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It was Percy’s first day of school – and Poseidon was totally, absolutely fine.
He didn’t wake up hours before sunrise, unable to sleep with all the thoughts in his head and the nerves in his gut. His internet history wasn’t filled with random searches like ‘how easy is it for a eight year old to start a new school’ and ‘is it okay to give my third-grader a cell-phone in case he needs help in class’. He didn’t specifically make Percy’s favourite breakfast and take his time in prying the kid from bed just in case he needed the time to voice that he’d changed his mind about today.
Percy blinked his bright green eyes, sleepy and beautiful, as he leant against his father’s arm. “S’time for school?” he asked. Poseidon hummed, definitely not wishing that he’d fall back to sleep so that they could do this another day.
But then Percy pushed himself up and lifted his head from Poseidon’s arm, yawning hugely. The sleepiness in his eyes had already faded. “I can smell pancakes,” he observed.
“Blueberry,” Poseidon said lightly, poking the kid in the side.
He was immediately off the bed and rushing into his en-suite (spoilt brat) to wash up as he did every morning (well-mannered, well-raised brat). Poseidon sat and stared after him, and pretended that it didn’t hurt his heart.
He didn’t watch Percy from the corner of his eye as the kid wolfed down his pancakes, drenched in far more syrup than he’d usually be allowed, and wasn’t pretending to be busy as he emptied the dishwasher of last night’s dishes. It was a relief to see that Percy seemed content – he buzzed and bounced in his seat, more restless than usual, but he didn’t look worried or scared. Which was good. Poseidon felt the same. Content, apprehensive, but not worried.
“Go get changed, bud,” Poseidon advised as he took Percy’s empty dish and dropped it in the sink. He’d wash it by hand, even though the dishwasher was now perfectly ready to be loaded. “Give me a shout if you need help,”
“Why would I need help?” Percy asked, gasping loudly as he drained his cup of apple juice. He skipped around the centre island to plop the empty cup in the sink, splashing the front of Poseidon’s shirt.
“In case you don’t wanna wear those clothes you laid out last night – you don’t have the slightest sense of style, so shout me if you need help picking something else,” retorted Poseidon, biting back a sigh. He’d have to change his own outfit now. He knew he should have waited to get ready for the day, but he’d been impatient, and now he had no idea what he was gonna replace the shirt with. Great. Damn! Poseidon cursed internally.
Externally, Poseidon was calm. He ruffled his miscreant son’s hair just before he could dart out of his reach and washed the dishes quickly now, unfairly grumpy about the wet stain on his front.
Three minutes later, he was following his son upstairs and peering into his room as he passed. Percy didn’t notice him, tangled in the long-sleeved shirt he was wrestling to get over his head. He hopped around and cursed in Greek and Poseidon smiled fondly, knowing he was gonna have to remind Percy not to swear in school, whether his teachers and classmates understood his native tongue or not.
I’ll remind him later. Poseidon carried on to his bedroom, intending to switch his shirt quickly and be over with it.
Percy found him seven minutes later still rifling through his wardrobe.
“What’re you doing, Papa?” he asked, entering the room on such light feet that Poseidon jumped when he spoke.
“Trying to switch out my shirt because a certain little imp got my other one wet,” Poseidon replied, gesturing vaguely to the wet shirt discarded carelessly on his bedroom floor.
“You’ve been in here a while,” Percy said pointedly, nudging his head against Poseidon’s ribs, forcing his way under his arm. Percy had been cuddly and clingy from nearly the minute Poseidon had known him, and Poseidon had never been bothered with it in the same way he was bothered by everyone else. He’d even grown to be pretty reciprocal, increasingly comfortable with the act of showing such tender affection. It had grown to the point where he had to rein it in half the time, else every tiny little thing Poseidon’s son did be rewarded with a gooey coo and kiss and a I love you so much. Poseidon had been good at reining it in – until this morning, anyway.
He wasn’t worried, but – He’s gonna be away from me for six hours. Six whole hours. We’ve never been separated for more than two, three at most? He’s so affectionate, will he be alright for six hours amongst no one but strangers?
“I can’t decide,” Poseidon admitted in a casual tone, realising that he was letting the silence stretch on for too long as he thought. His hand found Percy’s head instinctively, fingers running through his hair. “You know what? Why don’t you pick for me? What do you think parents are meant to wear on their kid’s first day of school?”
