A/N: If you recognize it, it's not mine. Simple as that.
Chapter 27
Perci POV
The next day turned out to be rather interesting, and for once, it was all Jacob's fault. When Paul and I got to the house from our place again, after Sam's spectacular beat down that he was still recovering from, Jacob had found out that with Bella's turning, they would have to move as everyone would soon think she was dead. He freaked out over the possibility of his imprint moving away from him and went to Charlie, and promptly phased in front of him after informing said police chief that for Bella to get better from her 'illness', she had to change. Bella yelled at Jacob, Paul yelled at Jacob and called him a selfish idiot, and now we were waiting for Charlie to come over.
"Remind me again how Bella's supposed to manage acting human?" I asked, after watching her speed across the room and send a chair flying into the wall when she sat in it.
"Maybe just sit for most of the visit?" Paul suggested, looking highly amused.
"Sounds like a plan." Bella said, giving everyone a sheepish smile, before pausing. After a minute, I understood why she had paused when I heard the sound of a car door shut. Paul and I decided to sit in a chair, me once again sitting on Paul's lap as Charlie came up the stairs, stopping when he caught sight of Bella.
"You don't turn into a dog too, do you?" Charlie asked after the two exchanged awkward greetings.
"She wishes she was that cool." Jacob said, lightly clapping him on the shoulder.
"I do, but I assure you that my wolf is much better looking than Jacob's." Paul said, making me roll my eyes and slap him on the back of the head.
"While I agree with that statement, don't go bragging, you'll make Jacob feel insecure." I said, teasing the two wolves.
"You knew about this, Perci?" Charlie asked, giving me a surprised look. After a second of silence, while I took into account the fact that Bella could see through the Mist, as could my mom, I decided to take the risk of pissing Zeus off.
"Of course I did, it's not like it's the weirdest thing I've seen. I'm the daughter of Poseidon after all, I've seen and even fought weirder than a couple of overgrown puppies that walk on their hind legs most of the time." I said, earning a surprised look from Paul that I told Charlie, and an annoyed glare from Jacob.
"You're a demigod?" Charlie asked, sounding surprised, but not as much as I thought he would be. I replied with a nod, smiling a bit sheepishly.
"Is that why I've seen that pen of yours turn into a sword? I thought I was losing my mind." He said, making me smirk at the confirmation that he was, in fact, clear sighted.
"Call mom and tell her about that, she'll explain more. Now, I think Paul and I will leave you and Bella to your sure-to-be-awkward conversation, while we take care of a few more wedding details. I've still got to try getting in touch with uncle Hades to see if he's coming or not, he hasn't RSVP'd." I said, standing up from Paul's lap and dragging him behind me like I didn't just say something that would shock most people. Once we got outside, Paul burst out laughing, shaking his head as he wrapped an arm around me.
"Did you have to give the poor man another mindfuck today? He just found out that two people he's known for years turn into 'dogs'." He asked, quoting Charlie on the word dogs.
"Hey, I have to get my kicks in somewhere. Mom's likely going to give me one hell of a lecture for dumping the explanation on her for Charlie being clear sighted." I said, sighing quietly.
"Did your uncle really not RSVP yet, or was that just an excuse to leave Charlie with a headache?" He asked, making me giggle.
"Oh, he's coming, I just wanted to mess with Charlie." I said, making him laugh as he went to phase to head back home. We did still have to pick a spot on the beach for the wedding, after all.
The remaining three weeks before the wedding passed quickly, the only drawback being how fast Ren was growing, which worried us all, even Seth and Leah, though Leah would never admit it. The thought was pushed out of my mind soon enough though, as it was now the morning of October 5. My wedding day. My mom, Paul 1.0, Grover, and my demigod friends had arrived two days previous, and Clarisse had shown Sam why you never pissed off an Ares kid. His nose was still finishing up healing from her shattering it. Demeter had placed an arch that she had grown herself at the edge of the surf at sunrise, while Jacob's pack set out the chairs. There were still two separate packs at the moment, since Jacob wanted to gradually work up to the full pack. Jared was alpha of the other one at the moment, something Paul was happy to hear when he had found out.
The elders had agreed to allow the Cullens on tribal land just for today, surprisingly at the request of Paul, so the wedding was actually going to be bigger than we had first anticipated, not that we needed to get more food. Felix had ended up declining, stating that he was off on a mission for the Volturi, so he would be unable to attend, though he appreciated the fact that I actually had sent him an invitation. Now though, I was in Leah's room at the Clearwater house getting ready for the wedding. Leah had done my hair in a very beautiful side waterfall braid, with a few loose curls framing my face. My makeup was light, and natural looking with the only stand-outs being the light sea green eye shadow, and coral pink lipstick. Piper had manicured my nails to perfection the night before, with light sea-foam green nail polish.
