Hey guys!

Originally, I'd planned for my next update to be a companion to Loved Beyond Words, but I was struck violently with inspiration last night and this story was the result.

This one-shot was inspired out of rereading some of my favorited stories last night out of boredom and stumbling across The In-Between Times by MariaClaire, which features Percy and Annabeth POVs during the events of BoO. It is SO GOOD and I highly recommend you go read it after you finish this. Anyway, one of the things I was really hoping for in BoO was a Percy/Poseidon conversation like we got in TLO and rereading her story last night made me want it even more, so... that's what this is. I'm thinking of maybe writing one for Annabeth and Athena at some point too, but theirs would be a little more complicated so I'd have to work out those details first.

There are a few parts in here that allude to some things from The Trials of Apollo, but there are no actual spoilers.

Anyway, I'm going to stop now and let you read. Hope you enjoy!

The sun was bright and the breeze blowing off Long Island Sound was very welcome in the August heat. I stood in the sand on the fireworks beach at camp with my hands in my pockets, staring out over the water. It had been a while since I'd been here.

Not all that long ago, this had been one of my favorite places at Camp Half-Blood. I'd spent hours down here, enjoying the beach and how good it made me feel to be close to the ocean. That was before Hera had kidnapped me and the Giant War had begun. That meant the last time I'd been down here was the summer before that, right after the Battle of Manhattan and the end of the Titan War. It was crazy to think that had been just a year ago. It had been an incredibly long year; even with the six months I'd lost to my unfortunate Hera-induced snooze.

It was still surreal to be back, after everything. It was hard to believe that it was all finally over. Right after we got back from Greece, it had been super hectic getting everything sorted out with the Romans and tending to the immediate post-battle necessities like caring for the wounded and burying the fallen; there hadn't been much time to settle in and I hadn't stuck around long after that, having been away from home as long as I had. I went to see my mom and hadn't been back until yesterday.

It was just a few days now until the end of the summer session at camp, though I'd been here for virtually none of it. Not that I'd really had much choice, seeing as I spent a good portion of it questing around the world, trying to save it for the second time in less than a year. Anyway, Annabeth and I had dropped by for the weekend-my mom wouldn't have let me come for longer than that right now even if I had asked. School was starting in a couple of weeks though and it just wouldn't be right, even after everything, to go into a new school year without an official end-of-summer send off from camp.

As much as I'd missed it and as happy as I was to be back, camp wasn't quite the same now. After the Titan War, so many new demigods had come flooding in and I'd been abducted and whisked away to California before I'd had a chance to really get to know any of them, so now, back from the quest as I was, I was met with more hero worship than I was comfortable with. We'd all gotten it a little bit upon coming back, but those younger campers knew the others, so it wasn't as bad. I suppose it wasn't necessarily a bad thing, they meant well, but I hadn't been expecting it. Annabeth was sure that it would die down once I became a regular at camp again, but at the moment, all the stares and whispers were starting to grate on me and I needed a break.

That was partly what had driven me to the fireworks beach. But mostly I'd just missed it. It was peaceful here and, for the moment anyway, surprisingly empty. I stood just far enough into the surf that the waves rushed gently over my bare feet. It was comforting to feel the familiar rush of strength that surged through me from the water. It hadn't been like that in the Ancient Lands; the water there, for all the time I spent in and near it, just didn't feel the same way. It was more malevolent somehow.

I still couldn't believe it was over. Granted, not everything was right yet. For one thing, the losses we'd suffered were still too fresh and painful; the camp's wounds hadn't quite healed yet. For another, Rachel's oracle still didn't seem to be working; a fact the redhead had not been shy about voicing her frustration over. But the imminent threat was gone. We could actually relax now. We'd been back for few weeks now and I still hadn't quite managed to do that yet, but the simple knowledge that I could was encouraging.

I thought about my mom. It had been so good to finally be home with her again. She'd been so happy to see me, but definitely hadn't expected me. Her reaction was awesome. I thought back to the news she and Paul had shared with me once she'd gotten over the initial shock of my return and I smiled. Gods, I was so excited.

"Drachma for your thoughts?" a voice said suddenly from beside me, breaking me out of said thoughts. I jumped slightly and turned to see a familiar man with dark hair and tanned skin, dressed in a very loud Hawaiian shirt, standing next to me.

I blinked, my mouth falling open slightly in shock, before I found my voice. "Dad." The last time I'd seen Poseidon had been in Greece when the gods had shown up at the last possible second to help us defeat the Giants. There hadn't been time to talk then and other than the beaming smile he'd shot me after defeating Ephialtes and Otis, we hadn't interacted at all. The demigods hadn't been able to stick around long enough to have a conversation before Zeus slapped us across the globe, and I hadn't heard from my dad since.

"Hello, son," he replied easily, as if his showing up out of the blue beside me was a normal thing. I guess maybe at one point it almost had been, but after a year of complete and total silence from all the Olympians, it was a bit unexpected. His eyes, the same ones I saw reflected back every time I looked in a mirror, glinted as he looked at me.

"I-What are you doing here?"

Poseidon smirked, looking mildly amused, and I didn't know if it was at my blatant surprise or something else. "It's been a while. Things were a bit tense the last time we saw each other and I didn't think my brother would have approved me speaking to you then."

I nodded slowly. "Oh-kay…" I'm not gonna lie, I was still not completely over the whole year of straight silence thing, even if fighting beside him a few weeks ago had been extremely cool.

