Perserus POV

I had gone over the plan a billion times in my head. Except the thing with me is that plans and I have never gotten along. It was supposed to be simple and easy. Yet where would the fun in that be?

I knocked on the window into her dorm. Yes, I know that isn't exactly the ideal place, but I didn't have the key card to get into the building, so fire escape it was. I do have a delinquent reputation after all. Trespassing was nothing on my resume.

"Who's out there?" Lizzie called. The blinds were drawn, but I saw Lizzie peeking through. I raised my hand in an awkward wave.

"Hey, uh it's Perseus- I mean Percy. Is Annabeth there?"

Damn. I was getting used to everyone calling me Perseus. I sort of forgot that I used to hate it. It was hard to mind it when that's what everyone calls you and it's much better than all that 'my lord' crap.

"I think she's in the bathroom." She paused for a minute. "Do you want to come in?" She sounded hopeful. She undid the blinds and lifted up the window for me. I was holding a bouquet of flowers that my mother insisted upon.

"Date night, is it?"

"Yeah. It's our first real one," I told her. Our relationship was so young in technical terms, but it felt like forever. Forever in a good way. I know a lot of people might be freaked out by a confession like this, but I could see myself spending the rest of my life with her. And coming from a god that meant a lot. Annabeth was just everything I needed.

"Really? You guys seem so..." Lizzie trailed off, "so in love."

"I mean we are." She gave me a strange look, but I didn't really feel like explaining myself to her. Annabeth and I were what we were and if was unconventional, than so be it.

"Why did you drop out of school? You look older than 16 anyways," Lizzie said, changing the subject.

"Well as your friends pointed out, I have a reputation of a bit of a troublemaker."

"Right."

"Yeah."

"What- what was the deal yesterday with y'know the blood?" Lizzie asked. Her eyebrows turned upwards. I could tell she had been waiting to ask me since I had came yesterday.

"Just got in a little scuffle. No big deal."

"Uh huh."

"I'm going to go check on Annabeth," I said, excusing myself. I knocked on the bathroom door. "Wise Girl? You in there?"

"Percy!" she said, startled. "I'll be out in a minute."

"Hi."

"You look... wow," Annabeth said to me.

"You look pretty 'wow' yourself," I replied. I handed her the flowers which she accepted with a smile. After Annabeth bid farewell to Lizzie, I offered her my hand as we disappeared out the fire escape.

"So Seaweed Brain, where are we going?" We meandered the busy streets of the city, her hand in mine.

"A movie," I said and she laughed. "What?"

"No, it's just so refreshingly normal. I'm happy," she promised. And I knew she was telling the truth. She looked radiant. Relaxed. Carefree. The intensity that usually clouded her face had dissipated, leaving Annabeth to just exist in the moment.

"I figured I owed it to you. Last time we were going to see a movie we sort of burned down my school," I said. "And I already repaid our interrupted dance, so I should just even out all my debts to you."

"That might take awhile," she said, "And I was so mad at you that day at your school."

I grinned at her. "I was just confused that day."

"Per usual," she teased.

"Remember the Gray Sisters?"

"And how you threatened them with their one eye, while driving, for the coordinates?"

"And how Tyson nearly threw up on us?"

"That would've been the real tragedy," Annabeth said, "I miss him."

"Me too. I'll ask Dad to give him a day off soon. Maybe we could hang out with him and Grover for awhile," I suggested. I missed my little brother. Not exactly little, but you get the point.

"Ooh we should add him a room in your palace!"

"With extra tall ceilings, of course."

"Of course," she agreed.

"And he'll room will be fully stocked with jars of peanut butter and metal trinkets," I added. "And a mural of the hippocampis, just like the old one in Cabin 3."

"Anything you want."

"That's the perks of having a brilliant architect girlfriend," I said, twisting to kiss her cheek.

"Says my literal god of a boyfriend."

"Now don't make me blush," I joked.

"I thought I told you I wasn't making this easy for you?"

"Oh I remember."

"So what now?" she asked. The movie had been wonderful. The movie, in essence, wasn't the important part. It was just being there, being in that moment with her beside me. To quote Annabeth 'refreshingly normal'. Although my normal is quite different from the general normal. But it was uninterrupted which was nice. The thing about my life being normal is that is hardly lasts long. So as the night went on peacefully, I was holding my breath.

