Characters belong to Rick Riordan.


13 - Percy

After the whole Annabeth disowning her mother fiasco, Percy thought the wedding actually went pretty well. Their guests had calmed down as the ceremony went on, though Percy never built up the courage to look at his mom. He couldn't bear the thought that he might have scared her.

So instead, he focused his attention on Annabeth. He remembered every adventure they had had over the years. He thanked the Fates that they at least gave him her love. That enough balanced out most of the crap they had put him through, in his opinion.

After the ceremony was done (and yes, he had kissed Annabeth longer than was strictly necessary just to annoy Thalia), they had rearranged the chairs and pulled out some tables and magic tableware from Camp for the reception. The sky had remained nice and clear, and the sun was comfortably warm. The food was delicious, of course, and as the music had been turned up and people started to enjoy the party atmosphere a bit more, he and Annabeth had sat off to the side to catch their breath for a moment or two.

"How are you holding up, Mrs. Jackson?" Percy asked. Annabeth huffed and rolled her eyes at him good-naturedly.

"Don't make me regret losing the Chase name, Seaweed Brain," she replied. Her grin took the bite out of her words, and Percy smiled back at her softly.

"Honestly, I'm kinda surprised that you did." At his wife's look, he hastened to explain himself. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm super honored and stuff, but I always thought you were more of a screw-the-system, I-do-what-I-want kind of girl."

Annabeth snorted in amusement. "Seriously?" She shook her head. "Dork. I took your name because you're my family. You know my background with dad and them, my runaway gang abandoned each other, but you? You have always been there for me. I've been more of a Jackson than a Chase for a while now."

Percy felt his eyes prickle with tears as he gave Annabeth a watery smile before latching on to her with a hug. He felt more than heard her grumble about him being a big sap and getting tears on her dress, and he gave a watery chuckle as he pulled back.

"I thought your parents were supposed to be the ones crying today," a familiar voice cut in. Percy turned around to see Grover walking up to them with a huge smile on his face. Percy half stood and pulled his best friend in for a hug once he was in range, sitting back as Annabeth pulled the satyr away for her own hug.

"I'm sure my mom has a couple of times already," Percy answered. Grover pulled up a nearby chair and sat across from the couple. "After all, I am her kid, and with as much as I've cried today, I'm sure she's a wreck."

"Dude, you've made me cry today. I always forget how strong your emotions are." Grover shrugged, then changed the topic. "So, I know you guys said not to do anything super fancy for wedding gifts…"

"Oh gods," Annabeth muttered, "please tell me you didn't coerce some poor dryad into becoming a decoration our lawn?"

Grover laughed. "No, nothing that drastic. Besides, Juniper helped, and there's no way she'd stand for something like that."

Percy grinned. "I can imagine her being upset. I'm a little surprised, though; I always thought you two would tie the knot before us." Annabeth rolled her eyes as Grover blushed slightly.

"What can I say, nature spirits move slowly," their satyr friend responded.

"Yeah, but-"

"No, Percy," Annabeth cut him off. "What did you want to tell us, Grover?" Percy made a face at her and she covered it with her hand, still looking at her friend. Grover chuckled again.

"Well, with some of Juniper's help, and a whole lot of nature magic, we grew you this." Grover reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out… a pinecone. Percy looked at his best man in confusion. He knew that there was more to what he was seeing than meets the eye, the pride coming across their empathy link gave that away, but he couldn't figure out what it was supposed to be.

Annabeth also looked confused, and after a moment, she looked back to Grover from the pinecone. "What is it?"

"It's the beginnings of a new Thalia Pine."

Percy blinked and shifted his weight forward. "You found a way to get seeds from Thalia's tree? I don't know if I'm more touched or weirded out." Grover reddened and Annabeth pushed Percy's face to the side.

"Well, I know how much her tree came to mean back at Camp, so I figured it'd be a way to remember us all if you ever moved out from New Athens. Also, since her tree is magical, wherever this is planted will also grow a protective border like the one at Camp."

Percy smiled at his friend as Annabeth pulled Grover in for another hug. "Nostalgic and practical. You do know us." He pulled Grover in for a hug as well after Annabeth released him. "Seriously, thanks, dude. This is awesome."

The three talked for a bit more before Juniper came over and dragged Grover away for a dance. The newlyweds considered getting up to follow them, but before they could, Sally and Paul came over to congratulate them. Percy tried to hide his nerves as he read him mom's expression as she joined them.

"Oh, my babies," she cooed as she pulled both Percy and Annabeth into a hug. "I knew this day would happen eventually. I'm so happy for both of you."

