Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson.
Music can often alter a mood. I know mine is pretty somber right now, so I have this angst-y oneshot. No flames.
Takes place after Gaea altercation.
They always say the hero's true tale is one filled with heartbreak, misery and eventual death. Selfless sacrifice, thoughtless devotion, with just a sprinkle of ignorant naivety; that's the heroic way. The hero may've gotten the happy ending in almost every story ever written, but in the demigod world, that was the complete opposite.
The hero made the selfless choices; but he never got the happy ending. He never got the girl, the sunset or the general life of bliss.
He got the life of cruelty, as if his fate had been determined to be miserable prior to his conceiving.
Perseus Jackson often thought his fate had been sealed by his birth father. He felt that since his birth was an accident- a defying of the law of the gods- that he was to be punished at every turn. There were times of happiness, of ecstasy, yes. Those moments, as he grew older, grew less common and less defined.
It started with his mother and his step-father.
At 18, Percy got a phone-call telling him they'd passed in what the police had called a home-invasion. In demigod terms, that meant a monster or a pissed-off god or Titan had taken it upon themselves to get even in a heart-breaking way. Percy had devoted a year of his life to finding the murderer, yet, he could never do it.
They'd left no trace behind; no gloating. No sense to mock him. He was forced to give it up on the advice of Nico di Angelo. Grudges were a Hades thing; not a Poseidon thing.
At 20, not even a year after giving up his vengeance quest, Annabeth broke his heart involuntarily. She felt as if their relationship was no longer working. She said it was best for both of them if they took time off from each other. 2 weeks later, she began dating Jake Manson of the Hephaestus cabin. Although Percy wanted to hate her- and him- he found he couldn't do it. She had done nothing wrong- she'd done what was best for her.
And deep down, that's all he ever wanted. To do the best thing for her.
At 21, Percy Jackson disappeared. Nobody knew where he went. Some said he went underwater; to never be found again. They figured he was gone for good. Many of his close friends were deeply impacted by this. Grover was hit hard, unbelieving that his best friend disappeared without a word- again. This time, though, he was fully aware of what he was doing.
Leo Valdez was shocked as well, but couldn't bring himself to be shocked for too long. He knew all too well what it was like to not want to be somewhere. He'd run from several foster homes, from his own house, and from anyone who reminded him of his past. He knew that Percy needed to get away; and he did. In Leo's heart, he knew Percy would not only be fine, but he'd be back soon. He was the strongest demigod there was; he'd be back, alive and well.
Piper McLean needed a few days to come to terms with the sudden disappearance. With Jason Grace's help, she got over how drastically he'd left; but after getting to know him over the years, she'd come to find him like a brother- a brother who'd suddenly vanished. Jason kept telling her he'd be fine, and she felt like he would be, but it still hurt her to know he was in shambles enough to abandon it all and leave without a word.
Frank Zheng and Hazel Levesque took it perhaps the hardest- next to Annabeth and Grover. Frank, being a blood-related sibling, was mad. He was irritable and snappy the first week of Jackson's missing, feeling like it was his fault. Hazel, feeling as if she'd lost the only one she'd really come to call a brother, fell apart, relaying heavily on Frank. The two grew even closer, getting married not a year later.
As for Annabeth, she'd felt it was her fault, but refused to get heavily sucked into the guilt. It was not her fault he'd chosen to leave- she'd done what was best for them. Yet, in her heart, it still felt like it was her fault.
Over the next four years, Annabeth and Jake had gotten married, and at 25, were preparing for their first child to be born in a matter of months. They moved to San Francisco, to be near Annabeth's family. She'd gone into Architecture, as planned, as Jake went into being a mechanical designer.
Frank and Hazel had already had a child, and were thinking about another, both deciding to move into the Roman city. They didn't want to take any chances outside of New Rome, and having lived most of their life there, felt it best and most comfortable to remain. Frank got a job in the fighting department, having greatly increased his fighting ability, while Hazel went to open a jewelry shop- ironic, since her past had been haunted by her curse of all wealthy minerals.
Piper and Jason actually broke up for a year, but resumed dating after each having a few broken relationships. They'd met back up at a studio in Hollywood, Piper being there for her father's work and Jason drifting around, learning more about his mother. They got engaged at 24 and were planning to marry soon. The press got on the news fast, seeing as how Piper was quickly becoming a highly acclaimed actress. Jason, not having decided on a career path, became her agent.
