Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

As far as stepparents went, Percy was fairly lucky these days.

Paul was excellent, if not a little dorky in the best way possible. They had a pretty solid relationship. And Amphitrite didn't try to kill him on a daily basis, so he considered that a win. Percy often looked at Thalia and Hera and went 'yikes' before remembering Persephone once turned Nico into a flower and went 'double-yikes' and threw Amphitrite an offering as a thank you.

In fact, it had been his mother who had gently got him into the habit of regularly worshiping Amphitrite.

"Honor your father, of course, but the woman who married him deserves respect in equal measure," she had told him one night as they split a massive bag of Skittles on the couch. "She has been kind to us so far."

"She hasn't done anything," Percy told her, confused.

"Exactly."

And Percy grew up to appreciate that sentiment so ridiculously much. It led to him giving his stepmother more offerings than any other god, with the exception of Hestia, of course.

Which was why this was super annoying.

"You look surprised to see me, Perseus."

Like, really, annoying.

Amphitrite outside the sea was still a vision of beauty with black hair and dark eyes. She was in a floor-length white dress that shimmered in the wind as she sat at Poseidon's table at Camp Half-Blood, ignoring the dozens of campers who couldn't seem to see her but clearly felt her power all the same with curious glances around them. Amphitrite licked her fingers clean of some pudding and looked up at him.

"Come. Sit. I have brought you a gift."

Gods, not a gift. Percy took a deep breath and sat down. "Thank you," he began. "But I don't…need…" He trailed off when Amphitrite slid a huge golden chain with a bedazzled P pendant hanging off. Percy blinked three times, trying to process what the hell he was even looking at. "Wow," he finally said. "I… I'm really not sure I can pull that off, my lady."

Amphitrite frowned. "Is this not the mortal style?" she asked, then snapped her fingers. "How is this?" Percy looked down to see the golden chain had turned into a pearl necklace with a diamond in the center.

"I really only wear my camp necklace," he admitted. Amphitrite narrowed her eyes. "But I really appreciate- how did you do that?" he cut himself off when she snapped her fingers again. This time, the necklace shifted into a braided leather cord, with his camp beads slipping off of their usual place from his neck onto the cord. Like the other two necklaces she had shown him, a pendant sat at the end. This one was a tiny metal compass that was more inconspicuous. Percy studied the gift, noting the tiny metal separators between each bead.

"It must be a necklace, or the gift won't work," she said flatly and gestured to Percy's new and improved camp necklace. "Does this meet your approval?"

…okay. Percy gave the gift a bewildered look.

"Um, it's… beautiful," he began. Amphitrite gave a pleased nod. "But what is it exactly? I mean, what is it doing?" he asked warily.

Amphitrite twirled a loose curl around her finger. "It disguises your scent."

Wait. Percy took a few seconds to process that - shock turning into outrage a moment later.

"We have things that can do that?" he whispered, choking on the words. This whole time, the gods had something that could just… you know. Keep monsters from hunting them?

"Not quite," Amphitrite said, possibly reading his expression. "This is a one-of-a-kind. Infused with some of the most powerful magic of the mist. It can even hide you from gods… for a time," she said, eyes flickering over Percy purposely.

Uh-huh.

"And… you have this rare, magical item?" he asked suspiciously. "That you want to give to me?"

It seemed far too good to be true. Amphitrite chuckled.

"My husband has given me many ostentatious gifts over the years to try and keep me happy while committing his misdeeds. I'm not entirely sure what he thought I might do with this one. Perhaps he thought I may one day be fond enough of one of his demigod children to hand it over." Percy raised his eyebrows. "That child is not you," she clarified.

"Of course not."

"I offer it as payment," Amphitrite said. "My understanding is you wish to live a life without the frills and fame of a hero." Percy shrugged. Mostly he wanted to not die every other week and be left alone by gods crying to him once a month, but sure. "Well, if you complete the task I ask, you may keep the necklace."

….bruh.

"A quest," he sighed, running a hand over his face. "I… thank you for thinking of me, my lady, but-"

"Not quite a quest," Amphitrite interrupted. "As I said, a task." She tapped the necklace in his hand. "And the reward for such a task would be safety and invisibility. If you are inclined to think of it as a quest, it would be your last if you so choose it."

Well, that was at least enticing. Percy glanced at the necklace. He wasn't sure what to make of this. He looked around their table, noting that none of the campers acknowledged Amphitrite's presence. A few waved to him, but the mist must have concealed her. The idea made him a little nervous… what could she possibly want from him?

"Say I accept," he said slowly. "What would this task entail?"

Amphitrite's lips quirked up in victory. "I believe my husband is courting another mortal. I need to know who."

"What?" Percy asked. "Your husband? As in my father?" Amphitrite gave him a look. "You want me to ask my dad if he's seeing someone?"

Amphitrite held up a finger. "No. I need you to watch him and tell me which mortal without him knowing."

Oh, so this was a joke. A batshit crazy joke. Percy should have known. Chuckling, he set the necklace down. "Okay," he said, trying to keep his voice somewhat polite. "So a god is supposed to not notice me following him around? And if he catches me, he'd totally not be pissed, right?"

"An attitude is unnecessary when addressing me, child." Whatever. An attitude was warranted when your request came from Funkytown. "I have chosen you because, in the event you are caught, he would not harm you. You are his only demigod and a prized child; despite my protests, you lack…" Amphitrite looked him up and down. "A certain restraint."

"He says I get that from him."

"Agreed," Amphitrite muttered. "At any rate, that is why I am giving you the necklace now. It would shield you from him for short periods of time."

"Right…" Percy agreed. "And you think I would spy on my father for you?" he asked.

"I didn't realize you were so fond of him."

"With all due respect, my lady, I know him a tad better than I know you." Amphitrite laughed. "Which I know still isn't very well," he sighed. "But he's still my dad. I don't want to do something so…" He wrinkled his nose. "I don't know. Sneaky? And legally, the ban on Big Three kids is lifted. He can court whoever."

Amphitrite raised her eyebrows. "In New York, adultery has been considered an illegal act since 1907."

Percy decided not to touch on that argument anymore. While he would condemn cheating to his very bones, he was very aware he was not born of a rock-solid, nuclear-family, legally-bound marriage. "How would I even know if he's in the mortal world?" he asked instead. "Or where he even is?"

Amphitrite waved the question away, the smell of sea salt wafting off her. "He is your father. You can always find him."

Uh-huh. Sure. Percy was unable to track the man down for twelve years. If demigods were supposed to have a parent-honing ability, he did not inherit it.

Perhaps sensing this, Amphitrite sighed. "The sea always returns to the sea. You can always summon yourself to him."

"How is that?"

"Go into the water and will yourself there."

…hm. So, like shadow travel, but with the only destination being Poseidon? Sounded like dud power. But sure, maybe it could come in useful. In fact, would have totally come in useful during previous years. Percy wasn't exactly the type of person to tell on people to his dad, but there was a certain appeal to the idea of Percy just randomly popping up in front of Poseidon and saying Hera was being obnoxious again.

Like, why the hell did nobody bother to tell him this before? Did Poseidon not think to give Percy an emergency line in case he was literally dying? What was that about?

"Would that have worked in Tartarus?" Percy suddenly asked.

Amphitrite paused. She looked genuinely surprised. "I… am not sure," she admitted. "There is no sea in Tartarus, so it is unlikely. Then again, I hear you are able to manipulate even beyond your father's domain from time to time, so, in theory, maybe."

Oh, fuck that.

"I'll do it," he said flatly.

Amphitrite blinked. "I- you will? Are you not going to ask me why?"

"You're worried your husband is cheating on you. I'm good."

"Well, yes, but…" Amphitrite looked like she might say more but thought better of it. "Do you have any other questions?"

Percy considered. "If he is seeing another mortal, which I actually kind of doubt, then what would you do to them?" he asked warily. "I'm not going to find some random person for you to murder."

"I'm not Hera," Amphitrite reminded him. "I have no intention of harming anyone."

"Then what do you plan to do?"

Amphitrite put her chin in her hand. "Warn them. Ensure they know what they are getting into. What life they would lead if a demigod comes from their union."

Oh. Percy pursed his lips. He knew that not all demigods were fortunate enough to have well-equipped mortal parents like his mother. She knew how to protect him, what to watch out for, where to take him- all of the important stuff.

Percy had assumed Poseidon would inform any mortal love interest that information…but maybe it was just because he was a prophecy kid. Or maybe it was because his mother was clear-sighted. Maybe Poseidon didn't tell his mother until after it was too late.

After all, Poseidon hadn't mentioned this whole 'will yourself to your father' thing.

"Fine," Percy relented. "But you need to swear on the River Styx you won't hurt anyone."

Amphitrite raised an eyebrow. "Do I?" she asked, and Percy crossed his arms over his chest. He watched as she took him in, lips pursed before finally, she lifted her hands in feigned surrender. "Very well, child. I swear on the River Styx I will not harm any mortal your father may be having an illicit affair with."

Thunder boomed overhead.

Percy nodded. "Thank you," he said and gave a wary sigh. "Though I'm not honestly sure how much good it does." Amphitrite tilted her head. "I'm still here despite my dad's oath on the River Styx," he said.

"It's a misconception that the River Styx is less harsh on powerful gods," Amphitrite mused. "It is simply the fact they are immortal. Styx has time to find the right punishment. Your father will face the consequences of your birth… as well Zeus for his children." Amphitrite shrugged. "It just might be in a hundred years from now."

"Oh," Percy frowned. "That's… reassuring?"

"A myth they don't tell is that Athena once broke an oath on the River Styx long ago," Amphitrite said, eyes brightening ever so slightly. Percy frowned at that. Despite all of Athena's questionable acts over the years, he wasn't sure she was someone who would break a serious oath. "Years later, she was fighting with her friend, Pallas, and ended up killing her when Zeus distracted Pallas during the fight. Athena was distraught. Never the same. That is the price the Styx took for her breaking her oath."

Respectfully, womp womp to Athena. Percy had all the empathy in the world for someone accidentally hurting someone they loved, but he also had no empathy for anyone who mistreated his girlfriend soooo… RIP to Pallas or whatever.

And womp womp to Poseidon, too. Whatever the River Styx had in store for him was probably not as annoying as Percy finding out his dad could have helped him a million times more than he had.

Taking a long breath, he wrinkled his nose, staring at the necklace between him and Amphitrite. The goddess silently watched him with her fingers interlaced under her chin.

"Okay, I'm in," he said, slipping the necklace over his head. "So what happens…" He looked at the empty space in front of him. "Now," he finished dryly. No answer. Very well, then. Rolling his eyes, he went back to his food with a slight shake of his head. Typical.

At any rate, he hoped Amphitrite wasn't requesting he keep their little private investigation a secret because the next thing Percy did was tell Grover and Annabeth immediately.

"You're going to spy on your dad?" Grover asked worriedly, gnawing on a Coke can. "Percy, I appreciate how highly his wife must think of you, but that still sounds… risky."

"Did you miss the part where I apparently have a power to zoop over to my father?" Percy asked, holding out his hands. "Why did he keep that from me? We went to Tartarus," he added, in case anyone had forgotten about that.

Annabeth pursed her lips, fingers tapping against her knee. "I really don't think it would have done much there," she murmured.

Percy knew that. He did. It wouldn't have changed anything, but…

"It's a situational thing," he explained. "Like, what if Tartarus opened in the ocean? And we were on the edge about to fall in, but I managed to pull us to where Poseidon was?"

"But you weren't," Grover frowned.

Percy pointed a finger at him. "But we could have been. It's the fact he didn't bother to tell me. Maybe there wasn't a situation where I could have used it, but if there had been, I wouldn't have even known."

"Gods are there to test us. Not nurture us," Annabeth said weakly.

Percy gave her a look. "And parents?" he asked. Annabeth gave him a sad smile.

Well, whatever. His expectations of his father were low anyway.

"And so your revenge is sneaking around to see if he's wooing some mortal?" Grover said, looking desperately between Annabeth and Percy. "I'm not the only one who thinks this is a bad idea, right? Daughter of Wisdom? Help?" he said, nudging Annabeth's leg.

"Do you really think Amphitrite just wants you to tell her if he's dating some mortal?"

Grover brayed. "Annabeth!"

"I don't know," Percy shrugged. "That's what she said. Why else would she want me to do this?"

Grover groaned and fell back into the grass. "I'm the Lord of the Wild," he said to nobody in particular. "My girlfriend is a woodland nymph. My best friend is the savior of Olympus. My other best friend is Athena's favorite daughter. My other best friend is the lieutenant of the Artemis' hunt. But no, don't listen to me. Why listen to me?"

Percy grimaced. "Ew, you're actually friends with Thalia?"

Annabeth threw a fistful of dirt at him. Naturally, this meant he was going to throw dirt back at her while grabbing Grover to use him as a screeching shield. That was until Grover, who really put up with so much from them, decided to team up with Annabeth and tackle him to the ground.

As they laughed, the thought of Amphitrite's request flew far from his mind.

After all, what could really go wrong?

Chapter Text

A note appeared in Percy's cabin a week later. All it said was, Come to the ocean - A, in loopy handwriting that hurt his eyes. Percy touched the necklace at his throat. Ever the scholar, Annabeth had snuck out with him to try and test the necklace’s powers. It took some walking around, but eventually, some hellhounds came by,. While they very much were interested in his girlfriend, none seemed to even notice Percy.

Incredible. The thing actually worked.

He already planned to figure out a system to rotate it among his friends. He wasn’t sure that was what Amphitrite would want him to do, but also, like, too bad so sad. Annabeth could use it when she was taking finals at Berkley, and Piper would find it handy when visiting her dad and Leo-

You get the point.

Alas, despite not caring about Amphitrite's opinion on how he used the necklace, Percy wanted to make sure he held up his end of the deal. So when the note came, he marched straight to the water and waited.

“...quick reminder,” he said to the waves. “I don’t actually know how to use this power.”

Water splashed at his ankles. Sighing, he went farther in. And farther. He sat there, tapping his fingers against his crossed arms as he scowled at the ocean. This was so stupid. He tried imagining his father. He imagined yelling at him. He imagined-

Did this technically mean that Percy could just… teleport to different parts of the sea? If he was in the Atlantic Ocean, could he bop off to the Pacific Ocean? Or, potentially, could he be in the middle of a lake and then whisk himself to an ocean? Was this a thing?

If so, that would have been, ahem, such a nice power to know about.

And, look, Percy was aware that Poseidon had taught him exactly nada about how to use his powers, so he shouldn't be bitter about him not teaching him this one.

But you know what? The fact Poseidon taught him nothing sucked. Chiron tried his best, of course, but it wasn’t like there was another Poseidon kid he could compare notes with. Chiron was just remembering how all the other Poseidon kids used their powers however long ago. Could Poseidon not drop by and give him some pointers? Why did he have to figure out so much of this shit himself? This was such bullshit. Such utter, complete-

“Kid, are you okay?”

Percy turned. At some point during his little internal meltdown, the ocean had…shifted. No longer was he at Camp Half-Blood, but instead on a new beach entirely, standing next to a concerned fisherman who was knee-high in the water.

“Father issues,” Percy informed him solemnly, looking around to figure out where he was.

The fisherman gave a grunt. “I know the feeling, kid. It’s why I took up fishing. The sea can’t abandon you like a father can. It is always waiting.”

Ha. As if.

“People drown in the ocean,” Percy said flatly. “The ocean sinks ships. Have you seen Frozen? My little sister and I have. The ocean totally killed Elsa and Anna’s parents.” The fisherman blinked. “We don’t even know what’s in most of the ocean. Like, only five percent of it has been explored. Five percent. That’s messed up. Like, all the water pressure and darkness and stuff that keeps us from seeing what’s down there? The ocean is hiding something for sure.” Percy narrowed his eyes. “The ocean really could be having an affair.” The fisherman stared at him blankly. “Thank you for putting this in perspective for me,” he said and marched out of the waves, water sloshing around him.

How exactly did this necklace thing work anyway? That mortal saw him just fine, but a god was supposed to not notice his own son? Well. Okay, the god in question didn’t notice his son on a daily basis, so whatever. Maybe the necklace didn’t even have special powers.

Shaking his head, he looked around, eyes trailing over the beach in an attempt to find one traitorous son of a Kronos slutting it up. Nobody stuck out. Maybe the guy in Spongebob speedos? Gods help him, if so.

“Well?” he asked, hoping Amphitrite could hear him. “Now what? Where even am I?”

A car honked in the distance.

“LET’S GO, MIAMI!” somebody screamed as the purr of an engine echoed in the background along with a blast of music.

Dear gods. He was in Florida.

“I regret everything about this,” Percy muttered, climbing over the sand mounds. At the very least, he would get himself some ice cream and sunscreen if he was going to deal with this tomfoolery. Already, he felt the sun beating down on the back of his neck. This seemed like a place where Apollo would thrive. The sand burned his ankles, slipping into his sneakers. Percy wondered idly if he could make sand disappear like he could water.

He could ask his dad - oh, wait. His dad didn’t tell him about potential powers Percy may or may not have.

And honestly, Percy knew he was being a little petty about this whole thing. He wasn’t typically the type to dwell on others’ stupidity. He had a girlfriend who excelled at that sort of thing, so he left it more to her. But this… Percy just couldn’t get over this.

Because, yeah, his dad was pretty great compared to, say, Zeus. But Percy had still forgiven a lot. And it was… frustrating. Not this one thing, but the idea that his father was immortal would potentially keep disappointing Percy until he died.

And it wasn’t like Percy could cut him off. There was no running from this family. No boundaries. Percy had put his foot down at the end of the Titan War, but it still wasn’t enough to get godly entities to shape up in a way that truly mattered. Perhaps Apollo was the only one who went through any real change, because he had been turned into a mortal.

It hadn’t even been his first time turning mortal. Like, seriously?

“Bad day, hun?” a woman asked. Percy looked up, realizing he was scowling at buckets of assorted ice cream. He had been fuming so much he hadn’t even noticed walking in. “Here. It’s on the house,” she said, sliding a scoop of mint chocolate chip over the counter.

Oh. Percy opened his mouth to thank her, but the woman had already gone, whisking herself to the next customer. From somewhere further down the line, the smell of sea salt filled the room.

“Oyster flavored ice cream?” someone asked as Percy grabbed a plastic spoon. “That’s not a real thing!”

“You think I would lie about this?” a familiar voice asked. Percy froze - hardly able to believe it as he turned his head to see his father behind him in line, looking somewhat amused by a woman wrinkling her nose at some of the savory ice cream options. “See?” Poseidon asked, pointing to one. A triumphant gleam was in his eyes, fixing the woman with a teasing smile.

“...I am not trying that,” she said flatly.

“Coward.”

“You order it then,” the woman said, crossing her arms over her chest in indignant offense.

Poseidon gave her a considering look before clicking his tongue. “Two coconuts, please.”

“I thought so,” the woman said victoriously. Poseidon rolled his eyes. “Now, are you going to tell me what’s going on, Dylan?” she asked because, of course, Poseidon was calling himself Dylan. Percy cleared his throat, curious to see if his father would see him or perhaps just a random mortal in his place.

Neither Poseidon nor the woman reacted. The ice cream worker didn’t seem to notice him anymore, either. Strange. Percy got a little closer.

“Dad?” he tried, just to be sure this thing worked.

Nothing.

“I’m just trying to do something nice,” Poseidon said, handing the Mystery Woman her ice cream. “How’s Alana?”

The woman sighed, taking her ice cream and sitting at one of the tables. Percy followed, fascinated with the lack of interest from either of them. For the sake of experimentation, he waved his hand in front of her face. Still nothing. Huh. He grabbed one of the empty chairs and pulled it to the table.

“Who’s Alana?” he asked as if he was part of the conversation.

“She’s six,” the woman said with a shrug. “You said you had a son, right? You know how it is.”

….interesting. Percy looked at his father, pointedly folding his fingers under his chin. Poseidon didn’t seem like he could see him, but on the off-chance, this was all a performance, Percy would do his best to be passive-aggressive.

“Ah,” his father said. “Well, I have a few. Though with Perseus, I must admit, I wasn’t around much when he was six,” he said, giving a wry smile. “I’m not around much now.”

“Really?” the woman asked. “You talk about him so often. I assumed he lived with you.”

“Political factors caused some custody issues,” Poseidon said. Percy rolled his eyes. “Besides, I doubt I’m his favorite person. His mother is quite the hero to behold. I fear I must pale miserably in comparison.”

Yep. That was true. At least he was self-aware.

“I’m sure you did your best,” the woman said. Percy snorted, leaning back in his chair. “Does your wife spend much time with him?”

