(Fem.) Percy meets Spidey

28

Dad walked out of the the throne room with me a step behind him. My hands curled and flexed, muscles aching. Before I could stop myself, I reached forward. I wrapped my hand around the smooth cotton of Dad's sleeve. He stopped and turned. The arch of a dark eyebrow coupled with his stare was enough for me to release my hold. I looked at my feet, at the unworn stone making up the floor. A small thread of gold trailed away from the ornamental rug. 

"Here," said Dad, a weathered hand offered. I took it without saying anything, and Dad likewise didn't say a word when my grip grew tighter. My knuckles were white the entire time. It wasn't hard to imagine he was glad to be a god. If it wasn't for that, I would have broken his hand in my vice-like grip. When we stepped foot into the living room, then and only then, did I loosen my fingers. Still, I didn't let go of Dad.  He hummed and slipped his hand from mine. "You okay, foal?" 

No. No, I wasn't. I wanted to keep holding onto him. It was nice. It was safe.

"I-" I swallowed and scrubbed at my arms, nails dragging across skin as I tried to shake the gazes still lingering. They were tree sap, they were stuck and no amount of scrubbing was getting them to go away. Water pushed me towards the couch. I sat down. As I sank into the plush cushions, I blinked and nearly missed it as Dad sat on the edge of the coffee table. "You could've told me you were going to have me here today." To his credit, he looked guilty.

"Percy, if you aren't comfortable here," he said. "I can send you back. As much as I want you here, your safety comes first." The way he spoke, it sounded like that's all there was to it. But that wasn't all there was. It wasn't guilt or sadness lurking in his eyes. He's disappointed. The realization made me shake my head, tightening my grip on my arms. 

"I want to stay." I didn't. But yet, the idea of having to spend even more time at home-- "Mom, she- she doesn't know. She doesn't know about anything, and it's- it's getting so hard to hide it."

"Then tell her."

"It's not that simple."

"Why?" His eyes locked onto my hands. "Can you let go of-"

My hands dropped into my lap, and I laced my fingers. One hand curled around the other. Dad raised an eyebrow, and I relaxed my grip."Sorry."

"You don't need to apologize. Why can't you tell your mother?"

"She-" My grip tightened. Don't do it. "I can't do a lot of things without her looking at me weird or commenting on it. And now since I have to have a babysitter, I can't even do it when her and Paul are out of the house. Will showed up the last time, but- She knows I'm ADHD," I said, freeing my hands from each other. 

I forced my hands to stay still, even if I wanted to dig my nails into my knees. Dad wouldn't like that. Even with all of the resentment I should have for him, I didn't want him to not want me. This whole custody weekend thing is his attempt at showing me that I'm just as much a part of his family as Triton or Tyson. Making him regret this would only mean he should regret having me as a part of his family. What if he's already getting fed up with how I'm acting? Is he-

"I could always come over," said Dad, interrupting my spiraling thoughts.

"What?"

"If your mother continues to stick you under the watch of someone else, then I can come over." Dad rested his elbows on his knees. "I may have to convince my brother that it's in order to make sure you aren't turning against us, but I can handle an argument with him. I'm more worried about you, and hey, I would get to spend more time with you." A small smile rested on his face, seemingly content with the idea. I didn't want to argue about it. Spending more time with Dad was something I had wanted ever since I was little. All those nights wishing he hadn't left so I wouldn't have to deal with Gabe, all those times I'd wished for him to swoop in and get me and Mom out of there, and yet...

"You- You have better things to do than come sit in the apartment with me. And it would probably end up drawing more attention from monsters." 

"Seahorse." Dad laughed, "You do realize I'm offering to break one of my brother's laws? And I am quite capable of keeping monsters away from you." He reached forward like he was going to mess up my hair, but dropped his hand before he could touch me. I dragged my tongue across the sharp edge of my teeth. My heart was pounding in my ears. Shit. "Percy?"

 "Monsters target me because of you. They go after me because they think it'll affect you." I swallowed and clenched my hands. "One of the giants was planning on keeping me as a pet until he could kill me in front of you." 

The jovial atmosphere surrounding Dad vanished. Hardened eyes focused on me, anger fanning the fury inside of them. "What." 

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