A/N: Luckily, I made the wise decision of editing this beforehand, unlike last week, where I stayed up until 2:30, woke up around eleven and remembered I had to edit, and then did a shoddy job at it. Anyhow, enough rambling, I hope you guys like the chapter!


Chapter Seven: Love

Love (Noun)-A profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.

Percy dribbled an inflatable beach ball between his feet as he walked down the hallway, carrying a cooler under his arm. Annabeth followed behind him, carrying another backpack. She matched his pace, fighting for the ball as she tried kicking it from her reach,

"Hey!" He protested, laughing.

She grinned, "As far as I'm concerned, I'm keeping you from breaking your neck."

"No," Percy said, forcing the ball back into his reach, "As far as I'm concerned, you're just trying to take it from me!"

He kicked it down the hallway, sending it flying towards the elevator. They sprinted towards it, both breaking before they collided into the doors. In a whirlwind of legs, they tried fighting back for it. Finally, Percy set his foot on top of it, clamping it down as he breathlessly raised a hand,

"Hold up," He managed.

Annabeth tried kicking it out from his foothold, "What? Too tired to play anymore?"

"Nope," Percy shook his head, pressing the elevator button before resuming their game. They continued to dribble it back and forth,

"If we keep this up," He panted, "We won't have any energy."

"There's not a snowball's chance in hell that's going to happen. Now come on, Seaweed Brain, don't you have any competition in you?"

He smirked, "Don't worry, I'm just biding my time. Once we get to Montauk, I'm going to kick your ass at this."

"If you say so."

The elevator bell dinged, as the doors opened to reveal it was empty. They picked up their things and piled in. Annabeth punched in the button that would bring them to the garage underneath the apartment, before leaning back against the wall of the elevator. The two of them panted wordlessly. It was a short ride down to the sub-level, and they wandered to their car when they arrived.

Percy piled up their belongings into the backseat, ignoring the staggering mugginess inside the garage. Annabeth crawled into the passenger seat, starting up the car,

"Gods, it's hot out," She remarked.

He swiped his forehead, "Perfect day for the beach."

Percy shut the door, before buckling into the driver's seat. Annabeth fiddled with the dials for the air conditioning as he drove out of the parking lot. They drove through the city at a pain-staking pace, what with all of the traffic, but eventually made it out of the city nevertheless.

"It'll be nice to get away from everything, even if it's just for the weekend," She remarked, draping a hand on his knee as he drove.

Percy grinned at this, "You and I both know that cabin is probably one of the least romantic places in the world."

"Please," Annabeth practically snorted, "That hasn't made a difference yet, and I don't see it changing anytime soon."

"Gods, did we even change the sheets before we left last time?"

She shook her head with a smile,

"You have no shame whatsoever."

He shrugged, "Just wondering."

Annabeth reclined in her seat, moving her hand that had been placed on his knee into his hand. He held onto it, lowering it from the driving wheel to his side. Percy brushed his thumb across the top of their hands as he steered with his free one. They drove in silence for a while, enjoying the view as the city scenery slowly turned rural. The two of them both lurched forward in their seats when the car hit a harsh bump,

"What the-"

Despite the fact that Percy hadn't let up on his speed, the car slowed nevertheless. His frown deepened, and he sighed in exasperation when it stopped completely. He didn't hesitate when he unbuckled himself, shut off the car, and stepped out into the summer heat. Percy checked each tire, and grumbled a string of obscenities when he came across the culprit. The rear right-hand tire was drooping sadly, seemingly melting into the road.

Annabeth opened her car door, looking back at him,

"Everything alright?"

He propped his arm against the side of the car, propping himself up as he stared at the tire. After a moment, he shook his head,

"No. We've got a flat tire."

Annabeth pursed her lips, "And I don't suppose you have any spares?"

Percy shook his head a second time, glancing up at the sun.

"Well...I'd suggest pushing it the rest of the way, but it's a million degrees out here. But I'm sure someone will drive past here at some point. So, we'll just have to wait until that happens."

Annabeth shrugged, "Fine by me."

He turned around, resting his back on the car,

"The feeling isn't mutual on that."

She walked over to him, "C'mon, don't beat yourself up about this. It's a beautiful day, we can at least have a picnic."

Percy, after a moment, nodded with a grin,

"Alright."


As Annabeth made a makeshift sitting area for them in the back of the car, Percy rummaged through their cooler. He forced himself to rule out the hamburger patties, considering they were raw, and they didn't have anything to cook them with. That left them with a bag of chips, a pack of soda, some apples, peanut butter, and hamburger buns. He sighed once more under his breath at their selection.

It wasn't supposed to be like this

, he though to himself.

They were supposed to be sitting on the beach together, not stranded on the side of the road. And now, that was out of the question. He dipped his hand into his pocket, impulsively checking for the small box sitting in his pocket. Percy felt the weight on his chest ease up a bit, only to return when he took his hand away from it, as if it would disappear before he checked for it again. He had had everything planned, making it as perfect as he could in his mind.

He peered into the cooler again, staring at the bottle of champagne nestled into the ice somewhat longingly. How was he supposed to replicate something as significant as what he had planned at the beach? Percy slammed the ice box, carrying the food over to Annabeth. She took it from his arms, setting it down in the back before regarding the layout she had made,

"What do you think?"

