Chapter Text
Today, they’d started at the end.
The wedding pas de deux was a key feature of The Sleeping Beauty, and it needed to be danced to perfection. So Beckendorf popping something in his knee during yesterday’s rehearsal made that a bit of an issue.
Percy had gotten used to his spot in the back of the room. He’d spent a week watching Chiron teach the choreography to Beckendorf and Annabeth, the two principal dancers who’d be leading the first cast. His job as Prince Desirè in the fourth cast was to watch and learn. And he’d watched his friend crunch his knee landing a jump and quickly learned not to do that.
Beck’s injury made today’s rehearsal a lot more interesting. Annabeth stood in the center of the room, blonde curly hair tucked into a remarkably still perfect French twist, hands on her hips as she caught her breath. She was wearing a white practice tutu and a pink leotard, just for the extra Barbie effect.
The company had checked once. If you googled Annabeth Chase, three rows down in Google Images you’d find screenshots of various Barbie movies - Barbie Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Dancing Princesses … And Percy couldn’t say any of them were off the mark.
Even sweaty and breathing heavy in rehearsal, she looked like she’d stepped out of some child’s jewelry box. She was all long legs with perfectly pointed feet, and long arms that flowed effortlessly with her movement.
Chiron had paused to give her and Jason a few notes. Jason was a nice guy, which infuriated Percy. He’d been one of the only dancers at City Ballet to make it into the company without going to the company’s dance school first. He’d come to guest in Jewels last year from Miami City Ballet and left with a contract. He was supposed to lead the second cast of Sleeping Beauty , but now it looked like he was set to replace Beck.
Well, if this rehearsal went well. The two had never partnered before, and already it was clear it might not be a good fit. Jason was too tall, even when Annabeth was on pointe. It made the partnering awkward and a little unbalanced. They were both great dancers, and they managed to make it look as graceful as they could, but something was off. Percy recognized the stitch in Chiron’s brow and knew he saw it too.
Not to mention, it made the whole thing overwhelming blonde.
And with Annabeth going through a public breakup with another blond ballet dancer who was always just too tall to partner her on stage, well … maybe it wasn’t the best look for the company or for her.
They ran the pas de deux again. It looked good, Percy though. He practiced some steps in the small space he had at the back of the room. As Chiron gave a note about fish dives, he listened attentively, before trying the move with Katie Gardner. She was his Aurora, another soloist like himself. She’d always made a good partner. They practiced the fish dive, and she dropped down without hesitation, the way Chiron had told Annabeth and Jason to, face heading towards the floor, counting on him to keep her afloat.
“Percy!” Chiron said. Percy placed Katie back on her feet before standing up straight. “Let’s see you try with Annabeth.”
Percy looked back at Katie, who smiled and nodded her head in the direction of Annabeth telling him to get on with it. His heart raced. He was usually very comfortable in rehearsal spaces. It was about making discoveries, trying new things, taking risks. But this, he knew, wasn’t a rehearsal. Dancing with Katie, that would have been a rehearsal. This was an audition.
“Hello again,” she said, taking his hand. They’d hardly spoken since last Spring. “Don’t let me fall.” There was a small smile on her lips.
Percy smiled, trying to calm his nerves. “I wouldn’t dare,” he said.
She’d looked happier since she came back, Percy noticed. She’d been injured last Spring, but the break for an injury turned into a leave of absence that lasted nearly nine months. She came back just in time for the tale end of Nutcracker in December. The Sleeping Beauty was her big welcome home ballet, the big ticket seller for their Winter season, with her name in all the programs, in all of the reviews, in all of the advertising. Annabeth Chase was center stage.
Being able to dance with her was a privilege. She was only a year older than him, but she had been in the company for a decade already. She had been offered her apprenticeship at sixteen. Percy had only been there for seven years, not earning his apprenticeship until eighteen. She was made soloist at the same time, earning her promotion right before her twentieth birthday. He’d watched her advance to Principal before he’d even gotten out of the corps. She was a rock star in the company.
So what the hell was he doing there with her?
He took his starting position on the other side of the room. As the music started, they walked slowly towards each other. Don’t forget the choreography, he told himself as he carefully presented his foot with each step, his arms extended, open and welcoming towards his “guests.” Just don’t forget the choreography, and for the love of god, don’t drop her.
