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“Hey, watch it!” He yelled as some broody guy bumped into him and kept walking without turning to look back at the dark-haired man who now had coffee dripping down the front of his shirt and coat.
“Ugh!” Percy exclaimed, trying to wipe off the lukewarm drink from the front clothes. It was a pristine white, a gift from his stepfather this past christmas, and if it wasn’t in a washing machine in the next half hour it was sure to stain brown. The coat would definitely have to be dry-cleaned.
This was the last thing he needed after a bad day at the office.
After working on the same project tirelessly for weeks now, his presentation had gone horribly, and the sleepless nights and tiredness spent in preparation for today surely did not help him pay attention to the tasks at hand. On top of that, he had been late in the morning when his alarm didn’t go off and he had to run to the subway to catch the train and make it to work.
Speaking of, a familiar whoosh of wind pulled his attention from his ruined tshirt back to the platform he stood on, but it was too late. The train, the very train he was supposed to be inside at this moment, was pulling away from the station.
“No, no no.” He started to jog along the train as if that would help, pushing the regular crowds away that had just gotten off, but it was, of course, in vain. It wasn’t as if he could just jump onto the train and hold on till he reached the next station– Actually with his demigod abilities he was pretty sure he could, but after the rough day he had had he did not want to push the boundaries of the mist.
He gave up quickly, stopping abruptly and leaning against a dirty, old-bill ridden column, the paint of the yellow ‘STICK NO BILLS’ sign chipping. There would be another train here soon, in 7 minutes to be exact, but those minutes seemed like an eternity for a tired man who just wanted to find his way home.
He opened his phone and called a number.
Voicemail.
Frustrated, he yanked the device away from his year and stuffed it into his work bag.
The train came eventually, and Percy could finally get onto the train away from the putrid pee smell of the station. He stood holding a rod for support, a fight broke out, and the sounds made him want to punch his head till the skull cracked open, hopefully releasing some of that pressure.
He finally got off the train, and then the stuffy station too, walking into the cool air of New York’s Brooklyn. Percy never thought he would be living in Brooklyn. To be fair, he never thought he would be living past sixteen to begin with, much less for a decade after that.
He got to his apartment complex, finally. His heels were starting to hurt from being on his feet the whole day, and his shoulders wanted nothing more than to sit in a spa for the rest of the week and have someone massage them nonstop.
He ignored the security guard for once, and jammed his thumb into the lift button. He waited for a couple seconds, but the signature red light to signify that the elevator was being called did not turn on. He pressed the button again, but it remained its dull grey colour. He pressed it a couple more times, more out of frustration than anything until–
“Jackson!” The elderly doorman yelled, “There’s repairs going on. You’re gonna hafta take the stairs.”
“What?!” Percy exclaimed, looking up at the useless machine. “Bu–”
“No buts. There was a message on the notice board, you should’ve checked it.”
He groaned, mumbling something about ‘What am I paying this much for?’ and turned to the stairs. He was halfway up the first flight when the doorman yelled again, telling him to get his mail from the overflowing box.
“I’ll get it later!”
“You’ll get your electricity later too if you don’t pay that bill.”
Percy sighed and climbed back down. He went over to the grey mailboxes and opened his– loudly– so Peter the oh-so-great doorman knew he was not happy about doing it. He grabbed the bunch of papers and started his way back up the stairs,
“Careful boy, there’s some shirt on your coffee.”
His hands clenched the papers harder, but he kept walking upstairs.
Huffing and panting, he finally got to the sixth floor, simultaneously cursing himself out for having an apartment so far up. He dug around in his bag to pull out the house key and then stuffed it into the hole, jiggling it till something clicked and he was in. The apartment was bright today, a rare occurrence. Usually he’d be the first one home, but she had stayed home this day.
He shrugged off his dirty coat and bag near the doorway and hastily took off his shoes and socks to feel the cold wooden floor under him.
Once he went further in to determine the whereabouts of the other residents of his home, he found a figure asleep underneath some thick, fresh blankets in his bed with a small warm lamp switched on right on the side table.
As much as every muscle in his body wanted to jump into the sheets and sleep forever, he controlled himself and changed out of his dirty clothes first.
