Work Text:
percy slid off blackjack before turning and helping alexis off too. two days ago, chiron had received a message about a demigod in rhode island and had sent percy to bring her back to camp. it had taken him a day and a half, even with blackjack’s speed. he hadn’t slept in 37 hours.
“c’mon,” he said, cracking his neck and stretching a bit. “i’ll take you to the big house where you’ll meet chiron. he’s the camp director. he’ll probably have one of your siblings give you a tour.”
she nodded, following him silently. on the way to the house, he briefly explained more about camp, the schedules, the cabins, etc. she listened intently, her light brown eyes watching him and twisting a lock of her hair absentmindedly. they made it to the steps of the big house and he quickly climbed them, alexis right behind him. he heard her gasp quietly as they approached chiron.
“you- you’re a-” she whispered, her eyes wide. percy smiled, thinking about how he must have been the same a few years ago.
“trust me,” he said. “not the weirdest thing you’ll see here.” alexis blinked, trying to avert her eyes from chiron’s horse half.
“welcome back, percy. thank you for retrieving her,” chiron said.
percy nodded. “this is alexis. officially unclaimed, but she said she’s had dreams of aphrodite talking to her and saying she’s her mom so i think it’s safe to assume she’s a daughter of aphrodite.”
“thank you,” chiron repeated, then looked at alexis. “hello alexis, why don’t you come inside with me? we can talk and i’ll answer any questions you have. most newcomers have many.”
alexis nodded, looking somewhat stunned at everything going on. “um, thanks, percy,” she said quietly, giving him a small smile.
“it’s no problem,” he replied, grinning back. then he looked at chiron. “hey, do you know where a-”
“in the arena,” he cut percy off, giving him a fond smile.
percy beamed at him. “thank you,” he said, quickly turning and running down the stairs. it was usually about an eight minute walk to the arena from the big house. percy made it there in four. he walked in and quickly found the head of golden curls he was looking for. annabeth was sparring with a son of hermes. he smiled as we walked around the edge of the area, watching his girlfriend. he wasn’t surprised to see that she was winning this fight. her opponent looked exhausted.
percy leaned against a wall and watched for a bit longer. within a few minutes, annabeth had kicked the hermes camper’s sword out of his hand and had her knife against his throat. she then stepped back, a smug smile on her face.
“i told you i’d win,” she said. he scoffed.
“i’ll kick your ass next time, chase,” her opponent said, picking up his discarded sword. she opened her mouth to reply, then her eyes landed on percy and her face lit up.
“you absolutely will not, but i’ll take you up on that offer another time, collin.”
collin followed her gaze to find percy and laughed. “i guess we’re done for today?”
annabeth slid her knife into the holster on her belt and began walking backward away from him and towards percy. “go practice on a dummy. gods know you need it,” she told him.
“if you want me to practice on a dummy, then you should still be over here?”
in response, she flipped him off, making him laugh and turn away, walking off. annabeth turned around finding percy leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. “hey,” she said, smiling widely. she slipped off her bronze breastplate, letting it fall to the ground.
“hey,” he replied. annabeth didn’t hesitate to wrap her arms around his neck and hug him close. “ew, you’re sweaty,” he told her, hugging her back regardless.
“shut up,” she said, pulling back enough to see him. she kept her arms around his neck while his were around her waist. she was still smiling.
“someone’s in a good mood,” he said, his smile matching hers. her hair was in a loose ponytail, a few curls falling out, and her cheeks were flushed from the heat. the sun created a golden glow around her. percy thought she looked ethereal.
“i just kicked ass and you’re back. of course, i’m in a good mood,” she said, giving him a quick kiss. “how was retrieving the demigod?” she asked. they were still wrapped around each other, ignoring the handful of people who were still in the arena.
“it was good,” he replied, nodding a little. “didn’t encounter any monsters, she was terrified and a little resistant at first but she ended up cooperating. thank the gods, i really wasn’t in the mood to force her on to blackjack or anything.”
annabeth laughed. percy’s heart did a little flip at the sound of it. “who’s the parent?” she asked.
“aphrodite.”
annabeth raised an eyebrow. “really? a daughter of aphrodite?” she asked in a teasing way, her voice making it clear she was joking around. percy smiled, knowing what was coming. “did she bat her eyelashes at you, twirl her hair between her fingers, and tell you how strong and handsome you looked?”
percy laughed. “at first, a little, yeah.” which was true. before he had told alexis he was there to take her to a camp for kids who were half god on a pegasus, she had flirted with him a little. which he found odd and slightly gross considering she was about three years younger than him. she quickly stopped flirting when he explained why he was there and had suddenly wanted nothing to do with him.
“aw,” annabeth mocked. “how ever did you resist her?” she was smiling despite how hard she seemed to be trying not to.
“well, for starters, i think she’s like 13.” annabeth laughed then, throwing her head back. percy tightened his arms around her waist to keep her from moving too far back. she looked back at him when she stopped laughing.
“too young for you?”
he chuckled. “yeah, a little.” he looked at her for a few seconds, taking in the way her eyes were sparkling and looked alive with happiness. he noticed the small dimple that appeared in her cheek when her smile was big enough. he reveled in the way his arms felt around her waist, their bodies practically against each other. by now, percy was pretty sure they were the only ones in the arena. if he was wrong, he didn’t care.
“plus,” he added. “i kinda have my eye on someone else right now.”
“oh, really?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “who’s that?”
“mm, i’m not sure if you know her,” he said, pretending to think. “she’s a daughter of athena though. so she’s obviously the smartest person i’ve ever met.”
percy didn’t miss the way annabeth bit back a smile. “oh, yeah?” she asked.
“yeah. she’s also just the most beautiful, angelic, gorgeous, stunning-”
“shut up,” annabeth muttered, rolling her eyes but smiling somewhat shyly. percy couldn’t tell if she was blushing or if her cheeks were still flushed from the heat. maybe both.
“hold on, i’m not done,” he told her. “amazing, funny, usually kind girl i’ve ever met. also beautiful. did i mention beautiful?”
“you might’ve said it once or twice,” annabeth replied.
“yeah, well,” percy said before making his voice a little quieter. “she is. i think i really, really like her.”
annabeth tilted her head, her demeanor changing. she smiled shyly again. “yeah?” she whispered.
“yeah,” percy replied, pulling her impossibly closer. “and you know, rumor has it that she likes me too.”
“really?” she asked, her voice becoming playful again. “maybe you should make a move or something. that rumor might be true.”
percy didn’t reply. instead, he leaned down and kissed her. he tightened his arms around her waist and lifted annabeth until she was about an inch off the ground and their faces were level with each other. she hummed contently, tightening her arms around his neck. he lost track of time. somewhere in the back of his mind, percy remembered they were in the arena and anyone could see them. but he decided that wasn’t as important as the way annabeth had begun absentmindedly playing with his hair as they kissed.
after what could have been hours, but was probably only a minute or so, he lowered her to the ground, reluctantly breaking their kiss. annabeth’s gray eyes fluttered open and she smiled at him.
“yeah,” annabeth whispered. “she really, really likes you too.”