Camp Half-Blood
Percy remained frozen, still holding onto the door of Cabin Three. Standing before him was a tall man with dark hair, a well-kept beard, and eyes the color of the deepest ocean. The mere presence radiating from the man made the young demigod nervous. Not only did it feel strange, but somehow... it also felt as though he had known this man for a very long time.
"Uhh... who are you, sir?" Percy asked awkwardly, feeling a small knot tighten in his throat without really understanding why.
The man offered an awkward smile, feeling slightly out of place as he finally stood before his son after so many years.
"Hello, Percy."
The demigod frowned immediately. "...Uh... since you know my name, I'm pretty sure I've never seen you around here before."
"Let's just say I know many things, Percy," the god replied with a faint smile as he quietly looked his son up and down. Percy found himself doing exactly the same, studying the stranger from head to toe.
"So... do we know each other?" the young demigod asked, his frown deepening at the man's vague answer.
"Not really," the god admitted.
"Then..." Percy raised his eyes again. "...why does it feel like we do?"
Poseidon let out a quiet chuckle. "Because blood is still blood." Those words sent a chill running down Percy's spine.
The Sea God briefly glanced inside the cabin. "I see you've settled in. Amphitrite certainly did a wonderful job decorating."
Percy instinctively followed his gaze, his eyes widening at the unfamiliar name. "Amphitrite?"
Poseidon nodded slowly. "Yes. She's my wife... and your stepmother, Percy."
Percy's frown deepened even further. Although emotional situations had never been his strongest point, his mind was unusually sharp for someone who had only recently turned twelve. "...You are...?" he asked, half questioning, half confirming what he was beginning to suspect.
Poseidon took a slow breath. "That's right, Percy. I am your daddy."
"No..." Percy instinctively took a step back, his eyes widening.
The Sea God calmly held his gaze. "My name is Poseidon."
Percy froze..... He didn't know what to say. For years, ever since he was little, he had imagined meeting his father countless times. Now that he had discovered his father was a god, he found himself thinking about him even more often. Some nights he imagined punching him. Other nights he only wanted to ask why he had never come back. Sometimes he even convinced himself there had to be a reasonable explanation for why his father had abandoned both him and his mother.
But now... Now that he had finally been claimed... Now that the man himself stood right in front of him... None of those words would leave his mouth. ...So it's really you."
Poseidon nodded slowly. "Yes."
Percy let out a humorless laugh as he lowered his head. "Wow..."
Another silence settled between them before Percy finally broke it. "Why did you take so long?"
The question came out almost as a whisper, but Poseidon heard it perfectly. The Sea God slowly closed his eyes before answering. "I don't have an answer that's going to make you feel any better."
"I just want to know," Percy replied quietly, unable to meet the god's eyes.
Poseidon remained silent for a few moments, considering his son's request before letting out a sigh. "The laws of the gods... Zeus... there were many reasons. I have responsibilities of my own, Percy..."
Percy slowly lifted his head. The mind of an angry twelve-year-old heard those last words as nothing more than a cheap excuse. "Your own responsibilities? Wasn't being my father and taking care of my mom one of those responsibilities too?"
Poseidon opened his mouth to answer, visibly uncomfortable under his son's words. Before he could speak, Percy interrupted him again.
"Didn't you know where we lived?" Percy continued, clenching his small fists. "Didn't you know my mom worked every single day without a break? That she barely had time to spend one afternoon with me because she had to leave me with that... stinking Gabe?"
Poseidon's jaw tightened.
"...Yes, Percy. I won't lie to you. I knew everything."
Percy felt something twist painfully inside his chest.
"Then... if you knew all of that, why didn't you help us? You're a god. How is it possible that you just stood there and watched?" Although phrased as a question, both of them knew it sounded much more like an accusation.
Poseidon lowered his head.
"I'm sorry, Percy, I..." the god began, instinctively raising his hands to embrace the boy.
Percy immediately took another step back, stopping him in his tracks.
Percy let out a bitter laugh as he stared at the man who called himself his father, refusing to let him touch him so easily.
"'I'm sorry?' Is that really all you have after all this time? I always thought maybe... maybe you didn't know anything. That you were somewhere out there unable to find us." He took a slow breath before continuing. "But it turns out... we just weren't important enough to you."
Silence settled between them once more.
Poseidon tried to speak again, but Percy raised a hand. "No... let me talk."
The Sea God simply nodded, deciding it was better to let the boy vent than to force his own explanations. Percy slowly walked over and sat down on his bed. "My mom always spoke well of you."
