A/N: Happy Halloween! I know I'm a bit late, but... better late than never? Follow me on Tumblr, my username is: tai-chi-leigh.

Enjoy!

Annabeth sighs as she adjusts the bunny ears once again on her head—they're a little lopsided, but there's nothing she can do about it now. This is what she gets for procrastinating on her Halloween costume until the very day she needs to wear it.

She debated not dressing up at all, but—based on the decorations she has seen for the past few weeks around her apartment building—she figured she'd be the only one not celebrating the holiday and she wasn't about to ruin the fun for a bunch of little kids.

So she resigned to being a rabbit. The costume had taken her a few hours to scrap together but now that she's looking in the mirror she thinks it's not too bad. Definitely recognizable as a rabbit or another furry animal.

She glances over her shoulder in the mirror, crinkling her nose where there's a pink layer of makeup and crooked whiskers. Maybe it's not her best effort, but it'll have to do.

The doorbell rings, and Annabeth peers at her watch. 4:30pm. In her opinion, it's kind of early for trick-or-treaters, but what can she do? Slam the door and tell them to come back in a few hours?

Instead, she grabs the basket of candy and opens the door with her best smile. Standing on her doorstep is a little girl in a red and white striped sweater and big, bulky glasses. Looming behind her is what Annabeth assumes to be, most obviously, a magician, and secondly, the little girl's older brother or babysitter.

"Trick or treat!" they chirp in unison, the little girl's eyes widening as they settle on the basket of candy Annabeth has slung over her arm.

Annabeth ignores the little girl and looks up at the boy who, she decides, must be her brother because they look so similar.

"I'm so disappointed," she announces, watching the confusion flicker across his face as she sighs dramatically. "I have all this candy that I bought for Waldo, but I can't seem to find him anywhere!"

She exaggerates her tone and lifts up the corner of her mouth slightly, hoping that he catches on.

"What—oh!" he mumbles, and Annabeth has to physically refrain from chucking her bunny ears at him because she thought she was being pretty obvious. He rubs his hand on his neck and nearly knocks over his magician's hat. "I can't believe it either. One minute Waldo and I were in the elevator together riding up to the eighth floor, and the next minute he was gone!"

Annabeth keeps her gaze above the little girl's head to avoid giving away the act, but she can hear the little girl giggling. Her older brother shoots Annabeth a grateful smile.

"Okay, well that's too bad. I guess you and I will just have to eat all of this candy ourselves." She holds the basket out towards him, just over the little girl's head. He peers down into it and picks out five Twix bars.

She cringes—yeah, Twix bars are her favorite too so maybe she can understand—but she isn't sure she has enough to last the whole night and him taking five candies definitely isn't going to fix that.

"No!" the little girl squeaks, still giggling. She has a nice laugh—on the border between adorably childish and pretty. "I'm right here! I want candy too!" She uses the same intonations as her brother when she speaks.

"Waldo! There you are. I was thinking that you didn't want any candy." Annabeth offers her the basket and the little girl also takes a fistful of sweets—it's so achingly endearing that Annabeth can't bring herself to be annoyed with either of them.

"Thank you, Miss Mouse," the boy says.

Annabeth quirks an eyebrow. Mouse?

She clears her throat.

"Um. Rabbit."

He squints at her, like that'll help him see the costume more clearly and Annabeth reconsiders her previous thought about calling him endearing.

"I guess I sort of see it," he decides, tilting his head to the side like an art analyst. He then meets her gaze and—Annabeth swears he's beaming at her.

"Percy!" the little girl cries, and Percy kneels down next to her, tapping his magic wand on her nose all brotherly and yup… Annabeth's heart clenches a little.

"Yeah?"

"Your costumes match. You're the magician and she's the bunny rabbit." She smiles smartly like she figured out they had been planning this the whole time.

Annabeth swears his cheeks turn a little pink, and she would laugh at his embarrassment except for the fact that she feels heat on her face, too. She wonders briefly if they live in her apartment building—she doesn't think so. She would have remembered him. Them.

She would have remembered them.

"So," she changes the subject, shifting her weight onto her other foot and putting the basket down behind the door. Disappointment flickers across both their faces simultaneously, and Annabeth has to resist the urge to dump all the candy in both of their baskets. That would be ridiculous. "Isn't it a little early to be trick-or-treating? Not like I don't enjoy your company, but most people haven't even left their houses yet."

Percy, she thinks the little girl said, stands up again and Annabeth keeps her expression neutral, at once thankful for the crookedly drawn whiskers to, hopefully, hide her blush.

"It's a strategy. Start off early when there's more candy and better candy." He says if offhandedly, like the answer is obvious.

"And—" Waldo pipes up, "—you can trick-or-treat for longer. To get more treats!"

Annabeth grins; she appreciates anything that has strategy, and these two seem to know what they're talking about. She looks up at Percy, who's looking at her with—amusement? His expression is gentle and he exudes happiness; his positivity nearly rolls off him in waves. Normally, that sort of thing would bother her, but from him it doesn't. It's a bit childish, and that's what makes it sincere.

She decides not to think about it anymore.

"Wow, so you have a whole strategy to maximize candy consumption."

"Yup," Percy gloats, "we have a lot of work to do." He doesn't make a move to leave, though, and Annabeth wonders if this amount of conversation is normal among trick-or-treaters. It's her first year in her apartment and she never used to hand out candy when she was little, so she doesn't actually know.