"Thanks, Sally," Annabeth said. Sally just tsked at her.

"As glad as I am you finally got that, I believe it's 'mom', now. You're officially family now!" Sally said brightly. Annabeth gave her a shaky smile. Sally noticed and started to backtrack. "Of course, I get that's probably not comfortable with the whole showdown from earlier, I just figured-"

"I'm honored," Annabeth said thickly, "just more surprised than I should be."

"Oh hun." Sally pulled Annabeth in for another hug as Paul turned to Percy.

"Congratulations, Percy. I know I haven't been part of this family for long, but I've gotten to see you conquer the impossible again and again. To reach this point?" Paul shook his head. "You two have always been remarkable. I'm proud to call you my son, if only by law."

It was Percy's turn to be choked up. He swallowed his tears and pulled Paul into a tight hug. "Thanks dad," he whispered around his tears. "That means a lot more than I can say." Paul pat him on the back and help him until he had his emotions under control again. As he pulled away, his mom chuckled.

"Look at us. Bunch of watery fools." She shook her head ruefully. Annabeth snorted and Percy grinned.

"Eh, could be worse," he replied. "At least it's not raining."

"Pretty sure we're just as wet as is," Annabeth muttered. Sally however, met his eye with a serious expression. Percy gulped nervously.

"Speaking of storms," she started slowly, "care to explain what happened earlier?"

"What's there to say? The gods tried to cause a mess. We took care of the problem," Percy answered bitterly. Sally raised an eyebrow and Percy sighed, waving towards Annabeth to explain.

"There were a couple of times during the second Gigantomachy that Percy pushed his powers past basic hydrokinesis. We thought that they were one time things brought on by stress, but there were a few times after our engagement that those powers resurfaced."

"What kind of powers?" Paul interrupted.

"Uh, the first really different one was controlling poison," Percy replied. "Tears, too. There was a time before we fought grandpa though that I controlled the Lethe, and during our escape from the Pit I used water from all five rivers against the monsters."

Paul blinked, surprised. "I thought the five rivers were uncontrollable?"

"Yeah, well, I'm not good at following the rules." Sally rolled her eyes and motioned for Annabeth to continue.

"Anyways, I thought it would be interesting and potentially useful to see what other powers Percy could develop. Poseidon is known as the Stormbringer, after all, so Percy theoretically would have access to more than just water."

"So at this point," Percy took over, "not only do I have the hydro-whatever and the earthquake powers, but lighting, wind, and ice powers."

"All of which you saw when he was putting Athena in her place," Annabeth finished.

Percy's parents took a moment to let the new information to sink in while he looked around the reception. He grinned when he saw Thalia harassing Nico and Will, the blush on the son of Hades bright even from a distance. He focused back as his mom started to talk.

"Well, I'd tell you to be more careful of angering the gods, but at this point…" she trailed off and shrugged. "I don't approve of their lack of parenting skills, but I don't want you two causing unnecessary fights."

"Believe me," Annabeth replied bitterly, "this fight was completely necessary. She's been against us since before we got together and she refused to shut up about it. If she can't get over it, she can hit the road."

"Just be careful," Paul insists. "We care about you two." Percy nodded and Annabeth smiled before changing the topic. They talked a bit, laughing at stories of Estelle's mischief, when Fredrick came over.

"Sorry to interrupt," he said by way of greeting.

"Not at all!" Sally replied cheerfully. "We can't hog them all evening." She gave the newlyweds one more hug before standing and turning to Annabeth's dad.

"I realize we've never really been around each other, but you're family now, too. You ever want to visit New York, you're more than welcome to stay with us." Fredrick blinked at the offer before smiling.

"That's very kind of you. Thank you." Sally nodded, then grabbed Paul's hand and waved goodbye as she dragged him off somewhere else. Fredrick smiled at the two demigods and took one of the newly vacated seats. "So, what's the cry count?"

"Eighteen," Annabeth answered immediately. Her dad sighed with a grin.

"Well, the reception's not over yet. I could still be closer." Annabeth rolled her eyes and smiled at his reply. Percy looked between the two for a moment before realization dawned.

"Are you betting on how many times I cry today?!" Annabeth looked at him with faux innocence as Fredrick suddenly found the empty table nearest them very interesting.

"Now, why would we do something like that?" Annabeth asked. Percy stuck his tongue out at her and she laughed.

"Just for that, I'm gonna make sure I cry all over you next time," he threatened jokingly. Fredrick let out a chuckle at that before clearing his throat and adopting a more serious expression.