“Um…I dunno. I’ve never had a first day of school,” Percy said, more to himself than anything as he seemed to unconsciously nuzzle his cheek against Poseidon’s side. His eyes were scanning the interior of his father’s wardrobe, and Poseidon stole the opportunity in his distraction to stare at him just a little. Just a little. He wasn’t trying to memorise as many of his features as possible – that would be ridiculous. Poseidon knew his son’s face. He wasn’t going to forget his son’s face within just a few hours.
Percy ended up picking out a particularly garish – even amongst the bright prints that made up his wardrobe – button-up shirt, royal blue and printed with multi-coloured fish. The fish were drawn in such a style that the shirt at least passed as an adult’s, so Poseidon shrugged it on and allowed Percy to ‘help’ him button it up. His little fingers were cold and a little shaky, though Poseidon might have imagined it.
Sat on the bed, with Percy stood just in front of him, they were eye-level for once. Poseidon met his son’s gaze and searched his bright eyes for what he was thinking in his mysterious little mind.
“How you feeling?” he decided to ask – not for the first time these past twenty-four hours. A lot could change in one’s opinions and feelings overnight, though.
And sure enough, Percy frowned some at the question. Last night, he’d been pretty chipper, if a little quiet. This morning he managed to be both subdued and restless at once. “I dunno,” he shrugged. “I guess…I don’t wanna be nervous, but I am. A-And I know it’s normal to be. But I know it’ll be fine!”
“Right,” Poseidon said, forcing himself to swallow. He patted his shoulder. “You’re gonna have a great time, buddy. Don’t be nervous, and definitely don’t think about things like – like wanting to be at the aquarium. The aquarium will be waiting for you as soon as it hits 3 o’clock, and you’ll have a full line-up of friends there waiting to hear about your day. That being said, you’ll be well on your way to having a whole new gang of friends – ones that are your age rather than marine biologists and veterinarians and oceanographers – by the end of the day, though don’t feel pressured to make friends immediately, y’know? Today’s gonna be whatever you make of it. You’re gonna have so much fun and have a really great day – yeah?”
Percy blinked, taking a few seconds before replying (probably trying to catch up with Poseidon’s sudden and rapid, unexpected speech). Then he nodded, with all the severity of an eight-year-old. “Yessir,”
Poseidon let out a breath. I am not nervous. I am not. “That was a bit much,” he admitted to himself.
“It’s okay,” Percy giggled, lifting a hand to ruffle Poseidon’s beard. He enjoyed doing that far too much and Poseidon enjoyed it far too much. “I just…I-I don’t want it to be crappy, y’know? It’ll suck if it sucks and then I’m stuck there everyday for the rest of forever, because that’s the law!”
“You mean the next ten years,” Poseidon corrected weakly, even as his insides shuddered and he thought to himself, god, please, no. That thought’s terrible, even to me. Both thoughts.
It hurt Poseidon’s head to imagine his son as anything older, or anything taller, than the precious little boy he was now. He knew that one day he’d have a teenage son, and then an adult son, and he’d probably tower over Poseidon so they’d always be at eye-level, just as they were now. He’d have a partner – man or woman, Poseidon didn’t mind – and possible his own kids (god, grandkids-) and a career and his own home. Percy was going to hit a growth-spurt one day, Poseidon was sure of it, and then he’d be a broad, tall, handsome man – similar in looks to Poseidon, as everyone liked to point out, but enough his own person that they would never be mistaken. Poseidon didn’t want Percy to be a carbon-copy of him, anyways. God knows the poor boy had been ‘moulded’ enough in his short life.
He could see Percy being quite a free spirit. He’d be out of New York and America as soon as he became old enough to travel alone. He would take himself on adventures, all around the world; seeing all the sights he could ever hope to see, meeting people and making bonds and wonderful memories. The life-changing kind of ones, all that jazz. It would be brilliant for him. Poseidon would make sure of it – his son was going to have the life he deserved.
That didn’t mean, however, that he looked forward to the day his boy left him behind.
Shit, I’ve had the boy not even three months; he’s eight and I’m already experiencing empty-nest syndrome? Pack it up, Poseidon, get a grip. He’s going to school, to get his education, not on a never-ending college trip to fucking Bali.
