Catch Me If I Fall (PJO/Avengers Crossover)

38

"I'm worried about Percy," Bruce folded his arms looked at Tony, who had practically broken the internet when everyone found out he was alive a few hours ago. "Loki was killed a few days ago, and he hasn't left his room since. Nat and I have tried to talk to him, but he hasn't listened to a word either of us have said to him. And I'm sure your apparent 'death' hasn't made things much easier. Just... be gentle with him. Let him take his time to process everything. Things have been pretty hard on him lately and I don't want him to get overwhelmed."

Tony nodded. "Thanks for letting me know, Bruce." He walked away, guilt coming over him. God, why didn't he tell Pepper to make sure Percy knew he was alive? He hadn't even given the kid a thought. Now, he had lost the man he was in love with and thought he'd lost Tony, too. He knocked on the door of Percy's room.

"Go away, Natasha!" Tony heard Percy's voice call out. He sounded like he'd been crying, and his heart sank for the kid. He opened the door anyway, letting himself in.

"Merry early Christmas, kid," he said. Percy was sitting on the windowsill, holding what looked like a green cloak, looking out the window. At the sound of Tony's voice, he turned around and his jaw dropped, his sea-green eyes filling with tears as he put the cloak down.

"Oh my gods," he whispered, walking over and shaking his head. "You're not real," he backed away a little. "This is some sick joke, it's an illusion-"

"Percy, it's not," Tony assured him, but Percy didn't reply. He just stared at the man in front of him with wide, disbelieving eyes. "Look, come here. I promise, I'm not-"

"Shut up," he said quietly. "I don't want to go insane. I don't want to-"

"You're not going insane, Percy," Tony hugged him, and he felt Percy let go of all muscle tension, clearly more relaxed now. "You're okay, and so am I. It was all a big misunderstanding, alright? Look at me, kid."

Percy and Tony pulled away from the hug and looked at each other.

"I'm not leaving you here," Tony promised. "Not for a long, long time. Understand?"

Percy nodded. "I was so worried about you. I thought..." he faltered. "I'm so sorry."

"Hey, I'm the one who should be sorry," Tony felt a surge of protectiveness come over him for the teenager in front of him. For the first time, he realised how young Percy was. He always acted so professional, so responsible, that Tony always seemed to forget Percy was nineteen years old. "I heard about Loki... is everything alright?"

"Yeah, uh, everything's fine..." Percy nodded slowly, wondering if he should tell Tony about the incident with the headache. "Hey, uh, can I talk to you about something?"

"Sure," he said and sat down on a chair in Percy's room. Percy took the windowsill.

"You know how I can tell when someone is lying, even if they don't know that they're lying themselves?" Percy asked, and Tony nodded. "Well, the strangest thing happened to me the other day. Thor told Selvig about Loki, and I got that headache I get when someone is lying. I don't know what it could mean, because I have burns on my arms from having contact with Loki's dead Jotun form, and I sat with his blood on my hands for like an hour after he died. I don't get it."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "That's pretty confusing," he shook his head. "Look, I'm mortal. I'm not some expert in godly powers because there's no scientific research on them. But it sounds like Loki... I don't want to get your hopes up, so take it with a grain of salt, but maybe he may be still alive."

Percy lifted the cloak again, folding it and holding it close to him. "Maybe."

*