The Arranged Marriage (Percy Jackson Fanfiction)

Three

Percy jolted awake, his thoughts scattered and his heart pounding. It was pitch black, the only source of light the moonlight spilling in through his chambers window.

It took Percy a moment to place why he had woken up in the first place, but then he heard it again.

A soft crying.

Knowing it wasn't himself, Percy figured it had to be Annabeth, but why? She seemed tough as nails and why would she anyways?

Percy swung his legs onto the floor, and stood cautiously. He passed over to what he thought had to be Annabeth's bed. Just as he was about to stop, he stubbed his toe. A stream of curses left his mouth before he could stop himself.

Annabeth's bed creaked as she sat up. "Who's there?" She whispered weakly.

Percy froze. Should he answer her or go back to his bed and pretend he didn't hear her crying?

"Percy?" Annabeth whispered.

Sighing, he replied, "Yeah, it's me."

A long pause, then a light flickered on at Annabeth's bedside. Her eyes were red rimmed and her face was streaked with tears. Percy blinked, then sat down on Annabeth's bed.

"Are you alright?" Percy asked sheepishly.

Annabeth still managed to look intimidating whilst sporting a tear streaked face. "No," she said miserably.

He inched closer to her silently, testing his boundaries. She made no move to stop him, so he crawled up beside her, making sure not to hit his head on the headboard.

Annabeth looked up at him, her gray eyes dark. She wiped hastily at her cheeks to stem the tears that were falling. Percy didn't ask what was wrong, he just sat next to her, knowing she would tell him what was wrong if she wanted to.

"I'm sorry for waking you up," Annabeth squeaked. "I was trying to be quiet."

Percy was surprised at how easily her apology came. From his first impression of her he had been pretty sure he would be the one apologizing most of the time. She definitely struck him as stubborn. "No, it's fine. I'm not that tired anyway."

She laughed lightly, but he could tell her heart wasn't in it. "I was just . . . I miss home."

"I understand. It's a lot to ask of you to move from your home to a place where you barely know anyone," Percy admitted.

Annabeth looked genuinely happy that he understood her. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For understanding."

Percy smiled at his future wife. "Well, we're going to have to figure each other out eventually. The rest of our lives together is a long time."

Annabeth grinned. "That it is."

* * *

Percy pulled at his armor. It was still crooked, despite all of his attempts to straighten it. Frowning, he sighed.

"Annabeth?" He asked sheepishly.

"Yes?"

"Do you, um . . . " he blushed, "Can you help me?"