Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

There's a knock on the door one unsuspecting weekend.

Percy trails after his mom curiously as she goes to check who it is, stepping around the crumpled beer can on the carpet. By some stroke of luck, Smelly Gabe was out of the apartment for a poker tournament at his buddy's place the whole day. 

His mom looked through the peephole for only a second before she was opening the door with a wide smile. "May, Ben, what brings you here? Come in, come in."

Their neighbours, May and Ben Parker, were a nice couple that Percy had known since he was a baby. Ben was a cop, and told him all sorts of cool things about how to do basic self-defence and not letting anyone talk down to him. May was a kind of awkward disaster, but she was super funny and made the lines around his mom's eyes disappear, so Percy really loved her. They hadn't been visiting that much lately, ever since Smelly Gabe moved in, and Percy had kinda missed them.

A boy, that Percy's mom must've missed, was standing behind the couple. He was skinny, and his curly brown hair was a mess, and his glasses were askew, and he was shifting side to side on his feet. The boy was around Percy's age, maybe a little younger, he was a bit baby faced for a 2ⁿᵈ grader – which reminded Percy that he had a field trip at the end of the year he was nervous about. The last field trip he went on hadn't ended well and Percy got expelled, which made him cry a lot and he was still mad about it.

As the Parkers stepped forwards into the apartment, Percy scrunched up his nose and reached to adjust the boy's glasses. He had flinched back briefly but relaxed when Percy stepped away after fixing the issue.

"Sorry." Percy apologised, hiding behind his mom's leg. "It was annoying me."

The boy blinked, then giggled. "It's okay! Thank you!"

May and Ben looked at the boy's smile like it was a precious thing they had never seen before, flashing a grateful look at Percy. It confused him. Why did they seem so surprised that this boy was happy?

"This is our nephew, Peter." Ben says, urging him to stand in front of them. Percy moved away from his mom in response. "He'll be living with us from now on, so we thought we better introduce him to our lovely neighbours."

Percy opened his mouth to ask why Peter wasn't staying with his parents, but his mom gave him that look that told him whatever he was thinking wasn't appropriate to say. He snapped his teeth back together.

"Well, it's great to meet you, Peter. I'm Sally Jackson, and this is my son, Percy." When his name was said, Percy gave a small wave and kept his mouth shut so he didn't accidentally say something his mom wouldn't like.

Peter waves back timidly. "Hi, Miss Jackson. Hi, Percy."

"Wanna see my skateboard?" He blurts, then flushes in embarrassment. But Peter's eyes fill with wonder and awe at the offer. 

They ran to Percy's room, ignoring the sounds of the adults laughing. Percy's mom called out to them. "Go outside if you're doing tricks! No skateboarding in the apartment!"

"I don't have many friends." Peter admits quietly as they sit beside each other on a bench, watching the other people at the skate park. A group of teens had shown up and forced Percy out while he was in the middle of showing off his new skateboard. "Everyone thinks I'm a know-it-all and don't let me work with them."

Swinging his feet, Percy looks at the other boy. "Me too. People call me an idiot cause I read super slow, but it's not my fault I've got dylexisa or whatever."

"Dyslexia?" 

"Yeah, that." He huffs. "Why does it have an 'x' in it? Whoever named it is the real dumbass."

Peter pokes at his arm, frowning. "That's not a nice word, Percy!"

The two eventually decide to head back to the apartment before their guardians get worried about them, hopping off of the bench and weaving through the alleyways. Percy leads the way, familiar with the streets they walk along and promises to teach Peter all of the shortcuts.

"Hey, Peter?" He says, stopping outside the door to Percy's apartment. "Maybe we could… be friends?"

Immediately, he's wrapped up in a hug from the smaller boy. "Of course!"

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There was a strange blue woman standing beside the lake, ushering Percy over urgently. He looked nervously back at the teacher that was chaperoning his 2ⁿᵈ grade end of year field trip. It was something simple, just a day out at Central Park, and Percy was so bored. They're New Yorkers, everyone's been to Central Park!

So that's why, ever so slowly, Percy inched his way closer to the woman. She seemed much more interesting than this was.

Eventually, he managed to duck behind a tree and reached the lake. Her skin shimmered like the surface of a pool, and her loose hair flowed in the breeze like rippling waves. 

"You're so pretty." Percy whispered, admiring her beautiful silk dress. He thinks that it would suit his mom very well; she always loved the ocean. 

The woman crouched down gracefully to pat his head. There were bits of moss and sticks stuck in her hair that he went to remove before she stopped Percy with a gentle hand. "Hello, little prince. I'm very glad you're here, I need your help."

"My help?" He tilted his head, but followed her to the edge of the lake regardless. And what was up with that nickname? Percy wasn't little and he definitely wasn't a prince. He'll ask his mom later. Right now, he was doing a nice thing for a nice lady, which mom said was a good thing to do whenever he could. "What do you need help with?"

She kneeled onto the grass, placing her arms beneath the water and gesturing for Percy to do the same. Confused, but intrigued, he did. He had always felt like he had some sort of connection with the sea, as silly as it sounded, because of times like these when he would touch water and could just feel it. It was a sensation that settled comfortably around his shoulders and in his gut.

But... Percy furrowed his brows as a couple tiny fish darted in between his fingers. "There's something wrong with the water."

"Yes, it is much too polluted for us to deal with on our own. We need you to help with purifying the lake." The woman confirmed, face soft.

"I don't know how to do that…" He trails off, embarrassed. "I'm sorry, miss."

She joined their pinkies together before he could pull out of the water. "Just do as I say, I am positive that you will be a natural."

Hesitant, Percy followed her instructions about tugging on the lake with his mind and making it obey his wishes. It made his tummy hurt, but it was so worth it being able to make tiny blobs lift out of the water and plop back down again. The woman gave him a minute of time to play with his newfound powers before she was telling him to mentally search for anything that wasn't clean water.

Eyes scrunched closed in concentration, he located trash congregating at the bed of the lake. Percy relayed the information back to the woman, who continued to praise him for his abilities – still using that weird nickname. All the compliments made him feel warm inside and just motivated him to keep up the work.

"Very good, little prince." She grins. "Now, this is going to take a bit of patience to start out with, but it won't take too long at all. Use the water to push at the trash, bring it up to the surface."

Nodding, he does just that. It was slow going at first, she was right about that, but once enough had been dislodged it was easy to create currents that brought all of it up and up. Beside him, Percy could tell that the woman was also helping to keep all the trash compacted together and not falling away from the big chunk. Finally, it broke the surface of the water and the tight ball dispersed, leaving the muck floating atop the lake. People walking by made sudden disgusted noises at the sight, and Percy could understand where they were coming from. It stank!

"Thank you so much, little prince, now the mortals will take notice of how bad our lake has gotten and take better care of it in future." With that, the woman practically melted into the water, not allowing Percy the chance to get a word out.

He tried to dive after her, but he was pulled away by the back of his t-shirt. About to protest, he looked up and met the furious gaze of the chaperone. 

"Perseus Jackson! What on earth do you think you're doing?" Not letting Percy say anything, she tugged him up and out of the lake, back to the group. "Wandering off like that without telling anyone, playing in the filthy lake, ignoring the many warnings you've gotten this year. You are going to sit on that bus and stay there until the rest of us finish our day out. Think about what you want to say to your mother when you're suspended."

Percy attempted to argue. "But I was-"

"If you keep talking back, that suspension will become an expulsion, Perseus." 

He's made to sit at the very front where the driver can keep an eye on him, but Percy's slowly losing any energy to be grouchy. His entire body aches, his stomach is cramping, and he just really wants to sleep until graduation. 

Clearly, the school doesn't think that Percy is telling the truth about what happened, no matter how in detail he explains it. For 'making up lies' and 'antagonising his teacher', Percy does in fact get expelled for the second year in a row. 

The drive back home is awkward and tense. He's not excited about what Smelly Gabe's reaction will be when they walk through the door.

Peter believes him, when he shares the story a week later (once he was no longer grounded). 

"Maybe you can be like Captain America when you grow up!" He whispers it like it's a secret. Percy guesses it kinda is, he doesn't wanna be, like, experimented on if anyone found out he had powers.

"What would my superhero name be?" Asks Percy, the two of them staring up at the ceiling while they lay on Peter's bed. "It's gotta be something water related. And cool."

"Perseus is already the name of a hero, though." Peter points out, grabbing a notebook and pen to jot down ideas.

Groaning, Percy rolls over onto his front and buries his head in his arms. "But that's so corny! I don't wanna just go by my own name."

"How about…" Hums Peter, scribbling something down. "Aqua-Boy?"

"Aqua-Man." 

Peter rolls his eyes. "Yeah, as if."

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Next school year, Percy finds himself as the new kid at Peter's school.

He's in the grade above his friend, but he doesn't mind too much since they get to hang out at recess and lunchtime. The annoying part is that people keep trying to make Percy join their friend groups even though he's made it pretty clear that he's already friends with Peter. Once, someone tried to tell Percy that he would be better off without the 'asthmatic loser' and Peter had to physically hold his shoulders to keep Percy from jumping the bully. He settled on glaring, which was enough to make everyone finally back off. 

On a different note, Percy's grades were improving noticeably due to the extra help he got from Peter during the school day. He was actually sort of understanding parts of math and science now, but languages still eluded him.

It was amazing, and Percy found himself relaxing into the new school environment pretty quickly now that he had Peter by his side. 

And one day, someone else was sitting at their table. Peter introduced Percy to his friend from science, Ned, who turned out to be a pretty cool guy. A nerd, like Peter, but Percy didn't mind not understanding anything they were talking about; just the sound of conversation was enough for him. Not like he didn't go on long rambles about fish types or recipes or TV shows, himself.

Ned became a part of their friendship, the trio having a sleepover or a hangout every weekend to build LEGOs or watch movies or go to the arcade. To be honest, Percy absolutely adored LEGO sets, having something to do with his hands that didn't require utmost concentration and also didn't involve any words swimming about on a page was the dream. Peter and him had constant gratification for Ned's family which were able to comfortably afford their fun.

They rarely went to Percy's anymore, though, Smelly Gabe forbidding 'snot nosed brats' to 'invade his space' while he was there. He's such an asshole, Percy couldn't help thinking to himself sometimes, knowing that it wasn't a word a 9 year old should know. But he didn't care, Smelly Gabe deserved all the bad words in the world and then some.

Incidents at school were far less than before, too. There had only been a few times at the beginning of the year when someone would insult Peter's asthma, or interests, or lack of parents, and find themselves with a furious Percy aiming a punch at their chest. Thankfully, the principal was forgiving enough to only issue detention and suspensions at worst, on the basis that Percy was protecting his friend. Ben (who Percy had also taken to calling his uncle) told him that he had a noble cause, but violence wasn't always the solution to every injustice.

Things were looking up for Percy, he was getting back on his feet and he was feeling hopeful.

Then, of course, came the end of year field trip.

It was supposed to be a guided raft tour of Ausable Chasm, small groups of 3rd graders at a time plus a teacher. Sweet and small, but exciting enough to keep a bunch of young children entertained enough not to act up in case they fell into the river. This was a trip the school had been doing year on year, with no major slip ups.

Naturally, Percy would be the one to break that streak, as always.

He thought he was being good, getting to the raft early for once. His guidance teacher was constantly telling Percy that he needed to learn a lesson in 'punctuality', so here he was. Learning to be punctual.

But then, before the guide had managed to step foot onto the raft and join Percy, the raft had started going. Some rogue current had pushed it from the dock after the rope had mysteriously been left untied to the wooden post. Alone, at the front of an inflatable raft, Percy could do nothing but let himself careen down the river.

"It shouldn't be going that fast!" The panicked voice of the guide faded away behind the rock wall.

Percy curled in on himself, hugging his lifejacket and keeping his eyes firmly shut as he jerked against the sides of the raft. Then, as suddenly as the speed had come, it calmed to a lazy bobbing. The boy blinked, then gasped at the beautiful geometric walls of the cavern around him.

Somehow, even without an oar, Percy's raft managed to continue on and expertly dodge around sharp turns. He swore that it was someone moving it with their hands, and when he peered over the edge, he caught the glimpse of a giggling dark-skinned girl underneath his raft.

Concerned for her safety, he leaned even further over the side, trying to see her again. The entire raft tilted and Percy scrambled – nearly falling into the water – before it abruptly righted itself. "Hey, you're going to capsize if you do that!"

He whipped around to see the girl clutching the raft on the opposite side from Percy. Abashedly, the boy sat back in the middle of the inflatable, apologising to the river girl. She started sliding back down into the water before Percy yelped.

"Wait!" Only her hands, with sharp manicured nails, and the top of her head was visible. "Do you need help out of the river? Aren't you going to drown?"

She cackled, slapping at the raft as she laughed. "You're funny, land dweller! Why don't you come join me, we can both breathe down here."

"I'm not a fish, silly, I can't breathe underwater." Percy scoffed.

"You sure?" The mysterious girl just winked at him, disappearing beneath the murky river. "Buh-bye, princey!"

A mechanical whir jolted Percy back to reality as a jet ski rounded the corner behind his raft. It stopped beside him, the man in the back carefully got onto the inflatable then helped Percy get situated on the back seat of the jet ski. The worker pulled off the spare oar attached to the side of the vehicle and tossed it onto the raft before securing a climbing harness around Percy's waist and clipping him to the worker manning the jet ski. 

"Let's get ya back to your class, little guy. That must've been scary, eh?" Jet ski man said, revving the engine and telling the boy to hold on tight.

Percy frowned. "There was a girl in the river, I tried to make her get on the raft but she just laughed at me and swam away. She said she could breathe underwater."

"See a mermaid, did ya?" He chuckled, moving a hand from the handlebars to give Percy a reassuring pat on the arm. "Don' worry, there's no girls swimmin' in here."

In actuality, Percy had seen no consequences for the first week following the whole escapee raft fiasco. The company running the rafting at Ausable Cavern were under investigation, and the whole thing had become a pretty big deal with the media. Percy was famous, and he hated it. Even if he was getting money for taking part in interviews.

And, of course, because it had been heavily in the news, some nosy journalist had decided to do some digging into Percy's past and that was when it all blew back on him. They'd gotten the reports from his previous teachers about him causing problems and being particularly known for running off during field trips. The journalist had taken it and sprinted with his misconstrued story.

