A/N: Hey guys! Back again with another update, hope you like it!
If there's one thing Percy knows how to do, it's work.
From mowing lawns to make some extra cash in middle school to deck construction after community college, he has always worked.
Which has resulted in an interesting cocktail of skills picked up in kitchens and grocery stores (and that one time he did data entry for three months).
But by far his favorite thing to do is be a barista. It may have something to do with his love for coffee, or just the fact that he'd been exceptionally quick on the pickup, leading to a shift manager promotion in only a few months at his first barista job.
Either way, when he had moved to California for a change of pace and scenery, he knew he waned to keep being a barista.
Cali's had been a perfect find, not overly crowded and affording him the luxury of trying out his own creations.
That is, until it all came crashing down.
Not that Percy's going to complain. He gets an amazing girlfriend out of the whole thing, even if it means losing his job.
Well…he didn't lose it per say. Cali would've kept him on (business was booming after all). But it quickly became too much after their relationship went public. The little shop couldn't really handle the crowds and the presence of paparazzi became even more annoying.
All that leads to today, where after five months of unemployment, he's sitting anxiously at the dining table with the dinner he cooked in front him along with the light of his life.
"This is amazing Percy!" Annabeth repeats for the second time, having finished half her plate already. "But," she continues before he can say anything, "doesn't seem like you like it…"
She nods to his almost untouched plate.
Something about his nervousness must show because she puts down her fork and turns all her attention on him.
"What's up? Are you okay?"
He's not sure why he's struggling with this. Maybe it's because he doesn't want to come across as ungrateful. Ever since he left his job, hell, even before that when he'd moved in with her, Annabeth has basically provided practically everything.
No rent, no bills, no grocery costs, leaving his only expenditures things he wants for himself.
And, of course, he's beyond grateful. He knows how nervous she was about the whole thing and how bad she felt about ruining his job. But he'd rather have her.
She looks across at him now, concern etching its way in her eyes at his continued silence.
"Percy?" she prompts, reaching over to lay her hand over his. "What's going on?"
He needs to just say it.
"Imgoingtostartmyowncafe."
"What?"
Heart beating fast, he tries to slow down the words. Annabeth squeezes his hand, making him feel a little better.
"I'm going to start my own café."
The surprise is evident on her face as she processes the words. For some reason, the silence just makes him talk more.
"I've been thinking about it and planning it out for a while. Like, I've done research on coffee beans so I can make my own blends and all that and—"
"Percy," she interrupts his rant. "I think this is great."
He shuts up as she smiles, squeezing his hand once more.
"You're more than capable and if you want to start your own coffee company, I fully support it."
He feels the tension release at her words, he doesn't know why he was so nervous.
"Really?"
She nods, turning back to her food. "It's something you're passionate about, so of course."
He nods, picking up his fork only to have somewhere to channel the adrenaline that's pumping through him.
"What are you going to call it?" Annabeth asks.
"Blue Cookies Café. 'Cause it's mostly coffee but our specialty dessert will be blue cookies."
"Mmm, blue cookies sound so good."
He nods, the nervousness now replaced by excitement. "Yeah, I've drawn up a rough menu of things we'll have. Still need to find good sourcing for the coffee though. But I do have a few locations picked out.
Annabeth smiles warmly. "Where are you thinking?"
His smile drops a little. "Well, I'm between two places. One costs much more and even though I have some money saved up to fund this, it's going to depend on if my loan goes through at the bank."
Annabeth nods, swallowing her bite. "Which one do you like more?"
"The more expensive one, unfortunately."
She nods again. "Well, I'm sure your loan will come through."
Percy shrugs. "If not, I like the other place too."
"I'm excited for you," she says, with a small smile.
He smiles back, finally feeling better having told her. Of course she'd support him, but a small part of his mind had been convinced she'd be upset in some way.
"Thanks."
But the relief is short lived, replaced by a small amount of worry as she quietly finishes the rest of her food. Maybe she is upset?
"You up for some dessert?" he asks, hoping that'll get her excited.
"Always," she jokes back, but he still feels like something is off.
He brings over the bowls of ice cream to the couch and she takes one with a small thanks. But as she reaches for the TV remote, it's eating at him enough for the words to just burst out.
"Are you mad?"
Annabeth turns to him, shocked. "What? Of course not!"
"It's just…you got quiet after I told you and…" He doesn't really know what his rationale is for thinking she is upset so he trails off.
She shakes her head. "No, I'm sorry. I'm not mad, just thinking…"
He sits down beside her. "What?"
She's clearly nervous. He can tell by the way she's toying with her spoon, and honestly, her nervousness makes him worried. What if she's about to tell him she thinks his plan is not doable?
"Um…would…" she starts slowly.
His heart his thumping fast again, but he reaches across to take her hand nonetheless.
"What is it?" he asks as gently as she had earlier.
"Would…would Blue Cookies Café like an investor?"
She doesn't look at him as she says the words.
"What?"
This is not what he was expecting.
"Like someone willing to invest in the business, could help you get it off the ground and all that…"
"Are you…" he looks at her as she stares down at her ice cream. "Are you offering to invest in my business?"
"If that's okay!" She rushes to say. "I mean, of course I want to support you and I also really do believe it's going to do well, so I'd like to make that investment if it's alright with you," she ends meekly.
"I'm…"
"It could be super lowkey, I wouldn't publicly associate in any way if you don't want that. And—"
"Annabeth." She stops rambling to finally look at him.
"Thank you, I'm…really honored that you think this is worth investing in. I just hope you don't feel any pressure 'cause—"
"Not at all! It's an investment I'd make even if we weren't dating. I've seen you work before. You know your stuff, you have a lot of experience in the industry, plus you're always creating your own things. This is perfect for you."
She's looking at him so genuinely that he has no choice but to believe her. In fact, hearing her reasoning makes him feel better, just in his own abilities to do this.
Deep down he knows Annabeth wouldn't offer to make an investment if she didn't believe in it, but still, he doesn't want her to go off of sentiment. But it really doesn't feel like she is.
"Thank you."
"It's the truth," she insists. "I have full faith in you."
He believes her. But before he can say anything, she turns so she's leaning against his chest as she always does when they wind down like this, cuddling into him further and moving his arms so that they're wrapped around her.
Clearly, she's made her stance clear. He smiles, bending down to press a kiss on her head.
He might have the best girlfriend of all time.
She cranes her neck up to look at him, wearing a smile of her own. "I think you missed," she says puckers her lips for a kiss.
God, he loves her.
The ice cream is melted by the time they return to it.
A/N: Shoutout to anon on tumblr and the various other people on both fanfiction and AO3 who asked about Percy's career moving forward! I had already planned to write something like this so it worked out well when people requested it! (Though I have a lot of requests as it is, my asks on tumblr is generally where I take prompts and it's filled with this series lol)
This chapter has some more Percy lore and just a supportive relationship :) I really wanted to just show how normal Percy is. Earlier on, a few people brought up the idea of him being something more or doing bigger things, but truly he's just a normal person. He can just be a barista, or just work like a majority of people do, he has that freedom. Anyway, hope you guys liked it!
Please Review! I'd love to hear your thoughts!
And as always, thanks for reading!
See ya! :)