A/N: I haven't really seen a lot of stories of other people finding out that Percy was abused, so if anyone knows any good stories with said prompt, please feel free to recommend. This one didn't quite go the way I expected or focus on abuse as much as I would like, but I will be posting other one shots that do so, I hope. As for trigger warnings, mentions of suicidal thoughts, selfharm, abuse and overall feelings of worthlessness. Let me know if I missed any that you think I should list. Anyways, enjoy!

Will was helping one of the younger campers bandage a wound from training when Annabeth all but dragged Percy in.

"Annabeth, I'm fine! It's nothing a little water can't help." The Son of the Sea god protested. Now, normally, Will would agree with Percy. Water usually did heal him, an option that most demigods didn't have. That didn't mean he would heal Percy if he were there, he just had to treat the more critical cases first.

At the moment, Percy needed his attention, now. Annabeth was right to drag him in. He looked like he'd jumped through a window, and then landed in an inferno. There were several cuts and gashes, still full of glass, which appeared to be halfway cauterized, along with the rest of the skin. That was just what he could see, not even under his burnt, bloody tattered shirt.

"What happened?" He asked calmly, interrupting their bickering. He finished up the bandage as he spoke, dismissing the camper with a glance at the door.

Annabeth sat him down on an empty bed, glaring at him angrily as the words gushed out.

"This idiot had to be the hero as always! A building caught on fire down near his apartment. He jumped in, through the freaking window, using his body! No water, no backup. Then the building exploded as he came out with a little girl."

"And I suppose I should've just let her burn?" Percy snapped.

"Gee, it's not like the fire department was already there. I know your fatal flaw is personal loyalty, but try to avoid the fatal part."

Both Will and Percy knew she was just worried. Will hated how much these two had suffered. Between the two wars, Hera's six month abduction, Annabeth running away at seven and having Luke betray them, and then the the two of them fell into freaking Tartarus. Of course she was worried.

"Look, at least let me get the glass out. If you tried to heal yourself with water, it would just seal the glass in your skin, and then it'd get infected and-"

"I've dealt with glass before, Will."

"In there. It wasn't really our priority at the time though." Annabeth frowned, thinking about what she said. Will remembered what Nico had said about Tartarus."The ground, the skin of him was glass."

"When did we get the glass out?"

"The point is, I can do it myself." He ignored the question. Percy went to stand up, but Annabeth pushed him back down.

"Will doesn't have any other patients right now, so just swallow your selflessness for once."

"Please. For me." Percy dropped his head to his hands in defeat.

"Fine." A roll of clean bandages in hand, Will made his way over, inspecting the pieces. He needed to get the glass out first, and then he would probably need to remove his outer garments and do the same thing on his chest and legs.

"This'll probably hurt." He warned. Percy shrugged.

"I've dealt with glass before." Something seemed off, but he would think in it later. He pulled the largest piece out, surprised when Percy gave no reaction. He's not in shock, is he? No, he's been though worse. This was different.

He pressed the clean bandage to the newly opened wound, moving on to the next piece. Percy still gave no tell that he was in any pain.

He continued carefully removing the glass and staunching the blood, eventually having Annabeth keep the pressure as he found more and more.

"Okay, now I need you to remove your shirt." Percy stiffened.

"That's alright Will. I can handle it from here." Before either he or Annabeth could react, Percy stood and bolted. Annabeth reached out, too late. She glanced at him, muttering a quick apology/thank you and took off after him.

"Percy!" She pelted after him, but he moved fast for someone who had a chest full of glass. Though, with everything that they'd been through, she should be grateful. His high pain tolerance had saved them plenty of times. He disappeared into his cabin, causing her to stop for a moment before continuing on.

Now that she thought of it, he had always had somewhat of a high pain tolerance. Even when he was twelve, he'd had a high pain tolerance. In their first Capture the Flag, he'd been hit with Clarisse's electric spear at least twice, gotten a sword cut and had a hellhound nearly shred him. Yet his only response had been, "I'm fine."

"Percy! Open the door." No response.

"Percy, I'm coming in." She opened the door quietly, slipping in, greeted with the sound of the shower running. She made her way to his bed, more like their bed at this point.

About half an hour passed before Percy came out, looking ready for a stroll around the lake. He smiled at her, though it didn't reach his eyes.

"See? I told you it wasn't anything a little water couldn't help." He spread his arms victoriously.

Sensing her doubt, he lowered his arms and his smile faltered.

"What?" He asked.

"What do you mean 'what'? What happened back there?"

"Sheesh, Annabeth, can't a guy have some modesty? So I didn't want to change in front of someone, what's the big deal?" He sat on the bed next to her, wrapping an arm around her. She twisted to look at him, slipping a hand under his shirt. She pressed her hand to the small of his back, where his Achilles spot used to be. He shivered, leaning into her touch.

"You and I both know that's not it." She let the unspoken question hang in the air, watching him out of the corner of her eye.

He let out a breath, closing his eyes before staring at the door.

"Okay. Okay. You remember my first stepfather, right?"

"Well, I never met him, but yeah, Smelly Gabe."

"Yeah. Well, you know how his scent was enough to deter monsters and I'm a child of the Poseidon, so it'd take quite a lot to cover that up." Oh gods. She didn't like where this was going.

"I was naive. I figured if he had me, he'd leave my mom alone."

"Percy, what exactly did he do?" He inhaled sharply, leaning his head back, closing his eyes again. She waited a few moments, letting him collect his thoughts. He lowered his head into his hands, and when he finally spoke, he sounded detached.

