[ That would explain all the steaks and the burgers ... all totally delicious, of course, but definitely a choice and preference. ]
Yeah? [ Percy grins now, also imagining all of the ways of this sailing trip becoming an actual, real thing. They could sleep beneath the stars, swim by the falls, count sheep, maybe even do a little fishing. It all feels so normal.
It feels like the kinda stuff regular people do before they head off to regular college, making future plans while backpacking across a new country. ] Okay. That settles it, then. Iceland here we come.
[ And maybe it doesn't even have to be Iceland. Maybe if they find some cool place here — granted he gets his powers back — they could explore a new area, see the sights and sounds, find sheep here.
Even if it never happens, if none of this really happens, the possibility exists, and for now it feels like enough. ]
[ the smile finally settles in her so deeply all of a sudden she almost feels stupid about it. the normalcy she craves with percy is so utterly grounding despite herself. most of the time annabeth doesn't feel like she is capable of being a normal girl. she's always had that struggle, really, as far back as she can remember, threw herself into into the godly side of herself when the mortal side rejected her so wholly. ]
[ they hadn't gotten the chance to be normal after the titan war. she just wants that chance. ]
[ but even the possibility of it continues to make her feel warm and safe, and isn't that all she wanted after crawling into bed with him? being with percy is never normal by virtue of their lives as demigods, but sometimes he makes her believe it can be. one day. being with percy settles her. ]
[ she reaches up, awkwardly patting his ear before her hand comes to settle at his cheek instead. she doesn't want to leave him tonight. she doesn't want to go back to tartarus. he wants to take a boat to iceland and hike up a glacier holding his hand. ]
Take me sailing, Seaweed Brain. [ she pauses. ] Can I ask one more favor?
[ What is it about her asking him to take her sailing that suddenly has his whole chest filling with warmth? Like it's a non-negotiable request (totally okay with that, by the way) but also an offer of a promise — that this will be something they do together too, another reason to look forward to their future as partners.
For someone who isn't very good at picking up on cues, or hell, even focusing on a single thing for longer than a couple seconds, it has Percy caught up in a moment of distraction.
The pause goes on for a beat too long before he realizes that Annabeth's asked him a question, and he's quick to make up for it. ]
[ his distraction nearly distracts her, mostly because the look on his face is very soft, and she knows it's because of her, in some capacity. ]
[ annabeth isn't a shy person. she doesn't think she has a shy bone in her body. but she does have nerves, and all of a sudden her request makes her feel briefly nervous. which is stupid, because she's camped out next to percy far too many times to count in their multitude of quests. they scandalized the argo ii. she slept beside him in tartarus, woke up with him in damasen's hut, under sheepskin and leather blankets. it's just a bed in a magic castle, far away from home, and she wants to feel safe more than she feels nervous, so she chases it away soon enough. it's normal, really. ]
[ she does drop her hand from his face though, reaching for his hand instead. ]
Would you mind if I just stayed here for the rest of the night?
[ perhaps another time she might have just assumed her place, just barged in, but it's a shared space. it's not like it's his cabin. ]
[ Yes, this is a shared space. No, this isn't his cabin back at Camp Half-Blood. But Percy doesn't care about literally any of that. When Annabeth reaches for his hand to hold, he laces his fingers with hers and squeezes gently.
It's about this.
It's about making sure that the other person is okay, kinda like the way they used to keep watch during their quests. During Tartarus. And no, maybe they don't have to keep their guard up now that they've arrived in this cushy castle with its safeguards and magic and 'civilization' but neither of them really know what this place is about yet.
Maybe some boogie man in a crown will show up unannounced. Maybe one of their roommates might randomly snap and call for blood. But maybe ... for his own peace of mind, he'd also rather the two of them stay together.
[ what a non-issue. what a comfort. what did she do deserve having percy jackson in her life? ]
When you put it that way, maybe it was a little silly to ask.
[ annabeth squeezes his hand in turn, relieved anyway. it's a hard habit to break, after who knows how long in tartarus of staying at each other's side, ensuring safety, playing guard - of course it would be a jarring switch to suddenly have her own sleeping space, no matter how much safer it is here from imminent, immediate deathly dangers. ]
[ but she already feels easier, knowing she's not going anywhere, knowing he'll be right there. knowing they can take on anything even a four-poster bed can threaten. ]
I might have secretly been assuming I'd just stay too.
