Author's notes: In case you couldn't tell from the title, Percy and Annabeth have sex in this fic. Let me repeat that: Percy and Annabeth have sex, do the do, make love, whatever dumb saying equates with getting it on. If you have a problem with it or aren't mature enough to leave me a review without pointing out the obvious and acting so surprised that sex happens, then do yourself a favor and hit the back button. You have been warned.

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

Four Times Percy and Annabeth Almost Have Sex

(and the first time they did)

one.

Making out, Percy quickly learns, involves a lot of awkward groping, flailing around like an idiot, and plenty of opportunities to make an ass out of himself in front of the person who matters most to him in the world.

Thankfully, that person's not much more experienced at this than him, so every time Annabeth giggles when he gets his shirt tangled around his head, he reminds himself that she's probably going to accidentally elbow him in the gut again and spend the rest of the night apologizing for it.

For every moment they bungle and each little screw-up that occurs, there's always something that makes all the awkwardness worth it. When it turns into good kind of fumbling - the holy shit, I didn't know someone's lips on my collarbone could feel that good do it again and wow, Annabeth is really flexible, downright amazing kind of fumbling - Percy begins to understand how awkwardness can fade and the pieces will come together for the final act.

In fact, the pieces might be coming together a little too fast for the two of them. He doesn't know if making out is always supposed to be chest achingly intense or if it's that way because it's the two of them doing it and intense is just how they operate, but either way, he can't get enough of it.

It's probably not a good reflection on his self-control that he already has his hands in Annabeth's pants barely three weeks after they officially start dating, but she's not complaining so he isn't going to either.

"Percy," Annabeth says, pulling away from their kiss with a wet smack. Percy can't take his eyes off her bruised, kiss red lips, and the way her throat bobs as she gulps for air makes his jeans positively uncomfortable. "Do you want to... you know?"

She blushes furiously after she suggests this, so Percy knows he couldn't possibly interpret her question any other way.

His girlfriend just asked him if he wanted to have sex with her.

Annabeth wants to have sex with him – right here, right now.

His hormones' immediate response is yes, yes, fuck yes, why aren't you taking her bra off yet you idiot, and while Percy's impulsive and sometimes reckless, this something he knows he shouldn't rush headlong into.

Yeah, he most definitely wants to have sex with his gorgeous, partially dressed girlfriend – what straight, horny sixteen-year-old boy wouldn't? But the timing just doesn't feel... right.

It sounds stupid and certain parts of his anatomy are cursing him to high heaven right now, but it's true. He's barely learned how to kiss Annabeth without making her laugh at him and he's just starting to learn about the mysterious parts of her beneath her shoulders – it would be a huge jump to go from fussing with her bra clasp to full-blown sex. Not to mention Annabeth still gets embarrassed whenever she brushes against his erection and she hasn't touched him below the belt for an extended period of time yet.

He knows the first time isn't supposed to be good, but he also knows that if they tried it now, it would be downright terrible and could quite possibly be the beginning of the end of their relationship.

Okay, he might be being a little melodramatic with that, but that doesn't change the fact that, as much as certain parts of him would like sex this instant, Percy wants to do things right with Annabeth more.

Reluctantly, he shakes his head and pulls his hands out of her jeans. She blinks, clearly surprised.

"I want to, but... I'm not ready," he says honestly, reaching out to brush a few wayward strands of hair out of her face. "Is that all right?"

Annabeth nods, looking a little relieved herself. "That's fine, Percy. I just thought I'd ask... just in case."

"Well," he says, sliding his hand to the back of her neck and threading his fingers into her ponytail. "I'll keep that in mind." He pulls her close again, pressing his lips to the corner of her mouth as it pulls upward into a smile. "Just in case."

two.

It has to be the uniform, Annabeth decides hazily as Percy hoists her up on top of the desk and rucks her ugly plaid skirt up around her hips, all while keeping his lips eagerly attached to hers.

They don't see each other nearly enough during the school year, thanks mostly to her private school's strict rules about visiting hours and boys, and when they do, things between them tend to get a bit ... out of control.

