tushanshu | o1 ♆ video

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o1 ♆ video

[A messy-haired teenage boy is eyeing the computer with an expression somewhere between dubious, irritated, and relieved] One minute I’m falling to Tartarus, the next I’m stuck on a giant turtle and surrounded by water. I’m pretty sure that no one can blame me for thinking that sounds too good to be true.

We are on a giant turtle, right? Like, I didn’t hit my head and hallucinate that or anything, there’s definitely a turtle with a whole city happening on its back and everything? Has anyone tried talking to it yet? Because I could really use an answer that isn’t ‘ask the Emperor’ right now.

[He glances down at his hands and falls silent for a moment. One of them shows signs of the skin being ripped and torn, but it’s the other one he seems to be focussing on. He clenches his hand fruitlessly for a second, before glancing back up at the camera] Uh. I’m Percy, by the way. I’m looking for a girl called Annabeth Chase. She’s tall, has curly blonde hair, and a bad attitude. If you tell her I’m looking for her, she’ll probably start badmouthing me. Or – Frank, Hazel, Nico, Leo, Piper. Jason, even. If you’re here, get in touch.

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[There's the fraction of a second between his opening the door and his arms around her where the realization that it's Percy and he's here finally, completely settles.]

[She flings her arms around him and holds him tightly, as tightly as she can without inflicting too much physical pain. She's angry and happy and relieved and nearly ready to cry, but everything is Percy. He's still Percy, the way he feels, the ocean scent as she buries her face into him, the sound of his voice. All gone, for nearly a year.]

[But not anymore.]

Stupid. [She mutters it, affectionately.]

We can't all be Wise Girls. [He's holding onto her just as tightly, forehead pressed into her curls] I have no idea what's happening right now, by the way.

You never do. [He's so familiar, and it's such a relief. It's so easy to just fall back into sync.]

Stupid. [She repeats, pulling back a little bit to look at his face. His stupid face with his stupid eyes and his stupid leaving her for her months, and even if it was Hera's fault, it's just so STUPID.]

[And then she's hitting his arm, one for each time she repeats the word.] Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Edited 2013-01-26 22:57 (UTC)

Hey, hey! [He's half laughing, half protesting, and making approximately zero effort to get her to stop hitting him. That's still contact, and right now that's all he needs when it comes to Annabeth.] I'm delicate, not so hard!

[The laughing huffs her up just enough.] I'll show you delicate.

[Then she'll just. You know.]

[Grab his arm.]

[And flip him over her shoulder to the ground.]

[No big deal.]

What-- [Okay this is something that's definitely happened before, and Percy thinks that he really should have seen this coming as the world tilts and then flips upside down. The ground punches the air out of his chest an he lays there for a couple of seconds before he manages to talk again]

Okay, I think that hurt worse than the last time.

[She stands over him, a weird but working mix of still being relieved but slightly angry. And maybe a little satisfied.]

[She's about to grab him again and yell, but his words catch her off guard.]

What do you mean last time?

[This is an unfortunately familiar position to be in. At least until she asks him that. A look of confusion crosses his face, followed by a sliver of fear sliding down his spine. He pushes himself up on his elbows] What do you mean, what do I mean?

Just what I said. [Because she's flipped him before, sure, but never with the same feeling or meaning behind it.]

[She drops down, sitting on her knees and crossing her arms. Already, she's thinking back to what Leo said. She'd gotten so wrapped up in seeing him again, she forgot everything else. And it all kind of comes rushing back.]

It - it sounds like we were pulled here from different moments.

But-- [Okay pushing himself to sit up properly now. She's crossing her arms, but he reaches out and tugs at one of them, almost without really realising. Hi Annabeth, your manfriend is sort of needy right now.]

I don't get it.

[She doesn't fight it off, even sort of reaches herself when she sees what he's doing, wriggles her fingers between his.]

[And then she can't help it. Annabeth laughs, half a giggle - because his response was just so Percy, and it's still surreal to see him here, something tangible and touchable.]

Time is weird and doesn't work normally, that's what it is. [She reaches for his other hand and pulls him in for another hug.]

