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I.
It was going to be another one of those nights, Annabeth concluded as she lay awake in her bed. She'd been lying there for what felt like forever, trying over and over again to close her eyes and rest, but all her attempts seemed fruitless. Time ticked by and sleep continued to evade her. It didn't matter how much she tried to get some rest, her mind was wide awake.
She'd been working on her Roman architecture assignment all day, bummed that the class didn't go into as much depth as she had initially been hoping when she'd signed up for it. Not that she wasn't enjoying the classes, they were incredibly interesting and the assignment wasn't too bad, all things considered, but a part of her wished she'd been given more time to truly delve into the nitty gritty of all the research that she'd wanted to do.
Heaving a sigh, Annabeth rolled over for what must have been the sixth or seventh time in the last five minutes. She was happy with how her paper was turning out, and with the deadline looming over her, merely two days away, she didn't have time to make her report even more complicated and extensive than it already was.
But as she lay on her back, gazing up into the dark of her room, she decided it was useless to keep trying. She could stare up at the ceiling all night, hoping that the incessant, gnawing feeling would just go away and let her rest her tired eyes, but Annabeth knew well enough by now that her brain would not stop running thoughts until she figured out all that it was that she was dying to know.
So she reluctantly got up and threw on a pair of sweats, not bothering to change out of her old summer camp T-shirt that she now used as pyjamas. It wasn't like she'd run into anyone at the library at this godsforsaken hour. Well, perhaps another insomniac or two, but they probably wouldn't be looking much better than her anyway.
As she quietly made her way over to the library, she scolded herself for letting her studies come before sleep again. It was hard trying to fix a sleep schedule that barely existed in the first place, especially when she had so much research to do and the enormous university library with all its knowledge, facts and secrets was open to her 24/7 most of the time. But alas, that was the curse of an active mind.
Tomorrow. She'd go to bed on time tomorrow…
…is what she told herself every day, pretty much. She'd said that yesterday as well, and look at where that had gotten her; slipping out of bed and heading straight for the library, yet again.
Not that it mattered. Even when she did try to go to sleep, her mind would not rest. Her endless train of thoughts ran a thousand miles an hour and never bothered to stop and give her even the briefest moment of peace.
Annabeth had decided long ago that it was better to just give in to her brain's begging when it craved more information and knowledge on certain topics; that way she'd at least be able to catch a few hours of sleep by the time she was done. Otherwise she'd lie in her bed all night thinking of what she could be doing instead with all the time she was wasting away, attempting to do something she failed at every night.
Carefully pushing open the door to the library, she made a quick scan of all the empty tables in the silent, dimly lit room. Well, most of them were empty. By the looks of some scattered papers and a laptop on one of the tables, it seemed like there was one other unfortunate shmuck up studying as well. Where that person was, Annabeth had no clue, for the table was left unattended and the laptop's screen had turned off.
She shook her head and noiselessly made a beeline for the historical aisles that she knew like the back of her hand. Even in her free time, Annabeth enjoyed coming to this corner of the library, getting lost in all the literature and reading up on the histories of many things, not just architecture.
Except now the history section wasn't empty as she'd expected it to be.
Slumped against one of the shelves, in what didn't seem like the most comfortable position was — Annabeth suspected — the owner of the laptop and papers she'd spotted a moment earlier. By the looks of the open book still sitting in their lap, and the trickle of drool that was coming out of the corner of their mouth, the person had dozed off in the middle of reading.
Annabeth took a good look at them. A guy, probably around her age, she thought. His dark hair was a tousled mess, and even with his eyes closed, the dark bags under them were still visible.
She somewhat recognised the feeling of her eyes drooping shut despite her best efforts to try and stay immersed in the contents of a book in her hands. One of the biggest signs of her lack of sleep was her body suddenly giving in to exhaustion, and if the open book and this boy's horrendously poor posture were anything to go off, Annabeth was almost sure that had been the case for him as well.
A sharp twinge of sympathy nagged at her to wake this guy up. Despite knowing that he could probably use the sleep he finally seemed to be getting, this wasn't the right place for him and she was sure that his neck would be thanking her tomorrow.
