PJO/HoO Chapters in Annabeth's POV

The Last Olympian - The Underwater Kiss

Scene from: The Last Olympian - The Canoe Lake at Camp Half-Blood

[Annabeth's POV]

 "Tyson, you're getting icing everywhere!" Annabeth laughed as the cyclops tried his best to get the mixing completed without making the Camp kitchens look like what Manhattan looks like now. He wasn't successful. After splattering the cabinets with blue and white frosting, and turning the kitchen into a pastry war zone, Annabeth knew she had to take over.

Tyson laughed with delight. "Icing is good! Icing his tasty!" A big glop of blue mix hit him square in the face. Tyson flicked out his tongue and slurped it up. "Never work with this stuff in forges," he said as he handed the mixer to Annabeth. "Bekendorf never worked with icing. Annabeth should work with Tyson in forges more. We make stuff go boom! And we make stuff taste good!"

Annabeth's smile melted.

Bekendorf... Suddenly, all her excited emotions seemed to flush out of her all at once, leaving her heart empty and cold. Bekendorf was such a spirited person at camp. He gave everyone hope. He always nourished the soul of the camp when its flame grew dim. 

Annabeth pushed aside her emotions. She didn't want to ruin such a happy moment. Trying to figure out what she could have Tyson do without utterly destroying everything, she said quickly, "Tyson can you get the sprinkles out for me and sort them into different sections? Powders in one pile, and the crumbs in the other?"

Tyson nodded eagerly, bringing out cans of blue, green, and white sprinkles, setting them on the counter top. His hands began delicately dividing them into their rightful sections.

Annabeth's mind buzzed. The cyclops wasn't capable of something as simple as mixing batter, but he definitely could do something as complicated as dividing sprinkles... Shaking her head, shooing away her bafflement, she felt the mix was ready. Perfect timing too, because the oven behind her dinged, signalling the cake was ready.

Tyson clapped his hands, nearly scattering the perfect piles of sprinkles he had made. "Yay! Percy's cake is done!"

"Shh!" Annabeth said, half laughing. "You want anyone to hear us?"

Tyson immediately fell silent, his cheeks flushing. "I will divide sprinkles and be a quiet cyclops from now on."

"No Tyson, it's okay," Annabeth said, placing a hand on his shoulder, guilt searing her face. "I just want this to be a nice surprise." Opening the oven, she brought forth Percy's cake, its lumpy chocolate mass warm and soft. It was small in average - a bit bigger than a cupcake, but much smaller than a normal birthday cake you'd find at the Grocery Store. Just enough for two to share. "Help me smear the icing on it. And then you can put on all the sprinkles you want!"

Tyson beamed with delight. Grabbing a butter knife, he dipped its silver blade into the bowl of frosting, and began coating the cake's surface, turning it a swirl of blue and white. Annabeth began sliding the piles of sprinkles into small bowls for Tyson to use so as not to scatter the counter top.

After about five minutes of decorating, Annabeth felt it was ready. "Thanks Tyson," she said, her voice quiet with joy, standing on tip toe and kissing his cheek - something she would never had done had she first met him.

Tyson blushed, turning his head. "Was nothing."

Annabeth cut off a small chunk and gave it to him. "Enjoy every bite," she said. "After all it was made by you."

Tyson blushed even farther, turning redder than beets. But he took the cake without another word, his delicate movements as he accepted Annabeth's offer, over powering even the biggest of thank you's.