Hi. Uh, this is just a weird thing that I wrote in the middle of the night after someone drugged me with a cup of latte.
Enjoy? I guess?
Oh wait! Since this is a song-fic (Kind of), use Spotify or YouTube and have the ORIGINAL 'Can You Feel the Love Tonight' by Elton John at the ready, if you made it that far down the story ... you're going to need it.
Okay?
Okay!
Bye.
I found the cover on Google. I have no idea who the original artist is, but I mean no harm. If you're the artist, contact me and uh... we'll chat over tea and biscuit.
Although it's been years since the end of the Second Titanomachy and most of them had emerged alive with most of their limbs in tact, the veterans still sat a little bit quieter, a bit more restrained and subdued every time August 18th rolled around.
The campfire shone a muted, purplish flame onto the gathering campers, the majority was mourning for the friends they had lost. The younger demigods, spared from the horror of the godly war were struck dumb in their wonders of just how close the world had come to toppling into the hands of chaos.
But out of everyone, Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase knew the answers to the youngsters' question best. Better than anyone. The both of them got all of the scars and the memories that still haunt them from one night to the next to prove it, after all. Sleep hasn't been easy even years after and despite their flippant dismissals of people's worries, they've never truly moved on from the suffocating shadows of those darker days.
It was only behind the locked door of the shared apartment down by Bay Area the young couple was learning to call home one day at a time did their demons surface. Sometimes he would hold her as her stoic exterior shattered into pieces, weeping into his chest, mumbling incoherently the names of the friends they had lost. And sometimes she would draw his head down and laid it on her lap, running her fingers through his messy, jet black hair while whispering sweet nothing into his ears as he trembled in the aftershock of a brutal nightmare.
And sometimes the both of them just held one another and cried their hearts out, both equally broken.
That was their arrangement.
As morbid as it was to say it, but one of the thing that made Annabeth and Percy the perfect couple everyone often complimented them before was the traumas and pains they shouldered through the years together. No one else could understand Percy like Annabeth did, nor anyone could simply look into her eyes and knew that her soul was aching for something, be it a steaming cup of coffee or a shoulder to lean on.
It was a miracle of Fate that the both of them have turned out alright. Sometimes even the thought of how - with his perennial stupidity and knacks for world-ending troubles - could he emerged just fine. But better yet, with good, lifelong friends and a girlfriend to boot.
"Well". Percy mused morbidly as he unconsciously held his girlfriend plus best friend's body closer to his chest. His arms were tight around her as she sat on his laps, grey eyes pensive as always as she stared into the crackling flame. "At least there's that."
A small bit of the weight that has been pressing down onto his shoulders from the darkened atmosphere dissipated as Percy burrowed his nose into the fragrant, silky strands of the blonde girl nestled in his arms. Annabeth probably didn't know it but he loved her scent to death, and that mighthave been the reason why there are two small lemon trees growing on their balcony. It's how Percy knew he was safe. He could just hold her in place all day and toyed with her hair and it'd be more effective than any therapy sessions she forced him to go through.
She smelled like home, so … Annabeth.
And of course, just like anything that's Annabeth's, he loved it a little bit too much his brain couldn't keep up the filters. His restraints fell in short order. The result, as always, was spectacularly stupid.
"You smell good." He blurted out loud and immediately regretted it.
The three words that Percy could have sworn he whispered echoed in the silence of the camp still mourning. And with those three words, three things happened even his demigod reflex couldn't keep up:
One, Annabeth stiffened up like a board in his arms. That's how he knew he messed up.
Two, realising he had messed up, his face blanched and his eyes widened as the entirety of the camp looked up and over at him, most with amusement on their face, and the other, more pissy population with clear annoyance.
Three, and this is the biggest one just yet, the Aphrodite cabin started to "Oooh", chorused by the Hermes' cabin: "Ahhh". He could just feel it in his bones that there's already an unanimous alliance between them to get him into massive (And potentially lethal) trouble later on for this misstep.
His eloquent, brilliant response?
"Oh no…" He muttered, his eyes still wide as the gravity of the situation gradually sank into him.
"You're an idiot." Annabeth groaned in exasperation and embarrassment before she tried to worm her ways out of his arms. They shouldn't actually be cuddling like that, but Percy has insisted since he was a bit cold and Annabeth was just too nice to refuse. He reasoned it wasn't like anyone would notice anyway, since they were seated at the very back of the crowd.
That plan didn't sail very smoothly now that they've gotten the attention of almost the entirety of the camp on them.
Annabeth wasn't mad yet, judging by the way her neck was rapidly turning scarlet she was too mortified to be mad just then.
"I didn't mean it …! Wait!" Annabeth was halfway free and looked like she was about to book for it before his supposedly superhuman speed kicked in. He lashed out and tried to catch her by the waist before she could leave him in a cloud of dust.
You see, while he has superhuman speed, they never said anything about grace. Instead of encircling her waist in a heartfelt, romantic gesture, his entire arms instead found her upper leg just when she moved the other to try and walk away from the embarrassing sample of a boyfriend he was.
He was already reciting the number of the funeral home in his head when Annabeth shrieked and toppled over, unable to adjust in time to the weight of a twenty one years old guy hugging her leg as if his life depended on it. Percy, realising the dangerous situation he was in tried to save his life by moving his arms and stop the fall by grabbing onto his original target: Her waist.
