

She wishes she could live in a world where she chooses what happens next.

Percy nuzzles her neck, breaking her train of thoughts, and Annabeth stretches languidly, tilting her head back to look up at him.

"You're quiet," Percy notes. "Tell me what you're thinking?"

Annabeth turns onto her side. "I'm thinking about us," she admits. "About how scared I am to lose you."

Percy kisses the curve of her ear, and whispers, "The good thing about that is you don't need to worry, because I'm always going to be right here."

"Mm. Yeah?"

"Yeah," Percy mutters, kissing her on the cheek one last time before lifting himself up. He gets out of bed, and she watches, enjoying the broad outline of his back in the dark.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to make us something to drink. Probably hot chocolate because that's all I have."

"Really?"

"Of course! It's tradition at this point."

Annabeth rolls her eyes but sits up too, throwing on the shirt that Percy had been wearing before. He tosses her a blanket, fuzzy like he knows she prefers, and she wraps it over her shoulders as she sits on the edge of the bed.

He's still looking for something—she doesn't know what—so she settles for watching him move around the room.

He says he's going to be there for her forever, and she believes him. Annabeth trusts him with every piece of her being, more than anyone, and as much as the thought of them not making it through scares her, she decides to trust him.

"Are you okay?" Percy asks, and she finds him looking at her, concerned.

Annabeth smiles. "I've never been better."

---

If there's anything Annabeth has to get used to regarding being with Percy, it's the numerous dates he decides to take her on.

She's always been a busy person, so she hardly ever had time to truly go out with people if it wasn't for work. But Percy—he makes time for the two of them, dragging her out for jaunts in the middle of the New York winter. He genuinely wants to be with her in every way possible. It's a welcome change.

This time, Annabeth finds herself hand in hand with Percy while they walk around the state fair. She's trying to stay as close to him as she can so that he's able to break the piercing wind. It doesn't stop her from shivering, though; it's cold enough that every breath she takes is visible in the air. Her nose burns, and her lips have gone numb, but it's made up for when Percy lets her nuzzle her face into the crook of his neck.

"You're freezing," Percy says, laughing as she pushes her face further into his skin. Somehow, he's impossibly warm, which is entirely unfair, but she decides to use it to her advantage. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Annabeth lifts her face for only a moment. "I'll be alright."

"We can leave if you want to."

"I want to stay."

It's not a lie. Even though it's nearing negatives outside, it's too gorgeous not to stay for at least a little bit longer. The fair has glowing lights in every single corner, flashing an array of neon colors. Even the water by the pier glows by the reflection of the light. There are rides and games, and it's not something that Annabeth gets to experience every day.

Percy concedes, but he presses her hands between his and rubs his palms together. The friction of it warms her hands, but the kiss he plants on her a second later warms the rest of her.

"Where should we start?" Annabeth asks. There's so much going on and so many people crowded around them that she doesn't even know where to begin.

"I think we both agree not to do any of the rides?" Percy muses out loud.

Annabeth pouts. "Not even the ferris wheel?"

"You mean the windmill full of corpses if it unhinges?"

Annabeth weakly shoves him, not really wanting to push him away.

"We can do it if you want to, but I can't guarantee I won't be panicking the entire time."

"Let's stick with the games," Annabeth says. "I wouldn't want you to die via heart attack."

"It would be through lack of oxygen when I forget how to breathe," he corrects. He releases her hands from between his only so that he can lace their fingers together as they begin walking. There's no particular destination in mind. They roam around, enjoying each other's presence, only stopping when Annabeth points out something that she thinks would be fun.

It turns out that there's a lot Annabeth finds fun, but Percy doesn't seem to mind with the way he looks at her, smiling adoringly when he points out the gleeful jump she does each time she wins a prize.

"You're going to run me dry," Percy jokes as he gives her another few dollars to play another game. This one is meant to shoot water at the target, something she's seen a million times but has yet to play it. She's surprised when Percy sits on the stool next to her and shoots her a competitive grin. "Ready to lose?"

"That's cute."

Percy snaps his fingers and points to the ground, but Annabeth can't take him seriously when he looks her up and down, acting unimpressed by what he sees. "I think you need to face reality."

"And the reality is...what exactly?"

"That I love you, but will under no circumstances let you win."

"I don't want your pity," she says. "Besides, I have confidence in my abilities, and that's why I'm going to win."

"Confidence is nothing when I have pure talent."

Annabeth chuckles and reaches over to pat his hand. "I hate to break it to you, but I'm more talented."

"Oh, yeah? Prove it."

"How would you like me to prove it? I can think of about twenty different ways I'm better."

"And I can think of twenty-one different ways that I'm better," Percy counters.

"Psh. In your dreams."

"I leave my dreams to other things, actually," Percy says. "I'd tell you about them, but there are too many people around."

