It's Just a Date

Part II

"You're scowling too loudly," Annabeth said from her place on the bed, her attention drawn upon the latest issues of Architecture Monthly as she turned the page. The pair was sitting up in bed, Annabeth, obviously reading, or pretending to, while Percy, arms crossed, merely seethed as he waited for his daughter to return from her date.

While Annabeth feigned interest in the articles, Percy knew better. She wasn't really reading the magazine, the proof being that this was the eighth time she had turned the same page. It wasn't hard to pay attention to all the little things she did, and he knew her better than anyone. She would use the publication as a means to distract herself while she waited anxiously for their daughter to return. But she, unlike her husband, at least pretended to fake disinterest.

"They're late," he replied, his frown deepening as he looked at the digital clock at their bedside. Technology generally didn't work for demigods, but being in New Rome, the monsters would often stay at bay rather than attempt to take a city with hundreds of demigod warriors.

"They're not late, calm down," Annabeth gently chided as she turned her head towards him, a soft smile of affection tugging at her lips as she leaned over to kiss him on the corner of his mouth. Despite his anxiety, the action drew his lips into a small smile. He would never understand how she could placate his emotions with just a simple action. Even after all these years, he could never discount how much she meant to him.

Despite her calming effect on him, he forced a scowl back onto his face and pointed to the clock that read 10:03. "I told him to have her back by ten."

"Percy," she replied with a slight touch of impatience in her voice as she took a moment to fold the magazine and set it on her bedside table. "It's 9:53, not 10:03. I saw you change the clock."

"Were you spying on me? Is that where Maya gets it?" he asked, only partially joking as he looked to her, only for her to arch an eyebrow as if amazed at how oblivious he was when he chose to be.

Pointing her finger to the attached master bath, she let out a little laugh. "You absolute dork, I was in there brushing my teeth when I saw you do it." Though once the statement left her lips her face affixed itself in a gentle visage of tender intent. "Why are you so intent on not liking this boy? Maya seems to really care about him."

Shoulders sagging under his wife's gaze, he turned to her with a look of concern he wore when he was uncertain of how things would turn out. It was the same look he fixed upon her so many years ago during the Titan War, when the two of them struggled to just keep everything from falling apart. He only ever let her see how scared he was when he knew he could not control the outcome. "I just don't want her getting hurt."

A gentle smile danced across her beautiful face as she locked eyes with him and offered a knowing shake of her head. "Neither do I, but we can't protect them from that Percy," she replied, scooting closer so that she could lay her head on the crook of his shoulder. "Most we can hope is for the best for them, and when they get hurt, we're there to help them ease the pain."

"I know," he said, wrapping his arm around her and holding her closer as he pressed a kiss to the curls of her head. "I know we can't shelter them from the world, doesn't mean I like it."

Leaning into his embrace, she placed her lips upon his jaw and offered a soft kiss before whispering against his skin. "I love how much of a sap you are. But we both know our kids are growing up Percy, we can't fight time..."

"Pretty sure we can," he offered a small smile as he turned his head to look at her. "After all, we beat Kronos."

"You know what I mean," she offered playfully as she drew another kiss along his jaw, working her way towards the spot just beneath his ear the drove him mad. "We raised three beautiful kids baby. Trust them to make the right choices..."

"I do..." he groaned as he tried to keep his thoughts in order despite the burning kisses his wife laid upon his neck. "It's the rest of the world I don't trust..." the words were poignant and honest, a telling reminder that everything they sacrificed so that the world could keep spinning was paid in full with the family they raised. It was only natural for Percy and Annabeth to want to protect their children, but it was a bitter pill to swallow to understand that they would need to let them make their own choices and live their own lives. The best they could do was guide them to that destination and pray it worked the way they hoped.

"You're...trying to distract me..." Percy panted at the attentive nature his wife continued to lay soft kisses against his flesh.

"What do you mean 'trying'?" she whispered, her lips pulling into a smile as she continued to gently lay kisses against him. Percy had had enough and simply wrapped his arms around Annabeth's waist as he tackled her sideways against the mattress, causing a surprised squeal and burst of laughter to escape her lips before his mouth crashed against hers.

"For the love of the gods could you close the door?" Damon screamed from down the hall, causing the two parents to pull away as their attention was drawn towards the entry of their room, the door open as they waited for Maya to return from her date and tell them how it went. When Annabeth had designed their manor, she had purposefully made their room soundproof, though they never took advantage of it until they could be certain their children could sleep through the night.

"What?" they heard Alex, their youngest call out from his room in his own, naive way. "Dad told a funny joke, he can do that..."

Dropping his head to Annabeth's shoulder, the pair softly laughed to themselves as he rolled off of her and pushed himself to a kneeling position, and moving back to their place in bed, each wearing a loving smile in reflection of unfinished business. As they settled back in and waited for their daughter to return, Annabeth nuzzling against Percy's warmth, the son of Poseidon turned his head towards the window before looking at the clock. 10:09...just under curfew.

