Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Percy Jackson was a normal sixth grade boy with a normal family. His dad Don Jackson was a marine biologist from Greece. He moved to America years ago due to familial reasons. And while he was in Montauk, he met Percy’s mom, Sally. Unfortunately, she died when Percy was a baby, so he has no memories of his mom. But Dad was always willing to answer Percy’s questions about her.

Percy also had an older brother named Finn. Finn was great even if he was too uptight and proper at times. He always referred to Percy as ‘Perseus’ and he never called Dad anything other than ‘Father.’ He’d also scoff Percy and Dad’s Hawaiian shirts and sandals. They lived at the beach what else were they supposed to wear a two-piece suit? Honestly, Finn should be grateful Percy wasn’t walking around with black lipstick and nose piercings, like some kids his age did. And really, he’s the one to talk he’s got tattoos all over his arms. Their all ocean themed and really cool looking and Percy is super jealous of them, particularly the trident tattoo. But that’s not the point. He also sleeps with a miniature golden conch shell around his neck, because he’s ubber possessive of it. Percy thinks it’s too gaudy and bulky and that if he’s going to keep that thing he can’t judge Percy or Dad for their fashion. Whatever.

Anyways, Finn works with Dad in the field of marine biology, but Finn specifically works in business and communications, which don’t particularly interest Percy, so he doesn’t ask him many questions about his job. Dad on the other hand has a way more interesting job that involves interacting with marine ecosystems and sea animals directly. Percy constantly asks him questions all the time about what he's currently working on. And because of Dad's job and his enthusiasm Percy made the executive decision to be just like Dad one day. Percy once told him that he wanted to stay by his side forever and work with him to protect the ocean. Both Dad and Finn hugged him and cried tears of joy. And Percy could never understand why that statement made them so emotional.

Now you might think that Percy has a pretty good life, and he does, but recently things have taken a turn. Everything had been fine until Christmas break where the world started to go haywire. Flash floods, sudden earthquakes, and raging lighting storms devastated the globe. It was unlike anything anyone had ever seen before.

And now Dad and Finn were on edge 24/7. While they had paranoid tendencies before there were always explanations to them. Like Dad’s insistency that the fridge and pantry were constantly stocked with food, more than they could eat actually. Apparently grandpa Kevin wasn’t a good provider and food was a scarcity when Dad was young.

At first Percy thought it had to do with weather. They lived in a beach town after all, and their home was right by the ocean. If a tsunami came, they’d all drown. Percy asked where they’d be staying and what the evacuation plans were. Both of them insisted on staying put, assuring Percy they’d all be safe.

They had a serious case of being homebodies, never straying too far from the sea. It’s like they were hiding from the law or something.

Strangely enough they did fear the weather but only when the sound of thunder would ring out in the skies from miles away. They’d both grab onto Percy and shield him with their bodies completely enveloping him. The lighting never even got close to their house, nor did it strike the town, but that didn't stop either of them from freaking out.

Percy was annoyed at them for their behavior. Why were they only concerned about thunderstorms but not a possible tsunami?

He tried to get answers from them, but they kept dodging the question.

Eventually Percy got fed up enough with them that one day when he was alone in his room, he decided to air his grievances. He jokingly started talking to himself, saying, “Poseidon please don’t kill me or my family just because they-“ Dad burst into Percy's room at a speed that Percy didn’t think was possible, before locking eyes with him.

“Percy. What. Are. You. Doing?” He was stiffer than a statue, but his face was redder than a fire truck.

“Nothing.” Percy did not want to tell him that he was complaining to a fictional deity.

“Nothing?” Dad chocked, looking so distressed that he should have been sweating buckets.

“Yeah. Nothing. You should probably get a glass of water though. You don’t look so good.”

“Right.” Dad said with the slightest nod possible. Then in a very mechanical way he turned around and closed Percy’s door.

Percy was so embarrassed and weirded out that he had forgotten about that interaction until the next day.

It was around noon the next day when Percy was in the kitchen making himself some lunch. Dad was in the other room talking with Finn in hushed tones. Percy decided not to eavesdrop on them as he finished making himself a sandwich. At one point Percy heard the front door open and close as Finn left. Shortly afterwards Dad called for him.

“Percy, can you come here we need to talk.” Talk? Was he in trouble? He didn’t do anything wrong. Dad knew he had ADHD and would sometimes forget to do his chores, he also knew when Percy purposefully did something wrong and only in those instances was, he punished. How he could always tell when Percy intentionally disobeyed and when he would forever be a mystery to him. Maybe Percy was a bad liar or something.

Percy walked into the living room to see Dad anxiously wringing his hands together. When he saw Percy, he gave him a nervous smile that didn’t reach his eyes as he patted the seat next to him. Percy sat down slowly. “Dad, are you alright? And where did Finn go?”

“No, I’m not.” He said honestly. “I asked Finn to step out. I think it would be easier for everyone if this conversation was between the two of us. You see there’s things that I, I mean we, your brother and I that is.” He stopped his sentence before starting a new one. “That we’ve. What I mean is, we haven’t been as forthright with you as we should have.” In the past couples of days, yes but before that they were pretty honest. Dad would even answer questions about their family which Percy knew was a sore subject. It couldn’t be easy for Dad to have a father serving a life sentence in Federal Prison. No Percy didn't know what grandpa Kevin had done. And quite frankly he wasn't sure he wanted to.

Percy couldn’t help but speculate as to what was going on and tried to make connections in his head. “Is this about work? Did you two get laid off...or fired?” Was that why they weren't evacuating because they couldn't afford to leave? But if that was the case why'd they fear the lightning and not the waves?

For the briefest second Dad looked amused, as if Percy suggested something absolutely absurd to him and he found it humorous. But in the blink of an eye that enjoyment was gone. “No, Percy. They didn’t fire us. I’m your brother’s boss, you know.” Dad said. “And besides it’s not possible for anyone to get rid of us.” The way he said it made Percy think there was a hidden meaning to what Dad just said.

