Pain - A PJO Fanfiction

~Chapter 23~

Will let himself collapse onto a chair with a deep sigh. Apollo did the same, sitting across Will. The operation had just ended, and they were both worn out, even as a god and demigod.

"You should rest," Will suggested, his voice nearly too quiet to hear even in the deafening silence of the room.

Apollo glared at the ground.

"I can't, I need to stay here to watch Percy. It's almost sunrise, shouldn't you be resting?" He shot back.

Will shrugged, not replying to Apollo.

"The sun chariot?" Will wondered.

"Artemis was kind enough to do me a favor," Apollo answered hastily.

Will nodded, not showing his surprise. Apollo glanced around the room, avoiding looking at Percy.

"Gaea and Annabeth?" Apollo questioned quietly.

"Dead."

Apollo had a small smirk on his face, making him look genuinely sadistic. Will glanced at him warily, reminding himself that Apollo was still a god, and one with power and a knack for vengeance at that.

Apollo sobered up again as his eyes wandered off to Percy. Will gave a long, tired sigh. Apollo glanced back at him.

"You really should rest," he told Will, getting up from his seat.

Will simply nodded, too tired to argue. Apollo flashed both of them out into camp. Will went off to his cabin with a quiet goodbye. Apollo flashed back into Olympus' infirmary.

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It had been a week since the battle with Gaea and Annabeth. Zeus had fully lifted the lockdown and Camp Half-Blood was being dealt with. Campers thought Percy was dead, others said he was in a coma. Rumors kept spreading.

Apollo scoffed bitterly at that. Rumors were always spreading. For now, he focused on Percy, who had given signs of waking up over the past week. Apollo felt hope bubble up in his chest with each twitch of Percy's fingers.

It all felt worse when he didn't wake up, though. False hope was worse than having no hope, which at this point, Apollo had both. Currently, he sat beside Percy's bed, holding his limp hand. A small sliver of hope rose up in his chest as he felt Percy's fingers twitch.

He's not going to wake up, he chided. Don't expect him to.

Despite his thoughts, Percy's eyelids flickered, eventually opening. Apollo gave a strangled gasp, making Percy turn to him. Percy gave a small, quiet gasp.

"'Pollo," he rasped, wincing at the soreness of his throat.

Apollo quickly got up, handing Percy a glass of water. Percy took it gratefully and drank it in small sips, watching Apollo as if he couldn't get enough of him. Apollo gazed right back, smiling with worry and happiness.

"Perce. Oh my primordials, Percy!" Apollo exclaimed.

Percy smiled guiltily.

"You said you wouldn't get yourself killed. You promised," Apollo practically growled.

Percy winced, smiling guiltily.

"I didn't, though. See? Completely alive," Percy reminded him.

"Just barely," Apollo interjected with worry and anger.

Percy sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"I'm sorry, but it worked, didn't it? Wait... it did work, right? They're dead? Gaea's dead?" Percy suddenly sounded much more panicked and worried, looking up at Apollo for confirmation.