Chapter 40
Annabeth
I was anxious to talk to Percy, both about missing his birthday and my mother's visit, but he had other plans, namely sleeping. I had been trying to talk to him about his birthday since I realized that I had forgotten it, but he had nodded off every night and acted like it was no big deal. Something had been bothering him though and I wanted to make it up to him. We didn't really do the whole gender assignments like most couples, but I did want to be a "regular" girlfriend as far as stuff like birthdays went, if only so as to remind both of us that I was, in fact, a girl.
Tonight was not to be the night for discussion. He went straight to the restroom once we got back from the after action meeting, and so I went to mine to cleanse my face and put on my pj's. By the time I got back Percy, the mighty sea lord, was sound asleep. I made up my mind to get together with the girls the next morning to plot his surprise party.
I slept in and when I arose it was too late for breakfast in the main dining hall, and Percy was already risen and gone from the room. I figured he was already at breakfast, but I went to the Leodis dining hall and found the girls there, I learned I was wrong.
"Good morning!" Hermione said. "I guess we all slept late."
"I know I did, I must have been more tired than I thought. Where are the guys?"
"Not sure about Will and Nico, but Percy came by this morning and got Leo, Frank and Jason, said something about going with Dumbledore somewhere. Harry, Ron, George and Fred are in with Professor and Mr Weasley. He's doing great." Hazel smiled. "Coffee?" She asked.
"Yes! Nectar of the gods! Thank you!" I said as a cup flew in full of a piping hot latte, my breakfast of bacon, eggs and pancakes shortly behind."
Just then Will wandered in an announced that Percy had rounded Nico up early in the morning as well.
"So," I asked as I began to munch down, "What does everyone have planned today?"
"Well Neville has been hinting about going to Hogsmeade, but I don't know, no one seems to really be into it. Are you and Hermione going to hit the library?" Reyna asked.
"Crap. I forgot about that. I guess we should." I said.
"What else did you have in mind?" Hermione asked.
"Well, you know, like an idiot I totally forgot Percy's birthday."
"Yes, and I've been meaning to talk to you about that" Piper said. "Bad girlfriend! If you were in Aphrodite's cabin I would have you scrubbing the toilets for a season or two."
"Look, I feel terrible, but we were just moving here, getting settled in, he was flinging himself into invisible walls at 50 miles per hour and it just kind of slipped my mind. Besides, I'm not in Aphrodite's cabin."
"That's no reason to have filthy toilets." Piper smirked. "So what did you have in mind?"
"Well, I thought, maybe, if it was okay with Jennifer and Leo, and everyone wanted to"
"Just spit it out Annabeth, we don't have all day." Hazel giggled, then turned to Rachel and asked "Did I do that right?"
"Very commanding, yes good job." Rachel replied.
"Well, I want to have a surprise party." I said.
The girls all looked at one another, grinning.
"We could do that. We could totally do that!" Piper said. "Lets make it a sea theme and use the pool! Hey, maybe we could mist his mom and step dad" and with that a cackling den of girls threw themselves into the project. Before the day was over Professors Weasley and McGonnagal were involved as well.
The guys all got messages from Will to keep Percy busy and away from the pool all day, which was easy enough for them. Harry, Ron, George and Fred were put in charge of dragging the guys off to Hogsmeade on their return and letting the others know to keep Percy away from the pool while we decorated. Apparently they took the opportunity on the road to shoot arrows at giant spiders and all had a good time, although they lost a few arrows that they had to accio to recover. Thankfully Harry remembered to throw a protection charm just as the boys realized that accioing multiple arrows is a bad idea.
Hermione, Rachel and Jennifer took over the decorations and menu with the only guidance from me being that the cake should be blue. Piper grabbed me and took me to her room to plan what I would wear and set the aerials to making it. I thought this was a bit over the top, but she thought it would be fun and pointed out that knowing Percy, all he would really want as a present would be me. This was good, as I had nothing else to give him.
