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he was just about to hop in the shower when percy heard a weak knock on his door. he walked over to it quickly, unlocked it, and swung it open. his face lit up for a moment at the sight of his girlfriend but almost instantly fell into concern as he took in her state. she looked pale and exhausted, and her jeans were soaked red with blood on the side of her right thigh.
“annabeth, what the fuck happened?” he asked, stepping forward to grab her before she collapsed. she fell against him weakly and he all but carried her into his apartment. he pushed the door hard enough for it to slam shut and held on to her for a moment as he thought. while her leg was covered in red, there wasn’t any blood dripping on to the floor.
“okay, beth,” he said quietly, “let’s get you to my room. come on.”
annabeth whimpered as he readjusted his grip on her to hold her tighter against him. she tried to work with him but percy could tell she was moments away from losing consciousness. he did his best to hold her up but she was leaning on him with almost all of her weight. carefully, they stumbled down the hall until percy gently set her on his bed. “beth, what happened? talk to me,” he said as he shuffled through his drawer for the small stash of ambrosia he had.
“monster,” annabeth muttered weakly, stating the obvious. percy would’ve laughed if he wasn’t scared out of his mind. he found the ziploc bag containing a few squares of ambrosia and broke a piece off. he knelt next to her and carefully fed her. she hummed quietly as she chewed it.
“what’s it taste like, annabeth? can you tell me?” he asked, just trying to get her to respond. she looked at him with her cloudy gray eyes and gave him a small, dazed smile.
“cookies,” she replied. her voice already sounded stronger. “your mom’s cookies.”
percy pushed her hair off her forehead, smiling softly. he didn’t mention how much his heart warmed at the thought of her comfort food being his mom’s cookies. it had been a few months since the war with gaea and annabeth was at his apartment constantly, so sally always seemed to have an endless supply of blue cookies for them both.
“good, beth,” he said. “we have some fresh ones. you can have some when you’re better, okay?” he kissed her forehead as she nodded. percy decided to take the risk and give her one more small piece of the godly food before storing it away. annabeth looked up at him. she color was returning to her face and even in her tired, sweaty state, percy thought she looked beautiful.
“i was on my way here,” she said, her voice a little hoarse, “and i got attacked by something. it was a scorpion but i don’t think it was poisonous. poison usually burns. this didn’t burn, it just felt like i got stabbed.”
percy nodded, uncapping the water bottle on his nightstand for her. “i hate that you know what it feels like to be poisoned and stabbed,” he said, making her chuckle as she drank a sip of water. “but i’m also glad because it’s good that we know it’s not poison. that, i don’t think i could fix. do you feel any better?”
she nodded, handing him the water. “it hurts a lot but i don’t feel like i’m dying anymore,” she said.
“oh, good,” percy smiled. “please don’t do that.”
annabeth reached for his hand. “don’t want me to die on you, seaweed brain? would you miss me too much?”
percy rolled his eyes. “no, it’s just that you’re laying in my bed. i sleep there, you know? it would kinda suck if you died where i sleep.”
annabeth laughed softly before wincing. percy took the time to look at her leg now that she wasn’t minutes away from death.
“the ambrosia helped, but you’re still bleeding, i think,” he said quietly. then he smiled at her. “you’re gonna have to take your jeans off for me.”
any other day, annabeth would’ve rolled her eyes. instead, she laughed a little. she let go of his hand to undo the button and zipper of her jeans. despite the implications of his joke, percy only watched her face. she struggled to lift her hips and pull the denim off, still too weak for so much movement.
she looked at him. “help me,” she said quietly.
he smiled and stood. “mm yes, taking your clothes off,” he said, “my favorite thing to do.” annabeth rolled her eyes.
“i hate you,” she muttered. she lifted her hips again, allowing percy to slide her jeans off. she grimaced as the fabric pulled away from her wound. percy set her jeans on his bed, making sure the bloody area wasn’t touching his sheets. not that it mattered too much considering her leg most likely getting the sheets covered anyway.
“anything else you want me to take off?” he asked with a cheeky smile. “your shirt might have some blood on it, should that come off too?”
“oh, don’t even try it,” she said. her smile didn’t match her annoyed tone. “how bad is it? on a scale from one to ten.”
percy looked at the gash in her thigh. it was about three inches long and an inch deep. the skin around it was red and purple. luckily, the bleeding had subsided for the most part.
