Writer AU? For percabeth maybe like a secret linin long time best friend thing. I love the florist AU
Sorry this took AGES. Finally started writing a bit again. I hope this is okay though!
Blushing, Belle blushed as she felt the hand slid across her cheek, cupping it as she felt his thumb trace over her lips gently, her smile quirking up at the motion. Her heart was pounding, but she was more distracted by the burn of her cheeks. She was wondering if they felt as hot on his hand as they did to her.
“Pierre…” Her voice caught in her throat as she stared into his eyes. She had seen them so many ways over the years of their long friendship. Joyful, sorrow-filled, playful, and even angry. But this looked more… raw. Passionate. And their focus was solely on her.
A dangerous smirk crossed his face, one that threatened to wipe away her self control when he started to move forwa-
Annabeth jumped a foot out of her chair, slamming the lid on her laptop with a slam that made both her and the lightly sun tanned raven haired dork standing across from her wince at. She was honestly scared to check it later to see if it had been cracked.
He asked, setting down a coffee and sliding it to her, hesitantly like a peace offering.
Annabeth took a deep breath, hand on her chest as she tried to calm her heart rate.
“You scared the living shit outta me Percy.” Annabeth lamented, glaring at him slightly.
“I noticed.” He said, his voice concerned but the hints of a smile creeping up at the corner of his mouth. It was a look so “Percy” she couldn’t decide if she wanted to punch or kiss him.
He sat down across from her, pulling out his own laptop as the cafe around them resumed their normal chaos as their momentary distraction had settled down.
Quickly Annabeth opened her laptop and saved and closed the offending document in a blur before Percy could even attempt to look at what she was doing.
He took a sip of his drink as he raised an eyebrow at her. “Hiding something?”
“No.” Annabeth said stubbornly, as if it wasn’t glaringly obvious that was a lie.
Another trouble-maker smile crept on his face and Annabeth instantly knew she was going to hate whatever came out of his mouth next.
“I know you’re bold, but sitting in a cafe watching por-”
He was cut off as her foot collided with his shin, making his hand jostle as he spilled a little over his wrist.
“Fuck! Shit! That’s hot.”
He quickly set down his drink as he looked around for a napkin, but Annabeth was already handing him one in apology. “Sorry.” She said, her own smirk cutting the words short.
“No you’re not.” He accused.
“I am! Just slightly. You deserved it.”
“True. Just trying to lighten the mood. You seemed tense.” He offered, picking up his drink. Pausing, he tucked up his legs dramatically into his chair as he took a sip, leaning back from her.
Despite herself, she laughed at his antics, which earned a victorious smile on her best friend. She hated how easily he could make her smile, as if it was the easiest thing in the world to him. But that was a lie, it was one of the many reasons she was so utterly, annoying, completely, and hopelessly in love with her best friend.
Setting down his drink again, she saw his mood shift. He stopped fidgeting as much as his attention focused solely on her. She knew what was coming next, he had that same look his mother often got whenever Annabeth would confide in her for motherly advice she couldn’t get from her own family. Sometimes she could forget how much he looked like his mother, but whenever his mother hen side came out, it was always startlingly obvious.
“Annabeth, is everything okay?” He asked, as she mouthed the words along with him, knowing him like the back of her hand.
“I’m fine, Percy. Seriously. It’s just a new story I’m working on. You know how I get with my work.”
Wincing, she tried to ignore the sick feeling brewing her stomach. She hated lying to Percy, after all he had done for her in her life, pushing him away was the one thing she refused to do. But she also couldn’t admit exactly what the story was. It also wasn’t a complete lie. She really did get nervous about her works before they were done, and unless she deliberately wanted feedback, no one was allowed to see them.
He stared at her a moment longer, seemingly analyzing every minute detail about her, deciding if he believed her or how to press the issue.
“I’m serious. I would tell you if something was wrong, you know that.” She offered, pressing her advantage. He seemed to relent after a moment.
“You better.” He warned, before he focused back on his laptop. “By the way, science has just confirmed that studying is actually cruel and unusual.” He complained. “Why can’t I just like… speak with animals. That would make it so much easier to figure out what's wrong with them.”
“I feel like if you could speak to animals you’d have much bigger problems to worry about.” Annabeth countered. “You went in marine biology, not expecting to study?”
Shaking his head, he put in one earbud, still listening to her. “I expected it. That doesn’t mean it’s not still cruel.”
Rolling her eyes, Annabeth could still see the smile on his face even as he complained. For as much as he enjoyed bitching to her, she could tell he really had a passion about marine biology that was unparalleled in his life. She found it admirable how hard he worked for his dream, even when she knew he hated the amount of studying that went along with it.
“Here. Send me the study guide. I’ll quiz you.”
