A/N: Just a reminder that this is leighbenz9000, I changed my name to tai-chi-leigh when I got a Tumblr, which you should totally check out. Sorry that this story took so long, but I'm proud to say that this is my lengthiest Percabeth to date. Lots more coming soon :)

Special thanks to my beta- Jill. You are an incredible help and I appreciate every word of criticism and all the support.

Enjoy!

As Annabeth completes her second round of twenty push-ups, she silently curses herself for willingly subjecting to this torture.

Well, it isn't exactly torture, because Annabeth actually really likes karate classes. She isn't out of shape either—in fact it's quite the opposite. Annabeth goes running almost every day. The difference is that running is mostly cardio, and these push-ups are pure strength.

After the first round of twenty, Annabeth's arms had felt like jello. Now after the second twenty, she's not completely sure they're still attached to her body.

"Twenty second water break," her instructor calls out. Annabeth gratefully steps off the mat and goes to get her water bottle, noting to herself that twenty might just be her new least favorite number.

She drinks the water quickly, thankful for the coolness in sharp contrast with the humidity of the room. The windows of the dojo are foggy and the air inside is thick and sluggish, the rattling fan in the corner doing little to circulate the air. Annabeth wrinkles her nose at the smell of sweat and feet and steps back into the dojo for the second half of the lesson.

"You better make sure you bow when you enter the dojo," a voice behind her scolds so that only Annabeth can hear. "It's a sign of respect, and if Shihan sees that you forget to bow when you come in, we'll all be doing lots of push-ups to pay for that one."

Annabeth whirls around to stutter an apology, but her voice gets caught in her throat when she sees the person the voice belongs to. The girl looks about Annabeth's age, with short spiky black hair and heavy eyeliner around her eyes. She has a dragon tattoo on her forearm where her karate gi is rolled up, and Annabeth can see some sort of Japanese kanji poking up from the collar of her shirt. Annabeth has been to only a few classes before today, and she's certain she hasn't seen this girl before, because she definitely would have remembered her.

The girl has the sort of stare that makes Annabeth want to run and hide, which is a strange feeling for Annabeth because she's usually the one that has that effect on people. But this girl is intimidating—like seriously intimidating—and it doesn't help that she has a black belt with two red stripes tied around her waist.

Annabeth hasn't been taking karate lessons for that long, but she knows that two red stripes means she's a Nidan black belt—second degree.

The girl sees Annabeth's assessment of her, and her face goes from an irritated scowl to a grin.

"The name's Thalia," she says, offering Annabeth her hand. "It's nice to see a new face around here. We usually don't get that many adults to start up karate, so it's pretty cool that you decided to come to the dojo. We get a lot of kid sign ups—you know—like five year olds, so it's nice to have someone new in the adult class."

Annabeth relaxes her shoulders and takes her hand. "I'm really excited to be here, and classes so far are great. I just feel a little silly sometimes, since you guys are all so impressive and it's so blatantly obvious that I'm the new person here." Annabeth motions to her waist where, unlike everyone else, she doesn't have a belt yet. She hasn't even been promoted to first rank.

"Well, you are the new person," Thalia says with a shrug, "but everyone's gotta start somewhere, right?"

Annabeth gives a nod—she really has been enjoying her first few days of lessons, and Thalia has given her the confidence to keep trying. It isn't a lie that Annabeth has felt a little uncomfortable here. At her office she's always in charge—the boss, even though she's only twenty five—, and it's unusual for her to put herself into a situation where she's not the one on top.

Especially in a setting like karate, where she can already tell that respect for people who rank above you is one of the most important aspects of the class. So perhaps she has been a little tentative trying to get to know people. Annabeth thinks that could change, now.

Shihan—their instructor—barks out orders to line up against one of the walls. Thalia and Annabeth race side by side to get there as fast as they can; Annabeth already knows that being the last one to perform an instruction is practically the kiss of death.

"You know, you should feel pretty proud," Thalia continues, making sure she's not overheard as everyone shuffles to line up. "Most people don't have the confidence to come into a matted room with bright red floors and people dressed in things that look like pajamas screaming their heads off. You'll find that most of the people here are pretty accepting of new people." Thalia gestures to the other people around them, and Annabeth can tell from the way Thalia talks about the dojo with such warmth and admiration that she's probably grown up taking karate here and there's no where else she'd rather be. Plus," she adds with a sly grin, looking Annabeth up and down, "we'll have you totally hardcore in no time."

"Twenty partner push-ups!" Shihan calls out, and Annabeth stifles a groan under her breath. The instructor then goes on to demonstrate with Thalia how to do the exercise. Face to face, they get in push-up position, and each time they come up from a push-up they alternate touching hands with the other person. It looks exhausting, and Annabeth is already cringing at the prospect of using her arm muscles again.

Thalia returns to her spot next to Annabeth, her cheeks slightly flushed from already having to the workout as a demonstration.

"Partners?" Thalia asks.

"Sure."

If Annabeth thought doing push-ups alone was hard, doing twenty with Thalia leaves Annabeth wondering if the room was always so fuzzy around the edges.

"A white belt is a sign of courage," her instructor begins, tying the belt around her waist, "and the gi is a sign of commitment."

He finishes the knot and Annabeth bows to him, turning to the mirror to admire the fresh new white belt that she was just given.

Annabeth knows it's not much to be proud of, but she still is. It's a step. One belt down, a million to go until black.

But Annabeth has always assessed accomplishments like that. Each achievement, no matter how small, is a step in the right direction. Her drive for success pushes her to master even the most seemingly insignificant things.

"You get the gi when you sign up for class, to show you're committed. The uniform is very important. You get the first belt after a few classes, once you've proven that you have the confidence to keep coming to class, to keep perfecting your skills and working towards your goals. Remember that your journey begins with white belt, but doesn't end with black. And congratulations, Annabeth, good work so far."

Her karate teacher awards her a smile, and her heart swells with a sort of satisfaction. She can tell that smiles from him aren't given for just anything, and even though Annabeth has just started, the confidence builds inside her and she's pretty sure she's here to stay.

"It's pronounced oos," says Thalia, taking a sip of her gingerbread coffee and poking at the whipped cream on top with a spoon. They had agreed to meet during Annabeth's lunch break, and Annabeth is anxious to use the time to go over the details of karate so that she doesn't feel so clueless during class. Plus, she likes Thalia in general, and thinks that maybe this is an opportunity to make a new friend.

"Spell it."

"O-S-U. That won't help you. It's like goose without the g."

"So I say that after Shihan gives an instruction?"

"Yeah," replies Thalia nonchalantly, like this is common knowledge that everyone should have. "Or like when you're working with someone and they give you a high five. Or when you bow. It's a sign of respect; it means that you understand what you were asked to do."

"Got it. Osu."

"I have news," Thalia sings, her cheerful attitude still strikes Annabeth as odd compared to the way she dresses. "I think we have another new student today, actually. It's a guy around our age or something. Don't really know the details, but he's apparently coming to class. It's pretty awesome that we have all these new people signing up."

Annabeth smiles, glad that she'll no longer be the very bottom of the rankings at the dojo. Maybe near last, but not completely hopeless.

Annabeth peeks at her watch. She has five minutes left of her lunch break before she has to go rushing back to the office for an afternoon full of meetings with clients.

She pulls her hair back up into a tight bun, brushing the golden curls off the back of her neck, and makes sure she hasn't spilled any coffee on her shirt.

"Fancy pants," Thalia mutters under her breath, smirking at Annabeth's attire.

"Tell me about it," Annabeth replies, placing a few coins on the table.

"You coming to class tonight?" Thalia asks, downing her coffee in a few gulps and standing up to walk out with Annabeth.

