Percy took a deep breath as he looked himself over in the mirror for what seemed like the millionth time.
He wore a black tux with a navy blue vest and tie. Instead of a belt, he wore black suspenders under his vest, and since they had been the only things Percy had specifically asked for, the group who had helped him pick his tux hadn't fought him when he had asked for them.
The demigod had asked for suspenders for a very certain reason, one that he had only shared with his best friend Grover. Suspenders would be easier to mess with when Percy got nervous, and he had several reasons to be nervous today.
Percy wore a pair of shiny black dress shoes that were extremely comfortable to wear and wouldn't break if Percy had to suddenly break out Riptide and slay a couple of hellhounds or confused telekhines.
Given that several gods and goddesses will be in attendance, Percy doubted any monster would even reach him before it was blasted to dust.
A navy blue handkerchief had been tucked into the breast pocket on Percy's jacket. Chiron, his long-time friend and mentor, had been kind enough to walk his former pupil through the art of folding and placing the handkerchief. The two had shared a good few stories and tears, though they came from the centaur more than the demigod.
On his left wrist, Percy wore a silver watch that Tyson had made him for the special day. Unlike his day-to-day watch that could erupt into a bronze shield at the tap of a button, Percy's half-brother had decided to go with a design that had nearly brought both Percy and Annabeth to tears.
On the underside of the watch was the image of a trident, and engraved in ancient Greek around it were the words: "To The Best Big Brother. Love Tyson."
However, Tyson had not stopped there. He had made it so that the face of the watch could be flipped up, revealing a plain silver surface. On the surface, engraved in ancient Greek, were the words that Percy had spoken to Annabeth before they had fallen into Tartarus.
"We're staying together. You're not getting away from me. Never Again. As long as we're together."
Whenever Percy saw the words or even just thought about them, he felt tears sting his eyes. He wasn't sure who had told Tyson what was said, Percy suspected Nico, but they were nevertheless the perfect words for the day.
A knock at the door brought Percy out of his head. He quickly wiped his eyes and straightened his jacket before turning towards the door.
"Come in," he called.
His mother peeked her head in before opening the door wider and entering the room, closing the door softly behind her. Her hands came up to her smiling mouth as she took in her son, her eyes shining with unshed tears of love and happiness.
For the day, Percy's mother wore a simple, but elegant dress of dark blue, which was the same color as the tux Percy's step-father, Paul, and the dress of Percy's half-sister Estelle.
Her long brown hair had been curled and fell down her shoulders like a cascading river. Although she had gray streaked throughout the brown, they did not make her look any older.
Percy held out his hands uncertainly. "How do I look?"
Percy's mother managed to smile even wider as she nodded quickly.
"You look wonderful, Percy," she said, her voice choking up slightly. Percy immediately closed the distance between them and threw his arms around his mother, pulling her in. For a quiet moment, mother and son stood in the center of the room, holding each other.
The two mutually broke the hug as Percy's mother looked up at him, placing one hand on his chest while the other held his cheek.
"You amaze me every day," she said quietly.
"I think we're both amazed that I even made it to this point," Percy joked softly, his signature grin appearing as silent tears rolled down his cheeks. "There were a lot of close calls."
"Yes, but you beat the odds, Percy," his mother said. "You always have and you always will."
"I wasn't alone," Percy said immediately. "I had you, Grover, Annabeth…" He never finished the list. There were too many names to add.
"And you'll never be alone, not after today," his mother said.
Percy nodded. "Grover will make a great roommate…." He joked as his mother hit him lightly on the chest.
"You know what I mean," his mother said, though she couldn't help but smile at the joke. She reached out and stroked Percy's hair, moving it off to the side of his face. "You know, I'm glad we never did anything with your hair."
"I doubt anyone could have done something with this tangle," Percy said, once again using sarcasm to hide his nervousness.
"I know a few people who would have liked the challenge," Percy's father, Poseidon, chuckled from behind his mother. Because the mother and son had been lost in their own little world, neither had heard the God of the Sea come in.
If he had used the door at all. Gods had a habit of appearing and disappearing without warning.
"Father," Percy said, bowing his head slightly.
Poseidon nearly smiled as he joined the little group, putting one arm around Percy and the other around Percy's mother.
