So here is something a little different. It's Annabeth and Luke! Wow! I love Luke. I started loving him once I read the Last Olympian. And this came to me...I couldn't NOT write it.

A few important things about this story: it's a bit AU-ish because in this story Luke never became Kronos. Instead, he stayed good and stayed at Camp.

Anyways, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own PJO!

Of Biceps and Mint Chocolate-Chip Ice Cream

Annabeth swallowed hard against the dryness in her throat. Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth. She licked her lips, immediately regretting not bringing some chap stick with her. She bit her lip as her eyes trained on the objects of her attention. Her heart was beating faster than usual; her mind was in a slight haze, all thoughts incoherent. Her body was frozen in its position on a rock, afraid that if she moved, she would disturb her subjects and they would stop with their practicing.

What, exactly, was she watching?

Well, our heroine was currently watching her two best—guy—friends practice sword fighting against each other. Yes, Luke Castellan and Percy Jackson, two of the best swordsmen in Camp, were allowing her to just sit and watch them.

And they were shirtless.

To the untrained camper or mortal, this would be fine (who doesn't want to see hot guys half naked?). However, they wouldn't know that this was Percy freakin' Jackson and Luke OhmyGod Castellan! They wouldn't realize that they weren't just ordinary swordsmen. No one really knew how much or how long they had been practicing. But Annabeth knew.

For a long time.

And, because she was a daughter of Athena so she could analyze situations to the very last, impeccable detail, she realized a few things.

One, obviously, they were both good-looking guys. All she had to do to confirm this was flash a picture of them to an Aphrodite girl and she would squeal and pass out. So of course, just seeing them was a delight.

Two, again obviously, they were shirtless. The only time a shirtless guy is gross is when they are over forty-five or they've been eating too many Twinkies. And it just so happened that these two were in their late teens, early twenties—just the right time frame.

Three, because they were practicing so vigorously, they were sweating, which led to many fantasies in Annabeth's head that she cannot repeat. They were all influenced by just the thought of sweat glistening off of their chests, slipping down their necks and onto their shoulders.

There was just something about sweaty, shirtless men that got all girls crazy.

And then lastly, the reason that most people skipped of why this was such a glorious moment: they were ripped. Like previously stated, Annabeth knew that they had been sword fighting and practicing for years. Luke a bit longer than Percy, but the results were still the same.

Their biceps bulged and strained whenever they lifted their arms. Their shoulders and back rippled whenever they flipped or rolled away. Their abs, so well defined it was like watching them through a High-Def TV, would contract and strain as they did kicks at each other to distract the other. And because they were wearing shorts, it was easy to see when their calf muscles tensed and flexed when they matched swords and took on a sturdy position, trying to force the other to back down.

And it was made all the more better since it was an eighty degree day.

Annabeth sighed contentedly from her position on the warm rock. She felt rather victorious sitting there. Besides Thalia, Annabeth was the only girl that was close to the boys. She was pretty sure (more like hoped) that she was the only girl they would practice in front of while being shirtless.

But as much as she loved it, it was so hard to keep away distracting thoughts, like their toned, tanned, bodies…

I need to get a life…she thought miserably.

"Is that all you got?" Luke grinned as he parried Percy's sword. His blonde, wavy hair was sweaty and gross. His whole body ached, and he had gotten sweat in his eye, so now it stung.

"Tch," Percy scoffed. "You haven't seen anything, Old Geezer." Percy smirked back. He, too, was tired, but male pride prevented him from backing down, even if Luke was his best friend. His black hair was slicked back from where he had run a hand through it. He was drenched with sweat, and he really wanted a drink of water.

Annabeth rested her head on her hands. She looked at Percy, her best friend in the whole world. He understood her even if he was a little dense at times. They fought a lot, but it was all good-natured. He was so fun to tease. She felt so comfortable with him. He was almost like a brother to her.

A small smile graced her lips, and she turned her gaze onto Luke. Her stomach did a flip-flop. Her heart skipped a beat at his beautiful blue eyes and slick, wavy hair. A delicate blush fell on her cheeks. She bit the inside of her cheek. For some reason, Luke…he made her feel different. Like Percy, he was her best friend. But…it was different. She was nervous around him, wondering if she was annoying or too smart. She was always trying to impress him. Just the thought of him sent her mind into a frenzy, and being around him…she either became shy or a Chatty Kathy, and when it was Chatty Kathy, some rather obscene things spouted from her mouth.

Luke was a Grade-A Hottie, according to an Aphrodite source. Annabeth concurred, and while she silently rejoiced about it, she also loathed it in a way. She always found herself glaring at any girl who flirted with him or checked him out. Of course, this happened every day, so finally she realized what that sick feeling was in the pit of her stomach.

Jealousy.

The day she realized that was also the day she discovered that she was in love with Luke Castellan.

She considered it a curse.

It wasn't the fact that he was about six years older than her, or that they were already best friends. No, it was because he was way out of her league. He was gorgeous and could have just about any girl he wanted. And plus, there was the whole 'every-girl-has-to-gawk-at-him' thing, and that just ticked Annabeth off to no end. Girls would always be flirting with him, with or without a girlfriend. She would go bonkers being his girlfriend.