“It’s just.” Dad stopped to fiddle with his thumbs, as he struggled to speak. “I had hoped this day wouldn’t come quite like this. And that it would be under better circumstances. But it’s better to say this now, and better to hear it from me then for you to figure it out on your own.”

Percy didn’t say anything. He wasn’t sure where Dad was going with this.

“I....” Dad trailed off, struggling to find his words. “Do...do you remember those stories? The ones your brother and I used to tell you about?”

“The pirate stories or the ones about Greek mythology?” Percy asked.

“The Greek mythology ones.” Dad replied.

“Yeah, of course I remember them. You and Finn talk about them all the time.”

“Right, well there’s something about those stories that we didn’t disclose to you.” Dad said guilty. Percy wished Finn was here so he could gage his reactions to get an indication as to what was going on. “The stories,” he swallowed, “there all real.”

“Daaaad, what are you getting at?” Dad couldn’t possibly be telling Percy that he believed the myths actually happened. Everyone knew they were made up.

“That everything we’ve told you about them is real. The gods, the monsters. They all happened Percy.” Percy went silent for a long time. Before he remembered his ‘conversation’ with Poseidon yesterday.

He rolled his eyes flippantly. Dad was being his usual playful self. He overheard Percy and decided to tease him, so Percy would play along. “Did a leaf blow in the wind when you prayed to Demeter or something?”

Fear flared in Dad’s eyes in an instant. “Don’t say the god’s names, Percy! Names have meaning, and if you mention a god by name you’re practically giving them an invitation to overhear you. Though we’re by the ocean so non-water deities shouldn’t be able to hear you I still don’t like the risk.”

“Dad, quit it this isn’t funny.” Dad sounded to stern that Percy was starting to sweat a little.

“Percy I’m not joking with you.” Percy searched his eyes for some indication that he was pulling his leg, but Dad was serious.

This couldn’t be happening. His dad was descending into madness. He needed to do something quickly.

“How do you know they’re real? Have you ever seen a monster or a god?” Percy asked. He knew Dad wouldn’t be able to say yes because the gods and monsters didn’t exist. And maybe, just maybe he could show Dad the error of his ways.

Dad folded his hands together, breathing out. “I know they’re real because I’m a god.” Percy felt his brain short-circuit. Did a cult sink their hooks into him babbling about the 'power within' or something? What was happening here?

“A...a god?” Percy asked freaking out too much to say anything else.

“Yes, a god.” He breathed in and out a few times before adding. “I’m...I’m...P....Poseidon.” When he finally uttered the words he sighed in relief, like a heavy weight had been lifted off of him. Percy on the other hand paled, brows raising in fear.

“Dad,” Percy said very slowly, “I’m going to get Finn he’ll know what to do.” Finn was an adult, no Percy didn’t know how old he was. He kept forgetting, somehow. But still Finn could handle this better than Percy could. Finn couldn’t have gotten far. He’d just get up run out of the house and find Finn on the beach. Finn would call 911 and Dad would get taken the emergency room where they’d remove his tumor. Then he’d made a quick and speedy recovery and then three of them would live happily ever after. It would all be okay.

Dad started to move closer to reach out to Percy. “Percy, look at me please. I’m sorry for scaring you. I can prove that I’m Poseidon.”

Percy became even paler, as his breathing became rapid and shallow, and his voice became shaky. “What are you going to do control the waves on the beach?”

“Percy, just look at me please.” Dad said desperately as his voice started breaking. For some reason Percy didn’t get up and run, he sat still staring at Dad as he snapped his fingers. Suddenly his previously empty hand was not empty anymore. In his grasp was tall, metallic, three pronged stick.

He had a trident.

He summoned a trident.

Out of thin air.

Percy’s head felt light all of a sudden and his vision started to blur, as his body started to slump, falling backwards.

“Father! What have you done?” Finn cried out.

Something caught him before his eyesight faded completely.

Chapter Text

While Percy was out, he heard voices around him.

“I told you telling him now would be a bad decision.”

“What choice did I have Triton? I couldn’t wait until the summer solstice. Till war.”

Triton huffed, likely conceding. “Still why on great grandmother’s earth would you summon your trident?”

Dad exhaled sharply. “He refused to believe me and though I was insane. He tried to leave to get you, likely so you’d have me committed.”

“Well of course he thought you were crazy. You lack the necessary communication skills needed to deliver difficult news.” The voice huffed. “You honestly should have let me tell him. I’m a herald after all.”

“I thought it would be better if it came from me. I am his father after all.”

“I know that, but at the very least you could have had me with you.”

“I know I didn’t think it through.” The voice sighed. “I’ve been stressed lately, alright."

“And you think I haven’t been?"

"I didn't say that, Triton."

The voices stopped and Percy woke to a bright light overhead, that shone through his eyelids. He clenched his eyes tighter and batted at the air to ward off Dad. It was winter break, he should be allowed to sleep in.

Distantly, he heard Dad’s voice speak his name and he groaned. He defiantly clutched his bedsheets, pulling them over his face as he flopped onto his side to face the wall.

That should get the message across nicely.

“Percy dear. Please talk to me.” Dad said worriedly.

Percy’s mind felt fuzzy why was Dad so concerned about Percy sleeping in a few hours. He’d be up by 9:00.

“Percy it’s not morning time it’s past noon.” What? That couldn’t be. He never slept in that late.

Percy pulled the sheets off of his face as he slowly sat up, to sit on the edge of the bed. He kept his eyes low so they could adjust to the sudden bright lights. His memories began to return to him.

Dad had called him to sit down and talk about something urgent that was bothering him. He said he hadn’t been truthful about everything and that Percy needed to know the truth. And that truth was that Dad was a god. He even made a trident appear out of nothing.

