the light in me//will guide you home

[kelpful]

Characters: Annabeth & Percy, closed
Date: Feb 7
Location: Their suite, the ocean
Situation: A peaceful moment
Warnings/Rating: N/A atm

"Hey." Percy is lying upside down on the couch, his head hanging over the edging, his legs draped over the back of it. Annabeth is...somewhere near enough that he's pretty sure she can hear him, and that's the main thing. The hyper awareness of where she is at all times, its faded a little. He's not sure if he's glad for that, or mourns it. There's definitely still some paranoia there though.

"I think Asti's changing direction." He can feel it, the shifting in the water. Asti's huge, but he still floats. He's not exactly a boat, but Percy's sense of latitude and longitude remains pretty much the same, even here. "We should go up to the head again."

Comments

[sophos]

Annabeth keeps up pace with him easily, naturally. And it's not entirely related, but you sort of come to expect that when dealing with Percy. She chuckles a little. "I don't think they realize how big they're going to get yet either. And there are, what, fifteen of them? Sixteen giant turtles, swimming around." She squeezes his hand. "It's still pretty weird to think about, though they're already pretty smart."

Considering interactions thus far, when comparing them to Asti. Stupid adorable baby turtles.

[kelpful]

"No, you know what's really weird?" He stares out over the ocean, a fainter, calmer smile than usual crossing his lips. "Thinking about Asti being their age. I mean, Asti's great. But he definitely gives off the whole wise and peaceful mega god aura, not...turtle demigod."

Demigod is not an indication of their power. It's a descriptor of their ability to get into trouble.

[sophos]

She likes the way that smile looks on his face, mostly because it's been a while since she's really seen anything like it there. She squeezes his hand again over it, without really thinking, and kind of maybe starts swinging their hands the tiniest bit.

And then she laughs, softly. The mental image of a teenage Asti poking around like the turtle babies is pretty great. "Can you imagine how long ago that must have been, too? Or if there were even more than there are now?" More than fifteen babies running around, getting into trouble. It's... really weird to think of turtles as being the continents, too, a bunch of giant turtles all interlocked. "If he ever talks to us again, we should ask him what the most trouble he's ever gotten into was."

[kelpful]

"He'll definitely talk to us again." Their hands swing a little more as Percy absently picks up the motion, and there's nothing but certainty in his voice. "I bet it was something really impressive though." He's quiet for another moment, and when he does speak again, his voice is softer, more pensive. "I wonder if he ever screwed up."

[sophos]

"Probably," she hastens to say, but she's honest with it. Something in her feels a little warm when he swings his hand in tune with hers, completely unaware, even if she isn't. But Annabeth kind of picks up on the undercurrent to his question right away. "Pretty sure even giant magical turtles can make mistakes."

[kelpful]

They reach the edge of Asti's head, as far as they can go before it becomes a slide down into the ocean. Percy's expression turns as pensive as his voice as he stares out at the water, feeling it pull at him. Calling. He's more aware of it now than ever, the power he has within him.

That he's capable of things he never thought he would be. "You'll stop me, right?" If he screws up too bad. Starts heading down the same path as Luke. He doesn't want to put that on her, but right now he's being realistic enough to know that if the urge to use water in a way it really should never be used comes over him, she's the only one he's going to listen to.

[sophos]

Something in her tenses for a moment, but then she feels oddly determined at the same time. She takes a slight step forward, if only so she can turn to look him right in the eyes, because everything else that question implies comes out with it.

He won't be Luke. She won't let him. Annabeth rests her free hand on his cheek, squeezes his hand again. She wants to tell him it's unnecessary, but what she saw of him in Tartarus hasn't gone away. "That's a stupid question," she says, even if the teasing tone falls a little flatter than she intended. She just means it too honestly. "I will. You know I will."

[kelpful]

"Well," he starts, a smile twitching on his lips despite the topic. "That probably shouldn't be a surprise." It's not like Percy has a talent for asking smart questions, after all.

His free hand comes up to cover hers on his cheek, before he turns his head and kisses her palm. "Yeah, I do. I guess I just needed to hear it again." His gaze is drawn out towards the water again. Towards peace. "You ready to go in?"

[sophos]

"It's never a surprise," she says easily, smiling when he kisses her palm. But she's glad he seems to accept it without much issue, and she already knows what he's going to ask the moment he looks out over the ocean.

"Waiting on you." Then she tugs at him, pushing them both over the edge without actually waiting for him to pull her in first.

[kelpful]

There's a shout of shock from Percy, who'd been pretty sure they were having some kind of a serious moment right then. They drop through the air, and for a split second he thinks Tartarus, but the water is already stretching up to meet them, wrapping around them in a protective bubble before drawing them back down into the embrace of the sea.

"Has anyone ever mentioned how bad you are at waiting to you?" he demands once they settle. There's a small (read: large) chance that he lets her leg slip through the bubble a bit, dousing her.

[sophos]

"I'm hardly worse than you are," she retorts, but she's fighting back a grin as they settle in underwater; though if he's not expecting any sort of punch for letting her leg fall through, he's wrong. Because she punches him right in the arm. "Percy!"