It's a normal, hormone-fueled reaction, Annabeth rationalizes, but Percy's never reacted this strongly to her before tonight, and the only variable that's changed is that she forgot to change out of her uniform before he showed up.

She likes it when Percy takes control and runs with it, and if the uniform gets the job done, she might just forget to change more often.

"I wanna try something," he says, nipping at her bottom lip. "Is that okay?"

"Depends on what it is," Annabeth replies, an aching heat pooling low in her stomach as his hands settle on the tops of her thighs.

He doesn't answer her, except to nudge her legs apart so he can step between them. He drops to his knees in front of her, and his hands skate up to the elastic band of her panties. A whimper catches in Annabeth's throat as his green eyes – deadly serious but still playful, pupils blown wide with lust – meet hers and she lifts her hips so he can slide the thin material down her legs.

Annabeth can't help the low, approving moan that escapes her as desire floods between her legs and she has to catch herself before she makes any more noise. It is most definitely after visiting hours, and getting caught with her panties around her ankles and her boyfriend's head about to dip between her legs will definitely be cause for permanent expulsion.

They've never done this before. Well, Annabeth's never been on the receiving end of oral sex before, anyway, and although they've been working their way toward it, she certainly wasn't expecting Percy to go down on her tonight. She might've worn a better pair of panties if she had known, even though she thinks he wouldn't care either way.

"Percy," she whispers, running her hand through his dark locks. "You don't have to - "

"I told you, I want to," Percy says and Annabeth shivers violently as he breathes against her flesh. She swears she feels his lips brush lightly against her inner thigh.

"If you're sure... o – oh."

Annabeth's words die with a sigh with Percy's first tentative lick up her folds. Her fingers curl in his hair while his lips and tongue continue to explore her, slowly at first, and then gaining enthusiasm as he gets the hang of it. Fiery warmth spreads through her and soon, she's panting with the effort not to cry out – it doesn't just feel good, it's otherworldly – and she can't possibly get enough of this.

They really haven't done anything this wild or dirty before. She's still mostly dressed in her uniform, stockings, tie, and all, perched on a teacher's desk in an abandoned classroom and letting her boyfriend eat her out with enthusiastic abandon. It's downright … kinky for the two of them, even if it is something as simple as oral sex, and it makes it all the more pleasurable for her.

He pulls away once to ask, "Am I doing it right?"

Annabeth nods frantically, pushing his head back between her legs. "Yes, yes! Please, just don't stop."

She spreads her legs a little wider, and Percy's hands slide under her thighs to pull her closer to his mouth. Her spine stiffens as his tongue swipes across her clit and she bites her lip, feeling his satisfied hum against her.

Her belly tightens as he continues kiss and lick at that one spot, and her thighs clench as she draws closer to completion. She throws her head back as she comes suddenly, her hips arching off the desk, and her cries high-pitched but muffled.

"Good?" Percy asks quietly a few moments, his hands absentmindedly stroking the insides of her thighs.

Annabeth can't yet articulate a proper response to that, so she tugs him at him until he gets to his feet and then she engages him with a searing kiss. She can taste herself on his lips, which should weird her out, but it's actually kind of thrilling and makes the dull throb of desire roar back to life again. Percy's tongue swipes into her mouth and his hands twist into the fabric of her vest as he pulls her against him; she wraps her legs around his waist and she can feel his erection pressing insistently against her thigh.

There's something different in this kiss, an eager, determined sort of hunger, and she knows where this will end up if they let their hunger devour them.

And the thing is, she wants it to happen. She's wanted it for a long time. Percy's got her all warmed up and ready to go, and she's practically burning to have him inside her. The balance of their relationship is ready to tip, and all Annabeth has to do is give it a push.

If they had been doing this anywhere but in abandoned classroom, where anyone could walk on them at any point, she would've gladly taken the plunge. She's not sentimental enough to think that her first time needs to be romantic, but she'd like it to be classier than a hurried, undoubtedly short, romp on an uncomfortable desk.

So she pulls away and Percy, beautiful and understanding creature that he is, lets her go.

"Thank you," she says softly, wrapping her arms around him and burying her head in the crook his neck.

