Work Text:
“We were so excited because we both started winter break early. We met up at camp on Tuesday, figured we had three weeks together. It was going to be great. Then after the campfire, he—he kissed me good night, went back to his cabin, and in the morning, he was gone.” -The Lost Hero.
____
There weren’t many campers left around the bonfire, it wasn’t long until curfew and most of the campers had decided to call it an early night. Annabeth couldn’t blame them, capture the flag had been brutal that day, her body was aching and begging her to stop eating marshmallows and go to her soft, warm bed. But Percy’s hand was under her (his) hoodie, tracing circles with his thumb across her waist, her head was resting on his shoulder and the flames were warming her body, making her feel absolutely at peace. She was sure that if she closed her eyes she would fall asleep in seconds, instead, she looked over at her marshmallow that, unlike Percy’s, was reaching a perfect gold.
“Do you think Chiron’s going to change his mind?” Percy’s voice was barely a whisper, Annabeth would have missed it if she wasn’t sitting almost in his lap.
“You’re benched Seaweed Brain, for who knows how long.”
“It’s not fair.” Her boyfriend whined, making her laugh.
“You took the Ares cabin all by yourself without breaking a sweat.”
“Because they’re lame.”
“Oh?” Annabeth changed positions so she could face him. “You mean the fact that you’re invincible had nothing to do with it?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He mumbled, both hands now holding his marshmallow stick.
“The Hephaestus cabin is going to be working overtime fixing all their weapons.”
Percy shrugged in response and Annabeth shook her head at him. Chiron usually didn’t let them play capture the flag in the winter, while the camp was protected with magic that helped keep the harsh winter at bay, the woods didn’t have the same courtesy. Ice, snow, and wind made the game even more extreme and dangerous, and after almost losing a few people to frostbite a few years ago Chiron had canceled the winter activities. But the campers had insisted, maybe still on the high of defeating Kronos - which they’d used in their arguments, Chiron gave into one game.
Annabeth had been worried at first, not for herself, but for Percy accidentally getting hit on his Achilles spot. She had spent at least half an hour in his cabin making sure his armor was protecting the small of his back, and when they had separated in the woods, she had fallen more than a few times on the ice trying to look for him. By the time she had found him, he had been standing in front of a defeated Ares cabin, holding the flag, not a scratch on his skin. Clarisse and the rest of her siblings, along with some other cabins, protested to Chiron and Percy had been suspended from capture the flag, at least until they found a way to work around his invincibility.
“You don’t need to worry about me, you know?” Percy said casually a few moments later after they had shared a few marshmallows. His eyes were focused on the dancing flames in front of him, the reflection of the fire making his eyes shine, like an ocean before a storm. Annabeth sighed. She had hoped Percy hadn’t noticed during the game, but Percy was more observant that people gave him credit for, and he knew her better than anyone else.
“It’s part of my job.”
“As my girlfriend?”
Annabeth flicked her fingers against his forehead. “As your best friend, dummy.”
Percy smiled at her before quickly kissing her nose, making her laugh. Some campers turned to look at them, Annabeth thought she heard a ‘get a room’ yelled in their direction. Percy threw his marshmallow stick into the fire and intertwined their fingers. “I’m serious, Annabeth, you don’t have to worry about me, not anymore.”
“Except I do, and I’ll keep doing it because we’re demigods and it’s part of the deal.” Annabeth pointed her golden marshmallow at Percy, who devoured it in one bite, before throwing the stick into the fire. “Plus, it’s not like you don’t worry about me.”
“It’s not the same.” Annabeth raised an eyebrow at him, making him blush and hurriedly add, “I mean, you can still get hurt, swords and knives can hurt you Annabeth.” He glanced at her shoulder, the one that had a scar from a poisoned knife.
“You can get hurt too, Perce, it’s still a possibility.” He didn’t say anything, his eyes were on their intertwined hands, where he was currently playing with her fingers. The tension in his jaw let her know he agreed with her, even if he didn’t like it. Taking it as win she decided to go call it a day, she knew when to stop pushing him. “So, you worry about me and I worry about you, there’s nothing new with that.”
“You got hurt,” Percy said, his tone firm. He was still not facing her but his posture was tense. His arm moved gently across her forearm, were under the fabric of his hoodie were cuts and bruises courtesy of the game. She knew there were similar wounds hiding under her jeans, and that Percy probably knew about those too, after all, she had limped a little after the game.
“I slipped on the ice, it could have happened to anyone.”
“Except that you were worried about me and it caused you to get distracted.”
“It won’t happen again.”
“Yeah, because I’m banned from the game,” he said bitterly.