Unfortunately, he missed the opportunity by a whole 1/10 of a second.
Before Percy could even react, he was already on top of his girlfriend in a rather scandalous position, head on the small of her back and very near her butt while she was on her stomach in the dirt. Percy was trying his hardest not to faint while Annabeth was spewing curses in Ancient Greek that could easily make Arion jealous if he was there.
Percy definitely did not want to know how cheap he would be if he was a prostitute, but Annabeth felt the need to tell him anyway.
That did it, the entire camp broke out in laughter. The spell of the grim day broke just like that and the campfire immediately flashed itself from the pathetic, purplish flame to a rippling column of orange light. For once he was glad that he could return the usual laughters to the camp, but for two, the look that Annabeth was throwing him was so deadly he could feel himself withering on the inside.
"Alright everyone!" Chiron called out and even him was sporting a small smile on his face. "Percy, Annabeth, if you could pick yourself up I would be immensely thankful."
Snickers spread around as they untangled from one another in a heartbeat and Annabeth scooted quite a distance from him (A whole ten yards and some, sliding herself in-between a giggling pair of Apollo girls). He couldn't help but pout watching his favourite person made her escape.
"I'll kill you." She mouthed as he threw her a longing look.
His pout deepened and he did his best impression of the wounded baby seal's eyes. Percy knew that's one of her biggest weaknesses, he could get away most of the time just doing it. But Annabeth, being so used to his tricks, just rolled her eyes. But her immunity was halfway done, though she was still visibly annoyed and her face was still red, she couldn't manage to hide the very, very slight twitch at the corner of her mouth at his face.
"Settle down now." Chiron held up his hands and immediately, the snickering fell silence as all of the attention drew back at him.
"As you may have already known, today is a special day. It's already been five years since one of the greatest conflicts in world's history broke out." He said solemnly.
The flame of the campfire behind him spun and swirled, hanging onto the collective thoughts and feelings of the campers. In the end, casted a dim, ghostly fire over the towering form of Chiron, making him larger than he actually was and congealed the air into what Percy could only describe as holy.
"Camp Half-Blood stood witness to it, fought, and gave an end to it."
There was a long pause after, everyone hanging onto his words and even the silence.
"Blood was spilled, friends …" Chiron stressed, and in that very moment, Percy could see sadness in them. The centaur has lived through centuries one after another, with each age came a generation of heroes and he bear witness to their eventual downfalls. Percy didn't need to experience it himself to understand how hard it was for him to watch his students budding, then died away. The endings of demigods weren't often pleasant, either.
"Friends were lost."
A shiver ran through his spine when the faces of those who perished during the war crossed his mind. Silena, Charles, … He still carried the guilt of their deaths, and right then it was weighing down on him heavier than usual.
"In the face of doubt, we held true with hope. Amidst the greatest battle of our age, Camp Half-Blood has shown no fear in front of enemies far numerous, far stronger, and atop all, immortal."
Everyone held their breaths as emotion grew higher and higher, the campfire began to crackle and flickering as if it could barely contain the spirit of the camp when his speech reached the ultimate crescendo.
"There are no higher callings, no duty more righteous, no acts more selfless, and no sacrifices greater than to give your life for others. Tragedy and honour walk hand in hand in the lives of heroes. But despite the harsh reality of our lives, the history book for aeons has no place for the ordinaries."
Chiron raised his cup, shimmering with ambrosia.
"To the heroes we lost." Then, his ancient brown eyes looked his way, and Percy felt like his gaze fixed a lance straight into his soul. "To the champions that remain."
Unsurprisingly, it was the Ares children who broke first.
"HELL YEAH!" Their cheers resounded into Long Island Sound's night and an ear-shattering growl of thunder followed the war cry like a call to arms. It didn't take long for the others to follow suit, and before long, the campfire has grew twenty five feet skyward, the fire so hot with fervent passion even he could feel the stinging sensation of the heat on his skin a dozen yards away. The cheers were so loud he swore the trees were shaking along.
Or it's probably just the wood nymphs dancing along to the roarings.
The tables have been moved from the dining pavilion and settled around the perimeters of the camp fire for the occasion and the nymphs had already been hard at work distributing the food. It's time for probably the greatest party of the year to kick in.
Speaking of kick …
"OW!" He yelped when the very distinct feeling of someone's foot connected with his bottom struck him. "What's wrong with …"
"Don't you dare finish that sentence, Perseus." A finger was inches from his nose and dangerously close to poking one of his eye out, leaving him gaping awkwardly at his attacker. Annabeth Chase was not at all pleased and by the murderous glint in her stormy grey eyes, she really was planning on poking his eye out.
"Look, babe. That was an honest mistake. I swear I didn't mean it." He held his hands up in the air, slowly backing away. Annabeth took no quarters, and for each step he took backward, she took two.
"Babe?"
"You're so dead, dude." Percy faintly heard someone said in the back whose accent sounded suspiciously like Leo's.
Percy swallowed. Yes, yes, he was so dead.
He should have known this better than anyone else. Aside from the word 'Spider' and 'Annie', the word 'Babe' was the third word on Annabeth's list of words to eradicate from the English language. It all started when a poor guy tried to cat-call her while they were freshmen at New Rome University, the blonde had exploded on the spot and screeched like a rabid harpy:
"I'm no one's babe!"
