#I live for the seven + nico & reyna group chat

[demidorks]

[In the group chat]

Percy: What are the strongest days of the week?

Percy: Saturday and sunday, the rest are weakdays

Percy: STOP BLOCKING ME

[water-you-doing-bro]

Shattered Glass (Shredded Hands)

AO3 | FF.Net

The Seven, along with some of their closest friends, were gathered for their monthly ‘party’ (which is what they called the scheduled get-together they all used as an excuse to get out of responsibilities) in Percy’s apartment. They had broken off into smaller groups a little bit ago, and Percy was currently laying on the couch with his head in Annabeth’s lap, listening to her chat with Piper and Jason. 

He was only vaguely paying attention, instead mostly letting his mind wander as he basked in the knowledge that all his loved ones were safe and under one roof. He hummed when Annabeth carded her fingers through his hair and smiled at her answering chuckle. 

“You look like a blissed-out cat, Seaweed Brain,” she said, and Percy cracked open an eye just long enough to take in the fact that she was smiling fondly down at him. 

“Well can you blame me?” He muttered, nuzzling into her stomach. “I’ve got everyone I love safely corralled under one roof and they’re all happy. What more could I want?” 

Annabeth laughed and Piper playfully smacked at his shoulder. 

“Corralled?” She teased. Percy opened his eyes and craned his head back to grin at her. 

“Yep. You lot definitely require corralling.” 

Now all four of them were laughing, and some of the others wandered closer to see what was going on. 

“If anyone is doing the corralling here, I think it’s me!” Sally chimed in as she emerged from the kitchen with a plate of fresh blue chocolate chip cookies. Everyone scrambled to find someplace to sit around the couch and coffee table so they could be within reach of the cookies. Sally laughed and set the plate down in the middle of the table and disappeared back into the kitchen with a call of “no fighting!” 

Percy had sat up and pulled Annabeth into his lap, freeing up more space on the couch. Leo threw himself across Piper and Jason’s laps, and Thalia squeezed herself into the space between Percy and Jason. Will sat in the armchair to the left of the couch with Nico perched on the arm next to him, while Reyna took the armchair on the other side. Grover settled onto the floor by Percy and Annabeth’s feet, and Hazel sat beside Frank on the floor on the other side of the coffee table. 

Paul came into the living room with Estelle giggling on his shoulders. 

“Hey, kids!” He grinned when he saw them all gathered together munching on cookies. 

“Puh-see! Puh-see!” Estelle squealed when she saw her big brother and made grabby hands at him, nearly throwing herself from Paul’s shoulders. Percy smiled and held his arms out so Paul could pass her to him as Annabeth slid from his lap to sit on the floor next to Grover. 

“Well, hello there, Guppy!” Percy said, immediately settling Estelle in his lap and tickling her. She giggled and squirmed 

“N-no!” She squealed through her giggles. “A-A-Annie! H-help m-me-he-he!” 

Annabeth smirked. “Oh, you want me to help you?” She reached up and dug her fingers into Estelle’s sides, joining Percy in his tickle attack. 

Everyone else watched on with wide smiles as their friends laughed and smiled in a way that neither of them had done often since Tartarus. 

Eventually, they ceased their attack and Percy passed Estelle a cookie to munch on through her giggles. Everyone sat chatting, munching on cookies and enjoying themselves. 

And of course, once everyone is finally relaxed, that’s when things go wrong. 

~ ~ ~ 

Percy smiled, watching his family with a warmth settled in his stomach. He stretched his arms above his head and felt his joints crack and pop, releasing the building tension. He looked at where Estelle was animatedly telling Annabeth a story as she passed cookies around and stood up, thinking he’d take a quick trip to the kitchen to get a drink and stretch his legs. 

He gave Annabeth a grin and nodded toward the kitchen when she raised a questioning eyebrow at him. She nodded and gave him a quick smile back. He skirted the edge of the coffee table and picked his way between his friends’ legs. 

Percy slipped into the kitchen and smiled. “Hey, mom, hi Paul,” he said, pulling a glass down from the cupboard. 

“Hi, Percy,” his mom smiled softly back at him. “Are you having a good time?” 

Percy grabbed the bottle of blue coke from the counter and filled his cup. “Definitely,” he smiled, “It’s been too long since we could all just get together and relax.” 

Sally pulled him down gently for a hug and ruffled his hair when they parted. 

“Hey!” Percy cried, playfully indignant, as he shook his head to try and get his hair to settle back in place. Sally just smiled at him and shooed him back into the living room. Percy laughed and backed out of the kitchen, sticking his tongue out at her. 

He spun around, a joke on his lips for his friends, but he had misjudged the distance he had gone and tripped over Hazel’s foot. He dropped his glass and tried to catch himself as he went down. 

The glass shattered against the wooden floor and the blue coke splattered everywhere. Percy’s head cracked against the edge of the coffee table as his hands slammed down among the broken glass. 

He tried to blink away the throbbing in his head and sat up on his knees, a buzzing in his ears that blocked out all sound. He stared at his bloodied hands, then the broken glass and soda scattered across the floor, and felt his heart stutter in his chest. 

