"Psssst! Wise Girl!"
In a whirl of battle reflexes, Annabeth pulled her dagger from under her pillow and had her dagger pressing against her opponent's neck. Annabeth hated waking up in the middle of the night. Primarily because monsters were the ones usually doing the waking. She opened her eyes and found her boyfriend, eyes wide with terror with a whimper dying in his throat.
"Uh…is this a bad time?" Percy asked. Annabeth noted (with satisfaction) that his voice was an octave higher than usual. He couldn't quite manage the sarcasm. Percy was so cute when he was terrified. Annabeth resisted the impulse to kiss him then and there. She could never live with it if Percy died of bad breath inhalation.
"What are you doing here, Percy?" she grumbled, releasing Percy from her death hold, and checking the clock on her nightstand. "It's like 3 o'clock in the morning! Go back before the harpies come and eat you!"
"Its okay. I had Jamie from the Prometheus cabin give the harpies a really bad feeling a bunch of campers was making a bonfire in the arena. We only have a couple of minutes until they realize nothing's really happening. Hurry!" Percy said in an insistent whisper, rubbing his neck. Malcolm snorted and stirred in the opposite bunk.
"Alright, alright!" Annabeth straightened up, stretching and yawning, and when Percy offered her his hand, she took it. Percy ran, dragging her out of Cabin 9. Despite her grogginess, she couldn't help appreciate how beautiful the night was. Stars were scattered across the night sky, the moon seemed to be smiling down at her, and the beach had never looked more serene and beautiful. Percy must be doing his son of Poseidon thing. They slowed down to a stop, heaving and laughing once they were out of earshot. Percy put one arm around Annabeth's waist and ran his fingers through her hair. She winced at the thought of how chaotic her hair must be at this hour. Apparently Percy was agreeing with her.
"Oh my gods, Annabeth. Remind me never to wake you up in the middle of the night again." Percy remarked, chortling. He recoiled as he was promptly rewarded with an exceptionally painful punch to the arm. "OW! Uh, what I meant was, 'Thanks for not killing me, and that incidentally, I happen to find ninja-girlfriends kinda hot.'"
"Nice save, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth rolled her eyes.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. Now why did you shake me out of bed again?"
"Oh, uh…" Percy's face went beet-red and he looked a bit flustered. He began rummaging in his pockets for something, the way he usually does when he needs to take out his arc of pure destruction/ballpoint pen. I had a feeling he wasn't planning on a duel to the death at this hour. I then realized…
"Percy…what are you wearing?"
"Huh?" Percy was clad in a formal, buttoned up shirt tucked into dress pants. Not only that, but he had tried to tidy his unruly hair using hair wax. Annabeth couldn't help but giggle.
"Whoa, what kinda gunk is this?" Annabeth asked as she ran her fingers through his hair and ended up with transparent goo all over her fingertips.
"Paul lent me some hair wax. Do I look weird?" Percy asked, scrunching his eyebrows together the way he does when he's worried. Gods, he's so cute when he's anxious. Two years ago, Annabeth would've probably said yes just to offend him. But now, even causing Percy this much emotional turmoil was giving her a headache. Zeus, she was going soft.
Annabeth stood on her tiptoes and kissed Percy on the nose. "I think you look…sexy," she said, blushing in spite of herself. His face broke into a smile.
"You must have been holding that in for quite a while, huh, Annabeth?"
"You keep telling yourself that, Kelp Face!" Percy's comment was so not true. Then why was her face turning an even deeper shade of red?
Fortunately Percy didn't notice. He turned to the sound of waves lapping on the shore of the beach."Erm…would you like to walk to the pier with me?" Despite the gel in Percy's hair, it wasn't hard to see that he was sweating bullets.
"That depends…the last time we did we were attacked by a sea monster the size of a train." The borders of camp apparently didn't keep out underwater monsters. Annabeth and Percy found out the hard way last summer.
"If you can beat me up, I bet you can handle a teensy sea monster. Besides, I paid the Long Island river god a visit. I had a sand dollar to spend so he promised that the river was monster-free for the night."
"Well, I was just checking. I didn't want the salt water to mess up your carefully coiffed 'do, that's all."
"It's not coiffed! What the heck does that even mean?"
