A/N: This was written for pjowriters on tumblr, so make sure to go check us out and follow us and all that jazz. Also, it's dedicated to my real life best friend, Isabella, who has recently become addicted to fic even though she hasn't read it. And, thanks to Shay for being a hella awesome beta.
Don't forget that the new chapter for my new fic comes out this Wednesday!
Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Heroes of Olympus, or anything else that you may recognize. The title is taken from that song by Walk The Moon.
-7262015-
Annabeth jerked out of her thoughts when she felt a hand on her back. Butterflies swarmed in her stomach, and she cursed herself.
She felt Percy's breath ghost across the back of her neck before he stepped around her and stood at her side. She cut her eyes over at him and bit her lip.
Just a few weeks ago, she had met Percy Jackson at brunch with Jason and Piper. After a year in Greece, Annabeth's office had transferred her back to New York. Her new firm in the city was really great, and it was awesome being back close to Piper, who had been her best friend since college. Piper got engaged to Jason just before Annabeth left, and she had been helping plan the wedding overseas since then.
She had met Percy when she sat down and ordered a glass of orange juice, watching as he wrinkled his nose in disgust and claimed that "orange juice shouldn't exist, I can't believe you drink that stuff." After that, Annabeth made an effort to bring orange juice with her every time she was supposed to be somewhere that he was.
See, Percy was Jason's best man, and since Annabeth was Piper's maid of honor, they ended up having to do a lot of stuff together for the wedding. Like, yesterday, when they were helping move chairs into the wedding hall, Annabeth couldn't stop staring at the way Percy's arm muscles shifted under his t-shirt when he picked up two or three chairs. And then when he would catch her watching and smirk at her—
Shut up. It had been a while.
"Ready to go down the aisle?" He asked, bumping her with his shoulder. His tux was neatly pressed, and god, it looked really good on him. His green eyes were bright with excitement, like this was his wedding instead of his best friend's.
Annabeth rolled her eyes, "It's not my wedding."
Percy grinned and laughed, bumping into her again. "How's Piper doing? She nervous?"
"I think she's more excited about the honeymoon, to be honest," Annabeth commented, straightening her strapless blue bridesmaid gown so she would have something to do with her hand that wasn't holding her bouquet. "She's dying to know where they're going."
"Thanks for packing her suitcase, by the way," Percy said, looking down at his shoes before glancing back up at her. "Jason wanted it to be a surprise."
"No problem," she hummed, fixing her gaze just outside of the doors. All of the guests were already in their seats, and the rest of the bridal party was lining up behind them now for the wedding. Jason was already standing at the front, fidgeting with his hands and biting his lips. Annabeth already told him not to mess up his hair, so he was left with pulling on the sleeves of his tux.
The music started before Percy could say anything else, and he took Annabeth's arm delicately, sending her a soft look before they started down the aisle together.
When they reached the end of the aisle, she slipped her arm out of Percy's and pressed a quick kiss to Jason's cheek before settling in her spot where Piper would stand when she walked down the aisle. Percy gripped Jason's shoulder gently, patting him on the chest before stepping behind his shoulder to wait.
The crowd stood up, and Annabeth turned her gaze to the back of the hall, smiling when Piper stepped through.
Her wedding dress was beautiful. Piper had waited until Annabeth got back (which she had chastised the other girl for, what if something had gone wrong?) to pick it out, and it had been the very first dress that Piper had tried on. With the lace overlay and the long train, it looked exactly like something Piper would wear.
Annabeth risked a glance at Jason, smiling when she saw tears rolling down his cheeks. He hastily shoved them away, and Annabeth hoped that the photographer got a picture of his face.
Piper sent Annabeth a smile when she stepped up with Jason, and during their vows, Annabeth teared up when Piper started crying.
She looked away from them to wipe her eyes, and she caught Percy's green gaze over their friends'. He smiled gently at her, making her cheeks get warm and her stomach do backflips.
