lookin' up now ('cause i am royalty)

(2/6) three old ladies knit the socks of death

A/n: Rec #2: Child Surprise (https://archiveofourown.org/works/41665080/chapters/104513742)

I'm still working on the character chapter, so that will be out soon! But for now, enjoy this one :)

Also, I know a lot of people don't do this, but if you're reading this even after more chapters of this fic have been posted, please comment! I love seeing what y'all think of these chapters

Ages for reference (27):

10: Nico
13-14: Bianca
15: Jason, Piper, Leo
16: Percy, Grover, Rachel, Annabeth
18: Luke
21: Silena, Beckendorf
22: Thalia
24-26: Triton, Persephone, Mellie
37-38: Sally, Hera, Chiron
42-44: Zeus, Amphitrite, Paul, Frederick Chase
47-48: Poseidon
49-50: Hades
52-56: Coach Hedge
☠️: Kronos

I was homesick.

"Oh, Percy," Sally said softly. She knew her son was mad at her, but she was trying her best. Should she have told her son about his father earlier? Possibly.

Would Percy still be mad at her either way? More than likely. She knew Percy, she had raised him for the past 16 years of his life. She knew he got frustrated easily, but was loyal to the core. He was protective and funny, even when things looked bleak.

Thinking of bleak situations, Sally couldn't help but think of Gabe Ugliano, her ex-boyfriend. He was a- well, he was an asshole. (And for Sally to actually curse, even in her mind, showed how serious she was.)

When Sally had first met Gabe, she had been blindsided. She needed someone to help take care of Percy, even if that was just by providing a second source of income. It wasn't the most moral thing to do, dating someone for their money, but it was a necessity.

She couldn't always go to Poseidon for everything, that just wasn't how it worked. So, she had to do some things on her own. She already was having trouble staying home with Percy when he was sick or off school, as her work wouldn't allow her much time off.

So when Gabe came into the candy shop one day in decently expensive clothing and started flirting- or what he thought was flirting- with her, she didn't stop him. He wasn't attractive, he wasn't very PC on a lot of things, and he had a slimy personality in general, but she was desperate.

When, one day, Gabe asked her out on a date, she said yes. It was hard to fit it into her already packed schedule, but she managed to save up enough money to be able to pay for a babysitter for a couple of hours.

It... wasn't unpleasant. But that was all Sally could really say about the date. They went to a nice restaurant, but Gabe ate like a walrus, and that was being nice. He had absolutely no table manners, but Sally could get past that. She would make herself.

They didn't actually go on many dates before Gabe moved in with her and Percy. She had told Gabe about Percy, but he didn't seem too bothered by his existence, merely joking that his father better not still be around.

She didn't want to think about what he would do if he met Poseidon.

But Gabe had a high-paying job as a manager at some appliance store in the area and managed to bring in a paycheck each week even though he barely went to work. This was exactly what Sally had been hoping would happen. Gabe would stay at home and just make sure Percy didn't burn down the apartment or hurt himself, while also bringing enough money so that they could pay their rent and eat.

New York really wasn't a good place to live as a single parent, that was for sure. The rent was so high, but they also didn't have the funds to move anytime soon.