I'm gonna say this takes place when Percy and Annabeth are in their final year at New Rome University, so hopefully they'd be 21, which is the legal age for drinking in America. I'm not sure if this would fit in the canon timeline, but if it doesn't... just go with it like I did :,)

Percy decided it was probably time to put a stop to the drinking for the night when he noticed Annabeth starting to sway in her seat.

To celebrate the start of their final semester break, Percy and Annabeth had planned to attend a house party his coursemate had invited him to. It had been to their surprise when they found Piper, Jason and Leo waiting for them at the entrance to the city of New Rome earlier that afternoon, with Hazel and Frank standing next to them, evidently having greeted their arrival already. After briefly catching up with each other, the seven demigods decided to attend the party as a group, and promptly arranged to meet up again later that night at the Caldecott Tunnel from where they would exit Camp Jupiter and make the commute to the party venue together.

Now Percy and Annabeth sat at a built-in bar on the first floor of the house, the party in full swing around them. The rest of their friends had scattered shortly after they arrived. Last he had seen, Hazel and Frank were playing UNO with a few other kids back in the living room, and Leo, Piper and Jason had gone to sit by the pool at the other end of the property.

Annabeth's eyes were closed. She kept her head propped in the heel of her palm with the bend of her arm resting on the countertop. At the sight of his girlfriend's dozing figure, Percy remembered how he had watched her down three drinks one after the other within the past half hour—she'd done it a lot faster than he felt was humanly healthy. On the contrary, he'd only had a few sips of his first glass, electing to keep whatever he could of his sobriety so that he would be able to watch over her. He realised he probably should have expected this turn of events after she had said she wanted to be more 'ambitious' that night. He decided now was probably a good time to get her back to campus and the warmth and safety of her bed—but first he needed to take care of some business.

Percy cleared his throat. "Hey, I'm gonna take a quick trip to the bathroom. Be right back," he said, getting off the stool he had been sitting on.

Annabeth stirred. Blinking drowsily, she took a second to focus her eyes on him standing next to her. Confusion and something that looked like anxiety washed over her features.

"Wait, don't go..." she murmured, grasping the sleeve of his shirt and stopping him from taking another step. Her expression was pulled into a miserable pout, like she might cry if he didn't stay. She'd never made this face before, and he felt a tug in his heart from the way her eyes were pleading with him.

Percy knew she was definitely not sober anymore, but it was still such a strange thing to see Annabeth acting so out of character.

"What's wrong?" he asked gently, not sure how else to react.

"Don't leave me..." She clutched his sleeve tighter and swayed slightly in her seat again.

"I'd never leave you," Percy assured her. "But Wise Girl, I really have to go to the bathroom."

"Oh..."

He got the impression she was trying to come up with another excuse to get him to stay, but maybe the alcohol was making it difficult to think straight.

Glancing behind her, he grabbed a bottle of water off the counter and twisted the cap to break the seal.

"Here. Why don't you drink some water while you wait for me to get back? You have to stay hydrated, remember?"

Annabeth accepted the bottle half-heartedly. "Yeah... okay."

"The bathroom's just there. I'll be right out, promise," he said, his hand lingering on her arm.

A part of him felt guilty for talking to her like she was a child, but he feared she might start crying if he wasn't gentle. This side of Annabeth was new and unexpected, and the last thing he wanted to do was make her cry, which he hated seeing.

He brushed his thumb across the back of her hand once more, then he turned and headed for the bathroom.

Not long afterwards he emerged back into the hallway, only to stop short when he saw that the stool Annabeth had been occupying was now empty. The water bottle he had given her was also left behind on the table.

A mild panic rose inside him. His eyes swept over the rest of the room, trying to spot the familiar head of blonde hair among the sea of people half-shrouded in dim, multi-coloured lights, but it was to no avail.

He decided his friends were his next best option. Maybe they had seen where she had wandered off to.

Soon he was able to single out Leo from the crowd. Percy approached him swiftly and grabbed hold of his shoulder, interrupting his conversation with two other guys who were leaning back against the wall.

Speaking close to his ear to be heard over the music, Percy said, "Hey, man. Did you happen to see where Annabeth went? I left her sitting at the bar while I went to the bathroom but she wasn't there when I got out."

"Sorry, dude. I had my back turned for some time. Maybe Hazel or Frank might have seen her. I think they've been hanging around that area for a while—"

Suddenly Percy saw her appear from around the corner at the opposite side of the room. Piper was supporting her as she walked unsteadily, trying to navigate through the throng of partygoers.

Percy didn't waste another moment in catching up to them. "What happened?"

"I found her at the bar and she looked like she was going to be sick, so I brought her to the bathroom—and just in time, thankfully."

"Oh, Wise Girl... I'm sorry."

His hand tentatively found her back and he started to draw slow, soft circles in the centre of her spine.

Annabeth leaned into him. "I think I want to go home now..." she said, her voice quiet and weak.