My dress though, was a work of art, and I had no qualms in telling Aphrodite as such. It was a white, Greek toga styled dress that went down to my shins, with sea-green, and ocean blue pearls sewn onto it at the top. My tiara as Princess of Atlantis adorned my head, and golden sandals with a low kitten heal were on my feet. I looked every bit the princess I was below the waves. My bride's maids, which were Leah, Hazel, and Piper, along with my maid of honor, Annabeth wore coral pink knee length dresses in the same style as my wedding dress. I wasn't a vain person, but I had to admit, the five of us made a stunning picture.
"Paul's not going to know what hit him." Leah said, looking at me from her place in front of the mirror to make sure everything looked okay on her.
"Like you won't knock the packs out of the park? I have never seen you in a dress until today, Leah, you're going to have the boys drooling over you. Just don't take any offense if Zeus starts flirting with you. In fact, I'm pretty sure Hera would like you if you slapped him should he do that." I said, making her laugh.
"What the hell has my life come to where the concept of slapping a god isn't even weird to hear in conversation anymore?" She asked rhetorically, making the rest of us laugh.
"'What has my life come to?' That's a question every demigod asks themselves at least once." Annabeth said, making Hazel, Piper, and I nod sagely.
"Who's in Paul's wedding party again? I forgot." Hazel asked, changing the topic. None of us commented on the not-so-subtle change, but I indulged her, since she clearly wanted away from the topic for now.
"Tyson is his best man, and his groom's men are Jared, Jacob, and Seth." I told her, just as a knock sounded at the door. Annabeth went to answer, barely opening the door a crack before peeking out and sighing in relief.
"Perci, it's your dad." She said, opening the door wider for the sea god to enter the room.
"You girls look lovely." He said, looking at my bride's maids before catching sight of me and gasping softly.
"Oh, baby girl, you look beautiful." He said, slowly moving forward to grasp my shoulders and press a gentle kiss to my forehead.
"Paul may have to get help from your brothers to beat men off you with sticks in a few centuries." He said, making me giggle.
"Like you wouldn't join that, daddy." I said, looking up at him fondly, earning a chuckle from him.
"I'd likely be leading it. But enough of the topic of how I will lead an assault against anyone who thinks they have a chance with you, it's time to marry the one person who does." He said, making butterflies go wild in my stomach.
"You got this, Seaweed Brain. Just walk up to him, tell him how much you love him, resist the urge to smack Lady Hera for dragging it out to drive you nuts, eat a pomegranate seed, exchange rings, and then kiss without making the rest of us nauseous because it turned into a make-out session, easy." Annabeth joked, holding out my bouquet of blue roses and white water lilies for me to take. Laughing, I accepted it from her as we walked out of the room and to the back door where Seth was waiting for Leah to escort her down the isle, Jacob taking Hazel next, before Jared escorted Piper down the isle. After a few seconds, Tyson escorted Annabeth down the isle, looking surprisingly dashing in a tux with knee-length pants. I was so used to seeing the pack in cut-offs that it didn't even bother me to see their suit pants at the same length. Counting to five, I took a deep breath before looking up at the sea god.
"I'm ready dad." I said. Clearing his throat, Poseidon began escorting me down the isle to my wolf. The second I caught sight of him, standing in front of the arch and Hera, I had to resist the urge to run to him. He wore a dashing black tux with a sea green tie, and a blue rose tucked into his lapel. The pants of his suit were the same length as the rest of the groom's party, ending at his knees. The look on his face though, made me wish to freeze this moment in time forever, as he looked at me like he was imprinting all over again. I didn't notice my mom tearing up in her seat, nor did I hear Triton lowly state that he would have to talk to Paul about never letting me leave the house. I didn't notice that Chiron was miraculously there, and I didn't notice the fact that even Ares seemed stunned as I walked down the few short yards of isle to the arch. All I noticed was my wolf, before finally reaching him.
"Take care of her." My father warned, as he placed my hand gently in Paul's.
"With my life, sir." My wolf said, sincerity shining in his eyes, though they never strayed from mine, before Paul lead me the last few steps to stand in front of Hera, and I passed my bouquet to Annabeth, before joining hands with my silver wolf. I barely paid Hera any attention until she said that it was time for the vows, and looked at Paul for him to give his. Taking a deep breath, but giving me a beaming smile, he started.
"Perci, words don't even exist to describe what being with you makes me feel. When I first laid eyes on you back in January, I confess, the first thought that went through my mind was, 'what is that crazy girl thinking, being in the water? It's gotta be freezing.' But once I locked eyes with you, all I could think was that you had just become my crazy girl, and you didn't even know it. It was two months of me going insane trying to find out who you were that I finally saw you again, and introduced me to your world, and your life. It scared me slightly to find out that you were the daughter of a god, not because of your parent, but because that made me feel that I wasn't worthy of you. I had already started thinking of you as a goddess, and there you were telling me you were half god, literally. After a while, I started feeling better about it, because you made me feel better. I was a calmer person, and I had started to become a better man. I love you more than life itself, Perci, and I will spend our eternity making sure you know that, and striving to be the good man you deserve." He said, and I felt tears begin to fall. A quick glance to the guests though, told me that I wasn't the only one.
"Persephone, you may now speak your vows to Paul." Hera said, making me beam at my wolf.
