Hello everyone! 30 followers! Yay! I am so happy. This chapter was a little difficult to write 'cause we are in June and the Christmas spirit is absent. But I still hope you enjoy it. The next chapter will be on Wednesday.

Auralia9514 and DecemberRome thank you so much for your support. I'm excited that you're enjoying the story as much as I am. Virtual hugs!

All of you stay safe, healthy, and always spread love.

I do not own anything from Percy Jackson.

Chapter 7

December 14th

"What are you doing for Christmas, Leo?" Piper asked, drinking from her Caramel Latte. She had given up the healthy juice habit months ago, as predicted. Those things are amazing energizing, but they fail at keeping you warm in winter, she had told Annabeth when she asked about it a week ago.

"I don´t know. Probably hunting for Santa Claus on the roofs. Why?" He was working on some face-scanning technology blueprints for one of Aurora's government projects.

"Well my dad always has this huge party on our Malibu house…and I totally hate it. So, I was thinking you could come with me and help me through it" Piper left out the part where everyone in the office was gossiping about poor Leo and how he didn't have any family to spend the holidays with.

"I'll get to see Angelina Jolie?" he joked, trying to conceal a glint of hope in his eyes.

"If you promise not to scare her away…maybe"

"Then yes, beauty queen. I'll accept your kind proposal" he said playing with his screwdriver as a drumstick. Piper just rolled her eyes but gave him a small smile. Those two had grown closer than anyone in the six months the brown girl had been an assistant. They had an interesting relationship.

"Is Jason going?" Annabeth asked taking her eyes off her textbook and throwing her a knowing look. Piper blushed.

"I don´t think so…I mean I wanted to invite him but…Is it too soon? We've only been dating for a month. I don't want to scare him away by introducing him to my dad" she said playing with her braid. Annabeth and Leo shared a look.

"You don't have to ask him now" Annabeth told her, trying to calm her racing mind. "Thalia and Jason are going back to L.A to spend some weeks with their family. Give him a call when you are both there and just invite him to the party. Don´t say anything about your dad. That way It'll just seem like a casual thing"

Leo gave her a funny look.

"Since when are you the expert on relationships?"

Annabeth frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, since you are all alone and… Ouch!" Piper had kicked him under the table, before finishing his statement. But Annabeth knew how it would have end. And you only care about work. She got those words a lot.

They stayed in an awkward silence before Malcolm's head popped out on the doorframe of the break room.

"Annabeth, Aurora wants to see you"

"Sure, I'll be right there. Thank you, Malcolm"

Annabeth gathered her stuff at an incredible speed and rushed out of the room, ignoring the annoyed look Piper threw at Leo, and headed towards her boss' office. Usually those comments about her being work-centered never bothered her, but the way Leo had said it made her feel kind of lonely.

She quickly shook her head. There was nothing wrong with being focused on her career as an architect. It was what she wanted and what made her happy. If she knew that, she shouldn't feel lonely or unsatisfied…right?

Leaving her textbooks on her desk, Annabeth quickly grabbed her journal and entered Aurora's lair. Her boss was speaking with someone on the phone, and her tone showed she was not happy at all. When she finally hung up, she took her glasses off and closed her eyes.

"There was a problem with our design for the new Pomona's Innovation Center on Chicago. We can´t let them cancel our contract, so I'll have to travel myself there and supervise for a few weeks" She sighed before resting her back on her expensive ergonomic chair. "I won´t be back before New Year's"

The assistant remained quiet.

"Therefore Annabeth, I'll need you to oversee most part of the office operations for the next two and a half weeks. You'll have to sleep, eat and breathe with your phone. Call me only for urgent matters and you'll have to stay in the city in case someone tries to reach me in the office. You'll start tomorrow"

Silence. Aurora finally opened her eyes at looked at her employee.

"Is there any problem?"

Annabeth, still in shock, managed to shake her head.