Poseidon raised an eyebrow. "She did?"
Percy nodded. "She never said anything bad about you. She always smiled whenever she talked about you. She said you were kind... that you were gentle... that you were the most incredible man she'd ever met." Percy let out another sad little laugh. "And I think... that's what made me angriest."
Poseidon felt something tighten painfully in his chest. "Because while she kept talking about you like that..." Percy swallowed as he absentmindedly clenched the bedsheets in frustration. "...I just kept wondering... if you were really that good... then why did you never come back?"
The young demigod stared at the floor for several long moments. "When I was little... I thought maybe it was my fault. I kept getting expelled from every school. There was always trouble. I couldn't read properly. I couldn't concentrate. Gabe kept saying I was useless..."
Percy smiled bitterly. "And eventually... I started believing maybe he was right."
Poseidon felt those words strike him harder than any weapon, harder than any punishment Damon had ever given him. "I thought..." Percy paused before slowly lifting his eyes. "...maybe you left because I was a problem child."
Poseidon stepped forward almost instinctively. "No, Percy... never. I never would've left because of something like that." The answer came immediately, his son's confession cutting deeper than he could have imagined.
Percy shook his head, refusing to accept those words. "No... because if that were true... then you never would've left. You don't have to deny it. It's fine. People have mocked me for that plenty of times already."
Poseidon slowly lowered himself onto one knee until he was eye level with Percy, who remained seated on the bed. "Percy... that's not true. Listen to me. The truth is... I was a fool. I failed both you and your mother. That's the truth. Not because you're dyslexic or because there was something wrong with you."
Percy hadn't expected to hear those words coming from a god.
Seeing the surprise on the boy's face, Poseidon took it as a sign to continue. "I won't try to justify myself. Even with all the laws... all the problems... all the restrictions... you're right. Even then... there were still many things I could've done for you and your mother without much effort."
He slowly lowered his head. "I should've taken better care of Sally. I should've made sure the two of you never lacked anything. I should've kept someone like Gabe from ever entering your lives." Poseidon drew a deep breath before finishing. "And I didn't. Believe me when I say... I regret it more deeply than you'll ever know... and I'll never stop regretting it."
Percy remained completely silent. He hadn't expected his father to truly admit that everything had been his fault... that it had genuinely been his own mistake. Silence settled between them once again until Poseidon decided to break it. "Damon was right."
Percy raised an eyebrow. "Damon?"
Poseidon nodded with a small smile. "He told me to stop acting like an idiot... and start becoming the person I should've been for you and Sally."
A small smile appeared on Percy's face almost involuntarily. "Yeah... that sounds like something he'd say."
Poseidon let out a quiet chuckle. "Yeah... he also gave me quite a long lecture. I honestly thought he was going to beat me to death right then and there."
Percy let out another quiet laugh. The tension in the air was still there, but at the very least it was no longer unbearable, allowing Percy and Poseidon to relax for a brief moment.
Poseidon let out a small sigh of relief as he sensed his son's emotions beginning to calm. Rising from his kneeling position, he spoke once more. "There's someone who wants to see you."
Percy looked up. "...Who?"
The Sea God smiled far more warmly than before. "Your mother." Percy was on his feet almost immediately. "My mom?"
Poseidon nodded slowly. "That's right. I think she's been waiting for you long enough. What do you say... shall we go see her?" The words had barely left his mouth before Percy was already walking toward the door, not giving the conversation he had just had with his father a second thought. There was only one person he wanted to see more than anyone else.
And finally, after so many days... That opportunity had finally arrived.
Olympus.
Damon's office remained surprisingly quiet. Reports from different parts of Olympus and Camp Half-Blood had piled up across the large marble desk. Some bore Athena's seal, while others came from the various temples, showing their diligence under the new administration. Damon flipped through them one by one with patience while, a few steps away, Grayfia organized the rest with such precision that Damon had honestly already given the silver-haired devil two or three incredulous looks.
She herself was dressed in her traditional Greek maid uniform, entirely white with golden details and an elegance very much befitting ancient Greece. The Lucifuge seemed to have adapted perfectly to her new responsibilities... Damon certainly couldn't deny that, not to mention that she genuinely looked good in her new attire.
After several minutes of silence, Damon finally set the report in his hands aside and rested an elbow on the desk. His eyes drifted toward Grayfia, watching her for several seconds before slowly shaking his head. "You know... I've already told you this once, but you really don't have to be so stiff around me."
