i'm lucky i'm in love with my best friend

do you hear me,

i'm talking to you

across the water, across the deep blue ocean

under the open sky, oh my, baby i'm trying

boy i hear you in my dreams

i feel you whisper across the sea

i keep you with me in my heart

you make it easier when life gets hard

The sun was shining high above and bright, and Annabeth felt like she was on top of the world. The sky was a beautiful pastel blue, and there wasn't a cloud in sight. Being here on this tropical island with the love of her life, she couldn't be any happier.

"You look gorgeous."

Annabeth rolled her eyes good naturedly, lifting her sunglasses on top of her head to look at Percy. He had his shirt off and was dressed in his blue swim trunks, laying down in the pristine white sand beside her. He looked so at peace, and it was a nice change from the stress of surviving the last semester of college. He was Percy, and he was looking at her like she was the only thing that mattered in life.

"Could say the same for you, pretty boy."

Percy threw his head back and laughed, sitting up in the sand and dragging her with him. As he pressed her back to his chest, she could feel the warmth of his body, and she never wanted their vacation to be over. "I couldn't possibly compare to the great Annabeth Chase. I don't know if anyone's ever told you, but you're really hot."

"Mh-hm?" Annabeth leaned back to press her head up, and Percy couldn't resist giving her a sweet kiss. "How so?"

"Well," he started, running his palms down her bare legs. "That bathing suit, for starters, looks incredible on you. It really shows off your legs."

Annabeth's mouth tilted into a lopsided smile. The bathing suit wasn't anything much. It was just a simple pastel pink one-piece with a small v laced in the front, but she could tell he really liked the way it looked on her, if his drifting eyes were any indication. "What else?"

"Your hair, soft and glowing. Forming the perfect little ringlets in the golden sunlight."

"Oh?" she teased, nudging his nose with her. From this position, she could see every single feature of Percy's face — the curve of his eyelashes, the sparkle of his eyes. God, how did she end up so lucky? "Is that all?"

"You're practically glowing," Percy said, playfully biting her nose. "No more worrying about final exams or papers."

Annabeth looked at him knowingly. "So is that why you insisted on this impromptu trip to this tropical island I've never heard of?"

"It may have had something to do with that," he said, giving her a cute grin. "Mainly though, I just wanted to spend some time alone with my girlfriend. Nothing but you, me, and crystal-clear waters."

"You're too good to me," she joked, leaning in closer and closing her eyes as Percy's soft lips pressed into hers. She gave herself a moment to just take it all in and breathe. A week before, Percy had surprised her with two plane tickets, promising her the best trip of her life. They had left that night after finishing their last finals in college, and she really needed it.

They'd started dating their freshman year of college, but they'd been friends for as long as they could remember. The past four years together had been nothing less than perfect. Percy always made her feel so loved, and he treated her like she was the best thing in existence. She really loved him so much, and she wouldn't mind spending the rest of her life with him, wrapped up in his arms feeling protected and cherished.

"Are you feeling relaxed?" he asked, brushing his lips against hers. There were a few other people on the beach, but everything was drowned out except for the two of them.

"Oh, very," she said, pulling his face back to hers because she wasn't ready for it to end quite yet. "I don't think I'd ever been more relaxed than now."

"Because of my hella good body?"

"Someone's getting a big ego," Annabeth said, threading her fingers through is soft hair and looking up at him in complete adoration. "It's the sun and the breeze and the smell of the ocean that makes everything just — perfect."

"You mean to tell me that you're not at all relaxed because of the way I look? You didn't spend the last half hour trailing your eyes up and down my body, just imagining how it'll feel tonight when I press you up against the wall and—"

Annabeth pressed a hand to his mouth, giggling as he winked at her. "In a situation like that, I'd say I'm more wound up tight than anything."

Percy gently grabbed her wrist and moved her hand from his face, pressing a kiss to the base of her palm. "I don't know. You seemed pretty relaxed yesterday. Five times, to be exact."

Annabeth's eyes shone in humor. "Five times was pretty generous of you."

"I'm nothing if not generous." Percy watched as Annabeth's blonde eyelashes seemed to shimmer in the rays of light. "Anything for you."

"I have the best boyfriend in the universe," she agreed, sighing. "I guess I can say he's kinda hot."

"Kinda?"

"Very," she corrected. Percy looked at her with so much fondness and it made her stomach flutter. The way he made her feel would never get old. "My boyfriend's very hot."

"I'm glad you think so," he said. "Otherwise, I'm not sure what I would've done."

"It's a good thing I love you very much then."

"Only love? Nothing more?"

"I'm in love with you," she said, a dimple on her cheek forming as she watched him. "Is that better?"

"Much." He bopped her on the nose. "Well, woman that is in love with me—"

"Percy!" she giggled, shoving him on the chest halfheartedly.

"Do you think you still have the energy to go in the water now, seeing as I wore you out good last night?"

"Keep up with that attitude and you won't be getting anywhere with me tonight."

"We'll see about that." Percy tugged her hair while giving her a mischievous look. She just scoffed at his innuendo. "There's a sandbar a bit of the way into the ocean. We should go over there."

Annabeth looked in the direction he was gesturing, but she didn't see anything. The water was completely clear, and it looked like the ocean just kept on stretching all the way into the horizon, but she didn't see a sandbar. "Where is it?"

"It's hard to see from here but it's there. I used to go with my mom."

Annabeth hummed happily. "Let's go then."

Percy wasted no time in stumbling to his feet, holding a hand out to help Annabeth back to hers as well. He tried to dust the sand off of her, but Annabeth swat his wandering hand away from her. He just gave a cheeky smile before lacing their hands together and pulling her out towards the water.

Annabeth shrieked joyously a few times as he tugged her along. They got to the point where the waves licked along the shore, and he turned to look at her one more time. His eyes scanned her up and down, not so subtly, and her cheeks flushed as he silently admired her. He humorously licked his lips before speaking.

"You ready to have the experience of a lifetime?"

"As long as the water's not cold," she concluded, sticking her toe in the water. In this area at least, the water was warm to the touch, and she hoped the rest of the water was too.

"You're going to have to swim a little bit," he warned. "Still wanna do this?"

"I don't know. I might need some convincing now."

"Oh? What is this 'convincing' you speak of?"

Annabeth paused to create suspense, and Percy tilted his head at her, seemingly knowing what she was going to ask. "Kiss me."

Percy threw his head back to laugh before pulling her in close, his arms wrapping around the dip in her waist and closing the gap between them. His lips fit over hers like a puzzle piece, and Annabeth smiled into the kiss as he deepened it. There were probably people watching the young and in love couple, but neither of them cared.

By the time Percy pulled away, Annabeth was breathless, and she wouldn't have it any other way. He leaned his forehead against hers, and her eyelids fluttered closed as he nibbled on her lower lip. "Was that enough convincing for you?"

"Hm. I don't know," she said, chasing his lips as he pulled away. "Might need to do it again just to be sure."

"Silly," he murmured against her lips as he tapped lightly near her bottom. "Let's go before we get kicked off the beach for public indecency."

"Later then," she said, winking.

Percy, pleased with her promise, released his hold on her and led her a few steps into the water. As the treaded deeper into the crystalline ocean, the water engulfed them, and it stayed surprisingly warm. It was still pretty early in the afternoon, so they didn't have to worry about the water getting cool anytime soon either.

"You good to swim?" Percy asked, only his shoulders and neck sticking out above the water. "The floor disappears for a while here, but it's only about twenty feet now."

"As long as you'll protect me," she said, nuzzling her face in his neck for a second before retreating. "Let's do this."

Percy beamed proudly at her before pushing forward and having Annabeth follow. The sand beneath her toes did end up disappearing but she just kept swimming by his side until the sand rose back up and she could stand again. She stood up again, and the water reached around her waist. She decided to turn back around to look at how far they'd travelled, and—

It was beautiful. From where she stood, she could see even more of the beach, and the boulders that lay behind, obscuring their position on the beach from the rest of the world. The water seemed to glimmer even more, and the sun's reflection was vibrant in the water, and everything about this trip was just breathtaking.

"What do you think?" Percy asked from behind her, watching as she took in the sight before her.

"I think— it's stunning!" Annabeth ran her eyes along the shoreline. "You can see everything from here!"

"I thought you might like it," he said, chuckling. He came up behind her and rested his chin on her shoulder, wrapping his buff arms around her and swaying them gently back and forth.

"I love it!" she exclaimed, turning around in his embrace to look at him earnestly. "Thank you."

Percy kissed her cheek and hugged her. Annabeth could smell the mix of sunblock and saltwater, and it was everything to her.

"What did you want to do out here?"

Percy hummed. "Guess."

"I— to look at the view?"

"You are my view," he teased, blowing a raspberry on her neck. "But no. There was something else."

"I don't know, Percy." This time, she looked out to the horizon where she could see the line where the sky met the sea.

"Do you need a hint?"

"I guess so." Annabeth ran a finger down his smooth chest. "What did my handsome boyfriend plan for today?"

"Fiancé," he corrected.

Annabeth's smile fell as confusion took over. "What? What do you mean?"

And then,

Percy was reaching into the pocket of his swim trunks and pulling out a small box. He stepped backwards to create a space between them, and then he was bending down onto one knee and opening the box, and—

"Oh my god," Annabeth cried, her hand immediately coming to cover her mouth. She definitely wasn't expecting him to pull out a ring and bend down on one knee, but here he was. She breathed out a happy laugh as he locked eyes with her.

"Annabeth—"

"Percy."

"Annabeth," he continued, smiling a pearly-white grin. "I love you so much. You're so beautiful, and you're my best friend. You're standing here breath taken by the view, and I'm here breath taken by you. There's no one I'd rather spend the rest of my life with."

"Perseus Jackson." Annabeth bit her lip, her cheeks already aching as she smiled.

"Will you marry me?"

Annabeth choked out a laugh, wiping her eyes as she nodded her head. Her brain was going a million miles an hour, and she couldn't believe that this was really happening. "Yes," she managed with a small giggle. "Yes."

Percy looked at her — really looked at her. Annabeth's eyes were glowing, and her cheeks were rosy with sun, and she'd never looked better in his eyes. He pulled the ring from the box and lifted her left hand, sliding it onto her ring finger.

Annabeth pulled the ring up to her face as Percy stood up. It was a simple silver band with a large square diamond in the center. The diamond caught in the sunlight, and it was nearly blinding. It was cute and simple, and it was them.

Somewhere across the beach, people were cheering and clapping, and she didn't know if Percy had planned for them to be there or if they were simply happy for the couple, but she didn't care. Annabeth looked him in the eyes, and her lower lip trembled.

"I love you so much," she choked out, leaning herself against his chest.

Percy's arm wrapped around her back and he held her, and she cried tears of excitement. His hand ran up and down her back. "I love you too."