Wait. Percy frowned, a little baffled by this development. This woman…. Knew he had a wife? It wasn’t impossible that she would be down to have an affair with a married man, but-

Wait, wait, wait. His mother had known Poseidon was a Greek god. Had she known? It never even crossed his mind to ask. Had Poseidon lied to her? Maybe the thought hadn’t occurred to her either. She had been young and in love. He doubted it would have been the first thing she thought of upon learning Greek mythology was real.

“They met briefly, once. She has little interest in him,” Poseidon admitted, taking a bite of his ice cream. “That is perhaps for the best. Both are incredibly outspoken - in the best way,” he added hastily - as if Amphitrite and Percy might dart around the corner and take offense. And maybe Percy would be offended if he wasn’t so fascinated by this comparison. “I fear the rest of my family would find them a thorn to be rid of if they ever teamed up.”

Well then. Percy pursed his lips, suddenly feeling strange kinship with his stepmother. Here Poseidon had a wife and several children, and he came here with some random mortal to ask about her child and say the family he already had would be annoying if they got along.

The woman laughed. From the table, her phone buzzed, cutting her off with a worried frown. She grabbed it, flipping it over with a muttered curse.

“Everything okay?” Poseidon asked, and the woman shoved her phone in her purse.

“Alana’s school, they want me to come in. I’m sorry. Could we take a rain check?” she asked, biting her lip. Poseidon raised his hands. “Thank you. She really is a good kid,” she added, standing up. “School just… isn’t her strong suit.”

“Ah. Perseus has gone through as many schools as the state of New York has. It is perhaps a quality of the best kind of spirit,” he told her, and Percy tapped the table.

“Do you have another kid?” he asked suspiciously. The woman continued to give her goodbyes to Poseidon with smiles and a quick wave before bells chimed behind her. Poseidon took another bite of his ice cream. “Is this Alana girl your kid? Do you have another kid?” Percy asked, still aware his father couldn’t hear him. “I thought you were joking about that!”

SureSure, at the end of the Titan War,, his father made some quip about being able to claim the rest of his kids now, but Percy had just lumped it into his strange sense of humor. But this… was suspicious. Really suspicious.

And just as Percy considered taking off the necklace and outright confronting his father on the damning evidence he had found, the smell of sea salt filled the room again, and Poseidon vanished.

Leaving Percy alone. In Miami…. With no plan to get home.

Yikes.

In the end, he got Blackjack to come pick him up and flew to camp in three hours. Throughout the whole trip, he kept thinking about how the hell he was going to relay this all to Annabeth and Grover. It felt like such madness for one conversation. Alas, it unfortunately was not Annabeth and Grover waiting for him when he opened the door to his cabin.

“Perseus,” Amphitrite greeted, grimacing at a pair of Percy’s socks thrown across the room. “How was your day?”

…whatever. He had agreed to this.

“I found him,” Percy said, collapsing on his bed. “There was a mortal. They talked about her daughter, who might be his kid.”

“What?” Amphitrite frowned. “This woman already has had his child?”

“Unconfirmed,” Percy said, propping himself on his elbows. “She just mentioned her kid got in trouble at school a lot, which is a classic demigod sign.” Amphitrite gave him a baffled look. “You know, because of the monsters.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Monsters attack us,” Percy explained. “But mortals don’t see monsters attacking us. They see kids causing problems. Like, I once got attacked by giants at school, and it ended with me being labeled as a delinquent who blew up a gym. Or when I went on a quest to get Zeus’ Masterbolt, and everyone thought I was a terrorist,” he told her. Amphitrite’s brows furrowed. “Or, one time, there was empousa disguised as a cheerleader-”

“This happens often?”

“All the time,” Percy shrugged. “Anyway, if this woman’s kid is getting in trouble at school, demigod is on the table,” he said.

Amphitrite shook her head, pacing the length of the cabin with her arms crossed over her chest. Her sheer dress fluttered behind her, somehow making his messy cabin look more regal.

“I’ve never known Poseidon to have two children with the same mortal. It is strange. If he were to return to a mortal, it would be your mother.” Percy tilted his head. Really? “He was exceptionally fond of her. More so than most of his mortal passings,” she added, a note of annoyance in her tone.

“My mom is married now. I don’t think that’s on the table,” he said. Amphitrite gave him a look. “...as is Poseidon,” he added awkwardly. Amphitrite rolled her eyes. “He talked about us,” Percy said, watching Amphitrite sit by the window in one of Percy’s plush armchairs. She put a finger to her temple, raising a single eyebrow. “He said we were both outspoken.”

Amphitrite scoffed. “Outspoken,” she muttered. “I suppose he added some compliment at the end of that?”

“Oh, we are outspoken in the best way possible,” Percy told her, using quotation marks. “Like, what does that even mean? If he meant it as a compliment, he could have said we’re honest.”

“I don’t look to insult,” Amphitrite sighed. “I simply speak the truth, and if it is insulting, then perhaps he should make a truth that is not so.”

“Exactly,” Percy agreed, sitting up. “That reminds me… you know, I date a daughter of Athena.”

Amphitrite looked at him. Percy waited for her to catch onto his question. “Congratulations,” she finally said. Alright. She did not catch on.

Percy scoffed. “I mean, your story with Athena killing that Pallas person. You said that was punishment for Athena breaking a promise on the River Styx?” he asked. Amphitrite nodded. “What was that promise?” he asked.

Amphitrite pursed her lips. “A… poor example from me,” she admitted. “I got excited by the logistics and did not think that through.” Percy wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, but sure. “Athena had promised her mother she would rescue her. She swore on the River Styx.”

“Her mother?”

“Yes, Zeus swallowed her mother,” Amphitrite said. Percy blinked. Zeus did what to who now? “After Athena was born, she wished to save her mother. Swore it, in fact, but did not complete the task.” Amphitrite shifted, and despite the fact that she implied she shouldn’t have shared this story, she still seemed a little excited to be giving more details. “Now, you may be wondering how the River Styx considered her oath broken when she is, in fact, immortal and can presumably rescue her mother still.”

“Uh… I was wondering more about the logistics of how Zeus ate a fully grown woman, but that too.”

“You see, it’s fascinating, actually,” Amphitrite told him. “It’s why I used that example even though it was inappropriate.”

“Nothing in mythology is appropriate,” Percy said weakly. “How did he fit her in his mouth? Did Zeus like… turn into a giant or something?”

“Styx takes in a statute of limitations of sorts,” Amphitrite said, ignoring Percy. “Only for certain promises, of course. It’s a judge in a way – and not even the person who makes the promise is often aware of the judgment. Athena would have had no idea how much time she was given to fulfill the promise of saving her mother. I’m sure now, in her older and wiser age, she would set a time herself to avoid such a fate, but she was very young. Freshly out Zeus’ head-”

“Did he have steak sauce or something? Was it all one bite? I… I’m not comprehending this,” Percy said.

Amphitrite gave him a look. “Kronos ate your father and his brothers-”

“And maybe if he had eaten Zeus too, then the guy would have had some empathy and not eaten Athena’s mom! Man… that’s fucked up,” Percy said, shaking his head. Amphitrite sighed, standing. “Wait-” he said quickly, and she turned. “I… can I ask you something else?” Amphitrite narrowed her eyes. “I know, you don’t pay too much attention to this. But… you’ve been around back when he had lots of demigod kids, right?” he asked. Amphitrite shrugged. “Do you know if he… like… ever…taught them things? About their powers?”

Silence. It went on so long that Percy almost considered changing the subject when Amphitrite responded, voice measured.

“You are bothered,” she deduced. Which. Yeah. Percy thought that was clear. “Child, why do you think you would be entitled to a god teaching you anything?” she asked, shaking her head. If this was Hera, Percy would take it as an insult, but… strangely enough, he felt genuine confusion rolling off Amphitrite.

“Well,” Percy said, tucking his leg under his thigh. “Logically, I was a prophecy child. Why not teach me how to use powers to help me fulfill the goal of defeating Titans?”

“Because you could join the Titans,” Amphitrite told him as if this was obvious. And maybe it was. “And because many hoped you would not be a prophecy child and die instead.”

“Did my dad want me dead?” Percy asked, a little taken aback. He wasn’t happy with Poseidon, but didn’t think his father actively wished him harm. After all, Poseidon had defended him on the rare occasion. He was a sucky father, but he had never been Percy’s opponent.

“No,” Amphitrite confirmed. “But Zeus would have been furious if he intervened.”

Right. Percy suddenly felt stupid. He had always been idealistic in his demand for wanting the gods to recognize their chaos and the damage they have done to their children. Still, he was getting to a point where… well, he supposed it was something of acceptance. Politics would always be there. And gods were gods. They were stubborn and unwilling to change as the Titans were.

Amphitrite stared at him, eyes flicking around the room. He watched as she looked at the crumpled bag of chips and armor strewn on an empty bunk.

“It may be fruitful for me to teach you some things,” she finally said.

Percy jerked his head up. “What?”

“Believe it or not, demigod, I am a powerful being of the ocean myself. I fought against Oceanus if you remember.”

“I- I do,” Percy stuttered, realizing foolishly he had never actually given much thought to those battles despite the fact Percy had seen them. “But why-”

“The information you received today is subpar,” Amphitrite informed him flatly. “You come with only theories and no facts. Does this mortal woman even have a name?” she asked. Percy shook his head. “Then perhaps it would benefit me to teach you a thing or two. I do not wish for this task of yours to go on indefinitely, Perseus. I expect efficiency.”

“Uh, sure.”

“I am a goddess. Try again.”

“Thank you?”

“Better,” Amphitrite said and dusted off her hands. “I will return soon. Until then, try to make this room somewhat presentable. I cannot think in such…” She put her hands to her chest as if the room's mess might attack her. “Accommodations.”

“Right.” Amphitrite gave him a look. “I mean, yes… your majesty?”

“Fates, help me,” Amphitrite muttered and tossed her hair over her shoulder. Percy considered trying again but before he could give another whack at stroking her ego, she vanished.

Okay. Cool. Percy flopped back onto the bed. This was totally normal. Completely, utterly normal. A knock came from the front of the door.

“Percy?” Grover called. The door cracked open. “Are you in there?”

“My dad might have another demigod kid, and Amphitrite is going to teach me to use powers so I can get to Miami quicker,” he said to the ceiling.

The door squeaked open. “Do you want me to get Annabeth?”

“Yes, please.”

“On it.”

Chapter Text

"You realize this is absolute insanity, right?" Grover asked as Percy sat on the beach. "Like, genuine craziness?"

"G-Man, I say this with love, but you never support my crazy aspirations."

"Because they are crazy, Percy."

"Annabeth supports them. Right, Wise Girl?"

"Eh," Annabeth said, focusing on making a tiny sand city. Percy bit back a smile as he watched her. Most of their time at the beach included Percy in the waves while Annabeth constructed epic sand sculptures from whatever architectural designs were rolling around her head. He loved laying in the sun, watching as she zeroed in with complete focus for hours at a time, only pausing when Percy reminded her to eat or reapply sunscreen.

"She's the one that makes the insanity realistic," Grover muttered. "I just don't see what good can come of this."

"I get to keep the cool necklace that makes gods leave me alone?" Percy suggested. Grover wrinkled his nose. "And I get to learn more of my powers from an actual god." He bumped Grover's shoulder. "You know, I might learn how to zap pollution from the water or something."

Grover narrowed his eyes. "Don't tempt me with eco-friendly solutions."

"You know, there are over 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic in the ocean," Annabeth said. Percy pointed to her. "That can cover the earth almost four hundred times."

Grover looked like he had a thousand things to say to that, but before he could, a particularly large wave crashed to the shore, leaving behind a woman. The foam of the sea bubbled around her, turning into a white dress as she walked up, hair pinned back into a black bun, and dark eyes flicking over Annabeth and Grover with curiosity.

"Lord Grover," Amphitrite greeted first. She bowed her head. "An unexpected surprise."

A brief pause followed as Grover went deep red. Percy grinned, watching as his friend attempted to remember he was, in fact, now a very important person who gods would frequently acknowledge.

"Lady Amphitrite," he managed, nervously stumbling up. He dusted some sand from his horns. "I… uh, Annabeth and I-" he began. Percy nudged Annabeth, doubtful she even noticed Amphitrite's appearance as she made her city's moat. "We wished to speak to you. About this… arrangement between you and Percy. Perseus. Mr. Jackson," he said, and Percy looked up at him incredulously. Grover lightly smacked the side of his head.

"Oh?" Amphitrite said.

Annabeth glanced up, dusting her hands off and standing up before giving a low bow. "My lady," she greeted quietly. "We brought you some strawberries from camp as an offering." She reached back to grab the wicker basket that Grover insisted they bring and handed it to her. "What Lord Grover is asking is if we may be of assistance on Percy's quest," she said. "It is, after all, customary for quests to be completed in groups of three."

Amphitrite smiled, accepting the basket. "Ah. But I referred to this as a task. Not a quest," she said. Grover gave a little bray. "Your friend is in no danger from me, child. If I wished him harm, he would be harmed. I do not play with my food before eating."

Annabeth and Grover both looked at one another.

"Would you like to stay as Perseus and I continue our discussions?" she asked.

Grover relaxed slightly. "Yes, please."

"I'll be working on my moat," Annabeth said seriously. Amphitrite glanced down at her sand utopia. "...I have blueprints," she added, holding up a sandy piece of paper with her sand city's details laid out. "So if you kill him, I might not notice right away, but I will be very upset once I realize."

"She once made an igloo out of sand that we all could go inside of," Percy said with a nod. "It's really impressive." Annabeth beamed at him. "So if you do kill me, try not to knock her stuff down."

"I-" Amphitrite began and then shook her head. "Very well," said and gestured Percy forward. "Come. I do not wish for this to take long."

Percy turned to give his friends two thumbs up as he dashed back toward the waves after Amphitrite. He had somehow doubted it when she offered to tutor him in all his potential powers, but now that they were here, he was actually kind of excited. This was cool. He almost always found out what he could do in life-or-death situations. It would be nice to just… learn.

"Poseidon once informed me you made a hurricane. Is this true?" Percy nodded. "Good. I have some thoughts. The first thing is travel. You can be summoned to any part of the sea you wish, be it your father, me, or my son."

Oh. Percy wasn't thrilled with the idea that his version of water-traveling was just bopping around different family members who didn't even really like him.

"Could I… just like… go other places?" Percy asked with a shrug. "Maybe the Indian Ocean or something? Just for fun?"

"I am not teaching you anything for fun," Amphitrite said flatly. "I am teaching you to better inform me of my husband's misdeeds. You must learn to summon yourself quickly and efficiently to him and to myself in order to report back."

Right. Totally. Not a buzzkill at all.

"Okay…" Percy said, trying not to sound too disappointed. "Um, so, what do I do?"

Amphitrite shrugged. "Summon yourself to Triton. He will not be able to see you unless you will it, as you will me to see you."

"Wait, you can only see me because I want you to?"

"Did you think I was somehow immune to the necklace's powers?" Amphitrite asked warily. Percy shrugged. A long sigh followed. "Go to my son. You just need to focus yourself on him. Think of… what you like about him. Any comfort you find will change the currents to bring you closer to him."

Percy stared at her blankly. Amphitrite stared back. Silence followed.

"....I don't know Triton," he finally said. "And the first time I met him, he didn't like me."

Amphitrite frowned. "But surely you like him?" she asked. Percy bit his lip. "Why ever not?"

"He’s mean!"

"Oh, did you expect roses from him after Poseidon called you his favorite son?" she asked flatly. Percy winced. Oh. Well. He hadn't realized Triton knew about that.

"I'm just saying," Percy said. "He's like a thousand years old. I'm eighteen. It seems a little petty to be mad at me for being born." Amphitrite crossed her arms over his chest. "Okay, fine. He had that cool double-tail thing going on. I can work with that."

"You liked his tail?" Amphitrite frowned. "Perseus, that is my child."

"What? Oh-" He leaned back. "Is that weird? I didn't mean for it to be weird. Sorry. Uh… He… I… um…. I'm scared to try and compliment him now."

Amphitrite glared at him. "He has a lovely personality," she said. Percy just looked at her. Really? They were going with personality? "Fine. He defeated Hercules once. Weren't you friends with that girl he betrayed?"

Had he? Percy nodded. He could work with that. Triton kicking Hercules' ass for what he did to Zoë was an excellent way to bring up more warm and fuzzy feelings. Though he wasn't entirely convinced warm and fuzzy feelings were necessary. He had managed to bring himself to Poseidon's location while bitching about him in his mind. He had a feeling Amphitrite just wanted her son to be complimented. Annoying, but he could respect the hustle. It was kind of a Sally Jackson move in some ways.

Closing his eyes, he tried to imagine the Hercules versus Triton showdown. Maybe Hercules was crying in the corner while Triton made him punch himself. Zeus would be watching in the background, horrified at his son being bullied while the rest of the gods cheered Triton on.

Beautiful. Percy felt a gentle pull of the currents, almost as if egging him to grasp on like a rope. His fingers splayed out, and suddenly, there was a jerk behind his navel. Desperately, he tried to keep his thoughts on Triton kicking Hercules between the legs as the ground beneath his feet disappeared.

"You had no right!"

And then the currents stopped. Percy cracked an eye open, daring to look at his surroundings. He was in a pearl room, the ground glowing with bioluminescence as Triton himself slammed his hands on a table.

Wow. He had done it.

"Watch your tone," Poseidon's voice said, and Percy spun around. His father stood a few feet away, irritation rolling off of him as Triton fumed. "I had every right-"

"You disrespect me," Triton interrupted. "You disrespect us all. First, you break your oath and sire a demigod-"

"Who led us through a war!"

"Oh, is that supposed to be a credit to you?" Triton demanded, voice rising. "That you forced a child to fight in two wars? That you put a burden on him to live through horrors unknown to the mortal eye?" he asked, and Percy tilted his head. He hadn't realized Triton understood that. Was… his brother technically defending him? Nice. This did seem like a guy who would beat up Hercules.

And hey, that one time Triton gave him the bitchy attitude was during a war. Percy could forgive that.

Poseidon closed his eyes. "I understand it was a mistake. The first time I met Perseus, I apologized to him for it."

"Yeah, saying you're sorry for me being alive is not quite the move you think it is," Percy muttered flatly. "But hey, you didn't eat me, so I guess there's that. Apparently, it's not guaranteed in our family."

Predictably, nobody responded. Percy kind of liked being able to give his catty comments without consequences. 

Triton threw up a hand. "And this is how you wish to remedy your mistakes?" He pointed a finger at Poseidon. "No. No, I refuse. I refuse to let you do this."

"Let me do what, Triton? What crime do you think I am committing?" Poseidon asked, moving closer to his son. Percy looked between them. It felt so weird to witness this without anyone realizing he was watching. Almost like a demigod dream but… more crisp. And even in dreams, gods seemed to sense his presence.

"Do not play this game with me, father," Triton said darkly. "I will not tolerate it."

"If this is about Pallas-"

Triton went eerily still, and Percy stepped back, feeling a pulse of fury roll over the room. Poseidon stopped talking. His eyes flickered over his son, expression well aware he had crossed a line. Triton flicked his tails (which Percy was now very wary of looking at) and swam closer.

"Do not dare," he whispered lowly. "Speak her name again."

Poseidon closed his eyes. "Triton-" he began but was silenced by a dramatic gust of water, and Triton turned to spin out of the room.

Poseidon ran a hand over his face. "Perseus," he mumbled. "Tyson. I am glad two of my sons do not cause me such stress."

"If you were more involved in my life, you would be stressed," Percy informed him flatly. Almost immediately, he felt another jerk before something snatched him directly from the ocean in a blur of blue. "What?" he asked, spinning around. Amphitrite cleared her throat from beside him. "Whoa. Hi. I'm back."

"You are," Amphitrite said suspiciously. "Were you unable to bring yourself back to me? Or were you too busy staring at my son's tails?"

"...no," Percy told her. "You know, if there's a sexual connotation in the tail thing, you'd do well to remember Triton is also my brother."

"Zeus is Hera's brother."

"Right," Percy clicked his tongue. "Well, the good news is that I was not lusting after my own thousand-year-old brother while my beautiful girlfriend makes a sand city for the crabs-"

"That thing is for the crabs?"

"She has measured the exact proportions so they can walk through all the doors and the various floors can hold up their weight. She even leaves them tiny snacks in some of the rooms. It's adorable," Percy informed her. Annabeth would kill him if she heard that, but whatever. Amphitrite gave a soft 'huh' under her breath. "Listen, Triton and Poseidon were arguing about something. Triton seemed pretty mad."

