"What did you want to talk about, Hermes?"

A few days before Percy's eighteenth birthday, Hermes stood nervously in front of the Greek God, Poseidon. He and Percy had been a couple for three years and although they'd had their ups and downs, the two had never been more in love.

"I would like to ask your blessing," Hermes said, forcing himself to meet the other god's gaze, "to ask Percy to marry me."

"Marriage?" Poseidon seemed shocked. Although the gods had been keeping an eye on them, as promised, and the topic of marriage had occasionally come up between Hermes and Percy, they had never seriously talked about it. It was a big deal. They'd be together forever. And with Percy so young...well, Hermes hadn't wanted to push him too much.

"Yes." Hermes boldly stood by his words. Well, as boldly as he could. Poseidon scared him sometimes. Which is why he didn't feel the need to mention that he'd propose to Percy whether his dad liked it or not.

But it looked like that wouldn't be a problem. Poseidon smiled. "Hermes, you have my blessing," he said. "You've been good to my son. It's obvious that he loves you very much."

Hermes smiled. "Thank you, Poseidon."

"Have you picked out a ring yet?" Poseidon asked.

"A ring...er, no," Hermes admitted sheepishly. "I didn't even think about it."

"Well, I suggest you do that first." Poseidon grinned and Hermes felt his face heat up.

"Yes. Thanks again, Poseidon."

"Of course."

The two gods shook hands and Hermes left. There was just one problem now. He knew little to nothing about wedding rings. So he figured he should ask someone to go with him.

"Annabeth," he said to himself. The girl knew all about designing. This wasn't quite the same, but he figured she could be of some help. And her girlfriend, Piper, was Aphrodite's daughter. Maybe she could help, too. Aphrodite was the goddess of love, of course.

When he arrived at Camp Half-Blood, he searched around for the two. Annabeth and Piper were always inseparable, ever since they'd begun dating a few months ago.

"Hermes!" Piper waved them over. "Get over here! Annabeth and I were just talking about you!"

"About me? Well, I'm honored," Hermes joked. "But I already have a boyfriend."

"Ha, ha," Piper said. "Seriously, though. Do we get to know what you're planning for Percy for his birthday?"

"A surprise party, of course," Hermes whispered to them. "But don't tell him." He paused, looking around to make sure Percy wasn't there.

"He's giving fighting lessons now," Annabeth said. "Don't worry about Seaweed Brain overhearing anything."

"Okay," said Hermes. "Well...I want to propose to him."

Annabeth and Piper both squealed in unison, causing some people to stare. "Finally!" Piper said.

"Yes - and I need your and Annabeth's help picking out a ring," Hermes added.

"Of course we'll help!" Annabeth said eagerly. "Are we going now?"

"Going where?" Percy asked from behind Hermes. The Messenger God turned to look behind him, and he smiled.

"Nowhere," Hermes answered as Percy sat down beside him. He laced his fingers through his boyfriend's under the table. Percy gave him a look. "Uh...Annabeth and Piper want to see an R rated movie and they need an adult to go with them," he quickly lied.

"Which movie?"

Shit. That wasn't something Hermes knew about. He looked at the girls desperately, but they appeared clueless too.

"We don't know yet," Annabeth said. "We're going to look when we get to the theater."

"Sounds fun! Double date?" Percy suggested.

Hermes cringed. This lie was getting bigger and bigger. "Uh...Percy, love, I know you hate R movies," he said. That was true. Percy had had enough violence and horror in his life without needing to see someone else's.

But, Percy looked hurt. "You don't want me to go?"

"Of course I want you to go, love." Hermes wrapped an arm around him but Percy pulled away from him and glared.

"Well, I don't want to go. Not anymore." Percy got up and stalked away. Clarisse joined him and Hermes watched them until they turned a corner and were out of sight.

"That went well," Piper noticed.

"Nothing we can do about it now," Annabeth decided. "You know he'll understand when you propose, Hermes."

Hermes nodded miserably. He hated when Percy was mad at him. "Let's go, then," he said to the girls. He'd talk to Percy later.

"Infuriating man," I muttered to myself as I left my boyfriend with Annabeth and Piper. And what annoyed me even more was even during our fights, my feelings for him distracted me and just made me want him more. And that was always hard to admit. The guy could be pretty smug sometimes - well, all the time.

I peeked back at the table where they'd been sitting, but Hermes and the girls were now gone. I was really curious now.

"So, spy on them!" Clarisse suggested. "You know he's lying. As his boyfriend, you have every right to know what he's doing."

"No, I can't do that," I said, sighing. "It'll just show that I don't trust him."

"Do you trust him?" she asked.

"Yeah, I do," I said. "With my life."

"Well then, you'll just have to trust that there's a good reason he's lying."

"Or maybe Annabeth and Piper really do just want to see an R rated movie," I pointed out.

Clarisse laughed. "Yeah, sure," she said. "Come on, it's time for our next class."

At the mall, Annabeth and Piper led Hermes into a Kay jewelry store. "Their jewelry is amazing," Piper informed him. "I've always kind of wanted something from here...but everything's really expensive."