[ Percy lets his eyes close for a moment, partially to bask in this feeling, and partially because he really is feeling a whole lot better now that they're together. ]
'Cause now that we're like this, I am way too comfortable to let you go anyway.
[ It's not exactly like he'd had an easy time getting to sleep on his own before she came over either — as she probably gathered by the fact that he hadn't even fallen asleep yet. The bed felt too soft, too luxurious, too empty, too big; and the storm outside sounded strange to his ears without the backdrop of screaming souls and gurgling volcanos.
There's something to be said about how truly messed up it is that he's having more trouble sleeping now than he had in literal Hell. But there it is.
He lets go of her hand only so he can wrap his arms around her again, using one of his feet to kick at the blanket, haphazardly flinging it back up a little to cover them. It hits their legs, at least. ]
[ annabeth always feels better with percy. they're a team. she spent enough time apart from him already, and she knows she can't be with him all the time. but now doesn't have to be one of those times. ]
[ percy shifts them a little, and it's easy to curl up into him as he wraps his arm around her. tartarus is gone, for now, and that's all she could have wanted out of reaching for him in the dark. ]
[ she giggles - she honestly fucking giggles - at his attempt to grab the blanket without dislodging her. which, respect, because she's very comfortable too, but it's so absurd in the light of everything else that she doesn't care. ]
Try again. But if you ask nicely, maybe I'll help. [ she wriggles her leg under the blanket. see? she's ready, if he says please. ]
[ There's a little more wriggling and shifting, and no, he is not letting go of Annabeth during all of this by any means. He can do this. He can do something as simple as wrangling the blanket up over them so they can try and get a little bit of sleep before daylight.
He kicks at the blanket again and attempts to use his foot to lift? It upwards? And it like, almost seems to work?
[ she's definitely not doing anything to make it easier on him, staying curled up against him as he struggles and wriggles, legs shuffling and the blanking fluffing about. annabeth laughs harder, turning her head into his chest to muffle the sound, mindful of the other people sleeping in the room. ]
[ only after he gives up and asks for help does she pull back, laughter sufficiently muted for now, but her face is lit up with a wide smile. ]
Okay. Lift it again and I'll grab it with my feet.
[ Annabeth's laughter is infectious, and he finds himself having to quell his own amusement, snickering into her hair and generally doing his best to keep quiet so the rest of their roommates aren't stirred awake.
He can imagine how that conversation might go, and he really doesn't want to have to explain Tartarus and demigod-flavoured nightmares to anyone.
But in the end, it's Annabeth's wide smile that makes him feel like he's just conquered the freakin' Nemean Lion (again), recalling the drastic difference between the beginning of the night and now. It feels like a victory, and he savours the sound of her muffled laughter and the way her whole expression has lit up because he happened to be a dumb moron.
He does as she's asked though, lifting his leg to bring the blanket up again so Annabeth can help with the rest. ]
[ maybe more than anything else, the fact that she can still laugh with him after this escalation of nightmares is a good sign. hearing him try to hide his own laugh is warmer than any blanket they wrestle with. she should have come to him ages ago (ages, as if it's been more than a few days here). ]
[ percy lifts the blanket, and annabeth tries to grab it between her feet. it slips out of her grasp in the first attempt, which only makes her shake even more with laughter, though she swallows back the sound and tries very hard to keep it quiet. ]
Stay still - [ it doesn't even matter if he hadn't moved, she's going to blame him. she moves her legs again, locking in the blanket between her ankles and bending her knees in an attempt to drag it up higher - naturally she ends up kneeing him in the gut in the process. ]
I am! [ Percy hisses in between quiet huffs of laughter, because once she's started he can't stop either.
Their squirming around trying to finagle the blanket into some semblance of usefulness does mean she knees him in the gut — which predictably means that he exhales an audible oof! and a reflexive — ] — ow!
[ He has to clutch at Annabeth with his arms still tightly wound around her to freeze them in place and avoid stirring any of their roommates awake. He listens for any sounds of action from beyond the curtains of this four-poster bed.
Three seconds ... four ... and it seems like no one's been disturbed.