Water sprayed in the air, and Amphitrite brushed it away like a wayward fly. "Interesting," she said, voice slow. "Triton does not often quarrel with his father. What did they say?"

"Um, well… Triton was saying Poseidon shouldn't have done something, and then my dad brought up Pallas," he said. Amphitrite winced. "You said something about Pallas, right? Athena's friend that died because Athena didn't save her mom from becoming the godly equivalent of a gusher and the River Styx took that personally?" he asked.

Amphitrite grimaced, running her finger over the waves. The water stilled under the touch, making white lines where her fingers glided over the surface.

"Yes," she said, not meeting Percy's eyes. "I was careless with her name." She shook her head. "I apologize. It was unkind of me to bring that up."

This again. Last time, she said it was inappropriate for her to tell that story. What was the deal? Why was she sorry? He didn't even know who Pallas was.

Amphitrite rubbed the back of her neck. "I am quite interested in the godly rules in which we abide by. The River Styx is a fascination of mine. I know many examples, but sometimes I forget myself when listing them off." O…kay? Percy just stared at her, not comprehending anything that was happening. "Pallas was my granddaughter," Amphitrite clarified. "Triton's child."

Oh. Well. Yikes.

Yeah. It was wildly inappropriate to tell that story with as much enthusiasm as she had. He wouldn't tell her that, though. She seemed pretty aware.

"That is… unfortunate," Percy said. "I didn't realize Triton had any kids."

"Three," Amphitrite smiled weakly. "Two have since faded, but Pallas was killed. My son is… very sensitive about his daughters. I'm surprised my husband would dare bring her up in an argument." She shook her head. "It was cruel of me to speak of her so casually to you - forgetting his pain amid my passion."

Percy gave a light scoff. "Don't feel bad," he said, and Amphitrite tilted her head at him. "I mean, yes, of course, be mindful of that, but that is my girlfriend," he said, pointing to where Annabeth was looking at her sand creation with her hands on her hips, eyes squinting with a thousand ideas. "I completely understand being around someone who loses sight of certain things when talking about what they like."

Amphitrite huffed. "That is a child. I am a goddess and a mother," she grumbled.

"I didn't realize you liked law," Percy told her, a little fascinated by the concept. "I mean, I just figured you knew a lot about it because you're a goddess."

The choppy waves calmed as Amphirite smiled, her previous anxiety melting ever-so-slightly. "I am also a ruler," she said, clasping her hands together. "It is an interest, is all. I like being queen. I like understanding the order of things and being able to understand how my people operate through it. It helps life make sense when so often… things don't," she said. She chuckled. "I must sound like a child of Athena myself."

"It's not always a bad quality," Percy told her, smiling a little. Amphitrite hummed. "Well, here's my next question. So, say I travel to Poseidon and then to you… could I get back home without bothering my poor pegasus?" he asked.

Amphitrite rolled her eyes. "I suppose I could teach you such a thing. It would do no good for me to be in your questionable cabin during the day of my birth next week," she said.

Right, right- wait.

Percy did a double-take. "Your birthday next week?" he asked, a little bewildered by the idea that gods had birthdays. Fascinating. He supposed it made sense, but you never really hear about it.

Amphitrite lifted her chin proudly. "I shall be three thousand and four."

"Congratulations," Percy said, bemused. He supposed older ages were an accomplishment for gods, given that they often faded these days. "That's a lot of candles to fit on a cake."

"Cake?"

"Do you not eat cake on your birthday?" Percy asked, and Amphitrite gave him that look that reminded him of how Annabeth looked at him when he said something stupid. "Okay, fine, ambrosia," he corrected himself.

"There is a feast in my honor," Amphitrite said. "As it is, I shall be there next week, so in the event my husband is with a mortal, you should learn to get to camp yourself."

Percy shoved an incoming wave away from them. "My dad isn't going to see a mortal on your birthday, though," he said, shaking his head. Like, honestly. Who would even do that?

Amphitrite smiled a little. "You think not?" she asked.

"He wouldn't," Percy said. "I still have some faith in the guy. Seeing a mortal on his wife's birthday is messed up." Amphitrite's smile faded. It made Percy's chest hurt a little. She couldn't really think he would, right? Poseidon wouldn't, right? "I bet you twenty dollars," he said.

The water shuddered around them. "What would I do with twenty mortal dollars?" she asked.

"Doesn't matter - because you won't win," he told her and Amphitrite laughed.

"You are quite an optimist, Perseus," she said, looking him up and down. "Very well." She held out her hand. Percy grinned and took it. "Twenty of your mortal dollars if your father does not disrespect me on my celebratory day." She let go and clapped her hands together. "Now, I am going to send you to the Caribbean. See if you can get back here yourself."

"Wait. What?" Percy asked, and Amphitrite touched his forehead. A sharp snap went over his head, and the last thing he could think of before getting sucked away was that he really should listen to Grover more often.

Chapter Text

Percy saw Amphitrite exactly one week later. She was sitting at one of the tables on the porch of the Big House with a silk cloth thrown over a small wooden table and several beautiful pieces of china set up neatly.

"Perseus," she greeted without looking up. "You're here."

Percy inwardly sighed. "I'm here," he said, setting down his backpack and taking a seat. He watched as Amphitrite poured a cup of tea, steam billowing out of the cup. "You seem… not angry," he told her slowly. Amphitrite looked up at him, dark eyes indifferent. "Are you sure you want to see me today?" he asked, squirming.

"Why not?" Amphitrite asked, setting the seashell teapot down to smooth out her hair. Percy gave her a helpless look. "I do not hate you, child. You know that, right?"

"Not really, no," Percy said. "I just… I mean, if you did hate me that would be completely understandable."

"I suppose I once did," Amphitrite mused, pouring another cup of tea. "Shortly after your first quest. I had no idea you existed until your father claimed you. It was a shock, I think. I'm not sure why. I know my husband's heart ebbs and flows. Eternal loyalty is a very big ask. I do understand that," she mused. "But I think… it was the fact he didn't warn me." Amphitrite put the teapot down, picked up some sugar cubes, and plopped them into the tea. "I wouldn't have told Zeus – or any other god you existed. But he did not think to warn me you were coming. Like he didn't trust me to leave you unharmed." Amphitrite sighed and shook her head. "I hated how much he valued you. Enough so that even I could not be privy to your existence." She poured milk into the tea next. "But, as always, I adjusted as the seas do. I cannot blame you for existing. I certainly do not hate you for it."

She handed him the cup.

"Thank you," Percy said, accepting the tea gratefully. He wasn't a big tea person overall but suspected his stepmother had a very good knack for it. Godly power, or whatever. "And thank you for not hating me anymore. I know you aren't thrilled about my existence-"

"No need to thank me for not being Hera," Amphitrite dismissed. Percy took a sip of tea. "That is what you meant, isn't it?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. For once, Percy learned from his mistakes and stayed quiet, though he did give her a bashful smile to confirm the sentiment. "Hm. Well, either way, I owe you thanks. Not many children would agree to spy on their father for me."

Percy put the cup down. "I'm not spying on him," he reasoned. Amphitrite scoffed. "I just happen to be in many of the places he is when he's in the mortal world." A long pause followed, and Percy rolled his eyes. "Yes, he was seeing the mortal woman. Her name is Lea."

"You owe me twenty of your mortal dollars, child."

Percy bitterly slapped the paper bill on the table between them. This was so fucked up.

"I'm sorry he ditched you on your birthday," he said, trying to keep the raw anger out of his voice. "Lea isn't even that cool. All they did was go to a stupid Olive Garden. Like, an Olive Garden?" he asked, and Amphitrite blinked a few times. "The king of the seas should not be taking his dates to the Olive Garden," Percy clarified. "It's tacky."

Amphitrite scoffed and touched his hand. "It is where you get it from, dear."

"I don't know what I did to deserve that, but okay," Percy grumbled and grabbed his bag. "Anyway, before I give you more details, I did get you a gift."

"An offering?"

"No," Percy said, pulling out the wrapped present. "A gift. You know, for your birthday."

Amphitrite frowned, slowly taking it from him. Percy had done his best to wrap it, but it probably could have looked better. And maybe the Snoopy wrapping paper wasn't the best choice for a goddess, but it was the thought that counts.

"I open this?" she asked, giving him a curious look. Percy nodded. "A strange way to present an offering…"

"Gift."

"You have offered it to me," Amphitrite argued. Which… sure. Fine. It can be an offering. Amphitrite ripped the ends, meticulously pulling apart the paper until the book cover underneath revealed itself. "A book," she said and flipped it over. "On American law?"

Gods, Percy hoped she actually liked it, or he was going to feel really stupid.

"Well, you said you liked godly laws, so… I don't know. I thought you might like learning more about the laws here," he said. "Like, you said it made you feel comfortable to understand the rules and people through laws. So I thought since you and I are spending more time together…" he trailed off, unsure of what he was trying to say. That Amphitrite should make an effort to understand Percy's world? That was stupid. He bit his lip, trying to find a way out of this when Amphitrite smiled.

"This is very kind," she said, flipping through a few pages. "Thank you, Perseus."

Oh, thank the gods. Percy thought to Annabeth's birthday. July twelfth. July. He would not miss it. He should probably plan something big for her. He absolutely would remember every birthday of hers until he died. Did they have calendars in the Underworld? He'd figure something out. The Elysium was about to celebrate Annabeth's birthday there too. Percy wasn't pulling a Poseidon on this. Absolutely not.

"You're welcome," he said, pulling himself back into the moment as Amphitrite put the book to the side. "Did you ever figure out why Triton and Dad were arguing?" he asked, and Amphitrite pursed her lips.

"I sensed a tension, but... neither have mentioned being upset. I am confused by whatever disagreement they've had." She tapped a ringed finger against the glass so a light clinking echoed over the porch. "Triton does not often lie to me," she murmured.

Percy looked out over the camp, watching a few campers knocking a volleyball back and forth with peals of laughter.

"I lie to my mom sometimes," he said, and Amphitrite turned her head slightly to him. "It's easier. After everything she's given up for me, she doesn't deserve to hear some of the...." Percy bit his tongue. "More questionable aspects of my life."

One of the Demeter kids spiked the volleyball over the net and her team gave a scream of celebration.

"It is a sweet sentiment," Amphrite mused. "But I fear she already senses it. Mothers have a power to feel their children's pain." The wind blew, and Amphitrite looked down at her drink. "Fathers do, too," she added, not meeting his eyes. "Even if they don't quite know what to do with it."

Percy frowned. He wasn't sure why she was subtly defending Poseidon. Especially right now.

"Well, they don't sense their child's presence when they have a fancy necklace," he said, pulling out the compass charm underneath his shirt. "Do you want to hear what I learned?" he asked. Amphitrite chuckled, shifting slightly in her sheet. "Lea is actually a UPS worker - that's a person who delivers mail," he added. Sometimes it was hard to remember Amphitrite lived under the sea and didn't quite understand the world above water. "Like, Hermes. But lots of them."

"Ah. Triton is the messenger of the sea," Amphitrite nodded. "A fine and honorable job. It has never been Poseidon's taste, though. Does she have a fondness for the beach? A love for sailing?"

Percy shook his head. Lea was a very pretty woman with curly black hair and a light sprinkling of freckles over bronze skin. From what Percy could tell, she loved music and dancing and everything gold. She wasn't much like his mother, who had a softness with a fierce interior. It was the opposite. Lea seemed like someone who had to warm up to you, but when she did, she doted freely.

"I guess I don't know my dad's type," he said, wrinkling his nose. "But she doesn't seem like someone he would date. She's also, like, twenty-five, which is probably young for a god."

"How old was your mother when she had you?"

"Twenty-one." Percy paused. "Oh." He glanced at Amphitrite. "Not sure I like that." Amphitrite took another sip of her tea. "I don't know. There just didn't seem to be a… spark there."

Amphitrite laughed at him. Which. Rude. He gave her an affronted look, and she quickly turned her laugh into a polite cough. "It's like you're made of sugar," said said. Alright. So they were back to rude. "So naive." Percy rolled his eyes. "Men do not necessarily need a spark."

"Hey! I need a spark."

"Apologies. Your rat bastard father does not necessarily need a spark."

Percy opened his mouth to refute that… but then decided there was no refuting that and sipped his tea. Again, he thought about Annabeth. Why did everything about his father and Amphitrite make him think of Annabeth? It made him anxious. Maybe it was the fact Amphitrite was clearly awesome and kind of a nerd like his girlfriend. How could Poseidon take her for granted? Was Percy doomed to the same fate?

"Well, they talked about boring stuff," he said, refusing to dwell on that. "Dad seems to be interested in her kid… Alana. Age six. Very bright but also always in trouble. I haven't seen her yet, but she apparently looks like her mom. She plays the trumpet, which is.... very brave of Lea, in my opinion. I cannot imagine a six-year-old with a trumpet."

Amphitrite paused, brows furrowing at that.

"She draws a lot and cannot stand the color red," Percy continued, trying to think of anything else he could say about Alana. "Her favorite movie is The Little Mermaid - excellent taste," he added. "And she's going through a stage where she eats only peanut butter sandwiches. Um, let's see... Lea mentioned she has this birthmark on her throat-"

Amphitrite choked. Seeing a goddess choke was a little weird, but here they were. Percy handed her a napkin.

"Birthmark?" she asked, dabbing at her mouth. "This child has a birthmark? On her throat?"

Okay. Odd. Percy thought back to his knowledge of birthmarks in Greek mythology and came up with… nothing. Yep. Nope. Not a thing. He'd ask Annabeth later.

"Yes," he said. Amphitrite stood up. "Are you okay?" he asked. He didn't have a chance to ask more because a second later she disappeared. "....okay," he said. Amphitrite reappeared. "Do I get an explanation?" he asked, but she just grabbed the book Percy had given her and zapped back out again. "Wow."

Whatever. Gods were weird. Groaning, Percy let his head fall back. A shadow came over his head a moment later.

"Hi, Grover."

"You're having tea parties with your stepmother now? That's nice."

"She's weird, but I like her," Percy said, spinning around so he was straddling the chair with the back under his arms. "And secretly hanging out with my dad is fun too, actually." Grover gave him an exasperated look. "He talks about me a lot. It's weird. Don't get me wrong, I'm furious with him for a lot of things, but I didn't know he knew so much about me."

From somewhere farther in camp, there was a furious yell that someone had cheated. Percy automatically suspected Leo. Was he around?

"Like what?" Grover asked, picking up one of the teacups Amphitrite left behind with some consideration. He looked around before taking a bite out of it.

"He told Lea I skateboarded and like alternative rock," he said. Grover pulled out a chair and sat down. "I feel bad because this sucks for Amphitrite, but also… I'm a little excited I might have another sister," he said wistfully. "Do you think she'll get to come to camp soon?"

"Maybe…" Grover said slowly and waited. "You remember we have an empathy link, right?" he finally asked. Oh. Percy scratched his neck. "So I know you're also deeply bothered."

"Yeah. Because this sucks for Amphitrite."

"Percy."

"Dude," Percy said and let his head fall on his folded arms. "I don't want to be the guy who has beef with a six-year-old," he said. Grover smiled a little, a hint of sadness touching his eyes. "I mean, does it suck that Poseidon is super invested in Alana's life when he wasn't at all around for mine? Yeah. But it also isn't like he's seeing Alana. He's seeing her mom. So, you know. I mean, he didn't visit my mom either… but… it wasn't like my mom needed anything." Percy swallowed hard. "Not any money or… help… or support," he muttered. "She had Gabe, I guess, which was totally great. Not at all traumatizing for me and her. But it's nice Poseidon is checking in on this family," he said, completely failing at his attempt to not be bitter at the situation.

Grover reached out and squeezed his arm.

"I don't care," Percy said, even though Grover certainly knew better. "I'm eighteen now. It's fine. I don't need him, and… he did know all that stuff about me to tell Lea. That's cool." Percy nodded to himself. And paused. "How does he know that stuff?" he asked. "We don't talk. My mom would tell me if he spoke to her. So, is he spying on me? Does Chiron tell him things?" Percy held out a hand. "Why can't he ask me about my life?"

"I don't know," Grover said softly.

Right… right. Percy nodded again. Right. Totally cool. Right. He looked over at where Amphitrite had been sitting. Right. Cool. And Poseidon forgot her birthday. He hung out with his other family on Amphitrite's birthday. Amphitrite. Who thanked him for the gift he got her and made him tea.

"I'll be right back," Percy decided.

"What?" Grover asked and stood up quickly. "Wait. No. Percy?" he said and groaned. "Percy, where are you going?!" he called when Percy jumped over the fence off the porch. "Do not do anything- ANNABETH!" he shouted. "ANNABETH, HE IS LEAVING WITHOUT YOU!"

A second later, Percy hit the ground. Hard.

A second after that, a knife appeared at his throat. "Hi," Annabeth greeted, taking off her Yankees cap. "What are you up to?"

Percy smiled up at her. "Thinking about how smart you are," he told her. Annabeth smiled at him but didn't lower the knife. "And that I am going to Atlantis to yell at my dad for not being around for his wife's birthday."

Annabeth nodded. "That sounds fun," she said. They both waited. Annabeth did not lower the knife.

"I can't bring you," he finally said. Annabeth tilted her head. "It's at the bottom of the ocean, Wise Girl. You'll implode from the water pressure, and it's freezing down there. Not to mention, you can't breathe."

Annabeth's smile widened. "Love it when you tell me ocean facts," she said, lowering the knife. "You can't put a bubble around me?" she asked sweetly. "Though I'm not sure it accounts for the temperature and pressure."

Something about that felt a little weird. He couldn't voice it exactly. Annabeth and him had always been different, and never once had it bothered him. But… something about the fact he could survive elements she couldn't hit him in a way it hadn't before. Panic snuck up in his throat. Gods, he was going to fail her, wasn't he? Maybe they were doomed. Maybe he would end up being just like his dad and-

"Hello? Seaweed brain?" Annabeth asked, tapping his forehead lightly.

Percy smiled a little, relaxing as he tucked a curl behind her ear. "I'm not that powerful to yell at my father while keeping you safe underwater," he admitted. "But maybe I can ask Amphitrite to teach me a better way to let you join me in the future…" he mused. Because yeah. He was spiraling for no reason. This was a weird thought process, anyway. He and Annabeth weren't anything like Poseidon and Amphitrite.

"If you don't die," Annabeth reminded him.

"I will not die," Percy promised. Annabeth held up her pinky. Solemnly, Percy took it, showing his other hand to prove no ridiculous crossed fingers were going on here. "And while I'm gone, I'm going to have to ask you and Leo to create a submarine able to withstand the ocean's depths so you can join me. Honestly, why do I have to do all the work?"

"Because I'm an architect, not an engineer," Annabeth said, placing a hand over her chest. "How dare you? Do you think those are the same?"

"No. I just think you can do anything," Percy said, flipping his invisible hair. Annabeth laughed, grabbing the front of his shirt so she could kiss him. "I'll be fine," he promised her again, quietly. Seriously.

Annabeth's fingers brushed his jaw. "You better," she told him. "Because if you die from yelling at a god, I'm going to be very pissed. Hades won't be able to protect you in the Underworld."

Percy kissed her again. "I wouldn't want him to," he said, and Annabeth let him go. "I'll see you in a bit!" he called, and from behind them, there was a wail of annoyance.

"Come on!" Grover shouted.

"Love you, G-Man!" Percy shouted and sprinted off to make his next bad decision.

Chapter Text

When Percy reached the ocean, it only took him a solid five minutes to zip off where he needed to be. He ended up pulling himself toward Amphitrite since she was the only one he could think of any tangible pleasant thoughts at the moment.

He was relatively proud of himself until he found himself in Atlantis, standing between three incredibly upset gods.

“You kept this from me?!” Amphitrite was shouting, her voice booming over the throne room they were situated in. Percy could see a few fish guards near the entrance, exchanging terrified looks before slowly backing out of the room. “Of all the selfish, self-righteous-”

“It was not my place to tell you,” Poseidon said, throwing up a hand. Triton sat on their father’s throne, his face buried in his hands. Percy was very careful not to look at either of his tails.

“It was not your place to get involved!”

“Get his ass,” Percy told Amphitrite. None of them could hear him, of course, but he’d still cheer her on. “It wasn’t your place to get involved in whatever you’re talking about,” he added to his father.

“How do you even know about this?” Poseidon asked. Triton sighed, leaning back on the throne as he gave the red drapings at the end of the room a disdainful glare. “The only way you could have found out is if you did the same thing!”

“Oh, please,” Amphitrite scoffed. “You think I spend my days toiling away with mortals?”

“Excuse me,” Percy said, a little affronted. “I am mortal.”

