Hello there! I managed to get the next chapter up pretty early, though I can't promise that for the next few chapters, sorry! Please review to let me know what you think, thank you very much!


PERCY II: I Give Her Her Surprise

It was a silent journey back home to our apartment in New Rome.

I kind of fell asleep. By the time I woke up, Annabeth was parking the car cleanly into the lot (yes she's great at parallel parking), and I figured we must have already stopped by the medicine. I could tell because there was this long vial sticking out of Annabeth's little bag.

She stopped the car and leaned over to me. She stroked the side of my face and smiled lightly. I leaned in towards her touch, into her smooth palm. Then she took her bag and got out of the car. I tried to follow her but my legs felt like jelly, and I managed to stumble out of the car when she caught me. Resuming our previous position, we got up to our apartment.

Let me explain. After we both came to New Rome to study college, I used some of the money I earned from working for my dad to get us this apartment. It was really subsidized though, for students in New Rome. Annabeth was really glad we got our own place, since we've already decided on living together while in college.

Her dad? Not very pleased with the arrangement. But we both knew we needed each other's comfort to get through our worst nightmares when they were unbearable. So Annabeth had shot down any other comments from her dad about living together.

And what can I say? The last few months we spent together were amazing. We went to school, we came home, we bought food for meals, we cooked, we played and we did housework. For the first time, we settled into a very regular and very human routine, a rare chance in our demigod lives. Plus, New Rome was a protected sanctuary, which meant that I could keep Annabeth safe with me. That was the most important thing to me, really.

Annabeth was quiet the entire time. She opened the door and helped me to the couch, before going to the kitchen and returning with a glass of water. I took it gratefully and wrapped one arm around her waist, pulling her down to the couch to sit with me. She leaned in and pressed her lips to my forehead. 'You should really go shower and go to rest,' she murmured. I pouted at her, trying to ease her tension. She laughed lightly, making my ears tingle and my heart warm. 'Okay,' I told her. 'I'll go shower now."

'Good boy,' she whispered. As she leaned away, I got another idea and I pulled her down again. She yelped softly when she fell onto my chest and she looked up at me, playfully annoyed. 'How about you shower with me?' I suggested quietly into her ear.

Her face reddened slightly but she had a sly smile. She put her lips near my ear. For a second I thought she would say yes.

'Not a chance, Seaweed Brain.' She got up from me and walked away, winking and hips swaying. I resisted the urge to smack her butt.

So much for that.

Ω

'Ow, ow, OW!'

'Hold still,' Annabeth mumbled as she dribbled the medicine onto my wound. Man, it was really stinging now, but the feeling that came after that was surprisingly heavenly. It was like there was snow on my back and cooling my body down. After a while, I stopped with the 'ow's and I sighed contently. I heard her screw the cap back on and she leaned forward to kiss me on my cheek. Then she took some clean bandages and wrapped me up again.

'That should help. Are you feeling okay?' She put her hand through my hair. I knew she liked to do that so I smiled and leaned closer to kiss her before she nudged me away gently. 'I haven't showered yet. Later.' She went to get her clothes and closed the bathroom door behind her.

I jumped up from the bed. Which I should not have done because I fell to floor when my legs became jelly and I landed with a loud thump.

Ow.

I heard the water stop running and Annabeth called out 'Sweetie are you alright?'

'Just fine!' I yelled back, quickly getting up on my feet. I ran out to the study room and opened the second drawer on the left. I took out this overly stuffed box and put it on the table.

You might be curious what was going on, so I'll tell you. The truth was, I planned a really special present for Annabeth this year. Instead of taking a plane back to New York like she thought, I wanted to give her a surprise: I planned out the whole trip from San Francisco to New York by car. It might sound boring, but I made sure to cover landmarks that she had showed interest in, so that she could see those places first hand. It was pain-staking effort to plan out this route, but I knew it would be worth it when I told her.

I guess it's a lot more special to Annabeth and me. We knew from young we weren't going to live very long, probably killed off by some monster later on in life, considering how both wars hadn't succeeded in doing that. Now that she's mine, I have to make the most out of our lives, because I planned for her to be happy with me. Nothing was going to get in my way.

I took a deep breath and removed the cover of the box. It was filled with maps I had collected and a notebook where I wrote details of our trip like the places to cover and all that. I hope she'd be proud I took care of even the small details for this trip. For her, really. A road trip across the country with just me and her.

I had to make sure it was a surprise though. I did want to tell her tonight after the dinner, but I did not expect the consequence of being attacked by those basilisks. I could feel my body drained of energy, but seeing the smile on her face would be more than enough.

The bathroom door opened just as I hobbled back into the room. All the mist was coming out of the door from where Annabeth stood. Her hair was messily kept into a bun and she was in shorts and a tank.

She looked really sexy.

'You should really stay in bed and rest, you know,' she said, turning around to dump some clothes in the hamper. She turned back and looked curiously at me when I didn't respond. 'Percy, are you okay?'

For the third time tonight I wished she wasn't so worried.

'I'm fine! I just, have a, um, surprise for you,' I told her, the box in my hands behind me.

She smiled and leaned closer to me. 'What kind of surprise?' She looked right up into my eyes. Funny thing, after so many years, I've grown to tower her by quite a few inches. When we're standing together she has go tip toe to kiss me. I guess you could say she looks up to me now. (Get it?)

'Tada,' I handed the box over. Okay, in retrospect, I should have thought more carefully about this surprise.

She looked amused when she took it into her hands and put it on the edge of the bed. She opened it carefully, eyeing me from the side. As she went through the contents, it was obvious she was getting confused, and I sneakily wrapped my arms around her. 'Do you like your surprise?' I murmured into her hair.

'Percy,' she said, a little breathless. 'What is all this?'