"It was obvious that Perseus has had issues in the past involving listening to authority figures, quite possibly due to his lack of proper father." Marco Steward, the journalist, commented in his article. "To me, it's so incredibly clear that Perseus is a troubled boy that wants to run away from anyone telling him what to do, to go and be one with the 'women in the water'. I think that he untied the rope to that raft while nobody was looking and gave it a big kick, hoping that he would somehow end up across the country with just himself and his delusions."

The story spread like wildfire, criticisms and agreements alike towards Steward's take on what happened. Unfortunately for Percy, whether they approved of the harshness of the article, the general consensus was that Steward was basically correct in his claims that it was all Percy's fault.

Which was why he was here, again, sitting in the back of the car with his silent mom. She was angry, and Percy knew she wasn't remotely mad at him, but he couldn't help from hiding in his room. 

Peter was devastated when he learned of Percy's expulsion. It wasn't fair!

He got on the family computer and ranted to Ned about it, agreeing that the only way to cheer him up was a weekend long sleepover full of LEGO sets and movie marathons. Or ocean documentaries, whatever Percy preferred. 

They both cheered inwardly (and a bit outwardly) when Percy agreed without hesitation, helping him to pack a small bag for staying over at Ned's. Ms Jackson made them promise to keep Percy safe and to have fun, sending them away with a tub of her signature chocolate chip cookies.

For the whole of Friday night, they binged old Disney movies until they passed out, stuffing their faces with candy and working on the new LEGO Atlantis model Ned had bought specifically for Percy. Slowly, as the evening went on, his sour mood started to brighten and it made Peter smile. One thing he really hated was seeing Percy sad, it was horrible whenever his goofy little grin wasn't on his face. 

This is what having friends is about, Peter thinks as he drifts off that night, on an inflatable mattress on Ned's floor, with Percy in a sleeping bag beside him.

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For the first time since 1974, the Stark Expo was being held once again, and Peter was beyond ecstatic. He talked the ears off of anyone who gave him the opportunity, wearing down Aunt May and Uncle Ben's resolve until they agreed that they would take him to the opening ceremony. This was Peter's chance to meet his hero in person!

Ned was equally as excited when he found out that Peter was going, but his family didn't particularly like Mr Stark so they didn't let Ned go with. Ms Jackson, on the other hand, thought it was a good idea for Percy to join the Parkers so that he could maybe learn a bit more about math and science. Peter was happy to volunteer explaining things that Percy didn't understand, and packed a fresh new notebook in May's handbag so they can work things out together.

It was going to be so cool!

There's vendors on the streets outside selling merch, Peter getting an Iron Man helmet and thruster gloves, and Percy opting for a cheap nightlight in the shape of the Arc Reactor. The helmet doesn't quite fit so well over Peter's glasses, but he doesn't really care cause Percy says he looks epic. He mimes flying around (with added jet noises), making the others laugh.

When they head inside, Uncle Ben hoists Percy onto his shoulders and Aunt May does the same for Peter so that they don't get swallowed by the crowd. They end up somewhere in the middle of the pack and the boys pretend to have a crazy amazing air battle while they wait for the event to start. There's dancers or something, but no Iron Man, so the two friends aren't paying any attention.

Finally, the distinctive sound of the suit's thrusters draws near. Fascinated, they watch the hero of the hour descend from the sky and land onto the stage with a flourish. Mechanical arms reach out to remove the suit without Mr Stark having to lift a finger, and Peter sees Percy gape from his periphery.

"Woah…" The boy's sea-green eyes are bright with wonder. "It's like magic."

Peter tugs at his jacket sleeve. "It's not magic, it's engineering!"

Mr Stark delivers the welcoming speech about peace and legacy, their little group cheering and clapping in all the right places. A video of Howard Stark listing the benefits of technology on society plays once Tony walks off stage, and there's a palpable joy in the air. Peter is extra glad that he doesn't have sensitive hearing, because all of the screaming and loud noises really wouldn't be helping with the headache starting to form from the flashing lights. Sure, it's a little uncomfortable, but Peter doesn't want to miss a single moment of this evening.

Very soon, Peter drags the others along to where Mr Stark is walking by. He excitedly holds out a photo of Iron Man and Mr Stark signed it! And then he patted Peter on the top of the helmet – oh how Peter wishes he took it off now, but nevermind that! Hugging the signed photo to his chest, he promised himself that he was going to cherish it forever. Aunt May gently placed it in her handbag, tucked into the pages of the notebook to keep it safe.

He wasn't the only one who had been noticed. Despite seeming to be in some kind of a hurry, Mr Stark had paused in the middle of his stride once he had made eye contact with Percy. Said boy had his head tilted and was studying the hero with narrowed eyes and a tiny, distressed frown.

"Sir, is there something wrong with your blood?" Percy asked curiously, and Mr Stark choked like the wind had been knocked out of him.

Uncle Ben chastised the boy. "Percy! Ya can't just say that, what're you even talkin' about? I'm so sorry, Mr Stark, I dunno why he's like this."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Your son's got an active imagination. I gotta run." Mr Stark speeds away before Uncle Ben or Aunt May can clarify that they aren't related. Collectively, they all turn to stare incredulously at the boy in question, who's still watching Mr Stark's retreating form.

"I'm worried about him." Percy mumbles, not even blinking. "His blood smelt like poison."

"His blood smelt like-" Aunt May sighs and rubs at her temples. "Percy, you are one strange boy, y'know that?"

Percy shrugs, finally looking away from the end of the corridor. "I'm just perspective- perseptitive- pers-"

"Perseptive." Peter habitually corrects.

They come back to the Expo again, of course. Peter may be a Stark fanboy through and through, but seeing Justin Hammer's speech is just as exciting to his little engineering brain. And Percy also comes back with them, though Aunt May isn't able to make it due to a late shift, leaving Uncle Ben to keep track of Peter (highly likely to get distracted enough to run off) and Percy (notorious for straying away from a group). But Uncle Ben wouldn't be a great cop if he couldn't handle two little rapscallions, now, would he?

Mr Hammer shimmies onto the stage and up to the transparent podium, Peter watching from the corner of his eye the way that Percy bops along. There's mystified, uncomfortable applause and whispers as Mr Hammer criticises the work of Mr Stark, Peter able to hear a blonde woman ahead of them mutter in annoyance. But then, the drones emerge from the stage and that stilted atmosphere disappears, replaced with a curious anticipation for what the machinery is capable of. Uncle Ben hums an appreciative note.

However, it's when Colonel James Rhodes in a chunkier, silver version of the Iron Man suit, rises up from below that things really take off. Iron Man himself swoops in, and Peter is immensely happy that he brought the helmet and gloves again, because wow! Despite knowing that the man isn't waving at anyone specifically, Peter can't help but return the gesture with enthusiasm, gloves glowing with the movement.

A small commotion seems to be happening between Mr Hammer and Mr Stark, which isn't that surprising, but then the machine gun on Colonel Rhodes' shoulder moves to point directly at Mr Stark. All the drones do the same. Turning to Peter, Uncle Ben orders him to put the helmet on and grabs his and Percy's hands just as Colonel Rhodes yells at the crowd to run. It's complete and utter pandemonium, gunshots fire behind them as glass rains onto them from the ceiling. Peter loses his grip on Uncle Ben and looks around frantically, feeling anxiety claw at his throat and his breaths start to quicken.

"Come on, Pete!" Percy grasps his arm and tugs him along, seeming remarkably well composed for the current situation. At least that's until Peter feels the boy's heartbeat against his arm – way too fast to be normal. Percy's just as terrified as he is.

Drones are firing missiles into the crowd, and Peter makes the decision that he needs to be brave right now. Protect Percy, who's only a year older and so much cooler than him, but still so scared. He stops in his tracks, stumbling a little from how hard Percy is pulling on him, but Peter stands his ground. "Pete-? What the hell're you doing, we gotta get outta here and find Uncle Ben!"

"You're gonna be like Captain America when you grow up, yeah?" Peter says, with far more confidence than he actually has, pretending that it isn't taking tremendous effort to take in each breath. Man, he left his inhaler with Uncle Ben like a dummy. Turning dramatically to face the drones, Peter straightens from his eternally slouched posture. "Well, I'm gonna be your Bucky Barnes! Let's be heroes and kick these dumb robots' butts!"

"This is a really bad idea." Warns Percy, but he stands with his 'sidekick' anyway.

The drone – super scary, intimidating, soulless drone – stops marching, target locked onto Peter's helmet. Beside him, Percy tenses, but Peter raises his gloved hand and…

Tony spots the kids immediately.

Some stupid tiny brat in part of an Iron Man costume and a slightly taller one in completely casual wear, both playing hero. He doesn't waste a second in saving their sorry asses, blasting the drone before it could kill some innocent children. 

"Nice work, kid." Quips Tony, about to fly off and deal with this shitstorm, until he happens to look at the other boy. His eyes are whirlpools that unnerve the hero to no end, but he… Tony's seen those exact eyes before. The contemplative frown and stare that analyzed his entire being was equally as familiar.

"Sir, is there something wrong with your blood?" 

It had stumped him at the time, too, when the question was asked. He hadn't stopped thinking about it every time he checked his blood toxicity. Tony just couldn't fathom how the kid knew anything was up with him, much less specifically with his blood. 

He tells JARVIS to look up who the strange boy is later, it couldn't be a coincidence that the same unsettling little boy just happened to be at the Expo the night it gets attacked. 

(Both Peter and Percy are forbidden from ever going to a Stark event again, especially together. Ms Jackson jokes that the two of them must be magnets for trouble and it's far too powerful to be combined.)

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Peter decides that Percy must be cursed. 

Some kind of mishap at the aquarium involving a catwalk and a shark tank, this time, Percy didn't want to share the details. His grades were slipping again, too, even with Peter and Ned's help. The boy just seemed overall not hopeful about his school life, not caring to make much of an effort anymore.

"What's the point in caring, Pete?" Percy had huffed, head on his desk. "I'm just gonna keep gettin' kicked out for complete accidents and things that aren't my fault. Why should I put in effort when all my teachers are waitin' for the opportunity to pin somethin' on me and toss me aside."

Peter misses seeing a proper, megawatt smile on Percy. It's like all of his friend's joy had been drained out of him. He wanted to empathise with Percy, but their situations were so different that it was hard at times. 

It doesn't matter. Whatever happens, Peter (and Ned) will stick by Percy's side, safe in the knowledge that the care goes both ways.

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This doesn't feel real. Peter refuses to accept that this is real.

The blood is so warm on his hands, but the body it belongs to is only getting colder. "BEN! Please, please, Uncle Ben, stay with me."

He chokes on his tears, feeling his chest constrict and his breaths come wheezy in that way that signified he needed to take his inhaler. But he couldn't. Because Uncle Ben was laying on the sidewalk, bleeding out from a bullet wound to the chest. "Please, I can't- I can't go on without you."

"Pete…" Ben's voice is low and raspy, rattling in his throat. "I love you like you were… my own son. I'm… so proud."

"Don't- Don't talk. Keep your strength, please, Uncle Ben." Peter pleads.

"Tell- Tell your Aunt May-" His words are interrupted by a pained cough. "Tell her that I'll be waitin'… for her in the sky, and to be brave. Tell Sally… that she's an inspiration… I've never met a stronger woman than that Sally."

Ben chuckles, but Peter just sobs harder. "No, no, you tell them yourself, Ben!"

The smile directed at him was stained red. "Don' forget… to make sure that Percy… Percy stays in school… 'nd doesn' give up jus' yet…"

"Ambulance is almost here, Ben, just hang on. Hang on, hang on." Peter can't see past the blur of his tears, knowing that they've already fallen onto his glasses. He sniffles pathetically. 

"Y're perf'ct, Petey…"

"Ben? Ben, please, speak to me. No, no, no, no. Uncle Ben, this isn't funny, wake up, please. Please…"

The funeral is a large, public thing, funded mainly by Ben's precinct. That is how it goes, typically, when it comes to the death of a law enforcement officer.

Countless people attend to pay their respects, but Peter doesn't know any of them. The only people he recognises are May, Percy, Sally, Ned, and a few of Ben's co-workers. All the other hundreds of people in attendance were utter strangers. 

He can't bear to take his eyes off of the coffin, American flag sitting neatly atop the unsuspecting wooden box. Speeches go by without Peter noticing, words going in one ear and straight out the other. It drags on, with an official statement from the mayor himself and police escort to the cemetery. All Peter wants is to go home and cuddle up with May, in silence.

All Peter wants is for Uncle Ben to come back.

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5 schools in 5 years, Percy sniffles to himself, hugging his knees to his chest. If he couldn't convince a forgiving principal that the raft thing wasn't his fault, there was no way he could convince a harsh principal that accidentally blowing up the bus also wasn't his fault. His whole life had come shattering down around him this year, and Percy had never been closer to giving up.

Maybe he would take up the river girl's offer and just… sink to the bottom of the ocean and never come back up. Who knows, maybe Percy could finally meet his father.

Yancy Academy is where he's sent this time – a boarding school for troubled teens.

'Troubled.' Percy figures that it fits.

He befriends his skittish roommate Grover in a matter of no time, his general demeanour so similar to Peter's that it makes Percy homesick. But Grover and Peter are two very different people, he distinguishes after not too long. After all, Peter was never all too into Percy's love for nature documentaries, meanwhile Grover might just be more of a fanatic than Percy is.

They bond over that care for the planet and disdain for climate injustice. Percy goes vegetarian for about a week until he caves and devours a cheeseburger, apologising profusely to his horrified friend. He promises to stop eating fish from then on, and doesn't eat meat on Fridays for Grover's peace of mind.

It doesn't make him very popular, hanging out with Grover all the time, but Percy's never cared for that. It's like Peter's school all over again, getting into fights with anyone that tries to pick on his friend, but Percy's punches hit harder this time. He knows first-hand what parts of the body hurt the hardest. Percy himself is mocked for his lack of father, and history of getting expelled, and his inability to succeed in really anything academic.

However, Yancy isn't as willing to let Percy go unpunished. He spends almost every day in detention, not being allowed to leave campus without permission that Percy will never receive. 

He misses his mom, her reassuring words and comforting food. And he misses rambling with Peter and Ned while they played video games, built LEGOs, or watched as Percy learned a new skateboarding trick. He hopes Aunt May is holding up well, he hopes she's taking care of herself and not drowning in grief. 

