The Hidden Son (Percy Jackson / Marvel's Agents of SHIELD Crossover)

20. Pretty Little Liars, But Not Actually. I've Never Seen It, So...

          PERCY WISHED THE dreams would stop.

          The past two nights had been awful. The dreams weren't anything bad, per se, but imagine, if you will, constant TV static. The whiny kind, with tiny flashes of what you actually wanted to look at but what you got was screeching and the occasional word. That's what he was dealing with, and that was the cause of the dark circles under his eyes.

          That, and the first two searches came up with nothing.

          He'd given the gods three days, but at this rate, there was no way he could drag himself up the steps to Olympus. He was both holding out hope and holding himself up. Every blink felt like an hour, and maybe it was. He was so tired and stressed out he couldn't really tell. He didn't even remember where he was or what he was doing. Just that he so badly wanted sleep and it was so tantalizingly out of his reach, because as soon as he did the dreams would be there.

          He felt horrible for worrying over sleep when Annabeth was gods knew where. He wondered if she'd been able to sleep either.

          A hand landed on his shoulder. A voice. "You can rest for a minute, you know."

          Percy slowly lifted his aching eyes. It was the guy in the suit. The dad. "I want to." His voice came out hoarser than he thought it would.

          Coulson sat down next to him. Sitting? He was sitting. They were on the Bus, heading to the next location. "We have melatonin gummies, if you want. Or something stronger, if you need it."

          Percy shut his eyes against the whine of the engine. He knew it wasn't possible, but the sound was hurting his eyeballs. "Will I dream?"

          Coulson paused. "I don't think so. I've been shot with it a few times and I don't remember dreaming."

          Percy opened one eye. The guy looked genuine. "Did you say shot?"

          Coulson nodded.

          "As in, the shit that knocked Annabeth out cold for two hours a few days ago?"

            "That's the stuff."

          Percy closed his eyes again. Gods, he wished he could just take a break, even for a minute, without having to get drugs from a secret agent. He hated himself for even thinking about a break while Annabeth was probably being tortured somewhere. And even though they had two places knocked off the list, he still didn't feel like they were any closer to finding her.

          Next to him, Coulson took a sharp breath in. "Look, the next stop is three hours away. You'd be up by then. I'm just...worried about you, is all."

          Percy didn't say anything. He was worried too. But not about himself.

          "You need sleep, even if it's for a few hours. And if she's—" He stopped himself. "Well hopefully she'll be—"

          "Alive?" Percy growled.

"Well, of course, but that's not—"

"She's not fucking dead, and you all can stop acting like it," he spat.

"She's alive," Coulson said after a beat of silence. "And we are going to find her and Mack if it takes every resource we have. I was just hoping that she would be where we went next."

Percy put his face in his hands. This was so much. At least the first time she went missing he knew he was headed in the right direction. Now, he was lost with a bunch of people he didn't really know, and she was the only thing that kept him sane.