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"I CAN NOT BELIEVE THAT YOU USED OUR RELATIONSHIP TO WIN A STUPID GAME OF LASER TAG"
Annabeth huffed, lifting her once-glowing, now dull uniform over her head.
To be completely honest, Percy didn't really feel guilty about tricking his girlfriend; she had simply let her guard down, and he was quick to take advantage of the rare opportunity.
Annabeth was ridiculously good at laser tag for some bizarre reason, shooting down two out of three of his teammates, Frank and Leo, in the first minute of the game. Jason held out for a few more minutes, but ultimately met his fate by a fatally well-timed double attack by Piper and Hazel. In the meantime, Percy had only managed to knock out an innocent Calypso (who didn't have any idea what was going and what all the flashing lights were for) and Hazel during her post-Jason knockout celebration.
It had been down to Percy for the guys vs. Piper and Annabeth for the girls, before Annabeth caught him with his guard down. She had sneaked up behind him, and called out his name.
He flinched, before slowly turning around in quick surrender, eyeing her as she smirked, pointing her gun at him. Normally, when he found himself in these situations, Percy had two options; fight or flight. But with Annabeth, Percy knew that he was rendered hopeless; there was no way he was able to flee the situation, nor would he stand a chance fighting her. So, what did he do? Why, kiss her of course.
If had come to him as a bright, fleeting idea. Stupid, but inconceivable enough that it just might work. So, he started talking, something that often came in handy when he found himself in tricky situations during battle. He stalled, his hands raised by his head, all the while taking minuscule steps toward Annabeth. With a few minutes left on the clock, Percy had managed to persuade Annabeth to lower the gun a little, as his hands slowly found their way to her waist, leaning in to press his lips against hers.
Once their lips were connected, he moved with more certainty. He took a few steps forward, pushing her up against the wall, hands drifting up and down her torso as he kissed her again and again.
Annabeth had let her guard down like he had hoped, dropping her gun and throwing her arms over his shoulder, messing up his hair.
Amidst the heated kiss, his hand inched down to his gun, still in its holster. He leaned in to press his lips against hers one last time before he stepped back abruptly, gun aimed at her chest, pulling the trigger.
"Wha-" He felt a tinge of regret, watching her wide eyes and glossy lips, red and puffy from the kiss. "Did you really just do that?" Annabeth panted, hair sticking to her forehead in messy curls, her ponytail virtually undone. Percy only grinned in response, stepping back as she lifted herself off the wall.
"Sorry, babe" he was still smiling at Annabeth's glare as he mounted his glowing plastic gun back in its holster, resting his hand there. The shame, followed by a few moments of gloating, was quickly replaced with surprise, as he noticed Annabeth amusedly eyeing at something past his shoulder. Frowning, he followed her gaze, eyes widening at the side of Piper in front of him, wickedly grinning and in battle stance, gun pointed right at him.
"Hi, Percy" He couldn't even get a sound in before he was shot, the lights immediately turning on as his uniform lost its glow. The color drained from his face too, as he turned back to Annabeth, incredulous.
"Seaweed brain, did you really think that I was gonna let you win?" She smiled widely in obvious enjoyment of his reaction, as she crossed her arms over her chest. Percy shook his head - it had all been an act. Eyes still wide, he stuttered, gesturing between Annabeth and Piper "Y-you guys planned this?"
They simply nodded, leaving Percy still a little bit clueless and fazed, breathing heavily.
"Then why didn't you just get me earlier? Why let me shoot you first?"
Annabeth shrugged, still smiling "I don't know, maybe to let you feel like the man for once" she teased. Percy shook his head, chuckling slightly. So he was the idiot who gloated over the fact that he had managed to disarm her with a kiss and take her down. And it had all just been part of her plan. He should have known better.
"I thought you said this game was stupid..." he muttered, pouting as they started to head back to the exit to return their gear.
"Percy, I'm the daughter of Athena, goddess of wisdom and war, do you know what that means?"
Despite his defeat, his chest felt warm at the feeling of deja vu, as her words took him back to the first day at camp, and the first time he had seen her absolutely ruthless, captivating, and gorgeous form during battle. Now, watching her smile up at him, eyes shining with wicked playfulness, he felt himself falling for her the same way he did years ago at the training grounds. Gods, he loved her.
And so, he gladly admitted his defeat, partly because he had lost miserably, and partly because he felt like the kiss made him the real winner anyways, giving her the answer she had told him years ago.
