written for the querencia forum, quarter quell round 1

prompts:

1. Percy/Annabeth

12. there's a new prophecy pertaining to one of the Seven's love lives

13. misty gray

15. Faking It — Calvin Harris, Kehlani, Lil Yachty

19. New Rome

don't need no armour when you have me (so don't leave my side, honey)

word count: 1681

Nowadays I'm just a bitch to everybody else (fuck you and you)

I don't need no shoulders I'm good crying by myself (fuck you too)

Moving on to chokers, you know I still adore ya

Unrequited love is just a lover's telling

— Faking It

Calvin Harris, Kehlani, Lil Yachty

When Annabeth hears Piper hissing to get her attention in the Weapons and Warfare lecture, she knows it's going to be a long day.

Annabeth faithfully ignores Piper's 'psst'ing, and Piper steadfastly continues on her mission to get the blonde's attention. Annabeth knows it's going to be a disaster, and she is proven correct when Ms Lucas, the professor kicks them out of the classroom for disturbing the class.

"What's your fucking problem?" Annabeth snaps at Piper because she really doesn't want to talk to the daughter of Aphrodite — her former best friend.

Former best friend.

Annabeth's mouth fills with a bitter taste as she thinks over the last few months, and that fateful day which brought her whole world down like a house of cards.

"I'm so sorry, Ms I'm-A-Fucking-Bitch." Piper's eyes are a dangerous, steely blue. "But I wouldn't try to speak to you unless it was absolutely necessary. After all, you broke my best friend's heart into pieces and then burnt it, and crushed him all over again without an ounce of mercy. Why the fuck would I want to bother you? All I want to do is punch your face but—"

Piper stops abruptly, like something's caught in her throat.

"But I can't." She says levelly, meeting Annabeth's eye. Her piercing gaze makes Annabeth want to blush, but she won't.

Piper doesn't understand. Nobody does.

"I have to tell you something, and when I finish that task, I will go back to throwing dirty stares at your back during lectures and wondering how I judged you so badly," says Piper disdainfully and Annabeth feels a faint pink appear on her cheeks.

"Percy was injured. Badly."

Piper's voice breaks a little and Annabeth's heart cracks along with it.

It's her fault, it's all her fault. Why wasn't she there to save him? Fucking prophecy. Fucking Rachel. Oh gods, he was going to die wasn't he.

"I knew it." Piper says triumphantly, and Annabeth snaps out of her reverie.

Shit.

"Knew what, Piper?" Annabeth keeps her voice level, but she's panicking on the inside, because he can't die, won't die, he can't leave her alone…

(But you already left him alone, didn't you?)

"That you were still in love with Percy Jackson."

"I'm not in lo-" Piper glares at her fiercely and Annabeth gives up. "Yes. I still love him and I still want to be with him, but I can't. I-it will kill him!"

Annabeth finds herself on the floor, sobbing, with Piper's warm hand on her shoulder.

"Why will it kill him?" Piper asks softly and Annabeth sobs harder.

"The-the prophecy…"

Piper blinks in confusion and Annabeth explains. "Rachel told me a prophecy, the last time we were in Camp Half-Blood… it said that l-love will play a sleight of hand a-and that t-the first Hero of Olympus will die at his enemies' hands if…if I am with him — his greatest strength will be his weakness. R-Rachel said that it would be best if we parted. Percy wouldn't be convinced by a prophecy — I knew that… so I faked it. I pretended that I didn't love him — as if I could ever stop and spit all those callous unforgivable things at him…" Annabeth breaks down again, ugly gasps that pierce Piper's heart.

Annabeth's sobs subside after a few minutes and there is silence. She grows nervous because Piper's not speaking and she knows that she's done something terribly wrong in admitting the truth…

"You idiot." Piper's voice is torn between amusement and sheer frustration. "Did you think that going away - breaking his heart would keep him alive? Sure, he'd have survived — he did survive the fight, but barely. He's a shell of what he used to be, Annabeth and so are you. Six weeks without each other — gods, I didn't see you two apart for six minutes before this…" Piper shakes her head.

Annabeth doesn't speak, so Piper continues, "Fix it, Annabeth. Percy is badly injured, but he will pull through. Will Solace has come to New Rome to make sure of that. When he wakes up… you should be there by his side."

Annabeth's first thought is to rebel, dig her feet into the ground, let her enormous pride show and say No. But then grief and love wells up in her chest, and she recognises the need for closure. Even if Percy laughs in her face and tell her to get lost.

(She ignores the painful pang in her chest at that thought.)

"He is in New Rome?" Annabeth whispers as she gets up from the floor. She feels disoriented — she's always in control of her feelings and now she's all over the place. "Let's go then."