She rested her hands on his shoulder and got onto her tiptoes to force her lips to his. She poured as much love as she could into it, and Percy deepened the kiss, leaning her back a little to create a better angle. Her eyes were closed, and she was in complete bliss as she smiled into the kiss. Their teeth clashed together because neither of them could calm their grins, but it was still perfect because it was them.

Annabeth's head leaned back to be able to look him directly in the face. Her cheeks were flushed again, and it was so cute Percy couldn't help but pinch it "You planned all of this?"

"For weeks," he told her, kissing her again because he could. "Did you like it?"

"Oh, I loved it." She looked at the ring again, analyzing the cut of the stone. "I'm just — I love you."

Percy ended up sitting down in the water and the water went up to just below his shoulders. He pulled Annabeth down to his lap, her legs wrapping around his torso, before answering. "I love you too."

"I can't believe we're going to get married." Annabeth sniffled. Her eyes were still shining but she managed to calm her breathing. Her smile, however, would not be disappearing for the weeks to come.

"I'm marrying my best friend," he said, peppering kisses all over her face. He was so inevitably in love with her.

"I'm marrying mine," she said, tucking her face below his chin. "Thank you."

Percy didn't answer that. He just put two fingers under her chin and lifted her lips back to his again. It was things like this that he'd never get tired of. Seeing his girlfriend — no, fiancée — in his grasp, her arms around him, her heart beating against his chest. How did he end up so lucky?

Annabeth's nipping at his ear brought him back to the present. Her tongue ran along his earlobe, and then her teeth was grazing his jawline, ending with a deep press of her lips against his.

Percy pressed on her lower back, pushing her against him. And then, she was laving his jawline with her tongue before gently sucking the skin into her mouth and leaving a faint mark. She trailed her way down his neck, and Percy let out a mix between a sigh and a groan.

He ended up bringing her attention back to his lips, and she happily obliged, kissing him languidly like there was nothing else in the world.

They spent at least an hour there, tangled up in one another. Gentle waves were breaking across Percy's back, cooling his skin from the heat of the sun. There were a few colorful fish swimming around in the water and every once in a while, a few birds would fly overhead. Right now, sitting along the sandbar, wrapped up in each other's presence, was like an alternate reality and she never wanted to leave.

"Annabeth," Percy mumbled against her lips, running his fingers up and down her sides. Annabeth squirmed a bit, the gentle traces ticking her.

Annabeth just made a sound of acknowledgement, breathing him in.

"Do you wanna go back to the cabin?"

Annabeth finally pulled away for what felt like the first time in hours, panting heavily. Her brain was fuzzed as she tried to comprehend his words. "Why?"

Percy shot her a look as she just barely rolled her hips against his. "We're engaged. I think that calls for some celebration."

"Celebration…?" Annabeth paused, her face breaking out into a shit-eating grin. "Oh. I think you may be right."

Percy nodded knowingly. "We should really give someone else a chance at this sandbar, don't you think?"

Annabeth flicked her tongue over her lips and then brought her lower lip in between her teeth. "Of course. It's the responsible thing to do."

Percy nudged her shoulder with his as she kept teasing him. "Better get going then."

"For sure." Annabeth slid herself off of his lap, breaking his embrace. "What about the ring, though?"

"It should be fine," he said, standing up beside her. "I asked ahead of time, and they said it would be fine in the water, but you can put it back in the case if you'd like."

"I don't think I can bring myself to take it off," she laughed out.

Percy smirked. "Think we should race?"

She reached up to whisper against his lips. "Hell yes."

Percy immediately broke off into a run in the direction of the shore, calling out over his shoulder, "Last one there's the bottom!"

Annabeth's entire body flushed with heat at his words as she started chasing after him. God, he was really trying to make her melt into a puddle. "I'm so going to win, and when I do, you're going to demonstrate your willingness to submit."

Percy was clearly affected by her enticing promise as he stopped in his tracks to throw a glance over his shoulder. When he noticed Annabeth quickly catching up to him, he forced himself to get it together and he turned around to try and beat her back, and then—

Annabeth actually cackled as she watched Percy trip over the sandbar as the floor disappeared beneath him because he was too distracted with wandering thoughts. He sank completely underwater for a moment before bobbing back up and sputtering a few times, and Annabeth had to stop to gain her composure, her stomach hurting from the force of her laughter.

Percy yanked her hand and sent her sprawling into the water beside him. This time, it was Percy who was laughing as Annabeth came up with her hair all over her face. He ended up smoothing her hair out, and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders as he worked to keep them both afloat.

Percy's legs were kicking beneath them both as Annabeth leaned in to hug him tight, both of them still chuckling at what had just happened, all thoughts of the race blown out of their mind.

She kissed him again, and then she pulled back to just look at him. He was so happy and bright. He loved her so much, and she was so amazed by everything she had. He was her best friend, and he was just as in love with her as she was in love with him.

Oh, yes. As he looked at her, and everything in the world drowned out except them, she realized just how lucky she was to be here with him.

lucky i'm in love with my best friend

lucky to have been where i have been

lucky to be coming home again

"Baby."

Annabeth blinked lazily as she was brought out of her sleep. When she opened her eyes, she was met with the sight of Percy hovering over her, gently grazing his lips over her face. When he saw that her eyes had opened, he pulled back, adjusting the blanket strewn over Annabeth's body in their shared bed.

She rubbed her face tiredly, her lips twitching up as she stretched languidly. "Hey."

"You fully awake yet?" Percy asked, amusement gleaming in his eyes.

"No," she chirped playfully, her voice still laced with sleep.

"Should I come back later?"

"No," she said again, her arms stretching out to pull him next to her on the bed. Percy seemed to have just gotten back from work seeing as he was still dressed in his regular work attire. She really loved his appearance whenever he got home — he always looked so delightfully rumpled and soft, his demeanor practically screaming that he could use a few hugs and kisses. It was her favorite part of each day, and the agonizing hours between whenever she got off of work and he did were spent waiting for his arrival. "I demand cuddles."

"I don't think you get to make demands, you sleepyhead." Percy ran his fingers through her curls, massaging her hair gently. "You look about ready to knock out again."

Annabeth curled up into a ball under the blanket and Percy pulled her half into his lap to keep playing with her hair. "You just got back from work so I must love you first, and then I can sleep."

Percy tapped the center of her forehead with his index finger. "I got home hours ago."

"What?" Annabeth furrowed her brows and Percy gently caressed her cheek. "What time is it?"

"It's almost eight."

"Why did you let me sleep so long?" she complained.

"I didn't want to wake you," he said softly. "You were so tired yesterday so I figured you could use the extra hours."

"But I missed out on my favorite time of day."

"Mh-hm," he mused. "And what time is that?"

"The moment you get home and I get to climb onto you like a koala."

"I do love when my wife acts like a koala," he agreed, pausing his soothing ministrations on her hair. "While you were asleep, I made some food if you want some."

"Later," she said. "I want to hear all about my husband's day at work playing with cute animals first because he betrayed our normal routine." She gave him a pointed look.

"Do you want to hear about the seal we rescued?"

She nodded, stretching out over him like a starfish. "Please do tell."

As Percy started to tell the story, she just watched him talk. He made gestures with his hands as he spoke, and she could really tell that he loved what he did. Percy constantly came home with the cutest stories about sea animals and his enthusiasm was so refreshing.

Annabeth smiled and nodded as he went into detail about how he helped cut a net off of a seal, and she couldn't help but think of how amazing he was. He made a difference in the world, and she's so happy that she's the one he chose to have by his side while he does it. Annabeth can still hardly believe that this is her life, getting to come home to someone like Percy.

"—the baby ended up—"

Annabeth perked up. "What baby?"

Percy paused and then tilted his head in mock disappointment. "You weren't listening, were you?"

"I was," she protested. "But then I got distracted."

He flicked the rim of her ear.

"Tell me," she pleaded, squealing as he moved away from his fingers that went to either side of her to tickle her.

"While we were cutting off the wired net on the seal, we found a baby seal waiting around. It had a single piece of wire wrapped around an arm, and she came to us for help, which we don't see often. The poor thing was shaking, but she waltzed right on up to us once she saw us cutting the wire off the other seal."

"Was it cute?" she questioned, trying to change the conversation to something she'd been attempting to bring up for a while now. "The baby?"

"It was adorable, but you could tell she was scared."

"Babies are cute," Annabeth agreed. Her stomach suddenly shot up into nerves, and she had no idea how to bring this up. "So small and curious."

"They are." Percy squeezed her shoulder. "Your turn. Tell me about your day."

Annabeth stifled a groan. She'd been trying to start this conversation with him for days, but he never seemed to pick up on the clues. A part of her wondered if maybe he did pick up on them but just didn't acknowledge them because—

She mentally shook her head from those thoughts because she knew he wouldn't just ignore something like that. "Nothing special today. I made some blueprints and went to check up on some buildings."

"Nothing juicy?" he prodded further. "What about that one girl who never gives you a break."

"Well…" Here was her chance, she thought. "She was going around the office showing everyone a picture of her twins. I don't like her, but the babies were so small that I considered plucking one of hers for myself," she joked, but not also not really.

Of course, she knew he didn't pick up on her innuendos when he said, "Yeah, but coming from her, they'd probably be the most difficult babies alive. We wouldn't want one of them."

Annabeth actually groaned out loud, throwing her head back because he couldn't seriously not be getting this. Percy just gave her a weird look. "I did talk to Piper during lunch today."

"Oh really? How is she?"

"She told me that her and Jason might start trying for a baby soon."

"Oh, that's so sweet! That's a pretty big milestone there. You think they're ready?"

Annabeth bit her lip to stop herself from actually cursing out loud. "They're married, so I'd say so."

"That's good."

Dear lord. If he was going to be like this…

"Percy."

"Yeah?"

She sat up so she could be facing him directly. Her legs ended up tucked underneath her and her hands clamped shut in her lap, the blanket falling around her waist somewhere. "I want a baby."

Percy blinked, and then—

"What?"

Annabeth's heart sank because the way he'd responded didn't sound all that enthusiastic. "We've been married for two years and I want a baby. I've been trying to tell you, but you keep dodging the topic, so I just— I want a baby, okay?"

Percy licked his lips and opened his mouth to respond, but she continued before he would get a chance to turn her down.

"It's been two years, and I feel ready. I get if you don't want a baby, but can you at least tell me instead of—"

"Woah," Percy said, holding his hands up. "Slow down. I never said I didn't want a baby."

"But you kept ignoring me when I tried to bring up the topic."

"I didn't even realize you were trying to talk to me about this," he said, green eyes soft. "I wasn't ignoring you intentionally."

"I want a baby," she repeated, her voice so quiet as she feared him telling her no.

Percy laughed gently, reaching forwards to pull her closer and grab a hand, squeezing slowly. "I do too, but—"

"You do?" she asked, her lower lip popping out.

"I do." Percy looked at her, and she thinks she saw humor in his eyes. "I just didn't know you did too."

