I can feel the weight of the small velvet black box in my pocket, my fingers tracing the edges. What if she says no? I shake my head, my dark hair ridding itself of the snowflakes. If she says no I'll probably get on an airplane and let Zeus strike me down from the sky. I can practically hear Zeus's voice echoing through the clouds, Say no Annabeth. Say no.
With my head stuck in the metaphorical clouds, I don't hear her walk up to me until her arms are wrapped around my neck and her lips are pressing themselves against my cheek. They lift for a second, long enough for me to feel her hot breath as she speaks, "Hey." The corners of my mouth pull up in a lopsided smile, my hand pulling out of my pocket as I spin around to face her, wrapping my arms around her waist. Hoisted up on her toes, her mouth finds it's place against mine and I feel her smile against me. When we both pull away, I press my forehead against hers, looking down into her grey eyes. I move one hand from her waist, and it finds the single grey streak that rests with the long blond hair trailing down her back. There's a small ping in the pit of my stomach, when I think of the fact that my matching streak, the only proof of our shared experience holding the sky, was erased so I could be a pawn in a gods scheme.
"Hey," Annabeth draws back my attention, leaning into my touch as my fingers trail over her face, "You okay?" The look of pure concern in her eyes brings me back to the ring in my pocket. I nod.
"Did you bring them?" I ask, and she slowly unravels herself from my grasp. Her backpack strap falls down her coat covered arm until it reaches her hand. She unzips it and pulls out a pair of muddled white ice skates. I smile again, before grabbing my own pair off the ground and pulling her towards one of the benches.
X X X
Annabeth's hold on my hand tightens as we glide across the ice, "Percy I'm not very good at this." Her other hand grabs at my forearm as her skates stumble against the rink.
"Really?" I stare down at her, "You have the brain power to strategize for a war. You've battled giants, titans and a crush on moi for nearly 5 years." At this she halfheartedly glares at me, " You even faced Arachne and a horde of evil spiders that wanted to kill you. And you're telling me that a couple layers of ice on concrete has you beat." I shake my head, smiling, "Jeez Wise Girl, you are not the girl I thought you were."
She slaps me on the arm, stumbles again, and then grabs my arm again, "Shut up Seaweed Brain. It's harder than it looks." I pull her along a little faster, and she shuts her eyes tightly, "Percy." I stop suddenly, and she lets out the quietest squeal as I pull her against my chest in the middle of the rink. Her hands fly from my arm to my chest, balling up into fists. Families and other couples circle us. She lets her head fall against my chest, "What was that for?"
I kiss her on the head, my hand moving from her back to my pocket. But just as my hand is slipping into the pouch in my jeans, somebody bumps into me. I fall forward, knocking Annabeth off her feet and we move towards the ground. For a brief second I'm reminded of our trip to Tartarus, and I have just enough time to wrap a hand around her head to protect her before we land on the hard ice. My other arm is against the small of her back, and my knees ache from trying to keep my weight off of her. "Are you okay?" I ask, pulling my head back to get a good look at her. She nods. "Good." My lips press against her forehead and I slowly slide my hand out from under her head. I move my hand from her back and uneasily stand up, before offering my hand to her. She grabs it but as soon as I hoist her up I lose my balance again. I move back a few steps before falling over. This time she falls on me, pressing against my chest as I land on my butt.
A small laugh escapes her lips as she pats me on the chest with her fingers, "Why don't we just stay here for a second?" Her hair is decorated in a layer of snowflakes.
"Sounds like a plan." I laugh to myself, "Probably the best plan we've ever made." Annabeth smiles, positioning herself more comfortably against me. Her head rests against my shoulder, and I watch as her eyes flutter closed with a content sigh.
I clench my teeth, before taking a gulping breath and speaking the start of a speech that we'll both remember for the rest of our lives. Which hopefully will be longer than most of the gods would like, "Annabeth..." I reach for the ring in my pocket, before freezing. It's not there. My head jerks around, overlooking the ice rink. It's not there. Where is it? Panic starts to override my brain, mixed with a tinge of annoyance.
"Yeah?" She tilts her head up towards me, her grey eyes sparking with bright curiosity. I hesitate for a second, before tilting my head down and meeting her lips. She sighs again, before reaching her hands up to my face. Their ice cold, leaving shivers along my nerves. Patting my pocket one more time, I shove Annabeth lightly.
"C'mon. Let's go home." She nods, before we both stand up, staying on our feet this time. I pull her along with me, and soon enough we reach the edge of the rink. Annabeth clings to the side, wobbling onto the concrete. I slide back into my sneakers, and the two of us stash our skates in Annabeth's bag.
"What were you going to say before?" She asks as I pull her against my side, the two of us walking towards our apartment.
"Oh," now is not the time. When it's time, I'll know it, "Just that I love you." She smiles again.
"I love you too."
"Oh, and I wanted to know what you want for Christmas."
She slaps me on the arm again, "Percy! Christmas is three days away!"
I hold up my hands in surrender, "I was only kidding." I chuckle at my own humor, and she just shakes her head, leaning it against me as we walk.