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Percy loved his job. He did. He loved being an EMT, he loved being able to help people in a way that didn’t involve killing monsters and potentially dying himself. But some days really fucking drained him. As he got back to their apartment, he sighed as he dropped his work bag on the floor by the door, kicking his boots off as quickly as possible. “Baby? You home?” He knew Annabeth didn’t have a class in the afternoon, but she sometimes stayed at the library on campus to study with some of her classmates.
“In here!” She called from their bedroom, and when he crossed the threshold, he saw her lounging on their bed, in only a pair of underwear and one of his shirts. Her braids were gathered up in an elastic on the top of her head, and she was snacking on a bowl of candy. “Hey, you’re home early. What’s up?”
“Shit shift,” Percy grumbled. “Got puked on twice and then almost fucking stabbed.” Annabeth sat up at that, holding her arms open. Percy was happy to just drop into them, tucking his head into her neck. “After I took a third shower, Cap let me go home.”
“I’m sorry it sucked,” she muttered. “I don’t have any homework to do, so we can just lay here and cuddle and watch Jaws?” Percy nodded after a moment.
“That sounds perfect. I’m gonna change first.” He pushed himself out of bed and began stripping out of his uniform, throwing it in the laundry basket (even though it was clean, he couldn’t give a rat’s ass), and even kicked his underwear off. He pulled on a pair of sweatpants and then slipped back into Annabeth’s hold, wrapping an arm around her waist.
“Here, I saved all the blue ones for you,” Annabeth held the bowl out for him. He looked up at her and smiled softly, hiking himself up to kiss her.
“Thank you, Beth,” he whispered. “You make my day so much better.” He didn’t bother letting her respond as he settled into their bed, tucking the bowl in the divot between their bodies as she pulled up the movie on her laptop. He was happy to snack on his candy as he nuzzled into his girlfriend, watching one of his favorite movies.
***
Every other Sunday, Annabeth had brunch with some of her school friends, and while Percy whined a little about wanting to join, he never actually did. He knew it was good for them to have their own things separate from each other (at least that’s what his mom told him when they were teenagers and he had no reason not to believe her), but he wanted to spend all his time with Annabeth. She was his favorite person in the world.
But, he let her go with minimal pouting, and usually took those few hours — if he wasn’t working — to play some video games. He was doing that now, sitting in the middle of the couch, controller in hand, and eyes trained on the screen. He had been playing for a few hours straight when the front door to their apartment opened and Annabeth stepped inside. She was wearing a purple overall dress, and it made it her legs look hot as fuck so Percy had no choice but to pause his game immediately.
“Hey baby, have a good time?” He asked, crossing the small space to give her a kiss.
“Always,” she muttered against his lips. She pulled back after only a few moments and pressed a small bouquet into his chest. “These are for you.” Percy grinned and took the flowers gently by their stems, lifting them up to his nose to sniff. There were a few different types of flower, despite the small size, and a mix of shades of blue and white.
“Thank you,” he whispered, as he always did, and moved to put them in their usual vase. Annabeth had started this practice over a year ago, ever since she first started going to brunch. On her way home from their usual place was a small market, and there was a flower vendor there. When she handed him the flowers that first Sunday all that time ago, he had turned bright red and stuttered his thanks.
Annabeth had practically cooed over how cute he was and since then, every time she went to brunch, she got him a small bouquet of flowers. She said she liked seeing him get a little flustered for her, and Percy loved his flowers. They reminded him that she was always thinking of him, even when they weren’t together.
“You’re welcome,” Annabeth stood on her toes to kiss Percy’s cheek sweetly. “Do we need to go grocery shopping today?”
“Uh, no, we’ve got enough for the next few days,” he shook his head, arranging his flowers in their vase.
“Good. I’m gonna go change and then we can cuddle while you play for a bit longer?” she suggested, and Percy was happy to agree. He brought his flowers and set them on their normal spot in the middle of their small coffee table, plopping back down on the couch. He resumed his game and a few minutes later, Annabeth joined him, curling into his side as he played. He let his head rest on the top of hers, and hummed contentedly when her hand snaked under his hoodie and her nails scratched his stomach.
