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“of course a blizzard would hit the one time we actually want to relax on this quest,” you said as you turned away from the register counter.
in the one minute you spent ordering, almost all of the seats of the coffee shop had somehow filled up. everyone had sought refuge there when a blizzard hit. being demigods meant you were naturally out of the loop of the mortal climate, so as far as percy was concerned, it was just another snowy day in new york city. oh was he wrong.
despite the fact you two were only ten minutes away from your hotel, the warm lighting of the coffee shop pouring out onto the sterile snow-coated street made the opportunity too hard to pass by. so, you and everyone else with such a clever idea found yourselves in the same place.
“there’s nowhere to sit.” you remarked.
percy looked around, then his eyes set on a booth in the corner. “over there.” he nodded.
you followed his nod. as much as you hated booths, you definitely weren’t going to take any additional chances of having to stay standing. you slid into the booth. the smooth green leather gave you a perfect amount of slipperiness for it to go smoothly. percy slid in right next to you, his arm now flush against yours. all you wanted to do was lean into the warmth, but it was in public, so you settled for something to deflect with.
“we are totally that One Couple right now.”
“that one couple?” percy put his arm around you as if to intentionally make it worse.
you rolled your eyes fondly. “yeah. y’know, all PDA-y and stuff.”
“oh? then i’ll take my arm off you.”
percy raised his arm from your shoulder at a pace way too slow to be serious. your skin immediately fell cold, earning a short shiver from you. of course percy couldn’t help but burst into a grin as he pulled his arm back to himself.
“wow. so you’re just gonna let me freeze to death?” you couldn’t help but smile, despite how badly you wanted to act unbothered.
“in the name of no PDA, yeah.”
you leaned into your shivering. crossing your arms in a way where your hands were placed on both elbows, you tried to cradle warmth towards yourself. you parted your lips to have your teeth clatter as loud as possible. it was a joke at first, but with every second that passed, the shivering felt less and less like it was something you had to manually do.
“still firm on your decision?” percy tilted his head. something in his grin on the edge of faltering.
you’d never been more thankful to be surrounded by loud chatter. everyone was so immersed within themselves. it was such a contrast from camp, where it was all gossip all the time, and there was never a guarantee of privacy. as if the cold were getting to you, the idea of PDA suddenly sweetened in your mind.
“no,” you caved, finally leaning your side against him, “i’m freezing.”
“i knew it.”
percy’s arm fell right back into place around your shoulders. the combination of his hoodie and the scent of the ocean—that somehow always clung to him—made you think not even being surrounded by caffeine could keep you awake. as you relaxed further, a server approached your table with two cups in hand.
“here you are.” they set down the cups and rushed back to the counter.
you’d gotten a vanilla latte. the scent of vanilla and espresso wafted up through the heart-shaped cream floating on the surface. if there was anything better to do during a snowstorm than sitting next to percy, it was the stream of scented steam floating so close to your face that it clouded your vision. you couldn’t wait before taking a sip. it’d been years since you’d last been a coffee shop, and you’d forgotten how much of a luxury a fresh vanilla latte is.
percy had ordered a blueberry tea—which you hadn’t even known existed until that day. once you finished your first endless sip, you set your cup down to get a better idea of his beverage. it was a purple liquid with a similar amount of steam coming from it. except the steam smelled like warm blueberries, reminding you of the blueberry pancakes you’d shared with percy on a date once. somehow, it smelled better than the latte you had.
“yes, you can have a sip, thank you for asking.”
you hadn’t even noticed how long you were staring at the tea until percy said that. flashing him a quick ‘thank you’ glance, you caught the knowing glint in his eye. both of your smiles grew.
“thanks.” you brought the mug up to your lips to take a sip.
it was just as wonderful as you were expecting. instead of the usual sweetness that comes with blueberry pancakes, the tea had a hint of tartness to it. your sip ended up being a little more than the small one taken just to try something. once you swallowed a mouthful, you set it down on the plate again. percy’s narrowed eyes darted between you and the now emptier mug.
“i think your latte is getting cold,” he smirked.
you flicked your hand. “come on, i didn’t take that long.”
your latte was, in fact, getting colder. there was no longer a consistent and long flow of steam but, rather, a much smaller one. you pursed your lips.
“okay. point made.”
you and percy both reglued the cups your lips. despite the hotness of the latte, you barely noticed it going down your throat at the rate it was. your shut eyes definitely didn’t help. it was only when your face had gotten a lot colder that you realized the mug was empty. defeated, you opened your eyes.
“gone too soon,” you said, setting it down on the saucer.
percy finished his drink shortly after you finished yours. when he set the mug down, his lips were stained purple. you burst into laughter. he furrowed his eyebrows, looking all around the cafe as if that’d help.
“what is it?” he asked.
“your lips are like, completely purple.” you somehow managed.
“can’t you fix that?”
you faltered for a second. “yeah, but, later. i don’t think i can just wipe all of it off with a cute peck. plus, aren’t we getting refills?”
the window next to the two of you answered that question. snow poured from the sky, fogging the air with white dust. of course brave cars and pedestrians still made their way through it. you and percy may have been brave, but not that brave. and definitely not brave off of quest time.
“i think we both know the answer to that question.” percy said, flagging down a server.