try not to get offended at any of the coronavirus jokes i make lol. i originally started writing this when coronavirus was just a meme and finished it when it became an international pandemic
Words w/out AN: 6600+
Pairing(s): Percabeth
I am not Rick, so I own nothing.
spilled water and clingy bags
Annabeth stifled a yawn, stretching her arm up to cover her mouth.
She had woken up at the ungodly hour of 4:00 am to make sure she arrived at the airport by 6:00 am, just so she could be prepared for her 9:00 am flight. Annabeth had grumbled and groaned to herself the entire taxi ride, silently cursing whoever had the bright idea of making it necessary to check-in three hours before your flight was supposed to leave.
She liked to be prepared, though. Annabeth also had the peace of mind knowing she wouldn't be late for her flight, even if she was fighting the urge to just fall asleep right there, on some uncomfortable bench, and miss her flight completely.
And it wasn't like she was able to at least catch some sleep on the drive over, because, if anything, it was more of a rollercoaster ride instead of a taxi ride. Every other turn had Annabeth clawing at the grab handle above her seat. She had tightened her seatbelt as much as she possibly could and the only thing left to do was pray that they didn't get in a car crash.
But, Annabeth had arrived at the airport, eyes wide and slightly shocked she was still alive. The drive had boosted her heart rate, keeping her awake long enough to not die of boredom through baggage check and inspections, but now that she had found a seat, waiting for her flight, her eyes grew heavy as the adrenaline faded.
Annabeth checked her phone, glancing at the time. It was only 6:37 am. She still had about two and a half hours until her flight was supposed to leave, assuming it wasn't delayed. Maybe she could afford to close her eyes and get some rest… She could set an alarm or something to wake herself up.
Before she could think about it, her eyes decided for her, automatically closing on their own, as if Annabeth didn't even have a say in the matter. She tried to fight her drowsiness, Annabeth hadn't even set an alarm yet, but the urge to just sit still, close her eyes and potentially die of exhaustion took over.
It wasn't long, though, when she felt someone kick her foot. A hard thud followed it and Annabeth opened her eyes to see some guy groaning on the ground.
Annabeth had half a mind to tell this guy to watch where he was going and to stop interrupting her sleep, but she held her tongue. She didn't want to come off as rude to the guy she had just tripped. Even if it was technically his fault, considering her legs were pretty noticeable, in her opinion.
The guy was still sprawled out on the ground in front of her. He rolled to his side, knocking over one of his suitcases. His messy black hair covered his face so Annabeth couldn't get a good look at him.
Annabeth raised an eyebrow and yawned at the same time, her face probably contorting in an incredibly unattractive way. She figured she better say something, instead of just watching him lay on the ground.
"Are you alr- ahhhh." She started, before being cut off by another yawn.
The man rolled around so he was facing the ceiling. He brushed his hair away from his eyes and glared at her, although the glare didn't last too long and Annabeth was much too tired to take it seriously.
"Does it look like I'm alright?" He asked, slightly smiling, as if he didn't particularly mind being on the germ infested airport floor.
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I don't know. Do you enjoy rolling around on the floor? You haven't gotten up, yet, so maybe you're having a splendid time."
He laughed and the sound was much too delightful for Annabeth to hear on a dreary Saturday morning. Annabeth watched as the man picked himself up, brushing off the dust from his jacket. He stuck out an arm in Annabeth's direction.
"Hi, I'm Percy. Sorry about tripping over your feet, I was too focused on searching for my gate."
Annabeth stared at his outstretched hand wearily, shifting back to try to distance herself from it. "There is no way in hell am I shaking that hand."
Percy frowned, shifting his eyes to stare at his hand. "What's wrong with it?"
"You were just rolling around on the ground. The ground is very dirty." She explained slowly, crossing her arms. "You probably have coronavirus now, or something."
"I do not have coronavirus." Percy looked at the ground where he was just laying. "Probably…"
Annabeth hummed, slightly smiling.
"And you shouldn't be joking about that right now." Percy noted seriously. "Schools are closing and flight bans are being put in place. You're lucky your flight wasn't cancelled."
"Eh…" Annabeth shrugged. "Only reason I'm on this trip is because of this whole international pandemic. Airplane tickets are so cheap right now."
"Yeah, it's kind of convenient to be honest. It's a nice vacation and the only potential downside is COVID-19, or whatever they're calling it." Percy laughed. "I'm an averagely healthy young male. I'm sure I'll be fine."