"Well, when we were engaged, you told me that you didn't want kids until we were financially stable," she defended.

"We've been financially stable for over a year now. I figured you would tell me when you were ready to talk about babies."

"I am ready." She shifted slightly. "I love you and I want our own little family."

"I love you too," he said, smiling. "I'm open to talking about this if it's really what you want."

"It is," she declared. "I want this."

"Okay, but— are you one-hundred percent sure about this? It's going to get gross and time-consuming at times."

"I know," she said. "But you'll be here with me, and we'll do it together. I know kids is like one of the leading causes of divorce—"

Percy shot her a look at that.

"But I think we'll be okay as long as we have each other by our sides."

"It's more than that," he warned. "I saw my mom with Paul, and it nearly tore them apart at times."

Annabeth frowned, but he was right. She knew that having a child didn't come without a price, and she hoped that she and Percy would be strong enough to come out on top, but it wasn't guaranteed. It was never guaranteed when there were children in the picture.

"But they made it through, didn't they?"

"They did, but there were times where they despised each other. It wasn't often, but they would get into screaming fights because of Estelle. It was just overall disagreements over how to raise her, and we're being naïve if we think it won't happen to us too."

"Do you think we're going to end up breaking up?"

"I hope not. From where we stand now, I don't think we'll break up, but we can't predict the future."

Annabeth sucked her lower lip into her mouth, chewing nervously. Of course, she already knew all of this, but hearing Percy say it too only made it more real. So many people had warned her beforehand that having a baby was a blessing, and it could bring two people together in ways that she'd never be able to imagine, but it could also destroy even the strongest of relationships.

She knew that if she wanted this baby, she had to be willing to put it before her marriage because a baby always came first. She had to have faith that she and Percy were going to be the couple to grow closer and stronger, and not fall apart at the base. She had to be sure that this is what she wanted, and that they were ready to take on the hardest job they'd ever love. And she was.

"I want to do this," she said. "The future isn't guaranteed so I want to do this now. And I don't think we'll break up, but if we do, at least it'll be for something. I don't want to live wondering what would've happened if we'd just been willing to take a chance."

Percy's jaw clenched and she could see his Adam's apple bobbing in his throat. "You're so hot."

"I'm serious," she said, laughing. "Lots of people break up, but lots of people stay together too. I'm willing to put the effort in, and I think we'll be okay."

"I think so too." Percy grinned widely. "If I married my best friend, I think I can raise a baby with them too. It can't be too hard to have a family with the love of your life."

"I'd sure hope so," she joked. "So what do you say?"

"I say—" Percy paused to look earnestly into her eyes. "This is really what I want. I'm going to ask you one more time, and this is your last chance out before I jump you and make you mine."

"I'm already yours," she said, making a kissy face.

"You really want this? A future with me? A baby and a family?"

"Yes, Percy," she said, pushing his shoulder playfully. "I really want this."

Percy's face broke into an impossibly wider grin. "Then let's have a baby."

Annabeth's smile matched his. "We're going to have a baby."

"We're going to have a baby!" he repeated, gleefully. "We should start planning now."

"Planning already?"

"Yes," he said seriously, though he dragged her onto his lap and fell backwards to nuzzle her neck. "Where are they going to go to school?"

She chuckled. "I'm not sure we have to worry about that quite yet."

"Which room will become theirs?"

"Your office," she said.

"Why mine?"

"I use my office more."

Percy sniffs. "I guess. Boy or girl?"

"We don't get to choose, goof." Annabeth spasmed as he poked right into her side, her muscles involuntarily clenching. "But I think I'd like a girl."

"Me too. A little Annabeth would be heavenly."

"Think you can handle two of me?"

"You bet," he said, winking. "When do we want to start trying then?"

"Now."

"Like right now?"

"Right now," she confirmed. "We're almost twenty-five and I really want a baby."

"I can't believe I got home from a seemingly normal day at work and now I'm going to have a baby."

"It's incredible, right?"

"It is." Percy thought for a second. "I'll take paternity leave with you once the baby comes."

"I didn't know you were such a planner," she teased, turning onto her side so that their noses were touching as they spoke. "You're going to be the best daddy ever."

"You'll be the best mommy." Percy kissed the tip of her nose. "So are we going to tell people we're trying or leave it a secret."

"Oh, a secret for sure," she said. "If we tell people we're trying, then all they'll ever think of us is 'they're having lots of sex, hehe.'"

"You're right. It's too awkward."

"So we're going to start trying tonight?"

"If that's what you want."

Annabeth squealed in excitement, tangling her legs with his. "How do people actually start getting pregnant?"

"…Do I really need to explain this to you?"

Annabeth snorted. "No, but I mean do people do anything different?"

"I've heard people stick pillows under their butt."

"I'm definitely not doing that."

"I agree. I think that's a bit excessive." He nipped indelicately at her nose now and she scrunched it. "We'll just go the more traditional route and try to conceive like normal human beings."

"That's more like it."

Annabeth couldn't smother her smile even if she wanted to. She'd been so worried about asking him if he wanted a baby, thinking that he'd shut that down real quick, but he'd been so willing to listen to her. He wanted a baby too, and those words were like music in her ears.

From behind Annabeth, an alarm on her phone started going off, startling both of them. She didn't even need to look to know what the alarm was for. Percy, on the other hand, looked thoroughly confused.

"What's that for?"

Annabeth smirked, pressing herself closer into his chest. She could feel his heartbeat reverberating throughout her body. "It's reminding me to take my birth control."

Percy grinned naughtily and then reached over her to shut the alarm off. Once his arm retracted back to her waist, he flipped them over so that Annabeth was underneath him and he was hovering over her, both of his arms pressed onto either side of her head. "I guess we won't be needing that anymore."

"What a relief. Taking it every day gets a bit tedious."

"Now you don't have to worry about that." Percy reached down to kiss her jaw and then moved to the base of her neck. "Should we start the new era of our life with a bang?"

"…Was that a pun?"

"Huh. I guess it was."

Annabeth's legs wrapped around his waist, hands smoothing over his hair to encourage him as he kept pressing kisses to her neck. She breathed a sigh of relief as his tongue ran over the spot where he'd sucked, leaving only a subtle red mark. "I'm still technically on the pill, so we won't be making a baby tonight."

"There's still a, what, one percent chance?" Percy moved back to her lips, praising them with his own. "It's worth a shot."

"Could you imagine?" she mused, tightening her grip in his hair as he bit down on her lower lip and pulled slightly.

"Let's find out," he said.

Percy began to trail down her body, leaving kisses on her neck and then lifting her shirt to press a long kiss to her belly button and then lower tummy. Once he got to her hips, he kissed her iliac crest, only pausing so he could dutifully tug her pants off, and then everything else, before resuming his breathtaking service.

As Annabeth lay there, breathing uneven and hard under his teasing, grazing touches, she thought about how she ended up here. So many years ago, she met a raven-haired, green-eyed boy that would later, unbeknownst to her, become her best friend, and then more. She never would've thought she'd end up dating that same boy, or even end up married to him, deciding it was time to start trying for a baby.

She was so incredibly thankful to be here. Every day, she got to come home to the love of her life. She was so lucky to have been one of the few people to fall in love with their best friend and have their best friend fall in love right back. Annabeth got to start a family with the person she loved most, and she couldn't even fathom it, or how they'd gotten to where they were.

Annabeth didn't have any words, because what would ever even begin to describe what she had built here with Percy? What they had — it was sacred, and it was indescribable.

So instead of searching for the words to explain the love she felt, she stayed in the moment, just letting herself take in her present, here with Percy's loving words flowing into her ears and his caring touches burning into her skin.

they don't know how long it takes

waiting for a love like this

every time we say goodbye

i wish we had one more kiss

i'll wait for you, i promise you i will

Annabeth bounced the baby on a hip, holding her phone up to her ear with her other hand. She could barely hear the ringing of the phone over the seven-month-old's high-pitched wails.

When the phone went to voicemail again, she slammed it down onto the kitchen island in pure frustration. Of course, it only made the baby start crying more, startled by the noise and likely sensing the rising anger radiating from Annabeth in waves.

Percy had left to the store over an hour ago to get children's Tylenol, but he seemed to be taking his sweet time, which left Annabeth to deal with the sick baby when she had to leave for work in mere hours.

Annabeth's hand went to rest on her daughter's back in an attempt to soothe her cries, and it worked if only for a few seconds before the cries continued on. Annabeth was getting really worried at this point because the baby had been getting increasingly sick and her husband was nowhere to be found.

As her daughter went into a coughing fit, Annabeth gently pat her back to help her through it. "You're okay," she tried, wincing as the cough sounded really dry and painful. "Daddy will be home soon."

The cries only worsened, and Annabeth felt so helpless. She didn't know how to help her or calm her down. Annabeth knew the different ways her daughter would cry, and this one was a cry of pain, which made Annabeth want to cry herself because there was nothing she could do.

Annabeth made her way to the couch, handling the squirming infant. She started cursing as she sat down to cradle the baby, thinking maybe she'd fall asleep, but that was wishful thinking. There was no way she would be able to leave on her work trip when her own child could barely breathe through her cries.

Annabeth sat rocking her baby back and forth, praying that the cries would stop. When she heard the lock turning in the door half an hour later, she immediately stood to face him and chew him out or start crying.

Percy walked down the hall, no doubt finding her by following the cries, and when he turned the corner, he was met with Annabeth staring at him, their child still twisting and turning in her arms and Annabeth herself looking teary-eyed.

"Are you okay?" He set the plastic bag on the coffee table and reached in to dig around for the medicine he'd bought.

"Where were you?" she said instead.

"I was getting the medicine like you asked," he said, pulling out the bottle and peeling the plastic off of it.

"You've been gone over an hour and you weren't answering your phone."

Percy looked on the side of the bottle to check the dosages. "My phone died and there was a major accident along the road."

"Percy." Annabeth's voice sounded broken.

Percy looked at her and he could tell that she was freaking out, so he reached forwards to pull the baby into his arms, handing her the medicine to deal with. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

She unscrewed the top of the bottle and filled the dropper to the right line, forcing it into the baby's mouth and squeezing until it came out. She was watching the baby's reaction, but Percy was watching her, analyzing how she was actually shaking as she went to screw the bottle's lid back on.

"What's going on?" he asked, moving the baby to one arm so he could wrap a hand around Annabeth's waist.

"I can't leave like this," she told him, tossing the medicine back onto the table. "Sophia's sick. I can't just leave her to go on a work trip."

"Sophia's going to be fine," he said. "We called her doctor and he told us what to do. She's okay."

"She's sick." Annabeth rubbed her eyes. "She has a fever and she's already thrown up twice today."

"Babies get sick. It's normal." Percy rubbed Annabeth's back and she felt ridiculous because here he was comforting her when it was their baby that needed comforting. "You spent over a year preparing for this trip."

"But—"

"You're going to Greece to see the design you've been working on since before Sophia was even born. You have to go."

