!!! :D I hope you like this!! i did stray a bit from the prompt but this wrote itself, annabeth possessed me for fifty minutes to make me plot her into a paranoid wreck and what am i meant to do? say no?
(do not listen to call me what you like by lovejoy while reading this fic the only part thats even slightly relevant is the line thats the title. its not actually about thinking people are going to kill you, unfortunately it's about thinking your partner doesnt love you back which is the one problem annabeth doesn't have. title from call me what you like by lovejoy though)
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Annabeth is more than a little surprised to see the door to Percy’s room cracked open– he usually has it either wide open or fully shut, hates the uncertainty of the crack– so perhaps she can’t be blamed for giving into– whatever it is that makes her walk so slowly as to be silent, set her bag down as quietly as possible, and strain to hear what’s going on in there. Is that– no. No way. She creeps closer, presses her ear to the pale blue wall. He’ll forgive her for eavesdropping.
“I said, no, Lady. I have school, I don’t have time for quests. Find someone else.” Percy seems stressed, but it doesn’t sound like he’s in danger. Thank the gods. His back is to her, so she can’t see his face as he runs a hand through his hair.
“This is important, Perseus.” That’s Hera. Or, Juno or– whoever. What is she doing here? She shouldn’t be here! She has no business here– except, clearly, she does, and she’s trying to get Percy to go on some quest or something.
The tension lays taut in the air, and Annabeth knows she should do something. She should get in there– interrupt, tell Hera to go away. Somehow, she can’t seem to move. Her feet feel like they’re glued to the plush hallway carpet, she’s frozen in place, trapped in an infinite loop of What-If. What if she goes in there and that’s the thing that sets Hera off. What if Hera realizes she’s outnumbered and decides to take matters– to take Percy into her own hands.
Annabeth can’t handle losing Percy again. That kind of risk is entirely out of the question, so she stays where she is, and watches. Just to be sure. Just in case, so she knows whether Percy takes the quest or Hera takes Percy. He doesn’t take the quest, and Hera leaves without further argument, and Annabeth’s stomach churns. This was too damn easy.
.
There’s an old woman. She knows how it sounds but– there’s this old woman, and Annabeth passes her in the same location at the same time on her way to Psychology every day. Before Hera turned up in their apartment, she never would have thought twice about it– New Rome and its abundance of adult demigods will always be strange to her– but now? Annabeth is… exercising reasonable caution.
Annabeth is changing her schedule, changing the route she walks, tucking her hair up under a cap. Annabeth is this close to wearing her Yankees cap for the walk to class. It sounds ridiculous– of course– but here’s the thing: Annabeth knows the mythos like the back of her hand, and, after– everything– she studied up on Hera's-vengeance stories. This would hardly be the first time Hera disguised herself as an old woman to go incognito, and Annabeth does not want to go out like Semele.
The whole thing is about as ironic as it gets, because the topic this week is hypervigilance, especially in demigods who had fought in the Titan War. This fact is noted, and promptly filed away. It’s not paranoia if they’re really out to get you, and Hera is absolutely out to get Annabeth– or, was, not so long ago. The point is: her concerns are valid.
She points this fact out to the professor, and he takes the opportunity to plug the free counseling provided by Campus Health Services. If she imagines squeezing his large next until his head pops clean off, well, no one needs to know but her.
.
After weeks of leaving early and late and in disguise to fool Probably-Hera, Percy finally takes her aside.
“What’s up?” He asks, head cocked to the side like a cocker spaniel of some kind. “You’ve been acting off lately.” That’s an understatement and they both know it, even as she’s eternally grateful for it.
“It’s nothing,” she tries, but he pins her with that ”Please let me help you, I love you, your pain is hurting me,” look, and she sighs. Headbutts him in the chest, and stays there, where it’s cool and dark and safe. “It’s not nothing. It’s Hera.” She spins the whole sorry tale. He rubs her back through the hiccuping sobs when she can barely choke out, and slowly but surely maneuvers them to the couch to sit down.
“It’s just–” She hiccups. “-and I know it’s irrational, I know, but those six months when you were missing was the worst period of my life? Like, ever. And I know it’s dumb, and I know you can hold your own in a fight, but I just– I heard her? When she was here.”
Understanding dawns on Percy’s face, and she hold up a hand to stop him from interrupting. If she can’t get this out now, she never will. “You left your door cracked. And she just– left. It felt like she barely even put up a fight and I just– it can’t be that simple, it’s never that simple! And I can’t be caught off-guard. I have to be ready, so if she does–” She wipes her eyes. “-take you I can start looking right away, even though I know it wouldn’t help.”
Percy kisses her softly on the forehead, and once on each cheekbone, and ducks down to look her right in her eyes. “Listen to me. I love you. That’s not normal or healthy, but it is understandable. And, really, even if it wasn’t, I’d still love you. You’re kind of stuck with me. That said– Wise Girl. You really should consider that free counseling.”
She flicks him once, gently, on the forehead. “Okay, Seaweed Brain, if you say so– hey, which of us keeps hopping in the river Styx like it’s a casual weekend with the guys? I’ll go if you do.” The world spins, blue walls and gray couch blurring into dark carpet as she’s shoved unceremoniously off the couch. She grabs Percy’s foot and pulls him down on top of her, giggling. Maybe things will be okay, as long as they have each other.
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