[kelpful]

"Hey, ow!" He solidifies the bubble around them again, even being so kind as to dry her off. "You can't punch me, that was revenge for shoving me off a cliff. Now I have to take revenge on you, and it's never going to end."

Unless she capitulates. Which he doubts she will, because Annabeth.

[sophos]

Annabeth rolls her eyes, but she looks pleased when she's fully situated and fully dried once more. "I didn't shove you. I just influenced your jump."

There's totally a difference. "No, it'll end with my final move, whatever it is."

[kelpful]

He raises an eyebrow at her, struggling to make his expression unimpressed. "Are you saying you don't have a plan here, Wise Girl?" Their fingers are still twined together, and he uses that connection to tug her forward, into his lap. For all of the levity in his tone, there's something heavier in his gaze as green eyes track her face, taking in all of the details, the tiny things that make up Annabeth Chase. Even a fall off the top of a giant turtle's head can't make the remnants of their conversation (and everything it had referred to) fade away.

[sophos]

Annabeth realizes his intention the moment he starts tugging and doesn't fight it. And when she's sitting in his lap, she just adjusts herself a little more comfortably.

It's a little intense, the way he's studying her face, though she does get why; the conversation hasn't quite left her yet either, and she more or less knows what she can do for him just by existing.

But he still gets a bit of a pointed look. "My plan depends on your next move, naturally."

[kelpful]

Percy reaches up and gently tucks a loose curl behind her ear, fingers lingering as they brush over her skin. The corner of his mouth tugs up a little at her comment. "My next move, huh?"

It's not the height of wit (or any kind of wit at all), but Percy's pretty sure he can win this. Or at least enjoy the process of losing. He shifts closer to Annabeth, easing his lips softly over hers. The hand near her face cups her jaw properly. It's sweet and slow, and not lacking any intensity for it.

[sophos]

To say she hadn't seen that coming at all would be a lie. She smiles into it as she kisses him back with all the same feeling, her free hand moving to rest at his shoulder.

He's still not going to win, but for now she's content to continue as they are, though she does shift herself a little closer, too. It's their bubble, it always has been, and she needed this as much as he did. "It's not a bad move," she mutters against his lips.

[kelpful]

He loves her smile, is relieved by it, the fact that they both still can even after Tartarus and everything it entailed. He holds her to him as she presses closer, and some of the softness disappears from the kiss in favour of want. Being underwater like this, it reminds him of that first kiss, back when things were simpler and didn't hurt so much.

"Yeah? What do you have that can beat it?"

[sophos]

Annabeth lets go of his hand in favor of holding both his shoulders, and she leans in even more, till there's not that much space left between them at all. Especially with the shift in the way he's kissing her, because suddenly her own want is there, too, underwater or otherwise. It's not like Tartarus will ever really go away, but all things considered, this moment right now is probably a good sign.

She smirks, kissing him a few more times before speaking up again, one her hands snaking up to thread through his hair. "A couple of ideas. But it's a surprise."

[kelpful]

Seeing as she's pressing in anyway, Percy takes the opportunity to lean back until his back hits the wall of the bubble, taking Annabeth with him. They're not exactly horizontal, but she's definitely more on top of him now than she was earlier.

Something in his gaze darkens when she smirks like that - it's a good look on her, better than that smile in some ways. "I'm pretty sure that's just a way of saying you haven't thought of anything yet," he taunts. Anyone else would probably think he has a death wish, but riling Annabeth up is one of his favourite pastimes.

[sophos]

She probably shouldn't go with it, mostly because they're underwater and sometimes she worries over it, even though she knows without a doubt that Percy would never let anything happen to her here. It's that thought that pretty much has her pushing into him when he tilts backwards, her knees hitting the wall of the bubble on either side of him.

His gaze darkens, but hers gets a little softer - it darkens, too, but she's just... happy, that Tartarus hasn't taken him away and he's still Percy.

She scoffs, though. "I have the basics, don't be stupid." It just has to be more elaborate, clearly, but right now she mostly just wants to keep kissing him, as much as the taunt does manage to prod at her pride.

[kelpful]

"So what are the basics, then?" he counters, except it doesn't seem like he's really paying attention to what he's saying. Not when she's so close, and his lips can paint a trail from the corner of her mouth along her jaw. He reaches her ear. "Because I'm pretty sure you're lying."

He's not. She totally has the basics down, and probably is working on how to bruise his ego (and his body) as they speak. That's just part of the fun.

[sophos]

She can tell his attention is waning from the conversation, and it makes her smirk again. "I'd never lie," she lies, and her head tilts a little on instinct, her lips brushing against his hair as her hand weaves through it more tightly. "I could show you, if you really want to know."

She'll show him anyway, to be honest. But making the offer is amusing.

[kelpful]

There's a pause, before Percy pulls back and blinks at Annabeth.

"Tell me what?"

He knows exactly what she means, but why let that on?

[sophos]

Annabeth rolls her eyes at him. "Tell you that you're an idiot."

And then she pulls him back in close, kissing him hard; she's still acutely aware that they're in the bubble, so it's nothing too pushy, but there's definite intent in it anyway - and in the way she kind of pins him in place. The basics include attempting to distract him to the point where word mess-ups aren't on purpose.