"I think you're going to hide that skirt," he replies with a nervous laugh. "I'm never gonna be able to look at you in that the same way again..."

She smirks. Definitely the uniform.

three.

By the next summer, the two of them have gotten astonishingly good at getting around Camp Half-Blood's archaic boys-and-girls-can't-be-alone-in-the-same-room rule.

It helps that Annabeth always has some kind of trick or strategy up her sleeve to avoid getting busted, and that Mr. D tends to look the other way if he's the one that catches them in the mid-lip-lock. The Aphrodite cabin still thinks they're "totally, like, the greatest love story like, ever," and thus are willing to run interference if Percy asks nicely, but Clarisse and the Stoll brothers take particular pride in busting them in a compromising position whenever they can and employing Nico as a look-out is a disaster waiting to happen.

Sneaking around adds a bit of thrill to their relationship though – a normal thrill rather than the usual death defying, everyone's out to make us unhappy, let's beat the odds thrill. Percy thinks it's lots of fun and even though Annabeth acts like it's all so very juvenile, she busts out her invisibility cap more often than not to visit him at night.

Sometimes they don't even have to try very hard to be alone together. Like today, for instance.

Annabeth has a bit of a cold (nothing too bad, mostly fatigue and a sore throat) and has banished all her siblings from her cabin until further notice, so Percy begs out of sword training, saying he has a sprained wrist ("Sprained wrist, my ass. You're invulnerable!" Travis Stoll says, "Next time, think of a better lie before you ask me to cover for you.") to curl up in bed beside her.

He likes spending time in the Athena cabin because it's always airy and yellow with sunlight, the antithesis of the dark and soothing colors of cabin three. He doesn't mind sharing space on Annabeth's bed with her books and rolls of blue print designs because it's all so very Annabeth and her organized clutter is part of what he likes about her.

Annabeth's sniffy and cranky when he hops onto the bed beside her, and she argues with him for a bit before realizing he's not going anyway and settling for resting her head on his shoulder while she works.

To be honest, Percy hadn't planned on doing anything other than just sitting around and quietly being in her presence. It seems like he never has the chance to be with her alone any more and he misses talking with her more than anything.

But she looks too cute, all bundled up in her comforter and hunched over her laptop, her hair falling out of her blonde ponytail in frizzy curls and cheeks flushed, that he can't help himself.

"I don't think so, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth says, shoving her hand in his face when he tries to kiss her. She doesn't even look up from the computer screen, and that takes some serious skill. "I am not going to kiss you while I'm sick because then you'll definitely catch it and start coughing, and I'll have to take care of your whiny butt. I so don't want to deal with that right now."

Percy sighs, rubbing his squashed nose, but brightens considerably when he realizes she left an alternative for him.

"Fine. I won't kiss you," he ducks his head to her neck before she can stop him and presses his lips gently against her pulse point, "on the lips, anyway."

"Percy!" Annabeth protests, trying to shove him away. But he's bigger than her and she doesn't have the proper leverage to push him off the bed at the moment; to make sure she doesn't get it any time soon, Percy wraps his arms around her waist, sinking lower into the bed, and begins to trail his lip up and down her neck. "You are so annoying. And distracting and – and – "

"And needy, don't forget that one," he replies, grinning against her skin.

She rolls her eyes and tries to continue playing with whatever design program she has open at the moment while Percy kisses her all he wants. The tempo of her fingers clattering over the keyboard is his only indicator of if she's being affected by his attentions at all. She pauses momentarily, her fingers curling over the keys reflexively, when he reaches the round crest of her shoulder and slips the thin strap of her tank top down the side of her arm. He waits until he hears her breath catch before moving lazing back upward, taking his time peppering kisses along her jaw and the shell of her ear.

Annabeth sighs, almost a little reluctantly, shuts her laptop, and puts it on her nightstand.

"You have five minutes to impress me," she says, turning toward him. "But still no kissing on the lips."

"No problem," he says, kissing her on the tip of her nose. And on her forehead. And then on her eyelids and her cheeks and the nape of her neck... everywhere skin isn't being covered, he's there.

