A/N: Here is the Part 2 of the Epilogue and the last chapter in this story. I hope you guys enjoy this. Also, if there as some mistakes, please bear with me and forgive me too. You can let me know about them in a review or a PM. That would be much appreciated. Thank You to everyone who tagged along this story and encouraged me to keep writing…
Disclaimer: PJO and HOO belong to Rick Riordan
Epilogue (Part 2)
I was going to wait till Wise Girl came back but I still felt like there was something I needed to do for her than what I was actually doing. I still had an hour to pass and I was getting jittery. After some thinking, I had finally decided to buy her a dress to wear today—a dress that would remind her of this day anytime she wore it again.
So now, I was parked outside a boutique that wasn't far from our apartment. I had heard its name often on Wise Girl's lips for she shopped from here. She loved the local designer that designed these clothes. I think it was the owner of this boutique and she had also become Annabeth's friend. She had a tendency of making friends anywhere she went. I smiled involuntarily. Stop acting like a lovesick fool and get inside the shop.
I shook my head at myself and entered the shop.Once I was inside, I realized that I had absolutely no clue what to do. Sure, I had taken Annabeth shopping quite a few times but then she just tried out dresses for me. I had never scoured around for something without any help. Of course, I had bought her jewelry many times but dresses…that was something I did with a little help from Piper. Right now, I didn't want to call her because I wanted to do this myself.
I was standing with my back to the entrance and face to the front desk and billing counter. All around me were dresses of various sizes and colors and designs. Gods, how did women shop with so much to look at? How did they decide. Guess, I was just about to find out the answer to my question.
I walked up to the front desk. "Hello!" An attendant greeted me cheerily.
I read her name on the name plate. It said 'Eloise'. Wait, wasn't that the name of the store? Oh, so she was the owner and Annabeth's friend.
"Welcome to Eloise. What can I do for you?" She said.
"I was actually looking for a dress for my girlfriend."
"Okay." She said, gesturing me to follow her.
"You're the owner of this boutique, right?"
"I am." She smiled.
"I think my girlfriend is friends with you. Annabeth Chase?"
"Oh, yeah! So, you're the Percy Jackson she can't stop talking about. Nice to meet you finally!"
"I am." I laughed. So, she couldn't stop talking about me, huh. My heart swelled. "Nice to meet you too. So, will you help me find a dress for her?"
"Of course. Is there any special occasion?"
"Yes." I ran a hand through my hair nervously. "I'm proposing."
"Oh my god! That's amazing! Do you have anything in mind for her?"
"No, actually. I hope you can guide me since I have no idea about shopping for her by myself."
"Sure." She laughed.
She led me to a section and I sat down on a bench. One by one, she brought several dresses to show me but none of them fit the bill. They were just too flashy and preppy. Wise Girl's natural beauty was enough to make her stand out. She just needed something that complimented her, not overpowered her or made her deliberately stand out.
"You don't like any of them, do you?" Eloise asked me.
"No." I sighed. "They would look great on her, no doubt, but I think she would like something simple. It would be more 'her'. Something elegant. She's never been one to show off, you know. She doesn't need to. She stands out when she least tries to do that."
"True." She nodded. "Let me see. So now, we're looking for something elegant and simple."
"Perhaps more comfortable too? I don't want her to be irritated when I'm down on one knee." I joked and she laughed.
"Yes."
"I think we need to find something which is a tone down from what you've shown me till now. Something less on the eyes and more that flatters her." I said thoughtfully.
"See," she pointed at me. "And you say you don't know a thing about shopping. Look at you now." She laughed.
"Well, I still don't know shopping but I know Annabeth." I looked down and smiled. I think I heard an 'Aww' from Eloise but I ignored it. I was too busy being a lovesick fool again.
"Hmm…" She said, deep in thought. "I think I just might have something for her that fits whatever you just said." She left and went inside the same door she was coming and going from. Maybe that's where she stored the dresses for special occasions and such.
After a couple of moments, she came back in with a dress bag in her hand and removed a floor length Azure blue colored dress. It was plain, no designs on it at all. It had spaghetti straps with a curved neckline. It had a slit from the upper thigh and the dress pooled at the feet in a wavy manner. If the person wearing it just stood then the slit would be covered and if a foot was perched forward it would be visible. There was a waistline too and the dress seemed to be tight from the waist up. It was just perfect for Annabeth and was her size too.
"So, what do you think?"
"I think its perfect for her." I paused. "But… I don't know, it feels a bit—"
"Empty? Too plain?" She said, guessing my thoughts.
