Percy's P.O.V
Graduation day came around faster than I thought possible. And by some miracle I was actually graduating, despite everything that had happened. I had Annabeth to thank for that, even before everything happened she had helped me raise my calculus grade. She'd also helped me get back on track with my studies and helped me where she could, while she maintained her own studies and grades. Not to mention juggling her time between her job at the cafe and teaching Estelle sign language, there didn't seem like there was enough time in the week never mind the day for half of the things she'd managed to accomplish.
What Annabeth being busy did mean was that when I arranged a time to meet Annabeth's father, Annabeth was too preoccupied to notice I was gone. I'd met Mr. Chase at a hotel on the outskirts of the city.
"Percy, so good to see you, is everything alright?" He'd greeted me as I met him in the hotel restaurant.
"Everything is fine Mr. Chase, more than fine actually." I replied and he gestured for me to sit, so I did taking the chair opposite him.
"What can I do for you Percy?" He asked me, "Would you like a drink?"
"A soda please" I replied "And I know I wasn't clear on the phone, I did that on purpose, I didn't want Annabeth to over hear me. You see Annabeth and I have talked a lot about what we want for our future and I intend to ask her to marry me –"
"Percy if you're here to ask-" He interrupted but I cut him off.
"I am, sort of," I said wiping my hand on my jeans, I was nervous. "I know Annabeth is her own woman and would hate the idea of me asking for your blessing or approval to ask for her hand."
"And yet here you are." He said raising a questioning eyebrow at me in much the same way his daughter did sometimes.
"I am but I'm not asking for your blessing or your approval, because as I said I know she would hate that. I'm offering you a promise that I will take care of her even when she thinks I don't need to and that I'll love her always. I wanted to tell you of my intentions because I'm planning to ask her on graduation day. We're not planning to get married right away, I just wanted too..." I trailed off and Mr. Chase smiled at me.
"Regardless of the fact you aren't asking for it, you do have my blessing Percy. You make my daughter happy, and as a parent that's all I've ever wanted, for her to be happy."
"I-Thank you Mr. Chase." I said.
"I think you can probably call me Frederick don't you?"
"Welcome Graduates, Faculty Members and proud Family Members" Dean Thomas' voice brought me back out of my memory of my day with Annabeth's dad. I tried really hard to focus on his following speech but I couldn't I was so nervous even though I knew Annabeth and I wanted the same thing for our future. If I didn't get this right she could still say no. I'd spent weeks putting everything together but that didn't mean I was certain it would be everything Annabeth hoped it would be.
I watched as Annabeth walked up to the stage to collect her degree, she was the first of the six of us that would be crossing the stage. Annabeth, then Jason, Me, Hazel, then Piper and lastly Frank, Nico was the year below us and would graduate next year.
Piper knew I was asking today and had been practically bouncing every time that she caught my eye. Thankfully the fact that we were all graduating seemed to mask that most of Piper's excitement was not about that she was graduating or that she was about to launch her own dating app over the summer, but mostly to do with my plan for Annabeth. Mom and Paul knew of course, we hadn't told Estelle for the need to keep it a surprise, I loved her but Estelle loved Annabeth way too much to keep it a secret. And of course her father knew and I suspected Mrs. Chase knew too, judging by the teary look she'd given me when she'd noticed me in the line. The only other person who knew was Jason and he'd promised not to say anything to anyone including Piper. In my defence that had been before Piper had caught me out.
As Annabeth walked across the stage to collect her degree I cheered louder than I had in my entire life, I was so proud of her. She'd already been accepted into a post graduate degree and an internship at one of the top architectural firms in New York. Whatever she decided on I knew she would do an amazing job. Her eyes met mine as they roamed the crowd and her smile widened, she looked incredible and I could only hope that smile would widen further when I'd carried out my plan.
There was a bit of a gap between Annabeth and Jason but when he crossed the stage I cheered loudly for him too.
I was next and as nervous as I was about walking up and collecting my degree in front of everyone present it was nothing on how nervous I was about what I planned to do next. I made my way up to the stage and walked up to the Dean, shook his hand and accepted my certificate. I could hear my mom and Annabeth above everyone else I smiled and met their eyes before making my way off the stage and back to my seat.