By the time his kisses get down to the tips of her fingers and he's thinking about lifting her shirt so he can kiss the soft skin of her belly, more than five minutes have passed and the flush on Annabeth's face is no longer being caused by her cold.

"Percy," she says softly. "I want to do it."

Percy stiffens and looks at her in surprise. In all honesty, he hadn't been thinking about full-on sex while he'd been kissing her – he'd just wanted to touch her and he was fine with keeping things simple. It only takes one look at the intensity and sincerity in her gray eyes to change his mind and get a serious rush of desire flowing through him.

He gulps and asks, "But you're sick. You sure you want to...?"

Annabeth responds by pulling her hand free and reaching for the hem of her tank top. She pulls the material over her head without a second thought and his mouth goes dry – she doesn't have a bra on and Percy can count the number of times he's seen her bare chest in broad daylight on one hand.

"Pretty sure," she replies dryly, smirking at the dumbstruck look on his face. "I'm sick, not dying, so take your shirt off and pull the covers back on, will you?"

Percy hurries to comply, tossing his orange T-shirt somewhere on the floor and grabbing her comforter as he folds himself on top of her. He wraps his arm around her, pulling her fully against him, and she slings her arm across his shoulders so she can toy with the little strands of hair at the nape of his neck.

"Can I kiss you properly now?" he asks, trying not to groan as Annabeth's nipples drag deliciously against his chest.

She pretends to think about it, her eyes dancing with mirth, and then she says, "I suppose. But only once, so you better make it good."

Percy has no patience to wait and kiss her, but he has all kinds of ideas of how to make this one kiss last and last, and he doesn't think Annabeth's going to say no to another once he kisses he senseless like he's planning –

"What was that?" Percy asks, distracted by a sharp pinch when he's just centimeters from her mouth.

"What?" Annabeth asks, and he feels it again after a moment, something brushing up against his ankle. He glances over his shoulder, as if he expects someone to be standing at the base of the bed. "Percy, what are you – "

Percy yelps as some invisible force wraps vice-like around his ankle and yanks him off Annabeth. There's another tug, stronger than the last, and it drags him off the edge of the bed where he lands with a thunk on the cabin's hard wood floor. Annabeth scrambles to pull the sheet up around her chest and shares a look of confusion with him.

"Annabeth, what the hell is going oooooon – " Percy's question dissolves into a strangled yell as whatever has a grip on his leg doesn't let up and begins to drag him towards the door. He tries to grab onto the legs of furniture as he passes, but his invisible captor isn't letting go so easily and just tugs him harder. He's immensely thankful he's invulnerable right now, otherwise he'd be suffering from some serious floor burns, pulled joints and bruises the next morning.

He gets one last look at Annabeth, who's kneeling on the bed and appears to be ready to burst into laughter, before the invisible force pushes him upright and knocks him out the doorway. He goes tumbling down the cabin steps and lands in a heap in the grass, right in front of a set of horse's hooves he knows all to well.

He rolls over, blinking at the overabundance of sunlight in his eyes, and says, "Hi Chiron. What's up?"

His mentor looks completely unphased by witnessing Percy get thrown out of a cabin by invisible bouncers. Then again, this is the least weird thing that's probably going to happen at camp all summer.

"I see you've become acquainted with cabin six's security curse, Percy," Chiron says lightly, an amused twinkle in his eyes. Percy hears the cabin door slam shut loudly, probably the security charm trying to keep Annabeth inside. "You and Annabeth wouldn't happen to have been attempting to...ah, consummate your relationship, would you have been?"

Percy flushes a brilliant shade of red, letting Chiron draw his own conclusions from there. While his mentor's a cool guy … er, centaur to talk about sword fighting techniques and deadly prophecies and stuff with, he is one of the last people in this world and the next who Percy wants to have a chat about getting his ass kicked by a cabin for trying to lose his virginity.

"As you should be aware, Athena's a virgin goddess and she doesn't like her children engaging in that sort of behavior in her household," Chiron continues blithely, unaware that Percy wants to sink into the ground and die in embarrassment. "Especially sons of Poseidon, so I would suggest curving that sort of behavior from now."

