Saturdays marked Percy's rest from school. But with his and Annabeth's budget dwindling, he had to set his feet out to the world and try not to get his little sister involved. And the orphanage from out of town, he added in silence. He walked at the mall without knowing that Annabeth followed him, then she revealed herself by the entrance.
Percy had to do what he had to do when Annabeth's sleeping, or maybe when his class hours are shorter.
The mall was thick with people and noise. It hurt Percy's ears and made him slightly jealous. Everyone had so much fun and energy, even little Annabeth who now hooked her little arms to his.
"-and then Bonny gave me a hug and said that she would be my friend. Harry left me alone after that. I don't really- Percy!"
Percy nearly jumped at her squeal, then he looked at her.
"Lookie Percy, look!" Annabeth had one of her widest grins again. And it was aimed at him. "Can I please have one?"
Percy looked to where she consistently pointed. It was a small shop that seemed in shadow of more impressive shops. Along the glass walls were colourful tattoo designs, and surprisingly, teddy bears of all shapes and sizes. Only a fourth of the glass walls- windows, whichever- were covered with the stuffed toys, revealing three people inside. One was a young-looking celibate who sat on a reclining chair with the brightest blonde hair Percy had ever seen. Another one held a tattoo needle: he was larger with dark skin and frizzy hair. And yet another was a lithe and gorgeous woman with half of her hair a semblance to amethyst and the other a stunning navy blue.
Percy immediately knew the what and why- but he definitely didn't expect the tattoos along the fuzzy stuffed toys. Painted on the shop's banner atop the clear double doors was 'Aphro and Heph's'. Right below it was 'Tattoos, Piercings and Teddy Bears'.
The colorful array of teddy bears must have grabbed Annabeth's attention. Yes. Percy could swear that the teddy bears did it.
Percy was just about to object in any way he could but then he caught sight of Annabeth's pleading eyes. All he could do by then was to heave loudly. He never really tried to spoil the little girl nor deprive her of things, but their budget... The thought passed as quick as riptide when Annabeth whooped and dragged him off to the shop.
Even he had to smile at Annabeth's antics. And of course, she was still a little girl. Percy pushed the door open and let her lead him inside. The room smelled of ink, sweet nothings, and a hint of blood and burning flesh. Percy's nose wrinkled. He had to stop the coming waves of headache and mini-flashbacks. He couldn't have that here. Not. Here. Never.
When Percy figured he was okay again, he took in the sights of this little shop. The wallpaper had vintage red patterns that surprisingly went well with the bears and punk rock designs. Band and tattoo posters littered the wall marking the "dark side" of the store. At the "bright side" of the shop was the actual counter. The bottom of the counter had bright paisleys, smiling Japanese animation characters and ink designs. Percy had trouble thinking that the designs itself fitted in one place but they did.
Behind the counter was the woman he and Annabeth had seen from outside. The woman was even more beautiful up close. Her hair straight as still curtains and touched her shoulders, the other half wild and curly reaching past her shoulders. Her true eye color was hidden beneath black contacts with red flecks. Her collar bone had a swirling pastel tattoo design. She wore a gray, sleeveless frilly dress with long black gloves that reached her elbows and combat boots.
"Hi there, sweethearts!" She smiled at them. Gently, Percy pushed Annabeth towards the teddy bear shelves which she happily scampered off to.
"Teddy Bears? Always a favourite." The woman grinned. She didn't look much older than Percy. Perhaps 25.
"I'm Aphrodite but you can call me any way you want. What's your name kid?"
Percy felt compelled to respond, only he couldn't. Literally.
"Hey, kid." Aphrodite's smile dropped a little. "This is the part where you respond."
Percy looked away, thinking on where was the nearest Hall of Shame from the mall. Well too bad it didn't exist at all.
The woman flipped her curly blue hair. "Don't talk then." She was just starting to mumble profane words when Annabeth emerged to Percy's side like a pixie to the rescue.
"Percy can't talk," she said in a defensive tone. She clutched the bear on her chest. She even glared a little at the kind lady.
"What?"
"Percy, my brother." Percy just saw her pointing at him. All he could care about was how his shoes were the most fascinating things on the planet. That, and Annabeth's bravery. "He's mute. I'm Annabeth and he's Percy."
"Oh, my." Aphrodite left her post and hugged him. Percy's eyes widened to the size of a saucer, feeling his chest crushed."I'm so sorry sweetheart."
"The teddy bear's on the house." The man with the tattoo gun said over the noise of his tattoo gun. He was still busy with the blonde guy, tattooing something like an arrow. "My apologies for my wife's stupidity." He glanced up to wink at Annabeth in a fatherly way. The little girl giggled in response, and that coaxed a smile from Percy, too.