Last thing the guy saw before he was out cold was the glorious logo of Starbucks when the thermos in her hand sailed directly for his face.
It was kind of epic.
Not anymore now that he was about to be her next victim. Percy surreptitiously looked down at her hands and fortunate enough, there were no Starbucks thermos on either. But the way they were bunched up into fists looked like they could slug him a good one.
If Annabeth was pissed before, she was smoking by then.
"You." She poked his chest.
"Are."
Poked.
Maybe it was his brain running on dead man's mode, but suddenly through his eyes her temper wasn't the only thing that's smoking. In the fiery haze of the camp fire, Annabeth was glowing with a delicious aura.
"So."
Poked.
Her hair was fire incarnated, her steely eyes smouldering like molten silver in the heat of the moment. Annabeth opened her lips to say the last word which would seal his fate of sleeping on the couch for the rest of his life.
"F-… Mmm…" He grabbed her face and slammed his lips onto hers. Just like before, Annabeth stiffened at the ballsy card he played but he didn't really care. She was the hottest thing - pun not intended - that he saw right then, and if he would die afterward he'd probably die a happy man.
Percy could faintly hear whistles all around as he more or less gnawed at her lips. But that was a worry for another day.
It took Annabeth about five seconds to recover from the sudden shock of going from seriously considering having her boyfriend castrated by her knife to having her lips ravished. But eventually, her own eyes closed and she melted into his touch, her arms fell bonelessly to the sides. Annabeth really didn't know whether Percy actually understood the effect he has on her, but Zeus forbids, he could short circuit her 24/7 brilliant brain by just being close to her. Now that he's kissing her as if his life depended on it (Maybe it did, just a little) she was sure there wasn't a single neurone left in her brain that hasn't been fried yet.
Damn, that son of Poseidon.
"Break it off! This is a public space, not all of us are voyeurs!" Clarisse hooted from the other side of the clearing where the party's being hosted. Percy frowned. Sometimes the daughter of Ares was nice, but for the most part he just wanted to punch her in the face.
They didn't know who pulled away first, but one thing they did know was that by the time they finally unglued their lips, the both of them were lightheaded and breathing like they had just ran fifty miles. Percy broke into a low chuckle and pressed his forehead against his girl's.
"Forgive me?"
"No."
Oh well, he kind of expected it. At least she's over the mood of turning his entrails inside out.
"Worth a shot." Percy shrugged.
Resigned to his antic, Annabeth finally cracked a smile.
"That's a very good shot you did. But not nearly enough."
It was like stoking the fuel to his fattening pride of being able to kiss the smartest and hottest girl in the camp breathless, his grin grew into a megawatt smile.
"From 'Oh-my-God-that's-the-hottest-kiss-I've-ever-had' to 'Let's-do-it-right-here-and-now' how good was it?"
His breath was promptly sucked out of his lungs when she elbowed him in the stomach, making him doubling over in pain before her.
"I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer."
Scowling and gasping for breath, he did his best attempt at a seductive wink. But Percy figured it probably turned out like he was a chronic haemorrhoid patient about half an hour after inhaling a full course of Taco Bell rather than the next Don Juan.
Before he could fully recover from the punch, Annabeth grabbed him by the collar and dragged him off toward the buffet table where their closer friends were watching their fight with not-so-subtle amusement.
"Come on, Seaweed Brain. I want some barbecue."
The party was wild. And Percy didn't just say that because the nymphs, satyrs, and the good inhabitants of Camp Half-Blood Forest decided to come out and into the fun just half an hour in.
The Hephaestus cabin with Leo as the foreman has strategically set up rock-concert grade speakers all around to blast deafening dance music for the mass of responsibly partying teenagers and spirits of nature to bounce their energy away (Chiron has been doing a very good job at keeping the party from being out of hands). Some of the good folks from the Apollo cabin were serving live music to one side to a crowd of starry eyed Aphrodite's and other minor gods' kids, he spied a few nymphs in the mix also. Ares' children were daring one another on who can stomach the most root beer before throwing up while dragging others into the game as well. Athena's offsprings were awkwardly shuffling in place by the buffet table trying to socialise while visibly restraining themselves from psycho-analysing other people and telling them exactly what their IQ were.
And Percy could've sworn he saw some hammocks up in the trees where the guys and girls from Hypnos' cabin decided to nap the time away instead of expending efforts in parties.
Percy has slinked away from the heat of the occasion about five minutes ago. Contented with watching everyone having a good time from the secluded corner near the woods. He was more or less the star of the show, with people trying to get his attention and drag him into different kinds of debaucheries one place to the next. He was still feeling the sour twang of grape juice on his tongue and the weight of about a pound of barbecue pressing down in his stomach. If someone was to tap his stomach he could easily hurl everything back up. Percy was already dead tired about an hour and a half in and the migraine he could feel building in his head didn't help at all in improving his partying mood.
"Hey Seaweed Brain."
A soft smile effortlessly made its way onto his face when he felt a pair of arms that came alongside with a tell-tale whiff of lemon, telling him subconsciously just who they belonged to.
"Wise Girl." Percy held onto her hands as they laced together on his stomach.
"You disappeared halfway through the party, what's wrong?" She whispered and pressed her head against his back. Percy sighed contentedly and unconsciously ran his fingers up and down her arms around him.
