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His mom fiddles nervously with her hands. Then, with a proclamation straight from the Harry Potter franchise, she says: ‘You’re a demigod, Percy.’
Right.
‘Let us suppose this wasn’t a weird hallucination from a spiked drink,’ the newly minted demigod says from underneath a mountain of blankets, ‘and that what you’re saying is actually the truth.’ His brow is furrowed; his face the picture of discomfort as his battered body fails to find a comfortable way to lay. He grimaces. ‘I rather believe that I need more information.’
His mother sighs. She looks filled with regret. It’s normally something he tries to wipe off her face at all costs, but he feels too confused and overwhelmed to even consider doing that now.
‘I’m so sorry, honey,’ she says, ‘I really wish that I could’ve been honest with you from the start, but it was way too dangerous.’
‘How so?’ He doesn’t like the shakiness of his voice.
It is Nico who answers. His boyfriend has taken a seat on the bed, grabbing his hands in his. ‘Do you remember the mythological tales of ancient Greece?’ His voice is gentle, even when he answers with a doubtful somewhat. ‘Those with heroes like Achilles taking on all sorts of monsters?’
‘Sure’, he remembers the Disney movies. Has watched them often enough with Nico whenever he came over.
‘Demigods have a unique scent that attracts such monsters,’ he continues, ‘And as long as we aren’t aware of our godly heritage, our scent is fainter.’
‘Meaning that without knowing you were safer. The life of a demigod isn’t a forgiving one, especially not for those that were born from the big three’, Sally injects. She is fiddling with her hands, making him narrow his eyes on her—Nico’s ‘we’ for now forgotten.
His mom sighs. ‘Your father is Poseidon, god of the seas.’ She looks over to Nico, silently asking for permission. ‘Nico’s a son of Hades. Together with the lord of the sky forming the big three.’
That makes… surprisingly much sense, Percy decides. ‘So…’ he breathes, ‘is that why I always felt so much on edge around Mr. Di Angelo?’
Nico blushes. Looking away from their hand to Sally’s shoes, he clears his throat. ‘Yes, but please do not tell anyone who he truly is. The gods are forbidden from seeing their children.’
‘That’s so stupid!’ Percy bursts. ‘Who came up with that?’ The punishing clap of thunder outside says enough. Judging from the flinching from both his boyfriend as mum, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out the culprit.
Crossing his arms in defence, he mutters: ‘Sounds like a sure-fire way to alienate your kids from you.’ He racks his mind for the stories his mom used to tell him before bed, one standing out beyond the others. ‘Isn’t fucked up parenting the reason behind all the major wars in Greek mythology?’
It draws a startled laugh from Nico. ‘You could say that, yeah’, he says, pulling a hand free to rub the back of his head.
Someone rings the doorbell. Another look is shared between the two, and it’s Nico that stands up from the bed. He fingers his ring, leaving the bedroom. Percy can see how he’s gone suddenly on his guard, his mom looking with equal worry to the now closed door.
She approaches him, cautiously sitting down on the bed. ‘I’m truly sorry for not telling you sooner, honey. I selfishly wanted to keep you close, and the only way to do that was if you knew as little as possible.’
It breaks his heart how hesitant she looks. Whatever anger that still filled him, melts away like snow and he puts himself over the lingering sense of betrayal. Taking the initiative himself, he draws her into a hug. ‘I understand,’ he whispers, ‘don’t worry about it so much.’
And isn’t it the worst feeling in the world to hear your parent cry?
An enthusiastic greeting in the hallway sets off one of Nico’s grumbled rants. Sally relaxes, pulling away and telling him to lay back. She stands up then, leaving the room and him behind. It takes Percy about 5 seconds of self-restraint before trying to get up and follow.
It doesn’t go well.
His muscles scream at him in protest. Feeling very much like an ancient old man beyond his glory days, he stiffly bites through the pain. Every step is like a stab in his back, but he doesn’t want to stay alone there. Not while Nico and his mom are having fun without him.
He makes it about halfway through his bedroom before the door opens and Nico is there to support him. Percy stands no chance against his boyfriend’s strength and it isn’t long before he’s back in bed.
A blond boy of their age enters the room. His hair is ruffled, and he has a first aid kit strapped to his waist. ‘Hello!’ he greets, his smile so bright it’s almost luminous. ‘Heard you took on the Lernaean Hydra and somehow survived?’
Seemingly without a care in the world he puts the kit on the bed. Grabbing around in it, he takes out a small bottle of golden liquid. ‘I assume you already cleaned and wrapped the wounds?’ His question goes straight over Percy’s head to Nico.
‘Yes, even tried bathing him in salt water, but it didn’t work as well as we’d hoped.’
Annoyed at them acting like he isn’t even there, Percy speaks up: ‘Hey!’ He pulls his shirt back down, crossing his arms over his stomach to prevent the blond from continuing to undress him. ‘I’m perfectly well capable of speaking, thank you very much.’
