Gone With The Tides - (Percy Jackson/Avengers Story) [boyxboy]

Chapter 13

"Hey, Dad!" I say, waving.

"Hey, Bud!" He opens his arms wide and I go crashing into him hard enough to make him give a soft, Oof. He rumples my hair and hugs me hard enough to pick me up off the floor. "What brings you to the base, Perce?"

"I'm just here to drop off some papers for mom and I was hoping to eat lunch with you today!– uh, that is, if you have lunch soon! I could wait?" He puts me down in front of him and I look up at him hopefully.

He rubs his chin contemplatively before breaking out in a smile. "Of course I have time to eat lunch with my son!" He picks me up again and throws me over his shoulder playfully and I giggle. The warm wind whooshes around my ears as I swing side to side.

"Da–ad! We're on the base! My friends will see me! This is embarrassing!" I latch onto him upside down so I'm giving him an upside down back hug. I feel his chest expand as he laughs and continues to walk through the base.

The packed dirt ground turns to tile and finally to linoleum as we enter the cafeteria. I'm plopped down on my feet in the lunch line to find a bunch of snickering peers. A quick mumbled shut up makes everyone crack and eventually, there's hysterical laughter filling the cafeteria walls. Soon there's pats on the back and raucous welcome back.

"Good to have you back, Percy!"

"Where you been, Jackson?"

"Comin' to slum it with us, are ya?"

"Aw, shut up guys. Give him some space, would ya?" Annabeth Chase says breaking through the crowd. Everyone says their farewells as she makes her way to us.

My eyes light up immediately. "Annie!" I run and tackle her in a hug. "I missed you!" She still smells like books and the library.

She pulls away, curls framing the big smile on her face. "How've you been, runt?" She says slightly shaking me by the shoulders.

"I'm pretty good, but I'd be better if we could let that nickname leave and never come back?" I smiling sheepishly.

"We'll see, runt. How're your parents?"

"You should know better than me, Annie. You're the one on base working under him—"

"Not those parents. Your other parents, kelp for brains. The gay ones—if you're still trying to figure it out."

"You know? All the name calling is beginning to hurt my feelings a little? You know I'm very sensitive," I say smiling.

She rolls her eyes smiling, "Answer the question, Perce."

"They're fine, geez. I come back to base and the first question I get asked is how Nico and Will are." I huff jokingly. "And you wonder why I left."

"Haha. Very funny." She squishes me up in another bone breaking hug and puts her chin on top of my head. "I missed you so much."

I slowly wrap my arms around her torso, mumbling, "I missed you too."

A shuffling of feet reminds us we have a one-person audience. We slowly break apart and we let our smiles linger before we step away completely to face my dad.

Annie clears her throat and playfully salutes. "Mark," she says.

He returns the salute and says, "Annabeth. Permission to have my son back?"

"We'll consider your request," she smugly says and gives me a playful raise of the eyebrows. Her smirk becomes a sheepish smile as she glances at her senior. My dad shoots her a no-nonsense look and she relents, "Fine. Take 'im." She shakes my shoulder once before going back to her lunch table to join her girlfriend. "See ya, runt."