"Well that's up to you," I said, "We could head back to your dorm, you could come over to my apartment, or we could continue with the date?"

Annabeth brushed a strand of hair from her eyes. "Anything but going back to the dorm. I don't think Lizzie really wants you there, no offense."

"She seemed to be taking pretty well to me before you came out of the bathroom," I pointed out. She frowned at me. "What?"

"Nothing." Yet, when she said things like that with her tone just a little too even and too flat I knew she didn't mean what she said. She was biting her lip in the slightest way and I knew she was overthinking my words.

"Annabeth..." She refused to look at me. "Lizzie was just being polite. She told me how you and I looked so in love and I told her that we were. There is nothing more to it. Just you and me."

She glanced up at me then and the corners of her lips turned up into a smile. A ghost of a smile, but it was there nonetheless.

"Let's continue with the date then, shall we?" Annabeth said. "Where are we doing now?"

"Stargazing," I replied. She snorted. "What?"

"Stargazing? In New York City?" she said in disbelief, "And you call yourself a local."

"You can too see the stars! I mean it's got to be a clear night and all, and it's nothing like Montauk, but you can still see them," I defended. No one, not even my beloved girlfriend, can question my NYC identity.

"Okay," she said, but it was clear she was just playing along. I smirked to myself and kept leading of down the streets to our next location.

"Empire State Building?" Annabeth said with a chuckle. "Really?"

"Oh hush," I replied. The closer we got to the building the tighter she gripped my hand and the wider her eyes grew. "You alright?"

"Fine," she said between her teeth. "Just memories. Y'know?"

I squeezed her hand in comfort. "We don't have to go if you don't want."

"No. It's alright. I have to get used to it anyways. I work here now," Annabeth said, readjusting her grip on me. I looped her arm in mine and we continued forward. When the front desk man saw me he froze. He had been talking to a mortal, who was quickly and rudely dismissed as we approached.

"Lord Perseus," the man said. He bowed his head to me. He seemed almost ashamed of himself and I felt dreadfully out of place.

"Hello..." I leaned closer to see his name tag, "Trevor. Could you do me a favor and send us up to Floor 102?"

"What?" Annabeth and Trevor both said together. I smiled.

"Floor 102, please," I repeated. Giving me an odd look, Trevor complied and the elevator beeped. I shot Annabeth a smile.

"Up we go," I told her and up we went. They still hadn't gotten rid of that gods awful Neil Diamond. The only thing worse on the ears than that elevator music was Apollo's haikus.

As the elevator doors rang and opened, Annabeth turned to me, "Percy, what are we doing up here?" She drawled out my name like her Virginian roots would be proud of.

"Stargazing, I told you," I said, nodding up to the night sky. It was entrancing, really. The brightness and clearness of the stars in a way I had never seen before, not even on the quiet nights in the Sea of Monsters or my treasured days at the cabin in Montauk.

"Wow," she breathed, eyes locked onto the sky. "How- Wait. We should not be able to see so many stars! This is impossible. This- We- we're too far away. The atmosphere- We- Seaweed Brain what is going on!?"

"Now it might be impossible, but let me tell you a little secret. Neither should greek mythology," I said laughing. She playfully hit my arm as she went back to looked at the sky. It seemed like you could see everything. Like the constellations almost came to life in all their shimmering glory.

"Artemis, wasn't it? You called in a favor?" Annabeth said after a few moments.

"Yup."

"This is incredible."

"Yup." I started to walk over to the other side of the viewing platform where a large blanket was spread out.

"A picnic?"

"In a way. Your favorite snacks and drinks and such. And nectar and ambrosia for me. Let me tell you, that stuff is even better when you don't have to worry about it killing you," I told her. She laughed and sat down.

After awhile her head found it's way into my lap. My fingers running through her princess curls, her gray eyes staring at the stars. Those constellations glimmered and shone. A seductive way about them that made it impossible to remove your eyes from their sight. I only stopped staring at the stars to glimpse back at Annabeth. It was all perfect. Especially when she fell asleep and her soft snores paired well with the buzz of city life below us.

AN: A short bit of fluff. Date night in NYC. Let me know what you think of the story so far. I can't promise how fast I'll update, but i do try my best.