I Just Wanna Be With You

Chpt. 23: First Date

Percy woke up the next day, walking into the living room after brushing his teeth and changing his clothes. He spotted Derek, laying on the couch, fast asleep. Percy grinned, walking over and pouncing on him. Derek made an 'oof' as Percy landed on him, grinning. 

"What are you doing?" Derek questioned, shocked. 

"SURPRISE ATTACK!" Percy replied, smiling widely. 

"Alright..."

Percy nodded, sitting up so Derek could sit up too. 

"What made you wanna do this?" Derek asked, smiling. 

"Well....You were just...laying there, and I thought, why not?"

Derek smiled in affection for the other. "Right...Only you would do this. What do you want to do today?" 

Percy blushed, then looked him in the eye. "I wanna go on a date with you." 

Derek blinked, "Really?" 

Percy nodded quickly. 

"Then...Where do you want to go?" 

"Well, umm, I've talked to Tony about it. And he helped me set it up. So later, we're going to go the tower and stuff. We can get dinner before that. The dinner is up to you." 

Derek raised an eyebrow. "Night in, then?" Percy nodded. "What type of dinner do you want?" 

"It's up to you." 

"I'm thinking...pizza."

Percy bit his lip, smiling at the idea. Of course he was nervous, this was gonna be their first date. 

"Sounds cute," Percy smiled. 

"It will be." 

They grinned at each other before Percy looked away, blushing heavily as Josh walked into the room, seeing Percy sitting on Derek's lap. Percy quickly moved, looking away from his father. 

"What's up?" Josh asked. 

"Um...We're gonna be out later. Probably will stay at the tower tonight too," Percy replied. 

"Alright. Be careful." 

Percy helped Derek off the couch, walking to his room. They laid down on Percy's bed, Derek as a pillow. Percy recalled the days when he didn't know Derek liked him. 

"So what do you want to do today?" Derek questioned.

"Lay around."

"Sounds promising."

"Really is."

They were quiet for a while.

Derek's phone rang. He moved slightly, answering after. Percy was quiet, moving so he could sit up.

He zoned out as Derek talked on the phone, getting up and walking out of the room after realizing that it was probably rude of him to just sit there. 

"Hey, kiddo. You feeling up to that date today?" Andrew questioned, knowing that he had just been sick. 

"Yeah. I wouldn't have asked him if I didn't feel good," Percy pointed out. "How'd you know?" 

"Papa talks a lot."

Percy nodded, smiling.

Derek walked out,  running his hand through his hair. "That was my work. I need to go in today, Sammy had an emergency. Maybe we can re-schedule that date," he said, smiling.

Percy tried his hardest not to be upset. Not to let his disappointment show.

"Yeah, of course," he nodded, forcing a smile onto his face.

"Alright, cool. I'd better go get ready."

Percy nodded silently and Derek slipped away, back into the room. Percy closed his eyes, hand in a fist against the counter.

"I'll be back tomorrow," he said simply, shrugging on his jacket. Tying his shoes, he slipped out of the apartment.

~~

Hours later, when it was dark out, he sat in his pyjamas in the movie theatre in the tower.

Hands hugging his knees, he rested his chin on this knees. Tears fell slowly as the movies played.

Eventually, the door opened. Tony walked in, having heard about the date being cancelled.

"So this is where you escaped to."

He sat down by Percy.

"It hurts," Percy mumbled.

"It'll be okay. It's not like he cancelled because he didn't want to go. His boss called in."

"But how do we know for sure that he didn't just chicken out?"

"Perce. Does Derek look like he'd chicken out? Better yet, he loves you. Why would he do something like this if there was a chance it would hurt you?"

"I don't know," Percy muttered. "Wouldn't be the first time someone's done that. Even if they loved me." 

Tony pursed his lips. "Luke was an asshole," he nodded. "And life sucks sometimes. But you can't let doubt settle in because of this. Don't let him be the reason that you doubt yourself so much." 

Percy was quiet as he sat there. 

"I'm going to go," Tony said, standing. Percy grabbed his wrist, making him look at him. 

"Please stay." 

Tony nodded after a moment, sitting back down to join him. Percy pushed the divider between the seats down, resting his head on his shoulder. Tony was silent as he held onto him,  smiling. Percy moved so he was sitting on him, head on his shoulder. 

He slowly fell asleep, Disney playing in the background. 

So the first date didn't happen. And it crushed him, of course, but he decided that he wouldn't let that alter his view on Derek. Things would get better. They had to.  

~~

Later that night, Derek walked quietly into the Avenger building, assuming that Percy would be there since he was pretty upset about the whole date cancelling. He walked into the living room, where Bruce and Clint sat, taking quietly. 

"Um, hey..." he greeted nervously, flashing a small smile. "Have you seen Percy?" 

"He's in the movie room. Him and Tony." 

"Thanks," he mumbled, walking down the hall to the room. He quietly opened the door, poking his head in. Some Disney movie played as they slept. Derek turned off the movie, setting the remote on the coffee table. He slowly wrapped Percy's arms around his neck, then his legs. 

Walking out of the room, he nearly ran into Steve. 

"Might want to go get your boyfriend," he mumbled, carrying Percy to the room he always stayed in when he was here. He set him down on the bed, pulling the covers over him. He smiled softly at the other. Pressing his lips to his forehead, he slipped out of the room silently, leaving it at, "Goodnight."

He couldn't be there for the date itself, but he did manage to get some sort of kiss.