Percy tries not to be the annoying boyfriend who constantly shows up to his girlfriend's workplace and makes himself a nuisance.
But she always lets him know he has an open invitation to stop by and honestly, sometimes he can't help but miss his girlfriend. (Especially if she's had long days back-to-back and been coming home too late for them to really have quality time).
So he shows up to the set because even though she'll be busy, it'll be the most he'll have seen of her in the past three days.
As always, he makes an effort to blend in with the background so as not to cause problems, and watches Annabeth as she goes over something with the director.
Her blonde hair is in a ponytail for the shot, giving him a clear view of her face. A pang runs through his heart at how tired she looks, even though he knows part of that is the styling.
But even then, he knows how long her days—
Someone bumps into him breaking his train of thought and he looks to the right just in time to catch a mic stand about to fall to the ground.
The guys who had been carrying it, along with an amp, lets out a sigh of relief when Percy catches it.
"Sorry," he mumbles. "I didn't see you there."
Percy smiles back. "No worries, that was my intention but I didn't mean to get in the way. Let me help you with this."
The guys gives him a once over before shrugging and nodding for him to follow so Percy trails behind him carrying the mic stand.
They come to a stop at the far side of the set, away from the main action filled with a bunch of other equipment.
"Nico!" A woman calls as soon as they each the area. She's holding a clipboard and surveying the floor. "Can you get more props from the van, anything marked with a green sticker."
Nico, he's assuming is the name of the guy, doesn't respond, just sets down his things and takes the mic stand from Percy to set it down too.
Then he turns and starts to walk back leaving Percy standing there awkwardly for a second before he runs to catch up with Nico.
"Hey, did you want more help?"
Nico stops short, clearly surprised to still see Percy there. His dark eyes once again scan him in a way that makes Percy feel a little scrutinized.
"You're Annabeth's boyfriend?"
It always surprises Percy when he gets recognized since it so rarely happens that he probably does a bad job of hiding the surprise.
Unintentionally his eyes flick back to Annabeth, still in a serious discussion.
"Yeah," he responds, turning back to Nico. "I just came to watch but I really don't mind helping. I feel bad for causing trouble."
Nico raises an eyebrow at him but begins to walk again, nodding his head to indicate Percy should follow.
After a moment of silence, he speaks up. "You haven't caused trouble."
No maybe not, but Percy always feels a little out of place at a set.
"You ran into me cause I was in the way," he responds as they step outside.
Nico shoots him another side glance. "You're weird."
He's not sure if that's a compliment or an insult but before he can ask they come to a stop in front of a van loaded with a bunch of stuff, ranging from small furniture and décor to plants and books.
"Alright," Nico says, surveying the van. "Anything with a green sticker, grab it."
He points to a plant pot with a green circle tacked onto it and Percy nods, picking it up and looking for other things with the same label.
They work in silence, grabbing a few items each and walk back to the studio.
Percy is balancing a rocking chair with the plant on the seat as Nico walks in front of him with an assortment that's hard to make out from behind the chair.
The lady with the clipboard looks more distressed this time when they arrive at the area to set the stuff down.
"Where is Bill?" she asks Nico as soon as she seems him.
"He's out sick today," Nico huffs, placing things on the ground.
"Well can you find someone else who can fix this?" she says, pointing to a set of two steps that look like they should be attached to a front porch.
The bottom one has a broken board, clearly the issue.
"It just broke and they need it for the scene after," she continues.
"Bianca, listen I have to get back to my actual work now," Nico responds. "I'm sorry, I'll see if I can find Kelsey and send her over to you."
The woman, Bianca, sighs. "Okay, thanks for the help Nicks, I appreciate it."
Nico nods and is about to walk away when Percy speaks up.
"Sorry to interrupt, but I can fix that."
He points to the broken step as both of them turn to him in surprise.
"I used to build decks so I know my way around," he continues, rubbing the back of his neck. "Just offering in case you can't find anyone else."
