PJO/HOO One Shots

Common Sense (pt. 2)

Happy (sorta) Halloween guys! Hope you guys enjoy this :)
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Like something out of a movie, it rained the night Percy Jackson showed up at his mother's apartment. The winds howled like they were in pain, the rain coming down hard as if someone up above was crying just as hard as Percy was.

"Percy?" Sally sounded confused. "It's 12 o'clock, what are you—"

Percy sniffled, unable to hold it in. He hung his head low, his hair dropping water over his eyes and onto the carpeted hallway, but even without reaching Sally's eyes or saying a single word, she knew. "Oh, Percy."

Percy sobbed as his mom wrapped him into a tight hug, ushering him into the apartment and seating him on the couch.

"Stay right here," she murmured, sauntering off to the kitchen and switching on lights. When she came back, it was with two steaming mugs of cocoa in hand and two coasters tucked under her arm.

"Drink this," she said, a warm, reassuring smile on her face as she took a seat across from him. "It'll make you feel better."

Percy choked out a strangled laugh as he peered into the cup, realizing his mom had arranged the marshmallows into a heart. "Thanks mom," he croaked, taking a tentative sip.

"You're welcome, honey," she replied, leaning over the coffee table to place her hand on his knee. "You want to talk or do you just want to take some time to cry?"

Percy swallowed roughly. "Talk," he answered, his voice rough. "I've cried enough already."

Sally nodded, waiting for him to continue as she nursed her cup.

The words almost felt too hard to speak into existence. "Annabeth and I— we—"

"You guys broke up?"

"We were never really together, but yeah." Percy hung his head, his heart clenching as the memory of her walking out returned to him. "I just keep thinking it over, wondering where it all went wrong and what I could've done to fix it."

Sally set her cup down on a crudely painted (by Estelle) coaster, shaking her head. "You can't fix everything, Percy."

"I know, but I—"

"Percy," Sally interjected. "My sweet, sweet boy, you have a big heart. You always have. When you were little, you were the kid who'd wait for whoever was falling behind, and you were the kid who'd always rescue bugs during storms, and you always tried to help me out the best you could when we were struggling. You've always wanted to solve other peoples' problems, but from what I gathered from when I met Annabeth, this is something the two of you need to work through yourselves before you can come back together."

Percy inhaled deeply, processing everything his mom told him. "She told me she was scared."

"Scared of what?"

Percy shrugged. "Loving me, I guess."

"Percy," his mom said, tilting her head and pouting a little. "I highly doubt she meant you're unlovable."

"I know," he said, ignoring the voice inside him that screamed the opposite. "But ever since Gabe..."

Sally drew in a sharp breath, and when she spoke again, her voice wobbled dangerously. "The biggest regret of my life is letting that man put his hands on your Percy, but I promise you, nothing that happened in that time means you are unworthy of love." The conviction in her voice was so strong, he felt his heart perk up a little.

"Thanks mom," he mumbled.

His mom simply sent him a knowing look in return. "You want me to stay?"