No wonder he slept in. It was the most realistic dream he ever had. He almost thought it actually happened.

“Sorry I scared you two.” He said without looking at Dad and Finn. “I just had a really interesting dream.”

“You didn’t dream anything Percy. You fainted.” Dad said. Percy quickly turned his head to look at Dad and there he saw it.

The trident.

He didn't dream anything.

Which meant that there was a god in his bedroom.

And that god was Poseidon.

Poseidon was in his house.

In fact, Poseidon owned the house.

Which meant Percy lived with Poseidon, an actual god.

And Poseidon was Don Jackson.

Don Jackson was Percy’s dad.

Which meant Percy was raised by a god.

Percy’s brain melted.

He eyed Dad’s trident once more, and gulped as words left his mouth without his consent. “Nice fork.”

Finn sensed Percy’s distress and he moved to sit next to him. Up to this point Percy had barely registered his brother’s presence. “You broke Perseus’s brain.” He said protectively. “Now put that thing away before he faints again.”

Dad snapped his fingers and the trident vanished. Percy sucked in a deep breath to stop himself from panicking.

Breathing was good, breathing was very good.

Normally Percy would appreciate Finn’s protective nature and thank him for getting Dad to comply, but right now he couldn’t. Finn reacted to Dad’s trident, like he had seen it a thousand times before. Instead of y’know freaking out because Dad was a god and just a second ago there was a giant glowing fork in the room!

That isn't normal Finn, Percy thought to himself.

Then he remembered what Dad mentioned earlier that Finn was also keeping the secret from Percy, which meant Finn knew what and who Dad really was.

“Y...you know...knew about Dad being a god this whole time didn’t you?” His voice shook from the sting of betrayal.

Finn hung his head, looking down in guilt. “Y...yes.”

“How long have you known?” He asked.

“My whole life, but that’s bec-“

Percy turned to face Dad, face red with anger. “He got to grow up with the truth but I didn’t?!” He had always believed Dad loved them both equally, but that must’ve been a lie because why would he tell Finn but not Percy?

Finn interjected before Dad could. “I got to grow up with the truth because I’m also a god.” As those words hit Percy’s eardrums, the room around him began to tilt and he started to sway. Finn’s gentle hands, warm like a human, steadied him.

“Oh no you don’t.” Finn said preventing him from a potential fall.

“Percy are you alright?” Dad asked tenderly.

“I...I need some water.” Percy croaked out. Water always had a strange affect on Percy. It made him strong and energetic, while also bringing him comfort. He never knew why until today. Must’ve been the result of living with a water deity!

Dad got up and left the room leaving the two of them alone. Neither of them said anything as Percy stared blankly at the wall breathing in and breathing out.

In and out.

In and out.

Finn was silent thank god? gods? Himself? Whatever Finn was silent but he rubbed circles into Percy’s back that helped to settle him.

Everything was fine.

They’d all be fine.

Percy’s family being gods didn’t change anything.

He was still him and they were still them.

And they’d get though this together.

Dad soon returned with a cup of water, before Percy snatched it and forked it down in one gulp. It was the mineral water that Dad often gave him, which was Percy’s favorite kind of water. It was different than any water you’d find elsewhere. It tasted salty and Dad said it was because of the minerals and electrolytes, but Percy was beginning to suspect it was sea water. And no he wasn’t going to think about what that meant if he could digest sea water, because there were bigger fish to fry, like Finn.

“Finn’s a really weird name for a god.” Great another weird comment escaped Percy’s throat. He couldn't be blamed or it though, his life was devolving into madness.

“It’s not my real name.” Not-Finn? said indignantly. “Father chose it for me, as my human alias.” Ah, that explained a lot. Dad wasn’t good at naming things given that he thought Don was a great pseudonym, when it was just a shortened version of his actual name. Why didn't he come up with something more creative? Like River, or Kai or literally anything else. Percy was in no position to judge though. He wasn't any better at names. After all he named a skate that they were rehabilitating Skateboard. Skateboard the skate. “I’m Triton.” Percy opened his mouth to speak up but Not-Finn silenced him, rushing to speak. “Ignore anything you made have heard about me from that infernal Disney movie. It’s not accurate in the slightest.”

Percy’s brain was still whirling, so all that came out of him was this, “but you don’t have a tail.” Triton was a merman and Not-Finn very much had two legs.

Not-Finn, sighed dramatically. “I do have a tail Perseus. But having one on land would beach me. So, I’ve been forced to grow human legs."

Percy turned to Dad and slowly asked “you have a tail?”

Dad smiled. “I do I was born with one like my uncle was.” Okay, cool, cool. If he wasn’t so freaked out, he’d probably ask to see their tails because Percy had always been fascinated by merpeople. But he was still having trouble believing Finn was Triton the mergod.

"Isn't Triton the god of calm waters?" Percy asked.

"Yes, I am." He narrowed his eyes in suspicion because Percy referred to him in the third person. "Why are you asking?"

"Because you get incensed quite easily."

"Excuse me?" Triton scoffed. "Are you saying I'll suited for my job?"

"Well, the ocean has been rough these past few days. You've clearly been slacking."

Triton gaped like the fish that he was. "I don't rule the oceans, our father does! And there's a very good reason as to why things are so hectic!"

"And what is that reason exactly? You two still haven't explained anything."

"We're trying to explain but you keep interrupting us." Triton said calmly.

Fair enough on that point, but Percy wasn't done questioning things yet. "I still don't believe you're a merman. They're supposed to be badass and shredded. You never take your shirt off not even to go swimming."

The sputtering noise Triton let out was not human. "Father doesn't either because we have gills. Why am I the only one being insulted here?"

