AUTHORS NOTE: Such a huge Percabeth shipper. 3 This was inspired by a picture I saw on IG. Follow percabethisforme for Percabeth photos everyday. Love you guys. Best wishes!
Piper lay upside down on her bed. In the beginning, it seemed like there would constantly be ordeals to be stressed over. Things to do, ships to builds, couples to reunite, camps to keep the peace smooth between. Piper would have never thought that after the Argo II was built she would ever be spared a moment to, of all things, be bored.
But here she was, alone in her room on the flying ship, somewhere over Nevada, bored and nauseated. The slow and steady rock of the ship made her stomach bend over backwards occasionally, and it was times like this, when reading or watching the land below from the bow of the ship wouldn't help. Hence the boredom. Piper blew the eagle feather in her hair out of her face and blandly considered texting Jason to come and see her before she realized he and Percy were swordfighting on deck.
Which, on a normal day, she would totally be up for watching. Why deny the chance to have a reason to stare at your shirtless, part-god boyfriend, sling a spear in the raging heat? But lately, Jason had been distant and distracted, and Piper didn't want to satisfy him with her blatant gazing.
Annabeth had her nose in a book (she checked) and Leo was making dinner. As for the others, let's just say Hazel recently found a new hobby: emu riding. Just as she was considering taking a shower, out of other options, Leo rang the fifteen minute dinner bell, and Piper knew any chances of hot water being left from their state of the art, walk in showers, was toast.
Almost on cue, the hall outside her room resounded with two teenage boys racing to get to the showers, still in competitive mode from all their swordfighting. She flipped over on her bed and peeked out of her door just as she saw Percy and Jason disappear into the rooms on either side of the ship.
It was quiet for a minute and she heard a noise that resembled a dying cat resonate from the Percy's bathroom. This noise happened to be the pipe system, which Leo claimed to "just be adjusting to the air pressure" although it had happened everytime any of them had taken a shower in the past few weeks. Piper smirked to herself as she realized that they could manage showers that changed water color, played music, and offered full body massages; and yet the pipes couldn't "adjust."
Piper was about to head up to the kitchen and wait for dinner when a loud and girlish scream came from Jason's room. Piper's hand went to her dagger, before processing the faint laughter heard through Percy's room.
"PERCY JACKSON, UNFREEZE MY WATER RIGHT NOW."
"Sorry Jason, it's all fair in war or love!"
"I AM FROZEN TO THIS SHOWER. AND IT'S LOVE AND WAR, PERCY. LOVE AND WAR."
"Well I suppose this is war then Jason Grace!"
"HOW ARE YOU EVEN DOING THIS FROM ACROSS THE HALL."
"Son of the sea god. I got skills, man."
Piper smiled to herself, this was a daily occurrence, and she knew they would be fine; and yet she still worried for Percy;s safety. Any minute now. She turned to walk up the stairs as the unsurprising scream came right on cue.
"You know sending electricity into water is a very dangerous and unfriendly thing to do, Jason? YOU COULD HAVE KILLED ME!"
"All's fair in war, Percy!"
The last thing she heard before the sounds from belowdeck disappeared was a large thump which she assumed was Percy dropping the shampoo bottle on his foot. Again.
"So I just reconnected the valve to the flywheel, and gave the camshaft a turn and it's all in working order again!"
Piper tried to look interested at Leo's story of engines gone wrong, but she really just wanted to start eating. As always, they were waiting on Percy and Jason. Annabeth was grabbing drinks from the kitchen, and the smell of vegetable lasagna on her plate was making her mouth water; nausea forgotten. Frank and Hazel sat across the table from her, playing pattycake and laughing.
Piper slumped against the table with her chin in her hand and muttered a response to Leo. Startlingly loud thumping announced the arrival of Percy and Jason to the dinner table as Jason sat down next to her and Percy went looking for Annabeth. Both boys looking and smelling (thank goodness) clean. Jason grinned at her and pushed her hair back to kiss her cheek; making a pleasantly warm feeling spread through her toes. She smiled back and grabbed his hand.
