Recorded Dreams (A Percabeth AU)

58

Percy POV-

Malcolm and Annabeth decided earlier to meet at a café for a quick lunch double date. Of course that meant that if I wasn't at least fifteen minutes early, I was late, and Annabeth would kill me.

When I arrive, securing a safe spot exactly eighteen minutes before twelve thirty, I find Annabeth already seated at a small booth, coffee mug in hand.

"Hey," I say. She smiles.

"You're earlier than early?"

"Aren't you proud?"

"Very. Good job, Seaweed Brain." She gives me a kiss on the lips as I slide into the booth next to her.

"Thank you. I tried extra hard." I continue to talk to her, clearly about nothing of interest as she decides to make an attempt to smooth down my hair instead of talking to me. Probably for the best, it was sticking nearly straight up.

"Hi guys," Malcolm greets, coming to our table. Mace stands behind him wearing an old Nirvana t-shirt. She smiles at us and plays with the hair in her ponytail.

"Hey Malcolm," Annabeth greets. "Hi, Mace. It's so nice to meet you. I've read all about you."

"Read?" She asks.

Annabeth nods. "In Malcolm's diary that he thought I didn't know about."

"I knew I should've gotten the one with the key," he mumbles. Mace looks at him and laughs.

"Seriously?" She asks. "You keep a diary?"

"It's a journal. I log my daily life in case I do something groundbreaking that changes the world. That way, when they ask for my life story, I have all the notes on how much of an asshole my little sister is."

Annabeth flicks him off. Mace laughs. "Little sisters are assholes," she says, "I would know, I'm a little sister too. My brother and I have a much larger age gap than you guys though. He's out of the house, years out of college. I take any of the clothes he left behind. Especially t-shirts." She holds out the shirt she was wearing now.

"I mean, he abandoned it, so really it's not his anymore," Annabeth tells her.

A waitress arrives at our table just as Malcolm and Mace slip into the seat across from us, interrupting the conversation. We order our drinks, and Annabeth gets another cup of coffee, which she refuses to let me order or try.

"No. You're actually the last person in the world that I would give caffeine to. Except for Leo. I wouldn't give him caffeine."

"I've had coffee before."

"How many people died that day?"

"Numbers don't matter. Let me try their coffee. Just a sip."

"Nope."

"I'd love you forever."

"Like you don't already."

I heave out a sigh. I consider using the baby seal eyes.

"Don't you dare." Of course she knows every thought that I have.

"They're always like this," I overhear Malcolm tell Mace. "They have little flirt fights every day."

"It's cute. You guys met from Annabeth being a singer, right?"

"Yeah," Annabeth says. "He was my annoying recording boy."

"I'm still an annoying recording boy, I just annoy other musicians instead. Pain! Agony Torture Death really wants me to suffer. I'm pretty sure they've been plotting my murder." Annabeth barks out a laugh.