You'll Be My Present (for Life)
When Percy woke up at 6am on Christmas, he knew he was ready.
Ready to do the thing he had been dreaming of for almost a year.
The sun was shining through the curtains of his and Annabeth’s bedroom, casting a glow that had Percy smiling.
Glancing to the side, he realized that Annabeth was still curled up against him, a slight smile lingering at her lips.
The light was illuminating her hair, making it appear even blonder than it was. Her face seemed peaceful and calm, eyes fluttering slowly.
An arm was carelessly thrown over his chest, and she seemed to be mumbling quietly.
He grinned and pulled her closer, breathing in the strawberry scent of her hair that he’d grown to love.
The same one that brought him comfort and serenity.
Tossing the sheets aside and attempting to get out of the bed without waking his girlfriend up, Percy shamelessly tiptoed out of their room, a nervous stir in his stomach.
Thankfully, Annabeth didn’t notice.
Once out into the hallway of the house that he had lived in with Annabeth for about a year, Percy yawned and entered the kitchen.
From there, he could see the Christmas tree that they’d bought days ago, with small lights swirled around it. The decorations on the tree were unique, embellished with blue candy and tiny owl ornaments.
Percy hadn’t ever realized just how amazing of a combination blue and gray were. But then again, Percy believed that Annabeth and him were perfect.
Taking a glass and filling it up with water, Percy downed it in less than five seconds, placing it back down onto the counter.
He gazed at the city in front of him. Annabeth always wanted windows in their kitchen, and Percy had to admit, he loved it.
He could see the side of New York City, and the endless traffic and Christmas decorations everywhere.
He loved seeing New York in the morning.
Before Percy could leave, though, two arms snaked around his waist, and a head pressed against his shoulders.
“Seaweed Brain,” Annabeth murmured, planting soft kisses on the back of his neck.
Percy smiled, grabbing the hands on his waist and kissing them softly. He turned around to see Annabeth, with a soft glint in her eye.
Her blonde hair was pulled into a messy bun, which brought out her sharp cheekbones. Annabeth watched Percy with an eyebrow raised.
“Something wrong?” She asked, biting her bottom lip.
“No,” Percy said. “It’s just the fact that my girlfriend is a goddess.
Annabeth blushed, and Percy leaned in to kiss her.
Wrinkling her nose, Annabeth pushed him away. “No. Go brush your teeth.”
Percy pouted, “Come on, Wise Girl. Please?”
Shaking her head, Annabeth pushed him. “Go. Then kiss me all you want.”
A smile twitched at Percy’s lips, and he grabbed Annabeth’s left hand, kissing every one of her fingers softly.
While Percy walked towards the bathroom, he decided one thing was for sure.
He couldn’t wait until there was a ring on Annabeth’s finger.
Usually, most people opened their Christmas presents first thing in the morning.
Percy and Annabeth weren’t in that category of “most people”.
They opened their presents after eating breakfast, which was filled with smirks and knowing glances.
Percy couldn’t remember exactly when the tradition had gone into place, but they both had went along with it.
Once breakfast was over, Annabeth would rush to a secret spot where she kept all the presents hidden (Percy had a bad a habit of attempting to find out what the gifts were before Christmas). Secretly, Percy knew exactly where she hid them, but he would never tell her.
There was just something about the happy and prideful look on Annabeth’s face when she returned the room with presents stacked upon both her hands that made him resist.
Annabeth carefully positioned each present in a neat row on their carpet. She stood up with a beautiful smile on her face, and clasped her hands together. “Okay. Let’s do this.”
Sliding off the couch, Percy sat down on to the carpet, watching the presents intently. Most of them were from Sally and the seven, including Reyna and and Nico.
None of the demigods had lost touch after the war. It seemed impossible to, with all they’d endured together.
It had also become a sort of tradition for them to send each other ridiculous presents. Leo was known to be the master at that.
In all, there were twelve presents, and each box was incredibly large.
Annabeth read the tags, then set eight of them to the side.
Raising an eyebrow, Percy asked, “Why did you do that?”
“I want to open only our presents first,” Annabeth said.
The words sent shivers up Percy’s spine, and his stomach twisted in knots. He was hoping to stall to proposing, being as nervous as it was.
And now he’d have to propose earlier than expecting.
Annabeth grinned. “My presents first.”
Percy nodded, wringing his hands together. He tried to calm his suddenly pounding heart, but to no avail.
“Alright,” Annabeth sat, crisscrossed onto the floor, and pushed two presents towards Percy.
The first box was a calm shade of blue, with a silver ribbon enhancing the exterior’s design of polka dots.
“Open it,” Annabeth said, practically bouncing up and down in excitement.
Percy obliged, taking a slow minute to untie the ribbon, and then pulling the top of the present open.
Pushing the green wrapping paper aside, Percy pulled out a box, that itself read “Merry Christmas!”. Opening it, he extracted the item from the box, only to find a small, blue, pen.
Percy’s jaw hit the ground. All around the pen were elegantly written words in Greek, some reading “I love you” and others simply tiny little swirls. Tiny messages were decorated on the entire pen, the golden tip shaped beautifully.
“Do you like it?” Her voice was soft, and she was watching Percy, a hopeful smile dancing on her lips.
“Annabeth,” Percy breathed, trailing his fingers along the pen, “this is amazing.”
“I got Leo to help me make it,” Annabeth told him. “I thought you’d like it.”
“I love you,” Percy kissed her cheek.
Annabeth winked at him. “I know. Now open your other present!”
Percy grinned at her eagerness, setting the pen down. “Fine.”
The second gift was wrapped in different shades of green, the exterior simple and plain. A paper bow was attached to the top, perfectly. Percy picked it up and stuck it on Annabeth’s thigh, as she rolled her eyes, but didn’t make a move to remove it.
