Work Text:
Percy picked up painting from Rachel.
First, he modeled for her. She needed his eyes to capture the sea, then he needed to stand in a certain position. Eyes up, in a crown to paint a royal. Rachel once painted a biblical scene and made Percy pose for David, later she made “Eros and Psyche”, and he posed as Eros. The God of love.
After a certain time, he himself picked up the brush and started doing watercolor. He loved every second of it. How the colors aligned after connecting them with a droplet, the way depths looked by mixing colors.
Later he painted Annabeth. It was one of her favorite pastimes. She sat for a while, reading a book, or doing her work. And later he showed her the drawings, Annabeth with her hair in a messy bun, Annabeth’s hair in the sunlight, Annabeth sitting with her spine curved. She was a mess, teeth unbrushed, bags under her eyes, and yet Percy painted her as if she was Maria.
Percy picked up gardening from Calypso.
Beside the Moonlace on the fire escape, it was now an added collection of little greenery around their apartment. Percy is what you would call a plantmom…plantdad. He cared for them like they were his children and constantly searched up how to care for plants. His ADHD made it a bit difficult, but with enough alarms and notes around the house, all the plants were regularly watered, and the Bonsai was sprayed.
He once moved the English Ivy to the bedroom because the humidity in the living room was 55% and the plant needed 60%. He bought humidifiers, fake lights, and UV lights. One time the police knocked and asked if they were selling weed, because they used too much electricity.
Annabeth loved him for his plants because…well…she had a little fantasy that if he cared for plants in this way, then maybe he will be a great dad. And compared to how her dad treated her, she was happy that her future children wouldn’t have this kind of childhood.
Percy was sitting on the futon and playing a video game. His eyes were squinted, and he cursed under his breath.
‘Is everything okay?’ she asked.
‘I think I have glitch; my plants won’t grow.’
‘What do you mean?’ he pointed to the screen. Stardew valley was playing and indeed, Percy’s avatar was standing in a garden without plants.
‘Well, if my plants don’t grow, I can’t get money, can’t get gifts and then I won’t marry Penny.’
‘Who the fuck is Penny?’
‘A girl in this game. You can get married in here if you give someone lots of gifts.’
‘Are you cheating on me with a gold-digger?’
‘Absolutely.’
Annabeth chuckled. ‘Damn, you are leaving me for a few pixels.’
He looked at her, this time sincerely. ‘I wouldn’t even trade you for high-resolution pixels.’
‘I appreciate that.’
‘You’re laughing at me.’
‘You too, dear.’