“I-I’m sorry,” he muttered, knowing Gabe would just be even angrier if he got loud. “I’m sorry, I’ll clean it up, right now, it won’t happen again, I promise, I’m sorry, I’ll be more careful—” 

He continued to mumble apologies and promises to do better as he scrambled for the pieces of glass, gathering them all into one palm and stretching out his shirt to try and mop up the beer. He was numb to the burn of the glass shards slicing up his fingers and cutting into his palms. He felt Gabe’s meaty hand clamp down on his shoulder and he flinched back, curling down over his knees and clutching the glass in his fist to his chest. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the blow to fall, trying to prepare himself for the sting of the belt across his back or the burn of a kick to his ribs. He held his breath, waiting for it to be knocked out of him. 

But it never came. He uncurled slowly, cautiously, and lifted his head, expecting Gabe to be standing over him, waiting with a balled fist and fury in his eyes. 

Instead, he was met with the sight of Annabeth standing in front of him, her hand clutched to her chest like it had been burned and concern in her eyes. He glanced to the sides and saw his friends all watching him with shocked and worried expressions. 

“Percy?” Annabeth’s voice was soft and gentle, she reached for him slowly, hesitantly, like she was afraid he might lash out. 

Percy scrambled to his feet and spun around on his heel, pausing only a moment to process the tears gathered in his mom’s eyes, her hand over her mouth, as she stood in the kitchen doorway, then dashed toward his room to hide. 

~ ~ ~ 

Annabeth stared at where Percy had disappeared down the hall, her heart cracking in her chest. 

When Percy had tripped and his head had slammed into the coffee table, she had cried out his name, and Sally had come running from the kitchen. Thalia had lunged forward and grabbed Estelle before she could run through the glass to her big brother and Annabeth silently thanked her. 

Percy had sat up slowly, dazed, and just stared at his hands for a moment. Annabeth tried to get his attention, but he didn’t seem to hear her. A panicked look spread across his face and he immediately started muttering and reaching out to pick up the shards of glass. 

“Percy, stop, you’re going to hurt yourself,” Annabeth said, crouching down and trying again to get his attention. 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, please,” Percy muttered, “it won’t happen again, I’ll be more careful, please, I’m sorry, I’m sorry—” 

“Percy, it’s okay,” Annabeth reached out to place her hand on her partner’s shoulder, only to recoil and pull it back like she’d been burned when Percy flinched violently, curling in on himself and tensing up, like he was expecting something bad to happen. 

Sally gasped and brought her hand to her mouth as tears gathered in her eyes. 

No one dared to move or make a noise. 

After what felt like an eternity, Percy slowly uncurled. 

The naked fear in his eyes and written across his face was Annabeth’s undoing. 

“Percy?” She kept her voice low and reached for him slowly, desperately trying not to frighten him again. 

But then he was on his feet and had disappeared down the hall in a flash. 

“Sally, what—” Annabeth said, the first one to break the silence. 

“Puh-see!” Estelle cried from where Thalia still held her tightly. “Puh-see!” She thrashed around and screeched for her brother. 

Sally broke from her stupor and rushed around the back of the couch to pull her daughter from Thalia’s arms, shushing her and trying to comfort her. Paul ushered everyone else into the kitchen so he could clean up what was left of the glass and spilled soda. Annabeth wrapped her arms around herself and tried to ignore the pit that had opened up in her stomach. She tried to distract herself by trying to gauge how the others were feeling. 

They all mostly looked confused, but Thalia had a look of knowing devastation in her eyes, and Leo had a suspicious glint in his own. Nico looked startled, like he’d just realized something terrible, and Piper appeared shaken, her hands shook and her breath stuttered. 

“Annabeth,” Thalia said, her face steeled with determination, “do you know what that was?” 

Annabeth shook her head. “No, but—” she let out a shuddering breath and closed her eyes against the gathering tears. “But I think I have an idea.” 

~ ~ ~ 

Piper took deep breaths, trying to still her shaking hands and recover from the-the utter terror she had felt back there. She’d always been empathetic, and since learning she was a daughter of Aphrodite, had realized that it must be one of her powers, being able to reach out and feel the emotions of others. 

But she had never felt anything as strongly as what she had just experienced from Percy. The fear that radiated from him had been near palpable in the air, it felt like a suffocating weight had settled around her, making her lungs seize and a yawning pit appear in the bottom of her stomach. The sense of desperation and defeated expectation ate at her insides, and she flinched back when Jason rested his hand on her arm. 

She shuddered just remembering it, tucking herself into Jason’s side and grabbing Leo’s hand to squeeze. Jason held her close with his arm wrapped around her shoulders and Leo tightened his own grip on her hand comfortingly. 

“Annabeth,” Thalia broke the silence, “Do you know what that was?” 

“No,” Annabeth shook her head, “but—” she let out a shuddering breath and appeared to steel herself, closing her eyes. “But I think I have an idea.” 

She glanced over at Grover, and he stepped closer to sling his arm over her shoulders in support. “Percy, he-he had another step-father, before Paul.” 

Piper’s eyes widened. 