"Yes, kind of." I grinned apologetically.
"But I know what will make it complete. Just wait here for a moment." She said and scurried off out of the room.
She came back after a few minutes with a box in her hands. I looked at her quizzically as she handed it to me. I opened it and saw a necklace with earrings inside it. Both of them were gold colored. The necklace had hearts embedded in it and would just below her collarbone. I couldn't find the right words to describe it but I knew it would look amazing on her. The earrings also matched the vibe that the necklace had created. The earrings weren't long and drooping but would stick to her earlobe. They were perfect.
"Now it feels complete, doesn't it? Elegant and womanly?"
"Yes. Thank you so much Eloise. I think I'll take the dress and the set."
"Sure. Come on, I'll ring you up."
"You're alone at the boutique today?"
"Oh yeah, one of my shipments got late so I sent one of employees to check what was happening and the other one is sick."
"Alright." I smiled.
We walked to the billing desk and she rang me up, handing me the bill to check. It just had the $33 on it for the dress and not the jewelry set. I checked the bag in which she had put the dress to see that the set was in there too. Maybe she had made a mistake.
"Hey, I think you forgot to put the set in the bill."
"I didn't. Its on the house. For Annabeth."
"You didn't have to do that."
"Now I'll do the obligatory 'I didn't have to but I wanted to' and now you suck it up and accept the gift. Annabeth is a good friend of mine. I would love for her to have something to mark her engagement with."
I smiled. "Thank you. I'm sure she will appreciate it. I already do." I pulled out my wallet and handed the cash to her.
"Let me know how it goes and all the best." She wished me as I picked up the bag and turned towards the door.
"Oh, thanks. I'm going to need it." I smiled one last time as I exited the boutique and got into my car.
By the time I was home again, it was 4:30. That meant Wise Girl would be leaving from work right now. I decided to call her once before I changed into the clothes I was going to propose to her in.
"Hey Wise Girl. Where you at?"
"Seaweed Brain, just heading to my car."
"Good thing you're on time."
"I'm always on time." She said. I could almost hear her rolling her eyes.
"No, you're not. I always have to hurry you."
"Because you distract me always!"
"Don't act like you don't like it."
"I don't."
"Ouch, that hurt."
"Good. That's what you get for making me leave early from work."
"Aww, come on Annie. I'm doing this for you."
"You don't have to do anything, Seaweed Brain. And don't call me Annie!" She grumbled.
"You love it."
"I so don't, Perseus." She denied.
"Now, you don't call me Perseus."
"Ooh, turnabout's fair play, Perseus." She teased again.
"Do you want me to call you Annie in front of your coworkers?"
"No, good gods please no." She pleaded and I smirked because she knew I would do it if I wanted to. "But now you don't act like you don't like being called Perseus."
"I don't!" I argued.
"Oh, you do. Remember how you kiss me when I call you Perseus just before I'm about to—"
"Okay!" I cut her off. "Fine, you win."
"Like I always do."
"I can almost hear your smirk, Wise Girl."
"I don't doubt it. Now, let me go if you want me to come home on time."
"Yeah, alright. Bye Wise Girl."
"Bye, boyfriend." She said and hung up. I smiled. Hopefully I would be promoted from boyfriend to fiancé by the end of the day.
I took a quick shower to calm my nerves (which were absolutely unnecessary, perhaps) and to freshen up. I put on a button-down white shirt and faded black jeans. I didn't want to wear a suit or anything because that just wasn't me. I and I knew Annabeth loved me for what I was and she like me more in casual button downs. Just as I was buttoning up, I heard the lock turn. I almost wanted to sprint into the living room and ask her there and then but I held myself back. I could hear her place her keys on the flower table besides the door.
I took a deep breath and walked with a deliberate slow place in the living room. "Welcome home, Wise Girl." I said as I leaned on a wall. Gods, how I loved the look in her eyes right now.
She just smiled at me and came over. "You're already ready?"
"Yep." I said. "The room is yours now. You have about half an hour to get ready. You can take a shower if you want." I inched closer to her. "I'll sit out so that you'll be able to get through without any distractions." I said, distracting her right now. I loved the effect I was having on her. I smirked as she gulped down. I set my lips down on hers but didn't move them, just kept them there and removed them too soon. She whined. I moved my lips to her ear. "Go get ready." I whispered in a tone she very well knew; it was only reserved for her. She shivered. Yes! I extracted myself from her as she recovered herself.
"Quit seducing me!" She said and I laughed.
"Couldn't help it, Annabeth." I said as she went into the bedroom. I heard the bathroom door open. Meaning she was taking a shower.
