Hola!
Okay, this has kinda been done 8763920894572 times, but oh well. This will develop into something more original I swear, or at least I hope.
For those of you who have never read from me, I am AnotherFacelessAuthor. And I am ADDICTED to Percy Jackson!
I have two other stories that are directly connected to this one. This story and my other one 'Here We Are, I Guess' are, you could say, branches off of my other story 'Blocking Out Painful Things'.
'Blocking Out Painful Things' is the story of Percy and Annabeth's daughter, after their death. Yeah, I know, I suck, I killed them. 'Here We Are, I Guess' is the shorter story of Percy and Annabeth in Elysium after their death. Both stories are in progress, but I update pretty fast.
This story you could call the prequel. The story of how 'Blocking Out Painful Things' began, hence the similar titles.
I plan on doing a bunch of different one-shots that lead up to their unfortunate demise. Yeah, again, I know I suck.
I really suggest at least reading 'Blocking Out Painful Things', but, as I said, it's still in progress.
For new readers of me, if you review/favorite/follow I give VIRTUAL HUGS! And I reply to ALL reviews cuz they MAKE MY LIFE!
I try really hard to sound professional and keep the characters IN character, but only Rick Riordan can REALLY do that. And (Disclaimer:) I am not Rick Riordan. But I am an aspiring author with at least adequate skills in writing.
PLEASE REVIEW!
READ ON!
My childhood was not exactly the poster board for a healthy upbringing. My entire childhood I had been hunted by monsters. At the age of seven I ran away from my home. With the help of some friends, I found my way to camp. Since then, life had been relatively normal, or as normal as it could have possibly been for a young demigod. That is, until the summer of when I was twelve.
That was when Percy came.
My first impression was that he was a different breed, even for demigods. Which was why I immediately knew it had to have been him, that one I was looking for.
I followed Percy along his first quest.
And his second.
I was an object of his third.
I brought him along on MY quest.
And I stood by him as he fought the impossible time and time again. I faced his and my own death more times than I could count. Right when all seemed well, it crumbled like a monster struck by celestial bronze. And then we did it all again, but ten times worse.
I could go on for hours, days, weeks, or months about the many times I had feared for my own life or Percy's life, although the two seemed strangely synonyms.
Yet, from all those times, I had never felt myself feel this strong of a fear. I was quite literally quaking.
A year before our marriage, Percy and I had moved into our first apartment when we were nineteen. Of course, that one got destroyed after a monster attack. As did our second. And third. We were in apartment number four, just six blocks from Times Square. We were Twenty-Six, and I had only finished Olympus a couple of years ago, though, like, Percy, I had fallen in love with the city of New York.
I hear the doorknob turn. I felt my breath intake. I pushed my hair behind my ears, then rested my hands on my abdomin.
"Hey, Wise Girl," I heard Percy greet as he walked in. While I was working at an architecture firm, on my way to owning my own, Percy worked at Camp Half-Blood as a swords instructor. I was happy for him because you could tell he truly enjoyed his work. He came home happier than when he left.
"Hey, Percy," I soon as I said that, I knew I had slipped up. If I hadn't been on the verge of a breakdown, my immediate response would have been to return the insult and clal him 'Seaweed Brain'.
"Annabeth?" Percy asked, sounding concerned. "You okay?"
"Yeah." My voice shook and it raised slightly on the end.
Percy came and sat by me at the couch. "That doesn't sound like okay to me."
Children of Athena kind of had this knack for knowledge, intelligence, and wisdom. They knew what they needed to know, when they needed to know it, and if they didn't, nothing could stop them for finding out. Although, despite my research on how to share this information, I was at a loss for word.
"Annabeth?" His sound of concern was increasing.
All day Percy worked with children and with teens. He seemed to find real joy in his work.
But he had never expressed desire to become a father.
My mouth was dry and my palms were wet. Percy put his hand on my shoulder. "Annabeth, what aren't you telling me?"
"Percy-" I grasped at nothing for the words, for how to soften them, make them more delicate than they were. Upon failing, I decided the blunt way, may be the only way.
"Percy, I'm pregnant." I just about shouted.
Percy drew back, I looked to him and a thousand different thoughts and emotions seemed to be playing out. Tears made themselves known in my eyes.
"Percy !-" I once again struggled for the words. "I..."
He pulled me into his arms. "Annabeth, why are you crying?"
"Because I'm scared," I croaked.
So of course, Percy was his obnoxious self and chuckled. "Annabeth Chase, facing monsters since before she was seven, is scared of an unborn child."
"I am not!" I squeaked. "I'm afraid...I'm afraid you'll leave!"
Percy pulled back again, this time a frown was prominent. He put a hand on each side of my face, using his thumb to wipe away my tears. "Why in the world would I leave, Annabeth?"
"Because you don't want a child?"
Percy just smiled. "Annabeth, I've always wanted to be a dad.I just...I never knew if you wanted to be a mom, so I never brought it up. Do YOU want to be a parent?"
Again, I was at a loss for words. But this was Percy, I didn't have to think out my sentences clearly, I didn't have to be afraid that he would judge me. He was Percy. He was mine, and I was his.
"I don't know," I replied honestly. "The simple idea of being a mom, of having a child, admittedly appealed to me. But..." I looked him in those sea-green eyes that were full of loyalty and compassion. "But raising a child in this world, Percy? A world of monsters, and Prophecies, and fate, and death, and destruction, and gods? A world where myth and reality coincide? Percy, I ran away from home when I was SEVEN. We both went on a cross-country DEATH trip, literally TO death, when we were only twelve! That is not how a child should be raised. And look at us! Seven years and four apartments due to monster attacks! Constantly moving around, chased to the ends of the continent by monsters? Thats not how I want our child to be raised."
I noticed Percy was smiling. "What?" I asked.
"You said our child." He noted. "OUR child. Our CHILD." His smile grew. "I love the sound of that."
"Percy!" I shoved him lightly, but a smile was on my face too now. 'Our child' did have a lovely ring to it. "I'm serious! Did you hear what I said?"
His face fell considerably. "Yeah, Annabeth, I did. What do you want to do about it?"
"I wanna do something we've never done in our entire lives. I wanna run and hide. I wanna let someone else take care of the issues of the world. I wanna find a secluded home, away from monsters and magic, and I want to raise our son/daughter."
Percy looked me in the eyes, though I couldn't make out an emotion. "Okay," he said. "Then that's what we'll do."
"You'll have to stop working at Camp Half-Blood," I pointed out.
He nodded sadly. "I know, but it's a small loss for a much bigger gain." His hand rested on top of mine on my abdomin.
His smile returned. "Annabeth, we're gonna have a baby!"
I smiled too. "I know."
