Inspired mostly by DerynZoeChase's solangelo one-shot sixty-three. (If you want me to take it down, I will do so!) So basically, I own pretty much none of this.

Percy quickly pulled the shirt over his head, refusing to look in the mirror and see the horrible marks criss-crossing his body. He took the magic concealer that he had secretly borrowed from Piper and began to apply it to his arms, covering up the marks that littered them. He frowned as he tried not to remember the story behind each one. He grimaced, knowing that the marks on his skin were disgusting. They marred him, disfigured him, labeled him. And there were so many.

Despite the fact that Annabeth was there anytime he was given most of these terrible marks, she didn't know just how many there were, or even just how big some of them were. Percy didn't want to show her, he didn't want her to know because he feared her reaction. And he had to appear strong, invincible. He had to be perfect.

He was the person everyone looked up too, he was the hero of Olympus, he was the only demigod son of Poseidon, he was Percy fucking Jackson. He couldn't be weak. And these marks made him weak. No one could see them, no one could know just how weak he was.

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Annabeth waited for Percy outside of his cabin, getting anxious when he didn't come out. Whether he knew it or not, Percy was a creature of habit. He was outside to walk to breakfast with her at the same time every morning. Annabeth even went so far as to use a stopwatch to see if he was out at the same second every day. And he was.

So now Annabeth stood outside his door, it being fifteen minutes later than when he usually came out, she was getting really worried. She knocked on is door and called his name. "Percy? Is everything alright?" She waited for an answer but she didn't get one. "Percy?" She called again, a little louder. Still, there was no reply. "Percy, I'm coming in, okay?" She called, really worried now. He always answered when she called him, even if he was asleep, he reacted to her voice.

She slowly opened the door to his cabin and stepped in. The bed was empty, there were cloths scattered all over the floor, Percy had definitely been awake and getting ready to head to breakfast with her. She started to panic. What if he was kidnapped again? What if Hera stole him away from her again? She couldn't bear it if he lost his memory again, she couldn't handle it if he was gone again. "Percy?!" She cried out, desperate to find him. Then she noticed the bathroom light on in the back. She sprinted back there quickly and saw him standing there, starring in the mirror, frozen, holding something in his hand and the other one was touching his arm. She slowly walked closer. She noticed tears in his eyes. "Percy?" She gently put her hand on his shoulder. He didn't move. She took a closer look at what he was holding in his hand.

Aphroditie's magic concealer? Why would he be using that? She looked at his arm again and gasped. There were thin white lines everywhere, a few larger ones, and a few lines that were still red, recent. And underneath all of those there were faint older ones at his wrist that looked to be- Annabeth stopped her train of thought there. But, if they were what she thought they were, then how old are they? How many years ago did he... do that? Why? What happened? She gently brushed her fingers along his arm.

But that didn't matter right now. Right now she had to get him to wake up from whatever it was that he was seeing. A tear fell from his eye and Annabeth gently brushed it away. "Oh, Seaweed Brain," she whispered, taking the magic concealer from his hand and gently setting it on the counter. Percy continued to stare blankly into the mirror.

Annabeth grabbed a washcloth and soaked it, removing Percy hand from his arm as she began to wipe the concealer from his skin,tears coming to her own eyes as more and more of the marks appeared. Percy still only watched whatever memory was playing in front of his glistening eyes.

Gently tugging on his hand, Annabeth began to lead Percy out of the bathroom and over to his bed where she made him sit down. She bent over to wrap her arms tightly around him, letting a tear or two escape her eyes, before kneeling down in front of him and resting her head in his lap. She closed her eyes and began humming lullabies as she grabbed Percy's hand and started rubbing her thumb along the curves of his palm and tracing the lines of his fingers.

After a few minutes of this, she lifted her head from his lap and decided to change their positions. She stood up and sat on the bed, pushing Percy down so that now his head was resting in her lap. She leaned back against the wall and started to mess with his hair, running her hands through the silky locks and twisting strands around her fingers.

If he's having flashbacks, which he most likely is, then all she could do was wait it out and be there for him when he woke up.

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Percy could hear Annabeth's voice outside the cabin, in some part if his mind. Yet he could not answer, he was swept up in remembering the story of each mark, caught in the memories until he was so deep he didn't think that he would ever find his way out again.

In the back of his mind, Percy heard her say that she was coming and that small part of his brain started to freak out. She can't come in here! She'll see! She'll see just how pathetic I am! But there was nothing that Percy could do. He was too lost inside his own head.

