what would you have me do?

This. This is why i love them.

It annoys me very much when in fanfics Percy has adhd and dyslexia but Annabeth doesn’t

Estelle was 13 when Percy stumbled into the apartment, bloodied and bruised.

She had been watching TV in the living room when she heard the sound of a key being turned in the lock. But something was off. It took far too long, the lock clicking and scraping awkwardly, as if the owner was fumbling with the key, struggling to fit it into the lock. Percy must have been leaning against the door for support because when it finally opened, he was knocked off balance and had to catch himself on the door frame.

Stella ran to him immediately, helping him sit at the kitchen table. He looked worse than she had ever seen him. Percy had encountered plenty of other monsters since the one she witnessed when she was 7, but he had always gotten away relatively unscathed, save for a few scratches. But this… she couldn't imagine what could have done this to him.

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"May I speak with you, Praetor?"

Reyna looked at the boy in front of her, the last person she wanted to talk to right now. Jason Grace. He disappears for six months, leaves her alone, then comes back like it's nothing.

"Sure." she answers, looking around, seeing everyone whispering and watching them. She doesn't need this right now.

For six months Reyna imagined what his return would be like. She never lost faith that he was okay and would come back. If anyone knows Jason Grace, she does.

He would come flying or walking. They would embrace, and all would be well again. But instead, he comes back with a bunch of strangers. Guys with amazing powers, brave and beautiful girls who make Reyna feel small. He arrives a different person. A life erased in six months.

They start walking down the path together, in silence. He avoids her glance, like he rather be anywhere else but here, and at the same time wants desperately to kill the silence.

"How... have you been?" he asks, awkwardly.

She gives a humorless laugh. "How am I? Is that what you'll ask?"

He looks at her incredulously, uncomfortable, not knowing what to say.

"There have never been secrets between us. Just say it." she orders him.

"I missed you."

Another humorless laugh, because it's easier than yelling or crying, easier than falling apart right on the spot, with everyone watching. How is it, after all this months, he can still disarm her with a few words? He has always been her weakness."To say I missed you would be an understatement. I was lost without you." her voice is cold.

He tries to say something else, but she cuts him off.

"Can I ask you something?" they keep walking, side by side. Her tone makes it clear she won't ask anything easy, but he just nods. He owes her that, the truth.

"When did you remembered me?" a simple question.

"Four months ago."

She already knew that from the retelling of their quest at dinner. But she didn’t believe it then, Reyna refused to believe it until she heard it from Jason himself.

"You remembered me, you knew I was here, alone, dealing with the camp on my own. And you never thought of coming back before, did you?"

"Reyna-"

"Right?"

"Right."

She can't say anything, not in front of everybody. He knows that. She has to pretend she’s in control, that everything is fine. As if his return itself didn't raise enough rumors, he has to come back showing off his new girlfriend. People talk, he used to know that. There was only one kiss between Reyna and Jason. He doesn't belong to her. She thought it had meant something, now she realizes it didn't.

Reyna would rather walk away with her head held high. Nod and just do what she has to do. She can handle anything, she is strong, she has been able to, and she will be able to.

But of course Jason is not just going to let her go.

“Reyna, I’m sorry.” he says while holding her wrist, everyone looking at them, gossiping even more.

“I know you are.” it’s all she says, because she is hurting too much, because this is the last thing she needs right now, with her city full of strangers she doesn’t know if she can trust, with an inevitable threat upon them. How can she say I missed you or I love you to this new version of him?

She grunts, done with this conversation but also not wanting to let go. She takes his wrist, just like he did, and lead him to the Senate House while closing the doors behind her. Quite inappropriate, but there’s nowhere else she can think of right now. This is one of the places where they used to work together, when they were a team.

“I don’t know what you were thinking coming back, but I’ll tell you it’s a relief and a torture.” she tells him, while backing him down towards the wall. “But the thing is, I can’t deal with this right now. I have to keep Octavian under control, prepare for the war, or the attacks, or whatever is coming, and figure out if I can trust all of these strangers, including you.” she says, pocking his chest with her finger at the last statement.

“You can trust me.” he sounds hurt, but she can’t bring herself to feel sorry.

“Can I?” her tone is harsh.

“I think you are exaggerating, maybe even being selfish.” he says, a little angrily while moving away, to the other side of the room. The nerve.

“Oh. I’m exaggerating? I’m the selfish one?” he flinches, knowing he crossed the line. “Well, I’m sorry. You’re right. Poor Jason had to endure a quest of less than a week along side two other demigods with incredible powers. I’ve been insensitive.” she’s yelling at him at this point, with the whole room between them, but stepping closer and closer.

“At least you knew who you were. I didn’t know who I was, or where I was, they were the only thing that seemed reliable.” he’s also yelling, and the fight can probably be heard from outside, but she doesn’t care anymore.

“At least you weren’t alone. I stayed here, with the weight of the city on my shoulders, crying myself to sleep, with Octavian constantly making me think you were already dead.” her words echo, and all she wants to do is cry. They’re face to face now, their noses almost touching, both of them breathing heavily.

“I don’t know you anymore. I want you out of my city as soon as your quest gets approved.” her voice couldn’t be colder.

“Reyna-“

“Out.” she says right in Jason’s face, avoiding his eyes.

It would be a long time until she forgave him.