Two Sides of the Same Coin (Fem. Percy x YJ)

Chapter 4

"Get off." Dad shoved at me. I snuggled against him, wrapping my arms tight and clinging like a koala. "Percy, get off."

"I don't want to."

"Brat."

I pouted and rested my chin against his chest. My eyes focused on his, mine big and wide, his narrowed. The rest of the bed was cold, Mom having escaped before I could latch onto her. Based on the sounds from the basement, screams and things being smashed, she was bringing our guest breakfast. A particularly loud noise shook the house. I tightened my arms around Dad. 

"Daddy, please? I'll love you forever."

"Sweet talking me isn't gonna get you what you want." At odds with his words, Dad laid back down. He sucked in a breath as I rolled into place next to him. "You're getting too heavy to do that. How'd the heist go?"

"I don't want to talk about work." I closed my eyes. Dad's fingers swept through my hair, His other hand settled on my face. The rough pad of his thumb swept along my cheekbone. 

"Come here." Without letting me ask why, he gathered me into his arms and hugged me tight. My ribs protested. "You've gotten so much bigger than that little baby Harley made me adopt. But you're still squishable." I squeaked and burrowed closer to him. "I love you." He kissed my head.

"Love you too."

Laying tucked against him was nice in all the right ways. Not that most people would consider them right. If I told someone I liked being hugged by the Joker of all people, that would probably be enough to have me sent to Arkham all on its own. But for all others would disagree, Dad was safe. Years and years ago, I'd curled against his chest and the safety it brought never really changed. Thankfully there was less arguing about what you feed a toddler now.

Dad brushed a strand of hair away from my face. "Go back to sleep," he said. "It's against the moral code the others have to wake a sleeping child."

"Klarion has less of a moral code than you--than you do." 

"Why are you crying?"

I sniffled and wiped at my eyes. I hadn't noticed. "I love you."

"You've said that already."

I pushed harder against his side. He gave way for a moment, sliding across the sheets and nearly off the bed, before righting. With a sigh, he tugged a blanket around me. I blinked up at him in thanks. Dad leaned over me, toxic green eyes soft with worry. 

"I'm not going to get rid of you. You know that, right?" he asked. "You're my only string of sanity. Quite literally, but before that, you're my daughter." He smiled, bittersweet. "I looked everywhere for you. Called every contact I had, and I even debated talking to Bats. So you're not going to get rid of me that easily. Hey, sh, stop that." One hand wrapped around mine and pulled it from my mouth. "You're going to hurt yourself."

"How'd you--"

"You do this at least once a year. And it's always worse after something like this." Dad pulled me up. He guided me to the kitchen. The chair scraped the floor, and with one hand he pushed me into it. "There's a job I need you to do in a bit-- don't start with me-- I know you want a break, but you know we have less attacks when you do them."

"Only because a certain goddess loves balance," I grumbled and folded my arms under my head. Every time Dad swept by me, his hand would brush over my shoulders. It sent warmth through my chest. Being home was nice, but it was also odd. My eyes tracked Dad around the room. 

"Here you go." Dad placed a bowl in front of me. I picked up the fork. I pushed food around. "Don't play with it."

"I'm not hungry."

"Bullshit. You're always starving in the morning." He snorted. "You tried to eat Freeze."

"Hey! I was three. You can only blame yourself for that one." I shoved a forkful of noodles in my mouth. Light filtered in through the wooden boards and splayed across the floor. It softened the shadows that hung around in the morning, the ones that only stayed until the sun shone through the large front windows. Facing the street, more often than not you were fine. But for the moment, the shadows remained. And I searched them, waiting for something to jump out and attack. 

Nothing would, and I knew it, but I couldn't stop myself. 

"What was that job?" I asked. My bowl scraped the table. The fork clinked. Swallowing, I looked up at Dad. "And who am I doing it for?" Questions that needed to be asked, and questions that didn't always get a clean answer. Dad hummed and pulled me up by one hand. Something cold pressed against my palm.

"Another bank robbery. You're more of a distraction if anything. The target's in the vault and we need time to get in there." 

My lips turned up in a smile. I snaked my hand away and curled my hand around the switchblade. It fell with heavy weight into my pocket. "So I get to have a bit of fun with whoever shows up? Well, why didn't you say so to begin with? I thought you were going to tell me to do something like 'kidnap ten orphans.'"

"I'm not too keen on you raiding the pantry to feed even more. They're like cats."

"They would be if we didn't move every other month," I grumbled. "I'm going--" I gestured towards my room. My costume was probably clean enough to wear for another day. "Which bank is it?"

"The big one with the gargoyles."

"Right, the one where you snuck up on Bats and almost got thrown off."

"Not my fault he has a startle reflex." Dad laughed. It stopped as soon as it began and I found myself frozen in place. His eyes narrowed and he jabbed a finger towards me. "Don't loose that or else you're sleeping in the car."

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I spent most of the day outside since it was nice thank you mother nature for once

See yah