Percabeth One Shots

Trouble in Paradise

This chapter is from Percy and Annabeth's child's pov. please comment you reactions! I feel like you all might hate me for a couple things.

Trigger Warning: vivid description of a panic attack

Nathan POV

Mom was gone again. Her and Dad had gotten into an argument about something in greek, and I understood some of the conversation from when they tried to teach me, but they spoke too fast for me to get the whole conversation.

See, my parents had me when Mom was almost twenty, and they had gotten married really young. I remember the times of my youth, when I was maybe seven, we would gather on the couch with my baby sister, Sophia, and watch Finding Nemo, Dad's favorite. Mom would always burn the popcorn, and dad would laugh at her while he prepped it correctly.

But now, eight years later, things weren't so nice. My parents argued a lot. But they always did it quietly, preventing the neighbors and my two younger sisters from asking questions. There was also a lot of crying, mostly from Mom, but Dad cried too. One other thing they did was argue in ancient greek. I think that they learned it as teenagers to go the Greece, but when they got there they realized that ancient greek was, well, ancient.

Mom had been leaving recently. Like she did a couple minutes ago. She would yell at dad, and disappear into the night right after. She would come back after a couple of hours, apologize to Dad, check on me, and talk to me before saying that I should really get some sleep.

But tonight Dad came into my room after knocking.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"I'm going to go find your mother. I think I know where she is. Can you make sure the girls stay in bed?" He asked. He looked like he had been crying. His eyes where bloodshot and red, his hands couldn't stay still, tapping the top of my dresser.

I glanced at my clock on the wall. It was only ten.

"Yeah, I can do that. Do you want me to stay in the living room?" I asked.

Dad started nodding. "Yeah, yeah. I'll try to be back soon, but I can't say for sure when. Try to be asleep by midnight, okay? You still have to go to school tomorrow."

After I agreed to his terms, Dad turned and left my room, with me following close behind. As he put his shoes on, I decided to ask him something.

"Why does mom keep leaving?" I asked quietly.

Dad took a second to answer, finishing off tying his laces. "Well, she likes her space when she gets upset. And you've probably noticed that things haven't exactly been the smoothest around here lately."

"Why?"

"Well," he paused and looked at me. "It's complicated."

"Dad, I'm fifteen. I can handle it."

He hesitated. "Don't tell you mom that I said this, but we're having a little... financial issue. We need to get a bigger apartment, so the girls can have their own spaces, and you need a room that can fit a desk, you know. And Annabeth can't support the whole family all by herself, I can't go back to work full time with Alissa in preschool, and my mom can't watch her all day, we can't afford day care." He took a deep breath as he untyied his other shoe.

"But, you guys are going to stay together, right?"

"Oh my gods, I'm an idiot. Yes, we're staying together." He stood up and came over to me, wrapping me in his strong embrace. I hugged him back. "I know it doesn't seem like it right now, but Annabeth and I have been through worse than a little financial struggle." Dad broke away and continued pulling his shoe on. "Besides, if we can't support the family with each other, how would we do it by ourselves?" He finished the knot. "Alright, I'm off. You need anything, call me. Don't open the door for anyone, and go to bed by midnight. Okay?"