“He doesn’t talk about him much, never did, really. Called him ‘Smelly Gabe.’ They didn’t seem to like each other at all, and Percy hasn’t mentioned him at all since his first summer, and our first quest.” Annabeth shrugged. “I don’t know what happened to him, but I do know that after he disappeared Percy seemed... lighter, almost, happier.” 

Grover nodded, and opened his mouth like he was about to speak, but someone else beat him to it. 

“Gabe was not a nice man.” Sally stood in the doorway, Estelle on her hip and Paul standing at her shoulder. She passed their daughter to him and he disappeared back into the living room. Sally sighed and walked further into the kitchen to lean against the counter. 

Piper could sense a deep regret, a feeling of guilt, coming from Sally and immediately wished to comfort her, but she stayed where she was. 

“It’s true, that he and Percy didn’t like each other. I didn’t like him much, either. I married him to try and protect Percy. His scent was so disgustingly human, it covered Percy’s and made it harder for monsters to detect him.” Sally closed her eyes. “He was an alcoholic. And he was abusive.” 

A sharp intake of breath echoed through the otherwise silent kitchen, and Thalia swore softly. 

“I didn’t know he hurt Percy, too, until after. Percy, he’s too protective, too self-sacrificing for his own good sometimes, you know? He’d noticed that Gabe wasn’t... the best with me, and apparently, he’d tried to make a deal with him.” Sally gave a humorless chuckle. “He’d told Gabe that he could do whatever he wanted to him, and he wouldn’t fight back, so long as he didn’t hurt me anymore.” She sniffled. “I married him to try and protect Percy, and I just ended up hurting him.” She shook her head with another self-deprecating laugh. “So, when Percy came home from his first quest and handed me a box with Medusa’s head in it, well.” She shrugged, and the smile that spread across her face didn’t reach her eyes. “I created a very good sculpture, called it ‘The Poker Player’ and sold it to a Gallery for a good bit of money, enough to get us a new apartment. He still won’t tell me what all Gabe did to him, what he let that man get away with just to try and protect me, but I do know that it still haunts him.” 

Piper barely stifled a sob, covering her mouth with her hands. Hazel was crying silently, Annabeth was clinging to Grover, Leo was shaking, and Thalia looked downright murderous. 

“I’m glad you two have Paul, now,” Jason said, reaching out to place a hand on Sally’s arm. “And I’m sorry that you had to go through that. But Percy is the strongest person I know, and knowing this only increases the respect I have for you both.” 

Sally smiled. “Thank you, Jason. I am very lucky to have Paul, and I’m so thankful that Percy has such supportive friends, he thinks the world of you.” 

“He thinks the world of you too, Sally,” Piper said. Her heart broke for her friend. Jason was right, Percy was the strongest person she knew. She had always known Percy to be brave and strong, kind and genuine. He’d always seemed like an open book, wore his heart on his sleeve. He was so full of life; Percy was the kind of guy that could be counted on to always be ready with a kind word and a comforting arm. He was a soft smile and a steady hand, calm power echoed throughout every move he made. He was a broad back that stood protectively in the way of anything that wished to hurt you and calloused palms pulling you up when you were at your lowest. He was shitty jokes cracked to ease the tension and crooked smiles that lit up the room. He was terrifying and overwhelmingly powerful but at the same time he was unbelievably gentle and had a knack for putting you at ease just because he was there. 

Piper was left reeling, knowing that someone so strong and kind, so gentle and fun-loving, had remained so when he had grown up being abused and surrounded by hate. She only hoped Percy would be willing to let them protect him in turn. 

~ ~ ~ 

Percy pushed his back against his door and buried his head in his knees, trying to calm his breathing. His hands burned. 

He couldn’t believe he’d just lost it like that in front of his friends. He hadn’t let Gabe get to him in years, had hardly thought about him since Hera’s Memory Wipe. 

He pulled his head from his knees and held his hands out in front of him. He stared blankly at his bloody fingers, at the glass shards buried in his palms. 

They shook. 

Gods, why did this have to happen today? 

Percy clenched his fists and tried to let the sharp sting of the glass as it dug further beneath his skin pull him out of his head. 

He blinked and he was no longer in his bedroom, but instead surrounded by black shards of broken glass and poisonous air. 

~ ~ ~ 

Sally smiled at all of Percy’s friends, kids who had seen and gone through far more than any child should have to. She hated seeing the haunted shadows that lingered in their eyes, the heavy weight they carried making their shoulders sag. She savored every little moment of peace she could give to them, every relaxed smile and carefree laugh she was able to coax from them, and she cursed at the gods and the Fates for what they had put these children through. 

She excused herself from the kitchen with a soft smile at Annabeth, letting the girl know that she was going to check on Percy. Before she could leave, however, Annabeth approached her. 

“Sally,” she said, keeping her voice hushed, “Let me come, too. I don’t know if you saw it, but he—” she paused, biting her lip. “He was picking up the shards of glass with his bare hands, Sally.” Annabeth’s eyes held a haunted shine, tears threatening to fall. “When we were—when we were Down There, it was like the ground was made of glass. We got all kinds of cut up and we didn’t have the time or the tools to dig out every little piece that was embedded in our skin until after we had made it back up to the Argo II, and even then, we needed help from the others.” She looked away and seemed to gather herself for a moment. “I don’t want him to have another flashback so soon after that last one, especially not when I could help him through this one. I just want to help him.” 

