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"I can't believe I'm doing this," Annabeth mumbled, positioning herself at one end of Percy's couch. They were alone in his apartment, on a mission to prepare Percy for prom. Somehow, he'd managed to miss every school dance since middle school, and he'd pleaded to Annabeth to teach him some basics so he could have fun at both their upcoming proms. She'd given in easily, but now that she was faced with the small space and the only audience whose opinion mattered to her, she was starting to feel uncomfortable with the idea of him having nowhere to look but her.
"C'mon, it's romantic and whatnot." Percy's response was relaxed as he took the other end. "Besides, I need to learn at least the basics! You wouldn't want an embarrassment at prom." He shot her a dazzling smile, his eyes bright and sparkling as he started pushing his end of the couch toward the wall.
Annabeth had to tear her eyes away from his as she joined in the effort. "Of course I'm going to have an embarrassment at prom, I'm taking you," she retorted, but her smile gave her away. Not that she was lying. He was pretty likely to do something most people would consider embarrassing, but she doubted anything he could do would bother her. Most of his incidents weren't intention or his fault: blowing out the plumbing, accidentally tripping someone, or being followed by the chaperones just waiting for him to do something illicit.
"At least I'll embarrass you by, like, spilling punch or something, instead of not knowing how to dance." He grinned at her as he pulled the coffee table aside, giving them the whole room as a dance floor.
She stood from her couch-pushing crouch and rolled her eyes. "How is that any better? That's arguably worse." She frowned at the idea of red punch down the front of her blush-pink dress. "Actually, I'd rather you suck at dancing than do that."
"You're avoiding this," he chided, standing up and stretching dramatically. "Teach me to dance."
"We don't have any music," she informed him. "And besides, I can only really teach you the basics. I can't promise to make you a good dancer."
"We," he drawled in a sing-song voice, "have an Alexa. Play any song you like."
"What dance do you want to learn first?" She grinned up at him; he was several inches taller than her. "I can teach you Footloose." Might as well start complex, she thought. If she started easy, then he'd complain that every new dance got harder.
"Is it hard?" He stepped forward and wrapped one arm around her waist, the other playfully tugging at her ponytail.
"Kind of. It gets easier with repetition." She stepped backwards out of his arms. "You don't dance with me for this one, Seaweed Brain. It's a line dance."
"Like the Cupid Shuffle." HIs eyes lit up hopefully. "I think I know that one."
Annabeth nodded absentmindedly. "Yeah, that one's really easy. This has a lot of steps. Okay, Um.. should I just show you?" She felt self conscious suddenly, knowing he was going to be watching her. She wasn't exactly the picture of grace, and besides, it was Footloose.
Not the sexiest dance ever.
"Mhm," he said, making a show of folding his hands together. "I'll watch."
Annabeth told Alexa to play Footloose and began to demonstrate it for him, trying to call out steps for him as she went. "Back, step, back, step..." Her face was flushed from effort by the end, and she turned to face him. "Got it?" she deadpanned.
Percy just stared. "Yeah...I don't think I absorbed any of that. Holy crap."
She bit back a laugh. "It's not that hard!" she insisted. "Do it with me this time. Just copy me."
They went through it again, stopping only for laugh breaks as Percy tripped over his own feet or clapped off beat. Over and over, until he more or less was doing the right steps. At least, he could do it fine when watching her. She doubted he'd be able to do it all on his own.
"Enough," he finally complained, flopping back onto the couch. "I want real dancing."
"This is real dancing," she replied obstinately, sitting on the end of the couch and turning to face him.
"You know what I mean," he whined. "Like, couple-y dancing. You're my date for a reason."
"You sure you want to dance with me?" she teased, leaning towards him.
He wasted no time closing the distance, pressing his forehead to hers. "I'm sure. I've never been more sure," he added, his voice soft.
Annabeth felt her throat tighten, and she was sure her cheeks were pink. He had a tendency to just blurt out whatever he was thinking. He never hesitated or even seemed to think twice before blurting out some of the most intense compliments she'd ever received.
She loved him for it.
"I love you," she announced, taking a page out of Percy's book and saying what was on her mind.
He pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth. "And I love you," he repeated, a smile tugging at his lips. "Now dance with me."
She stood up and pulled him up with her. "Your hands go on my waist," she instructed. "A little higher than that." She carefully repositioned his grip before slipping her arms around his neck.
"Been a while since I danced with you," he commented, following he directions. "When was it? That boarding school dance with Nico?" He pulled her closer, though they were already nearly pressed together.
"After the Titan War, actually," she reminded him. "It wasn't all that long ago."
He frowned. "It feels like long ago. Besides, I blocked that one out because your mom was practically threatening me."
Annabeth laughed, her head falling back and her loose ponytail spilling behind her shoulders. "Because you have sooo much respect for the gods."
"Only if they could stand between me and you." He kissed her lightly. "So are we going to play any music or just stand here swaying?"
Until that moment, Annabeth hadn't realized there was no music. "You pick this time. A slow song," she added quickly, leaving no room for loose interpretation.
He grinned. "Alexa! Play Lover by Taylor Swift," he instructed without missing a beat.
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "You're so obsessed with her."
"She's good!" He defended as the intro started playing.
"You just like her because you think she's hot," she joked, loosening her grip on him and taking a small step away from him to give them room to move.
"Well, yeah. She's tall and blonde. Pretty much exactly my type." His green eyes sparkled as he stared down at her.
Annabeth felt her cheeks heat up. No matter how long she was with him, she was pretty sure she'd never get used to such direct affection. She swallowed. "You're such a flirt. Okay, step forward with your right..." She carefully led him into a simple waltz, which he picked up much easier.
"I like this one," he murmured, pulling her closer as the bridge rang through the empty living room. Annabeth stopped her feet and just tucked herself into him, swaying lazily as he buried his face in her hair.
She sighed softly and pressed her cheek to his chest. She was grateful to Sally for conveniently deciding she needed to get something from the store as soon as she heard their plans. Moments like these, as she breathed in his familiar scent, made the world feel far away. Nothing else mattered besides what was in front of her.
She doubted anything would ever matter more.
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