Annabeth straightens her spine and holds her head high — as if she's going into battle. But it is a kind of war, and if Annabeth has any say in it, she — Percy — they are going to victors.

The infirmary of Camp Jupiter is… oppressive. The sharp smell of disinfectants and potions pervades the air and the place is deathly silent. There are only two beds occupied — one by a poor twelve-year-old who apparently got trampled during a food raid by the fauns and the other one by Percy.

Annabeth doesn't sit by his bed — she doesn't think that Percy wants to see his ex-girlfriend first thing after he wakes up. She stands by the window opposite his bed, observing him toss and turn and mumble unintelligible things.

She remembers her last words to him, after that terrible fight in their apartment in New Rome, before she left the place for good.

Maybe we weren't meant to be, after all.

She knows it was a product of the bitterness towards the gods, fates and the tragedies surrounding demigods festering inside her, but she can't believe that she told Percy that they weren't meant to be.

Annabeth always felt that if there was one thing which kept her grounded, it was Percy… she would have died without him and gods she told him that she shouldn't have even been with him.

Percy shouldn't forgive her, she knows that.

But he'll do it anyway — she knows that too.

Guilt fills her chest and she bites her lip.

"Annabeth?" His voice is raspy but so achingly familiar that she almost cries.

"Hi."

"What are you doing here?" His tone his hostile and reveals a world of hurt and anger that makes Annabeth recoil. She averts her eyes from his narrowed green ones, towards the window beside here.

"Piper told me that you were hurt…"

"So? Why should you care?"

Annabeth flinches at his accusatory words and stares at the misty grey clouds in the skies. It looks like her mother's — her eyes, when they close in on themselves, too proud to show their feelings.

She will not lose Percy over pride and self-deprecation. He might hate her now, there might be no hope for a relationship again, but she can earn his forgiveness.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" She pulls her eyes to his and she feels something piercing her as she stares at his hurt expression. "For what, Annabeth? For breaking my heart? You made yourself clear about that weeks ago. You don't love me anyway, right? So why should you be sorry for almost killing me with your words?"

"Because I love you! I do love you, I did love you! Those words hurt me as much as they hurt you, Percy! You-you must understand…" Annabeth feels the tears roll down her face again and she chides herself for being so pathetically weak.

"Then make me understand." Percy says flatly, not looking at her anymore. It's like he's given up on her. No no no…

She blurts out the whole story, lips trembling with fear and sorrow and inevitable rejection. Percy's emotions don't seem to change much — he just picks at the lint on the sheets.

There is a prolonged silence, much longer than before, when Annabeth told Piper her story. Annabeth feels dejected and her heart falls to Tartarus, burning in the Phlegethon.

And then… he laughs.

Annabeth looks up incredulously, at his mirthful face. He seems so… amused.

"What is so funny, Percy? I just spilt my soul in front of you, and you're laughing?" Annabeth feels angry now. Seaweed Brain.

"You split us up because of a fucking prophecy? We survived Tartarus together and you think I'd die if I remained with you because of what the Oracle told you?" He asks her.

And then he falls back into laughter.

Annabeth feels her temper rising. "It's all so funny, isn't it? What if I stayed with you and went with you for that quest today and you died, you idiot? Yes, I broke up with you because I wanted to protect you?" Annabeth is shaking with indignation and pent-up frustration and Percy just stares at her with luminous green eyes.

"Tell me, Annabeth, how are you protecting me by leaving me? Don't you know, by now, that I love you so much, that I'd die without you?" Annabeth moves towards him slowly, wiping furiously at the traitorous tears falling down her face. "Don't you know, that you are the reason why I live?" She's sitting on his bed now, and she just kind of falls into him, sobbing out apologies.

After she's consoled with repeated assurances that she's forgiven, Annabeth says, "You're such a cheesy little shit, aren't you? Reason why you live, huh? You total charmer." Annabeth shakes her head and kisses his lips and she feels the jigsaw squares inside her realign and sit together perfectly.

Percy mumbles something about talking to Rachel about keeping her mouth shut around Annabeth from now on and Annabeth makes some trademark snarky remark. Piper peeks into the window, with Reyna by her side, just in time to see Annabeth slap Percy's arm (to a melodramatic whine from Percy) and the girls grin, because now, they know, all is well in their world.

what is this shit. i mean. i feel like it's generic trash that i always rant about and i feel like a hypocrite, but i'm too emotionally and physically drained to fucking care and i've not had any food except the hospital crap they call food, so fuck me but i don't care. and it might not even count . great. (sorry for being a bitch, ily guys, but i just cannot today.)