The Death of a Hero | Percabeth Fanfic

Stars and Satyrs

(Percy)

My mom made us stay until Estelle and Paul got him from school. That meant Leo tinkering with everything electronic in the house, Piper charmspeaking him to stop messing with things, and Annabeth not ever letting go of me. Hey, I wasn't complaining.

Finally, a long hour or two passed when we heard the door open.

"Mama, we're home!" Estelle sang from the other room, and my eyes welled up with tears, but I blinked them away. I missed a ton of my baby sister's life.

Annabeth noticed and squeezed my hand reassuringly. Man, was I glad to have her back.

"Come in the living room, baby," my mom said, and she bounded in.

Wow. She looked so old.

Her eyes widened as she took in Jason, Piper, and Leo, and then finally me and Annabeth.

"Percy?" She said disbelievingly.

"Hey! How've you been, Ellie?"

She still didn't move. And then she was a rocket, shooting herself into my arms.

"You're back!" She sobbed, and I squeezed her tightly.

"Hey, Sally, what's going-" Paul walked in, and his face went through a wide range of emotions. Shock, surprise, happiness, and relief.

"Percy!" He boomed, and I stood to give him a hug. Estelle held on to my leg tightly.

Paul grabbed my shoulders and looked me in the eyes.

"How are you alive?" He asked softly.

"You know, it's a really long and complicated story, so we're just gonna go with a couple old ladies decided they'd rather mess with me a little more before sending me out to Elysium."

Paul nodded and hugged me again.

"I'm glad your back," he said, smiling. I think I could see a tear in his eye.

We spent most of the day at my moms house, swapping stories and basically having a blast. I caught Leo and Jason giving my mom longing looks a couple times, wishing they had their own mother back.

When the clock hit seven, I startled.

"Oh, crap. We gotta get back to camp," Jason said, and we started packing up.

We were almost out the door when my mom pulled me aside.

"You have to leave already?" She asked, sounding heartbroken.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I'll iris-message you tonight?" I apologized.

My mom nodded sadly and hugged me tightly.

"Be safe, okay? Bring your friends back to visit soon."

"I will, Mom."

She stifled a sob and shooed me out.

...

Another ride from the Grey sisters had us back at camp in no time.

Leo threw up again.

"Gross, man," Jason groaned.

"I get car sick, okay? And that is one hell of a car!" Leo said, and threw up again.

I shook off the nausea and grabbed Annabeth's hand. She had been quiet, but not less clingy. I kissed her cheek to try and let her know that I wasn't going anywhere. She smiled contentedly.

We had just walked into camp when Grover and his girlfriend Juniper came out of the trees.

Grover scanned the camp quickly and panicky, until they rested on me.

"Percy!" He bleated, and ran. However... he was running like he hadn't ran in years.

He ran into me and knocked me over, effectively knocking the breath out of my lungs. It took a second to breathe oxygen again.

"You jerk!" Grover exclaimed, and punched me.

"Missed you too, buddy," I winced.

"How are you alive? Why are you alive? What-"

"One question at a time, please?"

And so I explained. Again. The story was really getting old.

We were sitting at this point. Annabeth insisted on sitting in my lap, so I told my story (again) and braided her hair absently while they both listened. Leo, Jason, and Piper had moved on a while ago.

"Well, you dying left me in a wheelchair. A WHEELCHAIR!" Grover shouted.

"I'm sorry, man. I mean, I didn't mean to die."

Grover shook his head, but he was smiling. Juniper looked incredibly happy too.

...

After a long day of repeating the same story over and over, I was finally able to get back to my cabin. I had been talking to Chiron, who forced Annabeth to get off me for a moment. I mourned the loss of her being right beside me.

I opened the door to cabin 3. Home.

There was a lump in my cot. I tensed for a moment until I realized it was Annabeth, curled up in my bed. A book rested beside her head, which told me she tried to stay awake and wait for me but was too tired to do so.

I smiled and flopped into bed beside her. She was so exhausted that she didn't even stir. I threw my arm around her and closed my eyes, drifting off to sleep almost immediately.

I was happy. And I was home.