"Yeah, of course. See you at seven, right?"

"Yep."

Annabeth gives her a thumbs-up and clicks open her car, stepping inside and rolling down the window.

"Hey Thalia? Count to ten one more time for me?"

Thalia rattles off the numbers one through ten in Japanese, and Annabeth nods, almost sure she has memorized them already. She has always been good with numbers and things related to math. More so, she's taken seven classes and she's determined to have the counting down before her eighth. Maybe she can show this new guy how it's done.

"Cool. See you!"

"Later," Thalia replies before turning in her army boots and walking away. Annabeth thinks that for someone who embraces the don't-bother-me look so much, Thalia is a pretty nice person.

When Annabeth arrives at the dojo at ten to seven, karate is the last thing on her mind. She faced an afternoon of clients screaming about pricing, only to have one of her assistants tell her that she's moving and today is her last day of work. On top of that, the elevator in her office building was out of order, her favorite pen had broken, and her car ran out of gas a good half mile from the dojo.

She had to walk here in her high heels, and quite honestly she's shocked that she made it to the dojo on time.

Annabeth rushes inside, muttering one through ten in Japanese under her breath like it's a prayer. The pre-class nerves aren't helping, and although they're less than they used to be Annabeth still gets slightly anxious before each class. She reasons to herself that it's stupid, but her subconscious just always seems to disagree.

She grabs her karate bag and marches over to the bathroom to change, as she's still dressed in her slacks and blouse from work.

Where did I put my gi top? She thinks to herself and she ducks her head into her bag to search for it.

Just her luck she runs straight into a wall.

Or at least, she thought it was a wall. She jumps back nearly a foot when she realizes that the wall she just ran into was a person.

An attractive person on top of it. The thought registers in her mind for less than a second before she forcibly front-kicks it out.

Then punches it. The karate chops it in half and hits it with her gasless car. She's in no mood to think guys are attractive.

"Sorry. I need to get to the bathroom," she grumbles, sliding around him and yanking off her heels.

He moves to the side, a bit taken aback by her abruptness. Part of her feels bad, but the angry part wins and, plus, she already apologized. She has one foot into the bathroom when she hears him call out behind her.

"Hey… wait!"

She pokes her head around the door. She only has a few minutes before class starts, and she's pretty sure being late is worth, like, at least thirty push-ups.

"Are you Annabeth?" he asks, giving her a dopey smile.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Three minutes until class starts.

"Oh, cool," he replies, breathing a sigh of relief, oblivious to her urgency. "Thalia told me to find you. She said we'd probably be partners a lot because… you know… we're both new and stuff." He rubs the back of his neck with one of his hands, and Annabeth can tell from the wide-eyed look he's giving her that he's nervous too.

She notes that she should probably be more sympathetic and caring, considering she just was—and still sort of is—in the same boat.

"Two minutes until class starts!" she hears someone announce and she closes the door to the bathroom behind her with a slam, leaving the boy outside still smiling after her.

"Do we get to break stuff?" a voice whispers in her ear while Shihan is in the middle of an explanation about throwing elbows.

The instructor stops mid-speech to turn and glare at the source of the noise. His eyes narrow in on Annabeth and he gives her a look that nearly stops her heart, before continuing on about precision and power with an elbow strike.

"Shut up!" Annabeth hisses back, shooting daggers at him with her eyes.

He bounces up and down on the balls of his feet, bubbling with excitement. Any glimpse of nerves he had before are gone, which irritates Annabeth because, even after all of this time, she still feels the anxiety pinching the bottom of her stomach.

"What about that crane move they do in The Karate Kid? Do we do that here?" he continues, earning them another glare from Shihan.

Annabeth is pretty sure that if he has to look over again, the whole class will have to pay in some sort of physical way, which wouldn't make them like her a whole lot.

Naturally the new guy is the most incompetent, annoying person on the planet. Just my luck, she thinks, her hands balling into fists at her side.

He nudges her with his arm to get her attention, and Annabeth has to restrain from tearing her hair out—or even more likely his. She gives him a look of disbelief because honestly, she didn't think anyone could possibly be this clueless.

His eyes light up when he notices that he got her attention, and Annabeth can't believe that he has no idea how much trouble he's getting them—well really her—into.

He leans in to ask what Annabeth assumes is another inane question, and before any sound can leave his lips Annabeth delivers a sharp elbow to his gut, pretty effectively shutting him up.

She feels slightly bad because she has already heard the lecture that using your karate should be avoided at all costs like five times, but she figures this is an emergency.

And plus, she thinks proudly, what better way to perfect the elbow move than to try it out on your partner?

For the first time since she started taking karate classes, Annabeth nearly cheers when Shihan bows to them and tells them that class is over for today.

What started out as minor annoyance with the new student had somehow progressed to a hatred that makes Annabeth's skin crawl by the time the hour is over.

He hasn't necessarily done anything wrong, besides almost get them in serious trouble because of his ignorance. But he won't stop bouncing on the balls of his feet and cheering every time he gets to try a new move and his bubbly personality is vomit-worthy in Annabeth's opinion.

Maybe she's just in a really bad mood.

Or maybe he's the devil sent straight from hell.

She's careful to bow on the way out, and practically prays that the new student forgets to do the same. He does, and Annabeth gives a smug smile as Shihan calls him out on it. He replies with a sorry sir, and Annabeth rolls her eyes, imagining the stupid look he probably has on his face.

She walks over to Thalia, gives her a hug goodbye, and is careful to avoid her newly proclaimed enemy, as she makes her way to the door.

Annabeth bites her cheek as she realizes how childish she's being, but is eager to get home and take a shower and eat dinner and stretch her admittedly aching muscles out.

The cold January air nips at her neck as she makes her way to the car, but her annoyance is lifted slightly because it's snowing outside. Having grown up in California all her life, Annabeth isn't particularly fond of the cold weather, but she is partial to snow.

When she gets to the parking spot where she always parks—she practically claimed it as hers over the past few weeks—she nearly screams with annoyance.

Shit shit shit shit shit.

Her horrible mood comes crashing back down on her when she remembers that her car is sitting on the side of the road a good half-mile from here.

She turns on her heels and stalks back inside, hoping that Thalia will give her a ride to the nearest gas station and save her from having to walk in high heels in the snow.

When she gets to the door, Annabeth supposes she must have angered some god or something, because she's sure someone has it out for her. Thalia is gone, and the only person left inside is the new guy. He's talking to Shihan, waving animatedly like he always does and Annabeth can see Shihan chuckling inside. Laughing. He got the instructor to laugh. Shihan never does that, Annabeth is pretty sure.

This new guy disgusts her.

I think I'd rather take a walk through hell than ask for a ride from him.

She scowls and peers down the road, kicking herself for not thinking to get Thalia's cell number. It's only half a mile, and this is what I get for elbowing him in the stomach. This must be karma or something, she reasonsbefore edging her way down the busy street in high heels and a frown she's pretty sure is permanently etched on her face.

She makes it about a tenth of a mile before the car lights flicker on her back. She turns around, grateful that someone has come to her rescue, because at this point she'd rather do a million push-ups than walk another step in these ridiculous shoes.

The window rolls down and Annabeth curses herself for getting her hopes up when she sees a familiar black-haired boy with that god-awful smile waving at her from inside the car.

"Hey," he says, his smile impossibly widening when Annabeth turns to glare at him. "Need help or something?"

"No."

"You suuuure?" he teases, winking at her in a way that probably would win anyone over besides Annabeth.

"Yes."

"Do you live near here or something?" he asks, the car crawling forwards as Annabeth starts walking again, matching her pace.

