This takes place after the Heroes of Olympus series, but it's as if they didn't happen. They don't know about Camp Jupiter or Leo or Jason or Piper or anyone. Okay?

And I'm going to pretend that Annabeth's family moved to New York for the sake of this two-shot because it would be a huge hassle trying to go with what really happened. So sorry if anything is wrong or anything. Just pretend, mkay? (:

At any rate, I don't own any of the Percy Jackson characters or ideas, blahblahblah.

Hope you like it!

oOo

A magic pen. A bead necklace. An orange T-shirt. All souvenirs from Camp Half-Blood, all important to me. I stared at where they were tucked in an open drawer next to my bed. In less than three weeks I would be off to my seventh year of camp. Again, I'd made it nearly an entire school year without getting kicked out. My senior year of mortal school would be out the twentieth—a Thursday—and I'd be free to continue my life without stupid things like math weighing my mind down.

Another souvenir (a less meaningful one, might I add) from the summers at camp was a calendar with a bunch of crazy mythological art. May's picture was Arachne the spider wrapping an outraged Athena up in thread. Athena must not have been too happy about that…

My eyes fell to the day circled with a red marker. Monday, May 3rd. Annabeth's 18th birthday. I'd gotten over the fact that she was three months older than me a while back. The only thing that bothered me was that the fact that even after years of her birthdays, I still had no idea what she liked for her presents. I'd exhausted Barnes & Nobles and Office Max and every kind of architecture thing imaginable. Her birthday was in two days and I still hadn't gotten her anything.

We lived a little over an hour away from each other, and our schools were even farther away. For previous years I'd just sent her presents via mail and wished her a happy birthday in person when we saw each other at camp. However, she was going to be officially an adult that Monday, and I needed to do something unforgettable.

I knew what I wanted to do. For many months I'd tried to build up courage, but there it was, less than 48 hours away and I was still too afraid to do any of the steps towards it.

"Dinner's ready, Percy, if you'd like to come and eat." My mom poked her head into my room. "We've got root beer in the fridge."

I turned my distracted gaze from the calendar to my mom. Sometimes my inner teenage boy tried to poke out and didn't want her coming into my room and didn't want her love at all, but I remembered what it felt like losing her and the inner teenage boy vanished. I must have been the only guy in the world who still let his mother kiss him goodbye when he went to school.

Mom smiled sympathetically at me when she saw me staring at the calendar. "…It's Annabeth's birthday on Monday, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"Still no idea what to get her?"

I didn't answer. Nerves made my stomach churn.

"Well, you'll think of something, dear, but dinner's ready, so why don't you come eat?" With another smile, she closed my door and left me in silence.

I knew what I wanted to get her, alright, what I really wanted to get her. Every time I thought about it recently my heart started pounding and my hands got clammy. Before I always foolishly convinced myself there would be time later before her birthday. That went on and on and there I was, no time left. If I was going to do it I needed to do it soon.

A million excuses immediately popped into my head, but I knew deep down that I wanted it as well—perhaps more than she did. So badly.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, I got up and left my bed to go have dinner.

Paul was out that day for something-or-other, so it was just me and Mom at the table. My mind was so preoccupied I could hardly touch my lasagna.

"Don't worry so much, Percy," she said gently, passing me my third can of soda. "She's always saying how she doesn't want any presents from you. I'm sure whatever you do decide to give her she'll love."

"It doesn't work that way…" I huffed, annoyed, chugging soda until it hurt my nose and made my eyes stream. "This is her 18th birthday. I need to do something she'll remember forever."

Maybe I could tell Mom my idea. Maybe she wouldn't want to kill me in my sleep.

"Well, is Monday a particularly important school day for her?"

"It's testing day for the underclassmen…"

"Maybe you could take her out to lunch."

"I was thinking…bigger." I bit my lip and dragged a piece of melted cheese across my plate. "I...I had an idea…"

Mom blinked expectedly, but I stuttered.

"I've…I've known her for six years, and-and we've been dating for one and a half…" I avoided the gaze boring into my forehead. "I want to…maybe…"

"You can take her to Montauk," my mom suggested.