"At this point Dad interjected, realizing Percy's teasing was going too far. "Percy please calm down. We understand that you're upset that we've lied to you, and you have every right to feel that way. But your brother is who he says he is." Not-Finn puffed his chest out haughtily as if to say, 'told you so.' "I promise I'll explain everything to you now." Dad said clearing his throat. "I know you've noticed the unusual weather patterns lately."

"No shit. I just mentioned it." Percy said. He knew he was being snappy, but he was a whirlwind of emotions right now. The people closest to him had been lying to him his entire life. He deserved to be short with them. And thankfully they didn't mind much. Though Not-Finn was still displeased with Percy's comments moments ago. Percy, however, couldn't be bothered to care.

But as he started thinking more about the weather, he realized it as all connected to Poseidon's domains. Floods, tsunamis, earthquakes, and storms. Even award-winning show horses were acting up lately.

Percy’s breathing started to speed up. Dad was a Big Three, not some minor deity. His power was only rivaled by that of his brothers. And he was using his divine abilities to wreak havoc around the globe.

Why? Percy had to ask himself. Dad was a good person. Sure he was temperamental, but he wasn’t violent. Or at least he had never shown his more volatile side around Percy.

“The reason for these,” Dad pauses to search for the right word, “phenomena’s is because of something that happened a few days ago on the 21st. You see while part of my conscious was here with you and Triton, another part of me was on Mt. Olympus celebrating the winter solstice with my,” his nose crinkled, as did Triton’s, “relatives. At one point my fellow Olympians, and myself left our throne room to join in the feasts and celebrations around the temples. And my younger brother foolishly,” Dad grimaced, “left his master bolt on his throne.”

That explained the lightning storms that kept signing everything. Percy should’ve known Uncle Zappy was involved.

“A thief snuck into the throne room, obtained the master bolt and took it with them. They made their escape before we returned.”

“Wait. Wait.” Percy interrupted. “The king of the gods left the most powerful weapon,” Dad coughed, “I mean one of the most powerful weapons alone, unattended.”

Dad sighed, exasperated and annoyed, but not with Percy. “Unfortunately.”

“Where were the security guards during all of this?”

Dad rubbed his temples as if he was feeling an oncoming migraine. “He doesn’t have security guards. My brother believes himself to be infallible.” Yeah, okay that checks out. Zappy is known for his pride in myths.

“Please tell me you have some sort of preventative measures to prevent your trident from being stolen.” Percy said.

Dad scoffed, almost offended. “I keep my trident with a part of me at all times.” Percy sighed in relief and Dad smiled at his sons. “And I’m far too possessive of anything that’s mine to ever let it go.” Percy and Not-Finn smiled back at him.

“Well at least one of you gods has a brain.” Percy said, as Dad chuckled.

“Triton has a brain and so does my oldest sister, but the rest of my relatives have a collective IQ of room temperature.” Dad replied, and this time Percy was the one laughing.

Not-Finn crossed his arms with a grimace. Great the stick was back in Not-Finn’s butt. This is why he doubted that he was Triton god of calm waters. “Father, Perseus now is not the time for jokes."

Dad sighed. “You’re right Triton.” Not-Finn beamed, again. “There is more that I need to explain. You see my younger brother having absolutely no evidence as to who could have possibly thwarted him decided to point his finger at me. He’s threatening war in six months if his master bolt isn’t returned.”

Dear god. Or should it be gods now? Percy knew all about Zappy. Dad mentioned him many times in the numerous stories he’s told, and the tales did not paint a pretty picture. From devouring his first wife Metis, to sentencing Prometheus, to allowing Hades to kidnap Persephone. Zeus had a plethora of crimes against him. At one point he even wanted to throw his son’s Apollo and Ares into Tartarus. And now he blamed Dad for his missing glowstick.

“We’re doing everything we can to find his bolt,” Dad said desperately, “sending parts of our conscious out to scourge for it. We’ve even sent out my subjects and servants, but so far nothing has turned up thus far.” He said in defeat. “We don’t even have the faintest idea as to who could have taken it.”

“Did uncle Zappy,” Dad snorted at the nickname, “consult the lying lyre and the sunny truther about whether or not you stole his bolt?” Percy asked.

Dad rolled his eyes. “You’d think that would be the first thing someone would do in a situation like this, but noooo.”

“What the fuck? Why?” Percy demanded.

“If I had to guess it’s because he doesn’t trust them anymore. The ‘sunny truther’ and I alongside my brother’s literal sister wife staged a rebellion a few millennia back and he’s still sore about it to this day.”

“That doesn’t explain why he doesn’t trust the lying lyre though.” Percy stated.

“No it doesn’t.” Dad admitted. “To tell you the truth I’m not sure why he doesn’t trust him.”

“It could have skipped Lord Uncle’s mind that he could consult a living lie detector. He doesn’t think properly when he’s in a fit of rage.” Not-Finn started. “And even if he did consult my cousin he wouldn’t have believed him anyways. When Lord Uncle is wronged and believes he is right it’s often impossible to convince him otherwise. He’ll deny all facts and evidence to fit his own narrative.”

“Okay.” Percy said slowly. “Remind me why is he king of the gods again?”

“He was better when we were younger, Percy. He was a good person and a brilliant man." Dad said wistfully. "He led us in the war against father, and we won with his help. We also felt indebted to him since he was the one who rescued us from father.” Dad trailed off, and Percy thought he was going to cry for a second, so he tried changing the subject.

“So you decided to tell me that you were gods because of the war?”

Dad’s eyes began to tear up again, and Percy bit his lip. “Yes, but there's more." There's more, how many times today would Percy hear this? "If war breaks out,” he chocked back a sob, “I’ll have to send you away for your safety. It’s why you needed to know.”

“Send me away?” Now it was time for Percy to tear up. “Why can’t I just come with you?” He looked at his brother whose eyes also glistened. “Or stay with Finn? He’s babysat me before.” Not-Finn was a fully grown adult, perfectly capable of taking care of him for months on end if he had to.