"Nothing, it's just too loud for me right now. I'll be back in a bit, I think Malcolm is looking for you."
He actually wasn't. Percy accidentally caught him getting frisky with a girl when he was trying to find a good place to hide away in the woods but Annabeth didn't need to know that. Percy didn't want her to miss out all of the fun on his account.
She scoffed: "Me? He and that Hecate kid probably got to third base by now, I don't think he's the type that likes having an audience."
Percy broke out laughing and looked back at her. Annabeth's face was still a little bit flushed from all of the partying and also a bit tired, but there's no mistaken the mirth in her eyes.
"Five years and I still haven't gotten to second base."
"Down, boy. We're not talking about this today." She lightly punched him in the shoulder.
It's true, it's a total myth that "Percy is good in bed" or "Annabeth is good in bed". They actually weren't hiding any hot details when their friends asked about their non-existent nightly extracurricular activities. If being good in bed is heavy cuddling and just hot making out, then they're pretty good at it. Otherwise, they never got to know each other in that kind of way. One reason was because Percy was too awkward to ask for it and always chickened out when he was about to. And two, Annabeth never really mentioned it nor ever pushed for it, so Percy just took it as a clue that she wasn't interested. Both of them were contented with being just as innocent girlfriend and boyfriend could be at that moment.
"I've been really good today, why can't I have an upgrade? At least halfway to second?" He pouted and she giggled, standing on her tiptoe and pressed her lips to his cheek that made the spot tingle.
"You're not forgiven yet for embarrassing me, you know? You're far from being good in my book."
"I thought we're over that!"
"We'll be over it when I said we're over it."
"Why can't I have a voice in this relationship, where's the equality? Come on Wise Girl it's the 21st century!"
He groaned.
"I'm an architect."
"What's that got to do with anything?"
"My full-time job is literally telling people what to do, what do you think?" She crossed her arms over her chest and glared up at him. "What, you think I just sit at a desk and watch Mean Girls reruns all of the time?"
"I mean I did catch you watching Mean Girls on the job that one..."
"That was ONE time Percy!" She blushed.
"It's okay, I'm not judging." He was full on laughing by then.
Annabeth was a very diligent and hard worker, but secretly underneath it all, she was an absolute glutton for Mean Girls and would catch an episode during breaks. It's a pretty common joke down by their flat that she actually loved the show more than him. Painfully fo him, she never even deny it.
"You're such an ass, why did I ever get together with you?" She turned away from him and toward the party.
"Aw c'mon I was just joking!" He placed his hands on her shoulders and held her in place. "You know you love me."
"Do I?" She turned her head and that sexy smirk of her was messing with his head.
"You know you do." He placed his head on her shoulder and kissed her nose.
Annabeth didn't say anything, just tugging his hands from her shoulder and brought it around her like he was her personal coat. Percy didn't mind all that much.
They were away from the loudest and most chaotic of the noises of the party or the people who would try their best at pulling their attentions. It's just them standing in the dark and the secretive that the dense trees were offering.
Percy has no idea how long they stood there, but one thing he knew was that he felt so serene and contented. From the way she was leaning into him, she was feeling the same.
Finally, she sighed: "We've come a long way, huh."
He buried his head closer to her neck, ghosting his lips over both her skin at the place he knew she was especially sensitive in as well as her necklace of beads. He could feel her shiver and her breath hitched as he went at it.
"Mmm. Almost can't believe it."
"I'm glad we're both here Seaweed Brain." He peeked up at her to see a little cloud of trouble brewing in the eyes of her perfect storm as they looked his way. Percy knew what she's feeling. There were so many ways they could die in their younger years, and there roads ahead were still full of deadly, cruel twists. They persevered nonetheless, and it's a good thing to celebrate for. After all, this party's for them: The survivors.
"I'm glad you are here."
He remembered Manhattan, the way she just threw her life on the line for him. Taking the stab that surely would have killed him in his place. It was a recurring theme in one of his worst nightmares, Annabeth fading away from him. Away and into the arms of Thanatos as he whisked her away into the Underworld.
"Hey." She turned in his arms, standing with her chest to his and looked up at him. He could feel the worry in her voice, it wasn't a secret that one of his greatest fear was losing her. Not a secret to her, at least.
"I'm not going anywhere."
There was his it girl standing in front of him, hugging him, and telling him that she would be a permanent, beautiful fixture in his life. It could make even the staunchest of men emotional.
"I'll hold you to that." He smiled softly, and she matched his.
Silence.
They stared at one another for a long while, smiling. They didn't need empty words, the way they were was just enough for one to look into the other person's heart and saw the raging love within. They weren't often like this outside of their door, but he has a pretty plausible theory that it's probably the fume of the secret booze the Hermes kids were selling that's making them five times more emotional.
"You're beautiful." He brushed a lock of golden hair that fell over her eye and tucked it gently behind her ear. Annabeth just bit her lips, trying to contain a giggle.
"I know." She said smugly. "You're getting corny tonight. You sure you're not drunk?"
"Drunk on you." He wagged his eyebrows and she squatted his shoulder.
"Please don't use that in a bar ever. You'll scare all of the females away quicker than any sexually transmitted diseases could."
"Do you want me to, though?"
"No. It's a postulation, not a suggestion."
He moaned lewdly: "Aw yeah … just like that, say big words to me."