Percy really, really, misses Uncle Ben. But he knows that he's never seeing the man who helped raise him ever again. Even though Uncle Ben wasn't biologically related to the Jacksons, he was the closest thing Percy had to a father – so superior to Smelly Gabe that it would be comical if it wasn't so sad.

More often than not these days, Percy has nothing to do but sit around and do gruelling work that hurts his brain. He'd love a distraction, something other than words floating around on a page, possibly an excuse for him to go visit his mom.

His wish was granted, in the worst way imaginable. 

Aliens were invading New York. Actual, honest to Vader, aliens were flying around the city and destroying everything in their wake. 

Peter and Ned were hiding away in the back room of a comic book store with a few other patrons, huddling over someone's phone to watch the news.

"Just when I think this damn city can't get any weirder." An old man in tinted biker glasses complains, shaking his head disappointedly. Honestly, Peter couldn't help but agree. Why was it always New York? Couldn't all the chaos be in, like, Wyoming for once?

Glass shattered from inside the store, and footsteps crunched through the wreckage, distinctly inhuman. The back room was bathed in darkness in half a second as the person with the phone hastily turned it off. Everyone slapped a hand over their mouths to keep quiet, listening as the… creature meandered around.

It must've known there were people in the building. That meant… it was hunting them. 

Oh geez, oh man, why me? Peter hugged Ned tight, both trembling in fear, glasses pressing uncomfortably into Ned's side.

And then there was a whirring noise, followed by a BOOM. Iron Man's cannons. They'd been saved! 

"Anyone in here?" The hero called into the empty storefront, before the owner shakily opened up the back room door. Iron Man waved them all out of their hiding spot. "Alright gang, let's get moving, don't want any of ya caught in the crossfire. Just follow the police and you'll be all good."

They thanked him profusely as they passed and ran along, following the evacuation path that the police had organised. Fortunately for them, that alien had been a bit of a stray and this particular street was mostly safe from attack. For now, at least.

An officer escorted Ned and Peter to Ned's house, not trusting them to make it all the way by themselves. Peter supposed that was fair, he didn't have much faith in himself, either. Listen, he was still embarrassed about the whole Stark Expo thing.

As soon as they made it inside, they were crushed in a series of hugs and Peter was forced to call Aunt May immediately. Not like he wasn't planning on it.

Aunt May was a sobbing mess on the other line, asking over and over again if Peter was really okay. It took him ducking into the bathroom so he could take off his shirt and roll up his pants to prove he had no (newly acquired) injuries for her to finally calm down. It was a stroke of pure luck that their apartment building was spared from the carnage.

Ms Jackson, who had seemingly rushed to comfort Aunt May, took the opportunity to express her own concern for Peter's wellbeing. He assured them that he and Ned were perfectly fine, saved before anything bad could happen. 

"That's the second time now that Mr Tony Stark's saved your life." Comments Aunt May. "You should send him a gift basket as a thank you."

Peter makes a face. "What can you even put in a gift basket for a billionaire? He can buy anything he wants."

Ms Jackson grins. "Oh, a rich man like Stark won't pass up on a drink and some home baked Hawaiian treats."

"And how do you know so much about rich men, hm? Such a dark horse, Sally." Says Aunt May teasingly. 

"That's mean, Aunt May. Ms Jackson isn't a horse."

Percy's halfway through the window, dressed in a pair of nondescript jeans and a hoodie with his backpack slung over his shoulder, when Grover returns to the dorm.

"Dude, have you seen the news? There's-" Grover yelps alarm when he sees the precarious position Percy is in, laughing nervously as he rushes over. "Bah-ah-ah! What on earth are you doing?!"

"My buddy, my bro, Grover, there's an alien invasion happening right now. I need to make sure everyone's okay." 

Grover gawks at Percy like he had grown a mermaid tail. "And you're just gonna, what, run around New York City and hope an alien doesn't eat you?"

When he doesn’t deign his friend's question with a response, Grover tries tugging insistently at Percy's arm. It's not easy, with the crutches, and it makes Percy guilty enough to clamber back inside the dorm room, depositing his backpack on the floor.

"Do you think Mr Brunner has a phone I can use, just so I can call my mom?"

"I'm sure he will." Grover watches Percy wring his hands. It makes the boy's nose twitch like he had smelled something weird. "And everyone's gonna be just fine, I swear."

"Okay..." His hand was squeezed lightly, and together they headed out of the dorms and towards where Mr Brunner's office is. Every so often, Grover would look back at Percy like he would suddenly make a run for it out the nearest door. Percy was considering it a little bit but the mildly scolding look on his friend's face made him think again.

As they reached the halls with all the classrooms and offices, there were already teachers standing outside and comforting the crowds of worried children. Everyone was panicking and it just made Percy more fidgety. How was he supposed to react during an alien invasion, realistically? He bet Peter would know, somehow. Grover continued navigating them through the halls, people too anxious to bother trying to trip up the boy and just making way for his crutches instead. Even Nancy Bobofit merely shot them a dirty look as they passed.

Mr Brunner was in his office, not his classroom, which was great because it meant that there was little landline phone they could use. They first wanted to try the apartment's phone, but Percy adamantly refused, thinking about what would happen if it was Smelly Gabe who picked up. Thankfully, the numbers for his mom's personal phone as well as the Parkers' apartment were also listed in the phone book, so they opted on calling his mom directly. 

The phone rang. 

"You've reached the voicemail of Sally Jackson. I can't answer right now, so please leave a message!"

A pit opened up in Percy's stomach and the wind picked up outside, the smell of petrichor carrying itself through the open window. He missed the pointed glance Grover and Mr Brunner shared. Percy talks into the speaker, saying that he hopes everyone's okay, holding back tears.

"Do not worry yourself, Percy, I am confident that your mother is just caught up in all the chaos and is simply unable to answer the phone at the moment." Assures Mr Brunner, eyes kind. 

A few minutes later, the sound of the landline's ringtone blared through the quiet classroom. Percy bolted towards it instantly, almost falling off the chair he had been swinging on. Mr Brunner holds the phone out for him. "It appears to be for you, Mr Jackson." 

"Mom!" The boy exclaims. "Are you okay? Is anyone hurt?"

"Oh, Percy baby, I'm so sorry I worried you. We're all fine, the fight's a few streets away from the apartment." Tension bleeds from Percy as he slumps against the desk. 

"Peter and Ned?" He asks, because he has to be sure. He wouldn't be able to handle it if he lost anyone else.

His mom's calming smile can practically be heard over the line. "The boys called not too long ago. They're safe at Ned's right now."

They chat a little more, and Percy takes the chance to introduce his mom to Grover while he has the chance. The poor guy looks so awkward at first but the Sally Jackson charm works wonders in no time. Eventually, Mr Brunner tells them that they should be wrapping things up and heading back to their rooms, the boys agreeing sadly. Percy holds the device up to his ear a final time that night.

"I'm gonna visit as soon as I can, mom. I miss you." 

"Miss you too, baby." The call disconnects as Percy puts the phone down.

Chapter Text

Things start to get worse the day Percy comes back from Yancy Academy, expelled once more. Peter doesn't get to spend any time with his friend, even though it's been months since they last saw each other, because the Jacksons are already heading for the door. They're going to their cabin at Montauk for a weekend, Peter and Aunt May bidding them farewell. A part of Peter's brain is convinced that Percy's ignoring him for some reason, the last time they even met up in person was after the Battle of New York, and that was just for a weekend. Logically, he knows that being at a boarding school makes it harder for Percy to find the chance to spend time with Peter, but it doesn't really lessen his anxieties.

Then a weekend turns into a full 4 days; they haven't answered the phone, and the Parkers are worried. They watch the news more carefully, and come to the terrifying realization that a massive storm had swept the coast of Long Island – and Montauk beach had been the most affected. That was when Peter and May hopped in their shabby little car and drove as fast as they could manage for the 2 hour journey.

Once they parked in the empty drive of the cabin – Sally had sent them the address in case of an emergency, and May was infinitely grateful for the woman's precaution –, the two didn't waste a moment in banging their fists against the door. Greeted by nothing but silence for a solid few minutes, despite their insistent knocking, and texts not being received, that's when May called the police to look into the disappearance of their friends. When the police arrived, a team went inside the cabin to investigate while another questioned the Parkers on anything useful about the missing mother and son.

Peter described the two in great detail, as well as the car they had taken, but he couldn't help with much else. He was frustrated with himself, angry at the universe for not letting the Jacksons ever catch a break, but most of all he was super anxious about the whole thing. What if something bad had happened to them and they really needed help? What if the police couldn't ever find them and Peter never got to see Percy ever again? What if they were too late? No matter how much he tried to shake the negative thoughts, Peter couldn't feel anything but pessimistic.

Hours were spent sitting outside that cabin, watching the tide move erratically against the sand as the clouds gathered. The weather had been awful this year, ever since December, and Peter felt like it was appropriate for how he life was going right now. If the skies had been clear and the ocean was sparkling in the dusk sun, Peter wouldn't have been able to appreciate its beauty.

One of the detectives on scene walked up to them with a regretful expression, sharing the news. It was official; Sally and Perseus Jackson were missing. There were signs that people had been in the cabin, but they hadn't fully unpacked their bags or even gone to bed. The Camaro had been found off of a country road nearby a small strawberry farm, flipped, crumpled and seemingly struck by lightning, with no trace of the pair. 

Gabe Ugliano, the stepfather, was being notified of the situation as well, and the Parkers were urged to return home to let the police do their work. Reluctantly, they agreed and shuffled back into the car.

Days later, the story had been released to the public, with information corroborated mostly by Ugliano. That meant that Percy was the main suspect in his own mother's disappearance, and wanted posters for a literal 12 year old were being hung up all over NYC. May was furious, Peter and Ned joining her to tear down as many they could find and spoke out about the unfair label the police had pinned onto Percy. Uncle Ben wouldn't have allowed this.

Online, they managed to gain traction and sparked many discussions about the boy's innocence, but at least it meant that more people were out searching. If anyone spotted either of the Jacksons, it would surely be all over the internet within no time.

For the record, Peter had been completely correct.

Around a month after his disappearance, Percy Jackson had been seen and photographed on a bus to New Jersey with a pair of other children, fighting a trio of old ladies. Their bus had jerked wildly and driven right off the road before breaking down and then promptly exploding the second everyone had gotten out. The old ladies were the only casualties.

But before police or emergency services could make it, Percy – who was supposedly carrying a baseball bat, but it was 100% a sword  – and his companions had vanished into the trees.

The next couple of weeks had sightings of the strange trio all the way across the country, from accusations of blowing up and then jumping out of the St Louis Arch, to meeting with a strange man in a diner in Colorado, to yelling at a driver at a gas station in Nevada. Strangest of all was the time that they had been recorded in Las Vegas hopping out the back of an illegal animal transport vehicle and subsequently spending 5 days inside of a casino.

Of course, then there was the infamous 'firefight' on the beach in California. Percy was fighting the man from the diner in broad daylight with what was said to be a shotgun, but the police couldn't get any closer due to the man's own firearm. In the end, Percy managed to catch the man off guard and get the upper hand, though the assailant unfortunately managed to escape before he could be arrested. 

Percy and his unnamed companions told news crews of how they had been kidnapped by that man, Percy having been blackmailed with the life of his mom. Their mad dash across the United States had been them trying to run away and get the attention of people so that they would be saved, the blonde girl had explained with sharp eyes. The curly haired boy also made sure to add that they weren't the ones who blew up the bus or the St Louis Arch.

Tearfully, Percy butted in that Gabe would be giving away free appliances to any who called as a celebration for his wife and stepson's return. Peter knew that it was a lie, but he knew that Smelly Gabe deserved it for being such a bag of garbage.

Once again, Peter feels like he's insane. Because those were definitely not guns on that beach, and it wasn't a baseball bat outside that bus. He wasn't the only one, people all over the internet were getting into massive arguments about what was actually going on in the photos. Buzzfeed Unsolved even got involved at some point, and Peter totally wasn't jealous that Percy had entire conspiracy theories about him. Not jealous at all.

At some point, Ms Jackson had returned to her apartment, claiming that she had been released by the man who took her. She spent the day with Peter and Aunt May, plenty of tears to go around for all of them as they waited for the last person to finally be there with them.

So that was that, national manhunt over, warrant for Percy's arrest dropped due to lack of evidence. Money was fundraised for the children to get plane tickets back home, all was going back to normal-ish.

Mysteriously, Gabe Ugliano also goes missing soon after. Ms Jackson makes a highly detailed realistic sculpture in her grief and sells it for a lot of cash to an art gallery, winking mischievously at Peter when he asked how she got so good at statue making. He'd never felt anything but perfectly safe around Ms Jackson, except for when she gave that response. Percy could be a little scary at times, and now Peter saw where he got it from.

And then, with the money they got from the sculpture, as well as donations from the public, the Jacksons revealed that they would be moving to a newer, nicer apartment. Away from the bad memories that their old one held.

Peter understands, but it doesn't make him any less upset when he helps them unpack. With Percy moving to a whole new part of the city, and not having a phone, it's going to be difficult for them to find the time to hang out. It'll be a big change, and Peter doesn't know how well he'll handle it.

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His mom helped him write letters to send to Peter and Ned. She would listen to what Percy wanted to tell them and then she would type it out. It was apparently called 'dictation', and it was something Percy should be entitled to for tests due as part of his 504 and IEP once it gets sorted. Sounded great to him, but it's not like his current tie-dye gym uniform school was doing much formal testing in the first place. At least it might help in his next school once he gets inevitably expelled from this one.

Anyway, he tries to remember to send his friends little update letters as often as he can, and his mom sets up video calls for them too. It's nice still being able to talk to Peter and Ned, even after he's moved away. He hasn't seen Grover or Annabeth since last summer, and his only friend at school is Tyson, so Percy's really taking any chance to have some positive human interaction he can get.

And then, naturally, on the last day of school he's attacked by giants and then Annabeth drags him and Tyson to Camp and Thalia's tree is poisoned and-

You get the point. This summer is somehow more chaotic than the last, and it's kinda difficult to find the time to send a letter when you're a guinea pig. Percy gets caught up in his ever increasingly stressful life as a demigod and struggles to be able to just relax with his mortal friends.