Before he could spiral even deeper down this depressing chasm of fatherhood’s inevitabilities, Poseidon stood and shooed the reason his chest felt so tight toward the door. Percy hopped away, oblivious to his father’s thoughts. He was an observant kid, so Poseidon had had to adapt a bit to keep himself from being constantly psychoanalysed. It was difficult, in the beginning, to bond with a child who could so keenly read his emotions – it had led to one or two misunderstandings, to say the least. Alas, Percy was settled in well-and-truly now. He could still tell what Poseidon was thinking scarily-well, however this morning he was distracted. Understandably.
They went downstairs and Poseidon checked the time, giving Percy a ten minute warning before they had to leave. The boy spent four of them trying to get his shoes on, determined to tie his laces by himself even though he’d only learned how a few weeks ago and his fingers were always fumbling. Poseidon took a comb to Percy’s hair even though he knew it was futile. His son had the bounciest, wildest, fluffiest curls Poseidon had ever seen. They were beautiful, untameable, however Percy utilised them as curtains of a sort to hide his eyes when he got upset far too often for Poseidon’s liking (he liked seeing Percy’s eyes in general, they were other-worldly).
See, Poseidon had learned to read his son’s emotions just as well as his son could read his.
“You’re more nervous than me,” Percy accused, unfortunately not mistaking Poseidon’s frown as one of irritation as he gave up with the comb and threw it back in the shit-drawer of random shit Poseidon hadn’t found homes for.
“Nervous about being late,” said Poseidon coolly. “Check your bag, check your lunch, find your coat. Your good coat, Percy, there’s rain forecasted later. You’re not gonna ruin your attendance in your very first quarter because you caught a cold. Trot on, kid, we’ve got to leave in a minute!”
Poseidon prayed at the back of his mind that they would realise they’d left something very vital out of last week’s start-of-school shop, so that they could turn around.
He prayed that he might have forgotten to fill the car with gas and they’d cut out in the middle of nowhere and not be discovered for weeks, letting them be just the two of them (never mind that the school was barely a twenty minute drive away and their route wouldn’t take them near the ‘middle of nowhere’).
It took everything Poseidon had in him to stop thinking like that as they piled into the car and took off. Percy was catching on to his uneasy energy, and the last thing he wanted was for him to be really nervous. Percy was doing so well so far, keeping himself calm and trying to look on the bright side as he rambled about his hopes about today’s events (I hope we don’t have to write much, I hope we start with easy math, I hope the sun comes out at recess, I hope I still like turkey, I don’t really wanna be hungry or sick after lunch-).
Percy’s brain was more hardwired to be pessimistic, which was unfair for a kid so young. Poseidon was proud of him and the valiant effort he was putting into keeping his often-frayed nerves at bay, at him trying to think good thoughts. He was doing far better than Poseidon was.
Their drive to the school was peaceful and normal, as if they were heading for a regular day at the aquarium. Percy eventually quietened down and turned on the radio, singing along a little to familiar songs under his breath as he always did. The normalcy of it made Poseidon relax some. He still thought that they reached the school far too soon, however. He thought that all the other kids all appeared so much larger than his little boy, and again he worried that maybe this was too soon for him. Yes, he was eight, and he was meant to attend school. But he’d never been to any kind of school before. It was going to be a struggle to adjust, no matter how calm and ready he felt now. He was barely adjusting to their society and regular lifestyle, never mind this second pillar.
They could put it off for another year if they wanted; to let Percy’s mind and heart heal a bit more after a lifetime of abuse, his isolation from society and the loss of his mother. Three months had done a lot of good for him, but it wasn’t enough. Perhaps it would never be enough. Poseidon didn’t think missing school would be a detriment – Percy was smart and educated already. People took time away from school and work all the time to work on trauma.
It’s not as much about the education, Hestia had said, her voice in Poseidon’s head now. It’s about Percy interacting with other kids his age and falling into a routine, a sense of normalcy. You can’t claim he fully gets those things at your aquarium, Po, no matter how hard you try. He needs this. The sooner the better. If it doesn’t go well, we can figure something else out, but you must let him try.
Poseidon had conceded and had resolved to let Percy try.
But…But Percy just looked so scared all of a sudden.
