Work Text:
And all my walls
Stood tall painted blue
But I'll take 'em down, take 'em down
And open up the door for you
Today was the day.
Hazel woke up and looked in the mirror. Her hair was in a bun as she gently took off her bonnet. She rubbed her eyes, trying to wake herself up before everyone arrived.
June 19, 2022. Her wedding day.
When she imagined this day as a little girl, a lot of details were different. Firstly, it wasn’t almost 60 years after her first life. Secondly, It wasn’t when she was older than 20 years old. And lastly, it was to Sammy Valdez.
The last thought stung her a little bit. While she was a thousand percent in love with Frank, the thought at what could’ve been was coming back to her a little harder today. She knew that had she not died, she would’ve settled into a comfortable life with him. Probably on a farm, probably raising horses for a living. She would’ve gotten as far away from her mother as she wanted and could’ve died peacefully with him. It would’ve been a nice life. But as she stood in the mirror, asking herself whether or not she would go back and change anything, she knew definitively that the answer was no. When she thought of Sammy Valdez, she saw comfort. Tranquility. When she thought of Frank Zhang, she felt all that with ten times the intensity. She felt passion. She felt grateful. With the amount of times they’ve almost lost each other, getting to this day was a blessing. The road here was rocky and painful, but if everything that she went through was for the sole reason of making it to today, she would do it again in a thousand different timelines.
She walked to the bedside drawer of the hotel she was in. She leaned over and opened it, grabbing her journal that she had started way back when. The first entry was in May 2010- the day that Frank first arrived. She remembered how awkward he was, how he was shy and quiet around everyone except her. She flipped forward two weeks and saw an entry she wrote when they cleaned the elephant stables together. She flipped forward again and saw the entry when they kissed for the first time.
June 19, 2010. Exactly 12 years ago.
She closed the book, putting it away while smiling to herself. She reached over to check her phone and it was 7 am. She had to be at the venue in 5 hours, so she turned and got into the shower to prepare for the best day of her life.
Frank woke up craving kibble. Some nice, juicy Dog Chow.
“That’s strange,” he thought to himself.
He then looked down and realized that he had turned into a bulldog.
“Ok, a little less strange”, he concluded.
He was still momentarily confused, because he only turned into a bulldog when he was nervous. In fact, the last time he turned into a bulldog was when he proposed.
After his brain booted up, it decided to remind him that today was his wedding day. Suddenly, the shapeshifting made sense.
He reached for his phone, the bright light momentarily blinding him as he saw the numbers 7:00 on the screen. 5 hours until he had to be at the church.
He turned over in bed to be greeted by the sight of Apollo sleeping next to him.
Frank screamed.
“WHATAREYOUDOINGINMYBED?”
Apollo turned around, coming to consciousness.
“Frank Zhang, it’s your wedding day! And as your best man, I am here to be with you every step of the day. I prepared a list of songs for each moment of today to serenade you as you prepare to marry your beloved.”
“Ok yes. But why are you in my BED?”
“Do you not remember what we did last night? It only made sense that I would fall asleep here rather than try and make my way back to Olympus while drunk. According to my father, it’s ‘undignified’ to be under the influence while trying to rule over the mortals on Earth,” he responded, using air quotes for the word.
Frank had flashbacks to a bachelor party Apollo threw for him. Originally a party, it ended with Apollo getting drunk and singing Adele on the karaoke machine until 3 in the morning. While Frank didn’t drink anything, he stayed up the entire time, watching the debacle go down. He definitely took some videos to save for the future, but Apollo didn’t know that.
Thankfully, Apollo respected Frank’s wishes and only invited his circle of friends(which admittedly was easy, since Frank didn’t have much). In the end, Leo, Nico, Percy, and Lavinia showed up for him, which warmed his heart more than he would admit. While none of them would be standing up with him, the thought that all of them cared enough to show up almost brought him to tears.
Nevertheless, Frank was still confused.
“Apollo, you know I have a guest room right? With a fully made bed?”
“Why don’t we stop this interrogation and enjoy a song instead!”, Apollo said as he leapt out of bed.
“Ahem, from the musical talents of Apollo, God of music and melody, I present the waking up song! An original piece written and composed by the aforementioned God of music and melody. Oh Son of Mars, today is the day. Time to wake up and start the day. You’re going to go get yourself a wife, the beginning of your married life-”
Frank got out of bed as Apollo kept singing. While very loud, the music was very nice. And in a weird way, made him feel special.
