per someone's request on tumblr, a (sucky, sort of crappy) part 2 of the soulmates au. no more soulmates for me

The minute Annabeth steps out of the building, she snatches her phone from the top of her purse and sends Piper a text: gaaah pipES I GOT ACCEPTED. I'M IN!

She doesn't use uppercase letters often. Or lots of exclamation points. But, well, today is special.

As she walks towards her favorite ice cream parlor – getting the job certainly deems her worthy of a reward of sorts – her phone rings. Expecting it to be Piper, she doesn't even bother looking at the Caller ID.

"Oh, my God, Piper. You have no idea how happy I am right now, we should celebrate or something – "

She stops talking when the person from the other end lets out a deep chuckle. Okay, that's not Piper. She checks her phone and places it back to her ear in one swift move. The number is unknown.

"Piper's not around, sadly, but she told me to relay her congratulations to you. As for celebrating, I thought you agreed to lunch? You're not ditching me for your friend, are you?"

Annabeth rolls her eyes despite the fact that the caller isn't around to witness her. It's hard to imagine that meeting Percy – her soulmate – and getting in her dream job all happened in one day. It feels like a lifetime ago, as cliché as that sounds. And in that previous lifetime, she had agreed to meeting Percy for lunch after the interview.

"What have you done to my best friend?" she says in mock seriousness, smiling in reality. And no, she isn't smiling because Percy called her, shut up. She's smiling simply because the ice cream parlor is only steps away.

"Well, I told her that the moment you inform her that you finished your interview, she tells me so I can call you and pick you up." Percy answers just as she opens the door to the shop, admiring the ambiance – as well as the large display of ice creams of various flavors.

She places her order – a rocky road – before talking again. "And she actually obliged?" Annabeth's shocked; her friend does not give away information so freely. Especially without a form of payment.

"Nah. I had to bribe her with a month's supply of waffles from the diner and I had to give her the money in advance to get your information. Don't worry, it's totally worth it." Annabeth cheeks redden at this. "Anyway, did I hear you order a rocky road? You're at the ice cream shop near the firm, aren't you?"

"How do you know about the shop?" she sits on a couch near the counter, enjoying her sweet gift to herself.

"Stay right there, okay?" Percy sounds as if he's rushing and Annabeth is just about to repeat her question before he speaks again. "Oh and Annabeth? I know because you're my soulmate."

And with that, Percy ends the call.

Annabeth's almost finished with her treat when hands from behind cover her eyes. She lets out a squeak of surprise before pulling the hands away and turning around. There, with a lopsided grin and wind-swept hair, is Percy Jackson.

"What the hell, Percy?" she stands so she doesn't have to look up at him. It doesn't work; he's got a few inches on her. "You don't just sneak up on people! Besides, I was facing the door the entire time. How did I not see you get in?"

Percy laughs and starts pulling Annabeth forward, out of the ice cream parlor. "Used the back door." She raises her eyebrow in question. "My mom's friends with the owner; I asked for a tiny favor."

"Oh. Well, you still shouldn't have sneaked up on me! I used to take martial arts – I could've attacked you." she states then eats the remainder of her ice cream in two bites.

"I'm flattered with your concern for my safety, Annabeth." he gently places his hand over his chest, smiling so genuinely down at her. She feels her heartrate pick up. "And you should show me some of your moves next time."

Annabeth barely has time to register what he said before he's tugging on her arm and walking faster. "Come on, Annabeth! Move those long legs of yours!"

She catches up with him, alternating between watching where she's going and glaring at him. "Where are you taking me?"

"Lunch." Percy answers matter-of-factly, not even glancing her way. He turns a corner and Annabeth almost misses it and walks straight past. Percy's hand reaches out and holds her wrist, pulling her gently, laughing. "Come on, Annabeth."

Percy keeps walking, not letting go of her, until they both reach a small park, in which Annabeth stops in her tracks. It's tiny compared to the rest of the parks in this city, but it's still pretty big. Annabeth can see a playground a couple meters away, and opposite that is a small lake in which you can ride a boat across. There's only a couple of people out in the park today, and this relaxes Annabeth. She isn't a fan of noise and crowds.

"Like it?" Annabeth turns to find Percy's irresistible crooked grin on his face – she forgets how to function properly – and a basket in his hand that wasn't there before. She stares at the basket (mostly because not doing so means she'll stare at his face).

"Uhm, are you a magician?" she questions, bewildered.

Percy frowns, he too confused. "Is that supposed to be a start of a pick-up line?" he scratches the back of his head. "Wait, I'm supposed to ask you why. Why?"

"No, Percy." Annabeth sighs and rolls her eyes. "I meant, where did you get the basket?"

Understanding seems to fall upon him as his mouth forms an 'O'. "I asked the hotdog vendor to keep it for me." He points behind her and she looks over her shoulder to see a balding, round-bellied man in a stained apron. He's standing beside a hot dog stall, smiling and waving at their direction. She turns back to Percy. "It's lunch."

"Oh."

"Follow me," he turns and starts walking towards the direction of the pond, the bright sun making the water seem to sparkle. She takes this time to admire Percy's back, liking how his shirt fits his body well and that his shoulders are broad and his neck lean and his hair so black and –

Wait. Black? How did she not notice it before?

"Percy?" she calls out, her voice barely above a whisper. He only glances at her from over his shoulder and smiles.

"Yes? Come on, Annabeth." he stops by a tree overlooking the lake and pulls out a blanket from the basket. He spreads it across the grass and places the basket down before sitting, patting the spot next to him.

Annabeth takes the spot beside him and crosses her legs. "You know, that's the third time you've told me to 'come on'."

He laughs, shaking his head. "I guess you need to chase after me often."

She glares at him playfully before remembering her query. "Percy, why is your hair black?' Percy instinctively reaches for his hair, running a hand through it. "I mean, you know, it was blue a couple hours ago."

"Because it really is black?" he smiles at her before starting to unpack their lunch, spreading out some mashed potatoes and sandwiches.

"Really?" she stares at his hair and feels a stirring in her chest. She realizes that she likes it. She likes his hair black – it suits him really well. Makes him even more handsome, if that's possible.

"Yeah, I never really dye my hair." he starts to explain, handing her a plate with some mashed potatoes and a fork, along with a sandwich.. "I just temporarily spray it. My friend Grover, his soulmate used to do that before they met – always green – and it works just as well as normal dye would. To both your hair and your soulmate's. Juniper – that's Grover's soulmate – told me when I asked about it, so I decided to try it out." He takes a bite of his sandwich and smiles at Annabeth, close-lipped.

"Well, you look nice with your original hair color." she risks saying, knowing that this'll only boost Percy's confidence. True to her theory, he swallows his food and grins.

"I thought you'd like it. Besides, there's no use messing around with my hair now that I finally found what I've been looking for."

Despite herself, she grins as she bites down on her sandwich.