Crouching down next to him, she gently placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a careful shake. The boy wasn't a deep sleeper, apparently. He opened his eyes slowly and drowsily, but almost instantly after Annabeth had touched him.
"Hnng?"
How very eloquent.
(Not that Annabeth could blame him, she wouldn't sound much smarter if someone were to wake her from a sudden slumber either.)
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," she said, even though that was exactly what she had meant to do. She just wasn't quite sure what else to say. "You looked… uncomfortable. Are you okay?"
At the mention of the word 'uncomfortable' the boy groaned and rubbed the back of his neck, as if only then realising how stiff it must have been. "Yeah, I'm… fine…" he said, though the tone of his voice indicated otherwise. "What time is it?" he then asked and Annabeth frowned.
She'd left her phone at her dorm room and she couldn't quite see any of the clocks in the library from this aisle. "Somewhere around three a.m.," she said, remembering how her alarm had showed it being 2:35 a.m. just before she'd decided to get out of bed.
"Three?" the boy exclaimed, suddenly looking a lot more awake. "Fuck… Oh, I'm…" he muttered to himself before heaving a big sigh and turning to Annabeth. "Sorry, I'm fine, just– kind of screwed, is all."
"Sorry," Annabeth said, not really sure how else to respond.
"No, it's fine." The boy shot her a sheepish smile. "My fault for falling asleep here, I suppose." He stared down at the book in his lap for a moment, before rubbing his eyes and getting up.
Annabeth followed suit, feeling a numbness in her knees from being crouched down for a while. "What were you reading?" she then asked, her curiosity getting the best of her as the boy closed the book.
"Something about ancient Greek medicine practices," he said, inspecting the book with a frown, as if not remembering what it was he'd read, "which isn't at all what I was supposed to have been reading, but, y'know." He shrugged.
For some reason Annabeth did know. All too well, actually.
A soft laugh managed to escape her lips. "Yeah, I get the feeling," she said and followed him to the single occupied table in the library.
Their strides matched one another and a comfortable silence fell between them. Once the boy started packing up his stuff, he asked her without looking up, "So, what brings you to the library at this odd hour?"
Annabeth shrugged. "Couldn't sleep."
"So you go to the library?" It wasn't an accusation. Annabeth knew plenty of people who'd scoff at her for not being asleep when she should be, but this guy just sounded genuinely curious why the library was the place she'd go to.
"It brings me some peace of mind," she answered, breathing in the familiar scent of the library.
The boy hummed. "It is quite nice here when no one else is around."
"Sorry for ruining that," Annabeth said lightheartedly and the boy snorted.
"Oh, don't worry, I don't usually sleep here," he assured her. "I was busy doing homework and got sidetracked by some rabbit hole about ancient medicine, next thing I know, I've fallen asleep against a bookshelf. Anyway, I should probably head to bed now and catch some proper sleep," he then said, an apologetic kind of smile making its way onto his face. "Not like I'm going to finish that homework anymore."
"Right, yes," Annabeth said a little awkwardly, part of her already having forgotten that three in the morning wasn't a normal time to be up for the average person. "Goodnight."
"Thanks," the boy responded, slinging his backpack over his shoulder, "you too. And good luck with the, uh, clearing your head? Peace of mind, you said?"
She nodded. "Yes. Thank you."
And with that, the boy was off, leaving Annabeth alone, the library now completely empty, leave for her. She glanced back over her shoulder at the history aisle. For a moment, she considered going back and trying to find what she'd initially been looking for.
However, when she thought about it again, she suddenly didn't feel the need to anymore. Her body felt heavy and her eyes were fighting to stay open now. There was no point in even trying to read anything right now, lest she end up like that guy, dozing off in the middle of the library. She just hoped that by the time she reached her bed, the exhaustion won't have worn off yet.
Thankfully, as soon as she dropped back down on her mattress, sleep came to her quickly enough.
II.
The next few days, Annabeth found herself lying awake at night less than usual. She wasn't sleeping well, per se, but it was almost a miracle that she was sleeping at all again.