Aphrodite smiled warily at them. "Is there anything else we can do for you? Piercings? Tattoos?"
Percy heard the tattoo gun shut off, then the chair creaked as the blonde guy stood up. "Thanks, Heph." The man flexed his arm, admiring the golden tattoo on his bicep. He looked fairly around Percy's age, with a stunning smile and bright blue eyes. He had the build of a model, but the tattoos, piercings, and his biker outfit revealed a rebel side that seemed all too natural.
Then he turned at both Percy and Annabeth. His smile could've melted them on the spot. "Hey, kiddies. Apollo's the name." He pointed at the dark-skinned man beside him. "He's Hephaestus, my older brother..."
Whatever Apollo had said after had gone off to space, at least towards Percy. His attention had laid on a poster of a boy with piercings that looked like fish hooks on his bottom lip. Percy touched his own lip as if a pair of those piercings would appear.
"You want snake bites?" Apollo clicked his tongue in the direction of the poster. The slightest of grins could be seen on his model-like features. Percy nodded.
"That's on the house too kid." Hephaestus patted the chair,beckoning him while bringing the chair to its normal position. "Come on. I'll do it for you super quick."
The piercing hurt quite a lot, and it took a little while because Annabeth kept crying that he was hurting Percy. Aphrodite eventually distracted her by giving her a wash off tattoo of a skull and helped her apply it. Percy grinned, a very rare thing he does, when Hephaestus had finished. The man gave Percy a thump on the back and gave him another grandfatherly smile.
"Where's your Mum, hun?" Annabeth looked up at Aphrodite from the tattoo on her soaked forearm.
"Mummy and Daddy are gone," she said flatly. "Just me and Percy now."
The adults looked slightly confused. Just then, Percy had glanced at the tattoo design on the wall of the Grim Reaper with the word 'Death' beneath him. He dragged his feet next to it, catching everyone's attention while he tapped it countless times. It hurt a lot to speak of their family's fate as simple as that but they'd be here all day if he left that job to Annabeth.
The male adults shook their heads in sympathy, telling their condolences to the siblings. Aphrodite acted like a mother and told them to come back whenever they needed anything at all- money, guardians, help with school and the like. They were willing to act as guardians after knowing their fate, and Percy didn't expect that.
But it looked like he wasn't going to worry anymore. At least, not unlike before.
Percy gingerly touched the snake bites- as what Apollo had called it- and nodded sheepishly at the adults, bidding them goodbye. The siblings expressed their gratitude to the three as much as they could, which involved Annabeth translating for Percy while clutching her new stuff toy. And before they stepped out of the shop that felt too much like home, Aphrodite rushed a sweet, motherly kiss on both their foreheads.
In the end, the mall trip was worth it.
On the way back, Annabeth happily skipped with her bear and hummed tunes. Her little hands were hooked on Percy's left arm. Since their trip in the tattoo and toy shop (in hindsight, it was a weird combination), he kept passing his tongue on his bottom lip. His hands felt jittery, like he asked someone to inject him with caffeine.
He tasted the cold metal, but with it came a blessing. But he also knew that he couldn't rely so much on this blessing. In fact, a different kind of blessing- but still a blessing, nonetheless- had hit their family right before Death came and took them in a big wave. It was considered a huge stroke of luck for the three survivors- Percy, Annabeth, and Reyna- to even survive.
That was what the investigators said, anyway.
Soon, Percy had found himself and Annabeth in an orphanage. An estrange official paid everything for them and set them free from that place. He even paid for Reyna's bills.
But one moment changed everything again. Percy couldn't remember what happened but he and Annabeth started moving from one town to the other. They collected the money this official had continuously given through credit card transactions - until last month. Reyna, in her coma, had remained in the town where tragedy had first found them. The siblings rarely found time to visit her since then but they always tried to so Reyna wouldn't feel lonely.
Annabeth stopped skipping and tugged Percy's arm. They'd arrived to the apartment complex. Percy slid the door aside and they bounded for the stairs. The spiral stairwell had always been brightly lit up- the owner liked it like that so the CCTV would catch anyone who tries to infiltrate the complex.
"Percy," Annabeth whimpered, clutching both hands on his arms. Her nails dug into her skin, jolting him out of a daze he couldn't control.
Her hands had gone cold against his skin. "Look," she said, pointing. There on their doormat was a white envelope. Heart pounding faster against his will, Percy grabbed the envelop and read whatever was inside.
I found you.