“Well, nobody seems to know where you go these days,” Poseidon muttered, and Amphitrite’s mouth dropped. It was a ballsy thing to say, in Percy’s humble opinion. Especially for someone who had missed his wife’s birthday. “Maybe you’re the one with a demigod child.”

Oh, the nerve.

Percy took off the necklace. “You’re seriously accusing her of having an affair?” he asked, and three heads whipped toward him. “That is very bold from where I’m standing.”

“Perseus?”

“What the hell is he doing here?” Triton asked, throwing up a hand. Percy pocketed the necklace, and Triton’s eyes darted down, suspicion touching his face. Again, Percy looked up at the ceiling so no accusation of tail-stares could be thrown his way before giving the two other gods in the room a small wave.

“Hi,” he greeted. Amphitrite sighed, holding out her arms in a what gives sort of gesture. “Uh, I… actually came to start an argument myself, but now I’m curious about this.”

Honestly, even Percy would say that was a gutsy way to start out a conversation with three immortal entities. Amphitrite looked like she might throttle him.

Triton pointed to Percy’s pocket. “Is that what I think it is, mother?” he asked, craning his neck. What? How could he possibly know what this was? It looked like his camp necklace. There was no way he possibly knew that- “Were you spying on father?” Triton asked.

….yikes.

“Um,” he began, but Amphitrite held up a hand.

“Do not answer that, Perseus.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“No, answer him,” Poseidon jumped in. “What is the meaning of this?” Percy looked at Amphitrite, who shook her head. Yeah. Okay. She had earned his silence. Poseidon frowned, a little taken aback by Percy not immediately spitting things out. But, honestly. Did Poseidon really expect he would fold so quickly? “Perseus…” he warned.

“He has the necklace you gave mother,” Triton said, voice curt. “That’s why we didn’t notice him coming in.”

“Please. Your father has given me many necklaces-”

“You know which one I’m talking about!”

“Is that true, Perseus?” Poseidon asked. Alright, Grover was right. And Annabeth’s daughter of wisdom title was getting revoked for letting him do this… or perhaps the real wisdom was her understanding nobody was going to stop him from doing stupid shit.

He looked at Amphitrite, who shook her head again. Alright, he was still keeping silent then.

“According to the sacred laws of our king, Poseidon himself, a demigod has safe passage in Atlantis without the fear of questioning from a governing authority,” Amphitrite said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Poseidon slowly turned, mouth dropping into outright indignance. “I made that law to prevent you two from harassing my children when they visit! Not for my son to keep secrets from me!”

Percy snorted. Please. It was a problem when Percy kept secrets? Poseidon gave him a sharp look. Right. Shutting up. As it was, Amphitrite seemed to have it all under control as she puffed out her chest, eyes narrowing ever so slightly.

“Nevertheless, it is the law you put in place. As king, you are expected to abide by it unless in a time of war. Are we in a time of war, my lord?” she asked.

Poseidon closed his eyes. “No, but I believe I should have some understanding of why my own flesh and blood is here.”

Percy raised a finger. “Oh. That. You forgot Amphitrite’s birthday,” he said.

Poseidon and Triton both stared at him.

“...do you know each other?” Triton finally asked, gesturing between Percy and his mother.

“Better than some people, apparently,” he said, narrowing his eyes at his father, who looked somewhere between bewildered and affronted. “Do gods have divorce?” he asked Amphitrite, who shushed him. “If you don’t know about divorce, I can get you a book on that too-”

“No. No, don’t listen to him,” Poseidon said, holding up a finger. “I did not forget the celebration of your birth, Amphitrite. I-” He cut himself off, throwing both his hands up. “What even is this?” he muttered. “After my argument with Triton, I knew he would be watching to ensure I did not visit Lea and Alana again. Your feast was the only time I could get away from him unnoticed! I left you a note that I would make it up to you.”

“Poseidon, I thought that note meant you had taken a mortal lover!”

“A- why would I take a mortal lover?”

Percy raised his hand again. “Hi,” he said helpfully. You know, just in case, he had forgotten about Percy’s existence. “I am the child of one of your mortal lovers. Nice to meet you.”

“Enough from you,” Poseidon said, pointing a finger at him.

“I mean, he has a point,” Triton muttered. Poseidon pinched the bridge of his nose. “And Mother has a point, too. None of this would have happened if you had respected my wishes and stayed away from the mortals as I asked.” Triton gestured to Percy. “Mortals that the demigod probably knows about from spying on you!”

Poseidon clasped his hands together. “Triton, I am not speaking with them out of malice. I am just concerned for you and them.”

Concern for Triton? Why would he have concern for-?

“Oh - Oh!” Percy said, spinning around to Triton. “Alana is your kid?!”

Immediately, everyone started loudly talking over one another.

“See? See? How does he know about Alana if he isn’t spying on Father?!”

“-get him involved, Amphitrite!”

“No proof of anything. This is not what we are talking-”

“-none of your business!”

“Oh, enough!” Triton yelled, throwing up a hand. “How is it that my only goal here was to keep my daughter away from this family, and suddenly, my parents and a random demigod are now involved in her life?”

Ouch. Random demigod seemed a little pointed, but sure.

“Darling,” Amphitrite said, placing her palms together. “Why must she be a secret? This is your first child since Libya faded. You must be so thrilled. Why can we not be a part of this?”

“And,” Poseidon jumped in. “I only involved myself with Lea to understand if she was clear-sighted and see if I could explain to her the importance of getting this girl to Camp Half-Blood-”

“I don’t want her at Camp Half-Blood,” Triton groaned. “My gods, all of you. Leave her alone! I am a minor god. That means she can potentially live a normal life. Do you honestly think that I would not take her safety seriously? That I would condemn her to the life you have forced him to live?” he asked, gesturing between Poseidon and Percy.

….again. Ouch.

“I will ignore that last insult to your brother for now,” Poseidon said, which was a little strange because Percy was pretty sure the insult was directed at Poseidon. “And I think you have not had a demigod child since Pallas,” he added, voice softening with a hint of desperation. Percy glanced at Amphitrite. It actually hadn’t occurred to him that Pallas was a demigod. He figured she had also been a goddess. And since Amphitrite said Triton’s other daughters had faded… that meant Pallas had been his one and only demigod child.

Suddenly, Percy understood why Poseidon and Amphitrite were freaking out.

“And?” Triton said, voice sharp.

“I think,” Amphitrite cut in. “That perhaps even though your father did not go about it right, he was simply remembering the centuries of pain that Pallas left you in, my sweet. He needed to ensure it did not happen again. This is a new world… demigods apparently get arrested a lot,” she added with a glance at Percy, who nodded.

“They do,” he said. Triton glared at him. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think Alana is going to have a life anything like mine,” Percy offered because, well, he did have a point. “I was a prophecy child and the son of a major god. If she goes to camp, she won’t be bothered as much-”

“She is your niece. I don’t need her dealing with your nonsense by simply being associated with you at that soul-sucking camp,” Triton said coldly.

Ouch number three. Percy winced a little, giving a muttered, ‘fair point’ before rubbing the back of his neck.

“Triton, be kind,” Amphitrite frowned. She ran a hand over her face. “I see the concern. But minor demigod or not, perhaps she should learn to defend herself - or at least understand who she is, right Perseus?” she asked because apparently he was now fully involved in this.

But… well…

Percy grimaced, rubbing the back of his neck. “I mean,” he began, and both Amphitrite and Poseidon turned to him. “Look, the moment demigods know who they are, their scent becomes stronger. Triton might have a point that her not knowing who she is could be safer. Being a half-blood is dangerous. If not telling her about this world keeps her from joining it…” He gave a helpless shrug. “She might have a chance to be happy.”

Triton pointed at him. “There. There. Eighteen years has more common sense than a combined total of almost seven thousand.”

Poseidon and Amphitrite looked at one another.

“You… are not happy?” Poseidon asked him, suddenly looking startled. Percy blinked. Of all the things he expected, he had not expected that.

“You apologized to me for being born,” Percy pointed out. Poseidon gave a slow nod. “So… you know that it’s a hard life. You told me that, remember? When we first met?”

“But you overcame it,” Poseidon said, a note of confusion hidden under his tone. “And now you’re happy.”

The last part was said with a sort of… strained hope. As if he was trying to convince himself more than anyone else. Percy thought back to what Amphitrite said about parents sensing their children’s pain. It occurred to him that maybe the reason Poseidon didn’t talk to Percy was because he didn’t want to hear about something he couldn’t fix.

“I’m fine,” Percy said because this wasn’t about him, and he had no interest in dissecting this right now. “But that’s not why I’m here. I’m here because, granddaughter or not, your wife only turns three thousand and four once, and you missed it.”

Amphitrite stopped glaring at the ceiling to give him a double-take. “Child… I am not actually that offended he missed the feast,” she said, a little taken aback. “I’ve had over three thousand celebrations now.”

Percy scowled. Nah. He would continue to be mad.

“I still don’t understand what this is,” Triton muttered, gesturing to Percy and Amphitrite. Percy looked away again. “And why do you keep doing that?” he added to Percy, who shielded his eyes a little.

“I’m being respectful,” he said, and Amphitrite smiled a little at the ground.

“Of what?” Triton asked.

Percy peeked through his fingers. “You know,” he said. Triton waited. “Your tails. Not that I’ve looked at them!” he added hastily.

Triton gaped at him before turning to his father, who shrugged. “Why can’t you look at my tails?” he asked, aghast.

Wait.

Percy lowered his hands, turning to look at where Amphitrite was still smiling at the ground. “Dude,” he said. “Really?”

“It is not my fault you are gullible, Perseus.”

“Okay. I hate this dynamic,” Triton said and nudged his father. “Almost as much as I hate your meddling. Do not speak to Lea or Alana again. How would you feel if you found out a god had been seeing your child behind your back?” he asked.

Poseidon frowned, looking at where Amphitrite was giving Percy a victorious smirk. “I am becoming more sympathetic to your plight every moment…” he said slowly. “Perseus,” he finally said. “I would really like to know if I am being watched. Or why you even know of my wife’s celebratory day of birth.”

A thousand quips of ‘well, someone has to’ or ‘I was enlisted because you have a reputation of a whore’ floated in his mind, but he managed to restrain himself. Instead, he looked to Amphitrite, who he would let speak for him on these matters because nothing Percy said would improve matters.

“Can I not take an interest in my stepson?” Amphitrite asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Triton and Poseidon looked at one another.

“No, not really-”

“Kind of unprecedented, Mother.”

“Very out-of-character.”

“I asked if I can, not if it was a likely feat,” Amphitrite cut in, annoyed. “Poseidon,” she said. “It has come to my attention that Perseus was not given proper training for his powers.”

“Untrue,” Poseidon frowned. “Chiron has taught him.”

“Chiron is fine to teach him to swing a sword or shoot an arrow, Poseidon,” Amphitrite said. “But he is not of the sea. He can not show this boy how to stop a hurricane or see across the Arctic Ocean.”

“I can do that?” Percy whispered.

She shushed him. “So I have stepped in to show him a few things is all,” Amphitrite continued. “And if other conversations occurred while we went over these imperative skills, well, that is simply how it is,” she said and smiled at Poseidon. “But fear not, dear husband. We will not be too outspoken together.”

Ooh. Percy bit his lip. That was a little damning. Poseidon stared at her – and then to where Percy was trying to avoid going, damn. At this point, Poseidon totally knew Percy had been watching him. A tragedy, really. He supposed his time as an undercover demigod was over. It had been fun.

“This conversation is not finished,” Poseidon finally said. “For now, I will take that necklace,” he said, holding out his hand.

Hell, no.

“This keeps monsters from finding me,” Percy said, crossing his arms over his chest. “And you want it back?” Poseidon paused. “Over the slight chance, I might be watching you?”

“You are totally watching him,” Triton said helpfully.

Percy scowled at him. “Either way, if you weren’t doing anything wrong, you wouldn’t even be worried about me watching you.”

“A bit of a fallacy, but he has a point,” Amphitrite said. “By the laws of the sea, you could not take it back anyway. Rules of possession are unambiguous, my lord. You made them yourself. It is why your son’s sword could never be taken from him, or the theft of your symbol of power would be far more devastating than your brother’s bolt going missing.” Amphitrite shrugged. “Or I have misinterpreted something?” she asked, voice borderline innocent.

Poseidon slowly closed his hand. “I am displeased with all of you,” he whispered.

“And clearly, Perseus is displeased you missed my feast,” Amphitrite said, smiling coyly. “Why don’t I return him to camp?” she asked, putting another hand on Percy’s shoulder to lead him from the room. “I thank you for the audience, my king! It has been very enlightening!”

“Amphitrite-”

And Percy was zapped from the room. He stumbled when his feet touched the ground again, reaching out wildly to grasp around him until his hand clasped something soft. His bed. Good. He blinked a few times, realizing as he sat down he wasn’t alone.

“Hi,” he told Amphitrite as he turned to see her watching him, arms crossed over her chest. “Are you mad at me?”

Silence. Oh. She was mad.

Percy waited to get screamed at.

“You are a ridiculous child,” Amphitrite finally said and sat in the armchair she had preoccupied before. Her fingers went to her lips as she stared out the window. More silence.

“So…” Percy said, not really sure what she was still doing here. “How did you figure out Alana was Triton’s daughter? Just based on the birthmark?” he asked.

Amphitrite lowered her hand. “Pallas was Triton’s firstborn,” she said, and Percy raised his eyebrows. Fascinating. “To have a demigod as your first child is…. A recipe for disaster. A parent should never mourn a child, but for that to be his first fate was absolutely heartbreaking. I could never imagine it. I don’t know how Poseidon does. And for her to die so young… Triton said he’d never have a demigod child again.”

“That’s awful,” Percy agreed, though he was a little caught on the Poseidon comment. He filed it for later.

“Pallas was stabbed through the throat,” Amphitrite continued. “And Triton decreed if he were to have another child, all would bear such a mark to honor her. And sure enough, when his godly daughters came, they bore the mark of Pallas.” She shook her head. “I had never in my life thought he would have another demigod child. Until you said something…” She closed her eyes and sighed. “Thank you. It wasn’t quite what I anticipated to find, but I appreciate the knowledge all the same. Poseidon must have stumbled into her somehow. I can’t believe Triton wouldn’t have told me.”

Percy got up, taking the second armchair across from her.

“I’m sure he would have eventually,” he said. Amphitrite gave him a look. “Lea… must really be something if she is the first mortal he’s fallen in love with since then,” he tried.

“It is quite something,” she murmured, glancing sideways at Percy. “You must be feeling some complicated emotions.”

…oh.

“It’s not a big deal,” Percy said quickly, and Amphitrite scoffed.

“Ridiculous child,” she said again. She looked at the window again before glancing back at him. “Tell me.” Percy opened his mouth. “Tell me, or I will not teach you another thing. I have no time for these games,” she added sharply.

Well, then. Fine.

Percy tapped his knee, mulling over what the actual answer was. “I love my father,” he finally said. “I do. And despite everything, I think he is one of the better gods. At least, I like to believe that.” Amphitrite nodded. “Like, I think he meant well with Alana, but…it bothers me how he isn’t aware of certain things. He doesn’t seem to understand why Triton is upset, why missing your birthday is a big deal, or that my childhood wasn’t easy despite the fact he was the one who told me it wouldn’t be. I mean, how he can be so-” Percy squeezed the air in front of him. “And it just makes me worry, sometimes. What if I’m like that and don’t even know it? Sometimes, I sit on the beach and wonder…” He shook his head. “I mean, do you ever even hear nice things about the ocean?”

Amphitrite tilted her head, a single strand of dark hair falling from her fancy updo. “What do you mean? The ocean is renowned for its beauty and mystery and-”

“But does it give anything?” Percy asked. “It takes. It erodes land. It is home to a bunch of predators. It sends boats to the bottom of the sea. It’s dangerous. It’s scary. It doesn’t think about anything around it. All it does is react emotionally, and sometimes, emotions are hurtful. And when people try to appreciate the ocean, oftentimes, they can’t even get close enough to it to understand it. And if they do, they get hurt because the ocean isn’t designed to be understood. It crushes and drowns and-” He cut himself off, losing whatever he was trying to say.

Amphitrite’s eyes were on him. After a moment, she looked down at her lap, then back up.

“It gives food,” she said gently. “Humans. They eat fish, right?” Percy smiled weakly. “Octopus, too, I hear. Seaweed. Crab. Lobster. You mortals have quite the appetite,” she mused. “And it gives plenty of creatures a home. It has allowed travel and trade. It has allowed humans to wonder and revel in something they do not understand. It has allowed life. It is where life came from,” she said, voice softening. She leaned forward. “I don’t understand what it is to be human, but I can imagine it can be quite disorienting for someone who feels human to be made from something so vast. A piece of the world rather than another human.”

Percy leaned back in his chair. He knew other demigods probably had similar thoughts, but Poseidon… was such a strange, godly parent. The ocean was more than a domain. It was him. His father. Amphitrite. Triton.

“Humans have brains,” Percy said and then laughed. “Well, most humans do. Annabeth says sometimes it’s debatable with me.” Amphitrite gave a low hum in response. “And it’s weird because you have a body - and that body is technically you - but also… you are your brain. Everything that is you is in your brain. Your body is just a thing you’re in some ways. And, of course, your body affects how you experience the world, but at the end of the day, you are just an organ in a weird muscle suit,” he said, furrowing his brows. “But the ocean… it’s like… It’s like if someone took my brain out of my body. Like my brain lives outside of the thing it is supposed to be in. But the thing my brain is supposed to be in is… I’m not sure I would choose it if I’m honest.”

Amphitrite leaned back, tapping the arm of her chair. Percy shook his head.

“I guess I am trying to say that… You’re great, and it bothers me that you might not be treated with the consideration you should. In the same way that my mother wasn’t. Or Triton. Or me. It bothers me that I could one day lose sight of the people who are great in my life and might not treat them with kindness because, at the end of the day…” He lifted a hand. “Him and I have the same skin.”

More tapping. Amphitrite gave a short nod. “We should meet tomorrow,” she said finally. Percy blinked. “I have more to teach you before I send you to watch your father again.”

She stood up, and Percy was quick to stumble after her. “Wait - I’m still watching him?” he asked. “But, uh, the mortal he’s seeing wasn’t a fling, remember?”

“Not this time,” Amphitrite said, opening the door. “But he was not pleased at the idea of being followed. It makes me wonder what else he could be up to,” she mused. Percy considered pointing out nobody would really love the idea of being followed but thought better of it. “Tomorrow afternoon, meet me at the beach.”

“After-? Could I have a more specific time?” he called after her. “Afternoon, like twelve-thirty? One?” he asked, walking out onto the porch of his cabin, but Amphitrite had already vanished. “Okay. See you then, I guess,” he muttered.

Someone cleared their throat. Percy didn’t even need to turn around to know who it was.

“So,” he began as Grover and Annabeth looked at him expectantly. “There have been some interesting developments.” He gave some jazz hands. “I’m an uncle!” he said. Both kept staring. “And, well, my dad might know I’m watching him, but Amphitrite still wants to keep going, so…cool.”

Wordlessly, Grover handed Annabeth twenty bucks.

“I hate you both,” Percy muttered.

Chapter Text

'Tomorrow afternoon' ended up being around two. Annabeth was off making a disturbingly accurate sand replica of Buckingham Palace while Grover and Percy collected trash on the beach, arguing about when Amphitrite might show up.

"So, are you two friends now?" Grover asked as he grabbed a can from the shore and took a bite.

"Can you be friends with a god?" Percy asked skeptically. Grover held out his hands. "You don't count. Lord of the Wild is not the same."

"What do you mean?!"

"I mean, gods are annoying. You are not."

"Percy, Pan was a god. I am now also a god. You realize that, right?"

"You can say that you're a god, but that doesn't mean I have to accept it."

"I've already decided to take this personally," Grover said, and Percy shoved him in retaliation. Grover gave a cry of indigence that only turned into outrage when Annabeth threw a wad of sand at them, leaving Percy to cackle hysterically.

That was until the next sandball hit him. Then, obviously, it was an all-out war.

And that was how Amphitrite found them, panting and exhausted in the sand, Annabeth's recreation of Buckingham Palace somehow untouched despite the ravaged beach around them. Percy only noticed they weren't alone when an elegant shadow blocked the sun from view.

"Hello, Perseus."

"Hi, my lady," he said, giving a small wave. "Do you consider Grover a god?" From beside him, Grover bleated.

Amphitrite barely looked fazed at this point. She must be getting used to his antics. "Lord Gover is a god, yes," she answered.

Percy sat up, giving Grover a long look. All he got in response was a weak smile from his traitorous best friend.

