In which the girls are so painfully gay and oblivious that you just wanna smack them over the head- but alas they shall not be getting together quite yet. Also- Percy wants to pull of a heist but Piper will not let her, and honestly if Percy did it Annabeth would be even more in love.
Replies:
Undeath9087: Yeah, totally just friends. And yeah- there are some redeeming facts- Athena would approve of what Percy wants to do in this chapter for example.
Guest: Yeah, though the Romans have some perks of their own.
Thickneck: I mean, there's no major trauma so far in the next fic.
Guest: Imagine Silena, I think she'd die of excitement. And Clarisse would probably go into shock- this tiny, pretty actress who looks completely non threatening just shows up and is a complete badass.
Guest: she will come to camp in time, and she will get Riptide- but you must wait!

They had a quiet day after their visit to the Parthenon. As much as Percy could tell Annabeth hated it, she'd put her foot down.

The daughter of Athena had been exhausted by the time they got back to their hotel, she'd had to have an hour long nap before they'd been able to go out and eat.

Not that they minded of course- Percy knew that trips like this weren't exactly uncommon for her. Given how wealthy the Kanes were they could go on holiday whenever and wherever they liked. So even if their schedule wasn't packed full of day trips it was fine with her.

Annabeth had tried to protest, and failed. She'd told them that she'd be fine, that she wanted to go to Delos. Percy had pointed out that they had plenty of time to do that without doing anything silly like risking the other girls health to do so. She was still recovering.

The others of course were able to make their own plans. Percy knew that Walt and Sadie were going to have a romantic walk and some sort of date, and Carter wanted to take a ferry to the mainland again and go to some museums with Zia.

So Percy, Piper and Annabeth had, after much discussion, agreed on a beach day- nice and peaceful, but also fun since they could splash around in the water if they wanted to. Which they did.

Percy and Piper even popped into a local beach shop to buy some surf boards- Percy did have one at home but it hadn't been used in a long time. And Piper also loved surfing so it would be fun.

Annabeth hadn't been too interested in that, which was fair enough, but she'd brought a book along to read while they had their fun.

To be specific she'd brought the third Blake Adventures book with her- the one which Percy had given her to read- translated into ancient Greek.

Percy and Piper spent a while in the waves- Percy occasionally summoning a slightly larger wave or two, specifically to knock Piper off, because the other girls reaction was always funny.

And Piper's revenge was usually to order Percy to do something ridiculous like backflip off the surf board.

Which honestly, Percy would probably have done even without the charmspeak purely because she found it hilarious.

Percy did spot Annabeth looking up from her book several times, though she couldn't see what Annabeth was doing- she'd given Annabeth a jaunty little wave, which had given Piper the chance to grab Percy's board and yank it out from under her.

And of course Percy couldn't let that go so unanswered so she'd tacked Piper beneath the water, laughing loudly as Piper flailed and glared at Percy, her cheeks slightly puffed up from how she'd sucked in a lungful of air right before she'd gotten dragged under.

A moment later Percy summoned an air bubble around Piper's head, and the girl exhaled, laughing as she slapped Percy's shoulder, legs kicking slowly, automatically. "Don't do that you psycho!"

"You yanked my board out from under me."

"Yeah, 'cause it was funny." Piper was grinning. "We should do this more often. Maybe drag Annabeth out onto a beach and teach her how to surf once she's better."

"Maybe." Percy laughed, "If she's up for it. Speaking of Annabeth we should probably go and rejoin her."

"I wonder how far into the book she's got." Piper snickered, "That girl reads faster than you eat-"

"Rude!"

"Think it'll be a part that makes her mad?"

"Okay that's not fair-"

"I remember when I read it properly for the first time-"

"So do I." Percy grumbled the words, rubbing the back of her head.

Piper had not been pleased to read about how her best friend had tossed herself into the Sea of Chaos.

Or how she'd casually dove down Apophis' throat.

The daughter of Aphrodite had repeatedly smacked her with her pillow at the time- a very violent attack, as Percy had pointed out to her mother.

But alas, Sally Jackson had laughed and told her she needed to be yelled at from time to time. When Percy had tried to point out that it wasn't just yelling she'd gotten 'the look' from her mom and stopped whining.

But hey, Annabeth wasn't as close to her as Piper had been at the time so maybe she wouldn't get angry with Percy for multiple near death experiences. She could only hope.

It didn't take the girls long to get to shore- and as they approached Annabeth set down her book, giving them a little wave as they approached. "I wondered how long you two would spend out there."

"Oh Percy could spend all day," Piper laughed, setting down her surfboard as Percy did the same, "You should come out with us some time. There's nothing like exploring the seabed with her."

"It is beautiful." she had a soft smile on her lips, "I love the ocean."

"Of course you do." Annabeth laughed, "Gods I can't believe I didn't realise sooner. I should have known when I saw your eyes."

"Why?" Percy tilted her head, only to receive disbelieving looks from both Piper and Annabeth. "I mean, Rhea and Hades seemed to figure it out from my eyes but that's like, because they know my dad personally right-"

"Percy your eyes are just like the sea." Piper pointed out, "They even seem to change depending on where you are and your mood like the sea does. Like right now, they're almost the same color as the sea here."

Percy blinked at that.

She'd never noticed it before. But then again why would she? It wasn't as if she carried around a mirror on a daily basis.

"Huh." she paused, considering that before shrugging, "Eh, it's not cooler than your eyes Piper."