***
Percy had a love/hate relationship with his hair. Though these days it was much more love than hate.
As a kid, he had no idea how to really take care of his curls, and as much as his mom tried, she only knew what she knew, so for the first like, twelve years of his life, his curls were kind of a mess. Once he finally figured out what he needed to do to take care of them, he liked the way it made his hair look, but the process. He did not have the patience to sit and diffuse his curls all the way. He spent years only doing half of what he was supposed to because he just couldn’t get through it all without wanting to just cut all his hair off.
But after his 16th birthday, and he and Annabeth started dating, she wouldn’t let him skip out on any steps. Lucky for him, Annabeth was more than willing to help, and she hadn’t stopped since.
Now, they had a routine. They had different wash days, because it was too much to have them on the same day. Her wash day was always on Wednesday, since she only had one single class in the morning, and his changed depending on what days he had to work, but typically they tried for Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.
This week, it landed on Saturday. Annabeth made him get up earlier than he would normally on an off day, and they showered together. She tucked her hair into a shower cap and he sat on the floor to let her lather the shampoo into his hair. He was happy to sit and let her essentially massage his scalp, nails digging in in a way that almost always led to him turning around to give her an orgasm (actually two — he never left his girl unsatisfied). After some conditioner, body wash, and a rinse, Percy shut the water off, and let Annabeth out first.
After exiting the shower, and while Percy was brushing his teeth, Annabeth got dressed. “Once you’re done, I’ll be on the couch,” she called as she padded out of the bedroom and passed the open bathroom door. He nodded, adjusting the towel around his shoulders. His gaze trailed Annabeth as she walked, her ass just covered by his shirt that she had donned. He quickly tugged on his favorite pair of worn sweatpants and followed after his girlfriend, dropping to the floor in front of her.
“What do you wanna watch, baby?” he asked, snatching the remote from the coffee table where it sat next to their basket of hair products.
“Can we keep watching that one show with the fake psychic?” Percy navigated to the correct streaming service and started the next episode as Annabeth dug around to find the right bottle, and as he leaned back against the couch, she began scrunching the mousse into his curls. It didn’t take too long, since he didn’t have much hair, and then she pulled out the hair dryer — this was where he always gave up.
“Do we have to?” he whined a little, but one look from Annabeth shut him up. They moved to the corner of the couch, so the hair dryer could be plugged in, and then he tilted his head in whatever direction she put him so she could diffuse his curls — whatever that meant. He had tried, years ago, drying his hair with his powers, but that had left his hair a frizzy mess, so Annabeth had forbid him from doing it anymore.
“All done,” she declared, reaching over the arm of their sofa to unplug the hair dryer, dropping it back in the basket on the coffee table. Percy turned around and got up on his knees between Annabeth’s legs, leaning in to kiss her sweetly. She was happy to return it, leaning into his hold.
“Thank you,” he whispered against her lips — and he really was. He liked his hair much better when it was actually curly, and thanks to his absolutely wonderful girlfriend, he got to have it. “I love you.”
“Love you too,” Annabeth nuzzled their noses together.
***
Percy loved watching ocean documentaries. They were one of his favorite genres of movies, actually, and it wasn’t because he liked learning about all the different aquatic life and currents and shit (though that was still cool), but rather because he wanted the gossip. Fish saw everything, and they had no filter, so they were quick to share it. So when he watched the ocean documentaries, he got an earful.
It also happened whenever he went swimming, or when he went to the aquarium. But the documentaries were the best because he didn’t have to do anything, he just got to listen and judge.
“And did you know that apparently Tangs have an entire hierarchy based on color? There’s fish racism!” Percy explained to Annabeth. He hadn’t worked, so he made dinner while she was in class, and now they were sitting on their couch, facing each other, and going over their days. Annabeth had already told him all about hers — the fuck face white boy in her architectural history who thought he knew more about Roman architecture than she did and the professor that was eyeing her for an internship the next year.
