At the sound of keys jiggling, Annabeth froze. She quickly finished lighting the various candles strewn around their apartment before locating an envelope she'd hidden behind a framed wedding picture.

The door swung open and Percy entered, a smile plastered on his face. He dropped his bag and immediately made his way to the kitchen.

He pulled out a pot and filled it with water before setting it on the stove.

Annabeth smiled as she realized he was making dinner for the two of them. Then she realized she'd ordered Chinese food.

She snuck up behind Percy and wrapped her arms around him. He immediately spun around, riptide in pen form in his grasp.

He sighed with relief when he realized it was Annabeth. "You scared me."

"Sorry," she responded, a twinkle in her eyes.

"What are you doing home so early?" he asked her.

She smiled and dumped the pot. "I left work early and ordered some Chinese food for us for dinner. Now tell me about your first day!"

Percy was touched by Annabeth's gesture and pulled her into a kiss. "I love you."

"I love you, too," she replied as they pulled apart. "Now tell me about your day!"

Percy had recently started at Johnson Marine Research Center. His hours were a bit different than Annabeth's, but they made it work.

"Well, everyone applauded as I entered and all bowed while chanting my name," he joked. "And then they paid me a million dollars just for existing."

"I'd pay you a million dollars just for existing," Annabeth breathed. "Now seriously tell me."

He shrugged. "It was average. Kind of boring, actually. I found my desk, unpacked my stuff, got a small tour, met my co-workers. It was quite a bland day."

"Well, I know what will make your day less bland." A wide smile appeared on Annabeth's face as she shoved the envelope into Percy's hands. "Open it!"

Percy smiled skeptically at her. "What's in it?"

"You'll see. Now open it! The suspense is killingggg me!" she yelled, dragging out the g.

Percy ripped open the envelope and his face lit up immediately. "You didn't..."

"I did," Annabeth assured him. "We're going to New Rome! Happy Anniversary!"

Percy's eyes widened as he pulled her into a kiss. "You're the best, Wisegirl."

"I know," she retorted as there was a knock at the door. "That must be our food."

Annabeth accepted the food before paying the guy. Then she joined Percy in the living room, who was still smiling ear to ear.

"How can we even afford this?" Percy asked as she presented him with the food.

Annabeth smiled. "Well, I've been saving. And, uh, we leave at one in the morning, so we should probably head to bed after we finish eating."

Percy rolled his eyes before pulling her into a hug. "Thank you."

~

Their feet were sore from running and their eyes were full of panic. The loud and bustling airport wasn't a good set of scenery for the two exhausted demigods.

Percy and Annabeth quickly rushed through the gates, both out of breathe.

"Hello, we're here!" Annabeth exclaimed as she ran up to a desk. An annoyed looking worker reluctantly looked up at them.

"This plane left several minutes ago," he replied annoyingly. "What did you do, walk here?"

"Hey! We took a cab!" Annabeth snapped angrily. "We hauled ass to get here on-"

Percy's eyes widened as he dragged Annabeth away from the desk. "Calm down. Everything will be fine. We'll just catch another plane out."

Annabeth nodded. "Okay, okay. You're right. I was getting a bit irrational. But just so you know, I could've totally taken that guy."

"Yeah, I know," Percy said with a chuckle before heading over to the desk. "Hello."

"You again?" he asked. "Didn't I already tell you and your ditzy girlfriend that the plane left?"

Percy sighed. "I really wish you hadn't said that."

He cracked his knuckles before lunging at the dude. "My wife is not ditzy!"

"Percy! No!" Annabeth yelled as she rushed over, followed by several security guards.

They detained Percy and forcefully removed both Percy and Annabeth from the airport, warning them never to return.

Both of them feeling quite disappointed, they took a cab home, not sure what else to do.

"We could always drive," Annabeth suggested. "You don't like flying very much anyways."

Percy exhaled deeply. His eyelashes flittered as he tried to fight back tears. He'd been the one who'd forgotten to pack, this was all his fault. "We don't have a car."

"I'm sure we could rent one," Annabeth admitted.

"With what money? We just wasted so much on plane tickets," he huffed. "And we don't have gas money."

Annabeth bit her lip. "We could go to Camp Half-Blood. Maybe they'd lend us some money...?"

Percy nodded reluctantly. He knew that they probably wouldn't, but he didn't want to ruin the perfect vacation Annabeth had planned for them.

"I'm certain we'll figure out something at camp," Percy said, leading Annabeth back outside. "Now let's not let this ruin the amazing vacation you had planned."

Annabeth blushed as they entered a taxi. "Delphi Strawberry Services, please."

The taxi ride to camp was fairly quiet. Since it was very early in the morning, both of them were half awake. New York, on the other hand, was fully awake and full of rowdy drunk people that their cab driver had to constantly yell at and swerve away from them.

When they finally arrived, they both mumbled a thank you to the gods before paying and rushing up the hill. There, they were greeted by two familiar faces.

"Hey Percy! Hey Annabeth!" the bright faced and golden haired Will Solace greeted. "What are you two doing here. And this early?"

Annabeth sighed. "We were going to take a plane to New Rome to visit some old friends, but we missed our plane."

"Let me guess, Percy didn't wake up?" Nico asked, appearing from the darkness holding two suitcases.

"Hey! Am I really that predictable?" Percy protested, crossing his arms in front of him.

"You're completely right. Now we're trying to find a way to get to New Rome," Annabeth admitted. "Do you guys know any ways?"

Will's face lit up. "You could come with us!"

"Why are you two going to New Rome?" Percy asked. "School doesn't start for a few weeks."

Nico shrugged. "We decided to go visit Hazel and Frank, set up our things. Stuff like that."

"Smart. You two clearly know how to pack, unlike someone," Annabeth retorted, glaring at Percy.

Will chuckled. "So is that a yes?"

"Yes," Percy said with a smile. "Thank you guys so much. How are we getting there?"

"This old van," Nico admitted, his face twisting at the sight of it. "Chiron has graciously gifted us this van, but I guess you two could drive it back."

Percy and Annabeth stared at each other before Annabeth answered. "Yeah, totally...but won't we draw attention? I mean four demigods, two being sons of the big three?"

"We can handle the monsters," Percy replied toughly. Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Plus I brought lots of nectar and ambrosia!" Will said cheerily. "Our driving is in seven hour shifts and it takes two days to get there. We stop after every shift."

"Okay, we can drive, too," Annabeth volunteered. "I can take first shift if you want."

Soon they were all settled into the gross old van. There were only two rows of cramped seating and lots of storage. In the back they found moldy old strawberries and broken weapons, which they had to clean out.

After a little under half an hour they were ready to leave. Annabeth was in the driver's seat with Percy next to her. Will and Nico took the back.

"This is going to be one long trip," Percy muttered.