Work Text:
Its a whimper that calls Apollo’s attention, a muffled plea from his most beloved. Apollo hesitates- what had been said was unclear, only that it came from Percy. Apollo carefully sets his paint brush to the side, loosely clasping his hands in his lap, head bowed as he listened carefully in case there was more to be said.
It’s to the sound of a bitten off ‘ no ’ that Apollo realizes that Percy is having a nightmare, and he only pauses briefly to ensure his paints are sealed- the brushes are easily replaceable, but he had only just gotten the perfect colors to capture Percy’s likeness after weeks of work he had hand mixed himself.
When he snaps into Percy’s apartment in New Rome, its to find Percy white-knuckling his blanket as he shivers, frost spiraling from his grip. Apollo can taste when Percy’s caught in the vapors of a demigod dream, but this is just the hard won memories of his past come to haunt him.
“Oh, Percy.” Apollo sighs. His hand comes to rest on the exposed cheek of his darling boy, cradling his clenched jaw. Apollo works on slowly raising the heat of the room, the cold seeping from Percy’s sleeping form lessening as Apollo works in tandem with his powers to loosen clenched muscles.
“You deserve nothing but the sweetest of dreams.” Apollo whispers, finishing with a kiss to Percy’s forehead.