Catch Me If I Fall (PJO/Avengers Crossover)

41

Percy had woke on the morning of August eighteenth in a relatively good mood.

Of course, compared to how he felt before Loki faked his death for the first time, he felt positively dreadful. But, if you looked at how he felt after the breakup back in December, he was doing swimmingly. A lot had happened in the past nine months. The team had seen him at rock bottom, but then they'd seen him build himself back up, see him slowly but surely get better. And Percy could see the difference, too. It was small, at first. He would smile at a fond memory including Loki rather than scowl or grimace, he would even laugh at one of Tony's jokes if it was a good day.

Sometimes Percy would find himself slipping back into the darkness again, and sometimes it would almost consume him. But he always got back out. No matter how hard it was, he fought the urges to do anything rash. And then it would start getting better again, like it was a cycle.

He found the motivation to get up and shower. The night before, Sally had called and said he was more than welcome to spend the day with her, Paul and Estelle, and in the end, Percy accepted. He planned to go see them for an hour or two and do some catching up. They hadn't seen each other since before Christmas, and Percy was beyond excited to see his mother again.

When things had been really bad, Tony hadn't let Percy even call Sally. He'd forced Percy to get his act together before anything, not wanting her to panic or worry for her son. For that reason, Percy made an effort to stay this way- not happy exactly, but calm enough that he wouldn't get as low as he had before. Percy went upstairs to the kitchen- he had about an hour before he'd leave for his mother's house.

"Happy birthday, kid!" Tony beamed when he saw Percy walk in, and, for once, the young god smiled back.

"Thanks, Tony," he said, starting to make toast. Tony couldn't be prouder of Percy and the progress he'd made in the past month alone, and couldn't help but smile even wider when he saw Percy smile back. It was progress. "I'm going to head to my mom's in about a half-hour, then come back here later and, I don't know, watch a movie or something, I guess."

Tony grinned at this. Percy had no idea what the billionaire had got planned. "Sounds great, Percy."

One by one, the Avengers woke and made their way to the kitchen, each of them wishing Percy a happy birthday as they did. They exchanged knowing glances every now and again, too- operation Birthday was in motion, unbeknownst to Percy.

Percy eventually hugged Tony goodbye and left the tower, heading straight to his mother's house. He knocked before letting himself in. "Anyone home?" He called out. No reply. He furrowed his brows in confusion, his hand automatically going to his pocket, fully prepared to face the worst as he made his way to the living room. It was dark and quiet and, all of a sudden, about fourteen people popped up from their hiding places.

"Surprise!" They all chorused in unison, and Percy, upon uncapping Riptide, realised it was the Avengers, Sally, Paul, Estelle, Hazel, Frank, Nico and Will. Laughing, in spite of himself, he capped his sword and put the pen back in his pocket. Estelle was first to run to him, her tiny, two-year-old legs taking her as fast as they could to Percy, who lifted her up and spun her around."

"Happy birthday, Percy!" She exclaimed.

"What is this?" Percy laughed, not sure whether to be overjoyed or shocked- probably both.

"Your birthday party, obviously!" Sally was next to walk over and hug him, having not seen her son in months. "Mr Stark contacted me a few weeks back, said he wanted to throw a party for you. And who was I to argue? You deserve a break."

After some catching up with everyone else, Percy was feeling the best he had in months- maybe even years. This was his family, he realised, the people that meant the very most to him.