Rise (Percy Jackson x Reader)

three

rewritten: march 8, 2021; edited/re-rewritten: august 1, 2023
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If chaos could be a location, Grover would designate it as Camp Half-Blood's infirmary.

Currently overloaded with stress as he tries to keep curious demigods from smothering an unconscious Percy Jackson, he cannot help but wish that he wasn't given this job. If being a protector meant that he constantly had to deal with this insanity, he wasn't sure he wanted the responsibility anymore.

"Who is he?" one demigod asks, leaning closer, and Grover pushes them away.

"Not important."

"I heard is dad is one of the Big Three!" another exclaims, grabbing Grover's shoulders in excitement. "Is it true?"

"It doesn't matter," Grover tries to dismiss, pushing the girl's arms away from him.

"He's kind of cute," a daughter of Aphrodite gushes, earning multiple nods and voices of affirmation from the other girls in the group.

"And you all are kind of creepy!" Grover snaps, making the cluster of campers go quiet.

"He's got a point," a voice rings out from the infirmary's entrance, and heads turn to face its owner. Annabeth blandly addresses the group, "Clear out, guys. He needs his rest and there are other people healing here."

Contrary to Annabeth's hopes, the campers grow more determined to stay as their attention fixates on the Minotaur horn in her hand.

"So he did kill a Minotaur!" one of the demigods exclaims, and the others begin talking excitedly in raised voices.

"It's not that special."

"It's a Minotaur, Mark, shut up!"

"Can I hold it?"

Annabeth lifts a hand to the bridge of her nose, grumbling in frustration, before her best friend comes to her rescue. The chatter instantly dies down as (Y/N) walks into the infirmary, raising an eyebrow at the group.

"Let the poor guy rest," she says, walking past Annabeth and weaving through everyone to stand next to Grover at the foot of Percy's bed. The campers turn to her, hesitant to leave, and (Y/N) rolls her eyes before making a 'shoo' gesture at the group and crossing her arms.

They file out, a few heads hanging in both disappointment and shame, and Annabeth holds the door open for them all to leave.

"Thank you," Grover breathes, relieved. The girls instantly wrap their arms around him in a hug.

"We missed you," (Y/N) tells him, squeezing him before letting go. Annabeth nods furiously.

"I missed y'all, too." Grover leans back, smiling at both of them. "It's good to be back."

"It's good to have you back," Annabeth says, patting his shoulder.

Grover sighs happily, but his expression grows worried when he looks back at the sleeping boy. "It's been rough," he says, his voice now quiet and solemn. (Y/N) and Annabeth share a glance before the daughter of Athena speaks up.

"Well, we, uh . . . we brought this from the forest," Annabeth says, holding up the Minotaur horn and walking up to the boy's bedside. "He might want to keep his first spoil of war." She places it on the nightstand, stepping away to rejoin Grover's side.

"What's his name?" (Y/N) asks. Concern passes over her expression when the boy frowns in his sleep, his eyelids crinkling as he scrunches them. Her focus darts to the glass on the bedside table, an eyebrow lifting with intrigue as the water inside starts rocking from one side to the other.