She cracked up so loud and a couple of heads swiveled their way. He took a quick scan and all of them were younger kids. Percy swore internally, they're usually the most enthusiastic bunch when it comes to his heroic stories and he could tell that they're trying to summon the courage to come over and talk to the 'war heroes'.
"Uh-oh ... I think we're drawing attention again."
She took a glance in the direction of the kids and sighed exasperatedly.
"You wanna get out of here?"
"Where to?" He raised an eyebrow.
"The beach. I know this one place, come on. Before they catch us." He took his hand and just like that, they were off running into the woods and away from the crowd.
Percy couldn't help the goofy smile making itself at home on his face the moment he felt her tugging him away. As much fun the party was, he would take some alone time with his girlfriend over anything else.
They ran for Gods knew how long. Just like anything he did with Annabeth, he had no idea how much time had passed. Instead, all he could focus on was the warmth of her hand in his as she ran deftly through the woods, weaving between the trees and the shrubberies, finding hidden paths even when there's barely enough light for him to see two feet in front of him. Quite literally, the only thing he saw clearly was the orange fabric of her camp T-shirt, otherwise, it's pitch black all around.
The road was becoming more and more treacherous the deeper they went.
"Hold up a little!" He ducked just in time before a tree branch could slap him in the face.
"Annabeth!"
"No, you keep up!" She yelled back at him as she jumped down a little slope, Percy almost slipped and fell on his face had he not caught himself in time.
"If you're trying to …" He side-stepped a large boulder on the way that made him stumble a little, but Annabeth was relentless, yanking on him and almost killed him once more as she kept her pace. "Ah! … - kill me then just do it right now!"
"Where's the fun in that?" Her laughter was teasing. "I enjoy a good chase."
They ran into a bush of something and the coarse texture of the little branches scratched rather painfully against his legs. He has had worse, though.
"Pun intended?"
"Shut up and run."
The moment they emerged from the bush, he heard it: The crashing sound of the waves tumbling against shore. At the mere sound of the ocean, Percy could feel himself being reinvigorated and he instantly sped up.
"What the …" He sped past her and sprinted straight for the source of the beautiful sound. At last, he broke through the last of the low growths and emerged into a wide open space. The sight looked like it emerged straight from the front cover of a nature magazine.
He stopped dead in his place at the edge of the lonesome beach, at the very edge where the earthly ground of the forest met the pristine sand, stretching itself the rest of the way down to the rolling waterline. The breezes were carrying the distinct smell of salt as they billowed in-land, and Percy felt as if all of the stress, worries, and troubles just followed the air current off and away. Everything - the sight, the sensations - came together and commingled to the ageless orchestra of the waves, crashing, grumbling yet to him, it sounded like an ancient, perpetual melody.
But the best thing about this place, though, was that if he just turned his head to the right and watched where the beach started to curve fluently into a bay he could see the Firework Beach. Floodlights and torches alike were placed all throughout the beach for those who want to have a scenic, midnight picnic, a place for making out, or just enjoy the water at night. Far behind was the unmistakable light of the campfire burning and the little shadows surrounding it must be the campers still partying. Farther and over the trees, he could see the little strings of fairy light that the Demeter children had strung over the strawberry crops growing on the hills, and over them, he knew, would be the cabins, the main house, and everything else that he had come to know and love.
The entirety of the place that has an extremely special place in his heart was laid bare for him to see. He closed his eyes and took in the powerful feeling of the moment.
"You like it?"
It felt like home.
He glanced over at her, smiling faintly while she was watching his reaction.
"I found it a while back when I was taking my morning jog through the forest last summer. Couldn't believe no one noticed it. Or at least … no one ever talked about it. Do you like it?" She looked a bit nervous, gauging his reactions.
"I love it." He drew her into a hug again, chuckling all the while. He heard her sigh of relief, but before her body warmth even registered on his chest, she already pulled away.
"That's not everything though."
"What do you mean?" His brows furrowed.
She reached behind her and dug around her back pocket for a while before she revealed a little package, small enough to fit snugly in her palm. It's just a simple, brown paper envelope with a terribly out of place white ribbon stapled to it. She bit her lower lip as she gave it to him, a habit she often acted out whenever she was nervous.
"Happy birthday Seaweed Brain."
Oh. Oh. He completely forgot that today's also his birthday. Percy was too busied with helping Leo and the management team with preparing everything he completely forgot the day he fell out of the womb.
"Woah. I didn't even remember that today's my birthday." He said with his eyes wide.
"Of course you don't." She snorted.
"Stop judging me." He narrowed his eyes and took the package from her outstretched hand. "I was busy."
"Yeah yeah whatever. Now open it."
"Nice packaging, by the way. Very … simple." He waved the package back and forth in front of her face with a smart grin. Percy knew she would yell at him, Annabeth's never been good with admitting that she's not good at something.
Gift wrapping has never been her forte, despite the long litany of brilliant things she could do with her hands. For Christmas for most years she would just glue a ribbon on top of whatever she wanted to give him and when he teased her about it she would always tell him that it's too much effort doing gift wrapping. Of course he didn't buy that one bit, not when he has had to feed her a tub of ice cream, put on the DVD, and cuddle when he got home on Christmas Eve the first year they moved into their apartment. To say that he was surprised and horrified was an understatement when he found several rolls of wrapping paper all deformed and ripped scattered all throughout their living room like a minefield along with a a red-faced Annabeth on the verge of tears and at the edge of her sanity on the floor. She spent almost three hours trying to wrap one cardboard box with a cute mug inside, and finally, just when he got home, the box finally broke her.
