Work Text:
Percy woke up to the alarm Annabeth had set the night before. He rolled toward her intending to cuddle at the same time as she was reaching to turn the alarm off and accidentally took over the space where her body had just been. The sheets were warm and smelled like her vanilla lotion. He didn't move back.
“Percy,” Annabeth grunted when she felt him in her spot. She rolled to lay on her side, facing him.
“Sorry,” he mumbled. Instead of giving her space he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. Waking up to Annabeth was a luxury he didn’t get every morning because of his job. Half of his mornings were spent at the fire station. Before they had real adult lives, they would spend entire Saturdays in bed, wrapped up in each other and enjoying the peace they had worked their whole childhoods for. Percy buried his face in the crook of her neck, closed his eyes, and breathed her in. “What time is it?”
“6:30.”
“Too early,” he groaned. He was very aware that he sounded like their four-year-old, but he was tired.
“Then go back to sleep.” She unsuccessfully tried to push his arms off of her and then gave up, relaxing and threading her fingers through his hair instead. “Gracie’s game is at 10.”
Percy nodded, eyes closed.
“We need to leave at 9:20,” she told him.
He lifted his head. “Skipping Chase’s nap?”
“Yeah.”
He nodded again, closing his eyes and burrowing his head back against her. They laid quietly like that for a moment, with her hands in his hair.
Then she patted his head and said, “I need to take a shower.”
Percy reluctantly placed a kiss on her neck and retracted his arms. At the foot of the bed, their nine-year-old black lab Bo pulled himself up and stretched as Annabeth left for the bathroom. Percy took a moment to lay in bed for an extra second, which Bo took as an opportunity to walk over to him and nudge him with his nose. Percy opened his eyes and looked up at the dog. He knew what Bo wanted. He was still fully capable of jumping off the bed on his own but he always refused to when Percy was around so that he would pick him up. Percy sighed and stood, helped Bo down, and then they both walked into the bathroom with Annabeth.
She was already in the shower. Percy did his stuff, brushed his teeth, splashed his face with water. That always made him feel more awake. He quickly changed into a navy crewneck and jeans, grabbed the baby monitor from Annabeth’s nightstand, and then made his way downstairs to the kitchen with Bo at his heels. He set the baby monitor down on the counter and filled Bo’s food dish up with a scoop of kibble, adding some cottage cheese as a garnish. Bo wagged his tail and got to work, and Percy turned his attention to the coffee machine, starting a cup for Annabeth. Percy wasn’t a big coffee drinker himself because he hated the taste of it but Annabeth was dependent on it.
Percy looked at the baby monitor while her coffee brewed. The display on the screen read: “Hey Mom, I fell asleep 10 hours and 33 minutes ago.” That meant Chase would be waking up shortly. Despite the grainy camera quality, Percy could see that the almost one-year-old had a pacifier in his mouth and was also holding one in each fist. There were two extras scattered around the crib. If Chase woke up in the night and there wasn’t a pacifier in reach he would lose it. Percy understood because when he woke up and Annabeth wasn’t in reach he lost it too.
Bo finished eating and Percy opened the glass door to the backyard for him. The cool air nipped at Percy’s face and he shut the door swiftly. There were a few dishes left in the sink from the night before so Percy went to rinse them and stick them in the dishwasher. When he was finished with that, Bo hit the back door with his nose, alerting Percy he was ready to come back inside. Percy let him in and patted his side. Bo went to lie down on his bed in the living room. Percy returned to the sink and proactively got a bottle ready to fill with formula for when Chase woke up.
While he waited for that, Percy walked around the first floor of the house and opened the blinds so the morning light could come in through the windows when the sun rose. Percy loved his house. Annabeth had designed it for them and just like everything she did, it was perfect. It was the perfect place for them to raise their family and live their lives. There had been countless sleepless nights in their teenage years that were spent cuddled up with Annabeth’s sketchbook talking and laughing and planning to take their minds off of the trauma-induced nightmares they had both dealt with. Now that house was their reality and they lived in it every day.
Percy went back to the kitchen and saw movement on the baby monitor. Chase was stirring. Percy filled up the waiting bottle and headed back upstairs. Bo joined him. Percy opened Chase’s door and turned on the lamp. Chase was standing in his crib waiting, leaning against the side for support. His face was flush from sleep and he blinked at Percy. Bo walked up and stuck his snout in between the slats of the crib and Chase squatted down to touch the dog’s nose. Bo’s tail wagged.
“Good morning,” Percy said in a baby voice, scooping his son up into his arms. He worked the two pacifiers out of his hands and tossed them back in the crib, and then sat down in the rocking chair and held the bottle for Chase. Chase wrapped one of his little hands around one of Percy’s fingers. Bo curled up on the baby blue rug next to the rocking chair.
