Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Annabeth hadn’t seen Percy (her boyfriend!) since before winter break, which was a lot. She’d gone to visit her stepmother’s family for the entire winter break, as well as the first week back to school. And once she’d gotten back Percy was off for the entire month of January and part of February, joining his mother on her business trip practically all around the world.

 Seaweed Brain

12:18 pm

Landing in abt ten minutes

12:31 pm

Just chilling on the plane

They’re doing some tests 

12:35 pm

I plan on making a giant scene just FYI

It was good for him, getting his world perspective and a good reputation with the world. She didn’t want to sound like a clingy girlfriend who constantly needed attention, but she definitely needed attention, like always. Especially when you and your boyfriend just declared your undying love for each other (Okay so maybe it wasn’t undying love but it was something) and then are instantly separated by the Atlantic Ocean.

So yeah, it was a little understandable why she was knew she’d make a major scene.

Seaweed Brain 

12:39 pm

It’s like minus 40 out here hurry the fuck up

12:43 pm

It’s 19 degrees you drama queen

12:46 pm

There’s like a million reports outside

Think you can figure it out?

12:48 pm 

Yes mom (◔_◔)

There were fifty to a hundred reporters, waiting for the doors to the private jet to open and the royal family to make their first steps in Potaris since January 10. It took some work to get from the back of the crowd to close enough to be able to see the private jet.

Seaweed Brain

1:02 pm

Alright we’re getting off soon

Mathew spent the last five minutes lecturing me on what not to say cause apparently I’ve caught an attitude from my mouthy girlfriend.

I don’t see you but I trust you’re down there (gotta put my phone away)

Annabeth didn’t respond, pushing her way through the crowd more instantly. She had no idea what would happen once she saw him; her heart rate picked up at the idea of seeing him again in general. She couldn’t even think of any way it would play it. It was still so strange to her that she was dating Percy, that they were actually a couple (especially in the public eye) and she could hold his hand and kiss him and it would be perfectly acceptable.

The crowd was so dense, she was being shoved and elbowed on all sides. If she weren’t so giddy to be seeing Percy again she’d have lost her cool (her patience was already wearing thin, but she’d rather see Percy than see him giving her a disappointed but understanding look while she sat in a holding cell again).

She got to the front just as the excitement was picking up, the doors opening and the staircase folding out. Annabeth recognized a few of the staff climbing out—Percy’s two royal advisors and some for his mother, followed few flight attendants, then the Queen and Prince.

Annabeth breathing caught at the sight of him—still pulling on a cap over his messy hair, gorgeously tan from the last week spent in South America, a princely smile on his face and dark sunglasses covering his green eyes. Her heart rate picked up; before she knew it she was walking briskly, sidestepping the security team (which was surprisingly easy).

Physically, there was about a hundred feet between her and Percy and like four security teams. Annabeth was dogging stewards moving the cargo on the jet and most of the security detail. If anyone was actually set on keeping her at bay they were doing a pretty terrible job.

She was pretty sure Percy caught sight of her (it was pretty hard to tell what anyone was looking at when they were wearing sunglasses). He went down the stairs with more purpose, looking like he was silently urging those in front of him out of the way.

Her brisk walk turned into a run; Percy got off the stairs, taking a sharp turn, rushing toward her. Annabeth jumped off just seconds before they collided, letting out an excited squeal as Percy’s lifted her up, spinning her around. They kissed, something electric and fiery but still slow and passionate, like years of pent up emotions finally being released. She kissed him like it was the last thing she’d ever do.

She couldn’t hold out forever. Percy pulled his lips back, resting their foreheads together. They were both breathing hard—a mix from exertion of running and kissing. So close to him, Annabeth could see his eyes scanning her face.

“Hi.”

Annabeth bit her lower lip to hide her smile. There were so many things swirling through her head—‘You look well’ ‘Hello’ ‘I’ve been slowly dying inside without seeing you and I don’t know why I feel like this’. Instead of any of these, though, she whispered back to him, “I missed you.”

Percy tilted his head down, brushing their lips together. “There’s a lot of people watching.” Watching you, watching us. Judging you, judging us.

“I’m fine.” You’re mine and everyone better know it.

Few people had Percy’s personal cell number, only a few trusted friends. As recommended by all his royal advisors, he muted his social media notifications (his phone’d probably explode otherwise). It didn’t stop every person he had in his contacts from sending him multiple articles like ‘The Royal Reunion’ or ‘Prince Perseus’s Romantic Return to Potaris’ or something along those lines.