"I'll call you guys a cab," Piper responded immediately. She pulled her phone out of her purse as she walked away from them and towards the entrance, where there was less noise from the music and people.

Percy stuffed the bottle Annabeth had left at the bar earlier into her purse, momentarily finding it miraculous that it was somehow able to fit, then gently took her by the hand and guided her out of the house as well.

He found Piper standing at the end of the lawn just bringing her phone away from her ear.

"Hey. Cab should be coming in five minutes or less," she said as they walked up to her.

"Thank you," he told her earnestly. He knew she limited using her cell to emergencies—-which was the wise demigod thing to do—and hoped she wouldn't face too much trouble later in the night if monsters came by.

They didn't have to wait too long before a standard yellow taxi pulled up to the sidewalk in front of them.

"You guys take care. The rest of us will come see you in the morning." Piper smiled one last time before ushering them into the cab.

Shortly after the door shut, Annabeth rested her head in the crook of his neck. He tightened his arm around her in response, hoping she wasn't feeling too cold. He placed his hand on her knee and gently started rubbing circles into the fabric of her jeans. Outside, Piper relayed the directions to the cab driver to take them back to Camp Jupiter.

"Percy?" Annabeth's voice mumbled in the quiet space.

"Yeah?" he said softly.

"Do you think my mom will be mad at me?"

He frowned. "What are you worried she'll be mad at you for?"

"For being irresponsible and not using my head..."

The taxi rumbled in the background. Percy managed to wave Piper goodbye through the window shortly before the car started on its way down the road.

Looking back down at his girlfriend, he stifled a smile even though she wouldn't have been able to see it anyway. "About drinking? Nah, pretty sure your drinking habits are something your mom knows she doesn't have to worry about. If anything, she'd just decide to blame it on me for not looking out for you."

Annabeth hummed against him, sounding only half-convinced but contented nonetheless.

Suddenly the car jolted from hitting a bump in the road. He started to worry she would feel nauseous again, but soon enough he felt her relax against him instead, her breathing becoming slow and deep.

Reassured, Percy let his eyes drift to the window and the passing lights outside. A small smile came to him as he thought about all the time they would have together for the rest of semester break. With the light buzz he could still feel from the alcohol, his mind wandered further and he started to picture what they could do after that, once they had graduated.

He hadn't realised he had dozed off himself until he jerked awake at the feeling of the cab coming to a stop. It took him a second to register that they were near the entrance of the Caldecott Tunnel. He woke Annabeth gently, then let her use him for balance as they got out of the taxi.

Once the taxi had driven off, he made a mental note to himself that he owed Piper money for the taxi fare as well as a favour for looking out for the both of them that night.

-Ψ-

As he trekked through Camp Jupiter towards New Rome with Annabeth mostly using him for support, a pleasant night breeze blew past, warming his face and helping to soothe the beginnings of the headache he felt was slowly forming. He cast a glance down at Annabeth at his side to check for any signs of discomfort, and was glad to see she appeared to be doing fine for the most part, but maybe just a little dehydrated and in need of a good sleep.

They reached the campus of New Rome University soon enough. Inside her dorm building, Percy carefully guided her down the hallway towards her room. As they walked, she held onto his arm tightly like she was afraid she would fall if she let go.

"I think I drank a little bit more than I should have..." she mumbled weakly.

"And maybe a little too fast," Percy added regretfully. "You should take it slower next time, okay?"

"Ugh. If being drunk feels like this all the time, I don't think I'm going to let there be a 'next time'."

He chuckled and rubbed her arm in what he hoped was a comforting way.

Finally they arrived at her door. Before he could knock, the door swung inwards to reveal Annabeth's roommate.

"Man, you look awful," she said. She turned to Percy then, mildly accusatory. "How much did you let her drink?"

He sputtered. "She just drank a lot faster than I expected. I'm guessing Piper was the one who texted you?"

"Huh, so you're not as dim-witted as I thought. It makes sense now why Annabeth sticks around," she drawled teasingly.

"Hey, I'm gonna be sick again if you guys keep me standing here any longer," Annabeth complained, though it also might have doubled as a threat.

"Right, sorry," Percy muttered. "Feel better, Wise Girl," he said softly, then pressed a brief kiss to her hairline before releasing her.

He watched as she stepped into the room with her roommate's help, flashing him a faint smile of goodbye as the door closed behind her.

There was already a plan in his head to check in on her tomorrow. His eyes lingered on the door's white surface for another moment before he got himself to start walking back down the hall.

As he crossed the quad to his own dorm building, he replayed the events of the night in his mind, a small smile forming at the edge of his lips. That night, he had learnt something new about his girlfriend: Annabeth got clingy when she was drunk.

A small amount of joy flared in his chest at the thought of teasing her about it in the future. He would have to start preparing for all the earfuls he was bound to get from her then.

-END-

thank you for reading!