"Right," Percy says awkwardly, getting to his feet. "So. Um. I'm going to go find a shirt and – uh – "

"Go do fifty sets of repetitions in the training arena? And then clean up the mess Mrs. O'Leary made this morning in the volleyball pit?" Chiron suggests, his tone clearly indicating that Percy doesn't get the option of saying no and this is his punishment for breaking the archaic, no-boys-and-girls-alone-together rules.

"Good idea," he replies, running a hand through his hair. "I'll be, uh, going now."

Percy turns on his heel and hurries back to his cabin, his blush in no danger of fading for the next hour or so, especially not with the all the over-enthusiastic catcalls he receives on the way back. He is so never living this one down.

four.

"If you're just going to treat it like some damn inconvenience," Annabeth snarls, violently tugging her sweater over her head, "then maybe you can just go lose it with someone else."

"That's not what I meant and you know it!" Percy responds, pulling his pants on over his rapidly fading erection, trying to keep up with her. He's not sure how things went south so suddenly when they had been going fucking perfectly (almost literally) just moments ago. He's put his foot in his mouth at the worst moment possible. "Wise Girl – "

He reaches out to grab her wrist and she pulls away from immediately, like he's something disgusting. For the first time in over a year, he feels something alarmingly similar to pain in his chest.

"No," she says, her lower lip trembling. "No, don't you dare do that Wise Girl stuff with me right now, you – you – "

"What is your problem?" he asks, getting angry at the entire situation. He gets to his feet and he feels just a tiny bit ridiculous with his pants still undone. "You wanted to do this the first month we were dating, and now that it's been a year and half, and I want to do it, you get cold feet and blow up at me for being frustrated about it! We've done practically everything else, what's the difference in going all the way?"

Annabeth stares at him with frigid disbelief and then turns away, heading toward the door. Percy beats her there by a foot and bars the door with his body. Normally, he'd let her storm away without a fight after one of their arguments, but this isn't a normal argument and if he lets her go now, something between them is going to break beyond repair.

"Get out of my way, Jackson."

"Oh last names, very scary," Percy says. "You want me to be more communicative? Well, here you go. I'm not budging until you tell me what's wrong."

She glares at him and he glares back. He remembers when that glare used to intimidate him into backing down in any argument, but he cares about her too much now to let that scare tactic win. And in the midst of their showdown, he notices the briefest flicker of frightened emotion on her face and suddenly, he understands.

"Oh," he says, losing the tension in his shoulders as Annabeth goes rigid as a board.

"Annabeth," he continues softly, reaching for her. "It's okay if you're scared."

She tries to shrug his hands away, still angry with him, but after a moment or two, she lets them settle on her shoulders. He feels the slight tremble in her frame and she turns her glare to the floor, ashamed. Percy doesn't say a thing, just waits for her whenever she's going to be ready to talk.

"I'm not scared of – of the actual act," she begins haltingly, her gaze focused on his bare feet. "I never was because I know what to do and how to do it and virginity is just a stupid social construct anyway ... it's just what comes after the sex that scares me.

She meets his gaze briefly, her eyes vulnerable and sad, and Percy could kick himself for not immediately realizing what her resistance meant. It hadn't been a rejection of him or their relationship at all.

"Sex makes things different," she says, "and it would be so easy for you to hurt me after we do it. I just didn't realize that until having sex was a real certainty instead of a possibility for us ... and I couldn't do it. I'm sorry."

Percy hates that he makes Annabeth feel this way, however inadvertently, because the last thing he ever wants to do is hurt her. Annabeth means everything to him. How can she possibly not know that?

"You don't have to apologize. But it's not just you in this, you know. This is a big step for me too," Percy replies, cupping her face in his hands and wishing she would look at him again. "You have the power to hurt me just as badly, but you won't. And I won't either."

"How do you know that?"

"Because," he says and leans forward to whisper three little words in her ear he's been waiting to say for a long time. Annabeth looks at him sharply, as if she's trying to detect his sincerity.

"You mean it?"

"You know I wouldn't say it if I didn't."