'It's a road trip I planned out for us to get back to Camp.' I admitted, releasing her slightly so I could look at her. She was looking intensely at the notebook. I started rambling. 'I thought I could bring you to all those places you wanted to go. Like Hoover Dam; that time Thalia, Grover and I already visited but we were without you. I thought you'd like to travel a little, you know, without having a deadline of a quest above our heads? I know the driving part sounds boring but don't worry I'll do the driving, you can just relax and enjoy the ride. It'll just be the two of us taking a road trip and we'll get to spend a lot of time together and-'

I was still debating with myself whether that last statement made me sound a little too clingy before I realized Annabeth cut me off by kissing me. She literally threw herself into my embrace and she pulled me closer when she wrapped her arms around my neck.

There was no greater feeling than this: her hands running through my hair, her lips on mine, her body pressed against me. I could feel her grinning, her excitement bubbling. I felt giddy just knowing how happy and elated she was with her surprise.

It was more than worth it.

Ω

We ended up on the bed somehow. Tangled up with the sheets, she tried to kiss me as many times as I did to her. I whispered things like I love yous into her ear, making her blush lightly. She spent a long time telling me how great this road trip would be, the places she could visit, and the pictures she could take. She said it was one of the best surprise she ever got. Then she turned around and looked at me seriously.

'Let's not leave tomorrow, okay? Give yourself another day to rest and heal first.' I didn't want to protest because 1) it was useless to protest, and 2) I didn't want her to be upset, because this was supposed to make her happy. So, I nodded and kissed her forehead.

She turned towards her nightstand and took out something from the drawer.

'This was one of the best surprises too,' she said quietly, bringing the object closer for me to see.

It was our engagement ring.

She put it on and snuggled into my chest, where I wrapped my arms around her. 'I don't care if my parents don't agree. I've already said yes and I'm not going to change my mind.' She mumbled. I laughed lightly in spite of myself, and she looked up to playfully glare at me. She leaned up to kiss the tip of my nose.

If you're wondering about the ring, yes, we're engaged. The thing is, I did a lot of thinking after we came back from the Second Giant War (don't be so surprised). I did decide on some things I wanted to do with my life. I knew that I wanted to be with Annabeth forever. It's not like we've never talked about it before. But marriage was a touchy subject since we're still young, but for us, living day by day is good enough, yet we still don't have enough time. I wanted to spend whatever time I had with her.

One summer night we were on my bed in the Poseidon cabin, just talking before we settle for the night. And I asked Annabeth to marry me. I think the question shocked me more than it did to her, because I hadn't planned to ask her. Yet. In my impulsiveness, I didn't notice she was more than happy, then she told me 'yes'. I had picked her up and spun her around and kissed her, all the while drowning in her laughter. Of course, I did get the ring for her, but I prepared a different occasion to propose the old fashion way: a romantic dinner by the beach. Amid all that happiness, we thought it was best not to tell anyone yet, just because we weren't ready to get in the middle of problems that may arise. (achem, like Athena turning me into a puddle of goo for marrying her daughter) So that was that; we kept the ring away when we went out or when anyone was around. But right now, still no promises as to when we'll stop making it a secret.

For now, it was sufficient.

Ω

Annabeth left me hugging the air the next morning.

I woke to the smell of pancakes and muffled sounds of plates and pans. And arms wrapped around nothing in the empty space beside me. This happens more than I'd like to admit. But usually, I would be aware of her getting up earlier and trying not to wake me up as she sneaked out of my hug.

I turned my body to face the ceiling. I couldn't feel much pain for last night's wound anymore. It was just a little numb, but nothing much. Counting to three, I got out of bed and went to wash up.

I started my Annabeth-hunting. It wasn't hard, because I followed the smell of pancakes to the kitchen. I peeked in at the kitchen door and took in what I saw.

Her hair was down in their soft princess curls, her hair tie so low it was going to fall off. Her red apron was messily tied at her waist, hugging her body nicely. She was humming softly as she flipped the pancake carefully, smiling when she managed to catch it perfectly, and dropping it off on the plate on the counter.

I liked what I saw.

I snuck up behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist. I already missed doing that despite spending the whole night in that position.

She gasped softly then smacked me lightly on the arm. 'Good morning, sleepy head.'

'Morning, love.' I proceeded to remove the soon-to-fall hair tie and helped her retie her hair. But I think I made it messier. She just laughed, went to wash her hands and did it herself. Then she gave me a good, long kiss. 'How's your back?' She asked softly.

'It's fine,' I mumbled and muzzled into her neck. 'I'll put more medicine later, okay?'

'I'm hungry,' I said. She rolled her eyes at me. 'As always. Go and get your plate.'

We had breakfast like any other morning since we started living here. It's like we have gotten used to this normal, boring routine. But I liked it. The normalcy and the companionship (I mean, Annabeth is my companion) was extremely comforting. I know I sound like an old person but whatever.

We spent the rest of the day trying to pack for our little trip. I had brought out our duffel bags and we stuffed everything we needed in there. Honestly, we knew this trip would take a few weeks really, since we were stopping everywhere, so we had to bring quite a lot. Annabeth made a list.

'Are you sure that's enough underwear?'

'Bring more socks. You know how your feet get cold easily.' 'So do yours!'

'That's why I brought a lot of socks!'

By the end of the day, our bags were filled through the hours we put through sorting out what to bring and what not to bring. We cooked for lunch, but by the time we got to dinner we were too lazy so we called for pizza from our favourite place down the street.

I couldn't wait for tomorrow to come.

Finally, we can have an adventure that doesn't involve a deadline hanging over our heads and immortal threats cussing down at us. This was going to be great.

(And I really hope I don't jinx that).