Pick Your Battles

The strange voice

Annabeth had never thought much about heaven. During her time in the Underworld, she had been too focused on fighting undead warriors and making sure none of her friends got dragged to the pits of Tartarus by enchanted winged shoes to pay much attention to Elysium or the Isles of the Blessed. But however breathtaking those places may turn out to be when she arrived, Annabeth seriously doubted anything could top where she was in that moment.

Paris sprawled beneath her like a sea of stars, sprinkled with the finest nectar from Ganymede's chalice. The sky was a velvet navy canvass, and the night air, smelling of ice and mist, was peaceful. Gusts of wind tickled her nose and chin. She shivered, but Annabeth didn't feel cold, not with Percy's arm around her. In fact, she felt like the happiest demigod girl in Paris, although it would have been nicer if Hermes hadn't left her in a short sleeveless dress for the whole evening.

"Do you want my coat?" Percy asked. Annabeth shook her head. As she looked up, the moon was almost directly above them now. Hermes would be here to take them back any minute. She wondered if he would reprimand them for breaking onto the top floor of the Eiffel Tower after closing hours, then dismissed the thought, concluding that immortal deities probably broke way more important human laws than that on a daily basis.

"Was this really the favour you asked him?" Annabeth turned around to look at him. Percy's cheeks were ruddy from the cold, his eyes misty.

"I asked him for a special surprise for you," he said. "I think dinner in Paris was his own personal touch."

"That's strange. Maybe he's been getting advice from Aphrodite."

"Or he just felt like he owed me a lot," Percy rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean, that was a pretty nasty giant. The fire-breathing definitely knocked him up a few points in the Monster League ranking."

Annabeth laughed. "Yeah. Except I was the one who came up with the idea to capture him."

"Oh, come on, that's not fair," Percy complained, his eyebrows knitting together in a very adorable way. "If it weren't for your ideas for capturing monsters, my win count would be a grand total of zero right now!"

She flashed him a wicked smile. "Maybe you should be grateful I'm on your side, then, Seaweed Brain." She put her arms around his neck.

"Always," Percy muttered, eyelids fluttering, as Annabeth leaned in to kiss him.

A thud sounded on their left. "Alright kids, time to wrap it up, I have a lot of important things to do before you wake up tomorrow in your safe little houses."

Hermes was dressed in all black, tapping his caduceus impatiently against the iron lattice. Annabeth considered reminding him that their safe little houses were actually dangerous little apartments and dorm rooms, but she decided against it.

"What time will it be when we're back in New York?" Percy asked.

Annabeth did some quick maths in her head. "Well, it's approximately midnight now, and since France is six hours ahead-"

"Relax, daughter of Athena," Hermes fixed her with a steely glare. "When you return you will find that no time has passed since the completion of your quest."

Percy breathed out a sigh of relief. Annabeth understood - despite Sally and Paul knowing the ins and outs of a demigod's timetable, he still preferred not to show up on their doorstep at ungodly hours to reveal he'd been fighting fire breathing giants or having dinner in a different continent. It was better to keep them from worrying about him more than they had to.

"Right," Hermes looked mildly irritated. "Are you ready?"

Annabeth nodded, biting her tongue from making unkind remarks.