Fictober 2024

12- Percabeth

"Did you hear that?" Percy whispered into the darkness.

"Hear what?" Annabeth kept her eyes closed, unmoving.

"That noise."

"What noise?" She groaned and turned over. "I think you're making things up."

"No! There was a sound downstairs!" Percy paused, then gasped. "There it is again!"

"Seaweed Brain, I don't hear anything. Go back to sleep."

"I'm going to go investigate."

"Go back to sleep."

Percy sat up and got out of bed. "I'm going to go investigate. Hold down the fort."

Annabeth groaned and pulled the covers over her head.

He grabbed Riptide (in her pen form) from his bedside table and tucked it into his pajama pant pocket.

He creeped downstairs, carefully stepping on each wooden step so they wouldn't creak.

He followed the noise to the kitchen, taking Riptide out and uncapping his trusty pen.

"Hey!" Percy held Riptide, threatening attack as he flicked on the kitchen light.

His oldest daughter, Charlotte, startled and dropped her glass of water on the floor. It shattered. She saw her dad holding his sword in attack mode, causing her lip to quiver. She began to cry.

"Shit!" Percy dropped Riptide, who clattered and clanged on the kitchen tile. He immediately stepped over the shards of broken glass and scooped her into his arms.

"Shhh. It's ok. I'm sorry for scaring you." He held her close as she cried into his shoulder, clawing at his baggy t-shirt to hold onto her father. He stroked her hair to try to calm her down. "It's okay. I didn't mean to scare you. I'm sorry, baby."

He felt his shirt get damp from tears. She wiped her nose on his shoulder, then looked up at him with red cheeks and a pouty lip.

Percy brushed his thump across her cheek to wipe her tears away. "Are you okay? Are you hurt or were you just scared?"

She sniffled. "Scared."

"Ok. I'm glad you're not hurt. I'm sorry for scaring you."

"It's ok, Daddy."

He kissed her on her cheek. "Let's clean up the glass so nobody can get hurt, ok?"

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. It's okay that you dropped it. I'm not mad. We both have to be careful so we don't get poked, alright?" He put her on the counter. "Stay here so you don't hurt your feet. I'm going to grab some shoes and a broom to sweep that up, ok?"

"Ok." She kicked her dangling feet and began to fidget with her twin braids. Some of her dark curls had fallen into her face from sleeping.

Percy walked away for a brief moment before coming back wearing flip-flops and holding a broom and dust pan.

Charlotte watched as he swept up the shards of glass into the dust pan. He opened the cupboard beneath the sink to grab a few plastic bags to layer the bag thick enough so the glass wouldn't pierce through. He dumped the glass into the bags, then grabbed a paper towel to wipe the water off the floor.

He stood up and threw the paper towel and bag away in the trash can. "All done."

He grabbed her tiny feet and brushed the bottoms of any possible glass. "See? Easy peasy."

"Is Mommy going to be mad that I broke one of her cups?" She asked.

"No." He reassured her. "We can always buy a new one. She'll just be happy that you're okay."

"Okey dokey." She looked to the floor. "Is it ok if I get down now?"

"Yeah, of course." Percy lifted her up and off the counter, placing her on the floor. "And I'll pour you another cup of water so you can get back to bed."

Charlotte hurried back upstairs as he poured her some water into a plastic cup, then walked upstairs to give it to her in her room.

She sat in bed, waiting patiently. She thanked him when he handed her the cup.

"Good night, honey. Sweet dreams. Or no dreams." He tucked her in and planted a kiss on her forehead.

"Good night."

Percy closed her door silently and headed back to his room.

He crawled into bed beside Annabeth to spoon, wrapping his arm around her waist and placing a kiss on her shoulder.

"What was the noise, Mr. Detective?" She muttered.

"Just Charlie getting water." He kissed her again.

"You were down there for a while."

"I scared her by accident and she dropped a glass."

Annabeth rolled over to face him. "Percy."

"I apologized and cleaned it up, don't worry."

"Did you come down there waving Riptide around like a maniac and scare our five-year-old?"

Percy took a guilty pause. "...No..."

She sighed and turned away again.

"I said I was sorry! And held her away from the glass and comforted her while she cried-"

Annabeth reached back and held her hand against his mouth. "Shhh. Bedtime, Seaweed Brain."

"I can't even defend myself?"

"No. I love you, good night."

Percy laughed and kissed her shoulder again. "I love you, goodnight."

But she was already asleep.

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Not me committing to something then promptly forgetting about it...

Anyway

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