But that didn't mean she didn't want to be his girlfriend. She wanted to. Oh, man, did she wish it. But she knew better, and she knew it would never happen.

"Annabeth…helllllooo!"

She blinked a few times and looked up to see Luke waving his hand in her face. She looked around and remembered that she was at their secret training grounds. She found Percy beside Luke, epically failing to hide his grin at her zoning out.

"Uh…what?" she mumbled pathetically. She looked up into Luke's bright blue eyes. They were light and happy, staring straight at her. His mouth was quirked up into a half grin, showing off his blindingly white teeth. From this close up, she could see the slight stubble on his jaw, making him even sexier. Annabeth's gut tightened as her heart, yet again, performed a relay race in her chest.

Luke chuckled in the back of his throat, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. It was a deep sound that reverberated in his chest. Annabeth swallowed. She also noticed that his abs were conveniently closer as well, giving her a perfect view of the well-defined eight pack.

"We're ready to go. Are you coming or are you just going to stay here and get sunburned?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. Trying to be as graceful as a swan, she swiftly stood up.

Then she realized it was a bad idea, because now, Luke was merely inches away from her face. Her breath caught in her throat. She looked up in alarm and saw Luke staring down at her, sweeping over her face.

"U-umm…" Annabeth stuttered, blushing madly. "L-let's go."

Suddenly, though, Percy exclaimed, "Shit! What time is it?"

Annabeth raised a brow and glanced at her watch. "Around three. Why?"

"I have to go!" he shouted, already running through the forest back to Camp. "I'll see you guys later!"

Annabeth blinked at his sudden outburst. She turned and looked at Luke who had finally put his shirt back on. He was shaking his head at Percy, glaring after him. She mildly wondered why that was, but didn't think too much on it. She was too distracted by Luke's biceps peeking out from his shirt.

"Let's go," Luke said, walking next to Annabeth with Backbiter at his side.

The two walked in silence for a while. Annabeth was just trying to keep her mouth shut so she wouldn't say something stupid and embarrassing like "Hey! Nice pecs you got there!" or something like that. She would never live it down if that happened.

Then, suddenly, Luke spoke. "So, what was with you staring at us the whole time?"

Annabeth froze.

Oh dear gods…he noticed?

By the look on his face, yes, yes he had.

He, too, had stopped and was now looming over her. A smirk adorned his face and his eye brow was raised up in an overall cocky expression.

"I-I…"

Luke just remained quiet. His smirk grew as he stepped towards her and she took a step back. He dropped Backbiter and it clunked to the forest floor.

"You…?" Luke answered suavely, stepping closer and closer. Annabeth mentally swore as her back met up with a tree.

"W-well, what I mean i-is…"

Annabeth gave a tiny yelp as Luke suddenly slammed his hands against the tree, trapping her between it and him. The heat started rising on her face and the blush that accompanied it became more prominent by the second. She could feel his stare on her face, but she refused to meet his eyes. She stared at his shirt, but then they wandered over to his arms, where his delicious arm muscles started tempting her again. Then, to her mortification, her hand started moving upwards, their intention to just feel his bicep. It wouldn't be that awkward, right?

NO! Bad thoughts! Stop it!

Annabeth physically held her hand back, placing both of them behind her. However, this only caused her body to move up a fraction, coming even closer to Luke and almost touching him. She glanced up and found him still staring at her. She yelped and bit her lip, clenching her eyes shut. Why was he doing this?

Not that she minded…

But why?

"Annabeth."

His mumble, so close to her ear, caused a shiver to run down her spine.

"Open your eyes."

Reluctantly, she opened them. Her heart stopped. Her breath caught in her throat.

Luke…he was so close to her. His lips were mere inches away from hers. All she had to do was lean forward…

She slowly looked up at him and saw his eyes clouded over. He was staring into her eyes, his hand travelling down to her face. It landed on her cheek. His breath was washing over her face. It smelled minty, yet sweet, like he had been eating chocolate-chip mint ice cream. Yummy.

Annabeth inhaled deeply without thinking. Her eyes slowly shut, and soon enough, his lips were on hers.

Right then, she didn't care why this was happening. She didn't care about anything, quite frankly. All she knew was that Luke was kissing her.

It was heaven.

She kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck and tangling her hands in his hair. Again, there was that minty chocolate-chip taste, which only caused her to smile. Luke, who was tough and manly, tasted sweet.

They broke apart. Annabeth leaned back against the tree, the after-shock hitting her hard as she tried to catch her breath. Luke pressed kisses against her lips as her hands ran down his arms to his biceps (finally!).

She finally looked up at him and he was grinning. Despite the blush on her cheeks, she smiled back. Then, she laughed and pulled him in for another kiss.

That day, she realized that Luke harbored feelings for her as well. This, to her delight, resulted in him asking her to the Fireworks. She had acted like she was thinking deeply about it, but she already knew her answer. This man was ripped, tasted like mint chocolate-chip ice cream, and he was her best friend.

How could she refuse?

I believe I am in love with Luke now. Just saying. Hope you liked it! Ahh...shirtless Luke and Percy...YUMMY!

Review and thanks for reading!

-Akatsuki Child