Author's Note: I originally wrote this for the pjo_fic_battle on LiveJournal for the prompt 'wrapped in a bow', and I thought that since I don't have any other updates ready for you guys that I'd post this as my own little Christmas Present from me to you. Thanks for all your support! Please enjoy! Takes place after TLO.

If there was one thing Percy Jackson hated, it was surprises.

Or, to elaborate, surprises that came just a day too early.

"I'm home!" the demi-god called, entering his shared apartment while brushing the snow off his jacket and out of his dampened hair. A vicious blizzard rolled on outside on amongst the New York sky scrapers, making it nearly impossible to enjoy the twinkling lights and hearty energy always around on Christmas Eve. The clock on the wall read nine pm, the room was dark and the building was quiet, save for the steady howl of the wind against the windows. Shivering and rubbing warmth into his arms, Percy took off his jacket and laid his keys on the table, sighing tiredly.

"Annabeth?" He called, wondering if the workaholic Daughter of Athena was even home yet. When no one answered, he shook his head knowingly, expecting as much.

Though it was Christmas Eve, he was hardly surprised to receive a message from his girlfriend saying she would be a little late for dinner a few hours prior. Work on Olympus seemed to be only more hectic with the holidays getting closer and closer; tonight acting as the climax of dysfunctional family affairs and meltdowns. The collapse of all Olympian's sanity seemed to have hit, driven on by the holiday spirit. When he had last talked to Annabeth, two hours ago, Hera had just opened Zeus' stocking stuffers and was currently throwing a tantrum and wreaking havoc on the west wing of Olympus, while at the same time Apollo wouldn't quit begging for a built in intercom system so he could recite his haikus to everyone. And though he was riding on the subway, Percy could have sworn he heard shrieking and poetry on the other line.

By the sound of it, Annabeth wouldn't be getting home until much much later.

And knowing how easily his girlfriend could be distracted by architecture and family affairs, Percy smiled to himself and immediately decided that he'd just have to order extra takeout and leave the leftovers for her in the microwave. It was not hard to forgive Annabeth for her tardiness, even on the night before a holiday. Percy had been given plenty of leeway when it came to his own chronic tardiness, so it seemed only fit that his girlfriend should receive some as well.

Walking into the dim kitchen and flipping on the light, Percy reached for the phone and turned around to grab the phone book from the counter.

What he found on the counter, however, was certainly no phone book.

"Why, hello, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth Chase grinned. "Long time, no see, eh?"

Percy nearly toppled over when he saw her. He hadn't expected to see her, and he certainly didn't expect to see her looking like that.

This was exactly why he hated surprises. With scheming girls like Annabeth in his life, he'd come to grow rather afraid of surprises with good reason.

After recovering from the shock, he was able to let himself look at her.

And almost instantly regretted it.

She was sitting on the counter. Just sitting; like she always did whenever they were in the kitchen, usually watching him as he cooked breakfast for her or arguing with the landlord over the phone about rent. It was nothing new, the way she was sitting, save for one thing.

One small and drastically noticeable thing.

Unlike all the times before, the ever constant presence of sweatpants, pony tail and a giant t-shirt had vanished. In fact, any traces of clothing about her person seemed to have mysteriously vanished as well. Her slim tan legs were crossed, her hair hung in loose golden waves about her bare neck and her head was cocked to the side as she watched him amusedly, yet Percy wasn't really able to concentrate on any fact other than that she wasn't really wearing much. In fact, the only thing that seemed to distinguish his girlfriend from being completely naked was the small red negligee, held up around her body by a simple and increasingly threatening bow about her midriff.

She was wrapped, so to put it, in a bow.

Exhaling (after realizing he'd been holding his breath for at least ten seconds), Percy agreed that while it was nice of her to surprise him by coming home early, that she didn't have to surprise him so....theatrically.

She was going to be the death of him, he decided in that moment, contradicting prophecies be damned.

He tried to think of something witty to counter her saucy demeanor, but at the moment, the only things he was capable of uttering were an incoherent string of muddled curses and jumbled phrases. His brain seemed to have--unknowingly--been disconnected from his mouth, somewhere between the second she smiled at him and the second he realized what she was dressed in; or, to be more precise, not dressed in. She remained still, not moving an inch, just sitting and smiling at him and his garbled talk.

Holy Hephaestus, what did she think she was doing?

Percy gulped several times, trying to regain control over the hormones that were without a doubt starting to show in certain lower areas of his body through the material in his jeans. He tried to ignore her, as he always did when she played these little games with him, but it didn't seem to be working. He averted his gaze and focused intently breathing, but seconds later his eyes snapped back to her.

And he went back to gulping all over again.

Because, honestly, this was sort of the thing that every boy would fantasize about if he was dating Annabeth Chase. And now, of all times, she had to go and spring it on him, when he was the least prepared.

"Articulate tonight, aren't we?" She was smiling so wickedly that Percy's knees would have buckled if he hadn't already grabbed the dining room table for support. When he didn't answer she merely smiled even wider, eyebrows waggling suggestively. "That's alright with me though. I'm not really in the mood for talking tonight as it is."

