Percabeth Dirty One Shots and Drabbles

July Rain

By Byima on ao3 and tumblr

A thunder clap forced Percy's eyes up from the report he was logging. Through the windows beyond his desk the rain poured in sharp splatters, same as it had been pouring for the last 48 hours. When it rains he feels the beat like that of his own heart, familiar and steady.

He was distracted enough that he didn't realize anyone was approaching until the person ran her hands upwards through his hair, tangling her fingers in his dark mop and gently tugging his head back to rest against her abdomen.

"When do you switch off?"

"4," he responded, closing his eyes for a moment to find himself in his body, to melt at the feel of Annabeth's hands combing through his hair.

Annabeth hadn't stayed overnight at the firehouse since the pandemic began, but she had come to the station with Sally the previous day. Now, Sally, a tempest in her own right, had been upset that her son hadn't paid her a visit since the beginning of quarantine, ("Ma, I'm completely exposed right now. I'm not trying to pass anything to you. Or Paul, or Estelle," he tried to explain) so knowing she had Dike, the fire captain, in the palm of her hand, she showed up to the station, masked and gowned and gloved, with a vat of chili for the firefighters to eat. And even though her true intention had been to see her son, dinner had been much appreciated. And her son, despite his displeasure at her antics ("I'm allowed to be concerned about your safety"), was so grateful to see her he had gotten emotional.

Annabeth's arms fell to drape around his neck, and his hand rose clasp her forearm and return the touch.

The day had been full of drama and calls, mostly due to the chaos of the storm; power outages, car accidents, falling trees, and then a lightning strike had caused some fierce and dangerous fires even in the rain. Conditions outside were bad enough that fire stations had opened their doors to the community, offering shelter for the night. And Annabeth, who would rather spend a rain storm with her husband than alone in their apartment, took him up on his always extended invite and stayed the night, while Sally drove home to Paul and Estelle.

"I'll just keep you company until then." She moved from behind him to sit in his lap.

"Oh?" He questioned, eyebrows raising slightly as he adjusted his seat for her.

"Yes." Was Annabeth's definitive reply, perching on one of his legs.

He wrapped his arms around her, holding her securely to him and she got an arm around his torso before leaning into him and breathing in deeply.

Quiet moments passed, and then Percy kissed the corner of her jaw whispering, "You are too warm and cute and I can't have you falling asleep here. You'll take me right with you."

"Ok then, we'll talk." She gestured to the cup of coffee on the desktop, and he grabbed it and passed it to her.

"I feel like you normally don't do this, no? You don't normally have someone manning the phones all night," she took a sip of coffee and wrinkled her nose at the lukewarm brew.

"No," Percy touched the bottom of the mug, and, seconds later, steam curls from the top. Annabeth murmured "thanks."

"During bad storms or other emergency's," he narrowed his eyes at her when she wiggled about for a more comfortable seat. She returned his look with an innocent smile, "we keep the line open, on any other day though, after 5pm, this line won't ring and callers are directed to 911 for emergencies."

"Mmmh, okay." She rubbed her free hand along his prickly jaw. "Next question." A playful tap on his slightly chapped lower lip. "Why am I the only community member who's sheltering with you guys?"

"Because Stations 13 and 9 served dinner last night." He studied her face; clean, blonde curls obscuring parts of it from him until she impatiently pushed them out of the way, waiting for him to go on. The well-recognized mannerism brought a slight smile to his face. "We'll serve dinner here in the evening if the storm continues on like this. It'll be packed then."

"So this wasn't just a ploy to get your gorgeous wife to spend the night?"

"Nope," he dropped a kiss on her mouth, unable to resist the invitation in her sly, half-smile. "But I'm not complaining about how things turned out," he murmured.

"Mmmmh." She captured his lips in a real kiss, and smiled at the soft, involuntary moan that slipped out of him when she pulled away. "Me neither."

She took another sip of coffee before turning to check the time on the computer screen. 2:23 am. She turned back and leaned into his chest again.

"I know you worry about your mom, but she was really happy to see you." His mood shifted, but he nodded because she didn't have to explain this to him. He knew. And it had done plenty for his spirits to see his mom.

"The world is in a shitstorm right now," he admitted, "and I can't protect her from everything." He stared out the windows, but she knew he wasn't seeing anything.

"You can't protect anyone from everything, love." Annabeth spoke with a certain softness in her voice and Percy heard it and felt the truth of it like a pressure in his chest, because both of them knew this conversation was bigger than Sally or even the two of them sitting there, tangled up in the chair. So when his hand drifted under her sweater to span across her belly, it was because he couldn't help it.

"We need to have a conversation," she said slowly, studying his serious profile.

He nodded. "Not now though," was all he asked. "At home."

"Tucked in bed?"

"Tucked in bed," he repeated. "Just me and you."

She deposited the mug on the desk, then wrapped an arm back around his waist and pressed her face into his chest.

They fell into easy, quiet conversation for a while, bickering without any real heat and warming under the blanket of familiarity they shared.

"Why haven't we done this recently?" And they really hadn't done this in a while, not since Percy was fresh out of his probationary period and overly excited about his girlfriend staying over during his long shifts.

Percy's answering smile crinkled his eyes.

"Because you're too responsible to pull odd hours with me when you have to work in the morning."

"And you're right," Annabeth said, sighing, contemplating. "These are the things I want to remember about quarantine. The good moments, the ones that wouldn't have happened if it weren't for this shitty situation."

"Shituation."

Both of them burst into laughter.

Percy's mouth opened, probably to crack other crappy joke, but he was cut off by the ringing phone. Freeing one arm, he answered.

"Fire Department New York, Engine 55, this is Jackson on the phone." He went quiet, listening to the person on the line, pouting when Annabeth slipped out of his lap.

She didn't go far, just perching on the desk in front of him, snagging the second best seat in the fire station, beaten only by the seat she had just vacated.

It was nice, having a seat in his work world, seeing a side of him separate from the things they built together. And he looked confident. And a little sexy. Ok, very sexy. So she was good where she was, listening to him calm the woman on the line (he addressed her as ma'am and she was definitely going to tease him about that as soon as she could), surrounded by the darkness and the sounds of the rain and all the things she didn't want to forget.