"Crack open a book every once in a while. C'mon, let's go to the pier." Annabeth took Percy's hand (clammy and sticky from the gel) and walked him to the pier and…wow. She finally understood why he was dressed like that. Percy had set up a fancy dinner that wouldn't look out of place at a five star restaurant, right on the pier next to the water. It was lit by strange floating orbs she had never seen before, with only one large plate set in the center, covered by a metal lid. Everything—the tablecloth, the napkins, even the two beverages—was in different shades of blue. She had to admit she teared up a little. Firstly, because she felt slightly underdressed, clad in her ratty pajamas. Secondly, because she realized that she had the best boyfriend in the world. You had to give the guy some credit. Suddenly, with a swish and a shimmering noise, some unseen force took care of her first problem and after a series of strange tugs and pulls, Annabeth found herself in a shimmering blue-gray dress. Apparently there was more to this surprise. Annabeth let out a little gasp. She checked her reflection in the water. Not only had she been given a dress for the evening, but she even had makeup done, better than she could have ever done herself. It made everything she hated about her appearance vanish—that irritating zit on her nose, her thin lips, her permanent skeptical scowl—though Percy probably made that vanish all on his own.
"Percy…this is beautiful. On a totally unrelated note, can I keep this dress?"
"Uh…" He was gaping at her with his mouth slightly open. Annabeth took advantage of this opportunity to grab his face and land a big red smackeroo on the side of his cheek. A few actually.
"You—are—the—cutest—best—boyfriend—EVER!" she squealed in between kisses.
As always, Percy eloquently answered with an "Um yeah—ugh—ow—hey—no biggie—gross!"
By the time Annabeth was finished; the whole side of Percy's face was covered with lipstick. He tried to wipe it off, failed, and then gave up. To Annabeth, there was nothing more beautiful in this world than her obviously flustered boyfriend and his embarrassed smile. Covered in lipstick.
"How did you do all this, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth was still holding Percy's face in her hands.
"Well, I provided Aphrodite with a lot of entertainment in the love department so I asked her for a favor. She gave you the blessing of Aphrodite treatment for the night. I, eh, prepared the dinner myself—mm!" Annabeth brought Percy's face to hers and kissed the big buffoon, pouring all her love and adoration into it. She could only hope the Aphrodite blessing extended to personal bad-breath removal. Percy smelled like the sea air, his warm breath mingling with hers as he passionately kissed her back. She felt his long arms wrapped around her waist and when she finally pulled back, he just held her. They just stood there; enjoying each others embrace, swaying gently with the sea breeze. Annabeth could hear the sound of the waves lapping along the shore. Percy's lips pressed on her forehead and Annabeth felt like she was floating. She wanted to forever imprint this moment in her memory. They stood that way for what seemed like an eternity. Percy cleared his throat, removed his arms (much to Annabeth's disappointment) and pulled out one of the chairs for her. Annabeth lifted the corners of her dress and curtsied to reciprocate his display of excellent manners.
"For the lady." In the most gentlemanly pose he could muster, he swept the chair in as Annabeth sat down, and, as if he was born to be on Master Chef, whipped the metal lid off of the plate at the center of the table. Lo and behold…a blue cupcake. It was totally out of place with the 5-course meal setup, but Annabeth would have had it no other way. It was like…it was like….
"Remember when we shared that blue cake you made me for my birthday? After the Titan war? It was today, three years ago!"
"You actually remembered? That is the surprise of the century!"
"Well, it was my birthday that day and I was about to die, so…I remember things like that. Most of the time."
Percy took a seat across from her, pulled out two blue forks (naturally), and handed one to Annabeth. Like old times, they ate a cake together. In no time, Percy was sporting a fantastic blue frosting mustache. Annabeth just realized something. A lead weight sunk into her stomach.
"It's your birthday today?"
"Mmph?" His mouth was full of cake. "Yeah, I guess it is! I didn't think of that. Weird."
"Ohh…" Annabeth felt tears falling down the side of her face.
"Oh my gods, Annabeth, what's wrong?" Percy jumped up from his chair and did a weird panicked dance as he fumbled for a tissue. "Did I put too much cinnamon in the cupcakes? If so, um, Tyson helped—"
"It's nothing . . . I just . . . forgot. I didn't get you a present." She wanted to melt right through the floor. This was so embarrassing.
"Hey . . . uh . . . " Percy was visibly relieved. "It's totally okay! Besides, I'm still not totally done with the present you got me last year. Reading Underwater Architecture in Ancient Greece is still a work in, um, progress. Besides, you'll have the chance to give me a present soon enough." Percy flashed his trademark sarcastic smile but it didn't reach his eyes. He started patting his pockets again like he was afraid he lost something. Annabeth was about to say something, but with seemingly newfound resolve, he straightened up and returned to his seat.
