More painful conversations. Annabeth and Rachel are being amazing right now at knowing what to say.
Replies:
Thickneck: And now for some more angst
Undeath9087: Why thank you. And yeah- Part of Percy is scared of what she's capable of- which not everyone is going to understand.
Guest: Well I guess she is an insanely powerful being so dreams are easy for her.
After her nightmare Percy wanted to shower- oh she was well aware of how awkward it would be- she'd managed to sort of stand up but her legs had given out after about thirty seconds- still, Annabeth and Rachel had managed to come up with a plan, and by the time Annabeth had carried Percy into the showers Rachel had managed to find a metal chair which they could use.
It was incredibly awkward for Percy getting undressed- but Annabeth and Rachel had made sure that everything was within reaching distance.
And it felt so good- being able to enjoy the feeling of nice hot water pouring over her.
It filled her with that usual comforting warmth, and the few cuts that hadn't already healed did- and she could feel a little bit of strength returning to her legs- that was good- sure doubted she'd be able to walk more than a few steps but it would be nice to be able to stand up and stuff- it was infuriating but she was healing.
And the fact that the water healed her meant that Annabeth and Rachel wouldn't need to see just how hard Percy had scrubbed her skin- it would have been red raw without the water, as it was she was fine- and- for the first time in what felt like forever she was actually starting to feel clean- though- she did worry that she'd never feel completely clean after everything that she'd done.
Once she was finished she willed herself dry, wrapping the towel around herself before she called for Annabeth and Rachel.
And soon enough they were back in Percy's room, and Rachel got Percy's clothes out for her- and, it should probably be kind of humiliating- she was able to get her top half dressed easily enough, and Annabeth and Rachel helped her get her underwear and a pair of jeans on.
It was while they were helping, Rachel holding Percy's hands to help her balance as she stood, Annabeth behind her helping pull the jeans up.
And she felt Annabeth stop- heard a sharp intake of breath. "Percy..." and Percy knew by the tone of the other girls voice what she'd spotted, and she could see the way Rachel's reassuring smile turned concerned.
"What's wrong?"
"Alabaster carved his symbol into the small of my back." Percy kept her voice as steady as she could, she forced her expression to go blank. "Into my-"
"Your mortal spot." Annabeth's voice was horrified, "Oh Percy-"
"Funny fact." Percy swallowed hard, "Turns out that even if you lose the curse of Achilles, that spot's still super sensitive. Which I mean, I already knew because Hercules was a dick when wen stopped kissing but- this was worse."
"That bastard." Rachel breathed the words, "Oh Percy." she stepped closer, releasing Percy's hands and laying her hands on Percy's waist to steady her and help her stay standing.
"I-" Percy took a deep breath, "After I- I didn't have any choice, I needed to sleep so he was on watch. I woke up to him digging his fingers into my back to hurt me- to him kicking me and-" she shook her head, "I tried to run but he had one of his stupid bracelets and I didn't make it far and he hit me and he pinned me down and he carved his symbol into my back." she leaned forward slightly, resting her forehead against Rachel's shoulder, trying not to tremble too much. "That was the moment that I decided that I was going to kill him. That was the moment when I decided to make it hurt."
And she felt Annabeth pressing in close behind her, soft lips pressing to the back of her neck.
"You're so brave." Annabeth whispered the words, "I know you don't see it but you are."
"You survived." Rachel added, "That makes you pretty badass."
"I was terrified." Percy whispered, "I was so afraid that he'd snap and-" she let out a choked little noise, shaking violently as she admitted that- and Annabeth and Rachel both seemed to understand what she was getting at because they pressed themselves closer- if that was possible.
"It's over now." Annabeth murmured against the skin of Percy's neck, "You're safe- a little more scarred than when you started but you're safe Seaweed brain and now one- and I mean no one, is ever going to scare you like that again."
"She's right." Rachel's voice was fierce, "I'll stab anyone and everyone who so much as ever tries to make you feel like that again. We all will."
And Percy nodded slowly. "I-" she took a deep breath, "I kissed him. I- I made him think that I liked him. I- I felt so dirty and wrong and-"
"No." Rachel's voice had a sharp edge, "No, no no Percy. Annabeth tell her- tell her she's not dirty for- no. You did what you had to do- you did what you had to do to survive-"
"He'd have kept hurting you." Annabeth joined in, "We all know that he would. So you took advantage-"
"I manipulated him-"
"That's nowhere near as bad as what he did to you." Rachel's brows furrowed, "Your entire screwed up relationship with him was manipulation and abuse." she cupped Percy's cheeks in her hands, tilting her head slightly, "Did- did you think we'd be upset at you for- oh Percy baby-"
"No- no even if we'd still been dating we'd never have been mad at you for manipulating him-"
"I pretended I was falling for him- I kissed him I- I let him kiss-"
"You did what you had to to protect yourself. Do not blame yourself." Annabeth said that, "And don't feel guilty for anything that you did to him okay? I don't care how much you tortured him- in fact I hope you made him scream and beg. After all the stuff he did to you that's the least he deserved. I know if I'd gotten to him he'd have begged for death."
"I think everyone who really knows you agrees with that." Rachel gave a wry smile. "Percy- we know that you can't just forget about it or pretend it never happened. It's a lot of stuff that you need to work through but we are going to stay with you no matter what. You are worth every second of it. We don't want simple we want you."
"You made both of our lives better." Annabeth stated softly, "You mean the world to us Seaweed Brain. I've loved you since the day we fell from the Gateway Arch together."