Annabeth lifted her head on his shoulder to look at his phone screen. "What’re you reading?” she asked curiously.

“Like every person I know sent me all these magazines about this morning.”

Annabeth hummed in acknowledgement. A minute passed before she leaned back, pulling Percy down with her. “I thought you had homework?” he asked pointedly.

Annabeth hummed again, shifting so she was laying beside him. “S’boring. I wanna cuddle my boyfriend.”

Percy smiled softly; Annabeth adorable attached to him, a complete 180 from five months ago, where she was cursing his name and completely avoiding him.

She was still Annabeth Chase—the girl who didn’t stand for the injustice society showed her, who would step up to every challenge, who rode a motorcycle and wore leather and had tattoos and couldn’t go ten minutes without scowling once. But she wasn’t just that anymore. She was Annabeth Chase, laughing at Percy’s stupid jokes and wanting to see him and touch him and kiss him and loving that she could do it without causing a massive social uproar. She was unpredictable and adorable and—

“You’re thinking too loud,” Annabeth muttered, her voice muffled by his tee shirt.

Percy smiled softly, petting her hair. She was also very intuitive. “Wanna watch a movie or something since you don’t wanna do your school work.” He yelped when she pinched his side.

“That’s for giving me attitude.”

“You literally give everyone attitude all the time.”

“I’m not the one who has to be polite, your royal highness,” she mocked.

"Touché,” he said, followed directly by a slow yawn.

Annabeth sat up on her elbow, asking him, “Are you tired?”

Percy shrugged. “Long flight. Nothing big or anything.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, her voice full of concern. Her eyebrows were knit together in worry. “If you’re tired I could…I could leave. Let you catch some sleep.”

Percy could hear the reluctance in her tone as she said. “I don’t want you to leave,” he reassured her. “We can have a group nap, though.”

“A what?”

Percy shrugged, pulling her back into a laying position. “You can nap with me. That way you won’t have to drive home then come back when I wake up.”

Annabeth was silent for a while. Percy waited anxiously for her answer. This was a pretty big step, especially considering he’d been official dating for less than four months. It had taken five weeks for her to be entirely relaxed with cuddling, a month to hold his hand in public. It wasn’t even until days before winter break that she’d kissed him in public again, a completely impulsive decision in the school parking lot.

Annabeth patted his chest, softly but persistent, to get his attention. “You’re so tense, Seaweed Brain.”

“Yeah,” he said offhandedly.

“I am a little tired myself,” she conceded. “I wouldn’t mind a good nap. In…In your bed?”

“Unless you’d rather sleep somewhere else?” his tone wasn’t sarcastic, this time actual curiosity.

Annabeth nestled herself against him, making herself more comfortable. “Mm no. I’m good.”

“Pull a blanket up. Or two. It’s cold as balls.”

Annabeth snorted a laugh, pulling his blanket from underneath her and wrapping it around them. Percy wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her in as close as possible without being completely on top of each other. It was quiet, save their breathing, Percy touching her hair and cheek affectionately until she eventually dozed off. He couldn’t help but gaze at her, loving every second of being with her and holding her. She was really, actually, physically there. She’d be there when he’d fall asleep and there when he woke up. He fell asleep with a soft smile on his face, breathing in the scent of her shampoo.

“Do we have to go to school tomorrow?”

“It’s the law.”

“Where’s your mom? Cause that is so unfair.” Annabeth complained. “I’m gonna be seventeen in July. I’m practically an adult. So if I want to take a day off on a Tuesday—you know how much I hate Tuesdays—I should be able to.”

“You’re not even seventeen, Puella,” Percy pointed out. “You can not go to school when you’re an adult and don’t need your dad to sign off or verify for you.”

“But I’m responsible,” Annabeth argued. “I’d so handle all my work. You know that.”

Percy nodded along. He was probably half listening, just enough to comment whenever necessary.

“And we can spend the day together,” she pointed out. She added quickly, “ Doing schoolwork.”

“And maybe kissing. No definitely kissing.”

“Annabeth.”

Percy had turned in her desk chair, eyebrows raised at his girlfriend. Annabeth smiled sheepishly, shrugging slightly.

“Why don’t you just ask your dad if you can not go to school tomorrow?”

