Percy absolutely loved the rain. Considering he could control the water and rain was literally tonnes of water cascading from the clouds, it was safe to say that he was in his element. He walked to work that morning, his umbrella over his head (because he had to keep up appearances, and arriving at work completely dry would raise suspicion if he left his umbrella down) and whistled a little as he stepped in all the puddles on the way.
He spotted a familiar head of curly blonde hair ahead of him, skirting under all the shelters on the buildings and cursing to herself. Percy smiled and caught up to her, reaching over to hold the umbrella above her head instead. She turned in surprise.
"Oh. Morning Percy" She greeted grumpily, pushing her damp hair from her face. She was wearing a blue raincoat, all buttoned up, and Percy would be lying if he denied that he thought it was adorable.
"Did you forget the hood?" He asked, noticing that it was missing from the back of the coat. She huffed.
"Lost it ages ago, assumed I'd never need it. Then my umbrella broke. I'm not having a good day" She told him, walking nearer to him so they could share the umbrella and both stay dry.
"Sorry about that; Umbrellas tend to break when you need them. Luckily, I'm here instead" Percy replied, smiling proudly, and she tutted. Percy could understand the less-than-talkative attitude; she lived with Thalia, who had vanished. She probably knew where she went, along with one of her other closest friends. He doubted a broken umbrella was the thing at the root of her bad day.
"My hero" Annabeth muttered sarcastically.
"Always here to help. I'm no Typhoon, who is awesome, but I get by"
Ah, Percy loved boasting about himself without anyone realising that it was him. Annabeth sighed.
"He is that" She said quietly. Then she stopped, staring ahead of her at where the museum waited, doors open in welcome.
"Are you okay?" Percy asked worriedly.
"Can we go somewhere? I really don't want to go in there and face everyone's pity stares" She said. Percy was taken aback, but he agreed.
"Sure. One day off won't hurt. Come on, I know a coffee shop with the most amazing couches ever. And the coffee is pretty good too"
Annabeth smiled and linked his arm, and they walked beneath the umbrella to Percy's favourite coffee shop; right across the street from the candy shop that hid away his Mom's infirmary; it sold blue candy and she always gave him bags of it when he dropped by (which was always, because Percy loved blue food).
"Why are you drooling at Sweets on America?" Annabeth asked suspiciously. Percy grinned.
"My Mom always gives me blue candy when I go in. I might get a bag later" He said. Annabeth frowned.
"Jackson…Mrs Jackson is your mom? So that's why she told me to say hello" She said, and Percy nodded.
"Yeah she says she knows you. Although my Mom knows everyone. Now, time for coffee"
Percy put the umbrella down as they stepped inside, Annabeth sighing as the warm air hit them. Percy told her to sit upstairs and he ordered two coffees, and was about to follow her up with them when someone caught his eye.
"Jason?" He called, noticing the guy sat at a table on his own, nursing a cup of hot chocolate and looking unhappy. Jason looked up and almost knocked his hot chocolate everywhere, and Percy made his way over, sitting in front of him.
"Hey Percy, weird seeing you here, huh? Why are you here?" Jason asked, running a hand through his short blonde hair nervously.
"I was getting coffee. Why are you here?" He replied, and Jason eyed the door. Percy noticed the second mug on the table, half-empty, and the parka slung over the seat.
"She's my sister, Percy, no matter what she chooses to do" Jason told him.
"I understand that, man. I really do. But be careful okay? She might be your sister, but she's gonna do something terrible and I'd hate to see you mixed up in that"
"I can take care of myself"
"Whatever dude, just trying to help" Percy told him, hands up in mock surrender "I'm going upstairs, you do what you gotta do"
Jason nodded and Percy left, climbing the stairs to the upper floor. He hoped Jason made the right choice; he didn't think he could stand anyone else jumping ship and trying to wake Kronos. It was bad enough that Luke was attempting it, but Thalia? Kronos killed her mentor, and she was still on board.
"What took you so long?" Annabeth asked, looking up from a book she'd taken from the huge shelf lining the back wall. She'd opted to sit on the couch in front of the window, the outside world blurred out from sheets of rain pouring down the glass. Percy handed her a mug and joined her.
"I went to the bathroom" He lied, guessing that she didn't want to hear about Thalia being in the building "What are you reading?"
Annabeth held up a Harry Potter book, and Percy nodded.
