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"Yes, but-" Fleur started, then she stopped herself, taking that deep, calming breath again. "You cannot just do not'ing, Perzy. You have so much to offer the world."
Percy looked at her, his own frustration starting to build. "Why do you always want me to be doing something grand and important? You know I do not do well with authority figures telling me what to do. A boring nine-to-five office job is the absolute last thing on my mind. It sounds like a nightmare."
"So, you juzt wizh to be w'at then? A simple joke maker for ze rest of your life?" Fleur huffed, her arms crossed, her disappointment clear in her voice.
Percy shrugged, trying to make her understand. "If the joke shop does well, and with my inventions it probably will, I will 'ave more than enough Galleons to support a family comfortably, Fleur. I do not understand why you do not get that part. It is not about being lazy; it is about being happy and secure."
"All I am zaying iz t'at you can be zo muc' more t'an juzt a joke z'op owner!" Fleur insisted, her voice rising slightly. "You 'ave gifts most wizards only dream of!"
"Fleur, I am happy to just be that, if it makes me happy!" Percy argued back, his own voice getting louder. "I do not wantfame or fortune! I just want to be happy! Why do not you get that?!"
"And why do not you understand that I cannot be with zomeone who just wastes away all their incredible talents!" Fleur retorted, her eyes flashing with passion.
"Fleur-" Percy started, trying to calm the situation.
"-No, Percy! Listen to me!" she cut him off. "You are one of ze greatest, most powerful wizards I 'ave ever met in my entire life. I will freely admit to anyone that you are many, many times my better in so many ways. But I cannot just stand by and watch you throw away your life like this, doing nothing with all zat power!"
"Doing things that make me happy is not a waste of my time!" Percy shouted, finally losing his temper. "If it was, then are you trying to say that spending time with you is a waste of my time?!"
Fleur's eyes went wide, a look of shock and deep hurt spreading across her beautiful face. Percy knew, the instant the words left his mouth, that he had said the wrong thing.
The terribly wrong thing. She did not say another word. She just got up from the table and quickly left the Great Hall, tears already beginning to swell up in her eyes, threatening to spill.
Percy sighed heavily, a wave of regret washing over him. He got up too, following after her. He knew exactly where she would be going.
He waited for a minute, giving her a little time, before he followed her path. He found her just where he expected: sitting at the base of the giant oak tree by the edge of the Black Lake, her back to him, her shoulders shaking slightly. Their special tree.
Percy, still in his human form but using a touch of his pegasus flight magic to soften his landing, floated down silently beside her. "Fleur," he said softly, his voice full of remorse.
"I am so sorry I yelled at you. I... I just do not know what I am going to do with my life, and... the truth is, I really do not want you to go... but I am not going to do something I absolutely hate for the rest of my life just to please someone else. I 'ad people dictate 'ow I should live for my entire life before this. I do not want that to be my future anymore."
Fleur looked up at him, her face tear-soaked and flushed. She looked at Percy with a fiery anger still burning in her eyes.
"I am not trying to control you, Percy!" she cried, her voice thick with emotion. "I just want to spend the rest of my life with you! Can you not understand that simple thing?!"
Percy sighed again, sitting down on the grass beside her. "I know you are not, Fleur. I know. But I just cannot live my life being forced to do something I really do not like. It would make me miserable."
Fleur glared at him, her hurt still evident. "Iz being wit' me zomet'ing you do not like then?"
"No! Of course not! It is not that at all!" Percy insisted, reaching for her hand, but she pulled it away.
"But I... Fleur, I 'ave been kicked out of eight different schools in my life before Hogwarts. When I was only twelve years old, my own mom was kidnapped by my evil uncle, all because 'e thought I stole something precious from 'im."
"From that day on, my entire life has been one huge, dangerous quest after another, always fighting, always running. And now... now that I finally 'ave some peace, I just do not want to end up in a job I come to 'ate, a life that feels like another prison."
Fleur looked away, staring out at the dark, still waters of the lake. "If you cannot promise me some kind of proper future together, Percy... then I really cannot see ourselves staying together for much longer." Her voice was quiet, but firm.
