Chapter Text
The worst part of all the demigod stuff was the helplessness. Annabeth looked terrible, but maybe that was all the blood.
Her eyes were squeezed shut almost as tightly as her grip in Percy’s ruined sheets, her back bowed as her legs tangled themselves in his duvet. She looked smaller to Sally than usual, glowing with sweat in the light of the blue lampshade. Braids splayed across the pillows, she really looked like she might be dying.
Sally took a step towards the bed. “Percy, what-“
Annabeth’s eyes shot open, pupils fat and dark and scanning the room as she curled into a ball. She didn’t seem to register anything.
“I need Percy,” she said, voice so small and scared and desperate. “I need- I need-“
Grover and Sally, in tandem again, turned to the boy in question. Hand on his red throat, Percy looked sick to death in the doorway.
“What kind of monster does this?” he asked, sounding just as small and scared and desperate as Annabeth. “How… how do… Grover, what?”
Sally followed Percy’s eyes to the satyr, now looking just as sick as the other two.
“Grover?”
“This isn’t good.” He pushed past Percy out of the room to pace the long length of the hall with his stilted gait. “This is not good.”
“What is it?”
“Does she have to go to camp?”
The Jacksons followed him out of the room, leaving Annabeth to whimper pathetically for Percy. Sally was starting to get a sick feeling too. Why does all this demigod stuff give her a sick feeling?
Though she won’t lie, this particular case had her sick with an almost familiar nausea.
“Grover!” Percy all but shouted when his best friend went for another lap around the couch.
“So the good news is she’s still okay,” Grover said quickly, taking a faltering step back at the look on Percy’s face.
“And the bad news?” he demanded.
“It’s going to take a while to pass.”
“What do you mean ‘pass’?”
“What do you mean a while?” Sally added.
Grover winced. “Possibly maybe all night.”
Sally grimaced at the idea of Annabeth like this all night.
“What do we do?” Percy asked, running a hand over his face when Annabeth called for him again. “What is this?”
That’s when Grover looked at Sally.
“Can we talk? Alone?”
It was probably more difficult to convince Percy to stay in the kitchen than it would have been to just tell him, but Sally understood why Grover didn’t want to be the one to do it.
Hell, she didn’t even want to do it.
“So… it’s like some sort of mythological… date rape drug?”
Grover looked disgusted. “I don’t know what that is, but it sounds about right.”
It looked about right, too. She’d partied enough in New York City when she was younger to know what a roofie could look like.
“Why does it even-“ Sally crossed her arms in the air in front of her. “You know what? I don’t even want to know.”
A few feet from them, Annabeth writhed in the bed making little half-sounds that broke Sally’s heart.
“But you’re sure she’ll be alright?”
“Definitely,” Grover assured her. “The ambrosia will do its thing and she’ll be fine by morning. We just have to… watch her until then.”
“There’s no other way to break this?”
“I mean…” He suddenly looked profoundly uncomfortable. “Percy could-“
“Nope,” Sally said quickly. “Not gonna happen.”
He breathed a sigh of relief. Sally frowned, thinking of the long night Annabeth had ahead of her.
“Grover, I need you to get my bathroom ready for me to clean her up,” she instructed. “I’ll go talk to Percy.”
Grover, valiant as ever, tried not to make a face. She appreciated the effort.
“Good luck,” he said with a lot less effort.
“Thank you, Grover.”
The boy in the kitchen was less appreciative.
“Well?” Percy practically spat, arms crossed over his chest.
Sally raised an eyebrow and Percy took a deep breath.
“Sorry. I’m sorry. I just-“
“I know, Percy. I get it. But I need you to keep a cool head right now, okay?” she asked, taking a seat at the table. He reluctantly followed her cue, glancing back at his bedroom door before sitting with her. “Annabeth is going to get better. This is just going to pass like a fever.”
He only crossed his arms tighter.
“What is it?”
“From what I understand…” Sally said, choosing her words carefully, “it was some type of mystical aphrodisiac. Annabeth’s hormones are all out of whack right now. So she isn’t really in her right mind. And she’s not comfortable at all.”
There was that flush again. Percy looked at the table when he asked, “Her hormones?”
Sally nodded.