In the back of his mind Percy could still hear Annabeth's voice as she walked into his cabin. He heard her as she walked toward the bathroom. He even heard her when she gasped at the sight of all the marks that he still had yet to cover up. The part of him that was aware winced and wished that he could dissapear.

He felt her hands brush across the white lines and he felt her gently wipe something from his cheek. He felt the concealer being taken from his hand and then something wet wiping the rest of the concealer from his arm.

He felt Annabeth lead him out of the bathroom and sit him down on what he assumed to be his bed. He felt her head rest in his lap. He felt her play with his fingers and race his hand.

A while later he felt her stand up and sit on the bed next to him, pushing his head onto her lap as she began to play with his hair.

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Percy blinked his eyes, taking in the sight around him. He wasn't in the bathroom anymore. And his head was lying on someone's lap. A someone who was playing with his hair and muttering quiet things to him. "A-Annabeth?" His voice came out rough and hoarse. The random words stopped and the hands froze in his hair. "Annabeth?" He tried again, closing his eyes and taking a deep, shuddering breath. With the remnants of the flashbacks still clinging to the edges of his mind, Percy needed to calm down. He needed Annabeth to help him.

"Percy," she whispered. "Talk." She sat him up and made him face her, well, he assumed she made him face her, his eyes were still closed. "Look at me, and talk." She said gently, and he felt her place a hand on his cheek. He took another deep, shaky breath before he began.

"I-I'm so sorry," he stuttered, feeling his shut eyes begin to fill with tears. "I-I should have told you. I should have shown you. I shouldn't have hidden all these from you." He slowly opened his brilliant green eyes and wasn't a bit surprised when his vision was partially obscured by tears. Annabeth didn't say anything, she just brushed a stray tear from his cheek where her hand still rested with her thumb. "I am so sorry, Annabeth. I just... I didn't want you to think that o was weak, and I didn't want the camps to think that i was weak, so I hid them from everyone. I mean, yes, I borrowed the magic concealer from Piper, but she just thought that it was for a few zits that had popped up that I wanted to make sure stayed covered up. I-I can use the mist, that's what I used up until I got the concealer from her three months ago, but using this is easier. I don't have to focus on it all the time. And I hate the way I look in a mirror. There are so many of them and they're every where and I hate it I look so weak!" Percy buried his head in his hands and placed his elbows on his knees. Annabeth still remained silent.

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Annabeth wanted so badly to say something, to pull Percy into a tight hug and assure him that he could never be weak, that no matter what he would always look perfect to her, no matter how many marks scattered his body. But she also knew that he just needed to let it all out right now. So she kept her mouth shut.

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Taking another deep breath, Percy lifted his head and kept going. "These lines mar me and disfigured me and label me and they're disgusting and each one is a horrible story of my failure."

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Annabeth bit her lip, tears coming to her eyes.

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"I hate these marks so much," Percy whispered, rubbing his wrist.

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This was when Annabeth knew that she had to say something. "And those?" She questioned, pointing to the nearly hidden white lines on his wrist, pulling his hand away from them. Percy paled. He rubbed the back of his neck and, even though his eyes were never on her face in the first place, seemed to take more of an interest in the floor. "They aren't what I think they are, are they?" Her voice was still quiet, barely louder then a whisper, and it was gentle, honestly, she didn't trust it not to break if she spoke any louder.

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Percy had hoped that she wouldn't notice those. He stared intently at the floor, continuing to keep his eyes from meeting hers. He nodded shamefully. Annabeth gasped and if Percy knew her at all, her hand would have flown to her mouth as well. She cupped his chin and made him look up at her. She leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips, leaving behind a ghost of feeling on them when she pulled away.

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Annabeth lifted Percy's hand to her mouth and gently kissed along his wrist, making sure that Percy kept his eyes on her. "Don't ever do that, okay? I love you, and no matter what that will never change. Your mom loves you, all of your friends love you. Everyone loves you, Percy. We all care so much, and I hope you know that we are here for you if you ever need us. You can share your problems with us, you don't have to bear any weight alone. We can do this together. No one will think you weak for having so many marks. If anything, it will only convince them that you stronger. I don't care how many you have, how you got them, why you did that, I don't care. Because no matter what, I will love you, and I will not let anyrhing or anyone tell you otherwise. If someone is treating you badly, point me in their direction and I will go kick their ass for being so stupid." She felt her eyes tear up and her words got caught in her throat as she tried to tell Percy just how much she loved him, just how much she cared. Percy's own eyes were misty as well, a small smile starting to spread across his face. He leaned forward and hugged her tightly.