"No, I want to—"

"There's a fireworks show going on tomorrow night you two could see."

"Nah… I really wanted t—"

"Oh, I know, you can bring her here for dinner!"

I snapped and slammed my soda down on the table. "Mom, I want to ask her to marry me."

That shut her up.

Mom's mouth popped open and she sat there with wide eyes, frozen, trying to talk but looking like a fish out of water.

One minute passed. My mom kept staring at me.

Two minutes passed.

Three.

Four.

"Percy, I—" Mom coughed a little into her hand, dropping her staggered expression to her meal. "You're…you're awful young to be thinking of such commitment. Frankly, I'd be happier if you waited at least…at least five years."

"Demigods tend to die at a younger age," I pointed out, ignoring my red cheeks. "We don't stay at the camp forever. And Annabeth and I have known each other for six years. Even half-bloods have to go start their lives some time."

"But so early, Percy?" My mom put her hand on her chest and stood up. "Hold on; if we're really going to have this conversation, I need some chocolate and more coffee." She left, and when she returned a minute later, she sat back down and began munching on a bar of dark chocolate. "Oh, Percy, I just…I just can't imagine you growing up this fast…"

I forced a bite of my dinner down, and rubbed my temples. "It has to happen sometime."

Silence.

Mom cleared her throat. "…How long have you been planning this?"

I thought back.

We'd gone for a picnic last summer a few days after camp had ended, and had somehow got to talking about the future. Laughing about all those other couples we saw walking by, the children. Annabeth said that she'd want children. The conversation didn't go much farther than that, but ever since…

At that moment the looming prospect of our future stared me right in the face. She had kissed my cheek and we'd carried about our day, even though the entire time afterwards I was thinking…

Mom cleared her throat again, bringing me back into the present. "Well?"

I shook my head and shrugged, turning my eyes once again to my food. "…I'm just worried that when she goes off to college she'll…find someone else."

That was one of my greatest fears. Numerous times she'd told me of how some university in Anchorage, Alaska had an amazing architecture and engineering program, blahblahblah, but that was so far away. She might…find someone else. I had nightmares about it, and would wake up to red-hot hatred for this mystery boy rising like bile in my throat.

For a long time, nothing was said.

Then Mom took a breath. "Is it my blessing you're looking for, Percy? I admit giving it for you to bathe in the River Styx was less frightening…"

"You're blessing isn't required this time." I looked up, and to the heartbroken slump of her shoulders, I tried to smile. "But I'm not going anywhere without it."

If there was ever a time for my mom to burst out crying, I expected that to be the time. She folded her hands together and rested her forehead on them, as if praying, occasionally whispering to herself.

"So young…" my mom said against her fingers, sniffling. "…Never would have though…Too young…"

After a while, she stood up. For a split-second I was terrified that she was going to walk away, but she stood for a minute.

I stood uncertainly as well, maybe on the notion that I could catch her if she tried running away.

A while passed as we were standing there and then—

"Percy," Mom began, lifting her head to look at me through shining eyes. "I may not…approve entirely, but I know you're my son and I trust you more than anyone else on the planet."

She walked over in front of me. Thanks to the growth spurts over the years, I was several inches taller than her, but felt like a 12-year-old again, coming home to a blue sugar cookie and a hug, always being allowed to save the worst news for last.

Mom took one of my hands in her worn ones. "And if you want to ask Annabeth her hand, I'll be right here. You have my blessing, and if you need anything—"

I cut her off by pulling her into a hug. Part of the weight on my shoulders had been lifted.

When we drew away, happy tears were dribbling down her face, but she hastily wiped them away.

"If there's any way I can help you, Percy, just say so," she told me, sitting back down at her spot at the table. "If you need a car, I'm sure we can convince Paul to let you borrow his."

"Borrow my what?"

I turned in surprise to see Paul standing in the doorway of the kitchen, holding a grocery sack in one hand, twirling his car keys on a finger of the other.

Before I could even pause to think of how to tell him, my mom burst out like a struck piñata.