Annabeth mover her books from her lap to her bed, getting up to sit on the desk. “I don’t want to have to get permission. I just want to wake up tomorrow and decide ‘hey, Tuesdays suck. Lemme stay in bed and text Piper or Percy to get me my work.’ Is that too much to ask?”

“Hey, I didn’t make the rules,” Percy said, his hands up defense. “Neither did Mom, too, so don’t bother her about it.”

Annabeth frowned at him. She folded her legs up on the desk. “We should skip then.”

Percy actually laughed—his head falling back as if she were joking. She narrowed her eyes at him, glaring as he laughed. Once he’d calmed down, he leaned up on his heels, giving her a peck on her lips.

“You know Mathew and Michael already don’t like you. They’d lock me away if they found out you wanted me to skip school. In the middle of the week too.”

Her glare softened into a frown. She only didn’t want to go since it was a Blue day and on Blue days she only saw Percy in English (lunch and homeroom didn’t count).

She didn’t want to tell him why (though he could probably guess). Good she was turning into a clingy girlfriend, always wanting to be near him and with him. It was disgusting.

Percy, the ever loving person he was, turned his wide grin into an understanding smile. “Just because I don’t see you for the first few hours doesn’t mean anything, okay? Don’t get all spacey and distant in class tomorrow.”

He didn’t say it, but she knew he was referring to the past few weeks, where her grades suffered from her clear distraction. She hadn’t even told him about it—it was too embarrassing—but it was clear he already knew about it.

“It’s not like I can change my schedule or yours,” he went on. “But we do have a lot of classes together either way.”

“Yeah, I know. Just saying some stupid shit.”

"Don’t forget your dream, Puella,” he reminded her.

She let a small grin slip on her face. “I hate you.”

Percy breathed out a laugh in response, rolling his chair forward to the desk. “Get off. I’ve got a Latin test tomorrow, that I need to study for.”

Annabeth picked up his notebook, sitting it on her lap. “First lesson. Puella. That’s me. Also acceptable is sweetheart.”

Percy rolled his eyes, taking his book from her. “I told you that.”

“Well that’s all you need to know then.”

 The week passed by slow, filled with reading assignments, tests, and labs. Wednesday and Thursday were filled with breakups/people asking their significant other to the Valentine’s Dance on Saturday. A lot of the shallow and cheap players would breakup with their S. O. so they wouldn’t have to deal with the hassle that is Valentine’s Day. Others went all out on the dance-posal—interrupting classes or bombarding lunches.

It was sickeningly sweet—all the chocolates and roses and cavity inducing candies, with all the squealing and excited jumping and giggling.

To put it simply, Annabeth wanted that.

It was weird how dating Percy had changed her perspective on life. Piper had told her once that some people can do that to you. At the time it had seemed like the stupidest and most romcom thing ever. Like always, Piper was right (she’d probably do some stupid victory lap or speech if she ever found out).

Annabeth wasn’t just annoyed (and jealous) of all the paper hearts and flower bouquets. She was peeved that her own boyfriend hadn’t done anything. He hadn’t even brought up Valentine’s Day. And she wasn’t going to bring it up either. That was his responsibility, making all the cutesy arrangements with some snarky jab at her. Like Homecoming.

"You could always ask him to the dance,” Piper had pointed out. “Relationships are a two way street, you know.”

“I can’t,” Annabeth said miserably. “What if he says no? What if he doesn’t want to do anything? What if I make a fool of myself.”

“For someone who doesn’t care what people think, you sure do care a lot about what people think.”

Annabeth didn’t even care enough to reply, dropping her head on the desk.

The least he could do was tell her if they weren’t doing anything. Or consult her or something. Not once since he’d gotten back Sunday afternoon had they talked about the upcoming holiday.

Thursday—another miserable day where she only saw Percy in English—passed and Friday came around. Ticket sales for the dance had closed that morning, which meant no dance tomorrow. It would have hurt a lot less before she had a boyfriend, where Valentine’s Day was a practical must in every relationship handbook ever.

Friday—a Red day—was one of those days where she had every class with Percy. Which was why it was so strange when he wasn’t sitting in Demiology, waiting for the bell to ring like the punctual Prince he was. And he wasn’t there when the bell rang, or when the lecture started. In fact, his seat stayed empty for the entire 85 minute period. It was worrying, even if Chiron went on as if he weren’t missing the most important student in the student body.

Near the end of the period, while they were going through some case studies they’d have to do over the weekend, the P.A. system went off. “Chiron if you could please send Annabeth Chase to the main office for dismissal.”

