Hiiiii! Sorry it took so long to update; I'm working on a novel of my own! Okay, enjoy please! (Oh, and in case you were wondering, the abusive husband is not not not not nOT NOT Luke, okay? I repeat, Annabeth's abusive husband is NOT Luke. Got it? Good.)

Percy sat on the edge of his bed, drumming his fingers on his knees. He had to be at work in thirty minutes but he was too busy trying to think up ways to ask Annabeth on a date. They didn't really speak a lot, but Percy still thought she beautiful and he actually wanted to get to know her. She seemed very closed off and rarely spoke about her personal life.

Percy stood up, deciding he'd better get ready for work. He showered quickly and got dressed in a dark green shirt and blue jeans. He didn't bother with his hair because no matter how hard he tried to make it stay flat, it always looked like he just rolled out of bed. He pulled his shoes on, made sure he had his phone and keys, and went into Lilly's room.

Lilly's room was painted a light pink and there were dolls scattered across the floor with some of their heads missing. She still played with them though, which kind of confused Percy, but he didn't ask about it. Lilly was curled up in a ball, her mouth open. And she was drooling-which she inherited from Percy. Percy gently shook her awake. She opened her eyes, looking up at him sleepily.

"Good morning, Princess Lillian," Percy said. She smiled at him, which made his heart melt, and sat up, rubbing her eyes with tiny fists. "Go ahead and get dressed. I'm going to make you breakfast, okay?"

She nodded and crawled out of her small bed. As she yawned and began shuffling through her drawers, Percy moved into the kitchen where he made toast and scrambled eggs. By the time to food was done cooking, Lilly came out of her room wearing hot pink shorts and her Little Mermaid shirt. The whole daddy-lets-me-wear-whatever-I-want thing started when Percy didn't have time to hold up outfits in the morning to see if Lilly liked them, so he told her she could wear whatever she wanted. And she loved it, so Percy didn't mind letting her do it. It gave him more time to get ready in the morning.

Lilly sat down at the table and Percy passed her a plate. She ate slowly, swinging her feet and watching Percy make his coffee. As Percy poured sugar into his coffee, he turned sideways and looked at his daughter. She looked identical to him, except for her eyes. And maybe her nose, too. They were her mother's. Percy wished she looked exactly like him, no resemblance to her mother at all because she was a terrible mother. Or, to herself, not a mother at all. Percy put the sugar down and picked up his coffee cup. Then he sat down across from Lilly.

"What do you think about me asking Annabeth on a date?" he asked. Lilly looked up mid chew, her expression confused.

"A date?" she asked.

Percy sometimes forgot he was talking to a five year-old. "Yeah. A date is when two people...see if they can be boyfriend and girlfriend," he tried, and failed, to explain.

"Annabeth is your girlfriend?"

"Not yet," Percy replied, taking a sip of his coffee. "But if I go on a date with her, she could be my girlfriend."

"Oh," Lilly said.

"So what do you think about me asking Annabeth on a date?" he tried again.

She nodded. "I want Annabeth to be your girlfriend."

"Yeah. Me too."

"Daddy?" Lilly asked a moment later, already moving on from the other conversation. "Could you braid my hair?"

Percy glanced at his watch. He has to be at work in five minutes, but he just smiled. "Of course."

When Percy came into work ten minutes late, Annabeth was surprised. He was usually always on time to open up the restaurant but he didn't get there early enough. Clarisse, the manager, opened it up and muttered something about Percy being a punk. Annabeth laughed and began to work, setting people at tables, taking their orders, bringing out food. When everyone was satisfied and eating, Annabeth began to clean the counter. She didn't like not having anything to do.

She felt Percy step up behind her and she waited for him to say something. For a moment he didn't, and Annabeth felt her body tense as an instinct. But then he stepped up beside her and leaned his elbows against the edge of the counter. He didn't say anything. He just watched her as she wiped the counter down with a rag. She glanced at him and raised an eyebrow and he smiled. He remained silent. A few minutes passed and Percy finally sighed and tapped his fingers against the counter.

"I still can't believe you haven't seen Saving Private Ryan," he finally said. Annabeth paused her cleaning and raised an eyebrow.

"You're still on about that?" she asked.

"I mean, it's only the best movie ever, Annabeth. I just...I don't understand! You haven't even given it a chance?"

Annabeth shrugged and shook her head. "Nope."

Percy groaned and rolled his eyes. "You haven't lived yet."

Annabeth scowled at him, crossing her arms. "I think I'll live."

Percy's eyes flickered down to his feet and he straightened his posture. He looked back up to her and she was surprised how close his eyes were to the color of the sea. "Would you like to come over and watch it with me? My mom is taking Lilly to a fair and I wouldn't want you going on with life without watching this movie," he said, offering her a smile.

Annabeth leaned back a little, her eyebrow still raised as she listened. Her lips turned to the side as she thought about it. Well, she did love World War Two and Percy was kind of cute...

"Okay," she said. Percy grinned.

"Really?"

"Why, were you expecting me to say no, Mr. Jackson?"

It was Percy's turn to laugh. "No," he said, and when Annabeth gave him a dubious look, he added, "Maybe."

Percy shifted his weight from foot to foot before he shoved his hands in his pockets. "My mom's picking Lilly up at around seven forty-five, so I'll see you at eight?"

Annabeth nodded.

"Perfect," Percy breathed before he turned and went back to work.

Annabeth stood in front of the full length mirror in her bathroom, running her hands down her shirt and shorts to smooth them for the umpteenth time. She wasn't going to lie; she was a bit nervous but she didn't know what for. She'd been out to dinner with Percy twice before and she spoke to him nearly every day at work. Maybe it was the fact that they would be alone for the first time and she wasn't sure how to feel. Annabeth hadn't been alone with a man since before she met her husband.