Ω
The reception was in full swing, and Annabeth was standing by one of the doors, watching everyone dance across the floor and chat at the tables. As her job as maid of honor, she was in charge of stopping any scenes before they started, and everything was going perfectly. There were a few more songs and then the cake before Jason and Piper were going to leave for their honeymoon.
Despite being alone at her best friend's wedding (and painfully single), she was having a great time. The music was really nice (she was the one to make the playlist after all), and the easy chatter from the guests throughout the room eased her senses.
Or at least, she was at ease until someone appeared at her shoulder and handed her a glass of champagne.
Percy grinned down at her and leaned back against the wall. His blue bow tie was a bit loose, and there was a patch of his black hair sticking up behind his ear. "Car's ready to go and parked out front," he told her.
"Awesome," Annabeth said with a nod, willing herself to calm the fuck down. She was acting like a goddamn high school kid with a crush.
Percy was silent for a second, and he was standing so close to her that she could feel his body heat. He must have been wearing some sort of cologne because he smelled like the ocean.
She was just beginning to relax again when Percy said, "Come on."
"What?" She asked as Percy pushed off of the wall and grabbed her champagne glass from her. He set them down on a table and offered her his hand.
"Let's go dance," he said with a grin.
She scowled, but she could feel the blush crawling up her cheeks. "No."
"Come on, Annabeth," Percy whined, grabbing her hand in his. "Live a little. Have some fun for once."
"I can have fun," she hissed, yanking on his hand half-heartedly.
He smirked, like it was a challenge. "Then dance with me."
She sighed and let him pull her out to the dance floor where he spun her in a small circle. Percy caught her easily, wrapping one of his arms around her waist while holding her hand with his other. She set her free hand on top of his shoulder, and when she looked to her left, she could see Jason and Piper both grinning at them. Rolling her eyes, she turned away as Percy spun her again.
He pulled her back into his arms, his hand warm on her hip. She looked up at met his gaze before smiling at the grin on his face.
"See?" Percy smiled. "Look at how much fun this is."
Annabeth rolled her eyes again and stepped a bit closer, laying her head against his shoulder. She squeezed his hand and mumbled, "Just shut up and dance with me, Percy."
Ω
She watched as the movers cleaned up the hall, making sure that they got everything and didn't have any issues. Annabeth should really consider being a professional maid of honor because this wedding was pretty damn awesome.
All of the other guests were gone, and Annabeth was the last one in the hall, watching as the last of the movers finished packing up their supplies. She hadn't had time to change out of her dress, and she had thrown her messy curls up into a bun so it would stay away from her neck. Her makeup was a bit smudged because she had cried when she hugged Piper goodbye, but at this point, Annabeth didn't care. She was tired and ready to go up to her hotel room and sleep for the next day.
When she was finally on her way out, she trudged through the hotel lobby and hit the button for the elevator, gladly stepping inside an empty one. She leaned her head back against the wall and waited, but before the door could close, a hand reached out and shoved it back.
"Hey," Percy said with a grin, stepping inside the elevator with her. He jabbed the button for his floor—the one underneath hers—while Annabeth studied him. The jacket of his tux was hanging open, and he had his hands shoved down into his pockets as he leaned back against the wall beside her. "I was looking for you."
"Mmm," she hummed tiredly, letting her eyes close again.
He laughed softly, "You okay?"
"Just tired. Been a long day," she said quietly, opening her eyes to find him staring at her.
He nodded. "It was a really pretty wedding, though."
"Yeah," Annabeth said. "A bit fancy for me, but it suited Piper well."
Percy nodded again, "Yeah. Don't think I want my wedding to be this big."
She rolled her head over toward him. "You actually want to get married someday?"
"You don't?"
Annabeth thought about it for a second before she shrugged. "I don't know. I guess it would depend if I found someone worth marrying."
"Yeah," Percy breathed, fixing his gaze on her face.