Hermes noticed Annabeth watching Piper, who was looking at the jewelry. He smiled. Annabeth went over to look at some jewelry while Hermes walked up to Piper. The wedding rings she was looking at were simple wedding bands with tiny diamonds in the middle of the ring. "Are those real diamonds?"

"Yup."

"Wow. They're beautiful." Hermes saw an infinity sign engagement ring that caught his eye. He looked up at the lady standing behind the counter. "How much for this one?" He pointed.

"Two thousand dollars."

"Yikes. Okay," Hermes said, "I'll take it."

Piper smiled. "It's so beautiful."

"Isn't it?" Hermes agreed proudly. At the other end of the store, he noticed Annabeth paying for something, probably for Piper, who began to turn around.

Hermes gasped and grabbed her shoulders. "No, don't-" he started. Piper's eyes widened in surprise. "Uh...never mind," he said as Annabeth quickly slipped the bag into her purse.

Piper narrowed her eyes at him, looking more confused than angry. Annabeth came up to them and smiled innocently. "What's up?" she asked.

"I found the perfect ring. Percy'll love it." He paid for the ring and left. They grabbed some lunch before going back to Camp Half-Blood. After leaving the girls, he went to try to find Percy.

Shortly after I returned to my cabin, I heard a knock on my door. Opening it, I felt a twinge of annoyance when I saw Hermes. "What? Now you want to spend time with me?"

"I always want to spend time with you." His fingers laced through mine and my heart raced as he stepped closer to me. I slowly began to forget why I was pissed at him as his lips brushed against mine. I closed my eyes and slid my hands down to his hips, satisfied when he groaned against my mouth. He ran his tongue across my lips and I opened my mouth, feeling his tongue sliding against mine. I couldn't breathe, but I didn't care. I brought my hands up to his chest, unbuttoning his shirt as we kissed. He let me remove his shirt, his arms circling around my waist as I ran my fingers over his bare skin.

Hermes grinned. "So, you aren't mad at me anymore?"

"You know I can never stay mad at you for long," I reminded him.

"True." He kissed me again, passionately.

"I trust you, you know." I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him even closer, so that our noses rested together. "I trust you with...everything. With my life."

"I'm glad," he said, pressing his lips against mine. Our kiss heated up and I pressed myself against him, whimpering. "Percy...We can't. Not until your birthday." Hermes pulled away.

"I know - sorry," I said.

Hermes grinned. "Oh, don't be," he said seductively, pulling me close and claiming my lips in a kiss that left me breathless. "And, just for the record, your birthday will be amazing."

"I don't doubt it," I said.

My birthday was a few days later. I woke up in Hermes's arms, and he was still sleeping, so I rested my head on his chest and lay there for a while with him, his arms around my waist. I couldn't believe my birthday was finally here.

Hermes woke up a while later. "Morning," I said, smiling at him.

He was smiling back, a dazzling smile that left my heart racing. "Happy birthday," Hermes murmured, stealing a kiss, and then another, and another...

We kissed for a while and then went to join our friends. In the afternoon, Hermes and I went to the movies, and walked around New York City before heading back to camp. It was dark by then, and as we got back, I saw some sort of commotion on the beach. "What's going on?" I asked.

"A surprise party," Hermes told me as we approached them.

"What?" I gasped as everyone shouted "SURPRISE!" "What did you guys do?"

Annabeth came up to us. "It was Hermes's idea," she informed me.

I turned to him. "That's why we went to New York City?" I asked. "So you get me away from camp?"

"Partly, but I also just wanted to be alone with you," he answered, blushing slightly.

I shook my head in awe. "Gods, you're the best," I said, throwing my arms around him.

The party was awesome. Chiron had invited the Party Ponies, which just made it all the more exciting. Everyone was having fun, even Clarisse.

It was over before I knew it, and Hermes and I sat on the beach alone together, staring out into the darkness and listening to the waves crash on the shore. "I had the best birthday ever," I told him. "Thank you so much."

"It was no problem, Percy," Hermes said. "You know how much I love you."

I smiled. "Yeah, but I love you more."

Hermes laughed. "No, I don't think so," he said in a teasing voice, and I couldn't help blushing. "In fact, I love you so much that I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

I felt my eyes widen. "What?" I looked down and saw a small box in Hermes's hands. Oh, gods...

"Percy, my love, my life, my everything," he said, opening the box to find a glittering ring shaped like an infinity sign. A beautiful message. "Will you marry me?"

I gaped at him. "Yes," I choked out, a lump forming in my throat. "Yes, I will." I hugged him tightly, feeling him slip the ring on my finger. I kissed him, soft at first but then harder, and I whispered, "It's my birthday." Our kiss grew more and more intense and hot, his tongue brushing against mine as our bodies pressed together. We were finally, finally going to have sex, after three years of not being able to.

He was sweet throughout the whole thing, asking for my permission each time we tried something new, kissing me gently. Most importantly, he whispered "I love you" over and over into my ear, against my neck as he kissed it, and down my body. We made love there on the beach, and it was definitely worth waiting for. It was amazing and perfect. We lay together afterward, and I fell asleep instantly in his arms, exhausted.

AN: It's finally over! Hope you liked it! :) Thanks so much for all the support, it means a lot.