Aftermath-Percabeth

Chapter Fifty-Seven

Percy sighed as he entered the living room where Annabeth sat, waiting for him. He sat next to her on the couch.

"Marina's still playing, but Charlie's down for the night," Percy said tiredly as he rubbed his eyes.

Annabeth grinned, clearly bursting with anticipation. "Good, since I need to show you this house I found. It has all the things I want!"

"I? What about we?" Percy asked as he crossed his arms in protest. "I have some ideas, too."

"Like what?" Annabeth asked skeptically as she arched an eyebrow.

"Hear me out, beach front property," Percy said as he did jazz hands, which caused Annabeth to bury her face in her hands. "Okay, so that's clearly a no...."

Annabeth laughed and showed her face again. "That's too expensive. And not needed."

Percy rose an eyebrow and stood up. He placed his hands on his hips. "Not needed? I can't believe we're married."

"Ha ha, now be serious," Annabeth chastised him as she handed him her phone. "Look at this house. It's in our budget, lots of storage—"

"And it's bo-ring!" Percy exclaimed as he swiped through the house pictures on her phone.

Annabeth took a deep breathe and resisted the urge to slap Percy. "It's practical. It even has an extra bedroom, and for that price alone we should buy it."

Percy pursed his lips and crossed his arms. "I don't trust it. I bet it's actually pretty worn down....or haunted."

"Did—did you just say it could be haunted?" Annabeth asked, her anger growing.

"No, it's definitely haunted with that price," Percy replied as he swiped through the pictures again. "I bet there's a creepy child ghost living there."

Annabeth bit her lip and closed her eyes. "There are no ghosts in this house, Percy. And there are none in any of the houses we're looking at. We've been over this!"

Percy shrugged. "Here, just let me get the one I want up...."

She watched as Percy aggressively swiped through his phone, a deep look of concentration on his face that made Annabeth want to burst out laughing.

He handed it to her and watched as she swiped through the pictures, her expression lightening.

"That was....interesting," she commented, barely keeping back her laughter. "Two balconies? Beach access? A pool?"

"Well, when you list everything it does sound like a lot," Percy pouted.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "And for that price? That's 100,000 more than our budget! What, are we made out of money now?"

Percy shrugged and didn't look her in the eye. "We have savings...."

"You want us to blow all our money on this? How about the nice and in budget house I picked out?" Annabeth suggested.

Before Percy could fire back, Marina rushed into the room and joined them on the couch.

"Are you ready for bed?" Annabeth asked Marina, who shook her head in response. "No?"

"What are you doing?" she asked persistently as she grabbed at Annabeth's phone.

"House shopping," Percy answered as he showed her his phone. "Here, look at the pretty beach...."

Marina's eyes widened as she scrolled through the photos. "Ooh, pretty! And a pool!"

Percy grinned. "And the ocean!"

"Will we see dolphins? And mermaids?" she asked hopefully.

"Sure we will," Percy responded. He turned his phone off and peered at Annabeth. "Now let's tell mommy how much we need this house."

Annabeth sighed. "I see what you're doing, but I won't cave...."

"Pwease!" Percy and Marina begged in unison.

"No, Marina hasn't even seen all the options yet!" said Annabeth as she scooped Marina closer to her. "Here, look at this one...."

Marina shook her head fiercely. "Not as pretty."

Percy smirked at Annabeth. "Hear that, wise girl? Not as pretty."

"What about this one?" Annabeth asked Marina, desperation in her voice. She showed her a similar house.

"Better, but still not as pretty," Marina replied firmly.

"Still not as pretty," Percy repeated to Annabeth, who had a grimace on her face. "Now, shall I call the realtor?"

Annabeth shook her head and pointed at Percy. "I haven't given up yet. Can I just show you two only one more house?"

Percy peered down at Marina, who nodded slightly. "The judge will allow it."

"Okay, okay," Annabeth said as she pulled up another house.

This house had a balcony, but no beach access. It had four rooms and was close to a playground and school.

"And you can just walk over to this playground," Annabeth finished explaining to Marina, who was transfixed. "Which you can see from your balcony."

Percy's eye twitched. "Don't listen to her, Marina. There's no beach access, not even a pool!"

Annabeth grinned. "And that's where you're wrong. There's a pool, along with a huge backyard. And it is in our budget."

Marina sighed. "Yeah, this is better. And pretty. Sorry, daddy."

"What?! No!" Percy exclaimed as if his ally had just stabbed him. "We were on the same team!"

"Sorry, but this is better. And pretty," Annabeth shot back as she stuck her tongue out at Percy. "Shall I call the realtor?"

Percy sighed as he reluctantly swiped through the pictures of the house. "Fine....call the realtor...."

Annabeth grinned in triumph. "Thank gods, I was really scared of going broke. Now let's you get you to bed."

"Me or Marina?" Percy teased. Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine. You may have won the battle, but you won't win the war!"

She batted her eyelashes at him. "Oh, poor Percy, the war has already been won."