"She's my baby—" Her voice cracked near the end.

"What's going on?" Percy scrunched his eyebrows together. Annabeth had really changed since having a baby, and it wasn't a bad thing, but she seemed much more fidgety and nervous with anything to do with her baby. "Is this really because she's sick?"

Annabeth's eyes went to Sophia. She was staring at her mother with Percy's vibrant green eyes. Her short hair, blonde and curled to resemble Annabeth's, was pulled into two tiny pigtails on the top of her head. Even though her cheeks were sanguine and there were tears trailing down her face, she looked adorable and Annabeth knew that she couldn't just leave her for a vacation to Greece.

Percy sat on their couch, Sophia on his lap, and then he grabbed Annabeth's hand to tug her next to him. Annabeth reluctantly sat next to him, and his arm wrapped around her shoulder so she could rest her head against him and listen to his heart.

"You have about an hour before you absolutely have to leave or else you'll miss your flight," he said.

"I'm not going."

"You were so excited a week ago. What happened?"

"I don't want to leave." She smothered her face into his chest, tears rolling out, which even surprised her. "She's my baby."

At first Percy thought she meant she didn't want to leave her sick baby, but then he realized the real meaning behind her words. Ever since having the baby, she'd always been there. Annabeth hadn't spent a single night away from her child, and now she was leaving for over a week.

"You haven't been apart from Sophia before, have you?"

"No, and I don't want to be," she said, muffled.

"She's going to be okay. She has her daddy right here, and if anything happens, you're only a phone call away."

"Not if your phone's dead."

"I promise I'll keep it charged." Percy kissed the top of her head. "I know you don't want to leave her, but you deserve a break. It's just one week."

"But she's sick—"

"I know, but the doctor's on speed dial, and it's just a common cold. There will be plenty more for you to be around for."

"And what if she wants her mom, but I'm not here to hold her?"

"Then her dad will hold her." Percy snickered. "I heard that she actually really likes her dad. He's apparently really good with babies, or something like that."

"Something like that," she choked in a laugh, wiping at her eyes. "I'm going to miss her so much."

"You can talk to her whenever you want."

"There's a big time difference, silly."

"You can call me at three in the morning and I'll wake her up for you."

"Don't you dare wake my baby up from her sleep," she said, slapping his chest playfully. "That's so cruel."

"I won't," he reassured. "But, Annabeth, you have to go to this. You'll regret it if you don't."

"I know." She sniffled. "I'm not ready to leave yet."

Percy shifted slightly in his seat, lifting Sophia and passing her to Annabeth. "Well, for the next half hour before you leave, you can just hold her."

"So you can rip her away from me and send me on my way?" she asked jokingly.

"Hold your baby, Annabeth."

So she did, carefully grasping her and settling her against her chest. Sophia's small, chunky legs bent in her lap and her arms went to clench in Annabeth's shirt. She'd already calmed her cries significantly, save for a few gasps here and there.

"Can you believe we made this?" she whispered to Percy, suddenly taken aback.

"Right?" He breathed out, watching his two favorite girls. "This is the life we made."

"I don't want to leave," she suddenly said again. "We built the perfect daughter, and I don't want to leave her."

"You're not leaving her," he said. "You'll be back in one week, and you'll get to tell us all about how much fun you had. Sophia will be all better by then, a drooling mess of giggles and smiles, and when you give her that cute stuffed animal I already know you'll be bringing back to her, she's going to love it so much."

"I'm determined to find a stuffed owl," she said.

"And she's going to carry that owl around forever. It'll be her best friend, and it'll probably end up in her mouth all the time because she loves to do that, but it'll be hers."

"I can already see her toothless smile," she said, laughing. "She'll be sitting on the carpet crawling around when I get back, and then when she sees me, she'll start bouncing herself in that cute way she does whenever she's happy."

"See? She'll be just fine for one week. How does that saying go? Absence makes the heart grow fonder?"

"I'm not so sure that applies to your children, Percy."

Percy hummed, brushing his nose against her cheek. "Sophie and I were reading Winnie the Pooh last night while you were packing. He said, 'How lucky I am to have someone who makes saying goodbye so hard,' and it's a children's book so you can't argue against that one."

"You read Winnie the Pooh without me?" she said, feigning distrust. "That's our thing!"

"It's not my fault," he said, pressing his smile against her shoulder. "Sophia told me, 'Daddy, let's read without mommy! You always make the cool voices that she never does.'"

Annabeth's jaw dropped.

"She said it — not me." Percy pointed to Sophia to prove his point.

"Nice try, but she doesn't talk." Annabeth blinked pointedly, somehow making it haughty. "Also, I do the voices when I read to her."

"I've been caught red-handed."

"Yes you have, mister."

Percy gave his signature lop-sided smile. "But I was right, wasn't I?"

"I wish you weren't," she admitted. When she turned her head and leaned it back so she could look at him, she said, "I love you."

Percy looked deep into her eyes, focusing on the shocking grey of her irises that he'd fallen in love with long ago. "I love you too."

"I have to leave soon."

"You do."

Annabeth nodded for some reason, sitting straighter so she could hand the baby back to Percy. When she stood up, Percy followed so he could help her get her bags into the car. It was a bit of a struggle with one of his arms being occupied by a child, but he managed well enough.

Annabeth really wished things had gone slower so she could savor the last hour she had with her family, but it unfortunately wasn't the way the world worked. Before she knew it, she was standing at her front door on one side of the threshold, her husband and daughter on the other side.

Annabeth noted that Sophia was getting sleepy, rubbing her eyelids with her frail fingers that Annabeth loved to kiss curled into a fist. The smallest pigtails sticking up like palm trees on her head made Annabeth want to rub her hand against them.

Her head was going crazy. She doesn't know how someone could spent nine months growing the perfect human and then just leave like it was nothing. She still wasn't sure that she would be able to bring herself to do it. Her daughter — she was just perfect and everything she'd ever wanted, and she didn't want to leave her.

"You ready?" Percy asked, breaking the silence.

Annabeth decided to steal her baby from his arms again, pressing a kiss to her blonde curls and hugging her against her chest, refraining from crying even though she wanted nothing more than to do just that. With a last kiss to her daughter's face, she handed her back to Percy.

"You behave for daddy, alright?" she said to Sophia. All she got were a few meaningless babbles back. "I'll miss you so much."

And then, to Percy, "You take care of my baby, or else."

"Or else what?" he said, trying to ease the mood.

"Or else I'll kill you," she promised, though her voice held no hint of threat.

"I'll take care of her," he promised. "She'll be a good girl and take all her naps on time, but we might extend her bedtime an hour."

Annabeth stepped forwards to wrap her arms around Percy, and she felt him kiss the top of her head. "You're going to ruin her sleep schedule."

"Don't worry," he said. "I'll keep her in good shape. Gotta have some faith in dad, you know what I'm saying?"

"Oh, of course." She tilted her chin up, and god, she loved the height difference between them. She was still inches away from the bottom of his face. "I love you."

"I love you too." Percy smiled at her adoringly before lowering his lips to his, kissing her slowly and sweetly.

Annabeth tried to pour everything she was feeling into the kiss. When he pulled away, she nearly pulled him back because she wasn't ready to say goodbye. Of course, she never would be ready to say goodbye to this — to him.

"We'll see you in a week," he said, pinching her cheek. "It's only seven days."

"Seven days too long," she whimpered. She could feel herself edging a mental breakdown.

"It'll pass by so fast you won't even know it happened," he promised, patting the base of her hip. "Go. We'll see you soon."

And then —

"I can't," she cried. "She'll take her first steps, or say her first word, or—"

"She's seven months old. None of that will happen."

"Please don't make me go."

"Baby," he laughed. "We'll be right here waiting for you to come home. Sophia and I will be having a daddy-daughter party while you're gone. She is in more than capable hands."

"I know that."

"Then go," he said, pushing her lightly.

Annabeth took a deep breath to calm her nerves, her fingers now fumbling with the keys to the car. "Can I have one more kiss?"

Wordlessly, Percy's head bent down to reach his lips back to hers, and she closed her eyes, moving her fingers up to his hair to tangle through it. She tried to remember what this felt like, because even after a week, she was scared she'd forget.

She breathed him in, focusing on the softness of his lips, the way they fit perfectly into hers like a puzzle piece, the way he tasted of salt and the ocean, the place they'd first gotten engaged and then gotten married. He felt like her best friend, and he felt like home.

When he finally pulled away, she felt much more ready than she had moments before. Sophia and Percy weren't going anywhere. She could survive just a week without them, and when she got back, things would be even better than before.

She could do it.

With a final press to her daughter's cheek, she stepped off the front porch, turning around to tear herself painfully away from her family. She stood outside the car as she opened the door, turning it on with the flick of the keys. She tried not to look back because she thinks the moment of strength would disappear if she saw either of their faces, but she betrayed herself.

Annabeth looked back to them as she got into the car and buckled the seatbelt, and what she saw made her tear up all over again.

Percy was holding Sophia with one arm, smiling down at her as he tried to get her to wave bye-bye with her hand. She did eventually get what her dad wanted her to do, and she opened and closed her fist in her own form of a wave, doing it in Annabeth's general direction.

Percy's eyes found Annabeth again and he did the same silly wave Sophia did, and Annabeth's heart fluttered watching the family she built. Percy gave her a longing gaze and mouthed three simple word to her.

I love you.

Annabeth mouthed them back, and then she was closing the door and putting the car in drive. As she pulled away from her driveway, she couldn't help but smile through the hot, falling tears that were already making her way down her cheeks for what would not be the last time.

Her baby was sick, and she wanted to be with her, but she was lucky enough to have a husband ushering her to go and fulfil her dreams. Sophia would survive without her mom for a week, and Annabeth knew that, but Percy made it easier to let happen.

Annabeth knew he would be waiting for her with open arms. He would always give her one more kiss. She has a love that she never thought possible but was so impossibly glad to have found.

Annabeth had everything, and she knew this as she kept driving away. Everything she has, she built with Percy. Percy, her best friend, her husband, the love of her life. She loved him, and he loved her, and everything she is with made with him, and she was just so—

Lucky.

i'm lucky i'm in love with my best friend

lucky to have been where i have been

lucky to be coming home someday

lucky we're in love in every way

lucky to have stayed where we have stayed

lucky to be coming home someday

Percy had the worst day at work.

Imagine the worst day someone could possibly have at work, and then put that to the power of fifty. That's about half as bad as his day was.

He woke up extremely late for work, only having woken up at all thanks to his wife shaking him awake once her own alarm went off. The whole morning ordeal left him leaving without breakfast and speeding (but not really, for legal reasons) towards his workplace only to realize he was out of gas and had to stop, making himself even more late. He didn't even get to say goodbye to his daughter, and that probably peeved him the most.

And that was only within the first hour of being awake.

The second he got to work, he was told that his group was heading out onto the ocean to help deal with some wild marine creatures, so he was going to be spending his entire on board a tiny boat, rocking back and forth on the waves because of course the day had to be windy.

