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“you know,” annabeth said as percy leaned his weight on her. she was the only thing supporting him as they trudged along the forest. percy’s foot was still in pain after acid had soaked through his shoe. “it wasn’t the bravest thing i’ve ever seen.”
percy blinked at her. “what do you mean?”
annabeth smiled softly, not looking at him. “you stood up to the dragon so beckendorf could jump on him. that was brave.”
“or stupid.”
she scoffed quietly. “percy, you’re a brave guy. take the compliment.”
percy turned his head and they locked eyes. their faces were inches apart and it made percy’s heart jump right out of his chest. he blinked a few times, then looked away with flushed cheeks. his eyes landed on the pair of demigods up ahead.
“so…” he said, “silena and charlie are going to the fireworks together.”
“mhm,” she hummed.
percy swallowed. “well, i was thinking…” he started, but his voice trailed off as he lost what little confidence he had. he didn’t know why it was so hard but gods, it was.
“yeah?” annabeth prompted quietly. of course, percy should’ve guessed that she knew what he was going to say. she could practically read him like an open book.
“would you maybe want to… go with me?” he asked slowly, looking over at her. a smile grew on her face.
“i thought you’d never ask, seaweed brain,” she replied, locking eyes with him again. percy smiled.
“okay,” he muttered, “cool. great. that’s… yeah.” he broke eye contact as he stuttered and annabeth laughed softly, leaning into him slightly.
just then, three athena campers jumped out of the bushes with swords drawn. they all smiled widely when they saw annabeth and silena.
“annabeth, good job! let’s get them to jail,” one of her siblings said.
percy blinked. “the game isn’t over?”
he laughed. “not yet, but it won’t last much longer.” then he looked at annabeth. “you need us to take them?” he asked.
percy figured annabeth would let him and beckendorf walk back to the border but instead, she pulled away from percy and took out her dagger. she smiled and pointed her blade at him. he shouldn't have found that as attractive as he did.
“nah. silena and i got this. come on prisoners,” she said. percy stared at her in awe and complained the entire walk to jail. regardless, she smiled as she gladly put him and beckendorf in the jail area. as annabeth was walking away, she turned and winked at percy with another wide smile. “see you tonight.”
then she bolted off. percy looked over at beckendorf. “so,” he said, “i… asked her out.”
beckendorf beamed at him. “well, we may have lost capture the flag, but we still won.”
-
percy shouldn’t be this nervous, right? because he was. he was very nervous. grover had tried to console him by saying, “it’s just annabeth,” but that was the whole point.
it was annabeth.
he brushed his fingers through his hair for the millionth time, trying to make it look good but not like he tried to make it look good. gods, he felt so stupid.
but he couldn’t stop thinking about the smile she had given him when he’d asked her. she looked like she was excited, and the thought of that excited him.
a horn sounded in the distance, signaling that the fireworks would start in 20 minutes. percy stepped out of his cabin. the sun was setting, painting the sky a mix of blues and oranges. seconds later, he saw annabeth exit the athena cabin. she looked over in his direction and when they made eye contact, she broke out into another big smile.
the first thing percy registered was how good she looked. she was wearing shorts and instead of her usual camp shirt, she had a fitted black shirt that ended right where the waistband of her shorts started. her hair was pulled back in two loose french braids with a few curls framing her face. immediately, percy guessed it was silena’s work. she looked ethereal. tucked under her arm, she held a thin blanket for them to sit on.
“hey,” she said when they met halfway between their cabins. her gray eyes sparkled and her eyelashes were darker than usual. silena must have convinced her into some makeup as well. it made him wonder if she’d asked silena to help her. was she as nervous as he was?
“hey,” he replied. before he lost the courage, he added, “you look pretty.”
annabeth’s eyes lit up and he saw her cheeks tint pink. “thanks,” she said quietly. “you look pretty too.”
percy laughed softly. “thanks, i try,” he shrugged. he looked in the direction of the beach where everyone was headed, then back at her. “ready to go?”
she nodded and they walked side by side. percy had half a mind to take her hand in his but he hesitated. any time they’d ever held hands, it was in a situation where one or both of them were scared. a little part of him wondered if holding her hand in this situation would be out of line.
“stop thinking so hard,” annabeth said, bumping her shoulder into his. “i’m not sure your brain can handle that.”
percy rolled his eyes. “how nice of you.” sarcasm laced every word and it only made her smile.
then her facial expression turned a little shy. “what are you thinking about?” she asked softly.
you, was what he wanted to say. instead, he shrugged and said, “nothing in particular, i guess.” and she probably knew it was a lie, but she didn’t press harder. they reached the sand of the beach and they stopped, overlooking the area to find a place to sit.
annabeth pointed to the far right of the beach. there was a spot about six feet back from the water that was relatively clear. “what about there?” she asked.
“there works,” percy said. they began walking again, passing silena and beckendorf on the way. she was leaning against his side and they were talking with big smiles on their faces. percy silently hoped he and annabeth would end up in a similar way.
they reached their spot and annabeth spread the blanket out. it was small, which meant they’d have to sit at least somewhat close. percy wondered if she picked that blanket for that reason. they sat down next to each other. annabeth stretched her legs out in front of her and leaned back on her hands while percy sat cross-legged.
“how much-” he started to say until another horn cut him off, announcing that there were 10 minutes left. “nevermind. answered my question.”
annabeth laughed quietly. they lapsed into a comfortable silence but percy wished he could think of something to say. his eyes scanned the beach and his eyes landed on juniper and grover. they stood near where the forest almost met the beach. there was a bonfire on the sand in front of them, giving off enough light for percy to see them. grover had his arms wrapped around her shoulders from behind and from her, percy could see juniper laughing at something.
