Princess AU Part 2

                                    

                                          
       "You did not," Annabeth gaped at him, and Percy forced the urge to bite back a grin. He knew that this marriage was certainly not ideal, but it was best they could enjoy one another's company, at the very least. Adjacent to him, Annabeth's gaze flooded with contentment, and he chuckled lightly to himself as she clutched his arm and chucked off her sandals so brutally he began questioning whether she was a princess after all. 
       "Shut it," she warned him, as if she could read his thoughts, and dam, he would probably believe it if she could. The girl was smart. "I haven't left my stupid room since I was thirteen, and seeing as I'm twenty now, I'm thrilled to even leave, nevertheless be at the beach at night." She looked up in wonder at the stars, capturing the constellations like a picture between her fingers, and Percy fought the urge to guide her hands until they were circling Andromeda—it was only fitting for a valiant, intelligent princess like her. 
    Pulling him along, she tentatively started to step towards the ocean, but Percy decided she wasn't making adequate progress with her hesitant footsteps, and threw her over his shoulder. She weighed nearly nothing, and Percy was almost concerned till her remembered just how little princesses were encouraged to eat. That would change when she was his wife—she could do whatever the Hades suited her.
     "Percy!" she exclaimed, kicking at him, but he simply grinned, kicking up sand as he rushed her towards the water. There was no danger—this was his father's private beach which was constantly monitored and inspected. "Put me down!"
     "As you wish," he smirked, dropping her in, and even as she squealed from the cold, she narrowed her eyes at him while plastering on a sickly sweet smile that filled him with suspicion. 
     "Well, at least help me up," she demanded, shivering a little, yet looking happier than he had ever seen her, even in pictures in which she had posed as 'joyous'. He relented, giving her a hand, but what he didn't expect was for her to yank him down next to her as if they weren't royalty, but rather just two kids having fun. Thank the gods he had sent the guards away, for if they had been caught doing this, the trouble their parents would've stirred up would've been unbearable. Percy's mom, Sally, was an angel, but Poseidon was quite the drama queen. 
     The icy water rushed around him in a freezing hug, and Percy embraced it, laying his head back and allowing himself to float without getting too carried away; he loved the beach, but he would rather live than be consumed by the ocean. 
    "You tricked me," he complained as Princess Annabeth cackled in amusement, and for a moment he could truly see them having a future together. It wouldn't be perfect, but it would be something.
    "You're not as bad as I thought you would be," Annabeth admitted as they scrambled back to the shore, the sand clinging to their feet and itching at their skin. But if either of them cared, they chose not to say a thing. 
     "And you're not as stuck up as you look in pictures," Percy offered back, earning himself a clean slap across the face. Not hard enough to sting, but enough to get the point across. 
 
    "Okay, okay," he surrendered, laughing. "How about, this marriage just may work after all?"
    "I can work with that," Annabeth relented, "This may work out better than I imagined."
    They spent the rest of the night chatting in the car back to Queen Athena's castle.
    And the ride was long, but at the end, both of them found themselves staring at the stars and wishing it had been longer.
A/N: Shall I end it here or do we want a part 3???