“My pancakes can’t drown.” He told Annabeth, before taking the price of his fork and eating it. Annabeth rolled her eyes at him and he kept his goofy smile on.

Breakfast was full of dumb jokes and making plans for the day. She bad negotiated that Percy would help her learn to surf, but she couldn't give up after twenty minutes.

They waited the twenty minutes after breakfast- at Calypso’s advice- before going out into the water again. Calypso and Thalia and gotten to sit by each other on their towels, making little sand sculptures together. Annabeth caught up to them with little plastic tool for them to embellish the sand, and the trio was having a blast. Jason and Leo were.. Wresting? Piper could only describe it as roughhousing but they seemed to be having a good time.

Percy stood with a board in his arm, water pushing up behind him, breeze pushing his hair in his eyes. “Okay, McLean, you’ve got to balance first.” He told her, wading deeper into the water. They stopped when the surface of the water was at Percy’s hips, but the chill was up to Piper’s waist. Percy held the board steady, nodding to Piper.
Her confusion wasn’t an act, she’d seen surfers paddled out then stand on the board, but she didn’t know what Percy wanted her to do first. He didn’t seem annoyed, but explained what he was asking of her. “Just lay on the board, stomach down. Then, act like you’re goin to paddle.”Piper did as asked, little waves made water run along the board, but Percy held her steady. She moved her arms just off the board, enough where she would be able to paddle. He told Piper she was doing good, and nodded upwards.

“Stand up?” Piper asked, feeling stupid the moment after she said it, “Yeah- balance.” She pulled her lright knee up, pushing up her chest with her arms before getting halfway into the stance. Piper wobbled, nearly falling off. A small squeak came form her, but Percy’s hand was on the small of her back to anchor her. After a deep breath, she stood up all the way.

“Okay, bend you're knees a little.” Percy instructed. It felt good, holding the right form. She could still feel his hand on her back, and his other hand went to her hip to keep her in place, “Now adjust you're front foot to the middle.” Piper moved her foot over, feeling a little more steady, and her back foot followed suit.

A wave came diagonally at her, and she lost balance. Her footing wasn’t right, or she didn’t have the hang of it, because she fell off. She just happened to fall in Percy’s general direction, and into the water. When she broke the surface, he laugh trying not to laugh. She let herself laugh it off, and Percy joined in.

“It was kinda funny.” Piper sat on the board, “Can we try getting balance on my knees, first? I appreciate you steadying me. But, I think I need to take baby steps.” She gave a lopsided half-smile. Percy returned the expression,moving a piece of hair from her eyes.

“Yeah, let’s try a few times. Then, maybe you can try paddling out.” Percy offered, more of an incentive.

They agreed, and Piper practiced with his guidance. It was innocent, mostly. They had been bugging each other about it for a long time. The only difference was that they were joking before, but this was a different type of attempted teasing.

Piper had gotten good at balancing on her knees, and had again gotten a congratulatory hug from Percy when she didn't fall off from a small wave. As promised, she began to paddle out deeper into the water. Percy kept wanting her about not going too deep, and she knew how strong undercurrents could be, so she listened. The water was to Percy’s ribcage, and Piper noticed how the saltwater made his hair wavier.

Her turned around slightly, and Piper blinked at his jawline. Hell, his jawline was so sharp.

“Alright, a small ‘ne is coming in. You ready? I'm gonna swim next to you.” Percy checked with her, and Piper couldn't help but squeak a ‘yes’ in response.

The wave came up behind her, and Piper quickly got to her knees. On top of the board, she rode the wave with Percy swimming beside her. The duo made it to the shore, proud smiles on their faces.

Piper slid off the board into the water, hugging Percy tightly. “I did it! I didn't even fall off!” She cheered, and Percy laughed happily.

“You did great for your first try.” He congratulated her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, “Let's bring in the board. I'm gonna get Leo to help me grill lunch.” He went over the plans with her.


Piper watched him drift off to Leo, animated about what he wanted to grill. Jason came up next to her, kissing her forehead.

“Hey. Looked good out there.” Jason complimented her, but it had a hint of aggression underneath. Piper knew him well enough to know something was up, but she hadn't pressed his fancy over Reyna.

“Calm down.” She said quietly, “Remember, we aren't actually dating. If I happen to find a friend very attractive, that's fine. You're into Reyna again.” Piper reminded, trying to act less defensive. “Plus, I doubt anything will happen.” She assured Jason before carrying to board off toward the cabin.


Percy had set aside a whole took for his equipment, all his different boards and wax, wetsuits, trophies. It was beautiful, really. She hung the board back up, walking through the halls of the house to grab a bottle of water.

She was alone in the kitchen, drinking her water in pleasant silence. The swim shirt she wore was sticky to her skin, leaving her uncomfortable. It took Piper a few wiggles of the arms, and it wasn't an easy pull to take it off. Piper turned and hung it on the sink for the moment. Someone cleared their throat, snapping her attention to the hallway. Percy simply looked at her, and she looked back at him.

Piper leaned against the counter, tilting her head. “Need something?” She asked coolly, nodding to the fridge. A flush was in Percy’s cheeks, and it seemed like he forgot why he originally came inside.

“You could've asked for some help with the shirt. I know a few tips to take if off easily.” He told her, almost pushing a smirk at her. Piper played along, sighing at him. She hopped onto the counter and barely swung her legs. She moved minutely, so that every movement was noticed.

“I'm sure you do. But tell me, you must have more tricks up your sleeve.” Piper prompted.

The next three seconds were blacked out from her memory, but what was happening right then was steamy. That was the only word she could think of to describe it.

Notes

~Nova~