"Why does it matter?"

"Well," he begins, "I was wondering if you needed help or if you just like taking walks during blizzards."

Annabeth winces as the sides of her shoes dig into her feet. Seriously, is he for real? Is he like some giant, oversized, muscular four year old?

She chooses to ignore the fact that muscular made it into that sentence.

"Um… let me think… the second one," she replies sarcastically.

He gives an easy laugh, and Annabeth tenses at the way she can see his shoulders vibrating.

"Those look like great shoes to take a nighttime winter stroll in," he points out. He knows he has her beat, and Annabeth wants nothing more than to knock the slightly cocky, pointed look he's giving her right off his face.

"Top notch. Thanks for pointing that out, like I hadn't noticed," Annabeth replies. He starts cracking up at the distraught look Annabeth thinks she must have at the moment, which makes her cheeks burn with embarrassment. She hopes he can't see it through the snow.

"Well, Annabeth, if you want a ride, I won't make you ask. I'm offering you help and I won't think even slightly less of you if you decide to accept it. My face is getting frostbite from keeping the window open so long, so if it makes you feel better you can accept the ride as if you're doing me a favor."

"Why's that?" she huffs, her breath puffing out around her face, her arms crossed over her chest in annoyance.

"Because," he says simply, "I'm not going to roll up the window until you get in the car, and I really do prefer my nose without icicles hanging off of it."

"Why do I not doubt that?"

She picks up her pace. She's like an eighth of the way there now. If only she can convince him to leave….

"I don't accept rides from strangers," she states.

"Well, I'm hardly a stranger," he counters.

"I don't even know your name," she points out, happy to finally win one argument against him.

"Percy. Percy Jackson." He says it like he's announcing that he's James Bond. "I like waffles and swimming and blue is my favorite color. And you are?"

"Annabeth Chase. I like romantic walks in the moonlight and sappy poetry," she replies, her sarcasm out of hand at this point.

"Great!" he says, cheering from inside of the car like a toddler. "Now that we're acquainted, can you please do me a favor and get inside?"

The side of her heel bites into her foot, and Annabeth is pretty sure it draws blood. She tears off her shoes and tosses them through the window into the passenger seat. Percy covers his face, having assumed that she was going to throw them at his head.

Annabeth climbs into the car, and for the first time she gives him a maniacal smile, almost happy that he thinks she's so violent.

"What did you think I was going to do? Throw my shoes at your head?" she asks, snorting, and silently relishing in the warmth of the car heaters.

Heaters are a good thing. A really good thing, she thinks idly.

"Someone has done that to me before. Not fun. Seriously not fun," he admits, a funny look crossing his face.

Curiosity bubbles to her lips, and Annabeth almost asks for an explanation before she stops herself. They are not friends. Not friends. She is not encouraging conversation between them. She hates him.

"If you want to know," he begins, answering anyway like he could sense what she was thinking. "It was my last girlfriend. A few months ago. Left a bruise on my forehead for a week." He shudders at the memory.

Annabeth covers her mouth with her hands so he can't see her smile. What is so wrong with me that I'm enjoying his pain?

He glances over at her. "I know you're smiling," he chuckles as well, either unaware of the awkwardness between them or just choosing to ignore it. "And I know why."

Annabeth should probably feel bad that he knows she enjoys his misery, but she just can't bring herself to care.

"It's because now you know I'm single."

Her jaw drops as she just stares, dumbfounded, no—horrified— at his smirk.

She manages a that's-not-why under her breath, before realizing that there's honestly no point.

"Bring me to the nearest gas station," she says once she gets her voice back, determined not to say another word until she is far away from this car and its driver. Honestly, she should probably be concerned for her life because it's doubtful that someone so idiotic can safely drive.

But walking in heels so far is practically a crime, she reasons to herself, and her justification makes her feel a little bit better about the whole situation.

"Here we are!" he announces, pulling over at the gas station, his mood not the least bit dampened by the stony silence in the car for the past few minutes.

He's so annoyingly optimistic; Annabeth has never met anyone like him. The right word to describe the vibe he's giving off, Annabeth thinks, is jolly, and she's sure she has never used that word to describe anyone besides Santa Claus.

"I can see that," Annabeth comments, noting that the first bit of luck she has had all day is the fact that the gas station is actually open. She's pretty sure she wouldn't have survived driving even further with Percy.

"I'll be right back once I buy some gasoline," she tells him, pausing as he turns off the engine. "Uh… if you don't mind just waiting for me here."

"Nah, it's fine. I'll come in with you," he says, exiting the car before she can stop him. She figures it's no use arguing and shuts the door a little too loud behind her than necessary.

She walks into the gas station with Percy trailing behind her. He reminds her of a puppy dog following its mother and ugh—she is so not in the mood for this.

Thankfully there are no other customers inside so she's the first one to be helped.

She tells the guy behind the counter her car situation and he instructs her with what to do. He goes outside and gives her some gas, and she makes a point to give him the best smile she can manage, mostly just to send a silent I-hate-you to Percy.

"Want me to carry that to the car for you?" Percy asks.

"Nope," Annabeth replies. "I'm strong enough. I do karate." Even if the tank of gas were a million more pounds, she wouldn't have let him take it anyway.

Percy laughs loudly, and Annabeth wants to smack herself in the head for joking with him.

"Didn't think so," he concedes. "You're funny."

"That's totally what I was going for. I'm glad you've finally caught on."

"And you have a nice smile by the way," he adds almost shyly, causing Annabeth to nearly drop the tank on her foot because of course, of course, he would take her spiteful actions and use them against her. She makes a point to roll her eyes at him and notes the way his cheeks are slightly pink and he has a sheepish smile on his face.

"Your foot is bleeding," he says after a few more steps, and Annabeth can actually sense genuine concern in his voice.

"I'm aware," is all she gives.

"Well, I have a first aid kit in my car."

"Of course you do."

"Wow, this is like a real adventure: boy and girl get stuck in blizzard with gasless car. Girl has gaping foot wound." He sounds almost giddy as he announces it.

"I suppose you see yourself as the hero of this story, and me as the damsel in distress." The thought makes Annabeth grit her teeth.

"I don't see you as the damsel in distress at all," he assures her, and even though it should make her feel better it doesn't. "As for me being the hero… well… you said it. Not me." He opens the trunk for her and Annabeth places the tank inside with a thud. "I do like to think of myself as, you know, heroic and such." He flexes his muscles dramatically and Annabeth winces.

"Do you always act like a five year old?" she sighs.

"No need to get snappy at me," he pouts, proving her point. His arms drop to his sides almost like they were deflated.

He opens the door for her and Annabeth, being the totally sane, mature twenty-five-year-old she is, closes it and then opens it again for herself.

"I don't want your help," she says stoically.

If he doesn't get the point now, he never will.

"Remember, I'm not helping you. You're helping me," reminds her, rolling his eyes at the fact that she didn't accept his gentlemanly gesture.

She stares at him blankly.

"Frostbite on my nose…" he hints. Annabeth groans.

They sit down and he's about to start the car before he pauses, his hand clutching the keys.

"Oh! I almost forgot! Band-Aid."

He twists in his seat to reach behind him for what Annabeth supposes is the first aid kit.

"I. Don't. Want. Your. Help." Annabeth repeats, emphasizing each word.

"I. Know. But. You're. Bleeding," he replies in the same manner.

"Take. Me. To. My. Car."

"Accept. This. Band. Aid. Or. Else."

"Or. Else. What?"

"Or. Else. I'll. Elbow. You. Back."

"You. Wouldn't. Dare."

"You're. Probably. Right."

Percy unwraps the Band-Aid and sticks it on Annabeth's nose.