[ annabeth would much rather be scrambling to hide her laughter from roommates than running to hide her very self from monsters. she nearly shrieks with a laugh after she knees him, which probably isn't appropriate, but she can't help it. his arm tightens around her in warning, and she hides her face again while they wait it out; when they find only silence and no annoyed roomies, another quiet laugh bubbles out of her. ]
Sorry! [ she hisses it out between giggles, whispering. ] I'm sorry!
[ she reaches down blindly with one hand, fingertips accidentally grazing his hip, but she manages to grip the edge of the blanket at last, yanking it up and pulling it over them. she pulls a little too hard though, and it lands atop them entirely, falling down over their heads. ]
[ Percy makes a slight performance of spluttering beneath the way the blanket has now fallen over his face, shifting his head this way and that to give himself a little more space to breath.
This also means shifting beneath Annabeth's weight so they're a little better in line with each other and he can meet her eyes. Or — try to, anyway. It's still pretty dark. ]
Yeah, you are.
[ He agrees.
And listen, Percy can't help it, the way he's grinning so widely now in between huffs of forced quiet laughter, heart pounding. With the two of them caught beneath the blanket, he gently reaches out to graze her cheek before craning his neck a little to kiss her. ]
[ she moves in tandem with him as he gets comfortable, settling in beside him, facing him and feeling the most at ease she has since the night began. she should probably pull the blanket down, but there's something extra safe about being enclosed like this. another barrier, closing off the world outside them and the world haunting their dreams. ]
[ it's just percy with her now. she doesn't need to see him perfectly clearly to know he's there and he's got her. ]
[ annabeth feels like her heart stutters a bit when he touches her cheek, but it melts into a much more welcoming warmth as he kisses her. her mouth curls into a small smile as she returns it, leaning closer to him like it's the most natural thing. she supposes it kind of is. ]
[ This is totally a much better arrangement than putting them in separate beds across the room from each other. Sure, they might get a couple of strange and judgey looks from their roommates in the morning if they happen to be discovered, but Percy doesn't care.
With his girlfriend in his arms, and the distance between them only a literal breath away, he feels safe too. She might feel like he's got her, and he absolutely does, but the feeling goes both ways. In times of need, he always knows she's got him too.
He cups her face with his hand like an anchor, noting the faintest taste of salt on her lips from when she'd been crying. He kisses her as though he could erase it all forever, even though he knows it's impossible to do, and he kisses her like he promises to try anyway. When he pulls back it's only enough to graze her nose with his and to reaffirm once more: ]
[ if they didn't want anyone sharing beds, maybe they should have clarified that at some point in the welcome party. not that it would have stopped annabeth from being here right now, but she doesn't really care what their roomies have to say about it. ]
[ it's incredibly easy to fall into kissing him, especially with the way he does it so soothingly. his hand is warm on her face, his mouth chasing her comfort and her demons. there's something of a sigh on her own lips, a relief as she lets the existence of percy jackson just take over her thoughts as he kisses her. ]
[ she trails after him when he pulls back without thinking, befuddled as to why he's stopped? but then he noses her, and her eyes get a little crinkly as she does it back. how silly. how cute. ]
[ he follows it up with an ever familiar confession, and her cheeks go faintly pink. from the warmth of the moment, obviously. not from the depth of how much she feels that love from him right now, as her own affections beat hard in her chest. ]
[ Please. Percy would never stop in the midst of a soft, comforting little makeout session for no reason.
That said, the skies are already slowly starting to brighten, and he's pretty sure they've only got enough hours left in the night for a short cat-nap. He has no idea what they've got in store for them in the coming day (or days) but ever since Tartarus, Percy has learned the value of getting a good night's sleep — demigod nightmares, and all.
Sometimes those last few z's really can make all the difference.
So he kisses Annabeth again, brief and full of promise for future makeouts, and then he does it again, a quick peck. Finally he doesn't quite suppress the slight yawn that escapes him. ]
What do you say to trying to get at least a couple of hours of sleep?