He ended up climbing on the boat, having to be in a wetsuit which didn't protect against the cold of the day. Just when he thought that maybe the day wouldn't so bad because someone else offered to go in the water and cut free a few animals from fishing lines, the boat decided to tip a little too far to the right.

Guess where Percy had been standing.

Percy was thrown into the water, which was particularly icy that day, and then everyone else made the executive decision that he be the one to cut the animals free since he was already in the water anyway. A fish bit him. He doesn't know how a fish bit him. He really felt like murdering someone.

Normally, Percy got off from work around four in the afternoon because he showed up early, but his boss decided that he needed Percy for a few more hours for some unknown reason.

Percy ended up having to cancel his date night with Annabeth, which might've been the only thing he was looking forward to. Over the phone, she'd sounded deflated when he told her, but she promised that it was fine, telling him that she'd just watch a movie with Sophie.

Did you think it couldn't possibly get any worse?

Ha. Wrong.

Percy ended up sticking around for another four hours after his shift ended because his boss kept insisting he was needed, except Percy did precisely nothing. He just stood around looking pretty, though after the day he had, his face likely said otherwise.

By the time he finally found himself driving home, his face seemed permanently morphed into a scowl. His hands were clamped tightly around the steering wheel and his left eye kept twitching, which was the cherry on top.

He tried to calm himself before he got home because Annabeth had been taking care of the baby all day, having taken a day off work because their one-year-old spent the night bawling her eyes out, for reasons still not quite known between the two. The last thing she needed after spending the day with a hormonal toddler was a grumpy husband.

Despite his efforts, the frown did not disappear. As he drove through the front of the neighborhood, he entirely gave up on brightening his mood. Of course he wouldn't take his day out on Annabeth (he'd learned not to do that the hard way), but he also couldn't sit there and talk like nothing had happened without developing some sort of snide attitude, so he decided that he would just go straight to take a shower and then bed to avoid any unwanted arguments.

Turning off the car and making his way into the house, he bit back a really loud curse as he managed to stub his toe on the corner of the of the door and then trip over one of Sophia's stranded toys.

Continuing on with his plan of heading straight towards his room, he shucked off his jacket to hang it by the front door before proceeding down the vacant hall of his house. Annabeth hadn't been in the living room, so Percy figured she already put Sophia to sleep and was already out cold, but that thought was thrown out the window as he passed by the open door to his daughter's room.

Inside of the room, walls painted a pastel purple, was his wife and child sitting in the middle of the floor playing with colorful toys. Annabeth's back was facing Percy, so she didn't notice him plant himself in the doorway and lean on the doorframe to watch the scene unfold.

Immediately, Percy's mood lightened just watching his family. There was something about seeing them together from an outside perspective he didn't usually get to see that he adored. He got to see his wife genuinely interacting with his daughter, not under the eyes of Percy. Not that she knew of, anyways.

Annabeth seemed to have already given Sophia a bath and put her in a warm onesie, he noted. Her hair was also falling in wet ringlets, so she herself must've taken a shower already.

Everything about the scene was so warm and homey — the room itself was tidy but still lived in as there were fuzzy blankets strewn across the white-painted crib, and children's books and toys at random spots around the carpeted room. The pictures of their family were mounted on the wall, and it all just put a nostalgic smile on his face.

Annabeth was rolling a shiny pink car on the floor around Sophia's legs and making her giggle delightedly before reaching for the car. Percy just watched them play together and listened to his daughter's small laughs, and his wife's one-sided conversation to her.

"There you go, Sophie," she said encouraging her. "Roll the car on the floor."

Sophia lifted the car and started hitting the floor with it, smiling up at Annabeth with the tiny teeth coming into her mouth.

"No, Sophie," she said, taking the car. "We roll the car, like this." Annabeth started showing her again, before handing it back. "You try."

As expected, Sophia didn't understand a single world, so Annabeth was left sighing as she watched her baby throw a car across the room. Percy had to stifle a snort with his hand, not wanting to give up his presence just yet.

"That works too, I guess." Annabeth picked up a few blocks that were stray on the floor and waved it in the baby's face. "What color is this?"

Sophia just babbled, tipping forwards dangerously fast, leaving Annabeth to grab her upper arm and cushion the fall. Sophia kept babbling as she crawled her way into her mother's lap.

"You wanna cuddle mommy?" Annabeth chuckled as Sophia started pulling at her curls. "No blocks? Are you too good for blocks?"

More meaningless babbles.

"Oh, I understand. You prefer the blocks at daycare." Annabeth pretended to listen. "Oh? No, that's totally reasonable. I agree with you."

Sophia blew her lips together and started clapping.

"I knowww," Annabeth said dramatically. Percy thought it was really cute that she was having a conversation with someone who couldn't talk. It made him feel all gross and fuzzy inside. He loved it. "Some people, right?"

Then, Sophia caught sight of Percy standing in the doorway from over Annabeth's shoulder and gave him a semi-toothless smile. To Annabeth, it looked like she was smiling at the wall, so Annabeth's head snapped towards the door to find what had captured her daughter's attention.

Annabeth actually jumped when she saw Percy leaning against the door silently. "Oh my god, Percy. Nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Sorry." He walked further into the room, kneeling down next to her. Sophia crawled from Annabeth's lap to his. "Didn't mean to scare you."

"You were just standing there like a psycho serial killer. How long were you there?"

"About five minutes." Percy kissed the top of Sophia's head and her tiny hands went to either side of face, squeezing his cheeks. "How'd you know I was there."

"Sophia started staring at the wall and smiled. Had an inkling someone was standing behind me, which is terrifying when you're home alone. Felt my blood run cold."

Percy threw his head back, laughing. "I'm sorry. I was just watching you play with her."

"Why didn't you make yourself known and play with us?"

"You two were so cute I couldn't stand to interrupt." He looked at her and their faces were inches away from each other. "Did you really not hear me walking in? I nearly died on one of her toys by the front door."

"No!" Annabeth touched his nose with hers. "Was it the annoying phone toy? Nearly tripped on it myself."

"You left it there on purpose," he accused, reaching his left arm around her shoulder to pull her into a side hug. "You wanted all this cuteness to yourself, so you tried to kill me."

"We were waiting for daddy to come home and play with us," she said. "So we definitely weren't trying to kill you. Maybe injure you so you would be forced to stay in one spot while we make you play tea party."

"You mean that to be a punishment, but it actually sounds very fun."

"You get put her in a princess dress and play with her next time then. She may be one, but she is one feisty girl."

"Hm. Wonder where she gets it from."

"Meanie." Annabeth lifted her face back to his and said, "You haven't given me a kiss yet."

"I haven't? How dare I." Percy smiled at Annabeth's small giggle before pressing a sweet, simple kiss to her lips. "I missed you today."

"We missed you too. Sophia was so sad when she didn't get to say bye-bye to daddy."

"Don't make me feel worse than I already do," he said. "Today was — something."

"Bad day?" she asked, amused.

"Understatement. It started off disastrous and only got exponentially worse."

"Oh no," she said, eyes gleaming. "What happened?"

Percy sniffed. "I don't want to talk about it."

"You big baby. You need a kiss to make it better?"

"Yes, please."

Annabeth gave him a look that said, really? Regardless, she placated him with another kiss. "Better?"

"Much."

Annabeth snorted, stealing her baby back from him. "Now that you're home, did you plan on helping me parent our child?"

"I am insulted. I always help."

She grinned. "I know."

"Speaking of parenting," he said pointedly. "It's over an hour past her bedtime."

"She was so sad when you didn't say goodbye, so I had to let her see you before bed."

"That's the second time you brought that up. Was she really sad?"

"She really was! She started crying when she woke up on her own and it was light out. She got used to you poking her awake before you left."

Percy stuck his lower lip out and looked at Sophia. "Well now I'm sad."

"Don't be," she said. "She's all smiley now. See?" She pointed to Sophia who was looking at Percy and slightly drooling.

"My poor baby." Percy took the bottom of Annabeth's shirt and wiped Sophia's mouth, earning him a disgusted hey! from Annabeth. "She was drooling!"

"Use your own damn shirt," she mumbled. "I already showered."

"Without me?" he said, pretending to be offended. "How could you betray me like this? Betray our marriage like this?"

"Oh, shut it, drama queen." Annabeth adjusted Sophia's position on her lap. "I had no idea when you'd be home, and you've never wanted me to wait for you to take a shower."

"Never is a strong word."

"You're getting annoying now," she joked. "Go sleep or something and stop bothering us. We were having a dandy time before you came along."

"I could go to sleep, or we could put Sophia down like responsible parents and go use our time more… resourcefully."

"Oh?" she mused. "Use our time doing what?"

"Having sexy-fun times."

"Ha!"

"It's been too long," he complained, slouching to the floor dramatically.

"It's been, like, a week."

"Too long!" he said again. "Plus, today was really bad."

"Help me get her to bed and I'll think about it."

Percy eagerly sat up, holding his arms out for his baby to crawl back into his lap. As Annabeth let Sophia roam back over to Percy, Percy said, "Deal."

Percy stood, and his back cracked. He chose to ignore Annabeth calling him an old man (he's only twenty-six!) and instead used what little energy he had left to walk on over to the crib and set Sophia down on the soft mattress. He had expected her to cry, but she actually just laid down and let her chubby fingers grab the bottle Annabeth was passing to her over his shoulder. He hadn't even known she had already made a bottle.

Annabeth dropped the side of her head onto his shoulder, and Percy's arm wrapped around her. They watched for a few minutes as Sophia messed with the blankets in her crib and then just stared back at her parents, confused as to why she was being watched but content, nonetheless.

"We should probably let her sleep," Annabeth whispered into his ear.

Percy nodded and then he turned, grabbing Annabeth's hand and dragging her out of the room, switching the lights off and quietly shutting the door. The second the door closed, Percy was pushing Annabeth against the wall and lifting her until she wrapped her legs around his waist.

"So?" Percy asked, teeth grazing her neck. "Have you thought about it?"

"I have," she said, tilting her head to give him better access.

"And?"

"And I'll let you know once we get to the room."

Wasting no time, he made his way down the hall to their own room with Annabeth still wrapped around his waist. He neared the bed and tossed her down onto it, ready to follow, and then she was grinning at him, and —

And then she was moving the covers back and climbing under them, leaving Percy standing there dumbfounded.

"I thought…"

"I'm really tired and I'm sure you are too," she said in explanation. "I really just want to cuddle."

"You played me!"

"I told you I'd think about it, and I did. I'm just — do you want to accidentally fall asleep in the middle of sex because I can guarantee that's what'll happen."

Percy flopped down onto the bed beside her. "I guess you're right, but you're still an evil woman."

Annabeth gave a melodious laugh. "Tomorrow," she reassured.

Percy snaked an arm over her waist and settled his head against her stomach, eyes closing in content. "Tomorrow."