"Yeah, a nice vacation and the only downside is coronavirus? Sign me up." Annabeth found herself laughing, too. "But it seems like the biggest health risk for you is the ground."
"It's not like I wanted to be on the ground." Percy complained. "If anything you infected me with the coronavirus by tripping me."
Annabeth gawked. It was definitely not her fault if Percy ended up getting coronavirus.
"That tripping hazard is dangerous." He continued, pointing to her still outstretched legs. "And I still haven't gotten your name."
"Annabeth." She replied, rubbing her eyes a bit, still feeling sleepy. "And you should learn to walk properly."
Percy gasped. "I was focused on finding the right terminal! Your legs were clearly in the way."
Annabeth didn't like his enthusiasm. It was clashing with her leave-me-alone-and-let-me-sleep vibe. "It says where your terminal is on your ticket. And there's, like, giant signs everywhere."
Percy blushed looking down. "Well, I'm dyslexic… It gets hard."
Annabeth felt a tinge of sympathy. A very small tinge of sympathy, mind you, Percy was still the reason her sleep had been interrupted.
"I know what that's like." She nodded. She decided to pity him a bit, after all he had tripped and made a fool of himself, to no fault of Annabeth's. "Where are you headed? Maybe I can set you in the right direction."
"Greece!" Percy beamed.
Annabeth scowled, his smile was too bright. Wait… Her eyes widened.
"Did you say you were going to Gr- ahhhhh." Annabeth yawned again, covering her face with the back of her hand.
"You okay?" He asked. Percy took a seat on the bench across from Annabeth, stretching his legs out, too.
Their legs were now fully blocking the walkway, but the airport wasn't busy, so Annabeth wasn't worried. She didn't bother moving her legs.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Annabeth waved him off, blinking a few times. "Just tired. It's like 6:00 am. Too early for this."
"You aren't a morning person." Percy noted. He glanced at a silver watch on his wrist. "And if anything, it's closer to 7:00 am."
Annabeth shrugged. "Tomato, tomahto. It's all the same. I usually don't even think about waking up until, like, 10:00 am."
"What?" Percy exclaimed, too loud for Annabeth's taste. "But by then you've already wasted too much time! You miss out on some of the best parts of the day. From dawn to noon is incredibly serene."
"I take it you're a morning person then."
"Of course." Percy nodded. "The perfect time to start the day is when the sun comes out."
"I think I hate you." Annabeth joked, trying to lighten her voice to show she was just kidding.
"Well, you're in luck." Percy said. "When I figure out where my terminal is I'll be out of your hair."
Annabeth sighed, not too sure about that. "You said you were heading to Greece?"
"Yep."
"Does your flight leave at 9:00 am?"
Percy nodded. "Yep."
"Let me guess." Annabeth said. "You're headed to the airport in Athens, right?"
Percy nodded his head again, slower this time. He looked confused. "Yeah…"
Annabeth sighed, waving her arm lazily around her. "Welcome to your terminal."
He was silent for a moment, before gasping. His eyes lit up. Annabeth's not going to lie, she quite liked his eyes. "Does that mean you're going to Athens, too?"
She nodded, settling further into the bench she was sitting on. "I'm going to bed. Wake me up when we need to leave."
The last thing she saw before closing her eyes was Percy excitedly nodding.
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O
Annabeth guessed she got, maybe, five minutes of rest and silence before Percy kicked her leg, asking her a stupid question.
"Do you think our seats are beside each other?"
"Unlikely." Annabeth mumbled, her eyes still closed.
"Yeah, but what if we are beside each other."
"If it's anything like how it is now, I don't think I'll be getting any sleep."
"It's like a thirteen-hour flight." Percy dismissed. "I'm sure you'll find some time in there to sleep."
"It's eleven and a half hours. Not thirteen."
"Tomato, tomahto." Percy smiled, referencing back to when she had said it earlier. "Besides, the terminal is pretty empty right now, maybe the seats next to you will be empty and I can sneak over."
"We're, like, two hours early. It'll probably fill up soon."
"Yeah, but if it doesn't?" Percy asked, looking directly at her. "It wouldn't be too much to ask for you to sit beside me, right?"
Annabeth looked at Percy. He seemed more serious, as if he was pleading with his eyes. She told him the truth. "I don't think I'd mind sitting beside you, Percy."
That was good enough for Percy. He smiled, looking relieved. "Awesome."
"Glad we have that sorted then." Annabeth nodded. "Now let me sleep."