"Good choice, I loved those movies"
"Movies? Did you read the books? The movies suck compared to the books" Annabeth said. Percy rubbed the back of his neck.
"I'm a little Dyslexic; books and I don't get along. My Mom used to read them to me when I was younger though, and I have the audiobooks. Sucks that my Hogwarts letter never came"
"Same here; when I turned eleven I waited at my mailbox for weeks" Annabeth admitted, and Percy laughed.
"Me too! I didn't know you were a Potter nerd too"
"Everyone is a Potter nerd, Percy. Even if they've never read it they know it" Annabeth said wisely, and took a sip of her coffee. They settled into a comfortable silence, and Percy sneakily made patterns in the rain on the window, like horses running and owls swooping in from above. Annabeth was engrossed in her book and didn't notice. She'd tucked her hair behind her ear and was biting her bottom lip as she read, and she reminded Percy of Hermione Granger, but in Percy's opinion she was much prettier. Now instead of daydreaming about orange eyes and feathers, he pictured stormy grey ones and curly blonde hair.
"What would you do if you were me?" Annabeth asked suddenly, and Percy frowned.
"If one of your closest friends decided to join the dark side and roped in the person who was like a sibling to you, what would you do? Fight them? Join them? What do I do?" She repeated, staring at him with those grey eyes, catching his gaze and not letting go. He sighed.
"You make them change their minds. If this was Grover, I wouldn't let him carry on like this, I'd drag his ass home and smack some sense into him. But if they won't…you have to choose" Percy told her, and she pulled her legs up onto the couch, and he shuffled closer, hoping to comfort her in some way. Whenever his Mom broke up with her boyfriends, or when she was stuck with Smelly Gabe, he always use to tuck her under his chin and tell her everything is okay, he was still there and he would love her more than any guy that came along.
"I don't want to choose" Annabeth mumbled, looking small and unsure of herself, and of course that wouldn't do, so Percy set his coffee down and wrapped his arms around her like he did with his Mom. Annabeth was stiff and tense at first, freezing as he rested his head on hers, but relaxed eventually, sighing into his shirt.
"I know, but you'll have to. Either them or this city" Percy told her, and he felt a hand gripping the back of his shirt.
"You have no idea how hard that is" She mumbled.
"Believe me" Percy breathed, staring at the rain-soaked window "I know"
That night Percy called Chiron to apologise for not turning up (it was okay he said, half the staff showed up late and he ended up closing the museum early and letting them all go home- again, Percy had to wonder how it stayed afloat) and he took Annabeth back to his place so she wouldn't be going home to an empty apartment. When they arrived Grover and Juniper were already there, Juniper cooking Enchiladas whilst Grover 'helped', which mainly consisted of him trying to eat the food as it cooked and Juniper swatting him away.
"Hey, same shirt!" Percy cried, pointed at Grover's orange shirt.
"Same shirt!" Grover repeated, and they high-fived. Juniper looked at them both as if they were insane. She obviously didn't understand the unity of two people wearing the same shirt. Annabeth hovered at the counter, and Juniper turned to her, her long dark hair swishing as she went.
"Finally, another girl! I'm Juniper" She greeted, and Annabeth smiled.
"Annabeth"
Grover grinned at Percy and Percy made a 'shut your mouth or I'll punch you' face.
"Annabeth, huh? The same Annabeth who works at the museum?"
Obviously Grover didn't understand that face. He'd learn the hard way if he said anything.
"Yeah, though there aren't many Annabeth's in Olympus" She said, and Percy could see her inching toward Juniper, probably feeling more at home with another woman rather than Percy and Grover. Juniper warmed up to her instantly, looking relieved when she joined in the cooking rather than Grover stealing all the food.
"You boys go and put a movie on or something, make yourselves useful rather than standing about grinning at your matching shirts. Really, it might as well be you two getting married" Juniper ordered, and Percy chuckled.
"What do you think Perce, big white wedding?" Grover asked, wiggling his eyebrows.
"Nah, Vegas all the way, I really wanna meet those Elvis impersonators that marry people"
Annabeth laughed but covered her mouth, and Percy marched triumphantly to the DVD shelf.
"You're such a dork" Grover teased, pulling down DVDs and making a mess.
"Shut up, you're worse with Juniper"
"She's my fiancée, I can be all dorky with her. You have no excuse since you deny liking Annabeth- No, we are not watching finding Nemo again!" Grover complained, and Percy pouted.
"Why not? It's a great movie!"