“Is that why she was saying all that stuff earlier? About needing me and stuff?” he said, cheeks and neck burning like a red beacon. He probably didn’t realize that he licked his lips, but he did. “Could I- could I help her?”
His words were too low to be intelligible, but Sally got the gist of his question regardless.
“Percy, look at me.” His eyes only flicked up through his lashes, too embarrassed to meet her gaze head on. “Absolutely not.”
Percy frowned, forgetting his embarrassment enough to glare. “Why not?”
This is the moment that Sally realized her son’s sex education might not be as whole as she previously believed. She blinked.
“Percy, have we ever talked about consent?”
“Yeah,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “No means no... But she’s asking for me. She needs me.”
If there’s anything she’s learned about her son, it’s that he’d do anything to help his friends. Sally just had to get him to understand this wouldn’t be helping.
“Perce, do you know what an altered state of mind is?” He nodded, but Annabeth made another cry from the room that made his head whip back in that direction. “Focus. Kids can’t consent, anybody who works for you can’t consent, and drunk people can’t consent. Even if they say yes.”
She was painting this with really broad strokes that she’d have to go back and fine tune later, but hopefully it was enough for now.
“But she’s the one asking.”
“She’s also not all there, baby. The things she’s saying now aren’t a reflection of her, just the spell she’s under.”
“Could I make that go away?” And Sally has always been so insanely proud of her son and his terrifying hero complex, but in this moment, she could see it wasn’t just a sense of obligation drawing him to Annabeth.
“Yes,” she admitted honestly. “But if she hates you in the morning, it’s because you took advantage of her vulnerability.”
Percy’s reaction was visceral, as he stood abruptly from the table with his fists clenched.
“Mom, I would never-“
“I know, sweetheart. So right now, we just have to make this as easy as possible for her.” She stood with him and made her way to his bedroom where Annabeth was still crying. “I’m gonna clean her up and you can wash the sheets while I do that.”
He nodded, only half-listening to her as they walked into the room. Because Annabeth sat up in the bed, eyes wide and imploring as she clutched her stomach.
“Please, Percy, it hurts. I need- I need…”
She didn’t even have the words for it, probably didn’t even know what was going on inside of her, and Sally cursed Poseidon’s fucked-up world for not the first time.
Percy looked to her helplessly.
“Mom.”
“Come on,” Sally said. “I need you to carry her to my bathroom.”
She watched him steel himself to approach the bed as Annabeth reached for him with desperate hands.
“Come see, Wise Girl,” he said more to himself than her as he bent to slide his arm beneath her legs. Annabeth latched onto him immediately, pressing her face to his neck and moaning there as he stood upright again.
He shot his mom a pained look when Annabeth started begging again.
“It’s not her, Percy,” she reminded him, leading the way to her own bathroom where Grover had started the bath and for some reason covered the floor in all her towels.
The satyr took one look at the whimpering demigod in Percy’s arms and sighed, stepping forward to slide a finger down her cheek.
“You’re gonna be okay, Annabeth.”
She whimpered and clung more tightly to Percy. “I just- Percy, I just need you.”
Percy sucked in a deep breath and tried to put Annabeth down on the bathroom counter, but she wrapped her legs around his waist and started crying.
The irrational part of Sally felt a spike of hot rage seeing someone disregard all her kid’s red lights, but it got quickly redirected to whatever sick fuck did this to Annabeth.
Percy’s voice was lower than usual when he said, “She’s- she won’t let go.”
She could see cords of muscles in his arms tensed to keep their bodies apart with his grip on Annabeth’s hips. Sally sighed.
“Baby, you’re stronger than her,” she reminded him, but the forlorn look he sent her over his shoulder told her that no, he really wasn’t. Not in this. And deep down, a part of him believed that he could fix this if they’d just let him-
“Percy.”
There was no room for negotiation in her voice and with a deep huff, Percy untangled Annabeth from around him. She whimpered his name and tried to follow him over the counter’s edge, but Sally was quick to catch her before she could.
“No, no, please, I need-“
Sally shushed her, petting her head as she nodded at the boys to go. Percy didn’t move until Grover dragged him from the bathroom and shut the door behind them.
Then it’s just Sally and Annabeth.
She was crying to herself and clutching her stomach when Sally said, “Okay, I need your help now, Annabeth.”
Annabeth blinked hazy eyes, looking straight through Sally like she wasn't even there.