"Convenient," Annabeth says, turning back to the target.

Once the person running the booth tells them they can start, Annabeth feels pure pride. She seems to be much better at aiming than Percy, shown by the way he entirely misses the target at the beginning, and she's sure that she's got this round in the bag. Percy eventually seems to give up on trying to beat her and resorts to sabotage, and Annabeth is not so innocent that she won't do it right back to him.

"I'm going to murder you," Annabeth says bluntly when she feels the spray of water on her face. Her eyes stay forward towards the target, but when Percy begins laughing at her, she abandons all intentions of playing the game properly and sprays him back with the stream of water. It gets into his mouth, and she tries not to think about if the water is clean enough to be consumed. (It probably isn't, if she's being honest).

Percy sputters on the water, and she stops spraying long enough to glare at him.

"That wasn't nice," Percy complains, wiping at his face with the sleeve of his own coat.

"You did it to me first!"

"I did it playfully! You did it with murder on your mind."

"Oh, you poor baby," she teases, letting go of the controls. The water stops coming out at that point, so she knows she faces no threat when she slides off her chair so she can go to his side instead, pressing into his legs. He moves his arms to steady her, as expected.

"Will you kiss it better?"

"Mm. No." Despite her words, she presses a lingering kiss to the corner of his mouth, being sure to press her cold fingers into his neck. He makes a sound of surprise, but she kisses that away too, staying there for a few seconds before pulling away for good. "Let's go somewhere else?"

"Here or somewhere inside?"

"Whichever," she says. "I'm not too cold."

He knows that's a lie. "Let's go home if you're cold."

"I don't want to leave yet," she protests. "I'm having fun."

"You're having fun, but your hair is also wet now, and I'd rather not watch my girlfriend freeze."

"I'll be alright," she says, tugging at his hand to get him to stand. "Let's do something else, okay?"

Percy is reluctant as she drags him along, and she has to reassure him that she barely feels cold. He reads right through it, of course, but that just means that she gets wrapped in his arms while his lips press into her neck and trail up to her jaw. It makes heat flood through her body, and she suddenly can't feel the cold.

She practically body slams him into a mirror maze, and she stands behind him the whole time. She uses the excuse of not wanting him to run out through where they entered, but it's really so that if anyone slams into a mirror, it's him. He does that several times while he's not paying attention, and at some point, it becomes unbearable to watch. She nearly falls to her knees from laughing so hard when Percy begins to head in the direction where he thinks he sees the exit only to absolutely book it into the glass, a loud thump resounding through the maze that has people turning their heads to eye them.

Annabeth stifles her snort into the back of his coat while Percy waves at another couple that passes by.

"I've lost any remaining dignity," Percy says.

"Oh, like you had any to begin with."

"You're snarky today."

"I'm just grumpy you shot me with water."

They find the proper exit now, and as Percy's stepping off the platform onto the grass outside, he coos at her. He offers a hand as she hops off the platform next, and she takes it, grateful.

"I'll make it up to you," Percy promises, kissing each of her knuckles before dropping her hand.

"How so?"

Percy leans in close so that his lips are right against her ear, and when he speaks, his breath is warm, sending tingles down her spine.

"I know what to do," he says, voice low and delectable. "My mouth is watering just thinking about it."

"Yeah?"

"I'm already imagining how it'll go. Breathing it in—always so sweet—I could drown in it. I'd spend all night with you like that, and god—the way it would just melt in my mouth."

His words are making the fire burn higher inside of her, her brain already running over a million scenarios, all of which she wants to carry out tonight. It's unfair, the effect he has on her. His acting skills are put to good use like this; she can tell he's spent years up on the silver screen with the way he pays attention to every detail. He tugs on his lower lip with his teeth, his eyes darkening as his pupils dilate. And the way his lips quirk up into the faintest of smiles—there's no way he isn't doing this on purpose, well aware of the effect it has on her.

"What else?" she asks, breathless, though she doesn't know if it's the effect of the cold or his words.

"I would switch things up," he admits. "Maybe I'd tease you with it, and not let you have any, and…"

Annabeth's breath is shallow as she turns her face. Percy kisses her jaw as she swallows hard. "Should we leave now?"

And now Percy looks at her, brows furrowing in genuine puzzlement. "Why would we leave?"

Minutes later, Annabeth ends up scowling as she watches him grasp at a bag of cotton candy from the vendor before turning to her with a cheeky smile.

"I hate you."

Percy's smile widens as he returns to her, arms full of the fluffy treat. "What did I do?"

"You know what you did."

"I was just telling you about how I wanted to eat cotton candy," he says brightly.

"Sure."

"What did you think I was talking about?"

Annabeth huffs and looks away, and Percy's laughter rings out into the night. He's teasing her now, dangling her thoughts over her own head. The advantage he has over her is ridiculous; he'd been playing dirty. She'd make sure to get revenge for his heinous crimes in one way or the other.