She ran her fingers through her curly hair and made sure her faded orange T-shirt and blue jean shorts looked okay. She checked the address Percy wrote down earlier. She had to check on Mapquest because she had no idea where it was, but she had a clue now, and it was already 7:50. She had to leave now.

Annabeth pulled into the apartment complex eight minutes later. She pulled the keys out of the ignition. She climbed the stairs to the second floor and gently tapped on the front door. There was a moment of shuffling before the door flew open. Lilly was standing there, grinning.

"Annabeth!" she squealed and she flew forward to wrap her skinny little arms around Annabeth's knees. Annabeth touched the top of her hair where her braids were still in from earlier. She squeezed Annabeth's legs and moved back, still grinning.

"Hello, Lilly," Annabeth finally said. Percy walked past, completely missing Annabeth. Then he walked right out of the room he went in and stared at her.

"Welcome," he said loudly, spreading his arms, "to my humble abode. Or apartment, whichever one." He shrugged.

"Daddy? What does 'humble commode' mean?"

Percy blinked at Lilly and Annabeth tried to stifle a giggle but she failed. Percy lifted his eyes to her and, catching her giggle, laughed.

"It's humble abode, Lilly. I just means our house." He turned to Annabeth. "I'm sorry, my mom's running a bit late. Her new puppy, Mrs. O'Leary, had a little snack on the couch cushions and she had clean up the mess. She should be here any moment."

Lilly looked up at Annabeth and raised her arms. Annabeth lifted her without even thinking about it an settled her on her hip. "It's fine. I'm not in a rush," she said. Percy took a step back.

"Would you like a tour?" he asked, throwing his thumb over his shoulder. Annabeth nodded. Percy led her through his apartment, showing her the kitchen and his room and Lilly's room. It was a comfortable sized apartment that felt all cozy. It was different than Annabeth's, that's for sure. Annabeth only had the bed that (thankfully) came with the apartment and the kitchen appliances in the kitchen. She didn't have enough money to buy anything else. Not if she wanted to eat everyday.

While Percy was in the middle of showing Annabeth his beach themed bathroom, the front door opened. There was sound of keys hitting the kitchen table and someone called out.

"Percy?"

Percy grinned and he motioned for Annabeth to follow him into the living room. Standing inside the apartment was a woman with long straight brown and a warm smile.

"Hi, mom," Percy said, stepping forward and hugging the woman. He was much taller and lankier than her, and for a moment Annabeth didn't see the resemblance. But then when Percy stepped back Annabeth noticed they had the same shape face and her smile mimicked his.

Lilly wriggled out of Annabeth's grip and sprinted to Percy's mom, throwing herself toward her. Percy's mom caught her last second and, with a groan, lifted Lilly into the hair.

"Lord, you're getting big," she said. "I haven't seen you since you were this big." She held her thumb and index finger and inch apart. Lilly giggled.

"You saw me yesterday, Grandma!"

Percy's mom smiled. "You must grow pretty fast then."

"Mom, this is Annabeth," Percy said, motioning to her. "She's working in the restaurant."

"Hi, I'm Sally Jackson," Percy's mom said.

"Hello," Annabeth answered, smiling.

"It's nice to finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you."

"Mom," Percy hissed, blushing furiously. Annabeth felt her cheeks flush as well and she dropped her eyes to her feet, shifting her weight. Sally just smiled and turned her attention to Lilly.

"You ready to go?"

"Yeah!"

"Okay! Percy we'll be back at around nine-thirty or ten, okay?"

Percy nodded. "That's fine." He took a step forward and kissed his mother on the cheek and his daughter on the forehead.

"See ya later, Daddy!" Lilly called over Sally's shoulder as they left. Percy smiled after them and turned to Annabeth.

"Right. If you'll follow me, madam," he said, extending his arm to the living room. Annabeth sat down on the love seat which was directly in front of the TV and watched as Percy moved out to put the DVD in and press play. He sat down next to Annabeth, closer than she expected, but she didn't say anything.

Throughout the entire movie, Annabeth sat on the edge of the seat, staring at the screen in amazement.

"This is so accurate," she breathed during the opening scenes. By the end of the movie, she was frowning. As the credits rolled, Percy waited for her reaction, expecting her to tell him how awesome it was and praising him for showing it to her. But she grabbed the pillow next to her and hit him in the chest with it.

"What the hell was that?" she cried. When Percy didn't answer, she hit him again.

"That was...Saving Private Ryan," Percy replied, bemused.

"What-I-everyone died!"

"But it was a good movie!" Percy complained, amused at her annoyance. "Was it accurate?"

She scowled at him but huffed out, "Yes. The depiction of D-Day was amazing, and even though everyone died, it showed that even your best friends died."

Percy grinned, resisting the urge to hold her hand or touch her knee or show some sort of affection. "Exactly!"
Annabeth opened her mouth to reply when the front door opened and Sally and Lilly walked in. Sally flicked the light on and blinked at the couple on the couch.

"You're still awake?" she asked.

"Yeah," Percy said, blushing slightly. "The movie is almost three hours long."

"Oh, I didn't mean to interrupt."

"You weren't," Annabeth said quickly, standing up. She smiled at Percy and his heart swelled. She grabbed her keys from the coffee table, waved goodbye to Percy, hugged his mom and Lilly, and disappeared through the door before Percy could even stand up. When he made it to the door to see if he could walk her out, she was already pulling out of the parking lot. He sighed heavily.

"Good night, Annabeth."