“And what is this hierarchy? Who’s at the top?” Annabeth asked before shoving a bite of pasta in her mouth.
“The Sailfin, it’s one the biggest species of Tang, and it’s covered in these super pretty spots, but basically it all comes down to appearance. The more complex the pattern is, the higher up they are. All the ones that are one color, they’re the lowest, and it’s unfair! They didn’t choose what color they were going to be!” Percy huffed a little — he had to watch and listen as the poor Yellow Tangs got bullied by all the others.
“That’s very unfair,” Annabeth agreed with a nod. “Is it different with every like, group of tangs no matter where they’re at or is it all of them?”
“I’m not sure, they only filmed the one group, so I’ll have to go to the aquarium soon, and I can ask the ones there,” Percy suggested.
“We can go there on a date? This weekend maybe? You’re not working Sunday, right?” Annabeth offered. “I don’t have brunch, so we could get there early, that way there’s not as many people to witness the crazy guy having a conversation with a Tang Gang.”
“I told you that name pisses them off!” Percy pouted. “If you call them that to their face, they’ll never talk to me again!”
“I promise not to call the fish offensive names,” Annabeth said with a small smile. Percy huffed but nodded — he knew when she was lying (she always got a little twitchy and talked around the subject she was lying about) and she wasn’t lying.
“Good,” Percy nodded. “Also! Lionfish are pretty much, like, universally hated by all the other fish.”
***
Percy kicked off his boots as soon as he walked in, throwing his duffel in the direction of their bedroom — he did not want to deal with it right then. He stumbled over to the couch and dropped down, sighing as rubbed his face with both hands. He was exhausted but wired, and he knew he needed to sleep, but he couldn’t.
“Perce?” Annabeth stepped out of the bathroom, robe wrapped around her body, braids falling down her back. “How was work?”
“Uhg,” was all he could get out. He had worked an overnight, which he already didn’t like doing (he hated sleeping away from Annabeth, and knowing that she was sleeping without him), add in that they were on calls pretty much all night after the fucking probie said the fucking q-word, and it had made it the shift from Hades.
“That bad?” Annabeth made her way over to him, and straddled his lap, untying her robe and shrugging it off her shoulders, though it caught on the bend of her elbows. “Why don’t I make you feel better?” Percy perked up a little immediately, cock already twitching in his uniform slacks.
“Yes, please,” he nodded, dropping his hands to her bare thighs.
“Yeah? Which do you want?” Annabeth leaned forward until her tits were pressed against his chest. He knew exactly what she was asking — this wasn’t a new song and dance. Anytime he came home from a shift like this — too in his head to relax — she knew exactly how to get him out of it.
“Cunt, definitely your cunt,” Percy decided immediately — don’t get him wrong, he loved a blowjob, and Annabeth had all the tricks that made him come his brains out memorized, but there was nothing like being buried as deep inside her as possible (actually that was a lie. His head between her thighs was definitely better — if he could make eating her out his job, he would in a heartbeat).
Percy kept his hands on Annabeth’s hips as she rode him, gaze moving from her tits to her face, back and forth, as he wasn’t sure what he wanted to watch more — she was absolutely stunning, biting her lip as she concentrated on her movements. It didn’t take long, it never did like this, and as soon as Percy could breathe normally, he was flipping them over to drag another two orgasms out of Annabeth with his mouth, leaving her panting and dizzy on the couch.
“Thank you, baby,” he whispered, licking his lips clean of her, savoring the taste. Annabeth could only hum, dazedly nodding her head.
***
Double shifts almost always sucked — not because the work was hard or he hated his coworkers, no, he loved his job and he had become fast friends with the other EMTs on his shift — because it was a full 24 hours of not seeing Annabeth. Annabeth was his favorite person in the entire world, and if he could, he would spend every minute with her, but unfortunately, they were forced apart by the demands of capitalism.