Annabeth was completely confused, packing up the bag she had just unpacked and heading off. As far as she knew, she had no arrangements with anyone who was on the list of being able to take her out of school. Who would even take her out of school when it’d barely even been one class? Besides, only her dad and stepmother had the ability to get her out of school (which was stupid, she was practically an adult).

Unless someone was hurt. Like, in emergency room airlifted to the hospital hurt where she’d be sitting in the ICU for days, waiting for them to wake up and say something. What if it was her brothers? Or Stephanie? Or what if it was her dad?

“Calm down,” she told herself. “It’s probably nothing. It’s probably…it could be a quest too. Yeah, that sounds right. I could be going on a quest today. That sounds…”

She trailed off, going silent as she walked through the student entrance of the main office. Ms. Sebascrac barely spared her a glance, typing away at her Stone Age computer. The office was empty besides the two of them, all the other office workers locked away in their own offices.

Annabeth cleared her throat to Rut the attendant’s attention. “You called for me?”

Ms. Sebascrac, who clearly couldn’t care less about the situation, said in a bored tone, “Your ride is out front. Have a nice trip.”

It was a suspicious statement, especially considering Annabeth had no idea what was going on. She went anyway, into the front parking lot where most visitors parked. She kept her expression neutral when Percy’s Car came into view (though she was practically shaking with anticipation inside). She went around to the drivers’ side, where Percy was opting for his best ‘casual and cool’ look, leaning against the side of the car.

He grinned at her, a sideways, troublemaking look on his face as if he were planning his next heist. His hair was a mess—like he’d been driving with the windows down—his hands shoved deep in his coat pocket. He was wearing jeans instead of slacks like he always wore to school, which was a definite sign that he wasn’t planning on going inside.

“Hey.”

Annabeth raised a question (but amused) eyebrow, her arms folded across her chest. “I’ve got a sneaky feeling I won’t need my backpack today.”

“Very intuitive,” he noted. He pushed off the side, opening the backseat door. Annabeth got the message, depositing her schoolbag inside before walking around to the passenger side.

“Where are we going?”

Percy didn’t answer her, switching from park to drive. He pulled out of the parking lot and onto the main road, heading north.

"Are you ignoring me?”

Percy spared her a glance. “Just enjoy the drive, Puella.”

“What if you’re kidnapping me?”

“I’d head for the mountains if I wanted to kidnap you,” he clarified. “Go through it, head north til I hit Corinth. Then I’d call my bro Erick Miënstro, get us some fake passports, and take a flight to Argentina. From there I’d rent a car and drive until there’s no gas left, hopefully to the middle of nowhere, where I’d keep you as my slave until the day you—or I—die.”

The car was silent for a minute, Annabeth processing what he’d just said. She sifted in her seat, spotting an inch away from him.

“I’m kidding,” he laughed. Annabeth let out a breath of relief, one she didn’t know she was holding. “I’d save that plan for someone else who needs a new identity.”

“You and me, we’re going to the airport.”

“Um, for why?”

“Valentine’s Day. That’s tomorrow, you know.”

“But—“

“You ask a lot of questions,” he interrupted. “Just relax and enjoy the ride. Don’t you trust me?”

Chapter Text

Annabeth trusted her boyfriend with a lot of things—driving her around without any actual worry, notes from class, being able to (finally) eat a meatball sub or a sloppy joe without ruining his shirt. Valentine’s Day surprises weren’t on the list (they weren’t off the list, either; they weren’t even considered i the list making process).

He was proving even more suspicious when he pulled into the airport, parking in the private hangar parking lot (which was empty). His trunk had four bags inside, two of which belonged to her. He refused to answer when he asked how he got her clothes and her belongings. A male flight attendant took their luggage, another guy taking Percy’s car keys. Everyone moved so materialized and rehearsed, it was strange.

Percy had to present his passport and hers to gate attendant, giving her a knowing smirk when she asked how he even got it.

He didn’t answer any of her questions throughout the entire fight. Neither did any of the crew. It was as if…as if they were all purposely ignoring her. It didn’t take a genius to figure out it was a part of a Valentine’s Day surprise. She just wanted to know why she was on a plane for fifteen hours (the only thing Percy would tell her) to gods know where.

It didn’t take long, though, for her to stop pestering him with questions. He was completely tense, his grip on the arm rests so tight his knuckles were white. It was like he was scared of flying, or like it was his first time ever flying. Which she knew it wasn’t the second one, since she’d literally seen him at the airport a week ago.