“Hey,” Poseidon said, drawing his kid’s eyes to his, away from the throngs of children – some of whom he might grow to befriends, others he might hate – and the building just up ahead, the looming red-brick structure that they’d seen before but never in this situation. “If you don’t think you can do this today, we don’t have to,”
Poseidon knew that Hestia would smack him if she knew what was said, but Poseidon held firm. He was Percy’s father – and he wasn’t going to force him to do this today, not if he wasn’t ready.
“I…” Percy said weakly, blinking between Poseidon and the kids and the school. He wrapped his skinny arms around himself, looking so tiny when he did. “I-I dunno, Papa. I want to go in,”
“But you’re scared,” Poseidon finished for him. He smiled, as reassuringly and warm as he could.
Percy hid his face. “A little, tiny bit,”
Oh, baby. Poseidon reached across to drape his arm over Percy’s back, unable to hug him properly in the space of the car’s front seats. “That’s fine,” he said, struggling to think of something encouraging even though his heart pleaded to magic the kid home. “Everyone’s nervous on their first day of school, Perce – nervous, scared, not wanting to go through with it. It’s totally normal. Remember when I told you that I changed schools when I was a kid? I cried all morning on my very first day there,”
“Don’t believe that,” snorted Percy.
“I’m sure I was only crying because Zeus hit me for throwing water on him, but whatever,” Poseidon joked. Percy smiled a little, then thought about something, and gave a little laugh.
“I’m not gonna cry,” he said. And it was only because Poseidon had grown to know his son so well that he recognised the double-layered meaning to his words. You’re not going to hit me.
Poseidon had already forwarded letters to Percy’s teachers informing them, vaguely, of the circumstances of his past. For gym he would be allowed to get changed somewhere private, lest the scars on his body be noticed by the other kids and questioned about or – god forbid – teased.
The number of scenarios Poseidon had imagined in which he went around hitting small, brattish children for teasing his son was frankly quite disturbing, but Poseidon couldn’t bring himself to feel bad.
“What time is it?” Percy asked after a few seconds, leaning forwards to look at the dash. It was nearly 8. Percy had to be in his classroom and at his desk by 8.15, which meant… “C-Can we just…sit for a bit?”
“Whatever you want,” Poseidon said. When Percy reached out a hand, Poseidon moved his forwards and let his son claim his wrist. He’d developed a cute habit of tracing the tattoos that wrapped around both his arms in sleeves, and looked distinctly unhappy now at the realisation that the shirt he’d chosen concealed most of them. He settled with tracing his favourite of Poseidon’s tattoos – a patch on his inner wrist where the ‘wave’ that swept across his arm seemingly ‘crashed against a shore’, the design swirling and frothing, vaguely reminiscent of Japanese art.
Poseidon didn’t say anything, sensing that Percy was trying to find his own words. It was something he was trying to improve on – not cutting in before Percy could speak, not speaking for him. Percy needed a little more time than most to realise and understand that he was allowed to say whatever he wanted, that he didn’t need to wait for permission or approval. That Poseidon – or anyone around him – wouldn’t hurt him for speaking his thoughts.
“I just want to be normal,” the child eventually said, sighing slightly, sounding older than his eight years. “I wanna have fun and learn and make friends and stuff. I just…I-I don’t know. It’s never that simple,”
Poseidon had to take a couple of seconds himself, to get his thoughts in order, to figure out his words and levy the emotion Percy stirred in him. I can’t mess this up. Whatever I say to him now will stick with him all through school, and all through most of his life. “You’re not normal,” Poseidon eventually decided to say, and he winced at how blunt it initially sounded. He hurried to elaborate. “You’re not, Percy, but that isn’t a bad thing. You’re you. You’re bright, sweet, funny and caring, and sure you’ve had a different upbringing than most. That doesn’t matter. If any of those kids in there don’t like you because you don’t fit their idea of ‘normal’ – you remember what we discussed?”
Percy’s face was bright red at his father’s complimentary, and he was trying to hide it behind his hands. Still, he peeked out to giggle and cheer, “Screw ‘em!”
“Screw ‘em!” Poseidon echoed passionately, sharing his son’s smile. “And you know what? Even if today is tough and not-so-simple – that’s okay. Sometimes that’s how things are. We can’t control everything in life, no matter how much we want to. All that matters is that you give this place a try. Whatever happens later, we can deal with it, no problem. Just…walk in there with your head held high. Be yourself. Remember I couldn’t be any prouder,”
Percy tapped his fingers against Poseidon’s wrist and chewed his lip, nearly gnawing off the skin until Poseidon reached and tapped his chin. He held the position for a moment, searching his son’s eyes.