“um… a seven?” percy said. then added, “point five.”
annabeth groaned in annoyance. percy just smiled softly before kissing her forehead and making his way into his bathroom to get a washcloth. he found one and submerged it in hot water, ringing it out and making his way back to annabeth. her eyes were closed and her chest rose and fell with her deep breaths. he tried not to show it, but percy was panicking a tiny bit. partially because his girlfriend had been on the brink of death 15 minutes ago, but also because he wasn’t exactly sure how to help her. despite how many wounds he’s had over the years, he wasn’t sure what the best way to go about cleaning them was.
he knelt next to her again and began wiping the surrounding skin. annabeth gasped sharply in pain when he touched her. he noticed her biting her lip, likely to hold back any other noises. he realized that was probably for his sake.
“beth, what can i do?” he asked quietly, helpless. “how do i help?”
she looked down at him, then at the wound, wincing at the sight. then she faced that ceiling and took a deep breath. “help me stand,” she said, “and help me into the bath.”
percy nodded silently and stood up. annabeth pushed herself up until she was sitting and carefully turned until her feet touched the floor. percy slipped his arm around her waist and hers wrapped around his shoulders. leaning on him, she stood up slowly. percy waited for a moment to let her gain her balance. she nodded silently and he led her into his bathroom. he was lucky his mom wasn’t home considering they had to walk through the hall to get to his bathroom and his girlfriend was a) half-naked and b) wounded.
percy sat her on the closed toilet lid. “let me start the bath so it’s warm when you get in,” he said quietly. she just nodded. he turned on the water and let it run for a moment before closing the plug. he sat on his knees in front of annabeth while the tub filled up. she placed one hand on his shoulder and the other on his jaw. percy recognized the gratitude in her eyes and he smiled in return. after a few moments, he shut the tap off and stood to help her again.
“ready?” he asked, holding his hands out to grip her waist. she used his upper arms as support to pull herself up. annabeth looked at him for a second before leaning forward and kissing him softly. percy couldn’t help the grin that took over his face. “c’mon,” he whispered, “we can do more of that once you’re all healed up.”
annabeth nodded and shuffled towards the tub with percy’s help. she stopped in front of it and bit her lip. she’d have to put her weight on her injured leg to step in. percy realized this and tightened his grip on her, silently saying i got you, it’s okay. she nodded. she put her injured leg in first, procrastinating putting the weight on it. then she lifted her other leg, grimacing. percy did his best to hold her up, allowing her to use her right leg as little as possible.
once both feet were in the tub, percy kept his grip on her and knelt with her as she sat down. she whimpered when the water touched her wound.
“ow,” she muttered. when she was fully seated, percy let go of her waist and sat cross-legged on the floor outside the tub. there was only a few inches of water, not enough to cover annabeth’s legs completely, so she used her hand to weakly pour water over the wound. percy grabbed her other hand.
“i got it,” he said quietly. he concentrated so the water crawled up the side of her thigh, covering the gash. he knew the water was cleaning it, but percy still felt guilty when annabeth’s grip tightened on his hand and her face scrunched up in pain. “sorry,” he said quietly.
annabeth shook her head, looking at him. she brought his fingers up to her lips, kissing them gently. “it’s okay,” she told him. “it’s helping.” percy just nodded silently. he let the water run over her wound for a bit longer. annabeth wrinkled her nose when she realized the water she was sitting in was now tinted pink with blood. percy kissed her hand to get her attention again.
“let me get some bandages and some pants for you. do you need anything else?” he asked.
annabeth bit her lip. “hydrogen peroxide, if you have it. it’ll hurt but it needs to be cleaned thoroughly. oh, also, um, sweatpants, a new shirt, and underwear.”
percy nodded, kissing her knuckles one more time before leaving her alone. he went into his mom’s bathroom first, locating the peroxide and bandages under her sink. from all the times he’d injured himself learning to skate when he was younger, he’d remembered that his mom always kept them there. then he trailed back to his room to find the pair of his sweatpants he knew annabeth loved to steal because they were just a little too small for him. as he grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of his boxers for her, he debated getting more ambrosia but decided against it. the last thing he wanted was to give her too much of that.
when he re-entered the bathroom, annabeth was sitting there with her eyes closed, her head tilted upwards. she looked over at him when she heard him set everything down. already looking unhappy, she lifted her hand. “give me the peroxide, please,” she said quietly. he brought over the brown bottle, handing it to her. he grabbed a towel, the bandages, and the clothes and set them on the toilet lid before kneeling. he watched as she poured it over the wound. percy noticed just how hard she was biting her lip from the pain and he grabbed her hand.
she let the hydrogen peroxide sit for a few seconds and she squeezed his hand. “can you, uh, do the water thing again? please?” she asked, her voice weak. percy didn’t respond, instead just concentrated so the water covered her wound again. she tensed up for a moment before her body began to relax again. “thanks,” she murmured.
