Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson, or any of the associated characters.

Summary: Sometimes, matchmaking does not pay off.

MATCHMAKER, MATCHMAKER… PLEASE, GET LOST.

OK, so Cabin 10 could admit that they probably deserved it, but having their cabin flood every few hours (just as they got it dry again) and having skeletons invade in the middle of the night to throw their clothes and make-up all over the place was a bit much.

Really, all that fuss over a few comments about it Thalia and Nico di Angelo would be a nice couple, since they were both Children of the Big Three, and Nico's sister had been a Hunter. It wasn't like they were alone in thinking that a Hero like Percy deserved someone a bit more appreciative and a lot more feminine! The Children of Aphrodite were just the only ones brave enough to openly debate if Percabeth was MTB or Doomed To Fail.

The only bright side was that Camp Half-Blood was about to finally win a game of Capture the Flag against the Hunters of Artemis, and the Aphrodite Campers were playing because the Son of Poseidon had promised to add a sea monster to the next flood if they didn't.

None of them had really felt like testing if he was serious or not, and none of them had realized that the Athena Cabin's Grand Plan (hatched by their head councillor) was to stake Cabin 10 out as live bait. They caught on quickly enough, however, when they were surrounded by a few dozen teenage girls in silver armor and marched at arrow point back to their base.

For once, the Hunters didn't notice – or were too angry to care – that their flag was missing, but Cabin Ten had bigger problems… namely one very upset Lieutenant of Artemis pacing in front of them like a very angry general. "I had to go through a very uncomfortable interview with my Lady over this, so pay attention: What in Hades made you think that I would ever even consider dating the Corpse Kid?"

Drew tried to bravado her way through the situation. "Well, you're both children of the Big Three, and Percabeth proved that having parents who hate each other isn't too much of a barrier to romance. And he is sort of cute, in a geeky emo sort of way."

Lacy, not normally one of Drew's followers but at the stage to see romance in even Shakespeare's most famous tragedy, piped up in misplaced support. "Yeah, I mean, just look at Romeo and Juliet! I mean, sure they died in the end, and Hades could probably keep you apart even in death if he really disapproved, but…"

As confident as she tried to sound, Lacy trailed off in the face of Thalia's glare. "I am a Hunter of Artemis! An eternal maiden! That means no dating, ever, no matter who the boy is!"

Nico chose that moment to step out of the shadows – literally. "Even if she wasn't, did you think of the fact that I was born in the 1930's, or that I'm physically 13, and Thalia was 7 years older than my physical age when I left the Lotus Hotel? Or that I'm not even close to her as my cousin, and can count on one hand the number of times we've had any kind of interaction? Where do you even get these insane theories?"

One of Drew's friends squeaked. "Um, but you look really cute together, and half of all famous couples start out on how good they look?"

Phoebe, Thalia's second-in-command, huffed as both Thalia and Nico started forward, looking murderous. "And most of those Celebrity couples last less than a year, because they are totally incompatible!"

The Aphrodite Campers thought they were dead for a moment, but were at least temporarily saved when Percy and Annabeth strolled out of the forest as if they had all the time in the world, hand in hand.

Several of the Aphrodite girls didn't quite manage to stifle squeals at the appearance of Percy's sarcastic, trouble-maker smile, though they quickly stopped when Annabeth pulled out her knife. Percy only switched from holding his girlfriend's hand to wrapping an arm around her. "The Campers won Capture the Flag about half an hour ago, by the way. Chiron sent us to make sure no-one had been killed or maimed.

The casual way he announced it had been deliberate, and Thalia knew it, but she quelled her annoyance with a malicious smile. "Whatever makes you happy to think, Kelp Head. We were just clearing a few things up with the Aphrodite Spawn. Did you want a turn?"

Annabeth's smile matched Thalia's, and the other Campers felt their sense of relief fade away. "Yes, in fact I did." Her smile vanished, a pointed reminder that Athena was still very much a War Goddess, as well as the patron of Wisdom. "I want to know who started the rumour that I don't care about Percy as a boyfriend, and that he couldn't love someone who puts him down all the time."

No-one was about to admit to that, but someone had to say something, if only to break the ominous silence.

The fact that Percy's arms were full of Annabeth was the only think that made him keep his reaction to a roll of his eyes. "I turned down Godhood for Annabeth, and fell with her to Tartarus because I refused to lose her again! Where did you get the delusion that I would drop the girl I've loved since I was fourteen for someone I barely know?"

Annabeth backed him up, perfectly in synch, causing those Campers who had been on the Percabeth = Meant To Be side of the argument to look vindicated. "I may not be fawning over my boyfriend 24/7, but did you somehow miss how much of a wreck I was when he went missing? Percy is one of the few permanent things in my life, and I love him more than you could understand! I would never cheat on or abandon him!"

For a son of Aphrodite, Mitchell had a surprising amount of common sense. "OK, we get the picture! No more hinting, insinuating, matchmaking or anything like if it concerns you four! We promise!"

Thalia glared. "Swear it on the Styx."

Drew spluttered furiously, but complied. "I swear on the River Styx that we will not interfere in any of your relationships ever again… unless we are asked to."

Annabeth knew that there was a loophole in there, but she was too distracted to care. "Fine. Thalia, let them go."

She smiled as Percy took her hand, mentally calculating the odds of being attacked by a monster if the two of them got 'lost' for an hour or two on the way back to their Cabins. Deciding that the odds were a bit too high to be practical, Annabeth was silent for a while as they walked through the woods. "Do you ever feel like that, Percy?"

Percy looked at her with a slight frown, and Annabeth loved that he could read her so well. "What they said about you being a bad girlfriend because you don't swoon all over me? No."

Annabeth couldn't help teasing him a little. "'Swoon', Seaweed Brain? Big words from you. But you don't feel like I don't appreciate you? I heard one of them going on about 'balance of power' and the way I punch you when you're being silly. I mean, I know I don't make it easy for you a lot of the time -"

Percy stopped walking and pulled her close for a kiss. "First off, having a girlfriend who made things easy for me would bore me to tears. I like that every day with you is a new challenge, and that we're comfortable enough to be best friends as well as boyfriend and girlfriend."

Annabeth did feel quite a bit better, but there was one last inequality to address. "What about what they said about me rubbing my intelligence in everyone's face?"

Percy laughed, kissing her again. "You're my Wise Girl, and you wouldn't be you if you stopped knowing everything."

Annabeth smiled, and Percy became serious for a moment. "Annabeth, I don't think you realize how much I depend on you having all the answers, sometimes. Everyone sees me as a powerful leader, but really I'm just good at fighting and somehow motivating people. I'm good with spur-of-the-moment plans and improvisation, but useless with strategy and planning. I need you for that, and that's why we make such a great team."

That kind of answer deserved several kisses, and Annabeth saw no tactical advantage in waiting to give them to him later. Regardless of how he saw himself, Percy could strategize when he felt like it, and a little spontaneity from an Athena child wasn't a bad thing.

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A/N: Just to be clear, this is not intended to target anyone, and if it bears any resemblance to any existing stories, it was unintentional. This is the first thing that springs into my mind when I see a summary involving Thalia and Nico in any relationship beyond friends.

As always, Constructive Criticism is appreciated, but flames are ignored.

Thanks,

Nat