After handing in her assignment on Roman architecture though, her mind was restless once again. Thoughts of how she could have improved on her analysis and her research if given more time plagued her mind for hours on end. Not only that, but the itch to simply know and learn more would not be scratched by just lying in her bed thinking about what she could have done better.
She glanced at her alarm. 1:22 a.m. It wasn't quite as late as she was unfortunately used to.
Before she could waste any more time overthinking whether or not it would be a bad idea to get up right now, she shoved aside her covers and swung her leg over the side of the bed. A quick. little library visit would probably do her good, she thought. That would hopefully grant her the serenity she needed.
So Annabeth found herself back at the library once more. This time there were a few more people. Not many, since it was still pretty late — or early, depending on how you looked at it — but it was not 3 a.m. at the very least.
There was someone sitting alone with their headphones on by the library computers, frantically typing away. Someone else seemed to be packing up their stuff, their late night study session having ended when Annabeth's was just about to begin.
She ran a hand through her hair and set out on her well-known path down to the history aisle.
Within a few minutes she found what she'd been looking for, a book on Roman villas. Perhaps she could just read this in bed for a little. It didn't seem that complex, and the book seemed to go more into the archaeological side of things, rather than the architectural one.
'Yes,' Annabeth thought to herself happily, 'this is perfect.' It had some new information for her and from a different perspective on the research she'd been doing, which was precisely the kind of thing that would keep her mind busy with the topic it had been focussed on, but also distracted from all that she could have done differently about her assignment. Bedtime reading it would be, she decided.
Satisfied with what would hopefully be a pretty good solution to tonight's problem, she went to check out the book and make her way back to her dorm. Just as she was about to leave the library, though, she almost bumped into someone else who was trying to leave.
"Oh, sorry," they both said, but the other person then proceeded to hold the door open for Annabeth. "After you."
It was only when they added a silly little bow, matched with a cheeky grin, in stark contrast to the dark circles under their eyes, that Annabeth recognised who it was. "Oh, it's you!" she said, thinking back to a few days ago when she had encountered the boy asleep on the library floor.
"It's me," he confirmed. "In all my sleepless glory. I suppose I could say the same about you, though," he added, raising an eyebrow at her.
"Perhaps."
"Found your peace of mind?" he then asked, glancing between her, the book in her hands and the door.
For how dazed the guy had seemed the last time they'd spoken, he seemed to recall their conversation pretty well. Annabeth smiled. "Yeah. How about you? Did you get your homework done this time?" she asked, walking out the door as she glanced back over her shoulder at him.
He followed her, a proud smile making its way onto his face. "I did, actually. For once. And without falling asleep this time!" he joked.
Annabeth couldn't help but laugh as the image of the guy slumped against the bookshelf, drooling all over the place, popped back into her mind for a brief moment.
They were still walking together in the same direction, and for some reason it felt a little comforting to not be wandering the campus alone in the dead of night for once. And since they'd vaguely been on the topic of homework, Annabeth only found it appropriate to ask him what he was studying.
"Marine science," he answered.
"Marine science?" she exclaimed, slightly taken aback. "Wait I thought you were reading something about ancient Greek medicine last time?"
"Yeah, well, it's a long story. You make one connecting thought about your biology homework to Poseidon, and next thing you know, you've spent too long looking up ancient Greek religion and suddenly end up in some kind of ancient medicinal rabbit hole that you don't understand in the slightest," he explained, waving his hands around a little frantically, before shaking his head with a laugh. "But, I mean, it was still interesting, so I kept reading and then… ah, you know the rest. Anyway, how about you? What do you study?"
"Architecture," she said, and he hummed quietly in response. "But I specialise in architectural history."
"Good thing I fell asleep in the history section then," the guy teased, and Annabeth let out a curt laugh.
"I suppose so, yeah."
They'd reached a point in which their paths diverged, and the conversation came to a natural end.
"Well, goodnight," the boy then said, and Annabeth smiled.
She waved at him before they went their separate ways again. "Goodnight."
III.
