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“hey, beth?”
annabeth froze with her hands in her hair, bubbles running down her arms. “yes?” she called, hearing the bathroom door open seconds later.
“i’m going to the store in the morning, do we need anything?” percy asked. annabeth shook her head in disbelief as she began to rinse the shampoo from her curls.
“this couldn’t have waited until i got out?”
“i would’ve forgotten by then.”
annabeth laughed and thought about their food supply in the fridge and pantry. “eggs, your gross vanilla coffee creamer, and maybe sugar? i used almost the rest yesterday.”
“okay,” he replied and annabeth peeked her head out of the shower, catching his eyes right as he started to close the door. “hi there,” he said, stopping the door in place as he looked at her with a smile.
“hey,” she grinned. “you busy right now?”
his eyebrows raised as he gave her a knowing look. “not really.” he stepped further into the bathroom and slowly began to shut the door behind him. “why?”
annabeth bit her lip. “wanna join me?” she asked quietly.
without hesitation, percy was lifting his shirt over his head. “duh.”
she giggled as she shut the curtain and reached for her conditioner as she waited for him. a moment later, a cold breeze drifted into the shower as percy moved the curtain and stepped in, sliding it closed behind him. his eyes shamelessly scanned over her body before locking with hers. “hey.”
“hey,” she replied, rolling her eyes fondly and carefully detangling her curls with her fingers. he crowded into her space to get himself under the water. an arm curled around her waist and his other hand moved to her hair, slowly raking his fingers through the ends. she wasn’t sure if he was doing that for fun or if he was trying to help detangle it, but annabeth appreciated it nonetheless.
a minute or two later, her curls fell in mostly separated ringlets down her back, covered in conditioner. deciding it could sit for a moment, she turned her undivided attention to percy and wrapped her arms around his neck. their chests pressed together as she leaned up for a kiss.
“mmm,” he hummed against her lips before pulling back, “we should shower together more often.”
“why’s that?” she asked, smiling up at him.
percy shrugged. “it’s fun. plus you’re naked which is extra fun.”
annabeth laughed and shook her head. “you’re gross,” she joked, turning them so her back was to the water. she let go of him to rinse the conditioner from her hair.
“am i wrong?”
she smiled as his hands slid up and down her sides, following the curve of her waist. “i mean, no. i definitely am naked so you’re not wrong. still gross though.”
“i disagree,” he said, leaning forward to kiss her cheek once, then her jaw. his arms slid back around her waist to hug her. “you’re so warm, oh my god,” he said, making her laugh.
“well, we’re in hot water,” she said. he just kissed her forehead and waited for her to finish with her hair. once it was clean of conditioner, she patted his shoulder twice for him to release her so she could grab her body wash and loofah. she poured some of the soap onto the sponge but instead of running it over her body, she started on percy’s chest. he sighed.
“i’m going to smell like coconut now.”
“good.”
he shook his head but had no further complaints. instead, he simply watched as she ran the soap over his arms, chest, and shoulders. annabeth had been focused solely on the skin in front of her so when her eyes finally flicked up to his, she saw him looking at her with a lovesick expression paired with a dopey smile.
“what?” she asked. he shook his head, taking the sponge from her and beginning to run it over her skin now.
“i just love you,” he said quietly, the smile never leaving his lips even as she leaned up to kiss him again. he pulled away after only a few seconds and said, “stop distracting me. i’m cleaning.”
annabeth laughed quietly and let him continue. “are you gonna do this for me when we’re all old and gray?” she asked after a moment.
percy’s eyes lit up at her words and his smile widened. “absolutely.” they’d only recently begun talking seriously about their future and they both easily agreed that they could see themselves spending the rest of their lives together. percy claimed he’d known he wanted to marry her about three months into the relationship.
for annabeth, it had taken almost eight months for her to be certain she could see herself with him forever. and once she’d realized it, she decided she could’ve known a lot sooner if she’d let her guard down completely. regardless, they were here now and that’s what mattered to her.
he hung the loofah back up and they stepped under the water together, letting the soap rinse off. annabeth wrapped her arms around his torso and his hands rested on her lower back as she tilted her head up to kiss him again. they stood there until the water started to run cold, lips moving together lazily. when the shower became too cold to stand anymore, annabeth quickly shut it off and kissed percy one more time before ringing her hair out, sliding open the curtain, and stepping out. she grabbed her towel hanging up and dried her hair until it was no longer dripping, then wrapping it around her body.
by the time she faced him again, percy already dried off his hair and had his towel wrapped around his waist. she reached her hand out for his and said, “what do you say we don’t put clothes on and we just go to bed like this?”
he smiled again, taking her hand. “you’re a genius.”