“We’ve gotta get you cleaned up, sweetheart.”
Still, Annabeth wasn’t any help as Sally pulled her clothes off, one bloody sleeve at a time. It was ten minutes later by the time she was naked and shivering in the bathwater.
“It’s cold,” she moaned, head back and Sally tried her best to keep her braids out of the water because she didn’t know if they could get wet.
“I know,” Sally said, more to herself because Annabeth could hardly hear her over the pulse pounding in her ears. “I thought it would help. I don’t know. I…”
She slid the soapy washcloth down one leg than the other, at a loss for words and feeling so sick to her stomach. This happened to her friend Monica once in college, but it just made her weak and confused, it didn’t put this desire in her. She and another friend had to carry Monica out of the bar on their backs before the sleaze who did it could find them in the crowd.
Annabeth took a shuddering breath, blinking up at the ceiling as Sally cleaned her stomach. She hadn’t had to wash anyone since Percy was little. She hadn’t had to wash anyone grown since her Uncle Rich got cancer.
Annabeth was more agreeable.
She rested her round cheek on the lip of the tub, whining at the feeling of cool porcelain on her hot skin. Her eyes closed, lips forming the shape of Percy’s name.
“I know, baby. You’re gonna be alright.”
Sally slid the washcloth up her neck, scrubbing away the blood and gold dust crusted there. Annabeth’s hands came up to hold Sally’s.
“I need him. I feel so empty.”
Sally’s throat constricted and she wanted to cry. What kind of monster would take such advantage? Of a girl? A familiar kind. Even mortals have monsters like these.
“Where is he?” she cried as Sally cleaned her face, salt tears mixing with the soapy water as it dripped down her chin. “I really, really need him.”
“Sweet girl,” Sally cooed, rinsing the soap from her skin as the water drained, until she was just shivering in an empty bath. “Let’s dry you off.”
Sally’s knees cracked as she stood. Annabeth stood with her, almost slipping on her way out, but Sally was there to catch her with a fluffy towel. She looked pathetic, small and wide-eyed in a too big towel, biting her lip as she tried to restrain whatever was eating her from the inside out.
On the counter were Percy’s clothes and Sally rolled her eyes. She slipped his swim team shirt over her head, which almost reached down to her knees, but she had to pull the cords of his basketball shorts all the way to cinch them around Annabeth’s narrow waist. They dropped nearly to her calves.
“Alright, sweetheart. Let’s get you in bed.”
When she opened the door, Percy was there. Annabeth went still. He looked afraid.
He cleared his throat. “Right. Come see, Wise Girl.”
He held out his arms and Annabeth immediately climbed into them, tucking her face against his collarbone.
He took a step towards the door when he saw his mom’s face.
“What?”
“Where are you going?”
“Taking her to bed?”
“Your bed?”
His face flushed red. “Well, yeah, I-“
Sally raised an eyebrow and he cut himself off.
"Sorry, I wasn't thinking."
“Right here is fine, Percy.”
He nodded and carried her the few steps to Sally’s bed. It was just as difficult the second time to get Annabeth to let go, but with enough brute force, he managed to pry her arms loose from him and settle her onto the bed.
“No, please, I-“
Sucking in a breath, he stared down at her like she hung the moon in the sky and muttered, “Need me, yeah, I’ve heard.”
Sally rolled her eyes again, stepping between the two as Annabeth’s whole body spasmed with need.
“Go, Percy.”
His eyes were fixed on Annabeth. “But I can-“
“Percy.”
It was almost as difficult for him to look away as it was for Annabeth to let go, but he did and left the room just as quickly. Sally covered Annabeth with the duvet, where she curled up, moaning and whimpering to herself.
“Percy?” she asked, eyes squeezed tight and body clenched into a ball.
“He’s gone,” Sally lied and her heart broke in two at the way she cried. “He’ll be back later. Just get some sleep.”
She brushed her soft forehead, quickly regaining its heat after her cold bath, and left.
In the living room, Grover and Percy were sitting in awkward silence.
“Hungry?” she asked, and they both shook their heads. “She’s alright. She thinks Percy left.”
Percy stood. “She thinks I would-“
Sally shushed him, checking the bedroom door again before explaining, “I told her you’d be back. It’s easier this way.”
