Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. All reviews will be answered at the end of the chapter. This chapter will just be snippets of their early relationship, secret life, engagement, and marriage. Please, please, please review at the end.

Chapter 2: Getting Serious and Staying Secretive

He takes a deep breath and dials the number. The phone rings and he has an absurd desire to hang up quickly before she can reject him, but he takes a deep breath and waits for her to answer.

"Hello?" she says.

"Annabeth?"

"Oh, hi Percy," she says. He relaxes a little.

"Yeah, it's me. I wasn't sure you'd remember."

"It's kind of hard to forget," she admits. Inwardly, she curses herself for revealing that. "So, what's up?"

"Um, I was wondering, I'm going to the Pavilion* on Saturday and I was wondering if you'd want to go. I mean, I have an extra ticket, and none of my friends are around, so... Do you want to go?" The Pavilion was an amusement park about an hour's drive away from Manhattan. He knew she lived in the city, too, so it didn't sound like he'd gone especially out of his way. Or did it?

She pauses. She has an assignment to do on Friday night but she'd have time, right? "Sure, of course."

"Okay, great. I'll see you around nine, then?" "Great," she replies, and hangs up feeling strangely excited. ..~0~..

"Details. Now," demands Thalia. She aims her arrow at the target in the training center of their agency and releases it, hitting the target dead center.

Annabeth shrugs. "I don't know, Thal. It was just a date."

"Oh, it was just a date," mimics Piper. She and Annabeth were practicing hand- to- hand combat. She threw a few punches, which Annabeth dodged nimbly, but knocked her over with a kick to the back of her knees. She turned serious. "No, really. Was he the same way he was in Florida, or did he start acting like a jerk?"

"No, he was really nice," said Annabeth. She smiles fondly at the memory. "I almost let him beat me at Skee- Ball, but I changed my mind. But I let him do that game where you hit the lever with a hammer, and if the weight hits the bell, you get a prize." She ducked under Piper's next punch, feints to the side and then shoves her back with a nice right hook.

"Well, did he?" asked Clarisse, from the back of the room as she easily bench- pressed a hundred pounds.

"Of course. I have the stuffed dolphin to prove it."

"Dolphins are so cute," says Katie, tossing a dagger at a target. "Speaking of which, is he cute?"

Annabeth blushes. "Come on, guys. You know looks aren't important."

"So he isn't attractive, then?" questions Piper playfully.

"No, he is. Very," she says.

..~0~..

"Who are those for?" asks Frank when he sees Percy leaving the 'office' with a bunch of flowers. "Wait, let me guess. Annabeth?" Percy nods.

"Ooh, Percy and Annabeth, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G," sang Connor Stoll. "Firstcomes love, then comes-" continued Travis.

"Shut up, guys," mumbles Percy, turning red. He attempts to change the subject. "So, guys, did that last assignment go okay? I heard that the target was guarded."

"We got out okay," says Connor. "He had a couple Laistrygonians with him, that's all." The assassins often referred to certain types of targets by names like 'sphinx' for a target who had all sorts of complicated forms of security that assassins often had to hack, or 'dracaena' for a female target. In this case, 'Laistrygonian' referred to a target's huge, hairy bodyguard.

"They were pretty easy to take down," adds Travis. "A Level One wearing a blindfold could do it."

"So who's wearing a blindfold now?" asked Beckendorf, who had just entered.

"No one, dude. I was just talking about that last target that Connor and I got assigned to," explained Travis. While Travis filled Beckendorf in on the details, Percy tried to sneak away and walked straight into Nico.

"Hey, Percy. So who are the flowers for?" questioned Nico 'innocently' (Nico was a lot of things; innocent wasn't one of them). Percy sighed exasperatedly.

"Annabeth."

"You mean the hot blonde that you met in a closet?" teased Nico.

"It wasn't like that," said Percy, rolling his eyes. "It was just a weird coincidence that I was hiding in the same closet that she decided to hide in!"

Beckendorf frowned. "You know, that sounds like a pretty weird coincidence. You don't think there was something more to it, do you? She doesn't have ulterior motives?"

Percy went silent as he considered the possibility. "No, I doubt it. She doesn't seem like the type. Besides, what are the chances of that happening?"

..~0~..

"Do you, Percy Jackson, take Annabeth Chase to be your lawfully wedded wife?" droned the judge.

"I do," said Percy.

"And do you, Annabeth Chase, take Percy Jackson to be your lawfully wedded husband?" he continued.

"I do," said Annabeth.

"And now, by the power vested in me by the state of New York, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." Sighs emanated from the crowd as the couple shared their first kiss as a married couple.

The wedding was planned and executed in a precise yet elegant fashion, the same way in which Annabeth executed her targets. After the ceremony, it was time to introduce the in-laws to each other. They had planned to do so beforehand, but had never found time. "Mrs. Minerving, Mr. And Mrs. Chase, I'd like you to meet my mother and stepfather," said Percy nervously. "Mom, Paul, these are Annabeth's parents, and her stepmother."

"Please, call me Athena," said Annabeth's mother, smiling as she shook hands with Percy's mother.