It couldn’t be the first one either. He was Prince Perseus, the salvation of Potaris’s future, the best thing to happen to the kingdom since the invention of steam engines (long story). He could be afraid of flying, he had no fears.

"Your highness,” a flight attendant interrupted. Percy practically jumped two feet in the air, his head whipping around violently. “It’s time for your medication.”

Annabeth’s brows scrunched together. As far as she knew, Percy didn’t take medication. Unless it was something that hadn’t come up on their five not-dates or their seven actual dates (so what if she was counting? It wasn’t like she had made a calendar where she marked the dates. Not yet, at least).

Her point stands; she’d know if he was medication by now. Especially with how casually the attendant had approached them.

She leaned back to see around the attendant, watching as he pierced Percy’s skin with a needle, injecting him with some fluid (it wasn’t colored but wasn’t very clear either). His eyes were closed as he let out a tight breath. The attendant drew the needle back, pressing a cotton ball to the small incision (that she couldn’t see but knew was there).

“Thanks,” he breathed out. The attendant nodded once before heading back into the other room (probably his cabin or something).

"So," Annabeth said loudly. “What was that about?”

“Huh?”

“Why did that guy just inject you with gods-know what?”

“Sedative,” he said, his voice sounding faraway.

“Are you high?”

He shook his head slowly. “Hate shots. Hate flying.”

Annabeth was even more confused now than when he got the shot. If he hated flying, then why was he on a plane? Why did he even leave town so much, by plane, if he hates it? And there are probably other way to take a sedative than a shot.

“I’m gonna be knocked out soon, or really, creepily calm,” he warned. “Ask me anything now before the drugs kick in.”

“Would high-Percy tell me where were going?” Annabeth wondered cheekily. He gave her a dry look, then rolled his shoulders back.

“But where are we going? Because if you hate flying and have to take drugs so as to not, you know, freak out, you shouldn’t force yourself to.”

Percy shifted his body so he was facing her. “It’ll be over quick, anyway,” he said casually. “Plus, I’ll do anything to make you happy. And I can one hundred percent guaran-fucking-tee that you will love this.”

Annabeth frowned, pushing herself out of her seat and moving to crouch in front of him. “I love anything you do for me. You could take me to McDonald’s and I’ll love it, as long as you’re there.” Percy grinned stupidly at her, like the sedatives were already kicking in. “But I hope you don’t take me to McDonald’s for a date,” she added.

Percy snorted, letting his head fall back. “You’re awesome, Puella. Remember our second not-date.”

Annabeth grinned, sliding down to sitting on her butt. “Of course. Pizza and video games. It was totally amazing.”

He leaned down, grinning widely as his fingers danced across her sides. “Don’t forget the tickles!” he laughed.

“No!” Annabeth shrieked, practically dragging him out of his seat to retaliate.

They wrestled on the ground, fighting for dominance, for about thirty seconds before the same attendant who had drugged Percy came rushing out, breaking up the tickle fight. He even separated them, strapping them down with their seatbelts on opposite sides of the jet.

They had stupid, giddy conversations for another hour or so, ranging from the people who write backstories for dolls to who named colors and why, before Percy finally fell asleep. Annabeth would never admit it, but she did spend a good amount of time watching him sleep (sue her, he looked cute). She spent the majority of the time he was sleeping on schoolwork.

It only held her over for about two hours. By the time she finished it was lunch time. The attendant—who’s name she later found out is Jeremy Di Franco—served her a pretty heavy lunch, complete with organic beef, mixed vegetables, pinto beans (whatever those are) , and guacamole served on some hard, grain-filled piece of dark toast. There was also the option of milk, organic orange juice, or apple cider. It was the fanciest meal she’d ever had.

After lunch she walked around for a little (keep the blood circulating, of course) before deciding to take a nap to kill time. Like most times, she didn’t dream of anything memorable (or anything really). It was peacefully, really. When she woke it, the sky was still. The map on the wall said they were in the middle of the Atlantic, about a thousand or so kilometers off the coast of South Carolina, or North. Annabeth didn’t care enough to keep up with all of the states in America.

Percy was awake, standing up near the front of the cabin on the phone. He posture was relaxed enough that Annabeth guessed he was still fairly high, a little loose on his feet and a stupid grin on his face. He was talking quietly, most likely to not wake her up. Her guess was he didn’t know she had woken up yet.