"Percy's going to propose to Annabeth!" she gushed at top speed, but then clapped her hands over her mouth and smiled apologetically at me. "Sorry, honey. I just stole your thunder. Not my news to tell!" Bright red and beaming, she fanned her face and practically skipped from the room.

Paul took a minute before speaking.

"…So you really are, huh?" he asked, setting the bag down on a kitchen counter and taking a seat next to me.

I nodded uncomfortably. "Yeah, uh… I just told Mom and she's…"

"…not taking it well?"

"More or less." I shrugged. "I think I might have given her a heart attack."

"Well, it's big news." After helping himself to some lasagna, Paul asked, "So you've given it a lot of thought? Seventeen is an awful young age to be making any big steps."

To be honest with myself, I'd rarely seen any demigod older than 25, and though I'm certain they exist, it was kind of nerve-wracking. Better to get these things done early and—honestly—why wait? We've known each other for a long time.

I told Paul all that and he agreed reluctantly.

"True as that may be, you have to think about what lies ahead of just the proposal phase." He popped open a can of root beer. "You both still live with your families. Are you going to start a career and buy a house this early? Are your brains even mature enough to handle the responsibility of starting a family together?"

Whoa, whoa, whoa. I never said anything about starting a family.

For a minute, I was struck speechless. Of course I'd though a little about it before, what I wanted to do with my life after Camp Half-Blood, but Mom and Paul were right. It was awful early. Though that drew my expression into a frown, inside I still wanted to do it. A lot.

"That's okay, Percy, you don't have to come up with an answer yet. You're still a kid; no need rushing these things. And a proposal isn't necessarily marriage. You could wait as long as you want before that step." Paul stood with his empty plate and soda can and clapped me on the back. "You're still welcome to stay here for as long as you need. Give it some thought, son."

With that, he put his dishes away and walked out.

That night I lay on my bed and stared up at the ceiling. After hearing what my parents had to say, I was beginning to rethink things a bit.

Half of my brain argued relentlessly with the idea of a proposal. No plan for the future, no real idea how to do this, no ring, for Zeus' sake. Don't be an idiot, Percy. Deciding to make those kinds of choices takes time.

The other half argued back. I'd thought about it for months, and in my head it was more along the lines of making sure she was mine. Maybe it was selfish of me, but I just wanted to make sure she knew how much I wanted and needed her in my life. Tomorrow I could buy some cheap ring from the jewelry shop with money I'd saved from my weekend job and present it like a…promise ring? No, this was a proposal, not some stupid high-school infatuation. "Promise ring" sounded lame and meaningless.

How would I ask her? In the movies the guys would get down on one knee and use the girl's full name. For some reason, I couldn't imagine me doing that with Annabeth. Movies made it seem so quick and easy, but I knew it wasn't. Even days before the real event, just thinking about asking her made my head rate triple.

In the morning, I woke up too early. After hitting the snooze button on my alarm three times, I managed to drag myself out of bed at 7:45. It was a long way to Annabeth's house, and that was the first thing on my list: ask Professor Chase for his daughter's hand. Nothing in the world could prepare me.

After nearly vomiting in the shower and cutting my jaw while shaving, I twitched my way into the kitchen, where Mom was already up, making eggs and bacon. She greeted me with a hug and a tall glass of orange juice.

"How did you sleep?" she asked, sliding some strips of bacon onto a plate.

"I didn't," I replied. My cheek was raw and bloody from where I'd been chewing it all night.

"So what's happening today? Do you need a ride anywhere?"

As if. Gods bless the poor soul who needed his mom to drive him to ask a man for his daughter's hand in marriage.

"Paul's lending me his."

"Where are you going first?" Mom gave me a heaping plate of breakfast, though I was too queasy to do anything except poke it.

"Annabeth's place."

"I thought you were going to wait until tomorrow, no?"

It was kind of annoying, her asking so many questions. If I didn't know her so well I would have thought she was being nosy, but no. I understood.

"I still have to talk to her dad," I said patiently, ripping a piece of fat off of a strip of bacon. Though I knew Professor Chase and knew he was a nice guy and liked me alright, the idea of asking him if I could…

"Percy? You okay?"

"I'm fine," I answered. "It's nothing."