"I've seen it seventeen times Percy. Seventeen. And you cry every time!"
"You cry at Pan's Labyrinth!"
"ITS HEARTBRAKING!"
"SO IS NEMO!"
"Guys, what are you yelling about?" Annabeth asked, and both boys jumped; she'd somehow crept up on them and sat herself down on the sofa, knees tucked under her as if she belonged there.
"How did you- are you a ninja?" Grover asked, and she smiled.
"Nope, you two are too busy arguing about movies to notice me sitting down. What are you fighting for? Watch them both" She said. Grover rolled his eyes.
"We've watched finding Nemo seventeen times, Percy knows all the words, I can't deal with that again"
"Don't be such a baby" Percy told him. Grover huffed, and Annabeth watched them both in amusement.
"I'm not. You and your movie choices just personally offend me. Its like when you made me watch Sharknado. I can't believe you enjoyed it" Grover said, and Percy laughed.
"I can't believe you didn't" He muttered. Grover looked outraged, but Annabeth was trying not to laugh, so it was a win.
They ate dinner and the movies began, everyone squished onto the sofa, Juniper and Grover a tangle of limbs, Percy and Annabeth wedged together from shoulder to knee. Percy got his wish and they watched Finding Nemo (he quoted the whole film and Annabeth called him a nerd whilst Grover pelted him with popcorn but Percy regrets nothing) and Grover watched Pan's Labyrinth; Percy snickered whilst he cried and Juniper smiled and sacrificed her shoulder for him to soak in his tears.
The girls chose films too; Juniper and Annabeth seemed to love making Percy and Grover suffer and chose the notebook, and both girls were wearing smirks the entire time it played.
"Why do we even own that movie?" Grover muttered to himself, and Percy swore that Juniper and Annabeth high-fived.
After the fourth movie, Percy found that he had become a pillow; Juniper's feet were in his lap, whilst Annabeth was curled up under his arm against his side. It wasn't a bad thing, and he found himself drifting off a few times before a sudden noise from the movie jarred him back into consciousness. Annabeth was sleeping against his shoulder, and he smiled, glad that the worry lines on her forehead and around her eyes had faded away.
"I'm going to bed. Are you coming Grover?" Juniper asked, and Grover nodded, and the pair of them disappeared into Grover's room. Percy nudged Annabeth, and she made a grumpy sound, burying her head in his chest stubbornly. So, he could assume she was irritable when tired. Probably not a happy morning person.
"Annabeth, do you want my bed? I can sleep on the couch" He offered, trying to wake her gently.
"I don't care. Just wanna sleep" She said, and he chuckled.
"You don't sound so smart when you're tired" He pointed out.
"You don't sound smart when you're awake"
"Touche. Come on smart ass, you're sleeping in my bed" He said, and scooped her up, carrying her across the room easily.
"Ugh, put me down" Annabeth mumbled.
"Sure thing, just give me a minute"
Thank God Percy's Mom dropped by the other day and he cleaned his room so she wouldn't scold him. He set Annabeth down and reached for the covers to pull over her, but she clung to him.
"You are a snuggler when you're sleepy; I will hold this against you" He told her.
"Shut up seaweed brain" She replied, and man did she have a strong grip.
"Annabeth let go"
"No"
"You'll kill me in the morning"
"I don't care"
"I do! I want to not die because you woke up in the same bed as me"
Annabeth was as stubborn as Percy though, and he was tired, so he just gave up, staying on his side of the bed so that she wouldn't throttle him when she woke up. If only she did the same.
"Seriously?" He asked "Do you want to get me killed?"
Annabeth just curled up and rested her head against his chest, and he sighed.
"I'm blaming you if you get mad" He warned.
"I won't" She replied. He just took her word for it and wrapped an arm around her, because hey, he liked cuddling, and he wasn't going to hold back if she wanted to cuddle him. Hell, Percy was a great hugger, even if he didn't get to show it often because he spent half his time in a skin-tight suit battling bad guys. He couldn't exactly cuddle criminals.
Annabeth was not a criminal though, she was soft and warm and smelled like lemon shampoo, and Percy smiled as he felt waves of sleep drift over him. He could risk her punching him in the morning if he could sleep as peacefully as he did now.
So this is the part where I halt the plot and show everyone my love for Percy and Annabeth, and there's a mention of orange shirts, hooray! Next chapter will be up soon, in the meantime I love you guys and have to sit fangirling for a moment before I can even finish reading your reviews!