A Life In One-Shots
Chapter 1:
Simplicity is the Key
A.N.: I know it took a while to update, but like I've mentioned before, this will not be updated as often as Outlaw, which is my main focus right now. These are mostly going to be updated when I have little brainwaves of what do write.
So anyway, here is chapter two.
Third Person POV:
Percy had thought long and hard about how exactly to do it. He could have picked any of the cheesy ideas he had gotten from movies (like the ring in the champagne glass). He could have done the whole romantic dinner (with an expensive three course meal and fancy clothes), but that wasn't them enough. He decided, instead, that simplicity was the key.
He decided that it didn't have to go perfectly. Just as long as she said 'yes', then he would be happy.
But the simplicity idea brought on another problem: how simple? Did he pop the question when they were walking on Montauk beach? Or when they were sitting in their favourite diner just down the street having lunch? Or while they sat on the sofa, watching a movie and eating Chinese food? Percy began considering the expensive romantic dinner again.
No, he had reminded himself. Annabeth would prefer something casual.
So Percy began to brainstorm again. Well, as much as a Seaweed Brain could brainstorm. Eventually, he thought he had found the solution to his problem. And he was positive that it was a genius plan. A plan so good, Annabeth could have thought it up.
His idea was to take Annabeth to Montauk for a weekend, and while they were there he could do that underwater bubble thing he was so good at and that she loved. He would ask her there. After all, Annabeth always loved the privacy of their own bubble of air 'submarine'.
Percy decided to execute his plan the following weekend. It was June and the weather forecast said sunny and warm, the best weather for underwater bubbling. And also, Mr Chase had been texting his soon-to-be-son-in-law almost every day to ask if Percy has proposed yet, which got quite annoying. That was the reason he didn't tell his mother he was planning to propose. He was planning on telling her the day before he asked the life-changing question.
When Annabeth got home that Thursday night, Percy suggested that they spend the weekend in his mom's cabin. Annabeth had been having a stressful time at work with her boss breathing down her neck for a new design, so she readily agreed to take a weekend off.
On the way there in the car on the Friday evening, Percy went over his plan over and over again in his head. He practised the speech he had made up so many times he could probably say it backwards. He wasn't sure why he was so nervous, he and Annabeth had known that they would get married at some point.
It was Saturday evening just before sunset when Percy asked his girlfriend (soon-to-be-fiancé) to go swimming with him. The water and sky would be beautiful from the light of the setting sun.
"Sure," she answered with a smile that still made the son of Poseidon's heart flutter. "Just give me a minute to change."
While Annabeth changed into a swimsuit in the bedroom, Percy stood in the small kitchen and waited. He stood, shirtless, with one hand in the pocket of his shorts, playing with the small box that held the ring. He took a calming deep breath just as Annabeth walked back out of the room.
She was wearing a pair of silver swimming shorts and a matching bikini top with a see-through shirt made out of soft fabric over the top.
"You OK?" she asked having seen Percy take that deep breath.
Although butterflies were having a party in his stomach, Percy replied with, "I'm fine," and a smile.
Annabeth didn't really believe him, she knew him too well. But she let it slide and decided to just enjoy her weekend off with him before going back to a hectic work schedule. She reached out to take Percy's hand and led him outside.
When they got closer to the ocean, Percy began to relax a little bit. He began running towards the surf, dragging Annabeth with him. She started laughing, which made him laugh too.
This is not part of the plan! an irritating voice in the back of Percy's head reminded him. Screw the plan, he decided. Percy dived into the waves, still pulling Annabeth with him.
They swam around for a while, splashing and attempting to dunk each other. Every few minutes, Percy checked his pocket to make sure that the ring hadn't fallen out, and luckily it never did. Just then, Annabeth crept up behind him and jumped onto his back. She pulled Percy under the water with her, where he made a bubble for them to sit in.
Annabeth had let go of Percy and was now sitting next to him inside the bubble. Percy leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips before pulling back way to soon, in Annabeth's opinion. So she pushed herself up and pressed her lips to his again. Annabeth gently ran her tongue against Percy's lower lip. He opened his mouth slightly at her silent request and kissed her back. Their non-verbal interaction didn't last as long as Annabeth had wanted it to, because once again Percy had pulled away. Just as she was about to say something, he interrupted her.
"Will you marry me?"
His speech idea went out the window (air bubble?), and Percy realised that he didn't need to worry about that stupid cheesy thing that he had made up. He only realised it right then when he blurted it out, that he had to be himself. The him that Annabeth loved and not some sappy guy who was trying to be romantic when he proposed.
He pulled the box out of his pocket and opened it, revealing the ring. It was beautiful. A plain platinum band which held a beautiful diamond surrounded by many smaller emeralds, the exact colour of Percy's eyes.
Annabeth gasped. She was completely lost for words. She silently stared at the ring, and Percy began to get nervous again. What if she said no?
Very uncharacteristically, Annabeth had tears in her eyes. She brought a hand up to her cheeks to wipe away a salty tear that had escaped. She broke her gaze from the ring and looked up at Percy. The man she loved, who she had been though everything with, who had just proposed to her.
She saw the worry in his eyes. The worry and fear of rejection. She smiled through her tears and nodded her head. Percy sighed out of relief, and took the ring out of the box. He carefully slid it onto his fiancé's finger. Fiancé, he thought. We're getting married! The truth was sinking in in a good way.
He looked into the grey storms that were Annabeth's eyes, and smiled. She flung her arms around him, now with a huge grin gracing her mouth.
"I was worried for a second that you were going to say no," Percy whispered into Annabeth's hair. She chuckled.
"Never," she told him. "I was wondering when you were going to ask me actually. But you kind of caught me off guard."
Percy pulled out of Annabeth's embrace and looked her square in the eye.
"I love you," he said. "More than anything."
She smiled. "I love you too."
They spent another hour or so in the bubble before going back up to the cabin and ordering Chinese food. This was their life: simple. Nothing fancy and exactly how they liked it. Since the Giant War things had quietened down. There was still the occasional quest, but they were mostly when the gods were too lazy to do something themselves.
Life was about as normal as it could be for a demigod couple. But this was their life, and they were going to face whatever came their way together like they always had.
A.N.: I don't think this is one of my best chapters, but it's sort of how I wanted it to be. I hope you guys liked it though. I hope to update Outlaw on Saturday or Sunday, depending on how much I get done on my projects. I have like seven of them.
Anyway, please vote on my poll! I need some more votes because two story ideas are tied and the third idea is winning by two votes.
Thanks for reading!
