Chapter Text
“Dad!!!”
I ignored the high-pitched screech no demigod should be allowed to make in public. Percy was looking up at me with those cursed sea-green eyes, glassy with tears. Too damn pretty for his own good.
Phobos and Deimos were already snorting behind me, trying (and failing) not to laugh, their own bags of junk food dangling from their hands. Meanwhile, my little brat was swinging a stuffed dolphin like it was a goddamn sword, mid–meltdown in the middle of the aisle.
I exhaled through my nose, slowly. And then I crouched down to eye level with the brat. I’ve stared down enemy generals with armies behind them. I could handle one snot-nosed punk with a plush toy.
“Listen here, punk,” I growled. “I’m not buying you that. So put it back.”
I expected him to freeze. Maybe cry harder. Maybe hand over the dolphin and sulk off like a normal traumatized war orphan.
Instead, the little gremlin glared at me.
Full eye contact. Chin up. Tears and all.
“I named him Blackjack,” Percy said, tight-lipped. “He wants to come home with me.”
I almost—almost—felt proud. Even Phobos didn’t have the guts to look me in the eye like that when he was that age.
“I want it!” Percy snapped, voice going sharp again as he hugged the dolphin closer.
I looked to Deimos and Phobos, who just kinda shrugged.
"What did you expect? You spoiled him," Deimos said, a smirk tugging at his mouth like this was some kind of joke.
They helped! They definitely helped! But I thought about it for a second… how many times had I actually told Percy no?
Which was never.
I gave him ice cream just to shut him up. Candy when he asked. Bought those stupid bed sheets with fish on them. I never said no. Maybe I was spoiling him... just a little.
"No, Percy," I said.
That got everyone's attention. Even the twins looked surprised. Percy blinked like I'd cursed him. Then his face twisted into something evil, all narrow-eyed and betrayal.
"You got them what they wanted!" he snapped, pointing a finger at Phobos and his anxiety blanket—pathetic—and then at Deimos, who was admiring his new blade like it was holy. Technically, I didn’t buy either of those things. They got them themselves. But try explaining that to a five-year-old.
It wasn’t about the money. It was about the toy. A soft toy. A dolphin. I could’ve bought him a dagger without blinking, but this? This was different. Kid or not. Aphrodite’s blood or not.
"No," I said again, sharper this time.
Percy’s mouth opened in shock. Then the wailing started. Full-blown sobbing like I’d just torn his little heart out. While he cried, I snatched the stupid dolphin out of his arms and handed it off to Phobos.
"Isn’t it enough that one of you’s already a competent pussy?" I muttered, not even thinking about it.
Deimos glared at me. Percy collapsed to the floor, screaming like his soul was leaving his body, and Phobos just hugged that blanket tighter like I’d set the place on fire.
Now I had one kid sobbing, one glaring, and one pulling away like I kicked his puppy.
This. Was. Hell.
Percy then spoke up. "That’s mean! You can’t say that! Mom would’ve sent you to a time-out corner!"
My eye twitched. "Well I’m your dad—"
"And you’re being mean to us! Say sorry!"
What?! I would’ve Smitted if anyone else had dared to suggest such a thing. Hell, I’d have broken their jaw for it.
"Say sorry, or I’m telling Lady Mom," Percy warned, eyes sharp, lips trembling. He meant Aphrodite. Of course he did.
"I’ll buy you the doll," I tried to compromise.
"You have to say sorry to Phobos and Deimos. You were mean."
"I was not—" I was arguing with a child.
"You have to say sorry," he cut me off, folding his arms with the self-righteous fury only a five-year-old could have.
"No!" I shouted, voice echoing off the shelves. A couple of people turned to stare. One kid dropped a lollipop. Percy, completely unfazed, placed his hand together.
"Dear Lady Mom—"
"Fine!" I snapped, throwing my arms up like I’d just lost a battle. Maybe I had. In a way. My voice practically shook the walls. I probably looked insane. Didn’t care. Anything was better than a pissed-off Aphrodite.
I turned, teeth grinding.
"Deimos. Phobos."
And the twins listened.
Deimos looked smug. Phobos looked curious — probably because he had never gotten an apology from me. Not once.
"I am sorry I did you any favors by donating sperm, giving birth to either of you!" I snapped. Percy knelt his head down and bowed his head like he was starting a prayer again.
"Lady Mom, Dad is being—"
I slapped a hand over his mouth before he could finish.
"Sorry. Deimos. Phobos," I said through gritted teeth.
"For?" Deimos asked, all smug with that evil little grin of his. He looked way too proud of himself. I was going to kill him the second Percy’s back was turned.
"Being mean," Percy said helpfully, like a tiny moral compass I never asked for.
"Being mean," I repeated, dead inside.
"Now Deimos and Phobos have to accept it," Percy added with a smile.
"We accept," Phobos cut in quickly before Deimos could drag it out into a war trial. Smart kid. Knew better than to push his luck.
Great. Done and over with.
I turned and stomped away, not looking back. Percy followed, and—thank the gods—he left the toy behind. One problem solved. He reached up and held my hand, tiny fingers curling around mine. Then, softer than I expected, he pressed my hand against his cheek.
"I’m sorry, Dad," he mumbled. "I don’t want you to be upset with me... but you can’t be mean. Or else no one will want to be with you. And I don’t want my brothers to hate you."
I didn’t respond. I just kept walking. Because if I did say anything, I might’ve choked on it.
He squeezed my hand. I didn’t care if others hated me. Never had. But it was Percy who did. How the hell do you explain to an innocent kid that half the world already hated his dad—and that I deserved every bit of it?
I lifted Percy up without a word. He patted my head like I was his damn pet and then leaned down to kiss my cheek.
“Thank you for apologizing, Daddy.”
Why was he so good at making me into a fool?
I held my kid a little tighter.
The rest of the day went easier. I got Percy the boring stuff he needed for school—pencils, notebooks, glue sticks that he’d probably eat if I wasn’t watching. Percy listened to my no’s without a single tantrum. Miracles do exist. We even made it home in one piece. Deimos cooked. Phobos kept Percy busy until bedtime.
Finally, it came time to tuck him in. Percy was curled under the covers, yawning big, clutching tight to—
“Where did you get that?” I frowned, glaring at Percy. He was hugging the damn dolphin plush, his cheek pressed against it like it was a pillow.
“Deimos and Phobos gave it to me. They said I could have it,” he said with a smile that was way too proud for smuggling contraband.
My first reaction was to rip it out of his arms, watch him cry, and then make the thing vanish forever. But instead, I just stood there, watching. He looked so damn happy, and it was only one toy. One stupid dolphin. I wasn’t about to let him get too used to it—or cling to it like other kids—but for tonight… I sighed and let it go.
Before I could move, Percy pushed my arms open and wrapped himself around me, hugging me tight.
“Night, Dad.”
“Night, Percy.”
His voice was small when he asked, “Can you lay beside me again?”
“Just for a bit,” I muttered.
I lay down next to him, stiff at first, but Percy curled right into my side without hesitation. He even dropped the stuffed toy, abandoning it like it was nothing, just to hold onto me instead.