"You're. Well. Come," he replies, satisfied. He turns on the car and starts creeping forward.

"Welcome is only one word," Annabeth points out gruffly, removing the Band Aid and sticking it on her foot.

"You know, it wouldn't kill you to thank me," Percy adds, in a belittling way that makes Annabeth's blood boil.

Like it wasn't doing that already.

"Thank you," Annabeth replies. The words taste stale in her mouth and she practically has to force them out.

"It doesn't count if you don't mean it," he teases.

"I mean it. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for turning a ten-minute event into the adventure of a lifetime. I honestly don't know how I could go on with my life without you."

Percy beams at her with a smile brighter than the headlights of the oncoming cars flashing past them. His eyes crinkle around the edges in a way that makes Annabeth feel safe and comfortable even though she's in the car with a guy she met a little over an hour before.

"I knew you were having fun," he says.

He better not be here today. Please don't be here today, Annabeth mutters to herself, opening the door to the dojo.

She prepares herself to scan the room for him, but she's hardly through the door before she sees him waving frantically at her with both arms.

"Annabeth!" he calls, crossing over to her in two giant bounds.

"Percy!" she replies, mocking his excitement and groaning to herself under her breath.

"Wow," he answers. "I didn't expect you to be, you know, actually happy to see me."

Annabeth mentally bangs her head against the wall. Has this guy ever heard of sarcasm?

"I'm not," she informs him.

His smile vanishes for a second, but is replaced as quickly as it left. She's pretty sure that the sun would have to stop shining for his smile to ever leave for more than point two nanoseconds.

"Well I'm happy to see you." He rubs the back of his head, causing his hair to stick up in the back.

"Naturally."

He follows her as she places her water bottle on the counter next to everyone else's. She retreats to her bag and rummages through until she finds her belt.

Annabeth is confident that if she just ignores him long enough, he'll eventually get the message that they're not friends.

She's so preoccupied with planning out the ways in which is won't interact with Percy that she doesn't notice she has managed to tie her belt on wrong three times.

"That's wrong," the voice she hates the most interjects, snapping her out of her reverie.

She looks down at the clearly messed up knot that she has tied around her waist. Annabeth lets out a noise somewhere between being strangled and a dying moose, annoyed that he has made himself the authority on the right and wrong way to tie a karate belt even though he doesn't even have one.

"If you want I can do it…" he reaches down to untwist the knot and the thought of him putting his hands on her makes her shudder. In disgust.

She takes a step back, knocking into someone standing behind her.

"I'll ask Thalia," she tells him.

Annabeth turns to find Thalia watching her with an amused expression on her face.

"Tell me how to tie this thing and don't you dare say one word," Annabeth mutters one Thalia's in earshot.

Thalia raises her hands in surrender does what Annabeth says, smirking the entire time.

Spastically coordinated.

That's the only way to describe Percy.

As much as Annabeth would rather pour hydrochloric acid on her face than admit it, he's really good at karate. He strikes the pads with power and force that has even the older students in awe. He does the karate forms that the class is learning with a sort of grace that takes years for most people to accomplish—to him it just comes naturally.

But that doesn't stop him from tripping over his own feet twice and kicking Annabeth a good five times in the hand throughout the course of one class.

They're in the middle of a kicking drill and, following the inescapable trend, Annabeth is Percy's partner. Annabeth is holding a huge body-shield pad, and Percy is the kicker. Every few seconds he kicks again with such strength that each one sends Annabeth stumbling back on her heels.

"Switch," Shihan calls, and Percy takes the pad out of Annabeth's hands.

They have a minute to catch their breaths before Shihan yells go, and the other partner gets his or her turn to do the drill.

Annabeth lines up and throws a roundhouse kick off her back leg.

Percy stumbles back, clearly caught off guard, and Annabeth smiles to herself in satisfaction.

"Wow," he says over the sound of other people shouting, "that was really good."

Annabeth kicks again.

"You know, it helps me to pivot my non-kicking foot in the direction I'm throwing the kick. That way you sort of get the momentum from your hips," he offers.

Annabeth bites the inside of her cheek. There is no way she's getting advice from a measly no-belt, let alone Percy.

Shihan walks by and Annabeth throws the kick again, this time unconsciously following Percy's advice. Her instructor gives her an approving nod and Annabeth flushes with pride.

Maybe his advice sort of made it easier. Just a little bit.

"See?" he asks, winking. "Ninja buddies look out for each other."

"That time, I was actually imagining that you weren't holding the pad at all and I was kicking you in the head."

The sentence sounds so ridiculous coming out of her mouth that she smiles. An actual, genuine, smile.

Percy smiles back.

"Fair enough," he says, and something about the look he gives her this time crawls under her skin and settles there.

Annabeth's brief moment of somewhat, slightly, not-despising Percy turns back into hate when he gets his white belt at the end of class.

Just three classes. Three classes until he got his belt. It took her at least five.

The whole time the white belt is a sign of courage speech is going on, Annabeth is fuming to herself. When the belt gets tied around his waste, Percy looks nearly ecstatic. Everyone congratulates him after class, clapping him on the back and high fiving him.

Everyone except Annabeth, who is out the door in record time.

She knows she shouldn't look at this like a competition, but she can't help it. She's pretty sure it's programmed in her DNA or something. All her life she has been told to be better, smarter, and faster than everyone else. She has always lived by that.

Being raised by her father and a stepmother that didn't particularly care for Annabeth, she grew up with only herself as a support system. When she first started high school she made a promise to herself to become as successful as possible and never look back, and if that took outperforming everyone then she was determined to do it. She was never into the sentimental, encouraging crap that all other kids besides her were fed. She knows it's the truth. You're either good at something or you're not. She has always been on the top, and if she wasn't, she had worked relentlessly until she got there.

And so far, this has worked for her. She started her own architectural company right out of college, and now she's running a successful business doing what she loves.

She has high standards and she's not ashamed of it. She embraces this lifestyle.

So who could blame her for wanting to be the best in her karate class? She has always been at the top, and now Percy has come along and of course has made this so difficult for her…

"Hey!"

She walks faster.

"Annabeth?"

Even faster.

"I know you can hear me."

She's almost at her car…

She feels something wet and cold hit the back of her head.

Percy must just have a death wish.

"Are you kidding me?"

Annabeth whirls around to see Percy with another snowball in his hand, his sea green eyes fixated on her face from across the parking lot.

She knows they're sea green because she glares at him all the time, obviously.

"You seemed to be upset or something, and I decided that you need to have more fun," he states, walking over so that he's only a few feet away.

"So you threw a snowball at my head?"

"Yup," he grins.

"You know," Annabeth states, turning her back on him and brushing the brief layer of snow that had fallen during class off of her car door handle. "If you're trying to be cute, it's not working."

"Trying to be cute?" Percy asks, putting his hand against his chest and opening his mouth in astonishment. "I was never trying to be cute. If that's the effect you got then, well, I can't really say I blame you but…"

She cuts him off my throwing a snowball straight for his head. Annabeth silently curses his unexplainably good reflexes because he dodges it at the last minute.

He cheers.

"You misse—"

Thwack.

She watches in satisfaction as he gets hit right on his annoying, insufferable mouth. He raises his eyebrows at her, and she watches as he brushes the snow off his face.

And smiles. Of course he does.

"Bye, Percy. And congrats on the white belt."

She pops open the car door and pulls away, leaving Percy still smiling after her.

Annabeth's least favorite part of her day is walking from her office building to her apartment.

Her office building is located on the edge of a not-so-nice part of the city, which wouldn't be a problem aside from the fact that in order to get to her apartment, she has to walk directly through the not-so-nice part of town.