Not-Finn’s lip quivered. “I’m sorry Perseus, but I can’t watch you. I..I have to leave as well. Lord Uncle will send every nymph, ever monster, every god that sides with him after us. You won’t be safe by our side as we’ll likely be forced into our true forms. And as a mortal you can’t withstand that much power.”

Percy didn’t like that answer. He tried to bargain, to deny the reality. “Just...just split your essence or make duplicates of yourselves.”

Dad frowned, as he stroked Percy’s hair. “Percy we can’t split our essence in our true forms. It doesn’t work that way.”

“Well then make it work that way!” He shouted. “Your both gods. You can make it work.”

Dad frowned as he stroked Percy’s hair. Percy buried his head in Dad’s chest. “We’re supposed to be together!” His fingers curled around the fabric of Dad’s shirt, clinging to it like a lifeline. Not-Finn started rubbing circles on Percy’s back as the demigod sobbed. “You both promised we’d be together forever.”

Even though it wasn’t happening right now, the possibly of leaving all he’s ever known frightened Percy. He started to tear up again. He’d never been away from Dad or Not-Finn for more than a the length of a school day. One of them was always with him.

Always.

He never had babysitters, never went to daycare, never went to a sleepover.

He couldn’t survive being away from them.

He needed them.

“It won’t be forever.” Dad said as he moved Percy’s head so he could look his son in the eyes. “I promise you that, Percy. We’ll come back for you. This will end eventually.”

“It may not even come to pass.” Not-Finn added. “We might find the bolt soon.” His words didn’t make things better.

“We won’t send you away unless the deadline gets close. There’s still time. There’s still time. There's still time.” Dad repeated over and over like a mantra or a chant that a cult would use.

A string of questions flew out of his mouth. “How long? When will you be back for me? Where am I going? Who are you leaving me with?” Percy had never even left his town before, how could he go somewhere else?

“We won’t be leaving you with strangers.” Dad said.

What?

That made Percy pause, momentarily stopping his tears.

Who did Percy know that Dad and Finn could possibly leave him with?

“Your teacher Mr. Brunner, and your friend Grover will watch over you.” Percy had an inkling that Dad had seen Mr. Brunner before because he gave him a rather fishy look when they met. But there was no recognition in Mr. Brunner’s eyes.

“Did you know Mr. Brunner previously when you met him you gave him this fishy look,” Dad smiled ever so slightly as the use of the word ‘fishy’ while Finn rolled his eyes. Percy didn’t even intend to make the pun though. “But neither of you said anything so I just wrote it off as looking into something too much.”

Dad and Finn exchanged some looks.

“Your teacher is technically my brother.” Dad said.

What did he mean by technically his uncle?

Was Hades spying on Percy at school?

Percy was half tempted to pry himself out of Dad’s embrace and look for pain killers because he was going to get a migraine after this conversation.

“Chiron the immortal trainer of heroes, not one of father’s full on brothers.” Triton clarified.

“My teacher’s a centaur.” Percy said slowly. “What’s next is my history teacher a werewolf?” He asked half-serious. “He’s got a beard and a lot of body hair.”

Dad laughed a little in amusement and since he was still holding Percy, Percy felt the vibrations travel through his body. “No, Chiron’s your only non-human teacher. Believe me I check all of your teachers out for any irregularities.”

“Okay but why didn’t Chiron recognize you?”

“I’m a shape shifter Percy.” Right. They were merpeople after all. And Percy still didn’t know what their tails looked like. “Staying in the form that the godly world sees me in would be a recipe for disaster.”

“Right. So I’m going to be staying at Grover and Chiron’s house if worse comes to worse?”

“Percy you aren’t going to be staying with them at their apartment.” They’d be coming over here then? “You’ll be going with them to a camp that Chiron works at. It’s for children, demigods like you.” Dad said.

“D...demigod.” Percy repeated. He was a demigod. A mythical creature he’d only heard of before in stories. And all this time he was one. Percy started to feel weird in his own skin, knowing he had never been human. “Is Grover a demigod too?”

“No, he’s a satyr actually.” Don’t satyrs have fuzzy goat legs? Percy had seen Grover’s legs before and they weren’t fluffy. Could he shape shift like gods?
“He helps find demigod children to bring to Camp Half-Blood.”

“It’s named Camp Half-Blood? That sounds racist.” Dad and Finn cringed, in agreement with Percy’s statement.

“It definitely is.” Triton said. “Many of our kind don’t value your kinds existence, so they didn’t think twice about naming the camp.” Percy didn’t need Triton to tell him that. He knew gods only liked humans if they could sleep with them.

“Demigod does sound more pleasing to the ear doesn’t it?” Dad asked. Percy nodded. “Well regardless of the unfortunate name Camp will be the best place for you if I can’t find the bolt in the next few months.”

“Okay.” Percy didn’t want to go to some camp. But at least he’d be with his best friend and his teacher as opposed to strangers. And it was still possible for Dad to find the bolt in time so he’d try to stay optimistic.

“There’s more.” Dad said.

“There’s more?” Percy practically exclaimed. What more could there be? When would he get a break to stop and process everything?

“Theres more.” Dad said with half lidded eyes. “You can’t tell anyone that we’re gods or that we’re raising you. Ever. Not even to the people at camp. Not to Grover. And especially not to Chiron. Understood?” Percy didn’t respond out of confusion, so Dad switched to his ‘your in trouble tone’ “Understood?”

“Y...yes.” Percy said sinking into the bed a little. He didn’t like when Dad talked like that. “But why though?”

Dad and FinTri shared some uneasy glances at each other. It seemed like they were having an entire telepathic conversation and maybe they were since they were gods.

“I’m not allowed to have children anymore, my brother’s and I swore an oath not to.” Why? Did Amphitrite change her mind about her husband’s affairs? Percy knew that Hera hated affairs and bastards and so did Persephone. The existence of mint tea disturbed him now he knew the stories were real.