“come on, beth,” he said gently, pulling the plug to let the water drain. annabeth grabbed his shoulder and he held her waist. he helped her stand up slowly and step out. once she’d gained steady footing, he looked at her and said, “keep a hold on my shoulders, okay?” she nodded and he knelt in front of her. he took the towel and dried her legs off, carefully maneuvering around the wound. regardless, her hands tightened on his shoulders when he got near it. then he grabbed the bandages and looked up at her. “ready?” he asked quietly. she just nodded silently, closing her eyes.
he wrapped the bandage around her thigh. percy could feel her tense up and he was pretty sure she was holding her breath. he finished up as quickly as he could and then grabbed the clothes. “last step, beth,” he said quietly.
“oh, now you want me to wear pants?” she joked, smiling weakly at him. he chuckled.
“want you to? no. but you’re just so irresistible, so i need you to.”
annabeth breathed out a laugh. “let me sit down for this. if i have to step into these, i’ll fall,” she told him and he nodded. he grabbed her waist and he helped her shuffle over to sit on the toilet lid. before she was fully seated, she slipped off her underwear. “eyes up here, jackson,” she told him, making them both smile.
“well that’s no fun,” he said. but despite his joke, he kept his eyes on her face the entire time. the last thing he wanted to do right now was make her uncomfortable.
annabeth took the boxers from him and pulled them on, making sure her feet were fully through the holes before letting go of them. then she did the same with the sweatpants so they could be pulled up together. she pulled them as far up as she could go without lifting her hips before reaching out and grabbing for percy. “pull them up for me the rest of the way when i stand, i need to hold on to you to stand up.”
“okay,” he replied. he grabbed the waistbands and annabeth placed her hands on his shoulders. as she pulled herself up, he slid them up her legs until they were both standing upright and the band of the sweatpants rested just above her hips. percy placed his hands on her waist and helped her to lean against the counter. he grabbed the wet hem of her shirt and lifted it over her head. his eyes trailed over her torso with a smile as he reached for the shirt he brought for her.
annabeth rolled her eyes. “don’t even try it, percy,” she said, though she was smiling. percy chuckled and held her waist for a second, dropping a single kiss on her collarbone. he then helped her into his shirt, grinning once it was on. it was just a little oversized on her and he’d always loved how she looked in his clothes. she looked better now, just tired. before he could say anything, annabeth slid her arms around his shoulders, hugging him. he returned the hug, holding her against his body. “bedtime?” he asked quietly. she shook her head.
“you promised me cookies and more kissing.”
percy smiled and kept his arm around her as he led her down the hall, into the kitchen. she leaned against the counter as he opened the container of cookies, holding them out to her. she took two, not hesitating to devour one. percy looked her up and down, silently thanking the gods that she was safe and alive.
“what?” she asked, tilting her head. percy smiled.
“just glad you’re okay. i was pretty scared,” he admitted. annabeth finished the rest of her second cookie and held her arms out for him. he stepped into her space and hugged her, tucking his head into the crook of her neck.
“you don’t have to worry about me,” she said gently, which made percy laugh. he lifted his head to look at her.
“i know you can take care of yourself, you’re the strongest person i know,” he said, leaning forward to kiss her. “but when you show up at my door bleeding, i think i’m allowed to worry.”
annabeth grinned. “i guess so,” she shrugged. then her face turned more serious. “thank you, though. you say i can take care of myself, and i can. but i also might’ve died today if i didn’t have you to take care of me too.” she kissed him, then added much more quietly, “i love you.”
percy’s heart flipped. it did every single time she said those words. partly because it was exciting to know she loved him the same way he loved her. but he also knew how hard it was for her to love someone, when everyone she’d loved before left or let her down, so it meant a lot to him for her to tell him she loved him.
“i love you too,” he replied. “neither of us need someone to take care of us, but we take care of each other anyways.”
she nodded and began to play with his hair. “so i got my cookies,” she said quietly, “but i was promised more kissing too.”
“mhm,” percy hummed, leaning forward to press his lips to hers. “i always keep my promises.”