"No ma'am. Thank you for the opportunity"

"Very well. You may leave"

She couldn´t believe it. She was in charge of the office for two full weeks! That was the opportunity she had been waiting a long time for. Annabeth couldn't hide her smile when she returned to her desk and turned her computer on to start planning her future tasks.

Piper, who had returned from the break room, gave her a curious look.

"Did you finally talk to her about working as an architect" her friend asked, fascinated by Annabeth's cheerful mood.

"What? Oh, no. But is another great opportunity…" She told her coworker about the situation and she was surprised to find a questioning expression on Piper's face instead of an excited one.

"That sounds more like manager work Annabeth. Isn't she letting you design anything?"

"Well, no. But Piper this is a huge chance for me to get on her right side. She'll think of me as her second in command and will sure hire me as an architect after graduation" Annabeth said, trying to make her understand.

Piper just shrugged.

"If you say so. But, hey. Weren't you traveling to San Francisco to spend a few days with your family for Christmas and New Year?" she asked, as she resumed typing on her computer.

Annabeth's smile finally vanished.

"Oh, Gods"

December 16th

"So, you are not coming home. Again"

Annabeth watched from the window as the snowflakes fell in New York in an almost lazy pattern. She loved winter in the city, even in it was full of crazy tourists and abundantly crowded shops. Yes, the snow could be a problem, traffic jams got worse and the subways were at their peak points of human capacity. But for her there was still some magic to it. But she missed her family at Christmas.

"Yes, dad. Aurora has given me this huge opportunity and I'll to stay in New York and work on it for the next two weeks… I'm sorry" she said rubbing her eyebrows.

"But you already bought the tickets. Doesn't she know that?"

"Dad, it was my choice to stay. If I want her to really consider me for a full job, I have to do it"

Silence. Annabeth sighed.

"I promise I'll go home as soon as I can"

"That's what you said last year. Next time you'll surely find another excuse not to come"

"That's not fair. You were the one who told me to focus on my studies. Well that's what I am doing" Annabeth couldn't keep her voice from shaking a little. Percy gave her a curious look from across his desk. He had been typing something on his computer, but surely stopped when he heard her upset.

Her dad sighed.

"Honey if this is for Helen…"

"No, dad. You know things are better between her and me. This is purely for work"

"I understand…is just that I feel you growing apart from us. The twins miss you. They ask about you a lot and…"

Annabeth chocked back a sob. "I'm sorry"

"It's okay. Just promise me you'll grab a flight here as soon as you can. If not, then we'll see each other for your graduation in February. I mean if you still want us to go"

Annabeth smiled.

"Of course."

"And honey?"

"Yeah?"

"You'll be the best architect with or without Aurora"

"Thanks, dad"

"Bye Annabeth"

"Bye"

They hung up and Annabeth detailed the picture of Montauk Percy had in his desk. How lucky he was to have his family in the same city he worked in. That way, he didn't have to choose between one or the other. He had the best of both worlds.

"You should go" Percy said, closing his laptop and putting it aside.

Annabeth grimaced and grabbed another blue cookie from the plastic container. "Are you kicking me out this early? We just started going through the chronogram of the first five floors" she tried joking.

He gave her a small smile, but then his expression turned back into a serious one.

"I mean you should go see your family"

Annabeth finished her cookie. "It's my job Percy. I can´t just say no, she would fire me"

Percy raised an eyebrow. "And?"

She blinked. Twice.

"Well and getting fired it's a bad thing" she said with an obvious tone. "You won´t get any references, you run out of money and, in my case, you lose the possibility of being an architect in the most prestigious firm in the country and, possibly, the world"

Percy thought about it for a few seconds.

"You have a good point. But is that really more important than family?"