"And I fell in love with you during my first Pegasus ride." Rachel told Percy gently, "We both choose you. We choose having you with us over having an easy simple life."
And Percy felt as if all of the tension in her body was just melting away- which rather inconveniently made her legs give out beneath her- and Rachel caught her waist tightly, and Annabeth pressed closer. "Woah there Seaweed Brain, didn't realise we'd make you swoon."
And that made Percy burst out laughing- she couldn't help it, she turned her head, brushing her lips against Annabeth's wrapping an arm around the other girls shoulder. "You two can always make me swoon."
"That's adorable." Rachel laughed softly, "You have a kiss for me Ariel?"
"I always have a kiss for my Merida." Percy declared, a smile playing across her lip as she leaned towards her and pressed her lips against Rachel's.
A moment later there was a knock on the door and Percy pouted, letting out a grumbled complaining noise as Annabeth's laughter rumbled against the back of Percy's neck again and then. "Come in!"
The door creaked open and Percy turned her head, smiling weakly at Luke, who gave a soft fond smile. "I hate to interrupt you three but the others are going to be leaving soon and we figured you'd want to say goodbye. Also I think Bob and Damasen said they wanted to talk to you Nico and Leo."
"Oh." Percy blinked, "Well I guess that's a passable reason for interrupting us. I won't maim you." her smile was strained but she felt Rachel's fingers pressing in tighter, steadying her and Annabeth's hands moved to rest on Percy's hips.
And Luke's expression was incredibly soft, he smiled as he stared at them, shaking his head slightly. "As much as, as your big brother, the idea of you being in a relationship and doing relationship stuff kind of horrifies me- I'm glad that you three are sorting things out." and Percy felt her face flushing. "It only took me murdering a guy." she managed to joke weakly- which made Luke laugh.
"It's good to see that you're still you." he leaned against the door frame.
"Why don't you take Percy up to the deck." Annabeth suggested suddenly, "Rache and I should probably get changed since we cuddled while Percy was all gross-" and that was not wrong.
Percy might be nice and clean now but she'd been cuddled up with Annabeth and Rachel for hours and they now had some of the dirty and grime on their clothes.
Percy gave a sheepish smile. "Sorry-"
"No, no that is a forbidden word." Rachel declared with a laugh, "Saying sorry is illegal. You need to stop with the guilt
and self loathing so it starts now."
"Yep. That's a new rule." Annabeth agreed, "Brilliant idea Rache. Come on Luke, I'm sure you're dying to steal your baby sister away again."
"I won't deny that." Luke gave a crooked grin, straightening up and making his way into the room quickly, sliding an arm behind Percy's back and sweeping her legs out from under her.
"Hey!" Percy let out a startled yelp, throwing her arms around Luke's neck, "A little warning dude!"
"Hm- I would say sorry except I'm not." Luke smirked, "Girls, see you soon." and with that he was turning, and Percy shifted, peering over Luke's shoulder to wave at her girlfriends as she was carried away.
There was a moment of quiet before Luke spoke up, his voice tight. "Percy I-"
"It's okay Luke." Percy met his gaze. "I- I won't pretend that it's all sunshine and roses but- I'm in a better place to deal with everything than I was before honestly." she snickered, "I'm probably the only person who could say that going to Tartarus kinda helped-" she paused before, "I mean- I've got like, so much more trauma now than before but-"
"But Alabaster's dead." Luke finished for her, and when Percy shifted uncomfortably Luke shook his head quickly, "Relax. I'm not going to ask about it. I won't pretend that I'm not curious- though I'm not sure if that's the right word-" he gave a wry smile, "But I'm not going to make you talk about it if you're not ready. I'm not that curious." he paused, "Though- I have to ask. Did he suffer?"
"Yes." Percy nodded, and Luke's smile was tight but satisfied as he pressed his lips to the top of her head.
"I don't care if it's wrong to be glad about someone suffering. It's no less than he deserves- and he probably deserves worse-"
"I dunno about that." Percy's lips twitched, "I was pretty harsh on him."
"Good." as Luke said that they were emerging onto the deck- and Luke carried her down the gangplank- and Percy glanced around quickly- Bianca was talking to Nico as he helped her sort out the Parthenos- setting up a harness type of arrangement, so Percy focused her attention onto the Giant and the Titan.
"I want to see Bob and Damasen first please."
"Right, your Giant and Titan friends." Luke's lips twitched but he carried her towards the pair- who Percy supposed were technically brothers- and they both smiled when they saw her approaching.
"Percy!" Bob smiled brightly, "Are you feeling better now?"
"Yep." Percy nodded, "Still can't walk but I've had worse. What about you guys?"
"We are good." Damasen spoke up, "Free. It is a good feeling." his gaze focused on her, "Thank you. For making me believe."
"What'll you do now?"
"We have talked." Bob spoke up, "Leo has said that he can fix up the engine room- there will be space for us. Not much but we will come with you."
"We will help you stop mother." Damasen had a gleam of determination in his eyes, "And our brothers too. If I can stand against father then I will stand against them."
"That-" Percy smiled widely, "That means a lot guys- seriously. We appreciate it. Really appreciate it."
"And uh-" Luke shifted his grip on Percy, "I wanted to thank you both too. I don't know either of you but you got my sister and my brothers back to me. I don't think I could ever thank you enough for that. If I hadn't got them back-" Luke exhaled, "I don't know what I would have done."