I cheered for Hazel and Piper when it was their turn to walk across the stage but my focus was now on what would happen next. Frank was the very last person to walk the stage before a guest professor gave a speech and we were invited to throw our caps in to the air. This was it.
While all the caps were in the air I made my exit. I had to get out of the hall before Annabeth came to find me.
Annabeth's P.O.V
I was officially a graduate, and the person I wanted to celebrate with the most was the only one I couldn't find. When the ceremony was over we all met up before meeting up with our families, that is, all except for Percy. Fear struck my heart as the last time I couldn't find Percy he'd been missing. Before it could take hold though, a hand touched my shoulder. I turned and saw Sally smiling at me. If Sally was smiling, surely Percy was fine.
She gave me a hug and told me she was proud of me, before discretely passing me a piece of paper and moving on to hug her graduating nieces and nephews.
Annabeth,
I'm so proud of you, and I have a surprise for you.
I'm in the place that has millions of stories but cannot tell them.
Come find me.
I love you,
Percy.
Noticing that everyone else was a little preoccupied I slipped away and headed to where I'd spent most of my time during my degree, at least pre-Percy, the library.
When I got to the library, the librarian, Mrs. Bear handed me another note with a smile before busying herself.
Annabeth,
I'm close by; you'll find me in the stacks.
Look for 590.
Love Percy
590 was the Dewey Decimal system number for Animals. I'd not spent much time in this part of the library but I knew roughly where it was. I headed up the stairs to the second floor, and made my way to animals, Percy wasn't in the isle so I assumed there was something else for me to find. I ran my hand down the spines of the books until I reach one that shouldn't be there. I pulled it out and when I saw the title I smiled. It had a post-it-note on it that read: Read me.
Piper's P.O.V
I noticed Annabeth slip away and I knew it was happening now. However Percy planned to ask Annabeth to marry him, it was starting now. I tried really hard to be in the moment with my family but I was struggling to think of anything else and my sister and brother-in-law noticed.
"What's going on with you? Do you miss Jason that badly? Speaking of, when do we get to meet him?" Silena asked me.
"Sorry, I'm fine and you can meet him now if you like." I answered.
"Piper," She laughed taking me by the shoulders something she only did when she felt that I needed to focus. "You're practically vibrating; you're bouncing so much, what's going on?" She asked again.
"Annabeth's boyfriend's asking her to marry him today, I'm pretty sure it's happening now and I'm so excited for her, but I promised him I wouldn't say anything and it's been so hard not to talk about all day because all I've wanted to do is talk about it!" I felt like the bubble I was in just popped as a rambled on to Silena and Charlie.
"Oh that's amazing!" Silena gushed, hugging me.
"Right!" I exclaimed as Charlie chuckled at us.
"Hey Pipes, you alright?" Jason's voice came from behind me. Before I could pull away and confirm that I was more than fine Silena pulled away first.
"Well now, you must be Jason." She said giving him her million dollar smile which usually sent men's knees buckling. I knew what she was doing and I rolled my eyes as did Charlie.
"That's me. Nice to meet you; Silena, Charlie." Jason said shaking both of their hands very formally before kissing my cheek and putting his arm around my waist. Silena gave me a look that said she approved before responding.
"Nice to meet you, officially, we didn't get introduced at the party." She said.
"In my defence, it's not my fault you guys left super early." I said and Jason chuckled along with Charlie.
"She has a point Sil" Charlie said and he wrapped my sister in a hug from behind almost protectively, something they'd not done since-
"OMG!" I squealed looking at the two of them and then directly at Silena.
"I told you she'd know." Silena said relaxing into Charlie more.
"Really?" I asked, tears pooling in my eyes, now I really was buzzing with joy.
"What am I missing?" Jason asked.
"It's still early but yes." Silena said also looking ready to cry and I let go of Jason and pulled Silena from Charlie's embrace to hug her again, this was such great news. I let go of her and launched myself at my brother-in-law who caught me in a bone crushing hug. The type I really wanted to give Silena but now couldn't.
