Hello friends! Thanks for checking out this story, which is dedicated to a dear friend, Katherine A. Jones for her birthday! Make sure you head onto her page and wish her a very happy birthday. She also has some pretty awesome PJO fanfiction you should check out. ;)
But I'm rambling...onto the story!
Disclaimer: I am not Rick Riordan, meaning these characters do not belong to me (although I really wish I was and that they did).
[How a Demigod Proposes]
"She's coming. She's coming." Percy raked a hand down his face nervously. The moment he had been waiting for had finally arrived and left him a ball of nerves. He didn't know how Annabeth would react or what she would think. Which was funny, considering he had fought side by side with Annabeth for years, saved the world with her several times over, and fallen into the Underworld with her as his only human companion. She seemed to know him better than he knew himself most days. "She's coming."
"You've said that like ten times already." Leo mumbled, fumbling with the cords to the contraption he had created in hopes of helping Percy pop the question. "The worst that will happen is that she will say no."
"Not helping, man." Percy's stomach - a mess of butterflies - seemed to rise up into his throat.
"It'll be fine," Jason flashed his famous kilowatt smile at Percy. "She'll love it."
"I sure hope so," Leo said. "As we've spent hours putting it together."
They stood in the field of Camp Half Blood, converted into a mass of flowers, lights and people. It seemed as though the whole camp had turned out to watch Percy ask Annabeth the question, which wasn't easing his nerves.
He could see Frank talking with several other demigods amicably, and Nico, who was as usual, standing off to the side - alone.
But he couldn't do much to change it, as Piper, who had been acting as the lookout across the field, jumped up. "Hazel's bringing Annabeth closer! I can see orange!"
Percy's insides again rumbled - this time worse as the preliminary nerves, or than in his dreams (yes, he had dreamed about it) - as he knew this was reality.
He was going to do it. He was going to ask Annabeth Chase to marry him. The Annabeth Chase.
What if she said no? What if she thought they were too busy at the camp and as demigods to get married?
Percy shoved the thought away. He couldn't think about that. He could only think about how he felt with her - how she constantly made him laugh, even when she called him Seaweed Brain, and how he would do anything to make her gray eyes sparkle the way they did when she was excited about something.
Percy took a deep breath. He could see the orange of her shirt, glowing in the twilight of the cool night, as it walked towards him and the field. It was now or never.
Either way, he reasoned with himself, the proposal was happening.
Percy Jackson style.
—
Annabeth had never been more annoyed in her entire life.
"Hazel," She protested. "I need to get back to my laptop. The job won't do itself."
"But...but you'll want to see this."
"See what? The field we play games on? I've seen it plenty of times."
Hazel didn't know what to say, without giving too much away. She was under strict orders from Percy that required her to say as little as possible, as smart Annabeth was quick to suspect anything.
The secrecy of the group was great, and Hazel knew the the surprise would be all the better if she could keep her mouth shut, but Percy and the rest of their friends really had tasked Hazel with the worst job.
She mentally shook her head at the gods and her luck.
Annabeth looked at Hazel again - her eyebrows cocked and lips wet with another question.
Hazel quickly shook her head, trying to come up with a valid reason. "No, not the field." She scanned the landscape quickly. "You'll want to see, um, the sky! Of course, the sky!"
The twilight sky was an array of colors - still light, though it was fading quickly, the minutes that ticked away bringing it closer to a dark evening. Lilac purples danced on the horizon and stars were just beginning to show, dotting the sky with various stories.
The field was sparser than it normally was, and if Annabeth had been thinking rationally (the only thing on her mind was her laptop and a new architectural design she hoped to build), she would have realized that the entire camp was also empty - void of the usually chatty daughters of Aphrodite gossiping about the cutest boys, the boisterous children of Ares battling out over the last piece of dessert, and the blonde haired children of Apollo flashing bright smiles to anyone who passed.
Annabeth, amused by Hazel's ability to trip over her words and the large blush spreading across her cheeks, laughed. "Alright, fine. We can take a ten minute break, tops. But isn't the ground more your forte, as a child of Pluto?"
Hazel smiled wryly. "I can appreciate a nice sky every once in a while. It won't take much longer than ten minutes."
Annabeth nodded. "Lead the way, then."
You won't want to return to work, Hazel laughed to herself, when you see what Percy's planned for you.
But these thoughts went unvoiced, as Annabeth would have immediately caught on to Hazel's implications. She always was good at things like that.
Hazel, grabbing Annabeth's hand to better lead her to the secluded spot on the field, instead grinned. "You're going to love the view of the stars from this new spot I've found."
Nico, from his viewpoint to the side, away from the other groups of onlookers, looked on at the festivities.
He watched Percy's sign - a disorganized mess of lights that managed (how Nico wasn't sure, as it seemed to be drawing power from every surrounding building) to spell out ANNABETH, WILL YOU MARRY ME? - and Percy's face, alight with happiness at Annabeth's shock.
