Chapter Text
Listen, Percy Jackson wasn't a competitive person. It wasn't in his nature. It was more of an Annabeth trait, who as much he loved, tended to let her pride get in the way.
But it wasn't often Percy was outrun by a mortal. The audacity.
It had barely been a week since the giant war, and of that he had only just finally settled back into his house with his mom, after spending the past week at camp fixing up any loose ends.
And it was no surprise that after all the excitement, he couldn't sit at home watching tv all day. Finally, calling it quits somewhere around 5pm, he had decided to let his mom know that he was going for an evening jog.
It was exactly what he needed. Who knew running without a monster after him was so fun? It allowed him to just focus on putting one leg in front of the other, instead of letting his thoughts wonder.
That was at least until he met the asshole who had the audacity to outpace him. Now he wasn't usually prideful but come on. He was a demigod, he practically ran on a daily basis to live. Plus, they basically had supernatural endurance and speed.
The first time he met the guy he had yelled "On your left" and without a second glance dashed past him. Seriously, who yelled on your left in this day and age?
So when he heard "On your left" for the second time, Percy lost it. The mortal was tall, at 6'2, with blonde hair and a close cropped military hairstyle that kind of reminded him of Jason. He was easy on the eyes too - buff and handsome features, all sharp angles and piercing blue eyes. He was also older than Percy, probably late twenties if he had to guess.
It would be a fun, albeit easy challenge. With the goal set in mind. Percy picked up the pace, smirking as he quickly caught up to Blondie in front of him. Just before he overtook him Percy yelled out, "On your left!"
Blondie turned to look at him, eyes widening as he recognised Percy. Percy, in typical fashion, just smirked at him before winking and running past him, leaving Blondie gaping at him.
Percy was amused at the look. Did he seriously think he was the only one who could run quickly? With that he continued running at the new pace, but then before long, he heard the obnoxious "On your left" again.
Oh it was on. If he wanted competition, Percy could give him competition. Percy rolled his eyes and this time, instead of giving way, he just decided to pick up the pace more. It was exhilarating, the fun competition they now had. It was so childish and so normal . And after everything, it felt wonderful.
"Hold up!" Blondie yelled from where he was lagging behind Percy. Percy looked back and widened as he realised Blondie was finally getting winded. Served him right.
He slowed down to a jog before stopping all together, allowing Blondie to catch up.
While waiting, Percy decided to catch his breath - annoyed at the fact that his stamina still hadn't gone back to normal after his little tartarus vacation.
As Blondie finally caught up Percy smiled widely at him before saying, "That was fun."
The man stared at him, startled, before a laugh escaped out of him. In between catching his breaths Blondie continued, "What’s your name kid? Not many people can beat me in running."
Percy snorted. "What? Are you an Olympic athlete or something? Don't worry I just took you down a notch."
Blondie looked at him quizzically before laughing again. He raised his arms in surrender. "Alright you got the best of me Mr…"
Something was wrong. Percy could feel it. The laugh seemed just a bit too fake and the man seemed pretty insistent on getting a name.
Without letting any of his suspicions show Percy held out an arm to shake, smiling slightly, "Michael Yew at your service. And you are?"
At the question, Blondie's eyebrows raised in shock before he slid on the casual expression again. If Percy had been anyone else, he would have missed it. "Steve. Steve Rogers."
He said, holding out his hand to complete the handshake.
Yup. Okay something was definitely wrong
The man had expected to be recognised and he had said his name like it meant something - something important.
"Nice to meet you, Rogers. But I kinda have to dip. Maybe we can do this another day, yeah?" Percy said as he started walking backwards, waving awkwardly before he quickly walked away, trying not to arise suspicion.
Percy breathed out a sigh of relief as Rogers didn't follow him. Just in case though, he took three detours to ensure he wasn't being followed, before finally making his way home.
He was probably overthinking. What with everything that had happened, he had a little trust issue. It was probably nothing.
Maybe he was just a famous actor or something that most people knew about. Yup, that was probably it. He would ask his parents and then they would confirm it and bemoan Percy not asking them for a signature before they all laughed about it.
If that was the case then why did it seem like he was lying to himself?