That left Leo; who'd drifted from one girl to another. The case of Leo being that third wheel had remained for a bit, rendering him unable to get a girl and manage to keep her long enough. He'd become somewhat of a playboy, before finally meeting a mortal girl in which he'd fallen heavy for. They'd met as he was doing a presentation at Texas A&M for mechanical studies. She'd been visiting the professor and bumping into him while he was setting up the presentation before class. They've been dating for now a year and a half.
Over the years, despite being engaged in their own lives and doing their best to remain alive and afloat in the hecticness of life, they momentarily would take time to reflect on the missing of Perseus Jackson; who still remained missing after 4 years since his sudden departure. What they never noticed was the lack of monster attacks.
This was due to one man.
The one man they mourned and missed.
Percy Jackson. He'd made it his duty to protect those closest to his heart by whatever means necessary. Thus; he devoted his life to keeping them safe, no matter the consequences. He'd given up on love, given up on everything, and become their personal shadow. Whenever a monster neared them, he'd be there, fighting it off- for nothing but the prospect of their happiness.
He'd never been caught- until now.
"S-sir?" Piper's hesitance was understandable; she'd just been ambushed by a monster known to Percy as Dr. Thorn. Although the manticorn no longer went by the mortal name, Percy continued to call him that for old times sake. What he hadn't counted on was Dr. Thorn throwing a spontaneous, and rather well-aimed- spike at an unaware Piper.
Percy made his decision rashly- he was the hero, it was his job to protect without thought. Leaping in front of the thorn, Percy was thrown back, crashing through a window. Although this shouldn't have alerted Piper; security immediately appeared and tried to fight Thorn. Realizing he was outmatched, Thorn tried to flee, with dozens of security officials on him.
Piper, however, decided to check up on the man laying limp in the window to her studio.
She made sure to brush away all of the glass that could pierce her or her saviors skin, before kneeling down and getting a good look at his face. He had sharp facial features, topped off with a head of messy raven-colored hair. It was damp and seemed to be mixed with blood- not a good sign.
Aside from that, he was large, probably 6'1, she deduced, and extremely muscular. He was easily recognizable as a demigod- and an extremely familiar one at that. In fact, within a moment of contemplation, she recognized the man.
"Percy..." She mumbled with wide eyes.
He lightly stirred, as if his name alerted him. She brushed a shard of glass from his shoulder and than caressed his face. It really was him; she realized.
"Percy, are you alright? Can you hear me?"
He moaned before his eyes fluttered open. For a second, his glazed sea-green eyes darted from side to side as he tried to collect his bearings, before he realized where he was. And who was next to him.
"P-Piper?"
She gave him a ghost of a smile; pleased to see he recognized her. She probably would've slapped him if he wasn't laying on the ground, obviously hurt. He'd left and the first time she caught sight of him, he was laying in pool of his own blood.
Blood.
She'd almost forgotten.
"Percy, you're hurt. You need to sit still." She hadn't meant to sound so demanding, but she knew it was dangerous for him to move. Typically, however, Percy decided to disobey and go by his own agenda.
"I'm fine," he said lightly, pushing himself up. He grunted as glass pricked at his skin, but bit his lip to hold back any further indication of pain. "Just a bit of a scratch. I need to go."
Piper's eyes narrowed. He had to go?
"To the hospital."
He snorted. "No. I need to go, in general."
"You're not going anywhere until I know you're fine," Piper countered.
"Look, I'm fine. Just a bit of blood, I'll be fine after a quick dip. Trust me."
Wrong move.
"Trust you? TRUST YOU?!" Piper's voice rose in an instance, her eyes filled with rage. Percy, despite being a tempered and battle-roughened hero, immediately knew he'd done wrong. No amount of battle experience was going to help him in the onslaught that was to follow.
"YOU RAN AWAY! YOU LEFT WITHOUT TELLING ANYONE! WHY SHOULD I TRUST YOU?!"
Percy looked away, his eyes unwilling to meet Piper's. He couldn't resist the guilt that rushed through his chest, or the emotion that swelled inside his body. He thought he'd be ready for the first accidental encounter if he ever happened to get caught. He thought he'd be ready.
He was sorely wrong.
"You... you left, Percy. We missed you. We lost you. I don't think we can do it again."
"Then don't," Percy said quietly. He pushed himself to his feet, unable to do it prior. He rose to his full height, wincing as he stretched out his fresh wound. The blood seeped freely without interruption, further tainting his dark blue shirt.