Percy wandered around the corner from the table, looking for Annabeth. He spotted her leaning into the fridge pulling out a very full tray of drinks. Wobbling slightly, she turned around with a determined look on her face and set them on the counter. She glanced up and when noticing him, smiled. Those funny little dimples she denied she had, appearing. Percy impulsively smiled at her and after they had been staring at each other for longer than acceptable, he walked forward and picked up the tray.
He heard her huff in exasperation and vainly attempt to take the tray herself. Percy simply lifted it high above his head and backed up, grinning. She put her hands on her hips and started to walk forward, but stopped, smirking. Percy's brow furrowed and he was about to ask her why she was smiling like that, as it was never a good sign when he thought he had the upper hand, when- CRASH. The tray of drinks slammed into the top of the kitchen doorway and plastic cups and liquid flew all over the floor. Percy slowly brought the tray down.
"Is everything okay in there, you guys?" Leo called. Annabeth walked over triumphantly and began picking up the cups. "Everything's fine," she said, "Percy was just being a seaweed brain. We'll be out in a minute. You can start without us." After they had picked up the cups and Annabeth was criticizing Percy's mopping skills, they (meaning Percy) had finally cleaned up all the assorted drinks, which had started to make an unbecoming puddle of brownish yellow sap on the floor. Annabeth smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek.
"Next time, Perc? Please let me get it myself." Then she turned and was walking out the doorway; about to pick up the new tray of drinks from the counter, when Percy grabbed her wrist and spun her around against him.
"Now now, Annabeth, I wouldn't have gotten to kiss you then, would I? We'd already be eating dinner." Percy threw in a smile certain to win her over (which it did) and she slowly reached up and kissed him. Usually Percy would have gone blank and gladly have never moved again, but he had a mission. Quick as a flash, he slipped a couple ice cubes down the back of her t-shirt and, grabbing the tray of drinks, flashed his own triumphant grin and made a break for it out of the kitchen. Ignoring her "Seaweed brain!"
Minutes later, after they had all sat down for dinner, Annabeth silently kicked Percy's leg under the table as punishment. But the little seaweed brain only smiled warmly at her; startling her into stopping. Their lasagna was fantastic, and she snorted in disgust as Percy opened his mouth, filled with food, and said,"Bllllaaahhh," while Jason described the giants many advantages over them. Percy slowly shook his head. "This would be so much easier if I had just taken up the whole immortality thing."
Annabeth slowly stopped chewing her food, and looked down at her plate. Trying not to turn red, as awed silence fell over the table. Risking a glance, she saw Frank with his mouth open and Hazel fanning herself for air. Leo was sitting back in silence and making quick looks between the two of them, slowly grinning. Piper looked like she was lowly connecting dots, and then out of nowhere, looked just a little sad. Before Annabeth could give her a questioning glance, Jason leaned forward, "Immortality? Why on earth would you give that up?"
Percy smiles slowly and looks right at Annabeth. She feels five sets of eyes flicker towards her and she looks where she knows is safe. At Percy. As always, Annabeth feels warmth flood through her as he gazes at her in a way that could be described as completely full of gratitude (for what, she didn't know) and what some might call love.
Of course she knew they loved each other, but seeing it this close and raw, made her want to hold him and never let him go. Annabeth's mind wandered to the moment when Percy has been offered immortality, and even though she wasn't a huge fan of PDA, Annabeth closed the distance between them, and in front of everyone, let herself melt away for just a second, into a world where it was only them.
Pushing the logic and rationality aside for a second, she let herself be young and in love, and let everyone know it. Annabeth pulled away quicker than she would have liked, to see Percy gazing at her with those bright green eyes; crinkling at the edges. While Hazel and Piper both squealed, Leo cleared his throat and looked at Jason. "I think that might be why."