A/N: I know! It's been forever. It's been a hard month, and I haven't had much energy. But I'm back! I hope this chapter is satisfactory. Didn't really know what to do with it.

Warning: Might be a bit more rated M. Maybe? Sorta?

Magic. Was. Awesome.

That was it. That was all there was to it. Audrey's house had never been cleaner. No more dishes to be done. No more hassle with folding laundry or vacuuming the floor. She didn't even have to worry about food going bad as Percy put a spell on her fridge and cupboard.

Her mom had always tried to discourage her childhood habit of taking in strays, saying nothing good would come of it, but she disagreed. Taking in her odd companion was decidedly the best choice she ever made.

Ever since he got his wand back, there was a light in Percy's eyes that took her breath away. She watched in awe as the dark circles under his eyes faded. The colour started to come back to his face. He even managed to put on a few pounds.

They hadn't talked about their little trip to first base though. Percy had blushed scarlet, Audrey had given him a wide grin (though her heart was currently doing a samba in her chest). Before she could say anything, he had excused himself and hurried off. Not outside (he still wouldn't go farther than the porch).

So it left them in an odd state of awkwardness. Percy wouldn't acknowledge that anything had happened, and as much as Audrey wouldn't have a problem making a move, she also knew that she would have to tread carefully with this one. It had been a while now since Percy had had one of his episodes and she didn't want to break the cycle now.

But it was starting to get to her. They had breakfast together, joked and laughed. They fell back into their routine quickly, though with the added perk of no longer having to clean, and watching the occasional book float past.

They had had more fun the other night that Audrey figured either of them had had in a very long time. Percy had introduced her to the cheering charm, and the two of them had spent an evening on the couch giggling like twelve year old schoolgirls.

It almost made up for the next day, when Audrey woke up and found him curled up on the pull-out, limbs stiff and trembling, in the middle of the mother of all panic attacks. She had spent the whole morning rubbing his back and trying to get him to breathe properly again before he passed out. He finally snapped out of it after a harrowing twenty minutes, and spend the rest of the morning bending over backwards apologizing, before retreating into his head for the rest of the day.

He still wouldn't tell her what happened to him. Only that there was a war. Then he would clam up until she changed the subject. She learned early on not to ask about his family. The look of emptiness on his face wasn't something she cared to ever see again. She wondered if they died. That would make the most sense. But somehow she had a feeling that something else had happened.

The awkwardness was wearing on her. It wasn't terrible or anything. But there was this thing between them that neither knew how to approach. And now that this little seed of attraction had been planted, Audrey had started to notice things she hadn't before. Like how his hair was four different shades of orange. The freckles dotting his face. The shape of his shoulders and waist. Her eyes drifted a bit lower on more that one occasion.

Gym guys had always been her thing. Thick hulking arms and eight packs glistening in sweat. That kind of stuff. But this small skinny nerd was catching her eye more and more. Of course, she also hadn't gotten laid in almost two months now and her hand could only do so much...

With such a volatile mix of confusion, tension, and sexual frustration, she shouldn't have been so surprised when she finally snapped.

It had been a stressful night at work. Between some jackass copping a feel and another asshole trying to spike a girl's drink, Audrey was in a piss poor mood. The door slammed behind her as she stormed into her bedroom. She could feel Percy's wide eyes following her as she ripped off her fishnets and lacy black top, uncaring that her bedroom door was wide open.

They'd been living together for over a month. She danced naked for men for a living. Tonight she couldn't give two fucks if Percy was behind her, staring at her ass.

"Bad night?" he asked softly.

"What do you think?" she retorted.

"Anything I can do?" he asked.

Maybe it was the tequila in her system. Later, when Percy was fixing a cure for her raging hangover, she would definitely blame it for what happened next.

She spun around to face him, breasts bouncing. His face was flushed crimson, and she smirked when she saw the twitch in his jeans. Enough was enough.

"We never talked about it," she said.

"W-what?" Percy was rubbing his forehead, eyes looking at the wall behind her.

"You know what I'm talking about," she said with a huff. "You ram your tongue down my throat, and then don't even bother to take me to dinner later." her eyes narrowed. "Unless you regret it?"

She would never admit it, but a part of her was almost scared that he had regretted it. Because that would leave them in an even worse place than before. She hadn't realized just how much the little twit had gotten under her skin. What she had considered for a long time now as a small soft spot, was him worming his way into her chest and carving a place for himself next to her heart.

Her mom had always said she had a protective streak, and as far as she was concerned, there wasn't anyone in the world that needed to be protected more than Percy.

Immediately, Percy shook his head. "No! No...I..." he was stammering now. Something he only did when he was about to start panicking. "Of course I didn't. I just..." He looked unsure.

Audrey deflated slightly, ignoring how her chest untwisted. Now that she knew he didn't regret it, she refused to wait any longer. She rested on one leg, naked hip jutting to the side. "Good. So get on with it then."

The way his eyes bugged out brought a wide grin to her face. This was a good idea. She was sure of it. They both needed this. Percy needed to feel something good, and Audrey needed to unwind. And they both needed to take that next step before they went insane.

"Come on," she said, voice softening. "I don't bite."

For a split-second, she wondered if she had gone too far. Maybe she misread the signs. Maybe he wasn't ready and she was putting pressure on him that he didn't need-

But then he was in front of her, covering her mouth with his. She moaned and wrapped her arms around his waist as he explored her mouth with his tongue. They broke away gasping, and she couldn't stop from grinning. "It's about time. You were driving me mad."

He was still redder than a cherry, but the light in his eyes shone brighter than ever. "I wasn't...I didn't know if you wanted..." He didn't even seem to realize that his hands were firmly planted on her arse.

He crashed their mouths together again. Audrey grinned beneath him as he pushed her back down on the bed.

She had a feeling that they wouldn't be needing that pull-out anymore.