After leaving the restaurant in silence, with the unfinished pizza in a cardboard box bearing the restaurant's name, Percy and Casper walked towards the park, Dorian in tow. Casper walked with his head down, and his feet scuffing the ground with every step.

Scuff-Scuff-Scuffffff

With every step, with every scuff, Percy was reminded of the current situation, and, more importantly, what needed to be done. Gods, he would have to talk to Annabeth, and she would be pissed. Seriously pissed. She might even come at him with a knife. Okay, that part was a bit too dramatic, but still…she was not going to be happy.

The next thing he would have to do would be to win her back. And win Casper back. It wasn't like winning back some short-term girlfriend, not that he'd really ever gotten the chance to do so. No. It wasn't just going to be solved with cheap chocolates and supermarket roses. Meaningful relationships took more.

Of course, he also couldn't just do some grand, sweeping romantic gesture. Those types of things should only be saved for rom-coms. Besides, they were fake. This plan was also out. He couldn't just solve all of his problems with a wave of a hand.

Gods, where did he fall into all of this? What if—what if she didn't even want him? What if Casper wanted nothing to do with him? Percy couldn't just stick around and be a deadbeat dad that his kid hated. That would be worse than not being there at all. He clearly couldn't win Casper over by being there for him, all the time. It would be too fake, and unrealistic. Casper would see right through it.

Again, though, money couldn't buy him affection. If he tried to win Casper over with toys and gifts, then Casper would just hate him even more. He would just look like a jackass. Crap. What can there be done, without ruining everything?

It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack: there was a fine line between being a deadbeat ass, and being an overprotective wad. That line, that very fine line, was the category of perfection. The good dad, who had a loving family, a good income, a white picket fence. The bionic man.

Nobody was like that, though, and if they were, then it was all a lie. Like that Kinks' song, that would just be a plastic man. With a plastic ass. And no emotions. It was bull.

Of course, he couldn't tread on the what ifs. That would mean becoming absorbed into the past, when, in all entirety, he should be focused on the future. This also meant getting out of his thoughts, and attempting to form a connection with his son, who, he reminded himself, was a mere two feet away.

He glanced at the boy, taking him in. The pressed, straight jeans, the clean, white sneakers, the green hoody with the clean, creased t-shirt underneath. Either Annabeth took a lot of time with the laundry, or, more likely, Casper was just as organized and OCD as she.

He also had her blond curls, though his reached just past his ears, really more waves than curls. The color was the same, though, a sandy, light blond, which, depending on the lighting, could be the color of the sun on a spring day, or that of the sand on a beach. Take your pick.

It was the first time Percy had really taken the time to look Casper over for good. He scrutinized every detail, admiring the quirks and details that made him unique.

He had Percy's green eyes. Like his father, Casper's eyes always appeared as the sea at any given time. Currently, whilst his father's were a serious, deep green, Casper's were dark, cloudy, and brooding. His eyebrows crunched together, and his straight nose wiggled and scrunched with emotion.

"Would you quit staring at me?" Casper exclaimed, turning and startling Percy out of his thought. "I'm not an animal!"

"Gods, Casper, I know that! I was, I was just…you look so much like—"

"No. You don't get to say who I do or don't look like. You've lost that right. I'm just me. I'm not anybody's kid. Sure, I've got a mom, and…you…but I'm just me! I'm just me!" Casper exclaimed, facing Percy, his eyes brimming with tears. "Nobody even thought of me! I…I'm just me! I don't want to be a pawn! I just…I just want to be a kid!"

Percy stared, his eyes softening with compassion and empathy. As Casper wiped at his eyes with the backs of his hands, Percy bent down, lowering himself to eye level.

"Hey, look at me." He said. When Casper did not meet his gaze, he repeated it. "Look at me. No one is ever going to make you be anything you don't wanna be. You're right. You're you. You're you, and that's the only thing that matters. I don't care if you don't get the best grades, or aren't the most popular. You just have to be you, and that, buddy, makes you the best in the world. There's only one Casper out there, and he's the best there ever was."

Casper just stared at him, his jaw clenched and his lip trembling.

"You know what? You get to be a kid, and no one, no one, is ever going to take that away from you. Nothing, none of this, is your fault. It's not your fault."

And with that, the dam broke, and tears, fat and reluctant, rolled down Casper's cheeks. His jaw fought to remain in place, and his gaze averted, ashamed to be crying in public. Percy reached forward, rubbing a strong, reassuring hand on Casper's arm.

Suddenly, Casper lunged forward, seeking refuge in Percy's arms. His thin, youthful arms wrapped tightly around Percy's waist, and his head, waves and all, burrowed deep into his cotton-clad chest.

Though initially stunned, Percy put his tentative arms around Casper, rocking him gently and murmuring reassurances to him. They remained like this for several minutes, until the sidewalk traffic began to pick up, and Percy hoisted to boy up, carrying him in strong arms, refusing to let him go.

They walked off into the pre-rush hour traffic like this, with Casper resting in a tight embrace, Dorian, trotting along beside them, leash in Percy's hand. And Percy, feeling the weight of a human on his chest, and knowing that this human now relied on him, had finally figured out his purpose; his plan. It was clear that day, walking home with a child in his arms, what he had to do, what his destiny would be. And that, that right there, was the greatest feeling of all time.