Behind a Hero's Mask
a.n. Sometimes it's all too easy to forget that demigods are just children who grew up too fast. Set after the Giant War. Slight AU 'cause Leo never died.
This is inspired by soldiers returning home to surprise their families—except this time, the battle-wearied 'soldier' is the one getting a surprise . . .
THE AMPHITHEATER
Chiron stood at the edge of the amphitheater, listening to the laughs and light-hearted conversations of the heroes, watching the smiles that lit up their faces and the gestures their hands formed as they talked, feeling the atmosphere it all created—a mood so cheerful it was infectious.
They were laughing and smiling and celebrating, and all Chiron could think about was how maddeningly unfair it all was.
An untrained eye would be unable to believe the fact that, mere hours before, the cheerful campers had fought through a war that would decide the outcome of Western Civilization in its entirety. An ignorant mortal would have been deaf to the cries of pain and loss that had been replaced by carefree laughs, and blind to the smiles that only masked the tired frowns.
Chiron was no ignorant mortal. Despite the efforts the heroes made to hide their pain and push away the memories, he could still see it in their eyes.
Eyes were the windows to the soul, after all. Every exhausted frown masked by laughter was seen in the dulled colors of their irises. Every painful memory and injury pushed away by smiles and overly happy gestures was seen in the broken, beat down look their eyes held.
In their eyes, they were battle-trained warriors. They were strong and loyal heroes who continued to push on even when everything screamed at them to give up. They were soldiers and pawns in a god's game, fighting a war thrust upon them without a choice, without a chance to get their feet beneath them before the burden was placed on their shoulders.
Yet, in their smiles, they were children. They were teenagers who'd been forced to mature way too soon, who didn't get a chance at a normal childhood. They were the sons and daughters of a god's affair, who were given a life they hadn't asked for yet were forced to accept it. They were the young mortals who fought because they'd be killed otherwise.
They were children dressed in battle armor and sent to war before they got the chance to grow up. They were teenagers who formed facades of false smiles and forced laughs because they couldn't change who they were and what that meant. They were demigods who played a god's game because the fate of their lives was decided centuries before they were brought into the world.
Chiron watched as they smiled and laughed and enjoyed the peace while it lasted. He watched as they teased each other and told stories and enjoyed the normalcy of it all. He watched as they acted their age instead of the thousand-year-old ancient heroes and enjoyed putting up the masks if it meant feeling blissfully mortal.
A shout of annoyance caught Chiron's attention, and he glanced up to see three of the seven demigods of the prophecy. Piper McLean was scowling at Leo Valdez, who had evidently stolen the marshmallow off of her stick. Jason Grace was behind her, stifling a smile as he kept a hand on her arm to restrain her from murdering the poor son of Hephaestus (who only grinned impishly in reply).
Chiron shook his head fondly at the heroes' antics, glad that they seemed to be recovering well from their difficult journey to the Mediterranean.
His thoughts strayed to the two Romans on the quest, Hazel and Frank. He found them sitting nearby the aforementioned trio, talking quietly to each other with the boy's arm slung around her shoulders. They seemed to be a bit timid around the outwardly extroverted Greeks, but seemed as though they did not feel out of place, which Chiron was glad to see. Romans and Greeks have never had a decent history, but Hazel and Frank specifically seemed to have bonded well with the others on their quest.
That left the two half-bloods he was most worried about. Percy and Annabeth had been through too much in their lives—a fact that was clear to anyone who knew what they had accomplished and what they had survived through. A war against Titans was traumatizing enough, but the Fates clearly did not agree as the couple was forced to spend eight months apart (with one of them an amnesiac) before falling into the deepest parts of the Underworld, somewhere no god dare venture into.
Watching the two by the fire, with Annabeth leaning against Percy's chest and Percy's arm wrapped around her waist, Chiron was reminded of what he had planned. Battle-trained demigods were children, too, and sometimes they deserved to not only act as such but feel as such.
They deserved to feel safe, and to have a place they can call home and know that they won't be looked down upon for being different, or abnormal.
They deserved to feel happy, and to not have to worry about such matters as the rules that bound gods in their place and forced their children to do their work for them.
They deserved to feel loved, in a manner that they wouldn't ever receive from their godly parent.
