Sick Week

Annabeth was jolted awake by the loud sounds of hacking coughs. She sleepily cracked an eye open to see Percy standing over the dresser in their bedroom, holding the sides and breathing heavily. He was dressed for work, but even half-asleep, she could see the sheen of sweat on his forehead.

She rolled her eyes and turned over, grumbling. "Percy Jackson, you get back to bed."

He coughed again, as though he was ejecting his lungs. "I'm fine."

"I swear to gods, you do not understand the concept of a sick day."

"I'm fine."

"Come. Back. To. Bed." Despite Annabeth's growling, Percy only stumbled over and pecked her hair to say goodbye. Anticipating this, she whipped around and yanked on his arm and brought him on top of her.

Which, of course, made him start coughing again.

"Annabeth," he moaned, burying his head in her stomach above the blankets.

"Percy, you have a fever."

"I have to go to work."

"I'm sure those kids will survive another day without their teacher."

"But it's not that bad," he whined as Annabeth pulled him onto his side of the bed. It didn't take that much effort, if she was being honest; Percy was incredibly weak when he was sick. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he sighed deeply.

"Want me to call the school?" she asked, lips twitching.

"No," he groaned, hugging the pillow tightly. "I'll do it."

"I'll get the phone for you."

"It's on the table beside the bed."

"Your point?"

"Stop making fun of me," he complained as she giggled. With visible effort, he opened his eyes and reached to the night table to take the phone, collapsing as soon as he grasped it.

"Good job," she mocked.

"Shut up." He closed his eyes, still clutching the handheld telephone. "Annabeth?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you get me the school's number?"

"Maybe."

"Without smirking?"

"Definitely not."

He suddenly bolted upright in coughs, phlegm audibly clogging his throat. Annabeth could see his eyes watering as he wheezed and hacked, and she felt a surge of something that seemed suspiciously like tenderness. She supposed she should've been used to that after being married for two years, but she wasn't.

She rubbed his back as his coughs died down. Percy must've snuck out of bed, showered and gotten dressed - all without waking her - and he couldn't even make it out the door. She laid him down on the bed before kissing his forehead.

"I'll do it," she murmured softly, pulling the blankets over him. "Don't worry."

He cleared his throat. "Thanks."

"You need the week off to recover," she said firmly, taking the phone. "I don't care how much you love your job, you're staying in bed until I say so."

"I think you said something similar on our honeymoon," he said sleepily. Annabeth snorted.

When she'd finished making the call to the school, she'd come back into their bedroom and found him half-asleep, mouth wide open and ready to drool like it normally was. After all those years, she somehow found it endearing. She wet a cloth to put on his forehead and brought the cough syrup to his bedside table.

"All set," she told him, slipping back under the covers. She snuggled up to him; he was very warm, but he'd seen worse. "They have a substitute for this week."

"Thank you," he whispered, wrapping his arm around her.

"No problem," she said as he pressed his lips against her neck. "You did this for me last week."

"You look so helpless when you're sick."

"So do you."

He hummed against her skin. "Love you."

"Yeah, yeah," she said, grinning. "You only say that when you're sick."

"Not true."

"It is," she teased, but she didn't mind. He was quickly drifting off, and she kissed the corner of his mouth. "Love you too."

He smiled.

A/N: Fluffy drabble, hope you liked it. Please review :)