The morning walk isn't bad because it's light outside, and usually she leaves work around five in the afternoon, so no one tends to bother her. But as the winter months settled in, it had started to get much darker much earlier.

There were other ways to get to work: Annabeth could have taken her car or walked a few extra blocks through a safer part of town, but the walk isn't far and taking her car every day would be a waste of gas money. Plus, she's not scared, and has a can of pepper spray in her bag just in case. No need to walk longer than necessary.

As she turns the corner to enter a particularly dark alleyway, she hums quietly to herself—Les Mis, a real spirit lifter—, keeping her eyes forward and trying to ignore the ways the shadows dance across the apartment buildings.

Pasta. That's what I want for dinner. Plus, I think I have some avocado salad left over from yesterday…

Which is when she hears a blood-curdling scream, so high pitched that it seems to cut through her bones.

She races towards the noise, ignoring the large part of her brain that screams at her to run the other way. When she reaches the end of the alley she turns left towards the main road and in the direction that the now muted sobs are coming from.

Her pulse races in her throat and she nearly screams too when she sees a figure slumped on the side of the road, curled up in a ball on the ground. A car—which Annabeth assumes had just hit the person— pulls away from the curb and screeches around the corner, leaving red skid marks on the side of the road.

The sight of blood never fazed Annabeth, in fact, at one point she had considered medical school. But as she takes a step towards the person, she pauses to let the dark spots in front of her eyelids pass.

The smell of blood is overwhelming, and Annabeth watches as the red fluid curls between the cracks in the pavement and mixes with the white snow.

Hit by a car. This could have happened anywhere. Not just here, she thinks, as if justifying her presence.

She kneels down next to the person, trying her best to avoid the blood, and pulls out her cellphone.

Her hands are shaking so much that it takes her two tries to punch in 911.

"911, what is your emergency?" the voice at the end of the line asks.

Annabeth swallows.

"I just watched someone get hit by a car. Probably a drunk driver. The person looks… small. And they're not moving."

The emergency responder keeps asking questions, and Annabeth answers the best she can.

Annabeth had always wondered what it would be like to call 911. Her dad told her that once, when she was an infant, he had left her alone in their living room and she had crawled over to the phone and dialed this number. Luckily he returned just as the call connected, and apologized profusely to the person on the other end, saying that it wouldn't happen again.

She thinks of this as she waits on the line until she hears sirens in the distance, accompanied by the clatter of footsteps coming towards her. By the time an ambulance pulls up, there's a small crowd of people around her.

The light from the siren flashes red on the pavement, illuminating the pale figure next to her and the blood soaked stones, and all Annabeth can do is close her eyes and stay still, trying to ignore the red behind her eyelids.

She flinches when she feels a hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you ma'am, we can take it from here."

Annabeth stands up, stiffly, and takes a step back.

The EMT that was talking to her kneels down and begins to work. Two other EMTS race towards the scene, one of them brushing into her as he runs by.

"Ma'am, you'll need to take a step—"

He freezes as he meets her gaze.

"Annabeth?"

She almost doesn't recognize him when he's not smiling, and for the first time in her life she's glad to see him.

"Percy," she breathes. "What are you doing here?"

He opens his mouth to answer, but is interrupted by his coworker.

"Percy, get over here. Severe bleeding in the left leg. Trying to stabilize breathing now. Pulse extremely fast. See if the other leg is broken."

He turns on his heels and starts working.

Annabeth isn't sure how much time goes by before they put the person in the ambulance. She watches Percy briefly as he puts gauze over some of the wounds, but it bothers her.

She realizes it's because she's watching someone so inherently happy do something so sad. When Percy works he's completely serious, his smile gone, his eyes dark. His shoulders are crumpled forwards and in the red and blue light that flashes against his face he looks much older than he really is.

Seeing this side of him makes her not hate him. In fact, it makes her feel bad for how she has treated him. Part of her knows that he wouldn't want her to feel like that, but she does. She can't help it.

Percy lifts the person off of the floor and places him in the ambulance. Compared to Percy's broad shoulders, the person almost looks like a child in his arms.

"Excuse me ma'am, are you the one who dialed 911?"

"Yes."

She turns to face the person who asked.

"I'm going to need to ask you some questions about what you saw."

The police officer has a notepad in one hand and looks at her sympathetically.

"Sure."

"Are you okay to do this now?"

She's not really, but she doesn't think that waiting will make a difference.

"Now is fine."

Someone taps on her shoulder and she turns around, even nerve in her body quivering.

"Are you okay?" the familiar voice asks.

She nods, not trusting her voice. Annabeth keeps her gaze on the ground, because she's scared of what she'll see if she looks up.

"I've got to go now, but my shift is over after this. Will you talk to the police officer and wait here for me?"

She's pretty sure she doesn't want him to come back for her, but she nods anyway.

He breathes a sigh of relief and Annabeth spares a glance up. He looks confident and strong, which makes Annabeth feel better.

"See you later."

"Yeah."

He returns about twenty minutes later, while Annabeth is trying to scrape some of the blood off her hands.

She opens his car door to the back seat, where she knows his First Aid Kit is, and takes a wipe out. He says nothing as she scrubs her hands and throws the dirty wipe in the trashcan nearby.

Without asking, she enters the passenger seat, and Percy gives her a small smile.

"You're an EMT?" she asks, her eyes resting on the dashboard and counting the flickering seconds of the clock.

"Yeah," he replies.

She forces a scowl. She hates letting people see her when she's weak, especially people she doesn't like. There's something about Percy's personality that she can feel itching to get closer to her, and she's desperate to block him out. She's fine on her own, she always has been.

"They let you save people?"

He laughs loudly, but it seems forced too, as if he's taken aback by her sarcasm.

"I know, surprising."

The silence ticks by. Annabeth tries to calm her breathing. She can feel sorry for herself when she gets home; she's not going to break down in front of Percy.

"You okay?" His voice is tender and soft.

She shrugs, the car suddenly feeling too small and claustrophobic.

"Seriously. I want to make sure you're not going into shock or anything."

She can feel him trying to pull down the barrier she put up around herself, and she's determined not to let him. She hardly knows him, and she doesn't let people in like that. If she did, she'd let the very foundation of her lifestyle crumble, and she doesn't want to risk it. Plus, it was just a little blood, nothing that she hasn't seen before.

Okay, a lot of blood. But she hates him. She hates him.

"I'm fine."

"Annabeth, I know you may think you're fine, but I just want to make sure because what you just saw is pretty horrifying and anyone else would be—"

"Take me home, please." Her voice is low and her tone is final.

He groans, slamming his hand against the steering wheel and making her jump.

"I don't understand you." He's not yelling, but Annabeth is pretty sure that's as close as he gets. She can feel the venom in his voice, and her blood gets hot with anger.

She narrows her eyes at him.

"Don't understand me? No one asked you to understand me. I'm not a book, or a science experiment or something."

He turns to her, and his calm demeanor is gone. She sees the anger in his face and it scares her because Percy is so gentle, and she knows she's the one that made him feel like this.

"I never said you were! I've been trying to be friends with you for weeks and you keep pushing me out. You don't talk to anyone at the Dojo besides Thalia, and all you do is frown. What do I have to do to talk to you without you looking at me like I'm the biggest idiot on the planet? Because trust me, Annabeth, I've been trying. Anyone else would have given up by now. I'm just trying to help you."

He sees his mistake the second he says it, and his face crumples in apology.

Annabeth's vision blurs, and she wills herself not to cry.

"I'm sorry that your charity project to be friends with me isn't working. I don't need your help. Bye Percy."

