The Good and The Bad ~ Percabeth

fifty six

[unedited]

a.c.

My heart leaps and I feel the need to grab my chest to try and keep it from exploding. "Can I... see him?"

"He's sure asking for you," Austin says. "Come on in."

My legs move as a separate organism from my body. I run past Austin and freeze at the door. Percy is there, his messy head of black locks, his playful eyes, his strong arms, his cheeky smile, standing. He's still in the large pants and wrapped in gauze, but he's standing and he's breathing and holy Hades, he's alive.

I run to him, throwing my arms around his neck. He holds his IV drip with one hand to steady himself, but he holds me close with the other hand and buries his face in my hair. I kiss his ear, squeezing myself so tightly to him, I can't even remember to breathe.

"I knew you would come back," I whisper. His skin is warm under my touch and I run my fingers along the muscles in his back. When I pull away to look at his face, I touch his chin and jaw. His face looks skinny and he hasn't shaved in days. "I need to get you a razor."

"Just out of curiosity," he says, bringing his hand to my cheek to brush my hair away from my face while he holds me right. "How would you feel about me trying to grow a beard?"

I smile and kiss him. His lips, which are warm and dry, invite me to pull closer to him. We share an intimate moment, kissing slowly. A sense of urgency develops, and I press my hand against his stomach. My fingers creep down, but Percy grabs my wrist. Sometimes I get so lost I struggle to remember where I am. I'm glad he stops me. He offers a sweet kiss under my jaw and my eyes flutter closed.

"I'm sorry I left you," he says against my lips. His voice is hoarse, and my whole body is warm. I need him now. "I never will again." The way he says it makes me wonder if he had a dream about leaving me, but I'm too entranced fo care.

"How are you feeling?" I ask, curling my fingers around his biceps. His hands drop below the equator.

"Good enough to bring you back to Cabin Three and dishonour the fuck out of my dad," he breathes into my ear, hugging me close to his body.

I swallow nervously, trying to keep my cool. "Um, were trying to manage a small crisis right now and they could use my help. But oh my gods, please, can we do that later?"

He leans down and kisses me again, parting my lips. I'm about to rescind my comment when he smiles against me. "Of course. Let's go chat."

He takes my hand and we walk slowly out to the main area. Piper, Jason and Frank grin at us. "Hey big man," Jason says. "Thought you were never going to wake up."

"Wouldve made your life easier, wouldn't it?" He nods, going and shaking Jason's hand. "Anyways, I'm the coolest child of the big Three and Jason's a noob. We knew what. My lady said there's something pressing we need to attend to . What's up?"

"There's just some shit going on with this weird group we can't place. Gods don't seem to know what's going on either." Frank fosses Percy a tablet, and he swipes over it.

"Oh yeah, the demigod kids. Makes sense. What are they up to?" No one says anything. I stare at him. What did he say? He looks up from the tablet and furrows his brow. "What did I say?"

"Demigod kids?" Piper asks.

"Yeah, Annabeth and I went to school with one. Her parents are halfbloods. I had a dream about Zeus and Poseidon arguing over what to do about them."

"But they're in California," Jason says carefully.

"Sure, why not? I'm sure New Rome makes it way easier for halfbloods to grow up and have kiddos. It would make sense that there are tons more over there."

Of course it does. I'm baffled. The answer was so obvious. I watched Becki kill a monster. She ate ambrosia. She obviously has some kind of godly powers. "What... what do the gods have to say about it?" I ask.

"They're confused. I guess these weird demigods are up to no good but they don't know what they're doing."

Everyone stares at Percy. He must start getting uncomfortable because he shifts back and forth on his feet. "Becki got hurt. Once she starts feeling better, I'll give her a call and we can study what makes her tick. They won't be a hard demographic to control. I'm not worried."

"This is big." Jason says, eyes wide. "We need to tell Chiron. And Reyna. We need to figure out a way to control them."

"I'll get a chariot ready," Frank says, running out of the room.

"Alright, just let me get cleaned up and we can go," Percy grins.

"Woah, fish boy," Piper says, resting a hand on his chest. "You need to stay here and get better. I'm pretty sure you have school tomorrow."

That earns a laugh from both of us. School. What a fun thought. "I don't give a crap about school. You need my help."

"Bro, you've helped us enough. Now that we know what we're up against, we can manage just fine," Jason insists. "Go home. Rest up."

Percy looks like he wants to argue, but I can see how weak he still is. I'm happier than anything that he's alright, but he's not perfect yet.

I touch his elbow. He seems startled by the contact. "We'll go back to New York. Get our stuff and come back. I've had about enough of public school for one lifetime."

"I love you," Percy reminds me. Piper chuckles.

"Alright, get out of here, you two. Take some time. Once you're back, though, we won't pity you. Get ready to get whipped back into shape."

"And we wouldn't have it any other way."

- - - - - - - - - -

Guys, I can't believe I'm saying this, but next chapter is going to be our last. Isn't that crazy?

I'll save my cheesy thank you til we're actually done so you can skip over it if you want to, hehe.

Thank you for 7k!

Also, how do we feel about the new cover?

Thank the gods for everything in your life that brings you happiness.

Love, tumblingupwards