I Love You, Wise Girl (Percy Jackson one-shot)

A Heartfelt Letter

Percy groaned.

He glanced to his left, where a pile of crumpled-up papers the size of Mount Vesuvius lay.

It was Valentine's Day and Percy had wanted to do something extra for his grey-eyed girlfriend. Instead of getting her the usual bouquet of flowers and the heart-shaped box of chocolates, Percy had decided to write Annabeth a love letter, a decision which he was currently regretting horribly. 

He had never been particularly good with words, and to make things worst, his ADHD and dyslexia had chosen that exact moment to act up, making the words swim off the page as he was writing and giving him a pounding headache.

Percy sighed before starting over on a new, blank piece of paper. He uncapped Riptide once more, feeling it transform from a ballpoint pen into a sword, the bronze blade shimmering. He then touched the handle of the sword with the cap, and Riptide shrunk back into a pen, the tip now exposed.

He touched Riptide's tip to the paper and began to write, the shimmering ink glowing like Celestial Bronze under the dim, yellow lights of the Poseidon cabin. 

Two and a half hours later, Percy finally felt satisfied with what he wrote. 

Dear Annabeth,

I'm no child of Apollo, so no, I'm not gonna write you a love song. Words cannot express how difficult it is for me to be writing this letter with my ADHD and dyslexia. But since this is for you, I will try my very best. 

To keep this short and simple, I love you, Wise Girl.

I fell to Tartarus for you once, and I would gladly do it again if it meant we were together. We are NEVER separating ever again, I promise you that. Never again. I'm sorry that I caused you so much pain when Hera took me away and I lost all of my memories. But even when my memories were wiped and I didn't even know who I was, my memories of you never faded.

You may have a fatal flaw (just like every other demigod), but to me, you are perfect. Sure, your hubris may potentially anger a powerful being, again (past examples: Hera, Hermes, Arachne, do I still need to name more?), but don't worry, I'll be there to save you. Always. I will always be there for you when you need me. When you need some shelter from the rain, when you need a healer for your pain, I will be there time and time again. And even if you don't need me, I'll still be there to annoy the hell out of you.

I also owe you a great deal. To be honest, I was terrified that you would choose to join the Hunters of Artemis.  So thank you, Wise Girl, for not leaving me and running off with them. I don't know what I would have done if I had lost you. Apart from this, I know that I'll never be able to thank you enough for taking a poisoned blade in the shoulder that was meant for me. 

I want you to know, that when I chose you over the immortality that Zeus offered me, it was because I loved you. And I'd do it again in a heartbeat for you. I don't mind you calling me Seaweed Brain, just as long as I can still hear you call me that long after we're old and grey.

Yours faithfully,

Percy Jackson.

Percy folded the paper neatly, put it into a pink envelope decorated with owls as an ironic joke and tucked it into the back pocket of his jeans. He ran his fingers through his raven-black hair and ran out of the cabin to find Annabeth.

A few minutes later, Percy stood outside the Athena cabin. Just as he was gathering up the courage to knock on the door, it swung open, and a very familiar blonde stepped out. With her yellowish-golden hair pulled into a messy ponytail and her stormy gray eyes, Annabeth looked just as beautiful as ever.

"Oh hey, Seaweed Brain, I was just about to head to your cabin to look for you." She said, smiling.

Percy gulped. "Hey, Wise Girl. Can we head somewhere a little more private?" He asked. "Sure." She replied, letting him lead the way. The walk was silent, both of them lost in their own thoughts. Finally, they reached Percy's destination- the edge of the canoe lake. "So what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?" Annabeth asked.

It was now or never. Percy reached into his back pocket and drew out the envelope. "Happy Valentine's Day, Wise Girl." He said, handing it to her. She took it wordlessly, the edges of her lips curling into a smile. Slowly, she reached into the envelope and took out the letter inside. She unfolded it and began to read.

Percy could feel his cheeks growing warmer with every line that Annabeth read. To his surprise, when she finally looked up, her cheeks were blushing many different shades of red. "I didn't know you were such a hopeless romantic, Seaweed Brain." Was all that she said.

"Well...... well...... I-I......" Percy trailed off, not really knowing what to say. "C'mere, you." Annabeth said, locking her arms behind his neck, pulling him down. Their lips clashed gently together and Percy went into a state of euphoria.

They just stood there, locked in each other's embrace for what seemed like eternity, not that they both minded. Annabeth took comfort in the familiar salty, ocean breeze quality of Percy's scent. She gazed into his sea green eyes, and saw that they were tainted with a haunted look, a reminder of what he had been through in Tartarus.

When Annabeth finally pulled away, Percy was frozen to the spot, awestruck, until Annnabeth waved her hand in front of his face, breaking him away from his dazed stupor. "Happy Valentine's Day, Seaweed Brain." She said, laughing at his reaction to the kiss. Her laughter rang out into the clearing, light and sweet, and Percy reminded himself yet again how lucky he was to have Annabeth as his girlfriend.

"I believe that I still owe you a dance, Wise Girl?" Percy held out his hand, smiling shyly. "I guess so, since a manticore interrupted our previous one." Annabeth said, intertwining her slender fingers with his. "Just so you know, I will kill you if you step on my toes like the last time." She warned mockingly. "I promise I've gotten a lot more better at slow dancing since then." Percy said, placing his other hand on her waist. 

They started dancing. There was no music, but Annabeth was still contented. "I love you, Percy." She sighed, melting into Percy's arms. "I love you too."Percy replied, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. They stopped dancing and stood still, drinking in the sight of one another.

Suddenly, Percy unexpectedly swept Annabeth off her feet and carried her in his arms bridal-style, making her shriek out in surprise. He ran forward, both of them laughing exhilaratingly, and dived into the lake. He created an air bubble around them to ensure that they they could breathe and wouldn't get wet, and then kissed Annabeth. After a moment of shock, she regained her senses and kissed him back passionately. 'Guess I have Clarisse to thank for this idea.' Percy thought, his lips locked against hers.

They stayed that way for a long time, because Percy had no need to hurry, one of the perks of being the son of Poseidon.

Author's Note: Hey, ladies and gentlemen! So this little piece is for a fanfiction contest that @Fanfic organised where you choose two characters from the same fandom and write a short story of not more than 10,000 words. This entry only consists of less than 2,000 words because I decided to go for a short one-shot filled with fluff instead of a long one filled with angst. The reason I chose to write about Percabeth is because they were my first ever ship, and that is not something that you can just forget. I re-read the entire series again to get inspiration for this and to get a feel of their romance, and oh ma gawd, THE FEELS. Basically, my eyes turned into a never-ending water fountain. So I hoped you liked it, and don't forget to vote, comment and follow! See you in my next story, and byeeee!

-Lynette.