He feels awful about it, but they do go out to the arcade one day in fall, and miraculously aren't swarmed by monsters. Though Percy does spot a few stray Stymphalian birds amongst the pigeons and suggests they cut their time outside short, so they go back to Ned's and watch that new Disney prequel to Monsters Inc. It doesn't take Percy's mind off of Camp Half-Blood.

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Months go without hearing from Percy to the point that Peter's only in contact with his friend for, like, 15% of the entire year. It's… kinda disappointing, knowing that they're drifting apart like this, after all they've gone through together. After a couple of years, it gets to the point when Peter only sees the Jacksons on a few special occasions like birthdays and Thanksgiving.

Until, they just stop visiting all together. The last letter they got told of Percy's father making a return to his life since the summer of the manhunt, and the family emergencies are frequent and problematic. Ms Jackson herself has been so busy with her books that she gets absorbed in the work and forgets to write back to them, though she sends the first copies for free to the Parkers.

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"Breaking news!" The TV is faint in the background as Peter and Aunt May were eating dinner one typical June evening. Curious, they turn the volume up and can hear the troubled voice of the news anchor. "Unexpected eruption at Mount St Helens, hundreds injured and multiple presumed dead-"

"Oh my gosh…" Aunt May mutters, a hand over her mouth.

The screen shows distant helicopter footage of the volcano, lava spurting from beneath the pyroclastic flow and down the sides of the mountain. "Experts are saying that there wasn't a hint of seismic activity until just moments before the eruption, anyone in the surrounding area is under an immediate evacuation order. Don't stop for anything guys, just get out of there."

Peter stares in disbelief at the TV, now having lost his appetite. What could have caused this sudden, major eruption? Seismology had come a long way, it should've been easy to detect something this large with their current technology, there was no chance this was natural.

Hopefully the Avengers would be able to help get as many people out as they could before any more people were killed. Maybe they would find out what set off the volcano soon.

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By the time of Peter's fateful field trip to Oscorp, he hasn't seen Percy Jackson in over a year.

The story goes as it always does, he gets bitten by a radioactive spider that gives him superpowers overnight. He becomes stronger, faster, his senses sharpened so much that Peter suddenly no longer needs his glasses, and his inhaler goes unused. With the memory of Uncle Ben's sacrifice, Percy fighting back against his kidnapper, and Ms Jackson's constant willingness to lend a helping hand, Peter dreams up the first ideas for Spider-Man.

He pours time and effort into designing web-shooters that'll let him swing around the city, and then the special web fluid to store in them. It takes a lot of trial and error, zoning out in class, and a teensy bit of theft for him to get it to work, but then he's slipping the devices over his wrists one evening. Peter stands in the mirror, inspecting his shabbily homemade suit with goofy goggles and a random hoodie he modified, but he feels proud of himself. His mind is cast back to the Stark Expo, – and wow, has it been 5 years already? – when Peter tried to stand up against Hammertech drones with nothing but a helmet and light-up gloves.

What would little 9-year-old Peter think of him now he's a proper superhero?

That night, for the first time, Spider-Man patrolled New York City.

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It's only been 8 months or so since Spider-Man's debut, and Peter had been super careful about his identity – even though he was always all over social media –, but Mr Stark had figured out who he was anyway. He was recruited to fight by Mr Stark's side in Germany, which he obviously accepted because he got to hang out with Iron Man.

Peter didn't know exactly why the Avengers were fighting – something about the Accords he thinks –, but it was kinda fun to swing around at the airport. There was a guy with a super sick metal arm, and another who could get really big, and Peter stole Captain America's shield! Wow! Ned was gonna freak out when he told him.

The whole thing was crazy, but he wasn't there for long afterwards, Mr Stark making him go right back home without much explanation. Which, lame, but fine.

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Less than a week after Peter's 15th birthday, he's wandering the streets of Manhattan a little aimlessly when his head blares an alarm. And then everyone around him yawns, staggers, and slumps over onto the concrete. The entire city has gone eerily silent, so much so that when Peter kneels down to make sure that everyone is just asleep, he can hear the heartbeats from feet away.

Having confirmed that nobody is dead, Peter gets to work manoeuvring person after person into the recovery position so that there aren't any instances of someone choking to death. What he's doing is meticulous, but Peter doesn't know if he can be of any more help without the Spider-Man suit. He tries calling Mr Stark, or even Happy, but it seems that Manhattan as a whole has decided to take a collective nap in the middle of the day.

Peter has made it about half a block when he catches the sound of voices around the corner, getting closer to him. He knows better than to draw attention to himself, not knowing if these people are friendly, so Peter presses to the wall of a store and strains his ears. Three sets of stomping footsteps, far too large to be human, and laughs that ring with cruelty. Definitely not something that Peter wants to deal with while he's so defenceless and alone. Deciding that the best course of action is to pretend to be sleeping like everyone else, he lays down with his back to the road and closes his eyes with a desperate hope to not be noticed.

"Mortals are so weak!" Barks one of the figures, deep gravelly voice sending shivers up Peter's spine. As the trio lumbers by, Peter can feel the vibrations in the pavement from the power in the steps. "How easy would it be to just kill them all right now?"

The sound of a slap rings through the still air. "Such a waste of time, we can't leave the Crooked One waiting."

Well, 'the Crooked One' totally isn't an unsettling title at all, but Peter makes a mental note to look it up when he gets home anyway. Right after he gets up off the sidewalk. Which he's going to do. Just gotta… open his eyes…

On August 18th (and the date feels important but Peter can't figure out why), everyone in Manhattan wakes up just as abruptly as they had fallen asleep. Except, for some reason, only Peter remembers that the whole thing even happened. Aunt May doesn't seem to think it was concerning that Peter was gone for 2 entire days, and there was no news coverage of the event, like everything was perfectly normal.

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MJ comes with Ned to hang out at Peter's for the first time over Christmas break, and Aunt May can't help herself in showing off her scrapbook. Mortified, Peter can do nothing as MJ flicks through baby photos with Ned giggling beside her. 

"Hey, who's this? He's in a bunch of photos with you, but I've never seen him before." She points to someone posing with a young Peter outside of the Stark Expo.

When he looks closer at the boy, Peter feels a wave of nostalgia. But sadness also pangs in his chest, guilt over how he's not made any effort to keep up their friendship for who knows how long. "That's Percy, him and his mom lived across from us until they moved a few years ago. I've not spoke to him in ages."

"Oh, man, I wonder how he's doing." Ned says, wistful. He pulls out his phone and opens Google, typing something into the search bar. "Holy! How's he involved in more conspiracy theories?" 

That piques MJ's interest and she takes the phone from Ned, eyes showing a glint of amazement. It's the most emotion Peter's ever seen on her face. "Wait, Percy as in Percy Jackson?"

Peter, Ned, and Aunt May look at each other in confusion before Aunt May nods. "You know him?"

"He's something like a local legend online, he gets into more trouble than even Peter." She explains, ignoring Peter's indignant protest, handing Ned back his phone and crossing her arms. They spend the next while reminiscing on all the mayhem Percy managed – and keeps managing – to leave in his wake, with MJ pretending like she isn't invested in the conversation. Aunt May suggests that they send Ms Jackson an email and invite the family over, so they hop onto the computer and work on drafting a message together.

The reply comes not an hour later, before MJ has even left, which is surprising.

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Subject: Hello again!

Dear May, Peter, and Ned,

I must admit, I certainly did not expect seeing this in my inbox this afternoon, but I am not unhappy about it. How have you all been? 

It has been a while since we last had a chat, and I would love to sit and have a coffee some time, but unfortunately I won't be available for a while. Last week, while Percy was at his summer camp, he suddenly went missing from his cabin, so we are putting all our time into looking for him. 

Thank you for the email, I will keep you updated on the situation whenever I can.

Sincerely yours,

Sally Blofis-Jackson

A sombre mood rested over them knowing that Percy had disappeared again. Peter felt awful, when he was younger he didn't notice as much, but not looking back on it he could tell just how much Percy was struggling. The whole boy's life was disaster after disaster, both at school and at home. It was so unfair that such a nice boy had to constantly go through so much.

It was with the memories of days at the skatepark or by the beach or building LEGOs in his mind that Peter contacted Mr Stark. Percy didn't deserve any of the cards he'd been dealt, and Mr Stark would be able to find the boy in no time at all. Something else was itching at him, though, but he couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was. Water was involved somehow?

And then it clicked.

Unless Peter was misremembering, Percy had water powers. What if a bad guy had found out and kidnapped Percy so they could experiment on him or turn him into some kind of brainwashed soldier?! The urgency for finding Peter's old friend had just skyrocketed. He deleted the text he was about to send Happy and called directly to Mr Stark's number, knowing that this was too big of an emergency to be wasting time.

FRIDAY answered with a warm voice. "Boss will be just a moment, Peter."

Tapping his foot against the floor, Peter held the phone up to his ear anxiously waiting for his mentor to pick up. He plans out what he wants to say, what he expects Mr Stark to reply with and the appropriate response to them.

"Underoos, what'cha need? Has Happy been ignoring you again, cause I'll make Pepper have a stern talk with him if so." Mr Stark chirped, the sounds of idle tinkering just able to be heard through the speakers. Must be in his lab.

"So we were looking at some old photos of me earlier and we saw pictures of my childhood friend, right? And then we figured, 'hey it's been a few years since we talked, why not send an email?', which we did, but-" He rambled on, carefully constructed explanation gone to the wind, before Peter cut himself off. Taking a deep breath, the boy tries again. "Um, what I'm tryna say is that he kinda disappeared a few days ago and there's no current leads. If you weren't busy or anything, maybe you could lend a hand..?"

"Woah, woah, woah, kid, back up a sec – your friend's missing? 'Course I'll help you find him, what kinda guy do you take me for, eh?"

Peter exhales in relief. "Ever since we were little he's had the worst luck ever, y'know? I, uh, don't know what school he goes to anymore, but he should be 17 by now. Oh, right, his name's Perseus – although he hates it so he goes by Percy – Jackson."

"How'd you know Jackson?" The sharp tone makes Peter feel like he's in an interrogation room rather than on a call. "I've had my eyes on him since 2010, he's a very dangerous man-"

"Percy's 17, only a year older than me. We've been friends since I was in 1st grade, him and his mom used to live across from Aunt May." Peter interrupts – which is very unlike him, but he really needs Mr Stark to understand the severity of the situation. His friend isn't some big scary supervillain, he's not even an adult. 

Silence passes between them, although Peter can still hear car horns and chatter and the rats in the apartment upstairs. Mustering up his best puppy dog eyes, even though Mr Stark can't see him, Peter pleads into the phone. "Please, Mr Stark. I don't wanna lose my friend…"

"Hey, I know exactly what face you're pulling over there Underoos, but don't think I'll be falling for it." Sadly for Mr Stark, Peter learned his pettiness from Sally Jackson herself, and is nothing short of determined. Finally, after listening to Peter say 'please' on repeat for 3 solid minutes, the man on the other line groans. "Fine, I'll help look for your friend! Geez, you are persistent, where the hell'd you get that from?"

Ms Jackson's mom superpowers are too sacred to be revealed. Peter grins. "Thank you so much, Mr Stark, I really appreciate it!"

Before his mentor could say anything else, Peter hung up. Success! No doubt Percy would be found quickly with Mr Stark on the lookout.

(A shame that even the most advanced technology can't interfere with the Queen of the Gods.)

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It's been just under 5 months since they defeated Gaea, December is mere days away and the festive spirit is dulled but not fully gone. Thanksgiving came and went with most demigods spending one half of their break with their mortal families and the other half at Camp.

Rebuilding efforts have gone a long way, helped massively by the input of the Romans. Annabeth took charge, falling into the role of site leader like it was what she was born for – oftentimes, Percy would find himself staring at her work, awestruck. Cabins were repaired in no time, and Demeter kids had the wildlife of Camp restored in the blink of an eye.

They held the funerals for all those who had fallen. It took over a month to get through all the ceremonies, honouring their dead friends individually instead of in a singular pyre burning. That  month was brutal, and it was so incredibly difficult for Percy to focus on anything, topped off with the lack of sleep and the nightmares and the contemplating of his own powers.

But things were getting better. Percy, for the first time in his life, had solid realistic plans for the future. Once he finished senior year, with help from friends and without further interference from the gods, he and Annabeth would go to New Rome University together. Move into a cramped apartment, get constantly asked about their quests, study for their degrees. And live long, relatively peaceful lives side by side with their friends.

No more war, no more dying young, no more struggling alone.

Percy should've known better.

On Friday, the last day of November, an alien ship landed on Earth and began to attack. Not anything the Avengers (or New York, because where else would they land?) hadn't encountered and defeated before, really. From the reports Percy had seen, only a small group of high powered aliens had invaded this time, nothing like the swarms of 2012. The aliens seemed to either be defeated or flee, the Avengers clearly having the situation handled as always. People moved on with their days, wary but not overly paranoid for the most part.

Until hoards of aliens and otherworldly tech descended on Wakanda. 

Shaky footage, from what must've been a hidden Wakandan drone, was livestreamed across the globe displaying the army at the country's border. Percy's math teacher had put it on the screen for their class to watch, for whatever reason. As soon as he'd seen it, Percy felt an overbearing dread clutch at his chest.

Something in his brain whispered that 'Earth's mightiest heroes' weren't going to win this.

He hugged his mom and Paul tightly before he left to visit Camp on Saturday, tears in his eyes as Percy said goodbye. Now his body was screaming at him that it may be the last time he sees them, or anyone at Camp. Already feeling sick to his stomach, Percy nearly threw up when Nico shadow travelled him.

Will didn't utter a word, a look of understanding in his eyes. Oh, goodie, it's never a worrying sign when a child of the prophecy god is experiencing the same sense of foreboding. 

And then, that evening by the campfire, Chloe the Apollo girl – 14 years old and had only been at Camp for half a year – randomly stopped strumming her lyre. Beside her, Jordan the Tyche kid started screaming.

"Oh gods, Chloe, your hands!" Before their very eyes, the bright eyed teenager crumbled into dust. More shouts erupted from all around them, campers of all ages sitting there one second and completely gone the next.

Percy's hands were shaking. Fuck that, Percy's entire body was trembling where he stood, knees threatening to collapse. Annabeth latched onto him desperately, making him promise not to leave her again. He agreed, but he didn't think it would matter.

