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Paul woke up to doors opening and closing in the kitchen. He tried to ignore it, it was probably just his soon-to-be stepson getting some midnight snack. He was planning on going back to sleep but instead heard something shatter as it hit the floor followed by what he assumed was Percy kicking the table. He figured that he should be an adult and help him out. 1
As he got up, his fiancé, Sally, mumbled something about him leaving. He promised he would be right back, he just had to deal with something.
It was only a six-second walk to the kitchen, but he still had an idea in his head of what had happened. Percy was probably just getting some cookies and a glass of milk spilled the glass. He would help clean up and then say something like "no use crying over spilled milk" He would share some cookies and go to bed.
He was right about the cookies but wasn't expecting his stepson to be crying in front of broken pieces of a novelty mug sitting in a puddle of chocolate milk that was still expanding with the sink overflowing after someone left the tap on added to the damage. Percy was rocking back and forth with his head between his knees making himself as small as possible.
"Percy?" Paul whispered trying not to freak Percy out more.
"I can't. I can't." Percy kept repeating. Paul wasn't sure if Percy knew he was there. The older man tried again, a bit louder this time. The crying boy didn't respond so Paul went on to get some old rags from the cabinet behind him to clean up the milk from the floor.
"Paul?" Percy's voice came out in a cracked whisper after a few minutes of Paul cleaning up the broken 'I Heart NY' mug. He sounded lost, hurt, and... afraid? Paul had never seen him like that. It only took him a second to recover. His kid needed him.
"Yeah. It's me, kiddo." Paul gave a warm smile.
"Paul?" He asked again, swallowing hard to force back a sob. "I...I'm sorry" he broke down again and hugged himself tighter. Paul went over and wrapped his arms around Percy, letting him cry and get what he needed to out of his system. The younger of the two let himself lean on his stepfather, letting himself get the comfort he very obviously needed.
Paul however wasn't an idiot. He knew what was happening. You don't work at a high school and not know what a panic attack looks like. Sally had also told him he struggled with his past. An abusive ex-stepfather, abandonment issues from his father, and him being kidnapped and forced across the country definitely had a negative impact on his mental health. The ADHD driving emotions to eleven probably made it worse.
"Kiddo, do you want to put on some dry clothes and come back to the couch?" Paul asked once Percy was calm enough to talk without stuttering. "Cookies and hot cocoa will be waiting if you want."
Percy nodded as he stood up and walked to his room. Paul couldn't help but be reminded of how small he had gotten when he went to summer camp three months ago. Whenever he or Sally brought it up, he would gush about Annabeth or shut down and change the subject. Once he had mugs ready, he brought them to Percy who was silently crying on the couch and not doing a very good job of hiding it.
"Hey I've got hot chocolate," Paul said as he handed the blue plastic cup to the fifteen-year-old, who mumbled out a thank you.
"Sorry for making you clean up. I couldn't keep my hand still. I can't stop shaking" Percy started.
"Oh please, when I clean, your mom is extra nice to me. I should be thanking you for the opportunity," Paul quipped. He got a small smile with an accompanying sniffle. "So... nightmares or just a random panic attack ?"
"Both I guess." Percy shrugged.
"Wanna talk about it?" Paul prompted.
He was met with a scoff followed by a sniffle, "you're going to think I'm clinically insane."
"Try me kiddo." Paul had no clue what that would mean.
"So, the fates prophesied my birth and how I'm gonna destroy or save the world or whatever. And it yet never felt more /real/ that this year. Like with Pan fading. And the explosion at Mount St. Helens...Even dad was surprised I could cause that much damage, but I didn't mean to. I would never."
Paul really was confused but said nothing. Wasn't his camp on the Long Island Sound? And the eruption at Mount St Helens? Did Percy think he did something there?
"And then," Percy swallows hard as more tears came to his eyes. He was desperately trying to hold them back. "I saw the coffin and— and," tears were falling freely now "Luke wasn't L—Luke anymore and his eyes were..." Percy sobbed again and threw himself into his stepfather's arms.
Paul shushed Percy and told him it was okay, he was safe now, that was in the past. While he stroked Percy's head, he couldn't help but realize Percy was really warm. That explained it. Percy is just having a fever dream.
After a minute or so, Sally walked in looking worried. "I heard voices. Are you boys alright there?"
Percy quickly but shakily sat up and whispered out. "Had a nightmare. Then freaked out,"
"I made hot chocolate." Paul thought about it and how time has passed since they sat down. "It's just room temp chocolate now."