He was almost 18 hours into the shift, and after having returned from three back to back calls that were all lift assists, he was ready for lunch. He slipped out of the ambulance and headed straight for the kitchen. He was about to get out everything he needed to make a quick sandwich (before they got another lift assist) when a very familiar voice sounded behind him.
“You really should have better situational awareness, Seaweed Brain.” He turned to see his girlfriend sitting at one of the smaller tables, a plastic bag in front of her, stacked with several styrofoam containers.
“Beth,” Percy sighed in relief, and hurried across the floor to get to her, leaning down to kiss her soundly. “I missed you.”
“I missed you, too. S’why I brought you lunch. Figured we could have a little date,” she suggested, smiling up at him. Percy beamed and dropped into the chair diagonal to her, tugging her closer. Despite this being a regular occurrence, he was still surprised. He always was when Annabeth did something like this for him, went out of her way to spend time with him. Almost every single time he had to work a double, she would show up at some point during his shift (depending on her own schedule) with a meal, or even just snacks, so they could sit and have some time, just the two of them (or, as just the two of them they could get in his workplace).
“That sounds perfect,” Percy ripped the bag open and checked the containers, handing Annabeth’s hers. He stood and grabbed them some silverware as well, grabbing two sodas from the fridge as he passed it. He cracked them both open as he sat back down, hooking their ankles together under the table as they ate.
He knew his coworkers would give him shit later, after Annabeth left, for how enamored he was with her, but he couldn’t give two shits what they thought — he would take all the teasing in the world if it meant he had Annabeth by his side.
***
Despite having lost the curse of Achille’s, Percy still loved a nap. He didn’t need them like he did when he had it all those years ago, but they were still just so nice. His favorite place to nap was the couch, in the early afternoon. Almost every day he had off, he could be found napping there, blanket half wrapped around him, head buried in the cushions.
Unless he was really lucky, then, his head was buried in Annabeth’s lap. And not in a dirty way (most of the time).
On weekends, or days that Annabeth was home during that time, she would always let him lay his head in her lap. It was far more comfortable than the cushions, or even his pillow on the few occasions he brought it out from the bedroom. Not to mention she smelled far better than any piece of fabric ever could — soft and sweet, like cocoa butter, vanilla, and orange.
Not only did she let him lay in her lap, she also scratched his head. She didn’t have super long nails like a lot of other girls he saw did, but they weren’t short like his either. They were the perfect length to gently scratch his scalp as he lay down, and every single time, almost like magic, it put him to sleep in only a few minutes.
Like now — he laid out on his stomach mostly, face buried in Annabeth’s lower stomach and arm wrapped around her to anchor him in place. Her fingers brushed his curls away from his face, and then he felt her nails against his head — not too hard, just a light pressure, but it was perfect, and before he could think about anything but how good she smelled, he was drifting into a nice, dreamless sleep.
***
Percy wasn’t entirely sure what Paul’s family thought of him — he didn’t see them very often, since they didn’t live in the state, but every few years, they all trekked out to his family reunion. The last time they went, Percy was only a few months out of Tartarus, so his mom had let him stay home with Annabeth (and maybe they spent the entire week naked in his bed but that was neither here nor there).
There was no getting out of it this time though, and since his mom and Paul were bringing Estelle, he wanted to be there to help anyway, and while Annabeth didn’t have to come, they really hated being apart from each other, so she had talked to her professors for her Thursday and Friday classes and had helped him pack their bag.
They took the subway to his mom’s apartment early Thursday morning, their bag slung over his shoulder as they walked, his free arm wrapped around her shoulders. “You can still stay home,” he offered as they stepped inside the building. “I know you don’t love family reunions.”
“I don’t love my family reunions,” Annabeth corrected. “I’ve never been to yours. Maybe it’ll be fun?”
“I don’t know if I could describe my step-dad’s family reunion as fun, from the few I’ve been to, but sure,” Percy smiled. “I mean, I’ll have you and Estelle, at least.” The elevator took a moment to arrive, but luckily was empty when the doors finally opened.
