First time writing anything other than Solangelo that's not kotlc... so we'll see how this turns out.

This was another tumblr request-

I write in cliches, so this shall be a ~wonderful~ coffeeshop AU-

Annabeth tapped her fingers on the table in annoyance, rereading her thesis.

This wouldn't do at all. Sure, it was better than some of her classmate's papers- god knew; she'd certainly critiqued enough of them- but her professor held her to a higher standard, and she couldn't afford to make a mistake or have lazy writing.

Annabeth deleted the paragraph, sighing. Rubbing a hand over her eyes wearily- she'd spend hours on this paper, and she wasn't even close to done- she stood up, heading to the counter for another coffee.

She'd already had three.

But unfortunately, she'd been forced to stay up late the night before to complete a project. It was due the following week, but she'd chosen her subject to be the construction of the Effiel Tower; she'd been so riveted and absorbed in her work she hadn't noticed the time.

And five hours of sleep, while enough to function, wasn't enough for her to stay awake long enough to write this essay. Especially since it was on the analysis of a random book that she'd hardly been able to read.

"Should I be worried?" An unfamiliar voice sounded, and she looked up to see a cute man with sea-green eyes looking at her with curiosity, tinged with a bit of amusement. He was an employee, she noticed, with a nametag that read "Percy".

"What about?" she frowned, checking to make sure her clothes weren't messy and didn't have a cause for concern. Maybe the Stoll brothers had drawn on her face again; they certainly had had the opportunity, and they weren't exactly known to turn down the chance to play a prank.

"About your coffee dependency," Percy smirked, running a hand through his dark hair. His other hand played with one of the pens on the counter, moving it around before his hand dropped to his side.

"I don't have a coffee dependency," Annabeth protested, perhaps a little haughtily.

"Sure," he nodded in mock agreement. "That's why you're on your fourth cup. And why your eyes are looking a little wild there."

"Excuse me? I have an essay due next week, and I need to work on it, and I need to be awake to work on it. Therefore, I would like another cup of coffee," Annabeth proclaimed, her fingers tapping her thigh incessantly.

"Oh, excuse me! Of course, if you need to stay awake to work on it, how could I refuse you your caffeine?" Percy remarked, his eyes glimmering with amusement.

Annabeth scowled. "I wouldn't need coffee to stay awake were I working on something interesting."

"Oh? And what would that be?"

"Something about architecture," she responded, perhaps a little dreamily as she thought of the possibilities.

If only this class was about Hoover Dam or something interesting like that, rather than modern literature. It was hard enough to read books she was interested in, after all, and she would rather write a report on a bridge than this.

She told Percy this (plus a bit more), speaking animatedly about her interest in architecture before glancing up and realizing his eyes were fixed on hers, a smile tugging up the corners of his lips.

"What?" Annabeth flushed with embarrassment, realizing how boring and nerdy she must sound.

"Nothing," Percy grinned, tapping his pen restlessly against the counter. "You're cute when you talk about learning."

Annabeth knew her mouth was gaping open, and she shut it with a snap. "Never heard that pickup line before," she commented, the only words she could think of.

His hair was beach wavy, tousled and natural.

The thought was so sudden that Annabeth blinked as it crossed her mind, resisting the urge to shake her head.

His smile was rather distracting, now that she thought about it. Not that she was thinking about it, because she certainly didn't have time to waste.

Her paper was due in a week, after all, and it had to be perfect.

"I can't imagine why," Percy shook his head, his dark, beach wavy hair flopping down over his eyes before he flicked it away.

"Well, what are your interests?"

"Hmm... Surfing." Catching her disbelieving expression, he laughed. "No, I'm just kidding. I do like the ocean, though. All that kind of stuff."

"What about the ocean?" she couldn't help asking.

"Just... the sea creatures and the waves and stuff. The plants, I suppose." His eyes brightened, and Annabeth thought maybe this was how she looked when she talked about architecture. 

Inspired, almost.

"Now, what can I get you to keep you awake to write your highly important yet uninteresting essay that is certainly not about architecture?"

Annabeth rattled off the familiar words, hardly listening to them as her thoughts returned to her paper and certainly not the cute man standing a few feet away.

He probably flirted with all the girls that came by to order something. Especially the ones that didn't talk his ear off about a subject most seemed to find boring.

"Be right back with your caffeine in a cup," Percy told her, winking over his shoulder in an almost infuriating way as he strolled back to make her drink.

She took a deep breath, running her fingers through her messy ponytail (oh god it probably looked horrible what had he thought about her? That she was a slob?) as she waited for him to come back.

She was not one of those girls, Annabeth told herself firmly. She lifted her chin. She was not the type of girl to obsess over a guy when there were way more important things to worry about, like her essay due in a week, or her other homework that she had yet to do, or her upcoming internship, or-

"Here," Percy set down the coffee on the counter, pushing it to her with his fingertips. His other hand tapped the surface incessantly, and Annabeth was willing to bet his foot was tapping beneath the carpet.

Maybe he was having too much caffeine too. Or maybe he was just always filled with this much energy.

"Thank you," Annabeth said quickly, taking the cup and wrapping her hand around it, ready to head back to her table.

Her laptop was still open, and her paper beckoned.

Still, she lingered for a second, opening her mouth... but before she formed the words, she closed it again, shaking her head and smiling at Percy before heading back to her seat.

She took a sip of her drink and set it back down.

When she looked back at it to pick it back up, she glimpsed some words written on the side in messy handwriting:

Are you free Friday, Wise Girl?

Startled, she glanced up and locked eyes with Percy, who smirked, albeit nervously.

Annabeth grinned, standing up to go back to the counter. 

His sea-green eyes sparkled in the light. 

Butterflies swarmed in her stomach, and she couldn't stop herself from responding.

"It's a date, Seaweed Brain."

Ahem.

So I realized today that Percabeth is honestly one of my only straight ships out of all my fandoms-

Also, I write in fluffy cliches so I just had to write at least one coffee shop AU. There will be another one, I already have an idea for it and it will involve Marella in some way.

Anyway.

So yeah, comment, vote, etc, I love hearing your thoughts/constructive criticism!