Alternatively

Raising Hell

Chiron is an old man.

He's seen it all, lived it all.

He knows his campers, his heroes. He learns to understand them and be there for them, even if things didn't make sense at the time. It's important they had stability, especially when the world is out to kill them. He wants to keep them safe and sound for as long as he could, though he knew a quest or personal ambition could steal them away at any moment. Typically, he prefers to keep his emotions at a safe distance for that reason exactly, but it's hard to do so.

Sure, Dyonisis manages to do it, but even that god is swayed into caring by certain half bloods.

Nevertheless, Chiron knows he can't be the parental figure the kids may be missing. Doesn't mean he doesn't accidentally try to be.

He thought it was bad when he took in a son of Nike in the 70's, but it was nothing compared to the paternal instinct that took over when one of the saytrs brought in two half bloods, one only seven years old. She had been terrified but stubborn and he had no idea how attached he was until she tried sneaking off on Luke's quest. She grew up so fast, so much faster than her peers, and he is constantly holding her back. It's always, "No, Annabeth," and, "Not yet, Annabeth," and, "Please, Annabeth, get down from there."

He's pretty sure his blood pressure sky rockets every time she fixes him with the look, knowing she was about to argue something, and he's definite that she's responsible for the most recent gray patch in his beard.

And he thought that was as bad as it got?

At the height of Annabeth's rebellion, he was blindsided into protecting another half blood, one he really should have known better about.

With two conflicting kids pulling at him, he's impressed he manages to stay sane. Percy is misunderstood and lost, Annabeth is angry and searching, and Chiron tries to help them both the best he can. A hero's journey is never easy and for impressionable children, he strives to help them find their places.

It took a few years, but he's finally arrived at a nice compromise of parenting and mentoring.

That is, until recently.

It starts with the glances. He catches them across the mess hall, at the archery range, in the arena. They steal them without the other noticing and while they aren't longing, they're something.

He doesn't bring it up.

It moves to the sighing, which worries him.

Annabeth was zoning out in her studies, staring without looking at her book, and he has to call her attention back to the problem. When he asks what was wrong, she just shrugs him off. Percy would sigh, lost in thought, on his breaks in the arena. Chiron is concerned; what if it distracts him in the ring?

Then comes the venting.

He had been subjected to many of Annabeth's rants in the past, heard all there was to hear of her thoughts on the boy she would have never guessed would be the prophecy kid, so he is able to hear the shift. The difference. The clear evidence. Percy's complaints sound all too like the girl's he was talking about, and he sees the nervous fluttering of his hands when he talked.

They come to the conclusion around the same time, the summer of their sophomore year.

"Oh no, he's hot," reads her face.

"Oh no, she's hot," reads his eyes.

Oh no, Chiron groans to himself.

Hey! This summer, a charity fanzine focused on the entirety of Riordan's works called "More Than Myths" is going to be released, and yours truly is participating! All proceeds will be going to the Trevor Project, the suicide intervention hotline for LGBTQ+ youth, so I highly recommend everyone following the zine's progress and eventually obtaining a copy. The official tumblr is riordanversezine, and I assume the same is for the twitter handle.

(if you do look into the tumblr, see if you can tell which piece of writing is mine in the official announcement post, lol it's one of my angst pieces)