The door slowly cracked open wider and Annabeth stuck her head in. Percy looked up. Her hair was wet but pulled back in a clip and she wore a t-shirt and leggings. Her face softened when she saw them and she smiled at Percy. He smiled back. It was moments like this one that made everything worth it. Bo noticed her, and he followed as Annabeth retreated to the hallway quietly and pulled the door slightly closed again as she did.
When Chase was done with his bottle he pushed it away and clumsily stuck his pacifier back in his mouth. Percy carried him to the changing table and unzipped his sleep sack, replaced his diaper with a fresh one, and dressed him in a navy crewneck and matching sweats, which he then realized matched the crewneck sweatshirt he was wearing. He talked to Chase the whole time to keep him distracted and entertained and Chase stared up at him.
Once Chase was good to go, Percy scooped him up again, grabbed the empty bottle, and headed back downstairs. Light from the sunrise was coming in through the windows, casting a golden glow on everything. In the kitchen, Annabeth had started making scrambled eggs and was pushing them around a pan with a spatula. Bo sat at her feet with his nose in the air. She had found her coffee waiting for her and the mug was sitting on the counter next to the stove. Percy carried Chase over to the sink so he could rinse out the bottle and stick it in the dishwasher.
Annabeth tilted her head so he could kiss her and she took Chase into her arms, smiling at him and kissing his forehead. She said good morning to him and asked him how he slept and he babbled at her while she walked with him to the living room. Bo followed after them and Percy took over scrambling the eggs. They were for Chase, and Percy decided he’d make omelets for himself and his wife after those were done. Omelets were easy and reliable and would have been a great pre-game breakfast for their seven-year-old too, but she and her sister had decided a few days ago that eggs were gross and they refused to eat them.
Percy heard a door open above him and the patter of little feet running down the stairs. He turned in time to see four-year-old Penelope poking her head around the corner. When she saw Percy, her face lit up and she ran and jumped on him. “Daddy!”
“Hi, baby girl,” he laughed, hoisting her up. She wrapped her arms around his neck. “How’d you sleep?”
“Good.”
“Do you want to help me make breakfast?”
Penelope peered down at the pan and pulled a face at the eggs and then at him. Percy laughed again. She looked so much like her mom sometimes. “No.”
Percy set her back down and returned to the eggs. They were done so he transferred them to the plate Annabeth had taken out.
“Good morning, baby,” he heard Annabeth say in the living room. She and Chase were “reading” books and Penelope joined them. Chase hadn’t fully grasped the point of reading a book yet. He liked to flip all of the pages while Annabeth tried to read the words aloud to him before they were out of her sight. When he got to the end he would start over going backwards. His favorite books were the ones with different textures on each page, and he usually worked through those slower so that he could feel everything.
Gracie, on the other hand, had been very interested in actually reading books. She would sit still and listen intently when she was read to. She had been a serious baby, and she was still pretty serious at seven. Penelope, though, could’ve cared less about a book. Now she cared, but back when she was Chase’s age she had shown zero interest and acted like she didn’t even see that a book was in front of her.
Percy opened the fridge to grab some ingredients for the omelets and to stick the scrambled eggs in to cool them down for Chase. He could hear Penelope sharing every detail of her recent dream with Annabeth, who added comments and asked questions at all the right times. Bo wandered back in the kitchen with his nose up and Percy tossed him a piece of cheese.
Annabeth and the kids came back into the kitchen a moment later, and she set Chase down in his high chair at the kitchen table. Penelope sat down at her spot too, swinging her legs and continuing to tell them all about her dream. Apparently in her dream she’d been helping a turtle find his family in the ocean. Annabeth exchanged a look with Percy as she fastened Chase’s bib around his neck. Then she opened the fridge to grab his eggs and scattered them around his high chair tray. He squealed.
Penelope paused her story to tell Chase his breakfast was gross. Annabeth reminded her that we don’t say that about other people’s food and Penelope continued, telling them about a shark who pointed her and the turtle in the right direction. Annabeth exchanged another look with Percy as she opened the cupboard and grabbed two bowls. She placed one down in front of Penelope and the other in front of Gracie’s spot and filled them both with the girls’ favorite cereal. She poured milk into Penelope’s and handed her a spoon.
Percy had plated Annabeth’s omelet and was just about done making his. He looked down to check the time on the oven clock. It was 7:48. He lifted the pan, slid the omelet onto his plate, and then turned the burner off.
“I’m gonna get Gracie,” Percy told Annabeth, who was now cutting a banana against her thumb over Penelope’s cereal.
“Thank you,” she said.
He put his hands on her waist and kissed her behind her ear as he passed by.
“Careful, I’m holding a knife,” she warned.
“You’ve been holding a knife since you were seven,” he whispered in her ear. “I’m not worried.”