"It's not that I'm never gonna see them again. I will. I just need to focus on what's important for me right now"

He crossed his arms and said "Really? Because I would have said otherwise when you almost cry telling your dad you weren´t seeing him"

"I love my family Percy" she said angrily. "And it hurts me not being with them for Christmas, but they are not my priority right now. End of discussion"

His looked at her intensely, but she decided to ignore him and focus on the snow outside. Both of them were too stubborn to simply let go of their conversation, so they worked barely addressing each other for an hour.

After almost four months of working with each other, Percy had become one of Annabeth's closest friends. She liked telling him about her day and the bizarre things she encountered on the subway, while he texted her about his swimming practices and his relationship with Poseidon. But growing closer to each other also meant having more deep conversations, and almost all of them ended up with them having an argument and being pissed with each other. There was a topic, however, that neither of them talked about with each other: their romantic relationships. Percy barely talked about Rachel with her, and every time Percy asked about Luke, Annabeth would just dismiss it as an ex-boyfriend. A little weird? Yeah, you could say that. Thalia had the theory of those two not talking about relationships, because it would make them jealous about of not having each other. Annabeth would just laugh at it.

December 20th

"Are you sure you're not going to die from drowning on ice cream and cheesy movies while I'm gone?" Thalia asked moving her heavy bags to the cab waiting in front of their apartment building. Jason took them from her hands and shoved them into the trunk. His sister both thanked him and punched him. She was still mad at him for not telling her he transferred to New York to finish his Business major in NYU. He said it was because Thalia could be a little bit overprotective of him and wanted a few weeks away from her sister's watch. Annabeth understood him.

"I'll be fine," she said hugging her best friend. "Besides I'll be too busy with work to actually wonder how lonely I am without you"

Thalia rolled her eyes. "I know. These last few days you've been a robot. Only working, without eating nor sleeping"

"You are exaggerating" Annabeth looked at her watch. "You should get going if you don't wanna miss your flight"

Thalia gave her one last hug and whispered "If Percy asks you to hang out, please say yes. I'll know if you refuse"

Annabeth broke the hug and narrowed her eyes at her. "What did you do Thalia?"

"I just told him to keep an eye on you for me"

"You'll be away just for two weeks!"

"You'll be alone Annabeth. Just bear with me"

Behind Thalia, Jason threw her a look like telling her I know.

"Fine" she surrendered.

They waved goodbye and Annabeth waited for the cab to disappear from her view, before turning around and going back inside. She checked her mail and found a Christmas Card written by the twins. Her heart almost melted when she saw the usual family picture without her on it. Do it for your future career. She repeated that mantra while climbing the stairs to her apartment.

She felt the weight of loneliness once she sat on the empty couch and worked on her computer in silence. Thalia always had some kind of music playing from her bedroom or on their portable speakers in the coffee table. Annabeth remembered the day Percy and Grover came. The living room from that day was full of laughter, music and food, nothing compared to its current gray and sad aspect.

Not even half an hour had passed since Thalia and Jason were gone when she got a text from Percy.

7:24 p.m. Hey! I need to buy some gifts for my family. Would you help me choosing them tomorrow?

7:25 p.m. Can't Rachel go with you? I feel she would be more helpful since she might know what they like better.

7:26 p.m. She's busy

7:28 p.m. Please Annabeth? :( I'll buy you a pizza with extra olives when we are done.

7:30 p.m. Fine. But I'm doing it for the pizza.

7:30 p.m. There isn't more noble cause ;)

December 21st

"So why are we here again?" Percy asked, dodging the insane amount of people walking through Union Square.

"You said I could choose the place. Besides I haven´t been in here since I first came to the city" Annabeth replied, watching some guys from Vanity Fair interviewing people about shopping sprees on Holidays. She decided to avoid them and took the long way around the square to their destination.

"And you have to choose one of the busiest days to come back? Typical Annabeth" She elbowed him, and he chuckled softly.

"Next time will be Fifth Avenue" she joked, and they hurried to cross the street, earning colorful comments from the drivers.