"I just wanted to say congratulations, and to thank you both. I know I wasn't the best parent when you were growing up, Annabeth." He paused to huff out a deprecatory breath. "Actually, I was a terrible father, but you grew up to be a beautiful young woman despite my inadequacies. And you, Percy, have been there for her since you two met, and I will be forever in your debt for helping to convince her to give me another chance."

Annabeth teared up and threw herself into her dad's arms while Percy blinked back tears and smiled at the father-daughter duo. After a moment of respecting their emotional vulnerability, he teased, "I thought I was the one who was supposed to cry all day?"

Annabeth laughed wetly and slapped his knee. "Jerk." Percy shrugged, still grinning, and the two separated. "I'm glad we patched things up, dad. I'm sorry I held onto that anger for so long."

They spent a few more minutes talking, explaining to Mr. Chase that they were planning on staying in New Athens for the time being but would be sure to visit when they could. He promised that they'd keep a room open for them and not to worry about timing whenever they did come by before leaving to find the rest of his family. Percy and Annabeth held each other for a few moments in the solitude following, just enjoying each other's company. As they stood up to rejoin the festivities, Rachel glided over to them, her eyes glowing especially green. Percy groaned in annoyance. Before Rachel opened her mouth, Percy held up his hand in a motion for her to stop.

"Look, Pythia, today has been rough enough. Please save the prophesying for another day; I can't deal with it right now." The Oracle locked eyes with him for a few seconds before Rachel blinked, her eyes softening to their normal iridescence. She looked at the newlyweds in confusion.

"Didn't I already congratulate you?" she asked bluntly.

Percy shrugged. "You did, but you're hitch hiker hadn't. I told her to save it. Kinda surprised she actually listened." Rachel gave him an odd look before shaking her head and walking away, leaving the two demigods to stare after her retreating form.

"You know what? I don't even want to know." Annabeth decided. "Let's go dance." Percy grinned as his wife started to drag him to the clump of demigods starting to sing one of their crazy campfire songs.

The rest of the night passed in a blur of festivities. Percy laughing at Thalia's antics. Annabeth teasing him about winning her bet with her dad when he cried for the 24th time. Percy trying to smash her in the face with cake, failing, and smashing Grover instead. Making small talk with Nico and Will. Dancing with his mom, watching Annabeth dance with her dad as they both held watery smiles. Sally and Paul heading out when Estelle fell asleep in Clarisse's arms (Percy had laughed a lot at the daughter of Ares' panicked expression). By the time the newlyweds dragged themselves away from the party and back to their home, they were both ready to drop out of exhaustion.

As Annabeth stacked the last of their wedding presents to be opened in the morning, a pop was heard as a blue letter appeared on their table. She looked at Percy, who frowned, coming up behind her to stare at the letter over her shoulder.

"Your dad's?" she asked.

"Yeah. Don't know what it would be; I assumed we wouldn't get anything from Olympus." Percy reached around her and picked up the letter. It didn't feel heavy enough to hold anything more than a note, but Percy supposed that was typical for Poseidon. He shrugged, pulling away from Annabeth so she could face him as he opened it. As he pulled out the single sheet of paper, pressed neatly and smelling of brine, he raised an eyebrow. "Wow, he actually wrote full sentences this time."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "What does it say, Seaweed Brain?"

"Patience, Wise Girl." He stuck his tongue out at his wife, who rolled her eyes again and snatched the letter out of his hand. "Hey!" She spun back around and pressed her back to his stomach as she read, Percy looking over her shoulder again to also see the note. What he read made him equal parts thankful and irritable.

"As glad as I am that your father swore on the Styx never to harm me, I'm a bit concerned that an oath like that was even necessary," Annabeth quipped. Percy snorted and tossed the letter aside.

"Like any of the Olympians actually care about keeping their oaths, no matter what they make them on." He held her tightly for a moment, taking in the scent of her lemon shampoo, which somehow stayed with her the whole day. He relaxed as he pulled away and smiled at his partner in life. "But today was too good to wallow in self-pity, and we're both too tired to plan contingencies, so I vote we sleep and worry about it later."

Annabeth laughed and kissed him lightly. "Well said, husband." Percy grinned and kissed her again, slowly this time. They pulled apart and rested their foreheads together, just taking in the events of the day. "Thanks for building something permanent with me."

"Thanks for thinking I'm good enough to be allowed," Percy responded. Thoughts of Olympus put aside for the night, the demigods headed to bed, content in what they had achieved with each other.