She re-crossed her legs, the tiny dress (or whatever it was called, he didn't particularly care at the time) slipped further up her already enough-exposed thighs. Drumming her fingers on the lightly counter and leveling him with that sinfully innocent stare, Annabeth continued to smile as Percy was met with an army of hormones that he would have preferred facing Kronos to.

Say something, you idiot, he demanded of himself. Please say something.

"Um…..I didn't expect to see you tonight." He sounded so raspy it was a miracle she could hear him. "You…um…..uh…."

She rolled her eyes calmly, as if this whole eternal torture thing she had set up was just a small guilty pleasure that she was doing out of boredom. "Work was too hectic. Once Hera had destroyed half of her temple and Apollo got his damn intercom working I decided to throw in the towel call it a day."

"You should have called." He kept his eyes firmly fixed on the wall behind her, absolutely determined not to look again.

The next second she shifted her position, leaning forward and giving him the slightest glimpse of her cleavage. Needless to say, his so-called determination was out the window of the apartment and falling to the sidewalk at a startling pace.

"I thought I'd surprise you." She chuckled, leaning forward even more and propping her chin up on her palm. "And give you one of your Christmas presents."

Christmas present?

He then noticed she was pointing to herself.

The positively devilish look in her eye confirmed his worst fears, and he knew he was in for it. She was leaning so far forward now she was slipping off the counter, her bare feet almost touching the tile floor.

"Christmas isn't until tomorrow." He managed to choke out, watching her as she eased onto her toes and stood, regarding him with that same teasing stare. "Really, I'm pretty sure I can wait until tomorrow."

"Nah," she waved her hand, disregarding his opinions, "Trust me, you'll be glad I'm giving you this gift right now."

Somehow, judging by the slightly aching feeling between his legs, Percy was almost able to believe her.

"If it's that big of a deal," she shrugged, a movement that did interesting things to the way her breasts looked through the tiny negligee, "Then consider this your preliminary gift. Not even your real Christmas gift from me. Just preliminary."

He didn't reply. He couldn't. The erection straining against his jeans and the shortness of breath in his lungs was enough of answer for her.

Not making a single sound, and certainly not losing that smile, Annabeth walked forward and up to him, not stopping until she was inches from him. Her grey eyes were wide and utterly hypnotizing as she reached forward and brushed some more snow out of his hair.

He shivered; an action that had nothing to do with the storm raging outside.

When she reached forward and wrapped her arms around her neck and pressed herself to him, Percy realized that preliminary or not, there was no way he could avoid a gift of this measure. Especially when it was wrapped so perfectly.

"See?" She looked up at him, leaning in. "Just preliminary."

She kissed him slowly and lazily, like it was certainly no big deal, and yet it was a dangerous invitation to something further. It took every bit of his strength to not just grab and carry her to the bedroom or the nearest solid surface. She smelled like peppermint, her mouth and body was warm as she pressed herself against him and he was all too aware of the skimpy layer of fabric that separated her bare skin from him.

At the touch of her lips, he felt himself giving in to the more uncontrolled passions that were brewing in the back of his mind, eagerly responding to the pressure of her lips on his own. He placed his hands on her waist, gripping her hips and pulling her closer to him. It amazed Percy, the fact that even after a year since their first time together Annabeth still had the ability to make sex--and the moments leading up to it--feel completely new and doubly intriguing each time.

When she pulled away, he outright groaned, resting his forehead against hers and breathing hard. At the same time, her fingers had somehow found their way under his sweater and were resting lightly on the small of his back, right on his Achille's spot.

When they began to move against his skin, Percy held back a whole new string of curse words, and could only grip harder on Annabeth's waist as a wave of pleasure ripped through him. Suddenly, the stroking of her fingers stopped. He groaned again.

"That's not fair." He complained softly, closing his eyes at the loss of the sensation, "You never play fair."

She laughed openly, looking as just as flustered as he felt, which gave him a smug sense of satisfaction. "That's usually the point, Seaweed Brain."

"Mmm..." he'd sort of lost his train of thought again, and was now nuzzling the skin at the base of her jaw, making it Annabeth's turn to shiver. Seeing as the Christmas Eve chinese takeout would probably be delayed for several hours, or perhaps skipped entirely, Percy decided he'd just have to find something more entertaining to do. And this, he found as he kissed her flushed skin, was certainly a decent enough replacement for Cold Sesame Noodles and Garlic Chicken with fortune cookies on the side.

"Now," she whispered, leaning slowly forward again and brushing her lips against his, "That we're on the same page, tell me something."

Unable to answer--due to the fact that his lips were sort of preoccupied--Percy raised an eyebrow.

Annabeth pulled back, grey eyes fixed wickedly on him once more, and Percy knew that the evening was far from over at this point.

"Well Seaweed Brain," she asked, smiling the exact same way she had when he'd entered the kitchen, "Are you going to unwrap your present or not?"

A/N: Well, I know I've had my fill of almost-smut-but-not-quite-smut for the day, how about you? I'm sorry for those of you that probably wanted me to finish the whole 'sex' part that was just about to happen. It's the prude in me, I swear. She never lets me write anything dirty. So, did you like it? Want to give me a Christmas present back? Then please review. You know I love you when you do that. Merry Christmas, all!