The desperation in Annabeth’s voice and the pleading in her eyes tore at Sally’s heart and she gave the girl a soft smile. “Of course you can come with me, Annabeth.” She pulled her pseudo-daughter into a tight, warm hug. “Percy probably needs both of us right now.” 

When they pulled apart, Annabeth gave her a watery smile. “Thank you, Sally.” 

They left the kitchen with Sally’s arm around Annabeth’s shoulders. 

In the living room, Paul had managed to calm Estelle down by distracting her with her favorite cartoon. Sally motioned for Annabeth to keep going and approached her husband quietly. She bent over the back of the couch and he tilted his head back to look at her. 

“Thank you for calming her down and distracting her,” she whispered, pressing a kiss to his forehead. 

Paul just smiled. “Of course, honey,” he nuzzled his nose into her cheek. “Go help our boy, okay?” 

Sally hummed and gave him another quick kiss before walking toward her son’s room. 

She met Annabeth where the girl was standing in front of Percy’s door and gave her an encouraging smile. She tapped her knuckles against the door gently, placing her other hand on Annabeth’s back to keep them both steady. 

“Percy? It’s mom and Annabeth, sweetheart,” she called softly through the door. “May we come in?” 

She waited a moment, but no response came. She glanced at Annabeth, whose brow was furrowed in concern, and bit her lip. “Why don’t you try, dear?” She muttered and Annabeth nodded. 

“Percy? Please, Seaweed Brain, let us help you,” she pleaded, resting her forehead and palm against the door. 

They heard a shuffling from inside the room, followed by a soft thud. 

“Percy?” Annabeth reached out and slowly turned the doorknob. She carefully inched the door open and peaked inside. Whatever she saw made her gasp, and she threw it open, rushing inside. 

Sally gasped at the sight that greeted her through the flung open door and froze there for a moment, taking in the sight. 

Percy sat pressed against the wall next to his window, his knees pulled up to his chest as he scratched frantically at one of his arms, leaving bloody gashes in his wake. His other hand was clenched in a tight fist, blood slipping between his fingers and dripping onto the floor. His eyes were closed as tears streaked his cheeks. His mouth hung open in a silent wail and he slammed his head repeatedly against the wall. 

Annabeth fell to her knees at Percy’s side and threw a pillow she had snatched from his bed between Percy’s head and the wall, trying to soften the blow and stop him from hurting himself any further. 

Sally stared in abject terror for a moment and then rushed forward to join Annabeth and grabbed her son’s wrists to stop his scratching. 

“Percy!” She cried, “Please, darling, you have to stop! You’re hurting yourself, baby.” 

Percy only let out a low moan in response, struggling against her hold and continuing to try to bash his head into the wall. He whined and squirmed. 

“Please, Seaweed Brain,” Annabeth pleaded, “open your eyes for me.” 

Percy whined again, but opened his eyes, staring up at them blearily, gaze unfocused. His eyes flickered from side to side before settling on Annabeth with an intensity Sally hadn’t seen from him before. 

What was he seeing? 

~ ~ ~ 

“Annabeth,” Percy croaked, voice rough like he had gargled nails. He tugged feebly against Sally’s hold. “Wise Girl, you have to run,” his voice was desperate, his gaze frantic. “You have to make it to the Doors, Annabeth. Our friends are counting on you to close them and they can’t lose both of us.” 

Annabeth choked on a sob. 

“Percy, we’re not down there anymore, I promise,” she said, tears cold against her cheeks. “We’re at your apartment, Sally, your mom, is holding your wrists because you were hurting yourself.” 

Percy blinked, but didn’t take his eyes off Annabeth’s face. 

“Percy, look. It’s just your mom, not some monster, okay? Please, Seaweed Brain,” she cupped his cheek and wiped a few tears away with her thumb. She stared into his eyes, imploring him to believe her. “Percy, you trust me, yes?” 

Percy nodded slowly. 

“Then look.” 

Percy let out a shaky breath and looked over at Sally. She smiled softly at her son. He blinked a few times, and Annabeth watched his eyes clear and widen. He stilled. 

“Hey,” she muttered, smiling when he turned to stare at her again. “There you are, baby.” 

Percy gave her a faint smile and pressed their foreheads together. 

“Beth,” he breathed her name like a prayer. “Mom,” he turned to look at Sally with wide eyes that quickly welled with tears. “I-I’m sorry,” he sobbed, voice catching in his throat. “I’m so sorry.” 

He unclenched his fists and Sally slowly released his wrists. His arms dropped to his sides. He slowly leaned his head back against the wall. He squeezed his eyes shut. 

He cried. 

~ ~ ~ 

Annabeth sat with Percy as he cried, laying her hand on his arm in silent support. Sally had quietly left a room a few minutes ago with a quiet promise to be right back. 

When she returned, she held a bowl of water, a towel, and a pair of tweezers. 

“Percy,” she said gently, and he cracked his eyes open to watch her as she placed the items down and settled onto the floor in front of him. “We need to pull the glass out of your hands, honey. Can you give me one of them?” 