Bianca is looking at him as if she's just now seeing him for the first time. "Who are you?"
"Percy," he introduces. "So did you want me to fix that?"
Bianca seems to hesitate for a second, but Nico lets out a small smile.
"Go for it, you have to do a good job since Annabeth is going to be stepping on that."
Well, he was going to do a good job regardless, but knowing that this is specifically for Annabeth's scene…he'll make sure it's the safest thing ever.
"Of course."
He looks towards Bianca for confirmation and she nods. As he walks up to the broken step, he hears her ask Nico again who he is.
Well, if he's going to be the boyfriend, he might as well be helpful.
Thankfully, all the materials are there including extra wood so he gets to work. His hands move almost automatically and he smiles.
It feels good to be working like this again. The time off has been nice but he's been itching to get back into it. Of course, he's been diligently researching and reading up on how to own his own business but the prep work hasn't been as fun as actually doing the thing.
He wishes he could just open for business already.
A nervous tug in his stomach reminds him that he still needs to tell Annabeth about that, it's a pretty big step in his life.
He pushes away the thoughts and focuses on the task at hand.
Bianca returns to his side just as he's hammering the last nail in.
"I'm impressed," she comments, looking at the now fixed product.
"Let's test it out," he says, getting up to step on it and make sure it can hold his weight.
"Do you have the paint?" he asks, after assuring himself it's safe.
Bianca nods and points to the corner. "I appreciate the help," she says as he picks up a small can. "I hope Annabeth won't be upset…"
"Annabeth? Why?" He's confused at the statement. He dips his brush into the paint. "She's busy anyway."
She isn't in his line of sight anymore but someone shouts "SILENCE" indicating she's probably about to begin shooting the scene.
Percy carefully removes the bush from the paint can and sets it on the wood, looking at Bianca, who nods to let him know he can continue.
By the time the scene is wrapped, Percy is too.
He stands up, stretching from being huddled over and grins at the now finished step.
God, he'd forgotten how much he liked building stuff. Maybe he should build something custom for his coffee shop?
"Percy!"
He whips around to see Annabeth jogging towards him with a huge smile on her face.
He meets her hug and melts for a second in her embrace. It feels even better than completing a project.
"When did you get here?" she asks, backing away but not letting go of his hands.
"A little while ago," he replies, unable to stop smiling now that she's here. She really lights up the place.
"Wait, what's on your hands?" Annabeth starts to inspect his arms and he looks down to see some dried paint left on his wrist.
"Oh, I uh, volunteered to fix that since the guy wasn't here."
He gestures to the now painted step and Annabeth turns to look at it.
"Oh, Percy, you didn't have to do that," she says with a grateful look.
"I know," he replies with a smile. "I wanted to."
Annabeth just hugs him again, harder. It makes his heart pound harder too.
"Thank you for helping out." The words are mumbled against his chest.
"Of course," he whispers back, his hand moving to the back of her neck.
"I've missed you," she continues.
"Yeah, me too," he confesses.
She leans back to look him in the eyes and god her smile is so pretty that he just wants to kiss it.
But before he can, someone calls for her. Annabeth pouts as she lets go and though Percy isn't happy about it either, she's cute enough to make him smile.
"It's okay, I'll be here."
She nods, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek before walking back towards the director.
As he watches her go, he catches Nico's eye. He's standing there with a boom mic and headphones but the most surprising thing is the quick half smile he shoots Percy before turning away.
Percy smiles back, returning his focus on Annabeth who now tries to sneak him a glance every chance she gets making him chuckle every time.
"Hey Percy?" he turns to see Bianca standing there looking sheepish. "Sorry to bother you again but could you help me out with something real quick?"
Percy smiles. "Absolutely."
A/N: Shoutout to anon on tumblr who requested Percy helping out on Annabeth's set! I hope you guys liked this! I know it's more Percy focused but sometimes you gotta move the plot along too lol.
Please review! I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Thanks for reading!