"A better question would be; what didn't he do? I suppose the only thing he didn't do to me was rape me, though I wouldn't be surprised if he did it to my mom." Annabeth wanted to say something, but she kept her tongue clamped between her teeth. If she stopped him now, he probably wouldn't continue.

"He spent all of our money on cigarettes and gambling funds and beer. Always beer. I had to get multiple jobs every summer to pay for it all. Not that I could ever raise enough. And when I didn't..." He trailed off, taking a shaky breath.

"Well, we didn't exactly have a punching bag for him to use when he was angry. What better to use than six year old me? I learned not to cry or scream; it would only make it worse. If my mom ever asked, I just said I got in a fight with a local bully. It wasn't exactly a lie and as problematic as I was, she believed it. The punching wasn't bad, and I got used to the broken beer bottles, but the cigarette burns were the worst. I suppose the sea isn't a fan of fire. He abused both me and my mom, though both of us made a deal that if he abused just me, he wouldn't lay a hand on the other. We were fools to believe him." His arm tightened around her, pulling her closer. He let out a bitter laugh.

"It's ironic I'm so many ways. My mom married him to protect me, yet he did more damage than any monster ever has. I guess he did keep me humble though. It's kind of hard to have an ego when you feel worthless all the time. And my so called 'fatal' flaw is the only thing that's kept me alive. If it weren't for my mom, I would have killed myself long before I ever came to Camp. You're told you're one thing for long enough, you start to believe it. I was a worthless, pathetic burden." Each word hit her like a punch to the gut.

"Percy-"

"No. I know what you're going to say. But it doesn't matter. It was a long time ago and I don't feel that way much anymore. I mean, I've caused a lot of death and grief-"

"Perseus Jackson, you have done no such thing." She knelt in front of him, meeting his gaze. He flicked his eyes to the ground, speaking softly.

"The Arai and River Archeron beg to differ. My mom married Gabe to protect me. Bianca, Zöe, Beckendorf, Bob, Damasen, Leo-"

"Percy stop it. It's not your fault. And even if they were, they wouldn't want you to blame yourself. Hey. Look at me." She cupped his chin with her hand, lifting his face so that his eyes met hers.

"Percy, I mean it. It's not your fault. You've fought in two wars, you're going to lose people. And no one blames you, except for you. Say it with me; It's not my fault."

"But-"

"No. What Gabe did to you and your mom was not your fault. Bianca, Zöe, Beckendorf, Bob, Damasen, Leo, Silena, Castor, none of their deaths were your fault and there was nothing you could have done to change that. Secondly, you are not worthless or pathetic and you are definitely not a burden. If anything, you are burdened."

"C'mere." He pulled her up, scooting back so that there was room on the bed for her in front of him. He pulled her close, resting his head on her shoulder.

"You're probably right. Guilt doesn't really listen to logic though. Gabe will always be with me, blaming me for every little thing." It made sense really, he did blame himself for every little thing, always apologizing.

"Does Sally know?"

"Annabeth, I've kinda unloaded on you, you'll have to be more specific."

"Any of it."

"No. And I'd prefer to keep it that way." She knew why of course. Percy tried to protect his mother from as much as possible.

"You don't have to be strong for her you know."

"Yes I do."

"What about me? You don't have to be strong for me." A tear dripped down, sliding down her back.

"I don't know how not to be." Another tear slid down. She gave no indication that she knew he was crying.

"Oh Seaweed Brain. This is a great start." Then the dam broke, and she simply sat there, holding him tight. His tears were the silent ones, the ones you wouldn't even know were there unless you were looking at his face or felt them. She could imagine a much smaller Percy, crying silently in his room or in the bathroom, treating the wounds he had gotten from his sorry excuse of a stepfather. She could imagine him laying in bed late at night, crying because he was alone. He had no friends until Grover and he couldn't tell his mother what was going on. She imagined Gabe laying his filthy hands on her other half, and it made her blood boil. She understood why Percy claimed Arachne had died too easily, because if Gabe were still alive, well, he wouldn't want to run into her on the street, that was for sure.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't mean to-" His voice was small, hoarse and slightly shaky.

"Don't you dare finish that sentence. Don't you dare apologize. None of this is your fault. This is Gabe's doing. And the wars, the deaths, those are the god's faults." Thunder boomed.

"Oh leave us alone Zeus! It's true and you know it!"

"Don't make them mad. They'll take it out on us." I don't care anymore, Annabeth thought. She felt his hand move and wipe his face.

"There is something else you should know." Before she could respond, he leaned away from her and rolled his shorts up. Scars crisscrossed his thighs, most years old, though some of them were fresher. The most concerning ones were the freshly scabbed cuts laying on top of the older scars. One of her hands found its way to the marred skin, tracing the marks. The other cupped Percy's cheek.

"Percy, these are- some of these are fresh. Why didn't they heal?" Why have you done this? These are self inflicted. She couldn't bring herself to voice them.

"Between Gabe and school, I started early. The pain focused me. It made me feel like I was in control. I tried to stop once Gabe was gone, but it's like an addiction. I couldn't stop even if I wanted to. Then we were almost dying every year and there was the war with Kronos, and I didn't want to stop. It was like a constant friend that would never leave me and it was one of the few things I could control. Except I wasn't really in control because I couldn't stop. Then the war was over and we got together and life was good. I finally stopped, only to get kidnapped by Hera. And then when we won this war and the nightmares from there came, I started again." He shrugged nonchalantly. She flung herself at him, tackling and pinning him beneath her.

"I love you Percy. I'm honored that you've told me all of this."

"I love you too, Wise Girl." She leaned down and kissed him, just as the conch went off.

"We'll get through this. We always do."