“I’m sure the baby will provide an excellent distraction,” Annabeth giggled a little, swiping her braids over her shoulder. “Babies definitely don’t attract any attention from extended family at all, ever. Or even just the prospect of babies.” When they had gone to Annabeth’s family’s Thanksgiving the year prior, no less than five relatives asked them when they were planning on having a baby.
“Okay, but when she cries, I have an excellent excuse to get away for a few minutes,” Percy argued, knocking on the door to his mom’s apartment. The door swung open only a few seconds later, Paul standing in the doorway.
“Hey, you two,” he said and moved aside. “We should be ready to go in a few minutes, Sally is just getting the last of Estelle’s stuff ready.”
“Is she awake yet?” Percy asked, glancing around the apartment.
“She’s in her crib,” Paul confirmed, and Percy didn’t waste anymore time, dropping his and Annabeth’s bag on the couch before heading down the hall to Estelle’s nursery, beaming when he found her standing up in her crib. His mom was at her dresser, packing some things in her little bag, and Percy quickly greeted her with a kiss to her cheek before picking up his baby sister.
“Good morning!” he cooed, pressing a kiss to her head.
“Mor!” she squealed back, already wide awake. “Foo?”
“Are you hungry?” Percy asked seriously. “Has Mom been starving you? Not letting you have breakfast?”
“We were going to stop and get something on the way, but by all means, you can make breakfast for the two of you,” Sally raised an eyebrow at him.
“Sounds like we have to wait just a little bit longer, Stelly,” Percy patted her back. “Does she need to be dressed?”
“No, she’s wearing that, and we’ll change her at the hotel,” Sally shook her head, zipping the bag closed. “Ready to go?” Percy nodded and followed his mom back out to the living room, happily passing Estelle to Annabeth. As soon as his sister had seen his girlfriend, she was leaning out of his arms and reaching for her — Annabeth was probably her favorite person in the world, and if it was anyone else, Percy would probably be jealous, but Annabeth was also his favorite person in the world, so how could be mad at that?
Percy grabbed their bag as he followed Annabeth out of the apartment, all of them making their way down to the underground parking garage that they paid extra for. Percy kept his gaze on Annabeth and Estelle, and look — he wasn’t ready for kids, and neither was Annabeth; they had talked and agreed that that particular adventure was still a few years away, but that didn’t mean that seeing her with his baby sister didn’t make him want to throw her against the nearest wall and get pregnant right there.
Annabeth got Estelle buckled into her car seat and took the middle spot between her and Percy, leaning back against him while she kept one hand hanging over the edge of Estelle’s seat to keep her entertained. Percy was happy to throw his arm over the top of the seat, watching the two of them fondly, occasionally leaning over to press a kiss to Annabeth’s head, cheek temple — whatever he had access to at that moment.
It wasn’t too long of a drive, but it wasn’t short either, as they wouldn’t be arriving until the early afternoon. Not long into the drive, after she had gotten breakfast and had been changed, Estelle drifted off into a nap, and Annabeth turned in her seat so she could sit with her head on Percy’s shoulder. They spoke quietly, Annabeth’s fingers trailing up and down his arms, playing with the sleeves every few passes.
Finally, finally they had gotten to the hotel. They had separate rooms, thank Gods, so after checking in they split up, and Percy immediately tugged Annabeth into a shower, stripping their travel clothes to leave in a pile on the bathroom floor. He stood in front of the spray as it warmed to give her the time to put her braids up in a bun. “You feeling okay?” she asked, stepping close to him, palms flat on his chest.
“Yeah, I just don’t know any of Paul’s family super well, and the last time I saw them was like, right after everything happened with Kronos,” he shrugged. “So it’s been a while.”
“Well, you’ve got me. I won’t leave your side,” Annabeth promised, standing on her toes to carefully press a kiss to his lips. Percy was quick to wrap his arms around her waist, holding her safely against the length of his body. “What time do we have to meet everyone for dinner?” she hummed as Percy kissed along her neck.