Percy grimaced at the thought. "No, thank you"

Annabeth smiled and they continued to walk south. She should have been in a bad mood. Work was stressing her out more than usual, due to multiple projects' delays by snowstorms and sometimes even damages to some structures. Most of their architects were on vacations for the holidays, so Annabeth had to play the annoying boss part and called them about some designs. Of course, she could correct them herself and not bothering them, but she knew they wouldn't like someone else changing their blueprints, and much less someone without title or experience.

On top of that, Percy had asked her to hang out on one of the coldest and busiest days yet. She was clearly pissed off as she waited for him outside of the inside pool to finish his swimming practice, trying not to lose her fingers as she typed urgent emails to Aurora's clients. She couldn't focus inside with all the screaming from his coach.

Percy, noticing her irritated attitude, had managed to make her laugh as they walked to the station, and, by the time they were riding the subway, Annabeth had forgotten her bad mood and was instead happily chatting with her friend. She kind of hated how Percy knew how to disarm her, whenever she tried to stay mad at him. And she kind of liked it too.

She hugged her coat closer and tried to remember where the small bookshop was. They kept walking a few more blocks before she suspected they were lost. Percy threw her a look.

"You're lost"

"Pfft, me? Never…" She could have sworn the little store was 3 blocks south from Union Square, and her memory was usually never wrong. Percy sighed and squinted at a few lights across the street.

"C'mon. I'll invite you to some coffee while you grow the decency of admitting you don't know where you are"

"Wait! I know it must be around here. Maybe it was a block back…" she said looking to where they came from, but Percy grabbed her hand and made her cross the street to a small cozy bistro-like establishment.

"We are freezing Annabeth. It'll be just a few minutes" Even if the smell of coffee was lifting her spirits, she was still a little sore for not finding the place.

"I'm not freezing," she said crossing her arms and behaving like a little girl.

"Aha…" Percy opened the door and Annabeth surrendered to the warmness. "Just get in, Rudolph"

They sat down near the end and a beautiful waitress just a few years younger than them took their order. Annabeth felt weird at only ordering coffee so they decided to split a cinnamon roll. When she came back with their order Annabeth asked, "Do you know about a small vintage bookstore that was around here a couple of years ago?"

She smiled kindly and said "Oh, it closed a few months ago. They weren't doing good, so they ran out of business"

"Oh, ok. Thank you" So her memory was right. She left and Annabeth took a much-needed sip from her black coffee and grabbed a big piece of the baked roll with her fork before Percy could inhale it.

"Why were we looking for that shop in particular?" he asked, before practically gulping down his latte.

"Well, your mom is a writer. And I remembered them having this cool Classic Novels old collection, so I thought it would be something she would like. But they closed, so…" she sighed and took another bite with extra cinnamon.

"That's nice of you, Wise Girl. I'm sure she would have love it" Her eye twitched at the silly nickname, but she decided to let it go.

"Yeah, well. Now we have to think of a new one" She finished her coffee and let Percy have the rest of the sweet.

"How about we go to Barnes & Nobles back at Union. My mom loves books, so we can buy a few there. They won't be special or vintage, but I'm sure she'll enjoy them" Percy proposed while Annabeth asked for the check. Percy had invited her, but she insisted it was her turn to pay.

"Sure, why not"

Once they stepped outside, Annabeth's phone started ringing. She picked it up and sighed. Percy peeked over her shoulder to see the ID caller.

"It's from work. I have to answer" she said, taking off her glove, pressing the green button and ignoring Percy's groan of annoyance and him muttering "It's the third time on a Friday night".

December 24th

Annabeth watched from Aurora's window, as people walked through the sidewalks of Manhattan full of shopping bags and wrapped gifts. She imagined herself being one of them on San Francisco, going to her dad's house and waiting for Helen's usual Christmas eve special dinner.