"You're already falling asleep," she said. "It was for the better."

Percy just gave a tired hum.

"I mean — we can still talk for a while before sleeping."

Percy opened one eye only to look at her. "You want to talk?"

"Well, yeah."

"Okay," he said, inhaling and rubbing his face. "Let's talk."

"What should we talk about?"

"I didn't think that far ahead."

"Me either."

"Let's just snuggle then."

"Snuggle?"

"Yes, snuggle," he said, nuzzling her stomach and hugging her. "We haven't snuggled in a while."

"At least get under the blankets," she said, lifting them to assist him.

Once Percy was in, Annabeth's fingers went to his hair. He never actually told her that he likes it when she plays with his hair, but she highly suspects that he does, so she does it anyways. They stayed like that in silence for a while, and she thought Percy fell asleep as his breathing evened out until he spoke again.

"I love you," he said quietly, tightening his grip on her.

"I love you too."

Annabeth ended up falling asleep before Percy this time, and Percy was left in dark silence, listening to Annabeth's steady breaths.

It was amazing how fast Annabeth could change Percy's mood. He went from being ready to throw himself down the garbage disposal to cuddling Annabeth, his wife and best friend. That type of thing — it was real love.

He thinks that maybe bad days were created so that it feels so much better when you get to come home to the woman you love — to the family you made.

All in all, the day really wasn't as bad as he thought. His day would never be as bad as he thought because he would always get to come home to this at the end of the day.

And, to have this type of love? To love everything about someone? To be in love in every single way? It's otherworldly. Sitting here now, head resting on Annabeth's stomach, he knew that he loved everything about this girl.

Watching her play with his daughter showed him the way he's in love with his wife's care, his wife's passion for her family. Standing over the crib with her to watch their child fall asleep showed him the way he's in love with the way she built this life with him.

It was Percy and Annabeth, and it always would be.

Percy was in love with her in every single way, and he's known that for a while. He's been saying that for a while. It just never stops hitting him when he thinks of it all over again.

Annabeth could make something as simple as snuggling feel like the best thing in the world, and he just —

How does he even begin to explain this?

It was Annabeth. Plain and simple.

There's not one specific thing he loves about Annabeth because he's just so in love with everything. Sure, they get into arguments because they're human, but they always find their way back to each other. Something told him that they always would.

Laying here, Annabeth wrapped tightly under his arms, Percy kept help but smile. If this is what he gets to come home to every day, then he'll take days like today a million times over.

and so i'm sailing through the sea

to an island where we'll meet

you'll hear the music fill the air

i'll put a flower in your hair

Percy watched as Annabeth walked beside him, her head staring at the concrete. They were on the island where they'd gotten engaged and married, and so he had expected her to be more enthusiastic about this trip.

Percy thought she looked amazing in her tropical flowing dress, her curls cascading in long ringlets down her back. She looked gorgeous to him, and he just wishes that she was feeling a bit happier about this moment, because there was so much to be taking in.

So many memories were created on this island, and now they got to bring their daughter to a place that meant so much to the both of them. It was supposed to be an exciting, nostalgic trip but Annabeth seemed overly emotional, and he didn't know how to help her.

Together, they walked hand in hand down a scenic path, taking in the vibrant green trees and the bushes of tropical flowers, and the scene was almost perfect. Their one-year-old was walking on her own in front of them, curiosity clear in her eyes as she stumbled around the path, pausing to touch flowers or point out a bug to her parents.

There was so much to look at, to appreciate, but his wife didn't look at any of it, and he was getting worried because she'd been distant for a few days now.

"You okay?" he asked gently, swinging their hands between them as they kept walking. "You're awfully quiet."

"I'm okay." Annabeth still didn't look up, and her voice sounded so weak that even she didn't believe her words.

"You just seem really distant. Did I do something to upset you?"

"No." Annabeth still kept her eyes glued to the ground in front of her as they walked.

"Then what's going on?"

"Nothing."

Percy stopped in his tracks, and Annabeth was forced to stop too because his hand was still intertwined with hers. He tugged gently to get her to look at him. "Then why won't you look at me?"

"Percy," she sighed, running her fingers through her loose curls. She looked at her daughter who was still stumbling down the path unaware of her parents having stopped. Annabeth called out to her daughter to get her to turn back, and only then did Annabeth look at her husband.

"What's going on?" he asked, one hand reaching up to cup her cheek and rub it soothingly with his thumb. "We're on this island with our daughter for the first time which is amazing, but you're really quiet. I want you to enjoy our time here."

"It's not that I'm not enjoying our time here," she said. "I just — I have other things on my mind right now."

"Tell me," he insisted. "I want to help you."

"Right now?" She looked around the vacant path.

"There's no one here, and if anyone comes by, they can just pass us." Percy dropped his hand from her face. "Talk to me."

Annabeth's jaw clicked as she chose to watch her daughter circle around them, still so entranced by all the colors to acknowledge the tense situation. "It's — Piper and Jason."

Percy suddenly knew where this was going. "What about them?"

"They're getting divorced." Annabeth looked him in the eyes. "They loved each other so much and they're getting divorced."

"It happens," he said. "It doesn't mean it's going to —"

"But what if it does?" Annabeth scratched her neck. "What if we get divorced?"

"That's not going to happen," he promised, pressing a hand to her lower back to pull her in until his face was inches away from hers. "We aren't them."

"Piper and Jason were the perfect couple. They were the ones everyone thought would last."

"It's life," he said.

"They have two kids. They loved those kids so much, and they were always so happy together. Even last month when they went out to dinner with us, they were so happy. Things changed so fast, and — what if that happens to us?"

Percy looked her sympathetically. "I think there was a lot more going on behind closed doors that we didn't know about."

"They were perfect."

"They weren't," he said. "Not everyone shares their relationship issues with the world, and divorce isn't something that just pops up. It was a long time coming, Annabeth, and we just didn't know it."

"But they were the couple everyone wanted to be. They were the way we are, so what's to say it won't happen to us?"

"There's a lot," he said gently. "Piper and Jason didn't just bring up the topic of divorce and go through with it. It's been on their minds for longer than we know, which means they've been having problems for longer than we were aware of. You and I — we don't have problems the way they did."

"But what if we do?"

"We won't. We aren't Piper and Jason, and we never will be. I don't plan on every breaking up with you, and — we're happy, Annabeth. There's no indication that we would ever get to the point of divorce, but even if we did, I promise you that I will fight for us."

Annabeth licked her lips, and her throat tightened. "But what if it doesn't work? No one ever saw their breakup happening, and yet it did."

"We won't let it get that far if problems between us start to rise." Percy kissed her cheek softly. "I made vows to you when we got married, and you made vows to me. I will always fight to keep what we've built here. We aren't going to get divorced because I'm not going to let that happen, and I know you aren't either."

"Promise?" she asked, teary eyed.

"I promise." He looked at her, pouring as much love and comfort as he could into the gaze. "We will never be like Piper and Jason. We're Percy and Annabeth, and we always will be."

"I don't want to break up," she said, her voice near a whisper. "I love you, and I don't ever want to be without you."

"You won't ever be without me," he said, lips grazing over her shoulder and moving up towards her cheek. "The only way we'll be apart is if one of us dies, and that's not going to be happening anytime soon. You're stuck with me for the rest of your life."

"That's too bad," she managed in a strangled attempt at a laugh. And then, "I love you."

"I love you too," he said. "Better yet, I'm in love with you."

"You'll never leave my side?" she asked, letting herself lean into Percy and have him hold most of her weight.

"Never."

Percy nudged his nose under her chin to get her to look up, and once she did, he caught her lips with his, kissing her softly but firmly. She was his best friend, and he was never going to let go of her. Everything about her would always be engrained in his mind, and he wanted to keep it that way.

And Annabeth? She was scared of the future, because there's no way to know what the future holds. After this moment between them, though? The one thing she's sure of is that Percy will never abandon her. Percy was the person she would always be able to count on. He would always be the one to pick her back up when she fell down.

He would always be with her, and she would always be with him, though anything and everything.

Percy and Annabeth got interrupted in their moment as their daughter started tugging at the base of Annabeth's flowing dress, wanting to be picked up and included in what she thought was family bonding time.

Percy groaned as he bent to pick Sophia up, resting her on his hip as he looked to his wife. Annabeth chuckled at the little girl who had a large pink flower crumpled in her hand and was holding it out to Annabeth.

"Our daughter's vandalizing this place," Annabeth said, smirking. "Better get out of here before we get arrested."

"Our daughter is a criminal," he joined in. "A flower thief and murderer."

Annabeth accepted the flower from Sophia, lifting it up to inspect it. It was around two inches in diameter with the colorful anthers sticking out through the velvety petals. It was a really beautiful flower, and Annabeth feels so honored that her daughter wanted her mom to have it.

"Thank you," she said to the baby, pressing a kiss to the blonde curls on her head. "It's super pretty."

"What're you gonna do with it?" Percy asked, shifting his weight onto his other foot.

"I have no idea," Annabeth said, shrugging.

"I have an idea," Percy said, plucking the flower from her hand.

"You just stole my flower. That's not nice." She shook her head disapprovingly. "Teaching my daughter to steal."

"You'll have to deal with it because you're stuck with me forever, remember?" Percy twirled it in his fingers before reaching forward and brushing Annabeth's hair behind her ear and pinning it in place with the flower. "There. You fit in with this place."

"You just put a flower in my hair," she pointed out.

"And you look beautiful."

Annabeth smiled and put a hand over her heart. "I think I love you."

"I know I love you," Percy countered, tugging her in for another kiss. "You're my beautiful wife who will always be my best friend and the love of my life. There's no escaping it."

"I wouldn't want to," she said against his lips, only breaking apart again when Sophia started crying for attention.

"I love you so much."

"I love you too," she said. "We should probably continue with the path before we miss the daytime cruise."

"Probably," he said laughing. His eyes sparkled as he looked at Annabeth, utterly infatuated with her. He held out a hand for her to grab onto, which she accepted gratefully.

He started to lead her down the path, and Annabeth felt much better than she had ten minutes before. Percy and Annabeth were just that — they were them. They weren't another couple, or two random strangers.

Someone else's relationship downfall didn't mean that it would happen to them too, because they were different. They have loved each other from the start, and that love had never wavered for a single second. If anything, it only intensified with every day spent next to one another.

On the island where so much of their life had taken place, she couldn't be happier. Yes, Annabeth was scared, and she always would be in one form or another. She'd always be scared as long as she has something to lose, but maybe that was okay. Having something to lose wasn't always going to be a bad thing — it meant that you had something to cherish and love.

They had each other. Whatever happens in the future, Annabeth knows that she's going to fight for them. She has no doubt in her mind that he's going to fight for her too. They could go through hell and back, but they will always come out victorious.

They will always come out together.