“Why though?”

“Our demigod children were becoming too powerful and my brother feared an uprising. That one of us would sire a child and have them take over Olympus. After all gods can’t directly steal from another god. It isn’t possible to do so. And I mean that quite literally. I couldn’t touch my brother’s master bolts unless he allowed me to.”

“So are you saying the true thief is a demigod?”

“Or a nymph or a satyr.” Finnton said. “It’s possible one of them took it. The year rounders were with us on Olympus during the solstice.”

“What the actual fuck? There’s a whole camp full of demigods who could’ve stolen the bolt and no one questioned them? Can one of you get me some Tylenol I think I need it." Dad stood up again and left the two brothers alone.

“No.” Trinn said. “Lord Uncle is convinced the demigod thief is in hiding working secretly for father.”

“So let me guess if I go to this camp place and people find out that in your kid. I’m going to be fucked? Is that right?”

“You’d be tasked with proving your innocence, by finding the bolt.” Finntri said. “In essence yes you’d be as you so eloquently put it fucked.”

Dad returned with the Tylenol and Percy wasted no time swallowing a tablet. “It gets even worse." Of course it does. Percy should make a swear jar for Dad and Finnton everytime something gets worse or there's more to tell Percy. He'd be rich by the end of the conversation. "The gods aren’t allowed to raise our children anymore. You can blame uncle Zappy for this.”

“Why hasn’t anyone rebelled?”

“We did rebel, and last time it wasn’t successful. Zappy was set free from his chains and he knocked us unconscious with the master bolt. I woke up in shackles. And then I spent the next year forced to pretend to be a mortal as I slaved away and built the walls of Troy. After that no god dared to rebel against Zappy everyone has been too afraid to do so.”

“Makes our lord uncle even more deranged to believe one of us would so brazenly oppose him.” Fishsticks said.

“You say no one would rebel yet you two clearly are by raising me.”

“In my defense you aren’t my child. And the law says nothing about a god raising another gods child. Besides I said no one would brazenly oppose him. We are doing this in secret not out in the open.” Fishlips replied.

“Okay, but how are you getting away with this then? Doesn’t uncle Zappy watch everything from the skies?”

“My brother rules the skies yes, but all beaches of the world fall under my territory, my domain. He can’t see what we’re doing here without being granted permission. This is the reason why we never leave the coast. Why we are always close to the beach, to the water. And while he can’t observe us, he could always send monsters here if he catches on. It’s why we always keep you near.”

Percy used to get jealous of kids who got to travel or even leave the town. But now he understand why that couldn’t happen.

“Understood.” Percy said. “I’ll never tell anyone about any of this.” And that was a promise. One he could never break. “Is there anything else I should know?”

Dad paused for a second before saying. “No, there’s still more that I think you should know.”

Percy breathed in deeply preparing himself for whatever curveball would get thrown at him next.

Dad fidgeted as he spoke. “This one directly relates to you, I’ve...um...You have powers. You’ve always had them even as a baby. But I’ve been preventing you from using them until you were ready.”

“What do you mean I have powers? I mean water makes feel good and I eat seaweed. But what? And why have you kept all of this from me? Why didn’t you tell me the truth years ago? About all of this.”

Instead of answering Dad looked at Triton. “Why don’t you go take a walk along the beach for a few minutes? I’ll call you back soon.” Triton doesn’t move for a few seconds, instead he just looks at Dad lingering on his eyes before he slowly got up to do what he was asked.

Once Triton left Dad bit his lip. “I wanted you to have the childhood that your bother and I didn’t have.”

Oh, Percy felt his heart break.

“I got swallowed as a baby. I spent a lot of my childhood trapped and starved in a stomach and when I was freed, I didn’t get to enjoy being a kid I had to fight a war to maintain my freedom. And afterwards I became king, so I never got to appreciate my ‘youth’.” Percy didn't think about them being babies when they were swallowed. He thought they'd age quickly like Apollo, Artemis and Hermes. Not that they'd be like Eros who spent years as a child until Anteros was born.

“And my parents didn’t care for me. Father would’ve killed me if I could be turned mortal. And mother she chose to have me.” Dad started getting chocked up. “She chose to have me knowing exactly what would happen to me when I was born. And only after I was born, only after she let five children get devoured did she decide to save the last one. She could’ve fought against father like he did with grandfather but she chose not to.”

He didn’t think much of what Dad was like as a kid, because he never talked about his childhood. Grandpa Kevin was only mentioned a few times in passing and that he was a criminal in Federal Prison. Percy never stopped to think that Dad was a victim of child abuse. He should’ve suspected it from the way he refused to talk about his family. But Percy was too naive to realize it. And he felt guilty for all of the times he tried to get Dad to open up more. The only time Dad mentioned his mom was when he talked about her in the myths. Percy had always thought of Rhea as a hero for helping save her children, but he couldn’t blame Dad for feeling like Rhea didn’t do enough to protect him.

“Your brother’s childhood was better, but still a far cry from ideal. He was raised to be a prince and came with certain ‘responsibilities.’ From the day he was born water deities kept trying to set up their daughters to be his future mate. They’d come flattering me and giving me lavish gifts to try to bribe me into picking their daughter. And that didn’t stop when he became a child. He couldn’t play with anyone without considering the political ramifications of such actions.”

Percy always thought growing up as a royal would’ve been awesome. But it seemed like Triton had too many expectations and duties thrust upon him at a young age. Plus the whole dignitaries trying to set him up with their kids when he was a baby is beyond creepy. Even if it was thousands of years ago in a different culture. But also Triton not being able to play with other kids explained why he’s so uptight about things. He never got to play.

But Dad didn’t get to play as a kid and he could actually unwind. Ugh Percy didn’t need to go down a rabbit hole about his family’s upbringing and how that affected them right now. He already had a headache about everything.

