Percy Jackson & Annabeth Chase: Parental Approval [Completed]

12: Athena is Back

Gah! I'm so sorry it has been literally FOREVER since I've posted. Please enjoy!

After the events with the agent, Percy and Annabeth decided to go back to Camp Half Blood. The car ride this time was much shorter, and Percy felt a sort of relief that the test was over. He thought he even passed it.

When the couple made it to the camp, their fingers intertwined, they slowly walked to Poseidon's Cabin, smiling at the other campers, aware that no one knew about their little secret. Just yet.

Percy held the door open to the lonesome cabin, allowing Annabeth to come through. She went right to his bed and sat on the edge, crossing her legs and waiting expectantly for Percy to join her.

He jumped beside her and flopped on the bed, his arm strategically placed under his neck, his other ready to hold Annabeth if she decided to also lay down.

"I had a lot of fun...you know, with the looking at houses part..." Annabeth started to say, trailing off at the end with a smile on her face.

"And..." Percy asked, his eyes closed.

"I'm just not sure," Annabeth stated. She looked over at Percy with a concerned look in her eye as he opened one lid and stared at her.

"About... what?" Percy cautiously asked.

"I guess about everything we're doing. I mean, I want to move in with you and everything, but I just feel like we're kind of... you know... young?" Annabeth grimaced and fell backwards onto the bed before rolling onto her side into Percy's awaiting arm, her face against his shoulder.

"We agreed that we don't know if we'll survive tomorrow. That's why we do everything early. I think we should do this before it's too late. But if you don't want to, I get it. I don't want to push you into doing anything you don't think you're ready for yet," Percy explained, sighing loudly. "Just keep in mind, I'm kind of risking my neck here to please your mother."

"You were doing that before anyways," Annabeth muttered. The two continued to talk about their plans until Percy fell asleep. Annabeth kissed him on the forehead and nestled closely to him. She, too, soon fell asleep.

Within minutes, Athena had entered both of their dreams separately. The goddess was more than unhappy to find the two sleeping in Percy's room at Camp Half Blood.

In Annabeth's dream, Athena was dressed in a jeans and a sweater, a look she did not usually don—especially in the Hall of Mount Olympus. The cashmere of the baby blue top did wonders to soften her hard look, yet her piercing and all-knowing stare was still obvious.

"Yes Mom?" Annabeth asked, without Athena prompting she wanted to ask Annabeth something. "Are Percy's trials over yet? Or are you trying to get me drunk? Again."

"I think his trials are over..." Athena continuously nodded her head, looking down. "Why him?"

"What do you mean?" Annabeth asked, not sure where to start.

"Why would you choose Percy? Of all people?"

"Mom!" Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to give you some love-sick, convincing speech about Percy and how amazing he is. There's no way I could describe to you how I feel about Percy—it would take hours, days even, for me to just scratch the surface. Yeah, sometimes he can be totally stupid," Annabeth shook her head and mentally corrected herself to all the time, "but that's the reason he's Seaweed Brain," Annabeth rambled.

Athena scoffed. "I, personally, find him—"

"I don't care. He's not your boyfriend, Mom, he's mine."

Athena grimaced at her daughter, clearly accepting the couples' fate she had tried to change for so long. "Come with me."

Meanwhile, in Percy's head, he saw Athena in her full height, her godly robes wrapped around her so tightly as if she was restraining her fury, her eyes squinting down the long line of her nose at Percy.

"Your finals are over." Athena's voice boomed in the Hall, her voice echoing just enough to shake the foundations of the architecture. "Unfortunately, I have more pressing matters than to torment you," Athena said with a downcast look that made her look especially disappointed. Percy rolled his eyes.

"So did I pass?" Percy asked. He raised his eyebrows to Athena as she looked at him in disbelief.

"My daughter is not some result of a test—"

"That isn't what I said—" Percy interrupted.

"—that requires someone to pass. She is a demigod—"

"Which is why I shouldn't have had to fight for her in the first place!" Percy yelled. Athena looked at him in shock, shock that he was mad and shocked that he had the audacity to even scream at her, a goddess.

"Oh, Percy." Athena chuckled, menacingly. "We all knew you and Annabeth would find your way back to each other no matter what."

"Then what was the point of the test? To mock me?" Percy didn't like the way this conversation was going, the way it was getting him all worked up. What was Athena getting to?

"It's sad that you still cannot see it," Athena sighed. She moved her eyes to the side, as if she was reluctant about what she was going to say. In reality, Athena did not understand what her daughter saw in Percy. In her mind, he was no Odysseus—no one worth waiting for. For Gods' sakes, he was Poseidon's son! Athena knew that she would have to accept their relationship soon, because they would continue to love each other even without her approval. Even though she had no "biological parent", she knew what it was like to love someone, to spend as many possible moments when them because you never knew when it could be yours or anothers's last chance, and have a third person—ahem, Zeus—try to intervene and shorten these moments.

For that, she needed to give him the final test. It could be a short one, depending on how he reacted. But it was a crucial one. One to see how much he'd truly fight for Annabeth, for their relationship. If he passed. 

Percy waited for Athena to speak by looking into her stink-eye. He had to admit, the way she studied him cracked him up instead of scaring him, so he desperately tried to keep a straight face.

He could tell she was thinking about what to do, and he hoped it was leaning towards letting him and Annabeth be without any more trials. Be together and not worry about Athena's unforeseen and random tests. Their life was hard enough without Athena breathing down their necks.

Percy wondered where Annabeth was and what Athena had told her separately. Percy had already begun to plan an escape to the Bermuda Triangle or any place remote where just him and Annabeth could live in peace, when Athena interrupted him.

"Percy, it has come to the end of your trials."

"Finally," Percy said as Athena rolled her eyes. This conversation was finally going somewhere.

"It's unfortunate," Athena admitted.

"What is? That I'm done?" A mischievous glint shined in Percy's eyes as he turned around and began to saunter to the streets of Mount Olympus.

"No," Athena drawled, causing Percy to stop. "Why, you've failed."