At some point it started becoming a pattern to run into Marine Science Guy at the library:
Annabeth wouldn't be able to sleep due to her brain working over-hours, and he would be there finishing up his homework and assignments at the very last minute. Sometimes they'd merely give each other a friendly smile and a nod of acknowledgement, other times they'd exchange pleasantries while walking back to their dorms together.
Which is how Annabeth finally learned that his name was Percy.
Percy Jackson, a marine science major, who had the worst case of procrastination she'd ever seen. Despite that, he did still try his absolute best and was apparently passing most of his classes, at least. His dorm wasn't all that far away from Annabeth's, only about two or three halls away (which is how they ended up walking together most of the time). He was the captain of the university's swim team, which is why he didn't have much time during the day to do his homework. And today Annabeth also learned that he liked baking cookies. Blue cookies, to be specific.
An incredulous smile spread across her lips. "Blue cookies?" she asked.
He nodded, sending her back an earnest smile in response. "They remind me of my mom," he explained. "She used to make them for me all the time when I still lived at home. She said they tasted better that way."
"And?" Annabeth asked, because, well, she had to know at this point. "Do they taste better?"
"I think they do! But I might be biased for my mom's cooking. I can make them for you sometime if you want to try for yourself," he said.
Annabeth didn't know if it was just a throwaway comment, or if he truly meant it. It wasn't like they were really friends or anything; the only time they ever saw each other was during random, sporadic moments at the library, when realistically they should both have been asleep.
But Percy immediately continued telling her about how his mother used to trick him into eating things he didn't like by making them blue, so Annabeth decided not to think about it too much.
That was, at least, until she ran into him at the library again the next week.
"Oh, hey, Annabeth," Percy said, sitting down next to her at the table she'd occupied.
That was another recent development in their late-night library trips, they sat together most of the time now. Often enough, they were one of the only ones at the library at the hour they both happened to be there, and Annabeth felt it was quite nice to have some company for a change. Not to mention that every time they crossed paths and ended up sitting together, time seemed to slow down and Annabeth could truly appreciate the calm and welcoming feeling of the library's walls in the middle of the night.
"Didn't think I'd be seeing you here tonight, Seaweed Brain," she said with a smile, placing down her pen to look at him.
Yeah, that was new too.
Annabeth didn't quite remember where it had come from, but at some point they'd started calling each other by silly nicknames and somewhere along the line they had just stuck.
"How come?" he asked, cocking his head to the side slightly, a cheeky grin overtaking his features. "You didn't think I'd want to miss one of our library dates now, did you?"
She snorted and shook her head. "Of course I didn't," she assured him. "It's just that it's, well, four in the mourning."
"Okay, and?" Percy said, waving his hand around dismissively. "Is it really so weird for me to show up at this time?"
Annabeth shrugged. "Not really. You just don't usually make it this late."
"I guess that's true," he admitted, "but I had a feeling that you'd be here. I'll make it up to you for being late."
Even though she couldn't hide the smile that was tugging at the corners of her lips, Annabeth still found it in herself to lightheartedly roll her eyes at him. As if they ever scheduled their unplanned meetups.
But Percy reached down to fish something out of his bag, and Annabeth could've sworn she smelled them before she even saw them.
"You're joking," she said in disbelief. "You actually brought me cookies."
"Blue cookies," he added, because that, of course, was a very important detail that she shouldn't have left out. "Freshly baked. Like, just-got-out-of-the-oven-still-warm levels of fresh."
"So that's why you're late," she joked, taking one of the cookies from him when he offered them to her. "You're crazy."
"Only for you, Wise Girl," he said, holding up his own cookie with a wink. "Cheers."
Annabeth laughed and tapped her cookie against his, a few blue crumbs dropping onto the table as she did so. "Cheers, Seaweed Brain."
IV.
The nights spent at the library became more and more frequent until the point where midterms came rolling around the corner. Suddenly, there were more people than usual staying back late at the library and with Annabeth trying to somewhat fix her abhorrent sleeping patterns so she'd be well rested during her exams, her odds of running into Percy decreased. They still saw each other once or twice, but it felt strange to not be sitting at the library together multiple nights a week, doing their respective work in comfortable, shared silence.
