I don't have an excuse I just assume anything sketchy happening on the Argo II is Percy and Annabeth's fault.

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Table, Interrupting

Sitting in her cabin on the Argo II, with her in the middle of her bed and Percy facing her near the foot, Annabeth can almost believe they aren't days away from deciding the fate of the world again.

The Argo II crew have already filled their daily quota of getting attacked by a giant sea serpent, and Festus's scanners show smooth sailing for the rest of the afternoon, so they're all taking this opportunity as a much-needed break from decapitating monsters. Last time Annabeth checked, Leo is working on his side project inside the ship's hull, Piper and Hazel are interchangingly practicing their powers on each other as they learned how to bake cookies, and Jason is teaching Frank the ropes of being Praetor.

That leaves Percy and Annabeth to spend quality time together. And because this is the first time in a long while that they aren't under an immediate life-threatening situation, she ends up halfway on Percy's lap, legs loosely cradling his hips as the two demigods exchange more than a few kisses.

Percy's large, warm hands slip up her shirt, settling respectfully on the curve of her waist as his thumbs brush lightly against the skin above her hip. Annabeth sighs into the kiss. She tugs at his shirt, and he lets her go long enough for him to grab the neck of his shirt and pull it off of himself in one smooth motion. His hands return to span the small of her back, never straying further up. She nearly growls in frustration.

Honestly, she loves that he's such a gentleman, but the past few days have simply left her too wired for his chivalry at the moment.

Percy looks at her in confusion when she pulls back from their liplock, but that look changes once she reaches for the hem of her shirt and pulls it over her head. His eyes bug out of their sockets as she throws her shirt onto the floor beside her bed. For a moment, all he does is stare at her; she thinks he's forgetten how to breathe.

It's not the most skin she's shown him (that particular title still resides with their impromptu beach trip for their second-month anniversary), but this is the first time she's ever taken her shirt off while they're kissing. If it were someone else and not Percy, she might've been perturbed and maybe slightly insecure at his extended silence. The way he's gaping and opening and closing his mouth like a fish, though, kind of greatly boosts her confidence.

"I, uhhh…" He finally stammers out, "bra— huwargh—"

She leans back until she's lying down on the mattress and stretches out, smirking wickedly at the little 'meep' that comes from her boyfriend's mouth.

"You're drooling, Seaweed Brain." She says.

Percy absentmindedly runs the back of his hand against the side of his mouth. The distinct lack of drool causes him to snap to attention. "No I'm not!"

Annabeth throws her head back in laughter. As she does, a pair of lips latch onto the column of her throat, and her laughter turns into a long, drawn-out sigh. Percy's body settles atop hers. Her hands reach up to tangle in his hair as his lips explore the skin of her neck.

"That is— so— not fair— Wise Girl" he says, punctuating each pause with a kiss down her neck and along her collarbone. Finally, finally, his hands trail higher up her torso, skimming her ribs and flirting with the edge of her tattered sports bra.

"Never going to make things easy, remember?" She quips, but her voice is breathy as she arches into his mouth after a particularly searing kiss to the hollow between her collarbones. He travels back to her lips to nip lightly at them. Annabeth returns the favor and is met with a low growl. Her hands trail down to trace the lip of his jeans while one of his fingers slips underneath the back of her bra.

Later, they will swear up and down that her door was locked, that Buford totally picked the lock and violated their privacy; but that occurs later.

For now, the door to her cabin slams open. Annabeth gasps and pulls the sheet up to her neck, causing Percy to tumble off of her bunk in a flurry of cusses.

At her doorway is Buford, Leo's three-legged sentient table sidekick, with a hologram of Coach Hedge on top. Holo-Hedge's nostrils flare up, and he begins yelling like someone just called his wife a cow.

"CHASE! JACKSON! WHAT PART OF 'NO GUY AND GIRL ARE ALLOWED TO BE ALONE IN THE SAME ROOM' DON'T YOU— SWEET BABY CLOUD NYMPH, PUT SOME CLOTHES ON! BOTH OF YOU!"

Oh, gods, please don't have let anybody heard that.

Too late, she hears footsteps barreling closer. Hastily, she shrugs her t-shirt back on and chucks Percy's at him. The rest of the Argo II crew reach her door just as Percy is tugging his shirt down his stomach.

They must look ridiculous. Percy's legs are still partly tangled with one end of her bedsheet, and his shirt is on backwards and inside out. His lips are so swollen that he looks like he tried to eat a bee and got stung for his effort. Her own lips are probably in a similar state, given the way he was nipping at them earlier. Their hair is mussed up and, judging by the way Piper's eyes constantly drifted to Annabeth's neck, her boyfriend has left a visible hickey on her skin.

Leo cackles wildly over the Hedge hologram's threats of grounding and dismemberment. Hazel and Frank look incredibly uncomfortable, and Frank is muttering what seems to be 'stables incident' under his breath. Jason looks torn between amusement and embarrassment, while Piper isn't torn at all; the stupid grin on her face tells Annabeth to avoid the daughter of Aphrodite for the next few hours at least.

Percy groans. Still on the floor, he buries his head into her mattress, hiding his face against her hip. Annabeth hastily cards her fingers through her hair and uses it to cover the side of her neck where she assumes a hickey has formed.

Finally, Jason – bless him – takes mercy on them. The son of Jupiter steps into her cabin and hauls Percy to his feet.

"Mind if I borrow your boy for a while?" He asks her, giving them the out. She jerks her head in a nod, and the blond boy claps Percy on the shoulder with a grin. "Come on, bro. You're going to help me teach Frank how to put the Praetor garb on properly. But, uhh, you might want to wear your own shirt properly first."

Percy pulls off his shirt just as they round the foot of her bed, giving Annabeth another view of his abs and— oh gods. His jeans are unbuttoned (when the Hades did he – or she, probably she – even do that?). She covers her face when Frank points out this little tidbit, causing Leo to break out in hysterics again. She sees the back of Percy's neck burn red as he hastily pulls his shirt on correctly and buttons up. He sends her one last look that sits somewhere in the middle of frustrated, embarrassed, and apologetic, before towing Jason and Frank down the hall and loudly talking about the bedsheet/toga Praetors needed to wear.

Eventually, Leo sobers up enough to steer Buford away. Hedge is still yelling "PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!" as they amble down the hallway. Meanwhile, Leo is muttering "Can always count on Percy and Annabeth to make things interesting around here" inbetween chuckles. They disappear after the other three boys, leaving the girls alone.

Piper enters the room with Hazel in tow, wearing a grin that can only be described as shit-eating. By then, Annabeth has prayed her mattress would just swallow her up about ten times already.

"Let's go, Rebel." Piper tugs on her wrist. "Hazel and I are making cookies. We could try baking one with the heat from your face."

Annabeth throws her pillow at the daughter of Aphrodite, who finally breaks and laughs to her heart's content. Hazel seems to have gotten rid of her discomfort, since she's trying to hide a smile. Annabeth groans and stands up from her bed.

"Let's go bake those damn cookies." She grumbles.

Honestly, the galley's probably much cooler than her bedroom right now, anyway.

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