Summary: Annabeth's best friend and older sibling figure since she ran away at seven helps her execute the perfect birthday surprise for Percy in their first year at college.
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"I just want to do something special for him. It's his first birthday away from home, and I can tell it's bothering him."
I hummed, twirling my dagger and staring at the ceiling while kicked back on my couch. Such was the life of a demigod, that we fiddled with weapons like fidget toys.
"And there's no way you guys can go back?" I finally asked. Annabeth, my little sister in every way but blood, shook her head.
"We've got orientation for the next week and a half, including his birthday. It's the only reason we're here so early in the first place. We can't miss it."
I frowned. Annabeth and her boyfriend, Percy Jackson, had just started college at New Rome University. They'd gotten to the Bay Area yesterday, which I'd been incredibly excited about. Annabeth and I had been attached at the hip since I was eleven and she was seven, when we'd met as runaway demigods. Out of our little group, Annabeth and I had stayed the closest. After the Titan War, I'd decided to go USF, the muggle university in San Francisco. Leaving her had been the hardest part.
Now, luckily for me, she and Percy had moved out here too. Annabeth had finished unpacking and setting up her dorm room within a few hours of arrival, and so had some free time this morning to spend hanging out with me. Percy had not, so he was otherwise occupied on their last day before school activities started.
"Well, I'm happy to help with whatever you want to do, Annabeth," I said. She sighed, chewing at her lip and staring out the window of my apartment as she thought. "Maybe you could show him around the Bay Area? He probably hasn't spent much time out here, has he?"
"I really haven't either," she said. "I've barely been back since I was a kid."
"True..."
"Maybe we could go on a tour of New Rome? Percy told me he wanted to show me around, but I don't want to make him be the tour guide for his birthday."
"Yeah."
The two of us fell silent for a moment, thinking things through. Then, like a blast of lightning from Thalia, an idea hit me.
See AlsoSummer of Romance - Chapter 1 - robindrake93 - Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms"What if you baked him some cookies or
something? He's probably already missing his mom's baking."Annabeth shot up straight in her seat, staring at me with wide eyes.
"That is the perfect idea. Can I make them here?"
"Of course! I'm not going to make you use the shared freshman kitchens."
Annabeth grinned, then stood and headed to the kitchen table. I watched her go with interest as she pulled out a notebook and pen and started scribbling away.
"Uh... Annabeth?"
"Making a plan. Don't worry about it."
I grinned to myself. My little sister was nothing if not predictable.
A few days later, Annabeth managed to sneak away from Percy and orientation to come back to my place for a baking party. Percy's birthday was tomorrow, so we only had tonight to get everything ready.
"I came up with the perfect plan," she said in lieu of greeting as she pushed past me and into the apartment. I smiled after her, joining her in the kitchen as she plopped down a massive bag of baking supplies. "I got the recipe, I timed everything out, I got a ton of blue food coloring. By the end of the day, the perfect birthday surprise will be completed."
"I'd never doubt a plan from Athena," I said, giving her a smile. "Just tell me what to do, and I'm on it."
"Right. Well, first we need to preheat the oven."
That was about the only part of the plan that ended up going off without a hitch. Annabeth didn't bake often, and she'd happened to choose a pretty difficult cookie recipe. I did my best to help, but I didn't have a lot of experience in the area either, so things went quickly off the rails. Just under two hours later, the two of us stood in the kitchen covered in flower, eggs, and bits of way too watery dough, staring at the absolute disaster of a mess we'd created on the counter.
"This was not part of the plan," she said. I couldn't help it—I burst out laughing.
"I don't know, I think sugar cookies are supposed to be so wet we can't pick them up," I joked. I turned to see Annabeth with a very serious frown on her face.
"I haven't had a plan fail this miserably in... a long time."
"Well, I think it's probably time for plan B. That can be your redemption."
Annabeth's frown just deepened, so I did what any good sibling would do and took it upon myself to cheer her up. By throwing a wad of dough in her face, of course.
Her mouth dropped open in shock as sugary, goopy dough dripped off her chin. Then she whirled on me with a fierce look and fire in her eyes that I recognized from the few times she'd really been on the warpath for capture the flag.
"That was a mistake."
She picked up the nearest glob of dough and chucked it at me as I tried to dodge. It hit me in the back with a thunk, and I cackled before turning around to reengage with a clump of flour.
The baking battle raged for a few fierce minutes, before Annabeth and I slipped in some dough on the floor while wrestling to smear more of the stuff on each others' heads. We collapsed in a heap, both of us laughing like crazy people.
"That was so worth everything that came before it," I declared, slumping against the nearest kitchen cabinet. Annabeth immediately followed suit, leaving us shoulder to shoulder in the middle of the mess.
"What about the cleanup that comes after?"
"Also worth it, especially since I have you here to help me."
Annabeth snorted, but didn't say anything. After a minute of comfortable silence, she sighed.
"What am I gonna do for Percy's birthday tomorrow?"
"Well, were the cookies the only plan?"
"No... He took me to one of his favorite spots in the city a few days ago, so I planned a picnic for the two of us there. The cookies were going to be the final surprise."
"Well, there you go then. The rest of the plan remains intact. If you wanted to, you could even make him a little coupon or something that promises 'one day of baking cookies' or something like that, and the two of you can pick an easier but still delicious recipe to try."
Annabeth looked at me with a skeptical eyebrow raised.
"Would you let us use your kitchen again?"
I shrugged. "Sure. Maybe Percy's better at baking than us. And even if he's not, having someone who can control water to help us with cleanup will at least make a round two of this easier."
Annabeth smiled and huffed a laugh, leaning against me.
"Thanks. For this, and for everything. I'm really glad you're here in San Francisco with us."
I smiled too, reaching out to put one arm around Annabeth. We'd known each other more than a decade, and we'd both changed so much. But our relationship had stayed the same.
"Any time, Annabeth. You know I'm always here for you." The two of us sat there for a minute, taking a breather and appreciating each other's company, and then I sighed. "Alright, time to get the cleaning stuff out. This is going to take hours."
"You know, I actually have a lot of coursework I need to get started on-"
"Nice try, but it's orientation. And even if you were in the middle of finals, you wouldn't be getting out of this."
"Fine. But next time, let's plan to avoid the massive kitchen food fight."
I grinned. "Sure. We can plan on that."