She elbowed him and he laughed, heading upstairs. This time, Bo didn’t follow him. There was too much possible food that he could snag.
Upstairs, Percy slowly opened the door to Gracie’s room. She was still asleep, lying on her stomach. Her hair was a mess. Percy carefully opened her curtain to let some light in and sat down on the side of the bed, rubbing her back like his mom used to do to wake him up. “Good morning, Gracie,” he said softly.
She stirred, sticking her face in her pillow.
Percy smiled to himself. That was exactly what he’d done an hour earlier. “Mom has cereal ready for you downstairs,” he told her. “Gotta fuel up before the big game.”
Gracie stirred again, this time moving to sit up and rub her eyes. She looked at him groggily. He opened his arms and she yawned, leaning into his hug. It was hard for Percy to think that Annabeth had been this age and, most likely, this size when she’d run away. She’d been this age when she’d been on her own in the world for a month, when she’d first wielded her knife, when she’d stabbed a Cyclops in the foot. Gracie was so small and he loved her so much that it made him resent Frederick Chase even more than he already did.
“How did you sleep?” He asked her.
Of all three of their kids, Gracie had the worst dreams. When she was a toddler she’d had bad night terrors and though they weren’t as bad anymore, her dreams were still not pleasant. Percy and Annabeth had discussed this at length, about what it meant for her and her future and what they would do in every possible scenario. Percy knew now how his mom had felt when he’d been growing up, constantly dealing with the fear of the inevitable.
Gracie shrugged. “Fine.”
He nodded and hugged her tighter. He hoped that bad dreams were just an awful trait she had inherited from her parents that would go away as she got older. He and Annabeth had already decided their kids would not be pawns for the gods, that was a boundary they both firmly decided on together. Percy was ready to do anything for his kids.
Gracie left to use the bathroom and Percy grabbed her soccer uniform and laid it on her bed for her. He went back downstairs. Chase was covered in smushed banana, Penelope had milk dribbling down her chin from her cereal, Bo was licking the floor under Chase’s high chair, and Annabeth was standing at the counter eating her omelet. He joined her, grabbing a fork for himself.
“Is she up?” Annabeth asked.
“Yeah,” Percy sighed, lowering his voice. “She’s changing now. I don’t think she slept very well.”
Annabeth deflated and looked down at her plate, her brows furrowed. Percy could see the wheels in her head turning. “I hate that. She can sleep in our bed tonight.”
Percy nodded, taking a bite of his omelet. He hadn’t realized how hungry he was. Gracie came downstairs a moment later and sat down at the table. She was wearing her uniform and her hair was still a hot mess. It was frizzing out in every direction.
“Good morning, Gracie,” Annabeth said, smiling at her daughter and opening the refrigerator to grab the milk.
“Good morning,” Gracie replied. Bo licked her knee and she giggled.
“Hi, Gracie,” Penelope said, shoveling cereal into her mouth. A piece fell off of her spoon and rolled off the table onto the floor. Bo picked it up in his mouth.
Annabeth poured milk into Gracie’s bowl and then tried to smooth down Gracie’s unruly hair. She frowned as she did and then exited the room. Percy put the milk back in the fridge. Annabeth returned with a brush and a hairband and Gracie groaned.
“I know, I used to hate doing my hair too,” Annabeth told her, holding the hair band with her teeth and running the brush through Gracie’s hair. “But it will be better to have it out of your face when you’re playing.”
Annabeth gathered the hair at the crown of Gracie’s head and started a French braid. Percy was always impressed by how well she could braid, but why wouldn’t she be good at it? Her mother was the goddess of weaving.
Percy finished his omelet and took his plate over to the sink. Annabeth’s coffee mug was empty so he took that too. Both went in the dishwasher.
Annabeth’s fingers moved quickly and she tied off the end of the braid. Then she returned to her breakfast. “Your parents are coming to the game, right?”
“Yeah, and Estelle.”
Annabeth nodded, taking her last bite. Percy grabbed her plate and took care of it for her.
“I’m done,” Penelope announced. Annabeth grabbed a wet wipe and wiped the milk off her face.
At the same time, Chase threw a handful of scrambled eggs on the floor, and Bo dove at it. Chase squealed and giggled. Usually when he started throwing food at the dog for entertainment that meant he was done eating. Annabeth wiped his face too. Percy took his bib off and picked him up so Annabeth could wipe down his high chair tray.
Penelope started to stand up but Annabeth stopped her. She slumped back down.
Percy watched Annabeth toss the wipes in the trash can, glance at the oven clock, and turn to the kitchen table. “We’re going to leave in thirty minutes,” she told everyone. “Gracie, when you finish eating make sure you have all of your stuff in your soccer bag. Penelope, you need to get dressed. Dad will help you.”
“Yes, sir!” Penelope shouted.
“Ma’am,” Annabeth corrected.
