Chapter Text
Percy didn't know how long he had been sitting on the bathroom floor. It could have been seconds, days or years. He wouldn't know.
The ground below him was cold, and bit into his skin sharply. But Percy couldn't get himself to move, his body shivered with goosebumps, and his teeth were chattering. But he felt...okay. The cold seemed to ground him almost. It was calm, peaceful. So different--so abnormal, that Percy felt out of his body.
His mind continued to wonder, the lights in the bathroom spinning, every sound muted. It was unreal.
He nearly jumped out of his skin when the door started shaking next to him. It shook in a consistant pattern, as if someone was banging on it.
"Perc--" Was someone speaking? "Hey ---open--door".
The voice was loud, the tone edged with concern.
It took him a while to realize it was coming from the door.
Immediately snapping out of his stupor, Percy groaned as he climbed to his feet.
When he opened the door, Percy froze. Annabeth stood tense, eyes wide and breaths harsh.
"Jeez, Percy, why didn't you answer me? I've been knocking at the door for like two minutes!".
He only stared. Baffled, Annabeth opened and closed her mouth, as if she was trying to decide on what to say.
"Okay, okay, its fine.." Passing what looked like a pile of clothing through door and into Percys arms, Annabeth lifted her head, eyes searching. "We don't actually have a lot of clean spare clothes right now, so we could only grab some left overs of Jasons. He seems to be around the same size as you". He felt as her gaze traveled along his face, a look of brief horror passing over her features.
What...
She looked like she was in pain. Her eyes were glassy, and she looked as if she was trying not to cry.
Percy tried to smile. He did.
"Are you..okay?." Her words were rushed.
He didn't want her to worry. He really didn't, but he knew that she would. And she looked tired and worn-out. He didn't want her to be stressed out.
"Yes Annabeth." He breathed. "I'm okay." It was a lie. They both knew it.
She nodded slowly.
"Okay. Just..." she breathed deeply. "I want you to tell me, if anythings wrong.". Her words were strained.
"Okay." he whispered. "I'll be right back." Smiling softly, he shut the door with a soft click.
Okay.
Shifting through some of the clothes, he was able to find a grey tank top that fit it well enough, and some black sweats. Both were soft and smelled faintly of mint.
Stiffly maneuvering his way into the clothes, Percy finally made his way over to the sink, he hadn't gone near it yet. Mostly because of the mirror that sat above it.
Percy could hear his heart beat as he walked slowly towards it, his skin crawled the closer he got.
When his eyes met his own, he felt a strange sense of deja vu run through him.
He looked older, was the first thing he noticed. His eyes looked red and bloodshot, and dark bruised eye bags highlighted the paleness of his skin. His hair was longer and curlier, just reaching his shoulders. But what scared him the most, were the scars.
On the edges along his hairline were long thin lines that disappeared into his hair, as if someone had combed claws through his hair. They continued down to his neck where they started to fade. A short jagged one cut through his lip, and a few other small ones littered his skin like freckles. Now he knew why Annabeth had looked at him like that.
Panic started to claw at his throat.
With only the tank top on, you could see some of the damage done to his chest and collar bones peaking through the edges of the fabric, and if he guessed, he was pretty sure the lashes along his back we're pretty visible as well. Though, on full display was the shiny scar tissue that ran along his forearms and shoulders from the burns, swirled like fire along his skin.
Percy was shaking. And no longer from the cold.
"Percy?" Annabeths voice echoed. "I don't mean to be annoying, but you've been in there for a while....Are you okay?".
Percy wanted to cry.
Somehow though, he was able to find his voice through his trembling. "Yeah. I'm coming out. One sec."
Splashing water on his face, and tearing his gaze from the mirror, he quickly walked to the door, throwing it open with a little too much force than necessary.
She was sitting on the bed, fidgeting with her nails. Her head whipped up when Percy walked into the room.
"Hey, are you doing okay?". Annabeth was looking him up and down, a strange expression on her face. She looked..pained.
"Yeah." Percy winced at his blunt answer.
She was still looking at him, her eyes following up his arms, to his chest, and back to his face. A tear started to make its way down her cheek.
Shifting on his feet, he walked towards her, stopping just on the edge of the bed.
She looked up at him with wide eyes. The grey was bright, and soft, framed with the darkness of her lashes. Her hair was in a bun on top of her head, a few strands fell out of it gracefully. It glowed a mellowed gold in the soft light of his room.
She was so, so beautiful.
Gods, he had missed her. The feeling in his chest ached, and his eyes started to sting.
He couldn't hold back anymore.
He reached for her. And she reached back.
They crashed into each other. His arms wrapped tight around her, one resting on her back, the other cradling her head. He could feel her arms around his waist, squeezing tightly.
She was warm and soft.
He never wanted to let go.
She was his saviour. His everything. He had fought over and over and over again, to get back to her. And now she was in his arms, safe and unharmed. It felt like a dream.
He felt as they slowly slid to the floor, legs tangled in each other, arms still hanging onto each other.
"Annabeth." he murmured into her hair. "I love you.".
He felt her sigh softly.
He wanted to say it over and over again. Wanted to engrave it into his skin.
"I love you too Percy" she said into his chest.
He almost started crying then and there.
He kissed her hair, her forehead, her nose, her eyelids, and her tears.
“It’s okay, everything’s going to be okay”. She whispered to him.
He really, really wanted to believe it.