MIRELA ➪ PERCABETH

i'm just happy

annabeth sighed deeply, before lifted her head and looking at him, using her elbows to keep her propped up. "hey," she whispered.

"hi," percy replied, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "you haven't stopped smiling since you pulled me off that couch."

she averted her eyes, becoming shy. percy didn't have to see it to know she was blushing.

"i'm just happy," she said quietly. he rested his hand on her cheek, turning her head so he could look at her again.

"yeah?" he asked. she nodded, pressing her cheek further into his hand. "me too," he replied. annabeth shifted upwards a little, until their faces were parallel. he placed his hands on her waist lightly.

"hi again," she said.

"hey," he whispered.

she pressed her fingertips to his cheek lightly as she leaned down and kissed him. they laid like that for a while, going back and forth between soft kisses and quiet conversations.

at some point, annabeth had yawned for what seemed like the twentieth time.

"sleep," percy said quietly. she looked at him with a small smile and nodded. she gave him one final kiss before shifting back downwards a bit until her head was just under his chin.

"are you going to sleep on top of me?" he asked.

"mhm," she hummed sleepily. "deal with it," she said.

"i guess i can live with that," he said, smiling even though she couldn't see it. "goodnight, annabeth." he ran his fingers through her curls softly, careful not to pull on any knots. instead of getting a reply, percy felt her breathing fall even. it didn't take him long for him to fall asleep too.

and now it was morning and he had golden curls all over his face. annabeth had shifted off him at some point, now pressed tightly against his side. his arm was trapped under her neck. he carefully pushed her hair away from her face. he couldn't help but smile at her.

unfortunately, she wasn't drooling, which meant he couldn't make fun of her like she had done to him four years ago. but he was smiling purely because she was here. next to him. he leaned forward, kissing her forehead a few times, deliberately trying to wake her now. she shifted a bit. her eyes scrunched up before opening slowly. she blinked a few times, her eyes then focuses on him. she instantly smiled sleepily.

"hi," she said, her voice a little deeper than usual. she turned on her back, stretching out.

"is it too early to say i love you?" he said quietly. she froze mid-stretch and looked at him.

"you- what?" she said, another smile slowly growing on her face. she looked more than a little shocked at his words.

"i said," he wrapped his arm around around her waist and pulled her closer. "would it be too early to say i love you?" his voice was quiet.

"i-" she stuttered a little. "no, it's... it's not too early." she quickly shook off the look of shock on her face. "honestly it's a bit late, i was expecting you to confess your undying love for me within the first week of our relationship."

he laughed. "oops, you're right. i'm sorry i'm so late."

"i guess you're forgiven," she said. her arm wrapped around his waist, pressing them together completely. he looked down at her wide gray eyes that were practically sparkling with anticipation and moved his hand up to hold her cheek.

"i love you," he whispered. his thumb ran over her cheekbone a few times as she looked up at him. annabeth's smile grew and she quickly moved her hand from his waist to the back of his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. he hummed in surprise but didn't hesitate to kiss her back.

"i love you, too," she said when she pulled away. her eyes looked glassy as if she might tear up and her voice dropped to a whisper. "so much, percy."

his eyebrows scrunched together. "why do you look like you're about to cry?" he asked. she laughed a little.

"i'm just," she paused, running her fingers through his hair. "i'm just happy. i feel like i came so close to losing you this summer and now... we're here. and i'm just so grateful that we're both here and alive and together." a tear did slide down her cheek now. percy pulled her against his chest and she took a deep breath.

"look at you," he said lightly. "getting all soft on me, huh?"

"shut up."

he laughed. "there's my girl." he pulled her back to look at him. "i almost lost you too, you know? especially you took that knife for me, like an idiot. i was so scared. but you're right. we're here and we're alive and we're okay for now. and thank the gods. i don't know what i would've done if i had lost you." he whispered the last line, before kissing her gently.

"you're gonna make me cry again," she said, her voice thick with emotion. he smiled at her.

"oh, well we can't have that," percy said, making her smile. "let's get up, yeah?"

she nodded, giving him one last kiss before getting out of bed. he sat up, stretching, then climbing out after her. she smiled at him, wrapping her arms around his waist again.

"geez, you're like a leech," he said, but made no move to remove her arms. instead, he wrapped his arms around her too.

she looked up at him. "thank you for inviting me to stay the night," she whispered.

"of course," he whispered. "this was fun, i haven't had a sleepover in forever."

she laughed, standing up on her toes for a short kiss. when they broke apart, neither of them got the chance to speak before they heard some clattering in the kitchen.

"uh, oh," annabeth said with a smile.

"we could just tell her i woke up a little bit ago and came in here," he suggested. she rolled her eyes.

"oh sure, of course she'll believe that."

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