Sally gave a weak smile as she sat down next to her son. "I'm sorry baby, do you want to talk about it?"
Percy shrugged and then mumbled, "Kronos and Luke 'nd the labyrinth." Sally nodded like it was something she was expecting. She told Percy he might feel better after talking about it. The teenager reluctantly agreed and began to describe his dream so vividly, Paul almost thought this stuff happened to him.
Paul figured that Percy was in good hands with his mom and went to stand up. Even if the kitchen looked manageable, it still needed to be leaned or it would smell like rotting milk. He barely took a step when a hand grabbed his wrist.
"No-I mean, please stay." Percy's voice was raw from crying. He didn't have much of a choice so he sat back down.
"Are you calm enough to try and go back to bed or should we watch a movie until one of us falls asleep?" Paul prompted.
"Movie," Percy breathed out. He looked just about ready to pass out. He let Sally pick. She claimed it was one of his old favorites.
Percy was asleep on his stepfather's shoulder as the girls and nature spirits jumped around some fast-growing seeds. Paul had been so engrossed in My Neighbor Totoro that he was entirely unaware of his kid drooling on his shoulder.
"Thank you, honey, for helping him." Sally started as the spirits on the TV started flying around the trees. "He really looks up to you. You're one of the few people who treat him like a normal kid."
"It is the least I could do," Paul replied.
"How bad was it tonight?" Sally was playing with Percy's hair, looking at him sadly. Paul could tell that she only wanted to make him feel better so that he wouldn't be sad, or tired, or sick. So that he could just be a kid.
"One of the worst I've seen. Found in the kitchen sitting by a puddle of milk, crying, and shaking. It took him almost 5 minutes to notice me," Paul took a deep breath. "He kept saying that he couldn't do it and that he couldn't fight him. I think it was something from when he was kidnapped."
"Kidnapped?" Sally looked confused then gasped in realization, "No, it's from this summer. I'm sure his fever didn't help."
Paul elected to ignore the fact she forgot her son was kidnapped when he was 12. He remembered seeing it on the news. "I didn't notice until we sat down. The fever I mean. I think we should give him something for that when he wakes up."
Sally nodded and reached over to grab her fiance's hand. "He used to make me watch this with him all the time. This Ponyo and Finding Nemo. But he's all grown up now."
"He was talking about that too. How he didn't realize that he could save the world or something now that he's almost 16," Paul remembered.
"The Fates have had his life planned out for him since before he was born. He's only just realized that him being where he was this summer was intentional and necessary. I think the war became real this year to him this winter." Sally looked up and made eye contact with Paul. "He didn't tell you did he? He told me he was going to tell you yesterday while you went out for lunch."
"Do I want to know what he was going to tell me?" Paul asked, carefully getting up and maneuvering Percy so he was lying down.
"His father is an Olympian," Sally said as she put a blanket over him. "Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea, earthquakes, storms, and horses. And I know it sounds crazy."
Paul interrupted to agree "Absolutely insane." He ran his fingers through his hair. Did he think it was crazy? He always knew there was something different Percy. He knew that the kid was dangerous the first time they met.
"I bet the tap was running whenever you found Percy in the kitchen after a nightmare," Paul confirmed. "That's him not having a proper outlet... And the reason he always has that ballpoint pen? That's his sword. Remember you told me sometimes it looks like Percy is suddenly holding a baseball bat? That's something called the mist. I'm one of a few mortals I know of that can see through it."
"Sally, I love you so so much, but do you think that his dream was real?" Paul was scared of the answer. Either his fiance was crazy and so was his kid, or he was losing it too, or this was one big prank. Percy might have been a prankster but Paul knew that Percy could not have been this good. The mist? that felt fake.
"Yeah honey, I do," Sally took a breath. "When we were kidnapped a couple of years ago, I was in Hades. Alive of course."
Paul muttered, mostly to himself "of course."
"I know that this is a lot, but Percy wanted to tell you himself. I just think that now was a time that you know what is happening with him right now. And when he does tell you, he'll make it a bit more convincing."
"And there is no way to get around this mist stuff?" Paul asked. "So I can see what you see?"
"Not that we know of," Sally traced Percy's face as he started to quietly snore "But all you really need to do is believe him. I think he's scared you're going to run away."
"I would never-" Paul defended himself louder than he probably should have. Percy whimpered in his sleep. Paul continued in a whisper "I would never leave you. And I wouldn't leave him either. He's my family now."