“Not for another few hours,” he smirked a little, but before he could move to drop to his knees, Annabeth had beaten him to it. “Beth-”
“Hush,” she instructed, wrapping her hand around his dick. “You can eat me out after I blow you, okay?”
“And I can fuck you after that?”
“You think you have to ask?” She took him in her mouth before he could answer, and Percy couldn’t concentrate on anything but the feel of her warm lips on his length anymore. She made him come far quicker than he normally lasted in the shower (the water made it easier for him to control his body, so they used that to their advantage) and then he hiked her up against the wall, throwing her leg over his shoulder to give him easy access.
“You want it in here or on the bed?” Percy asked after he had wrung two orgasms out of Annabeth, her leg still hiked over his shoulder, his fingers now rubbing soothing circles into the muscle.
“Here, if we do it on the bed, we’ll just have to take another shower,” Annabeth decided.
“Always so practical,” Percy teased, smiling at her as he stood slowly, adjusting her position so her leg was hooked over his hip instead. He slid in with little resistance given how wet she was; thanks to the water, he was able to get Annabeth to come another three times before finally giving in, practically collapsing over her.
“My legs don’t fucking work,” Annabeth grouched, leaning her entire body weight on Percy, panting heavily.
“I’ll carry you,” he kissed her again, and after they actually got clean, he did carry her through to the main room and set her on the edge of the bed. “What were you planning on wearing tonight?”
“My jeans and that green shirt,” Annabeth said, leaning back on her hands to watch him rifle through their bag. Percy found the requested items, along with a new pair of underwear, socks, and bra. He knelt on the floor in front of her to tug the socks on her feet and pull her underwear up her legs while she clipped her bra on. She got her shirt on before Percy helped once more with her jeans, letting her lie on her back while he yanked them into place, doing up the button and zipper.
“You want your boots?” he asked, already moving over to the bag, pulling them out. The only other shoes she brought were the old sneakers she wore during the drive, and he didn’t think she’d want to wear those.
“Yes, please,” she nodded, already lifting one foot for him. He smiled a little and kissed both knees as he fit each boot on her, tugging the zip up. “There, all done?”
“I’m gonna do a little bit of makeup, and then I’ll be ready,” Annabeth sat up and tugged their bag over to her to dig out her cosmetics bag while Percy got dressed quickly, messing with his curls until they sat the way he wanted. By the time they were both done, it was time to meet with Paul, Sally, and Estelle in the lobby, so Percy grabbed his wallet and they were out the door, Annabeth still leaning most of her weight against him.
“Who are we having dinner with tonight?” Percy asked once they joined his parents.
“My parents, my younger brother, and his two kids,” Paul answered easily. “One of his kids is a year or two older than you and the other is younger. And tomorrow will be the whole family — aunts, uncles, and cousins.”
“Well, it can’t be worse than the multiple times my aunts, uncles, and cousins voted to kill me,” Percy said easily. Annabeth snorted, and Paul looked a little horrified, but Sally just rolled her eyes and instructed them to get out to the car. They were back in the same configuration, so Annabeth and Percy spent the short drive talking to Estelle, making her laugh — which wasn’t hard with Annabeth around since, again, she was Estelle’s absolute favorite person in the world.
The restaurant was one of those chain Italian restaurants that Percy thought was fancy when he was a kid, and he volunteered to carry Estelle and her diaper bag in, holding her against his chest as they headed across the parking lot.
“Is this your way of using her as a buffer?” Annabeth asked quietly, both of them a few steps behind Sally and Paul.
“And what if it is?” he shrugged. “You know I kind of suck at lying about my life, and they’re gonna ask questions since I haven’t seen them since I was sixteen.”
“Just do your best, and I’ll come to your rescue if you need me to, okay?” Annabeth offered, and Percy beamed, happily accepting. They were seated as soon as Paul spoke to the hostess, and led back to a table where everyone else was already waiting. Paul made quick introductions for Annabeth (and Percy, because he had no idea what anyone’s names were).
Percy and Annabeth were sat next to Paul’s nieces, and he couldn’t really tell which was which, but he knew their names were Taylor and Allie. He kept Estelle on his lap, setting her on his leg with her back to his stomach, and he gave her his spoon to keep her entertained.
