Judgmental (a Percy Jackson AU)

Blue's Clues

     Percy was starting to enjoy his job at Monster's Donuts. Sure, the pay sucked. Sure, the hours sucked big time. Sure, Circe could be as unpleasant as being given a sour turnip instead of cake for your birthday (Smelly Gabe has done that one year), but the job had a couple perks.

     First of all, the blue donuts had caught on. Now customers came requesting them. He not only made plain donuts with blue frosting now, but was developing recipes for blue cinnamon rolls, blue donut holes, and blue croissants. He had even made a batch of blue cake pops the other day and they had sold out within a few hours. Percy wasn't sure why they were that popular (wouldn't customers rather have a slice of cake?), but Circe had suggested he make them.

        Secondly, Percy got to see Annabeth more. She was coming several times a week for donuts or pastries of some kind. She always ordered a sugarless black coffee, but she switched up what she ate every time. They had been talking and Percy was hoping that someday, she would go out on a date with him.

     One day, Percy was putting out blueberry donut holes when two customers walked in. One of them was Annabeth, looking as gorgeous as ever in a gray turtleneck and a black pencil skirt over tights. The other person was a shorter man with brown, curly hair. He looked like one of Santa's elves who had drank too much coffee to get through his shift.

         Percy's eyes locked on the man. The scent of Annabeth's lemon shampoo mixed with the yeasty scent of baked goods, but even that combination could comfort him. His heart was in his mouth. Was the man Annabeth's boyfriend?

     Percy pushed down the wave of jealousy when Annabeth came forward. The man was standing behind her — not beside her. His smile came easily now.

      "How are you?" Percy asked.

      "Great," Annabeth said. "I'm thinking of getting a small coffee and half a dozen blueberry donut holes today."

      "A wise choice from a Wise Girl," Percy said, ringing up the order. "That will be $3.07. Debit or would you rather pay in sand dollars?"

     Annabeth smiled and handed over her debit card. Percy preferred the brief contact with her warm, soft hands over the cool and smooth feel of the debit card. He swiped it and handed it back to Annabeth before giving her her donut holes.

     "The coffee will be ready in a few minutes," he said over his shoulder as he turned on the coffee machine.

    Once the coffee was brewing, he returned to where the curly-haired man was standing behind the donut case.

"Can I get two blueberry turnovers?" the man asked.

"Yes," Percy said. "That will be $3.17."

The man paid in cash and was soon gone. Something about him made Percy feel on edge, but he wasn't sure what. Then, when he handed Annabeth her cup of coffee, he realized it.

The realization caused him to stumble. The coffee sprayed onto Annabeth's sweater, causing the grey fabric to dampen and darken. Percy's mouth sprayed out apologies and he quickly gave her a bunch of napkins to clean herself up. The smell of coffee seemed to mock him as she dabbed at her sweater delicately.,

"I'm so, so sorry," he said. "I'll give you another cup of coffee and a free one tomorrow."

"Oh no," Annabeth said. "You ruined my favorite sweater. This cost more than a 99 cent cup of coffee. We're going out for dinner tonight and you're paying for it."

She smirked at him. He stared at her for a moment before pouring her another cup of coffee and handing it to her. He couldn't believe what she had said. Somehow, the realization that the curly-haired man reminded him of his mother seemed more real than what had just happened.