There was a soft clink and I saw Mom set down her spatula to dip her head. She turned and pulled a chair up next to me. The look on her face I recognized as her "worried-mother expression."

"Are you sure you want to do this, honey?" she asked. "It's a huge step; you don't know what place you're putting yourself in. Have you really thought this over enough? Do you really want this?"

"…Yes, I have, and yes, I do."

That was all I said.

When breakfast was over, I made sure my debit card was in my wallet took Paul's car keys and splashed cold water all over my face to calm myself down. I was just about to walk out the door when the sight of my mom standing on a few feet away with her hands folded together stopped me.

She stood a world of sadness and strength in her eyes. "…Good luck, Percy. Be careful out there, okay?"

I thanked her and let her kiss my forehead.

The last thing I saw before leaving was Paul putting his arms around Mom and comforting her as I left. You would have thought I was moving out or something, but the way the butterflies were having a party in my gut, it couldn't have possibly been much worse.

The ride was long.

My hands were shaking.

What little food I'd eaten was threatening to make a reappearance.

The screaming, panicked voice in my head would not shut up, and when I'd gotten to their house I was certain there were circles of nervous sweat under my arms.

It was early in the day; Annabeth should be asleep. Maybe I should have called ahead of time, but I hadn't been thinking properly at all. Don't get out of the car, Percy.

I got out of the car and began the walk up to the front door.

Don't know, please don't know. We can work this out, rethink things.

I knocked on the door.

Cursed out loud in ancient Greek.

I was about to make a mad dash when the front door opened and I was forced to stay.

Annabeth's stepmother stood there in the doorway, looking awake but puzzled at my morning visit.

"Oh, good morning, Percy," she said amiably with a short smile. "Annabeth's still sleeping. I'll go wake her for you—"

"Actually," I said, wiping my clammy hands off on my jeans discretely. "I was looking for Professor Chase. Is he here?"

"Of course. Come on in."

I stepped anxiously inside, shutting the door behind me.

Smells of sizzling breakfast wafted in from the kitchen, but the house slept on. No noise of shouting children came from any room, so I assumed Annabeth's half-brothers were still asleep, as she was.

I was guided straight into the kitchen, where Professor Chase was at the table reading an old battered book and slurping coffee as his wife continued making waffles.

When I came in, he glanced at me over his glasses. "…Mr. Jackson. What a nice surprise. Are you here for Annabeth?"

Trying not to look too scared out of my mind, I wiped my hands off again and cleared my throat. "No, sir. I'm actually here to…to discuss something with you."

"Well, I don't have much time, but I'll entertain you for a minute." He closed his book and waved for me to have a seat next to him. "What seems to be the problem?"

Mrs. Stepmom offered me some waffles, which I turned down.

"There's no problem, Professor. I wanted to talk to you about…about Annabeth."

I was going to throw up, right then and there, all over the nice shiny table.

Annabeth's dad frowned. "What about her? Are you sure there's no problem? No great explosion of monsters she needs to help fight off?"

I shook my head. "No. I, uh…came here because I…I need to ask you something."

"I'm all ears."

I glanced up at the woman standing a little ways off. Waffles done, she was obviously waiting to hear what I had to say, but she understood my eye twitch and left the room.

How was I going to do this?

I rubbed my temples and thought.

And thought.

And thought.

Pretty soon, Annabeth's stepmom came back in.

"Should I reschedule your appointment, Frederick?" she asked, eyeing out concentrated, worried looks.

Professor Chase nodded, and she left again.

Still waiting.

"So…Annabeth's turning eighteen tomorrow," I began slowly and carefully. "And I had something in mind, that I'd wanted to do for a while, but I…I need your permission."

He frowned, resting his chin on his folded fingers. "My permission? And this has to do with your green face and constant wringing of hands, I assume?"

I took my hands off the table and tried not to be too embarrassed. My cheek began bleeding again when I began chewing on it (again), so I stopped and took a breath. "Professor, I've known Annabeth for six years. We've been through everything imaginable together—well, not everything, but…but dating her has been the best choice I'd ever made."

His eyebrows were slowly arching.

