Some light fluff, and Percy and Piper would like to hear more about this poster Malcolm.
Replies:
Georgia: Hmmm, not the worst idea, Valgrace could work. And yes Thalia and Bianca are the same age in this. ;)
Undeath9087: It really is gonna be fun. And I mean, I can confirm that Zoe does become involved. And as I said, things rarely go to plan. I wonder what could go wrong when flying across the country in a boat?
Krypton Writes: I used to have like, a hundred at times before lol. But uh- if you want a hint I could give you one, though you may not like it. Hehehe. It won't give much away.
Guest: Hmmm. I do like Reyanca. But I do kind of wanna shake it up a lil, y'know. And your next suggestion isn't necessarily a bad one. Hehe. I hadn't thought about the three of them together but y'know it could possibly work. At this stage Bianca is 12, and Thalia is 12 and will be 13 soon. Ironically Jason is actually older than Thalia now. By around five months. As for GreekxEgyptian, well, not sure if it'll go anywhere yet I haven't decided but Nico is totally crushing on Felix at this stage.
Terra King: I don't tend to ship gods with demigods too much, and I think I prefer Bianca and Jason as friends but I'm taking note lol. As for Hera, well, she's always scheming. Look at how Leo's life was. And Poseidon can be jealous yes, though I don't think Percy would give him much chance before tearing him a new one lol.
After Percy called Carter she headed out of the office to rejoin the others, at which point Annabeth whisked her and Piper away, barely giving Percy the chance to get changed out of her ruined clothes and to tell Luke he should probably hide out in the Big House- to avoid rightfully angry campers.
Annabeth had decided she wanted to show them around- though she'd decided to start with the beach- mostly so that Percy could take a nice dip to wash away some of her exhaustion- though she'd definitely need a nap at the very least soon enough she was sure.
Even she had her limits after all.
Still, the cold water of the sea invigorated and refreshed her as she ran into the waves, diving in once she was far enough out, feeling the familiar thrill of the water as she swum out a little way.
She'd never get tired of how it felt being able to see the coral reefs and the schools of fish, several of which came over to say hello to her, seeming very curious.
After a good half an hour Percy headed back to the shore, a couple of new seashells in hand to add to her collection of shells from every beach she visited.
When she did reach Annabeth and Piper on the beach they welcomed her with open arms, each of them grabbing an arm and yanking her down onto the sand, and Percy happily let them, toppling into Piper's lap, where the other girl immediately stole a kiss, and then Annabeth was on her knees behind Percy, in front of Piper, the two of them caging her in, Annabeth's lips pressing against Percy's shoulder.
"I can't believe this is really happening." Percy breathed the words, "I can't believe I get you both." She turned her head very slightly so that she could look at Piper and Annabeth- who's chin was resting on her shoulder- at the same time.
"You do." Annabeth said brightly, "Would have gotten us both a lot sooner if you weren't so oblivious."
"She has a point." Piper's voice was amused, "I mean, with all the love in the world you really didn't let us explain at all."
"I- I guess I didn't think that- I mean you guys are my best friends." Percy was sure her face was flushed. "I didn't- I know lots of people have crushes on me but that's not- it's not because they know me y'know? They don't like me me. They like the idea of me."
"Percy-" Annabeth's voice was stunned. "Seaweed Brain… that- just because most of the people crushing on you are just crushing on a celebrity doesn't mean that people who really know you can't have feelings for you."
"Percy I have been half in love with you since the day I met you." Piper spoke up. "You were so bright and pretty and kind." She shook her head, "Looking back on it I think the moment I really fell for you was- was when you got your mom to drive you to see me in the middle of the night because I was upset and I couldn't sleep because dad had just told me that grandpa Tom had cancer."
"I- you were my friend and you were upset-"
"And the first time I realised just how beautiful you could be was when you fought off those guys who tried to mug us that time."
"I fell for you when I first woke up." Annabeth spoke up, "I know that might not count since I was a huge fan of you, but you were sat by my bed reading the Odyssey to me, in ancient Greek. I thought I was in Elysium or something for a few minutes there. But if you decide that doesn't count because of the fan thing… then the first time I realised I was falling for you, really really falling has to have been when we were on Mykonos, when you were telling me about how you wanted to steal the Parthenon Marbles-"
Percy laughed, "I- really? Both of you-"
"You're an easy person to love." Piper said the words softly, "And as a daughter of Aphrodite you have to take my word for the matter." Which made Percy laugh.
"Nice to see you embracing that side of yourself." She spoke playfully.
"Well there are some parts to being a daughter of Aphrodite that aren't so bad." Piper grinned back at Percy. "You helped me see that, though I still say you're more like what I'd imagine a daughter of Aphrodite to be like then me- beautiful, girly-"
"I won't deny the girly part." Percy's lips twitched fondly, "But I feel the need to point out that both of you are also insanely beautiful."
"Fair point." Piper laughed, and Annabeth's lips twitched.
"You're going to get along so well with the girls in the Aphrodite cabin. Honestly I think everyone will love you."
"I appreciate the vote of confidence." Percy smiled fondly, relaxing and melting into the comfort of the two girls arms.
After a good hour or so Annabeth decided to resume the tour, and Percy and Piper let the daughter of Athena lead them away from the beach.
The tour started with the woods, then the mess hall- which was fairly quiet- which made sense given the time of day, then Annabeth showed them the climbing wall- and she had to physically restrain Percy from making a running leap at it to try and climb it- Piper had doubled over laughing at Percy's pout over that- and it had earned them several curious looks from campers attempting the wall, or waiting to attempt it, though no one approached them. Some of the expressions were nervous- there had almost certainly already been rumors circulating. One or two of the kids waved to Annabeth- clearly they remembered her well enough not to let the rumors stop them from acknowledging her at least.
