The next thing that I remember is being in complete shock. The week that I was kept in the hospital flew by quickly. By the time I was able to go home, I couldn't register really... anything that had happened. I still looked around every few minutes, wondering where Annabeth was.
And that's when I found you.
□ □ □ □
a week after the battle
□ □ □ □
Percy walked towards his house, still not registering anything. He didn't live to far away from Olympus, just a hour or two walk. The entire time he was walking he was mulling over what happened in the throne room.
"Perseus Achilles Jackson, for your service in the war, we grant you three wishes, keep in mind those... dead, must stay dead. But along with that, the remainder of your life will be lived out in peace, at least from the monsters, and if you so wish, the gods."
"BROTHER! Yes, Percy needs peace, but you can't just keep me from my son again!"
Hades rubbed his eyes, already done with being an Olympian again. "We owe him at least this, Poseidon, Zeus is right. We leave the choice to Percy."
The gods turned to him expectantly. "Well?"
Percy looked up, his face devoid of emotion. "I don't care."
Ares stared at Percy in shock.
"As for the wishes, um... a portal between camps? Jason-" Percy's voice cracked. "Jason wants... wanted that. And for that stupid not being able to visit your kids thing to be abolished. All gods must claim their kids by thirteen."
Zeus sighed. "Granted."
Percy nodded. Poseidon stood up and shrunk into human size. He walked over to Percy and hugged him. "Go home, my boy. If you need me, just iris message. I love you."
Percy melted into the hug. "I love you too, dad."
Percy was shaken out of his thoughts by a force pushing him to the ground. Or rather, not a force, but a... chest?
Percy looked up and a man with blue eyes and blond hair in what looked like jogging clothes reached out his hand and apologized profusely.
"I'm so sorry kid! I wasn't looking where I was going."
Percy looked at the hand, and then back at the man. He accepted the hand and was pulled to his feet. "You look familiar." He stated bluntly.
The man rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, I'm Steve Rogers."
Percy stared at him blankly.
"Captain America?" The blond man asked tentatively.
Percy blinked and then his face brightened slightly. "Oh! The guy Nico is obsessed with! Got frozen... or something..." Percy trailed off awkwardly.
Steve looked surprised, but a bit relieved that the guy in front of him doesn't recognize him. Well, much. Steve held out his hand. "As I already said, Steve Rogers. You?"
Percy shook his hand. "Percy Jackson."
"So where are you headed?"
Percy gestured in the general direction of the city. "My mom's. Haven't-" Percy's voice cracked, but he managed to hold up the facade of being fine. "Haven't seen her in a while."
Steve nodded understandingly, a bit sad. His eyes looked far away, like he was remembering something else. "I understand what that's like." He paused, evaluating Percy's figure. "Are you in the military?"
Percy nodded. Maybe not in the U.S military, he thought, but I've fought in wars, I'm a soldier, and if that doesn't count for something...
"Did you just get back from deployment?"
"Sort of," Percy hesitated. "I got injured, so I've been back for a while, but medical just released me, so..."
"Oh, yeah." Steve looked like he wanted to pat Percy's shoulder, but he decided not to. He knew first hand how jumpy people are after just getting back from war zones.
Steve stuck his hands in his pockets. He wanted to talk to Percy about it, after all, he's been exactly where Percy is. He knew how Percy was feeling. But he didn't want to get involved in Percy's personal matters and stick his nose where it don't belong.
Steve took a deep breath. Oh, forget social niceties. There's a hurting soldier here and he needs to know there's someone out there that understands him. "There's a cafe down the road, do you want to sit down and talk about it? I just got back from deployment too, in a way. Obviously it's been a while, but I was unconscious during that time. So for me, I just got back to civilian life a few weeks ago. And then it wasn't even civilian life because we just had a battle with some green, skinny, norse god and his alien army and..." he stopped. "Oh gosh, I'm talking about myself, aren't I? I'm sorry. But... my offer stands. If you need someone to talk to that understands, I'm right here."
Percy smiled. "Thank you, Steve. I... think I'll take you up on the offer."
Steve smiled back and gestured to the cafe. "Lead the way..." He trailed off, not knowing Percy's name.
"Percy." Percy supplied.
Steve nodded in thanks.
When they walked in the cafe, Steve ordered a plain black coffee. He turned to Percy. "What would you like?"
Percy shook his head. "Oh, no. I don't have any money."
Steve raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "Did I ask if you had any money? It's my treat, so c'mon. Whaddya want?"
Percy looked at the board, trying to find something that looked good. "I'll have... uh, a carmel, no, chocolate latte. Or frappe. Whichever one is sweeter."
The cashier, a girl who looked about sixteen and slightly flustered, nodded. "Okay. That will be... nine fifty-seven."
Steve stepped forward, a red card with a large A surrounded by a circle in his hand. He hesitated. "I don't know how to do this, honestly."
