A STORM IS BREWING | PERCY JACKSON

Epilogue

Percy stood at the crest of Half-Blood Hill. He was pacing nervously underneath Thalia's Pine. He had already greeted Peleus who was curled around the trunk of the tree, watching him lazily. Going to Camp Half-Blood was a mistake, he never should have gone back. He turned around to start marching back down the hill when there was a sharp tug on the back of his shirt. 

Instincts took over and Percy whirled around. He grabbed his 'attacker' by the wrist and twisted their arm back, pressing it against their back. Nico chuckled even as Percy tightened his grip. 

"Nice to know that you aren't rusty, Barnacle Boy."

Percy huffed and let his cousin go. "What are you doing here?"

"What aren't you doing down there?" Nico retorted, waving towards the camp. 

Percy opened his mouth and closed it again. "I'm scared," he admitted. "I just left them. Everyone was hurting after the war and I put myself above their needs, and, I just left. Like I was more important than them."

Nico scoffed and looked him like he was crazy. His expression softened once he saw the genuine anxiety in Percy's eyes. "Listen, Perce. I'm not going to deny that you weren't stupid by pushing everyone away. But, everyone grieves differently. You've been fighting since you were twelve and you had just lost your one constant in all of that. You're allowed to be selfish sometimes."

"But-"

"You're not the only one who ran away," Nico reminded him. "When Bianca died, it felt like my world had fallen apart. I became impulsive and withdrawn. You were the one who brought me back. It's my turn to return the favor."

Percy smiled at his cousin. His eyes were watery and he could feel his throat choking up. He threw his arms around the smaller boy, bringing him into a tight hug. After ten seconds, Nico started fighting back and shrugged out of the hug. 

"When did you get so smart? I thought your head was full of bones," Percy teased. Nico stared at him for a moment with a blank face before he cracked and started laughing. 

"What?" Percy asked, not understanding what was so funny. Nico just shook his head and walked down the hill, still quietly chuckling.  

Percy hesitated before following his cousin down towards the dining pavilion. The sun was setting, meaning that dinner was about to finish. A pit of dread welled up in his stomach. No matter what Nico said, Percy was going to feel nervous about it until he finally faced them. Everyone seemed to be there, even the Hunters, who Thalia was sitting with despite no longer being Lieutenant. 

Nico stopped for a moment and smiled encouragingly at him. He then walked confidently into the dining pavilion and made his way over to the Apollo table. He sat down by Will and turned to stare at Percy, who had still managed to go unnoticed, standing at the edge of the pavilion. 

Will followed his boyfriend's gaze and went silent at the sight of the son of Poseidon. The rest of the table looked over as well, wanting to see what had their normally level-headed head counselor so shocked. The entire table went quiet, causing a lull in the noise. 

Each table looked over to see what caused the normally loud children of Apollo to become mute. Percy almost chuckled when he glanced at the Athena table to see them speechless for once. Within a minute it was completely silent. Everyone was looking at him in surprise, almost like he was a ghost. He could see a few younger campers try to whisper to their older siblings, most likely questions about him. They were all shushed in response. 

Chiron stood up and cantered towards him. He placed a comforting hand on Percy's shoulder. "It's good to have you back." He turned towards the rest of the demigods and raised Percy's left arm, proudly declaring, "Percy Jackson, Savior of Olympus!"