Disclaimer: All PJO characters belong to Rick Riordan.

A Talk in the Kitchen

"Perseus Jackson, if you don't give the flour to me right this instant, I will guarantee that you will never walk again."

Annabeth heard Percy's chuckle from the pantry. She rolled her eyes. "I don't see what's so funny," she called. "I can't make you chocolate chip cookies if I don't have any flour."

Strong arms wrapped around her waist. She squealed and jumped, much to her embarrassment, but Percy's soft kiss on her cheek quickly calmed her nerves. She melted into him. "Sorry," he whispered, his voice low and husky and completely unfair. "But I got distracted by your wide variety of food in the pantry. I had no idea that the untouchable Annabeth Chase had a bowl of Captain Crunch every morning." Annabeth elbowed him. Percy didn't flinch. When she turned around in his arms, his lips were there, waiting for her. She connected them and the kiss was soft and sweet and magical.

"I'm working on a theory," Annabeth said when Percy pulled back, resting his forehead on hers.

"Mm. What would that be?"

Annabeth closed her eyes and wove her fingers up in his hair. "Does every kiss we share really get better, or is that just my imagination?"

Percy chuckled. The sound was low and deep and did something to Annabeth's stomach. "I guess we'll just have to experiment, then," he said before kissing her. She molded her body to his and his hands left the counter behind her and moved to her hips. Annabeth's theory flew out the window as she lost herself in Percy Jackson.

They probably would have continued kissing for the rest of the night (or eternity), but Annabeth felt something cold and crumbly hit her cheek. She broke away from Percy to find him standing there with a sneaky smile on his face. His fingers were covered with flour.

"You sneak," Annabeth said, grinning. She reached into the jar of flour, grabbed a handful, and flung it at Percy. He stood there in shock as a flurry of flour settled all over him. Annabeth erupted into a fit of giggles. The laughter subsided, however, when Percy's shock melted into determination. "Okay, Trouble," was all he said before he wrapped her up in his arms, effectively rubbing flour all over her.

"Percy!" she squealed. "Percy, stop it! Percy!" Her cries went ignored. Percy bent down and shoved his face into Annabeth's neck, rubbing all around to get the flour out of his hair. Annabeth's resistance disappeared as she began to laugh, half-heartedly hitting Percy on the shoulder.

Finally, once Percy seemed to be clean of flour and Annabeth covered in it, Percy let her go. She gave him a fake-glare before stumbling back over to the counter, where she poured the correct amount of flour into the bowl of cookie dough. Then she mixed it all together and put a bit on a spoon for Percy to try.

"You, Annabeth Chase," Percy said after tasting the dough, "are you master chef."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Please. I literally just mixed a few ingredients together. That's it."

"You'll have to make me some cookies to take to college with me. I've heard a sure way to earn friends is to give them food."

Annabeth froze. She swallowed. Tried to control her breathing. Tried not to let Percy see her shaking hands.

It was ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. Annabeth should not be this concerned and worried about Percy going off to college. He was just an hour away. An hour. Annabeth could go see him any day after school if she wanted to. He could be there for her any time if she needed him. It wasn't a big deal.

Yet, it was a big deal. At least, to Annabeth it was. Percy was going to college while she was stuck in high school. She would never admit it, but Annabeth was afraid that Percy would meet a bunch of cool, beautiful girls at his college and realize what he was missing out on when he chose Annabeth to be his girlfriend. She was afraid to face her senior year without him. She was afraid to face life without him. Percy was leaving her alone to deal with her drunkard of a father all by herself while balancing out school and work and getting herself into college.

Percy had been the only thing that had gotten her through her mom leaving. He had gotten her through the bullying. He had gotten her through the past year of her life and she was afraid that she wasn't strong enough to handle it on her own.

"Hey," Percy said, sensing that something was wrong. He set his spoon in the sink and put his hands on Annabeth's shoulders, turning her around to face him. She looked away, but he tilted her chin up so she was looking at him in the eyes. His big, beautiful green eyes that had a special way of getting Annabeth to confess every secret she'd ever kept. "What's wrong?" he asked her. "You've been kind of distant lately."

Annabeth shrugged, trying to look nonchalant and normal. "Nothing's wrong. I'm perfectly fine."

Percy raised an eyebrow.

Annabeth cursed internally. She never stood a chance against those eyes.

"Is this about college?" he asked. When Annabeth didn't reply, he sighed and let go of her shoulders. "Annabeth, it's not that big of a deal."

"I know," she said, refusing to confess to Percy so easily. She leaned against the counter and crossed her arms, gazing up at the ceiling like it was the most interesting thing in the world. She could feel Percy staring at her. She didn't want to look down and see the expression he always wore, like he knew all of her secrets before she even did.

"I'm only going to be an hour away," he offered.

"I know."

"I'll call you every day."

"Looking forward to it."

"And we can meet up every single weekend."

"Sounds great."

Percy sighed in frustration and leaned against the counter opposite of Annabeth, crossing his arms as well. "If you see to have this all planned out, then why do you look like you're going into labor every time I mention college?"

Annabeth sighed. Still refusing to look at him, she said, "I'm just worried, okay? Things are going to be really different."

"Annabeth, you have nothing to be worried about."

Annabeth laughed a bitter laugh. "Oh, just like I didn't have anything to be worried about with Rachel?"

Percy cursed. Annabeth knew that she probably shouldn't have brought Rachel up, but it just sort of slipped out. Rachel Elizabeth Dare was a girl that was in Percy's grade and all through their senior year, she had tried to sink her claws into him. When Annabeth and Percy's friendship had begun to turn into something more, Rachel had been there to sabotage the whole thing. Annabeth was still a little bitter about it.