She exits the car as the tears start falling and walks the remaining three blocks to her apartment. Percy follows behind her in his car and makes sure she gets into her apartment safely.

She isn't sure if that makes her angrier or sadder.

Next Wednesday, Annabeth has the best karate class of her life. She partners with Thalia because she wants to.

Not because Percy didn't show up.

She doesn't let this bother her. She's supposed to be mad at him. Plus, he's probably just busy.

Part of her wonders if she hurt him more than she realized, but she figures that if he didn't get the message before, he finally does now.

And this is what she wanted all along.

He doesn't come for the next two weeks. By the fourth class without him, Annabeth starts to worry.

Not worry, just wonder.

By now she's sure he's avoiding her, and she doesn't know what to think.

She refuses to feel sorry. After all, he was the one who basically yelled at her, right after she had been through something traumatic.

But she does feel bad for him because he was trying to help and she rejected him. For most people Annabeth has interacted with in her life, her refusal to accept help hadn't been such a concern for them.

Maybe it's because Annabeth automatically assumes people only help others out of self-interest or pity, neither of which she's willing to accept.

Perhaps she hates Percy so much because he's her complete opposite: trusting, funny, and optimistic. After seeing him saving people she realized that Percy was able to take bad things that he experiences and make them positive. It makes Annabeth feel like something is wrong with her because she can't do that.

She realizes that maybe Percy was trying to be friendly out of genuine interest. Having people care about her was something she always brushed off, but she feels now that Percy is different. She doesn't understand why—she hasn't been friendly or nice or at all amicable—, but apparently Percy does care. Or did.

He definitely doesn't now.

She finds herself staring at the door one day before class. Shihan asks everyone to enter the Dojo, and Annabeth catches Thalia's eye just in time to see her give Annabeth a sympathetic smile.

She debates asking Thalia for his number the entire class.

She knows Thalia has it, because she hinted at it a few times.

She thinks Thalia won't judge her. Thalia seems like a no-judgment person.

In the end she does—not because she's going to text Percy, but in case she needs it for something.

She stares at the Post-It with his number on it for a whole three days before she gives in.

She's not entirely sure what compels her to text him. Probably a mixture of guilt and nostalgia: maybe the tiniest part of her misses hating him so much at karate. Plus, she's not going to hold a grudge against him, she supposes she's just the bigger person in this situation by reaching out first.

She writes and rewrites the text in her head a million and a half times.

She punches it in her iPhone and clicks send.

Annabeth: Hey Percy. Can we please talk about what happened a few weeks ago? I haven't seen you in karate in a while. Just making sure everything's okay.

Annabeth mentally bangs her head against the table. He doesn't have her number so he won't know who it is. She adds quickly:

Annabeth: This is Annabeth Chase, by the way. Annabeth from the Dojo.

She almost adds a smiley face, but decides against it. Annabeth throws her phone behind her sofa pillow and goes to take a shower. She hears it vibrate as she leaves the room, but she thinks that maybe she's just imagining it.

Annabeth manages to get through her entire Saturday without looking at her phone. She watches at least five episodes of Breaking Bad, and concludes the day by walking across the street to the Mexican restaurant and ordering some tacos.

She almost—almost—manages to forget about her cellphone and the text messages.

But when she walks back into the apartment, she hears her phone buzz again. This time, she's pretty sure of it.

She sets the table and eats, counting that it buzzes another three times during the process.

After the table is wiped, the plates are hand washed and in the drying rack, and the apartment smells like lemon air freshner, Annabeth decides she can't avoid it any longer.

She pulls the phone out from behind her couch, and her heart drops when she sees who texted her. One message from her dad, three from Thalia, and one from Rachel.

None from Percy.

Fine, if he wants to ignore me then I don't care.

She watches another three episodes of Breaking Bad until 2:00 am before falling asleep on top of her laptop.

She wakes to the sound of her phone buzzing next to her ear.

Annabeth springs up, nearly knocking her laptop off the bed in the process. She blinks dazedly around her, before her eyes adjust enough to read the text.

Percy: Haha.

Haha? That's all he has to say? After I stressed for an entire day? What does 'haha' mean? 'Haha,' I still hate you? 'Haha,' you think I want to be your friend?

Annabeth: You ignore me for a whole day and then text 'haha'?! What's so funny?

She bites her bottom lip lightly, wondering if that was a mistake since being defensive is what got him angry in the first place. But it's too late now.

Percy: First of all my phone died yesterday sorry. And I wrote that because is this the same Annabeth who likes sappy poetry and romantic walks in the moonlight? It's funny that you had to introduce yourself like I don't know who you are or something

She rolls her eyes.

Annabeth: Well, you don't have my number so you wouldn't have known it was me

His next text comes a few seconds later.

Percy: Umm… actually…

Annabeth: ?

Percy: I've been debating whether or not to text you for two weeks. I got your number from Thalia the day after… we fought

Annabeth: Same

Annabeth sits back against her pillows and pauses. He asked for her number.

Maybe he's not as mad as she thought. His next text comes in a few seconds later.

Percy: I guess I'm not the only one out of the two of us that wanted the other person's number

He adds a winkey face to show he's joking, and Annabeth breathes a sigh of relief when she feels the familiar annoyance at him coming back. She can imagine him smiling on the other end.

And then he adds:

Percy: But I was too nervous to because I thought you were really mad at me and I'm sorry Annabeth

Annabeth: I'm not mad. And I'm sorry too; we were both acting strange that night

Percy: You just used a semi colon in a text go away

Percy: But seriously I'm not just trying to be your friend because I feel bad for you

Annabeth: I know

Because she does know, now.

Annabeth: So… friends?

Percy: Nope

Annabeth cocks her head to the side.

Percy: NINJA BUDDIES!

Annabeth sends a text that reads 'You disgust me,' but this time adds a smiley face to show she's joking before closing her phone and getting dressed to go jogging. They didn't really talk about the major issue, but they made up. He's not mad at her anymore.

She smiles.

It's the best morning she's had in a long time.

When she enters the door to the dojo that week, he's already inside.

He sees her walk in and gives her a small smile, almost shy.

They had been texting on and off for the past few days, but this is the first time they've seen each other in person since the accident.

His face lights up when she returns the smile, and he nearly trips over his own feet to walk over, probably having gained confidence from the fact that she was no longer ignoring him.

"Hey."

"Hey yourself."

"Long time no see."

He rubs the back of his neck. "It's good to be back."

"Good to have you back."

He stares at her in the most blinding way, and Annabeth rolls her eyes. Maybe his annoyingness is charming, in the weirdest of ways. Maybe she missed him a little.

"Are you going to ogle at me all day, Jackson? Or are you going to actually be useful for once and be a good partner?"

He pouts about the 'for once' comment, but Annabeth can tell by the look on his face that things are going to be okay.

"Twenty partner push-ups!" Shihan calls.

Annabeth and Percy immediately turn towards each other. The first ten are easy, but by around fifteen Annabeth can feel her arms start to wobble.

Percy slows down for her, automatically, which irritates her.

"I can keep up with you, Jackson," she whispers under her breath.

Percy grins, his face two inches from hers as he reaches across to give her a high-five before completing the next push-up.

"Not a chance."

Annabeth pushes herself faster, doing the last five in record time.

They stand up, panting heavily, Percy with his hands on his knees.

He straightens up after a few seconds. "Push-ups are easy," he retorts.

Everyone else finishes quickly after, and Shihan announces a twenty second water break.

"Oh yeah?" Annabeth asks, giving him a smug smile. "Says the person who's breathing like he just ran a marathon."

She watches a blush crawl up his neck and races off towards her water bottle, feeling his eyes on her back the entire way.

