#supremememeteme

Percy was up first, casting a glance at the blonde beside him. She was still fast asleep, looking peaceful. It didn't take much for Percy to know she needed whatever sleep she could get. The strap of her shirt migrated farther down her shoulder, exposing scars that expanded across her skin in a lightning strike. He noticed smaller, fainter scars closer to her hands. Images flashed in his brain of wristbands or bracelets and long sleeves. One scar wrapped above her left shoulder, and Percy wondered how he hadn't seen them before. He assumed yesterday was due to her jumpsuit, which was so bright it made you look away. The event that started this mission, however, made less sense. Makeup, maybe, but then Percy wondered how her scars slipped by him when he taught classes. The burn in his gut didn't go away when he saw a scar poking from under the hem of her shirt. Percy felt a protective flare of anger in his chest, needing to know who hurt her.

Annabeth stirred, and Percy held his breath. The blonde let out a sleepy grumble and settled, cueing Percy to let out a deep breath. He took the moment to slowly get out of bed. Percy pulled on a shirt and rubbed his eyes. A soft yawn broke the silence as his feet dragged across the carpet.

Breakfast was cereal, and he only had a couple of minutes to himself before Annabeth joined him.

“G’morning.” She still seemed half asleep, leaning against the counter as she brewed coffee.

“Good morning.” Percy gave her a small smile, which Annabeth returned.

The air between was an unfamiliar weight that almost made Percy forget about eating. It was impossible to tell if Annabeth felt it too, but it was ridiculous to assume that she didn't. It was safer to assume that she did. By the way her hair hid half her face, Percy knew she felt it. The images of her scars gnawed at his brain, making him wonder what her past could be.

It wasn't until then that he realized how little he knew of her. All that he knew was that she didn't talk about her past, kept her relationship with Luke a secret, and was a workaholic. Percy imagined some scars had to stem from missions, but others couldn't use the same excuse.

“How’d you sleep?” He settled for that question. Small talk was frustrating, but neutral.

“Good, actually. I needed it,” She answered, “You?”

Percy couldn't miss the air of relaxation slowly fading from her.

“I’m used to sleeping alone, just something to get used to.”

The wave of anger, the protective instinct he had towards Annabeth was useless. They weren't friends, not really. In fact, they barely knew each other. Not to mention how Annabeth can clearly handle herself, but nonetheless Percy felt the pang of anger.

Annabeth didn't see how he felt, choosing to focus on coffee. Percy didn't believe that she didn't see it. Sure, he was guarded, but there was a certain privacy about Annabeth that let him be a little freer. Maybe it was that she was harder to read than he was, and Percy had grown up to see what the twitch of an eyebrow meant.

“I like fluffy couches,” she said suddenly, “They bigger the comfier. Usually they're the ugly ones and I never spend enough time at home to need a soft couch anyway. They can be good though. And bay windows are great. I liked to listen to audiobooks and sit in them.”

Percy didn't understand why Annabeth chose to share that, maybe it was the large empty space where a living room should be. It didn't matter, because it was the kind of small and near useless information that made breakfast comfortable.

“I never had a bay window. I’d stack little cacti on my windowsill. They all had names.” Percy wondered if Annabeth would find it stupid that he would name a cactus. When he looked at her, a smile tugged at her face.  

“Really?” Her voice sounded soft, the kind of morning voice that made his shoulders relax.

“Yeah, all names after Disney characters.” Percy felt a smile tug at his own lips, watching Annabeth try to hold back a giggle. “My favorite one was kind of purple- named it Buzz.”

Annabeth snorted, her mouth spread in a wide smile. They both laughed, and the way Annabeth’s smile stretched let Percy believe that she wasn’t as serious as she looked.

The warmth in her eyes reminded him of his mom, in some weirdly comforting way. It was like warm Sunday mornings when they’re watch cartoons in their pajamas despite being far too old to watch cartoons. It felt like when his mom let him tag along to work and help her put candy into little bags, or arrange decorations in the candy shop windows. It felt like the sigh of relief his mom would let out when Percy rested his chin on her head, letting her talk about how hard to write the chapter was, and he’d reassure her that she was the best writer he’d ever heard of. It made his heart ache, and his hands itched to call his mom.

“Jackson?” Annabeth seemed cautious now, and Percy realized his expression must’ve changed.

“Sorry, just missing home.” His words trailed off. A heavy air hung between them.

“I stopped missing home a long time ago.” Annabeth was quiet, but her words echoed in his ears.

