My Boyfriend is a Dead Roman Hero | Jason Grace

I Become a Reality Show

Percy doesn't know what he's doing.

"Estelle, please, oh my gods," He whines, hand darting out last second to catch the cup of applesauce before it can hit the ground. Percy sets it back in front of his baby sister as she erupts into a fit of giggles. He scowls at her. "Oh, that's funny is it?"

Estelle shrieks in amusement and slaps the cup off her high chair again.

Catching it midair for the fifth time in the last three minutes, Percy rakes a hand down his face, cursing himself for the tired smile the rascal's little giggles are dragging out of him.

Using his battle instincts to not spill baby food. If Percy's enemies could see him now.

He sighs and shakes his head. This is the first time his mom and Paul have left him totally alone with Estelle since she was born. With Annabeth back in Boston again helping Magnus and Grover frolicking up and down the West Coast calming forest fires, Percy's got no babysitting reinforcements nearby until his parents get home from their well earned weekend getaway to Montauk.

'We get along great!' He'd told his mom. 'How hard could it be?'

She'd given him a funny smirk when he'd said that. Percy had brushed it off. But now they're six hours in, Estelle is covered head to toe in applesauce and Spaghetti-Os, and Percy is ready to be abstinent for the remainder of his life just so he never has to do this again.

Now that he thinks about it, that was probably his mom's goal all along.

"Okay," He states, standing up decisively and setting the applesauce onto the counter (out of reach for her pudgy little evil arms of destruction). Percy lifts Estelle up and out of her chair, holding her out a good six inches from him to avoid getting equally drenched in tomato sauce and apples. "I think it's bath time. Ugh, gross, you're all sticky."

She giggles. Percy rolls his eyes fondly and starts walking her to his parents' bathroom.

"You know, I'm kinda a big deal on Olympus," He comments to the baby. "I'm famous! A big scary hero. Ready to knock down any monsters that come after my peeps."

His boasts don't seem to impress his sister. Estelle burps and swings her little socked feet in the air. Percy grins and shakes his head, turning on the bathroom light with his elbow upon entering.

Okay, she's still kinda cute, Spaghetti-Os and all. Maybe abstinence isn't necessary.

He won't pretend to be disappointed.

Percy sets his wriggling baby sister into her little bathtub. It takes quite a bit of tug of war before Estelle is willing to part with her racecar socks, but he eventually manages to get her bathed.

His mom and Paul tell him it's okay to use his powers if he needs to. They always say that Jules won't be able to hide her blood or scales from Estelle easily, so there's no point in Percy bothering. Using them feels wrong, though. He thinks...He thinks that this kid should be normal. Should get to be normal.

When she's grown up a bit, maybe he'll tell her. But, for now, Percy picks noodles out of Estelle's fuzzy black hair by hand and pretends to be deeply offended when she splashes him.

By the time he's fought the kid into a fresh onesie and put her down for a nap, Percy's clothes are soaked, stained, and his sleeves are both well chewed (by Estelle, not by him). Stumbling tiredly, he tiptoes down the hall to his own bedroom in pursuit of the sweet embrace of his pjs.

His room has felt weirdly big ever since the end of the war.

Juliette moved back to camp to be close to Will and the other healers. To Nyssa for help with her prosthetic. To Jason for...reasons. Percy understood, obviously, but it still sucked. Sucks.