The little girl peers at Annabeth suspiciously.

"You have a lot of candy. Can't we have more?"

Annabeth raises her eyebrows.

"I need to save some for all of the other trick-or-treaters," she replies, feeling a tiny bit bad.

The girl's expression drops.

"I'm sure with your strategy, though, you'll get plenty. And how about this? At the end of the night, if there's still candy left over, you can have it. Is that fair?" Annabeth makes the offer, fully intending not to follow up on it because the chances of them remembering to come back are slim.

The girl nods, like this deal is acceptable, and Percy gives her two thumbs-up.

"Hey—um, can I use your bathroom?" Percy asks, looking almost sheepish.

Annabeth rolls her eyes.

"Down the hall and to the right." She points him in the proper direction.

He leans down to kiss Waldo on top of her striped hat.

"Stay right here, Em—"

"—Waldo."

"Stay right here, Waldo," he corrects. He then bounds down the hall in three strides, shooting them an easy glance over his shoulder.

Annabeth smiles at the little girl, wanting to break the silence that follows Percy's departure. She figures it's a good time to learn about Percy, while he's (hopefully) out of earshot.

"So," she begins, making her tone seem casual. Which is when she realizes she's talking to a five-year-old and she doesn't have to try that hard to conceal her interest. "What's your name?"

"Waldo," she insists.

"How about on other days beside Halloween?"

The little girl eyes her. "Mommy always says not to talk to strangers, but… you seem okay." She crosses her arms over her chest and assesses Annabeth one more time. Annabeth works hard to bite back a laugh at her utterly adorable expression. Apparently, Annabeth passes the girl's creeper test because she continues. "My name is Emily."

"It's nice to meet you, Emily. I'm Annabeth." She holds out her arm for a handshake, but Emily gives her a high-five instead. Once again, Annabeth suppresses a grin.

"Annabeth is a pretty name!" she says, blinking at Annabeth widely with big green eyes that match Percy's. Not because Annabeth had been comparing them—it was just a simple observation.

"Thank you. So is Emily."

Emily peers down into her pillowcase of sweets, then into the hall where Percy had gone. They can hear the faucet running.

"If I eat a piece of candy, will you tell my brother?"

Annabeth internally cheers in triumph—she was right about their relationship.

"I think I can keep it a secret."

Emily grabs the first candy she spots, rips open the wrapper, and shoves the entire thing into her mouth. Annabeth is about to tell her that she has chocolate smeared on her lips, but Percy comes walking back down the hall and she can't give away their secret.

"What have you been up to?" he asks, noticing the chocolate on his sister's face and lighting up at the innocent expression she feigns. He glances up at Annabeth and she winks at him and—she can't believe she actually just winked at someone. It almost wounds her pride. "Have you been, oh, I don't know. Eating candy?"

"Never!" she sings.

"Then why," he begins, crouching on his knees with a mischievous smirk on his face, "do you have chocolate all over your face?"

He grabs her by the waist and pulls her against him, tickling the little girl's sides. Emily's squeal is high-pitched, and she wiggles against her brother, putting her arms on his chest and attempting to push him away.

It's useless—he's broad and muscular and she has no chance. Annabeth laughs freely, and Percy looks up to smile at her.

When he finally lets go of his sister, she's panting and attempting to give him a dirty look. This too, is useless, so she gives up and laughs.

"How did you know?" she puffs.

He grins. "I'm a magician!"

"True," she concedes.

"How about you show us a real magic trick now," Annabeth interjects.

Percy raises his eyebrows, his expression baffled.

"A real magic trick?"

Annabeth rolls her eyes. "Don't tell me you haven't got one trick. After all, you are a magician."

"Um," he squirms, tugging at the collar of his shirt, "I've got nothing for you."

Annabeth and Emily just shake their heads in unison, like they can't believe it.

"Disappointment," Emily asserts, clucking her tongue. Annabeth makes awkward eye contact with Percy, and then looks away.

The three of them are quiet for a moment too long.

"Well, I guess we better get going…" Percy breaks the silence, shifting from foot to foot like he's slightly flustered about something, "…before I'm shooed away for such a bad performance."

Her heart drops, which is ridiculous because she just met them and of course they have to leave.

She puts on a smile.

"It was nice meeting you two."

"Thanks Annabeth!" Emily says, turning on her heels and skipping a few feet away, ready to move on to her next target.

Annabeth holds out her hand to give Percy a handshake, but he gives her a highfive instead. It takes everything she has not to laugh.

"It was nice meeting you, Annabeth."

If anyone asked, she'd swear her stomach didn't flip when he said her name.

"Same to you."

He pauses, and Annabeth isn't sure if she should shut the door because he doesn't move.

"Maybe you'll be surprised," he starts, taking a step back and shoving his hands into his pockets, "I have a few tricks up my sleeve."

Before Annabeth can ask what he means, he gives her one last smile and turns away.

When the next trick-or-treater rings the doorbell, Annabeth reaches for the basket of candy. Which is when she notices a slip of paper inside.

Percy Jackson

1-212-382-4875

I'll be back around 8:30 tonight because it was really nice meeting you (and because you promised us candy).

And if she says she didn't save a few pieces for when he came back, she would be lying.