When it came to choosing his best man, he wanted someone he was close to. Someone he had bonded with on a very deep level. He considered Percy, but they hadn’t talked in a while since he and Annabeth were busy with their kids. He then thought about Leo, but Leo was super busy with his job and Frank didn’t want to saddle him with these duties. He then had decided on Nico, but Nico was really adamant on being the flower boy, and Frank was in no position to upset him.
When he thought about who he wanted supporting him, who he wanted cheering him on, he thought back to when he was 16, begging to find out who his godly parent is. How even though Apollo hadn’t been his dad, that didn’t stop him from always believing in Frank. He knew immediately that he wanted Apollo to be beside him on this day.
He made a small gift basket, including some of his favorite snacks(courtesy of Artemis) and some of Adele’s sheet music, transposed for the lyre. When he asked Apollo to be his best man, he sang his “yes” so loudly Frank almost went deaf. But his excitement and dedication made Frank sure that he had made the right choice.
As he walked into the shower, Apollo stopped singing.
“Finally”, he thought to himself.
“You’re going into the shower?”
“Yes,” Frank answered.
“Then it’s time for the shower song! Ahem. GET SOAPY AND CLEAN SO WE CAN GO MEET-”
Frank closed the door, chuckling to himself as he lifted up the soap.
Hazel and Piper were in her room, making the finishing touches on her makeup. Piper was in a modest navy blue sleeveless dress, with her hair in curls and a gold headband. Her makeup was done, nice and simple, with gold touches all along her face.
Piper was up close to Hazel, spreading the eyeshadow on her eyelids carefully.
“How do you feel? It’s ok if you feel nervous.”
Hazel laughed. That was exactly what she was going to say.
“I am nervous, but not about my marriage. I’m more nervous about a whole bunch of demigods congregating and everything going wrong.”
Piper nodded in agreement. Even the 7 of them on a ship so long ago had caused problems. While this wedding was small, the fear was understandable.
At that moment, Hecate materialized in her room with her smelly polecat on her shoulder.
She appeared behind Hazel, so Piper saw her first.
“Who are you?”, Piper asked, dropping the makeup brush and pulling out her sword.
Hazel swiveled in her chair, getting up immediately before relaxing at the sight.
“Piper, it’s fine. It’s Hecate.”
“Like, the Goddess?”Piper asked, confused.
“Yes, like the Goddess”, Hecate answered. “I come bearing a wedding gift for Hazel.”
At the sound of the word “gift”, Hazel wanted to run in the other direction. When Gods said they had gifts, it usually was a deadly quest or a new power that would cause others to die. They never gave gifts like baskets or edible arrangements, just tickets straight to the Underworld and shock if they survived.
“What’s the catch?”Hazel said immediately. She didn’t have time to play games today, not when she had to be at the church in one hour.
“You haven’t even heard the gift yet.”
“When Gods hand out gifts, they usually come with ‘death’ written in the fine print. I just want to prepare myself before I accept this gift but find my whole family dead.”
Hecate grimaced.
“Rest assured Hazel there is no catch. This time. I come to bring the gift of the Mist to your wedding. Gale and I will protect your wedding, so no monsters can find it.”
At that moment, Gale farted, as if agreeing with Hecate.
“What’s in it for you? As the Goddess of magic, you don’t tend to do things without an ulterior motive”, Piper interjected.
“Piper Mclean, you seem to have no faith in me. Hazel was my protege, the strongest wielder of the Mist I have ever taught. This is her gift for all she has done for Olympus. She is free to deny it, but there are consequences that choice may bring.”
Hazel got up, talking towards Hecate.
“Thank you. I gladly accept your gift.”
“Very well then, I shall see you at the wedding.” She and Gale disappeared into thin air.
Hazel and Piper continued getting ready. There was a bit of peaceful silence before Piper broke it.
“How did you know Frank was the one?”
Hazel blushed at the question.
“Well, when we met at Camp Jupiter, I was still getting over Sammy Valdez, Leo’s great-grandfather. I hadn’t expected to fall for someone else for a long time. Being there at camp from another time was very isolating until Frank came along. At the time, I knew I just wanted him to be my best friend. He understood the loneliness I was feeling better than anyone else I had met. Even then, I had only wanted to be friends with him. As we showed each other our pasts, it was like…”
Hazel paused, trying to think of the right analogy to describe their connection.