His eyes widened as he looked at her. “You’re the best, you know that?”
A moment later her messenger beeped as a new file was sent to her. She glanced between the profile picture she had set for him of a baby seal, and his eager expression as he waited for her to help him study and decided there really wasn’t much of a difference between the two creatures. It really was a good thing that Percy was so selfless around her because she really had a problem saying no to him.
As they began studying, Annabeth tried to keep her mind focused on the cute creatures Percy would be saving, and not the way his proud smile made her heart flutter when he impressed her with the results of his personal studying, or her writing still failed to capture even half the allure she found in her best friend.
Eventually Percy had to start another essay which had given Annabeth a few minutes to add some notes to her story for later. Most of which had been endearing quirks or habits she had seen Percy do while they studied. Staring at the file, still named “Untitled document” she sighed. She really hated coming up with names, even if this was one story that couldn’t really see the light of day. Pausing, staring at the blinking cursor, she typed in the name.
Grinning, she closed the document as Percy started to talk about how they should go get dinner soon as a reward for working so hard. Annabeth quickly sent a text to her roommate, letting her know she’d be out late.
Leaning back over the edge of the couch, letting her head hang, Annabeth watched Piper walk out of the bathroom, drying her hair.
“How was your date?” Her best friend asked.
Pulling her head back to sit up straight, Annabeth sighed. “It wasn’t a date. We just got food. Like best friends do.”
“That sucks.” Piper offered.
“... I know.” Annabeth relented. She had given up on trying to pretend she wasn’t interested in Percy around Piper a few years ago, not that Piper had ever really believed her lie since they had met. Piper was probably the one person she had met as stubborn as her.
“He almost saw the story today.” Annabeth muttered, tucking her knees up to her chest as she dropped her head onto them. She couldn’t even imagine what would have happened if he had seen the story and pieced it together. She was pretty sure she would have actually died. Her relationship with Percy was the one thing in life she couldn’t ruin. It had acted like a lifeline to her more times than she could count.
“You mean your fanfic about him?” Piper asked, taking a sip of her soda, narrowly ducking to dodge the pillow that hit the fridge right next to her head.
“It’s not a fanfic! It’s just… inspired.” She offered, before burying her head in a pillow, ignoring how weak her defense was.”
“Riiggghhttt. I think you should just send it to him. It’s a unique way of confessing.”
“I’d rather die.” Annabeth countered. “He’d never let me live it down, even if he said yes.”
“If?” Piper asked incredulously. “Like he would say no. You just say you were going on a date next friday and he’d be your boyfriend without questioning it. He’s head over heels for you.”
“Then why hasn’t he asked me out yet?”
“Because despite the fact you two are both stubborn asses and impulsive, neither of you have a spine when it comes to the other. It’s a tragedy to watch, truly.”
Annabeth just slowly fell over, laying on the couch. “It’s not that simple.”
Piper had her hands on her hips as she looked down at her best friend, before sighing. “Well hopefully when you finish this story it’ll give you some ideas. For now I’m hungry so let’s eat. We still have a pizza in the freezer, right?”
Sitting up, Annabeth nodded. “And a bottle of wine.”
Piper perked up at that. “Now we’re talking!”
An hour later and they were both sprawled across their seats, sharing a veggie pizza as they split a bottle of wine that Annabeth had bought to celebrate the end of their previous term.
Annabeth’s phone buzzed, and she saw Percy’s name. Almost a little too quickly, she snatched up the phone, reading the text.
“Percy?” Piper asked, her eyes still glued to the TV.
Typing out her response, Annabeth nodded before pulling her laptop onto her lap. “Apparently he finished this essay, he wants me to check it.”
“Eh? Aren’t you supposed to be taking it easy?” Piper asked, pointing at her with her foot from her lounging position.
Annabeth shrugged. “This essay is important for his grade.”
“And you can’t say no to him.”
Annabeth just grumbled in response as she opened up his email. Staring at the file name, she laughed, earning a look from Piper.
“Percy’s essay is lovingly called “Fuck_That’”
Piper rolled her eyes. “Make sure you remind him to change that if it’s an online submission. Didn’t he already get yelled at for something like that before?”
Grinning, Annabeth settled into the couch a little more to get comfy as she started to read through the essay. “Yeah. Twice.”
Piper laughed as Annabeth was feeling proud of Percy. His writing really had gotten better the past few years. He really was taking college seriously, and she couldn’t be more proud of him.
Annabeth was also caught a little off guard on how much of the content of his essay that she understood. She must have helped him study too often.
Piper had tried asking her a few more things, but Annabeth had only grunted in response, deep in work mode as she did her best to ensure she gave the best feedback she could. At least with a glass or two of wine already in her.