Then it hit me. Maybe tonight was the night. I mean, we had waited a long time. I didn't ever plan to wait until we were married, just until our lives had calmed down, which might never happen. From what little I already knew about her visit yesterday Athena had already found a new way to be disappointed in me. I knew I would always be with Percy, I knew we would marry and grow old together, provided we lived long enough to grow old, and I knew that if either of us died, well, I didn't want that to happen without Percy knowing how much he meant to me. Percy was my life. I simply didn't want to live in a world he wasn't in. Geez, the guy had turned down being a diety for me! Its not like I didn't know he felt the same way. Why was I insistent on waiting? None of my "muggle" friends, as we were all taken to calling non half blood and non magic users, had held out until age 17, and none of them had a boyfriend that would walk through hell with them.
The more I thought about it, the more convinced I was.
Because of the time difference I wanted to make sure Percy's mother would be available for a mist message later, so around one, that would be about 8 am her time, I threw a drachma through the mist in our room and rang her up.
"Oh, two messages in two days, thats a new record, well what did she ... Oh! Hi Annabeth! I thought you were Percy!"
"No, just me, what did you mean about two messages?"
"Oh, Percy called last night, the usual Percy stuff. Said he missed us but was doing well. Is everything okay over there with you two?" She asked delicately.
Oh, sure! I mean, wait, why do you ask? Did Percy seem upset or..."
"No, no dear, no! He seemed very happy. Just said he missed home and wanted to know how Paul was doing. He said something about his father and your mother stopping by, how did that go?"
"I don't know, we haven't had a chance to talk about it." I said, but I was wondering why Percy found time to talk to his mother but not to me about it. "Listen, the reason I'm calling, well, I forgot Percy's birthday this year, what with the move and all, and, well, tonight we're having a surprise party for him. I wanted to mist you and Paul in then, if you're available."
"A surprise... oh, that should be, uh, fun! Yes, by all means! What time do you think?"
"Lets see, I think you guys are five hours behind us, so about two this afternoon your time?"
"We'll be right here! Oh! You might want to let Grover and Tyson know!"
"Great idea! I call them next! Thanks Mrs Blofis!"
"Oh, call me Sally, and you're welcome!"
Next I rang up Tyson who was to say the least excited. He said he would be available to mist as well, but wished he could be here in person. As scary as he is, Tyson is just the sweetest guy. It took three tries to get Grover, but he finally answered.
"Hey girl! What you been doing?"
"Well, we're over here in Scotland, and what with the move and all.."
"You forgot Percy's birthday."
"Yeah, how did you know?"
"Well I'd like to say that the empathy link between Percy and I is so strong that I've felt nothing but unfathomable anguish for weeks, but in truth, Calypso told me about an hour ago. So you're having a party? I'll be there!"
"Great, I will open up a mist in about,,, wait, are you coming here?"
"No darling, I'm am here, hanging out with Bob right now. Calypso came and got me. She figured I should stay hidden until tonight though so my awesomeness will be a surprise."
"Oh gods! That will make Percy so happy! I know he's missed you!"
"I've missed him too, oh, I hope its okay, I brought a couple of friends with me."
"Oh, who's that?"
"A certain centaur and a young lady named Mrs O'Leary."
"Oh! Oh! Oh! This is going to be the best birthday party ever!"
"Yes, birthday party, I mean, as parties go, this is going to be the best! I can't wait to see you!" Grover said.
I went to thank Jennifer for gathering Percy's friends that couldn't be there but before I found her was put to work by Piper helping her, Ginny, Hermione, Rachel and Reyna with decorations. The pool room seemed larger and I wondered if Jennifer had redesigned its space as now the pool was surrounded by tables and seemed both deeper and wider. I told the girls about Chiron, Mrs O'Leary and Grover.
"Are they friends of Percy's?" Hermione asked.
"Well, yes I mean, yes I guess you could say that, about Chiron and Grover anyway. Chiron is our primary instructor at Camp Half Blood. He's an immortal who has trained the children of the gods, well, forever. And Grover, well, he is a satyr and was Percy's protector when he was twelve, and now sits on the Council of Cloven Elders. Its like a minor nature god coffee klatch."
"And Mrs O'Leary?"
"Oh, that's Percy's dog. It was given to him by Daedalus, the guy that built the Labyrinth."
"So, why doesn't he keep her with him? Does she stay with his mother?" Ginny asked.
