Not Always the Hero; Rewritten // (Percy Jackson x Peter Parker)

imagine being an adult for the plot (jk it's for the timeline accuracy)

It's okay to be saved once in a while too.

Peter finished smoothing the button up he was wearing as he looked into the bathroom mirror. His hair had a bit of pomade in it to keep it in place today, his shirt was covered in tiny arc reactors, a gift from Tony when Target had made an Avengers inspired clothing line. He figured that he looked well enough for his small birthday party Aunt May was throwing. He couldn't believe he was already turning 18 though. This meant he'd already been Spider-Man for 3ish years. And he'd found out Percy was alive around a year ago, even if he hadn't shown back up until a few weeks ago.

Percy. The boy that had plagued his thoughts as of late, and not for fun reasons like his dashing good looks. No, for much more ominous reasons. Unexplainable sightings on other continents and, needless to mention, his disappearing act that lasted almost two years. What Peter wouldn't give for all this mystery surrounding his neighbor to not be an issue so he could focus on other things like academics, superhero-ing, and Percy's smile when he saw Spider-Man the other day.

"Peter! Your guests are starting to arrive! Come here please," Aunt May's voice calling from the other room made Peter jump and forget about his musings regarding Percy. He straightened his shirt one more time and was glad he'd recovered enough to be having this party without tipping anyone off to the fact that he had gotten hurt in the first place. He didn't need his friends catching on to his injuries and putting two and two together that Spider-Man hadn't been seen in a few days.

As Pete turned away from the mirror and went to receive his guests he could hear Aunt May already talking to whoever had arrived. Upon entering the living room he was greeted with the sight of Mary Jane and the Jackson-Blofis family all standing in the entryway talking. Sally, Paul, and Aunt May were talking about who knew what as they gravitated towards the kitchen and it looked like Mary Jane was questioning Percy, as Peter was pretty sure they had never met.

"If you've been neighbors for so long, why haven't you been at any of Peter's other parties?" Mary Jane asked a little too harshly.

Peter looked to see if Aunt May would reprimand her for her tone but it was clear the adults had missed her question. Peter watched Percy shift uncomfortably and rub the back of his neck with his hand. He then watched Mary Jane eye Percy's tattoo as she waited for his answer. Peter felt like a snail, unable to move fast enough to intercept this conversation from where he was on the other side of the living room still.

"I went to various boarding schools growing up and they usually start in July," Percy answered with a little shrug, "and the last two years I wasn't in town around this time."

"Hey!" Peter interrupted as he finally made his way across the living room effectively cutting off whatever other interrogation-like questions Mary Jane was going to throw at Percy.

They both turned to Peter and greeted him warmly, "Happy birthday Pete!" Mary Jane was a bit too loud. Percy was quieter, but his words only differed in him saying "Peter" instead of "Pete".

Neither Peter nor Percy missed the glance Mary Jane sent towards Percy again though. It looked like she was firing up to assault Percy with more questions when a knock at the door called for Peter's presence.

"Where did you get your tattoo? What's it of? Your mother let you have a tattoo? How old are you?!"

Peter internally cringed at the barrage of questions he couldn't shield Percy from as he turned the door handle. Though he couldn't deny there was some part of him that was curious to the answer of what his tattoo was and why exactly he got a tattoo when he was missing for so long.