Post by SisterGrimmErin on Apr 26, 2009 16:14:20 GMT -5
X X X X X
Percy sat on the porch steps in front of Cabin One, Annabeth at his side. They were close enough that their ankles brushed. Her knee pressed against his, and her head was a reassuring, familiar weight on his shoulder. He looked down at her, smiling. A shawl of corn silk curls was draped over his chest, a wayward strand tickling the base of his neck. The thin strap of her tank top was falling down her slim, strong shoulder. Gently, Percy reached out and slid it back into place, and she smiled up at him, her gray eyes soft and trusting in a way that dizzied him.
It had been a week—a week of falling and drowning in love and still not being satiated. He wanted to spend all of his time with her, to lose himself completely in her. Five days ago: the first time Percy told her that he loved her. It took twenty-four hours before she could work up the courage to say it back. That night they slept together for the first time in the strictly literal sense of the word. Two more nights of sharing a blanket and pillow, and they slept together in the not-so-literal sense of the word. Last night, they announced their relationship to his mother over an Iris message, and Mom had smiled a knowing smile, as if she had expected this all along. They still had yet to tell her family.
Percy was about to suggest affording Luke and Thalia some semblance of privacy and leaving when the door behind them flung open. He jerked around to see Thalia, on her feet and wearing black drawstring pants and a fluorescent Camp Half-Blood shirt she had cut and fashioned into a halter-top while confined to bed rest. She still appeared faded and washed out, but her vitality was finally beginning to return.
“C’mon in,” she said airily.
“Hey,” Luke greeted. He was sprawled in an armchair, a study in casual elegance, but something about it seemed rehearsed and tense. “We’ve got somewhere to go today. Be careful.”
“Where are you going?” Annabeth wanted to know.
Thalia opened a drawer and scanned the contents. “White Plains,” she answered brusquely. Clearly not finding what she was looking for, she slammed it closed with a curse.
Percy hid a smile. “What’s in White Plains?”
“Last time I checked? The projects, rampant teenage pregnancy, and Berkeley students,” Luke quipped.
The response was so immediate and off-the-cuff that Percy had to laugh. “That’s where the party’s at.”
However, Annabeth’s eyebrows drew together in concern; the combination of worry and apprehension she felt was visible, even to Percy. Or maybe I’m just learning to read her better, he thought. “Are you guys taking those supplements and stuff…and the wheelchair?” She asked. “Chiron says that you’ll probably be a little unsteady until you heal up properly.”
“That’s what boys are for.” Thalia flashed Annabeth a small, dazzling smile, then turned the full force of her charm on Luke. “Piggyback time.”
Luke bent at the appropriate angle for her to wrap her arms around her neck and her legs around his waist.
“So whipped,” Percy stage-whispered to Annabeth, who could not keep from giggling in response.
“Like you wouldn’t do the same thing.” The son of Hermes slipped his hands under Thalia’s thighs, shifting her on his back. “Besides,” he carried on, much to their friends’ shock. “I think it’s pretty hot when she’s on top.”
Thalia reached to smack him playfully. “Keep that in mind.”
“I always do,” Luke told her.
She smirked and settled for ruffling his hair instead. “Let’s head out. Argos is waiting.”
Percy had not failed to notice how overdone and affected their cheer seemed. “What are you guys really up to in White Plains?”
“We’re going somewhere where the two of us would normally never go,” Thalia informed him curtly. “And that is all that you need to know. For now and never, I hope.”
Her eyes were grim and full of steel, so Percy permitted the subject to drop.
“You guys are coming back, aren’t you?” Annabeth asked. There was a note of genuine fear in her voice, and Percy’s heart went out to her. He had never paused to think about how she was affected by all of this.
“Yes,” Luke promised, and Percy could tell that Luke understood Annabeth’s concerns—perhaps even better than Percy himself did. After all, the dark-haired boy mused, for so long, they were all each other had. “Come on, Thalia,” he protested. “I’m not that strong.”
