o5 ♆ video
[Percy is firmly established in Annabeth's suite again. He's frowning absently at the screen, almost like he's totally forgotten what he was going to say. Instead of words, you get the steady pop pop pop of him messing around with a sheet of bubblewrap in front of him. From the right angle, he appears to be popping it in the shape of a sword. Or a stick. Or maybe just a line.
All of a sudden, his hands stop. He glances at the camera like he's just remembered that it's on, and opens his mouth. Shuts it. Open it again] Hey, I think...I'm seventeen now.
[There's a brief moment of silence before a wide grin breaks out across his face. He laughs, and there's a certain relief in the sound.] Not bad for someone who wasn't supposed to make it past sixteen, huh? Oh man, how did I miss this?
[He leans in towards the screen intently, a certain determination stealing his features. Percy's ADHD brain has caught onto an idea, and it is Extremely Important that it be addressed Right Now] Okay, I know that things are really tight and tense right now for everyone, but this is...well, it's important. Or at least, it'd mean a lot to me. Does anyone know where I could get my hands on some blue food dye? Or like, something that dyes...food...blue.
[That's the same thing, Percy.] I can pay. Or, I don't know, blast you with salt water. I guess no one really wants to swim in the canals right now. [Briefly his expression falls, reminded of what he sees as his failure in trying to save the Water Sector] But yeah, if anyone knows where I could get some, that'd be great.
All of a sudden, his hands stop. He glances at the camera like he's just remembered that it's on, and opens his mouth. Shuts it. Open it again] Hey, I think...I'm seventeen now.
[There's a brief moment of silence before a wide grin breaks out across his face. He laughs, and there's a certain relief in the sound.] Not bad for someone who wasn't supposed to make it past sixteen, huh? Oh man, how did I miss this?
[He leans in towards the screen intently, a certain determination stealing his features. Percy's ADHD brain has caught onto an idea, and it is Extremely Important that it be addressed Right Now] Okay, I know that things are really tight and tense right now for everyone, but this is...well, it's important. Or at least, it'd mean a lot to me. Does anyone know where I could get my hands on some blue food dye? Or like, something that dyes...food...blue.
[That's the same thing, Percy.] I can pay. Or, I don't know, blast you with salt water. I guess no one really wants to swim in the canals right now. [Briefly his expression falls, reminded of what he sees as his failure in trying to save the Water Sector] But yeah, if anyone knows where I could get some, that'd be great.
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[Oh, wow, that brought her closer than expected. Oops?]
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[She wriggles one of her hands down to his waist, then tip-toes her fingers around towards the middle of his back, stopping before reaching it.] Do you really want me to?
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[Because lbr she could easily get out of this any time, and his arm might be around her waist, but she's totally got the upper hand.]
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[Then she just sort of wraps her arms around him to give him a hug, leaning up to kiss him on the cheek.] Happy sort-of Birthday, Percy. I think. [Throwing his words back? Throwing his words back.]
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[He hugs he back pressing his face into her shoulder after she kisses him on the cheek.] Sort of thank you, I think.
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[Hugs are good. She likes hugs. She tightens it a little bit, just out of the idea of birthdays as accomplishments, because it really is one, especially for him. And she's happy.] You got me thinking... [A pause hangs in the air before she speaks up again.] If you turned seventeen here, I probably have by this point, too.
[because all the months?? why is time weird??]
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[She sort of pulls away from the hug, if only so she can take his hands again, looking him in the eyes, before she starts on something.] New goal. For both of us.
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We made it to seventeen. So now we make it to eighteen. [A pause, before she sort of keeps going unintentionally, giving his hands a squeeze.] Then nineteen, then twenty, twenty-five. Thirty.
[Suddenly she is just having feelings over wanting to reach these ages with Percy, okay!! But in a completely good way, because she even sounds a little hopeful. The birthday talk got her thinking, but it's only now that it kind of bubbles out after the teasing. She hates that adulthood is such a challenge, but even with Tartarus looming, she has to believe they can reach eighteen. For a start.]
[But it's also the implication of accomplishing this together. In a future they can share. And she wants that.]
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Ninety. [His tone is decisive, and he nods with it] At least. You and me.
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