Breathe With Me (One, Two, Three)

Chapter 18: Heart Attack

"What the fuck is this?"

Sam looked over at Percy before promptly laughing his ass off. The waiter seemed to be having a staring contest with a pissed off looking fish sitting innocently in a tank on the counter.

"That's Frank," Dean said, a grin on his face. "I'm babysitting for Jameson."

"Why?" Percy frowned at the fish before turning away, leaning on the kitchen counter. "Why do we have to watch him?"

The other shrugged, "He was looking for someone and I offered. Look, don't worry. I'll feed him when I'm home and, when I'm not, Sam could. Right, Sam?"

"Yeah, of course," Sam nodded, his grin matching his brother's. "You won't even have to go near him."

"That's not the problem," Percy grumbled, pushing off the counter to raid the fridge for some beer. "I got Boss' present. You fools ready for his party?"

Both brothers froze, "His... Party?"

The black-haired man slowly lowered his beer, staring at them with a deadpan expression, "You all are useless, I swear to the gods. His birthday party is at three today since all this crazy shit has been happening. I thought ahead," He pointed at Sam. "And picked out a nice book and said it was from you. Seems nerdy enough anyways."

Sam exhaled in relief but he silently wondered if he and Dean were really that predictable. Did they seem so distracted that someone had to cover for them for something as simple as a birthday? He wasn't exactly sure how he should feel about that.

"Thanks," The youngest Winchester smiled at the other. "What book?"

"Some Greek shit about titans and monsters. It's on the coffee table," Percy gestured vaguely towards the living room as he opened the bottom portion of the pantry with his foot. "Go make a card or something. I can't replicate your horrendous handwriting if I tried."

The youngest Winchester shook his head with a laugh before going over to where Boss' gift was. He had planned on getting the man a gift himself to thank him for letting him eat at the diner for free but he had been so busy thinking about the hunt that he forgot. He remembered how upset he used to be when his father would forget his birthday in favor of his hunt. Now, he wasn't any different and that pained him to realize.

Sam picked up the book from the coffee table, his eyebrows lifting when he realized that the book was entirely in Greek. "Does Boss know Greek?"

"Uh," Percy sounded hesitant, though not for the reasons Sam and Dean probably thought. "Probably. Pretty sure. Eh, we'll find out. Find wrapping paper for that or something. I think I have some in my closet 'round my shoes."

"Okay, thanks," The youngest Winchester opened the book as he walked towards the man's room, idly thumbing through the pages. Just by looking at the pictures and the worn out quality of the paper, he was interested in what the words actually said. Maybe he could get Percy to teach him the Greek language.

After finding the shiny blue wrapping paper roll, he took it back to the living room to wrap the book. Percy and Dean had migrated from the kitchen to the couches, their legs practically tangled together as they played Go Fish. Sam set the roll down on the floor, grabbing the book before kneeling on the ground to begin wrapping it.

"Oh, hey, could you wrap my gift to Boss for me?" Percy batted his eyes at the brunette. "It's by the TV."

"Sure," He walked to the television stand on his knees to grab what was on the table. He snorted and nearly choked on his saliva when he saw the gift Percy got Boss. "Are you serious?"

Percy nodded solemnly, obviously fighting back a grin, "As a heart attack."

The black-haired man had gotten Boss a pair of socks with his and Dean's faces plastered all over them. In the same pile was normal socks with little grey owls on them, as well as soft grey pajama pants. Still, the socks were by far the best thing in the pile since each little picture was more hilarious than the last.

"He'll love it," Sam said with a shit-eating grin because he knew Boss would not love it.

--

Boss' birthday was a small affair with only Percy, May, Dean, Sam, Jameson, Maurice, and Annabeth hanging around the diner. They planned to close early for the party, something they didn't bother consulting with their boss about because he, most likely, wouldn't care anyways. During the last thirty minutes before closing, the whole staff and even some customers proceeded to run around decorating the area.

Not a lot of people could stay for the party, some out visiting family, others with prior engagements, or the rest on patrol. That, however, did not stop everyone from piling their gifts for their favorite Boss on one of the table, each carefully wrapped (to everyone's best ability) and labeled with passive-aggressive affection. Though some of the gifts were ridiculous like Percy's (they had a moment to laugh at the gifts), there were some that showed that the workers truly knew what their boss liked.

Boss was an interesting man and one that many admired. He was patient and caring, always making sure his employees were safe because he viewed everyone as family. He joked around a lot but he was never afraid to call out anyone on their bullshit. He was an insanely smart man, the only one matching up to him being Annabeth. He was a military veteran, having served for twenty sum years and still looking back on it. There were moments where he would be quiet as he remembered those he could not bring home with him, those who would never be able to sit in the diner and talk to him ever again.

The diner was Boss' adoptive mother's and every day as he grew up he would help her serve the food. The business struggled at first, especially as his mother began to grow sick with an illness doctors just could not identify. The restaurant was closed for a while on the day of her passing and it seemed like all of Madison was mourning. In her Will, she left the diner and her money to him and told him that he would do many great things. He left the diner alone, all of Madison left it alone, but he would pay someone to clean it, to care for it, while he out fighting enemies and his emotions.

After returning home with a troubled mind and a purple heart, Boss decided to reopen the diner, touching up the sign and cleaning the dust off the seats. He put up ads for waiters and cooks on flyers and online but there were no takers at first. Then, slowly but steadily, people began to appear in search for a job. Most weren't qualified, the diner was basically their first real job, but Boss wasn't going to turn away someone in need of some form of income.

"Hey."

Boss looked up at the voice to see his first ever employee leaning against the doorframe. He was the one that listened to him the memories of the battles came flooding back because he was probably the only one in the diner to actually understand him. "The fuck you want?"

Percy smirked at the man, "Someone's here complaining about some shit with the food, said she wants to talk to a manager. Looks like a Karen."

"And why should I go over there? You and May are both the managers."

"Don't feel like it," The demigod shrugged. "Come on before she writes a bad comment on Yelp or something."

Boss rolled his eyes but got up, stretching to crack his back, "Alright, whatever. I'm not handling the next one."

"Sure," Percy nodded, putting a hand on the older man's back to push him forward faster. She's over by table nine."

The silver-haired man walked out of his office to face a decorated diner, streamers hanging on different tables and chairs, and what had to be a hundred grey and white balloons scattered on the floor. A decent sized cake with a small owl figurine sat on a table, clearly made by Jameson as it read a cheery 'you're old as shit.' Maurice, Jameson, Annabeth, Dean, and Sam were smiling widely at him, each with party poppers in their hands.

"Happy birthday, Boss!"

Percy looked over at him, a soft smile on his face as his eyes twinkled, "Happy birthday, old man."

The diner was home to Boss and his employees were his family. He knew he wouldn't trade them for anything and he hoped his mother was looking down at him, proud of him and their diner.

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Words: 1,459

Song: Pray For Me - Kendrick Lamar