"Do you want any?" Percy offers, holding the bag in her direction.

"Keep it. I don't want any traitorous cotton candy."

She ignores the consequent tease he gives her as she walks away from him a little bit, rolling her eyes fondly. He laughs behind her but doesn't follow as she goes to peer out over the edge of the glittering water. She becomes distracted by the view, so she doesn't notice when Percy disappears for a moment. When she looks back, she assumes he's gone to the bathroom, so she stays where she is, enjoying the wondrous view. She doesn't look back until at least five minutes later when she hears Percy come to a stop behind her.

"What do you got there?" Annabeth asks, turning to look at him over her shoulder. His hands are behind his back, obscuring something from her view.

"A present."

"Did you get me a giant unicorn?"

"I got you a snail that fits in the palm of my hand. Take it or leave it."

Annabeth pushes off the railing she'd been leaning on so she can face him. She cups her hands together in front of her, and Percy drops it into her hand. It's a tiny plush snail, and it's adorable. The material is cheap but soft, the stitching already beginning to pull apart between her fingers.

"Where'd you get it?"

"I just played another game."

"Without me?"

"I wanted it to be a surprise."

Annabeth picks at the shell, pulling a thread loose. "I love it."

"Good. You have to keep it forever now. I expect it to be gifted to our children."

Annabeth smiles at him and wraps her arms around his neck. As she presses a sweet kiss to his lips, his arms lace around her as they always do. His words make her brain do circles because it's still something she's been thinking about recently—kids.

"Do you really think that we'll have kids one day?"

Percy freezes and pulls back so he can look her in the eyes. "I'd like to have one or two, but it's up to you. Why?"

"It's not that I think anything bad," she reassures him. "I just feel like there's so much that can go wrong. That whole dissonance between what's real life and what's not. And I want to be here with you, but sometimes I get scared because if we're both acting, how can we be sure that we're together? And if we're not together, how do we know if we won't end up breaking up?"

"Is that a serious question?"

"I don't think it'll happen," she explains. "I really don't want it to, but I'm worried that we won't be able to control that."

She thinks she may have hurt Percy's feelings, but instead, he just laughs.

"Don't laugh at me," she complains. "I'm pouring my soul out to you right now."

"I'm not laughing at you," he assures. "I just—We're going to be alright, Annabeth."

"We stopped talking last time we split."

"We were also eight without phones," he says. "Things are different this time."

"But what if it's not real in the way we think it is?" It's a stretch, but he'd admitted it himself a while back. He'd said that sometimes people fall in love while acting, not because they truly love each other, but because they love their characters. She loves Percy, and she knows he loves her back, but she's never going to be able to fully erase that voice from her mind that tells her so much can go wrong.

"Is that what you're still concerned about?" Percy laces a hand with hers and presses it over his heart. "I am right here. I'm not going anywhere. I'm real."

"I know that," she says. "I can't explain it."

"I get what you're saying," he says. "There's always that shadow of a doubt, and there's nothing you can do about it. But that's what my job is—to show you why you shouldn't believe that whisper."

Annabeth drops their hands from over his chest so their hands dangle between them. "We're almost done with the movie."

"I know."

"I don't know where I'm going next, and neither do you."

"But I do know that wherever I go, it's going to be with you in my mind. You don't have to be with me physically to still be there. If there's anything I learned over the years, it's that."

"I love you, and I don't want this to end."

Percy smiles teasingly. "No one's saying it has to."

"You promise to be my best friend still?"

"I've been keeping that promise for over twelve years now," he says. "What's a few more?"

"Mm. Good. Keep thinking like that."

"I'm serious, though. I hope that we'll be able to stay in the same area for wherever we go next—I mean, half of production is in LA or New York at this point—but even if we can't, I promise that we're going to be okay."

"I know we are," she says. "It doesn't stop me from worrying that we won't be."

"If it really bothers you that much, you don't have to keep acting."

Annabeth pauses.

"You've done it long enough that you could take a break for however long you want. You could come with me, and we could live normally for a little while, and…if you really wanted me to, I could take a break with you."

"I wouldn't ask you to do that."

"No, but I'm offering," he says. "It doesn't have to be forever, and I'm not saying you have to at all, but if that's what you want, then we'll make it work."

Annabeth considers it for a moment. Acting all her life is something she's thankful she's been able to do, but it's caused her so much turmoil, not knowing what's real and not real, or knowing but being terrified of the dangers that reality holds. It's exhausting, but it's not meant to be. It's meant to be invigorating, refreshing. It takes a mental toll on her, no matter how minor it is, and she thinks she doesn't want to let it anymore.

She thinks maybe it wouldn't be the worst idea to take a break.

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"We'll be together?"

"I'm not letting you get away from me ever again," Percy says.

That's all she needs to hear.