Annabeth never took long showers so I had to be quick. I pulled out the bag in which I had kept her dress from under the couch. Yeah, I knew I was lousy at hiding stuff. I scurried inside the bedroom and poured down the contents on the bed. The tumbled outside in a mess. Gods. I ran a hand through my hair. I could have done it a little nicely, couldn't I?
I picked up the dress and laid it down neatly on the bed. I opened the box of her jewelry set and kept it besides it. Now, to totally complete the outfit, I opened Wise Girl's closet and pulled out strappy gold colored heels that I loved. I placed them below the jewelry. I took a look at my placements. Yep, looked good.
She was so organized that the shoes were kept my color codes in the last compartment of her closet which she specially made for keeping shoes. I shook my head. We were opposite in so many ways yet similar too.
Now, for the most important thing, I pulled out the box that contained the ring I had for her from behind my books. I knew she would never look behind the books so I kept it there. I put the box in my back pocket and hurried out of the room. I sat on the couch and started the TV, putting on some swimming channel.
"What's on the bed, Seaweed Brain?" Her voice fell on my ears after a couple of minutes.
I turned around and gave her a smug look. She was standing in just a bath towel. Gods, was she trying to kill me? "You can't see? Do we need to go to the eye doctor?" I got up and walked towards her.
"Stop being a smartass and tell me?"
"It's just something I want you to wear tonight, Wise Girl." I shrugged.
"Why?"
"If you don't want to wear it you can wear something else." I said hoping that she would wear what I had bought for her.
"No, that's not the point. I'm loving that you yourself bought something for me. But I'm not just getting why all this?"
I shrugged again. "We haven't had a proper classy date in ages, Annabeth. That's why. I just want to take you out."
Her features softened at that because it was actually the truth. She smiled at me. The smile I loved. The smile that literally overflowed with her love. "Okay. Give me 15 mins and I'll be ready."
"Sure." I pecked her lips and went. I almost followed her in but I didn't want to be late. So, I sat back down on the couch, waiting for her and the moment I would be down on one knee. Just fifteen more minutes before this show was on the road.
"Okay…I'm ready to go." She said from behind me. It had been exactly 15 minutes. Wow, she was really on time when I didn't distract her.
I got up and turned around to look at her but the sight before me caught my breath. She was looking absolutely stunning. The word 'beautiful' wouldn't be enough even if it were used over a hundred times for her. I strode over to her, still staring at the beauty in front of me. She was wearing the dress I bought her along with those earrings and the necklace. Her heels were in place and the straps going up her ankles. She had done a light makeup and her hair was cascading down her head in a wavy pattern.
It was one of those moments when I felt that all of this was a dream—that she wasn't real, that she was a mythical creature. That she was the dream I saw every night but just couldn't seem to trap it forever beneath my eyelids.
"Why are you looking at me like that, Percy?" She said, breaking my reverie.
"Like what?" My voice was deep but breathy.
"Like you're afraid of something." She said with a tinge of sadness.
Did she think I didn't approve of how she was looking? Gods, was she blind? "I am afraid." I confessed.
"Of what?" She stepped closer to me.
"That you're not real. That you're just a creation of my wildest imaginations. That if I touch you, you'd disappear."
She stepped closer still and cupped my face in her hands. She searched the reason in my eyes for the vulnerability in them. "I'm real." She said with assurance. "And I'm yours."
"You're mine." I said reverently. She smiled and left me even more dazzled by her beauty. "What did I do to deserve you, Annabeth?"
"The same thing I did to deserve you."
"I love you."
"I love you too, Percy." She closed the gap between us. Her lips moved against mine in sync and my hands went to her waist pulling her closer if that were even possible. But it wasn't enough. How could it ever be?
We broke off the kiss after a few moments and I was back to normal. "You look amazing and that word isn't doing you justice. You'd make Aphrodite jealous, Wise Girl."
"You're looking pretty hot yourself." She winked and I laughed at her playfulness.
"Shall we?" She asked and I nodded.
In a few minutes, we were seated in my car and I revved the engine. I had made sure to discreetly text Grover that we were leaving from home in the elevator so that they'd be gone by the time we reached there. As I pulled out of our lane, I was certain she would now ask me where we were going.
"Where are you taking me?" And she didn't disappoint.
"It's a surprise."
"Come on! Tell me."
"Nope." I said. "I'm not going to tell you even if you beg so quit it." I smirked as she sank back in her seat.