He caught Percy's gaze. The son of Poseidon smiled at him—a genuine, happy smile that would have been believable if it weren't for the broken look in his eyes—and Chiron was unable to keep a smile back as he imagined the boy's reaction to his plan.
He slowly walked to the front of the amphitheater, hearing the campers quiet down as his hooves clop-clop-clopped against the ground. They watched him, waiting attentively (for the most part, at least—Chiron couldn't say that for the Hypnos Cabin).
"You all are heroes," Chiron began, his voice reverberating through the area as he tried to meet the eyes of every demigod. "More so than you might think. Because of you, the gods are saved, Western Civilization has been saved, and the world is safe from the hands of our enemies."
A loud cheer went up at that, the children of Ares stomping their feet and sending vibrations through the dirt floor.
"In light of recent events," Chiron continued, and the noise died down so he could be heard. "In light of recent events," he repeated, "I have decided to let the coming week be a bit more relaxing than is typical for Camp Half-Blood."
Another loud cheer.
"There will still be the usual activities," he assured. "However, there will be no schedule to follow and you all are free to do as you wish with your time. Capture the Flag will be on for this Friday as well, but participation is optional."
At the wide smiles he got in response—and another cheer from the Ares Cabin at the mention of Capture the Flag—he added, "I feel, after everything you've accomplished, you all deserve some normalcy for a change."
Snickering broke out, and a camper yelled, "As normal as you can get for a half-blood!"
Chiron sighed at that, once again displeased at how true the young half-blood's statement was. "True. But I would think some normalcy is better than none at all. Now," he gestured to the Apollo campers who had begun to set up their instruments for a sing-along. "Before we get to the songs, I believe there are a group of heroes who should be addressed specifically for their brave actions. Seven of them, correct?"
The campers cheered even louder, glancing around to find the demigods who had been a part of the Second Great Prophecy.
At the top of the amphitheater, Jason Grace waved calmly, a wide smile on his face as he watched his best friend. Leo Valdez had jumped to his feet, cheering louder than the rest of the campers combined with his hands thrown up in the air ("See, Piper? Everybody's on Team Leo!"), while Piper McLean rolled her eyes at his antics.
A handful of demigods pointed out Hazel Levesque and Frank Zhang, and the two Romans reddened slightly under the attention. Hazel waved politely with a soft smile on her face, and Frank's blush deepened as Clarisse la Rue sent him an impressed look and a wink.
Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase sat at the front, smiling widely at the cheers even though their eyes betrayed the memories that were brought to mind. Percy pulled Annabeth closer to him, pressing a kiss against the top of her head.
"My heroes!" Another camper shouted shrilly, teasingly, and everybody broke into cheers once more that quickly transformed into laughter.
"Yes, yes," Chiron said. "They are heroes. I believe I would not be the only one to say that the seven of you deserve a chance to relax and be normal more so than anyone else."
Another cheer from the campers told him his assumptions had been correct.
"And, because of this," Chiron continued, pausing as the demigods quieted down once more. "It has come to my attention that we have a camper here who is home for the first time in nearly a year."
The half-bloods broke into cheers once again, and Percy flushed slightly as a camper started chanting his name. Annabeth grinned at his discomfort, reaching over to mess up his hair fondly.
"Welcome home, Perseus!" Two voices shouted above the cheers, and Percy looked over his shoulder to make a face at the innocent smiles of Connor and Travis Stoll.
"Yes, we are all thankful to have Percy back with us," Chiron agreed. "However, Mr. Jackson has another home he has yet to return to." Chiron met Percy's eyes and caught the sorrow at the thought of leaving his mother for all those months hiding behind the confusion at where Chiron was going with this.
Even Annabeth seemed puzzled, watching Chiron with stormy eyes and furrowed eyebrows.
"As a result," Chiron went on. "I have decided that the best surprises in life are those that are unexpected, and what better reason to break a simple rule than an unexpected surprise to add to our hero's homecoming?"
Despite not understanding the full concept of Chiron's plan, the campers once again erupted in cheers (though Chiron figured the loud cheers coming from the Stoll brothers were simply for the broken rule).
"I'm not going to drag this out any longer," Chiron decided, feeling the anticipation building up in every camper. "Our guest has been waiting long enough. Mrs. Blofis, care to join us?"
