(Fem.) Percy meets Fablehaven

23

"Are you sure you can't be here?" I asked Dad, staring out the large open window. He sat on the sill beside me, green eyes scrutinizing my every move. He reached a hand forward, as if to rest in on my shoulder but stopped. He summoned his trident and started idly polishing it.

"You know how my brother is when he calls meetings," he said, no longer looking at me. "If he knew I were talking to you right now, he would throw a hissy fit bigger than the time Hades and I put itching powder in his wig. The eighteenth century was such a good time for pranks." Dad glanced at me. "Never tell him I was in on that."

"My lips are sealed." I grinned and leaned against him. The normal warmth I'd feel from doing so was lost to the dream. One of the downsides of not being physically present I guess. I caught a glimpse of a small smile pulling at Dad's lips. 

He looked around, and upon seeing no one, he kissed my forehead. "I love you." 

"Love you too, Dad." 

He moved his trident behind me, nudging me up. "I think I have enough time to relax for a bit," he said. To anyone else, it was a simple statement one would make to themselves, but to me it obviously wasn't. 

I mean, it not like he could be talking about going to his palace to try to prepare himself for whatever argument he was going to have when he was literally herding me along with him. It wasn't a long walk from the- I didn't even know what the thing was called, despite leaning against Annabeth as she drew up the plans. I sighed. 

When Dad opened the door, the dark shadows inside made squint. Darker patches lurked inside. They disappeared-- the glowing sea life made sure of that. I gazed up at them, watching them pulse and dim in response to Dad's steps.

"Cool, aren't they?" Dad said. I nodded. I slipped around his trident, leaving myself a step behind him. "Percy, what are you doing?"

I stood on my toes and pressed my hands onto his shoulder. In a combination jump and pull, I managed to get myself into prime piggyback positioning: high enough that it wouldn't be hard for Dad to support me, but low enough I could rest my head on his shoulder. 

"You okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Just sleepy."

"I can send you back if-"

"No."

"Perce-"

"I wanna stay with you for a bit longer," I mumbled. "Mom's...insufferable. I just want her to leave me alone. And Paul's been acting different too."

Dad walked into an open room and crouched in front of a couch. I dropped from his back. I focused on him, daring him to walk away. He would. I knew he would. I keep complaining about people being worried about me and that has to be insufferable. How horrible is that? They're worried about me and I refuse to help them help me.

But he didn't. 

Dad knelt in front of the couch. "You okay?" I shook my head. "Do you want a hug?"

"Please."

He leaned forward and pulled me close. I curled against him, letting myself relax. A hand eased my head onto his shoulder. The tremors running rampant through my body only made him hold me tighter. I couldn't pull away. I didn't want to pull away. Because he was holding me, yes, but it wasn't firm. I knew if I wanted to, I could lean back and he would let me. He wouldn't force me to stay locked in the cage of his arms, pressing for answers I didn't want to give.

"Okay, hold on a sec, kid. I might be a god, but this-" Dad shifted. "Is not comfortable." He released me and moved up to the couch. Before he could try to pull me back into a hug, I laid down, my head rested his leg. He sighed. I looked up at him. It didn't go unnoticed, and he smiled. "I wish I had gotten to spend more time with you when you were a child."

"Mrp."

Dad raised an eyebrow. I clamped a hand over my mouth, shame flooding my system. Why'd I do that? It's annoying and stupid and-  and- Another involuntary noise slipped out of my mouth. My fingers dug into my jaw, nails pressing indents. Shut up shut up shut up. Stop it.

"Percy, I need you to let go, okay?" said Dad. "Just let go of your jaw." Calloused fingers tugged at mine, easing them from- "Shit- Fuck. Percy. Let go."  He held his hand in front of my face. Blood coated his fingers. "You're making yourself bleed." I froze and released my hand. "There you go, there you go," he whispered. 

"Sorry."

He stared at me sadly. "Why did you-"

"Percy!"

I jolted awake, rolling off of my bed and over the salt. Riptide's weight settled in my hand. My eyes flickered around the room. Seth and Kendra weren't in their bed, the lines of salt undisturbed. 

The door flew open and Bracken rushed towards me, eyes wild. His hand locked around my wrist and he pulled me out of the attic. We thundered down the stairs, and he wasted no time in pulling me into the living room. Mom wore her dagger on her hip and Paul had a broken chair leg. Grandma and Grandpa talked in hushed tones while my cousins-

"Where's Nico?" I asked.

"They- They took him."

Well, finally got this chapter done

I had that last little bit done but i couldn't figure out the rest until this week.

See yah