Once he had plopped the clothes in the washer, taken a shower, eaten some leftovers (and started the dishwasher since she had loaded her utensils already) he headed into the room. He softly padded around the bed and– Oh.
Oh .
Awww.
His baby. His baby and his baby’s mom, cuddling on their bed.
Annabeth’s blonde ringlets splashed across the pillow and her hand carefully draped over the sleeping 3 month old. She had put up some pillows around them so the baby girl didn’t accidentally roll out of bed.
He gently reached down to pick up his daughter, working hard to make sure he didn’t break her sleep. Once he held her in his arms though, just the thought of putting her down in the crib seemed repulsive.
God, she was so tiny. So small. Her little nose, and her fingers that were the size of his thumbnail. She was growing so fast already, looking at her newborn clothes he couldn’t believe that she ever fit them. He hated the thought that his baby was growing up, but he was so excited for it.
Her small face scrunched up, and he swayed and rocked her, shushing her as he walked to the crib.
He bent over and placed her in the crib, covering her and tucking her in before leaning in to plant a small kiss on her cheek. He reached forward and lightly touched his fingers to her forehead. Then, satisfied with the no-longer-warm skin, he shut off the bedside lamp and got in his bed.
Apparently he wasn’t as quiet in his kerfuffle as he was hoping to be because the moment he got inside the covers his wife shifted, slowly waking up and coming to her senses.
“Percy?” She said drowsily.
“Yeah, it’s me.”
Her figure was starting to become clearer as his eyes adjusted to the dark.
She started to get up. “Where’s–”
“I put her in the crib.” He whispered, putting a hand on her shoulder and urging her back down.
“Oh.” She said as she laid back down and moved closer to him, the bed slightly squeaking below them. He put his arm around her and slipped his hand under the back of her t-shirt.
She gasped, “Your ring is cold.”
“Ah, just like my marriage then.”
“Boomer humour,” She snorted, fisting the fabric of his nightshirt and pulling him closer, “Funny.”
“Hm…”
She seemed to be done with the conversation, because neither of them said anything after that. He let himself relax after the long day, Annabeth’s steady breaths providing the perfect lullaby.
“How was the mee–”
“Don’t.”
“That bad, huh?”
He sighed, “I just wanna forget about it.”
She lifted a hand and brushed her knuckles against his cheek before going up and tangling her fingers in the silky smooth locks of his hair.
“If this was a year ago I would say I could make you forget all about it and we could have hot, sleepy sex right here.”
He smiled as several similar memories resurfaced.
“But that was before I pushed a tiny human out of me, now we’re boring mommy and daddy.”
Percy snorted, “How is she, anyway? I got the meds you asked me to.”
“Fever’s under control for now, doc says to keep a watch on her throughout the night.”
“Okay.” He sighed. She moved closer and rested her head on his chest. He pulled the thick blankets closer around them. “Peter says to pay the electricity bill.”
“I paid it online this morning.”
He sighed again and dug his nose into her curly hair.
“I knew I married you for a reason.”
He could feel her smile more than see it, but nevertheless it sent a warm feeling rushing through his chest. “So I can pay the bills?”
“Yes.” He paused, “And the sex.”
She snickered softly, careful not to wake the baby up. “That is a plus.”
“I’m going to say it now, by the way.” She continued.
He frowned, “Say what?”
She arched her neck to look up at him, her intense grey eyes gleaming with the childish smugness that he had been dealing with since they were tweens at Camp Half-Blood.
“The blankets.”
He blinked, and then looked at the white cloth donned over them before realisation smacked him in the face.
He barked out a laugh.
“I told you so!” She said gleefully, laughing quietly, “I told you it's cold enough to get the winter blankets out and I was right! You haven’t complained about the heat once, Jackson.”
“Okay, okay, you got me.” He said, pulling her in closer to him so she fit right against him, almost as if their bodies had moulded to the other’s shape as they grew up attached at the hip.
“You have to do the dishes this week.”
“I know.”
“And give me a massage.”
“I know.”
“And–”
He turned his head in exasperation, “I get it, I bet too much on a stupid blanket and now l have to do a bunch of stuff.”
She put a hand on his cheek and leaned forward to peck him on the lips.
“I am not going to make this easy for you.” She murmured against his lips.
He chuckled, “I’m glad.”