Though it might sound as if he was a terrible boyfriend, but he has to excuse himself to the bathroom to let out the built-up laughter after he put her on the couch with ice cream to keep her mind off of the disastrous attempt.
"You're going to open it or not?" Annabeth placed her hands on her hips and threw him one of her deadly glare, clearly irked.
"Fine, jeez."
He fiddled with the package for a while, trying to look for a fold where he could open it without ripping the entire thing off like a barbarian. Annabeth just watched him struggle with great amusement as he flipped it back and forth, tongue stuck out at the corner of his mouth, rotating it in all directions trying to find an opening.
"I'm not saving the paper you know. Just rip it." She snickered at his dilemma and Percy just threw her a look.
"I'm trying to be nice." He took a corner of the envelope and ripped a straight line downward, revealing a plastic bag with something metal inside. "What's this?"
He opened his palm, pitched the package upside down and shook the item out from inside the envelope.
His heart almost stopped.
A ring. Silver, glittering in the faint moonlight like an actual piece of the Moon was melted, polished, and cut into the band that's staring up at him in his hand. A child-like expression brighten up his face as he rolled the ring around and inspected it.
It was nothing special, there weren't sophisticated carvings, designs, or whatever. It's just a plain ring of silver but somehow, it's the prettiest he's ever seen.
"There's something on the inside." She blushed and he spied her scratching her neck, her eyes away from him and down at the sand.
Percy held the ring up to catch more light, squinting his eyes, he finally saw it.
P x A - it said in loopy calligraph.
"I told Leo to make for me, Calypso did the carving." She explained, voice a little husky from nervousness. "It's a … ah … promise ring."
"A promise ring?"
"That's what I said."
"But … why." He asked dumbly, and Annabeth forgot all about the nervousness to pinch the bridge of her nose in irritation.
"Percy …" She warned.
"Right, right." He rolled the ring around his fingers a little bit more, deep in thought as his sea-green eyes scanned over every surfaces of the ring like he was the host of Pawn Stars.
"But why though." He looked back up again and Annabeth groaned in annoyance. Annabeth knew her boyfriend actually was brilliant, but he could be so dense at times she could actually convince herself for a few seconds that his brain was indeed made out of seaweed.
"It's your birthday! You get gifts on birthday! By the Gods, Percy."
"Why a promise ring of all things?"
"I …"
Right.
He got her there.
It's wistful thinking of her to think she could actually avoid this conversation about the reason behind it. At least for a while. She didn't go through all of the troubles for nothing, and his birthday was just a convenient excuse for her to do it.
His quizzical eyes were fixed on hers, curious. He got that entire ensemble of a confused puppy going on, like yesterday you taught it to play dead and the next day you told it to go and fill out your income tax. He probably didn't even realise he was being extremely cute right then.
So adorable… She thought before mentally slapping herself. Get a grip woman! Gosh!
Resigned, her face faltered and she looked down at her feet, her shoulders slacked all of a sudden. She felt a little guilty when she saw the growing concern on his face at her change of mood through the gaps between the strands of blonde hair that fell over her eyes and shielded her away from him.
"What's the matter?" She felt his hand on her shoulder and he turned her body to face his. Once again just like almost an eternity ago when they were still standing to the far side of the party, he brushed the hair from her face. Annabeth still didn't look up at him.
"Annabeth?"
"Remember me." She looked up at him suddenly, so sudden he almost jolted. Percy was completely unprepared to take on the full intensity of her gaze. Like the silver ring that's resting snugly in his other hand, her eyes were gleaming beneath the Moon like the purest grade of silver. He was captivated by them, as always, Percy could make out every grooves and smoky patterns in them. And they were showing him the intensity of an emotion he couldn't place.
"What?" He whispered, still awestruck.
"Remember me, Percy." Her voice was wavering and as sudden as her gaze, she caught his hand that's been laying on her small shoulder and pressed them against her cheek. She looked almost wild and out of her mind, like she was trying to imprint the sensation of his hand on her cheek into her brain.
"Wise Girl, what are you even talking about? Remember what?" His thumb ran over the heated, soft skin of her cheek.
"I was so scared when you were gone." He was shocked to see her eyes began to glisten with tears. "It's not Tartarus, or the Labyrinth, or Kronos, or even Arachne that scared me. It's always you in all of my worst nightmares, and in all of them you can't even remember what my name is, let alone who I am."
"Annabeth …"
"Let me finish." She sniffed, wiping her eyes to stop the tears before they could shed.
Percy stayed quiet and just watched her as Annabeth composed herself.
"I know we have been together for a long time, we even live together for Gods' sake. For a lot of people we're already married at this point." She gave a pathetic laugh before continuing: "But just in case … if anything was to happen in the future, I want you to know that you're it for me. I want you to remember that I'm here. Always. I'll never be going anywhere. Remember me, and remember your way home and I'll be there."
His own eyes were tearing up, and it felt like someone was engraving Annabeth's name with a flaming scalpel onto his heart. The ache in his chest throbbed painfully, but it felt so good at the same time.