He’d danced with her once. The previous Spring they’d been cast together in Jewels as the Diamond pas de deux, but she’d fractured her foot during dress rehearsals and never made it to the performance. A few days later, her wedding was canceled. At first people assumed it had been postponed so she could actually walk down the aisle, not hobble on crutches. But then her fiancé Luke resigned from the company, and every possible rumor spread, from pregnancy to ‘Annabeth is a secret Swedish princess and the royal family doesn’t approve.’
Silena, the woman who ran the costume shop and Beckendorf’s wife, seemed to know everything, though. “Dancers like to talk to me or around me,” she’d told him.
“So, what happened?” He didn’t want to pry, but he wanted to know if she was okay. He hadn’t had many opportunities to dance with her, but everyone was close in a company. They had talked, they had shared barre space. She’d even used his foam roller once.
Silena pinned some fabric on his doublet into place, “She broke off her engagement,” she said.
“What?” He asked, turning so quickly that Silena accidentally poked him with the pin.
“Stand still,” She said, adjusting her measurements again.
“What happened?” He asked, being sure to stand still and composed.
“That I can’t tell you,”
“You don’t know?” He asked.
“No,” she said, “I know. It’s just … really not great,”
“And it’s not your place,” Percy said, finishing the sentence for her. Silena nodded and finished her alterations.
Luke had been another dancer in the company. He’d left the company for good a little while later, an “early retirement” at 33.
Good riddance, Percy thought. He’d never really liked the guy anyway. He was usually a jerk to Percy and Beckendorf. And now his principal spot was up for grabs. He was sad to see Annabeth go, though. He would have been overwhelmingly jealous of her success if she wasn’t so talented.
It’d been nine months since Jewels , and now Annabeth was back to work, ready as ever to stun audiences from all over the tri-state area.
Even in rehearsal, even after an injury, she was completely stable. He held onto her right arm as her right leg lifted, holding her steady as she did a port de bras back, left arm above her head, torso leaning back, leg and hips leaning forward. With the same arm as leg extended, she could easily twist right off her left leg. But Percy held her as steady as he could while she held her balance like it was no big deal at all.
She rose back up, and Percy pulled her forward to allow her to twist deliberately, pivoting to face Chiron (their audience for now), her right leg still back, now bent in attitude, wrapped around Percy. He was conscious of her left foot. An injury, he knew, never really healed. Fractures and sprains gave dances career-long issues. He held her stable as she balanced on her left foot, waiting for her cue to move on. They had to lose contact for a second -- there was no other way to do it -- but he found her again, hand on her waist, holding her steady and stable.
That was about the first five seconds.
He hardly remembered anything after that. He kept waiting for Chiron to stop them, to offer a correction or simply tell Percy that was enough. But the music kept going, and they kept dancing, as if they were the only two in the room.
He’d been watching from the back of the room for days, running choreography in his head and with Katie when they could find space. The two had found empty studios once or twice to run some dances in, but he was mostly left alone with his mirror at home and old recordings.
It was up to him to support her. That was always the job of the partner, but especially now. He’d watched her run this pas three times already, while he stood in the back. Whatever he could do to make it easier for her, to make sure she hit her mark, he made sure to do it. Annabeth was about the same height as Katie, but with longer feet and legs and a shorter torso. Her weight was in a slightly different spot, as was her balance. He needed to adjust quickly. If they were on stage, they’d be able to mumble things to each other through their smiles. But Chiron was too close, and Annabeth knew as well as Percy what the stakes were here.
If he let his mind focus too much on the steps, he’d lose just about everything else. If he wasn’t thinking about his own steps, he was thinking about her. Otherwise, he left it to muscle memory, putting all of the rest of his energy in the artistry.
This is your wedding day, he thought. You met her in a dream and saved her from a curse. This is fairy tale love. Show Chiron how much you love Aurora.
There were a few moments where romantic eye contact was mandated by the choreography. As he stared at her gray eyes, pretty face, and princess curls, he was forced to remember just how easy it was to look at Annabeth Chase and feel nothing but fairy tale love.
She was a dancer to be admired in every way.