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O
Annabeth managed to get some decent sleep. She slowly opened her eyes and watched Percy scroll through his phone.
"What time is it?" She murmured. He looked up when she spoke.
Percy looked back down, checking his phone. "Uh… Almost 8:30 am, I think."
"So, we'll be leaving soon then?"
"I think so." Percy nodded. "They should be making first calls for boarding soon."
Annabeth looked around in the lounge area. It had filled up a bit, but not considerably so. The coronavirus pandemic must have a lot of people scared to travel. She figured it would've been absolutely packed by now.
She yawned. "I need a coffee."
Percy perked up. "Not a bad idea. There's a coffee shop around the corner, if you wanna go?"
Annabeth nodded standing up. Percy stood up, too, stretching his arms above his head. His shirt rode up and a small sliver of skin appeared on his stomach.
Annabeth looked to the side, her face flushing. If Percy noticed, he hadn't mentioned it.
He walked ahead, leading the way to some overpriced coffee shop.
Waiting in line, Percy turned to her. "So, why are you going to Greece? I know you said you were only visiting because tickets were cheap-"
"Thank you, coronavirus." Annabeth jokingly interrupted.
"But why Greece?" Percy continued, curious.
"I'm an architect." Annabeth answered simply. "Some of the buildings in Athens, and in Greece in general, have been around for thousands of years."
Percy nodded, not saying anything, but silently prodding her to continue.
"I really wanna see the Parthenon." Annabeth said. "What about you?"
They both stepped forward as the line got shorter, one step closer to ordering.
"I go every year." Percy said, wistfully. He was pointedly staring at a spot past her shoulder. "I have extended family that live there and we all meet up."
"Are you originally from Greece?" She asked him, trying to keep things light.
"Nope." He shook his head. "Born and raised in Manhattan. But my father was born there."
"That's cool." Annabeth said, stepping forward.
"What can I get you today?" The employee at the coffee shop asked.
Percy shrugged, turning to look at Annabeth. "I'll get whatever she's getting."
"Hmm?" Annabeth hummed. She eyed Percy. "I'll have a small coffee, please. Black."
She watched as Percy's eyes widened, comically large, if she did say so herself. His eyebrows shot up, and his jaw dropped.
"So, two small black coffees?" The employee confirmed.
"Yes, please." Annabeth grinned, finding some pleasure in the whimpering sound Percy was making.
He reached for his wallet, but Annabeth stopped him, insisting she can pay for her own drink.
"It's no problem." He dismissed. "It's the least I can do since you helped me find the right gate."
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "If I'm gonna be stuck to you for the next twelve hours, I'll think of some other way for you to repay me."
She pulled out her credit card and effortlessly tapped the screen, waiting as the transaction went through. They both walked towards the other end of the counter to wait for their drinks.
"Do you seriously drink black coffee?" Percy asked once they weren't in earshot of everyone. He sounded like he was in physical pain at the thought of drinking black coffee.
"Always." Annabeth nodded. "I'm not a morning person. I need pure caffeine."
"Then get an espresso! At least those taste good." Percy complained. "Now I'm stuck with a drink that tastes like death."
Annabeth shrugged, laughing a bit. "Well, it's not my fault you decided to get what I was getting. What did you say exactly? I'll get what she's getting?"
"I took a risk." Percy grumbled, leaning against a small divider. "I thought you'd have a more fun coffee order."
"You've known me for, like, two hours." Annabeth mentioned. "And I was sleeping for half that."
Percy just crossed his arms, grumbling about black coffee and how it tasted terrible. A hint of a smile showed on his face so she didn't worry about him being legitimately upset.
Annabeth thought about how true her words were. She barely knew Percy, but it was surprisingly easy to banter with him. She found herself making dry remarks to Percy like she did with some of her closest friends.
It was an interesting thought.
"So are you close with your father?" Annabeth pondered, looking at Percy. "Wouldn't he come on the trip with you?"
He avoided her gaze, looking directly at his cup instead. "He died when I was younger."
Annabeth's lips formed an 'O'. She was silent, unable to say anything.
Annabeth related to having a parent die while she was young. She never liked when someone said 'sorry'. It's not like it was their fault. She didn't bother saying it herself.
"It's good you're close to that side of the family." She said instead.
Percy nodded. "It'll be nice to see them."
There was an awkward lull in the conversation. Annabeth considered asking about his mother, but she didn't want to prod and poke into Percy's personal life.