It's not like they completely get along now, but her frustration with him changed. It's more of a competitive nature, rather than loathing. Annabeth quickly realizes that it's a lot easier to get along with him than hate him so much.

At the end of class Shihan announces belt tests are next week, and Annabeth feels ready.

Percy: Good luck today, ninja buddy!

Annabeth doesn't even look at the name, and she knows who the message is from. Over the past few days, most traces of awkwardness between them had simply melted away.

Annabeth: Thank you, grasshopper

Percy: LMNBO!

Annabeth: ?

Percy: Laughing my ninja butt off!

Annabeth: Are you serious?

Percy: Never

Annabeth: Oh right, what was I thinking?

Percy: Lame.

Annabeth: You're lame

Percy: Don't be mean to me… I hardly slept, I'm so nervous

Annabeth: You too?

Percy: Yeah

She contemplates what to say; she's never been good at comforting people. Luckily, Percy texts her back before she has to think of something.

Percy: Celebrate after?

Annabeth: Only if we survive

Percy: Don't be such a downer. I'm all for living. Life is good

Annabeth: You sound like an advertisement. So how shall we celebrate?

Percy: Drinks. I'll buy you punch… with a kick to it!

Annabeth giggles and she's grateful that no one is around to hear it.

When Annabeth steps onto the dojo mat later that night, she can feel the tenseness in the air. Even Percy just greets her with a smile, which is minimal compared to his usual hellos.

She supposes that she has no reason to be nervous; this is just a yellow belt test. It's supposed to be the easiest one, or something.

The first thing they have to do is partner push-ups, which calms Annabeth down slightly because it's familiar. She turns to find Percy, but he's already by her side and her admittedly racing heart calms a little.

Over the past few weeks they've fallen into a sort of rhythm: their paces match each other, even their breathing seems to mimic.

Leave it to a traumatic situation to bring them from enemies to friends. But in a way, Annabeth sort of things it's fitting for the relationship between the two of them. They're so polar opposite in personality and lifestyle that it only makes sense for an accident to make their friendship do a one-eighty. She tries not to read too much into it.

Next for her test she has to perform the traditional form she was working on, one kata, alone.

"Annabeth, your turn."

She jogs to the middle of the room and turns toward Shihan. Thalia isn't testing, but instead acting as an assistant. Even though she's not supposed to, she gives Annabeth the tiniest of smiles.

The mirror stretches across the entire wall, and when she makes it to the middle of the room she can see herself in the center. Although Annabeth has never had any qualms about taking charge and being a leader, she's still sensitive to everyone's eyes on her. She feels alone and small in the middle of the floor by herself, and that's a feeling she hates more than anything else. Her neck feels tense, and she's sure that if she was closer to the mirror she'd be able to see the fear flashing in her eyes.

Which is a thought that just makes her more nervous, if anything. She averts her gaze and takes a deep breath, feeling her pulse pick up. When she straightens her posture and raises her chin she catches the glance of a particular black-haired guy that makes her stomach flip. With nerves.

Percy is in the back of the room, eyes on her. Suddenly each breath is a little easier to take.

"Go."

She bows, crosses her hands over her head, and begins the form. The entire dojo is silent, aside from the shuffling of her feet against the mat. Her pulse is erratic and her breathing heavy, but as she works through the steps she feels her confidence returning. By the time she turns back to the mirror and bows, her hands aren't shaking and she's calm. Her form was flawless.

Her instructor bows to her and she goes to the back of the room, brushing shoulders with Percy. She feels him tense against her and she can't help but smirk at how much pressure is on him to outperform her now.

"Percy."

He gives her a half grin before stepping to the front of the room, and Annabeth can see the nervousness in the set of his shoulders. Not like she's examined his shoulders at length, or anything.

It's just one of those things she can tell.

He starts the form and Annabeth suppresses her usual competitiveness, silently praying that he does it well too.

The beginning is excellent—he performs with his usual grace and skill—, but halfway through he pauses for a second too long. She can see the confusion flicker through his eyes and he wobbles slightly.

C'mon Percy.

He blinks, and everyone watching seems to take a collective breath.

His mouth twitches and his face clears.

He finishes the form and bows, taking his place beside Annabeth.

They both get their yellow belts and Annabeth is proud. The smile Percy gives her makes it even better, and she can't help but think that he's a good guy to have around.

"Cheers to one amazing form and one almost-amazing form." Percy clinks his glass against hers.

"Let the record reflect that mine was the amazing one," Annabeth teases, and Percy smiles, not the least bit bothered.

"True. But I challenge you. Orange belt test I'm determined to be better."

"You have no chance."

They laugh, and they drink until Annabeth thinks the room starts to get a little fuzzy around the edges.

She blinks and tries to focus on Percy.

He's smiling at her, and even though the light is dim at the bar, she can't help but notice the way it reflects in his eyes. They crinkle around the edges when he laughs, which is nearly all the time, and the alcohol makes her belly feel warm at that thought.

"One last drink to the best ninja buddies that ever existed?" Annabeth announces, hoping her words aren't actually as slurred as they sound.

His eyes light up even more at her use of the words ninja buddies and Annabeth thinks she likes it that way.

She stumbles slightly as they exit the bar, and he holds out his arm to support her.

"You okay, there?"

"I'm okay, here," she mimics him.

She wobbles again to prove her point.

"Can I take you home, ninja buddy?"

Annabeth makes a point of rolling her eyes, and Percy makes a point of sticking out his tongue. So the immature part of their relationship still exists when they're friends. She debates telling him she can walk home alone, but decides it's not worth it. Extra time with Percy is a plus, anyway.

Only when she's half drunk, that is.

"I'm going to have a headache tomorrow," she whines, climbing into his car and settling her head against the window.

"Cupcakes."

"What?"

"Cupcakes are the cure for hangovers. That's what my mom always told me."

Annabeth wrinkles her nose, her head knocking against the window as he drives over a bump.

"Ow. I hate cupcakes."

Percy hits the brake, and Annabeth slightly panics that he stopped in the middle of the street before she realizes that they're already at her apartment.

He turns to her, mouth open.

"You're a shame to humanity."

"Am not."

"I'm picking you up tomorrow at nine for a cupcake breakfast. I know a place that makes the best cupcakes in the world."

She nods, pausing slightly to wonder how their friendship started. If someone had told her a month ago that she'd willingly be spending time with Percy, she would have laughed. A lot.

But now she finds herself looking forward to spending time with him— two days in a row, as well.

He walks her to her door, and maybe it's the fault of the alcohol, but she stumbles into him. He wraps his arms around her to give her a hug, and she gets a mouthful of shoulder.

Percy: gnight yellow belt

Annabeth: goodnieghwt

Annabeth's sleep is interrupted to the sound of knocking. At first she thinks it's just thrumming in her head as her body recovers from her alcohol consumption, but the knocking becomes more insistent, so she opens her eyes.

The light from her window sears her retinas, and she cringes as a flash of pain drives through her head. The knocking on the door continues.

She looks at the clock. 9:03AM.

"Fuck."

Her comforter wraps around her legs and nearly trips her as she gets out of bed.

"Come in. I'll be right there."

Her voice is low and thick with sleep, and Annabeth cringes at the sound. She hears the doorknob turn and congratulates herself for leaving her apartment unlocked all night.

Annabeth rushes into the bathroom, not bothering to battle with her curls. Instead, she pulls her hair up into a bun and brushes her teeth. The thought of Percy in her living room makes her jumpy, and the burning in her stomach from last night comes back. She saves that observation in the back of her mind to analyze later.

She throws on the first thing she can find and walks out of her room, trying to keep her footsteps silent. He's sitting on the couch with his back to her, presumably on his phone, and she pauses under the frame of the door.