"I'm so happy for you both" I said moving back to Jason and wrapping my arm around his waist and leaning into him. Realising I'd not answered his question I turned to Jason to do just that just as mom and dad approach us and Silena shook her head at me. "I'll tell you later." I promised and tiptoed up to kiss his cheek. Jason smiled and nodded in understanding and I really wanted to kiss him again but I wasn't sure how well that would go over with my dad. He still looked at me as if I was five years old and I wasn't sure when he was going to see me as a grown woman. Despite the fact that I'd always be his little girl, and that he knew I'd always love him, he still refused to believe I was a grown up. Seeing me kiss my boyfriend soundly at my graduation did not seem like the wake-up call he'd accept openly.
The day would come though, I knew mom had had to talk to dad before he'd let go of the idea that Silena was still five years old before she moved in with Charlie, I had the feeling she'd have to do that again. Jason laced his fingers with mine and squeezed my hand, before introducing himself to mom and dad. Mom squealed, embarrassingly so, and pulled him into a hug. Silena looked at me and scrunched her nose at me a few times; she knew as well as I did that mom was thrilled to meet Jason. I'd never introduced anyone to them before, I hadn't really thought about it but I guess it was kind of a big deal. Dad did the same formal hand shake that he'd given Charlie the first time he'd met him. He was trying to pretend he was super tough, but we all knew the truth. Actor Tristan McLean was a complete and total softy when it came to his girls, especially when it came to something that made us happy.
Percy's P.O.V
I had everything planned down to a tee, I'd spent a lot of time making sure this would work. Mom had my first clue for Annabeth and I knew she'd figure it out easily, I wasn't looking to make it difficult.
I headed to the library straight from the ceremony, I said hello to Mrs. Bear on my way in and she gave me a knowing smile. She had my second clue, Annabeth was her favourite student and she'd happily agreed to help me as long as I promised not to deface any of her books. I promised, there was a reason some students called her Grizzly, you did not want to be on her chopping block, let me tell you! Thankfully I'd never had a late library book so I'd never been on the receiving end of one of Mrs. Bear's rant about proper book etiquette.
I made my way quickly up the stairs to the second floor, to wait for Annabeth. I didn't know how much time I had before Mom handed her the first clue. I knew once she had it that it wouldn't take Annabeth long to arrive, five maybe ten minutes tops, at a guess.
I watched from my hiding spot as Annabeth entered the library in all her beauty. She'd chosen a white dress for graduation; it complimented her purple graduation gown and cap really well. She'd pulled her hair into a ponytail, and she looked perfect.
I knew Annabeth would know the Dewey decimal system. Mrs. Bear had helped me find the correct spot for the book that I wanted Annabeth to find. As she made her way up the stairs I moved a couple of stacks over until she started to move down the one I wanted her too.
When she pulled out the book and started reading it I knew I was safe to move into the same stack that she was in. I waited for her to get to the last page before getting down on one knee and opening the box that contained her ring.
I watched with a little amusement as she frowned because the book was technically incomplete, but it did what I hoped it would and made her to look up from it and notice me.
"Percy," She whispered.
"Annabeth," I replied "I want you in my life permanently," I said repeating what I had said the first time I'd told Annabeth how I felt about her. "Will you marry me?"
"Yes" She said. I stood up and she kissed me before I could put the ring on her finger. "Of course I will." She said as she pulled away and I noticed she was crying.
"Happy tears?" I teased.
She nodded and laughed as I smiled and placed the ring on her finger.
"Percy this is beautiful" It took me a while to realise that she wasn't talking about the ring but the book that she was still holding. "Tell me you're publishing it."
"Not that one specifically, but I have had an offer to publish a different one. That one's just for you." I said.
"The Seal and the Owl" She whispered, her forehead resting against mine.
"I could hardly call it Percy and Annabeth" I whispered back.
"It's almost like you did though"
"I love you" I whispered before kissing her again.
"I love you too."