It took her a moment to realise it, but the pang in her chest that she felt every time she went to bed on time wasn't quite guilt. Annabeth was sure Percy would be happy for her that she was getting some well deserved rest. They'd both expressed their similar struggles with insomnia plenty of times to know that neither of them had a healthy relationship with sleep. But it was during another sleepless night that she lay awake in her bed, thinking about what exactly the uncomfortable feeling in her heart meant, that she was finally able to put the pieces together:
Annabeth didn't feel guilty about putting sleep above her and Percy's 'library dates', as he liked to call them. She missed them.
There was something about the way she'd gotten so used to going on nightly strolls to the library whenever she couldn't sleep — knowing that Percy would most likely be there too — that she found strangely solacing. His familiar presence and the quiet tranquility of the library were grounding to her. She always slept better after going to the library than during the nights where she forced herself to try and sleep. Like tonight.
With a sigh, Annabeth rolled over to her other side and glanced at her alarm clock. 3:52 a.m., it read. There was no point in going to the library now. She had an early exam tomorrow, so it would be better to stay in bed and attempt to get all the rest she possibly could.
But just as quickly as the midterms had seemed to have arrived, they passed with what felt like the same speed, suddenly leaving Annabeth with an entire week off before the start of the second half of the semester.
So, she decided that she deserved to treat herself to a visit to one of her favourite café's, just off campus. They had the best hot chocolate around and it was the perfect drink to have now that the days were slowly getting shorter and the weather turned colder. A nice warm beverage that felt like a hug, paired with a sweet treat and a good book was exactly what she needed to relax after all the exams.
She ordered a hot chocolate and one of their latest additions to the menu — some kind of puff pastry with blueberries and cinnamon — and found a nice spot near the window to sit at. Before she took out her book, she opted for finishing her pastry while watching the people outside pass by on their daily commutes.
At some point, Annabeth thought she saw a familiar figure in the distance making their way over to the café, but she didn't think too hard about it. She saw plenty of people come around here, it was a hot spot for students who needed to fuel up on some good coffee, and the muffins here were a great snack to grab between classes.
Still, curious as she was, she looked up at the chime of the bell to see who it was that had walked in. It took a moment for her brain to properly register it, but no wonder the figure had looked familiar, because standing in line to order, was none other than Percy Jackson.
Something about seeing Percy outside of the library was so strange that Annabeth had to do a double take to make sure she'd seen it correctly, but there was no doubt about it; that messy black hair and those bright, green eyes outshining the dark circles beneath them were unmistakably his. Not to mention that his wide, goofy grin that always reached his eyes was present on his face as he spoke with the café employee.
It was at that exact moment that Annabeth had caught herself staring that Percy turned around and met her gaze. "Annabeth?" he asked, the slightest look of confusion flashing across his face for a brief moment.
She waved awkwardly as he made his way over to her. "Hi, Percy."
"Wow, it's so weird to see you during the day," he said, speaking the thought that had been on Annabeth's mind when she'd spotted him walk into at the café as well.
"Tell me about it," she said, huffing out a laugh. "I could have almost convinced myself that you lived at the library or something."
Percy snorted. "Well, in that case we might as well be roommates. Though, I haven't seen you around in a hot minute. How've you been?" he asked, pulling back the empty chair across from Annabeth before he sat down at her table. The way he joined her so casually felt familiar, and the warm, earnest smile playing at his lips when he looked at her made the sounds of the buzzing café drown out and morph into the calmness of all the late nights spent at the library.
The warmth from the still steaming mug of hot chocolate in her hands spread through her body and she found herself smiling, staring down at her drink as the tried to ignore the way a fluttery feeling made its home in her chest. Something about Percy's company was so comfortable and it always made conversations flow easily.
"Yeah, I've been… trying to fix my sleep schedule, that's why I haven't been to the library as much," she explained with a small shrug. "I have yet to find something that works though, but, well. You know how it is."
Percy sighed, nodding slowly. "All too well."