[ she hates when he has a good reason. it's more often than not, which makes it even worse when all she wants to do is kiss him. and this is, unfortunately for that desire to kiss him, a good reason. ]
[ she sighs a little bit, but it's with a soft smile. her eyes close when he kisses her, recognizing it as more of a goodnight with a promise for more later. but the biggest persuasive argument is the yawn, which is contagious, even if she manages to swallows hers back. gods, she really is tired. but right now she thinks she could actually sleep, which is a much better place to be than she was at the start of the night. ]
[ annabeth bonks her forehead to his, affectionately. ]
I suppose you have a good point. Maybe we can even get away with sleeping in a little bit.
[ Look, he's still not totally sure how things work around here, but he figures they probably have a week-plus of leeway for the settling in period.
Right?
And if they don't ... eh. He's never been a ten out of ten rule follower anyway. More like ... a six. Sometimes. When he really tries.
He settles in, arms still wrapped around Annabeth because he has no immediate plans to relinquish his hold on her. His eyelids, weighed down with the call of sleep, seem to close on their own accord. He feels better already.
[ she lets out the quietest chuckle. there doesn't seem to be a rigorous schedule for waking early, but she has no problems disbelieving in his ability to sleep in against any potential protocols. she will gladly join in. ]
[ but percy settles, relaxes, all without letting her go, and it's the safest annabeth has felt in days. she curls herself in comfortably against him and lets her own eyes shut, this time without fear of blindness on the other side. ]
[ she smiles, at the sound of his tiredness, at the warmth around her. but she knows sleep is coming for her soon too, and this time she welcomes it. there's no better place to fall asleep, she thinks, than in his arms. ]
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seaweedbrain) wrote2024-04-05 11:53 am
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Yeah? [ Percy grins now, also imagining all of the ways of this sailing trip becoming an actual, real thing. They could sleep beneath the stars, swim by the falls, count sheep, maybe even do a little fishing. It all feels so normal.
It feels like the kinda stuff regular people do before they head off to regular college, making future plans while backpacking across a new country. ] Okay. That settles it, then. Iceland here we come.
[ And maybe it doesn't even have to be Iceland. Maybe if they find some cool place here — granted he gets his powers back — they could explore a new area, see the sights and sounds, find sheep here.
Even if it never happens, if none of this really happens, the possibility exists, and for now it feels like enough. ]
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[ they hadn't gotten the chance to be normal after the titan war. she just wants that chance. ]
[ but even the possibility of it continues to make her feel warm and safe, and isn't that all she wanted after crawling into bed with him? being with percy is never normal by virtue of their lives as demigods, but sometimes he makes her believe it can be. one day. being with percy settles her. ]
[ she reaches up, awkwardly patting his ear before her hand comes to settle at his cheek instead. she doesn't want to leave him tonight. she doesn't want to go back to tartarus. he wants to take a boat to iceland and hike up a glacier holding his hand. ]
Take me sailing, Seaweed Brain. [ she pauses. ] Can I ask one more favor?
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For someone who isn't very good at picking up on cues, or hell, even focusing on a single thing for longer than a couple seconds, it has Percy caught up in a moment of distraction.
The pause goes on for a beat too long before he realizes that Annabeth's asked him a question, and he's quick to make up for it. ]
— sure. Yeah, anything.
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[ annabeth isn't a shy person. she doesn't think she has a shy bone in her body. but she does have nerves, and all of a sudden her request makes her feel briefly nervous. which is stupid, because she's camped out next to percy far too many times to count in their multitude of quests. they scandalized the argo ii. she slept beside him in tartarus, woke up with him in damasen's hut, under sheepskin and leather blankets. it's just a bed in a magic castle, far away from home, and she wants to feel safe more than she feels nervous, so she chases it away soon enough. it's normal, really. ]
[ she does drop her hand from his face though, reaching for his hand instead. ]
Would you mind if I just stayed here for the rest of the night?
[ perhaps another time she might have just assumed her place, just barged in, but it's a shared space. it's not like it's his cabin. ]
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[ Yes, this is a shared space. No, this isn't his cabin back at Camp Half-Blood. But Percy doesn't care about literally any of that. When Annabeth reaches for his hand to hold, he laces his fingers with hers and squeezes gently.
It's about this.
It's about making sure that the other person is okay, kinda like the way they used to keep watch during their quests. During Tartarus. And no, maybe they don't have to keep their guard up now that they've arrived in this cushy castle with its safeguards and magic and 'civilization' but neither of them really know what this place is about yet.