The girl waved her hands. "No, no! It's okay, Mr Captain America! I can do it for you!"
Steve smiled. "Thank you."
The girl took the card and stuck it in the machine. She waited a moment before handing it back to him. "Here you go! Would like a receipt?"
"Oh, uh, no thank you. Thank you though."
"Abosultely no problem. You're drinks will be out to you in a moment."
Percy lead Steve over to an isolated corner with no one around. It had a nice view of all the windows and doors.
Steve hesitated before sitting down across from Percy. He just got back from a war too, and he hated leaving his back vulnerable. He eyed Percy. "You'll watch my six?"
Percy nodded. "Of course."
And for some reason, even if this was the first time Steve had ever met Percy, he trusted him completely.
A waiter with blue hair walked over and handed them their drinks.
Percy and Steve looked at their name tag and then thanked them.
The waiter smiled and walked away.
Steve turned to Percy. He had his hands curled around his drink. He was absorbing the warmth, even though it was summer outside. "So," he began, "what do you want to talk about?"
And Percy began his story. He changed it a bit, obviously. He told Steve the truth about Gabe, and that when he was fifteen, he ran away. He told Steve that because of how he had lived with Gabe –– running to steal beer from stores, running through bad parts of town to sell drugs for Gabe, and fighting on the streets because of how much he had to travel through them –– that he had a muscular frame and he since he was pretty tall, he could pass as eighteen.
He realized that his birth records would indicate otherwise, so he went to one of his buddies who helped with that kind of stuff and forged new ones.
He knew he couldn't live on the streets, and that the army would provide free lodging and food. He also knew that he might get free college if he joined the army. So he signed up.
"I was bad at first," Percy mentioned, "I could barely hold my s-rifle. Because of how young I was, even if I could pass as eighteen, I still looked... off, compared to the others. A couple people there bullied me. One day, we did a capture the flag game. I worked hard, and through a mixture of practice and luck, I won the game. There, I finally earned some respect."
He continued, talking about how he gained the attention of some of the higher ups, and how they sent him on a mission with two others, Annabeth and Grover, who quickly became his best friends.
He told Steve about the two major battles, and how on his second battle, he got amnesia and was discovered by a group who wasn't necessarily the enemy, but wasn't the friend either. He talked about how months later, when he had finally re-gained his memories, he had grown attached to the group. He talked about how, through another mission, this one of his own undertaking, he managed to make an alliance between the two.
His voice got quiet and he had to pause a few times to wipe away tears when he got to the part where Annabeth –– who had become his girlfriend –– and him fell into enemy territory and barely survived. His voice hitched as he recounted the part where he thought Annabeth had gone blind and how they were finally rescued, months later.
He took a sip of his frappe and him and Steve sat in silence for a few minutes.
He said in a bitter voice about how he hated war and that in the end, all soldiers lose. Because there are no winners in war, only survivors. He grabbed a tissue from the box the waiter with the blue hair had silently set on the table about two hours into their conversation.
He blew his nose and said, "I pray to the gods everyday that they'll let me forget this."
After a sip of his frappe, and a joke about how he wished they served something stronger than coffee, he continued in a barely audible voice.
He recounted what happened during the last war zone they were in, how Annabeth had gotten injured. Tears ran unchecked down his cheeks as he told Steve about how he screamed for a medic till his voice was sore and how the medic only shook his head, saying that it was a fatal wound, before running off to one of the other, countless voices that were screaming in terror for a medic.
Steve stood up from his seat and pulled Percy into a hug as Percy full on sobbed as he told Steve how cold and lifeless Annabeths eyes were and how it wasn't right and they were planning to have kids and they were supposed to get married this summer.
Unnoticed by Steve and Percy, the cashier had closed down the cafe so they could have privacy.
Their waiter, the one with the pretty blue hair, gave them a blanket.
And by then Steve was crying too. Steve told Percy about Peggy and how he could never see her again and how he missed her so so much.
Steve and Percy huddled under the soft, colorful blanket on the hard wooden floor of the cafe.
The cashier and the waiter had both gone to the break room to eat lunch, so they could both have privacy.
"She was so beautiful," Steve smiled, wiping away tears. "The first day I was in basic training, I saw her punch a man two feet taller than her because he mocked her accent."
Percy and Steve both laughed. Sorrowful laughs full of longing, but it was something.
"The first day I saw Annabeth, she didn't like me. She informed me that I drooled while I slept and then she walked away, head held high."
Steve smiled. "I think our girlfriends would have gotten along quite well."
Percy's voice cracked. "Yeah."
They spent a few minutes in silence, with Steve stirring his coffee and Percy watching the cars go by through the large cafe windows.
Eventually Steve spoke up, "What happened after you dropped your gun and passed out?"