[Her laugh pushes that little bit of fear away and he just sort of gathers her up and drags his girlfriend into his lap] You're saying that you don't remember - uh, Rome?

[The rational and thus most prominent side of Annabeth's brain chooses now to remind her that they're still basically in an open doorway.]

[But she shoves that out the window for now, readjusting her hug after he pulls her over. She's too happy to be with him again to really care at the moment.]

The last thing I remember before getting here was being on the Argo II, just at the edges of Camp Jupiter. We hadn't - quite gotten there yet.

[And thus, you know. She hadn't seen him yet.]

[Percy is exactly aware of propriety and things like open doors as ever, which is to say not at all. And then she tells him that she doesn't remember, and he can't decide if that's a good thing, or the worst thing in the world.

His grip tightens just a little, involuntarily.] That's - that's it?

Edited 2013-01-27 03:59 (UTC)

That's it. That's the moment I found myself here. And I've been here for about six months. [She's aware of how impossible that sounds.]

Leo explained... some things. [She wriggles a little closer.] Like Tartarus.

Six...? And you were dragged here before the Argo II even reached Camp Jupiter?

[He stares down at her for a moment] Excuse me, don't punch me for this. [And he kisses her, soft and a little bit desperate.]

[Things that are not happening? Punching. Things that are? Kissing.]

[And she doesn't mind one bit. It's just as desperate in return, maybe even a little bit more, complete with one hand fisting into his shirt.]

[It's been nearly a year. She's a little surprised she made it this long without jumping him.]

[It's a good thing they're already in the floor, because this is the sort of kiss that Percy isn't sure he could stay standing for. One hand stays wrapped around her, practically clutching her to him, while the other one slides through her hair. His eyes shut and for a second he sees it again, her face as she tells him to let her go.

But that fades, because she's here, and no matter what the other circumstances are, that's all that matters to Percy] I love you, Annabeth. [His voice is hoarse and the words are more mumbled into the kiss than anything else, but they're definitely audible.]

[Annabeth breaks away from the kiss when she hears him mumble the words. It sends a flush to her cheeks and a jolt through her body.]

[She slides her hands up to cup his cheeks, rests her forehead to his, and determinedly looks into his eyes. Maybe he is from later, knows more, but she'll find out. Somehow. He's here and that means more than anything else right now.]

I love you, too, Percy. I've missed you so much. [She chokes a little on the last few words, then she presses her lips to his once again.]

[His hand slips from her hair to cup her face just as she does the same thing. Her eyes are really grey, he notices. It's distracting. Everything about her is distracting]

I'm here. [The way he holds her is sort of possessive] And I'm not letting go. [It's a response that doesn't quite fit with what she said - 'I missed you too' might have been more appropriate, or even 'you won't have to miss me anymore'.]

[If he's possessive, she's a little reckless, a little amazed, because she's still so utterly relieved to see him again. Her hands keep moving, brushing at his hair, picking at his shirt, even if they keep coming back to his cheeks. Any excuse, any tiny touch.]

[She feels like she could sit here all day. When was the last time either of them could even think about doing that?]

[She wrinkles her brow at his response, but she can't help but kiss him again because of it.] I don't want you to.

[Not yet, at any rate.]

[He can't think about what it would be like to be without Annabeth for an entire year. Half that had been bad enough, and that had been without all of his memories of her.

Percy laughs a little, returning her kiss, stealing more] Well, that's good. This could've gotten awkward, otherwise.

[That gets a smile out of her. His ridiculous always does.]

I'd like to avoid any awkward for the moment.

[She runs her hand through his hair, where the grey streak used to be. After a moment, she rests it there. The last time she saw him, they both had them still.] They grew out.

[Because even though they have so much to talk about, she finds herself wanting to keep putting it off, for now.]

[He knows instinctively where her hand is, even though the streak is long gone. His fingers tug, lightly, the lock where hers had once been.]

I kind of miss it. Made me look distinguished, you know? [yeah that's totally why]

[She laughs.] Distinguished. Sure. Keep telling yourself that.

[Her smile gets a little softer after that, though.] But I kind of miss it, too. They were sort of... ours.

[Another thing that connected them, in an actual physical way.]