Thalia smirked and laced her arms around his neck. “I beg to differ. But can one of you get the door?”
Percy sat on the porch steps in front of Cabin One, Annabeth at his side. They were close enough that their ankles brushed. Her knee pressed against his, and her head was a reassuring, familiar weight on his shoulder. He looked down at her, smiling. A shawl of corn silk curls was draped over his chest, a wayward strand tickling the base of his neck. The thin strap of her tank top was falling down her slim, strong shoulder. Gently, Percy reached out and slid it back into place, and she smiled up at him, her gray eyes soft and trusting in a way that dizzied him.
It had been a week—a week of falling and drowning in love and still not being satiated. He wanted to spend all of his time with her, to lose himself completely in her. Five days ago: the first time Percy told her that he loved her. It took twenty-four hours before she could work up the courage to say it back. That night they slept together for the first time in the strictly literal sense of the word. Two more nights of sharing a blanket and pillow, and they slept together in the not-so-literal sense of the word. Last night, they announced their relationship to his mother over an Iris message, and Mom had smiled a knowing smile, as if she had expected this all along. They still had yet to tell her family.
Percy was about to suggest affording Luke and Thalia some semblance of privacy and leaving when the door behind them flung open. He jerked around to see Thalia, on her feet and wearing black drawstring pants and a fluorescent Camp Half-Blood shirt she had cut and fashioned into a halter-top while confined to bed rest. She still appeared faded and washed out, but her vitality was finally beginning to return.
“C’mon in,” she said airily.
“Hey,” Luke greeted. He was sprawled in an armchair, a study in casual elegance, but something about it seemed rehearsed and tense. “We’ve got somewhere to go today. Be careful.”
“Where are you going?” Annabeth wanted to know.
Thalia opened a drawer and scanned the contents. “White Plains,” she answered brusquely. Clearly not finding what she was looking for, she slammed it closed with a curse.
Percy hid a smile. “What’s in White Plains?”
“Last time I checked? The projects, rampant teenage pregnancy, and Berkeley students,” Luke quipped.
The response was so immediate and off-the-cuff that Percy had to laugh. “That’s where the party’s at.”
However, Annabeth’s eyebrows drew together in concern; the combination of worry and apprehension she felt was visible, even to Percy. Or maybe I’m just learning to read her better, he thought. “Are you guys taking those supplements and stuff…and the wheelchair?” She asked. “Chiron says that you’ll probably be a little unsteady until you heal up properly.”
“That’s what boys are for.” Thalia flashed Annabeth a small, dazzling smile, then turned the full force of her charm on Luke. “Piggyback time.”
Luke bent at the appropriate angle for her to wrap her arms around her neck and her legs around his waist.
“So whipped,” Percy stage-whispered to Annabeth, who could not keep from giggling in response.
“Like you wouldn’t do the same thing.” The son of Hermes slipped his hands under Thalia’s thighs, shifting her on his back. “Besides,” he carried on, much to their friends’ shock. “I think it’s pretty hot when she’s on top.”
Thalia reached to smack him playfully. “Keep that in mind.”
“I always do,” Luke told her.
She smirked and settled for ruffling his hair instead. “Let’s head out. Argos is waiting.”
Percy had not failed to notice how overdone and affected their cheer seemed. “What are you guys really up to in White Plains?”
“We’re going somewhere where the two of us would normally never go,” Thalia informed him curtly. “And that is all that you need to know. For now and never, I hope.”
Her eyes were grim and full of steel, so Percy permitted the subject to drop.
“You guys are coming back, aren’t you?” Annabeth asked. There was a note of genuine fear in her voice, and Percy’s heart went out to her. He had never paused to think about how she was affected by all of this.
“Yes,” Luke promised, and Percy could tell that Luke understood Annabeth’s concerns—perhaps even better than Percy himself did. After all, the dark-haired boy mused, for so long, they were all each other had. “Come on, Thalia,” he protested. “I’m not that strong.”
Thalia smirked and laced her arms around his neck. “I beg to differ. But can one of you get the door?”