"They're back," he said as he continued to stare out the window.

"Stop having Blackjack spy for you Percy, it's annoying."

"So says the woman with an invisibility hat, we use the tools we're given babe," he smiled.

Choosing instead to let the matter drop, Annabeth and Percy sat in bed and listened as the front door opened and closed and waited for Maya to let them needlessly know she was home. As she appeared in the doorway, the girl had a soft glow about her, as though she had not expected the night to go as well as it did. She had hoped it would, but there was always that underlining tension that existed on first dates, made all the more surreal when you knew the person you were dating so well.

"Hey, just wanted to let you both know I was home," she responded, her eyes hesitant as she looked from her mom to her dad, as if waiting for some judgment. She wasn't sure what to expect, both of her parents were sitting in their bed, obviously waiting for her.

Percy tightened his jaw involuntarily as he weighed the options of what he wanted to say versus what he should say and opted with the simple, "So how was your date?"

"Oh, it was okay I guess," Maya said, trying to pass it off as nonchalantly as possible, yet the excited glimmer in her eyes gave her away.

"Just...okay?" Percy gently pushed as Annabeth softly nudged his arm with her elbow and offered a sardonic, if not playful glare.

"Okay fine, it was the best date I could have hoped for..." she said, gushing as she ran into the room and jumped onto the edge of the bed, telling how amazing the food was, how Jacob had ordered a double helping of her favorite dessert, two forks naturally so they could share, a fact that awarded Percy a knowingly beautiful smile from his wife.

Maya then went onto a further tangent about how amazing the play was and how amusing it was that Ulysses called Calypso "babe" and how the cyclopes Polyphemus said the name "no one" was a stupid name and what kind of parent calls their kid that? At the discussion of their own life events, Percy and Annabeth each shared a smile with one another, the pair making a mental know to go watch the performance themselves when they had the time.

Maya grew a little hesitant however, talking about how shy Jacob was and how she had to initiate holding his hand during the play, then later as they walked around the Gardens of Bacchus. The entire exposition of their teenage daughter's excited retelling of her date brought a smile to both of her parents as she finally finished, her hands twisting in front of her with a nervous excitement of the very real possibility of there being a second date in her very near future.

"Sounds like you had a good time then," Annabeth offered with a smile as she watched her daughter. "You better clean up and get yourself to bed, its getting late."

"Okay, goodnight mom, dad," Maya said, turning yet pausing at the doorway and turning her head to look at them over her shoulder. "I love you."

"We love you to sweetheart."

"Goodnight princess."

With that she rushed from the room excitedly to get ready for bed as Annabeth fixed her eyes on her husband. "I think she had a good time."

Chuckling at the comment, he turned his eyes to his wife with a smile of his own. "You think?" Yet holding her gaze for a moment, he lowered his eyes as he tried to come to terms that his daughter was growing up. Sure this was only a first date, but if he knew anything about his daughter, he knew how excited she was that this very well may be something long term. More than that, she was very much hoping it would be. As he contemplated that thought, he wondered if this was how his mom felt when he started dating Annabeth. That despite how happy you were that they found something to care for, you could not deny the jealousy of knowing that your place in their life was being taken over by someone else. "He better treat her right."

"He will," Annabeth whispered softly as she moved into his arms and laid a kiss against his cheek. "He knows who her parents are and what we're capable of."

Offering a watery smile to his beloved Wise Girl, he laughed as he pressed his lips to hers in a tender, loving gesture that seared the nerves in both of their bodies, as if they had caught on fire. "I love you." He whispered, his lips moving against hers as he felt her smile against him.

"Oh yeah? Prove it," she challenged as she pulled back and fixed her eyes upon him, a deep, roaring passion burning beneath the steel gray irises that left him speechless. "Close the door Percy, we have unfinished business to attend to."

Percy didn't even bother to get out of bed, simply used the water from the glass on his bedside table to push the door close and isolate the pair as he moved to take his wife in his arms and rain kisses upon her that would drown her in the deluge of his love.

For once, Annabeth was wrong. They could fight time, because their love was timeless, and they would treasure every second of their life together. And this night, like so many others, they would lose themselves to each other, and they would hope they would never be found, because being lost in each others arms, with whispered words of devotion and kisses the bore more meaning than any word could convey, and a love that would carry through the night and into every day of their lives.

For this was their Elysium.

A/N: So, I turned this into a two-shot. I did have some ideas for other stories related to the Jackson clan but not sure if changing this into a series of one-shots or post as different stories or whatever.

Anyway, if you enjoyed the story, please leave a review, favorite, follow...whatever. Thank you for reading.