Percy held out a shaking hand and Sally took it gently, cradling it in one of her own. She carefully began pulling out the shards of glass, apologizing every time he winced. 

“You’re doing so good, sweetheart,” she muttered, “We’re almost done and then we can take a break before moving on to the other hand, okay?” 

Percy let out a heavy breath and nodded carefully. 

It broke Annabeth’s heart to see her boyfriend like this, it hurt her to see him in pain. She wished with all her heart that she could take all his pain away. She ran her hand comfortingly up and down his arm, occasionally playing with his hair, and murmured reassurances and calming words in his ear. 

Blood dripped onto the carpet and soaked through the towel where Sally deposited the shards. Annabeth bit her lip at the state of Percy’s shredded fingers. It looked like someone had taken his hands and tried to force them through a blender. Thankfully, however, it looked like none of the pieces were too small or stubborn, and Sally was efficient in pulling them out. At one point, she pulled another towel Annabeth hadn’t noticed before from her back pocket and tried to mop up some of the blood on Percy’s hand so she could see it better. 

Sometimes, Annabeth cursed the fact that water instantly healed most of Percy’s wounds, because it meant that they couldn’t risk rinsing the blood off or getting the towel wet to try and clean it off because then he could heal with glass still stuck beneath his skin and they would have to cut him open to dig it out. 

Eventually, Sally finished with his first hand and set it gently on his knee. Percy offered out his other hand before she asked, and Sally took it just as carefully as she had the first, and resumed her ministrations. Annabeth continued to watch, unable to do anything but try to provide her boyfriend comfort. 

Percy stubbornly remained silent through the whole ordeal, and Annabeth knew it was because he didn’t want to scare or hurt his mother by letting her know just how much it hurt. It was one of the things that she both loved and hated about him. Percy would rather suffer in silence than burden anyone else with his pain; it made him appear strong and invincible on the field of battle, encouraging and rallying his comrades when he continued fighting through pain, exhaustion, and, sometimes, even debilitating injuries that would have immediately sent anyone else to their knees. But he seemed to think that he always needed to appear strong and invincible and refused to let his walls down around anyone, even Annabeth knew he didn’t let them down fully around her, though he did let her see more than practically anyone else. 

Annabeth was the only one who had ever seen Percy cry. 

He bottled up all his pain and stress and fear and locked it away in a far corner of his mind to deal with later, alone. But he never dealt with it until it grew too much to ignore and everything exploded out of him in a colossal breakdown. He was able to keep things in for a horrifyingly long time, though. In the almost eight years that she had known him, she could count the number of times he had broken down on one hand with fingers to spare.  

This one had been a long time coming. 

After Tartarus, they both had awful nightmares, alleviated only by each other’s presence. Sometimes, Percy would tell her about what he had seen, but more often than not he only buried his face in her stomach, crying silently, and let her run her hands through his hair until he had managed to fall asleep again. In the morning, he would pretend that nothing had happened, and refused to let their other friends see that anything was bothering him, even though it was a futile endeavor since he could not hide the bags that grew beneath his eyes or the gauntness of his features, nor the haunted shadow that settled across his face when he thought no one was looking. 

Now, he had been doing a little better, more willing to talk about his nightmares with her and actually express and find an outlet for his pain or anger instead of just hiding it all away. 

Now, as much as it hurt her to see him in so much pain, Annabeth almost wished that he would allow himself to cry out as his mother plucked broken bits of glass out of his flesh. 

~ ~ ~ 

Percy wasn’t sure how long they sat there, him, his mom, and Annabeth. He tried to ignore the feeling of jagged shards of glass being gently pulled from his hands and instead focus on Annabeth’s voice and her presence beside him, solid and reassuring in the way he could always depend on her to be. 

She was his anchor, she kept him sane and grounded in reality. She kept him human. 

Without Annabeth or his mom, Percy feared that he would turn into a monster worse than anything he had ever turned to dust. 

~ ~ ~ 

Sally let out a sigh of relief when the last shard of glass clinked onto the worryingly large pile on the towel and she leaned back, dropping the tweezers and taking a moment to just breathe and look at her son. 

Percy’s hands and arm were still bleeding, tear tracks dried on his cheeks. His eyes were closed and his head was leaned back against the wall, tilted towards Annabeth. (Sally smiled slightly, finding it adorable that he was so drawn to Annabeth’s voice, her mere presence.) He looked exhausted and worn, and when he opened his eyes, there was an age in them that went far beyond his years. He gave her a tired smile. 

“Thanks, mom,” he croaked. 

“Here, Percy,” she said, holding out the bowl of water. “Let’s get those cuts all healed up.” 

The hand he reached out to dip into the water still shook and he winced as he flexed his fingers. 

Slowly, a look of blissful relief spread over his face and his shoulders sagged. Once he pulled his hand from the bowl, Sally put it to the side and clasped one of his hands in her own. 

“I love you, Percy,” she said, ignoring the tears that threatened the corners of her vision. “Okay? I need you to always remember that.” 

Percy looked startled for a moment. “Of course I know that, mom. I love you, too.” He leaned forward and pulled her into a tight hug and gods when had he gotten so big that she stopped being able to cradle him in her arms and protect him? Now, Percy was the one with his arms wrapped protectively around her, her head tucked beneath his chin. 