An hour later and she saved the copy that had the highlights and edits to send it back to him. He should still have plenty of time to do another pass over it before submitting it.
Scrolling through her files, she clicked the save and attached it, before sending it back in another email along with some general notes.
Closing her laptop and setting it on the table, she glanced over at Piper who was staring at her.
“Can we get back to girls night?”
Annabeth grinned sheepishly. “Sorry.”
Piper waved her off. “Anyway we have like 4 more episodes.”
Annabeth’s phone buzzed as she glanced at the text. It was thanks from Percy. Tossing her phone on the table, she focused back on the TV for a bit to relax, letting the migrational habits of certain sea creatures leave her mind for now.
About half an hour later, Annabeth noticed her phone was blinking. She must have missed Percy’s response. As Piper stood up, stretching out her legs before heading to the kitchen, she nearly dropped her plate when Annabeth let out a shriek.
“‘Beth? Is everything okay?” She asked, rushing back over.
Piper paused, seeing her best friend's face as pale as a ghost. What had happened?
Annabeth just held out her phone, letting Piper take it as she dropped her face into her hands.
Hesitantly Piper read the messages.
Is this your new story? I assume you want feedback while you edit mine.
Hey… Pierre sounds familiar…
Annabeth was already furiously typing on her laptop, sending another email with his essay attached to it. Checking what had happened, she groaned as she realized what had happened.
“The file names were similar. I clicked the wrong one…”
Raising an eyebrow, Piper leaned over her shoulder. “How?”
“Cause I named my file ‘Fuck_This’”
Piper dropped her head onto Annabeth’s shoulder, laughing. “You two really do only have like 1 braincell between the two fo you don’t you?”
Annabeth lightly headbutted her. “This isn’t funny! Everything is ruined.”
Piper winced, standing back up and rubbing her head. “Maybe he won’t notice…”
Shaking her head, Annabeth wasn’t convinced. “He’s smarter than you think…”
Knowing she was right, Piper frowned. “Well at least you don’t have to worry about wanting to confess anymore.”
Annabeth stared at her phone, waiting for a reply.
Got the essay, thanks. Need to submit it, I’ll text you tomorrow.
Annabeth stared at the message, before showing Piper. “What does this mean?”
Piper shrugged. “That he actually needs to turn in his homework, and probably has no idea how to react to your fanf- story you sent him and what it might mean. I think you just need to wait for tomorrow.”
Grabbing the glass, Annabeth down the rest of her wine as she just laid down on the couch and screamed into a pillow.
Kneeling down, piper gently rubbed her friend’s back. She already knew it was going to be a long night.
Annabeth paced back and forth as she waited for the oven to ding. Okay, so she might have been stress baking at the moment. She had somehow managed to fall asleep last night, but she still hadn’t heard from Percy. Maybe he really hadn’t realized things?
Piper had grabbed one of the muffins from her first batch as she munched on it happily. “Have mentioned I really love the fact you stress bake?”
All Annabeth could do was make a pitiful stressed sound. Piper pulled her into a tight hug. “It’ll be okay. Percy is probably just trying to figure out the right way to address this. He’s as stressed as you are about thi-”
A knock on the door made them both freeze.
“Please tell me you ordered Pizza.” Annabeth said, glancing at the window. Maybe she could escape…”
“We’re on the third floor.” Piper reminded her as she made her way to their door. Opening it, her suspicions were confirmed as she saw Percy standing there with a bag of chinese food and a liter of soda.
“Is she home?” Percy asked simply.
Piper looked him over once, before nodding. “One sec.”
Grabbing her shoes and keys, she walked past him. “Good luck.” She offered, before patting him on the back and leaving the apartment. She figured they needed time to work things out, and it was up to them. Plus she figured she should grab another bottle of wine for either celebration or comfort.
Annabeth wondered what was taking Piper so long. “Pipes?”
“Not quite.” Percy offered as he turned the corner, holding up the bag.
Annabeth stared at him, then the bag, then the window.
“Thanks for the help with the essay. I brought lunch.”
Annabeth nodded. “No problem.” Her throat felt dry but she moved to get plates.
Nervously she dished up some of the lunch, trying to calm her heart and act normal but the subtle glances Percy kept giving her wouldn’t let her heart calm down. She was waiting for the shoe to drop.
They were both sitting on the couch now, both quietly eating the food. Even Percy, who was usually pretty talkative around her, was quiet. She knew she should act normal, pretend like it didn’t happen and leave the ball in Percy’s court, but everytime she opened her mouth to speak she just couldn’t find the right words.
“Your… story is good.” Percy said eventually, almost as if the words pained him. Wincing, Annabeth tucked up her knees to her chest as she braced herself. She had already imagined a million ways this conversation could do, and she was pretty sure it at least wouldn’t be as bad as some of the worst ones.