"You have been through a lot, Perseus, over the past few years," he said, his tone taking on a distinctly parental feel with the use of my real name, "More than was truly fair of us to ask of you. Believe me when I tell you that Hera and I have had words on the matter." He cast me a glance then, one which I can only describe as protective, and despite myself I felt my insides warming at the sight. "Even as a hero, I'd never wanted you to have to experience many of the things you have," he continued and I knew he was referring to Tartarus. The thought of it sent a shiver down my spine, "or have to sacrifice as much as you did recently." Poseidon turned to look at me head on now. "Even so, you have far exceeded my every expectation and done so valiantly. And I could not be prouder."

He finished speaking and continued looking at me. I'd again lost the ability to form words. Coming from any normal parent, Poseidon's words would have been fairly normal, if not slightly awkward, but coming from the god of the sea, even if it wasn't the first time he'd spoken to me like this, I was kind of astonished. "I-thank you," I managed after a second.

"I feel it prudent to let you know that, had I not been so badly incapacitated, I would have done everything in my power to aid you and your friends along the way, whether my dear brother liked it or not."

I smirked, recognizing some of the rebelliousness in him that I'd inherited. "Thanks, Dad."

"Frankly, Zeus has not been particularly wise in his decision-making as of late, but what's done is done and you, my son, have performed beautifully in spite of it."

I could think of nothing to say to that other than thank you, and I'd already said that more than once, so I changed the subject. "So, it's all over then? For good now?"

"As far as primordial beings go, I think it's safe to say the imminent threat is past, yes. I won't tell you everything is put to rights once more yet, however I can assure you that which remains will be the responsibility of someone else to handle," Poseidon said with a knowing look and I had no doubt that he knew exactly who that someone else would be. Poor guy. I didn't press the issue though. Just like when the Second Great Prophecy was first issued last summer, I was happier not worrying about it until I had to.

"Oh, okay. Good."

I was expecting Poseidon to leave, now that he'd apparently said what he'd come to, like he always abruptly had every other time, so I was surprised when he, after looking out over the ocean again, turned back to me and asked, "How is your mother, Percy? That Blowfish fellow treating her well?"

I blinked. "Oh. Yeah. Yeah, Paul's great. She's, um, really happy."

Poseidon nodded once. "And are you?"

"Am I what?"

"Are you happy?" I blinked again, taken aback. I hadn't been expecting that. Poseidon didn't usually speak to me like this.

"I…" I thought about my mom and Paul and the family I had in them, about how I was finally back home and how excited I was for what was to come. I thought about Camp Half-Blood and how it was still here, along with Camp Jupiter, and how the two camps were getting along for the first time in millennia. About the old friends I was finally reunited with after so long and the new ones I'd made saving the world from destruction again. About the possibility I had, finally, to be normal. I thought about Annabeth, who was staying with me in New York for the year before we were going away to school together. And I smiled, meeting my dad's eyes again. "Yeah. Yeah, I am."

My dad's answering smile was pleased. "Good," he said, "Out of everyone, I think you deserve that much now, at the very least." After everything, I couldn't say I disagreed. Before I could decide exactly how to respond, a bolt of lightning flashed across the cloudless sky. "Ah. That would be my cue. There is a still lot of work to be done now that we gods have been restored to our right minds." He looked at me once more, his eyes glinting again, and this time I could tell it was with pride. "Have a good school year, Percy. And remember, no matter what, that you are a hero and I am proud of you. All my best to Annabeth." Poseidon winked at me, smirking, and immediately dissolved into sea spray.

I just stood there for another minute, staring at the place where my dad had stood, still stunned that that conversation had even just happened. It was probably the most fatherly chat I'd ever had with him, more even than when he'd shown up on my fifteenth birthday. He'd told me he was proud. He wanted me to be happy. That probably shouldn't have been as astounding as it was; he was my dad after all, but he was also a god and gods, as a general rule, just didn't do that sort of thing. That didn't mean hearing it didn't make me feel ridiculously good.

"Was that Poseidon?" a familiar voice asked from behind me. I turned to see Annabeth walking across the sand to join me.

"Yeah," I answered as she stopped next to me.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, an unmistakable wariness in her voice, which, after the year we'd had, was totally justified.

I nodded. "Yeah, everything's fine. He just wanted to talk to me… He apologized, sort of, for what happened." Annabeth raised her eyebrows. She knew, probably better than I did, that the Olympians did not typically apologize for anything. "He said he was proud of me." I wondered then, looking at her, if she'd ever had a conversation like that with Athena. Judging from her expression, I guessed probably not.

Annabeth smiled at my words though and looked at me. "He should be," she said, "You're incredible." Her tone turned joking. "Just don't let it get to your head." I just shrugged, smiling. She took my hand in hers then and pulled gently. "Come on. The Stolls talked Chiron into declaring a canoe race for the senior campers and I call you as my partner."

I grinned. "Gee, I can't imagine what could possibly motivate you to do that."

She grinned back. "Me neither. Let's go."

Still smiling, I followed her back up the beach and toward the canoe lake, where a good portion of the camp was waiting, my excitement growing the closer I got. I may have had an unfair advantage, but canoeing was one of my best camp activities, and Annabeth certainly knew it.

We were so going to win.

Thanks for reading!

And, if you haven't noticed by now, I've been posting quite a bit recently and plan to continue to do so, taking advantage of summer and free time while I've got it, so keep an eye out for more!