Maybe some boogie man in a crown will show up unannounced. Maybe one of their roommates might randomly snap and call for blood. But maybe ... for his own peace of mind, he'd also rather the two of them stay together.
He feels more comfortable like this. ]
I actually kinda assumed you'd stay.
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[ what a non-issue. what a comfort. what did she do deserve having percy jackson in her life? ]
When you put it that way, maybe it was a little silly to ask.
[ annabeth squeezes his hand in turn, relieved anyway. it's a hard habit to break, after who knows how long in tartarus of staying at each other's side, ensuring safety, playing guard - of course it would be a jarring switch to suddenly have her own sleeping space, no matter how much safer it is here from imminent, immediate deathly dangers. ]
[ but she already feels easier, knowing she's not going anywhere, knowing he'll be right there. knowing they can take on anything even a four-poster bed can threaten. ]
I might have secretly been assuming I'd just stay too.
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[ Percy lets his eyes close for a moment, partially to bask in this feeling, and partially because he really is feeling a whole lot better now that they're together. ]
'Cause now that we're like this, I am way too comfortable to let you go anyway.
[ It's not exactly like he'd had an easy time getting to sleep on his own before she came over either — as she probably gathered by the fact that he hadn't even fallen asleep yet. The bed felt too soft, too luxurious, too empty, too big; and the storm outside sounded strange to his ears without the backdrop of screaming souls and gurgling volcanos.
There's something to be said about how truly messed up it is that he's having more trouble sleeping now than he had in literal Hell. But there it is.
He lets go of her hand only so he can wrap his arms around her again, using one of his feet to kick at the blanket, haphazardly flinging it back up a little to cover them. It hits their legs, at least. ]
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[ percy shifts them a little, and it's easy to curl up into him as he wraps his arm around her. tartarus is gone, for now, and that's all she could have wanted out of reaching for him in the dark. ]
[ she giggles - she honestly fucking giggles - at his attempt to grab the blanket without dislodging her. which, respect, because she's very comfortable too, but it's so absurd in the light of everything else that she doesn't care. ]
Try again. But if you ask nicely, maybe I'll help. [ she wriggles her leg under the blanket. see? she's ready, if he says please. ]
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[ There's a little more wriggling and shifting, and no, he is not letting go of Annabeth during all of this by any means. He can do this. He can do something as simple as wrangling the blanket up over them so they can try and get a little bit of sleep before daylight.
He kicks at the blanket again and attempts to use his foot to lift? It upwards? And it like, almost seems to work?
Suffice to say, it totally doesn't work.
He lets his weight sink back down and sighs. ]
Okay, yes. Please help.
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[ only after he gives up and asks for help does she pull back, laughter sufficiently muted for now, but her face is lit up with a wide smile. ]
Okay. Lift it again and I'll grab it with my feet.
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He can imagine how that conversation might go, and he really doesn't want to have to explain Tartarus and demigod-flavoured nightmares to anyone.
But in the end, it's Annabeth's wide smile that makes him feel like he's just conquered the freakin' Nemean Lion (again), recalling the drastic difference between the beginning of the night and now. It feels like a victory, and he savours the sound of her muffled laughter and the way her whole expression has lit up because he happened to be a dumb moron.
He does as she's asked though, lifting his leg to bring the blanket up again so Annabeth can help with the rest. ]
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[ percy lifts the blanket, and annabeth tries to grab it between her feet. it slips out of her grasp in the first attempt, which only makes her shake even more with laughter, though she swallows back the sound and tries very hard to keep it quiet. ]
Stay still - [ it doesn't even matter if he hadn't moved, she's going to blame him. she moves her legs again, locking in the blanket between her ankles and bending her knees in an attempt to drag it up higher - naturally she ends up kneeing him in the gut in the process. ]
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Their squirming around trying to finagle the blanket into some semblance of usefulness does mean she knees him in the gut — which predictably means that he exhales an audible oof! and a reflexive — ] — ow!
[ He has to clutch at Annabeth with his arms still tightly wound around her to freeze them in place and avoid stirring any of their roommates awake. He listens for any sounds of action from beyond the curtains of this four-poster bed.
Three seconds ... four ... and it seems like no one's been disturbed.
He relaxes his grip on her. ]
Maybe try not to beat me up next time.