Percy stirred his drink with his straw. "The next thing that I remember is being in complete shock. The week that I was kept in the hospital flew by quickly. By the time I was able to go home, I couldn't register really... anything that had happened. I still looked around every few minutes, wondering where Annabeth was."
Steve patted Percy's shoulder, trying to comfort him.
Percy smiled at the gesture. "But a while later after that... that's when I found you."
Steve doesn't know how to reply, so he takes another sip of coffee. "Did they give you any medals?" Steve asks, genuinely curious.
Percy turns away and leans his head on his knees. "Dishonorable discharge." He mumbles.
"What?" Steve's face fills with rage. "After all that? Really? For what? One handedly forming an alliance with a dangerous organization? Going on mission after mission to save their sorry asse-"
"They found out I joined at fifteen."
"So what? That doesn't change that you were a hero out there!"
Percy turns to face Steve, a serious expression his face. "I am not a hero, Steve. I let hundreds of people die."
"It was war, Percy. Thousands more would've died if you weren't there. What grounds did they have to kick you out on?"
Percy hugs his knees. "I'm still seventeen."
"So? When will you turn eighteen?"
"In a couple months."
Steve practically growls. "They have no right! Who's your second lieutenant? Who's the captain? I want to talk to them! This is-"
Percy cuts him off. "Steve. I was the second lieutenant."
Steve flounders. "You? When?"
"A few months ago, before the... the last battle."
"That's impressive, but still... Percy, thats a lot of pressure."
"Oh yeah? And how old were you when you joined the army?"
"I was twenty. Just... short."
Percy frowns and then tugs the blanket closer to him. Steve relinquishes it without much struggle. Percy wraps it around himself and stands up. He sits back down in his chair and Steve follows suit.
Steve takes a sip of his coffee and frowns. "How do you think they found out?"
"I don't know." Percy uses his straw to stir what's left of the ice in his frappe.
"I'll..." he trails off. "Do you want me to look into it?"
Percy shakes his head. "No. Please. I want to be done with all this. And if you bring it up I'll have to go to court hearings and... and," he sighs and buries his head in his hands, "I am just so, so tired. I want to be done. No more fighting, no more wars, just... nothing."
"Okay, I won't mention it to anyone." Steve says simply.
"Thank you. For everything. I really needed this."
"Me too, I think. No one really understands. Not unless they've been there, y'know? And my friend, he tries to get me to see all these fancy therapists, but they don't understand. Not really. They just jot things down on their pads and try to shove medicine down my throat."
Percy nods and then looks up at the time. "I have to go, my cousin will be worried if I don't get to my mom's soon. He won't admit it, but he has some of his... friends, watching my mom's house in case anything happens."
Steve nods. He ruffles through his pocket and then pulls out his phone. "What's your number? If you'd like, we can stay in contact and meet up."
Percy rubs the back of his head. "Oh, uh. I don't have a phone."
"Did it get destroyed?"
"Oh, no. I just never got one."
"My friend is super rich, do you want me to get you one?" Steve asks, assuming his new friend doesn't have the funds for a phone.
"No. I uh, can't have one."
"Will your mom not let you have one?" Steve asks, concerned. "But you're like... an adult, basically. You've literally been in the military."
"No." Percy looks to the side, a bit awkward. "It goes against my religion."
"Your... your religion? I thought you hated God?" He waves his hands. "Gods, I mean, you always said gods. But like, in a rude way. Like you had a personal thing against them."
"Oh yeah, I hate the gods. Most of them, anyway. They're total a-holes." Percy pauses, remembering something. "My mom has a phone, though! What's your number?"
Steve, still confused, slowly lists his phone number to Percy, who writes it down.
"Thank you." Percy says. "I'll definitely call you."
"Yeah, you can call me whenever. I usually can't sleep, so when I say whenever, I literally mean whenever."
Steve and Percy stand up and Percy pulls Steve into a tight hug.
"Thank you." He whispers.
Steve pats Percy's on the back. "Anytime."
And Percy smiles, because he knows Steve really means it.
♡♡♡
A/N
Thank you for reading! Don't worry, it'll get happier soon.
Or will it ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Be prepared dear readers, be p r e p a r e d (人 ◕ω◕)
If you liked the chappie, please comment and vote! It makes my day
Don't forget to take care of yourselves!
Lovingly,
Author-chan
P.S from the future (6/14/22)
As you can probably tell, I've been editing this book. So don't get confused if the writing style changes! The first few chapters of this book were written back in like,, 2020, and my writing has improved a lot since then. I figured it was high time for a re-write/edit.
You can probably figure it out fairly easily where the editing begins/ends, because whichever chapter I'm editing will have an (editing) next to title. So uh, I wouldn't read any further than the (EDITING) parts, bc the whole storyline changes lol.
So... yeah, that's my message from the future.
Have fun!
*yeets myself out*