"You forgot about me," he says over his shoulder.

"I didn't."

"You did."

He turns to her and raises an eyebrow. She can feel the blush rising on her cheeks.

"It's okay because I figured you wouldn't want to go out again, so I brought the cupcakes here. Creatures of habit like you can't go out two days in a row."

Beside Percy is a bag, which he raises to prove his point. He has a sort of gleam in his eyes, a childish excitement that Annabeth finds ridiculous and a tiny bit funny. The sort of funny that she wants to experience more often. Spending breakfast with him can't hurt, anyway.

Annabeth walks through the living room to her kitchen, feeling Percy's gaze on her back.

"Creature of habit?"

"Yup."

"Not at all. I'll have you know I do lots of crazy things in my spare time."

"Do not."

Annabeth crosses her arms over her chest.

"I really do."

"Like maybe try a new television show? Ooooh, you're right. That's too crazy Annabeth."

She pulls plates and cups out of the cabinet, switching the utensils around until she finds two sets that match. Percy snorts at that and unloads the bag, placing one huge cupcake on her plate and one on his.

"There's no way I'll eat all of this. We should have shared one," she comments.

He smirks at her, keeping his tone conversational, though she can hear the teasing underneath.

"If you think I'd share my precious cupcake with you, then you're sadly mistaken."

Annabeth sits down, and Percy pauses next to the table before deciding to sit—of course—in the seat next to her.

It doesn't bother her, aside from the fact that she's not completely sure how he feels about her. Even more troubling, she's not completely sure how she feels about him. She likes him as a friend— that she's sure of—despite his frequent annoying streaks and his immaturity. Percy is one of the few people she feels like she's starting to trust, which is a strange feeling for her because she doesn't trust easily. It wasn't a conscious decision to let him in, but she thinks over the past few days he's slowly taken down her barrier, piece by piece, without her noticing. For the first time in her life, it doesn't scare her, either.

He's seen her at her lowest—after the crash, drunk, and above all after completing partner push-ups—and he's been supportive through it all. Out of his own genuine kindness, too. Not because he wants something from her.

She hasn't known him for long, but she gets the sense that he cares about her a lot, that he'd go out of his way to make sure she's okay. He's done it before, and part of Annabeth feels like it's a bit more than just friendship that makes him so caring. Part of her shies away from that, but the burning in her stomach also makes her feel like part of her sort of likes it.

"What kind is this?" She looks dubiously at her cupcake.

His face is a slight shade of pink when he answers, almost embarrassed. It's sort of nice.

"Red velvet."

She takes a bite and it's decent—she doesn't particularly love it, but it's not by any means bad. Percy's gaze is on her face, intently watching her reaction like his life depends on it. For the first time since their friendship, she finds herself looking for his approval, and although she's normally honest about her opinion, she gives him two thumbs up.

Maybe his expression after that is a bit worth it. Maybe.

They spend the next five hours going through Annabeth's CDs and she doesn't really regret not doing the piles of work she has sitting on her desk.

Percy asks if she wants to help clean out his CDs tomorrow and she doesn't really regret saying yes either.

"We're not…dating," Annabeth says, pausing before the last word.

"Oh, so you just spend all your free time together." Thalia leans on her elbows on the table, and Annabeth looks at her coffee nervously. She could tell from the look on Thalia's face right before she asked the question that she was in for trouble. And it's not that she doesn't want to talk about her dating life, it's just that she hasn't entirely figured out where she is with Percy. She's the kind of person that doesn't want to talk about it until she's sure that she knows how she feels.

"We're ninja buddies." Annabeth's cheeks get warm and prickly when she says that.

Thalia arches one eyebrow. "Ninja buddies," she repeats, blinking. "That's not a thing."

"It is."

"Says who?"

Annabeth grimaces. "Says Percy."

Her phone buzzes and Annabeth is grateful for the disruption, hoping it will cause the conversation to end. She reaches down to look at her phone, but Thalia is relentless.

"I bet it's Percy."

"Probably not," Annabeth denies, although she's almost sure that it is. They've been texting nonstop after their yellow belt celebration.

She looks at the phone and breathes a sigh of relief. It's from her dad. To prove her point, she holds the phone out to Thalia.

While Thalia's reading it, the phone buzzes again. Annabeth flips it so that she can see the incoming message, her heart sinking because there's no way she'll be lucky twice in a row.

Percy: hey, stop ignoring meeeee I miss you

Thalia gives her a pointed look.

Percy: are you busy tomorrow? we should practice that kata thing in karate I don't get it

Annabeth: you're lying

Percy: am not

Annabeth: you get everything in karate

Percy: fine maybe I just want to see you

Annabeth: it's been two days

Percy: I know… kill me. I'm coming at 7:30 okay?

Annabeth: yeah I'd like that

Annabeth bangs her head against her work desk. Repeatedly.

"It's a chop."

"A punch. I'm telling you it's a punch. It literally makes no sense the other way."

"It literally does."

Annabeth is crammed in between her couch and the wall, trying to make the most of the limited apartment space. They'd pushed the couch over to increase the room, but it's still tight for practicing karate.

She wobbles precariously as she makes the next move, shifting her left foot forward and throwing the chop with her left hand. She's almost positive that she's right.

He's standing next to her, watching as she performs her version of the form. She throws the next move and he sighs.

"Wrong."

"I'm right."

And suddenly his hands are tentatively reaching out, his arms extended from behind her. One lands on her hip and the other reaches for her hand.

"Shift your hips like this—" he applies pressure to her side and she twists in the direction he's indicating, "—and close your hand so it's a punch."

There's no way for her to tell if the stance is at all right because her mind is completely focused on the feel of his hand on hers, the warmth at her side, and his throaty laugh on the back of her neck. All her reservations, her fears about Percy, completely dissolve at his touch.

His fingers are pressing into the spaces between her ribs, and she feels tense, like every nerve is itching. Her heart hammers in her throat and she's not confused anymore.

She turns around to face him, and she's closer to him than she's ever been. His face is nearly inches from hers and she can see every speck of green in his eyes.

More than just the nervous excitement at the base of her stomach, she feels relieved that the confusion is gone, like a weight was lifted off her chest.

His throat bobs and he rubs his hand on the back of his neck.

"You're nervous," she whispers, and his eyes snap to hers before looking down.

"Not nervous…. just a bit anxious."

Annabeth rolls her eyes, not missing the way his gaze flicks across her face.

"Those are the same thing."

"I think anxious means a bit more excited than nervous."

She shrugs and her shoulder brushes against his. He swallows again, and she keeps the blush off her face by watching his Adam's apple bob up and down.

"Let's all use the English language the way Percy defines it, then."

He lets out a silent laugh and, unthinkingly, she ghosts her hands across his forehead to brush his hair out of his eyes.

He catches her hand between his.

"We have a good thing going here," he says. "This ninja buddies thing."

Annabeth almost bursts out laughing at the fact that he can say that with a straight face.

"We do."

Whatever Percy plans to say next makes him turn red, and she's so close she can feel the heat off his cheeks.

"Would I ruin it by kissing you?"

And now Annabeth is nervous—fine, anxious—too. She can feel her skin warming where he touches her, but everything about Percy exudes gentleness and she realizes that no matter how hard she tried to ignore it, this is what she wanted.

"No, but if you're bad I might punch you."

"I'll risk it," he chances, and Annabeth is glad he does.

He closes the distance between them and yes, the kiss leaves her more breathless than twenty partner push-ups ever did.

And nine years later when Annabeth is in labor, Percy asks if she'd rather be doing partner push-ups and she somehow still has the strength to elbow him in the gut.