“look at grover,” percy said softly. annabeth followed his gaze and her face lit up.
“i’m so happy for him.”
“yeah,” he agreed softly. percy turned his head to look at annabeth. the sun had set completely so he could hardly see her. still, in the dark, they locked eyes. he saw her lips curve into a smile. he tilted his head. “congrats on winning capture the flag.”
“congrats on losing,” she replied without missing a beat. he scoffed out a laugh. she shifted so she was sitting up, cross-legged like him. percy wasn’t sure but it also seemed like she’d moved closer at some point.
“you only won because of what happened,” he said. “if that hadn’t happened, i would’ve kicked your ass.”
“mhm,” she hummed, clearly amused, “sure. you’re totally right.”
percy reached out and shoved her arm, almost hard enough to knock her over. she laughed beautifully and shoved him back. before they could continue, a voice came from what sounded like a megaphone somewhere.
“ladies, gentlemen, satyrs, nymphs… and everyone else. the fireworks will be starting in one minute.”
percy didn’t say anything for a few seconds before abruptly pushing annabeth’s arm again, this time knocking her over.
“percy!” she laughed. she resituated herself in a sitting position, one leg tucked in and the other extended. and yeah - she definitely got closer now. their knees were touching. “absolute idiot,” she said but percy could hear the fondness in her voice.
they were interrupted by a loud bang! and an explosion of light in the sky. several more followed. this time, it was percy who got closer to her. he shifted so he sat directly next to her. his right leg pressed against her left as they both extended them. percy noticed her hand resting on her thigh and he really wanted to hold it.
so he did. he figured the worst that could happen was her taking her hand back but seeing how tonight had gone so far, he didn’t think she would. before he could change his mind, he reached out and turned her hand over to lace their fingers together. instantly, annabeth responded by squeezing his hand once. percy let out a quiet breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.
just when he’d begun to think this moment was absolutely perfect, annabeth made it even better by leaning against him and resting her head on his shoulder. she couldn’t see it, but he smiled. if anyone else had been looking at him, the light from the fireworks would’ve easily given away his lovesick expression. they would occasionally make a small comment about certain patterns or shapes made by the fireworks but other than that, they were silent as they watched.
after a few moments, her head lifted. she didn’t move away though, still leaning against his arm. he couldn’t help himself. percy turned his head and looked down at her. red, then blue, then pink lights reflected off her face. her gray eyes absorbed every color in front of her and she looked so good, it nearly knocked the breath out of his lungs.
and then she was looking at him. annabeth turned her head and met his gaze. their faces were a few inches apart, just like they had been earlier in the forest. she smiled softly and he really couldn’t help himself. carefully, slowly, he closed the gap between them, giving annabeth enough time to pull away if she wanted to. she didn’t. instead, she closed her eyes and leaned forward the last few centimeters, pressing their lips together. her grip on his hand tightened.
percy’s mind immediately went to their kiss from earlier that summer under mount st. helens. this kiss was everything and nothing like that one. this one was soft and careful. there was no danger, no rush. but this one was melting his brain just like that one had. and he loved it.
a moment later, he reluctantly pulled away. annabeth kept her eyes closed for another few seconds before they fluttered open. both of them grinned as their eyes searched each others and percy felt his cheeks flush. annabeth bit her lip as if to hold back a bigger smile and she looked away.
briefly, she placed a soft kiss on his shoulder before laying her head back down against him. percy held her hand tighter. they watched silently for the rest of the show, just enjoying each other’s warmth. percy could still feel her lips on his. the finale went off, lighting up the sky in countless shapes of creatures, heroes, and constellations. he wasn’t sure how the hephaestus cabin did it, but their firework shows were unreal.
the sky went dark and applause sounded across the beach. percy and annabeth kept their hands clasped and he turned his head, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. campers started to clear out. a trail of torches lit up the path back to the cabins.
“come on,” percy said quietly, squeezing her hand once before standing, helping her up too. annabeth dropped his hand to grab her blanket and shake off as much sand as she could. she folded it haphazardly and tucked it under one arm. when she turned back towards him, he held out a hand for her. she took it, beaming at him. they walked close together in silence, their hands locked between them. percy felt like his heart was going to burst.
they stopped a few feet from the steps to her cabin. annabeth stood in front of him, not letting go of his hand yet. there were campers still returning to their cabins around them and he was sure countless pairs of eyes were on them. he didn’t care. she smiled up at him. “thank you for asking me,” annabeth said quietly. “for a minute there, i thought i was gonna have to ask you myself.”
percy rolled his eyes fondly. “thank you for saying yes. at first, i was scared you’d say no,” he admitted. annabeth’s smile grew.
“you’re an idiot to think i’d say no.”
“yeah, yeah,” he muttered. percy leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her cheek. annabeth chuckled.
“that’s all i get? you scared or something, seaweed brain?” she teased. her lips were right next to his ear and he could feel her breath ghosting across his skin. percy smiled and pulled back until he was an inch from her face. he looked at her dopey smile before kissing her softly. he was sure he heard several quiet gasps and mutters around them.
“better?” he asked when he pulled back. her eyes glittered in the dim light.
“much.”
he smiled. “goodnight, wise girl,” he said softly.
she squeezed his hand once. “goodnight, percy.”