I have finally decided to end this story here, after not updating it for an extremely long time. It was incredibly fun to write and I'm glad I wrote as much as I did, but now I'm done. I'm super sorry for leaving it here, but going back and rereading, I realized some of this is completely out of character and that really bothers me that I wrote that into existence. Also, this story line is crazy long and I ran out of ideas. I'm still writing one shots though for my other book, "The Stories of Our Heroes"! It has plenty of Percabeth and other stuff. I think those are much better written than this and my motivation is still there.

The whole reason I created this book was to write the perfect Percabeth wedding... and everything else just kind of happened. So I felt it was only right for me to close this story with a snippet of the wedding. Here it is, thanks for reading!

Percy's POV

I stuck my hand in my pocket nervously, staring back at my reflection in the cool lake water. My fingers closed around Riptide and I almost drew it before reminding myself that pulling out my sword right now was ridiculous. I was a little nervous, not under attack. I settled for running my hands through my hair, effectively messing up any bit of gel-style that my mother had managed. My image in the water was rippling with my emotions, undecided whether it was excited or scared. My tie was crooked and my sleeves were rolled up unevenly. Gods, Annabeth was marrying a real mess, wasn't she?

I audibly groaned, and the ripples turned to small waves. I really just wanted to talk to my Wise Girl right now, but I hadn't been allowed since last night. Jason has always been a rule follower, and I guess tradition is no exception.

I jumped as another reflection appeared beside me, bearing the same green eyes and messy black hair.

"Hey Dad," I grumbled. "I almost didn't recognize you without the Hawaiian shirt."

Poseidon chuckled. "I thought it was a little inappropriate for the occasion. Tell me, Perseus," he said, laying a hand on my shoulder, "why are you out here and not getting ready for your big day?"

"I don't know," I sighed. "Just worried, I guess."

"About marrying Annabeth?"

"No!" I answered quickly. "I mean, no, not like that. I know I want to marry her. I've been looking forward to this day for forever. But..." I trailed off. What was I worried about?

"Well, son," he suddenly swiped his hand across the water, ruining the image, "are you scared of what comes next?"

"I mean," I slowly raised my face away from the water to look at my father, "not really. It's more of... being afraid of not knowing what comes next. I feel like every time something good happens to us, every time we catch a break, something else comes along to ruin it. I don't want this - us -  to be ruined."

Poseidon didn't say anything for a long time. I reached for Riptide again, pulling it out of my pocket to twirl it in my fingers. 

"I will admit," he finally spoke, "that the two of you have experienced some great highs and even greater lows."

"Wow, really encouraging," I scoffed.

"But, you always find your way out of it, better than before. I think you and Annabeth have shown that it doesn't matter what's thrown at you, you'll survive it. So Percy, I wouldn't worry about what comes next. You don't need to."

I blinked slowly. Was a god actually just helpful?

"Okay. Okay, yeah. Thanks Dad."

And with a smile, he disappeared in a swirl of mist.

--------

Standing in front of  our friends and family, Grover at my side, Chiron behind me, and a straightened tie, all of my worries from earlier vanished. I wanted nothing more than for Annabeth to appear at the end of that aisle so we could begin the new chapter of our life. I looked at my mom and Paul, both wearing huge smiles. My gaze traveled to Annabeth's brothers, who proceeded to make funny faces at me from their seats.

Maybe it was the ADHD acting up, but before I knew it, my little sister was twirling down the aisle, chucking petals in every direction, and grinning from ear to ear. I laughed softly at her and ruffled her hair when she finally reached the end and wrapped her arms around my legs. 

And next was the bride. Holy Hepheastus, did she look perfect. My vision tunneled as my eyes met hers, her smiling blinding. Her dress was simple yet elegant, as Annabeth-esque as ever. Her hair held her natural curls, and she walked with the same purpose and power as always. When she finally stood in front of me, her hand reached out to touch my face.

"C'mon Seaweed Brain," she teased softly. "You're not allowed to cry because then I'll start crying, and no one needs to see that." I couldn't help it; I laughed.

Full disclosure, I did not listen to a word Chiron said. I could do nothing besides gaze at my Wise Girl. But I'm pretty sure she wasn't paying attention either, so I didn't feel so bad. My ears opened back up, however, when Annabeth started to say her vows.

"When I first met you, Percy, I honestly had no idea that we could become friends, let alone a couple. There seemed to be too many components that would keep us apart, and to be honest, you annoyed the Hades out of me. But I soon started to notice that you brought out the best parts of me, parts that had been hidden for years and parts that I seldom expressed. You also put up with the worst parts of me, parts of me that turned others away. I began to smile more, breathe easier, and finally I felt content with myself. Sure, you still annoyed me, but I annoyed you, too, so it kind of became our thing. And as time went on, 'Seaweed Brain' turned into less of an insult and more of an endearing term. I'm not sure exactly when, but I realized that life was better with you by my side, even if we do pull each other into all kinds of messes. You show me time and time again that you love me unconditionally, and I'm not sure what I've done to deserve that, but I do know that I love you exactly the same way. I can't believe we're here today, Seaweed Brain, but I can believe it's where we're meant to be."

Her eyes looked watery as she finished, and my throat felt way too tight, but the happiness radiating off both of us was enough to push me into my vows.

"I'm never going to top that," I muttered to her before I began. She giggled quietly. "Annabeth, I have way too much to say to fit it into the time we have, and I've never been the best with words, but I can try my best to let you know what you mean to me. You've always been more than a friend, or more than a girlfriend. You're my constant force that pulls me through the days, helping me get to where I need to be. You're my light at the end of the tunnel that gives me hope to go on. Even when I barely remembered my own name, I remembered you. Your face, your laugh, and what you mean to me. You are the reason I keep fighting, whether it's monsters or just an aspect of regular old life. I wish I could see what is coming our way, and I'd liked to think it's going to be perfect. But I can't know that, and I'm afraid that our pattern of ups and downs will follow wherever we go. I don't want us to worry about that, though. We've faced the good and the bad, standing at each other's sides. We usually come out victorious in the end, and I can't wait to continue our adventure, side by side, back to back, face to face, and hand in hand, just like we always have."

I must have done okay, because a few tears dropped down her beautiful face. I wiped them away as I heard a few sniffs in the audience.

I barely heard Chiron giving me permission to finally, finally, kiss my bride before gathering her up in my arms and kissing her like no one else was in the room. It felt like my brain was melting through my body, just like when she kissed me under the pavilion so many years ago. We pulled away to clapping and cheering, but it was all background noise to Annabeth's, "I love you." I was about to respond when a voice cut through the crowd.

"Well, it's about time!" screamed none other than Clarisse La Rue herself. I was hit by a heavy wave of deja vu and I could hear Annabeth laugh beside me. "The lovebirds need to cool off!"

Annabeth and I were swarmed by our old friends, hoisted onto their shoulders, and carried off towards the canoe lake I had stood at hours before. This time, I was only filled with happiness.

"You better not let my dress get wet, Seaweed Brain!" Annabeth yelled at me right before we were thrown in.

And it was pretty much the best underwater kiss of all time.