"No need for that, not today," Poseidon said easily. "This day belongs to you, Percy."
Percy's father wore a nice black tux with a blue tie running down a white dress shirt. There was something different about the tie, and when Percy looked a little closer, he saw that the fabric was moving as waves came and went.
For cufflinks, Percy's father had little golden tridents.
Other than wearing a tux, the sea god looked no different than all the other times Percy had seen him. His dark hair, well-trimmed beard, deep tan, and sea-green eyes were all the same.
"Thank you," Percy said simply, not knowing what else to say.
"You've grown to be a great man, son, and I know that you would because you had a great mother looking after you," Poseidon continued, looking over at Percy's mother.
"You did your best, Poseidon," Percy's mother said, not wanting to take all the credit for herself.
Their conversation was cut off when someone knocked at the door. After a moment, Grover poked his head in. When he saw Percy and his parents, he bowed to the god before looking at Percy.
"We're ready." He said simply.
For the special day, several cabins had teamed up to build a pair of matching pavilions. While Annabeth's siblings had designed both structures, the Hephaestus campers had used calacatta marble, which was white streaked with gray, for the floor and thassos, which was almost pure white, for the pillars. The children of the smith god also raised massive tents beside each pavilion. The tent next to the ceremony pavilion allowed Percy and his friends a place to change for the event while the other tent was for the cooks and caterers.
Campers from the Aphrodite cabin had spent days getting the decorations for the pavilions to be perfect, using a blue and gray color scheme along with plenty of beautiful flowers.
Not wanting to be left out, other cabins found ways to be a part of perhaps the most famous demigod wedding. Several of Apollo's children made up the band and chorus that was housed off to the side of the platform while campers from Demeter's cabin had whipped up enough food to feed an army of cyclops. The children of Ares, led by Clarisse, had elected to be security for the event despite the fact that the Hecate Cabin had covered both pavilions with multiple layers of Mist.
Past the rows of seats, there was a raised platform where Chiron stood alone. He wore his best dress shirt and sweater vest under a tweed jacket. His stallion half had been groomed so that his coat looked like fallen snow.
The gods were seated off to the left of the pavilion. As per the instructions that the bride had issued in the invitation, the gods wore normal tuxes and dressed instead of their robes. As Poseidon had, many had added their own little touches to their wardrobe so that there was no mistake about which domain they controlled.
Across from them, dozens of demigods from Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter filled the seats, wearing their finest. None were armed and for once, were allowed to let their hair down without having to worry about being attacked by monsters.
Percy glanced down the aisle way once more before taking a deep, shaking breath. His hands felt clammy and he was doing all he could not fidget.
He felt his mother's arm snake through his and squeeze his hand as if to say: "It's alright, I'm here."
"I never knew your father had such a large family," Paul joked, coming up on Percy's other side. Since both he and Percy's mother would be walking him down the aisle, Estelle was now held by a small crowd of Aphrodite girls, all of whom were absolutely in love with the little girl.
"Some would say too large," Poseidon chuckled, adding to the joke as he came up behind Percy.
If Percy had been the one to plan the wedding, it would have taken him a week at least to figure out how he could incorporate his godly father alongside his mortal mother and stepfather. Thankfully, Annabeth had figured out the solution in her typically swift fashion.
She told Percy that all three would walk him down the aisle. Paul and his mother would be on his left and right while Poseidon would stand behind him.
"It's only a few steps," Paul said, trying to be helpful.
"That's like saying Mrs. O'Leary is a big dog," Percy said, forcing a smile on his face. The giant hellhound was sitting next to Nico near the front of the demigods, looking as well-behaved as Percy had ever seen her.
"I wouldn't know," Paul said easily, waving his hand in front of his face with a smile.
While this conversation was going on, Grover and the other groomsmen and bridesmaids appeared from the other end of the hallway. The groomsmen were obvious choices. Grover was Percy's immediate and only choice for his best man. After him, were Frank and Leo. Annabeth had chosen Thalia as her maid of honor before choosing Piper and Hazel to complete the group.
All the groomsmen wore the same black and navy blue tux as Percy, with Grover understandably abstaining from wearing pants and shoes. The bridesmaids all wore the same gray dresses that looked almost like smooth, marble-like stone.
"You ready, Jackson?" Thalia asked, her smile taking all of the teasing out of the comment.