“As cheesy as it sounds, it was like we were two puzzle pieces, made to complete each ;other’s picture. More for me than for him, since I was literally destined to have a descendant of Poseidon wash away my curse. For him, he had no mythological reason to want to be with me, he just knew he wanted to.”
“The real moment I knew was in Alaska. While I was fighting off Alcyoneus, I looked over and saw Frank burning his firewood to free Thanatos. The ice cold feeling in my veins when I knew his life was draining solidified it for me. So after we defeated the giant, I kissed him, and the rest is history.”
Hazel looked up to find Piper crying.
“Uhh, are you ok?”
Piper wiped tears from her face frantically.
“I’m glad I wore waterproof mascara today because I am a MESS and we haven’t even reached the venue yet,” Piper said through a watery laugh. “But to answer your question, I’m more than ok. I’m also pregnant, which is why I am incredibly hormonal.”
Hazel leaned up to hug her friend.
“Congratulations! I’m so happy for you.”
She beamed with pride.
While they already were best friends on the ship, Piper and Hazel had grown extremely close over the past couple of years. Once they discovered that Shel was a demigod too, they moved into New Rome to settle down. The three of them and Frank spent a lot of time together, and Piper and Hazel became inseparable.
“Sorry I didn’t tell you, I didn’t want to steal the thunder from your big day.”
Hazel waved her hand.
“Now, let’s get this makeup finished because we have to leave and you still need to get your dress on.”
Piper and Hazel finished getting ready and went outside, where a limousine was waiting for them.
They arrived at the church, running into a waiting room to remain hidden until the ceremony.
Frank was putting on his tie when he looked over and saw Apollo lying with only a towel on the bed.
“Apollo”, he said while tapping him. “The car is going to be here in 15 minutes; shouldn’t you be getting ready?”
Apollo got up with a jolt.
“You’re right, Frank Zhang Son of Mars! Luckily since I am the God of gorgeous looks, I can poof myself ready right before we leave. Wouldn’t want to wrinkle my suit before the photos.” He rolled over and went back to sleep.
Frank finished getting ready and went over to the next room. He knocked on the door before being greeted by Will, who was dressed, and Nico, who was not.
“Hey guys. Just wanted to let you know that the car will be here in ten minutes.”
Frank left. Even though the sight of Nico not dressed was going to give him a stress induced heart attack, he was determined not to let this bother him.
He went back to his room, where he put on his shoes and grabbed all of his stuff.
Before leaving , he opened his bedside drawer.
When packing for the hotel, he didn’t want to bring a lot. While opening his drawers, he found this picture of him and Hazel. It was the two of them at a carnival, holding a stuffed bear between them. It was taken the day before they got engaged, about six months ago. She held the bear between them, making an off handed comment about their future kids before kindly reminding him that she had no ring on her finger. She hadn’t known that he had planned their proposal for the next night, so he tried to wipe his guilty expression off his face and smile for the photo. His face looked slightly pained, but Hazel looked radiant and joyful. He took that picture everywhere, even having a copy at his desk at work. It was what he wanted her face to look like every day.
He grabbed the photo, stuffing it in his pocket before going outside. Nico, Will, and Apollo were there, all standing at the car.
They all got in the car, with Will driving them as the most responsible of the bunch.
“Well everyone,” Apollo started.
“Oh no,” Frank thought to himself.
“It is time for another original song composed for Frank’s wedding day! I call this the Car Song! Ahem. WE ARE IN THE CAR GOING TO THE PLACE, GOING TO WITNESS THE RADIANT SMILE ON THE SON OF MARS’ FACE. WATCHING HIM GET MARRIED TO HIS LOVER. NICO DI ANGELO IS HER BROTHER!”
Nico turned to Apollo with a death stare, but either Apollo didn’t notice or didn’t care, because he continued singing. For the entire ride.
Granted, it was ten minutes, but it felt like much longer.
They entered the church, with 45 minutes until the ceremony started. The guests were rolling in, signing the guest book before making their way to their seats.