“You want me to just order for you?” Annabeth asked softly, eyes scanning the menu. Percy agreed easily and gratefully, as he could already tell the font would be hell on his eyes if he tried to read it. Everyone around them was making small talk and ignoring them for the time being, but after their orders were taken, they weren’t so lucky.
“Percy, what is it you do again? You’re not living with Paul and Sally, still, right?” Paul’s mom asked him (he was pretty sure her name was Angie, but he couldn’t be certain.)
“Oh, I’m an EMT with the NYFD,” Percy answered. “I’ve been doing that for just about a year now.”
“That’s very nice. You didn’t want to go to college, get a proper job?” Percy was a little taken aback by the response but cleared his throat.
“School was never really my thing, I like being on my feet and helping people. I think sitting at a desk all day would drive me crazy,” he said with a tight smile.
“And he’s very good at his job,” Annabeth said, laying her hand on his bicep. “Passed all his tests with flying colors.”
“And what about you, Annabeth? Are you in college?” Paul’s dad, Greg, asked.
“I am yes, I’m studying architectural design,” Annabeth said with a soft smile. “I’m in my second year.”
“So you’ll be making more money than your boyfriend?” one of the girls next to them asked — Percy thought it might be Taylor.
“Uh, yes, I suppose so,” Annabeth frowned a little. “But we’re not really concerned with who makes more money.” Technically, it was already her since she got paid for her position as architect of Olympus, but they couldn’t exactly share that with everyone. They also already had a joint bank account, but Percy knew mentioning that would just cause more problems than he wanted to deal with.
“You do seem like a more…modern woman,” Angie said placatingly, and Percy caught his mom’s eyeroll from across the table — she also made more than Paul with all the books she had published over the years.
“Yep, that’s us,” Annabeth nodded. “Modern.” Thankfully, Paul changed the subject and the attention was taken away from them for a while, and questions were limited to very basic topics like what part of New York they lived in and what their hobbies were.
Unfortunately, about halfway through their meal, Taylor (or Allie) started talking about school, again, as she would be starting her senior year soon. After she finished her spiel, Angie set her sights back on Percy. “What high school did you go to, dear?”
“Oh, well, I went to a couple, actually,” Percy said. “I started at Goode, but I had to switch to Alternative High School for my junior and senior year.”
“Right, right, you ran away didn’t you?” Allie (Taylor?) asked, and Annabeth squeezed his leg under the table.
“Study abroad, in Greece,” Percy said a little sharply. “But my credits got messed up with Goode, so it was easier to just go to AHS.”
“No wonder you couldn’t go to college,” Taylor (Allie?) laughed under her breath, but it was loud enough for them both to hear, and Annabeth snapped her head over to the girl.
“Percy could have gotten into college if he wanted to, but you might need some help considering you’re going to be retaking Algebra I as a senior,” she practically snarled. Percy’s eyes widened a little, his grip on Estelle’s tightening just a fraction. Annabeth rarely got angry like this, at least she hadn’t in years. She was very good at controlling her temper and preferred talking things out reasonably. The only time he had ever seen her like this was — well, when she was defending him.
“Excuse me-” Paul’s sister-in-law started, but Paul cut her off, though Percy didn’t hear what he said, he was too busy staring at Annabeth, a small smile meeting hers.
“Thanks, Wise Girl,” he whispered.
“Anytime, Seaweed Brain,” she whispered back, leaning forward to press their lips together in a sweet kiss.
***
Percy was usually the one to pack his own lunch (and Annabeth’s when she had one of her long days) but occasionally, it would come down to his girlfriend. She always packed him a great lunch, homemade sandwiches, bags of chips, veggies and fruits with dip, and always a bottle of his favorite blue juice (that he never bought himself, ‘cause it was too expensive).
The other guys at work sometimes watched in jealousy, and he had heard more than once that they wished their partners would pack them a lunch like Annabeth did for him. But if he was being honest, it wasn’t anything edible that was his favorite part — no, his favorite part of his lunch on days that she packed were the notes.
