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   Shhhling, click…shhhling…click…shhhling –

   "Percy!"

   Percy paused in the process of capping his sword. For the past few minutes, he had been amusing himself by uncapping his pen, letting the ball-point tip transform into his bronze-bladed sword, Riptide. Then he would recap it and watch the blade shrink back down.  And then he would repeat. Over and over again. Annabeth thought she was going to go mad if she had to hear the ring of the metal and the click of the cap one more time.

   Percy gave her a sheepish look and placed his pen-sword in the front pocket of his jeans. "Sorry," he said, unconvincingly.

   Annabeth rolled her eyes and went back to staring with increasing frustration at the architectural designs laid out messily in front of her.  She was attempting to get some work done on the reconstruction of Olympus, but so far it wasn't working out too well; the side notes and calculations had started floating off the page and twisting themselves into an incomprehensible language.

   Unable to translate the gibberish - and unwilling to try - , Annabeth let out an angry sigh and pushed the blueprints off the bed. As the papers fell silently to the floor of her cabin, she buried her head in her arms and let out another sigh, this one more tired, as if accepting defeat.

   "Why is this so difficult?" she groaned. When she'd been offered the job, she'd been absolutely ecstatic. Looking back, she recalls having a very animated conversation with her father, gushing about her plans and constantly coming up with additions and improvements. She remembers her siblings congratulating her and all the looks of respect she'd received, even from those few from her cabin who she didn't necessarily get along with.

   But that was almost two months ago, and the buzz had almost worn off. She wishes that she could still feel the high that kept her up at night – in excitement, not work. Not that redesigning Olympus, the place that has been the home of the God's since basically the mythological beginning of time, isn't something to be excited about. It is! It's a once in a lifetime – or lifetimes – chance and it's absolutely amazing. Annabeth was just finally feeling the pressure of having to please every God and Goddess (which is impossible) and working night and day just to try and figure out why this isn't right, or why that looks wrong. She was only a demigod, after all.

   And now her ADHD was acting up, worse than it has in a while. Could it possibly be due to the fact that she had been working until 11:46 last night (yes, she had checked the clock) and woke up at 6:20 this morning just to continue? Maybe.

   Annabeth, so caught up in her thoughts, jumped in surprise when a warm hand suddenly touched her back. Then she relaxed, scolding herself silently. It was just Percy; she had momentarily forgotten that he was in the room.

   "Percy…" Annabeth breathed, though she doubts he heard due to her position. Turning her head to the side, she looked up at him with bright eyes. No words passed between them, but Percy already seemed to know what was wrong.

   "Don't worry so much, Annabeth," he said, rubbing slow, comforting circles on her back. "You probably overworked yourself."

   "Mmmhh," was Annabeth's only response. That was the nice way of telling her that she has overworked herself, and that she's just too dang stubborn to admit it. Percy's presence was soothing, however, and Annabeth felt warmth radiate from his hand. The gesture was very much appreciated, and she longed for more of the mental distraction it brought.

   Prying her hand out from underneath her, she reached behind for his and pulled him closer. Percy tightened his grip and chuckled under his breath. "Oh, Wise Girl." He smiled that infective smile and shuffled backwards so he would have room to lie down next to her.

   Percy mimicked Annabeth and laid down on his stomach, throwing his arm around her back and resting his cheek on her teal bed spread. Annabeth couldn't help but smile when she saw how his cheek was squished against the surface.

   They laid like for a minute or two, quietly enjoying the others closeness. It felt so nice to just relax! Though, Annabeth had to admit: she felt a tad bit guilty. Percy was the sweetest, most adorable, kind person any one could ever meet. Ever since they started going out, and even before then, he'd been nothing but supportive of her and her monumental assignment. Yea, a few fights had broken out between them – Percy trying to get Annabeth to go swimming, Percy trying to get Annabeth to stop talking about architecture every two seconds, Percy trying to convince her that a break wasn't going to kill anybody – but most of it was on her.

   She couldn't blame him for losing his temper with her sometimes, especially when she was frustrated (which was almost all the time now). She knew how she could be. He'd come in earlier to check up on her, with an over-enthusiastic excuse of "How'd you like to go spar? One on one!" And she'd just waved away his offer mumbling about how the dimensions of Apollo's sun room were not accurate. She pretends she didn't see his face fall slightly or hear the quiet "Oh" that he responded with. Percy had just sat down in Malcolm's desk chair (let's hope he doesn't find out) and kept her company. And now, here he was, being all nice and Seaweed Brain-ish, trying to calm her down.

   Well, it's definitely working, she thought.

   "You know," Percy said breaking the silence, his cheek now pressed against the hand that wasn't across her back, "If anybody sees us, they'll start rumors."

   "Ugh…way to ruin the moment, Seaweed Brain." He was right of course. Technically, two demigods couldn't be in a cabin alone together, and with the relationship stardom they'd unwillingly received since the end of the war (thanks in huge part to the Aphrodite cabin), being alone together in a cabin, on a bed, would quickly be blown out of proportion and catapult through the CHB grape vine. With this in mind, Annabeth started to pull away, but Percy's arm locked around her and brought her back, closer.

   "And where do you think you're going?" He said, his face inches from hers. "I didn't say we had to care if people started talking."

   Slowly, he leaned in closer, his hot breath washing over her lips. As his mouth was about to connect with hers, Annabeth turned her head. Percy ended up kissing her cheek, his eyes opening in slight shock.

   "You've got a lot to learn if you think I'd ever worry about something as trivial as gossip." She unhooked Percy's now-slack hand and, grinning, added, "And as much as I would like to stay here with you, I have to get back to work on my blueprints."

   Before she completely moved out of his grasp, he placed a chaste kiss on her lips and sat up. "Why did I have to get a girlfriend who cares so much about work?" he mumbled to himself, emphasizing the word "work" as if it were something outré.

   Annabeth picked up one of the rejected papers and placed it on the bed next to Percy. She lifted one hand, affectionately caressing his jaw. "Because, you signed up for one when you kissed a daughter of Athena."

   He scoffed and placed his hand over hers. "Yeah, I know," he said sincerely.