Annabeth reached out for Percy's hand and he took it. They held hands across the table and finished the blue cupcake in amicable silence, enjoying each other's company and the delicious cake. Annabeth couldn't help but think how Percy had changed from that annoying scrawny eleven-year old. For one, he most certainly filled out over the years. Nobody could mistake Percy for scrawny anymore. Years of monster fighting and basketball with the Apollo kids gave Percy a lithe muscular physique. Not to mention he was much taller than she was now. At the age of nineteen (as of today), he was towering at 6 feet. She loved how they could almost fit together like puzzle pieces—Annabeth could comfortably rest against his neck and allow his warmth to envelop her. Cuddling was just fantastic. The only things that remained unchanged were his eyes. Percy confessed to her one day that since the day they first met, Percy had a minor obsession with her princess curls (Percy had never blushed as deeply as he had then). Annabeth, on the other hand had a similar thing for Percy's eyes. They were like two blue-green orbs with unlimited depth. She could almost see a storm brewing as the blue and green regions of his eyes chased each other around his pupils. Annabeth even loved it when his eyes glazed over after listening to her talking about architecture. She loved the way his hair curled behind his ears. She loved the dimple on his right cheek, which appeared whenever he smiled. She loved the contours of his lips, which were seemingly designed to fit around hers. She loved the peppering of dark freckles on his nose. She loved the hollow at the base of his neck. She loved how warm her hand was, encased by one of Percy's own. Annabeth actually checked to make sure she hadn't been shot by a Cupid's arrow by accident. She wasn't, thankfully.
"What? Is my frosting mustache that spectacular?" Percy caught her staring. She quickly averted her gaze aaaaaand . . . her face was heating up again. Great.
Annabeth tried her best to be blasé about it. "It is quite spectacular. I couldn't tear my eyes from it."
"Maybe I should grow a mustache for real. I hear it's the rage these days."
"I really need to know who your sources are so I can beat them up."
Instead of replying with some not-so-witty comment, Percy cleared his throat, looking nervous. He let go of Annabeth's hand (her hand was strangely cold afterwards) and stood up. Annabeth followed his lead and on cue, invisible wind spirits whisked away the plate, cutlery, and the entire table. The chairs mysteriously vanished behind her. The sky was pink and the sun, a deep orange color was just peeking over the horizon, rays of light breaking through the clouds. The water appeared purple, sparkling as sunlight fractured on its surface. It resembled one of Ariachne's weaved tapestries, heart-wrenchingly beautiful.
"It's so . . . wow." Annabeth sighed, caught up in the beauty of it all. Percy took both of her hands into his own, idly tracing patterns on her palms with his thumbs. Goosebumps travelled up and down her arms. Percy shrugged. "It's alright. You, on the other hand…" There were tears in his eyes. Annabeth was shocked. No matter how terrified he was, Percy was never on the verge of tears. Never. Annabeth's heart started racing. This was such a charged moment. She could almost sense a massive turning point in their relationship—for better . . . or for worse.
Percy took a deep breath.
"Annabeth, I love you. I've always loved you. Since the very beginning, I think. You were much too annoying for me acknowledge it then." Percy laughed as Annabeth punched him in the shoulder. "Uh, firstly, may I say 'ow'?" His face became a mask again. "Anyways. , it has been three years since we've been together. Three magical—" Percy kissed her on one cheek "—absolutely perfect—" he kissed her on the other cheek "freaking awesome years." He kissed her on the lips this time. Annabeth wrapped her arms around him and buried her hands in his hair to prolong this moment as long as she could. Thankfully, Percy didn't resist. His warm hands rested on her waist and pulled her closer to him as he kissed her back, deeply, but delicately, like she was a fragile crystal. Time seemed to stop. Or move faster. Annabeth had no idea. She was acutely aware of this heavy sensation deep within heart, which was getting even heavier so by the second. Oh no. Control, control, control, Annabeth pleaded. Before her body could respond, Percy gently pulled away. "Well, I guess you'd have to subtract those eight months Hera stole from us," Percy amended, slightly breathless. "But after that…not even Tartarus could pull us apart. Even when Hera wiped my mind cleaner than a whiteboard…I never forgot you. And over the years, I've only loved you more and more. And I, um, want to continue to love you. Forever. As long as we both live. All that. So um . . . " Annabeth brought her hands to her mouth. Something clicked in her head very suddenly. She finally understood why Percy was always checking his pockets, and why he was doing it again. Annabeth had entered a state of shock. Percy patted his breast pocket and, looking intently into Annabeth's eyes, slowly sunk onto one knee. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Percy reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box made of celestial bronze. Annabeth's brain went into overdrive as everything seemed to go into slow motion. Breath-taking designs were etched into the metal with a signature style reminiscent of Percy's . . . old shield . . . oh gods. Tyson. He made this. Her incredulity was rapidly swept away by a powerful surge of emotions—profound surprise, fear, uncertainty, and many others she couldn't name. Annabeth could hear her mother's voice in her ear: You're too young! You're not ready for a commitment like that! What if it doesn't work? It would be unfair to blame this on Athena—it was probably her own rational conscience, mercilessly throwing these questions at her. Annabeth looked, at her boyfriend, kneeling before her. His eyebrows were scrunched together as he tried to figure out how to undo the catch on the tiny box. And all of a sudden, an emotion the equivalent of a tidal wave nearly swept her off her feet as if the son of the sea god had summoned it himself—washing away all her reasoning, logic, and sheer panic and replacing it with just one thing. Him.
