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If there is one thing every book Annabeth has ever read has told her, it is that one’s wedding day is meant to be one of the happiest days of one’s life. Granted, the countless romantic comedies her soon-to-be wife has forced her to watch has also described in apt detail the many hiccups of that same day, but the core of every tale remains the same. At the end of the day, it is a celebration of a couple’s love, meant to last for eternity.
This however? This is definitely not a part of any of those tales. Standing in front of the mirror in her bridal suite, all dressed up for the ceremony, Annabeth cannot help but feel entirely out of place.
"I look like a princess about to enter into a deranged marriage."
From where her best man stands behind her, Percy only laughs. "...do you mean arranged?" He croaks out.
She had found the gown eight months prior, in a ridiculously overpriced bridal salon she had only visited to prove Percy wrong after he had gone on and on about how Piper would wear the most beautiful of dresses, and Annabeth would stand by her side in her normal jeans and t-shirt.
Her wedding dress is a marvel of construction. It had called to the architect in her immediately, and the more she had studied it, the more she had completely fallen in love with it. That love never waivered, and even now, she cannot help but feel beautiful.
Accepting that she had in fact found the dress of her dreams had dealt a blow to her pride, but now, she is all the happier for it.
Annabeth shakes her head. “No, definitely deranged. Gods, I look like a doll. Remind me why I chose this again?”
The ceremony is in an hour. More than enough time to panic, and reconsider everything.
“Annabeth.” Percy’s voice is gentle. It’s clear he knows exactly what she’s thinking about. “You’ve never been as happy as you are now and that’s why your mind is overreacting”. He abandons his post by the doorway, walking over to take her hands in his. “ You’ve wanted this for forever.”
Of course he knows just the words to calm her. He had been there the day Annabeth had taken the leap and proposed, hidden with a camera, to snap some pictures for them to keep from that day. The greatest picture, taken just when Piper had accepted and leapt into Annabeth’s arms, hangs framed on their living room wall.
She nods, lowering her head. “Never thought I’d want this again, but here we are.” A chuckle escapes her as she thinks about it. “It feels right.”
“It is right. I’ve never seen you this happy, Annabeth. You are exactly where you are supposed to be.”
Taken aback, she finds herself unable to respond for a moment. She wants to acknowledge his words, but the statement she comes up with feels too heavy on her tongue. A different time, she thinks to herself. When I have had my wine and we are much too tired to remember the details the day after.
“Didn’t exactly face all this hassle when we got married,” she says instead.
“Ah yes, because a courthouse wedding at nineteen with only my mother and step-father as witnesses was the peak of romance,” Percy responds teasingly. “You know, when mom married Paul, she didn’t intend to buy a wedding dress? I haven’t thought about it in years, but apparently dad sent a letter to their apartment one day, with a check to cover the costs of the wedding, and a message to Paul to treat her like the queen she is. I think that’s the kindest thing he ever did for her after I was born.”
Had she been nineteen, the reminder of how different Percy’s relationship with his godly parent is to hers would have stung. But now, at twenty-eight, Annabeth has made her peace with how things are. She has no doubt Athena knows she is getting married, and is absolutely certain Aphrodite knows given the absurd amount of wedding gifts adorned with doves they have received. It’s enough. Even Hera has sent a wedding gift if the adorned peacock feather is any indication.
When she fails to answer, his tone softens again. “This is happening,” he says. “You’re getting married. In-” He checks the time. “About an hour and fifteen minutes, Piper’s gonna be your wife. And I’ll have the time of my life reminding you of this very moment.”
Because Percy is Percy, he always takes the chance to sass her. Perhaps they haven’t really changed at all.
“Damn you, Seaweed Brain,” she whispers. “If you say that again, I’m gonna cry. And I really don’t want to mess up this makeup, even if I hate how it feels on me.”
“Say what, Wise Girl?” He answers. “That you’ll be a wedded woman once again, and this time probably for good?”
Letting go of his hands, Annabeth rushes to the adjoined bathroom to grab the tissues left on the counter. Dabbing furiously at the corners of her eyes, she almost jabs the tissue into her eye in the process. Being soft with her hands is still something she’s getting used to, even if her years of cradling Piper’s jaw have helped the process along somewhat.
Percy has the decency to wait outside until she deems herself decent again. To her surprise, the makeup has not moved one bit, despite her treatment of it.
“You didn’t think your dear wife-to-be lacked the foresight to ensure all of your products were waterproof, did you?” He’s now sitting in one of the makeup chairs, and waves his hand holding her mascara towards her when her eyebrows raise in confusion. “Piper might not like it, but she is good at these things.”