She wished nothing more than taking off her business clothes, burning her high heels and just lay on a comfy couch in her fuzzy pajamas watching crappy Christmas movies. But there she was. Stuck at her office, waving goodbye to her last coworkers, and sitting on Aurora's desk playing with her designs on her laptop.

Annabeth was finishing the idea for the exterior of a cabin on the beach, when her phone rang. She almost jumped of joy when she answered, and Percy's voice resonated on the other side.

"Hey, you," she said, almost too excitedly. Her chest fluttered when she heard him chuckle.

"Hey, you too" He greeted back. There was a moment of him cursing and the sound of cars honking and tires shrieking against pavement. She rolled her eyes.

"Are you driving while talking with me? That's extremely irresponsible, Perseus" Annabeth scolded him. Although she didn't want him to hang up either.

"Don't worry! Ferrari should hire me for how good driver I am" he said carelessly. Before she could keep reprimanding him, he asked her "Where are you?"

"At work. I needed to finish some things before closing the office. Why?" She did not need him to know she was still there because she didn't want to arrive at an empty house on Christmas eve. That was just extremely sad.

"Great, I'll pick you up in five minutes. Be on the street by then"

"What?! Percy…"

"Sorry Annabeth. Gotta drive. Don't make me wait!" She could feel him smirking even after he hung up. She immediately turned her computer off and quickly collected her things, with a huge smile on her face. Making sure no one was left in the officed, Annabeth locked the doors and grabbed the elevator. She waved goodbye to George from security and stepped into the cold night.

Thirty seconds had passed when she saw the Prius turning the corner. She felt a huge wave of relief when he pulled over and rushed to the copilot door. Percy's car was warm thanks to the heater and it smelled like the sea breeze that, even if it was an odd odor on winter, was becoming one of Annabeth's favorites.

"Hello Wise Girl," He said pulling back into the traffic, while Annabeth took off her coat and put it on the back seat. She saw the gifts Percy and she had bought days ago, around her feet, wrapped in a messy way.

"Hi. So where are you kidnapping me?"

"First of all, I didn't see you doubting when you got into the car, so I am clearly not kidnapping you. And second of all, my mom is making dinner and she said I could invite you since no one should spend Christmas alone"

Annabeth almost died of embarrassment.

"Who says I'm gonna spend it alone?" She mustered, flushed. Percy grimaced as if realizing what he had said.

"Thalia"

Annabeth rolled her eyes and looked out the window. "Of course, she did" She admired the city lights for a few minutes before sighing. "Percy, I don't wanna intrude…"

"You won´t"

"And I might feel uncomfortable in such a private occasion"

"My mom insisted Annabeth. I promise you're gonna feel welcomed. Trust me on this one" He winked at her, before returning his eyes to the front and driving in silence. Annabeth was starting to wish she would have stayed home alone, but Percy's family and even him might took it as an offense if she refused their kind offer. Thus, she bit her lip and tried to enjoy their trip through Manhattan.

HeythereimalinebreakenjoyyourdayHeythereimalinebreakenjoyyourdayHeythereimalinebreake

"Is Rachel coming?" Annabeth asked while they climbed the stairs of an old brick building on the Upper East Side. She hugged the bottle of wine, they had bought on their way there, closer and hoped it was a good last-minute gift for Percy's parents. At least that's what he told her they would like.

"Eh…no. We agreed on spending Christmas with our respective families" They finally stopped on a crème colored door with a cute reindeer welcome mat on the floor. Percy noticed her fidgeting with the bottle and threw her a reassuring smile. "This wine is their favorite Annabeth. Besides, you helped me buying their presents, so that makes you partially responsible for them" But that wasn't the reason she was anxious. He was about to knock, but she stopped him.

"Percy are you sure Rachel is comfortable with me spending today with you and not her? I don't wanna be the reason for a fight" She kept the part where she felt he was spending more time overall with her and not with his girlfriend. Also, half of that was purely for work, so she shouldn't feel guilty about it.