Still nervous. But less so, he thought. Okay.
“Are you ready?” Poseidon asked quietly.
Percy swallowed, then gave a firm nod. “I’m ready, Papa,”
God, he’s a good kid. He’s so much more than he thinks he is. “Okay then. Let’s go,”
The climbed out of their car, Percy waiting near his door until Poseidon moved around to him to grab his hand. They crossed the short road that separated the parking lot and sidewalk together, though Percy still didn’t release his father’s hand. Poseidon didn’t mind, and he certainly wasn’t about to let go first. He made sure to squeeze Percy’s fingers regularly as he led the way toward where he knew Percy’s class was – everything in terms of paperwork was sorted, so there was nothing to do but drop Percy off with his teacher.
Poseidon didn’t realise how much he didn’t want to let go of Percy’s hand until they were stood near the door and Percy’s new teacher, a cheery man a\who was couple of years younger than Poseidon, waved to them. They’d met him a few times before now – Mr Kay was his name, and he was eager to teach and friendly with the kids, if a little too flirtatious with Poseidon sometimes. Poseidon let the occasional unprofessionalism slide for how nice the man was to his precious son, and the many positive background checks he’d had Zeus run.
Percy’s hand tugged a little against Poseidon’s when Poseidon stopped and Percy tried to take a step.
“This is where I leave you,” Poseidon informed him, pulling him back to face him. He dropped down to Percy’s level, taking his other hand. “I’ll be right here at 3 to pick you up, okay?”
“Okay,” nodded Percy. He bounced on his heels, glancing over his shoulder at the teacher and the classroom door. A kid walked past them to enter the room themselves – they seemed to notice Percy, and Percy smiled shyly back. Poseidon rubbed a thumb over his little boy’s knuckles as he leant back on his heels and tried to ready himself.
“Be good, have fun, try to learn something. If you need me for any reason, tell Mr Kay,” he said. He’d made it very clear to the school’s staff that if Percy needed Poseidon for anything, even if he wouldn’t explain what, he was to be allowed to call him up. Poseidon would never run the risk of Percy being trapped in his own head about something, or triggered by something relating to his past, with no way of contacting him. His special circumstances were to be kept as discreet as possible, too, to spare any uncomfortable, prying questions from classmates.
“I’ll try not to miss you,” said Percy in Greek, switching to his native tongue as he did when he was feeling shy. Luckily Poseidon had brushed up on the language pretty well these past few months. “But I know I kinda will,”
“I’ll miss you too,” Poseidon replied, his accent nowhere near perfect though Percy still smiled. He tugged his son near, tilting his head to kiss his forehead. He whispered, “You’re braver than you know, my boy. I love you,”
Percy didn’t speak for a moment, before whispering back, “Love you too, papa. Should I go?”
They pulled back, both turning to glance at Mr Kay, who was very politely avoiding looking at them. He sensed their eyes on them and turned to acknowledge them with a cheerful, “Good morning, Percy! Ready for your first day?”
“Yes I am, sir,” Percy replied.
“Just ‘Mr Kay’ is fine, kiddo,” the young teacher winked. Percy blushed adorably. He still isn’t used to not having to respect and obey every authority figure for fear of punishment, a dark voice in Poseidon’s head grumble, following up by a quick, but he’s learning. He’s doing so good.
I suppose I have to let him go, now. Only for the next six hours.
Almost robotically, Poseidon unclenched his fingers one-by-one until they unfurled from around Percy’s. Both of their hands were a little clammy with uncertainty, and Percy wiped his on his legs with a calm expression. He was very good at acting poised and controlled, like a little royal or something.
Poseidon fussed with the collar of Percy’s sweater for a few moments, before finally pushing himself to his feet and groaning at his clicky knees. Percy giggled, eyes sparkling up at his father with nothing less than complete adoration and love. Poseidon had to look away and clear his throat lest he do something embarrassing like tear up or grab his child and run away from him. Please don’t grow up, he thought fervently, touching Percy’s back to lead him toward Mr Kay. Please don’t change. Keep looking at me like that for a few more years. God, you’re adorable.