She strained to hear his conversation. Unlike usual, his phone speaker was low so she couldn’t hear the other person. “…loves it. Or at least enjoys it.” he said into the phone. “I think we’re rounding around the United States…I don’t know why, Mom, he just did…A little after midnight, I think…Yeah, I called when I woke up…Okay. Yeah...I’ll call you when we land…Five? Six maybe? I dunno, I gotta check…Love you too, bye.”

His phone went back in his pocket, followed by him making his way back to his seat slowly, holding onto the above head bars for support. Annabeth decided Then was a good time to make her presence known, making as much noise as possible as she sat up in her seat. Percy’s head twisted to look at her, his expression sharp. He grinned at her, falling into the chair in front of her and swiveling around to face her.

“Look who’s awake?”

Annabeth made a face at him, scrubbing a hand over her face. “What time is it?”

Percy shrugged. “In Potaris its around dinner, six or seven.”

“And here?”

“Noonish. The United States, the east side at least, is seven hours behind us.”

Annabeth let out a groan. “Gods. Is our destination in that time zone?”

“Don’t worry, Baby. We’re only staying Valentine’s Day, and some of Sunday. I promised Dr. Chase our be back for school on Tuesday.”

“So you talked to my dad?”

Percy nodded. "He gave permission for me to take you outta country,” he explained. “Gave me your passport too. And Piper packed your suitcase. Well she gave us specific instructions on what to pack.”

“And where are we going?”

Percy grinned cheekily, leaning forward to kiss her forehead. “If I told you it wouldn’t be a surprise, would it?”

Annabeth frowned at that, folding her arms over her chest. “This is kidnapping, you know.”

Percy snorted out a laugh, leaning back in his chair. “I doubt it. I’m surprising my amazing girlfriend for Valentine’s Day, with her parent’s permission—not your mother, though—and the school’s permission. It’d be more kidnapping if I never brought you back.”

It was such a Percy thing to go through all this planning and double checking and all the legal work. “You didn’t have to do all this, you know? You could’ve given me a card and I would’ve framed it and told our kids and our grandkids about our first Valentine’s Day.”

Annabeth realized her mistake too late. Her grinning expression fell to one of actual horror, her cheeks heating up. “Our kids?” Percy asked, his tone flat. “I didn’t realize that four and a half months of dating resulted in thinking about kids.”

She stumbled over her words, stuttering out, “That’s not—! I didn’t—! I just—! It—!”

Percy let out a nervous laugh, running his hand through his hair. “I think I’ve told you before how utterly cute you are when you’re all flustered.”

Annabeth groaned, dropping her head in her hands. “It just slipped out,” she mumbled. She let out a sigh, lifted her head. Without opening her eyes, she explained, “I didn’t mean…I’m not thinking of kids. I’ve never in my life thought of kids. I’m sixteen! I’m way too young to be thinking of kids!”

It was quiet, Annabeth too afraid to see Percy’s reaction to open her eyes. She might have just ruined their entire relationship in under five minutes. Things could be over, and she was already in a jet with him thousands of kilometers from home. She didn’t even know where she was going and she might never know either.

She felt his fingers on her chin, turning her head to his general direction. She opened her eyes slowly, regret all over her face.

“Hey, we don’t have to talk about this now, Annabeth,” he said gently. “We’re sixteen. We’re still in high school. I didn’t expect you to be thinking of anything long term with me until at least a year anyway. Maybe a year and a half. You’ll be what then? Eighteen maybe? I don’t know.”

“You’re not gonna lose your shit?”

Percy shook his head. “We haven’t even talked about college yet. Fuck, we haven’t even gotten to your birthday yet. Let’s cross one bridge at a time.”

A small smile slipped on her face. Percy was literally amazing. She slipped from her seat and into his, tenderly kissing him. They spent the rest of the five and a half hour flight together in the seat, watching movies on Percy’s phone.

Annabeth was ready to call it a day when the plane landed. Her body clock knew she should be asleep, especially since in Potaris it was well after midnight, though where they landed the sun was just setting. She had napped for a little on Percy, missing the entire Lion King 1 ½. They landed in San Juan, before taking a three hour boat trip to some random island near Anguilla. Annabeth slept most of the boat ride, in the small room on board.

