Percy has a plan, which terrifies him, since plans never work out in his world. When he fights monsters, he has a plan, but then it goes so terribly sideways he has to ditch the plan and wing it.
So to have a plan for the first time in years? It's nerve-wracking, to say the least. But he won't let this plan get foiled, because it orbits around his fiance, Annabeth.
He and Annabeth had been engaged for more than a year now, as they tried to settle into college life and coping with the various traumas they'd accumulated over their time as demigods.
He didn't mind that they had to keep prolonging their wedding day, since he knew Annabeth would understand as she always did.
But today, Percy came up with a plan: one that entailed setting up his and Annabeth's wedding officially.
The first step was asking Annabeth if she was ready for this. Well, she had to be, right? They were already engaged, but Percy had to confirm it with her.
He didn't want to take life-changing steps through life alone anymore. He wanted there to be somebody beside him, and that somebody would always be Annabeth.
“Annie?” He gently asked as he approached her from where she sat at the kitchen table, his voice near a whisper so as to not startle her.
She glances up at him, “Yeah?”
“What do you think of–” he slides a chair out beside her, settling down on it, “--Us getting married?”
“Well, isn't it obvious? I wouldn't have accepted being engaged to you if I didn't want to marry you, Perce. But you and I both know, married or not, that our love runs deeper than a piece of paper.”
“I know. But.. I think I'm ready to officially get married– I want to be able to call you Mrs. Jackson without getting weird looks from your parents every time we visit them, and I want our friends to get off our backs about the marriage. I want the world to know that I will only ever be tied to you, since you are my anchor. I want to be yours.”
Annabeth smiles softly, her glasses nearly slipping off her nose but Percy reaches his hand up to press them back up there, making her smile widen.
“I'd like that, Perce. I want to be yours too. I always have been, anyway.”
They share a tender look, and yet they do not speak for the rest of the night, only holding each other's hands as the world is bathed in moonlight.
—
“And now it is time for the vows. Annabeth, you may go first,” Reyna announces, smiling.
Annabeth nods, taking a sharp breath of air, a tell tale sign of nerves from her. Percy gives her hand a gentle squeeze, a reassurance that never fails to soothe her, even if only by a little bit.
Her hands shake slightly, “I didn't, um, prepare anything for this part. I just wanted to say the words I keep in my heart, if that's okay.”
Percy is somewhat surprised– Annabeth depends on written text more often than she doesn't, for she is a daughter of Athena after all, and words hold the highest levels of knowledge. They have seen ancient civilizations and humans of every kind pass by, after all.
But then he nods, “That's okay.”
She smiles gently, thankful for his understanding, and closes her eyes.
She takes a deep breath, then says, “I was twelve when I first met you. We were the same height, and I remember admiring the fact that we stood on equal ground and that I didn't have to prove myself to you too. You took one look at me and simply believed in me, and I'd never had a person put such unwavering hope into my abilities. It was.. different.
But a good different, I’d say. You were something special– Blonde curls, pretty eyes, I was immediately enraptured with you. My love for you was dizzying, and I can't even pinpoint exactly when I caught feelings. All I knew was that they'd come so quickly, I barely had time to catch my breath.
But never, not once in my life, did I doubt my feelings for you. I only.. used to regret that I loved a person who'd leave me like all the others eventually, once the prophecy occured. But then you survived. And you didn't leave me. You didn't break your promise after all. And that's when I.. I realized that I didn't have to be alone anymore.
I didn't have to carry this burden on my shoulders. I could love, I could live. And you loved me so furiously, it amazed me. For a time, I didn't believe it. But you're stubborn, and you never relented. You showed me that you cared, and I thank you for not giving up on me. Thank you for not.. leaving me like all the others. Thank you for understanding that I needed a shoulder to lean on too.
I swear to love you as furiously as you love me, for the rest of eternity. I will be your anchor, I will be your fire, and I will be your forever.”
By the end of her vows, the entire audience is in tears. Percy could tell that Annabeth hadn't even intended to lay her feelings out like that in front of this huge group of people, but he knew she felt comfortable doing it, as it was only their closest friends and family there.
And because she was saying those words to him– Not to anybody in the audience, but to him. She was telling him that his sacrifices mattered and she'd noticed them. She noticed him.
And Percy cried, tears swimming down his cheeks so rapidly, he wondered if all the water in his body was flowing out of him.
Annabeth's eyes creased in concern as she wiped some of the tears away, her eyes asking a silent question of ‘Are you okay?’
He nodded, and smiled, mouthing, “You're perfect.”
She smiled back, so dazzlingly that he wondered if Apollo had forgotten to claim her as his child instead of Athena’s.
Percy didn't know how he could rival her heartbreaking vows. But he didn't have to rival them, he just had to tell the truth. The truth matters more than competition.
Reyna had a singular tear dripping down her cheek as she nodded towards him, “You can say your vows now, Percy.”
He inhaled, then began, “Annabeth. I'm not quite sure where to start. I know that I loved you as soon as I met you– Whether it be the princess curls, or the staggering beauty you carried, I can't be sure. Maybe I thought you were the coolest at camp, what with your dagger and all, or maybe I thought you understood me.
You've always understood me, really. Whenever I couldn't put my thoughts or feelings into words, you knew the right thing to say. You got me out of tough situations, and always helped me, even when I didn't realize it. You are the reason I'm standing here today.
You didn't run away from battles, and never ditched me when a monster came for us on our dates. You stuck by my side, as if your feet were planted in the sidewalk, and took your dagger out and fought. You did it like it was a regular Tuesday, and I couldn't help but admire your resilience.
I never thought anyone would love me. I mean, I know my mom does. She's pretty adamant about that–”
Annabeth lets out a watery chuckle.
“--But I want to thank you, most of all, for never fearing me. When I was terrified of my own skin, you weren't. You sat there, for however many hours it took until I could speak, and waited for what felt like centuries until I finally managed to utter a word.
You never gave up on me, no matter how much I ached to. You forced me to get up, and refused to let me be consumed by the relentless nightmares, or the endless nights of agony.
You cared for me. You really did. You helped me ease into the world of being a demigod, and taught me that if you have a good person beside you, everything will be alright.
You completed me. You saved me. And I'll never be able to thank you enough for that, Annie.”
The audience had already been in tears, but now it had increased tenfold, and as Percy looked towards them, he made eye contact with Sally.
Sally gave him a smile, so similar to the one he saw in the mirror nowadays, and mouthed,
“I'm so proud of you.”
He nodded, a silent understanding passing between them as he turned to face Annabeth, who was trying to resist bursting out into tears.
Even after years of Percy running his hands through her curls, whispering, “Hey, let it all out. Don't hold in your tears,” Annabeth still struggled to accept that idea.
But she must've seen the worry in his eyes, which made her bawl. He pulled her into a gentle hug, letting her face melt into the crook of his neck.
Once Annabeth had calmed down enough to pull her face away and Percy had smoothed out the mascara blotting her cheeks, Reyna said,
“You may now kiss the bride.”
Percy inclined his head downwards and met Annabeth's lips, kissing her with the passion of all the other words he couldn't say.
She kissed him with all the passion of understanding, and he understood why soulmates existed, suddenly.
A girl who feared being left alone being married to a boy who feared losing his loved ones. Their broken halves fit so perfectly together, he could've sworn they were a whole.
“I love you,” he voiced under his breath, their foreheads touching.
Annabeth let one more tear slip down her cheek, as she replied back in earnest, “I love you too.”