"Clarisse? C'mon, this isn't funny, where are you?" Chris calls out, head whipping around in search for the other.

Katie and Connor were kneeling across from each other, staring down at their dusty hands with stricken faces. "Travis...?"

Frantic hooves rushed over to the amphitheatre. Annabeth launched herself over, dragging Percy along. "Chiron! Something's happening, people are turning into- Chiron?"

Chiron grunts, abruptly dropping halfway to the ground. They all watch in terror as the centaur they've known for all this time rapidly disintegrates. Will tries desperately to use his powers, uttering hymns so fast that Percy can't catch them, others with healing abilities trying the same, but nothing's working. In an agonising dozen seconds, the only thing that remains of Chiron is ash.

Percy was right. Oh how he wishes he wasn't so horribly, disturbingly, right.

The Avengers had lost.

Thanos was the one who the heroes couldn't defeat, a galactic threat that had also been behind the 2012 invasion, wrecking havoc across the known universe. Appropriately nicknamed 'The Mad Titan'.

Percy doesn't think this Thanos guy is any more deranged than the titans he's faced.

It gets him wondering. They live in a world of aliens and superhumans, so why was the Mist still in place? Percy dumped Iapetus into the Lethe, Luke killed himself to defeat Kronos, Grover turned Hyperion into a tree, and Jason defeated Krios with his bare hands. If demigods could've fought with the Avengers, would things have been different? Maybe none of this would've happened.

Camp Half-Blood lost a total of 10 campers, 19 nature spirits, and Chiron. They reconvened with Camp Jupiter, and Reyna informed them that numerous soldiers and senators, as well as New Rome residents, had similarly… vanished. 

Demigods took it in turns visiting home to check on their mortal friends and family, going out in groups for some meagre sense of protection. Some, like Percy, were lucky enough that they hadn't lost anyone, but many others didn't have the same luxury. Campers that typically stayed only for summer sessions found that now they didn't have anywhere to go for the rest of the year, having to stay at Camp instead of at home.

At the very least, it wasn't a demigod exclusive phenomenon – millions of people have been reported as 'dusted' across the globe, and apparently even beyond. The attention of the world is split; children being orphaned and left on the streets, hospital staff vanishing mid-operation, governments on the verge of collapse after politicians suddenly go missing directly from the chamber, people taking this chance to pilfer banks while police and heroes are distracted. Chaos everywhere you turn.

Thanos' goal was to eliminate half of all living beings in the universe, to restore balance or equality or some shit, as the remaining Avengers claimed. Percy didn't care what the motives were. He murdered quite possibly trillions of innocent people with no remorse, Percy would have no qualms in hunting him down and killing him where he stands. His mind is in a dark place lately, the kind of thoughts that make him think of oppressive darkness and rivers of fire, but Percy can't find it in himself to push his emotions away. Not when so many are dead.

Annabeth was staying with Percy's family now that her father had been dusted, not wanting to be alone with her step-mother and step-siblings. The four of them did their best to help out in any way they could, passing out free baked goods to people on the street, making meals for the homeless, volunteering at shelters when they had the time. Despite the circumstances, Percy enjoyed sitting on a bench and telling edited stories of his many adventures to groups of children, giving them questionable life advice and helping out with as much as he's able to.

Mr D tells Percy that the whole storytelling thing is a good way to process what he's been through, or something similar. The god has been more open lately, taking the role of Chiron alongside the cabin councillors. He still calls them the wrong names and spends most of his day playing cards in the Big House, but he comes around every so often to offer unprompted tips on their training or dealing with the grief of everything. Sometimes, Mr D hangs by the campfire at night.

"I'm the god of theatre, y'know, brats." He said when questioned on why he bothered to attend the festivities.

When correcting a camper on their fighting stance, Mr D had scoffed. "I was a hero before I was a god, don't you ever pay attention to your history lessons?"

"One thing you gotta understand about us gods, Peter," The man had pointed a finger at Percy during one of the times they sat talking with just the two of them. "Is that we are dual natured. My brother, for instance, is the god of healing, yes, but he is also the god of plagues. Similarly, I am the god of madness, but also the god of inspiration." 

On a different note, school started back up a few months after the 'Snap' (as the tragedy had been dubbed), with merged classes and constant underqualified substitute teachers. Percy put more effort into it all, trying to make up for lost time and motivated to get accepted into New Rome University as soon as possible. The faces of the little kids stay in the forefront of Percy's mind – he thinks that maybe he wants to have a career in helping children, so that they don't have to grow up like Percy and so many others like him did.

It's a distraction from everything going on, one he sorely needs.

Come to think of it, his mom had mentioned some time ago that Aunt May had emailed her while Percy was missing. Man, he wonders how Peter and Ned are doing these days.

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Time marches on, as it always has and always will.

Craziness follows too, like usual. Late January, Apollo was cast down to Earth in mortal form as punishment for his role in the Second Giant War. So-called 'Lester Papadapolos' and Meg McCaffery show up to the Jackson-Blofis apartment door, asking Percy for his help.

He's so tired of being dragged around on the whims of a god (even if Apollo isn't exactly a god at the moment), and Percy can't be getting into trouble when his baby sister's a few months from being born. Percy refuses, but directs the two to Camp Half-Blood where they can find someone willing to join them.

In March, Paul drives frantically to the hospital as Percy's mom goes into labor, Percy and Annabeth in the back seat and by her side through it all. 

The delivery process went by with no hitches, Paul and Percy (who had both looked away) were informed. They kneeled by his mom's side, admiring the little bundle in her hands. Gently, Estelle is held out to Percy, and he takes her with great care, getting a better look at his little sister's adorable squishy face and big blue-brown eyes. Reverently, Percy swears to keep Estelle safe from all the scary things in the world before passing her over to her actual father.

Annabeth looks queasy when Percy turns to her.

Concerned, Percy makes her sit on the visitor chair in the room, asking if she's okay. She blinks and confesses. "I didn't know that's how it worked."

"First time for everything, huh, brain child?" They all laugh.

Percy gets the inexplicable feeling of grief hitting him like a sucker punch on the last Sunday of the month, his eyes tearing up even though he doesn't know why. Something in his gut churns, his heart aches, it's like a chunk of his soul has been skewered and yanked out. He excuses himself from where he was on the couch while he was playing with Estelle, rushing to the bathroom to splash water on his face.

It doesn't help. In fact, it makes things worse. 

Impressions of figures on a beach, red staining the ocean and filling Percy's mouth with the taste of iron. It's– He can tell that– Somebody is gone– Who–?

The sky darkens outside from his distress, but the swirling clouds jolt a thought into Percy's brain. 

Jason. Jason had gone to help Apollo on his quest. The quest that Percy had refused and forced onto someone else, someone that was now dead because of his own selfishness. It should've been Percy out there, facing down whatever enemies that had killed his cousin.

A rainbow shimmered into view in front of the bathroom mirror, Percy getting a brief look at his tear stained face before Nico appeared in the Iris Message. His eyes were red rimmed and his normally messy hair was flattened out like hands had been running through it, straightening out the curls. They stared at each other in silence, understanding between them.

"You know?" Nico's voice was flat, the way it was when he was trying not to show any emotion.

Nodding, Percy sniffles. "I could feel it, he– he was in the ocean."

"Me too." He says quietly. "Can I… Can I come over?"

Percy agrees immediately, saying that Estelle would be overjoyed. The Iris Message blips out and Nico materializes in the shadows of the unlit bathroom, wrapping his arms around Percy as soon as he steps forward. He leads the younger boy into the living room, his mom giving him a questioning look until she sees their faces and moves to get baking supplies out in the kitchen.

The demigods plop down beside each other on the couch, Estelle babbling curiously as she reaches out to them. Nico's tense with awkwardness when Paul places the baby in the boy's lap, not sure what to do with his hands. Smiling sadly, Percy guides him in how to play with Estelle's shark plushie, watching as the little girl giggles and claps her chubby hands. There's wonder on Nico's stoic face, behind the clear distress.

Seeing the boy that Percy failed over and over again so peaceful with his baby sister makes him feel something protective deep in his chest. He doesn't realise he started crying until Paul is wiping the hot tears from his cheeks.

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Miraculously, Percy manages to pull through on senior year despite all the interruptions – all credit goes to his crazy smart friends and family, and the memory of Jason fresh in his mind. He's doing it all for them: for the demigods who never got to grow up; for the kids living on the street because they lost their family; for Estelle.

Getting accepted into New Rome University isn't much fanfare either, applying for an Early Learning and Childcare degree. Poseidon visited, telling Percy that he had needed recommendations from the gods, but multiple had vouched for him as soon as the announcement was made. Hestia, Apollo, Hermes, and even Mr D were expected, but Artemis and Hera had been a surprise, Hera especially. 

The Queen of the Gods explained that Percy had followed through on so many quests throughout the years – it was why he was chosen for the Seven despite having no direct involvement in the prophecy –, so he deserved the ability to go to further education. She also added that him staying by Annabeth's side and studying to take care of children had swayed her commendation, being the goddess of family after all.

So, Annabeth and Percy get themselves a shared dorm room in New Rome, an exception granted by the Praetors themselves. Friends and family decided to all collaborate in 'helping' with the moving process, even though so many people trying to do so just slowed down the whole thing. They didn't mind.

Classes start, the two of them spending the first few weeks bombarded with questions about their infamous adventures and quests. It's annoying, having to constantly push away insensitive peers not realizing that they're borderline interrogating them. Glaring at them in silence seems to do the trick, although it's unnatural for them to deal with things so… democratically.

Aside from that, Percy actually enjoys school for once. Since it's a college specifically designed for and by demigods or legacies, learning is accessible and varied, with lessons that don't leave his ADHD kicking his ass. The course itself, Early Learning and Childcare, is great too. It's fun, with a mix of practical work – involving creating toys suited for young children or cooking simple healthy foods – as well as theory on the development of children and an adult's role in assisting their journey. They get to work in the New Rome kindergartens and elementary schools, getting hands-on experience for working in such an environment.

Quite a few in Percy's class have younger siblings, or cousins, or nieces/nephews, and they spend far too much time telling each other about them instead of doing their assigned work. Now that people are used to The Percy Jackson™ existing in the halls of NRU, they find that he truly is just as real as the rest of them; not some perfect hero carved from the marble of Ancient Greece. He's a guy, who cares deeply and rambles on about his little sister or girlfriend or some crazy thing that he's heard from Camp Half-Blood.

Meanwhile, Annabeth is crushing her architecture course, with so much more resources on hand for her to actually create miniatures of her designs. Their dorm room is a constant mess of scattered wood pieces and paint and blueprints and also somehow flour, something all their guests complain about but they never bother to maintain cleanliness. Both of them know where not to step and that's all that matters.

Life eases into a new normal, a normal where the biggest worry is if Annabeth remembered to eat something today, or if they're out of a certain ingredient halfway through cooking dinner and have to make a mad dash to the supermarket, or something spills onto their work and they have to ask for an extension to redo it. 

Some days are hard, as is par for the course for having so much trauma. There are times when Percy sneaks away in the night to sit at the bottom of the lake, wishing he couldn't breathe underwater. There are times when Annabeth won't let Percy out of her sight, scared that he might be stolen away from her again if she tears her eyes away. There are times when they cling to each other in bed, the taste of poison air burning at their throats and the sensation of falling forever.

They go to therapy, both together and alone, hoping to maybe make the nightmares stop coming every night. It certainly doesn't happen overnight, or over a few weeks or even months, and they individually blow through just about every qualified therapist this side of California. But things get better, slightly.

Every March 31st, those who knew Jason will gather by the barracks and hold a small ceremony. Every August 18th, Nico takes Percy to New York and lets him spend the early morning strolling around the city, remembering all of those who died because of him – no, not because of him; because of Kronos, and Luke, and the monsters. It wasn't Percy's fault that it happened, he just happened to get unwillingly caught in the cross-fire. A victim, like everyone else who fought by his side. But Percy will still wander the city before celebrating his birthday, a little tradition of his own.

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Before Percy knows it, he's walking across the stage at his graduation to the cheers of the crowd. He takes the diploma, not having processed yet that he made it.

Camp Half-Blood holds a celebration for Percy and Annabeth that lasts all the way from night to morning, spurred on by Mr D eliminating curfew for the night. The god is still using the excuse that partying is his domain, but none of them believe him at this point. There's a grin that seems almost proud on the god's face, and Mr D calls them both by their real names when no one else can hear, proceeding to loudly deny it all. 

"I will turn you two nuisances into dolphins if you keep spreading lies." Mr D threatens over the sound of Percy and Annabeth's boisterous laughter.

In no time at all, they find themselves with their dream jobs. The only good thing about the Snap, it seems, is that there's plenty of vacancies in non-essential work, even 4 years later. Annabeth joins a New York architecture firm that focuses on environmentally friendly, efficient buildings, and Percy begins work as a guidance counsellor at one of the few schools he didn't attend and subsequently get expelled from: Midtown School of Science and Technology. Well, he was expelled from the middle school, but at least those files didn't appear to have been transferred.

Percy did get the sense that something is keeping tabs on him, CCTV cameras always following him as he walks by, and drone things flying over his head. He hopes it's nothing too bad, he has a career to worry about and he doesn't want the kids to be involved at all.

He settles in at work, finding a rhythm after not too long. The other staff are all nice for the most part, though kind of reserved. Percy supposes that comes with the territory of being nerds for a profession without the boundless energy of ADHD that most smart people in Percy’s life experience.

Speaking of smart people, Percy is so grateful that he's friends with physics and engineering super geniuses Annabeth and Leo, because maybe working at a tech school was a bad idea. Biology and geography he can handle, especially if it's ocean related, but everything else goes over his head. Chemistry is a whole other ball park. Thankfully, doing homework for people isn't part of his job description because otherwise he would be screwed.

Clearly, kids are always needing to talk, because Percy's office is constantly full of little chatterboxes at all times of day. It gets to the point that he scarcely sees his co-worker during school hours due to being cooped up in his office. Not that he minds the company, of course, if Percy couldn't handle rambunctious teenagers he wouldn't have chosen this job. And they're all good kids – determined, hard-working, and extremely intelligent. Percy always makes sure to let them know he's proud of them.

