More Than You Know (Oneshots)

No Need To Be Ashamed

Annabeth POV

Percy and I had this little secret together.

I was a girl that grew up in camp. It was all that I knew. I didn't have a mother who sat me down on my bed and did my hair and make up as I grew up. No, I spent time with all of my other Athena siblings and poured my heart and soul over books and battle strategy. I learned to fight and take on kids from the Ares cabin.

It was all great.

Doing all of that was never an issue, I loved it even, but I've never actually learned how to, I don't know, dress myself up? Selina used to be my friend and she used to paint my nails all the time whenever I asked her and, now, I have Piper, who gives me hair products whenever I need a refill, but I've just never really been too good at it.

When I started dating Percy, I started to get a lot of these insecurities. Percy is always telling me that I'm beautiful and pretty and I love him so much for that. He is literally the sweetest man I could have ever asked for. But I feel like I never do anything for him. I've known him since I was 12. We have seen each other's ups and downs, highs and lows. And yet, every time Percy takes me out on a date and I wear something simple, I always blush red because I feel like I should be doing something more.

I always hear all the Aphrodite girls talking about getting ready for their date, all this fashion and clothes stuff that I don't really understand, and I get embarrassed. Sometimes, I hear them making fun of me. It's well known that Percy's, well, hot. He's a handsome and very muscular guy. I know this is a trait that applies to most Aphrodite kids (*cough* Drew *cough*), but they get jealous that Percy chose me and start to make fun of my appearance, for not looking "good enough" for the Hero of Olympus.

And then, one day, Percy walks into his cabin (I was already sitting there reading a book) and nervously asks me a question.

"Do you, uh, do you mind if I do something?" he asked. He looked rather confused and shaken so I just nodded, folding the page in my book and giving him my attention. He told me to go sit down on the chair in front of the mirror.

And then he started to do my makeup.

I was shocked, to say the least. I didn't question it. I didn't say anything about it. I just let him work out his nerves and just finished doing my makeup. It didn't take him very long, just about fifteen minutes, but I swear I looked so good afterward.

"Where did you learn to do makeup like that Seaweed Brain?" I asked him, as he sat up on the countertop. He looked much better from when he first walked into the cabin, biting his lip nervously and just overall kind of panicky, but he was still unable to meet my eye.

"I, uh, I learned how to do it when I was a kid."

I knew this was a sensitive moment for him. Percy never really liked talking about his time before coming to Camp that much. He always talks about his mom, Sally, which I think is the sweetest thing ever, but he never really goes into much detail about anything else. I knew he had a stepfather, but he never, ever talks about him. Percy always shut down whenever I brought him up during our first quest, when Gabe was making the journey difficult for us, so I stopped mentioning it. We were quiet for sometime before he started talking again.

"When things got kind of bad, I, uh, learned how to cover it up so my mom wouldn't find out," he whispered. "I had a nightmare last night and was so nervous and, I don't know, this is probably so weird, I'm so sorry, I just needed to do something to calm me down, a routine, I don't know, sor—"

"Percy," I said, cutting him off gently, but still seething at what I was able to figure out from what he said. "You have nothing to apologize for. Whatever happened to you was not your fault. You were a kid and you were brave."

"I should have been stronger, I should have been able to keep him off. What type of demigod can't even protect himself against a mortal? They call me a hero at Camp, but all I am is this weak kid tha—"

"No, Percy, listen to me. You didn't know you were a demigod. There's no way that could have helped you. And, regardless of that, this does not make you weak in any way. You were a child. You deserved a parent, even a step parent, that loved and cared for you. This is not your fault. What he did to you was wrong. You learned to cope with it the best you could."

He was quiet for some time before he finally nodded. I gave him a hug, trying to tell him how much I loved him without even using words. He was really worn out by the end of all this so we just hung out in his cabin for some time before returning back to all the chaos that goes on outside.

After that day, Percy and I got into an arrangement. He'd do my makeup as a way for him to slowly work his way through the recovery from the trauma Gabe left him, and I learned to overcome my insecurities. And so, one day, when Piper was so insistent that Percy and I go on a double date with her and Jason, the two of us walked over to our reservation in the cafe, hand in hand. I was wearing a simple blue dress and Percy was wearing a nice shirt and jeans.

"Oh my gods Annabeth, your makeup looks so pretty!" Piper exclaimed.

"Thanks!" I said, sneaking a glance over at Percy. For once, he looked completely calm and at ease. He gave me a smile and a subtle nod. "Percy did it."

Even with Piper and Jason looking shocked in the background, I could not have been more proud of my Seaweed Brain.