“Thank you.” She offered politely, really wishing her vocabulary hadn’t left her.
“Some of the characters seemed… familiar.”
Brushing a few strands of hair behind her ear, she nodded. “You know what they say, write what you know.” She offered with a slight smile, just waiting for him to really say what was on his mind. Her fingers started to drum against her leg. Couldn’t he just get it over with?
“Annabeth.” His voice trailed off. His brows scrunched up in that adorable way they did whenever he was trying to say something difficult for him. “Is that about… us?”
“What? No!” Annabeth snapped, before she covered her face with her hands. That… wasn’t what she had planned on saying. The old habits in her head were still screaming at her to repeat past mistakes, deny it, avoid the conversation, start a fight to avoid talking about it with Percy until they made up later and the subject wasn’t brought up again.
“I… see.” His voice was soft, almost hurt. That broke something inside Annabeth. She hated hurting him.
“It is, okay!?” Annabeth shouted, standing up suddenly. Her fists were clenched at her side.
“Yes! The story is based on us. Because you’re my best friend Percy. And for who knows how long, I’ve been hopelessly, irrevocably in love with you. Whenever I try and write a romance story, all I see is your stupid smile and your gorgeous eyes and when I try to imagine what sweet thing a guy could do, it’s always just whate you did for me before. I know it’s weird! I know you probably don’t want your best friend daydreaming about you but I can’t help it. It’s your fault I’m in love with you seaweed brain!”
The words had exploded out of her, her tone a bit more frantic than she had hoped. She couldn’t look him in the eyes anymore, and she was vaguely aware she was shaking slightly. She just couldn’t handle it anymore, and she’d rather have the truth out than start another fight with her best friend because she was too scared to admit how she really felt.
She saw Percy slowly stand up, and she braced herself. She knew he was too sweet to yell at her when she was like this, she figured he’d probably just walk out and let her calm down. Instead she felt his strong arms wrap around her and pull her close, his warmth embracing her and her nose being filled with her favorite scent that lingered on his hoodies she stole from him when she was feeling particularly greedy.
She froze for a moment, before she hugged him close back, unable to stop some of the tears from escaping her eyes. She knew she shouldn’t be getting all emotional right now, but the situation was too much for her.
A few moments of eternity later and they pulled back a bit. Annabeth was staring at him, as he still watched her, his brows furrowed.
“Percy, I-” She was cut off as his lips quickly connected to hers. Her eyes widened, but a moment later the greedy part of her brain took over again, as it always did with Percy, and she quickly returned the kiss for a few moments. Eventually he pulled back, looking slightly frazzled.
“Sorry! I just… needed you to stop talking for a moment. I didn’t know how else to do it…”
His cheeks were bright red, and she laughed slightly. “I can think of worse ways.”
“Annabeth. I love you too. Always have. But you create beautiful worlds, both in your architecture and your writing, and I just didn’t want to distract you from them. You deserve everything, and more.”
“It kinda feels like I’m holding everything that matters to me right now.” She muttered, squeezing him closer slightly. Her brain had kind of short circuited during the kiss, so she was relieved she had plenty of practice coming up with cheesy dialogue to lean back onto.
Percy blushed in an unfairly adorable way again, causing her to kiss him this time.
When they separated again, he was giving her that same grin that made her stomach sink and her heart do flips. “Does this mean you’re going to start calling me ‘Pierre’?”
Rolling her eyes, she kissed his cheek. “Don’t ruin the moment.”
A little while later they were cuddled up on the couch, which wasn’t too different from how they usually ended up but there was a lot less posturing and pretense leading up to it when the door to the apartment opened.
“Is it safe to come in?” Piper asked hesitantly. “Is everyone okay? Is everyone dressed?” She asked.
“Yeah. We’re good. Great even. Things are great.” Annabeth offered, glancing over at Percy who was just grinning at her.
“Phew.” Piper said dramatically as she walked in, setting down some groceries. “I had no idea what I was going to walk in on. I prepared for a few situations.”
Rolling her eyes, Annabeth probably would have been a little more snarky if she wasn’t still riding a high from Percy’s confession.
“So I take you two finally stopped that stupid dance you’ve been doing?” Piper asked, popping open the salsa and dipping some chips into it.
“Yeah. We are.” Annabeth answered, before sharing another quick kiss.
“Thank God. Finally. I also won thirty bucks off this.” She offered, sending out a quickly celebratory text that caused Annabeth’s and Percy’s phone to start exploding a few minutes later with messages from their friends.
She wouldn’t definitely get on her case about that later. But for now she could let it slide.
“Oh, and both of you really need to work on naming your files better.” Piper said as she plopped down on the chair off to the side, snapping a photo for instagram to let the world know that her friends had finally gotten a clue.
