a/n

estelle's in this one too? briefly, but i'm starting to see a pattern here.

this was requested by jessieeriggs (+ plus anyone else who wanted an engagement chapter) and tho i'm sure it's not what they had in mind, it goes hand-in-hand with a snippet from oneshot #79 and it was the type of thing i was feeling, so i hope you enjoy!

anyone rereading pjo? i'm on som and it's beyond amazing to see the fandom thriving with all of the show excitement. it's a new era of percy jackson, as i keep saying!

happy saturday <3

///\

"Let's get married."

Annabeth hadn't been expecting the words, not really. But she didn't find herself surprised, either.

It hadn't been a perfect day. Not in the slightest. She and Percy had been indulging in their new love for coffee when Annabeth decided they both could use some fresh air. They stood by the sink together, dumping the contents of their mugs down the drain.

"It's a waste," Percy muttered.

"A necessary waste," she'd said, but it was really just to prove a point. Sometimes that was the best way for them both to get things done. 

They'd gone for a walk around New Rome. Percy was quiet as she took in the beautiful structures, swooping but rigid arches she could never stop admiring. He let her; let her mind wander with measurements and marble statues and enjoyed the cool air himself. They stopped for hot cocoa at the usual place, cradling their paper cups and finding the best places to hide away from the wind and talk about nothing. 

But nothing had become something, as it often did. It was too hard for the both of them to ignore the weight of what they'd lived. Annabeth wanted to visit Camp Halfblood, Percy wanted to see his mom through more than mist and rainbows---they wanted to go home soon. 

New Rome was a home, but New York was their home, and only a place holding Atlas' burden could be their home. They'd burned shrouds there, cried there, laughed there, started there. It was home in the truest sense of the word. It bled with their history, a hint of permanence they always came back to. Sometimes, home was painful. It was a reminder. And it needed to be said, it needed to be embraced after being bled for. 

Percy wanted to get out of the wind once they'd finished talking. Annabeth knew he was struggling to be alright for the moment. They tossed their paper cups and she took his hand and they pretended it wasn't suffocating to be anywhere but alone. 

It took a while for Percy to calm. She laid with him and he held her--and there were things to get done, but they were hardly more important than his face buried in her hair and his hands covered by hers so they would grow steady. They were patient with one another, gentle, understanding--because who could understand them better than the way they did themselves?

Percy made dinner. He only had to call his mother once to refresh his memory of the recipe. Annabeth was Estelle's audience as she danced around the kitchen back in Manhatten and Sally tried to recite the oven's temperature over her singing. Paul bid them goodbye as their time ran out.

"Have a good night," he said as Percy stepped out of range to grab something. "We're all very proud of the two of you."

"Love you!" Sally called in the background, loud enough for Percy to catch from the bedroom. He yelled the sentiment back and Estelle had the last word ("Bye-bye, Annabeth--!") as the image of Paul's smiling face faded to nothing over their kitchen table. 

They ate and Percy said his mom made it better. (Annabeth couldn't imagine the possibility. Sally taught Percy very well.) They'd had a lazy day, so Percy did the dishes while Annabeth caught up on laundry. Frank called to say hello and he and Percy chatted for a while. 

Annabeth made herself tea. Percy found her curled up comfortably on the bed, flipping through a book on architecture. It was a book of hers that had certainly seen the world; the same book he'd made fun of her for reading in her free time on their first quest. 

Percy leaned down to kiss her forehead, as he'd developed a habit of doing, then he made himself comfortable in the wingback chair Chiron had sent to New Rome for them as a housewarming gift. He'd thrived once he'd discovered the library full of Ancient Greek and Latin texts here, refusing to look at anything remotely English, with "swimming words" and "stupid, squiggly lines that took too long to make sense of."

Annabeth glanced up from her own book every few minutes to see how he was faring. The fourth time, he caught her eyes. It was a familiar routine, casual and all too predictable. He'd smile, or wink, or wait for her to smile or wink. 

Annabeth was the first to look away. She hadn't realized he'd been watching her since until she heard him speak as if they'd been conversing already, as if he had every reason to be prompted to say such a thing. 

"Let's get married," he said, and it was the look in his eyes and the warmth in his voice that meant something, not the words. 

Annabeth shut her book slowly. "Okay," she said. She wasn't surprised. Too often as a young girl, she'd been swayed by the fantasies the Aphrodite kids fed her at Camp, describing world-shattering moments when she'd turn, unsuspecting, probably in her nicest outfit by coincidence, and the most gorgeous man would be at her feet, offering a glittering ring and promising her a forever.

"I think I'm supposed to get down on one knee or something," Percy breathed, smiling, almost laughing.

"No," she said quickly. Because one time was enough. But Percy had promised her his forever the first time he'd kissed her, told her he loved her. When he caught her, assured her, "Never again." What was bending down on one knee with a band of metal and a few sweet words when he'd already given her the equivalent and more? 

It was no question that they were each other's. Annabeth didn't think too often about it, but marriage wasn't a question, either. It was a guarantee, something they agreed on without having to say so.

So she hadn't expected Prince Charming and a perfect dinner or a dress that Aphrodite herself would bless. The world did not shatter, the air entered her lungs and left it all the same, and Annabeth fell the tiniest bit deeper. 

This felt a little bit more like them. Sweatpants and books with broken spines and coffee stains on the comforter. Not the place they met, but the place they'd stayed. His promise was in his eyes and not a ring on her finger. They would figure it out. They always did.

"No," she repeated, moving over so he could join her on the bed. "No, this is perfect."

"Yeah?"

"Yes, Percy." She put her arms around his neck. It was too dark to see if his cheeks were rosy like they'd been that first day at the lake, and she was sure no one would creep up on them to toss them beneath the waves, but it was familiar all the same. "Seaweed Brain."

He didn't kiss her at first, as he did the day he turned sixteen and the world didn't end. He embraced her in a hug and held her tight, and maybe the words he said next made her heart stutter more than the first three. 

"Annabeth Chase," he mused, voiced muffled by her shirt. "My wife."

Now she felt a bit like an Aphrodite kid, giddy over love. Now it was sinking in that they could be even just a little more in title than they already were. Boyfriend and girlfriend felt much too small, and there'd been a time when husband and wife felt too grand. 

But now it was perfect, just like she'd said. 

a/n

i didn't know when to end this alksdjhajsd hopefully that wasn't too abrupt. 

your thoughts? i know everybody probably has their own versions of how they imagine percy and annabeth getting engaged (i myself have a few), and i'm curious to see your ideas!

i have been updating every friday or saturday each week without fail, yay! i wonder how long this will last lol.

thank you for being here <3