"Annabeth," Percy said and something in his tone made Annabeth look at him. He was gazing at her with such love and openness that Annabeth suddenly felt like crying. "Please. Tell me what you're scared of."

Biting her lip, Annabeth stared at Percy. Then she sighed, giving up. "I'm scared that things are going to change between us, okay? We've only really been dating for two months and I'm afraid that's not enough time to build up a lasting relationship that can withstand what we're about to go through. I'm scared that you're gonna get to college and have all of these gorgeous, smart, and fun girls around you and you'll compare them to me and you'll realize how much better you can do. I'm afraid that we'll end up like every other couple who tries to maintain a relationship in college. We'll start out really faithful to each other and meet up every weekend and call and text every day. But then, after a couple weeks, the calls will start to get shorter, the meetings won't be every weekend. We'll get caught up in everything around us that we'll forget about each other and I'll be left alone here to fend for myself in school and take care of my dad and – and . . ." Annabeth hadn't realized she was crying until the sobs took over and she couldn't talk anymore. Percy immediately came to her and wrapped her up in the tightest, most secure hug Annabeth had ever been given. She cried into his shirt, gripping the material over his heart and twisting it in her hands. Percy rubbed his hands up and down her back and pressed kisses into her hair.

"I'm never going to leave you, okay?" he said, his own voice shaking a bit. "Never. You and me, we're in this together. So stop worrying that I'm going to leave because I'm not. I promise."

Annabeth's crying subsided a little bit and she closed her eyes, letting herself feel comforted by Percy's words and his touch. After a few seconds, she pulled away enough to wipe her face and look at him. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I'm just so scared and it's all kind of hitting me right now."

Percy gave her that half-smile that she loved and brushed back a lock of her hair. "Okay, first of all, just because we've only been dating for two months doesn't mean that our relationship isn't strong enough to withstand all of these changes. The strength of a couple isn't based on how long they've been together; it's based on how much they love each other. And I love you so, so much."

Annabeth smiled and successfully pushed back another onslaught of sobs that had been making its way up her throat.

"And secondly, nobody is going to change the way I feel about you," Percy continued. "I don't care how gorgeous the girls at college are gonna be. I don't care if freaking Angelina Jolie is there. I would choose you over them all a thousand times if I could. And lastly, Annabeth, we're not like other couples. Other couples haven't gone through what we've gone through. They haven't felt what we felt. So how can you judge how long we'll be able to stay together based on how long other couples did? You can't, because they are not us. And I believe in us. I believe that we have the strength to be able to stick together even though we're in two separate places. And like I said earlier, I'm never going to leave you. I'm never going to abandon you. And if you don't think I'll do it willingly, you can bet that my mom won't let me have you fend for yourself." Annabeth giggled and he paused, gazing down at her with such love, it gave Annabeth chills. "You're never going to be alone, Annabeth, not while I'm alive. I might not physically be here with you, but you can rest assured that I'll always be thinking of you and cheering you on."

Annabeth smiled and leaned her forehead against his. "That was a very good speech," she said. And it really was. Annabeth felt ten times better after hearing all that Percy had to say.

"I'm being serious, Annabeth," he said. But then he smiled and closed his eyes and kissed her.

And Annabeth swore that that kiss could have brought on the end of the world. His hands burned through her shirt like hot iron that Annabeth couldn't get enough of. Percy kissed her with such force that she was bent backwards, so she wrapped her arms around her neck to keep from falling, her fingers digging into his hair. The stumbled back a couple steps but eventually found their balance, leaning against the counter. Annabeth felt so light and magical, yet so anchored and passionate. All of her worries and fears melted away and somewhere in the back of her head, she wondered if this was Percy's plan all alone: to kiss her hard enough that she forgot all about college. If it was, then it was definitely working on Annabeth. Because this kiss devoured her.

When they separated, finally, both gasping for air but smiling like complete idiots who were in love, Annabeth said, "Well then. We should probably start making a schedule." Percy raised an eyebrow. "You meet me at the Starbucks by the mall every Saturday at noon. The mall is about halfway between our places. If you miss a week, you're dead to me."

Percy grinned and kissed her nose. "As long as you give me a kiss every time we meet. A good kiss."

Annabeth pretended to think it over, when really, it was a no-brainer. "It's a deal," she said and they sealed it with a kiss.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Percy went off to college and Annabeth cried. Percy cried too, but just in the car, where no one would see him.

They met at Starbucks, just as planned. Annabeth got a Vanilla Bean Frappuccino during the warm months and a White Chocolate Mocha during the cold. Percy got a Chocolate Chip Frappuccino every month, even the cold ones.

Percy never missed a meeting. Annabeth always gave him a kiss.

And when it came time for Annabeth to choose a college, well, it really wasn't hard. She was always fond of Percy anyways.

This started out as just a thought I had in the shower (that's when all my writing inspiration hits me) and evolved into this. I'm a big fan of the Percabeth age gap AU for some odd reason and I really love the idea of Annabeth struggling when Percy goes to college. Also, I was in desperate need of some Percabeth kisses.

If any of you follow me as an author, rest assured that a story is coming! I'm working on the Pirates one and I'll hopefully have that up soon. I'm also working on This Sweet Lullaby, if anyone follows that. I'm not discontinuing it!

***Please note that this is unedited because it is almost one in the morning and I haven't slept well for the past two days and I am exhausted so I'm not dealing with the crappy job that is editing until the morning, thank you***