Piper gaped at his response. "Don't?"
"You heard right. Don't."
"Percy... what have you been... where...?" Piper fumbled over her words, unable to put a question together. So many thoughts were swimming in her head, but none of them were capable of getting out. It was as if they were either waiting behind or all trying to cram out at the same time, getting mixed together.
He sighed. "I've been... watching out for you- all of you. Leo, Annabeth, Jake, you, Grover... I've been trying to keep all of you safe..."
The realization hit Piper like a Hellhound slamming into her.
"You're the one that's keeping the monster away?"
He gave her a weak and innocent smile; so much like the ones he used to give, back when everything was so much simpler.
"You're wasting your life away, watching us live ours?" Piper asked quietly. To anyone else, it may've been creepy, having someone watch them as they jumped in only to fight a crazed monster intent on killing and feasting upon their flesh and bones, but to Piper, a demigod accustomed to this sort of thing, it was almost impossible to believe- it was too touching.
"I couldn't let what happened to my mom, happen to you guys. You're all I have left. All I... had left."
Piper's anger evaporated as she looked upon the son of Poseidon and saw him for real, for what could've been the first time. Underneath his tough exterior, was his soft and worried interior. He was protecting his family; albeit, in a very unusual way. But he was risking his life so they could live theirs without a problem.
"You haven't lost us Percy... not all of us," Piper said softly, moving forward. She didn't care about the blood, she wrapped her arms around Percy's torso and hugged him gently.
"Doesn't it hurt?" She asked suddenly, releasing the injured man.
He shrugged and offered her his weak smile. "Nah. I've gotten worse from a Hellhound army."
She blinked, realizing that perhaps their scent was a little overpowering sometimes. How many monsters had he kept off of all of them?
"Th-that's not what I meant. I meant... doesn't it hurt, seeing Annabeth with Jake? Seeing them... have a family while you sit silently in the shadows... waiting to fight again and possibly die for people that don't even know you're saving them? Don't... don't even possibly care?"
Percy's smile faded, but his eyes remained bright. Those eyes... Piper thought, always so bright and life-filled. What makes him tick?
"They may not... but that's just the life of a hero, Pipes. It's not that bright, happy ending everyone imagines. Sometimes, to be a real hero, you've got to give up yourself to give to others. They're safe, that's all that matters. Someone always has to give something up to be happy. In this case... I made the decision to keep everyone safe for my own life. If I die tomorrow, I at least know I gave you all a life you deserved- the one you all wanted."
Percy gave one last smile before he took a few steps backward, stopping just in the doorway to the studio. Piper didn't realize where he was going until he reached the doorway. Her eyes widened. He was going to leave- again.
"Don't worry, Piper. I'm always going to be around. But my life is over; it's yours I'm more concerned about. The hero doesn't get the happy ending. He has to give it to others. Remember me for what I was, Piper."
With that last quote and one last smile, Perseus Jackson sprinted out the door, disappearing into the streets of Hollywood. Around the building, gray skies gave way to fat raindrops that fell around the building as Piper walked to the doorway.
"Good-bye, Percy... I won't forget what you've done for us..."
That night, Piper walked into her apartment she shared with Jason. It was large and luxurious, but now, it felt so much less to the daughter of Aphrodite. It was just another... gift from the man who'd protected the demigods on account of his own life.
Jason, surprised at her late arrival, wrapped his arms around her as she walked in the door and kissed her lovingly on the cheek. He smiled down at her, but frowned when he saw her downcast expression.
"Something wrong?" He asked with a tinge of worry. She looked at him with tear-filled eyes and shook her head before burying her face in his chest.
"No... just met up with an old friend today," she said quietly as she clung to Jason. He raised an eyebrow in confusion, but as Piper said no more, he let the matter drop.
And on a rooftop, two buildings away, Percy smiled as he dusted the monster dust from his new jacket onto the ground. He couldn't hear the conversation going on between Piper and Jason, but from the window, he saw them smile and kiss.
A feeling of accomplishment crossed his heart and he turned to face the sky once more.
"Stay away Thorn; they're happy," he commented to no one in particular. Pulling a small picture from his pocket, he allowed a stray tear to fall before he sighed contently and looked over the city.
He wasn't the hero they asked for; he wasn't the hero that was known about. But he was their hero; and he'd always be around to keep them alive. That's what a hero did.