“Come on in, Percy, let’s find your seat,” Mr Kay said, extending an arm toward the boy as the pair neared. “When everyone’s here, I’ll introduce you to the class – I won’t embarrass you, I promise – and this morning we’ll be learning about fractions! You said you like math?”
“I’m better at it than writing and stuff, but I don’t think I’d say I like it,” Percy shrugged. “I-I know percentages?”
He knows economy, Poseidon nearly corrected. For some reason. He could probably do my taxes for me, and with great efficiency, if what Hestia and her educational tests are true.
“That’s good,” Mr Kay said encouragingly. “I happen to love percentages. Say ‘bye’ to dad, now,”
Percy hid his hesitation with a smile and a nod, turning his head to look up at Poseidon. Poseidon conceded to the urge to run his hand through his fluffy hair and assure him, “Six hours,” Only six hours.
“Six hours,” Percy repeated, nodding to make his messy curls bounce. “Can I help clean the shark tank later?”
“You may not, but you can watch. You can help with feeding the dolphins if Mr Kay tells me you’ve been good,”
Mr Kay laughed kindly, placing his own hand on Percy’s back as Poseidon removed his. He tucked both of his hands into his pockets quickly, before they could feel cold at their lack of touch. “I’ll be good!” Percy promised over his shoulder, walking away from his father toward the classroom’s door. “See you later, Papa!”
“See you later, Percy…” Poseidon said with far less enthusiasm, still waving even once his son was out of sight. Another kid, a girl, walked past him with a surprisingly sharp look, as if Poseidon was doing something weird.
After a few stoic seconds, Poseidon wandered a little aimlessly back to his car, sitting with his hands on the wheel. He heard the distant ring of the bell as classes began, a few stragglers hurrying in late. He kept telling myself, okay, I’m going. Okay, I need to go to the aquarium now. Okay, start the car.
But he didn’t. For the better part of an hour, Poseidon sat in his car trying to supress a strange, swelling feeling rising up in his chest. He stared at the school, at the windows, wishing Percy’s classroom wasn’t at the back of building where he couldn’t see in (even though the last thing they wanted was outsiders being able to see right in; Poseidon had actually insisted on him being placed in a classroom near the back of the school – with the lingering threat of his past coming after him, as it did in the form of Isaac in the hospital, he and Zeus had signed the school to maybe too many safety protocols in case anything were ever to happen).
Five hours, Poseidon eventually thought, uncertain why he felt so...so heavy.
His phone pinged. He’d never looked at a text so fast, even though he knew it couldn’t be Percy. It was a text from Thetis. Where you at boss? Percy get to school okay? Call me.
He punched out a text. He’s fine.
A reply came within minutes. Yeah?? That’s good. How’re you? Wanna get your ass to work??
Yes I’m on my way.
Liar. You’re defo moping. Thetis wrote. Poseidon ignored the text for a minute before another one came through, this one reading, Oh you’re still at the SCHOOL?!
Poseidon frowned. Shut up. How’d you know?
Location. If you’re not here in the next thirty mins I’ll come get you myself.
God damn it. Poseidon knew his best friend well enough that she’d hold true to the threat. It was a surprise, really, that she’d waited a whole hour before nagging him. Poseidon stuck his phone on do-not-disturb and threw it moodily on to the passenger seat – on top of Percy’s little booster seat that still sat there. Poor kid was probably gonna need it for a few years (not long enough, a voice in Poseidon’s head grumbled).
Spurred on by the fear that Thetis could appear in the parking lot earlier than warned, Poseidon finally moved, though he was unhappy about it. He finally turned the keys in the ignition and put a hand on the gear stick. Pulling out of the parking spot was nearly painful, and Poseidon started to justify to himself why he could sit out here all day if he wanted. It wasn’t weird, his son was in there. His son needed all the watchful eyes they could get on him with all the trouble he somehow always found himself in. It wasn’t as if there were any laws against a parent sitting out of the way in the school’s parking lot from eight ‘til two. Honestly, Thetis could try to drag him to the aquarium if she wanted, because Poseidon would just lock the doors until she gave up.
Common sense, however, inevitably won out. Poseidon limped his car to the aquarium, ‘accidentally’ taking a few wrong turns that happened to make him loop back on himself and head in the direction of the school again. He got to the aquarium eventually. And he had no doubt that Thetis had been stalking his location on her phones, watching him travel, because she was waiting for him at the employee entrance with a wry, sympathetic grin.
