Oops.

Okay, but we all knew it wasn't going to get up time, anyway! I'm only a week late, okay?

This took me so friggin long to write. I ended up with three version. This was the one I liked the best. It's short.

Music for this is 'If I Were A Ship' by Hey Ocean. (Listen to it. Now.)

Disclaimer: Not mine. Only the plot. Please don't steal it.

Eight Years Later

After having lived in the same apartment that they first rented when moving to New York for their college years (a whole five of them), they decided it was high time to upgrade to something nicer and in a better location for their new 'adult' jobs.

The apartment had two bedrooms, one for the couple, and another they had converted into a study that they both used for their various projects. It was not uncommon to find Annabeth in there, working until sunrise of some building plans for her way-too-demanding boss. Sometimes she wouldn't leave for days and Percy would have to make sure she remembered to bathe and eat and generally do things humans needed to do to survive.

No. It wasn't that Percy was cooking that caught Annabeth's attention. What was out of the ordinary that evening was that he was cooking gnocchi, with what looked like asparagus and cream sauce. Her favourite food, and the exact dish Percy hated ("Gnocchi has a weird texture, and asparagus is just wrong!" "Honestly, Percy! Quit being so uncultured!").

"Hey," he called from the kitchen. It smelled like steamed vegetables and asiago cheese.

His apron that read 'Kiss the Cook' was spattered with various stains that has never come out in the wash, and his hair was unkempt and swept to one side, never failing to flop into his eyes even after he flipped it away.

"What's this?" Annabeth asked. She slipped out of her heeled pumps and restricting blazer, leaving her in only her white button-up and suit pants. She came up behind him and hugged him tightly. "Is it my birthday or something? Or did I forget our eight year, four months, and two days anniversary. Because if so, I'm sorry."

Percy laughed, though it seemed a little tense. "Yeah, no. You didn't forget anything." She pecked him on the neck and tightened her grip around him before letting go. "Can't I treat my beautiful girlfriend sometimes? Even if it is for no reason other than 'I love you'?"

Annabeth hummed to herself, a peaceful smile slipping onto her face. "I suppose that's acceptable."

"You suppose?"

"I suppose."

Annabeth touched his cheek and pecked his lips quickly. "Thank you, by the way. I know you kinda don't like gnocchi or asparagus, but this is absolutely lovely."

"Mmm…" Percy pondered, swallowing the nervous lump in his throat. "I'm pretty awesome, aren't I?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Just peachy. Okay, I'm going to die if I don't go change, like, right now. And I have some last-minute things I have to take care of for work. Call if you need help."

"Mmhm," Percy muttered, stirring the creamy sauce and adding more Asiago cheese.

The velvet box in his pocket suddenly felt a million times heavier. He;d had the ring for months now, going on six, and had never found the right time to ask.

Tonight, though. Tonight was the night. After trying to for months, he was actually going to ask. He'd practiced his speech a thousand times, and he had planned the night out to a 'T'.

He began murmuring it under his breath now, just to make sure he wouldn't forget.

"Annabeth, I love you. We've been together for eight years, and we've been friend for twenty. I want to be with you for another infinite. Marry me?"

He let out an anxious breath. He could do this.

Annabeth padded down the hall of their apartment, taking in the sight she had walked through so many times over the past three years. The walls were blue, soft and almost grey. Percy was adamant on having at least one part of the house painted blue. Annabeth let him have his way, but only if she could paint their office yellow, like the colour of egg yolks, bright and happy, against the three other grey walls.

She stripped out of her pantsuit, and yanked out the tight ponytail her hair was trapped in on the top of her head. She massaged her scalp, trying to rid herself of the feeling of a headache coming on.

She debated between jeans and sweatpants, before deciding on jeans as Percy was making a nice dinner. She threw on a sweater the colour of spring leaves and left hair down, frizzy and unbrushed.

Percy was just laying out the silverware and plates when she came back in. The pasta was plated nicely; the creamy sauce topping the gnocchi and asparagus stacked beside it, garnished with parsley.

"Wow," she breathed. "You really did go all out."

"Yeah," he laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck the exact way he had eight years ago.

So many things had changed since they moved to New York. Percy had begun a successful career marine conservation, and Annabeth in architecture. Percy had gotten a little taller, and paler because of the gloomy New York climate. His hair was shorter, more mature, but it still feel stubbornly into his eyes. Annabeth had grown too, in a different way. Her face had lost some of its youth, making her look more professional and strict. Her face was thinner, and her cheekbones sharper. She looked striking. it was almost scary how much she resembled Athena.

"Thank you," she said, sitting down in the chair Percy had pulled out for her, the one closest to the wall.

"How was your day?" Percy asked. He had grabbed her wine glass and was filling it was a dark red wine. He placed it in front of her and began to fill his own glass.

She took a sip of the wine before answering. She swirled it around her glass, taking a whiff of the flavours. It tasted sweet and rich, like cherries, plums, and caramel. It was wonderful.