She pulled back and sniffled, giving her baby boy a watery smile before wiping her eyes and hauling herself to her feet with a groan as her knees creaked in protest. 

“Why don’t you go take a shower to get that blood cleaned off and get some of your strength back?” She said, and Percy nodded, glancing at Annabeth. 

Sally smiled softly at the two of them and left the room, closing the door softly behind her. 

She would let them have their moment alone and go let their friends know that Percy was okay. 

~ ~ ~ 

After Sally left, Percy turned to look at her with teary eyes and Annabeth opened her arms without hesitation. 

Percy threw himself into them and collapsed against her. He buried his nose in the crook of her neck and finally let the sobs he’d been holding in for his mother wrack his body. He shook, quivering in her arms through the remembered terror. She held him tightly and pressed her lips to his mop of messy hair. 

She sat there and cradled him, rocking gently, until he regained control enough to pull away and wipe his eyes. 

“I’m sorry,” he muttered, refusing to meet her eyes in embarrassment. 

“Hey,” she chided him gently and reached out to tilt his chin up with her knuckle, making him look at her, “What have we talked about, hm? You don’t have to apologize for seeking comfort and letting yourself hurt.” 

She leaned forward and kissed him softly, putting all her warmth and love behind it, trying to tell him with one brush of their lips just how much she loved him, how proud of him she was. When they parted, she cupped his cheek and smiled when he nuzzled into the touch. 

“I love you, Wies Girl,” he whispered into the space between them, saying the words reverently, as if he was sharing a secret with her. 

“I love you, too, Seaweed Brain,” she echoed him, and kissed him once more before standing and pulling him up with her. “Go shower,” she herded him out the door and toward the bathroom. “I’ll be right here when you’re done and then we can hide out in your room the rest of the day watching movies and cuddling, or we can rejoin the party, okay?” 

Percy nodded and gave her a thankful smile before disappearing into the bathroom. 

Annabeth waited until she heard the water running to head toward the living room. 

She peaked around the corner and smiled as she saw their friends gathered once more around the coffee table. Hazel and Frank were entertaining Estelle while Thalia talked with Sally. Paul must have been in the kitchen since she didn’t see him anywhere in the living room, but everyone else was accounted for. Leo had joined Thalia and Sally’s hushed conversation; Piper and Jason were cuddled on the couch talking quietly to each other. Reyna was standing off to the side talking with Nico and Will. Grover was standing nervously in a corner, munching on a paper plate as his eyes flickered around the room. 

Naturally, he was the first one to notice her when she stepped around the corner. 

“Annabeth!” He called, trotting over to her. “Where’s Perce?” He worried at his lip. 

Annabeth smiled and shook her head. “He’s taking a shower,” she said and Grover chuckled. 

“That’s probably a good idea,” he said, then glanced nervously down the hallway. “How’s he doing?” 

Annabeth noticed that the rest of the room had gone quiet, looking at them. “He’s okay, but we might spend the rest of the day in his room. He’s usually super drained after a flashback, and he just had two in the span of half an hour.” She shook her head and looked over her shoulder to make sure Percy was still in the bathroom. “The shower will help, but I don’t know if he’ll be up to facing what happened with anyone else, yet.” 

Grover nodded and Nico walked up to stand beside him. 

“If either of you want anything, just let me know, okay? I’ll get it for you.” He gave her one of his rare smiles. 

“Thanks, Nico,” she smiled back and ruffled his hair. 

“We’ll all be here if he needs anything,” Reyna said, walking over and putting her hand on Annabeth’s shoulder. 

“Kelp Head can come to me if he ever wants to exchange shitty childhood stories,” Thalia said with a smirk, throwing her arm around Annabeth’s shoulders. “We can bond over having trauma because of alcoholics.” 

Annabeth snorted and rolled her eyes at her best friend’s antics. “I’ll let him know,” she said dryly, but smiled to let her know that she would, in fact, let Percy know. 

“Now,” she said, looking back over her shoulder as she heard the shower shut off, “I gotta get back to him.” She stepped back down the hall and listened to the rest of her friends go back to their conversations and relaxing. 

~ ~ ~ 

When Percy opened the bathroom door, Annabeth was waiting for him with his favorite pair of sweatpants and one of his comfiest sweaters bundled in her arms. 

“Thought you might want these,” she smirked and Percy kissed her before accepting the bundle and disappearing back into the bathroom to throw them on. He felt refreshed, if still a little tired, and calm when he reemerged with his old clothes slung over his arm. 

“Thanks, Beth,” he said, and wrapped his arm around her waist to tug her into his side. He nuzzled her hair and let out a content sigh. She laughed. 

They ambled back into his room so he could dump his dirty clothes into the hamper and then he just kind of... stood there. He wasn’t sure what to do next. 

He wanted to go back to hanging out with his friends, but he wasn’t sure he’d have the energy to answer any questions they might ask him. 

Annabeth, as always, seemed to know exactly what he was thinking and poked his side to pull him out of his head. 

“Hey, you don’t have to go back out there,” she said when he looked down. “We can stay here and cuddle, you could nap if you wanted, and we wouldn’t have to move or deal with anyone else until at least tomorrow.” 

