Percabeth One Shots💅🏻✨

94. Wow

A/N: the numbers got all fucked so I fixed em— I also appear to have lost 'The First Valentines Day' or whatever the 100th one shot was—
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I am absolutely disgusted with the amount of fluff in here but I felt like I haven't had nearly enough fluff in this book for a while.
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Annabeth loved watching Percy swim. Between getting to see him in his element, and how great his ass looked in that speedo, what was there not to love? Oh! That's right— the other thousand screaming girls that drool over him. Not to mention they see his junk, when she's the only one that's supposed to be allowed to see it. Those speedos always show too much for her liking. Or Sally's.

She didn't mind so long as they didn't try anything... there's been a few instances in which a girl got the wrong idea, and jumped from the stands to kiss him. It got annoying for everyone.

Annabeth would get angry.
Percy would get uncomfortable.
Sally would get embarrassed.
Paul's would get all red in the face, though watching his step son in less clothing than he thought he'd have to see any other guy in ever, was not his cup of tea in the first place.
Estelle would have no idea what was going on, only that everyone was upset.

So when a full grown woman met him from the stands, everyone was confused.

"Percy Jackson? Number eighteen?"

"That's me?"

"Hi, Cat Bradley," She stuck her hand out for a firm handshake.  "I represent the USA swim team. Here, take a card."

"My hands are wet." The rest of the Jackson-Blofis's, plus Annabeth, though she's practically a Jackson-Blofis, joined him on the pool ground. Cat turned towards Sally and Paul.

"Hi there, I'm Cat Bradley, as I told Percy, I represent the USA swim team."

"Wow." Sally seemed to be a little starstruck.

"Yes, yes, big deal. I would like to keep in contact with Percy, he has real potential. I'd like to take Percy, and prepare him for tryouts for the twenty twenty-four Olympics."

"W-Wow." That was all Sally could seem to say so, Paul, in hopes of helping her, put his hand on Sally's shoulder and took the card since nobody knew how to react.

"Thank you very much, I think we'll need some time as a family to discuss." He shook Cat's hand and she left, her heels clicking against the tile flooring.

"Wow." Paul was breathless as he examined the card.

"Wow." Annabeth's voice caught in her throat.

"Wow's right." Percy agreed with a giddy, almost cocky grin on his stupid, perfectly carved face.

"Come on guys, let's go home, and we can talk this over." Paul guided them all to the car, once Percy was dressed, and drove them home in an awkward silence.

Annabeth didn't want to be selfish, but she also really didn't want him to take the offer. They have plans. If he takes this deal, their plans for New Rome, their life together, everything, will be drove askew. She worked too hard at this relationship; between their long years of friendship, hidden feelings, his kidnapping, the two wars, and other girls, she deserved to have him all to herself. Now she has to compete with his dreams?

They all sat, the environment in the room had an edge, nobody wanted to say anything. Everyone knew that Percy would get picked up, no question, but the problem is that they're not ready to lose him.

At the same time everyone wants the best for Percy, he has potential to go far with his ability to manipulate the water and score wins himself and his potential teammates.

Percy couldn't take it anymore, he broke the silence first.

"I won't take it."

"You can't do that." Annabeth put her hand on his shoulder, a safe platonic place considering his entire immediate family was in the room.

"I can't leave you, I-I have to go to college."

"Perce, who's to say you can't do both?" Sally inquired.

"It would be stressful." Paul contributed.

"Yeah, but since when is my life not stressful? We deal with monsters everyday. The older we get the less we smell to monsters, so stress will stay the same."

"In theory it should level out." Annabeth added.

"What about the time, like now, when it's still full strength?" Worry laced through his mother's face.

Annabeth knew how much he hated making her worry, despite being the most powerful demigod.

"I have Annabeth. She always has my back... right?" He craned his neck to face her. She wasn't sure if he meant to give the seal eyes, but it didn't matter, even if he hadn't she would have said,

"Of course."

"And what if," Sally checked the card. "Cat can't represent you from New Rome?"

"Then we break up." Annabeth didn't like how easily it flowed from his mouth, like he'd been thinking it for a while.

"W-What?"

"We would break up." His voice not even wavering.

Was he trying to leave her like everyone else? Had she really been so foolish that she let her guard down to yet another person, only for them to leave her for a better opportunity? How could those words be said with such ease? How? Why?

Has he been wanting to break up with her?

Did she do something to push yet another person away? Because, let's be honest here, so many people have left her it has to be something wrong with her.

Percy put his hand on her knee. A relatively platonic place, then taking her hand and dragging her to their bedroom.

"And before you start freaking out— I'm not leaving you, let's just get that straight—"

"Percy, this opportunity is too good to give up."

"Sure, but I like the future we have planned, I'm not giving that up for anything." He brushed a curl behind her ear. "We didn't survive Tartarus, just so I could ditch you at the home stretch and follow some lead that might not even pan out."

"What if- what if you resent me?"

"I could never."

"You say that now, but what about in twenty years when you've missed all the opportunities, and let's say we have a family, you decide the domestic life isn't for you, and you're not happy because you're too caught up with what could have been?" He took her hands and they sat on the bed.

"In twenty years I'll be too busy thinking about how I made the best decision, right now, to not take the opportunity. I don't want that life, Wise Girl, I want you, and the life that comes with you." He brushed a tear off her cheek. "Now will you stop pushing me away and let me stay with you?" She snuggled into his chest.

She nodded and relished the feeling of his strong arms around her waist, his ocean scent washed over her, and the light kissed he brushed against her neck. She drummed her fingers against his clavicle. 

"You promise you won't resent me, or the family we have?"

"On the Styx, but only as long as I get to have a pool wherever we live." She giggled and melted into his embrace.

Sally walked in to get an answer so she could deal with Cat Bradley herself.

"Did we come to a conclusion?"

"Yeah." Sally waited expectantly.

"We're not taking it." He smiled and tackled her into the pillows.

"You said we."

"Yeah, yeah, I did."

A/N: Dude, I don't even know anymore. It seemed like a good idea until I didn't know where to go with it if he had said yes. I might do an alternate version or something. Though it's kinda similar to Why Are You Back? I don't know.

—lex