“Come over here, papa bear. You need a hug?” she asked, opening her arms to try and embrace him.
Poseidon shoved her and felt no sympathy as she stumbled, nearly falling over. “You’re so annoying,”
“Am not!” Thetis cried, hopping onto his back as he passed her to get inside. Poseidon grunted at her weight but relented to carrying her down the corridors toward their offices, where Poseidon fully intended to wait out the next five hours with his eyes glued to the clock. Thetis squeezed him around the neck. “Okay, let me be serious. Kiddo’s fine, Po. It’s just school. You’re both gonna feel blue for the first week but it’s going to get so much better, and he’s gonna have fun there. No one could ever be mean to that cutie,”
“As if you don’t miss him too,” Poseidon snorted. Honestly, walking this way without his little shadow clinging to his hand felt wrong. He felt Thetis jerk, as if she too was just realising the emotional impact of his absence.
“Huh,” she murmured. Poseidon knocked his head back as she leant too far toward his ear, hating the feeling of someone breathing near him – Percy was the only exception. He loved his little cuddle-bug. “You know what? Sure. Let’s be moody about it together, then,”
“I’m not moody,”
“You’re totally moody. That kid has you whipped,”
And don’t I freaking know it, huh?
The hours passed by far, far too slow for Poseidon’s liking, but they passed. It was hard-going. The staff and interns kept stopping Poseidon as he did his usual rounds in a gloom, asking how Percy had handled going into his first day – it was only then that everyone informed him that it was common for kids to cry and cling to their parents because they didn’t want to go. Poseidon was somewhat glad no one had told him, or else today would have been even more nerve-wracking. He was infinitely grateful that it hadn’t happened; he couldn’t deal with Percy crying on a good day. If Percy had held on to him and refused to step into that classroom, they’d have been straight on their way back home to eat ice cream and watch animated movies all day instead.
Hell, Poseidon might have even preferred that anyways.
He couldn’t stop himself from calling the school just after midday, when he knew Percy would be in lunch and done with his first bunch of lessons (Poseidon had made sure in the days following up to schedule their aquarium lunches for the same time, to get him used to the routine early). The receptionist answered and informed him that Mr Kay had already sent a note ahead for him, because Percy had supposedly insisted Poseidon would inevitably call and want an update. The note informed him that Percy was doing fine and had enjoyed learning about fractions that morning and that he didn’t want Papa to worry because ‘that was what he did’.
“I can’t believe he wrote that down for the freaking receptionist to read back to me,” Poseidon complained into his hands as he recited the phone-call to a snickering Thetis. “Little brat,”
He picked up a recently-published maritime journal to pretend to read so that he could hide his face from his best friend as he switched between chewing his lip and grinning like an idiot over his strange little son’s sentiment. I should start writing him notes, he thought suddenly, a soft idea forming. To put in his lunch. I…I think he’d like that.
Poseidon spent the rest of his lunch break writing up some different ideas he had for notes, and made sure to pick up Percy’s usual lunch from the aquarium café even though he wasn’t there. He could have it later as a snack, if he wanted. It spared Poseidon a bit of the discomfort and suspended apprehension that came with 70% of his employees waving to him and then doing a double-take at the lack of Percy by his side. He’d become such a fixture in their aquarium, no one had been truly prepared to see him gone. Poseidon least of all.
Later, when Thetis wasn’t looking, Poseidon snuck out to set off early to pick him up. After another hour of sitting in his car, more impatient than stoic this time, he was standing outside Percy’s classroom. Waiting. He was the only parent there at first, though they slowly trickled in as the clock neared 2.30pm. Poseidon must have had quite a stormy look on his face, because they all seemed to avoid him. Or it might have been the smell – he and Thetis had prepped a bunch of fish and chum for Percy to feed to their animals later.
When the door to the classroom opened and Mr Kay let loose a swarm of screaming, squealing eight-year-olds, the kids also avoided grumpy-looking, fish-smelling Poseidon with brief grimaces before being swept away by their impatient parents. All kids but one, who was drawn to Poseidon like a little magnet.
Percy was the last out of the classroom, as Poseidon had expected. His son didn’t much like crowds. His bright eyes landed on Poseidon immediately, and he moved so fast Poseidon almost wasn’t prepared to catch him. Almost. He was more than happy to reach for his son and swing him up into the air and into his arms as quick as he could.