"Anyway, besides that I've been doing okay," Annabeth continued. "How about you? Did the midterms treat you alright?"
He laughed at that. "Oh, not at all! It's like my professors were out to get me or something," he said, shaking his head. "But I think I did okay enough to pass most of them."
"That's good then," Annabeth said. "I'm sure you worked really hard."
A proud smile crept onto his face. "Yeah, I did," he said. "Wasn't as fun without you around, though, I must admit."
"Well, I'll be sure to drop by the library again some time soon then," she promised jokingly and Percy laughed.
"Not if you're actually getting sleep, though, okay?"
"Okay," she told him, feeling a smirk tug at her lips before she continued, "I guess it's a good thing that I still have trouble sleeping then."
A beat of silence filled the air as they both sipped at their respective drinks. Annabeth eventually broke it by carrying on where she'd left off.
"Besides," she muttered carefully, looking away as she felt blood rising to her cheeks, "I kind of missed our little library dates."
When she looked back across the table and into Percy's sea-green eyes, Annabeth could've sworn they were almost truly sparkling like the ocean did under a bright, summer's sun. "Glad to know I'm not the only one, Wise Girl."
V.
True to her word, Annabeth crawled out of her bed at two a.m. to take her renown trip back to the library a couple days later. She'd been wide awake from the moment her head had touched the pillow, her mind overrun with thoughts of so called library 'dates' and a boy with nice eyes and a pretty smile.
She knew that just lying there restless would not magically make her go to sleep. In addition to that, there were no more exams that she needed to be well-rested for, so there was no point in forcing herself to try get some shut-eye when she knew her chances of succeeding were low. She could follow her regular classes sleep-deprived and running on caffeine just fine, so her mind was made up.
When she pushed open the door, she did a quick scan of the place and found herself smiling at the sight of Percy lying hunched over a table, his head resting on a bunched up hoodie that was cradled in his arms. Walking over to sit down next to him, she kind of wished she had a blanket to throw over him.
As Annabeth fished around in her bag for the assignment she'd brought along to work on, she could hear Percy snoring softly and she thought back to the first time they'd met. This almost felt a little like déjà vu.
It seemed like the guy had a knack for picking out uncomfortable places to fall asleep though, because even though this time he had the comfort upgrade of a DIY cushion, he was definitely too tall to be able to sleep at the library table without the position looking at least a little awkward. Regardless, he drooled and snored away, and Annabeth left him be. He could probably use the rest.
She continued to work on her assignment with Percy's steady breathing as background noise for the next half hour or so. By the time she'd made a considerable amount of progress, Percy finally woke up, groaning and rubbing his eyes as he did so.
"Annabeth?" he asked. His voice sounded a little more raspy than it usually did. "When did you get here?"
"A while ago," Annabeth answered, putting down her pen. With her elbow on the table, she rested her head in her hand and looked over at Percy with a fond smile as he said,
"You could have woken me up."
She hummed. "Could have. But you looked like you needed that nap," she explained, reaching over to playfully ruffle his already tousled hair.
"Hmm, you're probably right," he admitted after a moment with a yawn.
"Was it a good nap?" she asked him as he stretched for a bit, before he grabbed the hoodie from the table and pulled it over his head. He nodded, and then Annabeth teasingly added, "Did you dream of me?"
Percy laughed. "Wouldn't you like to know, Wise Girl?"
"So you do dream of me, good to know," she said, leaning a bit further into the good-natured banter between them. Where exactly this conversation had even come from, Annabeth did not know, but it felt as natural as every other night they'd spent at the library talking together.
"Why? Do you dream of me too?" Percy then asked with a grin, poking Annabeth in the side which made her squeal in surprise.
"If the gods were to ever bless me with sleep, then maybe I would."
Percy snorted at that. "I'll take that as a yes," he said. "And look at where we are now! Seems like dreams do come true after all."
"Wow, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth said, letting out a laugh of her own, "that was probably the cheesiest thing I've ever heard."
"It's probably one of the cheesiest things I've ever said, too," he admitted, looking away from Annabeth. She still saw the dopey grin that had formed on his face.