That's what it means to have fallen in love with her best friend, and on top of everything, she knows just how lucky she is to have what she has.

though the breezes through trees

move so pretty, you're all i see

as the world keeps spinning round

you hold me right here right now

Annabeth sat on the kitchen counter, silently watching as Percy did the dishes, rising them off one by one. She could see his shoulder blades moving beneath his tight shirt as he worked, and just watching him made her toes curl in delight.

She thinks that he must've felt Annabeth's eyes on him, because a few seconds later, he was turning around to inspect the kitchen, only to find Annabeth propped up on their marble counter.

He turned back around to the dishes before speaking. "I thought you were putting Sophia down for the night."

"I did," she said. "She was out like a light the second her head touched the mattress."

"Poor thing was tired," he pointed out, scrubbing at a glass plate.

"So cranky all day. Maybe she's getting sick. I'm pretty sure that there was a kid with the flu at daycare last week."

"Oh, let's hope not. The last thing we need right now is a sick baby."

"Preach." Annabeth swung her legs beneath her as she leaned back on her hands on the counter.

"Speaking of sick — are you feeling better?"

"For now," she admitted. "I actually wanted to talk to you about that, though."

"About being sick?" Annabeth could practically hear the confusion in his voice, and she knew he was probably scrunching his eyebrows, even though all she could see was his back.

"Yeah. I was —"

"What's on this plate?" Percy muttered to himself, scrubbing harder.

"Percy."

"Sorry," he said. "What is it?"

"I'm talking to you. Can you please look at me?"

Percy set the dishes back into the sink, turning the water off and wiping his hands dry on a small towel as he faced her. "I'm sorry. You can talk now."

Annabeth held her hands out towards him, inviting him to step in front of her. He ended up standing between her legs, facing her and placing his hands on either side of her seated position on the kitchen island. Annabeth wrapped her arms loosely around his shoulders.

"You interrupted my dishes, so this better be good, woman."

Annabeth sniffed. "Well now I'm not telling you."

Percy pouted. "I'm just kidding. Talk to me."

With a sigh, she began. "If Sophia got sick, it would be a nightmare. She's a bossy baby when she's not feeling well."

"She is," Percy said, eyeing her. "I don't see where you're going with this."

"Could you imagine having two sick kids? It sounds horrendous."

"Hmm." Percy pursed his lips as he thought. "I think we would be able to manage two kids if we decided to have another. Why?"

"No reason," she answered, playing with his hair.

"You don't want another kid, do you?"

"I didn't want another right now, no. I wanted to wait until Sophia was a little bit older, don't you think?"

"Older would be best," Percy agreed. "We're still figuring things out and throwing another kid into the mix wouldn't be easy."

"I agree," she said. "So —"

"Why are you talking about kids anyways?"

"I was just curious as to if you would ever want more. We haven't talked about it in a while, and someone asked me if we planned on having more. I didn't know what to answer."

"Well, yes," he said, amused. "We do want more kids in the future."

"Okay. I was just wondering." Annabeth bit her lip, picking at the dry skin.

"But… having another baby right now wouldn't be the worst thing in the world." Percy ran his tongue along the inside of his cheek as he thought. "We could handle another baby if we had to, and it would be nice to give Sophie a sibling close to her in age."

"And we're twenty-seven. We're responsible."

"It could be cute," Percy agreed. "A family of four."

"I'm so glad to hear you say that."

"What?"

"I'm pregnant."

Percy froze in his spot. "When I said another baby right now, I — I didn't mean right this instant."

"But you just said —"

Percy held up a hand, and Annabeth thought he was going to get upset. Instead, his face broke out into a smile. "You're not messing with me?"

"I wouldn't joke like that," she said, twiddling her thumbs nervously. "I've been getting sick a lot, and I just had a feeling, so I took a test, and —"

"You're pregnant?" Percy looked like he didn't completely believe her.

"Yes, Percy," she said. "I'm pregnant."

Percy reached forwards to cup her cheeks and press his lips to hers, breathing her in. Annabeth was surprised, but she couldn't say she didn't like it. When he pulled away, his forehead was resting on hers. "We're really going to have another baby?"

"We are," she said, laughing as he started peppering kisses all over her face. "I was afraid you'd be upset. You didn't want a baby right now."

"It's not the most ideal situation, but this is a baby! Of course I'd be happy to have a baby with you."

"I'm glad."

Percy pulled back, his eyes gleaming. "So I guess we've finally solved whether or not the pullout method works."

"Apparently." Annabeth tightened her legs around his waist so he couldn't move. "One hell of a way to find out."

"We knew we were risking it," he said, shoulders shrugging. "But we get another baby! That's so exciting!"

"You're really happy? You don't feel stuck, or suffocated?"

Percy shot her a look. "I'm insulted that you would think I could possibly feel like that."

"Apparently, that's what happened with Piper and Jason."

"And we aren't them," he reminded her, bopping her on the nose. "I'm over the moon about another baby. We would've had another baby at some point anyways, so why wait?"

"Oh, now you don't want to wait."

"I honestly didn't really care when we had another baby. Sure, having it later on would probably be the simple route, but since when have we been simple?"

"Couldn't have worded it better."

"But seriously," Percy said, trailing his fingers down her side. "I really didn't mind when we had another baby all that much, so having one now is fine. We'll be okay."

"You're not scared?"

"What? When we have a daughter like Sophia?" Percy blew through his lips. "I think we can handle whatever this one throws at us."

Annabeth slapped his arm playfully. "Don't insult our daughter."

"I'm not! I'm just saying that she's a little troublemaker sometimes, so we're used to handling the impossible."

Annabeth hummed. "Sure."

Percy just gave her a dazzling smirk. "Baby number two."

"Think we can do it?"

"I know we can."

And then, Percy was leading her head back to his, his fingers threaded into her hair near the scalp. His lips pressed to hers for a moment again before he was pulling her head back by his grip in her hair, giving himself access to her neck.

Annabeth could barely hold in the breathless moan as he kept working her neck with his teeth and tongue. It wasn't long before there was the aching between her legs and Percy was tugging the base of her shirt, desperate for it to come off.

Once it was off, Percy's attention turned back to her neck, and then trailed lower. When Annabeth spoke again, her voice was wobbly.

"What —" She swallowed hard as he undid the clasp on her back. "What are you— doing?"

"We're celebrating," he answered, his mouth now trailing lower, and — oh, god.

Her hand immediately went to his hair, gently caressing to encourage him to keep up with the soft swirls of his tongue. He went back up to nip at her collarbone, and her back arched in response, her whole body flushing with heat.

"Do you not want to?" Percy stopped to look up at her, almost challenging, but his hands strayed down to fiddle with the button of her jeans. "I can stop, if you'd like."

And once again — this.

Always showing her just how much he loves her, just how much he needs her, and it's such a sobering thought. She didn't want him to stop. She didn't want any of this to stop.

Annabeth couldn't pinpoint an exact moment that everything had changed. Almost ten years ago, she was best friends with this boy, and then she was engaged, married, carrying his child, carrying his second child. It was all so surreal, and she doesn't feel anything except grateful.

She's grateful for everything she has, and everything she's built.

She's grateful that Percy promised to stay by her side.

She's grateful that she got the chance to create a family with him.

She's grateful she met this beautiful boy oh so many years ago.

More, than grateful, she's lucky.

It was all these realizations — no, thoughts; she's always known just how lucky she is, and it never stops hitting her — that made her call out to Percy.

"Don't," she gasped, and then Percy was kissing his way down her body, his nimble, experienced fingers popping the button of her jeans and peeling them from her skin.

She is so incredibly lucky.

i'm lucky i'm in love with my best friend

lucky to have been where i have been

lucky to be coming home again

lucky we're in love in every way

lucky to have stayed where we have stayed

lucky to be coming home someday

Percy should have done something.

That morning, Percy was woken up by his wife facing him in bed, stretching adorably under the sheets. There was sunlight shining in through the white window blinds, covering Annabeth in golden light and making her look like a goddess.

She was resting her head right in front of his face, her grey eyes looking up at him. Her fingers were poking at his cheek now, which he suspects is because she wants to make sure he's really awake. He nips at her finger playfully when she goes back to poke him again, and so she ends up resting her head on his chest.

They laid in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying the presence of one another, and then she was rolling over onto her elbows to greet him. Her hair was only a little ruffled, and god, he would never get tired of this view, of his wife's soft, playful demeanor when she just woke up.

"Hey there, sleepyhead," she said, tracing patterns on his bare chest. "You're going to be late to work today."

Percy stretched, his shoulder popping. "I'm already late. If they wanted me on time, they shouldn't have told me I could come in at one."

"Lazy ass," she joked. "I've gotta go to the office for a bit today."

Percy groaned. "You said you didn't have to work, and that we could just cuddle in bed until I had to leave."

"I know, but my boss wants me in to see something important."

Percy wraps an arm around her waist and pulls her on top of him, delighting in the way Annabeth squeals. "Fine, but I demand cuddles when I get home tonight."

"Deal," she said laughing. "Now give me a kiss."

Percy pulls her face to his, kissing her slowly. When he breaks apart, he said, "And how's baby doing today?"

"She's doing great," Annabeth said, laughing. "Didn't keep mommy up last night."

"That's good." Percy cradled her head to his chest. "And you seem sure that it's a girl."

"I just know. Mother's intuition."

"Better hope so," Percy said pointedly. "You already spent my entire paycheck on girl clothes."

"It wasn't your entire paycheck," she said. "Only like half."

"Oh, in that case," he said teasingly, bringing her lips back to his.

As he starts to deepen the kiss, Annabeth pulled away, placing a finger in front of his lips. "I can't today. I have to get to work."

Percy didn't want to let her go, but Annabeth was already working her way out of bed and into the bathroom, calling out over her shoulder for Percy to get Sophia ready for your mom's.

Percy should have done something.

He ended up stumbling out of bed, blurry eyed, and making his way to Sophia's room. When he opened the door, Sophia was already sitting up, smiling brightly at him. He picked her up, listening to her mindless babbles, and his heart soaring as she said dada, as he made his way to the kitchen to get her something to eat.

Percy wasn't even thinking as he grabbed a box of cheerios and placed Sophia in the highchair, pouring out some cereal for her to snack on as he made something a little more sustaining.

He was moving the eggs around on the steaming pan as Annabeth walked behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist and smothering her face with his back.

"I gotta go," she said, muffled. "I'll see you later."

Percy hummed in acknowledgement, abandoning the eggs for a moment before turning to face her. His eyes skimmed up and down her outfit, and she looked so good, before he gave her a kiss goodbye. "I'll see you later."

"I should only be gone four hours, tops."

"Okay," he said, kissing her nose. "I love you."

"I love you too." Annabeth let him give her one last kiss before she went to say goodbye to Sophia, fiddling with her hair and caressing the little girl's cheek. Finally, she turned back to him, already making her way to the front door. "Be back soon."