"And I know she's going off to college after finishing up camp and school, but before she leaves, I want to…to…"

Say it, Percy. Come on. Please say it.

Professor Chase's eyebrows were now near his hairline and he was waiting patiently for me to finish my thought.

It came out in a rush.

"Sir, I need your permission before I ask Annabeth to marry me tomorrow."

He stopped mid-slurp of his cold coffee.

Cleared his throat, and when he couldn't find his voice to respond, cleared it again.

I swallowed.

"…You want to propose? To my little girl?" Professor Chase ran his hand through his sandy blond hair and took off his glasses. "Tomorrow?"

I was afraid he'd start nagging me about our young age but instead, he blinked several times at me like he didn't believe what he was seeing.

"…I always knew that she loved you—you loved each other—but I never thought…I never thought I'd be sitting here with you today like this."

Pause.

Annabeth's dad started laughing. He reached over to grip my shoulder. "I admire your courage, Percy. Marriage is one of life's greatest adventures, and if I was going to give Annabeth away to any man, you'd be him."

Yet again, relief filled my chest so fast and hard it wanted to make me sink down onto the floor.

After getting up to pour more coffee, he raised his mug in a toast. "Best of luck to you, son. So do you have a ring yet? But of course you do."

My shock and relief left me stuttering. "A-Actually, I don't. That's my next stop."

Suddenly, the expression in Professor Chase's eyes changed. From happy and excited they grew to quiet and in a state of thought so deep he might have been frozen in place.

"I think…perhaps I should…" he muttered to himself, but then looked up at me and stood. "Yes. If you would come with me up to my study, Percy, I'd like to show you something."

Hesitantly, I got up and followed the Professor up the stairs into his workspace, which he first had to unlock. Stepping into there was mind-blowing as it had been the first time. Models of old airplanes and insane flying machines hung from the ceiling, swooping over mounds of books and the old war reenactment and shelves of gadgets and papers and pencils worn to stubs. It smelled like glue and dust, but there was no wondering why Athena had been drawn to that man.

Professor Chase motioned for me to sit in a free chair by a desk, and he sat next to me. With careful fingers he pulled one of the drawers open.

Part of me expected the insides to glow gold and be full of some sort of treasure, and in a way, it kind of did.

What my eyes perceived at first was just a drawer full of junk, but after a few seconds of looking, it was more than that. It was remnants of the professor's past. Old yellow letters and a pair of pink baby shoes—probably Annabeth's—and medals won from 8th-grade science fairs and so much more.

I wanted to look longer, but it felt intrusive, so I looked away.

Professor Chase chuckled. "Wonderful memories in this drawer, let me tell you. Now where is it…?" After a moment of rustling through the drawer, his fingers closed around a small, hinged, black box. "Ah-ha! Here." He set it in my hands.

I knew what it was. I was afraid to look inside.

"There's a story behind this. Go on." He sat back in his chair. "Open it."

I did, but cradling it in my grasp as If it was a baby bird.

The box held a single piece of jewelry.

A ring.

A simple silver band wrapped around a cluster of clear gems—diamonds. I knew just from looking at it like he'd told the truth: that ring had a story.

I flicked my gaze up to Annabeth's dad, who had gotten a wistful look in his eyes.

"…Around nineteen years ago, I met a woman," he started. "Dark hair, beautiful grey eyes, smarter than anyone I'd ever met, charming, kind, everything anyone could ever want in a woman. Sometimes she got cocky, but it was endearing."

I couldn't help but smile a little.

"Yes, she's who you're thinking of." Professor Chase let out a quiet laugh. "Annabeth's mother. Athena. Unfortunately, this story ends how all these stories end: I was left a single father of one beautiful baby girl, who looked almost exactly like her. Acted like her, too."

Frighteningly so, I agreed.

In his glazed eyes, another expression of sadness appeared. "…Somewhere between the first time I laid eyes on Athena and our daughter, I'd decided to propose to her. But she left me with a broken heart, a child, and a ring that I'd thought was just to sit and gather dust."

It was gorgeous, it really was, but I felt wrong taking something that was so special.