I decided to turn on music to just jam to some songs because I knew Annabeth secretly liked Carpool Karaoke. I also knew she liked Taylor Swift so I had put in a CD of her songs into it. Her song "Wildest Dreams" started playing and Annabeth looked over at me.
"What! I know you like her. Come on, sing along."
"No!"
"I'll sing with ya."
"Yeah now I will." She laughed and we both sang that song. I didn't know why guys disliked Taylor Swift. I'd sing her songs all day if I would get to see Annabeth having this kind of fun and being carefree.
One after the other many songs played. I had put an hour-long playlist in because I knew that it would take an hour to reach the beach with the traffic. We were close though. We would reach the shore in maximum 5 minutes. I had done a great job by playing songs because that kept her attention off the road we were on. Phew Percy, you did good in spite of being called a Seaweed Brain.
"Wow, Seaweed Brain. You knew the words to almost every song!" She exclaimed.
"Just because I hear you sing in the shower." I said.
"You do?"
"Oh yeah, you're pretty loud, Wise Girl." I paused. "In more ways than one."
She blushed. "Shut up." She said as the song ended.
I stopped the car on the side of the road where it was allowed to park and got out to open her door.
"Very chivalrous, Jackson." She quipped as she got out of the door.
"I'm known to have my moments." I said back as I took her hand and led her forward.
"Now we're even out of the car, Percy! Where are you taking me? And there's literally no one around here except for a couple of houses and its all sandy and—" She paused. I was surprised it was this late that she understood where we were.
"Are we at the beach?"
"Yes, we are?"
"Which one?"
"Long Island?"
"You're taking me to dinner here? But you haven't even packed a picnic. Oh my gods, Seaweed Brain, did you forget it at home!"
"Will you give me a gap to speak?" I said. When she didn't say anything, I continued. "I haven't forgotten a picnic basket because we aren't going to have a picnic."
"So, you've just brought me here to look at the water?" She said, utterly confused. She hated not knowing the answer and not being in control. Oh, my wise control freak.
"Beach, please." I rolled my eyes.
"That was a very bad pun." She smacked my chest.
"Ow…would you please wait?" She crossed her hands over her chest. I bent down to her feet.
"What are you doing?"
"Do you want to walk in the sand in heels?" She stayed silent. "Didn't think so." I quipped. I removed them one by one and kept them in my right hand and took her hand in my other.
"Just wait, Wise Girl. You'll see where we're having dinner." I told her and she nodded. "Just one more request." She huffed at that. "Can I blindfold you? Please?"
"Fine." She gave in as I pulled out a handkerchief and tied it around her head, covering her eyes. "But now how am I supposed to walk!?"
"Don't worry baby. I have that covered." I smirked even though she couldn't see it and picked her up, bridal style.
"Percy!" She shrieked and I laughed as her hands went around my neck. "You could have given me a warning at least!" I just laughed some more in reply.
I carried her towards the place our close friends had set for us. It looked absolutely stunning and I couldn't wait for her to see it. I set her down just in front of it.
"You ready, Wise Girl?"
"As I'll ever be." She replied sassily and I chuckled. Instead of moving behind her, I just pulled off the handkerchief from the side and her eyes squinted to adjust to the light.
After her eyes were back to normal, she looked at what was in front of her and a small awed gasp left her lips. It was truly beautiful. A square shaped canopy stood in the sand with light white sheets draping the top and golden fairy lights were tumbling down the sides as well as round the square. The top wasn't open but the sky would be visible in the front, above the sea. In the middle of the canopy, there was a table set for us to have dinner on. It was also covered in white cloth but the chairs were a soothing brown and a perfect counterpart to the white, golden and blue of the sea around us. How did these guys manage to pull this off! How did they build the canopy and stuff? Gods, my friends were amazing.
"What do you think?" I asked her as I pulled her to me and slung an arm around her waist.
"This is perfect." She whispered. "How did you manage to pull this off!"
"Eh," I shrugged. "I had help from some others to manage this front."
"How many other fronts are there?" She glanced at me.
Shit. I made a slip. "Oh, I just used a phrase, you know. To impress you." I gave her a goofy smile and she laughed, buying it.
"You don't have to impress me with phrases, Seaweed Brain. I'm a sure deal." She joked.
Oh, I hope so, baby. "Come on, lets have dinner." I took her hand and led her to the table.
Once I seated her, I took my place and pulled out a picnic basket/cooler.
"So, there was a picnic." She smirked.
"Nah. This is just to store the food till the time we got here." I said and gestured to the plates that were already set on the table before we came.
"Oh, right."
