Trust me?

Percy let a ragged sigh tear from his lips as he straightened his toga, taking in his reflection; he was so not gonna be able to pull this off. Dammit! He wanted to look perfect for Annabeth- not like some child trying to play dress up with their mother's wardrobe… speaking of mothers, his placed her hand on his shoulder, giving a reassuring squeeze and smiled as their eyes met in the mirror; he was in her temporary bedroom at the big house, and she had been helping him get ready.

"It looks brilliant on you Percy, stop fretting, and don't for a second pretend you weren't, a mother knows these things." she finished with a stern look, before the pride at seeing her son ready to carry out the soul bonding ceremony with the girl of his dreams had an ear splitting smile back on her face.

"Thanks mum." He replied, the nerves soothing already, he knew he could count on her to say it as it was, so if she said he looked brilliant, he needn't worry so much.

"I'd better go outside now and make sure everything is ready for you two; in the meantime why don't you go downstairs and wait with Annabeth for a few minutes- I'm sure she is feeling just as nervous as you, probably more so." She spoke in rushed tones, still trying to come to terms with her little boy becoming a man. "Oh, and Percy, I'm so proud of you- for walking down the aisle with her- together, and well, for everything Percy… I'm so proud!"

"It's the way it should be mum…" he said absentmindedly, repeating the ideal for what felt like the thousandth time, leaning in to give her a hug "love you, mum." He mumbled.

"I love you too."

He turned back to the mirror for one final look over as Sally swiftly exited the room to go and make sure all was going to plan; he was quickly distracted when he heard a musical chime of laughter resonate up from downstairs. Annabeth. The corners of his mouth tugged up as he turned and followed the path his mother had taken just seconds before him.

He took the stairs two at a time, his stomach feeling light and bubbly- a combination of excitement and anxiousness he was sure- the banister felt refreshingly cold against his clammy hands, and his eyes immediately scanned the room as his footfalls tapered to a stop, having reached the bottom.

Truly; it was a mess of fabrics thrown over the furniture, loose chairs and similar clutter from the ceremony set-up, with the building doubling up as a dressing area for the attendees and storage.

Yet Percy took none of this in, his vision zeroing in on the lone figure stood facing out of the double doors, leaning slightly into one of the pillars, trailing her hand up and down her right arm, no doubt trying keep herself distracted from overthinking anything. Her golden locks were cascading from some complex do on the top of her head half way down her back, he took another few steps towards her…

Annabeth turned around and a grin lit up her features upon seeing him there; as the skin around her eyes crinkled with joy Percy couldn't help the grin that encompassed his face in response. She, looked, stunning!

A slim, silver silk material hugged her every curve and crevice, sculpted to her body in the most perfect way- shimmering and reflecting light off at all angles, she was a shooting star… he started towards her again as she nibbled her lip nervously.

"Is it too much?" The tentative tones and slight tremor to her voice let on to the nerves she was covering expertly behind her ever 'strong girl' exterior.

"I honestly don't know what you expect me to say Annabeth…" Percy confessed, ruffling a hand through his just previously groomed hair, "…perfect's all I can think of, but trust me that doesn't do you justice, it never did…" he trailed off awkwardly shrugging, hands now back in the pockets of his suit trousers.

She let out a nervous giggle and brushed one of her meticulously crafted cork screw curls behind her ear before fiddling with the bundle of them tied up at the top of her head as Percy notices the dusting of pink on her cheeks underneath the light makeup.

"Um, I got you something…" she quickly spoke, much to Percy's surprise, reaching for the clutch around her waist and fiddling with the clasp as she carried on rambling;

"…ever since I've met you Percy; you've turned my life upside down and managed to worm your way past all my defences. You've become the centre of my universe and the face I want to see every day for the rest of my life."

She let out a nervous, awkward giggle-turned-choke before continuing, "Growing up wasn't easy for either of us and from the second we knew that we were different every day has been a fight for our very lives, and it's been tough, it's been goddamned near impossible at times and oh my gods has it hurt. But I know that every single second of it was worth it for this. For getting to be with you for the rest of my life…"

Tears were slowly tailing down Annabeth's cheeks and Percy knew he was trying his damn hardest to not look like a right mess, and failing apparently.

She took a step towards him and a shaky breath tore from her lips, now with his hands in hers, she continued, "…trust has always been a dangerous thing in our world but you have earned mine and reinforced that bond time and time again. So, I have this for you…" she reached into the now open clutch and pulled out a small wooden box, beautifully hand engraved with motifs of their relationship; there was the first game of capture the flag they played, the hydra, the two of them kissing under the lake… it was covered in them!

