PJO/HOO One Shots

A Broken Puzzle

Annabeth knew that he was much worse than she was.

He had countless scars that wouldn't fade no matter how much ambrosia or nectar he had. But Annabeth loved the bright white lines contrasting against his tan skin.

His nightmares were worse. It wasn't very often that Annabeth would have one as long as he was there, but he had one almost every night. No one was surprised to walk in on Annabeth running her hands through his hair as his breathing became more even, or them sitting across from each other, Annabeth swiping her thumb against his tear-streaked face while he stared at nothing. The sobs that racked his body were so heart-breaking, it physically hurt Annabeth.

What used to be his favorite thing turned into one of the things he's afraid of. He can have one nightmare and he won't be able to sleep for the next three days. It's not unusual to see him with dark markings under his eyes from the nights he wouldn't dare to close his eyes.

The worst part about him were his flashbacks.

Gods, his flashbacks were horrible. Simple things that you would use everyday triggered them. Annabeth figured he was more afraid of spiders than she was. She tried so hard to keep them at bay- she really did- but nothing worked. He wasn't even allowed up on Olympus because he couldn't go in the elevator, although Annabeth couldn't do that either. He would just stop and stare at it, holding his breath, and start muttering things like, "Bob," or, "Damasen."

Annabeth didn't know when it started happening, but soon, if he had a flashback, his emotions released and everyone in the camp (or wherever he was) felt the same way he does. He'd start screaming for help, and wouldn't let anyone except Annabeth touch him.

His eyes were so dull, the once bright sea-green color almost looked gray. Sure, you could still see the hints of blue, and the green was still there, but there was no glint, sparkle, or any hint of happiness left.

It would sometimes take days to get him to come out of his cabin's bathroom corner and talk again. He once had to stay in the infirmary for a week because he wasn't able to eat anything.

Speaking of eating, he just wouldn't do it. It was one of his favorite things, but he claims everything just tastes like cardboard now. If he eats more than one scrambled egg for basically the whole day, it'll all just come up later. Will had told Annabeth that he could have anorexia related to PTSD. He had all the symptoms.

You could practically see his bones. There was still muscle, but any hints of fat were gone. He was almost as skinny as Leo was- except Leo was naturally small and he wasn't.

Annabeth accepted the fact that Percy was more broken than he was. She was okay with it. Whenever he needed something, she was right there to go get it.

And she would go through hell and back again to get the boy she fell in love with back.

It took a few long months, but the nightmares lessened and he talked more. There were a few really bad days where he would flinch at any loud sound and stay in the corner of the bathroom, but he had learned to talk to Annabeth. He allowed Chiron and Will to listen through the door, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything when anyone but her was there.

He gained some weight, and could actually eat three small meals a day without throwing it all up. Annabeth started teaching classes without him there, and as long as he was with one of the seven (preferably Piper- they had become best friends as had Annabeth and Jason), he was okay.

When they were twenty-two, Percy was fully happy and content with his life. He still had some days like the ones he used to have, but he learned to not stay in the bathroom and went and talked to someone so they could grab Annabeth. They were now married, living in a small house with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. She had actually designed it herself- used the money from the design to build it.

When they were twenty-four, Annabeth found out that she was pregnant. He was so happy that day, Annabeth thought he would never be sad again. The day Anthea was born, he was so excited that he was bouncing up and down.

Annabeth was elated to find out that Anthea had Percy's eyes. She got Annabeth's blonde hair, but it was straight like his.

Percy was like a broken puzzle piece. It might have taken her longer than intended, but Annabeth found all the missing pieces and glued him back together.