“My kind don’t have happy childhoods by any means. It’s why I kept so much from you for so long, because I wanted you have to be happy and safe.” He looked into Percy’s eyes. “I didn’t want you involved in this my family, or with the possible war. But fate can only be avoided for so long before it starts rearing its ugly face. I’m sorry I couldn’t keep you innocent for longer.” Even if the lies still hurt Dad and Finn did what they thought was best for Percy. He understood that now.

“Dad it’s not your fault your family is fucking crazy. You tried to protect me from everything. Even if I end up having to go to camp it’s not your fault. It’s Zappy’s fault and whoever stole his electric glowstick’s fault. And you and Finn mentioned it won’t be forever. What belongs to the sea always returns to the sea. You told me that when we watched those leatherbacks hatch a few years ago.” Percy had hoped those words would’ve brought him some peace, but Dad looked like he needed to get something else off of his chest.

“There’s something else isn’t there? Another reason you didn’t tell me that you were a god.”

“You know me too well I’m afraid.” Dad said with a half-hearted smile. “But to tell you the truth there was some selfish reason as to why I didn’t tell you the truth.” His voice became hoarse from how emotional he was starting to get. “I was worried how you’d react to me being a god.” Percy looked into his eyes for the first time in a while and he noticed they were puffy and red from all the tears he’d shed. “I want to be your dad, Percy. I love being your dad and that's all I ever want to be to you. I didn't know if you'd fear me or worship me. And I didn’t want to lose you or your love.”

Percy felt his heart break again.

“You’re not going to lose that Dad, or me.” Percy said before hugging him. “You’ll always be my dad, just my dad. Not some god or monster.” He said burying his face in the crook of Dad’s neck. Dad squeezed him back stroking his hair with a warm smile.

“Thank you for saying that, Percy.” They sat still for several minutes as Percy soaked in his Dad’s affection. It was calming and peaceful and it allowed him some temporary reprieve from everything that transpired thus far.

“Do...do people usually react badly to you?” He had to ask, because Dad sounded so broken when confessed that to Percy.

He answered without answering directly. “I'm seen as a force of nature." he said solemnly. "Your mother was unlike anyone I had ever met. She was the first person to see me as someone other than a god, a monster, or a king.”

“What about my brother?”

“Your brother is my oldest child. He was raised to be a prince and to follow the orders of his king. I didn’t know much about love back then Percy. I wasn’t capable of raising him properly. Even now it’s still hard for him to switch back and forth between formal settings and private ones.”

“Oh.” Percy said sadly. “Is that why he’s here then?”

“I don’t follow.”

“Because your his king.”

“I didn’t order your brother to be here. He chose to be here, because he wants to be here and because he loves you. Just like I do." Percy smiled, but it quickly faded as an unpleasant thought entered into his mind.

“Did he volunteer to come because I remind him of...” He didn’t want to say Pallas’s name aloud in case his brother overheard them someone.

“I don't think that's why he chose to help. Though, in some ways you remind him of her.” Percy frowned. He didn’t want his brother to feel sad when he saw him. “But it’s not such a bad thing as you might think. Your presence in his life brings him hope, because he knows he can love again.” Percy smiled. “You make him so happy Percy. So happy, the likes of which I haven’t seen since his daughter was alive.”

Now it was Percy’s turn to say. “Thanks for telling me that. I couldn’t stand it if I brought TriFinn or what’s his face. Sorry I don’t know what to call him now any pain.”

“You’re welcome. And I don’t think he’d mind too much if you kept calling him Finn. He’s gotten used to the name now.” Then he laughed. “But TriFinn? Like the tritip of a cow?”

“I’ve had a long day okay.” Percy said.

“I’m not making fun of you Percy. I just find it amusing the things your brain comes up with. Like the adorable name you gave to our rescue Skate, Skateboard.” Percy’s face scrunched up like he had eaten a lemon. “How adorable.” He said before ruffling Percy’s hair much to his dismay.

He narrowed his eyes and defiantly declared. "I'm not adorable Dad. I'm twelve." Dad couldn't go around talking like this, what if a girl overheard. Not that a girl could overhear them in the safety of their home, but Percy still felt exposed.

"You know you make yourself even more adorable when you pout and try to deny facts."

He needed to stop Dad before he started pulling out his baby pictures and cooing over him. “Should we bring Finn back in?" He said hoping to distract Dad. "He probably wants to be included in whatever else we’re going to talk about."

“We should bring him back. He was upset that I revealed my identity to you without him being there. If I keep him out of the loop for too long, he'll worry that I screwed things up again." Instead of getting up to go feet Finn Dad just sat there earning some odd looks from Percy. “Come hither Triton.” Dad said as he snapped his fingers.

A moment later Triton materialized in the room. And Percy jumped.

“You couldn’t just call me like a normal person?” Triton asked exasperated by Dad’s shenanigans.

“Where would be the fun in that.” Dad replied.

“There wouldn’t be any fun that’s the point.” Triton remarked.

Dad sighed. "Very well then Triton. We should go back to the subject of your powers Percy. I felt it was best to keep them from you until you were old enough to use them." He glanced at Triton, giving him a devilish grin. “A certain someone here once got stuck as a seal pup for a whole week when he tried to learn metamorphosis."

Triton’s soul left his body and descended into the Underworld.

“Did you just call me back here to embarrass me?”

“No, I’m just using you as an example to help your brother understand that power control is difficult.” Triton huffed. “I offered to change your brother back Percy but he was as stubborn.”

“I wanted to prove that I was capable of metamorphosizing on my own!” Triton declared.

Dad let out a deep chuckle. “Well you certainly didn’t prove that, but you did prove that you were adorable.” Percy decided to not rescue his brother. Dad had just embarrassed him a minute earlier, now it was Finn’s turn. “I wish cameras existed back then because you were the cutest seal pup to ever exist.”

