House of Balloons || Percabeth AU

3-1 (P)

The sound of grunts, shitty music, and iron clanging filled the gym.

Percy racked his barbell and expelled a winded breath. He sat up and wiped the sweat off his face before taking a swig of his water, scrolling through his phone until his two minute rest period was over.

A familiar voice cut through the air. "315 for ten, not bad, Perce."

He looked up to see a regally beautiful, dark haired woman with copper skin and striking black eyes coming over from the squat rack with a smile on her face. Percy had to smile himself. This was Zoë Nightshade, his best friend since he was 13. A few months after he had started working for Neo Daedalus, he had been delighted to hear that she had applied for and gotten a job in his company's IT department. Now, he could see her whenever he wanted.

And they'd made it a habit to go to the gym together every Sunday night.

Percy tugged out his headphones. "Hey. You done?"

Zoë nodded, pulling off her headband and shaking her hair loose. "Mhm. You?"

"Two more sets."

"Slowpoke."

"Shut up."

As they talked, Percy couldn't help but remember what had gone down earlier today. What were the chances that he would run into Annabeth at some random café in Queens? And surprisingly, the place hadn't burst into flames. In fact, it felt comfortable and warm and fun, like catching up with an old childhood friend.

"You have that look on your face," Zoë said, poking his cheek and interrupting his thoughts. "Thinking about the competition again?"

Percy halfheartedly batted her hand away. "Nah... I'm thinkin' about who I'm competing against."

"Annabeth," she sighed. Zoë rubbed her eyes tiredly and sat down on the bench beside him. He knew she was trying desperately not to groan. Zoë didn't really like Annabeth. At all. "What's going on with her now, Percy?"

"I'm... not sure."

"So it's not nothing."

"It's never nothing," he said with a little smile. "You told me that."

"Sounds like me." She knocked their shoulders. "Now, why don't you tell me what's bothering you?"

"I dunno, Zoë," Percy sighed and picked at the seams of his shorts. "Annabeth and I, we've always been in this weird place. Like we're colleagues and rivals, or whatever, but she never wanted to be real friends like this before."

"So this morning, her reaching out to you for the first time in forever instead of it being the other way around has you in a conundrum because you enjoyed that shit way too much."

Percy's lips parted in surprise. His first thought was that she just used the word 'conundrum' in a real conversation and not to sound smart in a college essay.

"Real fuckin' subtle," he deadpanned in the face of her all too sweet smile. "But yeah, pretty much."

Sometimes, it was kind of scary how well Zoë knew him. It was like she could read his mind half the time. He didn't even give her all the details yet! But he supposed that went with the territory of being friends for over fifteen years. Hell, he was the one to give her away at her wedding. She better know everything there was to know about him.

"So the ice is defrosting. That would be great, if not for—"

"C'mon—"

"I know you like her, Percy." Zoë's eyes held compassion, but there was a firmness to them as well. "Tell me what you think I'm going to say next."