When she woke up, they were already docked, the sky barely lit from the descended sun. The room was empty and dark, a little light shining from under the door. Annabeth got up groggily, taking a minute to adjust to the darkness before getting up, flicking on her phone flashlight (the rest of the device was pretty much useless without international coverage, which she did not have).

She shone the light around, searching for her backpack. It had moved from by the door to the corner of the room, sitting in the lap of a four foot white teddy bear.

“What the fuck?” she muttered to herself.

She walked over, slipping her bag over her shoulders. She picked up the large card tied to the stuffed animal’s wrist. The cover looked like it was done by a kindergartener, with little red hearts pasted all around and glitter thrown around haphazardly. In Percy’s crooked handwriting was ‘Happy Valentine’s Day Puella!’

She grinned, flipping the card open. The inside was decorated with happy-face emoji stickers on one side. The other side had a passage written in Percy’s nicer, more curly handwriting.

Good morning Amica Mea,

It isn’t technically morning. It’s maybe after midnight. To you it feels like morning, I guess. Anyway, you fell asleep for a while. I waited up and considered waking you, but you look so cute when you sleep. I know you watch me, so we’re even. I up on the dock, come on and say Happy Valentine’s Day to your loving boyfriend.

Happy Valentine’s Day,

Your Seaweed Brain

Chapter Text

“I take one nap and you become Aquaman?”

Percy’s head broke through the surface again, a small smile on his face. “You went to sleep, Annabeth. Naps aren’t five hours long.”

“My point still stands.”

Percy stuck his tongue at her.

“Though I wasn’t expecting to wake up to a person-sized teddy bear hugging my stuff with a cute card attached.”

Percy shrugged. He swam closer, climbing up onto the dock and sitting down next to Annabeth. He was still dripping from he few hours he spent underwater, taking the opportunity to shake his hair like a dog at her. She squealed, playfully punching his shoulder.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, by the way,” he said after his initial excitement faded.

“It’s already the fourteenth, huh?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “This is an uncommon island, by the way. It’s by Anguilla and Barbados, but not part of those islands.”

Annabeth nodded along. Percy followed her gaze out to the moon sitting above the horizon, it’s reflection bouncing in the waves. It was beautiful, really.

“Do you own this island?” she asked.

He hook his head no. “It’s just here, in the Caribbean. Not many people know about it, so I thought it’d be good for us. So we could be alone together, without all the cameras and magazines and news stations trying to start drama.”

Annabeth glanced at him, saying with sarcasm, “How thoughtful,” though she was still smiling.

“Are you hungry?”

“Yeah. I’m never gonna get used to this time change.”

Percy snorted out a laugh. He pushed himself to his feet, dragging his tee shirt from the ground with him. “It doesn’t matter, anyway. We leave tomorrow either way.”

Annabeth stood up as well, sliding her hand in Percy’s. “Still,” she went on. “I feel too awake for it to be after midnight.”

"You got five hours of sleep,” he pointed out.

"I’ve done worse. One time, I had to write an essay for English, so I stayed up for hours to finish it. I spent seven hours on that shit, got a seventy-eight, and spent the day functioning on thirty minutes of sleep and two large cups of coffee.”

“What the fuck,” he muttered, making her laugh lightly.

“I miss freshman year,” she added. Percy stopped, giving her a suspicious look.

“You pulled that shit in freshman year? Of all years?”

Annabeth nodded. "I was very irresponsible then. I’ve gotten better, though.”

“No duh,” Percy stated. “You’re in fucking AP now.”

Annabeth let out a short laugh, saying, “So are you, Seaweed Brain.”

“Please,” he snorted. “Mr. Blofis put me in for two reasons and two reasons only. He is way too nice to all of us demigods, and he’s got a massive crush on my mom. Like, an unnaturally huge crush. Not the ‘oh she’s the queen I love her’ crush, the type of crush I had on you.”

“For like what? Five years was it?”

He shook his head. “The first two years I admired you, because you were this badass girl who made slaughtering monsters the most attractive thing a preteen could see. It developed into me wanting to spend every second of every day with you, hugging you and holding your hand and kissing you until I can’t breathe and—“

“I get it,” she interrupted. “You’ve told me this anyway.”

Percy shrugging innocently. He stopped in front of the boat, dropping her hand. “Go grab your bear, Puella,” he instructed.

“Aren’t we staying on the boat?”

“Why would we stay in the boat?”

“It just seemed like the most plausible thing to do. Like why else did we take a boat here?”