We giggled. "No, I don't think there is enough room for Mrs O'Leary in a New York apartment. She's a hell hound. Think of her as an angry dog the size of an elephant, or a small whale. But she's a total sweetie once you get to know her."
Time flew by. Hermione and I did get to spend a couple of fruitless hours in the library but other programming a couple of particularly nasty offensive spells into my wand we managed nothing useful. On the way there we passed by the grand dining room for a bite and noticed that 200 points had been mysteriously given to Gryffindor during the night. Finally around six, just as the library was closing for the day anyway, Piper came bursting in demanding that we get ready and dragging me back to her room as my swim wear and cover up were there, assuming the aerials had finished with it which fortunately, they had.
"I'll leave you to get ready, but hurry, Percy could arrive anytime! Oh, and one other thing!"
"What's that?" I asked my mind on all the thanks I owed everyone for getting the party together for me.
"Just a little topping off!" Piper said as she gently touched my face and I felt the mark of Aphrodite on me again for the second time in a day.
"Ugh! I want Percy to love me for who I am Piper!" I smiled.
"He does, but you want tonight to be one to remember too! So hurry your butt up!" Piper said as she turned to leave.
"Piper!" I said as she reached the door.
"Yes Annabeth?" she asked.
"Thanks. For everything. I couldn't have gotten this together without you and the girls."
"Oh, you're welcome! Now hurry!"
I slipped on the white one piece then added a set of simple pearls. Other than that, sandals and a cover up that tied at my waist and went to my ankles I was ready. Thanks to Piper I had no need for make up, or doing my hair, or nails or any of that girly stuff I was still getting used to. I checked myself in the mirror and decided, humbly, that I looked fabulous.
I went down the hall, across the dining room, through the door to the pool, and as expected found it lit by hundreds of candles, but instead of dozens of party guests, only one person was there.
"Surprise" Percy said.
"Whu...wher...wha.." I stammered, looking around. The room was empty but still decorated. Everything was just as we had planned it, except of course that no one was there save myself and the guy I was throwing the surprise pool party for. And he was wearing his tux, not swim wear. And he clearly wasn't surprised.
"I know you've been wanting to talk about your mom's visit, but it got me thinking. Everyone measures where people are in relationships by their sexuality. We've never done that, and I don't want to start now. That said, people do use it to express the commitment they have to the other person, and you and I both know how committed we are to each other, but your mom, my dad and the rest of the world for that matter, don't. They aren't us, they don't see through our eyes or through our life experiences. The only way they know we are committed to each other is by whether or not we're doing, uh, doing it. Or, you know, whether they think we are. I wish I had a better word, but I'm not you, I don't have your way with words."
"Percy, I think that"
"Wait, let me finish. I've varied on whether I wanted to or not, well, that's not true, you know I want to, but I also agree with the wisdom that we should wait. I think you're right about that. Anyway, I'm ready to wait forever for you, although I would suggest we wait just until we get this quest over and get into college." He smiled.
"That's not what"
"Hold on, I'm not done. This, well, its important. Please bear with me. But I want the world, and you, to know just how committed I am. So today I went to London, I know, I'm not supposed to go anywhere without you, but I had the guys with me to make sure I didn't do anything too stupid. And... well,..." He stammered and teared up.
"What is it honey?" I asked, still confused by everything.
Percy pulled a small box from his pocket and opened it to show me a beautiful ring with a huge diamond surrounded by pearls.
"Annabeth, will you marry me?" He said with the voice of a scared child as he knelt on one knee, his eyes begging me.
"Oh gods! Oh gods oh gods Yes! Yes! Of course I will" I said as I pulled him up and planted my lips onto his like we were never going to stop. We did eventually of course and I looked into his watery eyes through my own tears of joy as he slid the ring on my finger, then we kissed once again, this time slow and deliberately. Finally we just held each other for a moment as I sniffled and he dabbed my eyes dry with a handkerchief.
"Okay guys!" Percy said, almost shouting, as the lights came up and our friends poured in from every door, and his mother and step father and my father and step mother appeared in the mist from the pool.
"Surprise!" They all shouted.
When the din finally died down some Percy silenced them all by holding his hands up and only when everyone was completely quiet, he shouted, with pure joy in his voice, "She said yes!"
