#don't mind me just filling these prompts like 2 weeks late lmao

[timelesslords]

Hieee could you maybe write a fic where Annabeth changes her hair and Percy is like “omg who r u??”

Btw LOOOOVEEE all your stories, you’re one of my fave percabeth writers

I know this probably wasn't exactly what you were asking for, but it kind of got away from me haha 😅 I hope you like it anyway!

read on AO3

Annabeth had been expecting a reaction when the door to the Poseidon cabin opened, but she hadn’t expected complete and utter silence. Then again, Percy’s face pretty much said it all— his jaw had practically dropped when he caught sight of her.

“It’s awful,” Annabeth sighed, “Just go ahead and say it.”

“No,” Percy said, hurriedly, finally finding the sense to close his mouth, which had been gaping open like a fish, “No it’s not, it’s just— wow.”

“You don’t have to lie, I know how it looks,” Annabeth said. Her arms had already been folded over her chest, but she found them tightening, slightly. She’d been dreading this moment more than the actual haircut.

Which was saying something, because she’d been putting off the actual haircut for a while.

The Giant War had ended nearly two weeks ago, and her hair had been damaged beyond belief for longer. She hadn’t taken very good care of it while Percy was missing— she’d been in survival mode the entire time, and her hair was the last thing she was worried about. Then, of course, there was the quest and… well.

Trekking through the deepest pits of the underworld was really bad for your split ends, apparently.

Beyond the fire river and the poison air, something about being down there had just sucked the life out of her curls. The ends were damaged beyond repair. Some of them were even a little singed, and she couldn’t even remember how that had happened but she also wasn’t trying very hard to.

Annabeth had just been tying it back everyday, putting it in a bun or a scraggly ponytail and hoping nobody would notice. Unfortunately for her, her best friend was a daughter of Aphrodite. And while Piper wasn’t normally very into that type of thing, something about the absolutely atrocious state of Annabeth’s hair had triggered something baked deep into her DNA that required her to fix it.

It had taken a lot of convincing for Annabeth to agree to a haircut, but Piper had insisted it needed to be done. The fact that Piper used to cut her own hair did kind of help— choppy as it was, the unkempt look actually required more skill than one would expect. So that was how Annabeth had found herself in the Aphrodite cabin an hour previously, watching inch after inch of damaged hair fall away in a gaudy supermodel mirror as she tried her best not to cry.

Piper had done a good job, all things considered. She didn’t have a lot to work with, and Annabeth had told her to just do whatever she needed to. Still, it was short— shorter than Annabeth could ever remember having it, falling just below her chin.

Even Piper had only had a grim look of satisfaction when it was finished. It was functional— and not damaged, for the most part— and that would have to do.

But breaking the news to Percy was somehow the worst part of it all for Annabeth. She knew he liked her hair, like running his fingers through it and pushing it behind her ear and brushing it out of her eyes. Cutting it off felt like a betrayal somehow, like she was giving up, accepting defeat, like she’d let Tartarus ruin this one simple thing they’d had together after it had already taken so much else.

But the way Percy was looking at her now was… unexpected. She’d anticipated the surprise, but now that that had faded away, she wasn’t sure exactly what he was thinking. She’d thought he would do a bad job of pretending to like it— acting his heart out, of course, swearing he’d always liked it this way just to try and make her feel better— but instead he was just… looking.

She couldn’t quite read his expression, and something about it made her nervous. But she couldn’t find it in herself to speak, even if she desperately wanted him to.

“It looks really really good,” Percy said finally, reaching out and running his fingers through the short ends. He had a look of careful consideration on his face, like he was examining her curls the same way he would a complicated math problem, or a puzzle. “It’s different, but it's not bad.”

“Are you just saying that because you’re my boyfriend and you have to?” Annabeth asked. He smiled, twirling his finger around a lock of hair. He could actually do that again, because the one thing the lack of length had given her in return was a slight return of her natural texture. Piper had promised it would come back stronger with time, but Annabeth wasn’t holding her breath.

“No, I’m not,” he said, and it sounded sincere, at least, “I mean don’t get me wrong, I love your hair long, but it was a little… you know.”

“Burnt?” Annabeth supplied. Percy blushed a little, but he didn’t look away.

“Yeah,” he said, sheepish now, even as he forged on, “It looks a lot healthier like this. It makes you look healthier.”

“Are you saying I looked sickly?” Annabeth teased, though there wasn’t much bite behind it. She knew she looked sickly. Percy still looked a little sickly, and he’d bounced back physically much more quickly than she had.

“You know what I mean,” Percy said, unwilling to fall into her trap. Annabeth sighed, knowing he was right.

“Yeah, I do.”

“Hey,” he said, tilting her chin up just slightly, so she was looking him in the eye, “I’m proud of you. I know that wasn’t easy.”

“You’re proud of me for getting a haircut?” Annabeth asked, looking up at him reluctantly. He was smiling, because of course he was.

“Yes. Yes I am,” he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead, “And hey, it’s just hair, right? It’ll grow back eventually.”

“I guess,” Annabeth sighed, leaning into his touch, “But I have to look like this in the meantime.”

“You mean you have to look absolutely adorable in the meantime?” Percy said, grinning again.

Now this was what she’d been initially expecting, the unwillingness to admit that it was anything other than cute and perfect, but somehow it felt alright coming after the sincerity. He was right. It was going to grow back. And it wasn’t really so bad right now. She believed that he actually liked it, at least, and that made her feel a little better. A lot better, actually.

“Yeah,” Annabeth said, letting herself smile a little as she looked up at him, “I guess so.”

#percabeth #percabeth fic #annabeth chase #pjo fic #percy and annabeth #percy jackson #percy jackon and the olympians #pjo #percabeth fanfic #percabeth fluff #percabeth angst #don't mind me just filling these prompts like 2 weeks late lmao #if you sent me one I am trying to finish as many as possible!!! #also tyvm :') I'm happy you like my stuff!! #asks #anon