Questions

by Goldfish945

Percy Jackson was a fortunate young man. For one thing, he'd survived the ascension of Kronos and helped defeat the Titan when he was just sixteen. His early adolescent years had been fraught with danger and innumerable near-death experiences, and - for a while - he'd had a bit of a complex; running off to find danger, trying to prove to himself, or his mother, or Annabeth, or many even the Gods that he was invincible. Then he'd broken his right leg in a car crash, and he'd been rushed to the hospital, unconscious, and was forced to heal like a human rather than a demigod. His father, Poseidon, hadn't been too happy about the whole incident. (Percy considered the whole deal a success afterwards. He rarely saw his father, after all.) His mother had been even more unhappy, as Percy had both been driving illegally and ended up getting seriously injured.

But the person who'd absolutely freaked the most was Annabeth Chase, Percy's girlfriend.

"WHAT were you THINKING?" she shouted, storming about his hospital room. "Are you INSANE? Do you want to DIE? I don't think Hades will care too much about sending you to the Fields of Asphodel or something, no matter what Nico says! I swear, Percy, once you're better, I'm going to kill you!"

He'd felt bad after that, and he'd let go of the Badass Daredevil, just to keep Annabeth from losing her mind. But that was years ago. He'd only been nineteen then.

Now Percy was seated in his father's Grand Dining Hall, unbeknownst to Poseidon, turning over a silver ring in his fingers. He stared at it with a lump in his throat; he didn't know how to ask what he needed to ask. He sat there for several hours, unable to move, trying to think of how best to broach the topic with his father.

There was a clanging noise, and the huge double-doors of the Hall creaked open, revealing the only other person that Percy cared to see in his father's underwater palace - his brother, Tyson. Percy felt a smile creep onto his face. Tyson was enormous, at least a foot taller since he'd last seen him a few months before.

"Percy!" called Tyson. "You're here!"

"Hey, Tyson," said Percy, finding the energy to stand. He crossed the Hall quickly, the water propelling him across the room. He opened his arms and hugged his brother. "How are you?"

"I'm great," said Tyson enthusiastically. "I'm the best forger now! Daddy said so. All the others are jealous." Tyson seemed to glow with pride. Percy grinned.

"That's great!" he said. "Any idea where Dad is?" Tyson shrugged in response.

"I'm right behind Tyson." Percy jerked his head to the left to look around his huge brother and saw his father was, indeed, directly behind him, a soft welcoming smile on his lightly bearded face. His usual fisherman's hat was perched on his head. "Percy. I didn't expect to see you here for another week."

"Yeah," said Percy, shifting uncomfortably. "Sorry about that, but… I had to come. I need to ask you about something. It's kind of important." He paused. "Are you free?"

"Not for too long," admitted Poseidon. "I have maybe half an hour. The naiads booked me for a meeting this afternoon. Something about kelp. But they won't be here for another half hour, like I said."

"Cool," said Percy. "Hey, Tyson, I'll see you later, okay?"

"I am visiting for your twenty-fifth birthday next month," said Tyson. Percy nodded. "Okay, I will see you then!" He left the Hall with a wave for Percy, shutting the large doors behind him.

"Now, what's so important?" asked Poseidon, sitting on the closest chair at the long, green stone table. "Is everything alright? Is your mother alright?"

"Yeah, she's fine," Percy assured him. "She and Paul are both fine. What I need to ask you about… it's about Annabeth."

"What about her?" asked Poseidon, leaning his elbow on the table and leaning his chin against his hand, his expression confused. Percy took a deep breath.

"How… How did you know that you didn't want to stay with my mother forever?" Poseidon stiffened in surprise. "Don't worry about offending me or anything," Percy added quickly before his father could reply.

"Well," began Poseidon slowly. "Well, I suppose there were a few factors. She is mortal, I'm not. I was, ah, already married as well. And there was that whole pact that Zeus, Hades and I had made. And I had my responsibilities as a God to fulfill. Those would have made staying with your mother a bit of a problem. But I want you to know, I did love her." Percy shook his head.

"I mean, did you want to stay with her?" he pressed. "Did you want to leave because you were bored, or because you didn't love her forever, or did you want to stay with her?" Poseidon considered Percy for a moment, contemplating. He sighed before continuing.

"No," he said. "I didn't want to stay with her forever. There are lots of kinds of love, Percy. I loved your mother. I still do, because she gave me you, but I knew that I didn't want to stay with her forever. I wish I'd had more time with her and with you, but how it happened was probably the best for everyone involved."

Percy couldn't help the prick of annoyance in his heart. His father thought that his mother being forced to marry Smelly Gabe was the best for her? But he pushed away the irritation. He'd asked a blunt question, and he'd wanted an honest answer, even if he didn't like it.

"Are you going to break up with Annabeth?" asked Poseidon. Percy jumped, surprised.

"Oh, no!" he said, laughing. "I wanted to ask you something else… How did you know that you did want to be with your wife forever?"

"Amphitrite?"

"Yeah."

"I suppose I just looked at her one day and knew," he said, shrugging. "It wasn't a big booming moment or anything. I just knew that I could stand immortality if she was with me. And she's forgiven me for so much; I'd be a fool not to appreciate that quality. I doubt your mother would've let me get away with as much as Amphitrite allows me," he added sheepishly, removing his hat and ruffling his hair.

"I see," said Percy. He thought of Annabeth, the last time he'd seen her, asleep in his bed; her slight, pale body wrapped up in his blankets, her hair splayed across the pillow, and a look of complete peace on her face, her lips turned up into a contented smile. Percy looked at his father. "I'm going to ask Annabeth to marry me," he said.

Poseidon's face split into an enormous smile. He stood and pulled Percy to his feet, hugging him close. "Congratulations, son," he said happily. "I'm happy for you."

"Should I talk to, um, Athena?" Percy asked uncertainly.

"Nah," Poseidon said, waving a hand casually as though the Goddess of Wisdom's opinion in the matter was as important as a fly. "Don't worry about it."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'll mention it to her at the solstice or something," said Poseidon. Not altogether reassured, Percy let the subject drop.

"Should I talk to Annabeth's dad about it, though?"

"Maybe," hinted Poseidon, "you should talk to Annabeth."

"But don't I have to like, ask her dad for permission or something?" Poseidon laughed.

"Percy, you've been with Annabeth for nearly ten years. I'm pretty sure you've got the permission at this point."

"I don't want her dad to kill me," insisted Percy.

"He won't," said Poseidon confidently. "I promise. I'm the God of the Sea and he knows you're my son. You'll be fine." Percy sighed. Logically, he knew his father was right. He and Mr. Chase were very close, friends even. Mr. Chase had told him on many occasions that he was glad Annabeth had found someone like Percy. He took a deep breath.

"Alright," he said. "Thanks for the talk. I guess I should go talk to Annabeth." Poseidon smiled and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Good luck, kiddo," he said. "Let me know the date. I wouldn't miss it for the world." Percy smiled back.

"Thanks, Dad," he replied.

A/N: So I'm trying out new fandoms, if you can't tell. Mortal Instruments, and now Percy Jackson! It's kind of nice to write something besides Remus/Sirius HP fanfic for once. Not that I don't LOVE RLSB, but I think I needed a break. And it's nice to write something outside HP that's still fanfiction. I don't know what's coming next... Well, other than the second chapter of this story. TWO CHAPTERS, and it's over. I hope you enjoyed the first half of this story. Except the next half in a day or so. Or a couple hours, idk. Maybe I'll write it tonight and post it later. Whatevs. Enjoy. Review? I love you.

~Kate