On weekends, whenever he's free, Percy makes an effort to go out and help people. Even years on from the devastation that hit New York in 2012, he's still been holding storytelling sessions at shelters or parks, leaving the cooking and whatnot to his mom. 

But he also has new things to occupy his time. Grover invites Percy along to climate marches and litter-picks, aiding the nature spirits. It reminds Percy of helping clean up the lake at Central Park when he was younger, and he takes it upon himself to go out and clean the rivers. 

The river gods don't like him very much at first. Over time, however, Percy continues to remove waste and pollutants from the water, and the gods get less hostile. 

Sometimes it can be a lot of hard labor, but when he's side by side with his best friend, it doesn't matter. Getting to see all the effort he's put in paying off makes a little bit of pride nestle itself in Percy’s heart. It feels good to give back, to help in a way that he can see the impact with his own eyes, and not just the words of others. 

When he can stand back and look out at a section of water without trash brushing by his legs, or the eerie silence from the lack of chattering fish, or without the polluted murky film choking up the river, Percy knows he's doing good for his community. When he can pass by people on the street bank skipping stones, and overhear the kids he walks by in the halls theorising about the mysterious figure spotted cleaning the river, it makes him feel more like a hero than he ever did as a teenager. He always had an appreciation for Spider-Man, who valued the little interactions with the average New Yorker rather than just the world-ending threats, unlike the rest of the Avengers who never bothered to show up to save cats in trees.

Listen, Percy's done the whole 'saving the world' thing, far too many times than he ever would have wanted, and honestly? It was hard to feel good about his achievements when he had to watch the funeral pyres go up in flames. If he had it his way, he wouldn't get involved in hero business at all any more.

But Spider-Man was gone, snapped with the other half of the universe. New York was here to pick up the slack in his absence, so Percy would play his part as well. It was the least he could do to honor the superhero that actually cared.

Chapter Text

Even though the parent-teacher conference had gone well for Percy, he was still exhausted by the end of it. 

So when he got home to his and Annabeth's shabby little apartment, he faceplanted right onto the couch. Annabeth poked him in the side. "Get your filthy shoes off of my couch."

Grumbling incomprehensibly, Percy hefted himself off of the cushions so he could remove his shoes and jacket. He sat with his head in his hands for a moment before getting up, putting his stuff roughly where it should be.

"I'm gonna take a shower real quick." Percy announced, hearing an affirmative from the kitchen. Annabeth must be rummaging around for a protein bar before dinner or something. 

He stares at himself in the mirror for a good few seconds, contemplating if he wants to shave tonight. Then Percy decides that his stubble makes him look way too much like his father and reaches for the razor.

Percy's in the bathroom for longer than planned due to the unexpected shave, and his stomach is growling by the time he flicks all the water off of himself. 

Foregoing brushing his unruly hair, Percy dumps his dirty clothes into the hampers (separating darks and whites) and pads around the apartment. Something smells really good, he finds himself gravitating towards the kitchen.

The door is, inexplicably, closed. A note is taped to it, barring Percy from entry.

"Annie?" He asks.

The sound of an oven door closing can be heard through the door, Annabeth calling out. "No Percys allowed in the kitchen tonight!"

"Isn't it my turn to cook?" The schedule is on the kitchen fridge, where he is currently unable to check. "Or did I forget again?"

Finally, the door is opened just enough that Annabeth's face is visible. "No, you didn't forget. But you've had a long day, Seaweed Brain, go sit down and relax."

There's not much Percy can do other than agree and move to the living room, easing onto the couch and kicking his socked feet up onto the coffee table. His mom wouldn't be impressed, but Percy's kinda too lazy to care about that at the moment. For some background noise and something to tap his feet to, Percy flicked on their radio and listened idly to the music. Ads he's heard a million times before, travel updates that don't affect him, and weather he only half-cares about all wash over him as his eyes slip closed. Resting his eyes for a second should be fine.

He wakes up about 15 minutes later to the smell of burgers wafting across the apartment. It's not his proudest moment, coming back to the waking world because of good food, but sue him.

Annabeth emerges from the kitchen with an overflowing plate balanced precariously on either arm, holding glasses of drinks in her hands. She places them down on the coasters, a lemonade for herself and a cherry Coke for Percy, then sets the plates of food down with a flourish as she nudges Percy's feet off the table. His mouth waters at the sight of a towering cheeseburger absolutely loaded with every topping imaginable, and greasy, perfectly over-salted piles of fries surrounding it. Gorgeous.

Percy drags his amazing girlfriend over to him, peppering her face with smooches.

Eventually, they dig into the delicious burgers, making a mess of condiments and cheese on the plates, but it's nothing a good wash can't clean. They turn the TV on and watch the last 43 minutes of Jurassic Park that's available, wondering about what would happen if dinosaurs attacked either of the camps. No doubt there would be more pet dinos than dead ones.

"What kind of dinosaur do you think Mr D would have?" Percy wonders through stuffing his face full of fries.

"He would have a saber-toothed tiger instead of a dinosaur, I think." Says Annabeth. "But maybe a dilophosaurus? Or an army of compies to chase us all down like the harpies."

Annabeth's hair bounces a little when she sits down after putting the dishes away, a gleam of anticipation and excitement in her eyes. Percy is immediately suspicious. "Remind me why us Greek demigods were so surprised about New Rome, again."

"Well," Percy starts, bewildered but playing along with whatever Annabeth's scheming this time. "It's because there were adult demigods, with jobs and families and children. That was something we never could've imagined."

He gets a nod of approval. Then, Annabeth stands up and drags the coffee table away from the couch, gesturing for Percy to stand. Even more confused, he obeys. The woman takes a deep breath, grinning. "For most of my life, the idea of being able to grow up and start a family was something I just couldn't fathom. My childhood was so full of constant fighting and losing those I cared for, I couldn't focus on anything else."

"Annabeth…" He frowns, not knowing where this was going.

"And then you came around. Some random idiot kid that somehow killed the Minotaur on his first day at Camp." Percy squawked in mock offence, making Annabeth giggle for a second before sobering up. "We grew closer over the years, sticking together through every hardship that came our way. You were a guiding light, showing me that there was more to life than violence – that not everyone I loved would leave me. For so long, my dreams were nothing but that; unrealistic fantasies that could never come true. Until New Rome."

She looked Percy in the eyes, taking his hands in her own, gaze like steel. "You promised me that we would always stay together, right?"

"You're not getting away from me. Never again." Percy quoted, without a second of hesitation, giving her hands a comforting squeeze. 

"Good." From her pocket, Annabeth procured a small ornate box and dropped Percy's hand. Gracefully, she lowered herself to one knee on the ground and opened the box like it was a clam shell. "Percy Jackson, will you marry me?"

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Percy was in the middle of an appointment with a senior, working out how they could earn enough credits to graduate this year, when people spontaneously materialized inside of the office. The student jumped behind Percy's desk, hiding behind the adult for protection against this unknown threat.

Except they didn't seem very threatening. In fact, the people seemed almost as confused as Percy and the student did.

There was an older man with buzzed black hair and a white button-up with black tie. His face has the beginnings of wrinkles, smile lines starting to form around the man's mouth, eyebrows furrowed. In front of him was a teen girl, freshman by the looks of it, crushing a stack of folders and papers to her chest like they were going to fly away if she let go. They both looked around, and jumped at the sight of the other occupants of the room.

"Who are you?" Percy questions, trying to not let too much command slip into his tone. "What are you doing in my office?"

The man stares blankly. "I'm sorry, your office? I've been working out of this room for over a decade."

"Mr Jackson's been working here since last year, Midtown didn't even have a proper guidance councillor for, like, 4 years or something." Chimes in the senior, peeking out from behind Percy's back.

Before anyone can say anything else, the speaker crackles to life. "Attention, all pupils and staff!" Comes the voice of Principal Morita. "Please remain calm and collected while we evacuate to the assembly point outside. Orderly lines, no dilly-dallying."

An evacuation? That's worrying.

Putting a hand on the senior's shoulder, Percy guides him to the door and nods for the others to follow. No use in arguing with the principal, after all. The four of them stay separated from each other in their pairs, walking alongside equally confused teachers and students through the halls. Unless Percy's memory is failing again, he swears he sees small groups of kids that he doesn't recognise.

Everyone eventually ends up outside and the senior is ushered to go back to his class for registration, the unknown girl seeming to go find her own class as well. Percy and the man move to where the rest of the non-teaching staff are huddled together in hushed conversation. He waves over at them. "Hey, does anyone know what's going on?"

"Oh, Percy, there you are." Says one of the newer janitors, Isaac, rubbing at his temples. "I've got no clue, man, they're saying that people have been appearing out of thin air-"

"Is that James?" Linda the lunch lady whispers in shock, spotting the man trailing a bit behind Percy. Attention turns to the man - James, apparently -, with murmurs starting up amongst a group of the staff.

"Linda? Did you get a new haircut?" The mystery man questions, making Linda gawk at the absurdity of it all.

He introduces himself to the confused staff as James Flannigan, the guidance counsellor for Midtown Tech. Then, he says that the date is December 1st 2018, and the last thing he remembered was talking to a freshman about what extracurriculars the school offered. Another teacher Percy didn't recognise had shown up partially into the conversation, agreeing that she had seen something on the news to do with the Avengers that morning but was too busy getting ready for classes to pay it any mind.

The gathered staff went pale as realisation dawned on them.

"Oh goodness…" Mutters one of the art teachers with a hand over his mouth.

"Who has a phone?" Asks Percy, a little urgently. "Check the news and see if this is happening anywhere else."

Isaac fumbles with his pockets for a moment before pulling out his cell phone and opening his news app with shaking fingers. They crowd around the little device, Isaac scrolling through headline after headline talking about the people appearing out of thin air all across the world. All the information was making Percy's head spin. 

He stared out at the sea of students, noticing the groups split off from each other, at how many people were pointing at something on their phones and staring at the unfamiliar faces. There was a half of a marching band fiddling about with their instruments in the corner. What the fuck was even happening?!

Everyone who had been Snapped back in 2018 had suddenly been brought back to life, it was soon discovered, and hope rose across the world. Did this mean that the Avengers had actually defeated Thanos, once and for all? Was all the chaos of the past 5 years finally over? 

The hero team held a press conference to explain their side of things, as well as to announce the retirement of Steve Rogers, and the deaths of Natasha Romanoff and Tony Stark. Memorials for Iron Man popped up all over New York soon enough, the hero always there whenever Percy turned a corner.

Old memories had been resurfacing lately. When Percy stopped to stare at a mural on an alley wall near to the apartment, his mind was sent back to the Stark Expo. He guessed he kind of owed his life to the man after he'd saved little idiots Percy and Peter.

More generally, there was a global scramble to try and stabalize. Life (at least for mortals) had been much quieter than back in 2018, and now they were all having to readjust to the chaos of so many people populating the planet again. Homelessness and unemployment became the biggest issues globally in no time, with homes and jobs having been filled by new people after the Snap. Percy was a prime example, him and James Flannigan now having to compromise on a schedule that worked for both of them to remain with the school. It was agreed that Percy would work Tuesdays to Thursdays while James took Mondays and Fridays, but most didn't have it that simple. Layoffs were in the masses, both victims of the Snap and their 'replacements' forced to give up their jobs.

The news was calling it "The Blip". Such a little word for something that had shaken the foundations of society. 

Annabeth was spending more time visiting her dad, catching him up on everything that had been going on. He clapped Percy on the back when they told him about the engagement, and smirked with pride about his daughter being the one to propose. "It was only a matter of time." He had said.

Actually, as soon as Percy had been dismissed from school early the day that everyone returned, he and Annabeth piled into the Grey Sisters' cab and were flung straight to Camp. 

They weren't the only ones with the idea, of course, other campers already scattered across the fields, sprinting towards the amphitheatre. 

Chiron was swarmed by the time they reached him, campers sobbing and hugging him as tightly as they could. Tears were gathering around the centaur's eyes as he tried to console everyone. He seemed overwhelmed, which made sense given that only hours ago for him he was hovering near the bonfire as normal. 

Percy decided to come to his rescue, words choked up when he called out. "O-Okay guys, back off a little there. Remember, personal space and boundaries." 

The centaur's head whipped up to look at the voice, and he took in the sight of the pair walking towards him as the hoard of children pried themselves off with little apologies. He was stunned into stillness for a few seconds, then he cleared his throat and blinked away the tears trying to spill over his face. "Oh, dear Hestia, this is…"

Annabeth practically jumped on him. Instinctively, Chiron wrapped her up in an embrace. "Chiron!"

"My dear Annabeth, goodness, you've… you've grown so much." He says, running a hand up and down her back in familiar motions. A younger camper pouts up at Percy with narrow eyes, poking him in the ribs and whispering harshly about hypocrisy. Percy leans over and dares them to peel Annabeth away right now. All the color drains from the kid's face. Chiron solves the problem for them, his attention now on Percy as he gently directs Annabeth into a side hug. "Percy."

"Chiron." The young man breathes, straightening. 

"Come here, my boy, do not be a stranger to this old horse. They are saying it has been 5 whole years, I can certainly see that now. You've both grown up into fine young heroes." He invites Percy into the hug and he accepts readily.

"It was only a measly 5 years, I don't see what the big deal is." Mr D materializes next to them and waves a hand, acting like he doesn't care as much as he really does. "A blink of the eye for an immortal, really."

"Yes, the time does seem to fly these days." Replies Chiron, reminiscent.

A shit-eating grin morphs onto Mr D's face. He summons a Coke can out of thin air purely so he can tilt it like he's giving a toast. "Wait until you look at their hands, you're gonna have a heart attack."

When Chiron looks at the couple expectantly, they blush furiously and shuffle away from the centaur. It's not like they were embarrassed about it, they were perfectly happy screaming about it from the rooftops, but something about Chiron's gaze made them feel like they were teenagers experiencing a relationship for the first time again. With their heads turned away, almost as if scared of his reaction, they both held out the hands that were adorned with the matching grey and blue engagement rings.

Chiron's breath catches. When they look back at him, he has one hand over his heart and the other covering the proud smile starting to spread across his face. "My, this is incredible. It has been a great number of years since I last had the joy of seeing the heroes I train able to grow into their own lives."

"The, uh, wedding's gonna in June, just before the Solstice." Percy tags on sheepishly, not knowing what else to say. 

