Seeking Happiness

I was so ready to hate Luke, but it's really hard. Ever since the guy came back from possession he was nothing but great. He woke up extra early in the morning to make sure all the perimeters were holding, he taught multiple sword fighting classes, and to top it off he was the sweetest boyfriend ever to my sister. He walked her everywhere, always holding her hand, always hanging on to her every word. I thought back to the day when I had had argued until I was out of breath that we should kill him. I find it almost impossible to justify the way I felt that day, there's no way this boy was evil.

After breakfast I walked by the new monument just on the edge of the woods, under a tree Thalia claimed to be important. It was a simple statue, a small dragon. Leo would forever be remembered through Festus, he would always be the boy who tamed bronze dragons, built flying ships, and sacrificed his life to save the camp from Tartarus.

I knelt down and took a seat next to the beautiful yet disappointing memorial. "Hey man, I don't really know if you can hear me. I would like to think that you can, that you're down there in Elysium, sipping nectar and building little gadgets. Today's the big day, Percy and Annabeth are getting married. It's a real shame you're not going to be here for it. Its hard here without you. Like really hard. I replay that moment in my head over and over again. I should have done something. I should have saved you." I could feel the tears welling up, "I just stood there, I did nothing. I have all these great powers, and I did nothing! Some friend I am. I'm sorry..."

I let the tears spill over my cheeks, but quickly wiped them away when a shadow came up behind me. "I'm so sorry about your friend." I turned to face Luke who oddly looked just a sad I felt. "Yeah, he was a great guy." Luke nodded, "It takes a great man to put the safety of others before his own." He sat down next to me, "I try and stay strong in front of your sister but the truth is, I'm kind of struggling. I've caused this world a lot of pain. I was there when Kronos terrorized New York, I was there when Tartarus brought down that blade. It's hard to have those kind of memories and not think of myself as a monster. Sometimes I find it hard to believe that I even deserve this second chance. But I would be a fool to waste it."

He put his head in his hands, "I'm not trying to make you feel sorry for me, believe me that's the last thing I want. I just... I want you and I to have a good relationship you know." I nodded and gave him a pat on the back, "It may have been your body, but it wasn't you. You have to believe that, you are a good person. Just the fact that you're this torn up is proof that you have a good heart. I understand you not wanting to tell Thalia, she would go into overprotective mode. We tend to do that in our family." He gave me a knowing smile, "You Grace's are tough cookies, I've always admired that."

He stood up and patted the head of the dragon, "I say we start a tradition, we'll tell all the campers that rubbing the dragon head is good luck. You know that way someone will always be here to keep Leo company. His legacy will live on forever." I rubbed mini festus' head, "Sounds like a great idea to me."

We started to head over to Percy's cabin Annabeth was due any day and Piper spent all of her time over there putting the finishing touched on the wedding. It was supposed to take place this afternoon, so the cabin was buzzing around more than usual. Luke looked over to me, "I would be proud to step into this battle zone with you." I laughed, "This may be our toughest one yet."

We were laughing as we stepped over the threshold. Piper and Thalia turned and gave us weird looks. Piper just shrugged it off and ran up to me. She jumped up putting her arms around me giving me a quick kiss. "Aren't wedding awesome?" I cleared my throat, "Uh... yeah I guess so." Thalia laughed, "Don't blush so hard Jace, I don't think she's under any impression that you're going to propose any time soon." I let out a deep breath I didn't know I was holding. Piper just giggled and went back to work. She picked up two suits and walked them back over to me and Luke. "Percy and Grover are over at Cabin one getting ready. Go get dressed and meet us over by the docks in two hours." Luke saluted, "Yes Ma'am." He gave Thalia a kiss on the cheek and wink and turned and left.

I didn't really know what to expect when I walked into my cabin, but it definitely wasn't this. Grover was playing his reed pipes over in the corner next to the statue of my dad, and Percy... well he was... kind of stones. Luke dropped his tux, "Grover! What Happened?" Grover stopped his playing, "Okay calm down it's not what it looks like, he's fine I promise. " Luke walked over and pointed at Percy, "You call this fine? Oh gods she's going to kill me." I stepped up behind him, "Who's going to kill you?" He started to pace, "Annabeth, Thalia, Piper, I don't know take your pick."

Grover shook his head, "No one's going to kill you because he's fine. Just let me finish speaking this time." He waited to see if we were going to interrupt. When it was obvious we were going to let him talk he continued, "He was stressing out to the max! Like I'm talking pacing, muttering to himself, the whole nine yards. He hadn't gotten more then a couple hours of sleep the past few days so I.." I stopped him, "So you got him high... on his wedding day?" He groaned, "Man did I not just say don't interrupt me.... NO! I played a song on my pipes, it just put him a stress free trance, give him some time to recharge. Watch its so easy to snap him out of it."

He walked over to where Percy was sitting, paused for a second, then slapped him. Percy snapped to attention, "Wow, what happened, where am I? Am I married? Annabeth?"

I couldn't help it, I started laughing. "Dude, Percy, You're in Cabin one." He looked around, "Oh." Luke rolled his eyes and went to go change.

Grover was the best man, and me and Luke were the groomsman. Piper was the made of honor, and Hazel and Thalia were the bridesmaids. They all looked beautiful, in their matching turquoise dresses. The whole ceremony was nicely done, but I would have to say the vows were my favorite part.

Annabeth cleared her throat while a slight blush spread over her cheeks. "Percy, we met when we were twelve, and I found you drooling in the big house. I was so sure that you were the key to my future. Maybe not the way I thought but none the less I knew. I knew you were the one to take me on a big important quest, on an adventure. You have made my life one big adventure, and I can't imagine life without you. You are my rock, my heart, my life. I love you so much, and I look foreword to our gods forbidding long happy lives together. I love you seaweed brain."

Percy went to kiss her but Chiron stopped him, "Not yet." Percy rolled his eyes, "Okay so apparently I need to embarrass myself before the big guy let's me kiss you so here it goes. You've always been there for me, even in the most dangerous of times. I've always been hopelessly in love with you, even if it took me a while to realize it. I'm sure you knew before I did, it's no secret that you know everything before I do. It's one of the many things I love about you. I love you so much, that when I took that bath in the river styx the only thing I thought about was you. You were my anchor, my tie to mortal life. I may not be be invincible anymore, but you will always be my tie to reality, and I will always put my life on the line for you without second thought. I love you wise girl. You and are soon to be doubled in size family."

And then finally Mr. and Mrs. Percy Jackson kissed.

Notes