The next week at the Chase household consisted of a lot of sneaking around, not so much for Sally and Mrs. Chase, it was really mostly Percy and Annabeth. The two had been finding any excuse they could to go off on their own. This would usually result in the two of them pressed together in various parts of the house, half their clothes missing. On one such occasion Percy found himself shirtless, panting, and wrapped between Annabeth's legs, who was similarly topless with only a pair of shorts on. For some reason beyond his own understanding, Percy decided this would be a good time to have a serious discussion with Annabeth.
"Wait," He said, still breathing heavily, his lips parted, having been pressed against hers only seconds before. "We have to talk."
"About what?" Annabeth asked, annoyance seeping into her voice. She was still eyeing his lips hungrily. It seemed she didn't like being separated from what she was coming to view as her's.
"About us." That killed the mood. Annabeth huffed gently before unwrapping her body from his. She hopped off the washing machine that she had been sitting on and began to search the laundry room for her bra and shirt, both of which Percy had thrown haphazardly. When she had found them and pulled her shirt over her head, she turned to Percy. His shirt was in the wash along with a full load of his clothes. That was actually the original reason the two had gone to the laundry room. Evidently they had gotten sidetracked.
"Alright Perce, what about us?" Even as she asked it Percy could see her eyes trailing, running up and down his lean (and admittedly shirtless) torso.
He ran a hand through his messy, raven coloured hair. "I'm just unclear on…what we are." His tone was gravely serious. Annabeth's first response was to start laughing.
"Seriously," she said, "that's what this is about? You stopped a perfectly good time just to ask that?"
"Yeah, so what?" Percy was feeling defensive. "I'm not like you, this is a new thing for me."
"Okay, okay," Annabeth replied, a smirk still on her face. "What do you want us to be?" When she asked this her eyes stopped roaming his body, instead flicking up to meet his.
"I'm not sure honestly." Percy was scratching the back of his neck. The piercing gaze of Annabeth's gray eyes bore into him, making him nervous. It was like she could see right through him.
She rolled her eyes. "If you aren't sure, why don't we just keep doing what we're doing? It's working for me. Isn't it working for you?" She said the last line while stepping closer to him, her arms running up his and snaking around his neck.
"Umm," Percy began, losing his train of thought. Her smell was drawing him in and he found it increasingly hard to concentrate. "Yeah, definitely." Any further coherent thoughts were lost as Annabeth got up on her tippy toes, pressing her lips to Percy's, letting her hands slide down from his shoulders to his chest.
It was late at night, just under two weeks of living at the Chase household when Percy walked into the kitchen, finding his mom on the phone, an unreadable expression on her face.
"Yes…Yes I understand. Thank you so much. Yes…Goodbye now." When she hung up the phone her whole body seemed to ease, as though she had been carrying a great weight that had suddenly disappeared. Her gaze fell on Percy and a warm smile spread across her face.
"Percy! Come here." She held her arms out warmly and Percy walked into them, embracing his mom in a light hug. He stood a good few inches above her, and it was funny to think that this was the woman who had been raising him since he was infant.
"They found him, Percy," She said at last, pulling away from the hug and holding Percy at arms length. She was practically beaming up at him.
"Have they got him?" Percy asked, hoping against hope. He watched as Sally nodded and found himself mirroring her warm smile. A sense of stress that had been steadily building in him since she told him Gabe had escaped was suddenly gone.
"He's back behind bars. They've even moved him. He's in a state of the art correctional facility. The officer I was speaking to said it would be impossible for him to escape again. He's gone Percy, he's really out of our lives." He pulled her back into a hug. The sense of security that this brought both of them was worth the small pang that Percy felt, realizing that this meant it was time for them to leave the Chase household. He had enjoyed his time there immensely, and seeing his mom smiling with Mrs. Chase had been great. He knew she overworked herself, and getting a chance to socialize with another strong, hardworking, independent woman had clearly been a breath of fresh air for Sally. Percy did miss his home though, and he was happy to know that they would be back in the small New York apartment soon.
"I think Athena has already gone to bed," Sally began, "we can let her know the good news in the morning. We'll stay tonight and head home in the morning. Is that okay with you?"
"Of course," Percy replied.
"We'll have to thank them for their hospitality, they've been so generous letting us stay here." With the weight of Gabe lifted off her shoulder, Sally looked like she was ready to sleep for an eternity. Percy knew she hadn't been getting much sleep. She was one to stay up and worry, not just for her safety but for the safety of her son. It's just who she was.
"You should head to bed mom," he suggested. She gave a small nod, smiling gratefully.
"I think I will. Don't stay up too late Percy." She squeezed his arm and left for the guest room, going to get some long overdue rest. Percy headed up to Annabeth's room. The door was closed, which Percy knew as a telltale sign that she was in the room. He opened it quietly and shut it behind him. He scanned the room and was surprised to find no one in it. A gentle breeze brushed against him and Percy realized exactly where Annabeth was. He strolled over to the window, leaning out and hoisting himself up onto the roof. Annabeth was sitting on one of the two foldable lawn chairs, a book in her hands that she was completely absorbed in. Percy sat in the chair next to her and leaned his head back, looking up at the stars. They seemed so much clearer than he remembered, as though they had suddenly come into focus. They sat in comfortable silence for a while until Annabeth eventually bookmarked her page and placed the book at her feet. She shuffled her chair so that it was pressed to Percy's and leaned her head on his shoulder, joining him in looking up at the stars.
"You're smiling," she told him, her voice reverberating through his body. This made his smile grow.
"They got him." As soon as he said it Annabeth's head shot up and she turned to look at him, wide eyed, a sudden energy filling her.
"Did they really? Oh my Gods, Percy." She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed tightly. He couldn't help but let out a warm laugh. Everything seemed so much brighter.
She pulled back to look at him. He saw her smile and knew that she was as relieved as he was. It meant the world that she cared so much. He pressed his lips to hers. Even kisses seemed sweeter. That night Percy got the best sleep he'd had in weeks.
"You don't have to go right away. Please, stay a few more nights." Athena Chase had been equally as relieved to hear that the demon in The Jackson's life had been caught, and was insistent that they could stay longer if they needed.
"It's so kind of you to offer, but we should really be headed home," Sally responded. Her and Percy had already packed their things and were saying their goodbyes at the front door. "We can't keep taking advantage of your hospitality, and I should really get started on cleaning the apartment. Three weeks of dust built up. Eugh." Percy watched as his mom shuddered at the prospect. She had always been on top of keeping the apartment clean, save for Percy's room which she allowed to remain the utter mess he loved.
"Don't hesitate to call if you need anything," Athena said, giving Sally one last hug.
Annabeth had a smirk on her face as she looked up at Percy, just out of earshot of their parents.
"No more sneaking around the house huh." She said, poking him gently in the chest.
"I have to admit, I'm gonna miss it," Percy replied, looking wistfully at her glossy lips. She rolled her eyes but he could have sworn her smirk grew wider.
"See you at school, Seaweed Brain." She wrapped her arms around his shoulder and he put his around her waist. They hugged for a moment and then broke apart. Sally and Percy were off, heading back to their apartment, back home.
A/N: It's been a minute :)