"They are cool." Annabeth spoke up. "I've never seen eyes like yours. Not even on the other daughters of Aphrodite that I know."

"I once spent like, an hour staring at them and trying to figure out what color they were." Percy told Annabeth, "It was weird."

"You two are lucky. I've just got stuck with boring gray-"

"Are you kidding me?" Piper interrupted, "Are you- your eyes are really, really pretty Annabeth."

"What?" Annabeth blushed, "They're just gray-"

"There's no just about it." Percy agreed with Piper, "Like, if you're in a good mood they're this lighter gray which kinda reminds me of silver. And if you're thinking real hard they seem to go a darker gray- kind of like storm clouds."

Annabeth ducked her head at that, clearly trying to hide the smile that was playing across her lips. "Stop you two."

"Never!" Percy declared dramatically, flopping down onto the blanket next to Annabeth, "You shall never get rid of us Annabeth!"

"She's right. We're like limpets. You're stuck." Piper flopped down on Annabeth's other side.

And there was something in Annabeth's eyes again, she looked almost teary for a second before she tilted her head up so that she was looking towards the sky. Clearly she didn't want them to see her tears. Percy could respect that.

"I don't-" she let out a slightly damp cough. "I've only known you guys for a few weeks but-" she shook her head, "Somehow I believe that you mean every word."

"That's because we're not liars-"

"Yes you are-"

"Piper you wound me when have I ever-"

"You lied that time you screamed that you were the messiah at that preacher we saw in the Underworld."

"That does not count-"

"It was a lie-"

"It doesn't count as a lie if you're pulling a prank on an asshole-"

"Percy you cannot change the definition of a lie!"

"I can if I want to-"

"Stop it!" Annabeth was looking back and forth with wide eyes as laughter spilled past her lips- which Percy considered to be a victory. "You guys are ridiculous."

"Ridiculously loveable- ouch!" Percy pouted, picking up the projectile that Piper had just tossed at her head. "Wounded, wounded by my own property. For shame Pipes for shame-"

"It's a pair of socks."

"I- Hmph." Percy pouted, but Annabeth nudged her with her elbow.

"It's okay Percy. I feel sorry for-"

"YES!" Percy whooped the word, "Victory for Percy Ka-" Annabeth's hand clamped over her mouth.

"I retract my previous statement." her voice was deadpan and Percy shot her wounded puppy eyes as Piper cackled with laughter.

So of course the only thing left for Percy to do was, clearly, lick Annabeth's hand to get her to move it- which was super effective and Annabeth yelped, wiping her hand on her shirt, "That was gross! You are a horrible person."

"Yeah yeah." Percy laughed, "You love me really."

"Only for your money." Piper teased, "We put up with you for the mansion and the holidays right Annabeth."

"It's the library for me."

"Rude." Percy flicked Annabeths ear, "You haven't even been in the library yet."

"I don't care, you own your own library, I am going down there as soon as I can handle the stairs- which- I think I'm doing better right?"

"You are." Piper nodded, "I think you needed to get away and so something that you enjoyed. I know my grandpa Tom said that when he was sick he always felt best when he was doing something that made him feel happy. Your mood has an impact on your health."

"That's true." Percy agreed, "When I was recovering from my coma I always felt happier and more up for doing stuff when Carter and Sadie visited."

"Then it's a wonder I'm not running a marathon." Annabeth ducked her head, "Because this? This trip? It's the sort of thing I always dreamed of doing-"

"You dreamed of tackling a crazy tourist lady?"

"No but that part was amazing." Annabeth laughed, "The look on her face. And she really was just going to try and chip away a chunk of marble as if she had any right to do that. It's infuriating-"

"We know." Piper laughed, "Percy's usually the one to make people who do stuff like that suffer. I know we've... retrieved stuff that's been stolen before."

"You know what we should steal back next-"

"No-"

"But-"

"No-"

"You aren't even hearing me out."

"I know what you're going to say. And we are not doing it-"

"I'm just saying-"

"Percy last time you went to the British Museum it got blown up-"

"You're talking about the time you destroyed the Rosetta stone?" Annabeth's voice was filled with disapproval. "I still can't believe that really happened-"

"It was my dad, and it was fixed! I should introduce you to Desjardins. He was grumpy about the Rosetta stone for ages."

"That-" Annabeth let out a huff, shaking her head, "That's not important right now. What exactly do you want to steal from the British Museum?"

And Percy shifted slightly, trying to look as innocent as she could, "Now before you judge me-"

"No! Just no-"

"They were stolen! The Greek government has said that they want them back Piper-"

"You would be in an insane amount of trouble if you got caught-"

"The Parthenon Marbles- which is what they should be called they shouldn't be named after the stinky asshole who stole them, should be in Greece-"

"You-" Annabeth blinked slowly, "You want to steal the-" she pressed her hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter, "You- oh Percy I mean- it's a great thought but-"

"Ughhhhh. I know. I can't do it. But I want to."

"If it wasn't such a high profile museum I'd be all for it." Piper comforted Percy, patting her shoulder. "You know I would. But Percy it's the British Museum. I feel like trying to pull off a heist there is just going to ask for trouble."

"Oh shush it." Percy grumbled, swatting Piper's shoulder lightly before tilting her head back so that she could look up at the clear sky, "It's starting to get later- Annabeth you said you wanted to try out that posh looking restaurant across the street from the hotel. Want to go back, get changed and then try it out since the others are eating out today."

"That sounds perfect." Annabeth admitted with a soft smile as she ducked her head. "Let's go."