"Fleur, please be reasonable!" Percy pleaded, his heart sinking. "I am not saying I am never going to get a job! I am just saying I do not know what I am going to do right now! It is all still new to me, this idea of a long future!" He landed fully on the grass before her and knelt down, taking both her hands in his this time, not letting her pull away.
"But..." he took a deep breath, the words feeling heavy in his chest, "...if it really, truly matters that much to you... if it is the only way... I will take that job at Beauxbatons. The one your father can get me."
Fleur's eyes went wide with disbelief. She stared at him, her lips parted slightly. "Y-you... you would really do t'at? For me?" she whispered.
Percy shrugged, trying to make it seem like it was not a huge deal, even though it felt like one to him.
"Sure. Why not. It already looks like I might be able to pass out of most of my NEWT-level classes 'ere early anyway. All I would really need to do then to be officially qualified as a Potions Master is to invent a completely original, new potion, which," he added with a small, tired smile, "I practically do in my sleep these days. So... you know... it is actually possible that by next year, we could be together in France...."
Fleur was in utter, complete shock. For a moment, she just stared at him. Then, with a sudden sob, she leaped into Percy's arms, clinging to him tightly.
"Oh, thank you! Thank you, Percy!" she cried, her voice muffled against his shoulder. She leaned back just enough to kiss him, a desperate, grateful kiss.
The demigod felt a huge weight lift from his heart as he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close, pulling her up to her feet with him.
She broke the kiss slowly, reluctantly, and pressed her forehead against his, her eyes still shining with unshed tears, but also with a newfound hope. "I know you do not really want to do this," she whispered, her voice trembling slightly.
"I know you do not think it is really for you... but thank you so much, Percy. I... I just needed to know that there was an actual, real future there between us. That this is not just some... some school fling that we will both forget about after this year is over. I... I love you, Percy. And I want to be with you, always."
Percy chuckled softly, a warm feeling spreading through him despite everything. "You know, Fleur," he said, his voice gentle, "for a really smart girl, you are actually pretty stupid sometimes." He leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose. "You are not getting rid of me that easily, Tweety bird."
"I know... my zea prince," she smiled, her accent, for just that one moment, almost completely washed away by the emotion in her voice.
Percy's eyes widened in surprise. "Is... is that my new nickname now?"
"Yes..." she confirmed, a shy smile playing on her lips. "...What do you think of it?"
Percy grinned, his good mood returning. "I think it is super, incredibly corny."
"Well," she tilted her head, "iz t'at a bad thing?"
"No," he said, his grin softening into a tender smile. He leaned in and kissed her again, a long, sweet kiss that spoke more than words.
They sat there together for a long time, underneath their special oak tree, as the cool, soon-to-be-spring air rushed gently past them. Fleur was tucked contentedly against Percy's side as she spoke up again, her voice much lighter now. "I will write to my father tonight," she said. "I am zure 'e will 'elp you get ze job at Beauxbatons. 'E will be so 'appy!"
"No," Percy cut in gently but firmly. "If I am really doing this, Fleur, it is not going to be because of your father's recommendation or connections. I refuse to owe anyone a favor like that. I will do it myself, on my own merits, or I will not do it at all."
Fleur raised an eyebrow, looking at him with a mixture of admiration and exasperation. "Your stubborn pride will be t'e deat' of you one day, Perzy Jackson."
Percy just smiled. "It is not pride, Fleur. It is... independence. Most of my life, I 'ave 'ad other people, gods and monsters, dictating 'ow I should live, what I should do. I do not plan on ever going back to that way of life. So no, no special recommendations. I will apply to Beauxbatons myself after this school year is done... shit," he suddenly groaned, a look of mock horror on his face, "I just realized I am actually going to 'ave to put in some real effort into job applications and stuff now, are not I?"
Fleur chuckled loudly, her laughter like the clear, sweet song of a morning nightingale. It was a beautiful sound.
"Yes, well," she said, snuggling closer to him, "I will be with you every step of ze way. And I will make zure you 'ave plenty of... motivation... to keep you going." She punctuated her words with a suggestive little kiss on his neck.
Percy smiled, pulling her even closer. Maybe, just maybe, getting a proper job and planning for a real future was not going to be the worst thing in the world after all. Especially if he had Fleur by his side.
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If you want to read ahead by 20+ chapters you could take a visit on my patreon Or check it out.
http://patreon.com/SageOf016