Rubix

He nudged her again, his eyes sparkling with amusement. She hit him with the book; it didn't hurt that much because it was a paperback, thank gods. He frowned for a second, over-exaggerating the blow, before nudging her again.

"Gods," she groaned. "Please help me. My boyfriend is being annoying." Percy just shot her a smile, his eyes crinkling a little bit. Sally laughed.

"Sorry, dear," she spoke. "I'm afraid the annoying-ness comes with the package." Then she shrugged. "If it helps, I'll poke him for you with my foot." Annabeth just grinned over the top of her book as mother and son started the poking wars.

She frowned, but put her head into the crook of his neck. "You didn't mean that, did you?" she asked quietly. "We'll get out of here." Then she bumped him with her hip.

"Oh, come on, Seaweed Brain," she teased. "You're not following in Nico's emo footsteps, are you?" He just wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer. He kissed the top of her head and stared at the Phlegethon.

"I will the day Nico admits he's emo," he said.

"That will be..." The cashier squinted at the screen. "$30.29, please." Annabeth reached for her wallet, but a large, warm hand grabbed her fingers. She glanced down at their now intertwined hands. Percy pulled out his wallet.

Apparently, he hadn't forgotten to bring it. She felt a small smile tugging on the edges of her lips, and the beautiful lady behind then seemed to squeal at her movements.

"I got it," he said, throwing forty bucks on the counter.

"Perce," she complained. "You didn't have to." Out of the corner of her eye, the lady behind her was clapping her hands together, almost as if... Aphrodite. Of course the goddess would come here to watch them.

"How could I not with a girlfriend like you?" The cashier was still counting money. Suddenly she didn't care if the love goddess was watching. She looped her hands around his neck and kissed him.

Why wasn't she surprised when Paul had told her that somehow the boys' bathroom had exploded? Oh yeah-Percy blew up almost every place he went to. She rolled her eyes as Percy continued.

"-really wasn't my fault! I mean, Larry and Gary and basically all the guys whose name ends in 'ary', so they were just being plain out mean. And you know there's a difference between criticism and just being mean and it wasn't fair and I got a little angry, no really, no pain no gain, right? So anyway I didn't even explode the toilets this time-I just maybe made the sinks go boom-" She decided it was then to kiss his nose.

"Shut up. I know it's not your fault." Percy's shoulders slumped before he perked up again.

"Do I get another kiss?" he asked.

"Oh. My. Gods!" she yelled, her face erupting in laughter as she stepped back. "No way!" She bent over laughing in disbelief. "You-" She started laughing again. Piper poked her head into the game room. Her face was slightly concerned.

"Okay?" she asked. She shook her head, doubled over gasping for air. Then she straightened up and pointed to Percy.

"Magic." Then she laughed again, still holding the six of hearts. It was technically true. Percy had started learning magic since he was fourteen or something, and now he could do just about everything with cards. Percy's booming laugh reached her ears.

"'Kay," he said. "Card back? Piper, c'here." She handed him the card back. Then she watched him intently. She didn't know everything, of course. It hurt to admit that, but then again, no one just went around reading about magic. She'd been more interested in books like Tom Sawyer and Hatchet.

"Pick a card." Piper took one from the middle, and Annabeth just shrugged and took one. "Show it to each other," Percy continued. She herself had the king of hearts. Piper had the three of clubs. Percy took them back, shoving them in the deck, and gave it to Piper to shuffle. Then, Percy took the top two cards-a ten of hearts and an ace of clubs and placed them face-down in their palms. He asked, "Ready?" She nodded. He tapped the card in her palm and waved his hand over it. "Flip it over." It was the ten of hearts. On it, he'd scribbled I U with one of the hearts in the middle, so it looked like I HEART U.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi," he said back, smiling at her. There was a silence, but it wasn't an awkward silence. It wasn't filled with sadness or pain or loneliness like it had been months ago, when Percy had been taken away from her.

"You know," she said, a tiny bit carefully. "I've heard that the best relationships have always started with hi." Percy scrunched up his eyebrows and looked at the bright sky.

"You know," he replied. "I've heard the best start with 'You drool in your sleep.'" She raised an eyebrow, blushing the tiniest bit.

"Really," she stated. "In that case, you still drool in your sleep."

"Why am I here again?" Annabeth sat down on the edge of the infirmary bed.

"Because you're an idiot and didn't notice there was another hellhound until it had slammed you into the ground. I wanted to run to you but you killed it so I just made my way through monsters. Then you tried to stand but then you couldn't-see, you've hurt your patella and might've damaged a tendon, maybe even the fibula, but they aren't sure yet and also say that you probably pulled something." He blinked at her.

"Um, can you say it in English?" She shoved him with a pillow.

"You hurt your kneecap and one of your leg bones as well as a muscle," she informed. His smile widened, and she didn't mind sitting there next to him.

"It's boring, " he moaned. "And I can't walk." She surveyed him. He looked cute-there was a crease between his eyebrows, and his lower lip was pulled forward. His hair was messy, like it always was, and his eyes were still the same exact color as when they'd first met.

"Well," she said. "Guess you can't run away now."

She didn't hang up after saying bye. He hadn't, either. There was a bit of static; she could practically see Percy sitting on the edge of his bed, leaning back, phone still pressed up against his ear. She pulled her knees up to her chest, Percy's sweatshirt two times bigger and soft as pegasi down.

"I hope you're okay," she finally whispered. "I miss you." There was a long sigh.

"I'm okay," he said. Then he added in a soft voice, "Holding up. I-I miss you, too. Okay?" She smiled softly, licking her lips as she stared into the shadows creeping on her wall. She could almost see Gaea's face... She shook her head, thinking of Percy's voice.