“Hi!” Percy giggled in his ear, resting his head on Poseidon’s shoulder as they spun.
“Hey, my darling!” Poseidon said, more enthusiastic than anything he’d said in the past twenty-four hours. This was the highlight of his day, he decided. His week. His month. “God, I hope you hated that. I missed you way too much,”
“It wasn’t bad,” shrugged Percy, not pulling away even when Poseidon stopped spinning. Poseidon hitched him higher up his waist and turned his face into his hair, breathing him in. It wasn’t bad, he repeated. But it also wasn’t good. Alright…alright, we can work with that.
He pulled back only when he saw movement from the corner of his eye, Mr Kay approaching. “Sorry to interrupt,” he said. “I just wanted to say, Mr Olympia, that Percy did very well today. There were a few hiccups-,” he said, giving Percy a look that wasn’t unkind. Percy smiled sheepishly and nodded. “-But overall, he was very pleasant to have in class. Very bright, just as you said, if a little uncertain around the other kids,”
“Do you want to come back tomorrow?” asked Poseidon, rubbing his palm up and down Percy’s spine. He felt a little tense. What ‘hiccups’? He fretted, itching to know. Details. I need details.
“But you’ll die of loneliness,” Percy teased, which just about banished most of Poseidon’s concerns and sympathy. Then the kid gave his shirt a sniff and had the audacity to complain, “Ugh, you’re stinky,”
And there went the last of his sympathy.
“Brat, I was preparing chum for you. I suppose tomorrow I’ll let you do it yourself,” he sighed dramatically.
Percy made a louder noise of disgust than before, exclaiming, “No, no, never-mind! You smell great, Papa, really. Even better than usual!”
“I’m putting you up for adoption,” decided Poseidon, finally setting his little boy on his feet. He ruffled his hair to assure him that it was only a joke. “What do you say to Mr Kay, Percy?”
“Thank you, Mr Kay,” chirped Percy. “See you tomorrow,”
“See you tomorrow, Percy. Be sure to fill in your papa on all the things we spoke about, yeah?”
Christ, he’s got Kay calling me ‘papa’ already. Does that mean he’s spent the whole day talking about me? For some reason, Poseidon wasn’t mad about it. He shouldered Percy’s bag for him, because the stupid thing weighed a damn ton with all the books they’d been advised to buy, and took Percy’s hand with his free one. Percy babbled all the way back to the car about what he’d done that day, what was good and what was bad. Poseidon, honestly, was gonna have to get him to repeat it all at some point, because he wasn’t really listening right now.
He was staring at his son, drinking in his face and all his features, feeling at peace for the first time in what felt like ages but had only been a handful of hours. He wondered whether this was gonna be their new normal; Percy would have an okay day in school, Poseidon would go out of his mind with missing him and pining like a sappy idiot, he’d hug him tight and then rinse and repeat. Everyone told him (or, well, they told Percy) that it would get easier. But Poseidon wasn’t so sure.
What he was sure about was that Percy was way more ‘okay’ than Poseidon was. He admitted that he’d lost concentration a couple of times, and had broken a few small rules like getting out of his seat without asking for permission and somehow snapping in half not one, but three mini whiteboards that they used to do quick math on. He seemed super embarrassed about that part and admitted that a few kids had giggled at them.
Poseidon nearly asked for names, but he knew it wouldn’t be appropriate. He bit his tongue and smiled at his son, lifted him into his booster seat and buckled him in, pecking a kiss against his button nose. He kissed him again on the head once they were driving back to the aquarium, unable to refrain from the affection.
Percy kept giggling at it and getting this soft, mushy look on his face that Poseidon supposed he, too, wore anytime Percy was being cute and cuddly. The kid made his heart feel so big it hurt. It was ridiculous. No human being should be this precious, this perfect – and he belonged to Poseidon. Whatever had he done to deserve him?
Tomorrow’s going to be hard, he thought, dreading it already. Maybe as hard as today, maybe worse.
But that’s fine. As long as it’s better for him, Poseidon glanced at his pride and joy, his little boy. I don’t mind. I can bear it. In a way, it certainly makes the time that I do have him infinitely more special.
Not that every moment Poseidon had with his son wasn’t already special, of course.