The sound of a loudspeaker filled the air around them. "Now boarding gate 6A."
"That's us." Percy said. "Right?"
Annabeth nodded. "Let's go."
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O
As it turned out, Annabeth's seat was not beside Percy's.
Instead, she was sitting next to a little old lady who spoke very little English. She was wearing a headscarf and a cute floral dress. The lady gave Annabeth a sweet smile.
She spotted Percy a few rows ahead. He kept looking back at her, a small frown on his face. She didn't want to admit it, but the way he was looking at her was kind of cute.
He not so subtly locked eyes with her, glancing between Annabeth and the lady beside her. Annabeth shook her head, rolling her eyes.
She watched as Percy stood up, walking down the aisle way towards them. He cheerily smiled at the old lady beside Annabeth, asking if it was possible to swap seats.
The old lady replied in a language Annabeth didn't know, but she was shocked to see Percy's eyes widen and blush, as he continued the conversation in the same language.
The old lady looked incredibly delighted when she saw Percy was able to speak whatever language it was, a huge smile shining on her face.
They spoke for a bit longer, before the lady tried to get up. Percy held her arm, assisting her and leading her to his previous seat. He returned to grab her luggage, bringing it to where she was sitting.
Percy came back, stuffing his carry-on into the compartment above and sat down in his new seat, smiling at Annabeth.
Annabeth's mouth had dropped from shock. There was no way in hell someone just swapped seats with Percy. In an entirely different language, no less.
"What the hell just happened?" Annabeth asked. "What language was that and why can you speak it?"
"The lady gave me her seat." Percy said cheerily. "And it was Greek."
"Yes, but why? And how?"
Percy shrugged, blushing a bit. "I told you my family was Greek…"
"But why'd she actually swap seats with you?"
"Oh..." Percy awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, looking away. He said. "She said she was a fan of young love."
"Oh." Annabeth repeated. She felt her cheeks tinge red.
They sat in silence for a moment or two.
"It all worked out, though." Percy commented. "Since, now we're sitting together."
"I can't believe you actually asked her if you could swap seats." Annabeth teased. "That was someone's babushka."
"Babushka?" Percy asked, laughing. "This is a flight to Greece, not Russia."
"Still!" Annabeth said. "You straight up asked someone to swap seats with you."
"Well, yeah." Percy tilted his head, looking a bit hurt. "You said we could sit together?"
Annabeth paused for a moment. "Yes… I did say that."
They were awkwardly silent.
"I guess I wouldn't have had the courage to go out of my way to get something I wanted if it meant inconveniencing someone else..." Annabeth mumbled.
"I get it." Percy nodded, not looking at her. "Sometimes you just gotta go for it, though."
She didn't reply, instead organizing her things, mentally preparing for a twelve-hour plane ride. She had a book tucked in the slot on the back of the chair in front of her. Her phone and headphones were tangled in a mess, squished between the seat and her leg. She had just pulled her laptop out of her carry-on bag, placing it on the fold-down tray in front of her.
Annabeth still felt slightly tired, though. The caffeine she had earlier either wasn't taking effect or its effects have long since passed. She considered her options, wondering if she should time her nap accordingly. Would there be any benefit in sleeping now oversleeping later? Annabeth glanced over to Percy. She could feel his leg nervously bouncing up and down and she figured he probably wouldn't be sleeping any time soon.
Maybe it'd just be better if she timed when she slept with when he slept. Then they could keep each other company while they're awake and not interrupt each other when they sleep. At least, that's what she told herself to justify why she was staying up instead of sleeping like she really wanted to.
The stewardess was standing near the front of the plane ahead of Annabeth, giving some spiel about proper airplane safety and what to do in the event of an emergency. She took note, raptly paying attention. She noticed Percy eyeing her from the side throughout the stewardess' speech but she only turned to look at him when the stewardess had walked away.
"Something I can help you with?" She asked.
"Nope." Percy shook his head. "You were really paying attention there, huh?"
"Of course I was." Annabeth rolled her eyes as if it was obvious. "What if we get in a crash? It's good to know where all of the emergency exits are."
Percy nodded his head. "That's true, yeah."
"What about you?" Annabeth asked, flicking her head over at where the stewardess used to be. "You seemed pretty focused on me instead of what the lady was saying."
"I've heard it all before." Percy shrugged. "Besides… If we get in a crash I have you to lead me to safety or whatever."
"And what makes you think I'll do that?" Annabeth hummed.