"I haven´t told her," he said with a poker face, "But she has no reason to get mad". Annabeth noticed a hint of sadness in his voice, but before she could enquire him about it, he knocked the door and footsteps were heard coming towards them.

The door opened and a beautiful woman in her mid-forties showed up. She was wearing a beautiful blue dress, gold earrings, and egg-white ballerinas. Annabeth notices Percy's kind expressions on her face and she had a motherly aura emanating from her.

"Look at both of you dressed so business-like," she said, laughing softly. Annabeth noticed their outfits and realized they looked like uniforms. They were both wearing white button long-sleeved shirts, only Percy had his rolled-up letting his muscular arms show up. Annabeth had normal blue jeans and he had black pants. Their coats were hanging from their arms.

Annabeth blushed. "Sorry, I didn´t have time to change". His mom smiled warmly and hugged her, taking her by surprise. She returned the hug as best as she could, trying not to drop the wine bottle.

"It's okay. I know how insistent my son can be. I bet he just told you about the invitation a few hours ago" The woman broke the hug and threw a knowing look at his son, and Percy just shrugged.

"Don't worry. He might be insistent, but he means well" Annabeth said, noticing a small blush on Percy's neck. His mom suppressed her smile. "Thank you so much for inviting me, eh…Percy's mom"

"Sally. Call me Sally. And you must be Annabeth" she said glowingly and stepped aside. "C'mon in! Dinner's almost ready"

While Sally and Percy hugged, Annabeth stepped inside, and she was greeted by wonderful smells coming from the kitchen. The apartment was a little bit bigger than hers and had three rooms down the hall. The living room was full of Legos and Barbie dolls and a beautiful little girl was playing with a whale plushie. She was the spitting image of her mom, only her eyes were bigger and lighter.

"Hi!" A deep voice greeted her. Annabeth turned to the man coming out of the kitchen with a towel on his hands. He had a jacket with Goode's coat of arms in it. He extended his arm and shook hands with her. "I'm Paul Blofis. Percy's stepdad"

"Hi, Mr. Blofis. I'm Annabeth" They smiled at each other and she handed him the bottle of wine. "Percy told me this was your favorite"

"Well, he was right" he accepted her gift and inspected it. "Thank you so much, Annabeth. Please make yourself at home. Oh, and call me Paul" He disappeared behind the small door that led to the kitchen, and she could hear him looking through the cabinets.

She felt Percy standing next to her and Sally closing the door. Estelle stopped playing with her now plastic dinosaur and stood up faster than Annabeth could register. She ran to her brother and tackled him.

He chuckled. "Hi kiddo"

"Did you bring me presents?" she asked with her big brown eyes. Percy tried to hide better the packages behind his back.

"Maybe. But you'll have to wait until tomorrow to open them along with Santa's" She stuck her tongue out at him and then looked at Annabeth as if just realizing there was a stranger on her house.

"Hi, Estelle" Annabeth greeted softly. The little girl clenched her brother's pants and remained silent. She kneeled to be at her same height "My name is Annabeth and your brother Percy has told me so much about you" That seemed to ger her attention.

"Really? Like what?" Estelle took a step closer to her.

"Well…" she put her hands under her chin as if thinking. "He told me you loved cookies…"

"I do!" she yelled, letting go of her brother and giving her full attention.

"How intelligent you are…"

"I'm the best in my class!"

"And that you are the best captain in all seven seas" Estelle's eyes almost exploded from her tiny face, and she started to jump on her place.

"You have to see my ship" She grabbed Annabeth's hand and started leading her to the hallway before Sally stopped her.

"Estelle let our guest rest and chat with us for a while. You two can play later" she winked at Annabeth and Stelle had the most adorable pout on her face.

"Tell you what" she whispered to the kid. "How about you go and bring me you ship? That way we can play while I talk to your parents" Something in Percy's sister reminded her of her own brothers back in San Francisco. She could never say no to them. Although they were now in middle school and rebellious as hell, Annabeth still saw them as her baby brothers.