"It's so wonderful to finally meet you," said Sally, smiling politely. "Percy, have you seen your father?"

"I did earlier, but I'm not sure where he is now," explained Percy. "You know how he is."

"You mean he's often busy? I understand. What does he do, exactly?" questioned Athena in that unsettlingly sharp way.

"He's in the boating industry," lied Percy. "His company sells yachts and speedboats."

"Oh, yes. He took us boating once. We wanted to invite you, too, Athena, but wasn't that the day you had that meeting to attend?" remembered Annabeth's father. They exchanged some more polite conversation, then Annabeth and Percy left them to get acquainted.

"Come on," whispered Percy, pulling Annabeth away from the hall that was filled with all their friends.

"Percy, it's our wedding. Won't people notice if we sneak off?" worried Annabeth.

"Yeah, but they'll probably all be drunk in an hour, so no one will know." They slipped away onto the terrace.

Outside, the Manhattan skyline glittered as brightly as the stars against the horizon, and the full moon glowed overhead. It was partially obscured by a few dark clouds, but it shone brightly all the same. In that moment, Percy suddenly felt afraid. Afraid that one day, his secret would find a way to destroy them. He had never truly wanted it to be this way. A part of him wished that he had never become an assassin in the first place. After all, it had never been his choice to be an assassin, nor had it been his choice not to tell Annabeth. Another part said, 'Screw it. Tell her. What's the worst they can do, fire you? He's not going to have you killed, he's your father.' But no part of him regretted his choice to marry Annabeth.

"What's wrong?" asked Annabeth, interrupting his thoughts.

"Nothing," he replied, trying to rearrange his expression so that he seemed calm. "What could possibly be wrong when I'm with you?"

She tilted her head sideways and looked at him. "You're lying. Something's bothering you." He decided to tell her at least part of the truth.

"I'm just a little worried about work. I mean, we're both pretty busy. It won't pull us apart, though. No job is worth losing you." Annabeth gripped his hand firmly and looked him straight in the eye.

"We can make it work, Percy. I wouldn't be standing here in a wedding dress if I thought we couldn't."

He smiled. "Of course we can." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a kiss.

..~0~..

"Annabeth, may I speak to you about something?" Annabeth paused in her paperwork and looked up at her mother.

"Of course, Mom," she said, getting up and following her into her office. Athena's office was elegantly yet simply decorated: white walls, a matching white desk with an owl carved into the front, and silvery curtains framing the large window, which overlooked the bustling city below. Annabeth had always been in awe of the Level Four offices. Level Four was where the heads of the Skyward Agency (who were referred to by the lower levels as 'Olympians') worked.

"Sit down, Annabeth. I'd like to talk to you."

"Is this about the Swanson affair?" asked Annabeth. The Swanson affair was the main subject of conversation among all the assassins lately. A rich young housewife named Mrs. Swanson had sent a plea to the agency to have her husband assassinated. Since she had no legitimate reason for this, they had turned her away. They didn't think it was fair to kill a man whose only crime was being foolish enough to marry a woman thirty years younger. Unfortunately, Mr. Swanson was found dead, with a strange bullet made of bronze and steel. The agency knew that it must have been a Skyward assassin, but they weren't sure which one. So they were forced to question people.

"Actually, it isn't, but if we have any more luck in solving it, I'll tell you." Athena paused and surveyed her daughter critically. "What I really wanted to ask you about is your husband. How are things between the two of you?"

"Great. They couldn't be better," replied Annabeth honestly. It was true: they had been married almost a year so far, and were enjoying life as a married couple. They'd gotten a house in the suburbs outside of Manhattan, close enough to Annabeth's building and the aquarium where Percy worked as a marine biologist.

"And maybe that isn't the best idea," remarked Athena. Annabeth looked back at her. Two pairs of intense gray eyes met, each trying to pick meaning out of the other.

"What do you mean by that?"

"You know exactly what I mean, Annabeth. I've told you that love disrupts work, especially this kind."

"I've been married for nearly a year. Why didn't you say anything before?"

"I confess, I thought that things would have cooled down by now. But they haven't."

Annabeth looked angry, but she tried to control herself. "So what are you saying? I'm not allowed to have a loving marriage? Or is it just that you don't like Percy?"

Athena replied coolly, saying, "It's nothing against Percy. He's a fine man; it's just the two of you together that are an issue."

"An issue."

"I'm just saying that you shouldn't get too close to anyone. It can be dangerous. I'm only telling you for your own good, Annabeth. Don't let your pride or your love for him keep you from listening."

Annabeth stood up. "I'm sorry, Mom," she said firmly, "But my relationship with Percy isn't going to change. It won't change my work, either. I'm committed to both." With that, she left the office.

"But which is more important?" Athena mused.

End Of Chapter

Author's Note: *The Pavilion was actually the name of an amusement park in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. I went there a few years ago and had so much fun, but now it's closed. :( I used it because I couldn't think of anything else. Also, remember the Swanson affair. It will be important in the future of the story. Finally, since I'm not very good at writing romantic scenes, please tell me how I did. If you have any questions or comments, review and I promise I'll reply.

Review Replies:

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