Shattered

Percy

"And there, all done," Hades smiled, before pulling on Percy's tie once more. The weakened god then took a step back to admire his work, rubbing absently at his chin, while giving Percy a look over. He felt just as embarrassed and self-conscious with Hades checking him as he did when his mother did before any of his bigger dates with Annabeth. It was a necessary evil though, as just like with Annabeth, he wanted to look his best for Nico. "You're passable," the older man said with a nod of his head.

"Um, thanks, Hades," Percy said awkwardly. He wanted to scratch the back of his head, but stopped himself at the last possible second. For once he had managed to comb his hair to resemble something akin to neat, but he had a feeling that even the slightest touch would make it go back to its natural chaotic state.

It was finally Saturday, the day he, Jason, and Nico were going to behave like normal teenagers for once by attending Prom.

But first we have to get there...

The house was in chaos. They had picked up their tuxes the night before and hadn't thought anything of it, they had had their measurements taken the day they ordered them so all should have been fine. Wrong. The navy-blue vests he and Nico had picked out had been replaced with an almost neon purple. Nico's pants were a little long, while his own were too tight and a little short. Jason's jacket was just big enough to fit, but not big enough to button comfortably. Persephone and Demeter, in a surprising move, had cracked out an old sewing kit and were frantically making alterations; safety deposit be damned.

But the worst thing, well at least to him, was that they had given him an actual tie as opposed to the clip-on he ordered. Paul had tried to teach him on several occasions how to tie a tie, showing him several simple knots, but all that ended up doing was confusing him and making him almost strangle himself. But today he tried, and took his time, remembering with a sad smile Paul showing him how to make a Double Windsor, but still he failed. Not because he got the steps wrong, but because of his hands. His hands shook so bad whenever he tried to perform some detailed movement; his handwriting was practically scribbles now, typing was a slow struggle, and he gave up on tying his shoes, preferring to just slide them on and off now.

So he swallowed his pride and asked the only person in the house that wasn't busy: Hades.

"It's no problem Jackson," Hades said, taking a seat behind his desk. "I wanted to talk with you anyway." The head of the house gestured to the wooden chair in front of the desk. "Take a seat."

And here comes the 'they'll never find your body if you bring Nico home late' speech, or 'if you touch my son, I'll castrate you' spiel, both classics!

Percy didn't say anything though, only nodding and gritting his teeth as he stepped forward. He knew that he should still be using his crutches, as the still healing muscles in his right leg constantly reminded him, but he wanted tonight to be special. He wanted to give Nico the full Prom experience; walking down the school's stairs for premier are a couple, dancing together, getting him punch when he was tired, the whole shebang. But crutches kind of ruined everything.

So that one early morning where he and Nico had a little fun-in-the-tub, he decided to man up and leave the hunks of metal. Sure, he was eating fistfuls of Tylenol to mitigate the pain, but it was worth it. He didn't get as many pitiful looks as he limped down the hall at school, he didn't disrupt class when he knocked his crutches over (which happened a million times a day), and best of all he got to train with Nico a little more actively now.

"So what kind of death threats do you got for me today?" he grinned at Nico's father as he took his seat. It was a dumb thing to say, as Hades could simply say they weren't allowed to go, but he and the god had built up this little back-and-forth that for the most part was good natured. Percy actually liked Hades (especially on days after he got some alone time with his wife), he always kept an open door and genuinely cared for the wellbeing of everyone in the house, but the weakened god tried to hide it behind a mask of frustration and indifference.