"Because you've actually been paying attention to where all the emergency exits and stuff like that are. If you had a pen and paper on you I'm sure you would've taken notes."
"I'm just being cautious…" Annabeth felt the tips of her ears go red.
Percy nodded his head like he was agreeing with her. The look on his face said otherwise.
The stewardess' familiar voice surrounded the airplane cabin via the intercom. "Ladies and gentlemen, if you can take your seats. We'll be taking off shortly."
The seatbelt indicator above Annabeth's seat lit up and Annabeth strapped herself in, watching as Percy did the same beside her.
"We're really doing this?" Annabeth asked, mainly to herself. "We're really going to Greece."
"Yeah, we are." Percy replied. "I know so many cool places there, whether it's restaurants or ruins."
"Yeah? You'll have to recommend some then." Annabeth said. "I'm on my own so I'm kinda nervous. Not really sure where I should be going or what I should be doing."
"Really?" Percy asked. "You should always be travelling with someone, in my opinion."
"Yeah?"
"Oh, for sure. It makes the entire experience so much better."
"So, why are you alone, then." Annabeth asked.
Percy frowned, his eyes flashing different emotions. Annabeth wondered if she crossed a line, or something.
He opened his mouth to speak but immediately clamped it closed when the entire plane started to rumble. His hand shot down, clutching their shared armrest when they started to lurch forward.
Annabeth turned her head toward the window in wonder, watching the airport slowly pass by. Their seats slightly vibrated more and more as the plane began to pick up speed. The buildings outside becoming blurrier and blurrier.
She felt Percy reach down and grab her hand at a sudden bump. She turned to look at him but his eyes were locked ahead, fixated and pained. He didn't seem to be enjoying himself anymore as his other hand clutched the armrest to the left of him.
The physical contact made Annabeth's face warm. She tried not to think about it too much.
Annabeth wouldn't have thought he'd be scared of flying. Didn't he say he did this every year? She tried to think of something comforting to say but decided to just wait until there wasn't as much turbulence.
Even so, Percy didn't let go until they were smoothly flying high above New York City.
It took Percy a second or two to get adjusted once he let go of Annabeth's hand. She watched him visibly exhale, relaxing his shoulders.
She watched as he turned to her, but his eyes never reached her face. "I'm sorry about that…"
Annabeth frowned. "You don't need to apologize. A fear of flying isn't that uncommon."
Percy nodded. He still wouldn't look at her. "I used to go to Greece every year with my mom… This is the first time I've done it since she passed away."
Annabeth nodded, reaching for his hand gently. She squeezed it.
"That actually drained me a lot more than I thought it would…" Percy said, scratching the back of his neck. He stifled a yawn and continued. "I think I'm gonna take a nap, or at least try to sleep."
"Yeah, okay." Annabeth agreed. She wouldn't mind sleeping either, to be honest. She started putting away the things she had just set up so she had more room.
She reclined the chair as far back as she could. Which, in reality, wasn't really that far at all, and closed her eyes.
Beside her, she heard Percy whisper. "I'm glad you're doing this with me… I don't think I could do it alone."
Annabeth smiled with her eyes still closed, nudging his foot with hers so he knew she heard him, as she went to sleep.
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O
Annabeth woke up suddenly as the plane hit some turbulence, jerking forward and blinking the sleep out of her eyes. To her left, Percy was silently snoring, seemingly undisturbed by the shaking of the plane. She looked out the window to her right. Clouds passed by in the blink of an eye with the ocean expanding into the horizon, as far as the eye can see.
The moment was serene and Annabeth used it as an opportunity to open up a travel brochure that she had snagged from the airport. There were pictures of everything she wanted to see in person. From the ancient architecture to pictures of specific statues of different Greek gods. Whether it was Zeus with his lightning bolt or Poseidon with his trident.
And as captivating as the gods were, she found herself stealing more and more glances at the person sleeping next to her.
Percy's forehead was smooth from wrinkles and his jawline was sharp and defined. Although his mouth gaped slightly with the tiniest bit of drool coming out, she couldn't help but compare him to the gods in her pamphlet.
Percy was regal.
She placed her pamphlet down completely, opting to memorize the details of his face. It might have seemed cheesy, but Annabeth could see all the similarities between Percy and the marble statues.
Annabeth yawned, shaking her head. She wondered how tired she must've been to start thinking of Percy as a Greek god. She laughed to herself before leaning back in her seat, closing her eyes and at least praying to get another hour of uninterrupted sleep.
