Work Text:
Percy hadn't been able to sleep. Not for the last few weeks since getting home from the Argo II. After he and Annabeth escaped Tartarus, his mind had been plagued with nightmares, he didn't tell her that though. He and Annabeth had slept together since their grand escape, unable to sleep alone, but he couldn't now that he was home without her.
He still hadn't told his mom or Paul, about his perilous journey; he didn't want to worry them. It was already hard enough on Sally, he didn't want her to be even more stressed. Besides, he lived, didn't he? What was the point of sharing bad news that had already passed?
School had started that Monday, and that just made it harder to sleep. Being stressed about some stupid assignment, being tortured with nightmares of losing her, and barely more than 3hrs of sleep over the last 5 days.
He was losing his mind.
Sally and Paul, had started to notice Percy's lack of sleep, the huge eyebags under his eyes a dead giveaway. When he had arrived home with a 'surprise!' they could tell he was tired, but they assumed it was due to his hard battle. But they were beginning to wonder if there was more to that. Occasionally being woken to a scream from his room, only to be dismissed the next day. The switch to overly baggy clothes, and the rejection of food with a sad excuse, 'not hungry' or 'already ate'. To say they were concerned, was an understatement.
Being at school was also taking a toll on his mental state. Being a new kid was always hard, especially when you have a learning disorder, and you're starting there as a senior. It was only his first day and he was already the target of the 'popular' kid's jokes. He had tried out for the swim team to take his mind off things and made it on.
But school wasn't what was on his mind right now, as he lay in bed, yet again unable to sleep. It was Annabeth. The main character of most of his nightmares had been her, always her, and always in that horribly smelling Tartarus. Percy had not seen Annabeth since her dad dropped him off at his apartment, and he was desperately missing her. The one time he had managed to fall asleep, he awoke, terrified and trembling, his mind not working straight. So un-straight he couldn't stop when he found himself stumbled into the bathroom, tears pouring down his cheeks, blood everywhere.
So the next day, he pulled on a hoodie and didn't leave his room. His mom had asked when she came in to give him food, but he lied and said he was just cold. She would be so disappointed. He had stopped.
Percy pulled his blanket tighter around himself, though in reality, he was burning to death. Eventually, he could not take it anymore and flung the blanket off him. He sat up, rubbing the sleep (that was never there) from his eyes. He crossed the room to his window, unlocked it, and pushed it up, before crawling out onto the roof.
Rain was pouring down, and he relished in it. The hard splats hitting his face, his neck, his arms, his whole body, it was refreshing. He heard a small grunt, opening his eyes, to see Annabeth of all people, pulling herself onto the roof. She panted heavily, her whole being soaked through. "Hi." She spoke between gasps for air, sitting next to him, a smile on her face.
"Annabeth? What are you... it's like 2 am??" He stuttered out, looking back at his room to see if anybody was up. She laughed, the sound as sweet as his mom's blue cookies. "I missed you, and I figured you would be up." He cocked an eyebrow at her but nodded. "Well let's get inside, I don't want you to get sick." He slid into his room, grabbing her hand as she hopped inside.
"Sorry, I'm gonna get everything wet..." He laughed, and quickly grabbed a towel from his closet, wrapping it around her. "I don't mind." He rubbed his hands up and down her towel-covered arms, trying to warm her up. "Let me get you some warm clothes." He ran back to his closet, rustling through his clothes, trying to find something that would fit her.
He picked out a few items and presented them to her, "They'll probably be a bit big, but it's all I got." She smiled warmly, "Thank you," and got on her tip-toes, kissing his cheek. She walked into his bathroom, and changed quickly, coming out in some of his sweatpants, and an oversized Nirvana shirt. His eyes widened, as he looked her up and down, his cheeks flushing, and not from the cold.
She wrapped her arms around his torso, hugging him tightly. "I missed you so much." He whispered, fingers entangled in her hair. She dragged him over to the bed and laid down, and he joined quickly, pulling the blanket over them and holding her close against his chest. He soon heard her snores and felt the lull of sleep dragging him down like a siren.
But it didn't last.
His eyes snapped open, a scream threatening to tear his lungs apart, but he held it in. His body shook, and he quickly sat up, silent sobs racking his body, though he was unsure why he was so terrified when he looked over and there she was, very much alive. His racing thoughts took over, dragging him towards the bathroom, closing and locking the door. And there he was again, labored breaths, a pounding heart, and blood everywhere. This time it wasn't such a bearable sight, as he hunched over the toilet and gagged.
What was wrong with him?
Once he had emptied his entire stomach into the toilet, and only dry heaves came, he stuck his arm under the running water until it came clean and wrapped a bandage around and around and around. Then the other arm, around and around and around and around. It was becoming like a chore.
He flushed the toilet, pulled his hoodie over his head, and unlocked the door. But instead of being met with the utter darkness of his room, he was met with two gray eyes. Fuck. Her eyes were filled with tears as she looked down at the floor of the bathroom which he had so conveniently forgotten to clean.
But instead of being met with a slap, 'you selfish bastard!' and some other kind of hate which he expected, he was folded into her arms. "You're such a seaweed brain, seaweed brain... Why didn't you tell me??" He couldn't stop the tears. "I didn't want you to worry." He whispered. Her arms tightened, and he melted into them like a puddle.
He tried to be strong, he really did, but the weight of the last few months came crashing down on him. He sobbed into her arms, his legs becoming like jello and he fell, but she came down with him, holding him up. He felt so weak. Why on earth was he crying? He had no right to. He was weak and pathetic and why why why did she care?
...
Her hands. In his hair. Curling and twisting. Comforting.
"I'm here, it's okay, we're here."
Everything was going to be okay.