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percy's first impression of waking up in the same bed as annabeth was a face full of golden hair. he pushed it away, careful not to wake her. she shifted, moving closer to percy in her sleep. he smiled a little. he knew he should get up and move back into the living room before his mom woke up and realized he wasn't there.
camp had ended for the summer yesterday and annabeth decided to stay with percy for a night before going back home to california. sally was overjoyed at the idea of annabeth staying the night at their apartment. however, she was less enthusiastic at the idea of percy and annabeth sharing a bed for the night. so their conclusion was that annabeth would get percy's bed, and percy would be stuck sleeping on the couch in the living room.
percy wasn't super happy about the arrangement, but he figured he didn't have much of a choice. around 11:30 last night, percy kissed annabeth goodnight and took his place on the couch while annabeth made her way to his room. it had been a total of 8 minutes before annabeth quietly crept back into the living room. the street lights from outside illuminated the room through the blinds, allowing percy to see annabeth completely. she didn't speak, she just reached out for his hand with a soft, shy smile.
percy stood up and took her hand, letting her lead him back to his room as silently as possibly. once percy's door was shut, annabeth turned and wrapped her arms around his neck. he hugged her waist tightly.
"sally has to at least assume we were gonna do this," annabeth whispered, a smile on her face.
"oh, duh," percy replied, making annabeth laugh quietly. she pulled out of their hug and took both of his hands, pulling him over to his bed. annabeth pulled him forward until the back of her knees touched the mattress. just like in the living room, the street lights offered just enough light for percy to see her bright smile.
"gods, you are perfect," he said quietly, taking her face in his hands and kissing her softly. annabeth smiled into the kiss, her hands on his sides. she pulled away, the smile never leaving her face. percy pulled away from her and moved to lay back on his bed. he reached out for annabeth, making grabbing motions like a child asking for something. she chuckled and got on the bed. percy expected her to curl up next to him, but instead, she laid directly on top of him, her head on his chest and her arms tucked by his sides. their legs immediately intertwined and his hands moved to her waist, holding her close.
this was all he wanted. he understood why his mother had wanted them separated, they were teenagers, of course he knew what she had expected. but percy was more than content with this. annabeth just sleeping next to him was exactly what he had wanted when he had asked her to stay the night. at camp, they would never get the opportunity to sleep in the same room, let alone the same bed.
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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