Teacher, Not Hero (femPercy Jackson X YJ)

Thirty-Nine: An Unlucky Number

Percy P.O.V:

I wake up with a scream pressed behind my teeth. My face is wet with tears and I pull my knees up to my chest and focus on my breathing.

In for 7. Hold for 7. Out for 7. Repeat.

An unlucky number for anything other than starving off anxiety.

After about an hour of just breathing and focusing on calming the guilt in my mind, I slowly climbed out of bed. Pulling on a hoodie over my tank top, I began to walk towards the kitchen for some food. Preferably ice cream.

As soon as I turned my back on the majority of the room in favor of the freezer, I felt a cool breeze sweep through the air. I bit back a scream of rage. This was the last thing I needed to deal with.

So I didn't.

I ignored the godly presence of Poseidon in favor of the ice cream in my hand. I moved throughout the kitchen, thoroughly ignoring his whole existence. Let's see how he likes it.

Yeah, I'm that petty.

I heard an exasperated sigh come from behind and I fought a smirk from reaching my face.

"Percy, please. I need to talk to you." I spun around on my heel to face my father. His face was etched with concern. Aw look. He cares. Too bad I fucking don't.

"What do you want?" I said, barely containing the snap in my words. He stepped forward, arms out. Does he expect a fucking hug?? That's hilarious.

I dipped under his approaching arms, and spun so I was facing his back. When he came up short, he sighed once again and turned to face me. Sorrow on his face.

Too bad. He can't just pull the 'dad card' now. Only dads can pull it. All he is is my biological father. Nothing more.

"Percy, please. I want to help you. I know about your dreams. Let me comfort you. I want to be a part of your life." I growled at him.

"Then it's too bad you missed that opportunity a long time ago. If you wanted to be my father then you should have started caring when I was born. We are way past 'I want to be a part of your life.'" I could see his mood sink at my words. Good. He abandoned my mom. When we first met he told me that I was a mistake. He has done nothing to help me or protect me. He has sent me into war after war. He has never acted like my father. He has acted like a godly parent and I expect nothing less in the future. It's too late for hugs and comfort. He can fuck all the way off for all I care.

"What do you want?" I asked again, squaring my shoulders and widening my stance. I locked my face in neutral. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing my emotions. He didn't deserve it.

He let out a sad sigh.

"I really just want to talk with you Percy. I want us to get better. Please. I know I haven't been a good father in the past but I want to try now. Why don't you come to Atlantis for a while? We could work things out. Be a family." I let out a bitter laugh.  A mirthless smile creeps onto my face. My eyes are hard.

"That's what this is about?? You want me to come with you and play family? I honestly don't care what you want Dad. You want to play family? Go bother one of your other children. You want to help me? Then leave me alone. I don't want you here." I turned around and marched out of the room. Leaving Poseidon in my wake.

He really expects me to just forgive him after everything he's done? He just wants things to be okay? My life has been literal hell because he is my father. He should have just stayed up on Olympus and then he would have never ruined my mother's life. She would have never had to deal with me or Smelly Gabe or quests or monsters. She could have been with Paul from the start and had a happy, normal family. She could have gone to school and become a writer and done whatever she wanted. But no. Instead she got stuck with worry and blood and fear.

It was too little too late for Poseidon. He didn't have any right to come try and care about me now. Dads care from day one. Not just at the end of the line when it's convenient for them. Not when they're ready.

Besides. If he really wanted to help me, he would just stay away and stop reminding me of all I have had to do for him and Olympus. All I have had to lose for Olympus.

Slowly but surely, I felt Poseidon's presence leave the Cave. By the time he was completely gone, it was around 7 in the morning. Time to get up anyway.

I walked back into the kitchen and pulled out some cereal. Annabeth would kill me if I didn't at least try to eat breakfast.

One by one, the Team slowly filled into the kitchen. Conner looked exactly like he did every morning; stoic, calm, rested. Kaldur looked like he had gotten a pretty good night's sleep. Good. He probably needed it. Robin looked a bit like death but he was never a morning person. M'gahn was peppy as usual and Artemis just made a beeline for the coffee machine. Wally, however, looked better than he had in weeks. He gave me a grateful look and a small nod before turning to get his 1500 calorie breakfast. Well at least my shitty advice was helping someone.

Today was Friday. That basically meant I wasn't going to really make them do anything. They were still reeling from the Bel Rev incident yesterday and I had a feeling that Batman would be coming to give them an earful.

As if to prove my point, the Zeta Tubes announced the arrival of Batman, Aquaman, Black Canary, and Wonder Woman. If Diana was coming, that probably meant that I would be getting yelled at too. This day just keeps getting better and better.

The Team assembled in front of the Leaguers, their heads bowed. I hoped the Bat wouldn't go completely ballistic on them. While they did mess up in a major way, they were still just kids.

To their surprise and to my annoyance, the Prince of Gotham decided to call me out instead of screaming at the Team.

"Percy. We need to have a discussion about your powers." I groaned inwardly and I saw Diana wince. We knew that this was going to come up eventually. I'm low-key surprised I made it this long if I'm being honest. I turned towards the Batman.

"Yeah what about them?" I asked, my expression bored. I could see the anger in his eyes. Brucie boy didn't like being out of the loop it seems.

"You should have disclosed them to us when you took up this position."

"Why?" I asked, rising from my seat and walking towards him. "It wasn't relevant information. My powers don't impact my teaching and they aren't a defining characteristic. Why would you need to know about them?" Black Canary took this as an opportunity to speak up.

"We could help you control them. After your display at Bel Rev, it looks to us that you don't have a very good handle on your powers. With our help, you could use them better and maybe even become an official hero." I had to stop myself from screaming. Were these people really that dense?? I swear one of these days I am just going to blow up this mountain. I saw Diana and Orin wince. They backed away from the oblivious Batman and Canary. Smart move. The Team noticed my rising anger and they too took as small step back. Good to know that they are getting a little better at reading my social cues.

"I have perfect control over my powers." I said through clenched teeth. Batman, for as smart as he supposedly is, is incredibly stupid.

"It doesn't seem that way to us. We also need to get a better understanding of the extent of your powers. Let us help you." I forced down a growl. You know what? Fuck this. I'm tired of dealing with this bullshit.

"I have perfect control of my powers," I repeated. I turned to Diana. "Control these mortals or I will." She flinched slightly at my tone. I was so done playing nice. "If you need me, don't need me." I turned to Black Canary. "I don't need any of your help and I certainly don't want to be a hero." I backed away from the group, walking down towards the mission room. I glance over my shoulder. "Orin, tell Mira I say "hi"". He gave me a short nod and with that, I dissipated my body into mist, Vapor Travelling to meet Annabeth and get away from foolish heroes.