He nodded slowly, still looking upset at the idea.
“I think you should both get some sleep so you can take her to camp in the morning.”
“Where are you going to sleep?” Grover asked.
She pointed a thumb over her shoulder at her bedroom. “I’ll watch over Annabeth.”
She left them to turn the couch into a bed for Grover, finding Annabeth deep asleep in the sheets. Back pressed to the bedroom door, she watched her curl and uncurl.
She needed a shower. She locked the door behind herself. On quiet feet, Sally collected her own pajamas and pressed a kiss to the top of Annabeth’s head.
In the shower, she thought a lot. Mostly sad and exhausting things about her son and his friends. But also about all the towels on her bathroom floor.
She dried and dressed and cleaned the bathroom and gathered all of Annabeth’s bloody clothes into a pile for the wash.
When she finally stepped out, her bedroom door was open and the bed was empty.
“Shit.”
The apartment was dark and Grover was snoring on the couch already, worn-out from all his worrying. The only other open door was Percy’s, which is where she found Annabeth.
“-because you’re… you’re not yourself, Annabeth,” she heard him saying.
The demigod in question was on her son’s lap, pressing kisses to his neck while he tried not nearly as hard as he should be trying to get out from under her.
“Perseus Jackson,” she snapped.
He sat up like a rocket, nearly knocking Annabeth on the floor had it not been for his hands on her back.
“Mom! She wants me to-“
“I know what she wants,” Sally interjected, stalking to the side of his bed. “Take her back right now.”
The look in his eyes was muddy and confused as he threw his legs over the side with Annabeth still on his lap.
“She said I could fix it, that I could… make it all go away.”
He still stood with that dangerous look on his face, like he was terrified of himself. Annabeth clung to him, whispering a bunch of nothing into his shoulder where she laved desperate affection.
Sally got a wave of nausea as she thought of Monica.
“She said that?”
“Yeah, I-” Percy tried unsuccessfully to put Annabeth down. The girl in his arms looked calm for the first time all night, at the expense of Percy’s rising panic. Eventually, he wasn’t really even trying to get her off, just gripping her legs with white knuckles and wide eyes. “Mom-”
“Just take her back, Percy,” Sally said, suddenly drained beyond reason.
Percy swallowed his protest and carried Annabeth back out of the room.
In the living room, Grover still snored and Sally envied him. She followed Percy back to her room instead, where he fell onto the bed trying to get Annabeth off of him.
Sally helped him up before he could get dumbstruck by the girl beneath him again. Immediately, Annabeth began to whine without him, arms up like Icarus falling. In the moonlight, her streak of gray hair seems to glow. Sally’s heart throbbed with endless compassion.
She rounded on her son with notably less compassion.
“What were you thinking?”
He was looking beyond her, face hard like stone, at Annabeth on the bed writhing again. She curled into a ball and bit her own knee against whatever onslaught of hormones was rushing through her.
Percy’s fists clenched.
“What if she’s right?”
“What?”
“Annabeth,” he clarified and the girl in question moaned at the sound of her name, calling for Percy in turn. “She’s always right.”
“Percy, she’s not-”
“I trust her.”
Sally stared at her son, shoulders squared and so much more man than she remembered, but his stony face held frightened eyes, darting up and down the length of the bed helplessly.
Sally has gotten very used to the mythological world rendering her helpless. Percy has not.
“Sweetheart, I need you to go lock your door and go to sleep. She’ll be here in the morning,” Sally promised, despite the fact that those regularly backfired on her. “You need-”
“She needs me,” he said, finally looking up at his mom. “Can’t I-”
“No,” she bit out, trying not to get angry but thinking only really of Monica now. “Go.”
“Mom,” he said, voice cracking. “I can’t leave her.”
Sally sighed, taking his hand and staring up into those same eyes she’s always known. His baby eyes. Her baby’s eyes.
“Percy, trust me. Five more hours until morning. Just lock your door,” she said. “She’ll be right here when you wake up.”
Percy searched her face for something new, maybe, but all she had to offer was the same old face she’d always given him. In the end, it was enough.
He huffed and nodded, shuffling to the door with one last look over his shoulder at the girl on the bed. Then he was gone. And it was just Sally and Annabeth.
She sighed.
“Little girl, you have no idea what you do to that kid.”