Percabeth Dirty One Shots and Drabbles

The Roommate Agreement 10

Annabeth stood beside Percy as he shook hands with the funeral goers, a tight smile on his face as they offered their condolences. She felt awful for him. After losing his mother, this was the last thing that he needed. Paul was on Percy's other side, and he looked tired too. Percy looked shattered in the moments that he felt no one was watching him. A shadow would pass over his face and Annabeth would feel the urge to give him a hug or something, but then just as quickly as that vulnerability had appeared it would disappear when another person came up to him to shake his hand.

It took a few hours for it to be all over and during that entire time, Annabeth didn't think that Percy'd so much as looked at Sally's grave. Now that everyone was gone, however, Percy stood in front of his mother's grave and looked on stony-faced as tears slid quietly down his face. Annabeth didn't know what to do so she gave him his space, but something compelled her to go to him. She didn't say anything, but she just stood there next to him to offer him some quiet companionship. During their time rooming together, she'd gotten a good feel for when Percy wanted to be alone and when he didn't but couldn't say otherwise, and it seemed like he wanted her near then.

"Where's Paul?" Percy asked, his voice unnaturally steady.

"Paul's gone to check on the parking meter," Annabeth whispered.

He nodded but didn't say anything else. "You know, when I was a kid, I was a real handful. I got kicked out of so many schools that I've lost count. It was hard for me having ADHD and dyslexia to sit there like a model student in school. She never got angry with me though, you know? She'd just look sad and that was worse, but she never made me feel less than, even when the entire world said otherwise," he said.

"She was an amazing person," Annabeth agreed, but she hated how shallow that sounded. She hadn't known Sally Jackson for long, but even in the little time she had known her, Annabeth felt like she was an extraordinary person.

"It's just not fucking fair," Percy said, his voice quivering. "Why'd it have to be her?"

"I don't know," Annabeth said. "It doesn't make sense."

Percy looked up at the sky. "It's so blue," he murmured.

"Yeah."

"It's making me angry. Why is it such a beautiful day outside? Why isn't it raining?"

Annabeth gave him a sidelong glance. "I don't think Sally would've wanted it to be anything less than beautiful outside today. Don't you think?" she said.

Percy pursed his lips and said, "Yeah, yeah I guess you're right."

He started to walk back towards the parking lot, and Annabeth walked with him. There was almost a minute of silence when Percy suddenly spoke. "Did you mean it? Back in the hospital did you mean it?" he asked.

"Mean what? When I said I loved you?" Annabeth asked, looking at him.

Percy turned to look at her and there was a searing intensity to his gaze that felt almost physical. "Yeah, did you mean it or were you just saying it?" he asked.

"I meant it," Annabeth said instantly. She meant it more than she'd ever meant anything she'd ever said before.

"Do you know why I asked you how you felt that day?" he asked.

When she stood there quietly, he said, "It was because I needed to know if you loved me back."

It felt like all the air in her lungs had been ripped out. "What?" she asked. "Then why'd you say you didn't want to room with me anymore?"

"Because I couldn't handle it anymore, Annabeth. I couldn't pretend anymore like I didn't feel something for you, and I didn't want for you to have to deal with that too. If you'd just been fucking honest with me then we could've avoided all this shit," Percy said.

Her old defensive instincts reared up with a nasty retort, but she had to surrender and realize that he was right. She'd been too terrified to let him in so she'd preemptively rejected him. It'd made sense at the time, but now that she thought about it, her line of thought made no sense whatsoever, even to herself. It was ironic that she prided herself for her logic and that it was ultimately her being illogical that ruined what she had with Percy.

"Yeah, you're right," Annabeth sighed.

Percy looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Wow, Annabeth Chase just admitted I was right for once. Can I get that in writing?"

Annabeth met his eye and said, "Depends. Are you willing to sign a new roommate agreement?"

He looked at her with surprise, and Annabeth could feel her heart hammering in her chest. If he was going to say no, now would be the time. She'd given him more than enough reason to, so she couldn't blame him if he did refuse. Instead, a small, genuine smile graced his lips.

"I can think of a few more amendments, but yeah, sure," he said.

It was a little silly how giddy Annabeth felt when she heard him say that. "We're going to be okay, aren't we?" she asked.

"Yeah," Percy said. "Yes, we are."