"Is now a good time to tell you that I'm a god?" Annabeth asked, and when Percy spun around, laughed.

"Not funny."

"And what is wrong with gods?" Amphitrite asked. Percy grinned up at her with as much innocence as he could muster. "I am beginning to understand why Poseidon is so concerned about you getting blasted," she said and jerked her head. "Come. We have things to discuss."

Percy scrambled up. The air was sticky from the heat and the ocean, leaving a trail of sweat down his neck as he skipped beside her, heart thundering with excitement.

"After our discussion on philosophy yesterday, I have decided to let you in on a secret to your powers," Amphitrite said.

Percy frowned. "We discussed philosophy?" he asked. Amphitrite closed her eyes. "Do you mean my existentialism? Does that count as philosophy?" he asked and nodded. "Nice."

"Okay," Amphitrite said, grabbing his shoulders to place him in the waves. "You spoke of water being an extension of you," she said. "An external piece of you?" Percy nodded, shifting a little. "So far, I have taught you to tether yourself to family members. Emotions. Places like your home," she said, gesturing to camp behind them. "Well, think of that as… the easy version of what you are capable of."

"Great. Done."

"Do not sass me," she told him, and Percy lifted his hands in feigned surrender. "You are the ocean, child. So is your father, myself, and Triton. So are all other sea gods. So are your demigod siblings - dead or alive."

….okay. She lost him there.

"What do you mean?" he asked and felt his eyes widen. "Wait… do you mean water has memories?" Percy asked, absolutely starstruck by the realization. "We learned about that in Frozen II."

Amphitrite opened and closed her mouth a few times. "It's like… you speak English, but you also don't," she mused. "But it is not a bad way to think of things, I suppose. The mortal part of you will perish, but the ocean will remain. I have taught you to pull yourself to your father or myself because it is easier for a mortal to conceptualize a human rather than the sea when it comes to godly powers."

"But since I am the ocean, I can go anywhere the ocean is?" he asked. Amphitrite nodded. "And… I can…?"

"See anything in the ocean - past or present," she said. Percy's mouth dropped. That was cool. "Would you like to try?" she mused, seeing the excitement in Percy's eyes. He nodded. Yes. Yes, he would. "Very well. Is there something specific you'd like to see?" she asked.

A good question. Percy… did not know. As cool as it was, he didn't know much about what might hold his interest about the ocean's past. He could see ancient creatures, epic pirate battles, Triton beating on Hercules-

"Could I see when my parents met?" he asked, almost immediately regretting the words. Amphitrite didn't seem offended, though. She just smiled, grasping his hand to touch the water.

"Remember it."

"I wasn't there."

"You were," she said, nodding to the ocean. "So remember it."

"These instructions are not very detailed."

"Would you like me to leave?" Amphitrite asked dryly, and Percy quickly shook his head. Alright. Fine. He'd remember it. The waves lightly went over his hand, and Percy just decided to pretend like it was a normal memory. In the same way he remembered meeting Annabeth, he tried to imagine his parents' meeting.

It was on the beach because obviously. His mother would be at Montauk, outside their cabin… probably writing. He imagined her scribbling in a journal with a ballpoint pen when-

Suddenly, the image changed. Like Percy had changed his mind in the middle of his fake meet-cute and suddenly a furious Sally Jackson was storming up the beach with her hair a mess and hands balled by her sides.

"You," she said and nudged a fisherman sprawled out in a chair, hat covering his face. "Excuse me, but can I borrow your pitchfork?"

The fisherman removed his hat, revealing a baffled Poseidon underneath.

"Pitchfork?" he replied, glancing at where his trident stood in the sand beside him. "That is a fishing pole."

His mother looked once at the trident and then back at Poseidon. "Apologies," she said. "Can I use your fishing pole that looks like a pitchfork to scare those men who are harassing the poor porpoise?" she asked.

Poseidon frowned, leaning forward to see there was, in fact, a group of men who had made a circle around a beached porpoise, poking it instead of pulling it back into the sea.

"Benji," Poseidon said, horrified as he sat up. His mother frowned. "I, uh, call porpoises Benji," he added quickly as he stood. "It's a Greek term. I'm Greek," he added.

His mother raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't judge you if you named him," she said. "But you're wrong, and I'll tell you his real name after we save him," she said, reaching for the trident.

Poseidon quickly held it away from her. "I will take care of it," he promised. "And he is Benji," he added, a little affronted as he began to walk toward the men.

His mother laughed, falling in step behind him. "Marshmallow is obviously his name, but sure," she murmured and Poseidon gave a wary glance before sighing.

"You're wonderful, aren't you?" he asked, almost resigned. Percy's mother frowned. "Let me destroy these tyrants for tormenting an innocent Benji, and then I shall leave. This is a dangerous game already."

"Do you want to get ice cream after this?"

"Okay."

Percy snorted, and his mind snapped back to the present. Wait. Had he done it? He looked at Amphitrite, who gave an expectant smile. Huh. Percy lifted a hand.

"That was really cool," he admitted. "I can just do that?" He twisted his hand, studying it intently as the sea sprayed from his waist to his face. "Way cooler than bloodbending," he murmured and looked up. "What is the deal with that anyway? Can I do that on the regular?"

Amphitrite did a double-take.

"Bloodbending?" she repeated. Percy nodded. "You…what do you mean by that?"

Percy wrinkled his nose. "I guess it isn't technically bloodbending," he said. Amphitrite relaxed a little. "It was poison, but I'm pretty sure it operated like blood." Amphitrite paused. "It's kind of a long story, but basically, I was in Tartarus and kind of in a bad mood because… you know. It's Tartarus."

"Naturally," Amphitrite said faintly.

"Anyways, we came across the goddess. Achlys. She was being kind of a problem and trying to kill us with poison, but I pulled a reverse Uno - remind me to tell you about Uno later - and started drowning her in her own poison." Silence. "I didn't kill her," Percy added in case Amphitrite knew Achlys or something. "Annabeth got a little freaked, and I realized I had sort of overreacted."

More silence.

“I… see…” Amphitrite said. "Um, well. That is not what I pictured when I heard you were able to operate water outside of your father's domain, but very well." She nodded. "I… think we should save further discussion of those particular powers for another day." Oh. Okay. Percy wasn't in any hurry to use them anyway. "I'm also realizing I've never thanked you," Amphitrite added.

Percy tilted his head. "For what?"

"For choosing our side," Amphitrite smiled and touched his cheek. "Come. I believe your friends have food," she said, glancing over at where Grover and Annabeth were chatting as they set out a picnic blanket.

It was then that Percy realized he was actually starving. Giving Amphitrite one last grin, he dashed toward the shore. Grover always brought the best food, and to his delight, the picnic blanket was filled with his favorites.

"Can gods eat mortal food?" Percy asked, already plotting to get Amphitrite to try Cheetos because obviously she should.

Amphitrite looked at the spread and grimaced. "They can… but must they?" she asked.

Percy handed her a bowl. "They must," he said solemnly. Amphitrite looked over at her shoulder back to the water. "You can stay with us a bit longer, right?" He pointed to Grover. "He's a god, so you'd be in good company."

Grover gave an offended bleat. "Oh, now I'm good company?"

"Is this why you said Thalia was your favorite the other day?" Annabeth asked, and when Percy slowly turned to gape at Grover, grinned. "Kidding. Maybe. You never know," she said. "My lady, how is the book Percy got you coming along? Do you enjoy it?" she asked, and Amphitrite summoned a chair.

"I have finished," she said solemnly. Percy wanted to question how she had done that in less than twenty-four hours, but he had also seen Annabeth become a feral raccoon when reading about gods knows what at four in the morning. There were some things you just accepted and didn't question how. "It is was quite interesting. Are there more books on such matters in this world?" she asked, turning toward Annabeth.

Percy could have answered that, but he also respected that she knew her audience.

"Plenty," Annabeth said. "You could use the money you won from Percy to get another." Amphitrite gave a small 'huh' as Annabeth passed out some plates. "You know, you could always take the bar."

"The bar?" Percy asked.

"The exam needed to become a lawyer in a state," Amphitrite answered and frowned. "It was in the book you gave me."

"Oh. Well. I didn't read it," Percy shrugged.

"I'm not sure why I would need such a test," Amphitrite chuckled. "I needn't become a lawyer just for a hobby."

Percy grabbed some red plastic cups, pouring some lemonade as Annabeth tugged absently at a curl, gray eyes burning with consideration. She had a plot of some sort going, he was sure of it.

"No, but…" Annabeth glanced at Percy. "If you like it a lot, demigods always need lawyers. Percy told you we get in trouble a lot, right?" she asked. Amphitrite paused, subtle fascination crossing her face. "I'm just saying. Maybe the next time Percy gets accused of domestic terrorism or when a Hermes kid shoplifts for the thousandth time, might be nice to have a dedicated lawyer for such troubles."

Percy almost laughed. The idea of a goddess popping into a courtroom seemed completely outlandish, even if it was Amphitrite. He bit back his amusement the second he saw his stepmother's face. A flicker of interest touched her eyes, though it was quickly tempered.

"I am a queen," she said quickly. "I have little time for such endeavors." Annabeth shrugged and went back to her food. "Though… Triton has been asking for more responsibility…" she murmured. Annabeth and Percy exchanged a look. Oh, yeah. She was going for the lawyer thing for sure. "I'm sure Zeus would have a problem with it." Another pause. "But… Poseidon would undoubtedly support it."

"Would he?" Percy asked. "Why? Because Zeus doesn't like it?"

"Partly. It also helps you and amuses me. And anything that pleases Triton tends to please him." Amphitrite adjusted a strap on her dress. "Plus, I'm sure he is exhausted from hearing my prattle on legal matters during his meetings," she added with a smirk, telling Percy that she might be purposely trying to exhaust him.

Hm. Percy took a bite of cherry pie.

"How did you and my dad end up married?" he asked. Annabeth and Grover both looked at him. "Yeah, yeah. There's probably a myth I should know," he grumbled. In Percy's humble opinion, conversations were easier to have when you didn't know everything anyway. Annabeth would hate that premise, but Percy stood by it.

"It was in Naxos," Amphitrite said, plucking up a strawberry and smelling it. After a small nibble, she seemed to decide it was safe and bit into it. "My sisters and I always went there to dance. As the oldest, I was always of interest to many who wished to seek an alliance with my family. However, Poseidon had no such knowledge of my status. He simply saw me dance and wished to marry me."

…um. Percy looked at Annabeth, who nodded.

"Immediately?" Percy asked. "You didn't… like. Talk first?"

"Oh. Not immediately," Amphitrite laughed. "He did offer marriage immediately, but I rejected it."

"Good for you. What made you change your mind?"

"Well," Amphitrite said and considered. "I worried my family would try to press the issue, so I left so where only few could reach me. Apparently, Poseidon was quite beside himself at the rejection. He languished away as creatures came to plea for me to change my mind."

Percy pinched the bridge of his nose. "...great," he said dryly. "This is still after just seeing you dance? No conversation?"

"Well, I wouldn't say that," Amphitrite said. "I sent him a letter through his general, Delphin, explaining politely that legally, he could not force my hand and recommending some other interested women who might be up to the task. I then advised him to reconsider some of his current policies that I felt could be sharpened."

"Okay…" Percy said, trying to decide on a scale from one to ten how pissed he was about to be.

"Eventually, he wrote back, very understanding of the situation, and asked me to elaborate more on those policies. We began writing regularly." Oh. Okay. Percy relaxed slightly. "It worked that way for a bit. We'd write and eventually… I did grow fond of him." She smiled a little. "At one point, I wrote to him asking if he was still looking for a wife. He responded that if I had indeed changed my mind, I'd have to come propose to him myself." She rolled her eyes.

"Did you?" Annabeth asked. Percy made a note to tease her later. Apparently, those myths she thought he should read up on did not include this version.

"No," Amphitrite said. "Not at first. I returned. We were at a bit of a stalemate, him and I," she said, lips quirking up. "Both trying to get the other to propose. He brought me on as an advisor, and I continued dancing at Naxos to try and rile him up. It did work, eventually," she said with a scoff. "He proposed again, and that time, I said yes."

Aw… okay, that was sort of cute.

"He broke at the dance again?" Annabeth said, sounding a little disappointed.

"Weak," Percy agreed, thinking of how easily he folded with his mother.

Amphitrite straightened up. "Do not judge too harshly. I am an excellent dancer." She stood up, and Percy suddenly felt a trill of terror. He didn't know much about ancient dance, but he was hoping to the Fates that he wasn't about to see an ancient strip tease. As level-headed as Amphitrite was, gods were truly chaotic and unpredictable with that sort of thing.

Luckily, it was nothing of the sort. In fact, Percy found himself a little fascinated as Grover brought out his panflute and started playing a tune as if this had been planned. Amphitrite's movements somehow made the music seem like water too. As if she was the bridge between the sound and ocean.

"I wish you could dance like that," Annabeth said, and Percy pouted.

Rude. But also-

"Teach me," Percy said, jumping up. Annabeth laughed at him. Amphitrite rolled her eyes and slowly the movements so Percy could copy them. It went as well as one might think. He tripped, kicked some sand up, and almost slapped himself in the face. "You can't do better," Percy added to a snickering Annabeth. "Come on. Show me how you do it."

Annabeth tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Dancing is technically a craft," she said, getting up. "And my mother is the goddess of craftsmanship." She studied Amphitrite for a moment, gray eyes locked in on every movement. She took a deep breath… lifted her arms…

And stumbled.

"Ha!" Percy said.

"Shut up," Annabeth said, straightening up and trying again. She didn't get much farther. "How does the hip thing work?" she muttered. Percy shrugged.

"I think like this-"

"No, that looks dumb."

"You're dumb," Percy threw back, and Annabeth looked at him incredulously. "Here. Wait, maybe if I do this-?"

"-try turning this way."

"Your hand is way too high."

"If you step on me, I'm going to headbutt you."

"I think I got it!" Percy said and knocked Annabeth over. "....almost," he corrected.

Grover kept playing, so Annabeth and Percy promptly gave up their attempts to replicate Amphitrite's dance and instead locked elbows to jump around while Amphitrite did the hard stuff. Eventually, they went back to trying to do the dance again with only a moderate level of success.

"What are you doing with your elbow?" Annabeth laughed, stumbling into him as Amphitrite loudly tried to correct Percy's movements. Grover had stopped playing to try and co-tutor as Percy defended his gangly movements.

The sun dipped low, dousing everything in red as the afternoon came to a close. Percy was just about to give up on his dancing endeavors when he saw a form a few feet away.

…hm. Look who stopped by.

"Dad?" he called, and everyone stopped. Sure enough, Poseidon stood just within reach of the waves. "Damn. He sensed the dance from Atlantis," he told Amphitrite, deeply impressed. "How did you do that?"

Poseidon stepped out of the water, eyes moving between all of them before smiling a little when he looked at Amphitrite.

"My intention had been to see if you and Amphitrite were together… but the dancing was most certainly a bonus," he said. Uh-huh. Sure. Percy crossed his arms over his chest. "If you don't mind me interrupting," he continued, and Percy prayed to fate that no shenanigans were about to go down. "We should speak of Alana."

…yeah. The Fates didn't answer.

Chapter Text

Now, Percy was no parenting expert - let alone a grandparenting expert- but he was pretty sure Alana's situation had been resolved. Triton said he didn't want her to know she was a half-blood. So…. maybe they shouldn't speak of her?

Hot take, he knew. Percy was full of fun, revolutionary ideas like that.

"Is she alright?" Amphitrite frowned, and Poseidon nodded. "Then what-?"

"Perhaps," Poseidon interrupted. "We should return to Atlantis to have this conversation?" he asked with a pointed glance at Percy. A strange look went over Amphitrite's face. "I do not think my son needs to concern himself any longer with such affairs," Poseidon added before glancing at Grover and Annabeth. "Nor Lord Grover or Athena's kin."

Hmph. Well. Percy would like to see him try and win an argument with Amphitrite, who would undoubtedly ask him to stay.

"Perseus, go ahead to your cabin," Amphitrite said. Okay. Weird. "The harpies come out at night, right?" she asked, gesturing vaguely around the camp. "Go ahead."

Wait, why did he have to leave? Annabeth gently pulled at him, but Percy felt a little taken aback. Why did he have to leave? He… why did he have to leave? Slowly, he let himself be pulled away. His father gave a weak smile. Percy didn't return it. Why did he have to leave?

"I'm sure it's fine," Grover said as they all silently trudged back to camp. "Amphitrite can beat him most arguments, so if it's anything foolish, she can course correct." Right. Yeah. Totally. Except, why did he have to leave? Percy could have backed her up. Why did she suggest he leave? That was crazy. Absolutely insane.

"I'll be right back," Percy said, touching his necklace. Grover sighed.

"They probably went to Atlantis," Annabeth pointed out.

"Then I'll be super right back," Percy reasoned. He waited for them to argue. "...no telling me this is a bad idea?" he asked.

"We've learned that it makes no impact on your decision," Annabeth reasoned. "Though, I don't get to tell you I told you so as much when I don't mention it, so… this is a bad idea," she said with a nod.

"I can respect that. Grover?" he asked.

"I'm implementing a new rule that if something is a bad idea and you do it anyway, then I should get some form of payment."

"Ooh. That's interesting," Annabeth said, perking up. "Like he takes us out for dinner or something?" she asked and nodded. "Okay. If you go and this turns into a disaster, I want to go to that fancy Italian place near your apartment."

Percy remembered when they were kids and would spend hours arguing with him over various plans. Shoutout to when Annabeth bullied him into saying hello to a pink poodle... alas. Times have changed, and now he just had to buy food for them. Typical.

"Good choice," Grover said and clapped Percy on the shoulder. "Have fun. Hope you've been saving money because I'm ordering the most expensive thing on the menu."

…whatever. Percy stuck his tongue out at them before spinning back around toward the beach.

The sun was practically gone now, only beams of light in the sky as the stars began to peak out. Percy peered over the dunes, preparing to dive into the sea and summon himself into Atlantis. Surprisingly, Amphitrite and Poseidon were still there, face-to-face, like they were going to duel on the beach or something.

Which was simply not going to happen because if his father tried to duel Amphitrite, then he was going to get that Hephaestus TV and broadcast himself committing a godly murder live to Olympus.

"You have to convince him to rethink this," Poseidon said, and Percy touched his necklace before inching closer. Neither seemed to notice him. It must be working. "It is unfair to the child. To Triton."

Amphitrite crossed her arms over her chest, dress fluttering. "He does not wish for her to-"

"Do not give me that," Poseidon muttered. Whatever lighthearted aura his father had come with was gone. Clearly, that had been a front just for Percy. "Triton is completely misunderstanding the benefit of being a minor god. He could see Alana. Visit her. Know her. Zeus wouldn't care - I doubt he would even know!" he said, throwing up a hand. "And despite his qualms that monsters would find her if she knew who she was, it only takes one. If Alana does not know how to defend herself, then the one monster who does find her will be her downfall. And then what? A thousand more years of grief for a daughter he didn't even get a chance to know?"

Amphitrite ran a hand over her face. "I don't know how you expect me to convince him."

"You owe me an attempt," Poseidon argued. "Instead of spending all your time with Perseus - which is cruel, by the way."

"Literally, how?" Percy sighed. "Just because you-"

"It isn't what you think," Amphitrite said quietly. Poseidon scowled at her. "I swear, it isn't."

"You swear on the River Styx, do you?" Poseidon asked darkly. That comment felt strangely specific. Percy glanced between them, unsure of what he was missing. "Please… just let me help one of my sons."

"Triton is my son too!" Amphitrite bit out. "And have you considered that Perseus also thought it was the right call? Why not listen to him?" Amphitrite shook her head. "Forgive me, my lord, but I am more inclined to side with an actual demigod on this matter."

Percy gave a small clap, but he still felt like he was reeling from the part of the conversation he wasn't understanding.

"Perseus is young and does not understand the complications of this situation. In part, because you are lying to him." What? Percy looked at Amphitrite, but she stayed eerily silent. "Have you not finished, Amphitrite? I have been suitably punished for my misdeeds. Leave him out of it!"

"That's not what this is!"

"I asked you years ago to give him that necklace," Poseidon cut in, and the waves whipped around dangerously in the background. "From the second he was born. I apologized and asked you to give it to him. I begged you to teach him his powers because Zeus would be watching my every move until that prophecy was finished."

"What?" Percy said and gave a nervous laugh. "No. No, she didn't know I even existed until I came to camp." He wasn't sure why he said that out loud. Possibly because he needed to remind himself of that... because that would be a crazy thing for Amphitrite to lie about - and she didn't do that.