“Well, yeah, that too.” With her free hand, she gently moved Percy’s head to face her. “I have a feeling this isn’t the last time I’ll worry about you, Seaweed Brain, but it is the last time I let it distract me like that, okay?”
Percy sighed and rested his forehead against hers. “Okay.”
“Good, now let’s seal it with a kiss.”
They walked back to the cabins in silence, the only sound around them coming from their footsteps against the grass. Percy swung their hands freely, while she was lost in her thoughts, letting him guide her to her cabin. She couldn’t stop thinking about the game, more specifically about what she felt after they won when she saw Percy unharmed.
Relief had been the prominent emotion, something she was really familiar with, but there had been another feeling, one that had started in her chest and made its way to the rest of her body during the bonfire. It was a pressure that was unfamiliar and familiar somehow. It was something that made her scared and happy at the same time, that made her warm, a new feeling that was not unwelcome. She couldn’t decipher why, at least she couldn’t until Percy stopped in front of cabin six and pulled her closer for a goodnight kiss. When his lips touched hers it was like he had opened Pandora’s box after all.
In another circumstance, Annabeth wouldn’t have made out with Percy in front of her cabin, but camp was asleep and she needed him, she needed him like she had never before. Her hands gripped his hair, trying to pull him towards her as close as possible, and by the way his hands were gripping her waist, he was doing the same. Their lips met over and over, desperate and passionate. With every kiss, Annabeth’s brain became dizzy and dizzier but somehow also clearer and clearer. While her brain couldn’t focus on anything that wasn’t Percy and touching him, there was a word swimming around her head, demanding to be noticed. And when Annabeth gasped against his mouth, it wasn’t only because her lungs were begging for air, but because that word was finally heard.
Love, the emotion that Annabeth had been feeling was love, and not the love she already had for Percy, he had been her best friend for over three years, how couldn’t she love him? But she didn’t only love him, she was in love with him, probably had been for a while now, but she hadn’t realized until now. The logical side of Annabeth’s brain was telling her to pull away, get into her cabin and think about this new realization. But Percy’s lips had started to move against hers again and Annabeth got lost in him. When Percy finally pulled away, it was like he had brought her words with him, and the small distance between them was filled with three breathless words.
“I love you.” The words were hanging between them, and with every second of silence that passed, Annabeth started to get nervous. Percy was staring at her, his swollen lips parted in shock. He was panting, she wasn’t sure if it was because he needed air or because of her confession, his arms were still around her which gave her comfort, somehow. Part of her wanted to take the words back, but the biggest part of her, probably lead by her heart, didn’t regret her confession at all. She loved Percy Jackson, she was in love with Percy. Saying the words out loud had made her feel lighter, happier but his silence scared her. He closed his lips only to open them again, she panicked and covered his mouth with her hand.
“Don’t!” She half yelled, she could see the question in his eyes. “Don’t say it because you feel like you need to, I just, wanted you to know? I guess. Because I do love you, and it’s scary but a good scary and…” She hesitated. “I don’t want you to say it back because you feel obligated, I want you to say it when, if, you mean it and I mean, now we have all the time in the world, don’t we? So just don’t say anything right now because I don’t want to pressure you into--- Argh!.” Annabeth yelped the last part after Percy had bitten her hand, successfully making her move it away.
“You were starting to rant,” Percy said, he pulled her closer making her yelp again in surprise. “I won’t say anything because you don’t want me to.” There was a glint in his eyes, and a smile on his lips, and the way he was looking at her made her glad he was supporting her because her knees were not cooperating. “But I can still do this.”
Their kiss, unlike the previous one they had just shared, was slow and gentle, like waves against the sand on a perfect sunny day. Before Annabeth could get lost in his embrace he started kissing her face, finishing with a delicate kiss against at the top of her head. “Okay?”
“Okay.” Annabeth smiled at him.
“We have all the time in the world,” Percy said gently.
“Yes, we do.” Annabeth smiled at him, a screeching in the distance made her sigh. “Except we don’t, at least not tonight. You have to go before the harpies see you and come to get you.”
“Psh, let them try.”
“Percy.”
“Kidding.” He gave her a quick peck on the lips. “See you at breakfast?”
“If you manage to wake up on time.”
“It’s the curse okay? I need more sleep now.”
“Right, and what was your excuse before?” She said, teasing.
“You’re mean.”
Annabeth laughed. “Go and get your beauty rest.”
Percy made a face at her and started walking towards his cabin, halfway there he turned around and waved at her, she waved back and went inside. The smile on her face was the last smile she shared for a while, because unbeknownst to her, Percy Jackson went to sleep that night only to wake up five months later somewhere in California.