The fish dives came up faster than he anticipated. Everything at City ballet was fast. Chiron wanted them to spin fast, drop fast, and get back up to do it again. She ran to him, grabbed his arm, and twisted herself around. She spun, spun, spun, then dropped, diving right down kicking up both legs behind her as Percy held her torso with one arm, counting on him alone to keep her face from hitting the floor.
Percy kept his promise once, then twice, then a third time. Everything in classical ballet came in threes. She never fell.
At the end, after all their promenades, pirouettes, and press up lifts, they had one final fish dive, the one Beckendorf liked to call “Look ma, no hands!” On their final dive, he held his leg steady as she rested her hips on it. He squeezed her tight between his leg and his torso, and she squeezed her thigh around his waist, both of them trying to defy gravity as their hands left one another in a moment of presentation to the audience.
The fast-paced, modern, and uniquely American Balanchine style, typically suited his ADHD. He loved the quickness of it. If he had his way, he’d dance Balanchine's wild Tarantella every season.
But as he supported Annabeth in the final signature fish dive, he wished they were dancing in London or Moscow just so he could enjoy a slower arrangement and let this moment last longer.
They held steady. The music moved on, and Percy helped her to her feet for their final spins center stage, and then the bows.
They were both smiling at the end. Percy could feel drops of sweat running down his temples, his lungs and legs burned from the sudden exertion, but he wouldn’t have traded it for anything.
They faced Chiron, his wheelchair still parked at the front of the room. He was wearing the same neutral expression he almost always had.
“Good,” he said. And that was the end of it. He told Annabeth to rest and called the third cast couple to the front, and that was the end of that.
Percy had a free hour at the end of the day that he spent with Katie running the pas de deux so they’d be ready to show Chiron when he asked for it, whenever that might be. Katie was a wonderful dancer, stable, reliable. He was lucky to dance with her, and they were both lucky to have a cast at all. While the fourth cast was far from the prestige of the first cast, he wasn’t ignorant to what an opportunity it was to dance the Prince in any cast. He’d languished in the corps for four years, and slowly clawed his way up to a soloist, gaining more and more noticeable roles as he did. “Diamonds” last year was a big break for him even, ultimately, without Annabeth there to dance it with him. This was another chance to show audiences, donors, and Chiron that he was ready for that final, coveted promotion to principal.
He thought of that principal spot Luke had left open, and the way Chiron watched all of the men in the company carefully, looking to fill it. Percy was going to make the most of his fourth cast spot and put up a fighting chance.
On his way towards the PT room, he spotted Annabeth, Chiron, and Mr. D, one of their ballet masters, running one of Aurora’s variations. He paused at the window to watch as she finished the dance with the same grace and precision she brought to everything. It was the act three variation, the one that followed the wedding pas de deux. Chiron stopped her occasionally, offering a correction, but she already looked pretty much stage ready in Percy’s mind. Even in rehearsal, Annabeth gave the performance everything. Her artistry emanated through every little flick of the wrist, the soft smile on her face reflecting the joy of her wedding day paired with the regal responsibility she was now taking on as the Queen.
On his way back, he spotted them again in the same room.
“He’s the one!” Annabeth said. “He’s got to be.”
Percy kept moving, not wanting to hear more people sing Jason Grace’s praises. He showered quickly, gathered his stuff, and headed out of the building as quickly as his fourth cast-worthy feet could carry him, hoping the bitter cold of New York City January would comfort his bitter moods.
On his way down the stairs, Annabeth caught up with him. She’d let her curls down, although the top of her head was hidden under a white winter hat with a pompom on the top.
“Percy!” She yelled. She was smiling wide as he turned to face her.
“Hey!” He said.
She started walking next to him, the two heading down the front steps in unison. “Great work today,” she said.
“Thanks,” he said. “It’s great to see you back. We all missed you.” Some more than others, he thought. There were certainly some female dancers devastated to see her come back. But Percy couldn’t have been more thrilled.
“I’m sorry about ‘Diamonds,’” she said. “You and Piper did a great job.”
“You came to see it?” He asked.
“I wanted to support. It was the least I could do,” she said.