His eyes narrow, pointing at the stranger. ‘Who are you?’
The blond gives a sheepish smile. ‘Sorry,’ he says, holding out his hand for Percy to shake, ‘That wasn’t very well-mannered of me. I’m Will Solace, son of Apollo and head-healer at Camp.’
He shakes the glass vial in his other hand. ‘This is nectar, it’s the drink of the gods and really useful in speeding up the healing process.’ Looking semi-hesitant, he asks: ‘Can I see your injuries? The pain should be gone soon.’
Glancing at Nico to check whether the boy is trustworthy, Percy gives a wooden nod of consent.
There’s no use in remaining in pain if you don’t have to.
Whatever it is that Will does with the golden liquid, it works miracles. His aches fade instantly, and he feels his energy levels getting a boost. Smiling in gratitude, he tries to get up from the bed. ‘Thanks man’, he smiles.
And with that hurdle taken away there’s nothing that can prevent him from satisfying his curiosity. Quickly, before Nico has the chance to stop him, he rushes to the living room only to stop short.
A most colourful group of young adults have gathered themselves on and around their sole couch. His mom is flitting between them, greeting them, and handing out drinks and cookies.
Standing somewhat stupefied in the doorstep, he rubs his eyes to check whether what he’s seeing is actually reality. It is, but that doesn’t help clearing away any confusion. This got to be, without a doubt, the weirdest band of boy scouts he has come across in the greater New York area.
Which admittedly aren’t a lot but is still saying something when one considers how far those people scored on the eccentric-scale.
‘Who are all these people?’ he asks, not shrugging off the arm Nico wraps around him.
Hugging the other close to himself, his boyfriend answers: ‘They’re demigods like us. My friends from camp.’
Immediately a mischievous looking Latino jumps up to him. He grasps Percy’s hand, shaking it enthusiastically while announcing: ‘I’m Leo! Son of Hephaestus and tinkerer extraordinaire.’ He’s jittery like he consumed way too much caffeine, giving him the feeling that the guy’s even more ADHD than himself.
‘Hello’, he politely responds, not quite sure what to make of the other yet. As a fellow troublemaker he knows it can go two ways.
He really hopes it’ll go the right way.
Following Leo’s lead, the others waste no time introducing themselves. Five demigods come to shake his hands, saying names and parents’ names his overwhelmed brain can’t process. The last is a half-goat man—a satyr as Nico clarifies—whom Percy can’t help but feel like he saw before.
Much time trying to remember where he doesn’t have, however, as his mom ushers him to a spare seat. His eyes bulge as he is faced with a wide array of very sharp and very deadly weapons on the table. There are bronze swords and daggers, something that looks suspiciously much like a grenade and a spikey, painful looking weapon he doesn’t know the name of, but rather not try out first-hand.
Are they planning on fighting a war? He wonders. Though something makes him reluctant to question that. Nico never succeeded in hiding his nightmares from Percy.
He wants to speak but doesn’t know how to say it without sounding impolite. Eventually though, as no-one speaks up, he decides to just risk it as the impulsive person he is.
‘So,’ he says, weaving his fingers together on his lap, ‘Not that I don’t like the merry get-together, but what are you guys doing here?’
His mom suddenly looks sad again, and he really wishes she would stop it. She sets down the tray of cookies and takes a seat on the armrest of his chair. ‘That camp that I told you about? They are here to take you safely to it.’
He doesn’t quite know how to respond to that, not wanting to leave his mom especially after all the bombshells that life dropped on him this day. Critically, he eyes the ragtag bunch of teens. Percy doesn’t feel ready, nor fully convinced about their capacity to even drive a car to the mysterious camp.
‘Can’t you just drive me?’ It feels like the only logical question.
Sally shifts in her seat. ‘I could, but…’ She doesn’t look him in the eyes, making him feel once more like she’s hiding a bit of crucial information from him.
It makes him angry.
‘This is safer’, Nico injects. The Italian grasps his right hand, pressing a soft kiss on it. He smiles, but he looks troubled. ‘Besides,’ he says with faked cheer, ‘I will be there with you!’
Percy narrows his eyes. His doubt has only grown, which is when something that Leo had been fiddling with explodes in a burst of pink glitter. Stunned, he watches the chaos unfold. His mom, ever the saint, waves of the excuses—even smiling as she listens to the bickering.
Sending an incredulous look to Nico, he feels himself soften at the happy, nostalgic smile on the other’s face. Doubt he might still have a-plenty, he will admit that this eccentric bunch of demigods do make for good entertainment.
And some light-hearted entertainment is something he desperately needs after the whirlwind his Thursday has become. Looking at his boyfriend, at their clasped hands, he knows Nico needs that too.
Which is all that’s important now.