Love
Back when they were younger, Annabeth would never have admitted she even liked Percy as a friend, let alone that she loved him. That revelation was, to her at the time, laughable. She never would have guessed that she would grow to love him, in more ways than one. As a friend, as a lover, a husband, a companion, and her other half. He wasn't just her husband, but her best friend and lifelong partner. Her younger self would have scoffed at the idea of having tiniest bit of caring towards him.
But here she was folding laundry while watching him play with their son, Tyler. Tyler was giggling and Percy was smiling ear to ear. I looked on and shook my head. The boys were playing peek-a-boo, one of Tyler's favorite games. I folded a t shirt and laughed at their silly antics. Percy looked at me.
"I didn't know t shirts could be funny." He said smirking at me.
"Oh shut up" I muttered. He stood and picked up Tyler and put him on his shoulders.
"Don't do that! You're tall enough to have to duck in some of our doorways and yet you still think it's a good idea to put Tyler on your shoulders. Really Seaweed Brain?" I put my hands on my hips, giving him my signature 'don't test me' look. He put Tyler down and let him walk to me.
"Mama." Percy smirked at me once again. I placed the shirt in a basket and turned around. I picked Tyler up and placed him on my hip like a normal person. Percy stepped forward and tucked a curl behind my ear. He let his hand fall onto my cheek.
"You're cute when you're worried, Wise Girl." There he goes again, turning my brain to mush. I smiled up at him. He bent down to kiss me.
As his lips touched mine I quickly forgot why I was agitated. I once thought these butterflies in my stomach would disappear with time but here I stood, 10 years after our first date and they were still there. He took his hand and put it around my hip in an attempt to deepen the kiss. I leaned forward, forgetting for a second that Tyler was still there.
"Dada" Tyler brought us back to reality. I felt Percy smile against my lips and I pulled away. I gazed up at him and grinned.
"Tyler." He said softly. I pulled my eyes away from Percy's and moved to put Tyler down so we could continue, put Percy stopped me.
" You finish the laundry and I'll put him in bed. We can continue later." He laughed and picked tyler up, once again putting him on his shoulders.
"Really Percy?" I shouted as he left the room.
"Really" he shouted back and I could just hear the grin in his voice. I shook my head an turned back to folding clothes.
I lay in bed with Percy. We weren't kissing or even touching; we just sat there and looked into each other's eyes. His eyes had always be mesmerizing. They were so many different shades of green. My eyes had never been very special in my opinion, just boring old grey, but he saw differently. He always pointed out the different tones and lines in them.
When I looked into his eyes I saw not just color but so much more. They held pain and agony, yet they still became loving as he looked at me. His gaze made me feel secure and safe. I could get lost in them so quickly with all their mystery and wonder.
Most of all, I saw love in them. Pure, untouched love, as great as it comes. I thought the love would leave at some point and in times I thought it did, but still they always returned to their same loving status. I hoped he saw the love I had for him in my eyes.
As we lay there, he slowly wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me closer. I felt safe as he simply held me in his arms. And slowly I drifted to sleep, all the while smiling.
While she would never have thought she would be where she is about 14 years ago, she knew now that good things come to those who wait. She hadn't waited with anyone as long as she had waited for Percy. She still often wondered that she wasn't good enough for him. But when she said so he would automatically show her that she was completely and utterly worth it. After all they had been through together one thing held true; they would never leave each other. And they would always love each other.