"I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and no one else but you. That's what this ring is for. I don't know what the Fates have got in store for the both of us, but … I'm sure our yarns are intertwined. To the end of the line."
She let go of his hand that was on her cheek, but he didn't let go. Instead he just kept on skimming his thumb over her skin just the way she liked it. Love coiled and burned in his heart like a slab of molten rock while he watched this wonderful girl speaking the sweetest words he's ever heard in his life.
Annabeth grabbed the hand that was holding the ring and gingerly spread his fingers open, revealing it sitting innocently in his palm. She took it and smoothen out his ring finger. She was still hesitating, peeking up at him and waiting for his words.
Swallowing the emotions that built up like a massive pebble was stuck in his throat, he finally croaked out:
"You're it for me too, Beth."
She smiled before slipping it onto his finger. The ring fit perfectly.
As soon as he felt the cold metal reached the base of his finger, his body engulfed hers once more and before long, he was already sobbing into her hair.
She didn't hold back, either and the both of them cried their eyes out on the beach. The great ocean was the only witness of the rare kind of love that had bloomed in that moment. Reflecting the powerful emotions of its master, the water growling became stronger with massive surges as if in the middle of a powerful storm. Towering waves born out of nowhere shot up from the depths and down onto the violent water, the impacts thunderous to the point of deafening. The scene was a raw, feral spectacle.
Strangely, the surging water never crossed the sand and inshore, it was like an invisible barrier has staunchly separated. Setting the line of where the water could be and where it could not. In a sense, that was him in the purest physical form: Inside, Percy was a messy turmoil of emotions that swirled, curled, and grumbled ferociously but outside, all he did was holding the subject of all of that fierce emotions close to him, breathing in her scent, taking in her presence and just … be.
Time passed away quietly like a forgotten spectre, and indeed it was forgotten. Time was irrelevant once more and the world had seemingly sunken in onto itself just to leave Perseus Jackson and Annabeth Chase with the eternity of a single moment.
The sea eventually calmed, and the waves settling away into nothing more than just tiny ripples, kissing the sand ever so gently before drawing away back to the infinite vastness from whence it came. Everything was eerily quiet by the time the both of them opened their eyes and gave a sigh filled with tranquility. The waves no longer tried to make itself known, instead you could barely hear the swirling of the water like it was giving up the stage to give the couple their much needed privacy.
"Dance with me." He whispered.
"What?"
"Dance with me." He said again, a little bit louder, a little bit braver. That was one of the best moments - if not the best moment - he's ever had the pleasure of enjoying, and he wanted it to stay that way. He wanted to make sure that if Hera or anyone else ever tried to mess with his memory again, her name and this moment would stay like it's a part of his brain someone must physically cut out to make him forget.
"There's no music, dude." She stood on her tip toe and kissed his chin. His smile broaden as he looked down as her reddened eyes, but the colour and its owner too endearing for him to mind.
Percy dug in the pocket of his short for a while and pulled two white earbuds.
"Done."
Annabeth shook her head but a soft laughter slipped through her lips regardless.
"You actually planned for this?"
"No." He shrugged. "But I like to believe I'm romantic enough that I did."
"You're just enough, Seaweed Brain. Just enough."
She took the left ear and he took the right, their eyes still locked in each other's gaze, sea-green against stormy grey.
"Do I have to, erm, do the thing?"
Annabeth raised an eyebrow.
"Like, 'May I have this dance mademoiselle' or whatever." He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly and the air filled with a peal of Annabeth's laughter. He couldn't help but laugh along, loving the fact that he was the one to make her laugh.
"If you want … and your French is horrible."
"Point for trying?"
"Whatever. Do you thing and turn the music on." She snorted, impatient.
"Fine." He pursed his lips and started to complain: "Why can't you just be sweet all the time."
"I don't want you to get in over your head, plus, there got to be something to keep you coming back for more." She shrugged indifferently.
"Just you is enough." He stuck out his tongue and she coughed, blushing a deeper shade of scarlet than her face already was painted with.
"You're going to ask or what?"
He took her hand and kissed her knuckles. "Care to have a dance, miss Chase?"
"Kay."
Percy scowled, instantly annoyed.
"That's not how you do it."
"What were you expecting?" Her grin was teasing. Oh she knew what he wanted, alright, Annabeth was just being petty on purpose.
"You read Shakespeare, you tell me."
She placed her hand daintily on her heart, and his eyes widened when her face softened into a theatric lovestruck expression that looked incredibly adorable. "O' Lord Jackson, I beseech thee to take my hand and tread er measure."
"I have no idea what you just said but okay I guess." He mumbled under his breath and took out of his phone to search for the song he had in mind. His cheeks still pink from seeing Annabeth looking at him like that - he knew she was just messing around but it's one of her cuter faces. He gotta get her in the mood more often.
When the music came on, as expected, she started giggling, then the giggles brewed into laughter.
"Of course it'd be Lion King."
Annabeth threw her hands around his neck and held him close, Percy's slipped down her hips and placed them gently on either side of her body, swaying her along the piano.
There's a calm surrender to the rush of day.
Annabeth was still giggling when Elton John began to sing, Percy just smiled as always. Contented to let her have all of the laughters she could possibly want.
When the heat of a rolling wave can't be turn away.
