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Percy groaned as he slid out of his old, battered prius and slammed the door behind him; wincing slightly as the noise jarred the pounding in his head.
It had been a long week. He had spent the last six days traveling the length of the states solo at a near impossible speed, whilst chasing down a monster as a ‘favour’ for Hermes.
In all honesty, Percy couldn’t give a fuck about Hermes and his favours. He was more concerned about the increasing number of mortals and tree nymphs the creature injured as it purged its way through the forests unchallenged.
Normally, he would have at least dragged someone else along to join him on this shit-show, but with the monster’s particular affinity to water, he was reluctant to endanger any of his friends unnecessarily.
He had spent the last six days, and the remainder of his winter break chasing the thing across Ohio and had finally managed to decapitate it yesterday after using a river to herd it into the corner of a cliff face.
Now, almost twelve hours of driving later, all Percy really wanted to do was crawl up in bed.
His legs shook slightly as he walked up the flights and flights of stairs up to his mum’s apartment- truly feeling the exertion of the last few days.
His ribs ached something awful from where a tail had batted him a few dozen feet through the air, and his left knee twinged every time he went to take yet another step.
By the time Percy made his way to the hallway of his apartment, his eyes were slowly drooping shut, and he leaned against the door frame in an attempt to support his aching limbs.
He knocked. Once. Twice. Before lowering his hand to wrap his arms tighter round himself in a feeble attempt to retain some heat in the icy New York weather.
He always seemed to be cold now. Some long-lasting effect of the pit that had yet to fade, even over half a year later. Will suggested that drinking fire water wasn’t exactly stellar on one’s circulatory and nervous system.
Percy pried his eyes open once more (when had he shut them?) the task feeling like a gargantuan effort, upon hearing the slight shuffle of feet inside.
The door swung open, and Paul’s face was suddenly in front of him, mouth stretched in a large grin upon seeing who was at the door.
Percy returned the grin as best he could, before succumbing to Paul’s open arms and allowing himself to sink into the pleasantly warm embrace.
He stayed there for a minute, content in his stepfathers arms, until Paul shook Percy on the shoulder gently when Percy didn’t move to release from the hug. His brows furrowing slightly in concern.
“Good to see you Perce. You okay though?”
Percy simply held on to Paul tighter, allowing the older man to take a tiny bit of his weight.
“So warm” Percy mumbled through a mouthful of jumper as he nuzzled his head deeper into Paul’s chest- who let out a breathy chuckle.
Seemingly having just finished up something in the kitchen (Percy prayed it was blue cookies) Sally emerged, still armoured with an apron and oven mitts.
She quickly joined the embrace, tucking herself under Pery’s left side, letting out a contented hum at having her son home safe, carding her hands through his tangled her.
“you okay baby?” she questioned, voice soft and open but not quite hiding the small dregs of worry concealed beneath her words.
Percy nodded his head, wishing he could stay in the warming embrace forever; let it ward the ever-present chill from his bones.
“Just tired” he breathed.
“A few busted ribs though.” he added, cautious of Paul’s arms wrapped around his mid-section.
The grip lessened instantly, and Percy nearly wined at the loss of body heat, but, before he could protest, was led to the sofa supported by a parent on each side.
Percy knew he could’ve made it to the sofa himself, busted knee or not (the gods knew he’d achieved a lot more with far greater injuries), but it was simply so nice; the feeling of warmth spreading through him pure bliss. Such a staggering contrast from the miserable isolation of the last few days.
Sally and Paul settled him down on the sofa, a small groan slipping through his cracked lips as the pressure was eased from his legs and he sank into the plush cushions.
His eyes were lidded at this point; surroundings blurring slightly as he fought of the misty arms of sleep.
Dimly, he noted that someone had lifted his legs, laying him parallel on the sofa, then draped a soft, fuzzy blanket over him- so large it encompassed his entire body.
He could somewhat hear hushed whispers in the background, the sound emerging just behind him, coming from the spot where someone sat running their hands through his overgrown hair.
He leaned into the touch and heard a chuckle sound in response. Not matter how tired he was, Percy couldn’t keep the smile from his face.
Time seemed to warp and twist for a while as Percy drifted in a state somewhere between consciousness and sleep, content to let the world drift past seamlessly after the turbulence of the last few days.
He could feel the last of his awareness slipping away, the darkness nearly washing over him when a sweet, fresh smell blossomed through the air.
He breathed in, the soft sent of cookies filling his nose, and let out a contented smile. No amount of sleep deprivation would allow Percy to pass on the promise of his mum’s famous blue cookies.
He pushed himself up on his elbows, squinting at the light seeping through the windows before meeting Sally’s gaze.
“How you feeling, baby?” she asked, pressing her lips to his forehead like she did all those years ago when it was just the two of them against the world.
Percy simply hummed, words seeming too heavy and allowed his mum to straiten out the blanket covering his bundled form.
She brought over a plate of obnoxiously blue cookies, a sly smile etched on her age worn face, and Percy grinned back, large and toothy.
He had no doubt he probably looked like some sort of puppy, hair tussled and eyes large, but he simply didn’t care as he budged down the sofa, making room for Sally, before laying back down, letting his head rest on her lap, where she began to work out the knots from Percy’s hair that had quickly become tangled after a week of neglecting it.
Percy leaned into the touch, finding comfort in the way his mother’s nimble hands massaged his scalp as she went.
Paul remerged a second later, three steaming mugs topped with an alarmingly large amount of whipped cream cradled in his arms, and a proud look on his face as he noted the way Percy eyed the truly marvellous drinks.
He joined Percy and Sally on the sofa, where the three of them spent the afternoon, “Lilo and Stitch” playing in the background.
They continued this, Sally detangling Percy’s hair (and eventually plaiting it) with Paul sat on his other side, content to let the demigod soak up some much-needed love and TLC.
Eventually, Paul would have to get up and grade some papers, Percy would have to shuffle into his room and complete the homework that had been steadily building up. Sally would have to work on her book and finish the lasagna her and Paul started earlier. But for now, in this moment, they were content to snuggle up together, holding their son as he slowly drifted off to sleep.