Murmuring spread through the campers at the unfamiliar name.
A woman stepped out from behind the amphitheater, coming into view of every camper assembled. Her brown hair was streaked with gray, and her blue eyes sparkled with tears of relief and joy.
Percy's breath had hitched at the sound of her name, and as their eyes met he hunched over to bury his head in his hands. "Oh, my gods," he breathed. His voice was muffled, tight with suppressed emotion. Annabeth placed her hand on his shaking shoulder, smiling softly up at the woman.
The other demigods hadn't ceased murmuring, but many had caught sight of Percy's reaction to the woman, and smiles broke out on the faces that had put two and two together.
At the top of the amphitheater, Jason had frowned at the name, not recognizing it or the woman it belonged to as she stepped into view.
"Who is that?" He murmured softly to Piper.
Piper shrugged, then gasped softly when her eyes landed on the couple in the front row. "Jason, look," she said quietly, pointing at Percy.
"She looks like Percy," Leo mused, watching as the woman slowly walked closer.
Piper smacked his arm. "Leo, you idiot. That's his mother."
Chiron's gaze returned to the subjects of everyone's thoughts and conversations, smiling as Percy shakily lifted his head up and climbed to his feet, throwing his arms around the woman like his life depended on it.
Cheers erupted once again across the crowd of demigods as everyone finally made the connection of who the mystery woman was, and the half-bloods were grinning as they watched Percy's arms wrap around her shoulders and hug her tightly.
Sally Blofis responded in kind, hugging him back even tighter to ease the tension and shaking in his shoulders. Percy slowly relaxed in his mother's arms, burying his head against her shoulder.
Only those closest to them could hear his sobs.
Chiron smiled softly at the scene that had played out, watching as Sally rubbed her hand across her son's back to quiet his cries while mouthing 'thank you' over his shoulder to Annabeth.
The daughter of Athena grinned widely in return.
After a minute had passed, Percy finally pulled away. His eyes were red, and he rubbed at them furiously to get rid of any remaining tears. "Gods, I can't believe you're here," he breathed, his voice quiet. His eyes grew downcast. "Mom, I'm so sorry—."
"None of that, Percy," Sally insisted, cupping a hand against his cheek. Her finger brushed a final tear away. "You had no say in what happened. I'm just glad you're home safe." Her eyes twinkled, and she glanced at her son's girlfriend. "I suppose I have Annabeth to thank for that, of course," she teased.
Some of the campers had heard her teasing remark, and laughs broke out again.
"Yeah!" A camper shouted. "Where would Percy be without Annabeth?"
That caused some more laughs, and Percy's smile widened as he pulled Annabeth to her feet, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Probably in the Underworld, as a servant to Hades," he shot back, much to the amusement of the demigods.
No one teased him for breaking down. No one teased him over how important his mother was to him. No one teased him for his reaction because his actions had been one-hundred-percent justified, and everyone knew it.
Even Clarisse la Rue, who yelled out "Momma's boy!" when he pulled Sally in for another hug, couldn't muster the conscience to say it with any more bite than a casual teasing tone. Percy caught onto her tone as well, and his eyes were smiling as he glared back.
Chiron watched on as, once more, a carefree attitude descended upon the demigods, and laughter and conversations continued. A handful of half-bloods made their way to the front to meet Sally, and music filled the valley as the Apollo Cabin struck up at tune.
Watching Percy, Chiron was happy to see that his plan seemed to have worked. The son of Poseidon looked a lot happier and more at peace than he had been since his return with the others from Greece. The broken glass in his eyes seemed to have mended itself a bit, looking a great deal less shattered than before.
His smile was a little more carefree, and his laugh a little less forced, and as he sent Chiron an overly-grateful look—his eyes sparkling in a manner Chiron hadn't seen for years—the centaur couldn't have been happier.
Every hero deserved to feel safe. Every hero deserved to feel happy. Every hero deserved to feel loved.
Every hero was a child who had to grow up too fast, and every hero deserved a chance to step back and just be a child.
a.n. so here's a little one-shot to (sort of) make up for my sad reunion fic i had posted. i know i left Paul out of the story, but i found it easier to write it with just Sally. hope you liked it regardless!
-eira-