Triton groaned, and narrowed his eyes as he hissed out, “I’m not adorable.”

“Oh? I see someone’s being stubborn again.” Dad said.

“I’m not being stubborn.” Triton said barring his teeth.

“Really? Because it seems like you are.” Dad said ‘innocently.’

Triton huffed, crossing his arms. He was pouting which made Percy snort. Triton shot him a glare, so Percy decided to laugh even louder.

“I’m not debating this with you anymore father.” Triton said.

“But you are though. You’re literally debating with me right now.” Dad said.

Triton let out a long-suffering sigh. “There’s no winning with you is there?”

“There isn’t.” Dad said with a cheeky grin. “You’re adorable and I’ll never agree otherwise.”

Triton pinched the bridge of his nose, grabbed a Tylenol tablet, and took a swig of Percy’s water. “For my sanity, agree to disagree.” Thankfully Dad don’t say anything else.

Did Dad just tell this story to embarrass The Little Mermaid or was this because Percy could also shape shift and he wanted to warn him about getting stuck as an octopus. “So can I shape shift like Finn can?” Percy asked. He wanted to go to the pier and turn into a shark and chase people out of the water, only to turn back into a human when people started to look for him.

“Unfortunately, you cannot. Shape shifting is a power only the gods possess.” Dad said.

“Damn.” Percy said. He wanted to leap into the air like dolphins did. “Well then what can I do?”

“Well for starters, you can control water.” Control water? Like Katara? Okay this demigod thing was starting to sound pretty cool, minus the whole missing matter bolt fiasco, and the fact that Percy wasn’t supposed to exist.

“Control water?” Percy eyed the glass of water. “I can move that?” Dad nodded.

Percy scooted closer to the cup, squinting his eyes and putting his fingers to his temples. Dad and Triton laughed, before Dad took his hands and moved them off of his face. “You don’t need to do that, Percy. It’s like moving a muscle, you’ll feel a strange tug in your gut. When you feel that use your mind to guide the water to do what you want it to. And don’t do any fancy moves like Katara does. This isn’t Avatar.”

“Right.” Percy said sheepishly. He concentrated and felt a pull in his gut and then he focused hard on moving the water. The cup tipped over and spilled onto everyone. Percy cringed. “Sorry. I didn’t mean for that to y’know.” he gestured at the cup that he inadvertently knocked over.

“Don’t apologize Perseus. We happen to like water you know.”

“And don’t beat yourself up over it either. It was your first time using your powers. You aren’t going to get it right on your first try. Roman wasn’t built in a day you know. We have time, we’ll work on controlling water later. For now, do you wanna talk to Skateboard?”

“Wait, I can talk to animals?” Percy asked.

“Marine creatures and equines, only. Just the animals that fall under my domain.” Cool. Very, very cool. “Skateboard’s been wanting to talk to you for a long time now. But we ordered him to not talk to you until you were ready.”

“Well, I’m ready, I’ve always wanted to talk to animals. Wait do I have to learn a special language to talk to him?”

“Finnish.” Dad said. “Because he’s you know a fish.” Percy and Triton stared at him and when they didn’t laugh, he sighed in defeat, “you two are no fun. But no, you don’t need to learn a special language, they’ll all understand English.”

“Alright let’s go. It’ll be good to get my mind off of all this demigod craziness.” Percy said.

The three them made their way over to their nearby rehabilitation center that Poseidon owned. Previously they had other sea animals here, but right now they only had Skateboard.

Percy nervously approached Skateboard who was currently swimming circles in his touch pool. When he saw the three of them walk in, he stopped and swam to the edge of the pool. Dad knelt down to stroke his back. “My son Percy wants to talk to you.” Skateboard looked back and forth between Dad and Percy. “Go on.” He enraged the Skate. “You can talk to him now.”

“Greetings prince Perseus.” Skateboard said directly to his mind. “It’s great to finally be permitted to truly make your acquittance.” Well, this was something. Skateboard talked very formally. He also had a ridiculous notion in his head that Percy was a prince. Percy needed to clear that up.

“Oh, I’m not a prince.” Percy said awkwardly.

“Don’t be ridiculous Perseus, of course you are. Father has decreed that you are one.” Percy looked over at Dad.

“Wait? Really? I’m a prince.”

“Of course you are. Why would you think otherwise.” Dad said.

“Well, I guess I only thought gods could be royalty or something.” He was a demigod bastard yet Dad, Triton and even Skateboard saw him as a prince.

“That’s ridiculous you’re my son you wouldn’t be anything other than a prince.”

“Don’t worry though you don’t need to be coronated or anything. You don’t need to do anything leadership wise either since you are just a child.” Triton said.

“Right. Thanks, Dad.” Percy said as he blushed. He then turned his attention back to Skateboard. “Do you like your habitat?” It was an important question. Percy couldn’t allow an animal to be dissatisfied with their environment especially because Skateboard was in long term care.

“Oh, it’s magnificent. You really have outdone yourself with the decorations my prince.” Skateboard said.

“Okay, and what about your name? Do you like it?”

“Of course I do. Well after Lord Poseidon explained what my name meant.”

“He didn’t know what a Skateboard was since he was a Skate. He thought you were calling him a boring skate.” Dad said.

“Oh, sorry about that.”

“Don’t apologize prince Perseus. I like learning about human things.” Percy still felt awkward, until Skateboard spoke again. “Would you like to stroke my back?”

“You don’t mind?”

“Of course not. I love the attention that you Lord Poseidon, and Prince Triton have been giving me.” With that Percy bent down to pet Skateboard's back. Skateboard felt like smooth velvet, and he began to purr.

"This is really nice." Percy said to his family. "I'm glad you two took me here."

"We could tell you needed it." Triton said. He was right. As Percy continued to play with Skateboard, he felt all his worries slipping away and he somehow knew everything would be fine.