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Sorry! [ she hisses it out between giggles, whispering. ] I'm sorry!
[ she reaches down blindly with one hand, fingertips accidentally grazing his hip, but she manages to grip the edge of the blanket at last, yanking it up and pulling it over them. she pulls a little too hard though, and it lands atop them entirely, falling down over their heads. ]
[ she giggles again, softly. ]
But you know I'm always gonna beat you up.
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This also means shifting beneath Annabeth's weight so they're a little better in line with each other and he can meet her eyes. Or — try to, anyway. It's still pretty dark. ]
Yeah, you are.
[ He agrees.
And listen, Percy can't help it, the way he's grinning so widely now in between huffs of forced quiet laughter, heart pounding. With the two of them caught beneath the blanket, he gently reaches out to graze her cheek before craning his neck a little to kiss her. ]
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[ it's just percy with her now. she doesn't need to see him perfectly clearly to know he's there and he's got her. ]
[ annabeth feels like her heart stutters a bit when he touches her cheek, but it melts into a much more welcoming warmth as he kisses her. her mouth curls into a small smile as she returns it, leaning closer to him like it's the most natural thing. she supposes it kind of is. ]
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With his girlfriend in his arms, and the distance between them only a literal breath away, he feels safe too. She might feel like he's got her, and he absolutely does, but the feeling goes both ways. In times of need, he always knows she's got him too.
He cups her face with his hand like an anchor, noting the faintest taste of salt on her lips from when she'd been crying. He kisses her as though he could erase it all forever, even though he knows it's impossible to do, and he kisses her like he promises to try anyway. When he pulls back it's only enough to graze her nose with his and to reaffirm once more: ]
Hey, I love you.
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[ it's incredibly easy to fall into kissing him, especially with the way he does it so soothingly. his hand is warm on her face, his mouth chasing her comfort and her demons. there's something of a sigh on her own lips, a relief as she lets the existence of percy jackson just take over her thoughts as he kisses her. ]
[ she trails after him when he pulls back without thinking, befuddled as to why he's stopped? but then he noses her, and her eyes get a little crinkly as she does it back. how silly. how cute. ]
[ he follows it up with an ever familiar confession, and her cheeks go faintly pink. from the warmth of the moment, obviously. not from the depth of how much she feels that love from him right now, as her own affections beat hard in her chest. ]
I love you, too.
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That said, the skies are already slowly starting to brighten, and he's pretty sure they've only got enough hours left in the night for a short cat-nap. He has no idea what they've got in store for them in the coming day (or days) but ever since Tartarus, Percy has learned the value of getting a good night's sleep — demigod nightmares, and all.
Sometimes those last few z's really can make all the difference.
So he kisses Annabeth again, brief and full of promise for future makeouts, and then he does it again, a quick peck. Finally he doesn't quite suppress the slight yawn that escapes him. ]
What do you say to trying to get at least a couple of hours of sleep?
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[ she sighs a little bit, but it's with a soft smile. her eyes close when he kisses her, recognizing it as more of a goodnight with a promise for more later. but the biggest persuasive argument is the yawn, which is contagious, even if she manages to swallows hers back. gods, she really is tired. but right now she thinks she could actually sleep, which is a much better place to be than she was at the start of the night. ]
[ annabeth bonks her forehead to his, affectionately. ]
I suppose you have a good point. Maybe we can even get away with sleeping in a little bit.
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[ Look, he's still not totally sure how things work around here, but he figures they probably have a week-plus of leeway for the settling in period.
Right?
And if they don't ... eh. He's never been a ten out of ten rule follower anyway. More like ... a six. Sometimes. When he really tries.
He settles in, arms still wrapped around Annabeth because he has no immediate plans to relinquish his hold on her. His eyelids, weighed down with the call of sleep, seem to close on their own accord. He feels better already.
Sleepily: ]
Good night, Wise Girl.
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[ but percy settles, relaxes, all without letting her go, and it's the safest annabeth has felt in days. she curls herself in comfortably against him and lets her own eyes shut, this time without fear of blindness on the other side. ]
[ she smiles, at the sound of his tiredness, at the warmth around her. but she knows sleep is coming for her soon too, and this time she welcomes it. there's no better place to fall asleep, she thinks, than in his arms. ]
Goodnight, Seaweed Brain.