Shaking her head, she turned her attention back to her assignment as a comfortable silence filled the air. Percy grabbed a book from his bag and Annabeth listened to the way he flipped the page every few minutes as she continued to work.
Once she'd decided she'd had enough of her assignment, she put her pen down with a sigh and pushed her chair back from the table. Her eyes were starting to get heavy, and if she were to guess, it was way past three a.m. already.
"I think I'll be heading off," she told Percy, who'd already averted his attention from the book to Annabeth. "You should probably too," she added, after standing up and checking the time. It was almost three thirty.
He yawned and nodded. "Probably, yeah."
"What time do your classes start?"
"Nine," he answered with a grimace and Annabeth sucked in a breath.
"Yikes. Why are you still up if you have to start so early?" she asked, because it hadn't seemed like he'd been doing any homework like he usually did. In fact, their roles had almost seemed reversed, with Annabeth working on her assignment and Percy reading a book for once. If only she'd have been the one to have fallen asleep, she thought jokingly to herself. That would've been a true switch-up.
"It was just nice to see you again," he said, his shoulders coming up in a shrug. "Wouldn't want to miss one of our library dates now, would I?" He smiled, and it made a certain kind of warmth spread through Annabeth's body.
Despite that, she placed her hands on her hips, looking at him with a mocking frown. "You slept through half of it," she scolded, though there was no real bite to her tone.
"Hey!" he exclaimed, crossing his arms over his chest. "I said you should've woken me up."
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Right…" she said, drawling out the syllable as she picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. Biting her lip, she considered her next words for a moment.
Percy was still looking at her, and that warm, almost tingly feeling continued to spread throughout her body. Deciding that she could be bold for once, Annabeth breathed in deep before finally speaking the thought that had been on her mind all night:
"You know… If you want to see me that badly, you can just ask me out on a proper date?"
It came out more like a question than she had meant it to be; almost as if she was the one asking him out.
Time felt like it dragged on forever for the few seconds that Percy stared at her, his mouth slightly agape while processing what Annabeth had just said. Her face was heating up, and she was sure Percy could see the flushed colour that must have been spreading across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose.
"I- uh…" he started, before taking another moment or two to regain his speech. "Right! Yes! I totally, uhm… totally knew I could do that!" he stammered, his gaze rapidly moving around the library as he avoided hers.
Something akin to a nervous chuckle escaped his lips when he finally looked back at her, and Annabeth would be damned if she didn't admit that she found it endearing. Not to mention that she could swear that she saw a rosy coloured hue on his face — one that most likely matched her own.
"So…?" she asked, rocking back and forth on her feet, almost sure that his reaction was positive, but feeling nervous nonetheless.
"So… would you like to go on an actual date with me sometime? Y'know, outside the library, at a more appropriate time of day?"
Annabeth felt a laugh bubble up inside her and she nodded. "I'd very much like that, Seaweed Brain." She smiled. "Now, are you going to walk back with me so I can give you my number, or do I have to meet you here again another time for that?" Raising an eyebrow at him, she hoped that the hint was clear.
Thankfully, Percy didn't need to be told twice.
+ I.
After Percy had taken Annabeth out for a very lovely dinner date a few weeks later, all gentlemanly-like with flowers and everything —
("Oh, my, how chivalrous of you, Seaweed Brain."
"Only for you, Wise Girl. But don't get used to it, my budget can only handle so many bouquets.")
— they'd both decided that it was much easier to text one another to meet up, rather than leaving it over to fate whether or not they'd run into each other at the library at night. They still occasionally did that, but often times they'd send the other a quick message anyway.
( [1:42 a.m. from: seaweed brain]
since i can see that youre online rn…
[1:43 a.m. from: seaweed brain]
race you to the library!!
[1:43 a.m. to: seaweed brain]
already there loser xx
[1:43 a.m. to: seaweed brain]
see you soon ♡ )
Annabeth wasn't sure exactly how their… relationship? Could she call it that? It was definitely a relationship of some sorts so- well, she didn't quite know what it was progressing to, but she was in no rush to name it.