She nods slowly. The tension leaves her bit by bit, and then she's collapsing into him, wrapping her arms around his back and burying her face in his bare chest. Percy doesn't know how long he stands there and just holds her, but he doesn't particularly care.

He feels her mumble the same words against his skin over and over again, and a happy, satisfied warmth ignites in his heart.

Forget sex. This is all he needs for right now.

one.

Before the door to cabin three is even shut behind him, Percy starts tugging at the tattered hem of her T-shirt, his fingers trembling with barely suppressed anxiety.

"Percy, I'm fine," Annabeth says, trying to bat his hands away. "They wouldn't have let me out of the infirmary if something was still wrong."

"I know," he replies, his voice tight and hoarse. He won't meet her gaze, his eyes focused instead on the bloody gashes in her shirt. "I just want – I have to see. Please?"

Annabeth sighs hesitantly. The ambrosia and nectar might have fixed up the worst of her wounds, but they're still healing and it's undoubtedly going to be an unpleasant sight. Percy's seen her after she's gotten hurt plenty of times, so this shouldn't be anything surprising for him.

She begins to tug her shirt upward and winces as she pulls at the sore, knotted muscles of her stomach. Percy's hands brush hers and helps her pull it over her head. He drops it to the side, sucking in a breath as he gets a good look at her battered torso. Annabeth doesn't need a mirror to know what her body must look like – on top of all of her old scars, there are three new, but slowly fading, dark pink gashes running from her right hip to just under her left breast. The scars will fade eventually, but she knows she won't be comfortable wearing her two piece swimming suit for a while.

Percy says her name brokenly and reaches out to trace one of the fading gashes with the very tips of his fingers. His throat bobs as he gulps and rasps, "What was it?"

"Hell hound," she says, feigning nonchalance. "It caught me off-guard when I was retrieving one of the new demigods and got into a good swipe, that's all. It was nothing too bad, don't worry – "

"Stop that," Percy interrupts, finally looking at her. His green eyes are stormy with anger, guilt, and a few emotions she can't immediately identify. "I saw you when they brought you in. You – you looked like you had been ripped to shreds, Annabeth. I thought you were gonna die!"

Over the years, she's learned not to dwell on her own near death experiences, except to learn how to avoid them in the future. She's aware of her own mortality without being obsessed with it and letting it limit who she is and what she does.

Even though it hasn't been all that long since his dip in the River Styx, it's easy for Percy to forget what it's like to scar and how simple it is to get bruised. Constantly being reminded that she's much more fragile than him is a tough pill to swallow.

"But I didn't," she says, cupping his jaw with her hand. He leans into her touch, taking comfort from the simple gesture. "I'm still here, Percy. And I'm gonna be for a while longer, okay?"

His hands are still trembling against her skin and he shakes his head. "You don't know that. You don't know anything about what could happen – "

It's her turn to interrupt him. Annabeth doesn't want him worry about the could have beens or the uncertainties of the future – she wants him to be with her, in the here and now, when it really matters.

"Trust me," she whispers, standing on her tiptoes so she can press her mouth against his, gentle and soft.

He doesn't respond immediately to her kiss, but when he does, it isn't with his normal, carefree passion. It's all the desperation, loneliness and need from the last few hours without her all tied up in one simple moment. It's overwhelming to take in, but it's all right – Percy has her now and he's not going to let go.

Annabeth didn't mean for this to turn into anything more significant than a reassuring kiss. But she felt the shift in them both once their lips met and she knows that a kiss isn't going to be a reassurance enough for either of them. She needs this just as much as he does - a reminder that she's alive and that she's going to stay alive long enough to experience new and exciting things with him.

Percy walks her back toward his bed, only breaking the kiss so she can pull his shirt over his head and he can undo the straps of her bra. He's infinitely gentle when he lays her on the bed, mindful of her bruises and sore spots as he helps remove the rest of her clothing. Annabeth loves the awestruck look he gets on his face every time he sees her naked, and she hopes nothing will ever wipe that look off his face.