Diamonds. He and Annabeth had been first cast pas de deux . They’d made it all the way to dress rehearsal in these shiny, rhinestone, white outfits. They’d done the pas and the corps had done most of their parts. There was only the coda left, but in a flash Annabeth collapsed on the stage, a puddle of white tulle. Percy remembered the shaken look in her eyes, the shock that preceded the pain of the injury itself. Every dancer knew that moment, that this isn’t real moment when you feel something in your body break, and you try to bargain with the universe to turn back time, to make it go away. She tried to stand as if she’d just slipped coming down from her jump, but Percy had seen the way her foot landed and her ankle rolled. She was out. They both knew it.
Piper had been able to take her place, rehearsing with Percy all of the next day so that Percy could hold onto his first cast spot, even with Annabeth gone.
Besides Beckendorf and Silena, Piper was probably his closest friend in the company; they did most of their partnering together, so moving to work with her at the last minute hadn’t been an issue. He’d hoped to get cast with her as his Aurora, but she’d been pulled for first cast Lilac Fairy. She was destined to be the next female soloist pulled up to principal and everyone knew it. She wasn’t like Percy, stuck in soloist limbo for nearly three years.
It was hard to be too bitter though when he’d at least had the good fortune to score the Prince role in any cast.
“We were alright. Nothing here was the same without you,” he said.
“Well, I hope I get to dance with you sometime soon,” she said.
Percy nodded. “I’d love to. You’re gonna make a great Aurora you know?”
She shook her head. “Let's hope so.”
They parted ways at the subway gate as she headed downtown and he headed up.
“See you tomorrow,” she said. She smiled at him again, this time like she knew something he didn’t.
~
Ballet required a lot more control and concentration than any of his school teachers ever imagined him capable of. ADHD left him unsuited for desk work or anything that involved some semblance of an attention span. And his dyslexia made him less than perfect on tests. But there was something about ballet that had just clicked. Once he learned the combination, where and when to place his feet and arms, he could just fly.
He didn’t think a lot while he was dancing. He just listened to the music and let his body do the rest. He spent careful time training at barre and in the center until things were utterly second nature. When he was dancing, he had to rely on himself and trust himself. Every muscle that could be controlled needed to be.
He liked that the most about ballet, that he was in control of himself. Whatever he put into ballet, he got back in improved technique, higher jumps, and faster spins. He’d spent years training and pushing his body to the outer limits of what he thought was possible.
When he’d started dancing at the YMCA at twelve, he didn’t bother to dream of a career. It felt so impossible for someone like him. But at thirteen, it seemed life finally cut him a break. He got a lot of support from his early teacher, a scholarship here and there, and an actually decent step-dad. Before he had time to question what was possible, he was accepted to The School of American Ballet. He was fifteen, and for the first time in his life, he was motivated to be the top of the class.
Now he was dragging exhausted legs up the stairs of the 1 train subway stop. Any bitterness started to melt away when he saw the City Ballet poster advertising the ballet. It was Annabeth in the signature pink tutu from act one, with Beckendor holding her hand as she balanced on one leg, her other leg behind her, bent at the knee. Beckendorf wouldn’t be able to perform, he remembered. Percy was lucky to be dancing. He was the prince, Prince Desirè, in a City Ballet cast, on Lincoln Center’s stage.
There was plenty to be proud of.
~
The next morning he was greeted by Piper running full speed at him.
“Percy! You got it!” She yelled.
Percy sipped his coffee, barely present enough to comprehend what she said. When her words obviously didn’t register, she pulled him by the arm down the hallway towards the bulletin board. Chiron liked to make announcements the old fashioned way - paper thumb tacked to the cork board.
In bright red letters at the top of The Sleeping Beauty ’s cast list was the word “REVISED.”
Percy always read cast lists from the bottom up, scanning the other casts first. There was another man’s name in his fourth cast spot, and his heart dropped. He’d been pulled from the ballet. He kept reading. The stress and confusion made his dyslexia act up and slowed his reading down.
He got through the second cast without finding his name. But he did find Jason Grace still in his second cast spot as the prince. He moved onto the first cast, scanning for his name among the corps first, then the solos. He didn’t find it there, and his heart started to race. He imagined, first, that he’d been pulled from the ballet all together. Then there at the top:
First Cast:
Aurora --- Annabeth Chase
Prince Desirè --- Percy Jackson
Piper hugged him tight as he stared in disbelief.
“I have to call my mom,” he heard his voice say.