"Yeah. I'm okay, I guess."

"That's... good." She wanted him to just talk to her about random things like he used to do, when they used to sit on the beach at night talking. She wanted to hear his voice again.

Annabeth opened her mouth to say goodbye, but it got stuck in her throat. Instead, she said, "See you later."

"Yeah." She didn't hang up.

She traced their initials into the sand. She probably wasn't far back enough today; the tide would wash it away. She glanced at the water. Whatever.

AC + PJ

It was crude, but Percy knelt next to her and drew a big, sloppy heart around it. She giggled.

"It looks kind of like a butt," she said.

"It's the thought that counts..?" She just laughed harder and grabbed his hands in hers as the wave rushed towards their drawing. It was still there when the water drew back.

He pressed his face into her hair and just stood there, breathing in her scent. She probably smelled like that new strawberry shampoo Helen had gotten her. She just stood quietly, holding him as he trembled, even there, in the middle of a store with a bunch of mortals.

Percy hadn't had a flashback in a while, but occasionally his eyes would glaze over and he'd stare at nothing. It didn't matter where they were; triggers were triggers. If someone's dark curls reminded him of Hazel, or a deep-fryer hissing sound made him think of Medusa, or whatever, then he blanked out.

"Hey," she whispered, trying to fit her arms around him. "It's okay. We're okay." He hugged her back, gripping her as if she were his lifeline. The thought made her a tiny bit sad-he used to say she was his Achilles' Heel.

"By okay, you mean no one's gonna eat us in the middle of a Best Buy store?" She looked around.

"Yeah, idiot," she said fondly. Only he would have thoughts like that. "We're not going to be eaten in the middle of a Best Buy store. Then he straightened up and began to drag her.

"I want ice cream," he explained. She just chuckled and let him drag her to Ruby's.

"Go in with a bang," Thalia advised. "I mean, come on, no one probably believes that Percy has a girlfriend who is picking him up even though he said you were going to drive him to camp. Screech in, maybe drift into a parallel park..?" she suggested.

She huffed. "Fine. Only because I have the power to pull it off." Thalia stopped her again.

"Wait." She rolled down the back windows a crack and turned up the radio. Cruise was playing-the huntress had done it on purpose, hadn't she? Sometimes, she was the only mature person around. Speeding up, she drove towards the curb, where Percy and some friends were standing a bit back. Then she pressed the brakes, spinning the driving wheel as she pulled in.

Annabeth had timed it perfectly. "Tada," she said dryly to Thalia, who was laughing at the adrenaline rush. She just climbed out and walked over to her boyfriend.

"Hi, stranger," he said jokingly. "Nice driving." She smirked.

"Um, do you happen to know my boyfriend? He's a bit taller than me, has black hair, green eyes... Oh, his name's Percy Jackson." Collective gasps. A few shouts of protest.

"Oh, yeah," he nodded and played along. "I do." Their lips pressed together, and Annabeth was sure she could hear Thalia complaining from the now open window. She didn't really care.

"Come in, come in," Sally said, beaming. She tucked the presents under her arm and stepped over the threshold. Automatically, she slipped off her boots and took a deep breath of that freshly-baked cookie smell.

The Jackson-Blofis household, she admitted, was more of a home than Dad's really was. They'd always welcomed her with open arms. Last year, there'd been something missing, that sort-of sparkle that only existed when Percy was around. But he was here this time.

She set the three boxes under her tree-a sweatshirt for Percy, since she'd always stolen his, 101 Tricks and Ways to Discipline and Keep Clean the Teenage Son, for Sally, of course, and puzzle book for Paul, so he wouldn't be so bored in his classroom.

She crossed over to Percy, who hugged her in a hello. They both moved, ready to race for the kitchen, when she found she couldn't move. Percy couldn't either. Her mind raced with ideas.

"I knew the Stolls were up to something," he muttered, pointing up. A sprig of mistletoe glittered on the ceiling.

"You don't sound very angry," she noted. He leaned in, looking up at the magicked plant that had frozen them in place.

"Merry Christmas," he whispered against her lips.

Percy bit his lip in concentration and removed a block. The tower teetered, and she was about to jump up in celebration when it settled back. She groaned, and Percy did a little victory dance, which did knock the Jenga tower over.

"Darn it," he muttered. She cheered.

"I win!" she cried, raising her hands. He just picked her up and spun her around, peals of laughter echoing off the walls.

"G'morning," he slurred, still half-asleep.

"It's two AM, Perce." He rolled over again.

"G'night." She just laughed at his antics and pressed a kiss to his forehead. Annabeth brushed his hair back, running her fingers through his hair. Percy rolled back over so his head was in her lap. Half-lidded eyes stared at her.

"You're beautiful," he said. "Did I ever tell you that?"

"No," she said. "You never did."

"I should've," he mumbled. I love your hair and the way you play with your beads and stare at a book. How perfectly your fingers fit in mine and the little smile you get, how you run your fingers through my hair and sit with me even though we're not supposed to. I love sneaking out and when we fight-it makes me want to kiss you and when I win Jenga but knock it over, how sometimes we just sit there holding the phone for hours and seeing the look on your face when I do magic. Kissing you in the middle of a crowded, mortal place, stealing your ice cream, and-" His eyes drooped. "-and how we fit together like a Rubix Cube because we can tangle it up as much as we want but when we're together it's perfect." Her heart nearly stopped.

"You know," she whispered. "I love you, too."

Aren't they just cute? I love seeing Annabeth. I have to say, I could write this forever, but then I decided, no, it would drag on too much. I hope you liked it! Review-tell me what you think, please. I spent maybe a hour or so just writing/erasing this.

Achieving Elysium