Annabeth and Percy have not been dating very long.

It's been a little over a month, and school's started up again, leaving their time together even less, for all Annabeth lives in the city now herself which should have made that easier. So they make do, trying to get together for at least a few hours every weekend, even if it's just to do homework. Or try to study, at any rate, because Percy Jackson and focus have never really gone hand in hand when it comes to academia.

And basically, he has the greatest girlfriend in the world, so there are tons of things he'd rather be doing instead of poring over books and watching letters spin around the pages. He's not sure if it's excellent powers of persuasion (he doesn't say that out loud because he knows she'd just laugh at him), or maybe her own interest in aforementioned other things. Either way, he's definitely okay with the way they're sitting face to face on his bed, knees brushing and fiddling with each other's hands.

The fact of the matter is while their getting together had been a long time coming, neither of them is any better off in the whole experience department. Their first kiss was in the middle of a volcano, and the next over a year later. They've more or less got that quick and easy part down, but learning how to kiss in ways that aren't awkward is awkward. Percy's clonked her head more times than she can count, and Annabeth's accidentally jammed her nose in unfortunate places (once in his eye, but neither of them are really sure how that even happened). Not to mention they're still unsure over where hands are supposed to go. Or where it feels most comfortable.

So the only logical solution is practice. Annabeth herself pushed for the logistical reasoning, and naturally, Percy was only too happy to comply. He was smirking at the time, so of course she punched him over it. It was true enough, though, and really, neither of them complained too much. It follows the same principle as homework, so it totally counts.

They lean in slowly, foreheads brushing, and trying not to giggle over it too much. Percy tilts his head at just the right angle – they'd been working on that – and they close the rest of the distance in a kiss. It's soft at first, gentle, as they slowly adjust head positions to make the whole process a lot easier. Annabeth squeezes his hand, and he returns the gesture, smiling. She pulls back, laughing a little and trying to shove away a sudden wave of awkwardness.

Percy reaches out and brushes a curl behind her ear, and the movement makes her lean forward to kiss him again, the process beginning all over. All in all, it's going pretty well. They keep kissing, breaking, kissing again, and without realizing, Annabeth's shifted her way partially into his lap. It's such a natural thing, and it's only when she feels his leg twitching under hers that she pauses and looks down. "Sorry –"

"No, it's – fine?" It starts out as a statement and ends in a question, because above all else, he wants to be sure she's actually fine.

Her cheeks are a little red, but she's smiling, so he takes that as a good sign, leaning back in for another kiss. Which she returns, so Percy's pretty positive this accidental maneuver is a-okay on her end, and he's definitely okay with her sitting on him. He's not really sure if this qualifies exactly as making out, with the stop and go, but it seems close enough, and her hands are snaking behind his neck. He rests one hand at her waist, trying to ignore the butterflies in his stomach as they seem to finally find a pace and position that's working. Or close to working.

Maybe it was super awkward, but whoever said practice couldn't be fun on the way to perfect?

Of course it's just as both of them are starting to get comfortable that there's a knock on the door, but the person on the other side doesn't bother waiting for a response before it starts to open. "Percy, I wanted to –"

Sally sweeps in the threshold, just as Annabeth is scrambling away, kicking Percy in the gut in side effect. He grunts and tries to move away from her, but he just ends up knocking all their books off the bed before falling back on his elbows. Sally only raises an eyebrow in mild amusement as her son and not-technically-a-daughter-but-practically-basically-a-daughter-anyway blush in embarrassment, so logically, there's only one thing left for a mother to do.

"Please, make sure you remember to use protection! It's all I ask," she says, flashing them a smile that's entirely too knowing and teasing and Percy wants to jump out the window. Annabeth covers her face with her hands, and Sally shoots her son A Look, but that's it. She turns on her heels and closes the door behind her, leaving them to it. She hears Annabeth practically leap off the bed, hears the two of them start to pick up the books from the floor in a stunted, embarrassed silence.

Paul looks at her dubiously from the living room as Sally's smile turns into amused victory. "Do you want to scar them for life? Because that seemed like a good first step."

She laughs. "Good."

Her husband clearly doesn't get it, watching her with curiosity and concern for the sake of his stepson and girlfriend. Sally sits down on the couch beside him, lifting her book from the coffee table. "Paul," she starts, still smiling softly. "The fastest way to get Percy to do anything is to tell him he can't."

It takes a moment, but understanding slowly starts creeping onto Paul's face, and something devious lights up in Sally's as he shakes his head; she knows her son and Annabeth are too soon into their relationship for anything of the sort, she knows them both well enough that it's not even a concern right now, but dropping a comment like that would potentially push it off even further. Because what's a bigger mood killer than a mother's approval? Telling him no would just push him to it sooner. She kisses her husband on the cheek and props open her book. "And this is a double precaution against any accidental grandchildren any time soon."

Because of course she wants them, but please. The world's only been saved for a month, and it's nowhere near time for that for either of them yet. Not that she's particularly worried; she absolutely trusts her son to know that, too.

But she's Sally Jackson and it's her son and her Annabeth and how could she let the opportunity to tease slide?

originally posted on ao3 over a year ago