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Percy stared at the door, his door, closed fist hovering an inch from it.
He'd been standing that way for almost ten minutes.
He'd started crying four times already and had just managed to stop, just to start again.
He wiped his eyes again and cleared his throat.
He knocked three times, gently but still loud enough to be heard.
Annabeth had offered to come with him but he knew he had to do this himself.
Ten, twenty, thirty seconds before he hears the click of the lock.
He expects his mother.
Paul Blofis answers.
He's not disappointed, really he's not. He loves Paul but he'd also played this seen over in his head a million times and for some reason it had never occurred to him that Paul would answer the door.
"Sally! Sally come here!" Paul says as he surges forward, pulling Percy into an unexpected hug.
He's crying again. He can't help it, he really can't. He's ugly sobbing and apologising over and over.
"What dear?" He hears his mother call.
Percy pulls away from the hug and pushes past Paul.
Sally was popping her head around the corner to see who was at the door.
When she sees her son, her baby, she freezes.
He runs over to her and crushes her in a hug.
"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. It happened so fast and for most of it I couldn't remember anything. I would've came home if I could remember where the hell home was but I couldn't remember anything and-" Percy is rambling, talking so fast Sally can't understand him, he seems so panicy.
"It's okay." She whispers.
After a minute she pulls away, holding him at arms length, taking him in.
Too many new scars to count.
His face is peppered with bruises and his left bicept is bandaged.
"Are you okay? Is Annabeth okay?" She demands.
"Yeah. Yeah we're fine." He whispers.
"How the hell do you even have injuries? Doesn't the entire achillies curse thing-?"
"Long story." He says. I'll tell you everything. Just, we might want to sit down. It's gonna take a while."
Sally nodded. "Dinners almost ready. We'll talk over dinner."
As she's pulling away she notices something.
"Perceus Jackson what the hades is that?" She demands.
Percy glances down at his forearm.
"Oh." He mutters. "Oh, that's-" He seems to be considering how to explain. "That's- I didn't exactly get a say in the matter. Um. I- It's a long story. I think I'll call Annabeth. She's better at explaining than I am." Percy manages.
When Annabeth arrives they explaing, Percy going over the entire waking-up-with-no-memory to becoming-leader-of-an-entire-city-thing. After that Annabeth does most of he talking. Obviously both of them water down or leave out the bad parts. They are very vauge with their account of tartarus.
Sally and Paul listen in complete horror.
"I'm so sorry about Leo." Paul says when they finish.
Percy nods but doesn't look up.
"Thanks."
Sally is crying silently, Percy notices.
After another few moments Sally speaks.
"It's getting late. Annabeth do you want to stay? Percy do you mind taking the couch so Annabeth can have your bed?" She asks.
Percy and Annabeth exchange a look.
How the hell were they supposed to explain that neither of them could sleep without the other anymore.
"Yeah, okay Mom." He says instead, with a shrug. It was one night. They'd have to get used to it eventually.
Annabeth nods.
"Thanks Sally. Thanks Mr. Blofis. The food was amazing."
"Please. Paul is fine." He says with a smile.
Percy wakes up screaming.
He had dreamt of Tartarus the way it had appeared to him when he was dying of gorgons blood. Oh it was so horrible. Whenever he thought of it he wanted to pry out his eyes so he'd never have to see anything again.
Annabeth, Paul and Sally run in, Annabeth welding her dragon bone sword, Sally welding a lamp.
Percy realises he has Riptide in his hand. He sighs and recaps it.
"Sorry. Just a nightmare." He mutters. Annabrth nods and sits on the couch beside him, pulling him into a hug.
He let's out a sob and it's as if a dam has burst.
They fall asleep like that, holding each other.
The next night, when Percy and Annabeth go to bed together, Sally doesn't say anything.