Although, Nico could tell Annabeth had known that something was going on. But she was a great actress, and if Nico hadn't been quite the actor himself, he wouldn't have noticed either.
He clapped along with the rest of camp - halfheartedly - as Annabeth accepted. He looked away, ever the decent boy, though he managed to blush at the thought of anyone kissing anyone that way, as they met in the middle, a chaotic swirl of sparks and stars.
He had stood by observing as Jason had cranked up music and as several campers had started to dance.
He had even watched while the sign's lights had gone out, making Leo swear and disappear with his tool belt. But luckily, Leo, ever the mechanic, had been able to fix it quickly.
Nico didn't know how he felt about the whole proposal. A part of him would always hate Annabeth, as she seemed to have everything he couldn't. She had Percy, while he had no one. She had many siblings, other children of Athena, while he only had Hazel. She had too much brain, piercing gray eyes that seemed to stare into your soul when they looked at you, and too many orange Camp Half Blood shirts.
But, the other part of him, the side that rarely tended to speak up, was happy for her. If there was anyone that had faced demons in her childhood, Nico knew it was Annabeth. He could sense them - under her bright smiles and large laughter - because he was a child of Hades, and children of Hades knew these things.
He knew that Hazel also had sensed it, though in a different form.
"Lovely night, isn't it?" A certain blond haired, son of Apollo, drew Nico out of his thoughts.
Nico hummed in agreement, suddenly self-conscious.
Why was it that the people we liked often caught us at the wrong times? When we seemed to be upset, or angry, or nervous, instead of when we were at our bests.
Will smiled. "I'm happy for them. Annabeth and Percy deserve it. Saving the world so many times merits happiness, don't you think?"
Nico opened his mouth, but then shut it abruptly. Out of all the things he figured he could say to Will, the worst seemed to pop out of his mouth. "Why are you over here talking to me?"
Oh, the gods must find some amusement out of this. Nico shook his head at his misfortune. Maybe he could blend into the shadows using his little talent, though he figured he shouldn't as he was actually talking to Will.
And that never seemed to happen. Maybe he wasn't as completely unlucky as he had previously thought.
Will smiled. "Who doesn't like the stormy, brooding boy in the corner at a party?"
"Um, everyone? The people on the dance floor? Buford the Table?"
Will shrugged. "I don't think that's true. I mean...I bet, at least, Buford likes them. Buford likes most people, unless you happen to use Windex instead of Lemon Pledge with extra moisturizing formula."
Nico smiled, despite himself. Will smiled back without hesitation, a bright breathtaking beam that showed off his pearly whites and the cute little dimples Nico had always admired.
Could this night get any weirder? He was actually talking to Will Solace. Will Solace, whom he had liked for so long.
It could have been the ambrosia from dinner talking, or the fact that he was in the presence of such a good-looking blonde, but the words rolled off of his tongue effortlessly.
"Do you want to dance with me?"
It was unexpected (Nico could tell a look of surprise better than anyone he knew) and hung heavily in the air. Nico blushed and looked down, wishing that he could take them back.
But, alas, nothing could be undone after it had happened. There was no erase button on real life. In his dreams, yes. Nico could wake up, roll out of bed, and rub them off with the sleep from his eyelashes. But this wasn't a dream. Nico had to resist the urge to pinch his arm.
Will laughed - a deep boyish laugh that filled the night, causing Nico to look up suddenly. Will's expression sent chills up Nico's spine. "I was hoping you would ask that."
"Is that Nico and Will Solace dancing together?" Annabeth turned towards Percy, swaying in his arms to the beat of a slow song.
Percy laughed. "Anything goes tonight."
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "You acted as though I was going to say no."
"You never know with you. You're full of surprises."
She opened her mouth thoughtfully, grasping for the words. "I suppose you're right. As much as it pains me to say it, I am kind of a handful."
"Kind of? I think you mean you are a handful."
"Oh shut it," Annabeth protested, though a smile could be detected in her voice. "I'm a handful that you're going to have to deal with for the rest of your life, Seaweed Brain."
"I'd rather deal with no other handful."
The night was calm - a swirl of stars, lights, and music that seemed to blow Annabeth away.
"Whatcha thinking about? I know that thinking face." Percy teased her, swaying her softly to the lull of the music. Will and Nico danced a few feet away, and not far away, Frank and Hazel also moved back and forth slowly. Jason had disappeared with Piper, leaving Annabeth with only an inkling to what they were doing (and her guess was that it had something to do with snacks, as Jason was always hungry, but you could never really tell with them).
"Nothing. Nothing at all." She smiled up at him. Nothing had been more perfect as it was in that moment.
Thanks for reading! :) I'd love to hear what you all thought! (Percabeth definitely gives me the feels, so if you feel the same way, fangirl below ;) ) Also, make sure you head over to Katherine's profile and wish her a very very happy birthday or leave birthday wishes in the box below and I'll make sure to give them to her!
Lots of love,
whiterose788