Piper's P.O.V
After graduation we'd all separated to celebrate with our respective parents or in Jason's case Aunt. We agreed to reconvene at mine and Annabeth's apartment to celebrate. Annabeth and Percy were the last to arrive and as soon as they got home I saw the ring on her finger and I launched myself at her wrapping her in a hug.
"Congratulations!" I said and she laughed hugging me back.
"Thanks Piper" She whispered.
"I'll let you two catch up" Percy said as we broke apart and he kissed Annabeth's cheek before smiling at me. I clearly was not being subtle but I really wanted to know how he'd asked. Annabeth tightened her grip on his hand though before he could move.
"Why don't we just tell everyone together, then we only have to do it once." She said.
"If that's what you want to do" He said.
"Piper" Annabeth began.
"On it" I said leaving the two of them to grab Jason and Frank from the kitchen so I could finally hear how Percy had asked Annabeth to marry him.
Once we'd all assembled in the living area, I looked at Annabeth to prompt her to start.
She rolled her eyes at me but it was in jest.
"Percy asked me to marry him and I said yes." She said to everyone and a chorus of congratulations and cheering rang out in the group.
"So how'd he ask?" I prompted. Annabeth looked to Percy who just smiled at her, and the smile she gave him back was so full of love and adoration it was almost like we were intruding on their private moment.
"Sally was in on it as was Mrs. Bear-"
"Who's Mrs. Bear?" Frank asked.
"The librarian" Hazel replied and Frank nodded.
"She's terrifying." He said.
"Only if you break one of her rules" Percy said smiling.
"And it's a miracle PJ managed to graduate without breaking one of them." Jason teased.
"As riveting as it is that Perce managed not to get caught breaking the library rules, can we get back to the how?" I redirected the conversation and Jason looked at me with a twinkle in his eye that told me he already knew.
Annabeth smiled at me but she did then tell me the rest of the story. "So they both had clues for me from Percy, Sally's lead me to the library, and Mrs. Bear's lead me to the animal section of the library. Percy had left me a book to read and when I got to the last page in it, the male character was proposing to the female character, but the story, our story, was and is incomplete. When I looked up Percy was in front of me on one knee, doing exactly the same as the character in the book. Then he asked me to marry him and I said yes." Annabeth told me.
"Aww" Hazel and I cooed.
Percy kissed Annabeth's cheek, she hadn't stopped smiling since she'd set foot in the apartment and I was so happy for her.
"How about a game? Never Have I Ever?" Jason suggested before the silence got awkward. We all agreed and Jason and Frank topped everyone's drinks up before settling down in the living area again.
"I'll start," Jason said. "Never have I ever proposed on Graduation Day."
Percy laughed and took a drink. "Low blow Jace." Jason just smiled unashamed. It took me back to the first time the four of us had played the game together, when Percy had called Jason out on eating a stapler and Jason had called Percy on being expelled. Remembering how that had progressed and how much fun we had had really warmed my heart and brought a smile to my face. Frank was next to go. "Never have I ever set my sibling up on a date." Hazel, Jason, and I drank on that one.
"You set Thalia up?" Annabeth asked.
"Did she ever mention Greg?" Jason asked in return and Annabeth burst out laughing.
"The guy with the thing about feet?" She managed to ask.
"Apparently? In my defence, I did not know that when I set her up." No-one was surprised that I'd set Silena up, thinking about Silena and Charlie brought a smile to my face I was still so thrilled that they were expecting.
"How are Nico and Will doing?" I asked.
"They've been out a couple of times, but I'm trying to stay out of it now that they've taken it into their own hands. I'm happy to leave the meddling to those who actually know how to meddle." Hazel said.
"I don't know Haze, seems like you did a pretty bang up job to me." Percy said.
Hazel smiled before moving the game along. She looked at Frank and said, "Never have I ever had a tattoo."
I hadn't known Frank had a tattoo but as Hazel had called him out on it he drank. The surprise drinkers to everyone, not just me, were Percy and Annabeth.
"When did you get a tattoo?" Jason asked before I could, looking at Percy, but I was looking at Annabeth.
