Percabeth Dirty One Shots and Drabbles

Back To Black

Too good not to post lol///AO3: @ Goodgodwhy, <3

Two years after the worst day of his life, Percy gave in.

The girl was nice enough and she'd been a huge help to him with his psych class, which was seriously needed since his old source for all things school was no longer an option.

It was Grover who suggested that a date might not be the worst thing in the world. He said that Clara didn't need to be his next great love, but she could be a chance to start trying again.

She was pretty in an understated way, with straight brown hair and warm, caramel eyes. She was short and petite with cute little freckles peppered across her cheeks. She always seemed to take great care matching her clothes and jewelry, and she laughed loudly at his jokes, no matter how lame they were.

He said 'yes' to her on a Wednesday when she brought up a Halloween party. He didn't really want to, nor felt much need to put himself out there, but Grover and his mom were insistent. They didn't think it was healthy that he only hung out with them and his therapist.

He'd rebuffed Clara offers for coffee over the months, but he was starting to feel bad for her and the promise of alcohol and drunk people as a buffer did seem somewhat enticing for an involuntary first date.

And he liked her well enough.

She could be a little overly friendly and insistent sometimes, and she was a bit clueless when it came to reading people, hence why she hadn't stopped asking him out, but he liked her.

On Friday night, he found himself standing on a cold, damp sidewalk outside a stranger's apartment, waiting for a girl he barely knew in a thrown together 'Where's Waldo' costume. She didn't make him wait long, stepping out of a yellow taxi, in a matching striped shirt and fake glasses.

She waved excitedly and grabbed her purse from the backseat, before stepping towards him.

"Hey," Clara greeted breathlessly.

He could see the blush heating the tips of her ears.

If he were a better man he might've tucked a strand of hair behind one of those pink ears and told her she looked nice, but instead he said, "hey. Make it here alright?"

She nodded, "yeah, it was only like a ten minute cab ride."

He slipped his hands in the front pockets of his pants, "same, it was closer than I expected."

For whatever reason, his response made her giggle and she reached out to pluck at the fabric of his shirt, "I feel like these costumes were the wrong idea, we're destined to lose each other in there."

He grinned, and it felt fairly genuine, "I think the red and white hats are blinding enough, they'll be hard to miss."

"Good point," her smile reached her eyes, she really was nice, "do you mind if we go up? I'm starting to freeze out here."

He nodded and gestured towards the door, "after you."

They made their way to the elevator, standing shoulder to shoulder. He asked about her day, and whether she'd finished the project due before Monday's class.

When the doors slid open on the 11th floor, Percy could hear the party before he saw it. The apartment at the end of the hallway was practically shaking in rhythm with the deep bass of what sounded suspiciously like the Monster Mash.

He and Clara let themselves in and were immediately slammed with the smell of stale beer. Their shoes stuck the wet floor as they wound through the crowd of people, the air muggy and stifling. Clara followed him to the back of the living room, searching for somewhere to drop their jackets. He found an unlocked bedroom and slipped Clara's coat off her shoulders, tossing their things on the bed.