He pulled her closer toward the sea, spinning her around slowly. This entire time they have been standing on the rough ground of the forest, but just a few feet they soon felt the powdery sand beneath their shoes.
"Slip them off." He said and the both of them toed off their shoes, feeling the full coarseness of the sand beneath them.
An enchanted moment, and it sees me through.
His hands inched further behind her, and finally encircled her waist to press her more firmly against his body. Percy's mind and all of his senses were all on overload as Annabeth filled all of the empty spaces inside of him with her image. Effortlessly, she overlay her presence pushing every rational thoughts and random feelings away to make space and just be there at the deepest core of his soul like she owned it. Bewitching him with her touch, her scent, her smile, and her eyes.
He was enchanted, alright. His smile started fading when the realisation started to kick in.
It's enough for this restless warrior,
Just to be with you.
Down at the bowel of the world, Tartarus, he already knew that Annabeth was going to be a part of his life he could never give up. That for as long as he lived, he wanted to spend every waking moment with her, through the worst days and the best. But it's not until now that he realised the wild craving inside of him for the blonde Athenian princess. All of his life from the very moment of his birth Percy constantly has to fight for something, his life, his mother from Gabe and Hades, and better yet, the whole world. He was a reluctant, but restless warrior as the Fates pushed him from one battleground to the next.
But Percy knew that if at the end of the day he'd be in her arms, everything would turn out alright. His heart didn't like the implication from the way it's beating like a miniaturised rock drummer who has chugged a Monster Energy - Red Bull cocktail during the greatest show of his life.
And can you feel the love tonight?
Percy looked up at the stars over her head and out into the horizon as he spun her around, him facing the whispering Atlantic. The trillions of stars twinkling in mirth as they watched the young pair of lovers dancing the night away on the sand. To him, they looked brighter that night than ever before, like they were savouring the chaste love that was burning on Earth.
It is where we are.
It's enough, for this wide-eyed wanderer.
That we've got this far.
He really couldn't believe that he has the privilege of calling this girl his. She was way out of her league in every ways, from her intelligence (That was for certain), her wit, to her beauty. Being there with her was quite probably the greatest gift the Fates have given him, although he doubt they did it because they felt guilty for putting him through everything.
No.
No thinking about that now.
He sighed when he burrowed his nose into her hair once more, letting the locks caressing his face just the way he liked it. He laid a kiss on the crown of her head, to which she responded with a peck to his neck.
And can you feel the love tonight?
How it's laid to rest?
Percy really wished that this moment would never end. That he could forever live in this one moment, where everything was alright and the world's not ending the next day. There's only love tonight, and nothing more.
It's enough to make kings and vagabonds.
Believe the very best.
In their slow dance, they have made their way down the beach and he could already feel the salt water staining the sand. Cold, cold underneath his feet. Not one of them care, too lost to worry about such triviality.
"Have I told you how beautiful you are?" He told her, completely serious with not a hint of teasing in his voice. Five years and he still hasn't got used to just how beautiful Annabeth was. If Aphrodite took Annabeth's form when he met her - the God of Beauty herself that played to his deepest desire and ideal of beauty - he probably would never be able to get used to her.
"Only about five times tonight." She smirked.
"I aim for more."
He turned her around so that her back was to his, and together they swayed to the piano as their gazes turned to the black expanse that's the water. Percy couldn't place just where the water and the skies met, but he didn't care so much about the way the Universe spun. Percy just wanted to know just how she did it, and took in the way that she spun her circles around his heart.
There's a time for everyone.
If they only learn.
That the twisting kaleidoscope.
Moves us all in turn.
Everything he has ever done in his life boiled down to this moment. Every mistakes and everything he did right. In that way, his mistakes don't seem so bad anymore and he was glad for everything he did right: Kissing her under the lake after the battle in Manhattan, or coming back to her after his stint in Ogygia. And all of those seemingly hopeless search for her - and she, him - after his memory was erased. It all came together full circle down by the water: They promised that Perseus is Annabeth's, and Annabeth's Perseus - the Universe, as heartless as it is, wanted to keep everything that way or so it seemed.
There's a rhyme and reason,
To the wild outdoors.
When the heart of this star-crossed voyager,
Beats in time with yours.
He raised one of her arm over her head and she took the cue with a small smile, spinning on her heel until they're again face to face. He locked their hands together, their fingers entangled and fit together like each half of a perfect puzzle. He held her hand and lead her into a slow waltz, he could feel her heart beating next to his, and they were perfectly in tune just as they were in step.
And can you feel the love tonight?
It is where we are.
It's enough for this wide-eyed wanderer
That we've got this far.
"Perseus." She called his name, but he never once strayed from her eyes as they moved.
"Mmh?" He hummed.
"I love you."
And can you feel the love tonight?
How it's laid to rest?
It's not a new phrase to them. They've said it when they were young, when they were scared, happy, or even absent-minded when one of them left the house for grocery. But never before did the three words felt so potent in meaning.
Not even caring anymore about rhythms nor steps, he leaned down and capture her lips. Show, not tell is the best policy he was told - and simply saying that he loved her didn't feel like it was enough.
It's enough to make kings and vagabonds,
Believe the very best.
And somewhere in the middle of their passionate kiss, a whisper took to the salty breeze:
"I love you, too."
Whew ... that's a lot.
Um. Leave a review? Or something? I really want to know what you guys are thinking.