"So long as you don't cry, Grace, I think I'll be alright," Percy replied.
"The only person you should be worried about crying is Grover," Thalia said, jerking a thumb towards the satyr who was trying unsuccessfully to hide his sniffles.
"Frank too!" Leo called from the back.
"I wasn't crying, Valdez," Frank replied defensively. "I told you I had something in my eye!"
"Do they do this often?" Paul asked as Piper took control of the group and stopped their banter.
"All the time," Percy nodded slowly.
The group grew quiet as the traditional wedding song began. The opening notes were unmistakable.
"Whenever you're ready," Poseidon whispered, squeezing Percy's shoulder as Paul wrapped his arm through Percy's free one. "We're all with you."
After a moment of hesitation, Percy felt himself slowly moving his right foot forward. His left foot followed and soon he found himself facing the platform, Chiron's beaming face looking right at him. The eyes of the demigods, gods, and all of his friends and family were on him, but he did his best to ignore them and focus only on Chiron.
Focusing on just putting one foot in front of the other, Percy and his immediate family slowly made their way down the aisle. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Aphrodite wipe a tear from her eye and even Ares gave him a half nod. Hephaestus and Dionysus nodded to him as well as he passed. Hermes gave him a subtle thumbs up while Apollo gave him a joyful grin. Artemis gave him an approving look, which meant a lot to Percy since the goddess's arms were still crossed.
Zeus, Hera, and Hades all sat in the front row. His uncles muttered a few congratulatory words, with Hera giving him a happy smile. Percy and Annabeth had been worried that having the goddess of marriage not be the officiant of their wedding would anger her, but fortunately, she had been very understanding and was fine giving a simple blessing for the day when it was her turn to give a toast.
Annabeth had also been adamant that she wanted Chiron to officiate their wedding, not Hera, given the bad blood that had existed between them years ago.
With Zeus, Hades, and Hera taking up three seats, that left only two of the three remaining chairs for Poseidon and Athena. The sixth and final member of the row had been something of a surprise to everyone.
The smile that Hestia gave Percy lit a fire in his heart that warmed him from his head to his toes. He felt a small bit of confidence flow back into him as he stood a little taller.
On the other side of the aisle, several of Percy's friends were murmuring words of congratulations. In the front row, two seats had been set aside for Percy's mother and stepfather. The others were filled with some of Percy's closest friends: Nico, Reyna, Will, and Calypso.
When Percy and his family reached the platform, he turned and gave his mother a bone-crushing hug as he received the same along with a kiss on the cheek and a few tears. His hug with Paul was not as crushing, but Percy embraced him as any son would a father. He had more than earned it in Percy's books for all that he had done for him and more importantly, his mother.
Percy's hug with his father was only the second that the two had shared in Percy's lifetime. He still smelled like the sea, and the scent helped relax Percy's jittery nerves.
"Remember what I said, son," Poseidon whispered. "No hero is above fear. It does not matter if they are on a battlefield or before an altar."
With this still ringing in Percy's ears, he took a single step up to the platform and hugged Chiron, who had an immensely proud look on his face.
"A good day for a wedding," Percy said quietly as he took his place on Chiron's left.
"A perfect day," Chiron corrected.
Soon, the groomsmen and bridesmaids made their way down the aisle. Grover and Thalia came first, followed by Frank and Hazel, and finally Leo and Piper. However, after Leo and Piper had taken their places on the platform, Percy realized that only Annabeth was left.
The crowd rose to their feet as Annabeth appeared in the entryway. As soon as Percy saw her, he stopped breathing and the world around him seemed to fall to nothing. All he could see was Annabeth, and at that moment, that was all he wanted to see.
She wore a beautiful white dress, simple yet elegant. Her blonde hair tumbled down her shoulders and she wore only minimal makeup. Enough to allow her natural beauty to shine and accentuate her gray eyes.
Her father stood on her left while her mother was on her left. Athena wore an elegant gray dress and looked like an older version of Annabeth, with the same blonde hair and gray eyes. Mr. Chase wore a simple black tux with a light gray tie.
Her stepmother and step-brothers sat off to the side. While Annabeth had a good relationship with them, it was not as close a bond as Percy shared with Paul. Since it was her wedding day, Annabeth wanted to be walked down the aisle by those she was most comfortable with and her stepmother was more than willing to afford Annabeth that comfort.