They passed the canoe lake and the amphitheatre, they slowed when they reached the Arts and Crafts area, when Annabeth pulled away from Percy and Piper, breaking into a run towards the building- and it didn't take a child of Athena to realise why- not when Percy saw a blond boy turning around when someone tapped his shoulder and pointed, making him turn- and even from where Percy and Piper were stood she could see the resemblance. The boy had to be a son of Athena, and Annabeth met him half way, the two siblings hugging tightly.
And yeah, yeah Percy could get that. She'd hate to spend over a year away from her family these days. Gods the quests were hard enough, let alone the idea of choosing to move away from them for such a long time.
Annabeth had never showed any signs of regretting that choice, but Percy had no doubt that there were times when she missed this place.
And when this was all over… well maybe Percy could stand to come and spend a week or two here during the summer, if Annabeth and Piper were both happy about it. She thought they would be.
And it might do her some good too, being around other demigods. She was looking forward to seeing how other demigods fought, the different fighting styles. She was sure there was plenty she could learn, even if she had already proved herself perfectly capable.
Percy and Piper approached when Annabeth waved them over, Piper shifting and hooking her arm through Percy's as they walked.
The boy Annabeth was talking to laughed when he focused on them, raising an eyebrow as he looked meaningfully at Percy before focusing on Annabeth. "Really?" and the that made Piper burst out laughing and Annabeth flushed a bright shade of red as Percy tried to stifle her own laughter. "Really Annabeth? You actually managed to track down your celebrity crush-"
"Girlfriend now. Actually." Annabeth corrected, a note of smugness in her voice. "Both of them are my girlfriends." The boy looked surprised at that, blinking before;
"Seriously? You disappear for a year and a half and you come back with two pretty girls on your arm. Now that's just greedy."
"I know." Annabeth moved to kiss Percy and Piper both on the cheek. "What can I say, I'm doing well for myself." And Annabeth really did look happy- though Percy couldn't help but notice that her fr-girlfriend; that would take some getting used to, had her right hand stuffed into her pocket- it was awkward and obvious that something was wrong if you paid attention but it was visible than when he hand just dangled limply at the end of her wrist. It wasn't often that Annabeth got self-conscious about it but it made sense in a way. Annabeth hadn't seen the people here in so long, but she'd grown up with them. It made sense that she'd care what they thought of her.
"Clearly."
"Are you going to actually introduce us or just brag?" Piper raised an eyebrow, "Not that I mind being your trophy girlfriend. We already agreed that I'd be the sugar baby-"
"Shut up." Percy laughed, elbowing Piper in the side, which made Piper snort.
"Hey it's true isn't it? You're literally royalty Percy. You could have a private jet if you wanted a private jet-"
"Why would I want a private jet when I can just portal places-" Percy waved a hand dismissively before turning to Annabeth's brother. "Hi. I assume you already know that I'm Percy Kane. This is Piper McLean, she's a daughter of Aphrodite."
"I'm Malcolm." The boy grinned, "And yeah, I know who you are. Hard not to, Annabeth had this post-" Annabeth was clamping her hand over Malcolms mouth, and oh but she was so pretty when she was flustered. Percy very much wanted to see more of it with the way her eyes went all wide and her face was so red that she was pretty sure if she touched it it would be hot.
"Malcolm if you say another word I will end you-"
"Hey- hey don't be mean Wise girl." Percy's grin was playful. "As your girlfriends Piper and I should be friendly with your siblings don't you agree-"
"She's right Annabeth." Piper nodded sagely, "It's incredibly important for the sake of our relationship. And if there are, by any chance, embarrassing stories-"
There were series of muffled grunts from Malcolm, who did look like he was enjoying himself as he tried and failed to speak past the hand covering his mouth.
"Come on Annabeth." Percy grinned, "Let the boy speak."
"You'll have to eventually." Piper added. "I could just order you to." Of course all three of them knew that was as empty of a threat as it was possible for anyone to make. Piper wouldn't ever even consider doing that to someone she cared about. She didn't even like doing it to people she didn't like, though she was less awkward about that than she had been, as long as whatever she was doing wouldn't put them in danger or cause too much trouble, and as long as she actually had a good reason.
In any case the threat just earned an amused look from Annabeth. "Uh huh. Sure you would." But she released Malcolms mouth, and he grinned, shaking his head as she stepped back before focusing on Percy again.
"So, the rumors around camp are that an Egyptian Princess showed up with-" his expression tightened, "With Luke. And that's you. Does that mean those books and movies that Annabeth was obsessed with-"
"Are based on reality." Percy nodded. "Yeah. And yes I play myself. And yes it's as awesome as it seems."
"All of it?"
"I mean, the books and films aren't entirely accurate." Percy conceded. "My mom couldn't write every detail and she changed a few things but I mean, you get the rough idea."
"Cool." Malcolm nodded slowly, clearly considering Percy's words. And she was sure he'd form his own conclusion on what parts were real and what weren't. Just as long as he didn't go yelling that she was chaos in human form she could deal with it.
"Now." Annabeth was at Percy and Piper's side again, "I need to finish giving these two the tour." She told Malcolm. "I'll see you later Malcolm-"
"You just want to get us away from him before I can ask about that poster." Piper's grin was devilish and Percy grinned at the thought of that.
"Come on. Let's stop being mean to our brainbox Pipes." Percy pressed her lips to Annabeth's cheek. "You should finish this tour Wise girl."