Every time she packed his lunch, without fail, she left him a note on a blue sticky note, sitting right on top of the food so he wouldn’t miss it. They were usually short, a sentence or less, and just telling him she loved him, but he cherished every single one.
He finished his lunch and threw his trash away before taking his newest note to his locker. He had a system — he’d keep the newest five stuck to the door of his locker, and the older ones would be tucked safely back into his lunch box to be brought home and preserved in his Annabeth Box (a box he started as a teenager, where he kept her letters. Now, the box was bigger and included every note, card, or letter she had ever given him).
He unlocked the dial on his locker and swung the door open, reading over the last five notes he had gotten from her:
I love you. Especially your smile. Have a great day.
Your muscles are almost as big as your heart. Love you.
The way you kiss me makes me fall in love with you every time.
I love waking up next to you. I can’t wait to do it for the rest of my life.
Your butt looks good in your uniform pants. Have a good day.
And his all time favorite, given to him only a couple months into his new job, stayed in its place of pride at the top of his locker door:
You have to be part octopus, because you octopi all my thoughts.
Percy beamed and took down one of the older notes (the one about his muscles) and put up the newest one that he had received that day (If you were a vegetable, you’d be a cute-cumber, accompanied with a bag of slices of actual cucumber). After a quick (more like two minutes) of staring at the photo of her had taped up with the notes (it was of her on his birthday, dressed in a tight blue dress with only the front half of her hair braided, the rest pulled into a high puff), he finally shut his locker and got back to his assigned chores for the shift.
***
Percy didn’t have to shave as often as some of his friends at work or camp did — his facial hair was never fast growing or very thick, despite how curly his hair was. He tried growing it out one summer, but it only lasted two weeks before it got itchy and Annabeth complained about the beard burn, so he shaved it off without a second thought.
Since then, he had dutifully shaved every few days. Until he moved in with Annabeth anyway. Ever since they started living together, she liked doing it for him. He wasn’t entirely sure why, and when he asked, she said she liked the intimacy of it, and he wasn’t going to tell her no.
So now, whenever she dragged him to the bathroom after feeling his jaw, he obediently sat on the closed toilet lid and let her manhandle him around as she spread shaving cream over the lower half of his face.
That’s where he was now, watching as she prepped his razor and the towel. When they first started, she used a standard disposable multi-blade razor, but she’s gotten good enough that she got him (really her) a nice single blade razor instead. With everything ready and his chin smeared neatly in shaving cream, Annabeth straddled his lap, laying the towel over her thigh, and gently tangled the fingers of her non-dominant hand in his curls to manipulate his head wherever she needed.
Percy was happy to let her do as she wanted, watching her with half-lidded eyes. He knew that once they finished and she had wiped his face clean, he would pick her up and carry her into their bedroom where she would ride him until they both came, and then he would finger fuck her to another orgasm or two — it was practically a routine at this point. Percy knew that, even if he didn’t fully get it, the closeness of shaving him made her impossibly wet every time, and he was always going to indulge her in her desires.
Percy sat as still as possible as Annabeth dragged the razor over his skin — she rarely ever nicked him now, with all the practice she’d gotten over time. It didn't take too long, though she tended to drag it out a little to stay in his lap, and he always knew she was done when she leaned in to press a sweet kiss to his lips. Percy grabbed her waist when she did, pulling her even closer, their bodies pressed together as tight as possible.
“Gotta clean you up,” Annabeth muttered when she finally pulled back, reaching over to set the razor down and grab her clean towel. She gently wiped his skin clean, punctuating it with a few more kisses to his freshly shaven skin. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” Percy mumbled against the skin of her jaw, basking in the familiar scent of her, breathing in deep to get as much of it in his senses as possible. Annabeth smiled down at him and nuzzled their noses together, giggling when he picked her up, arms and legs wrapping around his body as he carried her to their bedroom, kicking the door shut behind them.