“Please put that down. You’d find a way to control it even if it’s waterproof and I don’t need you pulling any pranks on me.” Annabeth tries her best not to imagine her makeup coming off just as she is about to say her vows, detaching to form a paper-thin version of her face. “Especially not today of all days.”
Percy only looks at her, now smirking. “Now there’s an idea. You better hope Leo doesn’t hear that. Piper already had to talk him down from setting the wedding topper on fire to turn it into a firework display.”
It takes her a moment to catch on, but when she does, she cannot help but point a finger at him. “You are distracting me.”
“Is it working?” Percy only raises an eyebrow. “We may be the world’s most amicable pair of exes, but my old tricks certainly haven’t stopped working just yet.”
“You have been conspiring with Piper. I know it.” Resisting the urge to pull a face, Annabeth instead lets out a sigh. “You know I get easily distracted when I’m annoyed.”
His brow does not move an inch. In fact, he is entirely undisturbed by her accusation. “She may have given me permission to keep you from collapsing by any means necessary.”
“Of course she did.”
If her gown had not been twice the size of all the chairs in the room, Annabeth would have sat down just then. “How long until we have to be down there?”
“Twenty-five minutes. Which means that Leo will be here to check in on us in ten.”
She nods. Takes a deep breath. Then:
“Time to start forever again.”
Despite what it had seemed like in the suite, it does not quite hit Annabeth what she is about to do, until she stands before the aisle, arm in arm with the woman she has come to call her mother.
“Are you ready?” Sally asks.
This is it, Annabeth thinks. This is when it happens. This is when everything goes wrong.
But nothing happens. No monsters raze the premises. No god or goddess blazes down in all their glory to interrupt the proceedings. In fact, it’s almost as if the sun shines a little brighter as she turns to Sally and nods.
“I am,” she affirms.
Then the music, which until now had only softly played in the background, shifts into “Sweet Nothing,” and she knows it’s time to go.
To begin with, she doesn’t quite understand the need for the water-proof makeup. It’s a happy moment, why would she need to shed tears? Then, her gaze slips to the other side, where Piper is walking down her own aisle, arm in arm with her father, and her eyes grow teary in seconds.
Because Piper is a vision beyond compare. Every part of her Annabeth loves so dearly has been emphasised to glow, as if Apollo himself has blessed her to be a second sun on this day, the same way she has become the beacon leading Annabeth home at the end of every day.
I’m marrying you , Annabeth thinks to herself. Out of everyone in this world, gods and mortals alike, you have chosen to give yourself to me, and taken me in return.
The tears can’t be stopped this time. And she finds she doesn’t care either. Because these are tears of joy, of hope. They deserve to be celebrated, just as their love is about to be.
As they walk through the rows of people standing, Annabeth cannot help but spare a glance for the row of remembrance on either side of their aisles. There are too many ghosts in their pasts who deserve a space at their wedding for them to give each one their own chair, but as she looks upon the chairs covered in items to remember them by, it sinks in how glad she is they have been given a space.
One person however, has been given a separate memorial. Annabeth knows that had it not been for the cruelty of Caligula, the person officiating their wedding would have been Jason Grace. In his place, the sword he once used is now a part of their wedding rings.
Annabeth knows in her heart that he’s watching over them. That they all are. And that they’re happy for her.
The moment her hands find Piper’s will be a moment she will forever treasure. It is when she finally finds peace in it all, when all her concerns melt away and all that matters is that they are becoming one.
“Hey my love,” she whispers, her smile so wide she can feel her muscles straining.
Piper squeezes their hands in response, her kaleidoscopic eyes twinkling in delight at the sight of her. “Hey darling.”
“Gods, I love you. I can’t believe–” Her voice trembles, rough with emotion as it is.
“I love you too. So much. Are you ready to do this?” Piper’s voice is ever gentle, like a balm to the skin. It reminds her that she needs to compose herself. After all, this is a ceremony, and Piper deserves to hear and feel every vow Annabeth gives her with stark clarity.
She takes a deep breath, and knows her eyes must be shining when she answers. “I was ready to make you mine five years ago, Piper McLean.”
All throughout the ceremony, it is Piper’s calming and comforting presence that holds Annabeth together. When she gives her vows, it is as though she’s coming home, and Piper is the only one who can hear them. She is immensely grateful for the waterproof makeup, because both their cheeks are overrun with happy tears.
“I love you,” she finishes, her voice remaining steady by some miracle. “And I’m so blessed to finally call you my wife.”
My wife. Gods above, she might explode as she speaks the words.
As the announcement comes that they are finally wedded, she wastes not a single moment before cradling Piper’s jaw the way she has so many times before, and kisses her fiercely.
This time, the love does last for eternity.