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O
The next time she was woken up was because Percy was shaking her arm.
"Annabeth, do you want some food? The lady's coming down the aisle."
Annabeth moaned, shoving an arm in Percy's face, trying to push him away. "Sleeeep."
"I think she has turkey sandwiches, though." Percy said, eyeing the cart the stewardess was pushing. "I love turkey sandwiches."
Annabeth sighed, opening her eyes and sitting up properly. "It's airplane food. I doubt it'll be that good."
"You're probably right." Percy said. "My mom made the best turkey sandwiches."
It seemed to have slipped out as an afterthought, by the way, Percy is now quietly reminiscing, staring off into nothing.
"Excuse me," The stewardess said. "Would you guys like a sandwich? We have ham, turkey…"
Percy hadn't answered. He was still staring at the seat ahead of him.
"Yeah, we'll have two… turkey sandwiches, please." Annabeth spoke up.
The stewardess grabbed two sandwiches off the tray and handed them to Annabeth.
Her outstretched arm in Percy's face seemed to have caught Percy's attention and he slightly shook his head.
"Thank you." He mumbled as the stewardess carried on down the aisle, asking if people wanted any food.
"You okay?" Annabeth asked, waving a sandwich in front of him.
"Yeah," He smiled, although it didn't reach his eyes. "I'm fine. Thanks."
Percy grabbed the sandwich from Annabeth's hand and started unwrapping it. He took a tentative bite.
"Any good?" Annabeth asked.
Percy nodded. "Yeah, it's fine."
They finished their sandwiches in silence. Annabeth took a swig from her water bottle when she was finished.
"Can I have a sip of your water?" Percy asked, still chewing the remains of his sandwich.
"Are you serious?" Annabeth asked. "Do you not have your own water bottle?"
Percy shook his head and Annabeth sighed.
"What if I get coronavirus, though?"
"Annabeth, we've been sitting beside each other for the past three and a half hours. If I had coronavirus you'd already have it."
Annabeth shrugged. It was a fair point. She surrendered her water bottle to Percy, watching as he took a sip.
"I'm sorry." Percy said after a moment or two had gone by.
"Uh, for what?"
"For being clingy." He explained. "Wanting to sit beside you, being scared when we took off, being sad about turkey sandwiches. Now that my mom's gone, it's… just been hard to adjust."
Annabeth frowned. "I've said it before and I'll say it again. You don't need to apologize for anything."
"Yeah, but just in case." Percy said. "I'm sorry I've been as clingy as a plastic bag."
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "It's fine. I enjoy having you around."
"Well, that's good." Percy said, looking down to the watch on his wrist. "Because you've got, maybe, another eight hours with me."
"Hmm." Annabeth replied. "Wait."
Percy looked at her. "What?"
"Did you say… as clingy as a plastic bag."
Percy tilted his head. "...Yeah. Why?"
"That's not a real saying." Annabeth argued.
"Uh, sure it is. I just said it."
"No, it isn't." Annabeth said. "I have never heard anyone use the expression, as clingy as a plastic bag. Plastic bags aren't even clingy."
Percy slowly smiled. "Sure they are. You've never seen a clingy plastic bag?"
"Percy, no one has seen a clingy plastic bag. It's a made-up expression."
"Well, technically, all expressions are made up." He laughed.
Annabeth tried to be mad but she found herself laughing too. "I guess you aren't wrong."
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O
Annabeth had given into temptation, flipping through the brochure she had grabbed from the airport once again. It was all she could do to contain her excitement for the trip, as each picture and interesting fact only made her more and more-
She felt a knock against her knee and watched as Percy kept bouncing his knee off of hers to grab Annabeth's attention.
"Is there something I can help you with?" Annabeth inquisitively asked.
"Uh… Do you travel much?" Percy said after a moment.
Annabeth tilted her head. "I'm travelling now."
"Yeah, but like, other times?"
"No." Annabeth though for a moment. "Haven't really had the time. Tickets were expensive, thanks corona, by the way. I feel like we've been over this before?"
Percy shrugged. "Probably. I'm getting bored, though."
He drew out his words, exaggerating heavily.
Percy leaned on the armrest, shoving Annabeth's arm out of the way.
"There's just nothing to do." He complained. "My legs hurt. The seat isn't comfy. I'm bored."
Annabeth shoved back against his arm, reclaiming the armrest they're supposed to share.