As the children of Apollo began to sing, Annabeth made her way down the aisle, looking as confident and as in control as she always looked. Percy had butterflies in his stomach the size of arai.
Eventually, Annabeth made her way up to the dias, where Percy stepped down away from Chiron and stood before his fiance and her parents. Annabeth's father, Frederick Chase, turned and hugged his daughter tightly before giving Percy a firm handshake and a teary-eyed smile.
"Good luck," he whispered, loud enough for only Percy and Annabeth to hear. Percy gave the man a smile and nodded.
"Thank you," Percy chuckled.
As Percy and Annabeth's father shared this little moment, Athena was giving Annabeth a hug and whispered a few words in her ear. A blessing or some wisdom, Percy wasn't sure, but when she was finished, the goddess of wisdom turned her piercing gaze on him.
"Treat her well, Percy," she said quietly, shaking Percy's hand.
"I will," Percy promised, carving the words into his heart.
Athena gazed steadily at Percy for a second longer before nodding and releasing his hand, content that the message had been sent and that Percy's words were sincere.
As Annabeth's parents made their way to their seats, Percy took Annabeth's hand in his and led her up to the platform, where she shared a tearful hug with the centaur who had been like a father to her ever since she arrived at Camp Half-Blood.
When everyone was seated and Percy and Annabeth stood across from one another, Chiron took a deep breath and cleared his throat.
"I have had many happy days in my long life," Chiron began, his voice full of pride and joy. A smile never leaving his bearded face. "This may be the most joyous I have ever felt…"
The ceremony was beautiful. Chiron had spoken from the heart as the officiant, speaking of the love he held for the two demigods and the pride he had felt watching them grow into heroes of legendary status. The speech had made both Percy and Annabeth shed a few tears before it was their turn to read their vows.
Percy had stumbled through his words, fighting back tears and voice cracks. When he had cracked the occasional joke, the crowd had been kind enough to laugh along, encouraging him to keep going. While this was going on, Percy continually chided himself that he was brave enough to face down Kronos, but when it came to declaring his love for Annabeth in front of over two-hundred gods and mortals, he could barely make it through a sentence without nearly breaking down.
What made Percy feel a bit better was when it was Annabeth's turn and she had the same issues that he did. It was the first sign of nervousness that he had seen from her and it helped him believe that she was just as anxious about the day as he was.
When Annabeth finished her vow, Percy realized that he had allowed his tears to drop down his cheeks without care. He quickly wiped them away, making both him and Annabeth grin sheepishly.
When it came time for Chiron to declare them husband and wife, the centaur choked up slightly. With encouraging and slightly nervous smiles from both Percy and Annabeth, Chiron cleared his throat and tried again, successfully managing to get the phrase out before telling Percy to kiss the bride.
Which Percy did without hesitation.
After the boisterous cheering that accompanied the kiss, Percy grabbed Annabeth's hand and led her back down the aisle, both of them sporting massive grins.
The two hours that followed were a blur for Percy. Once he and Annabeth had made it down the aisle and were back inside the tent, they had been taken aside by the photographer for pictures. The photographer was a legacy of Minerva who had studied photography at New Rome University and had been offered as an option by Frank when talking one day with Percy and Annabeth about the wedding.
The newlyweds had taken the usual photos, laughing and smiling almost the entire time as the nerves drained out of them, leaving only giddy energy behind. Once that had been accomplished, then their mortal families joined them for photos where there were more smiles and tears.
Percy had asked Annabeth whether they should take a photo with all twelve Olympians, especially since they were technically family as well, but Annabeth had shut the idea down, stating that she did not want to deal with the drama they brought. A simple photo with both Poseidon and Athena would be more than enough.
When Percy and Annabeth, who were now in much more comfortable shoes, finally made it to their table, Percy realized just how hungry and thirsty he was. He and Annabeth had elected to do away with the first dance since neither of them felt like dancing awkwardly in front of all their family and friends, thus allowing them to skip right to dinner.
The children of Demeter had whipped up an entire buffet for the wedding guests to enjoy, giving Percy flashbacks to the Battle of Manhattan when the battered and weary demigods had taken over the Plaza Hotel.