She nodded and stared back, shifting a bit closer to him. She was about to reach out and grab the lapel of his jacket and—
The elevator dinged and stopped, the doors sliding open quietly. Neither of them moved.
Percy's voice was low and rough when he asked, "Annabeth, should I get off of this elevator or not?"
Her breath caught in her chest, and she found herself shaking her head a second later. He reached out toward her the next second, wrapping an arm around her waist just like he had done while they were dancing earlier. He pulled her up against him before leaning down toward her face. He hesitated, giving her enough time to say no, and instead, Annabeth leaned up on her tiptoes and caught his lips with hers.
When the elevator stopped at the next floor for Annabeth's room, Percy barely got his foot in the way so the door wouldn't close before they could get off. Annabeth pulled herself against his chest, arching her body into his and pressing her mouth to his. She laughed against his lips as he pulled her out of the elevator and down the hall.
They stumbled inside Annabeth's room, giggling and panting in each other's faces. It was really nice, and Annabeth couldn't really think of the last time that someone else had made her smile this much.
Annabeth pushed Percy down onto the bed, and she followed him, crawling into his lap. When his hands hesitated on her sides, Annabeth reached back herself and slipped the zipper down, letting her dress pool around her waist.
Percy's eyes were wide, and his gaze was hungry. He said, "Annabeth… are you sure?"
She laughed and darted back forward to kiss him again. She smirked at him when she pulled back and said, "Percy, you could do a lot more with your mouth if you would shut up."
His lips lifted into an easy grin, and he shed his jacket while Annabeth pulled at his tie. "That sounds like a challenge."
Annabeth rolled her eyes and said, "Just shut up."
Percy laughed and pulled her down, slotting his lips to hers and rolling her under him.
Ω
Gentle sunlight filtering in through the curtains woke Annabeth up.
She was curled against Percy's chest, with her head tucked under his chin. She could feel one of his arms wrapped around her waist, and his other hand was pressed to the flat of her back. She could still hear him snoring softly, and when she lifted her head up to see his face, his arms tightened around her.
Annabeth leaned up, pulling one of her hands up to his face. There was a trail of drool on his chin, and she laughed softly.
The movement woke him up, and he blinked up at her groggily. He reached up with one hand and rubbed his eyes.
His voice was low and husky when he said, "What time is it?"
Annabeth threaded her fingers through his hair, but the butterflies in her stomach were making her nervous again. She shrugged, "Not sure."
Percy stretched under her before pulling her down on top of his chest. He nuzzled his face into her hair and sighed. "Doesn't matter. I'm staying right here all day."
She strained her neck just enough so she could see his gaze, and she raised an eyebrow playfully. She said, "You are?"
There was something else in his voice when he said, "Yeah. I am."
Ω
Two years later, Annabeth was on the dance floor in Percy's arms again, except this time, she was wearing the white dress.
Annabeth was staring across the reception hall, watching her friends and family together. Percy's parents were sitting at one the tables with Annabeth's mom and step-dad. Percy's little sister, Hannah, was dancing with some of her cousins. Piper and Jason were on the dance floor somewhere beside them, and she could hear Leo laughing with some of their other friends somewhere in the room.
It was really nice. Sure, their wedding hadn't been big or fancy, but it was perfect for Annabeth and Percy. All of their friends and family was here, and Percy had been standing at the end of the aisle with a big, dopey grin on his face and tears in his eyes and—
"Hey," Percy said suddenly. He was still smiling, and his eyes were filled with excitement. His hand squeezed her hip lightly, pulling her attention away from the room and to him. "Stop thinking so loud."
Annabeth scowled and pinched his shoulder, grinning when he squeaked. "Shut up."
Percy darted forward and pressed his lips to hers. When he pulled back, he smirked and said, "Why don't you make me, Mrs. Jackson?"
And just because that was the very first time he had said her new name, her smile widened, and she kissed him again before she pressed her face into his shoulder and held on tight.
A/N: Thanks for reading! Leave a review!
-SomethingMoreCreative