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Shifting on his feet, Peter stared at the closed door to the guidance office. He knew by now that there was a new full-time councillor after Mr Flannigan had been dusted, and people said that the new guy was great, but Peter was still nervous to meet him. So much had changed lately; he was still overly emotional from Mr Stark's funeral, and  this was just yet another thing to adjust to.

He exhaled, subconsciously listening to the steady heartbeat beyond the door, and knocked. "It's, um, Peter Parker."

"Come in!" Called the voice inside. Peter turned the handle, keeping his gaze low as he opened and then shut the door carefully behind him.

When he finally looked up, the man was standing in front of his desk, half-sitting on it with a cheeky grin. His black hair was windswept with a bizarre gray streak that contrasted the young face, but Peter brushed it off as a weird fashion choice. The man's face was, objectively, drop dead gorgeous. It was like looking at a statue, chiselled jaw and straight nose on a perfectly symmetrical tanned face, a mole and small scars the only blemishes.

Then they locked eyes.

Peter could only describe them as whirlpools. Seemingly every shade of blue swirled around the sea-green that surrounded his pupils, dragging Peter in closer like he was hypnotized. Beautiful, in a way that Peter had only ever seen once before.

Blinking, Peter did a double take. He looked over the man again, taking in his appearance in full as the grin grew even wider while Peter's jaw dropped even lower.

"Wha– Percy?!"

Laughing, the man hopped off the desk. "Peter. It's been a while, eh? I remember when you were this ta– Oof!"

Once Peter regained mental control of himself, he didn't hesitate to barrel into his friend and wrap his arms tight around Percy's torso. For a moment, he panicked about forgetting to contain his strength but Percy was barely even knocked back by the full force of Peter bulldozing into him. In fact, when Peter was squeezed back, he actually felt the pressure – something only Thor had managed to do.

Eventually, they pulled away from each other. Percy thankfully ignored the wet spot on his shirt as he went around to his side of the desk and Peter rubbed at his eyes, moving to sit down on the chair. 

"You look a lot different from when you were 12." Says Peter, feeling suddenly awkward.

"I would hope so." Percy responds, a little quiet. "It's been over a decade since then, a lot has changed."

Peter's struck once again with the realization that he's been dead for 5 whole years. How much has he really, truly, missed? It's like time suddenly sped up for everyone but himself, leaving Peter to fall behind.

Papers rustle in front of him, bringing him back to the present. Percy is flicking through a manila folder, and Peter is nosy enough that he peeks at what they say only to find it's all written in a completely different alphabet. Is that Greek? He thought Percy was dyslexic. 

"That's actually why we're meeting today, reunion aside." The man says, looking back up at Peter. He hands over a set of papers, in English this time, and taps at the text. "You've already been made aware that all your credits from the year have been made void and you'll have to redo senior year."

Peter hums unhappily but nods, prompting Percy to continue. "A big reason why this is the case is because of curriculum changes following technological advancements and all that kinda stuff I'm not specialised in. Now I know you, Pete, and I'm sure you've probably gone and done your own research on it by now, but this should be a comprehensive resource guide for you that fits the new curriculum. Websites, videos, tech showcases, the works."

"Thanks, that's super helpful." The teen inspects the paper vaguely for a second, then looks at what's hiding beneath it. An overview of how he can earn enough credits to pass the year, already partially completed. "Wait, I thought I had no credits?"

"I convinced the principal to keep those from practical electives – your PE and metalworking credits, for example. Since they're physical skills your body hasn't rid the muscle memory of, in subjects with almost no course changes, their credits are deemed valid enough to stay in place. It does mean you can't repeat the electives for extra, but you won't need that anyway."

"Oh, wow." Says Peter. "How did you manage to convince Principal Morita to let that happen?"

"I can be very persuasive." Percy jokes, but Peter knows that he really means 'I said a lot of words in one go and hoped they made sense'. It had been his tactic for getting out of trouble ever since they were kids. The reminder of such a small habit still being the same relaxed something in Peter, knowledge that maybe things weren't all so different.

The light catches on something on Percy's hand, and Peter squints at the metal band for a second before he realises what he's looking at. "That's a pretty ring! Where'd you get something like that?"

Percy positively beams. "Man, you're never gonna believe this…"

"How did you grow up and get even cooler, man, it's so not fair!" Ned complains tearily. 

It was lunch time, Percy having let his childhood friends and a student they were close with – Michelle Jones-Watson – sit in his office. After another equally emotional reunion, they had been taking the time to catch up with each other, though it's mostly been about Percy’s life during the past 5 years. Apparently, these kids really value his work for the community and local environment. 

MJ is silently sketching every flicker of sadness they display. Realistically, it should be uncomfortable to be so meticulously judged, but Percy's used to that feeling of eyes on him. She hadn't been contributing to the conversation much, obviously, and Percy could tell she felt a little awkward under the uncaring bravado.

"It's hard to top a national manhunt." She pipes up in a way that seems to be testing the water. 

Percy's grin does that thing where it gets slightly too sharp. "National? Ha, that's so 2012. I've gone worldwide."

"Are you allowed to work with kids with a criminal record?" Peter asks, concerned. 

"Who said anything about a criminal record?" He tilts his head innocently. "Court can't prove anything, just ask my lawyer. I've got a really good lawyer."

They stare. Percy rests his face in the palm of his hands, a dreamy look crossing his expression. "And my fiancée is terrifying when she wants to be, no one crosses Annabeth Chase, not even law enforcement." 

MJ fake gags. "Forget I said anything about you being even remotely cool."

"Is love cringe, Miss Jones?" Percy teases.

"You're distracting us!" Accuses Peter, pointing at the man dramatically. "What'd you do to be wanted internationally?"

Percy cracks his knuckles and stretches. "Oh man, where to start? My aunt kidnapped me and gave me amnesia for 8 months, then sent me to this weird Ancient Rome inspired boot camp in Cali. There I became friends with my cousin Hazel and this guy called Frank and together we had to go all the way to Alaska to get some banner thing the camp lost."

"Yeah, sure, that makes complete sense." Peter snarks.

"Let me finish, four-eyes." Percy continued on, ignoring the offended noise Peter made at the insult. "This guy tried to kill us, so we dragged him all the way to the border with Canada and bashed him in the

"Was there any particular reason you had to bring a guy to Canada to do that? Just decide that you might as well be a criminal there too while you had the chance?" Asks MJ, though her focus is on the sketch of Peter's face from a moment ago.

"Frank's Canadian." The man says, as if that explains anything. A headache is starting to form behind Peter's temples and he buries his face in his hands.

Ned scrunches his nose. "You can't really say you were wanted 'worldwide' if it's just the USA and a tiny corner of Canada."

"That's where Italy and Greece come in!" Percy cheers, but the bell signifying the end of lunch blares through the office. The man shrugs dismissively and settles back into his chair, clearing away his lunchbox and the crumbs left on his desk. "Well, I guess you'll just have to live in suspense. Your class is heading to Venice in a few days, yeah? Ask one of the locals about Percy Jackson, I'm sure they've got some great words to say about me."

Groaning, the teens bid their farewells and head off to their classes. It was true, they did have that trip they had to prepare for.

· ━━━━━━ ⋆｡˚ 🕸 ˚｡⋆ ━━━━━━ ·

An extremely fancy black car rolls up onto the curb as Percy's walking home. He doesn't give it any attention, only making that habitual mental note to watch for danger, until a man steps out of the vehicle and calls out. "Perseus Jackson. A moment of your time?"

Percy halts, hand hovering over the pocket Riptide sits in. He turns around, trying to look innocent, and blinks in bafflement when his sight hits an eyepatch. "Director Fury?"

"The very same, yes." A woman Percy doesn't recognise also steps up behind Fury. They're not immediately presenting themselves as a threat, but Percy's not gotten this far in life by ignoring dangerous people. "I wish to speak with you on behalf of Tony Stark."

They're taking up space on the sidewalk, standing around like this. Percy is hyper aware of the looks they're getting as people pass by them, all side eyes and nervous glances. He hates it. "Can we talk somewhere quieter, at least?"

"Of course." Says the Director. The car remains idling by the curb, drivers as unimpressed by their disruption as the pedestrians are. Percy makes a face that makes it clear there's no chance in Hades he's getting into a vehicle with SHIELD agents, instead striding towards a nearby open-ended alleyway and not turning to check if they're following.

He stops about halfway in and leaning his back against one of the walls and shoving his hands in his pockets to feel the familiar weight of the pen. Breathing slowly and relaxing his shoulders makes him look less like he's prepared for a fight if one should break out. At least, Percy hopes he looks unprepared. But he also wouldn't be surprised if the agents saw right through him.

"What's this about? This seems pretty out of the blue, Director." Percy asks, trying to keep the upper hand in the conversation. He's never been great with his words, like, ever, but boy does he at least give it a shot in the dark and hope for the best.

"Stark had a personal file on you marked with high importance, dating back to the 2010 Stark Expo. When we corroborated it with SHIELD's own files, it made a pretty damning picture." 

Percy shrugs. "They say I was a troubled kid."

"A troubled kid wanted for domestic and foreign acts of terrorism?"

"That's long since been cleared by my lawyer."

Fury's eye narrows. "Enlighten me on how a boy goes missing for 8 months only to reappear halfway across the country. Seemingly able to travel from California to Alaska and all the way to Europe without ever taking step on a plane, no less."

Toying with the lid of his pen, Percy pushes off of the wall and stretches. "There's always more this world has to offer." And because he's petty, as his back is turned Percy decides to mess with the agents a little. "I hear that humans still haven't fully mapped the ocean. You should all hurry it up, it gets lonely out there by myself."

He ducks out the other end of the alleyway and into the passing crowd. Snapping his fingers, Percy lets the Mist cover him for just long enough to lose his pursuers in the bustling city streets.

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Peter had royally screwed up. Big time.

Seeing Beck and his army of drones only a dozen feet in front of him, the EDITH glasses hanging loosely in the man's hand, he realised that there was no one here to save him this time. Suddenly, Peter could feel the phantom pressure of that warehouse digging into his shoulders and making his chest constrict. There was no Tony to sweep in at the last second, repulsors firing as quips fell from his mouth with the steady ease of a confident businessman.

The illusion faded in around him. Peter breathed deeply and shut his eyes tight, extending out his other senses. With a grunt, he charged forward and let his body guide him forward, expertly dodging the bullets and crushing each drone in his path. He could feel his heart beat spreading out through his whole body, the blood that flowed through his veins and powered his muscles. A shot grazed by Peter's ear, though he didn't even flinch.

His eyes finally snapped back open when he plunged the remains of a drone through the body of another, the crash of metal upon metal grating on his sensitive hearing from this close. Peter dragged the decommissioned drone up as a shield just as Beck screamed the command for the remaining to release fire.

Percy hasn't explained why everyone in Italy thinks he's a terrorist. It was such a silly thought, especially in a situation like this, but somehow a burst of motivation flooded through him. His childhood best friend had so much he still had to catch him up on, not just about the period during the Blip, but also what had happened ever since Percy and Ms Jackson moved away.  Peter had to make it out alive, for them.

He takes the leap and smashes through the rest of the drones that are coming his way, panting heavily and taking a second to recover as he kneels. Swallowing, Peter ignores the sting of his cuts and searches the debris for the villain. 

Once he spots Beck, laying on the floor with a hand resting on his side, Peter rips off the Spider-Man mask and stumbles over.

"You lied to me. And I trusted you." He says through the lump in his throat. Even to himself, Peter's voice sounds so small.

"I know. That's the most…" Beck's labored breathing interrupts the sentence. "Disappointing part. You're a good person, Peter. Such a… weakness."

Beck holds out the EDITH glasses like a peace offering. "Stark was right. You do deserve them."

The shot is redirected before Peter even realises his own hand has moved. His head whips around, following the wrist in his grasp up to the real Quentin Beck's face as the illusion dissipates beside them. There's shock and confusion in the man's eyes, behind those glasses, and Peter feels nothing but rage. It's silent as the gun clatters to the floor.

How dare he?

He wastes no time ordering EDITH to deactivate the drones, staunchly ignoring the grunts of pain coming from the other man or the way Beck crumples. A smile bubbles up, somehow, when the devices that have caused him so much agony the past few days all turn and leave. It's finally over.

"You'll see, Peter. People… they need to believe. And nowadays… they'll believe… anything." With his heightened senses, Peter can hear the exact moment Beck's heart stops and oxygen stops coming into his lungs. None of the illusions had heartbeats. He makes EDITH confirm it anyways.

Should he tell Percy? If there's anyone he could trust with something like this, it would be the man with the whirlpool eyes and gray hairs and too many scars. The face of both the Jacksons when they informed Peter and May, almost gleefully, about the disappearance of Gabe Ugliano was ingrained in his memory. 

Peter's eyes burn with unshed tears, but they won't fall. Not for Beck. Men like that don't deserve the grief that Peter carries.

· ━━━━━━ ⋆｡˚ 🕸 ˚｡⋆ ━━━━━━ ·

"Spider-Man's name is Peter Parker!"

Percy stares, uncomprehendingly, at the TV screen.

Annabeth was looking back and forth between the news and Percy so fast he was scared she was going to get whiplash. He continued to gape. 

It– He– Peter was– Spidey–

What?!

Listen, Percy's had nothing short of an abnormal life, but this might be near the top in terms of weirdness. His own father being the Greek god of the sea was perfectly believable, but Peter Benjamin Parker being Spider-Man? Now that was…

He cast his mind back. Now that he thought about it, looking through Peter's school records showed him often missing from school at odd times of the day, especially evident in the amount of Academic Decathlon meetings he's skipped. It wasn't due to a lack of care, Percy knew better than that, and Peter always had some kind of bizarre excuse as to why he couldn't make it. This was something that had been flagged as being of particular note on the boy's file, and if Percy wasn't mistaken Spider-Man was typically active outside of school hours.

It had also noted that Peter had a certain reputation of disappearing while on a field trip. During one of their days out in DC with the AcaDec team, the only people who weren't saved by Spider-Man from an incident with the elevator were Michelle Jones-Watson, who was still at the base of the Washington Monument, and Peter Parker. Peter who, suspiciously, was nowhere to be found until long after the spider vigilante had vanished. Then again, in the recent excursion to Europe, Peter's group had just coincidentally been in the path of the Elementals' attacks and every time Spider-Man somehow showed up to fight them, Peter was similarly missing. Why would Spider-Man be in an entirely different continent, at the exact same place and time that Peter was?