Grayfia paused for a brief moment before turning toward him. Her posture barely changed. "Lord Damon?" she asked with her usual calm demeanor. "We are currently working. I don't believe it would be appropriate for me to relax while carrying out my duties."
Damon let out a quiet laugh.
"That's exactly the problem. You've been here for almost half an hour, and I don't think you've even changed posture once. Honestly, I'm starting to feel like if I put a report in the wrong pile, you'll write another report explaining why the King of Olympus organized his own desk incorrectly."
Grayfia blinked, completely confused by Damon's remark. She glanced down at the desk for a moment before replying with complete seriousness. "I would never do such a thing against my own lord."
"I know," Damon replied with a smile at the Lucifuge's serious attitude. "But you still talk to me as though every sentence has to go through a committee before it leaves your mouth, even after we've already had a conversation about this."
The devil maintained her serious expression. "I already told you. It's... a habit. For many years, my duty consisted of maintaining absolute professionalism before Lord Sirzechs and everyone who entered the Gremory residence. Eventually, it stopped being something I had to think about and simply became part of who I am."
Damon nodded slowly. He had heard that answer before, and honestly, it made perfect sense. Grayfia wasn't trying to keep her distance because she distrusted him. She did it because, for decades, that had been the way she carried out her duties. The less of herself she revealed, the easier it became to separate her emotions from her responsibilities.
"Then let me ask you something different," Damon said as he leaned back in his chair. "Forget about all of this for a moment. I want to know... before you became Sirzechs' maid... what did Grayfia enjoy doing?"
The simple question alone surprised the Lucifuge, leaving her motionless for several seconds as she carefully thought about the answer she wanted to give her lord.
Damon didn't feel uncomfortable with her silence in the slightest, allowing her to organize her thoughts properly.
Finally, Grayfia spoke again, her voice slightly softer than before. "A long time ago... I enjoyed baking desserts and preparing tea. I always found it relaxing to follow a new recipe or try to perfect an old one." She paused briefly before continuing. "Lady Venelana also enjoyed those things, so some afternoons we would simply go browsing through shops or look for different ingredients to try something new. I also became quite interested in elegant clothing... choosing fabrics, colors, and different styles was always something I found enjoyable."
Damon couldn't help raising an eyebrow in surprise. "Wow... I definitely wasn't expecting that."
Grayfia slightly lifted her gaze."Why, Lord Damon?"
"I don't know." Damon shrugged naturally. "I guess after getting to know you these past few days... I imagined you spending more time intimidating people than baking cookies."
The office fell completely silent once again. Grayfia simply looked at him for several seconds. Then, almost without realizing it herself, the corners of her lips lifted ever so slightly. "...I would never ruin a good dessert."
Damon smiled immediately. "There it is. Finally," the god said, pointing at her with an amused finger.
Grayfia blinked."There what?" she asked, sounding slightly flustered by her unexpected display of emotion.
Damon smiled knowingly. "You smiled." At those words, Grayfia's expression immediately returned to normal. "I believe Lord Damon is imagining things."
"Nope, I don't think so," replied the god with a smile. "Then perhaps Lord Damon should get some more rest."
Damon ended up laughing even more.... "You're better than I expected, Grayfia, I have to admit."Grayfia tilted her head slightly, still not entirely understanding what he meant.
"I suppose the woman beneath the perfect maid you always present to the world is actually someone very entertaining." The devil remained completely silent. No one... absolutely no one... had ever told her something like that before.
Damon picked up another report, signaling the end of the conversation. "Tomorrow we'll put our responsibilities aside."
Grayfia frowned slightly. "Lord Damon, we must make sure that—" the Lucifuge began seriously before being interrupted. With a dismissive wave of Damon's hand, "We're going to do something else."
Grayfia immediately composed herself. "What would you like me to prepare, Lord Damon?"
Damon shook his head while continuing to read the document. "Nothing serious. I just want to try one of those desserts you were talking about... the ones Grayfia used to make because she enjoyed making them," the god said with a barely noticeable smile.
Those words left the Lucifuge completely motionless. For years, practically every request anyone had ever made of her had been related to her efficiency, her strength, or her responsibilities.
This was the first time someone had asked her to do something simply because it was something she herself enjoyed.
After a sepulchral silence, Grayfia inclined her head slightly in respect. A small smile, far more genuine than the previous one, briefly appeared on her face. "As you command, Lord Damon..."
"...I would be delighted to do so," the Lucifuge quietly murmured under her breath.
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P@treon: Brotato up to chapter 159