Percy was used to demigod dreams. There were two kinds in her experience; prophetic dreams and nightmares. The number of times she had seen the worst moments of her life again in her sleep was uncountable. She hadn't had any of the former in years, though she knew they could come up again at any time the gods felt like it.
That said, Percy was surprised when she found herself in the back of a limo. She saw a younger version of herself holding a mirror up to Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, as she adjusted her makeup. This clearly wasn't a prophetic dream, but this conversation hadn't been particularly traumatizing. It wasn't even the worst conversation Percy had had with a god.
Then Aphrodite looked at her, current her, and her features stopped shifting. Her hair settled as blonde, her eyes draining of all color as they turned storm gray. Percy didn't need to be a genius to figure out why.
"I made good on my promise, didn't I?" Aphrodite asked, smiling at Percy. "Your love life is anything but boring." That was the understatement of the century. Possibly even the millennia. "The Tartarus bit wasn't my idea, but OH!" The goddess squealed. "I couldn't believe it! I haven't seen anything that romantic since Helen!" Percy had to keep her anger in check, not wanting to piss off yet another goddess. But she was making it hard.
"To what do I owe the pleasure, lady Aphrodite?" Percy asked as neutrally as she could. Something was coming, gods didn't pay visits for fun. She only hoped that Aphrodite didn't expect her to come out of retirement because she didn't know how to turn down a god who could still smite her.
"I have a favor to ask." Aphrodite said. There it was. "Don't worry, it's not a quest." She said, as though she had read Percy's mind. She probably HAD read Percy's mind, an idea that didn't help settle Percy's nerves.
"With all due respect, favors for the gods usually mean quests." Percy said. The goddess huffed, though she didn't blast Percy so she apparently wasn't that offended.
"I just want you to check on my daughter.." Aphrodite said. "She's completely disconnected from the magical world. She won't even let me help with her girlfriend!" By helped Percy assumed she meant interfere which she thought was smart.
"Piper, you mean?" Percy hadn't spoken to Piper much since the aftermath of the war with the giants. Aphrodite nodded. It sounded to Percy like she was doing well. She hadn't heard that Piper had found a girlfriend after…the incident but Percy was glad for her.
"She's in Oklahoma." Aphrodite said. "And as much as I adore the cottage core aesthetic, if I showed up in person it would only create more issues for me." Percy figured Piper would be the one dealing with any actual issue, but she wasn't going to say that to Aphrodite's face.
"I'll send her an IM." Percy said. She had just arrived back in New York and she wasn't about to travel all the way to Oklahoma. Aphrodite clearly wanted just that, but Percy didn't waver in her decision.
Suddenly Percy was no longer talking to the goddess. She wasn't in a limo either, but in her bed. Annabeth was fast asleep beside her. She was home. Percy smiled as she looked over at Annabeth. As much as the goddess of love had thrown at the two of them, and the rest of the gods and fates, she wouldn't trade in a second of it.
Percy got out of bed as quietly as she could, not wanting to disturb Annabeth. She rummaged through the apartment for breakfast. She eventually settled on some Oops! All Berries! Captain Crunch. She couldn't help but think of her dream. All things considered, a goddess being concerned about her kid was refreshing to see. Percy didn't mind calling Piper by any means, though she wasn't sure she would appreciate an IM if she had truly disconnected from the magical world. If only they could use phones. Then again Annabeth had her laptop so it wasn't impossible that someone would figure out how to make demigod phones in the future.
It didn't take Annabeth long to get up. She raised her eyebrow when she saw Percy was up already- Annabeth was definitely the early bird between them- but didn't say anything. Too early in the morning to talk. Percy gave Annabeth some time to wake up and get some coffee in her before she said anything.
"Had a dream last night." Percy could see Annabeth stiffen. "Aphrodite wants me to check in on Piper." Annabeth didn't relax and Percy didn't blame her.
"That's it?" Annabeth asked. "No prophecies? No monsters on the loose? Nothing dangerous?" Annabeth looked even more skeptical than Percy.
"That's all she told me. I was going to IM Piper in a little bit." If it was early here it was an ungodly hour back in Oklahoma. "Piper has a girlfriend now, apparently."
"Good for her." Annabeth said before taking a pause. "That makes two of us." She smiled at Percy, making Percy's heart flutter. Yesterday felt like much more of a dream than her conversation with Aphrodite, and it was nice to see Annabeth was taking everything so well still.
It wasn't lost on Percy how well timed everything was. Coming out to Annabeth was the biggest event in her love life since the two got back from Tartarus and suddenly the goddess of love wanted to talk to her? Something was up.
But Percy couldn't not call Piper. If there was something worse going on then she at least needed to know, even if she couldn't help. She could send word to Camp Half Blood if things were really bad. And if things weren't bad then no harm no foul.
Annabeth still didn't fully relax, but she didn't look tense anymore either. The two had some time to kill and decided to watch TV. The two cuddled together, enjoying the feeling of the other's company even though neither of them spoke.
As it got later in the day, Percy figured she should hurry up and call Piper. Luckily Percy kept spare drachmas in her room, just in case. She grabbed them, taking them to the kitchen. After laying some towels on the floor, she used the sink hose to create a rainbow. Annabeth joined Percy in the kitchen, probably having heard the spraying water.
"Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please accept my offering. Show me Piper Mclean." Percy threw the coin in and watched it dissolve. A moment later she saw Piper, seemingly staring into space as she sat in a chair at a desk. Piper jumped when Percy's face appeared in front of her.
"Percy?" Piper asked. She had dark bags under her eyes, and from what Percy could tell she looked thinner than the last time they had spoken. Not in a healthy way either. "Is everything OK?"
"Everythings alright here." Percy said. "How are you holding up?" Any thoughts of Aphrodite had vanished when Percy saw the state Piper was in.
"Just peachy." Piper said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She rubbed her eyes, though it made no difference. "No offense but I'm assuming you called for a reason."
"Just checking in." Percy said, not technically lying. "But seriously, there's always a spot here for you in New York if you need a break from…whatever it is you're doing nowadays." Percy hated that she had no idea what Piper was up to. "And I'm not just talking about Camp Half Blood either."
Though she didn't say anything at first, a brief flash of emotion crossed Piper's face. Percy wondered if Piper might actually take her up on the offer. But then Piper's face went back to the tired, neutral expression she had started the call with.
"Thanks, but I-" Piper cut herself, Percy hearing a voice she didn't recognise. Piper's girlfriend? Piper jumped when she heard the voice, her head snapping towards wherever it came from before she frantically waved the Iris call away.
"That…could have gone better." Annabeth said. Percy nodded, turning off the sink hose. She picked up the now soaked towels, not happy as she saw that the floor had still managed to get wet. At least it wasn't as bad as last time, Sally had been livid when Percy had 'drowned her kitchen' last time she made an IM.
Percy knelt down, putting her hand on the floor. A ring of dryness emanated from her hand, though even with her powers it took a few minutes to dry the entire floor. What Sally didn't know wouldn't hurt her.
Percy and Annabeth were obviously concerned, but they didn't call back. At least not for today, though they agreed they would try again in a few days. For now, the couple had some quality time to spend together.