"Paul, when we first met officially, I was still coping and coming to terms with the fact that I had been made immortal. I thought myself broken from fighting in two wars and multiple battles, but then you came along. You accepted me without question, even after hearing about the crazier half of my family. You told me once that you would have accepted me even without the imprint, and you've proved that by accepting not only me and my family, but you welcomed and embraced us. Aphrodite putting us together is probably the best thing she has ever done for me -no offense Piper, you're awesome-." I said, pausing while everyone laughed, before continuing again.
"But I believe that I would have fallen for you just as easily and just as quickly without the Fates making us soulmates. You've proven to me that nothing could scare you away when you stood tall against the threats of my friends and family, even bravely facing a horde of protective demigods who all vowed to destroy you. My father has often said that the sea cannot be contained, but you do a pretty good job at being a dam for it. I love you, and I will be there by your side every dam step of the way." I said, looking at Thalia and Grover, who both smiled at the inside joke.
"Is there anyone who believes these two should not marry today?" Hera asked, and I caught sight of Tyson glaring at the crowd, daring someone to say they didn't want the wedding to continue. After a couple seconds, and nobody spoke up, Hera continued, handing Paul a pomegranate seed, which he was to feed me, a symbol of marriage. After I accepted the seed -ignoring Hades' mildly irritated huff, since people pictured him giving my namesake the seed to bind her to the Underworld-, we continued, by exchanging rings, though Paul and I had agreed to get a ring tattooed to him at a later date so he didn't lose it when he phased. Once the rings were exchanged, we were pronounced husband and wife, and Paul wasted no time in pulling me to him to kiss me deeply the second the words left her mouth. When we finally pulled back, we were both beaming.
"It is my pleasure to present for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Jackson-Lahote!" Hera announced, making me look at Paul in shock, since I hadn't known he was going to hyphenate the names.
"Perci Jackson is the greatest demigod to live, I didn't want to make anyone forget your name." He whispered, catching sight of my surprise. We transitioned smoothly into the reception after that, and Paul and I were dancing our first dance as husband and wife.
"I love you, wife." He whispered as we spun slowly in a waltz.
"I love you too, husband." I whispered back with a smirk as he dipped me to close the dance. Deciding to take a break from dancing for a minute, we went through the guests not on the floor to mingle, and I caught sight of Leah staring forward, looking awed. Following her gaze, I beamed, noticing she was staring at Hephaestus, and he was looking back at her, actually smiling.
"Go talk to Leah, she just imprinted, I've got to talk to Hephaestus." I said, turning to Paul in excitement, before darting through the groups of people talking to walk up to the god of the forge.
"Her name is Leah, cousin. She's a member of Paul's pack." I said, coming up behind him, making him jump.
"She's beautiful. More so than Aphrodite in my opinion." He said, making me smile softly.
"Well of course you would think that. I recognize the look she was giving you, Hephaestus, she just imprinted on you." I told him, making him whip his head to face me.
"She deserves better than a deformed god." He said. Giving him an irritated look, I reached up to slap him lightly.
"Leah has had her heart broken before, cousin. She was engaged to Sam Uley before he imprinted on her cousin, and after she phased, feared she would never imprint herself. Now she has you, and I can promise you, she won't give a dam what you look like. Go talk to her, get to know her. If it makes you feel better, I give you full permission to hook up with one of my best friends and bride's maid at my wedding. Just remember one thing. If you break her heart, I will find every forge you have around the world, and I will blow them to bits like I did with St. Helens, and then I will utterly destroy you." I said, glaring at him, making him look at me in shock.
"I mean it, Hephaestus. Don't hurt her, she's been through enough. And look at this for a bonus, now Hera has to conduct a divorce for you and Aphrodite so you can be with Leah. You get to piss your mother off, end the pain of seeing Aphrodite and Ares' affair, and you get your happiness. You're getting your cake, and eating it too here." I said, before walking over to the love goddess, who I spotted by the drink table.
"How much did you have to offer the Fates to give them their happy ending?" I asked, spotting Paul standing protectively beside Leah as Hephaestus seemed to nervously introduce himself to her.
"Not much, believe it or not. He was never happy with the marriage that Zeus arranged for us, was never happy with me. I simply went to the Fates and gave them an offer to make them both happy, and they took it. Now I'm not hurting him, and Leah can finally heal the scars that Sam left on her heart." She said, giving me a smile.
"Thanks for being a good person on this. But if you mess with them to cause them unneeded pain or suffering, I will rip out your hair strand by strand and carve your face up to make you look like the Joker, got me? She's one of my best friends, and I protect my friends, as you well know." I said casually, earning a musical giggle from the lady of doves.
"Understood. Now go be with your husband, I want to bask in the love some more." She said, giving me a playful push. Rolling my eyes, I walked back over to Paul, who had moved to tell Seth about his sister's imprint.
"Come on, I want to dance some more. Everyone's getting happy endings today, so let's end today with one." I said, pulling my husband to the dance floor. Today was perfect. I'd deal with what the Fates were planning to throw at me for it later, as long as I had Paul at my side.