"Whoa, Annabeth… this is…this… its, beautiful…" Percy forced out, carefully trailing his fingers over the intricate carvings. He raised his eyes slowly to hers, both of their expressions full of love and raw emotion, streaks of glistening salt water down their faces, "…you made this." He said, knowing it wasn't even a question. A half sob- half snort left her lips as she nodded.

"Percy; this box, it's our bond- our whole lives and connection and its built on our trust and devotion to each other above all else. So, it's a gift, but…" she trailed off, before strengthening her resolve, "It comes with a condition: Treasure it and guard it and care for it, but never open it, promise me, for me?" she sounded so insecure and infinitely hopeful, as if his response could possibly be anything other than this;

"Of course Annabeth, I promise you, never." He responded immediately, not a trace of doubt in his entire being.

"Well we should probably get going then… we can't exactly be late to what is effectively our own wedding...technically speaking" she finished awkwardly, her nerves eating her up inside.

"It will be fine." Percy said, giving her a radiant smile, "There is no one in existence I would rather have my soul promised to. As long as we're together…" He echoed that fateful promise back to her, as a lopsided smile pulled across his face.

"Always."

It turns out always isn't as long as one might like to think- in fact, it hadn't even lasted a year! Percy's insides twisted and his teeth ground together as he sat rigid and cold on the window sill of the Poseidon cabin, looking out at the sunny fields. It should be raining, he thought to himself- it should be raining!

Suddenly the skies opened up and poured, the velocity of the droplets creating thunderous cracking against the window panes, vibrating against Percy's clammy skin pressed to the glass, and the earth was waterlogged in seconds. It didn't fill the hollow feeling in Percy's chest, the water couldn't heal the overwhelming ache he felt to his bones.

A dry sob tore from his throat and he cradled his head in his hands, slowly rocking back and forth. He could feel it- such an acute sharp stab to his very being, the part of her that should be there, that had fit so snugly against his immortal edges that interlocked precisely with hers. It was gone. Forever. Not even time would fix the severe to his soul, for hers was no more. Not in this world, not in the next. Never…

He would never see her again. She wasn't even dead, it was worse than that, her life string had been ripped to shreds, and burnt, and she was no longer. He couldn't see her in the afterlife! And all the best parts of him had gone with her. All memory of her removed and blanked from the minds of her friends…family… loved ones- no, he still remembered, he wouldn't forget, he wouldn't!

Percy was nothing more than a shell, a husk holding onto a box for dear life- a box that proved he hadn't made it up, she was real, and she had given it to him before they became one: that was the only reason he believed that he hadn't forgotten her instantly with everyone else the second she bleeped from existence- the second she- no, no, no, he clung tighter to the wood; the carvings gritting impressions into his very self, he couldn't feel the way it cut and tore at his skin, nor would he care if he did.

His gaze slowly shifted from the window, from the turmoil he had caused outside, to his hands, trembling and stained with the thin streaks of blood from the indentations. His eyes were now glued to this spot, as his hands were glued to that box. It was all he had left of her, her gift to him, a small wooden box of their love and life together that fit within the palms of his hands, it was helping him cling so desperately to the memories its surface depicted as the universe tried to erase them one by one from his mind.

He idly wondered on what was inside- something that hadn't ever crossed his mind before, having been so devoted to Annabeth's promise to never look, he simply hadn't dwelled on it. But now the thought had struck him, it stuck fast and he could hear his heart drumming in his ears, on and on and on as he sat there, time fading away, starring at the box and wondering… it was all he had left of her- he needed to know.

In a state of numb lucidity, his hand reached for the clasp and he tugged it open, his thoughts jagged and slow, as one might be in a dream… as the lid rose he heard a tearing noise and saw a ripped piece of paper suspended between the top and base- on it were written the words 'your promise' with 'my trust' written just as eloquently underneath.

Oh. Her entire existence had just been broken, torn apart at the seams, and he had just broken the only thing that remained…

Outside the window, the rain stopped falling.

Authors note:

I hope you enjoyed this story!

Its had a little editing done to hopefully improve it and I changed the title- it used to be called Pandora's Box, as thats where i pulled my original inspiration from, but I decided it had changed way too much from a story resembling that tale.

This is officially my first fan fiction so I'm quite proud of it, but will always welcome feedback and constructive criticism so feel free to leave a review, even just to say something small if you wish!

Thank you for reading and spending your time on this little one-shot,

Disclaimer: If I owned these characters I think I would put them through more torture than Tartarus, so thank the Gods I don't!

-Fades out!