Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.

"Mom-my."

Annabeth grits her teeth.

She swears to God, if she has to listen to one more whiny complaint from the restless four year old sitting next to her, she will claw her fucking eyes out.

"I'm hungry!" The toddler shrieks.

Annabeth shuts her eyes and presses her lips tightly together.

She starts counting to a hundred because that's what normal people would do, she thinks, and besides, she's too smart to murder someone in front of so many witnesses.

It seems as though the child is determined to get his distracted mother's attention, who'd been spending way too much time giggling at her phone screen.

Unfolding his legs, he swiung his feet over the seat and jumped to the ground, laughing maniacally as he runs around throwing cheap crayons at his mother.

Except he usually missed, and the crayons would land on Annabeth's lap. Annabeth cleared her throat loudly. The woman beside her shrugged.

She kind of wanted to throw the crayons at Mom, too.

Annabeth was on her last nerve, her shoulders tense and leg tapping rappidly, attacking the ugly blue carpet of the airport. She jumped when she felt her phone vibrate in her lap.

Opening her eyes, she glanced at the screen. It was Thalia.

How are you holding up in there?

Annabeth's fingers swiftly typed out a response.

Still no news. So far, plane's seven hours late. Kid's assaulting me with crayons.

Annabeth snapped a picture of the scene and sent it.

That fucking boy. Totally not worth it. Quit now and baby, I promise you happiness!

Annabeth snorted. Like hell. She did not go through seven hours of demon child just to blow off all the money she'd earned from her bet with Thalia.

Twenty bucks for every hour she sat next to Crazy and his airhead mother, but chicken out before the plane arrived, and all her earnings vanished into thin air.

So no, she wasn't quitting, not over her dead body.

A hundred and forty dollars, a hundred and forty dollars, a hundred forty.

She mentally repeated the number over and over. It was her anchor.

Thirty two chants later, Annabeth was interrupted.

"Excuse me?"

She looked up to a pair of molten green eyes and an apologetic smile.

He pointed next to her.

"This seat taken by anyone?"

Bad move, she wanted to tell him.

Instead, she shook her head.

"Go ahead." Annabeth said lightly, as if she wasn't on the verge of insanity at this point.

His eyes brightened.

"Thanks." He grinned, sitting next to her. He shrugged his backpack off his shoulders.

"I'm Percy." He said, offering his hand.

"Annabeth." She told him, shaking it.

"Not to pry or anything," She started, "But how come you're..."

"Just getting here?" Percy chuckled. "I'm not. I've been here the whole seven hours, just sitting in the back. I got up to use the restroom, though, and came back to find my seat taken."

Annabeth's brows furrowed

"Why didn't you just tell them to get up?"

Percy frowned.

"She was pregnant. I didn't have the heart to make her get up. So, I just took my things and came-"

Then, Percy was interrupted by the spawn of Satan.

"INTRUDER! YOU ARE NOT FROM HERE! I GOTTA KILL YOU!" He screamed, eyes wide and fingers locked into a gun pointed at Percy.

Annabeth groaned.

"Has this been happening...?" Percy trailed off.

Annabeth nodded meekly.

"The. Whole. Time."

Percy turned to her, looking directly at her with solemn eyes.

"I applaude you, brave soldier."

Annabeth felt her cheeks tingle under his intense gaze.

She smiled at him weakly.

He opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by a flight attendant's voice through the speakers.

"Attention travelers, if I may have your attention. We apologize for the delay of Flight 308. But it seems as though the plane will be arriving shortly, roughly twenty minutes, give or take. Again, we apologize for the delay. Thank you."

Annabeth let out a sigh of relief.

It would all be over soon.

Annabeth dragged her bag across the plane's carpet, looking among the seat numbers for C22.

She finally spotted the number and saw that Percy had already taken a seat next to hers. In fact, he'd taken the middle seat. Voluntarily.

Annabeth was slighly baffled.

"Hey." She called out him.

Percy looked up from his IPod and smiled at her, flashing his perfectly aligned teeth.

"Annabeth!"

She grinned and packed her carry-on into the compartment above.

"You took the middle seat." She told him, sliding into the seat between him and the window. "What gives?"

"I hate the aisle seat more. I feel like everyone's eyes are on me."

"So, why not the window seat?"

Percy hesitated. Annabeth took her flats off and looked at him expactantly.

"Alright, I'm going to tell you a secret, but you can't tell anyone."

Her eyes widened in mock seriousness.

"Not even-" She paused to dig through her backbag, and pulled out a stuffed owl, with wide back eyes and soft, gray curls of fur, "Mr. Smarti McPants?"

Percy bit his cheeks.

"Especially not Smarti. I hear him talk crap about people all the time, Annabeth."

He took her hands and guided them to the sides of the owl's head.

"To keep him from eavesdropping." He explained dourly.

Annabeth nodded.

Percy turned his head, looking to his left and right, checking to make sure absolutely no one was listening. Then he dropped his shoulders and leaned in close.

A few seconds ago, Annabeth was fighting off uncontrollable laughter.

Her breath now caught in her throat because she could see, really see his eyes and the flecks of dark blue that contaminated the sea of green as he looked up at her from underneath his thick, dark lashes.

"I," He began, "Am deathly afraid of flying. I can't look out that window."

His expression humorless, and his tone so somber it was almost demanding. She could smell his breath from his spearmint gum and it made her dizzy how much she wanted his ninth tongue in her mouth.

"Shit." She breathed.

Percy's brows furrowed in confusion.

"What?" He asked.

Annabeth swallowed thickly.

"I-I forgot to bring gum. You know, for the plane taking off. Can I have a piece?"

Percy blinked.

"Oh yeah, of course." He said, reaching for his backbag on the floor.

"Thanks." Annabeth said, sitting up and shifting her legs so they were tucked underneath her.

Percy finally came up, handing her a piece of gum.

"No prob-mm!"

Annabeth smashed her lips to his before he had a chance to see it coming.

She smoothed her hands over his shoulders and slid just the tips of her fingers under the soft fabric of his sweatshirt. It wasn't too long before Percy regained his senses. He moved closer to Annabeth, wrapping one arm around her waist and moving the other up her spine, to tangle his fingers in the soft curls of her long hair.

His lips were the warm in the cold temperatures of the airplane. They were persistant and soft. Oh, so, so soft. Softer than the margarine she spreads across her toast in the morning, and softer than the fur the owl she hugs to comfort her at night.

Annabeth didn't think she'd ever-

The plane's PA system crackled to life.

"Attention passengers."

Annabeth yawned and huddled closer to Percy's shoulder, hugging his arm to her chest.

"Percy?"

"Hm?"

"I'm glad that woman was pregnant."

She felt the rumble of laughter in his chest pressed to her side.

"Yeah, me too. "

Thanks for reading!

I know airplane flight delays are very rarely that long.

I just wanted to stress Annabeth out. Why? I don't know.

I still love her!

I didn't edit this as much as I would've liked to, so I apologize for errors.

I hope you liked it,

XXOXXOXX,

Sprunkles.

PS Reviews are always appreciated. :)