Tower of Secrets

Percy Jackson

The moment Peter left, I was struck with a horrible case of the bores. I'd been spending a lot of my free time with Peter, and I was admittedly lost without him. I'd probably end up swimming while everyone slept, and I definitely wasn't in the mood to train. So with nothing better to do, I ventured to the living room in hopes of finding someone to interact with.

I lucked out in finding the one and only Natasha Romanoff trying to coax Clint into letting her put his treats away.

"Hey," I greeted, "what's going on?"

"Clint's being a baby," Nat frowned, grabbing at the box of Nutty Buddies that seemed to always be around the archer.

"Am not! These things are heavenly."

"Clint," I drawled, "that's the weakest defense I've ever heard - and I've seen my fair share of those."

"If you don't believe me, try one!"

I rolled my eyes with a small smile. I'd had several Nutty Buddies in my life, particularly during the period after Gabe was taken care of and before Mom met Paul. But, who was I to turn down a treat? Sure, my stomach was going haywire, but it was worth a try. "Fine, toss one over, Mr. Grown Adult." Sure enough, the Avenger complied. I wasted no time in taking my first bite. My stomach did somersault after somersault, but I managed to down half of it before I was confident that I'd puke it up later. "They're good, but not that good. Get your tastebuds checked, Birdbrain."

"I'll finish that," Natasha said as she reached for the remainder of the dessert still left in my palm. "Thanks."

"Maybe you're the one who needs to get your tastebuds checked, Perce," Clint mocked. I raised a brow and shared a look with Nat.

"Stealing my statement is kinda lame. I thought you were smart enough to figure that out, Spy Dude."

"Isn't it called an 'uno reverse'?"

I chuckled. "You trying to be cool? Cuz it's definitely not working."

Clint shook his head. "Kids are weird."

I shrugged. "Not denying that, but you're even weirder when you're obsessing over a snack."

"It's not that weird!"

"Lie to yourself all you want," I groaned with a shake of my head. I turned to Nat. "Feel like doing anything?"

"I was going to go on a walk with Clint, but that's not happening anymore."

A walk? That was better than just sitting there feeling bored. "I'm down to come with you, if that's okay?"

She smiled, already moving towards the stairs. "Sure. Maybe you can fill me in on some of those 'tales of valor' Thor keeps insisting he can't tell us."

"I can't believe he's kept his mouth shut this long," I laughed. "He's definitely one of the chillest gods I've met."

"You've met others?" she inquired. Oops. Guess the cat was out of the bag that I was somewhat involved with the affairs of the immortals.

"Ugh," I groaned as we began our descent, "don't even get me started. Most are just downright jerks."

"How so?"

I opened my mouth and closed it. She was getting too close. If I gave her even a twisted story, she might connect which pantheon I was referring to and figure out my origin. "That's a story of another day, Nat. But, what about you? Have any of your own cool stories? How'd you become an Avenger?"

She thought for a moment. "I was taken into the Red Room when I was a kid," she said eventually. "There, I was trained to be a killer. Eventually, I met Clint in Budapest. We fought, but he managed to see through their conditioning. I defected and joined SHIELD. Later, I was assigned to the team, and I've been a member ever since our fight with the Chitauri."

"Chitauri?"

"The aliens that attacked New York."

I turned my head to look at her. "What's the deal with that anyways?"

"The aliens? Loki, Thor's brother, sent them."

"The god of mischief?"

"That's him."

"That's the worst world domination plot I've heard of," I laughed. "There are so many better ways to do it."

"And how would you know that?"

I smirked. "Annabeth and I are really good at saving the world."

"I'm assuming that's what Thor's been reeling about."

"Probably. Nothing else is very noteworthy," I shrugged. "I mean, I guess I've had some smaller adventures that were still pretty wild."

"I can't wait until you're ready to tell them."

"It might be a while until I'm ready to give specifics. Most of it all around sucked."

"I get that. I still don't talk about the Red Room, so no pressure."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it." For the next several minutes, we walked in silence. Soon, we had finished our journey to ground level and could actually enjoy the benefits of fresh air. "Do you mind if I ask you something personal? I don't think it's related to whatever you're hiding."

I studied her for a moment. She seemed sincere enough. "Eh, we're already kinda having one of those sappy heart-to-hearts, so why not?"

She took a breath. "What was Gabe Ugliano like?" I choked on air. That... wasn't what I was expecting. "I don't mean to pry if you're not comfortable, but there's been a lot of speculation. It might be best just to get the truth out of the way, y'know?"

"You're all just concerned adults, right? Well, he's dead now, so no need to worry."

"Oh."

"But, if you really want to know, he was an abusive alcoholic with a gambling problem. Mom only married him to his stench would deter the monsters."

She nodded. "We thought he was abusive. Thank you, Percy. I know it's not easy to share."

I looked away, studying a girl sitting on a bench consuming Clint's favorite snack. "I'm trusting you not to just give out this information. It's not exactly something that I'd like to be common knowledge. But, uh, believe me, he's been the least of my problems."

"I know we've screwed up trying to piece you together," Natasha stated. "I hope I speak for all of us when I say that I'm sorry. We were pretty invasive."

I offered her a smile of truce. "All's forgiven, I guess. Although, I can't say that I mind when you guys try to figure the big secret out. That's kinda fun for me."

She smiled back. "Noted."

A/N YESSSSSSSS I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW MANY TIMES IVE JUST STARED AT THIS AND BEEN SO STUCK AAAAAAAHHHHHHH