The Stories of Our Heroes

Watch Party

Today is July 3rd, and we all know what that means... HAMILTON FILM!!!!!!! Of course I woke up in the middle of the night to watch it, and it was the greatest couple of hours of my life. So I started thinking about how Annabeth would probably be a Hamilfan and I already have a running headcanon from a previous one-shot about Percy and musicals... so then this happened! If you haven't watched Hamilton of Disney+, I HIGHLY recommend! Not only is it all-around fantastic, but this accessibility to theater is something to be grateful for and take advantage of; the biggest thanks to the amazing Lin Manuel Miranda.

Percy was headed to the school cafeteria, lumbering down the hallway and absently partaking in his friends' animated discussion.

"I can not believe it! The original cast? Is this a dream?"

"I will literally never, ever turn off the TV."

"Guys! We are going to see DAVEED DIGGS PERFORM!"

Percy groaned internally. It wasn't that he wasn't happy his friends were so excited about their favorite musical, it was just that he certainly didn't share their enthusiasm. Singing and a history lesson? No thanks.

"Percy, Percy, Percy, Percy!" He whipped his head around to find his girlfriend practically sprinting down the hall to catch up with him, her phone waving around wildly in her hand and wearing a smile that could light up the room. "Hamilton!"

"Yeah, Wise Girl, I heard."

Annabeth instantly joined in with their friends, squealing about the actors and the music, even complaining that waiting until next year was "just too long." They were already planning on how to carpool to the theater - the midnight viewing, of course.

This, Percy thought, is going to be a long lunch.

******

Percy woke up to someone tapping insistently on his chest. He was a little peeved to be disturbed from his daily afternoon nap. There wasn't much else to do in quarantine, after all.

"Guess what, guess what, guess what!" Annabeth's face appeared in his line of sight, looking much happier than she had in a long time. Percy supposed that, even if he was stuck in his apartment for eternity, at least he could spend it with his favorite person in the world.

"What?" he grumbled sleepily.

"Hamilton is being released early! We can watch it this summer! As many times as we want! And sing along!"

Yay.

******

When July 2nd rolled around, Percy would like to have said he forgot about the musical. Of course, that was impossible because Annabeth talked about it 24/7.

"It's just absolutely genius - everything about it is intentional." It didn't matter that she talked about the ingenuity every day, it was like it never ceased to amaze her. Percy didn't mind too much; she didn't give him a pop quiz after each lecture and he liked the way her eyes lit up when she was invested in something she loved, so he let her talk about it all day long.

"I'm most excited to see how the choreography will change the way we perceive it," Paul said, sitting at the kitchen table next to the couple. Percy wasn't the least bit surprised when Annabeth got his step-dad hooked on it, too. They spent a lot of those uneventful quarantine days discussing the show.

Sally called for Annabeth from the living room just as she and Paul were about to dive into another analysis. Percy silently thanked his mother for that save.

"So, Percy," Paul began when Annabeth was out of the room, "are you ready to watch Hamilton?" He smirked a bit, knowing what Percy was going to say.

"Do I have to?"

Paul laughed. Before they could say anything else, Annabeth rushed back in, planting her hands on both sides of Percy's face and looking at him expectantly. Oh boy.

"Yes, Wise Girl?"

"You're going to wake up with me at three to watch it, right?"

"Three? Like, three in the morning?"

"Yeah..." Her shoulders drooped a little bit. "I mean, you don't have to, I guess."

The whole thing sounded like torture to Percy, but Annabeth was so elated a few moments ago and now she looked so sad and dang it, if he said no to her now, he was officially a terrible boyfriend.

"Of course I will."

Her eyes lit up and she flung her arms around his neck. "Thank you," she murmured.

"Don't mention it." He could see Paul trying to contain his laughter behind Annabeth's back, and Percy sent him his best not-a-word look. Paul just smiled wider.

******

Percy's feet hit the ground before he was even awake. He barely registered that the clock beside his bed read 2:50 a.m. before his girlfriend dragged him into the living room. Percy flopped on the couch where his parents already sat, wrapped up in blankets and holding mugs. All he wanted was to tuck Annabeth in his arms and fall back asleep, but she darted back for the bedrooms instead.

"Good morning, sleepy head," his mom said sweetly. Percy grunted in response.

"Can you tell I'm excited?" Annabeth asked him quickly as she chucked a blanket at his lap and took off again.

"I can tell she already drank some coffee," Percy responded grumpily. Sally jabbed her toes into the side of his leg. "Hey!"

"She's been waiting for this for months, dear, so get over yourself," she said with, you know, love.

"Yeah, yeah."

Paul was getting the TV ready and frantically looking at the clock every fifteen seconds. Annabeth finally returned, Percy hoped for good this time (she really needed to take a few deep breaths!), two steaming cups in her hands.

"Here, Seaweed Brain." She handed one to him and then carefully sat down, curling into his side. Her free hand squeezed his knee cap tightly. Percy thought it was pretty sweet of her to bring him coffee, even if she was the only reason he was awake, and she was rather adorable at the moment, looking like a little kid on Christmas morning.

"I'm excited, too," he told her quietly, kissing the side of her head. She made an affectionate noise and then promptly faced the screen.

"Three o'clock!" Paul shouted, and there it was: Hamilton.

"Oh, my gods," Annabeth whispered.

Oh, my gods, Percy thought.

******

As the last note faded out, Percy resolved to never draw quick conclusions about historical musicals ever again. He swallowed thickly, trying to rid the tightness in his throat. Wiping tears from cheeks, Annabeth swiveled to to face him. "Did you like it?" she asked hopefully.

"Yeah," he promised, "I actually, truly, honest-to-gods, really liked it." He swiped his thumb under her eye where a fresh tear leaked out, but he wasn't sure if it was from the heart-gripping show or his amazement with said show.

Sally and Paul sat sniffling from the other end of the couch, and Annabeth turned towards them. "Can we watch it again?"