"Have yourself a merry little Christmas, let your heart be light. From now on our troubles will be out of sight."
It was Christmas Eve, and the fire flickered gently, the embers beginning to burn and cast a low, tender glow that lit up the room. Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase sat before it, curled up on the Jackson's living room carpet. The rest of the apartment was dim and drafty, and after spending nearly a month in complete darkness neither of them liked to be in the dark. They'd spent their first Christmas Eve together with Percy's family. Some of Paul's relatives had come over and they'd had a mostly uneventful dinner, save for when a couple hellhounds showed out outside of the apartment complex and Percy and Annabeth had been forced to come to the rescue. They'd exchanged gifts and everyone left around midnight, leaving the family to clean up and go to bed. Sally and Paul had retired over an hour ago, leaving the young pair of demigods to their own devices- not that they thought they were going to do anything bad. In months following the war, Percy and Annabeth had had at least one sleepover a week.
At first, Paul and even Sally had been extremely apprehensive about their sleepovers. After the first couple of calls from a hysterical Annabeth, Paul had grown suspicion and almost didn't want to let Percy leave to help her… but after the first time Percy woke up screaming, listless and unresponsive; he had called Annabeth up on the phone in less than a minute. He realized that they physically needed one another, and while he still couldn't comprehend the emotional damage inflicted upon them by Tartarus, eventually he and Sally grew to accept it and trust the two demigds… something most parents of teenagers wouldn't dare to do. And so Percy and Annabeth were allowed to stay together on Christmas Eve, because Sally trusted them and she really didn't want to be waking up at some ungodly hour of the morning to try and comfort her hysterical seventeen year old son for the third time that week.
The fire continued to flicker, and Percy leaned against Annabeth tiredly.
"I have another gift for you," she murmured, detangling him from her to stand up and move over to the tree. "I didn't want to give it to you in front of everyone, because they wouldn't understand it. It's too personal."
Annabeth brought over a large wrapped box and handed it to Percy. He shook it, making a show of trying to determine what it was, and Annabeth rolled her eyes. Eventually Percy got around to unwrapping the paper, unearthing a leather-bound album. It was simple but attractive and large enough to hold at least 200 photos or pages upon pages of writing. Jokingly, Percy scoffed.
"A book? Seriously, Annabeth, don't you know me better?" he teased as she leaned into him.
"Just open it, Seaweed Brain," she chided, and he conceded, unclasping the leather cover of the book and opening it to reveal a collection of photographs. The first page displayed a group picture of all of the campers, Greek and Roman, taken at the end of the war. The seven stood in front, all grinning tiredly. The next pages contained endless pictures of Camp Half Blood, from the time Percy had arrived there when he was twelve until the present. He flipped through the book with Annabeth, both teenagers getting distracted as they identified memories from the past and made comments about little things that made the other laugh. Percy reached the last page of photos only to find at least five empty pages, waiting to be filled.
"I left those there for the future, in case you wanted to add more someday," Annabeth explained, her finger tracing the book's edge. The future was always a touchy subject, being demigods, but after the war it had gotten brighter. Still, the two were in constant peril as fate loomed over them, but the threat of death was not nearly as great as before. Percy grinned and kissed Annabeth's cheek.
"I love this, thank you," he spoke, his lips hovering close to her ear as he closed the book and set it on the coffee table. Hastily his hand moved to his pocket, and Annabeth looked at him questioningly.
"I have something else for you, too," he said, meeting her gaze.
"Close your eyes, and give me your hand," he instructed her and she obliged, shutting her eyes and holding out her hand for him to take.
"This better not be some sort of joke, Percy," she said with the hint of a threat in her tone as she laughed.
"It's not a joke!" he protested, feigning offense before pulling a small velveteen box out of his jeans pocket and pressing it into her palm, curling her fingers around it gently. "You can open your eyes, now."
Percy watched Annabeth carefully as she looked down at the box, flipping it over in her hands. She raised an eyebrow as surprise registered in her face. She looked up at him once more, obviously confused. "Percy, what-?"
"Just open it," he probed, not allowing her to finish. "Trust me. I didn't go crazy, don't freak out," Percy laughed, but his nerves leaked through his voice. He had kind of anticipated Annabeth's reaction, assuming she might jump to conclusions. They were way too young to be married, and he knew that was what she would think immediately if he gave her a case for a ring.
After what seemed like ages to Percy, Annabeth popped open the jewelry box. Inside rested a silver ring, with two delicate curls of metal entwined around a tiny blue-green pearl. Within the thicker band, there was a small transcription.
Together, it read simply, Annabeth observed upon remove the ring it from its case, tracing its girth with her forefinger.
"I know it's a little hokey, and we're not some average teenaged couple, but it's not a promise ring, at least not of the traditional sort. It's a ring to remind you that I love you and that I'll always be with you, even when I'm not. After all we've been through, I thought that it was fitting."
Percy blushed profusely, as he watched Annabeth, anticipating her reaction. For a few moments she said nothing, and Percy's stomach did somersaults. What if she didn't like it? What if she thought it was weird, or too forward? Finally, she met his eyes, slipping the ring onto her finger.
"How did you even get something like this?" she asked, glancing down at the ring for a brief second to admire its craftsmanship. "It's so unusual."
"I had Leo make it, actually. He gave me crap about it at first, but it turns out he's pretty good with this kind of thing. It doesn't turn into a weapon or anything, because I wanted it to be about us. We've had enough of war. I wasn't sure if you'd like it if-"
Annabeth cut him off with her mouth on his, leaning forward and wrapping her arms around his neck. She pulled away rather quickly. "It's perfect, Percy. Thank you," she said softly before kissing him again. He was the one to pull away this time, as he was smiling, and Annabeth just shook her head at him.
"I'll have to remember to compliment Leo. You know, I didn't think he was capable of something like this," she said.
"Neither did I," Percy admitted with a small laugh, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend and pulling her down against him. They laid there in silence, warm and content for a few minutes as sleep threatened to pull them into its grasp. Percy pressed his lips gently against Annabeth's jaw.
"Percy?" she spoke, her voice penetrating the silence and rousing him from his hazy state of mind.
"Mhm?" he hummed in reply, too lazy to open his mouth and respond coherently.
"I love you, too."
"Through the years we all will be together if the fates allow. Hang a shining star upon the highest bough, and have yourself a merry little Christmas now."
-"Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas," by Frank Sinatra
(A/N: Got this in just before Christmas ended! I had such writer's block with the beginning. Anyway, just some Percabeth Christmas-y fluff, what's not to like? Not my best work, but it'll suffice for Christmas fic. Please review with any comments or constructive criticism you may have, it's always appreciated. Thanks so much for reading and I hope all of you and your families a happy holiday and a very happy and healthy new year! :) Sorry for the lack of stories, December has been crazy! Maybe I'll put something out while I'm off this week. Thanks again for reading, you guys are great.)