In the flat, open trunk of the car, she had laid out some blankets, along with the two pillows they had brought to sleep with at the cabin. A grin automatically appeared on his face,

"Wow," He remarked, "It's...Nice."

She stood back, admiring her own handiwork, "I think it looks nice to, if I do say so myself."

Percy glanced around one final time, checking for any cars driving in their directions. But none came, so he hesitantly accepted the fact that they would be there for a while. He sat perched on the edge of the trunk, its door opened at an angle that provided shade for them. Annabeth lounged alongside him, resting inside the trunk. They put peanut butter on the hamburger buns and apples.

Percy, being daring, put a dab of peanut butter on a sour cream and onion-flavored chip. Annabeth cringed, looking away as he hastily chewed on it. He consumed the rest of it, before making a noise of approval,

"It's actually not that bad," Percy remarked, making another.

"Sure," She added doubtfully, opening her eyes, "The only person I could think of who could come up with something like besides you is a pregnant woman."

"A pregnant woman?"

"Yeah," Annabeth said, biting into an apple, "Someone like that."

He leaned against the wall of the car, glancing outside. After a moment, he sighed,

"Of all days, it had to be today that we get a flat tire."

Annabeth nudged her foot against the side of his thigh, "What? You can't tell me this isn't fun."

He looked over, a reassuring smile on his face, "Don't get me wrong, I'd go anywhere if it meant getting out of the apartment for a few days. It's just..."

Percy faltered, shaking his head,

"Never mind. Don't listen to me."

He crawled towards Annabeth before sitting beside her.

"Let's just enjoy the rest of the day," Percy said in between kisses.


They spent the rest of the day sitting in the opened trunk, relaxing and sleeping on and off. And then, as the sun went down and the temperature was more bearable, Percy glanced outside,

"You know what we should do?"

He looked back at Annabeth, "The sun should be gone soon. And since there's nothing around, I bet the stars are beautiful around here."

"As cheesy as this sounds, we should sit on the roof."

Percy shrugged, crawling out as he stretched his legs.

"It does," He grinned, scooping up a blanket and his pillow, "But it's a cheesy good idea."

Percy rounded the car, carefully climbing up from the hood. He laid his blanket out on the open space. Annabeth climbed up, taking the supportive hand Percy put out. They sat closely together, facing away from the road as they stared at the massive field that stretched out alongside it. The sun was just a mere sliver on the horizon.

"Gods, I love it out here."

Percy looked up at the faint twinkles that were beginning to appear in the sky, "Yeah, me too."

The two of them sat quietly together, watching the sun vanish completely as it turned to nightfall. Percy looked down at his lap, thinking about the box sitting in his pocket. He contemplated on whether or not it was a good timing. Troubled with the decision, he looked up again, focusing on the scenery. Annabeth was looking at him intently.

"What is it?"

She glanced at him for a moment longer, before staring up at the sky, "What are you thinking about?"

Percy was taken aback somewhat, as it had been seemingly out of the blue for her to ask that. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, faltering,

"A lot of things," He finally answered, "When you're out here, away from everything else, you can do that. You can think about almost anything, all at once, and clearly. I'm thinking about how much my life has changed over the past few years. I'm thinking about how much my life has changed because of you, how much it's changed for the better."

Percy looked over at Annabeth, taking her hands in his. He thought about the box again.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this," He said, "I should be telling you this on a beach right now, at a nice restaurant, anywhere but on the side of the road."

Annabeth blinked a few times, "...Percy?"

He let go of one of her hands, using his free one to take the small box from his pocket again. It was too dark for Annabeth to see him do this, and he continued speaking,

"I owe you something more special than this, I know it. But I just can't wait any longer. Annabeth...I love you more than anyone I've ever known. I know for a fact that you've saved it at least a million times over. And, I also know that I'll never be able to repay you for that. But the least I can do is give the rest of my life to at least try."

Finally, he brandished the box, opening the top of it. A plain, silver band sat in the sliver inside the velvet box made for the ring. It was a simple ring, no jewels, no diamonds, nothing. He laughed somewhat sheepishly at it,

"I know it's not much. But I-uh...Made it myself, with some help from the Hephaestus cabin, of course. It's nothing fancy, but-"

Percy was cut off as Annabeth engulfed him into a near-suffocating embrace. He froze slightly, but promptly wrapped his arms around her.

"So...I'll take that as a yes?"

He heard a muffled laugh come from Annabeth.

Percy let out a breath of relief, smiling as he did, "Like I was saying, I know it's nothing romantic."

She broke away, shaking her head with a grin, "No. But I can't imagine it being any better than you've already made it. I wouldn't have had it any other way."

Annabeth took the box from him with care. She removed the ring, sliding it on the correct finger. As she moved her hand into the light, examining it, she nodded,

"It's gorgeous. And, no diamonds or anything. So I don't have to worry about roughing it up."

She leaned forward, kissing him fully on the lips. He returned the affections, but yet again asked,

"So, is that a yes?"

Annabeth laughed, breathing air onto his lips,

"Of course, Seaweed Brain. Of course."


A/N: I'm a little sad that there's only two chapters left to post for this story. I've had a fun time writing it. Still, I'm looking forward to starting my next stories, one of which I'm going to try and make particularly lengthier.

Thanks for reading!
Leaded-Pegasus