"Go on, Percy. Make use of it. I'd prefer it to stay in the family anyways. I'll be proud to be your father-in-law."

That just about did it for me.

This is really happening, I thought. Really truly.

I couldn't thank him enough, but he didn't take thanks.

When we went back downstairs, Annabeth's stepmom was waiting.

"Your appointment is now at 10:15, dear," she told the professor. "Is everything okay?"

Annabeth's dad hadn't stopped beaming since he gave me the ring. He just patted her shoulder. "Everything is perfectly fine. The good news, however, can wait. Percy has to be off. Lots to be done, right?" The look he gave me was knowing and friendly.

"That's right. If you could tell Annabeth I said hi, that'd be great."

"Of course."

I shook both their hands and bid the sleeping house goodbye, not taking my hand out of my pocket where the ring was safely in its box.

Where to next? I didn't even know, but somewhere was better than nowhere, so I drove off with a full day ahead of me.

That night I got home around seven o'clock, starving and emotionally empty. Though I was physically tired as well, my brain wouldn't stop its constant stream of questions. What to say when I see her, where to take her, how to start the conversation leading up to The Question. So when I slumped into the kitchen and set my plastic grocery bags down on the table, I didn't even notice Mom walking in from the side.

She crept up next to me and smiled hopefully. "Did everything go well, honey? You look exhausted; let me fix you up a plate of food."

With as much enthusiasm as my drained self could muster, I recounted to my mother the days' events, from the florists' to the grocery store to the variety shop to the little old lady I'd struck up a conversation with in the checkout line. I saved the story about the trip to Annabeth's house for last.

When I finished, Mom slipped a heaping plate of leftovers in front of me just in time. She sat down and waiting until I swallowed the first bite to ask.

"So let me get this straight: You have a ring?"

I nodded.

"From Annabeth's dad."

Nod.

"That he was going to use to propose to Athena with?"

Again, nod.

Mom soaked that in. The expression on her face was read quite easily, so I put a hand in my pocket and pulled the box out to show her.

My mom let out a marveled sigh when she opened it. "…Oh, Percy…" she whispered, putting a hand up to her chest. Saltwater sparkled in her eyes, but I knew it wasn't just because the ring was so beautiful. She looked so morose and…well…old. Her hair looked a little more silver, the creases on the corners of her eyes a little deeper.

"…I can't believe this is actually happening…" Emotion spilled from her words, almost painful to hear. She was my mom. The best memories I had of her came from her kneeling at my bed when I was sick, hugging me tight when I was upset, being the best mom a mom can be.

It must have been really unbelievable and hard to take in. She'd basically raised me all by herself all my life, taught me about life. She was incredibly important to me, and it was hard for me. In fact, I got choked up, too, because some part of me on the inside was always going to be her little boy. I was never going to admit that out loud, of course, but still.

I stood and let her attack me with a motherly embrace that nearly strangled the life out of me.

"I'm so proud of you, Percy," she sniffed into my hair. "Just…just remember that no matter how old you get I'll always be your mom and I'll be here, okay?"

My face burned at her cheesy, loving words. "…Okay, mom. This isn't really such a huge deal f—"

"Yes it is." Mom sniffed again and pulled away, wiping both of her eyes. "One second I was playing LEGOS with you in the living room and now I'm watching you go off into the big, bad world and propose to-to…"

She made no sense, especially considering I'd had countless near-death experiences by the time I was 13-years-old, but I let her think that because there was no changing her mind.

There was silence, and then my mom patted my cheek. "Well, if you're really going to do this, you're going to need to get some rest, okay? I'll be up with you and fix you a good breakfast before you leave, okay?"

"…Okay, Mom," I agreed again, and gave her one last hug before taking my grocery sack and heading off to my room.

Once in there, I stripped off my shirt and pants and flopped onto my bed in just a pair of boxers. I set my alarm clock for "Super-Duper Early" and turned the lights off, though it was going to be a long time before I actually closed my eyes and drifted off.

oOo

Yeah, this was going to be just a oneshot, but it would make more sense if I split it up into TWO chapters, so how about you review and let me know what you thought of the first one, okay?

Thank youuu!

~~Soggy