And when Peter had hugged Percy in his office all those weeks ago, there had been a strength far greater than what a scrawny, constantly ill kid who always flunked out on PE should reasonably possess. At first, Percy had suspected Peter to be a demigod, but he should have been claimed and brought to Camp long ago if that was the case. Even with the disastrous field trips and the blatantly obvious lies, the boy's behaviour certainly fits a lot better with the context of trying to hide a vigilante identity when Percy thinks about it as a whole.

The most damning piece of evidence was, of course, the frantic voice of Mysterio exposing his secret for the world to see. 

Oh, man. Peter was actually Spider-Man.

"Sure," Percy says, a little hysterically, "Why not make my life even crazier? Just to keep me on my toes? Of course my childhood best friend, whose school I work for, just so happens to also be New York's friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man."

"Misery and woe for the Universe's favorite." Annabeth teases solemnly, clapping her fiancé on the back while he wallows in self-pity.

Suddenly, Percy darts towards their landline, fumbling with the phone book and keypad for a second before he manages to dial in the right number. Their tech may have been monster proofed by the genius of the Hephaestus and Hecate campers ages ago, but Percy's still not fully adjusted to actually using the dam stuff. He fiddles with the cable as he waits for the call to go through.

Finally, it connects with a click. "Hello, is this May Parker?"

"Um, yes, who's asking?" Comes the familiar voice, laced with apprehension and worry.

"It's Percy." He says. "I just saw the news, and I wanted to say that my doors are absolutely open for you and Peter should the backlash get too bad."

"Oh, thank you for the offer, really, but we can handle it ourselves." 

"Your nephew's just been accused of murdering a superhero and had his identity revealed on national television." Percy deadpans, feeling the stress of the situation getting to him.

May's tone goes stern over the speaker. "We both know that Peter didn't do anything."

"And I'm also damn well aware of how capable you two are, especially with the hero community who will no doubt jump at the chance to help." Annabeth's calloused hand rubs his shoulder comfortingly, trying to release the tension building in his frame. "But the least I can do is offer my place, I promise that no one could find you here. I can set you up with my lawyer, if you'd be interested? This is certainly a case he'd be more than willing to take up."

"I suppose…" May finally relents. "Let me get some paper so I can take down the details." 

Percy waits for the woman to be ready and, with a nod from Annabeth, he recites their address and apartment's phone number. 

"Your lawyer?" Prompts May.

"Oh, right, I almost forgot about that." Chuckles Percy. "His name is Matt Murdock."

· ━━━━━━ ⋆｡˚ 🕸 ˚｡⋆ ━━━━━━ ·

It's not long after that when May informs them that they've moved into Happy Hogan's (whoever that is, Percy's never heard of the guy) penthouse for the time being, and Murdock was just as ready to lend his expertise as expected. He's glad to hear it. 

Percy had let Peter and his friends stay in his office whenever possible, glaring at the other students to leave them all be. Flash Thompson in particular wasn't very happy about it and tried to claim he was Peter's best friend, but crumpled when asked what LEGO project the boy was currently working on. He could see the toll it was all taking on the kids, Peter especially, but there really wasn't much he had the power to do except give them this brief moment of quiet. Peter looked exhausted. The media had not been kind to him, and Percy knew how much time the vigilante spent online, most likely just exposing himself to more hatred. 

He tried to get Peter to open up about it, but the boy was just so unnaturally quiet that it made the pit in Percy's stomach grow. Just as he had the joy of listening to Peter's ramblings again, it was torn away from him. Percy couldn't help the storm of anger pooling deep in his gut, itching for the chance to truly unleash his powers for the first time in years. It was unfair having to watch as the pressure cut deeper into Peter.

One day, the boy comes knocking on the office door in the middle of the school day. Percy lets him in, of course, and listens to what Peter has to say. It's the first time he's come to the office of his own volition.

"It feels like I'm carrying the weight of the sky on my shoulders." Peter finally confesses, arms wrapped around himself.

Percy can't prevent the tug of a smile on his lips as he twirls the gray strands of hair around his finger. "I know what you mean, both figurative and literally. And I know that you can push through it, because you always had that courageous heart of a hero, and you always find a way to get out of a tricky situation."

"I have a plan to sort all this out." He says, with guilt in his eyes. "You're not going to like it."

"Lay it on me, Pete." Sighs Percy, already dreading what he's about to hear.

"I'm gonna ask Dr Strange to make everyone forget that I'm Spider-Man."

The panic of his memory ripped away from him again made Percy shudder. "No."

"Hear me out! I'll make sure that you and Ned and MJ and May and whoever still remembers, but please, I don't know what else I could possibly do to solve this. I filled a whole notebook with ideas and scenarios and everything but this was all I could think of…"

"If you're so sure about this," Percy stares at the nervous boy in front of him, who is resolutely looking anywhere but at the guidance counsellor, "Then I'll come with you."

"Wha-What? No way!" Peter splutters. "I mean, you're just a civilian, I shouldn't drag you into my messes."

Percy gets up to put his hands on Peter's shoulders, forcing them to lock eyes. The vigilante gulps. "Pete. I'm not just a civilian, I'm also an adult, as well as your friend. I'd go through the darkest Pit of the Underworld again for my friends if they needed me to, so don't try and scare me away because it won't work. Capiche?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess."

· ━━━━━━ ⋆｡˚ 🕸 ˚｡⋆ ━━━━━━ ·

Peter is, unfortunately for him, a people pleaser towards the ones he's close with. He hates when his mind even strays into hateful words about his friends or just random innocent people, because it's not great for him to be wishing bad things upon those who don't really deserve it. Sure, sometimes a cop or fellow hero or Flash will annoy him to the point that Peter is smothering the urge to send mental curses onto their bloodlines, but he always felt guilty about it later. Mysterio was a whole other story. Peter doesn't want to think about Mysterio.

Where was he going with this? Oh, right.

To be completely blunt, Percy was acting weird as hell. There was typically a constant prickling of his sixth sense when in the presence of the man, something about him setting off Peter's fight or flight, but this was worse than normal. Every instinct was telling him to crawl up the walls and find a corner of the ceiling to build a web he could hide in. Percy's inability to be anything beyond cryptic was equally as frustrating. What on earth could he possibly mean by literally understanding what it's like to hold up the weight of the sky and go through the underworld again? Pretending it's all a joke Percy's really committed to is the only thing keeping Peter from full on interrogating his friend.

The Sanctum comes into view. Nerves shoot through Peter, sudden anxiousness and a desire to turn back, but he knew in his heart that he wouldn't have another way to be rid of his problem so easily. 

"Oh, man, I can't believe I've passed by this so many times and not even bat an eye." Peter's strung so tight that the words make him jump. Percy is squinting up at the building with a hand raised to block the sunlight, so relaxed compared to Peter that the difference is near comical. 

Peter takes a steadying breath and goes to ring the doorbell, watching it swing open by itself and being smacked immediately in the face by a rush of cold air. Curiously, the pair step into the winter wonderland of the interior. Goosebumps rise across Peter's skin, the cold seeping through his layers all the way into him and making him shiver. On the other hand, Percy seems completely unaffected despite the thin jacket he has on over a simple t-shirt. 

Shoveling snow into buckets, small scoop by small scoop, were two people bundled up in heavy jackets and weather appropriate clothing. Peter clears his throat and calls out to them, a bit pathetically. "Um, hi?"

Beside him, the older man snorts quietly at the way the strangers fully stop to stare at them and he pats Peter on the shoulder consolingly. He tries to speak again but is interrupted by Wong appearing through a portal, explaining about the blizzard that had swept through the building. Then, the sorcerer they were looking for floats over the stairs as he descends, complaining about the maintenance spell not being upheld.

Percy scoffs quietly about the dramatics with a sort of familiar contempt that Peter hasn't heard from him before. The sorcerers cease their bickering to face the man.

"And who are you? You absolutely reek of the Duat." A haunted look passes through their faces when Wong speaks. "I swear, if you're with the House of Life…"

"I'm acquainted with the Kanes." Laughs Percy, waving off the way Peter opens his mouth to ask a question. "But no, I'm my own brand of weird none of you heroes've properly run into yet."

"Great. Just what we needed." Dr Strange bites out dryly.

Peter feels like the conversation has derailed. "Uh, sorry, but I really need to talk to Mr Doctor Strange, please?"

With another final glance at Percy, Wong waves them off to go yell at the people shovelling the snow. They follow Dr Strange over to the fireplace, Peter slipping on the icy ground for a moment before Percy steadied him with a hand, the snow peeling back to clear the way as flames burst in the fireplace. "To what do I owe the pleasure… Peter."

"Uhm, when Mysterio revealed my identity to the world, it screwed up my whole life, and I… I mean I don't even know if this would work but…" He wrings his hands, looking to Percy for reassurance. "I was wondering if… maybe you could go back in time and make it so that all… never happened?"

The atmosphere got somehow even colder. "You want us to get entangled in the fabric of time and space again because your life got a little messy?"

Percy's eyes went stormy. "There are lives at stake here, beyond Peter's. His friends? His aunt? Peter is plenty strong in his own right, but anyone and everyone he's ever talked to or even simply interacted with is in danger of people who want to take advantage of him. Every college in the country has rejected those kids for simply associating with Pete, their futures are ruined."

"Was this your influence?" Accuses Dr Strange.

"Hey, don't drag Percy into this." Peter frowns. "This is all my idea."

The sorcerer sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Even if I wanted to help, I don't have the time stone anymore."

Dejected, Peter turns around with an apology. Wong walks back over to squabble with Dr Strange again, and that's when the idea is born.

A spell to make people forget.

Sadly, but unsurprisingly, Percy was made to wait in the Sanctum lobby while Dr Strange led Peter into the basement to conduct the spell. Bored out of his mind, the man plopped down onto an icy step and stuck a hand into the snow covering the ground, scooping up a pile in his palm. He shaped it into what vaguely resembled a pegasus, fingers unaffected by the cold as he worked. Percy sat his little creation on the step beside him, immediately losing interest. 

"Whoops!" Yelped Peter in full Spider-Man regalia as he swung through the lobby and out through the doors, Dr Strange chasing after him.

Dumbfounded, Percy raced out after them just in time to watch as the boy played keep away with a weird cube.

"Um." He said eloquently.

"Your little spider brat messed up the spell and now-" Dr Strange groans in frustration, "He's holding the one thing that'll keep it contained. If that spell gets loose then anyone, from any universe, that knows Peter Parker is Spider-Man will start coming here."

Ah. That didn't sound too great. 

"Basically a multiversal Pandora's Box, got it."

The sorcerer narrowed his eyes at him with a kind of dawning understanding. Percy bares his teeth in a grin. Dr Strange scoffs. "Sure, if that's what you want to call it."

So he had to join forces temporarily with this guy in order to stop Peter fucking up the multiverse? What could go wrong! It's not like he's got piles of reports to help the teachers with or anything. Nope, his schedule is just perfectly clear for this situation. 

Abruptly, Peter launches himself backwards and gets chased by Dr Strange's cape, wrestling midair with the fabric as they fight over the cube. Then, the sorcerer extends his hands and a chunk of the sky cracks like a mirror, the other three all sent through before the street goes quiet as if nothing even happened. 

He sniffs. 

"...Okay then?"

· ━━━━━━ ⋆｡˚ 🕸 ˚｡⋆ ━━━━━━ ·

A timid hand thumps against the front door, making Annabeth, embarrassingly, jump a little. She tossed her papers and stationery somewhere onto the mess of a floor and hopped to her feet, cursing at the numbness in her legs. Wincing, she stumbled to the door with a dagger clutched in one hand (force of habit, can't blame her).

"Who is it?" Annabeth questioned.

"Oh!" Squeaked the person on the other side. "I'm Peter? Uh, Peter Parker, well you probably know me as Spider-Man. Sorry, I'm looking for Percy Jackson…?"

She tucked the dagger into the back of her belt and hid it beneath her shirt, opening the door with a friendly smile. "Ah, hello. You can come in, but Percy's still caught up back at work so he'll take a minute."

'Caught up at work' translated, of course, to Percy trying to subtly kill a laistrygonian without SHIELD arresting him on the spot. 

Peter stands awkwardly by the entrance, fiddling with something on his wrist as he observes the woman. She leaves the boy to take in his surroundings and goes to tidy the hurricane of paper across the living room.

It's once she's got everything in neat enough stacks on the coffee table that Annabeth speaks again, leaning back on the carpet. "So, what brings you here?"

"I'm sure you've probably heard about the bridge by now," says Peter, "I just need to apologise to Percy for being an idiot and not listening to him or Dr Strange."

Annabeth refrains from pointing out their distinctive lack of television. One of these days she'd manage to convince her fiancé that it's not a waste of money, since she liked to be caught up on news but the radio drove her mad sometimes. This was a prime example. "What about a bridge? I've been too busy today to check the news."

"I made a mistake and now there's villains I don't know after me." The boy summarises with a frown. She got the feeling. Back in the early days on the streets, Annabeth didn't know what most of the monsters attacking her were either.

Keys jingled and the door swung open. "Annieee."

"Welcome back, babe." 

"Gods above that was way more annoying than usual, Fury is just really up my- oh, hey Peter." Percy did a double take. "Wait, Peter?"

"Hi Percy…" Said the boy, shifting on his feet.

Percy leads Peter to the couch to take a seat, Annabeth heading to the fridge to get a couple sodas. She tosses the drinks at their heads, both catching it with no problem at all. Peter flushes. "Thanks, miss."

"Annabeth I love you dearly." Sighs Percy when he sinks into the couch, chugging half of the bottle. "Anyways, what brings you here, Pete?"

"Um, I…" Peter trips over his words, and then all his thoughts come tumbling out. "I made a mistake, and I should've listened to you and Dr Strange when you guys said it was dangerous, cause now there's villains from other universes and I don't know what to do. Dr Strange says he needs to send them home but they're gonna die if they go back, and I- I can't let that happen."

He heaved a breath. "I'm really sorry. But I need your help."

Percy looked Peter in the eye with those swirling waves. "Listen, I've made many of my own impulsive decisions in my lifetime, I would be a hypocrite if I left you to your own devices. Of course I'll help you."

"And I'm by your side as always, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth pipes up.