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Annabeth always liked a challenge. She dominated Camp’s summer reading programme, tried to finish every race one second faster than her last time, and needed something to do at all times or her brain would itch.
It was a bonus that her boyfriend could appreciate a challenge too.
He wasn’t quite as ambitious as her, (no-one was,) but he could match her energy. Cute dates to the arcade ended in near-murder over the basketball game and a few choice words in Ancient Greek.
Poor Chiron was losing his mind over Capture The Flag. It was a staple. He refused to cancel it or exclude any campers. Unfortunately, Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson were absolute nightmares where camp games were concerned. If they were on the same team, they fought alongside each other so seamlessly that Hecatoncheires would’ve ran for cover. If they were on the opposite team, it usually devolved into a brawl in the river with the rest of the camp looking on, placing bets, and yelling things like ‘kick him where it hurts!’ and ‘just drown her already!’
Demigods were terrifying at that age. And every age. If Chiron wasn’t a magic immortal horse man, he would’ve gone pure grey years ago.
But she loved it. She loved the glint in Percy’s eyes when he found a weakness to exploit, the way they matched each other blow for blow, and the feeling of winning and him staring up at her with the biggest, goofiest grin in the dust. She didn’t always win, of course. In that case, it usually ended in both of them laughing so hard they could barely breathe on top of being out of breath.
It was as simple as ‘race you to the lake.’ Or pulling the chair out from underneath him just to see his face and then run away until he caught her by the waist and laughed into her neck.
Maybe it was the fact that neither of them got to play as kids. Maybe it was that fighting was so deeply baked into them that it needed released like a valve. Maybe it was just that it was fun to wind each other up and reap the consequences of it. Every time she got to be dumb with him, it was like she could feel the Titan’s curse lifting from her shoulders.
Minecraft PvP. Monopoly. Who-could-fit-the-most-marshmallows-in-their-mouth.
They’d spent so long fighting for their lives. Maybe it was time to try fighting for fun.