“Yes, ma’am!”
Percy laughed. Annabeth turned to him and took Chase into her arms. “I’ll stay down here and get everything together, you go help her.”
He nodded. Annabeth treated splitting up parental responsibilities like she was giving her soldiers their assignments for a battle. He found it very endearing. “Kiss first?”
She smiled and kissed him.
“Ew!” Both girls said.
Percy followed Penelope upstairs. She went into her room and started looking around like she was searching for something. Her room was a mess. Percy knew it stressed Annabeth out, but he had been the same way as a kid. She lifted a stuffed animal up and then threw it back down.
“What are you looking for?” He asked her, opening her dresser drawer and grabbing an outfit.
“Um,” she said, picking up a doll. She frowned at it for a moment and paused. “I don’t know.”
“That’s okay,” Percy told her. “Let’s get dressed.”
He and Annabeth both suspected Penelope had ADHD. She was messy, she got distracted and forgot things easily, she had a lot of energy she didn’t always know what to do with, she could be overly sensitive at times. Her preschool teachers had brought it up as a possibility. So all signs were pointing that way, which was reasonable because both her parents had it. They were going to push for a diagnosis at her next doctor’s visit.
Percy helped her change out of her pajamas and into her outfit. She was squirrely and kept giggling, but Percy was patient. He stayed calm so as to not feed into her energy and make it worse.
By the time she was dressed, she had her eyes on her lobster stuffie and she had to grab it. “Can he come to the game?”
“Sure,” Percy said. “Do you need to go potty?”
Penelope shook her head, but he didn’t believe her.
“Okay, well let's just try,” he told her.
Sure enough, she did have to go. He had to wrangle her to wash her hands after, and then they went back downstairs. Percy realized she’d left the lobster in the bathroom but Penelope didn’t seem to notice. She skipped into the kitchen. Annabeth was packing snacks and Chase was sitting on the counter watching her, babbling and kicking his legs. Gracie was still eating.
Bo stood to greet Penelope, licking her face. She giggled and then started dancing with him, making up a song and jumping around. Annabeth smiled, watching her daughter. Percy sat down at the kitchen table with Gracie.
“Is it good?” He asked her.
She nodded.
“That’s good,” he said. “Are you ready for the game?”
“Yeah,” Gracie nodded again. “I’m gonna try to score today.”
Percy smiled. “That’s a good goal.”
“It will be when I make it,” Gracie joked.
Percy laughed, genuinely proud of how quick she had been with that. He gave her a high five and she grinned. Just the other day she had lost one of her top front baby teeth and the other one was on its way out next. She looked adorable with the missing tooth. Percy asked her how her other tooth was feeling and she paused to wiggle it. She said it was good.
She finished her cereal and started to take it to the sink but Percy intercepted it. He thanked her and brought it to the dishwasher. Gracie’s next task was to make sure she had everything in her soccer bag, so she left to do that. Percy filled up Bo’s water bowl for him, noticing it was low.
Penelope decided then that she wanted to play her favorite game, so she demanded Percy give her a piggyback ride. He obliged, squatting down so she could jump on his back. He grabbed her feet. As soon as she was secure and he was standing, he furrowed his brow and turned to Annabeth. “Where did Penelope go?”
Annabeth shrugged, a twinkle in her eye. Behind him, Penelope was doing an awful job holding in her giggles. Percy turned around in a circle and she squealed. He asked Chase if he knew where she was and he pointed at her. Percy turned around again and Penelope giggled again.
“Behind you!” She shouted.
He turned. “No, you’re not behind me.”
“Behind you!” She shouted out again through giggles.
Percy frowned and walked to the mirror on the wall in the entryway. He feigned a surprised look when he saw her on his back in the reflection. That was her favorite part. She shrieked and he set her down. She wanted to do it again, but Annabeth announced that it was time to go. She pouted but quickly forgot about it when Annabeth helped her put her shoes on. Annabeth tied Gracie’s cleats, too, while Percy slipped Chase’s shoes on his feet.
Annabeth did a final sweep to make sure they had everything. Percy helped her run through her mental checklist. They said goodbye to Bo and went out to the garage. Percy secured Chase in his car seat and Annabeth helped Penelope. Percy buckled Gracie in and then sat down in the front seat. Annabeth sat in the passenger seat and turned back to check on the three of them.
“Everyone good?” She asked. Percy pressed the garage door button, glancing at their kids through the rearview mirror. Both girls nodded and Chase babbled something incoherent.
Percy smiled and met Annabeth’s eye when she turned forward. She smiled too and his heart swelled. He loved her, he loved their kids, he loved his life. Everything they had ever wanted was theirs. Everything they had dreamed about and prayed about and fought for was real and in their car in the garage of their house, the house that Annabeth had built for them.
“I love you,” he told her.
“I love you, too.”