The thought was tempting, Percy had to admit. 

“But if you do want to go back out there, they won’t ask you any questions, I promise.” 

Percy stared into her calculating eyes, letting the familiar stormy grey soothe him. 

He smiled and leaned down to press a soft kiss to her forehead. “I think I want to go hang out with them some more,” he muttered against her skin, and Annabeth hummed before pulling back and tugging him along. 

“Well then, let’s go, Seaweed Brain.” 

Percy laughed and let her lead him back out to the living room. Something in him settled seeing all his loved ones still safe and sound under one roof even after he had fallen apart and left them all unprotected. 

The first one to notice him was his little sister, who immediately jumped up and ran toward him, squealing, “Puh-see! Puh-see!” 

He met her halfway and scooped her up, blowing raspberries into her stomach and then placing her on his shoulders. 

“Hey there, Guppy!” He said and Estelle giggled. 

“Puh-see friends are the bestest!” She cried, and bounced to be put down, running back over to Hazel and Frank. Percy smiled. 

Then, Grover tackled him in a hug. 

“Whoa, man!” Percy said, staggering back a step to keep from being bowled over. “I’m okay, I promise,” he smiled and wrapped his arms around his best friend. 

“I know, I just want to make sure that you know that we’ll always be here for you, just like you’re always there for us,” Grover said, looking up at Percy with wide, determined eyes before backing up. 

“We won’t ask,” Jason said, placing his hand on Percy’s shoulder. 

��But if you ever do want to talk about it, we’ll listen.” Nico appeared in front of him and wrapped his arms around Percy’s waist in a quick hug. 

“You may be a Kelp Head, but you’re my Kelp Head,” Thalia butt in, grinning up at him and smacking him playfully on the arm. 

Percy felt his eyes welling with tears again and sniffled. 

“Dammit, guys,” he laughed, and wiped at his eyes. “Thank you,” he smiled, and a warm feeling settled firmly in his chest. 

~ ~ ~ 

Before long, Percy had been manhandled onto the couch with Annabeth pressed firmly into one side and Grover tucked into the other. The rest of their friends filled in from there until they were all in one big demigod dog pile surrounding the couch, with Percy in the middle. 

He fell asleep listening to his friends’ quiet chatter and feeling secure in the knowledge that everyone he loved was right within reach. 

For the first time in years, Percy slept peacefully through the night. 

[butchgwenwhyvar]