Percy had loaded his plate with several of his favorite foods before grabbing one of the re-fillable goblets that Camp Jupiter had supplied for the day. On his way back to his seat, he stopped by the large fire below the center table and scraped some of his food into it as an offering.
When Percy took his seat next to Annabeth, Poseidon leaned over to him and whispered:
"One of these days, we gods will have to burn an offering to you both," he joked with a smile.
Annabeth and Percy had laughed at the joke before digging into their food, taking a moment to just enjoy being in each other's company without having everyone's eyes on them.
As the main course was devoured by the guests, Percy and Annabeth took a quiet moment to slip away and take a short walk down on the beach, carrying their shoes in hand. Percy already removed his jacket and vest and had his sleeves rolled up to his elbows and his pants rolled up nearly to his knees. Annabeth had borrowed a metal clip from Leo on their way out and used it to keep her dress up and away from the sand.
"Still doesn't feel real, does it?" Percy asked quietly as they walked, swinging their hands gently as they walked.
"Give it a few days," Annabeth laughed. "Nice work on the vows, by the way."
Percy smiled sheepishly. "I may or may not have had it read over by Paul before I gave it to Chiron."
"How many mistakes?"
"Only a dozen, thankfully," he chuckled. "Who knew 'certain' was spelled with a 'c' and not an 's'?"
"Everyone, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth laughed. "Leo and the others did well with the pantheons."
"I heard they had Malcolm advising them," Percy said. "They…"
Before Percy could finish what he was saying, his voice trailed off when he spotted a small crowd of glowing figures just a few yards in front of him. One was a large African-American dude who was holding hands with a slim, beautiful girl. Another was a tall young man, around Percy's age, with close-cropped blonde hair and electric blue eyes.
"Di immortals," Annabeth gasped as one hand came up to cover her mouth.
Standing before them were the ghosts of Charles Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, and Jason Grace. All looked exactly how Percy and Annabeth remembered them, only with a faint purple light surrounding them.
"How…how are you here?" Percy asked before looking over towards the trees and seeing Hades, the lord of the Underworld, leaning against a tree. He gave Percy a single nod before stepping into a shadow and disappearing.
"We're his wedding gift, I suppose," Jason said with a smile. "It's nice to see you both again."
Percy hadn't always been the biggest fan of Hades, but he had to admit that the god of the dead had certainly nailed his wedding present. Allowing Percy and Annabeth a moment to share with their past friends had been as perfect a gift as either of them could have asked for.
"We always knew it would happen," Silena added, leaning against Beckendorf's muscular shoulder. "Congratulations guys."
"We wish you could be here, celebrating with everyone else," Annabeth said, wiping away a tear. "We miss you every day."
"It's okay, Annabeth," Beckendorf said gently, wrapping his arm around his girlfriend. "We're here now and that's what matters."
"How is Elysium?" I asked.
"Peaceful," Jason answered simply, "and beautiful. There is no pain, no suffering, and no quests."
Percy chuckled. "What a life that must be like."
"Hopefully one day you will join me in it," Jason said, "but I do not believe that will happen anytime soon."
"We live in a dangerous world, Jason," Percy said. "There are a lot of dangerous monsters out there."
"And you're some of the best demigods when it comes to fighting them," Beckendorf grunted. "You'll join us when it is your time, but until that day, enjoy your life together," he squeezed Silena's hand, "just like we are."
After a few more minutes of discussion, the three ghosts shimmered and told the newlyweds that it was their time to return to Elysium. They wished Percy and Annabeth well with their lives and promised to see them again when it was time.
When Percy and Annabeth returned to the table, Grover took over the mic and began the first of many speeches. Percy's best friend gave an amazing speech where he thanked Percy and Annabeth for being his best friends and for always having his back, promising that he would always have theirs. After stifling a few bleats, he passed the mic to Thalia and allowed her to speak.
Slowly and surely, the mic was passed around, giving the rest of the groomsmen and bridesmaids to give toast and speeches before it was Percy's mother's turn. Her speech left Percy with tears streaming down his cheeks by the time she sat down and handed the mic to Paul, whose toast was short, simple, and but no less loving.
"I may not have the wisdom of a mother," he began, nodding towards Percy's mother, "or the goddess of wisdom," he said, glancing at Athena, "but I do know that two is better than one and that you two will always find a way past any challenge so long as you stay by each other's side."