"Thank you, Annabeth. I needed that." Percy pulled back.

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"I guess I should show you the rest of them, huh?" Percy said, pulling out of the hug and looking once again to the floor.

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"The rest of them?" Annabeth gulped as Percy stood up and walked a few steps away from the bed. There are more? She was so close to crying, but she had to hold it in, she had to be strong for Percy's sake. Who knew how he'd react to that? Or how he'd perceive it?

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Percy took a deep breath and slowly began to pull off his shirt.

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Annabeth gasped as more and more of the white marks peeked out from underneath Percy's shirt as he continued to pull it up and finally off. Her hand flew to her mouth and tears gathered in her eyes. "Oh, Percy... You could have shown me, you could have told me." Annabeth stood up from the bed and walked over to him, lightly tracing the lines on his chest and torso. Then he turned around, still handing his head in shame as Annabeth took in the jagged marks and thin lines along his back, her fingers ghosting over each one.

Annabeth noticed Percy shiver when her fingers brushed across a particularly nasty mark that stretched from his shoulder to the small of his back. It must have been recent. Or really old. It was hard for Annabeth to tell.

Annabeth didn't remember Percy getting this many injuries in all the time that she had known him. Then again, with his tendency to keep things hidden, he could have gotten hurt and then just not told anyone.

"I'm sorry, Annabeth." He whispered to her turning around and grabbing her hand. She just nodded and then he started pulling her toward the bathroom.

"Percy?" She questioned, her voice still wobbly and shaky with emotion.

"I have to wash the rest of the concealer off." Annabeth only nodded.

They made it to the bathroom and Percy sat Annabeth down on the toilet, then grabbed a wash cloth and ran it under the faucet. He brought it to his shoulder, his other shoulder, and then slipped his jeans off to wipe concealer off his legs. Annabeth just watched as Percy continued to wipe away more and more concealer to reveal more and more marks on his skin, he had to rinse the cloth under the water so many times.

Then he brought the wash cloth to his face. Annabeth nearly choked on the air she was breathing in. He had marks on his face and she had never known?

Annabeth felt like a terrible girlfriend. She wasn't surprised Percy had never told her. If she had never figured it out, never noticed, then she didn't deserve to call herself his friend, let alone his girlfriend. She didn't deserve to know, she didn't deserve his trust or his love. She was a horrible girlfriend.

"I didn't want you to know," Percy said, hearing her little gasp. "Don't feel bad that you didn't notice, I hid them from you." Annabeth teared up even more. As always, Percy knew exactly what she was thinking.

"Oh, Percy..." she said, standing up now that he had out the washcloth down and turned to face her. She slowly stood up and walked over to him, placing her hand on his cheek.

Percy closed his eyes and leaned into her hand. "I was scarred that you would hate me..." he whispered, still not opening his eyes.

A tear slipped from Annabeth's own. "Percy, I could never hate you." She rubbed circles on his cheek with her thumb, Percy sighed. "All I could ever do is love you. You have nothing to be worried about. No matter what you do, what you look like, no matter what happens, I will always love you. You are everything to me, my other half, my soul mate, my everything. I love you, Percy, and nothing could ever change that." Annabeth felt tears slip down her cheeks even as she watched Percy cry too, felt his tears drip onto her fingers.

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"Annabeth-" Percy said, his voice hoarse with the effort to hold back his sobs.

"Come on, Percy," Annabeth slid her hand from his cheek and grabbed his hand, leading him out of the bathroom and back into his room. She sat him down on his bed and he just stared.

He didn't know how to let her know how much he needed to hear what she had just said. So he say anything in return, letting her name hang in the air, then let the word fall from lips like a prayer, over and over again.

Annabeth sat down next to him and he rested his head in the crook of her neck and cried.

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Annabeth was a little surprised when Percy started to cry into the crook of her neck, but she just started running her hands through his raven hair, twirling the silky locks around her fingers.

She slowly eased them down onto the bed, wrapping her arms around Percy's back when he curled his knees to his chest and continued to cry. She scooted away a little so he had room for his legs and then started to run circles across his back. She leaned her head down just enough to reach his ear and whispered.

"Your scars are beautiful."

A/N Word Count: 3000

I meant for this to be longer, and I meant for it to be done sooner, but oh well.

So I hope you like it, and I hope it doesn't suck, but ta-da!

Okay, bye.

Yours in demigodishness and all that,
Annabeth_Jackson_12 <3