For now, she enjoyed being able to text Percy and see him at more humane hours of the day, to catch him at less rational ones for their continued library dates, and whatever else was to come.
Like movie nights.
That had been Percy's suggestion, but Annabeth could definitely get behind the idea of snuggling up together for an hour or two of distraction from all the work they both had to do. That, and Percy had promised to bring cookies.
"I can't believe you got me used to seeing cookies being such an egregiously unnatural colour," she said, shaking her head as she let Percy and his obnoxiously blue cookies into her room.
Percy stuck his tongue out at her. "Just admit that they look better like this already."
"Debatable." She took a cookie from him regardless. "But they definitely taste good."
"That's because they're made with love, Wise Girl," he then said, taking a big bite from his own cookie. "What else do you think blue food dye is?"
Annabeth felt her eyebrows furrow at that statement and she gave him a questioning look. "Blue food dye is love?"
"Well duh, that's what my mom always uses," he explained, "and her cooking tastes great because it is made with love. The secret ingredient is the food dye, Wise Girl, trust me on that."
It was hard to tell whether or not he was playing with her, but Annabeth laughed anyway. "You're so unserious."
"I try," he said with a mischievous grin, but it morphed into a more intense looking expression almost instantly. "I am very serious about movies though."
"Well, then, what are you waiting for?" she asked, motioning for him to follow her to her bed, where she already had her laptop open and waiting for them. "C'mon."
They settled down on the bed together, taking a moment to find a comfortable position next to each other. In the end, Percy ended up just slinging an arm around Annabeth's shoulders, and she didn't even need him to pull her closer to give in to the urges to rest her head on his chest.
Despite all his talk about being serious about his movies though, Percy already managed to let out a yawn before the title screen had faded and Annabeth couldn't help but laugh at him a little.
"Bored already?" she teased.
"Nuh-uh," he countered. "Just a little tired."
"We don't have to watch a movie right now. We can also just… stay like this and go to sleep," she offered, pausing the movie for a second to look up at him.
Percy hummed in response, pretending to be deep in thought. "Cuddling and a sleepover? You make a compelling argument, Wise Girl. But what about our movie night?"
"We can always watch the movie another time. I'm pretty tired too, now that you mention it," she admitted, realising just how comfortable Percy's chest was, and how heavy her eyes were feeling all of a sudden.
Looking like he was about to fall asleep any second, Percy nodded slowly. "Alright, that sounds like a good plan."
"You better not drool on me though," Annabeth then said, pointing a finger at his face in warning.
"What?!" Percy exclaimed. "Why would I do that?"
"Because you drool when you sleep."
He gasped. "I do not!"
"You so do!" she said with a laugh, thinking back to the first time she'd met him, slumped against a library bookshelf, a trickle of drool dribbling down his chin. "That's quite literally one of the first things I noticed about you."
"Aw, man," Percy groaned, dragging one hand down his face. The other was still slung over Annabeth's shoulder. "Why would you remember such an unflattering thing about me when I have so many other redeeming qualities?" he complained.
"Oh, like your bad posture and the dark circles under your eyes are such redeeming qualities," she rebutted with a snort, looking up to see Percy grimacing.
"You really just want to point out my worst qualities, don't you?" he said, shaking his head.
Annabeth sighed. "Well, believe it or not, Seaweed Brain, but I unfortunately find them very endearing," she told him, because that was the truth of the matter, wasn't it?
She'd just so happened to have run into him at the library in the middle over the night when he was unconscious and drooling all over himself, only to grow so used to his warm, comforting presence, the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled and the goddamn blue cookies he always insisted on baking.
It was a little funny how one night they could run into each other at the most ungodly of hours and meet by chance, only for them to fall asleep in each other's arms at 10 a.m. a couple of months later. In a sense, it was beautifully ironic. And as she drifted off to sleep, Annabeth realised that she was a hypocrite for accusing Percy of being overtly cheesy merely a few weeks ago…
Because all she could think of, was that she wouldn't have wanted it any other way.