After Paul, Annabeth's father and stepmother took their turns before the mic made its way into Poseidon's hands, who surprised everyone when he looked at it and held it out to Athena.
"Who better than the goddess of wisdom to give some advice to the newlyweds," he said kindly. "I think they need it a bit more than my fishing metaphors."
Athena, who accepted the mic with all that dignity that was expected of her, still managed to look only slightly surprised. She stood up and began her speech by congratulating her daughter and Percy and giving out advice about marriage, but before she finished, she hesitated and said:
"Annabeth and Percy, if you two can manage to bridge the rift between me and Poseidon, then there is nothing that you two can't accomplish together."
When Poseidon took the mic back, his speech was much more relaxed and had the crowd cracking up with his jokes and metaphors, but the intent was just as well-meaning as Athena's. He congratulated the pair on their wedding and ended by saying:
"And Annabeth…thank you for keeping Percy alive all these years. The gods only know how long he would have lasted without you."
"Less than a year," Percy replied instantly, causing the crowd to break into laughs and applause.
Eventually, the mic made its way to Zeus and the other Olympians. Their speeches were not as personal or as memorable as Percy's or Annabeth's parents, but they were no less appreciated. Zeus, Hera, Ares, Demeter, Hephaestus, Dionysus, and Artemis kept their speeches short and crisp. Hades managed to slip in a few jokes delivered with his dry tone that took a moment to get a reaction. The jokes that Hermes delivered landed much quicker. Aphrodite looked ready to break into tears, but made it through her speech and ended by promising to leave their love life alone from now on, content with how things had worked out. Apollo delivered his speech with his signature cockiness but did show some humanity that coaxed smiles from Percy and Annabeth.
Hestia was the last at the head table to give a speech. Her words were warm, honest, and from the heart, making most of the audience tear up.
For the next two hours, the mic was passed around the crowd. Chiron, Reyna, Calypso, the Stolls, Rachel, Nico, Coach Hedge, and several other of their friends gave short speeches and toasts, usually sharing an anecdote of how they met either Percy or Annabeth. Even Sadie and Carter took the chance to stand up and wish the newlyweds a happy and safe future.
While the toasts and speeches were spoken, dessert was spread out and eaten by the guests. When they came to an end, the DJ turned up the music, encouraging the guests to begin dancing and having fun.
Life became a blur for a few more hours as Percy danced, ate, drank, and spoke with friends and loved ones. On a few occasions, he would find Annabeth and be dragged onto the dance floor for a slow dance before he was released back into the crowd to continue his mingling.
By the end of the night, most of the demigods had staggered off back to camp while the gods went back to Olympus. Poseidon promised to make sure that Percy's and Annabeth's parents got back to their respective beds, leaving the pair alone to walk back down to the beach and sit in the sand, looking out over the water.
Long Island Sound had turned black and dark blue and shined with a silver light due to the full moon in the sky. It wasn't too cold or too hot and neither Percy nor Annabeth worried about being attacked. Mrs. O'Leary still prowled nearby, keeping a silent vigil over the couple.
"Today was a long day," Percy said finally, laying back on the sand with one hand tucked behind his head and the other entangled in Annabeth's.
"But a good one," Annabeth said, looking over her shoulder at Percy. "Don't forget that we're leaving for Greece in two days."
"How could I?" Percy laughed. "I've seen your minute-by-minute itineraries."
For their honeymoon, Percy and Annabeth were taking a two-week-long trip through Greece and Italy. All expenses were covered by the Olympians. It was their version of a wedding present.
"I put some time in for you," Annabeth replied.
"Percy's Lazy Hour," Percy said, rolling his eyes. "How romantic."
"Was I wrong?" Annabeth asked, raising an eyebrow.
Percy waited a moment before shrugging. "No, but all I'm saying is that you could have called it something better. Like 'Percy Time' or 'Nap Time'."
"Percy Time?" Annabeth asked. "I know you can do better than that."
"I know, but I'm tired," Percy whined.
Annabeth laughed as she leaned back and put her head on Percy's chest as he gently rubbed her back.
"I love you, Seaweed Brain," she said gently.
"I love you too, Wise Girl," Percy replied without hesitation.