"Yes!" she ran to her bedroom and she heard her talking on her own.

Annabeth turned to Percy.

"She's adorable"

He chuckled.

"Yeah. Can´t say no to her"

"Well," Sally said putting back her apron and looking at Annabeth. "Dinner will be ready in ten minutes. So, make yourself comfortable"

"Do you need any help?" she asked politely.

"Oh no, dear. Percy will help me with that. You are our guest" she smiled before disappearing into the kitchen. Percy placed the gifts under the beautiful Christmas tree in the living room, before coming back to her.

"Careful with Estelle. She can be a little too…"

"Intense? Like her brother?" she finished.

He smirked before saying "You love my intensity" and disappeared through the kitchen door.

Stelle came back and introduced her to her whole crew of toys. She told her that sadly Annabeth had to be just an ordinary pirate since she was the captain and Percy her first mate. She didn't have a problem with that.

The dinner was amazing. Sally was a remarkable cook and the wine was also pretty good. She was still weary with alcohol from her night at Kronos, so she only drank two glasses. They talked about Paul's teaching position at Goode and how Annabeth had never seen him around campus before. Estelle played and told her stories about her kindergarten friends, before going back to the living room and falling asleep on the couch. Sally shared stories about Montauk and how Percy liked to think he could control water.

"One time, he told me he could speak to the fish," Her mom told her, as Annabeth dried the tears from laughter.

"Mom…" Percy pleaded while picking up the empty dishes from the table.

"Oh honey. I have to share embarrassing stories about your childhood. That's what mom's do best" she winked at Annabeth. "I'm sure yours must have some stories like that"

The blonde shrugged and said "I never knew her so, no. My dad though has lots of me trying to fly with his toy airplanes" She stopped as she noticed the pitiful looks Paul and Sally were giving her and how Percy seemed deep in thought.

"I'm sorry dear. We didn't know she was dead" Sally said, warmly.

"Oh, she's not. Well, she might be? I don't know. She left me and my dad when I was just a baby, so I don´t really remember her" she commented calmly. Percy's parents shared a look and Annabeth started to feel uncomfortable. Her not knowing her mom was a normal thing for her, but people always look at her wondering: How can a mother abandon her child. Like if it was abnormal. It's just something that happened. Of course, she had had an existential crisis when she was a teenager but moved on pretty quickly.

She cleared her throat.

"Percy, you need help with those dishes?" He broke away from his trance.

"Uh, what? Oh, sure." She quickly got up and grabbed what he couldn't carry from his arms. Sally said she was going to take Estelle to bed and Paul helped her. They entered the small kitchen, Annabeth rolled up her sleeves and started by washing the pans with hot water. Percy put everything back her mom used for dinner back in the pantry and then help Annabeth with drying. She could feel him giving her curious stares.

"Your family is the nicest" she said, giving him a small smile.

"Yeah…they mean everything to me"

"Even Paul?"

He laughed drying a wine glass, "Yep. Even Paul" Percy had shared so much with her, she felt it was time she told him about her family. And she knew he wanted to, but he was just too respectful to ask.

"I didn't have a good relationship with my stepmom until a few years back" she shared, and Percy immediately stopped drying. Annabeth however continued washing.

"Why not?" He finally questioned.

"It had always been my dad and me. We were a dysfunctional duo: him in college trying to raise a little girl on his own; me, trying to be just as smart as him, tinkering with his projects and models. And, when Helen came and then the twins were born, I felt he was finally having the family he dreamt of and that he was leaving me out of it. He dedicated his whole attention to them, well, when he wasn't busy with work. I started realizing what I was just a mistake in his life, that I reminded him too much of the woman that had abandoned him…and I blamed Helen for showing him what a beautiful family he could have"

Percy stayed silent for a few seconds and then resumed his role.