"You swore to me that you would give him that necklace," Poseidon whispered. "That could have been his way out of the prophecy. You swore it on the River Styx-"

"That I would give it to him when I deemed the time was right."

"And you never once visited him to avoid that time!" Poseidon shouted. "Another legal loophole from the brilliant Amphitrite. I may have seen it if I hadn't trusted you not to bring your spite upon my child." Amphitrite closed her eyes. "And the moment you think I have another affair, then you decide to drag him into it. Now you decide to do as I begged you to all those years ago because you can use him for your own needs." Poseidon shook his head. "And what's worse is that you taunt me with it!"

"Poseidon-"

"You heard him before! He wasn't happy growing up. I don't know how to fix that."

"I can help you fix that," Amphitrite cut in quickly. "I was wrong. I was wrong in my intentions, but Poseidon, Perseus is a good child. And I think you can right things with him-"

"Enough," his father cut in. Percy felt as though someone had doused his blood in ice. Oh. This had been…

Oh.

"For now, please. Speak to Triton. Let him have what he can with Alana."

"He won't listen to me," Amphitrite whispered. The wind blew, sending her hair billowing behind her. "He is convinced this is the right path." She bit her lip. "If it came from Perseus, though…" she trailed off, and Poseidon threw his hands up, walking away. "I can tell Perseus everything, Poseidon. Once he realizes you did what was best for him… he'll support your view on this, I think."

Poseidon put his hands on his hips, turning back to her. After several long moments, he shook his head. "He is happier with you, I think," he said quietly. "He is learning his powers. He… trusts you. I do not want to be the reason that goes away. I can play along and let you be the hero." Poseidon shook his head. "It is better than him realizing neither of us are."

And with that, he turned away, vanishing into the wind so that his footprints were the only thing left behind.

Percy took off the necklace.

"You tricked me?"

Amphitrite was staring at the sand. She didn't move at Percy's voice. He was sure she suspected he had come back.

"Perseus…" she began, voice quiet. Percy waited. She looked up and shook her head. "I…" He swallowed, feeling incredibly stupid. Once again, his ideals had gotten the best of him. He bit his tongue, looking away. "I never, never once meant you any harm-"

"But you knew," Percy interrupted. Amphitrite winced. "You didn't find out who I was when I came to camp. You knew the entire time. You were supposed to give me this the entire time!" He lifted the necklace to shake at her face. "So that the gods or monsters couldn't find me."

"I know. It is unforgivable."

"Unforgivable?" Percy asked, voice catching. "Unforgivable?" he repeated. "Do you have any idea what my mother went through to protect me?" His voice wavered, but he didn't care. Fury might have run through his blood, but it was tempered by something akin to grief. "How she disguised my scent? And I blamed my dad for not teaching me anything, but he couldn't because Zeus would find me. You were supposed to?" he asked. Amphitrite looked like she might cry. He didn't care. "Well?!" he shouted.

"I was angry," she said, voice raising with a note of pain. "Years ago, I never thought twice about my husband's affairs. They never bothered me because that was all I knew. But once the oath came and the affairs stopped…" She closed licked her lips, searching for the words. She took a step toward Percy. He stepped back. "But when he told me of you… I was more hurt than I anticipated. I got used to having him to myself. And I found myself convinced that ignoring you was less evil than hurting you."

Percy nodded. Fine.

"I could understand that," Percy murmured. Amphitrite gave him a pathetically helpless look. "And if you hadn't played this stupid game with me, then this wouldn't suck so badly."

"It wasn't meant to be a game," Amphitrite said quickly. Percy laughed dryly. "I just thought if it was another affair from your father, there would be some justice in you being the one to catch him with that necklace. That it would remind him of what happened to his last demigod child-"

"You should go," Percy cut in. Amphitrite tried to move toward him again. "I said you should leave." He brought out the necklace again.

"Wait," Amphitrite said, voice panicked. “No, Perseus, please let me-”

Percy slipped the necklace back on.

"Let me explain more! Perseus, please take it off," she said, reaching for the spot he had been before. Percy just stepped to the side. Shaking his head, he turned, walking back toward the cabins. After a few feet, he stopped in front of his before turning and instead giving a light knock on Cabin Six.

Gods, he was such an idiot.

A few seconds later, the door creaked open. Percy felt a swell of relief when it was Annabeth who answered. She took one look at him before stepping out onto the cabin's porch, pulling the door closed behind her.

"What happened?" she whispered, lifting a hand to his cheek. "Are you okay?"

Percy nodded, catching her wrist so she didn't let go of him. "Yeah," he said quickly. "Um, yeah. It's just… you know. Gods are gods." Annabeth's brows furrowed. "Always up to their games and lies and stuff."

"What do you mean?"

"Could I stay here tonight?" Percy blurted out. Annabeth pulled back a little, trying to study his face. "Amphitrite can't see me right now, but she might go to my cabin to try to talk to me. I don't really want to hear her right now."

Annabeth nodded slowly. Something dangerous crossed her eyes. "Your cabin?" she asked and looked over his shoulder. "Do you think she's in there now?" She took a step in that direction, but Percy quickly blocked her.

"Easy. I'm the impulsive one, remember?"

"Nope. Not right now, I don't," Annabeth muttered. "What did she do?" Percy shrugged, not really in the mood to give a voiceover. Luckily, Annabeth seemed to understand that because she calmed down instantly. Wordlessly, she pulled him into a hug. "...you can share my bunk," she whispered. "But I can't promise what my siblings will do when they find you there."

"You'll protect me, right?" he asked, voice muffled by her shoulder.

Annabeth laughed, breath hot on his neck. "I'll do my best," she whispered and pulled away, interlacing their fingers.

"No telling me I told you so?" he murmured as she reached over to open the door again.

Annabeth sighed and pulled him inside. "No. But you still owe me Italian food," she said, bumping his shoulder. Percy smiled weakly and let the door close behind him.

Chapter Text

And as if this all couldn't get any worse, the next day, Percy once again found himself in Florida.

Granted, when he entered the ocean that morning, he knew he would pop up in either Atlantis or Florida. Neither he was particularly thrilled to be going to, but nevertheless.

Percy had barely registered the smell of coffee and the lull of jazz music before someone spoke to him.

"There you are. Lorie! He's here!" Triton sat by a large window at a table, sipping from a paper cup. Percy looked over his shoulder, utterly bewildered, as his brother looked up at him. "The barista," he explained. "She thought I was getting stood up, but I told her you were just perpetually rude and never showed up to anything on time."

It was too early for this.

"Hard to be late to something you didn't plan," Percy said as he sat down.

Triton scoffed before smiling at a woman who stopped by their table, placing a steaming cup in front of Percy. Curiously, he read the side to see he had gotten a cappuccino.

"You didn't need to. You are truly just that predictable," Triton informed him and looked out the window. The coffee shop looked to be part of a hotel, situated on one of the upper floors with a crowded beach below. Percy glanced down, playing a quick game of Where's Waldo up until he spotted a little girl splashing in the waves with Lea. "She's already a strong swimmer," Triton mused, eyes doting as Alana jumped up and down. "The Olympics still take place these days, right? I could see her competing."

Percy watched as Alana fell face-first into the water. "Me too," he said, tapping his cup's side. "She really is your fourth child ever?" he asked.

"That depends. I raised Athena. Does she count?"

"Horrifying, considering my girlfriend is her daughter, but sure."

"Then Alana would be my fifth," Triton murmured, which was kind of crazy to think about. Five kids in thousands of years… Alana truly was a rarity.

"And all girls," Percy noted. "I guess you are the ultimate Girl Dad."

Triton rolled his eyes. "Better than snot-nosed sons," he said, looking over at Percy pointedly. It felt a little bold since Triton was also a snot-nosed son, but whatever. "I heard what happened with my mother-"

"I'm not here to talk about that," Percy cut in. And he wasn't. Percy had taken the night with Annabeth to screw his head on straight and readjust his priorities. Right now? Alana was his priority. Helping another demigod - his niece, no less - have the best life she could? That was his priority. "Look, I know she's your kid. I won't tell you what to do… but I do want to make sure you understand all your options."

Triton kept his eyes on the beach, not answering. Percy took that as a sign to keep going.

"I get the feeling if you had a chance to be in her life, you would. Am I right about that?" he asked, and when Triton didn't answer, tapped the table. "If her safety wasn't a concern, would you want to be around?" he asked more forcefully.

Triton breathed in slowly, eyes closing with annoyance. "Of course," he muttered. "But-" He cut himself off when Percy held out the necklace Amphitrite had given him. A long pause followed. "Your scent is far stronger," he finally said. "You would benefit from that much more."

"I've made it this far," Percy shrugged and put it on the table between them. "Look, I meant what I said about demigods having it rough. But also said that with the assumption you wouldn't be around. That changes if you are."

Triton tugged at the end of his ponytail, looking longingly at the necklace before taking another sip of his drink.

"I don't want her at camp."

"Then don't," Percy shrugged. "Have her wear the necklace. Monsters or gods won't find her. You can visit her. Problem solved." Triton pursed his lips. "Why don't you want her at camp?" he asked curiously. "Aside from me, obviously."

Triton ran a hand over his face. "Pallas wasn't killed by a monster," he murmured. "I've never had a child killed by a monster - or even an enemy. She and Athena were training. It was an accident… and now my parents wanted me to send Alana to a place where she'd train every day. I won't do it." His voice caught before he looked down at the necklace on the table. "...what do you want for that?"

Percy tilted his head. "Want for it?" he repeated and slid the necklace closer to him. "Nothing. It's yours."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing," Percy promised.

Triton looked at him, expression unreadable. A few more beats of silence went by. "You're the reason she exists," he finally said. "Alana." Percy inwardly sighed. Why did gods feel the need to start things off with such wild declarations? "I don't often leave the sea. After Pallas and Athena… I told myself there would be nothing for me there. But," Triton glanced at Percy. "My mother asked me to check on you."

….interesting.

"What do you mean?" Percy asked slowly.

Triton shrugged. "My mother is perfect," he said, and Percy snorted. Given recent events, he'd have to disagree. "I mean that to an extent. She's done everything she was supposed to. She did it in her own way, the best way, and tolerated disrespect while calling it out gracefully. You seem to be similar to her in that way," he added, looking a little thoughtful. Obsessed with the idea that Percy called out disrespect gracefully. Now wasn't the time, but he was totally circling back to that. "My father…" Triton sighed. "He expected too much of her when he asked her to take care of you."

"What does this have to do with-"

"Be quiet for a few minutes," Triton interrupted, and Percy rolled his eyes. "We do go a little crazy when it comes to our children," he mused. Percy gave up on getting a straight answer from him. Typical god. "My parents have been married for thousands of years. A long time to love and hurt each other." Alana popped out of the water, scaring someone who had been swimming near her. "Perseus, my mother had just lost a child when you came along."

What?

"Lost a- what on earth are you talking about?" Percy asked, sitting in his seat. He didn't understand how any of this related to anything.

"New gods are very rare," Triton said quietly. "Not many are even conceived these days. Those who are born struggle because they were not born during an age where they can be known or worshiped. Many fade before even turning a century old." Triton gave a heavy sigh. "So imagine my mother's reaction upon losing a child she had not even yet given birth to and then my father appearing to ask her to take care of you."

"Jesus," Percy muttered. That was… The fact Amphitrite did not even bring that up during her argument with Poseidon spoke volumes.

"You can imagine the fallout," Triton agreed. "My mother was desperately trying to do the math - to see if perhaps her child was the price the Styx took for Poseidon breaking the oath. I don't think it was," he added quickly, seeing the absolute horror on Percy's face. "But that was worse in a way. It made her realize whatever punishment Styx planned for Poseidon could very well punish her as collateral. In the way that I was hurt by Athena's broken oath."

"That is so horrible," Percy murmured.

Triton shrugged. "She persevered. But, obviously, she wanted nothing to do with you. Up until you were eleven," he added, lips twitching. "Your mother prayed to her. She listened. Eventually, she broke down and asked me to deliver the necklace to you - possibly just to make the guilt stop. And as I walked up to your apartment, disguised as a UPS worker to deliver this necklace, I ran into Lea." He smiled a little, eyes drifting over where Lea was dragging her daughter out of the water to start building a sand castle. "She worked in New York then and was a regular delivery person to your home. She knew you lived there," he added. Percy searched back, vaguely remembering seeing the same lady in their grimy old building who would drop off packages. "And she thought I was disguised as a UPS worker as some elaborate plan to kidnap you."

Aw. Lea had been looking out for him. "I was a cute kid," Percy shrugged.

Triton rolled his eyes. "At any rate, I met her, corrected that assumption, and a few months later…." He gestured to the beach. "I found out Alana was coming."

Huh. Percy leaned back in his chair.

"But I never got the necklace," Percy said slowly. "Did you just decide to ditch me for the pretty girl?"

"It disappeared," Triton frowned. "At first, I thought my mother summoned it back to her, but later on, she asked me why I sent it back to her. I often wondered if Styx had something to do with it. My mother's oath was that she would give it to you when she deemed it was the right time. I think Styx was giving her a chance to be honest with herself about if it was the right time."

"Does Styx often give second chances like that?"

"No, but my mother is something of a fan, in case you hadn't noticed," Triton chuckled. "If Styx had a soft spot for anyone… it would be her."

Fair enough. Percy leaned back in his chair, taking a sip of his cappuccino. "She still lied to me," he reminded Triton. "Your mom. That really wasn't cool. She let me think she was my friend."

"And you needn't forgive her," Triton said, picking up the necklace and studying it. He placed it back down. "I won't defend her. Be as angry as you'd like. All I ask is that you consider the fact that telling you the truth from the start meant telling you some of her most painful memories in recent years."

Percy bit his tongue. Well, she didn't have to tell him everything. He didn't need to know about her kid or even that she tried to give the necklace to him at some point. He just wished she hadn't completely changed the story.

Percy could have accepted that she didn't want to deliver the necklace or teach him to use his powers. It would have sucked to hear, but she mourning and…. Huh.

Triton took another sip of his drink, looking at him expectantly.

"I'm still mad," Percy muttered. "But… I mean, I can see how maybe there was a risk that I would have started asking questions about why she didn't hold up her end of the deal. She didn't know me. She didn't know if I would need justification or how I would react." Triton nodded. "But it still sucks," he added quickly.

"I agree."

"I haven't forgiven her."

"Of course not."

"You're using a very patronizing tone while agreeing with me."

"I am, yes."

"Take the necklace and go," Percy said, shoving it closer to him.

Triton picked it back up, eyes curious as he looked back up at Percy. "You're serious?" he asked. Percy shrugged. "You are just… giving this to me?" Percy nodded. "You understand this is very rare and would change your life?"

"Do you want me to take it back?" Percy asked moodily. Triton stared at him. "Go be with your daughter, Triton. You want her to have a good life?" he asked. Slowly, his brother nodded. "Then give her a safe childhood with a dad who is around." He reached out to push Triton's hand toward him. "And thank you for telling me all of this. I don't know what I'm going to do with it yet, but… thank you," he murmured.

A thousand expressions crossed Triton's face before he finally put the necklace in his pocket, eyes drifting to Alana and Lea. A flicker of excitement - and dare he say hope - touched his face.

"Thank you, Perseus," he said and stood up. "For what it's worth, my mother does seem very fond of you – and perhaps rightly so. Whether you forgive her or not, I do hope you find peace."

That was a touching sentiment, but before Percy could relish in an actual bonding moment with his brother, Triton disappeared. Lame. Percy sipped his cappuccino. Well, maybe he could spend the day here. Or go get Annabeth so they could catch a movie or-

The door to the coffee shop slammed open.

"Aw," Lorie said, handing out more coffee. "What a cute service dog."

The Minotaur blinked back. Even he seemed taken aback by the Mist managing to pull that one off. Percy sipped his cappuccino, inwardly rolling his eyes at how fast the monsters came back. Come on, it had been less than five minutes since he got rid of the necklace. Seriously?

"Asterion," he greeted because, yes, he was on a first-name basis with the Minotaur. Percy figured it was rude to kill someone so many times without learning their real name. The Minotaur snorted, breath coming out of his nose like smoke. "Not sure why you think this will work out any better for you now than when I was twelve," he mused. "But can I finish my drink?"

The Minotaur roared.

"How did you even get up here?" Percy mused, looking around. The Minotaur dragged its hooves over the ground, shaking its head. Percy pulled out Riptide. "Alright, whatever. Fine. Let's do this, Ugly."

If anyone was wondering - Percy killed him in under ten minutes. Cool!

And then he was promptly arrested. Uncool!

And the charges? Well, according to the police, he attacked a cute little service dog which was a fucking felony.

Not only was he going to prison, but Percy was going to have to deal with the newspaper headlines of 'Florida Man Attacks Service Animal and Flees from Police After Stealing a Burrito.'

…don't worry about the burrito thing. That's Percy's business.

Would they even take into account he wasn't from Florida? The journalists would do their due diligence, right? Percy couldn't stand his reputation being squandered like that. Desperately, he wished he was wearing a Mets shirt.

Maybe prison would be nice. Could gods bother him there? If not, then he'd just have Annabeth use her hat to sneak in to see him. Honestly, he was surprised they hadn't broken into or out of prison yet.

These were the thoughts bouncing around his head as he sat at the interrogation table in a room with a two-way mirror and hands cuffed to a table like a dumbass in one of those crime shows. Amphitrite would actually probably enjoy those… not that he was thinking about her right now.

The door swung open, revealing his new bestie, Elijah, who had arrested him earlier. "Hey, kid," he greeted. Percy waved, chains rattling around his wrists. "Your lawyer is here."

…shit. Percy knew where this was going.

"I don't want to see her."

Elijah looked over his shoulder. "I don't want to tell her no," he said, lowering his voice a little.

Coward. Tilting his head up to the ceiling with a dramatic groan, Percy gave a belligerent, fine. Elijah exhaled with relief before opening the door wider. Sure enough, Amphitrite walked in, dressed in a black pantsuit with the law book Percy had given her under her arm.

Percy glared. She sat down.

Silence.

"Do you want me to get you out of this or not?" she finally asked. Percy sighed, running a hand over his face. She waited. Finally, Percy nodded. "Very well," Amphitrite said and opened the book.

Chapter Text

"Pasiphaë's boy?"

"Yes."

"And he looked like a service dog?"

"That's what they're telling me."

"And he attacked you?"

"What has your experience with the Minotaur been like? You know they used to feed him virgins, right?"

"They what?"

"Girl, where have you been?" Percy complained, and Amphitrite gestured vaguely. "A thousand years, and you don't leave the sea long enough to know Asterion is kind of a jerk?" he asked.

Amphitrite huffed as she leaned back in her chair. "...did the mortals see an owner of this so-called service dog?" she asked. Percy considered. He didn't hear anything about it, but it was also hard to say for sure what mortals saw. "I may be able to work with that," Amphitrite muttered, flipping through a few pages of her book.

Percy said nothing, watching her in silence as she scribbled something down. An awkwardness sat between them, neither actually addressing the elephant in the room but instead passive-aggressively shouting around it.

"Where was your necklace during all of this?" Amphitrite muttered, rubbing her temple.

"Triton has it." Her eyes flicked up. "I gave it to him," he added quickly. "For Alana." Another pause. "You should know he… told me some stuff." Amphitrite tensed. "About-"

"I can guess," Amphitrite cut in. She absently touched her hair, fixing it before looking back down at her book. "It was not his place to speak such things."

Almost unwillingly, Percy felt his frustration with her flicker.

"Look," he began and then thought over what he knew. "I am upset with you," he went with. Amphitrite didn't answer. "And you don't have to tell me anything. I'm not going to push this… but you should know this has all been such whiplash for me. I hear one thing, and then the context completely changes with the next thing I hear. You're the jerk, my dad's the jerk - we've gone back and forth enough times that I have no idea who is actually right." Amphitrite sighed, closing her eyes. "You don't have to explain anything," he reiterated. "But if you did… I would really appreciate having all the facts this time. No surprises."

Slowly, Amphitrite's eyes moved up. He could tell she was torn, fingers tapping idly against the pages in front of her before she leaned back in her chair.

"If you are looking to idolize either me or my husband, you won't find any solace, Perseus," she finally said. "These days, gods seem to mean perfection to mortals, but in truth, divinity is made up of sins." She pursed her lips. "That is not to say we are incapable of good or should not be held accountable for when we are wrong. Though," she shrugged. "I admit not many have tried for the latter. It has made us a… disagreeable group, to be certain."

Yeah, that was putting it mildly.