"After exams, it was the last thing on Annabeth's list that we needed to complete. We just went and got them done." Percy said seriously.
"Aunt Sally is going to kill you when she finds out." Jason said.
"She knows" Percy said smiling.
"How are you alive right now?" Hazel asked.
"Come on guys Sally is not that bad." Annabeth said and I had to agree with her.
"On this topic she is." Jason replied. "Do you remember how mad she was when Thalia got her first tattoo?"
"Yes but Thalia was sixteen, it's a bit different." Percy said.
"True" Jason conceded.
"What did you get?" I asked the two of them.
"Seaweed Brain"
"Wise Girl"
Could they get any cuter?
"What about you Frank?" Annabeth asked.
"Bear prints, it's a tradition for the men in my family to have them tattooed when we become of age."
Hazel smiled and kissed his cheek, I got the impression she was rather fond of the bear prints.
"Never have I ever known about a proposal before it happened." Percy said.
Jason and I drank to that.
"You knew?" Annabeth asked and I nodded.
Annabeth's P.O.V
I was really impressed that Piper had managed to keep the proposal a secret from me. I knew how much she loved me and Percy together, so I knew how hard it must have been for her to keep it to herself.
The six of us played another few rounds of Never Have I Ever before Frank and Hazel decided to call it a night and head back to Frank and Percy's flat. Jason and Piper weren't far behind in calling it a night, nor were me and Percy.
We had an early start tomorrow for the actual last thing on the list. We were driving home to San Francisco to spend the first few weeks of Matt and Bobby's summer with them. Percy and I were looking forward to taking them to swim with Dolphins when we got back and they'd requested a do-over of the capture the base game we'd played last time we'd been home.
Piper and Jason were going back to Piper's parents for a couple of weeks where Jason was going to ask Piper to move in with him. She has absolutely no idea and I couldn't wait for her phone call to tell me all about it. Jason had managed to get Silena and Charlie in on the plan too, so I knew however he planned to ask, that it was going to be really romantic.
Hazel and Frank were going to visit Frank's grandmother and I knew Hazel was pretty nervous about. We'd all told her that she didn't need to be, it was hard not to love Hazel and we knew that Frank's grandmother would love her too. I think deep down Hazel knew it too, but sometimes nerves got the best of us. I know it had happened to me, even though I knew Percy's mom, meeting Sally as her son's girlfriend was much different to being her employee. So I totally got it.
Estelle was a little sad that Percy and I would be going away for a few weeks, but we'd promised to have a full on Disney fest when we got back which she was really looking forward to. I wasn't sure whether Percy or Estelle was looking forward to it more actually.
We were going to have one last summer before Percy's book series took off and before I started my post graduate degree. As I laid in bed, wrapped up in Percy's arms, tracing the words 'Wise Girl' that were now tattooed over where his heart would be, I couldn't help the elated feeling I had in my chest.
I looked down at the beautiful engagement ring Percy had given me. It had a beautiful ruby with two princess cut diamonds on either side. I absolutely loved it, even more so when Percy had told me why he'd picked out the stones that he had.
There's a hardness scale for minerals, diamond is at the top of the scale being the hardest shortly followed by Ruby. It was Percy's way of finding a permanent set of gemstones that would last forever, just like his love for me. And in turn my love for him. The symbolism he'd put behind his choice brought me to tears when he'd told me in the library. I had wanted to be an architect so that I could build something permanent, something which I didn't feel like I had had for as long as I could remember. Little did I know that I would find someone who gave me that feeling and so much more.
I fell asleep with a huge smile on my face, feeling more loved than I had ever felt before.
Ψ
~Author's Note ~
Hi all I'm really sorry for the delay in updates, I've been working on a few stories for a different fandom for a Yule Fest Collection and I haven't been able to do that and update this at the same time. That being said here is my Christmas gift to you all, another chapter for you all to, I do hope you enjoy it when you get the chance to read it! Thank you so much for reading and I really hope you enjoyed the chapter please do let me know!
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Merry Christmas all and as always happy reading! :)