The front door slammed shut and then she was driving off, leaving Percy alone with Sophia. Once the eggs were done and cooled, he gave small bits to her and ate the rest himself, just waiting until it was time for him to go to work.

He spent around an hour just playing with Sophia, and then he was getting her ready to go to his moms for a bit while he was at work. Once they were both dressed, he was grabbing his keys off the rack by the front door and making his way to the car, strapping her into her car seat.

Percy looked into his rearview mirror as he backed up, smiling at Sophia who was repeatedly switching back and forth between saying mama and dada all while waving around a small toy she must've pulled from somewhere around her.

The ride to his mom's house was only around half an hour, and as he was working his way down the interstate, he suddenly felt sick.

His stomach was churning and there was a sharp, stabbing pain in his gut. He barely had time to pull onto the side of the road and put the car in park before he was opening the driver's door and throwing up onto the grass.

He stayed like that for a minute, the cars zooming by. Sophia started crying behind him, scared by her father's reaction, but Percy barely had the strength to call out and comfort her. He had been so suddenly winded, and the feeling inside of him only intensified.

Eventually, he managed to get back in the car, throwing a quick glance at his daughter, before he was pulling away and continuing towards his mom's house. The rest of the ride was entirely unpleasant, and he felt like throwing up the entire time, but he finally made it to her house.

Quickly grabbing Sophia out of her car seat, who had since calmed down since his episode on the road, he went to the front door, and knocked. His mom answered the door quickly and he was pushing his daughter into her arms, barely exchanging pleasantries before he was turning around and finishing his journey to work.

The hours slid by at the office. The feeling inside of him never went away, and people around him were noticing it too. He didn't think much of it at all, simply chalking it up to having a stomach bug.

He got through about two hours at work when he got the call.

Is this Perseus Jackson?

His gut churned again.

I'm sorry to inform you that your wife has been in an accident. She's —

Percy hadn't listened to the rest of the call, only staying long enough to gather where she was before he was in the car zooming off towards the hospital.

The feeling inside him was taking over, and he was panicking. She'd been in an accident. Annabeth was in an accident, and she was hurt, and he had felt so suddenly ill.

He didn't know how long it had taken him to get to the hospital. The only thing on his mind was Annabeth, and when he burst through the doors of the hospital, demanding to see his wife, to know what was going on, a nurse was by his side, calming him down.

"Where is she?"

"She's in the ICU. I can take you to her if you'd like, but —"

"Let me see her now."

"You have to understand what's going on. She's —"

"I know damn well what's going on!" Percy practically spit out at her. "She's hurt, and you're not taking me to her, so you better start walking or else I swear I'm going to—"

Someone behind him placed a hand on his shoulder, shooing the nurse away. When Percy looked at him, he had a white coat on with navy blue scrubs. The doctor, he noted.

"I'll take you to see your wife," the doctor said. As the doctor led Percy down the hall, his heart was pounding in his chest. They went into the elevator, and then once they were on the right floor, they were twisting and turning around the halls until the doctor came to a stop outside the door.

"You can go in," the doctor said, slowly cracking the door open for Percy.

Percy hesitantly walked in, and immediately he let out a sob, his hand going to cover his mouth as his eyes took in the sight before him.

She was lying motionless on the bed with tubes all across her body and a tube stuck down her throat. She was covered in bandages and her eyes were closed, and she looked so much like herself, yet she looked so different. There was no sound except for the steady hiss of the machines as they breathed for her because Annabeth's own body couldn't.

"There was a drunk driver," the doctor started. The tears started falling down Percy's face faster.

This couldn't be happening.

"The drunk driver ran past a red light at an intersection and collided directly with your wife's car."

No, no, please, no.

"When she arrived to the hospital, she was rushed to the operating room where she went into cardiac arrest several times. We were able to bring her back, but with the impact of the accident, there were no brain waves detected.

Percy's shoulders were shaking. He couldn't hear this.

"There is no brain activity. Her body is working, but her brain is not."

And then Percy's falling backwards, catching himself on the wall. His whole body is trembling because no, she couldn't be dead, she just couldn't be. He feels like throwing up again, and there are several doctors by his side, but he doesn't hear anything.

His world is narrowed down to the bed holding his wife's lifeless body. The body he once held, once loved. The warm body he woke up to in the morning and fell asleep next to at night. The body that held his child. The body that had been holding his second child.

"Unfortunately, neither her nor the baby made it."

A beat passed, and Percy didn't want to hear this.

"She is dead." And then doctors are sprouting a bunch of legal terms, telling him what comes next, offering words of comfort that mean nothing to him. Telling him that she died on impact and didn't suffer, as if that would make things any easier.

He is only brought back as the doctor said, "We'd like you to consider if you'd like us to withdraw end-of-life care. We understand this is hard, but there are no longer any indications of life, and she will not be waking up."

Percy brought his eyes to the doctor, dark and brooding. "There is no chance of her waking up?"

The doctor hesitated. "It is possible, but highly unlikely. The chances are so small, along the lines of one in a trillion. You need to understand that there is no brain activity. We can keep her on life support if that's what you wish, but we urge you consider if this is a life she would want to live."

Tears were still racing down Percy's face.

"We'll give you some time to process this. We'll be outside if you need anything."

Percy's still unable to breathe, or speak, but he managed to choke out, "Can — I hold her?"

The doctor told him yes, giving him a sympathetic look, before he and the rest of the doctors are leaving their room in the ICU, sliding the glass door shut.

Percy is left alone with Annabeth, and he works his way to her side. He settled down onto the bed and managed to get her somewhat in his arms. In his arms, she feels cold and frail, opposite to what he had felt this morning, holding her under the sun.

How has it come to this?

He doesn't know what to do.

Just that morning, he had been holding her safe in his arms. She had been warm, she had kissed him goodbye, and held her daughter. She was carrying his child, and now his baby was torn away from him too.

It had all happened so fast, and it just didn't feel real.

He doesn't know how he's going to do this without her. She was his best friend. He loved her so much in a million different ways. He loved everything about her. He was in love with her in every single way. He promised that he would never leave her side.

It looks like he would be breaking that promise now.

He doesn't want to be in a world without her. Annabeth was his one and only true love, and he doesn't know how to live in a world that didn't have her in it. Except, he didn't have a choice because he had a daughter now, and he owed it to her.

He's rocking Annabeth back and forth, sobbing into her hair that smelled so much like her, except this wasn't her. Not anymore.

He's going to have to deal with everything now, and it's just too much. He can't even think of the funeral that'll be in mere days unless he doesn't withdraw her support. He doesn't want to imagine the casket they're going to put her in, the gravestone that'll go above her head, or what he'll be engraving. He doesn't want to imagine the words he's going to have to stand up and give, or the faces on her friends and family and everyone who had ever loved her.

He doesn't want to think of the way Sophia's going to cry for her mom and he won't be able to do anything about it because she's too young to properly understand. He knows Sophia won't know what's going on, but she'll pick up on the fact that Annabeth's not there, and she won't understand that Annabeth will never be there again.

Percy looks down at Annabeth and catches the glint of her wedding ring. The large diamond sitting on her hand, having been placed there by him years ago when they were blissfully unaware of the future. All those years, and he'd never imagined the worst.

This was his worst.

Percy knows it's not Annabeth anymore. The woman he once knew was gone, and he wouldn't be seeing her again. She hadn't even made it to thirty. They were supposed to spend the rest of their lives together. They were supposed to grow old together, and now she was gone and he was the only one left.

What hurts the most is the fact that she's still breathing. Her body is still alive, but her brain is not. He could keep her here if he wanted to, praying for a miracle. He does want to do that.

He also knows that Annabeth wouldn't want that.

Annabeth wouldn't want to lay on a bed hooked up to monitors for the rest of her life. She wouldn't want to be a constant reminder of what they had lost. She wouldn't want them to keep her alive when it was clearly her end.

So with a deep breath, Percy knows what he has to do, no matter how hard it was.

They had lived an amazing life together, and it was time for it to end. It was painful, and Percy is still sobbing as he holds onto her lifeless body, but he knows that he can't keep her here like this when it's the last thing that she would want.

And even though she was ripped from his arms too soon, he knows he is incredibly lucky. He was so lucky to have fallen in love with his best friend. He was so lucky to have been in love in every single way. He was lucky that he got to come home to the love of his life for as long as he did, and even though it wasn't for as long as he wanted, he knows how incredibly lucky he is to have gotten the chance at all.

He was lucky to have fallen in love with his best friend. Even though she's within his arms, but still gone, he is so painfully aware of how lucky he was to have built a life with her. She gave him a child, she showed him what it meant to love someone else so much that it's all you could feel.

So when the doctor returns, he asks again. "Would you like us to withdraw end-of-life care?"

And Percy is forced to say, "Yes," because of Annabeth. Everything he did was for Annabeth.

It feels like barely any time passes before the doctors are pulling the tube out of Annabeth's throat and shutting off the machines. They tell him that it could take hours, or minutes, so he doesn't move from his spot. His arms stay wrapped around Annabeth, not wanting her to go through this alone.

At some point, Percy starts talking to her. He knows she can't hear him, but a part of him hopes she does.

"I love you so so much," he cried, his tears falling onto her curls. "We're going to be alright, Sophie and I. Don't worry about us." And then he's sobbing again, not ready to let go. "I'll see you again someday. You're my soulmate and my best friend — you're the love of my life and I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise that I'd stay by your side, but I promise you that I will see you again."

Annabeth's faint breaths level off, and then he knows it's ending all too fast. The doctor is there beside him telling him that it's time. Percy keeps his hand over her heart, unable to move, and then he feels her heart stop beating, and he knows that it's over.

She's gone.

And it's now that Percy's begging her to come back to him, begging to wake up from this nightmarish world. Percy wants to come home to her one more time, to see her playing with Sophia just one more time. He wants to be able to kiss her just —

one

more

time.

But he knows he can't, so he just hugs her tight and says, "I love you so much," and presses a kiss to the top of her head.

Somehow, just like that, his life with her was over. She was gone, but he wasn't. He was in pain because this was the love of his life, and he's scared that if he keeps focusing on everything he's losing in this moment, he'll do something he'll regret, so as his tears fell and his lungs burned because he couldn't breathe, instead of focusing on the worst, he simply tries to tell himself —

I'm so lucky to have fallen in love with my best friend.

if i made u sad at all, you're now obligated to leave a review. i didn't make the rules. anyways i've been working on my sadness writing skills, so can someone let me know if i did well and managed to bring genuine sadness into this? thanks.

also thanks chloe for letting me go on and on and on about this. you are a true fanfiction friend and ily. (because our conversations were too hilarious not to dedicate this to you).

i did not make this decision to write this lightly, but i am for sure writing a sickeningly sweet fic after this because i need it for my own wellbeing. also this was definitely inspired by glee so thanks quinn for singing this song that made me get all up in my percabeth feels. go check out my other stories if you haven't, and please please please leave a review letting me know what you think. ok thanks babes, love u!