“There’s no airport here,” he stated. “You can only get here on boat, Beth.”

“I’m sorry,” she said defensively. She muttered a curse under her breath, climbing aboard the boat.

Percy stood on the dock, watching as Annabeth descended below deck. Once she was out of sight, he shook out out his hair again, willing himself dry before pulling on his tee shirt. He got down on his knees, reaching into the water and pulling out a completely dry, small box before standing back up, hiding the package behind his back.

If he was right, she should be dragging the bear off of the chair any minute now. Almost on cue, he heard Annabeth say, loud enough for him to hear, “What the fuck?”

Her head popped up a moment later, her expression tight and maybe a little angry. She got above deck, dragging the bear with her. She glared at him, moving closer to the edge. “Why the fuck is my bear wearing a fucking gold bracelet?”

Percy grinned at her, leaning forward and helping her onto the dock. She was pouting at him, making sure to bring the bear with her. Percy took the liberty to remove the charm bracelet bear and hold it out to her. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Annabeth,” he said, presenting it to her.

She chewed her lip to stop from smiling. She finally met his eyes, whining, “I told you not to buy me anything, especially nothing expensive and gold and expensive.”

“I want to spoil my beautiful girlfriend on Valentine’s Day,” he shrugged. His smile slipped into a frown, his shoulder sagging. “You don’t like it?”

“No!” she rushed out. “It’s beautiful. It’s amazing, really. But what I got you is like do shit compared to this.”

"I’d love anything you give me, because it’s from you.”

Annabeth rolled her eyes playfully, a smile growing on her face. “You’re a dork.”

Percy gave her a wink. “Mind if I put it on you?”

Annaberh didn’t say anything, most likely thinking over whether or not she was really gonna accept the gift. After a few seconds, she held out her hand, rolling up her long sleeved shirt to expose her wrist. Percy grinned, clasping the jewelry onto your wrists.

“If you look at the charms, you’ll see it’s our story,” he explained. “Like a milkshake, for our first not-date. And a leaf, for our do-over first not-date. And pizza for or second not-date. And—“

“I get it,” Annabeth interrupted, grinning at him. “It’s beautiful, Percy.”

“There’s also this.” He slipped the package from around his back. Annabeth took it from him cautiously, pulling the string to let the paper fall off. Annabeth read the paper inside for a minute, before her cheek went red.

Inside was a note, from the first time Percy had ever actually paid attention to her. He’d fallen asleep in their math class. She was sitting right next to him, and barely a minute later had thrown a paper ball at his head to wake him up. It was the nicest and rudest thing he’d experienced since moving into town. And five minutes later, when he was bored, he unfolded the paper to doodle on when he read the note on the inside. ‘You drool in your sleep’ she’d written.

“Oh my gods,” Annabeth groaned. “You kept this.”

“I needed proof so people would believe me,” he shrugged.

“You’re the worst,” she pouted. “You need to stop being so…so you. You’re making me look bad.”

Percy let out a laugh, kissing her nose. “You can give me my gift first. I’ll love it either way.”

Annabeth folded her arms, pouting like a child. “But now it seems stupid.”

“Well now I’m excited. What is it? I wanna see?”

Annabeth shook her had at his antics. She slid her backpack to her front, pulling a small picture frame and passing it to him.

"It’s not much. It’s pretty stupid compared to a fucking gold bracelet.” Annabeth muttered.

Her cheeks were pink, most likely from embarrassment or something. Percy tilted her chin up, pressing several kisses to her lips. “I haven’t even looked and I already love it,” he said between kisses.

Annabeth giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Shut up,” she muttered.

After a few minutes of kissing, she pulled back, a small grin remaining on her face. “Okay, look at it.”

Percy smiled, pulling the wrapping paper off of the frame. His smile turned into a full blown grin. Inside was a selfie Annabeth had taken of them on their second not-date. Down feathers were still floating around in the background, both of them making silly faces at the camera. Percy still had a drip of pizza sauce on his cheek, too. He could remember what happened after that picture: Annabeth had stuck her tongue out, licking the sauce off of his face. It was stupidly adorable and weird, but it was one of the first signs of affection she ever showed.

He grinned up at her. “I love it,” he told her. “It’s literally the best gift I’ve ever gotten.”

It wasn’t until after he got back home—after the swimming and the biking and hiking—that he noticed there was a little sentiment on the back of the picture. 

For Amica Mea

From Puella

For many more Valentine’s Days to come