Percy In Tartarus

19: Victory Talks

*

Word Count: 2,438 words

POV: Percy

Chapter 19: Victory Talks

Percy had fought tooth and nail to escape the Pit and get back to the mortal world; however, once he was free, it was hard to adjust. It felt like everything – and yet nothing – had changed. It felt like Percy had changed irreparably, and he just ... didn't fit into the mortal world anymore.

Annabeth told Percy that it had roughly been a month topside. Meanwhile, to Percy, it had felt like several months in the Pit. Percy wasn't yet used to talking, or the brightness, or even the human contact that his friends tried to provide him. Even Damasen, who had turned into a father-like figure for Percy, hadn't been that big on platonic touch. Annabeth was obviously frustrated. She didn't understand why Percy refused to talk about his time in Tartarus, or why he didn't want to touch or look at her, or why he didn't want to get better. She only wanted to help – and kept offering solutions to the problems everyone seemed to think Percy had – but he was resistant.

Percy didn't understand it himself. It felt like he was fighting with himself. Percy was finally back with Annabeth, everything was on track, and he was feeling physically better than ever. He had access to food and water and shelter, and he had friends and support – which was more than he ever had in the months spent in the Pit.

But Percy was a ball of distress. His anxiety was off the charts. He had mixed feelings about everything, and he couldn't even identify what those feelings were.

All he knew was that he wasn't happy.

Annabeth couldn't understand that. She wanted to resume where they left off when Percy first fell into Tartarus. She wanted everything to go back to normal. She wanted to be lovers again when Percy was still learning how to be a person again. Percy needed time to catch-up. He needed time to forgive Annabeth; for both her part in him falling into Tartarus, and for her curse with the arai.

But he didn't know how to tell her that. Percy didn't know how to look Annabeth in the eyes and tell her that a tiny bit of himself hated her. He didn't want to do that – he didn't know if he could ever purposefully hurt her like that.

It got so bad sometimes that it escalated into heated arguments and yelling at each other. And at the end of the day, when everything was said and done, Annabeth would come back to Percy and apologize. She would promise to be more understanding. She promised to understand Percy. She promised to help Percy, in any way possible.

And then the cycle would repeat.

Now it was nighttime, and Percy was desperately trying to fall asleep.

Today hadn't been as bad. Annabeth only prompted Percy to talk about Tartarus a few times in private, but the two didn't fight. Percy had finally relented and told Annabeth about the little things, like being alone, and killing Arachne – albeit a censored version of the killing – but Percy refused to tell her everything. It sounded crazy, but it all felt personal. They were dating, but it felt like something too private to share with her. It felt like Percy was becoming more and more vulnerable to Annabeth every time he shared something about the Pit, and Percy just didn't feel ready to do that yet. He loathed the feeling of vulnerability after so long in the Pit, constantly trying to guard himself.

Thankfully, Annabeth hadn't pushed any further. She had then insisted on staying the night with Percy in his bunk now that Coach Hedge wasn't here to catch them together.

Percy didn't want to argue with Annabeth, so he had climbed into bed with her, allowed her to cuddle into his chest, and laid there for hours. Annabeth had long past fell asleep, her head laying on the pillow beside Percy as she breathed softly.