"It was good," she said. "This is amazing, by the way," she noted, motioning to the wine.

"Erm, thanks," he said. He was jiggling his leg under the table, and his eyes kept darting around the room.

"Are you nervous about something?" she asked.

He looked at her with wide eyes. "No. Why?" He answered too quickly.

"You just seem… Out of it," she said, taking another sip of the wine and a bite of the pasta. The sauce was cheesy and creamy, coating the potato pasta. She took another hasty bite.

"No, no, no. I'm just- I'm fine," he coughed, scarfing down a bite of gnocchi. He hardly even noticed the odd texture or the rich cheesy sauce. He was too wound up and everything tasted a little like cardboard.

Relax, Jackson, he told himself. You need to relax.

"So, what did you do today?" she asked.

"Well, you know, I had the day off, so I went grocery shopping-"

"Oh, is that why you are the fancy dinner?" she asked, popping a piece of asparagus into her mouth.

"Um, yeah…" he trailed off. "Right, yeah. That's about it, though. I watched those episodes of Bones you watched without me, though. That was rude."

She rolled her eyes. "Get over it. I was bored and you were asleep. I had to do something."

"You could have watched something else!" he protested.

She sighed. "I suppose. I wanted to know what was going to happen, though."

"You just want to watch me burn."

Annabeth threw her head back in laughter. Her shoulders shook so hard, they shook the table. Her face was red. She laughed with her whole body, and Percy couldn't help but feel like he was falling in love with her all over again.

She was so perfect. She was so incredibly perfect, it hurt. Her eyes were bright and her words passionate. Oh god, he loved her so much. He felt like his heart was going to burst because of it.

"This is really-"

"Marry me?" he blurted and immediately turned red. "Ah, fuck," he cursed.

"What?" Annabeth gaped.

"Fricking shit! I'm so sorry, Annabeth," he blubbered. "I had this amazing speech written out, and I was going to get down on one knee and everything. Oh god, I've been planning this for months and of course I just go and ruin it-"

"PERCY!" Annabeth yelled. He stopped talking immediately. She took a deep breath before answering. "Yes."

He stared at her wide-eyed. "Yes?"

"Yes, you complete and absolute idiot," she laughed, tears pricking her eyes.

He continued to stare at her with wide, shocked eyes.

"Are you going to give me the ring or am I going to have to buy myself one?" she asked, faking impatience.

"Right, yes, okay. The ring." He patted his jeans, panicked. "I cannot find the ring. Oh my god, I did not lose the ring. I refuse to have lost your engagement ring-"

"It's in your sweater pocket, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth laughed, pointing at the bulge in his sweater she had just managed to notice.

"Right," Percy blushed, laughing in spite of himself. "Good god." He pulled out the black velvet box and opened it.

The ring itself was simple, classic; a raw diamond resting atop a white gold band. It was very Annabeth; not too flashy, classic, and so incredibly perfect it hurt.

She tried not to cry, honestly she did. But as Percy fumbled with the ring and slid it onto her finger (it fit perfectly, which was nice), she felt tears begin to fall from her cheeks, and her cheeks began to hurt from smiling so hard.

She threw her arms around Percy, burrowing her face in his neck. The ring felt weird, heavy and out-of-place.

"I love you," she murmured. "I love you so much, dammit."

"I love you too," Percy said. His voice sounded thick, like he was crying too.

"Oh god, Seaweed Brain. Oh my god, you are such a dork," she laughed, pulling away and wiping her eyes and smudging her mascara.

"I know, I know I am. I am the biggest, luckiest dork on the planet," he said, mimicking her actions. His eyes were red, and he was smiling bigger than her, something she didn't know would be possible.

"You're also a sap," she laughed, pressing a kiss to his lips, quick and soft. They locked eyes after and began laughing.

"Okay, wow," Percy grinned.

"We are getting married," Annabeth said in disbelief. "That is a thing that is actually happening." She punched him in the shoulder.

"Ouch! Hey, what was that for?" Percy scowled, rubbing his bruised shoulder.

"For taking so damn long," Annabeth cried. "It only took you eight years. God."

"It seems to be a reoccurring theme, doesn't it?" he sighed.

Annabeth smiled at him, running her thumb along his arm in apology. "Yeah," she whispered. "It sure does."

Told you it was short. I hope you all liked it.

I just wanted to thank you all for the incredible amount of reviews/faves/follows I got for this story. That's seriously amazing, and I love you all.

I cannot articulate how incredibly honoured I am that you all bothered to read this.

I love you. Seriously.

In other news, I think my next project will be a story similar to the one I did last year at this time of the year. I think I'll be challenging myself to write twenty-five one shots for all of December, because it was fun.

So, you won't see a lot of me during November, but you'll see me (hopefully) daily during December.

Another thing I'm thinking of doing is posting drabble-y thins on my tumblr, so maybe follow me there to see some extra work.

SEND ME PROMPTS!

Anyway, I had a lot of fun writing this story. I'm a little sad to see it end.

I LOVE YOU!

DFTBA!

-Lou