The Truth Behind The Myths

I'm Going To Rip(tide) My Hair Out From Boredom

Annabeth POV

"Gods, this sucks." I groaned.

Percy chuckled softly and squeezed my hand. "I know, Wise Girl. But you nearly died. You need bedrest."

"I get that, but it doesn't make any of this easier." I thumped my head against the pillow.

He laughed and kissed my palm softly.

I made a face. "You're scruffy."

"I know. Isn't it great?"

"It's.... hot. But at the same time it feels weird when you kiss me and I don't know if I like that."

There was a snort from the doorway. "That's what I tell Will when he lets his 5'o'clock shadow harbor thoughts of being a real beard."

I looked over. "Hi Nico."

"Hey." He walked in and sat on the empty bed next to mine. "How are you feeling?"

"Restrained and jittery."

"Fair enough. How's the wound?"

"Gone, other than a scar. Thank the gods for ambrosia." I sighed. "The doctor said I'll probably get discharged tomorrow, but for now I have to sit here and be stifled to death via boredom."

"I could fix that." Nico suggested.

"How?"

"Well you're pretty much the only one in here right now." There were two other kids, both awake. One was reading a book and the other one was methodically braiding strips of cloth together. I wasn't sure why.

"Okay.... and?"

Nico shrugged. "We could find some cards and get a game started. Y'know, like we used to back in the day."

"Bucky will be furious when he gets outgambled by a teenager." Percy snickered.

"Won't be the first time." I pointed out.

"And certainly not the last." Nico grinned. "What do you say?"

"Sure." I nodded.

"Sweet. I'll go find the others and a deck of cards." Nico darted out quickly.

I jumped a little as Percy kissed my palm again. "Stop that!"

He laughed. "You know something, Wise Girl?"

"Yes, Seaweed Brain?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I want to retire."

I laughed hard enough that the fresh scar on my side twinged. "Hate to break it to you, Seaweed Brain, but you're kind of stuck at an age where that's impossible."

He rolled his eyes, smiling. "Oh shush.... but seriously, what if we could? I'm tired of being immortal, Annabeth."

"I..." Until he said it, I hadn't realized I felt the same. "I am too. What do you say once I get strong enough to travel, we go back to New York and go to Olympus and get this fixed?"

"I can't wait." Percy grinned and kissed me softly.

His lips were as soft as ever, and even with the prickly stubble against my face I enjoyed his embrace.

"Gods, that brings back memories. Get a room you losers." We pulled apart to find Bucky standing over us, grinning.

"I don't have that option." I pointed out, gesturing to my little hospital bracelet. It was glowing a faint red. "I so much as get out of this bed and people come running to wrestle me back into it."

"They gotta beat me to it." Percy said in all seriousness.

"The rest is good for you, Annabeth." Steve smiled, taking the seat on the bed that Nico had occupied not to long ago.

"That doesn't mean it's not driving me crazy. I'm borderline twitching." I complained.

"And here I thought you were just ticklish."

"Shut up Seaweed Brain."

He chuckled and kissed the back of my hand. "I love you to the depths of Tartarus and back, Wise Girl."

I frowned. "As long as that's not going to be literal, I'm okay with you saying it. I've lost you twice already, Percy."

"Of course." He nodded.
[:-)]

"Finally! That took forever." Nico reappeared, holding a deck of cards. "I had to ask 3 different lieutenants."

"So what are we playing?" Bucky asked. "Rummy?"

"Gods no." Percy shook his head. "I'm never playing that with you ever again. Your natural inclination to win irritates me too much."

"Nice fancy way of calling him out for cheating, Perce, I like it." Steve chuckled.

"I didn't cheat!" Bucky rolled his eyes.

"Right. And I didn't see you palming cards to make your hand better." I shot back, grinning.

"You can't prove anything!" He insisted.

Nico chuckled, shuffling the deck above his head using shadows. "Right, no Rummy. Any other suggestions?"

"3 13?" Steve asked.

Bucky groaned. "I can't wrap my head around that one."

"Next thing you know he's gonna suggest Solitaire." Percy joked.

"Solitaire is an extremely helpful game for memory, pattern recognition, and raised intelligence." Steve fired back.

Nico gave me a look that said 'please settle this so I don't have to.'

"I want to play poker." I announced over the other three's bickering. They quickly quieted.

"I'm down." Percy said after a moment. "What are we betting with?"

"Chiron's got chips if you give me ten minutes." Nico suggested. "Loser buys everyone lunch?"

"Deal." Bucky nodded. Steve mimicked him.

"I'm down." Percy shrugged.

"Great." The son of Hades stood up. "I'll be right back."

[A/N there are books where I kill Annabeth but this is not one of them.... or is it?]