Tower of Secrets

Annabeth Chase

A/N the winning comment came from SilentGreekArcher who said "eek"

For a man with a craving, Clint seemed to take it to the extreme. I mean, he pulled out a Nutty Buddy as soon as I had gotten my question answered and began munching away, moaning on and on about how good it was. Obsessed much?

Natasha and I shared a look before she left. She seemed just as done with his strange eating habits as I was.

According to my estimations, Percy was still probably wandering the halls. Perhaps he was getting close to asking Jarvis for help? Even if he was, I still would have time to make it up to the guest room that had been assigned to me and back. So, I booked it to the stairs, bounding up the steps two at a time with an ease that had come from a solid year boycotting elevators. In less than a minute, I had made it to my bedroom and snatched what had been my current read. I closed the door behind me, once again coming face to face with a Norse god in a doorway.

"Hey, Thor," I greeted.

"Annabeth, it will be time for me to deliver you to your home in a few hours," he declared. My expression must have fallen because he was quick to tack on another sentence. "But, perhaps you could come back for Percy's birthday. It is coming up, correct?"

"Yeah, on the eighteenth," I confirmed. "I've got some plans to make it a good one for him. Gods know he needs it."

"Indeed. If you need any assistance preparing the celebration, I'd be happy to lend a hand."

"Okay, thanks." I paused, straining my neck to really look him in the eyes. "You're a lot nicer than most gods I've met. I hope you know that."

"Well, most gods don't spend their time befriending mortals." I nodded, recognizing the truth in the statement and wondering what Thor was really like before he became an Avenger. "Anyways, I promised Stark that I would take a look at his 'monster-proof' phone."

"Yikes, have fun with that."

"I should have kept my mouth shut about monsters, but I am glad to help out a friend."

"Okay then, I hope he doesn't go all mad scientist on you," I laughed, maneuvering around his burly frame. I grinned as I flew down the stairs at what was probably an alarming rate. I had just enough time to make Percy think I had been waiting and reading for ages.

When he arrived with my glass of water, I downed it pretty quickly and explained that I was trying to get into a previously unread author, Stephen King. Ever the one for dramatics, Percy anguished about how implausible it seemed that I hadn't read everything in existence yet, falling on my shoulder with an exaggerated sigh, like the mere thought was too much to bear.

"Dork," I snorted, leaning slightly into his touch.

"Guilty as charged, ya nerd," he purred back. I bit back a lovesick smile. Percy was amazing. Like, I honest-to-goodness don't know how or why he puts up with my nerdy rambles or whenever it's that time of the month and I get extra hormonal. The deal was only sweetened with his loyal habits. I breathed in the intoxicating scent of the sea, pleading to the Fates that our peaceful days would last for just a little bit longer. We weren't ready for more.

"Do you know where Grover's been?" I found myself asking after a moment, mentally applauding myself for how casual the question came out for how calculated it really was.

"He was in the Rocky Mountains as of Friday," the son of Poseidon responded, not picking up on what I was doing. I just had about two weeks to keep everything under wraps. I could pull off the secret for two weeks. Hades, I could save the world in two weeks! This was bound to be a piece of (blue) cake.

"Oh, Thor said he has to take me back home in a few hours. He's gotta help Tony first."

"So, it'll be a few days." I gave him a funny look. "What? When Peter and Tony disappear in the lab, they really disappear."

"I'll have to take your word for it since I won't be here to see for myself. Anything you want to do before I leave?"

"We could work on Capture the Flag strategies for next summer?" Percy suggested, the high tilt of his voice revealing that he was just offering an option for the sake of offering an option.

"Sounds like fun. Gods, the other cabins will be so screwed!" I beamed, standing and yanking the seventeen-year-old up with me.

"I can't believe we'll have to wait a whole school year before watching their expressions crash and burn!" Percy agreed, perking up. "It'll be epic!"

I laughed. "We've got to really show Clarisse up! She's probably preparing, too!"

~S.H.I.E.L.D. CLASSIFIED~

"Annabeth?" Thor asked, peering into Percy's bedroom where an elaborately drawn CTF play had been drawn out. "It's time to head home."

I sighed and nodded, giving Percy a short, but meaningful kiss as a goodbye. It would be a few weeks before we saw each other in person, and we were both sad the weekend was coming to a close. I stood and grabbed my pre-packed duffel bag, following Thor outside.

As soon as I got home and greeted my family, I IMed Percy so we could finish plotting.