Lifting the top off, Percy set it to the side as he pulled out another object, this time quite larger than the one before. Sticking his hands into the box, Percy extracted a larger item than the first, watching Annabeth dramatically as he did.
The item closed around his fingers, larger than his hand, and he removed the wrapping paper to see what it was.
It seemed like a book. A very, very, large book that Percy had no idea Annabeth would give him a book to him as a present, given his dyslexia.
The cover was all velvet and several unique shades of both green, blue, and gray that somehow contrasted beautifully together. After a minute of Percy staring at the blank cover, Annabeth cleared her throat.
“Do you plan on opening that anytime soon, Seaweed Brain? I’m starting to feel nervous.”
Percy opened the soft cover, and his eyebrows shot up as he read the title, “350 Things I Love About Perseus Jackson”, which was written in gorgeous swirls.
He glanced at Annabeth, who gestured to open the book further, and every single page, he realized held at least two sentences onto why she loved the said thing about Percy.
A grin stretched across Percy’s face as he continued reading, the things ranging from “He makes amazing cookies” to “He runs his hands through his hair when he’s stressed”. Every single page was occupied with words written by Annabeth that had Percy captivated, and the nervous stir settled back in his stomach.
“I can’t believe you did this, Wise Girl,” Percy admitted. “All my presents seem stupid compared to this.”
“Can I see your presents?” Annabeth questioned, and Percy could see that she was excited, despite her attempts to hide it.
There was Percy’s chance. He grinned uneasily.
Making a show of acting like he forgot his presents, even though they were right in front of him, one box empty, Percy stood up. “I’ll be right back.”
Annabeth peered at him suspiciously, then back at the presents. “Okay.”
Forcing a tight smile, Percy left the room, his heart once again pounding. The ring was buried underneath the bed, somewhere Annabeth would never look.
Percy grabbed it, wrapping his fingers around the velvety fabric around the cover. He checked once to confirm the ring was there, then, with a deep breath, left the room.
Annabeth was facing the wall, her back turned. She was arranging the presents neatly onto the couch, drumming her fingers softly against each of them.
Percy sucked in a breath.
She was so beautiful. Every single part of her was something Percy would never be tired of. She was elegant and independent, confident and kind.
What had he done to ever deserve her?
This was the moment he’d spent nights worrying about. A proposal on Christmas while both of them were still in their pajamas was something he knew Annabeth wouldn’t mind. She never enjoyed public attention.
Walking softly until he was close enough to where he could hear he quietly humming his favorite song, Percy knelt down. The thump of his heart reverberated all through his body, and he could feel it in his fingertips.
Opening the box, Percy cleared his throat.
Her gaze fell on his face, eyes widening. Annabeth’s fingers flew to her face, a small gasp escaping.
“Will you, Annabeth Chase,” Percy grinned up at her, “marry me?”
Tears glistened in Annabeth eyes, and with a slight nod, she placed the ring on her finger. It was silver, with hints of gray and green on the border of the gemstone. The inner part of the gemstone read “Annabeth Jackson” in Greek.
Annabeth looked at it in pure astonishment. “I can’t believe this, Percy. This is the best Christmas present I’ve ever received. You’re the best thing I could have ever asked for. I would love to marry you.”
He pulled her against him, unable to resist a smile that eventually hurt his mouth. “I’m glad to hear, Wise Girl.”
The kiss was soft and sweet, and Annabeth wrapped her hands around Percy’s neck, pulling him closer. It had been years since they’d been together, but their kisses still remained irreplaceable. He kissed her with a burning passion, pouring all of his passion into it.
She said yes. He’d made her happy.
Just the mere thought caused butterflies to explode in Percy’s stomach, and he pulled away from Annabeth, resting his forehead on hers.
Then, he kissed her nose. Her cheeks. Her forehead. Her jaw.
A small smile lingered at her lips, and she leaned in to kiss him again.
As much as Percy wanted to be kissing her soft lips again, he resisted. Holding a hand up, Percy said, “Wait. I’ve got another present for you.”
Annabeth looked at him, incredulous. “Are you serious? Another? Seaweed Brain, honestly.”
He laughed. “I want to show you how much you mean to me.”
Glancing at her ring, then back at Percy, Annabeth said, “I believe this ring, and everything else you’ve done for me has proven how much I mean to you.”
Shaking his head, Percy picked up one of the presents, a tiny box that seemed like it couldn’t even hold a notebook. They both sat down onto each end of their couch, Annabeth sitting with her legs crossed.
It was a simple box with fabric wrapped around it, nothing as special as what Annabeth gave him. Percy pushed it towards Annabeth. “Open it.”
With a curious gaze, Annabeth lifted the lid off. Her gasp echoed throughout the whole room as she realized what it was, and she pulled out two tickets from the box.
Disbelief clear in her eyes, Annabeth asked Percy, “Are you serious?”
Her jaw was dropped, but the sparkling glint in her eyes told Percy everything he needed to know. He reached over and shut her mouth, the happiness bubbling inside of him rapidly.
“Perseus Jackson,” Annabeth whispered, her voice getting louder with every syllable she spoke with excitement. “You got us tickets to Greece and New Rome?”
She examined the tickets as if they were made from gold, then back at the ring, her eyes shining.
Percy nodded, sheepishly. “You don’t like it?”
“I love it,” Annabeth told him, grabbing his hands and squeezing them. “You know what else I love?”
Percy moved closer towards Annabeth, pulling at a blonde curl. He rested his head on Annabeth’s shoulder, inhaling her strawberry scent. “What?”
She grinned. “You, Seaweed Brain.”
“Huh,” Percy mumbled, “I could say the same thing about you, Annabeth Jackson.”
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