Amphitrite smiled a little. It was sad. Forced. "I knew that child wasn't likely to last. Not in this world where too little is worshiped, even outside the sea. It is a strange thing to mourn something growing inside you. You don't plant a sapling with the knowledge it wilts before becoming a tree." She shrugged. "But there I was. And… it was not something I had experienced before. It was not a grief I knew how to handle. There were better actions to be taken, but I reacted emotionally." She sighed, tilting her head back. "I sent Poseidon away."

Percy frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I realized I was pregnant and… was furious. I hated him. An unfair response, but I felt as though he had cursed me with an inevitable grief. I thought perhaps he had broken his oath to Styx, and I was to bear the punishment." Amphitrite shook her head. "So I fought back - against Styx and my husband. I threw a fit. Made a scene. Screamed. Caused storms. Told him how much I hated him and wanted him gone. Complete and utter chaos," she smiled a little. "But I did not tell him about the child."

"He didn't know?"

Amphitrite scoffed. "I wanted to deny him the opportunity to grieve with me. To be in control of the pain. It was wrong," she added softly. "He was baffled by my anger but didn't have much time to question it as I insisted he leave Atlantis. And then, a few months later, he returned having truly broken his oath to Styx." Amphitrite swallowed. "And he gave me that necklace and asked me to look after you. That is when I told him."

Big yikes. Percy grimaced. "Oh," he said softly.

"He was hurt. Furious. And I can tell he didn't know what to do." Amphitrite grimaced. "As you can imagine, it led to a… catastrophic argument. I may have pushed him away, but it hadn't crossed my mind that I would be pushing him toward another."

"He shouldn't have done that," Percy murmured.

Amphitrite chuckled. "If it had been any other point in our relationship, I wouldn't have minded. As I said, it had always been the nature of things since our marriage. I never asked for him to stop his various meetings with mortals. It was only until the oath that it occurred to me that maybe it was something I could want. And, well, learning he bore another child after losing mine put quite a sting in things…"

"You miscarried while he was gone?" Percy asked, trying not to sound too horrified. Fun fact: he was.

"That is why I sent him away," Amphitrite reminded him. "Poor Triton was beside himself with confusion. He picked up most of what was happening, but I hadn't explained anything to him. He was forced to take care of me without much context, I'm afraid," she mused.

Right. Totally. Percy tried not to gape at her. As someone who watched trash reality shows with Piper every Sunday night, his godly family truly was something to behold.

(um, don't judge him? Love Island had caused strife among him and Aphrodite kids, who had the nerve to support some of the most unhinged people he had ever seen. He would never forget Rebecca's reaction to the avocado toast situation).

"At any rate," Amphitrite continued as if she wasn't unloading some top-tier trauma to Percy while he was still chilling in handcuffs. "It got nasty. Poseidon's concern for your safety became something of an obsession after learning the truth. He begged me to help - saying if I did, he'd forgive me for not telling him about our child - and I managed to find a loophole out of it."

"Jesus," Percy muttered. "That… I am so sorry. I'm sorry he tried to force your hand like that," he added, a little unimpressed with his father weaponizing his stepmother's (admittedly unkind) form of grieving to help Percy.

Amphitrite looked at the door. Percy watched a thousand expressions cross her face, fingers lightly tugging her hair before sighing. Without warning, she leaned forward, fingers lightly touching his hand.

"Most parents either become monsters to their children or for them. It is something he and I will learn from, but…." She squeezed his hands tighter. "I have wronged you. I do know that. And I apologize. I shouldn't have lied or used you. The... pain of such a tale... I admittedly am not used to speaking of such things aloud. Nor my shortcomings," she added. Slowly, her hand slipped off of his. "For what it's worth, you have brought me some comfort, Perseus. I spent years thinking about the child I lost… I won't ever stop, probably, but having met you. Known you. It made me realize if I had not lost that child and sent Poseidon away, you might not even exist. You, who has sided with the gods despite us not always being kind. You, who has saved Olympus multiple times. You, who is incredibly kind and loving and good. I'm glad you are what came out of my grief. I only can regret that you do not have a similar reprieve in me or your father."

A hard lump formed in Percy's throat. Well, shit.

"I forgive you," he said before he could think better of it. Annabeth would call him a pushover, but literally, that might have been the kindest thing a god had ever said to him. What the hell was he supposed to do?

Amphitrite let go of him. "No, you don't."

"What? But-"

"Have some standards."

"You don't want me to forgive you?"

"No, I want you to have some standards," Amphitrite said dryly. Unbelievable. "Perhaps in a year, we may discuss forgiveness."

….what was happening?

"I want to forgive you now, though."

"You cannot," Amphitrite said simply. "For now, I will work to earn your forgiveness by keeping you out of jail."

"But I've already forgiven you."

Amphitrite scowled at him and stood up. "Very well. I suppose I have no reason to be here, then-"

"Are you for real?" Percy complained. "Fine. I don't forgive you. Get me out of here," he said, and Amphitrite gave a pleased smirk before sitting back down. "How did you even convince them to let you in here, anyway? You're not actually a lawyer yet… or did you already take the bar?" he asked suspiciously.

"The Mist," Amphitrite shrugged. "I'll get my real license later," she said and then fixed Percy with a considering look. "When do you learn how to use the Mist?" she asked. Percy stared at her blankly. "...you know about the Mist, right?"

"Yes," Percy said snidely. "My friend Hazel can manipulate it really well. Thalia can sort of do it. I'm not as good," he admitted. "It's not something anyone really teaches us. I mean, Chiron a bit, but it's not like part of a curriculum."

Amphitrite frowned. "Have you considered you would get in less trouble if you could manipulate the Mist?"

"Yeah, but, like, I suck at it."

"Do you practice?" she asked.

Silence.

"I don't need this," Percy said, pointing a finger at her. "I haven't forgiven you yet, remember? So no lectures."

Amphitrite rolled her eyes. "Let me take care of this. If anyone asks, you were defending yourself from a rabies-riddled dog who had already attacked its poor owner, which is why the service animal was untended. You were entirely in the right, and the coffee shop cameras will prove it."

Huh. Percy leaned back. Alright. He could work with that. He pointed at her in approval. Amphitrite pointed back, standing up as she tossed her hair over her shoulder.

It was nice having a lawyer on his side. Percy probably could have escaped custody, but then he would be a missing criminal again, and that always made it hard for him to go out in public. Like, come on. Let a man get some ice cream without the cops trying to figure out if he was wanted for a bunch of random quests that looked like crimes.

He shook his hands, enjoying the subtle jangling of chains. As he went about trying to make a one-man band with the handcuffs and table (and some beatboxing, obviously), the table disappeared.

"What?" he asked and blinked. The floor turned to marble. "Oh, come on," he muttered and looked up at the large hall he was standing in. "No," he said, turning to see twelve thrones behind him. "No!" he shouted. A second later, twelve gods appeared in said thrones. "No!"

"Hi, kid!" Apollo said, waving. "What are you doing here?"

"Suffering," Percy muttered, trying his best not to sound surly… he failed. His eyes moved to his father, who seemed just as confused by the summoning. "Is there a reason I'm here?" he asked just as a swoosh came from behind him.

"....why?" someone muttered. Percy turned to see Nico grimacing a few feet away. A second later, Hazel appeared beside him, giving a baffled spin before seeing the gods. Her eyes widened.

Another swoosh came, and Thalia stumbled forward as if she had been in mid-run. She caught herself and looked up. "Sometimes, I think being a tree was more peaceful," she greeted.

…maybe Percy should consider the pros and cons of being turned into a piece of kelp. He had balked at the idea in the past, but it didn't seem so bad now that he was older.

"Dogs probably peed on you," he said, just to talk himself off the plantified ledge.

Thalia closed her eyes. "And hello to you, Percy," she said flatly. He waved.

From the front of the throne room, a burst of lightning came. You-Know-Who appeared, looking as annoying as ever. Thalia crossed her arms over her chest, annoyance already flittering over her. Hades pursed his lips, eyes moving to his kids before placing a finger over his lips to hide whatever expression he was making.

"Demigods," Zeus greeted. "Family," he added to the other gods. "I am afraid I must bring you all here on a rather urgent matter."

….if this ended in a quest, Percy was going to be pissed.

"I feared as much," Poseidon said, voice strained with irritation. "For you to drag Hades and my own children here without our permission."

Zeus raised his hands as Hades gave Poseidon a grateful nod.

"As king, I must make quick decisions. I do not defer to you on these matters," he said. Thalia rolled her eyes. Luckily, Zeus either didn't notice this or elected to ignore it. "I will be frank, most of you have been brought here as witnesses. I fear a council must take place for a crime."

Shit, shit, shit. He knew about the necklace. He knew about Alana. He knew-

"Hazel Levesque," Zeus said, and Nico tensed. "Please step forward."

A long pause followed. Thalia looked around, frowning as Hazel shuffled past them to the front. It was a little strange to think, but Percy realized Thalia wouldn't really know Hazel that well. How would she be a witness to anything about Hazel? What did Hazel even do? She was perfect. Percy called bullshit.

"Lord Jupiter," Hazel greeted and put her hands behind her back. Hades sat up in his seat, eyes flashing.

"Child," Zeus said. "It has come to my attention that on June 13th, 1942, you had, in fact, died."

Oh, hell no.

"Don't respond," Percy said quickly. If there is one thing he had learned from Amphitrite, it was to keep your mouth shut until a professional comes around. Hazel glanced at him, fear touching her eyes. "Is this a trial?" he asked Zeus.

No response. Percy looked at Poseidon. If Zeus wanted to punt Hazel back into the Underworld, surely there was a reason Percy, Thalia, and Nico were here. Otherwise, it would have been stupid to bring people who would surely take Hazel's side.

Unless…

"Nobody say anything," Percy added to Nico and Thalia. "He might be trying to get us to perjure ourselves." Everyone turned to him. "That means we can get in trouble if they catch us lying about…" Percy narrowed his eyes at Zeus. "Things."

Thalia raised an eyebrow. "You've officially spent too much time with Annabeth," she said and then glanced over at Zeus. "You think my dad is trying to entrap me?" she asked suspiciously.

"I am not."

"Maybe," Percy said slowly. Thunder rumbled ominously throughout the room. "Don't worry," he added to Hazel. "I have a lawyer."

"A lawyer?" Hazel repeated.

"You have a lawyer? Why does he have a lawyer?" Thalia asked, turning to Nico, who shrugged. "Has he always had a lawyer?"

"I'm assuming Annabeth is his lawyer," Nico said, hands clenched into tight fists. His voice sounded calm, but Percy could tell that if this went South, he'd be launching himself at Zeus before letting his sister return to the Underworld.

Thalia gave a subtle, ah, under her breath. "Right-"

"It's not Annabeth," Percy said impatiently. He turned to Poseidon. "Can you please call my lawyer?"

At once, everyone looked at his father.

"You got your son a lawyer?" Hades asked incredulously.

"No!" Poseidon scowled. "He got himself a lawyer… somehow," he muttered with a wary glance at Percy. He smiled. "But even if I did, do not act as if I am crossing any lines, Hades. Remind me how your son gets around these days?"

"A chauffeur who helps my child adapt to the twenty-first century is not the same as a lawyer," Hades argued.

"Because dead racecar drivers are the norm of the twenty-first century."

"Well…" Hades frowned. "Jules-Albert is from the twenty-first century," he said, suddenly uncertain. "That's the same thing." He looked at Nico, who nodded, and then to Hazel, who shook her head. "Hm."

"I'm sorry, who is this lawyer?" Athena interjected.

The doors slammed open. Aha. Poseidon must have already called her. Percy beamed as he looked over his shoulder to find Amphitrite storming over, looking downright terrifying as walked over.

Hermes burst into laughter. "Oh, father…" he said, shifting in his throne. "This council meeting may take longer than intended." He grinned as Amphitrite glared at them all. "Hello, my darling aunt. How are you?"

"Why have you kidnapped my stepson?" Amphitrite asked, not bothering with pleasantries. "I go to retrieve him from the mortal police, and suddenly he's gone."

"Mortal police?" Hazel whispered. Thalia and Nico both leaned in.

"Yeah," Percy whispered back. "I killed the Minotaur and got accused of a felony. This is why lawyers are good to have in your back pocket."

"No, fair," Thalia grumbled. "I want a lawyer."

"Lady Amphitrite," Percy called and pointed to Hazel. "She needs a lawyer. Also, this is Thalia and Nico. Thalia also wants a lawyer."

Amphitrite blinked. "You are not the one in trouble?" she asked. Percy shook his head. "Oh. How unexpected. Hello, demigods," she added, offering her hand to Hazel, Nico, and Thalia. "Why do you need lawyers?"

"Uh, well, it sounds like my dad is trying to send Hazel to the Underworld, and Zeus is my dad, so… by default, I think I need legal representation," Thalia offered.

Nico raised his hand. "I would also like a lawyer if that's on the table," he told her. "Based on current conversations, I'm worried that in addition to my sister being murdered, I might lose my chauffeur."

"You're such a rich kid," Thalia said, unimpressed.

"You are literally the king's daughter," Nico told her dryly. "Didn't nepotism get you the position in Artemis's gang anyhow?"

Amphitrite looked at Percy.

"....I will forgive you much quicker if you agree," he said brightly.

A hint of a smile touched Amphitrite's lips. "You are getting better at negotiating," she said. "Very well." Thalia gave a whoop, and Percy held out a hand for a high-five. Zeus ran a hand over his face. "Now," Amphitrite said, offering a wry smile. "Lord Zeus, I see, in addition to the accused, you have brought a child of each child of the Big Three." She smiled politely. "Could that be an attempt to replace the Fates?"

What? Percy looked at his father, who smiled a little. He rested his chin on his hand, glancing between his wife and a glowering Zeus.

"For those unaware," Amphitrite continued. "When a godly trial has conflicting interests, such as… per se, Hades presiding over his own daughter's soul, then the three Fates must be present to ensure a certain impartiality and higher judgment. However, if the Fates are not present, three other beings tied together in a significant way may replace them." Amphitrite gestured to Nico, Percy, and Thalia. "Such as the three children of the Big Three." She turned back to Zeus. "I would have invited the Gray Sisters," she said politely. "Or did you think children would be easier to fool as you skirted your own laws?"

Zeus pressed a finger to his temple. "Poseidon's whelp thought I was trying to perjure them," he muttered.

Okay, whatever. That had been a valid theory.

Amphitrite glanced at Hazel. Nico had grabbed her arm, pulling her behind him as if Zeus might try to snatch her. Percy felt his throat tightened. He wouldn't let anything happen to Hazel just because she was amazing and didn't deserve it, but… the idea Nico would once again lose another sister certainly added to the desperation he felt.

"I will defend this girl," Amphitrite decided. Yes. Percy punched the air beside him. "Tomorrow, we will reconvene so I may do my research. And I will check myself if the Fates are available to attend."

Zeus bristled. "I decreed that this trial happen-"

"You decreed long ago under oath to Styx that all accused parties of a trial are entitled to at least twenty-four hours to prepare for questioning. I am requesting that twenty-four hours. Are you denying me that right, Lord Zeus?"

Hermes gave a little wiggle of excitement in his seat. "Oh, this is excellent," he whispered to Apollo, who was nodding with interest.

Ares clapped his hands. "You know, she defended me in my trial," he added. "Lawyers weren't even a thing back then. I killed Poseidon's brat after he attacked my little girl, and that bombshell argued me out of serving as a mortal." He pointed at Amphitrite, who waved at him. "Go on. Get his ass, sexy."

"That is my wife," Poseidon reminded him flatly.

"I know. Congrats."

Zeus waved a hand to silence them all.

"Very well," he gritted out. "You have your twenty-four hours." His eyes moved to Hazel. "Use them wisely. We will meet here soon."

And with that, another flash of light came, leaving the smell of ozone behind.

After a few minutes of silence, Thalia spun around, pointing a finger at Percy. "You've had a cool stepmother this whole time? And you didn't think to share her?"

"In fairness," Percy offered. "I didn't know she was cool." Amphitrite cleared her throat. "Because she's not, and I am very mad at her. No forgiveness here." He shook his head.

"He's probably mad we all have joint custody over Sally," Nico noted, putting an arm around Hazel.

"No-"

"Boo, Percy. Share your adults."

"That wasn't it!"

"Whatever. You're eighteen now. You aren't entitled to any adults as is."

Amphitrite may have her work cut out for her.

Chapter Text

The trial lasted three days.

Percy was pretty sure Amphitrite could have finished it in twenty minutes, but it was clear that all of Olympus was having a blast. In fact, it quickly became something of an event. Dionysus, in particular, was a huge fan. Apparently, this trial was better than some theatrical productions he had seen in ancient Greece. Considering that Dionysus was a sourpuss ninety-nine percent of the time, his giddiness was alarming.

And then there was Nico, who decided Hazel needed backup and informed Frank of what was happening. This, in turn, led all of Camp Jupiter and New Rome to join the courtroom while Will and Percy rallied Camp Half-Blood. Nico then called in some minor gods to join.

All in all, it was a packed event.

Amphitrite had spared no expense. She had Hecate and Hades as witnesses, the rest of the seven (including Jason, who Hades summoned for the occasion) as character witnesses, and centurions to vouch for her contributions as praetor.

But, really, all of this was just fluff to the main point Amphitrite was making now.

"So, Clotho, you were aware Hazel would come back to life when you made her thread?" Amphitrite asked. "And Lachesis, you dispensed this thread, knowing Hazel Levesque would be brought back to life?" she asked as the Fates all gave murmurs of affirmation. "Now, Atropos… you tell me. You cut Hazel's thread. So how is she here? Did she somehow bypass the Fate you planned for her? Or was her revival the Fates all along?"

"Ooh," Jason's ghost whispered from beside Leo. "She's good."

"Hazel Levesque was a member of the prophecy of seven," Atropos sniffed, her endless eyes glowing. "The firstborn member of the seven, no less. We planned her life, death, and subsequent life from the beginning."

Amphitrite smiled, swishing around her pantsuit that Percy couldn't help but feel like she was trying not to skip in. "So this was not an act of free will?" The Fates all gave grumbled mutters at that. "Apologies, I just want to make clear that beyond Hazel's impeccable character, contributions to the war effort, and leadership, she was meant to come back."

"Always," Clotho said sharply.

"And," Amphitrite said, raising a finger. "You have not cut her string since then? You have not done anything to warrant her returning to the Underworld?" Atropos shook her head. "So it was not her Fate to die during the war or at any point between then and now?" The Fates shook their heads again.

Silently, Frank held up a sign that read, You Better Not Hurt Her, in glittery purple. Percy had his own that said, We'd All Be Dead Without Her that was in orange. Nico didn't need a sign. The threat was on his face as he stood in the corner, dark eyes fixed on the gods with absolutely no humor in his eyes as he watched every move.

Hazel sat in a marble chair in the middle of the room. She looked at ease with the situation, undoubtedly confident things would go her way. If anything, she seemed bored, lightly swinging her feet and trying to send Nico reassuring smiles.

"Now," Amphitrite said, holding out her hands. "I am not a prophet, but if I may inquire… is it your intention for Hazel Levesque to be sentenced to death within the next… let's say, ten years?" she asked, throwing out a hand. "Or would Lord Zeus's intervention in this matter be disregarding Fate itself?"

"Oh, just excellent," Hermes said, leaning over to grab some of Dionysus's popcorn. "She would have made one hell of a con artist, you know? I bet she could convince the Louvre to hand the Mona Lisa over."

"She is certainly out of Poseidon's league," Athena murmured. Poseidon rolled his eyes but said nothing as he smiled a little at where Amphitrite was dismissing the Fates from the witness stand after confirming Hazel's string was to remain uncut.

Percy honestly didn't quite get godly trials. It seemed like a mix of American and Ancient Greek law. Imagine an episode of Suits, but every so often, there was a fistfight between some witnesses, and people were allowed to have emotional tangents during their speeches… so maybe just Suits.

"I understand it is time for the council to make their decision," Amphitrite said and walked over, placing a hand on Hazel's shoulder. "But if I can make a closing statement… I invite you to look around. We have fought a war against the demigods. And we won that war only because of those who stood by the gods instead of joining the Titans. Are we really so eager to forget those lessons and make enemies of the children who fought for us? Do you think that an unjust murder of a young girl will be taken well by the Romans or the Greeks, who have united not because anyone's memories were wiped this time but because they are all here for a friend?" Percy and Frank held up their signs. "If you must ignore the fact this girl has risked and given her life for those she loves, try to at least think logistically of the damage this sentence would cause. Thank you."