Her head decided to go back into real time. Percy still hadn't figured out how to open the box.
"Oh Seaweed Brain, let me give you a hand—"
"No! I've got this—uh—oops—whoa"
Percy fumbled with the little box, only to have it jump out of his hands and fall into the lake with a small plop! Percy scrambled to the edge of the pier. Annabeth resisted the urge to smack herself on the forehead.
Percy muttered a stream of profanities under his breath as his fingers raked his hair in panic. A part of her brain expressed a strange pleasure as it remembered how those very fingers ran through her hair. Annabeth responded to that feeling by telling that part of her brain to shut up.
"Seaweed Brain, are you a son of Poseidon or what? Can't you get it out?"
Percy looked into the water, both hands knitted over his head in worry. A second later, Annabeth could almost hear a light-bulb coming on in his head as a familiar spark returned to his eyes. They acquired a faraway look, as he extended one of his arms towards the lake and, palm outstretched, clenched his fingers. With a satisfied smile, he sunk on one knee—again. He looked up towards Annabeth with such a look of adoration that Annabeth felt like crying. Their eyes locked. Percy raised his hand, and a small, shimmering orb of water broke the surface of the water and floated towards Percy, hovering above his palm. Inside that inverse water bubble was that tiny box, tumbling within the confines of the sphere. Percy concentrated upon the water sphere, as the box stabilized and then finally opened, revealing . . . a glowing ring. The band seemed to have been made of tightly woven grass with a surprising variety of colors . . . seaweed? Miniature jewels were encased in glowing abalone. It looked as if it was borne from the deepest, beautiful corners of the sea. The ring was by far the strangest, most stunning thing Annabeth had ever seen. The water sphere shattered, and the open box gently dropped into Percy's hand. Hot tears started falling from Annabeth's eyes. Everything she had ever known, felt, experienced converged into a single point that was tied to the next words that left Percy's mouth:
"Annabeth Chase. You . . . keep me mortal. Monsters use me as their personal punching bag, the gods shove me around because its fun, and we're always in the middle of some life/death situation. I've been offered the choice—multiple times—to escape all this pain. Become a god, hide in the sea, reject the prophecies . . . somehow I always selected the worst option imaginable. I realize now that those were the best options, you know? Because . . . because I never lost you. I want you to know that I'll always make those choices. I can withstand all the suffering, the abject terror, and all this demigod stuff because at the end of the day because I know that by choosing it I . . . I choose you."
Tears rimmed his eyes. Percy was not much of a poet, a writer, or even a speaker. But those were the most beautiful and most genuine words Annabeth had ever heard. Words tumbled out of her mouth as she fell to her knees and held Percy's face in her hands.
"You've kept me whole, more than you'll ever know. My first family didn't work out, me, Thalia, and Luke . . . my second family . . . ended up falling apart as well. I was broken . . . almost beyond repair. I was sure I'd never find a home, or a family, in anyone ever again. And then I met you, Seaweed Brain. I had my doubts once . . . but I know now that we'll never fail. And so I ask you. Perseus Jackson. Will you marry me?"
A smile widened on Percy's face as he brought his free hand to his cheek, taking one of Annabeth's hands in his own. "Only one way to find out," he said softly as he took the ring out of the box and slipped it onto Annabeth's finger. Despite its frail appearance, it felt as strong as metal. It fit perfectly. A million volts of electricity coursed through her body as Percy kissed newly ringed finger with a trembling sigh.
"For the record," Percy murmured, his breath warm on her hand, "that was a yes."
Their foreheads touched, tears mingling as they simply knelt there, breathing in rhythm with each other, eyes locked. Annabeth lost herself in Percy's blue-green eyes with the full knowledge that they were hers to gaze into . . . forever.
Percy did the natural thing. He tipped them sideways, right into the water. He created a water bubble at the bottom of the lake where they shared pretty much the greatest underwater kiss of all time.