Percy and Annabeth had just walked in, after dropping their daughter off to Hazel’s waiting area. They were dressed to the nines, Percy in a black suit with a grey tie matching Annabeth’s form fitting grey dress. They had agreed to let their four year old daughter, Averie, be the flower girl in the wedding. As a calm and quiet child, Frank and Hazel knew she would be the best choice.
“Congratulations man,” Percy said as he gave Frank a hug. “I’ve known this was coming since that trip to Alaska.”
“Thanks for coming, it means so much to us,” Frank said.
“We wouldn’t miss it!”Annabeth said. Since the two of them now worked for the same company, her as an Architect, him as a physicist, they spent a lot of time getting to know each other. They often worked together on company business, so they definitely considered each other one of their best friends.
The guests kept rolling in, until the doors finally shut and the ceremony began. Frank was walking to the altar when he heard his name.
“Frank?”
Frank froze in his tracks. He had heard this voice a lot in his life, but most of those times were when it was screaming in his brain. He had only seen his dad in person maybe three times, and this made it four.
“Dad?”, he said, turning around apprehensively. “What are you doing here?”
“I heard you were getting married. As in, Apollo visited all the Gods, Greek and Roman, and sang us a 15 minute song about you and your wedding.”
Frank laughed sheepishly. He had no idea the Gods were aware of today.
“I just came to see you.”
Frank pondered that statement for a moment.
“No offense, but why? I’ve only ever seen you three times before.”
“Don’t tell your siblings this, but you were always my favorite son. Praetor Frank Zhang, leader of the Twelfth Legion, you’ve made me very proud. I just wanted to let you know that you’ve got more strength in you than you think, kid.”
“Thanks”, Frank said, scratching the back of his head.
Just as soon as he arrived, he vanished into thin air.
Frank reflected on that while he walked to the altar. While he respected his dad, the thought of only becoming his favorite son after proving himself didn’t sit right with him.
Love shouldn’t be transactional. In fact, he doesn’t even know if he’s ever heard Mars say he loved him. Regardless, love for your children should be something they automatically have, even if they’ve never saved the entire world from evil primordial goddesses. He knew that when he had children, they would never have to do anything to gain his love. They would just have it.
After an incredibly long day, it was time. Hazel was getting last minute touches by Piper.
When she envisioned her wedding many years ago, she thought that she would feel nervous- pits of anxiety. But when she envisioned getting married to Frank today, all she felt was joy. It was cheesy, but she felt like they were soulmates, and today was the retribution they finally deserved for all the years of pain it took to get there.
It was the cue for Averie to go out. She was dressed in a pale pink dress, carrying a basket of roses. She had beautiful blond hair and sea green eyes, the perfect mix of Percy and Annabeth. Hazel gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek before sending her out, watching her walk down the aisle with a bright smile as she threw the roses on the ground. Nico quickly followed her, wearing a tailored black suit with a bright pink flower crown. He also had a basket of roses, throwing them down in time with Averie until they got down the aisle. Piper and Apollo went out next, Piper having to stop him from breaking out into the “walking down the aisle song” as they glided down.
It was finally her time. When they had discussed her wedding, she hadn’t had anyone in mind to walk her down. So she decided that she wanted to walk herself down, give herself to Frank. In her head, no father figures had been good enough to deserve the honor of walking her down today.
The doors opened. She walked down the aisle, bouquet in hand, beaming as she saw Frank at the altar. Her curly hair pinned underneath the veil, in that moment, everything was perfect. Everyone stood up, watching as she made the way towards her love. She briefly looked at Piper, who winked and provided her a much needed thumbs up.
Frank lost his breath when the doors opened. He saw Hazel, HIS Hazel, walking towards him in a white dress that seemed as if it was made for her. (He also thought he saw Hecate outside the doors, but he was too excited-and confused- to care). She was walking solo, due to her want to give herself to him of her own accord. Her beautiful curly hair, one of his favorite parts of her, was pinned with a gold pin behind her veil. She always looked gorgeous, but she looked angelic right now. He wanted to take a mental photo of this, remember this moment for the rest of his life. She made her way up to him, handing her bouquet to Piper and grabbing his hands.
They smiled, looking at each other for the first time today. The last time they would greet each other as fiances.