A thunderous applause went through the room. Poseidon stood up to give a standing ovation, as did Hades and Athena. Hermes and Ares wolf-whistled

So, yeah, it was pretty obvious which way the vote went. Zeus didn't even try to fight it. The whole thing took less than thirty seconds, and Hazel was up, rushing over to them with a squeal as she dove into Frank's arm. Percy went in for a group hug only to do a double-take at Nico marching to the center of the floor and whispering something to Amphitrite.

That probably wasn't good.

"Um, Lord Zeus?" Amphitrite called, straightening up. "My client would like to sue for emotional distress."

Ha.

"Nico," Hazel hissed, and Nico gestured wildly toward Amphitrite.

"She told me I could! That means I have grounds to win!"

"You do not," Zeus said flatly. "I can assure you no law under my rule has been placed for people's feelings getting hurt."

"Yeah, because your wife would have taken everything you owned long ago," Hades muttered. Poseidon snorted.

Amphitrite cleared her throat. "No, my lord, however…" She gestured Nico into the chair. He threw himself in with a withering glare at the gods. "We are to adapt with the West. One could argue that includes adopting more of their relevant laws. Suing for emotional distress is very common in America," Amphitrite said. Zeus stared at her. Amphitrite stared back. "I understand it is not a strong law to base an argument on, but I think it would be productive to sit down and debate the logistics of what new laws come from moving further west and which do not. I'm sure we can spend days arguing over it… or we can perhaps settle?"

Nico sat up. "I don't want to settle," he said. Amphitrite shushed him.

"What are you going to do if you win?" Thalia asked, aghast. "Get another chauffeur?"

"Set a precedent so I can sue the Hunt next," Nico threw back snidely. Thalia put her hands on her hips, eyes narrowing as Amphitrite leaned over to whisper something to Nico. He frowned. She whispered something else. Nico shrugged. She whispered something else. Giving a long-suffering sigh, he nodded.

"What would a settlement on this matter look like?" Zeus asked, sounding more tired than Percy had ever heard a god.

Amphitrite patted Nico's shoulder. "Well," she began. "A while ago, my stepson set some rules on how demigods should be treated. Claimed by thirteen and such," she said with a nod towards Percy. "Perhaps such a thing should be more… formalized."

Percy wasn't sure what that implied, but a few people gasped.

"Dude, the demigods are unionizing," Apollo said, and there was a low murmur.

Oh. Okay, go off, counselor. Let's go.

"Exactly," Amphitrite said, pointing to him. "Allow me to set up better protections for the demigods, and we can perhaps ignore this legal quandary."

Damn. Percy might have felt bad for Zeus if he didn't suck.

"Can I get in on the demigod union?" Apollo asked. "Meg? Can I help?"

"No," a small voice called from the back of the room.

"Alright, never mind. But I have time to donate," he said. Amphitrite gave Apollo a bewildered look. "Oh, I was turned mortal recently," he added. "Your boy was actually there when Jason died."

"Hi," Jason's ghost said. "Love this union thing. I say we let Apollo in on it."

A tiny groan of annoyance from presumably Meg McCaffrey came from the back.

"I think my dad is an honorary demigod," Will said. From the chair in the center of the room, Nico shrugged. Apollo beamed at them.

"I thought you were turned mortal years ago?" Amphitrite asked.

"Yeah, it happened again," Apollo said in a sort of 'what can you do gesture'.

Amphitrite blinked a few times before seemingly accepting this. "Very well," she said. "Lord Zeus, with your blessing, I would take time to organize this union and serve as a representative to bring certain matters with you for negotiation."

Zeus looked at Nico, who almost seemed to want the request to be denied. Percy had no idea what he planned if he got to move forward with his emotional distress lawsuit, but knew Zeus should fear that outcome way more.

"Come to me with the structure of how this union will work, and I will spend time with you to approve it," Zeus sighed. "This meeting is adjourned."

Oh, Hell yeah. Percy beamed, turning to where Annabeth had slipped up beside him and grabbed her hand to squeeze it excitedly. An excited mutter came from across the room. A few gods stood up, congratulating Amphitrite before zapping away.

"Aphrodite and I have an open relationship, you know," Ares said, giving a quick wink. "Based on the fact you have a stepson, perhaps you do too. Food for thought if you ever want to stop by my place."

Gross.

On one hand, Percy was absolutely horrified to hear such a thing from one of his least favorite gods. On the other hand, his father's face was undoubtedly the funniest shit Percy had ever seen. Ares gave a wicked smile as he threw his arm over Aphrodite's shoulders, who was giving Amphitrite the same offer.

Athena shooed them away before handing Amphitrite a bouquet of white flowers with hints of pink. At first, Percy thought she might have been propositioning his stepmother, too, but Amphitrite merely smiled, putting a light hand on Athena's cheek.

"It is not my place to say much, but I do think you should speak to Triton, my dear."

Athena pulled away from Amphitrite's touch. "I cannot imagine he wishes to see me," she said flatly. "Congratulations, aunt. I-"

"I can assure you, he never wished to stop speaking to you," Amphitrite cut in. "I would highly, highly recommend reaching out. He may have something he wishes to tell you soon."

It may have been the first time Percy had seen a touch of confusion on the goddess' face. She gave a wary nod and turned away.

Percy almost approached Amphitrite next but was pulled into a crowd of excited demigods instead.

"A union! We a union!" Piper was saying, shaking Leo's shoulders. "What should we ask for? That we only have to do one quest and not get asked again?" she said. "Ooh! Our parents have to stop by camp once a month-"

"If you try to kill my sister, you are not allowed to be a god anymore," Nico muttered, giving the thrones a dark look. Hazel smiled a little, bumping her shoulder against his. "And you mind your goddamn business about certain chauffeurs."

"Dude, you can shadow travel," Leo frowned. "What is with the chauffeur?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Nico said moodily. "You can run. Why don't you do that everywhere?" Leo quickly raised his hands in apology as Will quickly added in how exhausting shadow travel could be.

"Whatever," Thalia interjected. "What are we calling our union?"

"We should have a meeting," Hazel mused. "Do we want a Greek and Roman chapter? Maybe-"

"Our union is Better than the Romans," Leo said. Frank paused in kissing the top of Hazel's head to look at him.

Thalia shrugged. "Yeah, okay."

"Hey," Jason's ghost said. She grinned at him. "Fine. Hazel, let the Romans know I support our chapter being Better than the Greeks."

"The Greeks are not naming-" Hazel caught Percy's eyes as he gave her a nod. Yeah. They were totally naming it that. "No!" she said. "You cannot name it that! Are you even going to vote?"

….good point. Democracy.

Percy cupped his hands around his mouth. "GREEKS!" he shouted over the room. "DO YOU WANT OUR UNION TO BE NAMED 'BETTER THAN THE ROMANS'? If so, please raise your hand."

The Romans all muttered, but pretty much all the Greek hands went up.

"Nico," Hazel said when he joined in. She slapped his hand down.

"I know, but I am Greek," he pointed out. Hazel crossed her arms over her chest. "Besides, Greeks are a little more…" He gestured to himself. Percy glanced at where Annabeth was nodding. He didn't quite get what was happening, but he was happy Nico finally found himself more included in the Greek circle.

Hazel frowned. "A little more what?"

"Gay," Thalia said helpfully. Will snorted.

"We have gay Romans!" Hazel said, looking affronted.

"Of course you do," Thalia said, holding up her hands. "I'm saying that… you know. Greeks are more camp."

Hazel huffed. "We also have a camp."

"No." Thalia shook her head. "No, Hazel. Like… camp. You know how people describe things as camp?"

Hazel and Nico looked at one another. "No," they said in unison.

"Right. Born in the 1920s," Thalia mused. "You have so much to learn about your own culture," she added to Nico.

"It's Italian?"

"No- well," Thalia cut herself off. She turned to Will. "Is it rude to consider Italy camp? They are kind of the theater kids of the world."

"I would think it would be a compliment," Will said, ignoring the bewildered looks he was getting from poor Hazel and Nico. "Okay, so camp is like… Extra. Over the top. Theatrical. Dionysus, for example. Camp."

"And this is a compliment?" Hazel asked slowly.

"The only one Dionysus should be getting," Percy said solemnly. "It's kind of a gay thing, right?"

"Don't be fucking homophobic, Percy," Will said. Percy held up his hands. "It is," he added to Nico. "But there's a very fine line on when it is acceptable to use it. Otherwise, it becomes offensive."

Nico turned to Hazel. "Are you getting this?" he asked quietly.

Hazel looked between Will and Thalia. "Um, no, but I'll go camping with you, Nico. Or - oh! Maybe it's like Brokeback Mountain," she mused. "Frank and I watched that a while ago, and they were camping and gay, so…" She shrugged.

Nico stared at her before turning to Will.

"Uh… well… no," he said. "But also… Maybe?"

"I have genuinely never been more confused."

"Italians, Brokeback Mountain, and Dionysus are all camp," Frank said, mystified. "Fascinating. This would be the hardest game of Connections ever."

"I still think Romans can be camp," Hazel said grumpily. "We have theater, we have Bacchus, and we have gay people!"

"Eh," Will said, looking at Thalia, who shook her head. "It's not the same."

"We had Octavian!" Frank said, pointing at them. "He was basically a theater kid and over the top. Totally camp, right?"

Thalia put a hand over her heart.

"No," Will said solemnly. "I'm afraid I cannot allow you to use that word anymore." Frank's eyes widened. "Your camp rights have been invoked. That was deeply offensive, Frank."

"Wait! I'm sorry-"

"You are going to put Octavian in the same category as Leo?" Will asked, gesturing to where Leo had been completely zoned out.

"Huh?" he asked, and then blinked. "Wait, I'm camp? I made the cut?" he asked and spun around. "PIPER! Where did she go?" he called, and Percy took that as his cue to grab Annabeth and find his stepmother.

Amphitrite and his father were off to the side. Amphitrite was recounting the trial as if Poseidon had not been there for the whole thing. To his credit, he didn't seem to mind as he listened, completely focused as he nodded and showed surprise in all the right places.

"And I knew because of that trial we had a century ago with some of the sea gods- Perseus," Amphitrite cut herself off. He smiled. "Welcome." She took a deep breath. "I am glad this all worked out," she told him - as if she had not had the time of her life.

Annabeth narrowed her eyes. "Hello," she said. Percy nudged her. "Thank you for helping Hazel," she said, voice still icy. Okay. Better. "But lying to Percy was still incredibly manipulative and-"

"Annabeth," Percy groaned, but Amphitrite looked intrigued.

"Oh," she said, head tilting. "Are you who I need to speak to regarding forgiveness?" she asked.

Come on.

"No," Percy said flatly. "You saved Hazel. I obviously forgive you."

"Well," Annabeth said, and Percy sighed. "We don't need to rush into anything."

Amphitrite pointed at her. "I see. You are where his standards are at. We can negotiate his forgiveness."

Annabeth let go of Percy's hand. "This trial and the union are a perfect start," she said, and Amphitrite offered her arm. "And I'm assuming you apologized to him?" Annabeth asked, accepting the arm as they walked away. "How long did he say before he forgave you?"

"Originally, he wanted to forgive me right away, but I talked him up to six months."

"Unbelievable."

Percy wished he was more surprised by the interaction. He watched them walk away, accepting his fate before turning to where his father was watching Amphitrite with a fond shake of his head.

"You heard Ares' offer, right?" Percy asked.

Poseidon's smile dropped. "I did," he said, voice a little tight. "And if that is her preference… I can hardly say anything."

"I don't think she wants to sleep with Ares," Percy said blandly. Poseidon pursed his lips. "Or Aphrodite. Maybe. I'm actually not sure about that one," he frowned. "But also, these are things I think. You can have a conversation with her and know. Do you see what I'm saying?" he asked. Poseidon tilted his head. "Communication. It's important. It will solve things, I promise. Have you heard of couples therapy?" he asked and then waved his hand. "Nevermind, I'll make some calls for you."

“Perseus,” Poseidon cut in. "I fear… you and I may have also had our misunderstandings." Very fair. Percy grimaced. "Perhaps, as I take your advice on mending things with my wife, I could suggest some of those union rules to include you and me spending time with one another. To also have… couples therapy."

Right.

"So… yes to us spending time together and getting on the same page," Percy said, giving him a thumbs up. "But, uh, no to couples therapy. That doesn't mean a couple of people attend," he clarified because, at this point, he had spoken to enough gods to know where the confusion was. "That's a husband and wife thing."

"I see," Poseidon said solemnly, clapping a hand on Percy's shoulder. "Thank you. For all you've done - not just for us, but for her specifically." He nodded at Amphitrite. "One day, we may all be worthy of one another if we follow your path."

Percy smiled. This was a nice moment. "I was also totally spying on you with Lea," he added, just to ruin it.

"I knew it!" Poseidon muttered, letting go of his shoulder. "At least you have the necklace now-"

"Oh, no. I gave that to Alana," Percy said. Poseidon closed his eyes. "But maybe I won't need one with this union thing. We'll see how it goes." Poseidon nodded, looking somewhere between, exasperated but unwilling to argue. "I'll see you around?" Percy asked. Poseidon hummed.

It was probably then that Percy was meant to turn away. Except…

"Dad?" he said. Poseidon glanced at him. "I'm not saying you've done any of it right, but… thank you for trying. Thank you for caring about me," he rubbed the back of his neck. "And I'm sorry for your loss. I know it was a long time ago, but-"

"Thank you, Perseus," Poseidon interrupted gently. Percy smiled weakly. "Despite the time, you are the first person to give me condolences. It is… appreciated."

Well, damn. Percy tried to temper his emotions to that, but… what the hell? He walked back over and hugged his dad. Poseidon paused before returning it, the smell of sea and sand washing over him.

"Do not fuck up with Amphitrite," Percy whispered, and Poseidon scoffed, shoving him away.

"Go," he said. "Before your girlfriend and my wife get too friendly and turn against you."

"It's far too late for that," Percy informed him solemnly. "But I probably should go take care of my outstanding felony…" He grimaced. "Don't tell my mom about that, by the way," he added.

The look Poseidon gave him wasn't promising. If he got home and his mother was worried about him, Amphitrite wouldn't be the only one negotiating with Annabeth for forgiveness.

And just like that, the next four years passed in a blur. A good blur. The best blur.

The union thing really worked out. Amphitrite's passion for the whole thing even inspired a couple of the campers to pursue law. Of course, finding work with the constant monster attacks and such was a little tricky. This, eventually, led to a camp-wide idea of starting a demigod law practice aimed explicitly at servicing and finding half-bloods. Hazel also had the brilliant idea to staff satyrs at every branch.

Of course, starting a Law Firm™ required either some heavy Mist or Amphitrite having a mortal identity to start a business. Nobody was shocked by which path she took. Especially since having a mortal identity meant-

"Ooh, I'm so excited!" Annabeth said, tugging Percy's hand as they filed into the rows of seats. "And - oh, there's Triton! Hi!" she called, waving her hand. Grover also waved as Triton and Lea caught sight of them and shuffled a bouncing Alana in their direction.

"Uncle Percy!" she grinned. Percy awkwardly caught her as she launched herself over a velvet seat to get to him. An usher scowled but quickly turned away when Triton leveled a warning glare at him. "Dad said I can go to camp next year," she whispered in his ear.

"Oh?" Percy asked, brushing a curl from her face. "Really? Who convinced him of that?" he asked, grinning at Triton, who rolled his eyes and threw an arm around Lea.

At some point, Lea got read into the godly side of things, and they just… moved forward? Percy was a little fascinated by their relationship. He was used to gods having a kid and dipping. But Triton seemed perfectly content to just continue his relationship with Lea now that she knew the truth. Lea didn't even seem bothered by the fact her old fling was back and a god. They just co-parented and went on dates. Like, mad respect.

"I worry they might be a cuter couple than us," Percy whispered to Annabeth, who leaned over to where Alana had slipped from Percy's grasp to excitedly babble to her parents.

"We may need a kid if we want to compete," she said solemnly. Percy choked. "Kidding. But I also took a knife for you, Jackson, so fuck you for saying they're cuter."

"I said they might be!"

"A knife, Perseus."

"I also remembered you after my memory was wiped," Percy mused. "Alright, you're right. We have nothing to worry about."

"Thank you."

"Were Juniper and I never even a threat?" Grover asked, affronted.

Annabeth stuck her tongue out. "Nope. But you and Percy were," she said. Percy put his arms around Grover as he gave an indignant bleat under his breath. "Shh! It's starting!" Annabeth whispered as the lights dimmed.

At once, everyone sat down. From behind him there was a gentle breeze and the smell of the sea as a man at the front of the stage started talking.

"You made it," Percy whispered and felt someone lean in closer behind him.

"A small ocean emergency detained me. Did I miss anything?" his father asked. Triton glanced over and shook his head. "Good. Can I have a-? Thank you," he said when Percy handed him a program. After a few moments of rummaging, he heard a soft sigh. "I don't see her."

"Are you looking for her mortal name?"

"Yes - Ruth, right? Like Ruth Bader Ginsburg?"

"No, she changed her mind."

"Again? How many times can one change their mortal name?"

"Ask your wife," Percy whispered back and then slapped behind him. "She's next! Look!"

The Dean smiled, holding out a diploma in front of the Stanford Law logo. "Judith Jackson," he read, and the entire hall erupted into applause. Percy bit back a grin as Amphitrite jerked her head around to find all of Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood in the room. Someone rang a cowbell as screams and posters were held up like they were attending a football game and not a graduation ceremony.

"YES, JUDITH!" Hazel screamed from next to Paul and his mother, who had been orchestrating most of those mortal name changes over the past few years.

Poseidon leaned forward. "Judith as in-"

"Judge Judy, yeah," Percy said. Poseidon chuckled as he clapped, smiling a little when Alana spotted him.

"Hi, Grandpa!" she called and then screamed in an aggressively demonic voice. "THAT'S MY GRANDMA!"

Amphitrite beamed, holding up her diploma before giving a little twirl off the stage. Percy laughed. Well, now that the degree was obtained, it would be no time before their demigod law chain was opened. He leaned over, kissing Annabeth's cheek. Who would have thought?

The excitement continued far after the ceremony was over. New Rome offered to host celebrations as Amphitrite sat next to Percy, talking to his mother about prime locations for the law firm as Paul and Poseidon watched their respective wives with amusement.

"I want to be a lawyer," Alana whispered to herself as she studied her grandmother's diploma with awe. She turned to Triton. "Dad. Can I rule the sea and be a lawyer?" she asked.

Percy smiled at her before leaning over to Amphitrite. "Good job," he whispered.

Amphitrite glanced at him and shrugged. "I am a goddess. Mortal schooling is easy."

"For someone who doesn't often leave the ocean… this was not easy. I think, with Annabeth's permission, of course, I'd like to offer forgiveness." He held out his hand. Amphitrite raised her eyebrows before looking over Percy's shoulder at Annabeth, who nodded.

Amphitrite shook his hand. Fucking finally. He had only been trying for years.

"-cannot rename the union!" Nico was saying as Hazel marched past them. Both paused to give Amphitrite congratulations before resuming their argument. "The Romans voted on your chapter name. I'm not letting you change it because you realized it was stupid."

"I'm tired of explaining to our younger campers why our union is just called Camp," Hazel complained. "Come on, Nico. I'm praetor!"

"And I'm the Ambassador of Pluto, whose vote you need to change the name. I won't give it to you," Nico said solemnly. Hazel fumed. "But, hey, Better than the Romans is still going strong-"

"AMPHITRITE!" Hazel yelled, spinning around. "I need your expertise in a legal dispute!"

Percy snorted as Amphitrite rolled her eyes, giving Nico and Hazel a small smile as she patted Percy on the shoulder to go and resolve their argument. Percy smiled back at her before getting up to grab drinks, moving through the crowd with music shaking the ground and chattering around them.

“Hello, Perseus Jackson.”

Hm. Percy looked over to see a sketchy figure in a black cloak by the punch. Not good.

"Hi," he said and grabbed a cup. "Who are you?"

"My name matters not," the figure said, voice gravelly. Percy poured himself some punch before grabbing another cup for Annabeth. "What matters if you have three days to-"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Percy interrupted. He filled up his second cup. "I don't take quests anymore."

"....what?"

"I mean, occasionally, but they have to meet very specific requirements per my union contract. Also, if you're Zeus in disguise or something, anything you make ask of me is automatically vetoed."

A pause.

"You have a union contract?"

Well, at least this wasn't Zeus, then.

"I do. But thanks for thinking of me-"

"Wait," the person said, dropping the dramatic voice as Percy turned away. "How do I know if my quest is eligible then?"

Percy smiled and lifted one of his drinks toward where Amphitrite was laughing at something Poseidon said.

"Talk to my lawyer."