Percy watched her gaze lower back to her coffee mug. Silence fell over them, and Percy searched for the right words to say. It was nice, when Annabeth talked to him. As long as he’d known her, there was always a guard up. When she was just a student, it was her gloves or a mouthpiece. She’d talked just enough to be polite to her peers, and left. When she recruited Percy, it was looking at an image of who she wanted to be, he could feel the disconnect. Annabeth surprised him by turning the formalwear of their first mission into her own form of armor, a new glittering persona for her to show off to seem human.

Now she just seemed sad, lonely, and distant. If he reached out to touch her, sure, he’d touch her, but Annabeth was still far away. Talking about ugly couches let her guard come down, and Percy wanted that back. Percy found himself speaking again.

“You know, when you laugh, you’re not as,” He paused, knowing he wasn’t comforting, but not wanting to insult her, then decided she’d respect honesty, “scary.” Her eyes snapped up to meet his, and Percy knew he used to right word. Annabeth’s eyes were an ice cold grey, sending chills down his spine. Behind the coldness, however, Percy say a hint of shock play across her face.

“Scary?” Her voice was still soft, but she looked at him warily. It was as if Percy were the scary one.

“Yeah, I mean, you always look ready to murder someone and that is generally accepted as scary,” Percy said.

Annabeth scoffed, but she looked ready to murder Percy.

“That! Right there! The thing your face is doing? Murder face.” Percy threw his hands up, her reaction only proving his point.

Then, Annabeth laughed, her murderous look dissolving into and wide smile. Percy felt his own face break into a lopsided grin as she laughed at him. Annabeth had to set her mug down, trying to catch her breath.

“Oh my god, Jackson, you’re the scary one!” She brushed hair from her face, still trying to control her laugh.

Percy burst into a laugh as well, shaking his head in disbelief. He wasn’t the scary one, he could barely tumble through a sentence let alone intimidate someone. Annabeth was obviously scary, her dark eyes and easy access to fiery glances.

“What?! No way.” Percy shook his head, Annabeth’s laughter barely controlled.

“Seriously? You don’t see it? You’re tall, strong, and charming enough that you could talk your way out of a firing squad. That’s scary, Jackson. You’re almost on par with Piper,” Annabeth said.  

Percy blinked, “I’d talk my way into the firing squad, actually.”

Annabeth grinned, “I can see that, too. You are a tad too honest.”

The air settled into a comfortable silence, both of them settling into what would be a long partnership. They were off to a good start, Percy thought. They could be friends, this may really work.

“Ok, Rookie. We’ve got a international arms dealer to meet with,” Annabeth said, setting her mug in the sink and filling it with water.

Percy ate the rest of his breakfast quickly, trying to finish by the time Annabeth walked back into their room to get ready for the day. It felt odd, sharing a room with her. They barely knew each other, and it felt even more out of place without actual furniture. Percy washed their dishes, humming to himself as he thought about where he was. A foreign city, a three hours time difference between him and his mom, stuck with a girl he barely knows where he might die.

Annabeth entered the kitchen, settling next to Percy to dry the dishes. She looked at him, then set down the bowl.

“Get dressed, this apartment is too empty,” Annabeth said. Percy nodded, taking his leave to get dressed in regular clothes.

“How are we-” Percy began to shout through the apartment.

Annabeth cut him off, “A car, Jackson. We have one, hurry up!”

Percy grumbled something as he hurriedly brushed his teeth, pulling on his sneakers quickly before joining the blonde at the door.

“Hurried.” He opened the door, following her out to the elevators.

The car in the garage was something he could see Annabeth driving. A black Jeep, hard top, black leather seats, and black rims. Annabeth unlocked it, sliding into the front seat.

“Who said you’re driving?” Percy slid into the passenger seat, not really annoyed about riding along. Honestly, he just wanted to give his partner a hard time.

“You didn’t know we had a car.” Annabeth smirked, the engine roaring to life.

“Ha ha. Very funny.” They drove off, trying to weave through traffic.

The lack of taxis was different, but the fact that cars might as well have been parked was similar. There was a lack of car horns blaring, but the sun beat down through the windows as they drove to the city over. Percy just sat in the car, taking it all in. There wasn’t too much to see, after all he was stuck in a car, but the clashing of old and new buildings was interesting. The drove past tourist attractions and took a packed freeway, leaving the dirty Hollywood streets behind.

“Movies make it seem...” Percy trailed off, trying to find the right word to describe the movie facade the city is painted in.

“Beautiful?” Annabeth glanced over, “It is, in a way. A lost of those buildings are older than us, but some of them are brand new. It’s cool, seeing how the same work still holds up.” Percy agreed, because that was true. Some of the buildings are iconic, but it still seemed dull.

“Yeah, but it feels dull,” Percy said.

“Looks like it didn’t take long for the city to beat the optimism out of you,” Annabeth laughed, and it made Percy let out a huff in agreeance.