Theychel Headcanons that @A-not-so-amazing-disaster and I thought up one morning on the PJO discord server Rachel teaching both Thalia and Reyna how to paint, until Thalia starts a paint war and they end up laughing like the dorks they are. -If anyone messes with any of the three the others would totally kick ass -Reyna braiding Rachel and Thalia's hair -They have sleepovers all th etime Thalia doing their makeup And Rachel doing body paint, they would have awesome halloweens I think Rachel would be the movie nerd, since she has the most experience with the "mortal" world, while Thalia would be the music nerd Them dragging the others to what they respectively nerd out to Omg imagine Reyna draggin them to a horse race yes! and Reyna spent so much time with Circe that she would know how to give some awesome massages they know each other so well that they know what kind of sented candles the others like smelling while having a massage -imagine them having a night in just relaxing with popcorn, movies, massages and just being with the other They met when the giant war ends, Reyna was in the camp for a while, Rachel would also be there and they bond while reconstructing evrything broken, and just laughing in the bonfire. Then Thalia comes with all the hunters of Artemis (and Reyna thinks she's super cute since they met in BoO) and they start having conversations with each other all the time, and after becoming best friends, they start to slowly fall in love? Then they get sent on this batshit insane quest when the Oracle is working again, and stop at a McDonald's. Thalia starts throwing chips at them, and it ends in a full scale food fight and then it clicks. They go on a road trip later on, Thalia cannot drive and they get pulled over. Then Reyna drives. Reyna is the kind of person who goes 5 miles above the speed limit and swears at every moving thing. Rachel is filming this and also films Thalia losing the map out of the window (and Thalia jumping out of the car to retrieve it). Reyna being nostalgic and telling them stories about Skippy. And then Thalia tells them stories about some of the hunters during the Titan War, and Rachel tells them stories about the battle of Manhattan. They end up crying in their tent over all the lost demigods, and making plans to start a museum so no one forgets what they did. Rachel would talk about her new prophecies maybe? Like when she haves an inkling that something will happen? And Thalia and Reyna help her figure everything out And Reyna and Thalia teaching Rachel how to fight. I think Rachel would also be awesome at the bow or throwing knives? You need to have a good aim to hit a titan with a hairbrush. And then Thalia and Reyna sparr together and Rachel checks them both out. I think Thalia would claim she would fight every monster in existence to comfort her girlfriends. And like Thalia and Rachel always get in a daze when they see Reyna talking about something she's really passionate about? since she doesn't always show her emotions they love to see her eyes light up with emotion Yes! And Reyna listening to Thalia nerd out to bands Because it's no lie that Thalia likes green day (Look at the Titans Curse at the school dance). Yeah, imagine her having a breakdown over some band splitting up and Rachel and Reyna comforting her while they all sing together? Reyna would give the best presents. She always knows exactly what to get for them. And you physically cannot surprise Rachel. Thalia would shop the last day and freak out, then has a stroke of genius and gives them something really good (Rachel and Reyna won't let her live down the chocolate shampoo ever). Thalia would steal Reyna and Rachel's shampoos' all the time. Rachel would do a painting of them all laughing for the holidays. Them wearing matching bracelets. The matching ugly Christmas sweaters. Yes! And them having the shirts (If lost return to Rachel) ( I don't want her, give her to Reyna) (I'm Reyna). Or Reyna has Keep Them on the back. Annabeth laughs her ass off when she sees it. And Thalia falls out of bed a lot because she has a side and Rachel kicks. Rachel makes so much mess. She leaves her drawing everywhere, Reyna trips over them at night and Thalia just puts a camera to record everytime Reyna falls (it has happened 49 times) But Reyna films whenever Thalia loses her keys and has to climb in the back window which Rachel leaves open for times like this (They refuse to lend her their keys because she needs to learn). Rachel would also be a cuddler, and the first time they sleep together Reyna blushes like crazy because hole fuck???? these two girls are so cute and they are willingly hugging me? And nightmares don't really happen that often anymore, they feel safe. Rachel makes sure the house always smells like lavenders. They get a dog, and it hops on the bed with them. And Reyna keeps complaining "Why do we have a dog? Aren't Aurum and Argentum enough?" Thalia always replies that they are cold and she needs warmth. But the dog and Reyna can be found asleep on the couch when Thalia and Rachel get home one night. Yes, at first she would be like "Ew, puppy" but then she falls in love with the dog. Thalia always has cold hands and feet, she likes to creep on Rachel and scare her. And so whenever Thalia has random splotches of paint on her Reyna knows she tried that again. Rachel on a natural reaction hits people and has accidentally given Thalia a black eye. Multiple times. Reyna just sighs, but melts at the cuteness of them. Reyna tickles Thalia Thalia is super ticklish, especially on her feet. She gives the cutest laugh when tickled, and it seems like happiness just radiates from her And then Reyna kisses her girlfriends and drags them to bed because those two would stay up till seven am if they're not made to sleep. Reyna first fell in love with her laugh. And her eyes. I was about to add that! She would always feel her stomach make turns when Thalia looked at her in the eye Neither Rachel or Reyna can reject her puppy face. ~~Theychel watching Voltron together~~ YES! Rachel loves Pidge, and jokes about Reyna being Shiro, and Thalia being Keith. Thalia emotionally connects with Keith, all while Reyna facepalms. They quote the show. They have meme wars about the show. Everyone is so confused on why they keep shouting ; I say Vol, you say? Vol...tron? Or: We had a bonding moment! I cradled you in my arms! Nope don't remember didn't happen. Rachel totally makes fan art. Thalia ships Shallura and Reyna ships Hidge. They want to have a cat after watching the show. But the dog (ironically called Rover) hates cats. Rachel ships Klance with her life. Rachel pretends to talk to the dog about robots and the dog just watches her confused. They have marathons. They all don't mind about Sha/Ladin but they don't ship it. I think they would take Lance as their meme son, and would explode laughing with his terrible attempts at flirting. They cuddle while watching, of course. Thalia says: fuck demigods, I want to be an altean. And Rachel spits out her coke a d mutters you are. And they cry so hard during crystal venom and the last two episodes. They have casual existential crisis about waiting. As they are dorks, they probably (definitely) have their own headcanons. Rachel is face down on the floor muttering about Pidges family. Tumblr mom Rachel sees the season 2 trailor first and the others find out when she spams their chat group with things like *"Shiro no"* and *"Why would you do this"* Reyna loves the Keith and Shiro being step-brothers, because it reminds her of her and Hylla. They would probably (definitely) freak out about the trailer. Thalia uses a lot of slang in her texts and it confuses Reyna Rachel watchs amused how Reyna scolds Thals about proper grammar Reyna Percy brotp where he lets her keep her phone at his mom's place so this way she always has a way of talking to her gfs. Yes! Percy and Annabeth ship them 3 so hard, Percy offers them blue cookies And when Thalia and Percy start fighting, it's up to Rachel to break them up Omg ~~Reyna lowkey wants to see who'll win~~ Reyna makes bets, all while cheering for her gf BUT THINK ABOUT WHEN REYNA AND RACHEL DIE AND THALIA IS STILL INMORTAL ;-; Thalia going to the funerals Crying so much ~~Thalia being upset about her dead girlfriends and goes all out and accidently dies in battle~~ And being reminded of everything they did together. And if both of them died in battle Thalia would probably spend ages tracking down the monster and killing it, but she gets killed instead (they would meet in the underworld, having an awesome time in Elysium and when Rachel and Reyna see Thalia enter they just bear hug the shit out of her ~~Nico telling them that if they want to do *that*, he knows a spare room they could use~~) And everyone is looking for Thalia and they find her body in a laistrygonian giants lair and everyone knows exactly what happened. (Sorry if this doesn't read very well, I'm on my phone and it's dying) (Also for those who find these in discord, I changed the order around a bit so it sounded better because we kept talking over each other)