Hey guys! Here's the story I promised!

This is basically about life together for Percy and Annabeth and will include marriage, family, all that good stuff, but it will not be like some cliche stories out there, I promise! So sit back, relax, and enjoy!

Please R&R! Ideas are welcomed.

Edit 12/26/2016: I am editing/rewriting parts of this story to improve the writing quality and change the parts that were written prior to the release of Blood of Olyympus in order to make them fit with the canon. This is a long story and it may take a while, so if there is a drastic difference in quality from one chapter to the next, just know I am working on it. Thank you for all your support!

Disclaimer: PJO and HoO are owned by Rick Riordan.

This is crazy, I thought, opening the small velvet box for probably the millionth time. I wasn't really sure what the big deal was, why this was so intimidating. It wasn't like I didn't want this and it wasn't like I had no idea what I was doing.

Well, actually, I didn't, but I never really did so that wasn't anything new. But for having no clue what I was doing, I couldn't deny, I was pretty well prepared.

Really, compared to everything that had gone on in my crazy, dangerous, and perpetually difficult life, it was pretty amazing how something so completely normal and non-life threatening, something that typical, everyday, mortal people do, was so much scarier than facing down monsters. So much so, it was almost funny. Almost.

Actually, to say that it wasn't life threatening might be a tad bit untrue, considering I did have to get Athena's approval, which was a lengthy, particularly scary ordeal that we need not get into. Long story short though, I eventually managed to get her permission and Mr. Chase gave his to me pretty easily, so here I was.

Despite the fact that everyone more or less supported and approved of my plan, it didn't really make things much easier, except for the fact that I no longer had to worry about being blasted to bits by a certain goddess. Not for that reason, at least, and that was really the only reason I cared about at the moment.

To put it mildly, I was pretty scared, though I wasn't sure about what exactly. The fear monopolized my thoughts day and night, and had for many weeks. I guess it was probably pretty stupid and my fear was irrational. I was Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, two-time hero of Olympus, slayer of Titans and Giants, etcetera, etcetera. I had faced hordes of monsters, Giants, Titans, and all kinds of various types of evil, sometimes all at once, and sometimes didn't even blink an eye. But I was terrified of this. Terrified of what I could lose.

Love.

Thinking about it, it really was the most complicated four-letter word on the face of the planet. Also the simplest. Most of the time, it was an uphill battle; that "hill," of course, being Mount Everest, and the battle like no seemingly impossible battle I'd ever had the displeasure to face before—and I'd had more than my fair share of battles, thank you very much. Love was the hardest thing in the world to come by, but the easiest to hold on to once I had it, and with it, I was able to do amazing things. I'd been to Tartarus, after all, and the only reason I was still in one piece was because of love. It got me through—my love for one girl.

Annabeth Chase.

Hopefully Annabeth Jackson soon. That was, assuming all went as planned and I didn't chicken out at the last minute, which always seemed to happen in my nightmares. Either that or she said no and/or turned into some hideous monster from Greek Mythology because demigod dreams are weird, but we won't get into that.

Despite all of this, nothing could have stopped me from following through with my plan. Because I knew, beyond a doubt, that no matter how intimidating it seemed or how worried I was at the very likely possibility of nothing going as planned, I loved Annabeth with everything in me and I wanted her to be mine forever. I was pretty close to positive that she felt the same way. No matter how nervous I was about proposing to her, whenever I really thought about it, about her, all my fear melted away. And when the logical part of my brain finally made an appearance, I would realize that honestly, after everything we'd been through, the chances of Annabeth actually saying no were slim to none. Why else would she have stayed with me this long?

And really, there wasn't any point in holding out any longer. We were old enough and stable enough to get married. Annabeth had recently gotten her dream job at an architectural firm in downtown Manhattan and I was making my way through college, taking some courses in Marine Science and Oceanography, which were, not surprisingly, easier than all other subjects I'd studied before, while keeping a steady job at Camp Half Blood as an assistant camp director and sword instructor. The pay wasn't great, but it was enough and I had no doubt that, as always, we could get by just fine as long as we were together. We had the support, we had the stability, we had the funds, and we had the love. What else was really needed?

Tomorrow was my twenty-first birthday. More importantly, it was Annabeth's and my fifth anniversary together. It was also the night that I planned to propose to her and set our future in motion, and nothing was going to stand in my way.

I took one last look at the ring, a single diamond on a simple braided band that I had reinforced with Celestial Bronze so it was monster-proof. It was simple, beautiful, and strong; totally Annabeth. I studied it for a second longer and couldn't help the smile that spread across my face when I thought about our imminent future together. Many, many things had tried to stand in our way over the years and we had gotten past them every time. And seriously, if we could make it through Tartarus alive, the first of anyone ever to do so… Marriage? Yeah, I was fairly certain we could handle that too.

I gently closed the box, still smiling, and slipped it back into my bedside table, where it would safely stay until tomorrow night, when Annabeth and I would officially become forever.

It would be difficult—things usually were with us—but we would have each other, and as long as we were together, nothing else really mattered. Our path together had been a rocky one, and probably would continue to be, but our love had never failed, not once, and that wasn't about to change. We would keep going on our path to each other, keep fighting the uphill battle. Together, no matter what, we would continue to climb Mt. Everest.

What'd you think? Let me know! I love reviews.

So I haven't decided how I feel about this chapter yet. Some parts I love and others, I don't like so much. Hopefully you liked it. I promise future chapters will be longer and better! Thanks for reading!

-LiveLaughLove728