After some consideration, they asked Leo to officiate the wedding. Even though he was busy with his shop, they wanted him to be involved in their wedding. They wrote the wedding ceremony, giving it to him weeks ago so he could memorize it. They gave him the creative liberty to add a few jokes as well- they wanted Leo to be as himself as a wedding allowed.
“Now, normally they start with, ‘We have gathered here today to witness the union’ blah blah, but I think that’s boring. What I wanna do first is cheer for the happy couple, and for our gratefulness that we’re all here today.”, Leo started.
The entire church cheered and clapped for them. Frank and Hazel looked each other in the eye, smiling. That was the perfect beginning to their ceremony.
The rest of the ceremony went off without a hitch. After a wonderful ceremony, with more than a few jokes about waking up as a bulldog, and Hazel’s lack of knowledge of technology, it was time for the vows.
Hazel decided to go first.
“Frank Zhang, my love, my copraetor, my best friend. There are a million words I could use to describe you, but none of them would do you justice. I feel safe and protected, loved and appreciated, and joyful when we are together. I know that I was meant to be in the time, on this day with you.”
Hazel teared up while saying her vows. Frank laughed a little, knowing he was probably going to start crying when he read his as well.
“Hazel Levesque, my love, my copraetor, my best friend. I’ve loved you since that trip to Alaska. You made me feel like I could finally let someone in, be myself. You are the kindest, softest, coolest person I’ve ever met. I know that no matter what happens, I’m meant to be with you.”
“The rings?”, Leo called.
Apollo took the rings out of his pocket, handing them to their respective owners.
“Frank Zhang, Son of Mars, Praetor of the Twelfth Legion Fulminata. Do you take Hazel Levesque, Daughter of Pluto, Praetor of the Twelfth Legion Fulminata, to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold? In sickness and health? So long as you both shall live, and possibly get resurrected?”
The whole audience laughed. Both Frank and Hazel had their fair share of experience with dying.
“I do”, he choked out. He slid the wedding band onto Hazel’s finger, fitting perfectly.
“Hazel Levesque, Daughter of Pluto, Praetor of the Twelfth Legion Fulminata, Do you take Frank Zhang, Son of Mars, Praetor of the Twelfth Legion Fulminata, to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold? In sickness and health? So long as you both shall live, and possibly get resurrected?”
“I do”, she said tearfully. She slid the band onto his finger. Also fitting perfectly.
Their gold bands glinted as the sun shone through the windows of the church.
“Well, by the power vested in me by the Gods and the state of California, I now pronounce you husband and wife. My man, you may kiss your bride.”
Frank lifted up her veil and whispered in her ear.
“This is forever.”
He kissed her amongst the cheers and clapping from the whole audience.
In their eyes, that moment was perfect.
At the reception, Frank and Hazel tried to make arounds amidst all the dancing and partying.
Frank looked at all of his friends and family having fun before turning to Hazel. At the same time, she was turning to look at him.
“I wish Jason were here”, they said at the same time. Their eyes got wide at the sound of saying the exact same thing at the exact same time.
“First of all, woah”, Frank said. “We’ve been married for an hour and we’re already thinking the exact same thing.”
Hazel laughed. It sounded like magic.
“I was just thinking that all of our friends got to play a part in our wedding, but Jason would’ve really wanted to be here.”
Frank nodded in agreement. He knew that Jason would’ve been so proud to see the two of them today. He grabbed her hand and rubbed it, trying to comfort her. Not that he would ever admit it, he was a bit distracted by the ring on her finger, showing the entire world that she was his.
However patriarchal that thought was, he counteracted it by the reminder that his ring sent the same message, and he was hers.
“My wife, would you like to dance?”, he asked, trying to lift her spirits. When the dance floor saw them coming, they cleared the floor.
The song suddenly changed. Everything Has Changed(Taylor’s Version of course) began booming from the speakers.
Long ago, they listened to it and claimed it as “their song”. Hazel had made an offhand comment saying that she wanted to dance to it at her wedding (their relationship had been premature, so she hadn’t wanted to scare Frank with the thought of marriage. She didn't know that he wrote that down and kept it in locked notes full of information about her.)
As they danced across the floor to the voices of Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran, the lyrics reverberated in his brain.
“Cause all I know is we said hello, and your eyes look like coming home,”
He knew and she knew that they were each other’s home. Forever and ever. He dipped her and kissed her, and they danced the night away.
The End