"That's definitely a you problem." She teased.
Percy sighed in defeat, opting to just rest his arm on top of Annabeth's.
Annabeth pulled her arm free from where it was trapped, using as much strength as she could muster to shove Percy's arm off of the armrest.
Maybe she used a bit too much force, because what happened next seemed to play out in slow-motion.
Annabeth could see where Percy's water (her water) was perched on the tray in front of him. Percy had flinched and pulled his arm back too fast. She could only watch in horror as he hit her bottle of water, knocking it over and spilling it all over the front of his shirt.
"My water!" Annabeth cried, her hands shooting up to cover her gasp. And as much as she wanted to make sure Percy was fine, she only had the one bottle of water (thanks a lot, TSA…)
"My shirt!" Percy had cried at the same time. He held his hands up, staring as the water soaked into his shirt. "Well…This is not ideal."
Once Annabeth had gotten over her initial shock, the situation was actually kind of funny.
"Are you alright?" Annabeth asked, trying to stifle her laughter.
"No, I'm dying." Percy drawled.
Annabeth crossed her arms and said with a fake snobby voice, "Well, that's what you get for stealing my water."
Percy let out a small chuckle before searching around his seat. "Are there any napkins anywhere? I should probably find a way to dry myself off."
Annabeth looked around, stopping when she couldn't find any napkins. The flight attendant was nowhere to be seen, so it looked like Percy was out of luck.
"I think I'm just gonna head to the washroom, then." Percy said, standing up. He reached above their seats for his carry-on bag and Annabeth found herself staring at that familiar sliver of skin. Except for this time Percy's shirt was sticking to his torso, perfectly outlining his upper body.
Annabeth didn't bother looking away though, any redness on her face was solely because she was laughing too hard. Nothing more.
Percy had pulled a spare t-shirt from his carry-on. "Besides, I've been sitting for like, eight years. So, it probably wouldn't hurt to stretch my legs a bit. And my shirt won't stop sticking to my chest. It feels so weird."
Annabeth mutely nodded, trying to push down any attraction she felt for him.
"Hey," Percy asked, tilting his head a bit. "You okay?"
"What? Yeah, I'm fine."
"You seem off."
"I'm just thinking about your shirt." Annabeth half-lied. "You could say it's as clingy as a plastic bag."
Percy looked at her and a ginormous grin spread on his face. "It is as clingy as a plastic bag."
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O
When Percy returned, he was wearing a dark green shirt that made his eyes pop.
Annabeth wished he stuck with the boring, clingy, black shirt, instead.
It also didn't help that he had hunted down the evasive flight attendant, getting her a new water bottle for the one that was unfortunately spilled.
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O
Percy knocked his knee against Annabeth's for what seemed like the thousandth time so far.
"You know, Annabeth…" Percy yawned. "I might've done the math wrong, but if I stay up for the rest of the plane ride, then my sleep schedule should be synced up with the local Greece time."
"Is that so?" Annabeth asked, silently stifling a yawn. She cursed whoever decided yawns should be contagious via sight.
"Yeah, I think so." He nodded. "But honestly, I'm so tired that I don't even care about the jet lag. I just wanna sleep. Even if it means missing the Greece sunrises."
"What have you even done that's made you tired?" Annabeth jokingly asked. "We're like, three-quarters of the way there, and you've been sleeping the entire time."
"We watched that movie together, like, an hour ago!" Percy defended.
"No, I watched the movie. You slept on my shoulder the entire time."
"Uh…You noticed that?" Percy meekly asked, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck.
Annabeth laughed. "Of course, I noticed. You started snoring."
"Well…" Percy eloquently said. "You didn't bother waking me up. So technically, it's your fault."
"My fault?" Annabeth sarcastically said. "For letting you peacefully sleep. On my arm, no less."
"And I'm very thankful."
"Considering you left my arm drooling wet. I'm not."
"We can just call that payback then." Percy smirked. "Since you spilled water all over me."
Annabeth laughed and tapped her head, pretending to think. "Actually, I think you spilled it on yourself."
"Oh, yeah?" Percy asked. "And you had nothing to do with that, I'm sure."
Annabeth just innocently shrugged.
Percy laughed but fell silent after a moment. "Did I really fall asleep on your arm?"
"Drooled, too."
"And you didn't wake me up to tell me to move?" Percy said with a smirk.
Annabeth's eyes went wide and her face tinged red. She didn't expect their banter to go back to that topic. "Uh, you looked so peaceful, though?"
