#i told y'all i'd get sucked into this au and look what happened.

[bbyannabeth]

spidey au pt. 7

annabeth is seconds away from dozing off when percy suddenly reaches out and pauses the movie playing on his laptop. “i feel bad,” he says. annabeth blinks a few times, lifting her head from his shoulder. she looks over at her… well, she doesn’t know what he is to her anymore, exactly. they had kissed last week, and quite a few times since then, but they had yet to talk about what it actually meant. 

“about what?” she asks, rubbing her eyes carefully. 

“i bailed on grover last night because i had to kick that guy's ass and help that girl home,” percy says quietly. “and he asked to hang out today instead, but i didn’t wanna cancel on you.”

annabeth bites her lip and shifts upward so she’s not leaning against him so much. he’s so warm, she’s worried she might still fall asleep. “have you considered telling him, perce?”

percy nods. “of course. i want to. i’m just worried. like i told you, the fewer people who know, the better.”

“but he’s grover.”

“i know.”

annabeth reaches for percy’s hand, holding it tight between her own. “i’m tired of keeping secrets from him,” he murmurs. “we haven’t even told him about us.”

annabeth swallows, trying not to sound nervous. “we haven’t even talked about us,” she whispers. she knows that there’s something between them, something real. but she’s worried that talking about what has been unspoken for so long will mess up what they’re trying to build. percy’s eyes flick up to hers, and annabeth knows she failed to keep her nerves out of her tone. 

“we can talk about us,” he says. he brings their joined hands up to his lips and kisses her fingertips. like it’s the easiest thing in the world, he asks, “will you be my girlfriend?”

and she thinks maybe it is the easiest thing in the world, because she smiles. and she knows her answer, but she would never back down from an opportunity to tease him. “we haven’t even gone on a date yet,” she says, raising an eyebrow. 

he chuckles. “i’ll take you on as many as you’d like,” he promises. “but i don’t need a date to tell me how i feel about you.”

“and how’s that?” she asks. she’s expecting him to tease her right back, but he takes her question seriously and she’s silently grateful for that.

“you’re my best friend in the world, and i really, really, really like you.”

perhaps there are still some things unspoken between them, but she catches it all the same. 

“i really, really, really like you too,” she says, knowing he’ll catch the deeper meaning beneath those words. “and yes, i’ll be your girlfriend.”

he smiles, tugging his hand from hers and instead placing it on her chin to draw her closer. 

“you do still have to take me on dates, though. i’m not gonna make it that easy on you, you know?” she says, just to be difficult, but his smile only widens. 

“i expected nothing less from you,” he says, finally kissing her. it’s still an unfamiliar feeling, kissing him. but it’s one she already loves and she can’t wait to do it a million times more in the future. 

he pulls back just enough to look at her. “can you be there when i tell grover?”

annabeth’s eyebrows furrow. “you want me there?”

his cheeks turn pink, but he nods. “i just think it’ll be easier with you there.”

annabeth smiles slowly, nodding. “i’ll be there.”

“thank you,” he murmurs. his eyes shift to her lips for a second then back up to meet hers. he tilts his head. “we done with this movie?” 

annabeth bites her lip in an attempt to hold back a smile. “are we?” she teases. that’s all the answer percy needs, apparently, because he shuts his laptop and moves it to the bed beside him without looking away from her. 

“we are,” he says, and then he pulls her close again. 

—

it’s three days later when the three of them finally have time alone. 

“why do i feel like i’m in trouble?” grover asks, looking at her. 

annabeth smiles a little at that. they’re currently sitting at percy’s dining table, grover on one side, annabeth and percy on the other. 

“you are,” annabeth jokes. grover smiles, but he still looks nervous. admittedly, annabeth is too. it isn’t even her secret, but she’s nervous for percy.

“okay so,” percy says, twirling a pen between his fingers. “do you want the good news first, or the… not-bad-but-kinda-big news first?”

grover stares at him, glances at annabeth, then stares at percy some more. “you’re stressing him out,” annabeth murmurs. grover points a thumb at her, not taking his eyes off percy. 

“yeah, what she said. you’re stressing me out,” grover repeats. after another few seconds, grover says, “the good news.”

“annabeth and i are dating,” percy says. she knew that was coming, but a smile still manages to curl her lips upwards. it makes her stupidly happy to hear percy call it good news to someone else. 

grover looks between them. “okay, well finally,” he sighs, leaning back in his chair. annabeth laughs, nodding.

“yeah, you got us there,” she agrees. she and percy had been a long time coming, and even they couldn’t argue with that. 

grover looks a little more relaxed now. “and the… other news?” he says. 

there’s a silence. annabeth places her hand on percy’s knee, which had started to bounce. she hopes that’s what gives him the courage to continue, because he finally says, “um… i’m spiderman?”

grover stares. then he blinks. then he chuckles. “what?” he asks, unsure if this is a joke. he looks at annabeth, who can do nothing but offer him a small smile. 

“what?” grover asks again, a little more insistent, and percy sighs. he pulls his sleeve up a little, curls his middle and ring finger into his palm while leaving the rest of them straight, and he shoots a web over to a bag of chips on the counter. percy pulls, flinging the bag across the kitchen and into his hand. he sets it down on the table, and doesn’t say anything else. 

grover’s mouth hangs open as he stares at the chips that still have a string of webbing attached to them. under the table, percy’s hand slips into annabeth’s and she squeezes softly. 

“now you freaked him out,” annabeth says after a few seconds. grover’s eyes flick up to her, then to percy. 

“i thought you were joking. but you’re serious.”

percy nods. it’s out there now, and it seems the hardest part is over because talking is becoming a little easier for him. “i’ve been wanting to tell you for so long now, but it was just safer with as few people knowing as possible.”

grover nods slowly. “and you knew?” he asks annabeth. 

“i found out a month ago. spiderman saved me from clarisse kicking my ass, but when he accidentally called me by my name, the pieces fell into place,” she shrugs. 

“not my finest moment, but it’s fine,” percy says. annabeth smiles briefly, but refocuses her attention on grover who is still processing this. 

“okay. okay,” grover nods, a little frantic. “this is cool and fine, nothing weird about this.”

annabeth glances at percy to find him smiling a little, and she knows everything will be okay. “it’s all cool and fine until percy tries to convince you to jump off a roof with him,” she says. 

grover pauses, and then covers his hands with his face. “i’m totally freaking out right now, oh my god.”