"So, what did you do?" he asked, once she had finished washing. Annabeth sighed and laid her back against the counter.

"I did what any angry seven-year-old kid would have done. I ran away from home"

Percy waited for her to tell him she was joking, but she stayed deadly serious.

"Wow" he finally said.

"I know. I was a real drama queen" she smiled sadly.

"How did you manage?"

"Well, I survived two weeks from stealing stuff and eating whatever I found…but then Luke found me…" she saw Percy's back stiffening. "He reasoned with me and told me I was being silly, but that he understood how I felt. He took care of me for a few days before I decided to return back to my dad's house"

"After meeting him at the club, I found that hard to believe," he said bitterly.

"He's changed a lot" Annabeth simply replied. She looked at her watch. "I should get going. I don't wanna overstay my welcome" She gasped when Percy grabbed her hand and realized how close they were.

"Thank you for telling me…and you will always be welcome at my house" he said softly, while Annabeth tried desperately not to drown in his sea-green eyes. She didn't want to let go of his hand, but the sound of someone clearing their throat made them both jump apart from each other.

Sally was on the doorframe giving them a motherly look with a small smile on her lips. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes," Annabeth said with her heart aching. "Everything's fine"

HeythereimalinebreakenjoyyourdayHeythereimalinebreakenjoyyourdayHeythereimalinebreake

"Say thanks to your mother for me once again, will you?" Annabeth asked him, while they were parked outside her building. Percy had insisted on taking her home after she had said she could perfectly call a cab, but she lost the battle when Sally encouraged her to take her son's offer.

He chuckled softly. "I think she's received enough gratitude from you" he joked at Annabeth's insistency. She punched him, jokingly. "Fine, I'll tell her"

She didn't make a move to get out of his car, because she didn't want to arrive at her empty apartment after having such a nice evening with Percy's family. As if reading her mind, he grabbed her hand for the second time that night and gave it a squeeze.

"You know you can call me at any time and for any reason. Even if you just wanna talk to someone"

"It's my apartment, Percy. Not a rehab center" she joked, feeling butterflies on her stomach when he laughed softly. "But thank you…for everything" Then her eyes light up and she remembered something important.

"Wait here," she said, unbuckling her belt and bolting out of the car before Percy could say a word. She rushed to her apartment, as fast as her high heels allowed her, grabbed the small Christmas themed bag, and headed back downstairs to the Prius. Percy had a pretty confused look as he watched her panting on his window.

"What was that?" he asked, amusedly. Annabeth showed him the bag.

"For you," she said, carefully delivering the present through the window. "It's delicate" she warned. Percy had his mouth wide open and an astonished look on his face.

"Thanks, but I didn't get you anything," he said, nimbly unpacking her gift.

She rolled her eyes. "You didn't have to. Besides, you've already done too much for me"

Finally, Percy revealed a big bottle of thick glass with a model of a ship inside it. Annabeth was relieved to see his eyes shining and a goofy smile on his face, as he inspected it from every angle.

"I saw it the other day on my way to work" she quickly added. "The owner said it was an exact replica of the Pirate Morgan's ship. And well, I immediately remembered when you told me you and your sister were fascinated by pirates. I'm glad you brought me home so I can actually give to you today" She held her breath, waiting for him to speak.

"It's awesome Annabeth," he said, still scrutinizing the little boat. She finally relaxed. Then he frowned. "Was it expensive?"

"It's a gift, Percy. Don´t think about" He smiled beautifully at her and she decided it was time to retreat. "Well then, I better go" And, without thinking she leaned forward and gave him a small kiss on his cheek. She walked around his car and made her way toward her door when she heard him yelling "Merry Christmas, Wise Girl!"

She should have been scared that they were going to wake all the people on her block. But for once, she simply didn't care.

"Merry Christmas Seaweed Brain" she yelled back before hiding behind the doors of her building and not even trying to hide the goofy grin on her face.