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All things considered, having a godly parent is cool, in some ways. You know, when you aren’t constantly getting attacked by monsters. Or being kicked out of various schools because of said monsters. Or dealing with parental abandonment. Or - well. Maybe it’s not so cool.
The powers were cool, Percy supposed. Being able to communicate with underwater creatures? Being able to breathe and manipulate water? That was pretty sweet, he had to admit. But after a couple of years of fighting to save the world and getting traumatized before he was even 21, it felt like a shitty consolation prize some days. Like when a rich deadbeat parent gives their kid money instead of showing up for a birthday party kind of shitty.
But it was fine, Percy convinced himself. He’d use his powers to survive as long as possible and try to live a normal-ish life. His dad would be ever distant as usual and he’d grit his teeth and bear it like every other demigod at camp. The dull ache of quiet resentment towards his father would march on as steady as his heartbeat.
Percy did appreciate his father, on some level though. They weren’t and would never fully be okay, but he was way less frustrated with him than when he was 12. It was just hard. Gods don’t care the way humans do. They’re often possessive, demanding, and hurt anyone who dares hurt what’s theirs, but a God can rarely if ever love like a human, because part of love is to accept that you will lose the loved to time, and that the loved with lose you. It’s a mortal concept.
And yet, Percy still found himself holding on to the few moments Posideon did show up for him. It wasn’t nearly enough to repair the damage the laws and fates had done, but it was something.
Small touches, hugs, a smile.
The sea breeze ruffling his hair, the ocean washing over his feet when he sat next to it on hard nights.
Forehead kisses and promises he wasn’t supposed to hear in the night, just before falling asleep.
Poseidon was a deadbeat and a terrible excuse for a father, all things considered. Circumstances or not, he chose to stay away. But he also was attempting to be something more, someone who’d stand up for Percy if need be. Someone who was willing to try. And life isn’t fair, but Percy would be. He’d let him try.
Yeah. He’d let him try.