The babysitter

Fifty Seven

Percy wanted to throw up. She could didn't know what she was walking into. Cass and Damian were very secluded and guard people. They are hard to make friends with and hard to build trust but it's easy to break. And now Percy is afraid that she ruined it forever. Leaving for months with no explanation.

Jason held her hand the entire time up the stairs and to the living room. She felt like an elephant was sitting on her chest, as she stared at the back of Damian and Cass's head. Bruce was sitting on the coffee table in front of them and sit was sitting on a couch to the left.

Percy couldn't even find her voice. What do you say when you've been gone for months. How do you even start that conversation. Thankfully she didn't have to. Two assassins who can't sense new people in the room aren't good assassins.

Damian and Cass followed Bruce's eye like to look back at her. Cass's face lit up as she swiftly crawled over the back of the couch. The girl almost tackled Percy to the ground if it weren't for Jason steadying the pair. Damian was a different story. Although she was hugging and comforting Cass, Percy could see Damian's eyes also light up, before glaring at her. Damian watched Cass and Percy interact without moving from the couch.

"I'm so sorry, Cass." Percy said. Cass was wrapped around Percy's waist and staring up at her. Percy took one hand to cup the girls cheek, and the other to stroke her head.

Cass just shook her head and hugged her tighter. "Not your fault."

"Speaking of it not being your fault," Tim said, "what exactly happened?"

Jason, from behind Percy and Cass, lightly herded them towards the couch. Cass gave Percy a big squeeze before letting go and going to sit on the other side of Damian. Percy sat next to Damian, close but with space, with Jason on the other side of her.

"I'm not actually too sure about that." Percy shrugged, toeing her shoes off and pulling her legs into a hug. Jason had his arm around her shoulders and was pulling hair out of her hair. "I woke up in a random Atlantis home yesterday. The couple said they saw me floating, unconscious in the water and brought me into their house."

Everyone was staring at her. It felt very anticlimactic. They were expecting something other than she was just sleeping for months on end.

Bruce had his eyebrows burrowed. "And you don't remember anything from the fight to waking up?"

Percy froze. "The fight?"

It felt like that was the wrong thing to say. Everyone seemed to freeze and jerk at the same time. Tim was the one to speak first. "The fight with Joker. Damian got hit and then you started..."

Percy could feel bile in the back of her throat. She wished she was wrong. But with the memories brought up and Damian being hurt. "What? I started doing what?"

Tim looked to the ground, not wanting to say.

Jason rubbed her back. Then, as softly as he could. "You starting controlling Joker's blood."

Percy hid her face into her knees. Pushing her eyes against her knees so hard she saw stars. How could she have been so stupid. She promised herself that she was never going to do that again. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that," Percy started to get up, "I'll leave. I understand why-"

"I don't." Jason grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down to the couch. "I don't understand what you're saying."

"We're not mad, Percy. And we aren't afraid of you." Bruce said. He sent what looked to be his best comforting smile.

"It was honestly kind of cool." Tim shrugged. Cass nodded and agreed.

Damian was still silent beside Percy. He was intently watching everything in the room. Carefully taking everything in. Percy could tell that he was mad. Maybe at her, maybe not. But he was so unhappy with the situation that he didn't know how to process. Wasn't taught how.

"So, what do you remember last?" Bruce asked.

"Leaving Jason's apartment to go to the mission." Percy turned to Jason. "We had talked about Tartarus, I know that. Nico had come over."

"But nothing after that?" Jason asks.

Percy shook her head. Through a yawn, she answers. "It gets a little fuzzy after that."

Bruce lightly clapped his hands. "We should let you sleep. We can talk about this in the morning. Everyone should get some sleep. I'll call Dick in the morning."

Tim, Cass and Bruce left first after the younger two gave Percy a hug and a Bruce a simple wave and kind smile. Then it was Jason, who was wanting in the doorway, Percy and Damian. Percy was anxiously waiting for Damian to say something while Damian wasn't even looking at her.

"Hey, Dami." Percy said after a long pause.

"Jackson." Damian finally looked at her, his glare was cold.

"I'm really sorry I left." Percy sat down next to the boy. Having Damian call her by her last name means that it was worse than she thought.

Damian stared at her for a long time before standing up and walking to the hallway. He had grown a lot in the past four months that Percy didn't seem him. That thought alone made her heart hurt. What else has she missed for a reason she didn't even know.

"He'll come around. He's just needs time to adjust." Jason walked back over to Percy. He pulled her into a hug as she started crying.

"I fucked up didn't I?" Percy wrapped her arms around Jason's waist. She had tears slowly running down her face.

"You didn't do anything wrong. You had no control over anything that happened. He's confused, which doesn't give him the right to act like that. But he's upset." Jason ran his fingers through her hair. "Come on, everything will be better tomorrow."

Percy nodded and let herself be pulled away from the living room.

1018 words

11/5/23

Sorry if it's bad. I wrote this in like thirty forty minutes because someone was like you need to update and I felt bad. But it has been like two weeks since I last updated which isn't even that long for me. 

I was also like half zoned out for half of it so

Pieces Angels and Stay Safe <3