Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Annabeth hurriedly scooped frosted flakes out of the small glass bowl in her hands. She was eager to get out of the hot, cramped hotel room, and even more eager to be on time.

  Annabeth was meeting Peter at the park today. The park, of all places? They were nearly finished with their project and had decided to use a few hours of their Saturday to finish it, though it had taken a lot of coaxing from Peter. They had just earned their official freedom- 2 and a half months of summer vacation- and while neither of the teenagers actually considered the project they were doing a burden, they didn't really want to spend one of their first Fridays of the break doing something school-related.

  Annabeth turned 18 in a month, and she was already almost finished with college. Being a daughter of Athena meant she was smarter than the average person, and her IQ was unbelievably high. The professors at Camp Jupiter had hardly known what to do with her, and before she knew it, she had finished the work of 4 years of college in just a little over one. That degree in architectural design was very nearly her's. But as one of Annabeth's degree requirements, she had to help a high school student with a project involving one of the categories: Engineering, Technology, Economy, or (her personal favorite) Architecture.

   The student was chosen randomly considering their amount of experience and knowledge, and Annabeth was assigned Peter Parker. Peter was an incredibly bright 16 year old boy who attended Midtown Highschool in Forest Hills, New York. He had curly brown hair and dark, chocolate brown eyes, and he couldn't go 5 minutes without smiling. It didn't take Annabeth very long to realize what a great guy he was.

  Peter and Annabeth had chosen a project focusing on how to better stabilize taller buildings in New York City. The teenagers had been meeting in various places for the past couple of weeks, such as a nearby burger joint, or the hotel room lobby, or Peter's aunt's apartment.

  They had already done a full 14 page report on the current problems of building's foundations and stabilization, and various ways to fix it. They had started a model out of Legos (Peter's idea) and were meeting to finish it today.

Ding.
  Annabeth jolted at the sound of her phone, before grabbing it and touching the screen alive.
  You're on your way, right?

  Annabeth sighed. Of course Peter was already there. He had a way of getting places quickly, though Annabeth hadn't quite figured out his mysterious ways yet.

  I still have 15 minutes before I have to be there. I'm not even late!

Well, its Saturday and I've got other things to do. Hurry up!
  Annabeth smiled despite herself, and finished off the remaining few pieces of milk-drenched flakes of cereal before standing up and grabbing her bag. She'd be lying if she said the past 6 weeks she'd spent with Peter hadn't affected her. She had truly made a new friend, and one as smart as her, at that.

...

  Peter had used the suit.
  He knew he wasn't supposed to use his web shooters as transportation to Central Park, or anywhere, for that matter. But there he was, swinging from building to building in his bright red suit with a backpack full of legos rubbing against his back.
Driving was boring, and in Peter's case, illegal, because he had yet to get his license even though he was of eligible age. Peter didn't really have money to spend on taxis, when he could be using his savings for cool stuff like Star Wars merchandise and lego sets, and food for his monstrous appetite.  Besides, Peter liked seeing the look on Annabeth's face when he arrived just minutes after she established a meeting time.

  Peter arrived at the chosen spot at the park, a tree secluded couple of square feet with a small, broken fountain near the middle. Annabeth had chosen it because it didn't seem to attract much attention, even though it was breathtaking. He hurriedly changed out of his suit and into a t-shirt and some jeans, glancing around as he did so. It wasn't necessary; though,  his spider-sense would alert him of anyone's presence if they came within 20 feet of him.

  After getting changed, Peter texted Annabeth a small message before dumping the legos and unfinished model out of his bag. They scattered and bounced into the grass, making small thu-dumping noises as they hit the dirt.

  A chime from his phone alerted him that Annabeth had replied to his impatient text. He thumbed a quick reply, chuckling at the distinct whine in the message. He didn't know what it was, but the relationship he had established with this under-age genius college student was different than any other he had ever developed before.

...

Annabeth parked her car near the entrance of the park before walking the short distance to where she knew Peter would be waiting. It was still kind of early, only 8:30, and the park was mostly filled with joggers and bikers. She and Peter wouldn't be interrupted.

  About 20 feet from where they had chosen to complete the project, Annabeth heard Peter yell.
"What took you so long! I've been waiting!"

  Annabeth felt her jaw drop in surprise. She jogged through the trees to where Peter was leaning casually against the broken fountain, trying to pull off a unperturbed and relaxed look but failing as he smirked.   

"What the heck, Peter! How on Earth did you see me? I was 20 feet away and surrounded by trees! And I don't walk loud."

  The last few project meetings had been a sort of unspoken race between the two competitive teenagers. Peter was always winning by a long shot, somehow, and it drove Annabeth insane when she couldn't figure out how he got to his destination so quickly.

  So Annabeth found it difficult to hide the frustration in her voice. What was this guys deal? Maybe he had enhanced hearing or something.
"I'm just very observant," Peter grinned, "Especially when I'm impatient. Now should we get on with the project?"

  Annabeth huffed, but plopped down next to Peter on the grass. He'd already set up the unfinished model, and sorted the legos into little piles.

  "Alright. Ringers off, no distractions. We're going to finish this project once and for all."   Both of the teenagers turned off their ringers and dropped their devices into Peter's bag, before fisting handfuls of legos and continuing to build their model.

  Annabeth and Peter had both reviewed the blueprints of the model several times, and so didn't have to talk much to each other while they built. They worked like a machine, and enjoyed the serenity and peacefulness of their surroundings.

...

Peter's legs started to fall asleep after sitting on them for an hour. He barely talked to Annabeth as they put lego after lego on the model, somehow afraid to disturb the tranquility around them.