A/N: Here we go, chapter two! This one doesn't follow up on chapter one, though if anyone wants to see Zeus fail at fishing then I suppose we could work that out at a later date. :)

Title: Of Nightmares
Word Count: 1,154
Characters: Zeus, Perseus
Warning: Fluff. Don't sue me if you choke on it.
Summary: Perseus has a nightmare and Zeus does his best to make it better. Some h/c and a whole lot of awkward father/son fluffiness. Written to fill one of the prompts given me by BreshitHaya. I hope this satisfies, my friend! :)

o0oOo0o

It was well into the night when the sounds of distress first reached him. He blinked slowly, his weary eyes protesting against even the slightest flickering of light from the torches that hung outside the tent.

Lying still he listened, attempting to discover what it was that had woken him. Aside from the soft sounds of breathing as the tent's other occupants slept there was nothing, not even the sentries that walked the grounds nearby were loud enough to have disturbed him. So what was it?

The silence persisted and he had nearly drifted off again before the same sound as before shattered the stillness and jerked him from his doze. It was a low whimper, almost a cry, and he felt his forehead crease in concern. It came again, a little louder now, and he turned and looked around, squinting in the darkness.

"Father."

The ragged moaning that followed the call had Zeus rising from the bed and creeping across the tent with cautious haste. He hesitated when for a moment the sounds of distress ceased, but the silence was short lived and with determination the god went on to the far edge of the dwelling and silently eased back the thin veil that separated this sleeping places from the others.

What he found make his heart ache with compassion and concern. He crossed the remaining distance to the bedside in a few steps and instantly paused, his hand coming to rest on the shoulder of his restless son. "Perseus."

Rather than awaken at the gentle call Perseus stiffened, his breath hitching in a ragged, gasping sob. "Helius. No. Father!"

"Shhhh," Zeus soothed. "Perseus, I'm right here."

Another gasp and some incoherent mumbles were the only answer the god received for his troubles. Perseus began to toss and turn, jerking and writing as though he were in pain. Startled, Zeus place both of his hands on Perseus' shoulders and shook him firmly. "Perseus, wake up."

A sob broke past the demigod's lips and Zeus felt his heart breaking. "Perseus!"

With a cry the younger man snapped into consciousness, his eyes wide and full of fear as the images from his dreams still clung to his mind. "Father. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Shhh," Zeus whispered again, reaching up to awkwardly but gently ran a hand through his son's hair to calm and sooth him. "It's alright, Perseus. It was just a dream."

With shaking hands Perseus reached up and grabbed his father's wrist, clinging to it as though it were all that was keeping him from slipping into some horrible place. Surprised but not displeased Zeus remained still, keeping one hand on his son's shoulders to steady him while the other continued to stroke his head, offering what little comfort he could.

For some time they stayed that way. Perseus sat with closed eyes, his jaw clenching and hands trembling as he struggled for control while his father just stood by and waited until he was ready. Eventually the death-grip lessened and was soon released altogether. Rolling away Perseus moved to the far edge of the bed, his back to Zeus as he hunched over and hid his face in his hands.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."

"Are you alright?" It was a foolish question to ask - the answer was plainly written in the way his son sat, holding himself and shaking as the adrenaline still coursed through him. But now that Perseus was actually awake Zeus found himself at a loss of what to do, how to comfort, or whether he even should comfort. Perseus was a grown man, after all, and Zeus had never had to deal with this before.

"I'm fine." An obvious lie. Still, Zeus considered accepting it; he should just walk away now and leave Perseus to look after himself.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Again Zeus hesitated. Dammit, why was this fathering thing so difficult? Then again, maybe if he'd been a good father when it had mattered things wouldn't be so awkward now.

"Would you... like to talk about it?" There, that seemed like a safe thing to say.

It was Perseus' turn to hesitate and Zeus felt his hopes rise, only to be dashed as a moment later the demigod shook his head. "No. I'm fine. It was just a nightmare."

Nodding slowly in acceptance and quashing an unreasonable disappointment - had he really expected anything else? - Zeus rose backed away. "Very well. Goodnight, Perseus."

Zeus had just stepped beyond the curtain when Perseus spoke again, calling him back. "Wait."

Turning back, he looked at his son questioningly.

"Thank you. For waking me up."

Zeus nodded slowly, once more pushing away the disappointment. He waited a moment longer before turning away to leave again.

"Father."

Turning back yet again the older man waited silently for Perseus to say whatever was really on his mind.

"I thought you were dead. In the dream," he clarified quickly. "I thought you were all dead. You, Helius, Agenor, Andromeda... And I just... I wanted you to know that... I'm glad you're here."

Zeus stood silent for a moment, not entirely sure of what to say. "Well," he managed eventually. "If it's any consolation, I have no intention of going anywhere any time soon. Not until you've got tired of me, that is. Nor of dying. I've had enough of that for quite a while."

Perseus gave a small laugh and nodded slowly. Some part of him whispered that he was making a childish fool of himself, but he couldn't seem to really care. "I'm sorry I woke you," he said for the second time that night. "It won't happen again."

"Well as I said, I'm not going anywhere," Zeus reminded him, his tone indicating that there was more meaning to his words than was said outright. "So you know where to find me if it does."

"Thank you," Perseus said quietly.

"You're welcome."

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Returning to his bed, Zeus sat down and crossed his arms, staring out into the darkness of the tent with a thoughtful glint in his sky-blue eyes. It wasn't until several minutes later that he rose again and made his way back across the tent and to Perseus' bedside. The demigod was sleeping peacefully again, all signs of the nightmare gone away.

Feeling slightly foolish but equally determined, Zeus silently lowered himself to sit on the floor beside the bed. Perseus had claimed that he wouldn't have anymore nightmares, and Zeus was fairly certain that he was right. Still though, it wouldn't hurt for him to stay here for a while longer, just to make sure that no more dreams plagued his son's rest.

He had missed out with so many years of not being there when he was needed. Tonight that was going to end. It was time to start making up for all the time he had lost.

If anyone actually made it through that fluff without suffocating on it I'll be impressed. Review? :)