Annabeth lets herself get swept away in his kisses and the pleasurable burn that engulfs her. His hands, skilled in ways they weren't months ago, touch her everywhere, drawing gasps and moans of encouragement out of her throat. He hisses when her nails rake up his back and soon enough, they're flushed, wanting and ready.

Well, almost ready.

"Do you have a ...?"

A nervous blush spreads across Percy's cheeks and he nods, reaching over to fumble with the top drawer of his nightstand. He hands her the foil packet and shudders as she rolls the condom over his hard length. Annabeth props herself up on his pillows and spreads her legs so he can crawl between them.

"Wait," Percy says. "Should you, um, be on the top? So it doesn't hurt?"

His hands move from her hip to skim her new scars. Annabeth shivers.

"I'll be fine. It doesn't hurt any more, I promise," she replies, wrapping her legs around him and arching her hips pointedly. She can feel him poised at her entrance. "Now, Percy."

When he slides into her, it doesn't hurt much – just an uncomfortable pressure and fiery stretching. Annabeth breathes in deeply, shocked by how full she feels, and Percy trembles with the effort to hold himself still so she can get used to him. She brushes her knuckles against his cheek to let him know she's ready and he begins to move.

It's only uncomfortable for a few more strokes, until they get a proper rhythm going, and then it starts to feel... not good yet, but marginally better. He thrusts a little deeper and they both groan in response; Annabeth arches her back so he can do it again.

The pleasure levels off as Percy keeps the pace slow and methodical, probably trying not to hurt her, but that's not what Annabeth wants.

"Harder," she gasps, digging her nails into his shoulders.

He nods and starts moving faster, drives her into the bed; he swallows her gasp of pleasure with a powerful kiss that gets her head spinning. She can feel her release beginning to build and it has the potential to grow into something great, but she can tell Percy's not going to last much longer as his thrusts get more erratic and he begins to lose the rhythm.

"Annabeth," he pants, face flushed with effort. "I don't think – "

"It's okay," she says, licking his neck. "You can let go."

Percy comes with a hoarse cry and Annabeth moans as she feels him pulse inside her. He kisses her forehead just before his arms give out and he collapses on the bed, half on top of her. He pulls his softening member out of her and she shifts so they can lay side-by-side in each other's arms, panting and shivering. Percy tucks his head into the crook of her neck and sighs deeply as Annabeth strokes his hair absentmindedly.

She feels ... content. That's probably the best way to describe it. She wasn't physically satisfied, but emotionally satisfied and that's about ten times better.

By the sound of his steady breathing, she thinks Percy must've fallen asleep and she's about to nod off herself when he speaks.

"That was totally worth the wait," he mumbles, his fingers drumming a subtle pattern on her hip. He seems to have recovered from whatever demons had gripped him earlier and is back to being his normal self.

"Yeah, it was," Annabeth agrees.

He props himself up on one elbow to look at her, and Annabeth can't help the smile that crosses her face at the sight of his sex-mussed hair. He really has no idea how downright sexy he can be.

"You didn't come, did you?" he asks and she shakes her head.

"It's okay. I would've been surprised if I had, actually," she says, brushing a few sweat soaked strands of hair out of his eyes. "We just need to practice, that's all."

"Hmmm," Percy says, appearing to mull this over. His arm wraps around her waist and she knows he's up to something, but she can't figure out what until he flips himself onto his back and pulls her on top of him.

"Percy!" she shrieks, feeling him already starting to get hard again. "What'd you think you're doing?"

"Practicing," he says with a sly smile. He reaches for his top drawer again and Annabeth admires the flex of the muscles in his chest. "Second time's the charm, right?"

"That saying's the third time, Seaweed Brain."

"We can always do that today too."

"I've created a monster," she intones dryly, and gasps loudly as Percy slides into her again. Thanks the gods for seventeen-year-olds and their quick recovery time.

"Only the very best kind," Percy agrees, grinning as he puts his hands on her ass.

He rolls his hips sharply and hits a new, deeply pleasurable spot inside her that makes Annabeth moan brokenly and her eyes flutter shut. If he keeps that up, she won't be lasting long at all.

Maybe Percy's right – the second time is the charm.