"Right."
"And I was focused on the movie. Like you should've been."
"Yeah, sure." Percy nodded. "I totally believe you."
"Fine. If you fall asleep again you aren't using me as your personal pillow."
Percy frowned like it was actually a big deal. "Wait, what? Why not?"
"Because you're making fun of me and you drool."
"But you were so much more comfortable than this lame neck pillow I bought." He gestured to the neon green pillow that was currently resting on his leg. "And I barely drool."
Annabeth shrugged like it wasn't her problem. She knew they were crossing dangerous territory with their borderline flirting but she was having fun and Percy was an amazing guy.
She didn't care.
"So, we're taking a nap, yeah?" Percy asked, tilting his head. His eyes seemed to shine and Annabeth couldn't find herself saying no.
"Fine."
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O
"Ladies and gentlemen." The sound of the intercom filled the cabin once again, waking Annabeth up.
This time she was the one using Percy as a pillow. She blushed but didn't make an effort to hide it since Percy was still sleeping.
"If everybody on board could kindly buckle in. We have made it to Athens, Greece and will be landing at Athens International Airport very shortly. Thank you." The intercom cut off and the seatbelt light above their seats turned on.
Annabeth gently shook Percy awake. She watched as he blinked the sleep out of his eyes, slightly shaking his head.
"What's up? Are we there yet?" He dazily asked.
"Almost." Annabeth assured. "The flight attendant told us we're landing soon. Put your seatbelt on."
"Okay." He said, reaching for his seatbelt.
A few minutes later the flight attendant's voice was heard again. "Welcome to Athens International Airport, everybody. The local time is 8:30 pm and I would appreciate if everyone stayed in their seats until the plane has fully landed and the seatbelt light is off. Then you can orderly get your bags and exit the plane at the predetermined exits. We thank you all for flying with us."
Percy nudged her with his elbow. "I'm sure you know where all the predetermined exits are?"
"Of course." She said. "At least one of us needs to know what we're doing here."
"Yeah?" Percy asked, suddenly seeming more serious. "And what are we doing here?"
Annabeth understood the implication of his tone. She had originally ventured to Greece on a cheap plane ticket and little to no regard for her personal health. But now that she's met Percy?
Annabeth didn't know.
"I'm… I'm here to see the architecture." She stated, only wavering slightly.
Percy solemnly nodded, accepting it as the rejection it seemed to be.
"B-but I don't think I'd mind a tour guide?" Annabeth hopefully said. "Maybe someone who's visited Greece before? Someone that could show a tourist like me the best places to go?"
Percy slowly gave her a lopsided smile. "I think I know just the person."
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O
Once the plane had landed, Percy stood up to grab their carry-ons, handing Annabeth her bag and grabbing his own at the same time. Annabeth slowly followed Percy out of the airplane and into the airport.
It looked the same as the one from New York, but everything around her felt different. She was in a new place starting a new adventure.
"Hey," Percy said, grabbing her hand and looking at her. He gave it a tight squeeze. "Are you ready?"
"Are we?"
hey hi hello. how are you all doing today?
im doing fine thanks for asking. been kinda keeping to myself for a bit, but i really wanted to write something so this is what i came up with? what do you think? i actually really like it. when it comes to percabeth i think i've been transitioning into longer fics (kinda like the thief that stole his heart (and also his wallet) and her new neighbour) plans are in the works tho for something even longer. (yes, i am talking about the unnamed soulmate au that i've been teasing for literally two years LMAO)
but like, its corona season, everyone's inside. i have nothing better to do, so i might as well finally finish it. so yeah, i think i've found my groove/writing style, so hopefully it means more fics in the future? i'm sorry i haven't written as much as i've wanted to. life is tough and motivation is few and far in between. in the meantime though, Fangirl Shrieks is doing wonderful stuff on their profile. I would HIGHLY suggest checking them out if you don't know them for some reason. They were also kind enough to read this over and give a wonderful critique.
it took me like a month to piece this fic together so if i post again in a responsible period of time then it will be a miracle. i really wish i was able to write more often. it's not that my life is busy anymore, school recently ended which was part of the reason i was able to finish this fic, but it's hard to come up with original/cool ideas, y'know? I've left this fic open-ended so i could potentially expand on it in the future. but it fully works (?) as a one-shot so for now, it's just a one-shot, but upon further motivation and maybe requests i can try to expand it.
either way, all mistakes are mine and i hope you all enjoy !