We had dinner and talked about anything and everything. Just like we had on our first night on this very beach. When she smiled, I could see the girl in there who was shouting at me that I wasn't pluck strawberries the right way. I could still see the same girl in her eyes when she talked about architecture. Of course, I understood none of it. And when she looked at me, I could see the woman I was in love with. I could see the love swirling in her eyes too. For me.
After dinner, I asked her for a walk along the beach and she readily agreed. I too removed my shoes and socks, folding my jeans a bit up. I took her hand and we started walking.
"Why this sudden romance, Seaweed Brain?" She asked me after a while of comfortable silence.
"I don't know." I shrugged, lying through my teeth. "I guess I just wanted to take you out on a classy date, somewhere unique. I wanted to make you feel special."
She smiled at me. "You do make me feel special. Every second of the day."
"You deserve it."
"I love you."
"As I love you." I pecked her lips and we kept walking.
"Who helped you to set this up?".
I smirked. "Grover, Jason and Piper."
"What! I wasn't expecting that!"
"Regardless, they did that and remind me to thank them."
"We could probably invite them home and we could also cook for them."
"Not we could cook, Annabeth. I could cook. You can't cook to save your life."
"Oh, I can."
"You'll poison yourself."
"Okay…you're right. Let's not get into my cooking." She said and I laughed.
We walked some more along the beach and I was contemplating when to pop the question. I wanted to do it somewhat romantically if I could. And that 'if' was a big one.
"Percy?"
"Hmm?"
"Look." She said as she left my hand and turned around to look at the beach.
She was referring to the blue waters and the stars in the sky that reflected in them. She was appraising the beauty of the crescent moon that was shining high in the sky as well as on the water. But all I could see was my girl. The sea breeze ruffling her hair, the dress's ends floating in the wind. All I could see was the love of my life, standing with her back to me. The most beautiful view in the world—the sky, stars, sea and the moon were in front of me but all I could see was the woman who I wanted to spend my entire life with and even this view couldn't match up to her. All I knew was that I was hers.
It was now or never. This was the time to ask her if she wanted to spend the rest of her life with me. My hand went into my back pocket and I pulled out the box and opened it. She was still looking at the water. I got down on one knee.
"Annabeth?" I asked.
"Yes?" She replied without turning around. She was too captivated with what was in front of her.
"I need you." I said.
"For?"
"Ever." I said and she turned around.
A small gasp left her lips and tears immediately pooled in her eyes as her hand flew to her mouth. Gods, was I doing this wrong? But I just couldn't get up right now, could I? Now or never, Perseus Jackson. I reminded myself and started speaking the words which naturally tumbled right out of my mouth. All the cheesy quotes were forgotten and all that was left was the truth.
"My Wise Girl," I smiled reverently. "We met exactly ten years ago, in this month and on this very beach. You were the only one, even then, with whom I could share each and everything, with whom I didn't feel any burden. With whom, at just the age of 12, I felt like I belonged. Our paths crossed again 5 years ago and we both thought it was a great coincidence. It wasn't. It was fate, Annabeth. I have loved you since I was 12, even in my dreams. You were every thought of mine and when you weren't, you were on the edge of it—like a guardian angel. I can't imagine spending my life with anyone else. I just can't. You're the one for me. The love of my existence." My throat was constricted with emotions and I could feel something hot and wet stumble down my cheeks. I quickly wiped them.
"Because falling for you wasn't actually like falling, Wise Girl. It was like walking towards a house and realizing I was home. I don't want a life if its without you. So, Annabeth Chase, will you marry me?"
My eyes were burning with the emotions that I could never convey with words and their proof was flowing down my cheeks.
"Yes." She whispered. "Yes, I'll marry you, Percy." She said and I slipped the ring on her finger. She stared at it reverently and then smiled down at me.
Before I knew it, I was standing up and she was right in my arms, where she belonged. Her lips were on mine and she kissed me fervently, telling me how much she loved me without using words, she was pouring every emotion in it. I knew it for sure because that's what I was doing too.
And that's what I was going to do for the rest of my life. Annabeth Chase was it for me. I was going to love her, every single day, even after forever threatened to end. I couldn't stop loving her. I wouldn't. It just wasn't in my blood.
A/N: And there you have it guys. This is the end of 'Finding You Again'. I hope you guys enjoyed reading this because I loved writing this one. Thank you for the support you guys have given to me on just my first fanfic. Also, thank You for tagging along and reading as well as bearing with all my mistakes. I love you all so much
Don't forget to share with your friends if you want to and review! I'd love to read what you guys think about this story. Even if its criticism. Cause a little bit of constructive criticism never hurt anybody.
See you guys around!