Percabeth Oneshots

Soft Spots & Scowls

Prompt Credit: emz20124
Written by me.

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Percy Jackson was the last person anyone expected to see at the library. He wasn’t exactly the type to appreciate quiet spaces, much less one that had rules.

His black leather jacket, torn jeans, and the sharp glint of metal from his various piercings stood out among the rows of neatly organized books and serious students. With his dark, brooding eyes and perpetual scowl, he looked like he could cause trouble without even trying.

But today, like every other Friday, Percy made his way to a secluded corner of the library, away from everyone else. He didn’t bother to acknowledge the curious stares or the hushed whispers as he passed by. None of them mattered. None of them ever mattered.

Except her.

Annabeth Chase sat at her usual table, her blonde curls tied back in a messy bun, a pair of glasses perched on her nose as she furiously scribbled in her notebook.

She was everything Percy wasn’t—calm, collected, studious. She was also the only person in the world who could make his hard exterior melt in an instant.

He approached her quietly, leaning against the bookshelf near her table, watching her with that familiar intense gaze. She didn’t look up right away, too focused on whatever equations she was solving, but Percy waited patiently. He always did.

After a few moments, Annabeth finally looked up and smiled, her stormy grey eyes lighting up when they met his. "Hey, Seaweed Brain."

"Hey, Wise Girl," he grunted, pushing off the bookshelf and sliding into the chair across from her. He kicked his boots up on the table, ignoring the dirty look the librarian shot his way. Percy didn’t care about any of that. The only thing he cared about was that little smile Annabeth gave him.

Annabeth raised an eyebrow at him. "You know, one of these days you're actually going to get kicked out of here for acting like that."

Percy shrugged, his scowl softening into something close to a smile. "As long as you’re with me, I doubt they’d dare."

Annabeth chuckled and reached over to nudge his boots off the table. "You’re impossible."

"Yeah, but you love me anyway."

She rolled her eyes, but the faint blush on her cheeks gave her away. "Unfortunately for me, yes."

Percy leaned forward, resting his chin in his hand as he watched her return to her work. Around them, the library buzzed with whispers, as it always did when they were together.

Percy was an enigma to everyone else—an unapproachable punk who only ever spoke to Annabeth, and Annabeth was the brilliant, nerdy girl who could charm even the most hardened rebel.

But no one knew the truth. No one knew that Percy Jackson, with all his tough-guy bravado, was really just a big teddy bear on the inside. A teddy bear who only let his guard down when he was around her.

"Need any help with that?" Percy asked, nodding toward her notebook. Annabeth looked at him, her expression skeptical.

"You hate math."

"Yeah, but I like you."

Annabeth’s lips twitched, fighting off a smile. "Percy, I don’t think your charm is going to help me with these calculations."

"Hey, it’s worth a shot." He leaned back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest. "Besides, I bet I could figure it out if you explained it to me."

"You’d get bored in two seconds."

"Not if it’s you talking."

This time, Annabeth couldn’t help but laugh. She always loved how Percy could be so effortlessly sweet while still maintaining that rough exterior everyone else saw.

He was a walking contradiction, and it was one of the things she loved most about him.

"Okay, Seaweed Brain," she said, sliding her notebook toward him. "Let’s see if you can keep up."

Percy grinned, leaning forward again to study the complex equations. He didn’t understand half of what she was talking about, but that didn’t matter.

What mattered was the way Annabeth’s eyes lit up when she explained something, the passion in her voice as she talked about things that made her heart race. That was what Percy cared about.

The rest of the world could think whatever they wanted about him. They could call him a punk, a rebel, a troublemaker. None of it mattered because, at the end of the day, the only person whose opinion mattered was sitting right in front of him, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose and explaining complex algorithms in a way that made Percy’s heart do stupid somersaults.

"Are you even listening?" Annabeth asked after a while, noticing the glazed-over look in Percy’s eyes.

He blinked, snapping out of his thoughts. "Uh, yeah, of course. Something about… variables?"

Annabeth sighed, shaking her head with a smile. "You’re hopeless."

"Hopelessly in love with you," Percy shot back without missing a beat.

He loved watching the way her cheeks turned pink whenever he said things like that. She tried to brush it off, but he could always tell when she was flustered.

Annabeth bit her lip, trying to hide her smile as she packed up her things. "Come on, Seaweed Brain. Let’s get out of here before you get us kicked out for real this time."

Percy stood up, slinging his bag over his shoulder and offering her his hand. As they walked out of the library, side by side, Percy couldn’t help but feel a sense of calm settle over him.

Annabeth had that effect on him. She made everything else fade away—the scowls, the tough-guy act, the walls he put up for everyone else.

Because when it came to Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson was nothing but a big, soft teddy bear. And he wouldn’t have it any other way.

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emz20124 hope you liked it. Drop off a comment to rate this: Good, Bad or Ugly.