It took her entire life to get to this point, this beautiful boy standing before her, telling her that he's always going to be there. The world is often difficult to comprehend, so much being real and not real, fiction and nonfiction, organic yet artificial. She may never truly understand it, but as long as she has him, she knows she doesn't need to understand it. She just has to live through it, and with Percy by her side, she knows she'll be alright.

It's his promise, but it's also fate. They're going to be okay because they're real, and they're in love. It's that invisible string again, tying them together.

And so, Annabeth looks him in the eyes, and knows that whatever the future holds, it'll be them against the world.

---

True to Percy's promise, they turn out okay.

Annabeth doesn't take all that much of a break from acting, but it's not a surprise to either of them. Percy made fun of her for it, and she couldn't do anything except laugh, because he was right. As stressful as it was, it's given her everything. It's the reason she has Percy by her side, and it's just a part of who she is, restless mind and all.

She could have taken more time if that was what she really wanted, and Percy would have supported her, but it's taught her so much, and she could never throw that all away.

There was never any walking away from acting, she knows now.

Sometimes Annabeth is with Percy, and other times, she's not. It's never for too long, but they talk all the time, and when they do see each other, it's filled with endless kisses. It's the bright side of things, knowing that when she finally does get to come home, Percy's there waiting for her. He always kisses her on the nose, and then the forehead, waiting until she begins whining to kiss her properly.

Percy does that now, too, kissing her everywhere except where she wants him the most.

"Come on," Annabeth complains, jutting onto her tiptoes to attempt and press a kiss to his lips. He turns his face, and she settles for brushing against his jawline. She's still not happy about it, but it'll do for now.

Percy's hands rest on her waist as he looks out at the view in front of them. She spins to follow his gaze, and his hands move over her stomach, where only the two of them know lies the life they've created, so small and safe in such a big world.

The view is beautiful, Annabeth thinks. They stare off a cliff overlooking water. It looks crystalline, refreshing, and she imagines it would feel icy over her skin, much like the foggy air around them. There's a waterfall opposite of them that leads into the water below, and the place where the water hits is rough, a contrast to the calm of the rest of the body.

"How did you find this?" Annabeth asks.

"I was filming here last week," Percy says against her ear. "I thought you would like the view."

"I do," she breathes, letting herself out of his hold. She approaches the edge, and Percy calls out for her to be careful. "I'm always careful," she calls back, but she still spots the worry on his face, so she steps back from the edge a moment later.

"Come sit," Percy says.

"Hold on, I just—" Annabeth turns her head to look at him. "I want to keep looking for a little bit."

"I packed all these snacks, and you don't even want them," Percy says, but he's smiling as he sits on the thin cotton blanket in the dewy grass and waits for her to return.

When Annabeth decides she's had enough, she returns to his side, and he places a blanket on her lap. She doesn't bother arguing about needing a blanket at such a high altitude, especially when the situation is as is, so she tucks it around her back and holds it closed in front of herself.

"You brought a lot of food," Annabeth notes.

"I wanted to make sure you had everything you want," Percy says. "I don't mind."

She feels it in the atmosphere around them, the love he holds for her. It's shown through his actions, doing more than he needs to because he just wants her to be happy. It's in the way his eyes are on her when she's not looking, or the way his fingers tap against her leg just to let her know he's there, to serve as a reminder that they're together and won't ever have to be apart again.

"This looks like a movie," Annabeth says.

"It's better than any movie I could dream of being in," Percy agrees, looking into the horizon. It's still early too, so the sky is hazy, dusted with the faintest of blues.

It's truly the perfect scene for the two of them. Though they make their own movies now, years after reuniting, they live together in one movie of their own. And this spot feels like a finale to their adventure.

Annabeth is happy with him. They are unmistakably in love. Everything is so perfect it feels as though someone is going to pop out and yell scene, putting an end to the movie that is them, but she knows it won't happen because this isn't the end.

She had thought their movie began the moment they first met back when they were seven years old. She thought it never stopped, the films still rolling when they met again at twenty, through the years until they were twenty-four atop this cliff, taking in the glorious view. But she had been wrong.

Maybe in a way, they were living their own movie, but that would imply that they weren't real, and they were. Yet again, she's learned a lot through the years, and that just because something is scripted doesn't mean it's not real. And so, maybe they had been a movie all along—just one that was raw and authentic.

Still, their movie didn't begin when they were seven years old and unaware of what the future would hold like she had originally thought. She had tried to pinpoint when it began, but the truth is that she just didn't know.

She doesn't find out until now when Annabeth looks back as Percy begins to move.

Percy gets onto one knee and pulls out a ring.

Annabeth knows that what they have is real.

Their movie is only just beginning.

---

hello yes i did write this too quickly. but happy birthday to annabeth chase! please consider letting me know what you think by leaving a review! kisses xx