A Thousand Years:

Percy's P.O.V:

Chapter Nineteen:

"Have you given any thought to my offer?"

I hesitated, biting the inside of my cheek. I was dubious, yes, but not completely swayed. The idea was very tempting. My teeth sank in deeper, and I gave him a look of confliction. Live with him in Colorado? Him becoming my legal guardian? I couldn't believe I was actually considering it. After all, he didn't fit into any type of dependability category. He had abandoned my mother. Regardless of the situation with her, I still couldn't let that go. I tried to think about what my life would be like if Poseidon had taken me in. I would be living in Colorado right now, and the name Annabeth Chase would be a foreign concept to my ears.

"I don't know," I admitted. "I mean, I've thought about it. The whole idea sounds a little unrealistic." I licked my blueberry ice cream, heedless to the way it dripped onto my sleeve. I swallowed the coldness, still walking alongside my father through the park. I felt a little guilty. Not for spending time with him, but for keeping it a secret from my parents. Athena was my mom. Fredrick was my dad. It was in the same way that Sally had been my mom and how Poseidon was my dad. They deserved to know, and I was keeping it from them.

He turned to me, looking out of place in his suit and dress shoes as skateboarders rolled past. "How so? Haven't you asked your mother and father?"

I let out a relentless sigh. I had been telling him my parents knew about our meetings. He was eager to meet them, happy to be a part of the people that had made me who I was. The problem was, they didn't know. There was no telling how they'd react. Fredrick would probably go bury himself in his civil war figurines until he could think reasonably. Athena, however…she was a wild card. She would either get angry that he was attempting to nudge his way back into my life again, (Athena was pretty protective) or she would take this calmly and consider it logically.

I loved my family. I loved my house. I loved my friends. I loved New York City. My life still had troubles, but for the most part, I was content.

But I also loved Annabeth.

And maybe us not being legal siblings could give us a chance, if there even was one.

I pulled the cone away from my mouth.

I wasn't exactly sure what we were, to be completely honest. We had kissed, yes, and then kissed some more, but it wasn't as if I could take her out to the movies. I could never hold her hand in broad daylight. I had to refrain from holding her at home. The only moments peace we got was during the summer nights. She would sneak into my room, and I would hold her in my arms. We would talk about life, about how hard our forbidden relationship was, and she would slip away as I slipped into unconsciousness.

It was hard. I had always been in the assumption that if you loved someone that dearly, everything would come easily. I was wrong. It somehow became harder. I was afraid of anyone finding out. I was afraid of what they would think. We weren't blood related, but society was unaccepting and ruthless to customs made different.

I cringed when I realized he was staring at me coldly. "…I'll get around to it."

Poseidon cast me a withering gaze. "Do they even know I've been visiting you?"

I winced, blanching. I avoided his gaze for a moment, pretending to be intent with my shoes. "I haven't told them yet, okay? I'm looking for the right time."

"Percy." There it was. That warning tone. Instead of getting irritated like I had expected, his shoulders sank. "You are my son, Percy, but you don't belong to me. I'd like to change that." He gazed wistfully at the orange streaked sky. "I do understand that you love your parents, and that blood doesn't change that. I was adopted too," he admitted, and I cast him a surprised gaze. "It was a hard process. I held so much devotion to your biological grandmother. My true mother's name was Rhea, and I loved her more than the world itself. I haven't the slightest notion where she is now, but I do know where my father is. He resides behind bars."

He took another drink of his milkshake, while I tried to make process of what he was telling me.

"My father was abusive to me, Percy. And I still loved him. When they took me away from my parents and placed me with new ones, I hated them unjustifiably. I wanted to go back to my mother, but she just refused to take us. She was a lovely mother. Soft, kind, caring. The only bright spot in my childhood. I was convinced that they were lying to me. That she wanted me back, but they wouldn't allow it." He laughed bitterly, seemingly at peace with his past. "My new parents were thoughtful. They didn't hit me. They loved me unconditionally, and eventually I grew to love them back. Point is, I understand. I really do. I know you hold unyielding devotion towards your adoptive parents, but I would like to be part of your life in a way that my mother couldn't."

He clamped a hand on my shoulder, and I felt my stomach clench and my eyes well up. He was so secretive. I knew next to nothing about his past, and I was happy to see that he trusted me enough to share this with me. "Even if you don't agree, I will move here. If you do pick me, then we will go back to Colorado. Whatever the case, I will stand by you. No matter what decision you make."

I was taken aback, but managed to shakily nod. This was something I hadn't expected. Clearly, he was trying to make this process as easy on me as possible, and that was something I appreciated. That snippet from his past was what had me by a loss. It made me realize that I knew nothing about my real parents- my mother, Sally Jackson, was a kind woman. Blue eyes, faded brown hair, and she had a tendency to smile through the pain. She was caring and selfless, but worn and sad. My father seemed to be the same, although he was more guarded. That only made it all the more reason to take his words to heart.

"Thank you," I whispered.

He nodded at me, and we spent our remaining time together eating and walking in comfortable silence.

…

When I got back, the sky was dimming.

Thalia was flopped in front of our porch, soaking in the last of the sunlight. Her blue eye opened to look at me, and I flinched. She could break anyone underneath those eyes. "Ah, you're back." She flopped forward, her dark hair a tangle and her lips grinning.

I arched an eyebrow. "Waiting for Annabeth?"

She made a 'hmm' as a response. Obviously she knew that they weren't here. Athena and Annabeth had left to go school shopping, while Fredrick was working late. I took a seat beside her, resting my legs from the long walk. She stretched like a cat, her thin arms cracking with her movements. Honestly, she was getting to be too thin. Thalia had always been skinny, but now her cheeks were beginning to gaunt. It wasn't a matter of eating; Thalia ate enough, especially whenever we went to get cheeseburgers. Maybe it was a matter of her happiness. Of her will to live. Whatever the reason, I longed to make her choke down pizza slices and bags of potato chips until her cheeks were full.

"How's your mother?"

Ever since the debacle with her showing up drunk, she had been a little more open with us. She spoke begrudgingly still, but had relaxed over time. "Still a bitch." She lit a cigarette with her Marilyn Monroe lighter. "She's normal, for a change. Making me dinner and shit. Setting a curfew."

I had to chuckle at that, and she snorted back at me.

"After everything?"

"After everything," she confirmed. "Beryl still thinks she can be my mother. Well, it's a little too late for that. I hardly doubt she even remembers him-"

Her voice cut off, and smoke billowed out through her lips.

My eyebrows furrowed. "Remembers who?"

"Nothing. No one. Forget it."

"I thought you said no more secrets."

She looked conflicted with herself suddenly, her nose scrunching up and her eyes shutting like she was forcibly spilling the words out. "No. I. I'm not ashamed. It's not a secret. It's just the- a- the past."

I thought about what Poseidon had said to me. I remembered how easily he had spoken about his past, about his wrongdoings and faults. Maybe it was just time. Maybe the wounds of before had closed and healed until he barely felt any pain from prodding at them. I thought about Gabe. About my scars. My dead mother. The abuse. My past.

"You never can run away from your past, can you? No matter how hard you try, it just keeps coming back," I whispered.

She tilted her head to me, eyes widening slightly. She took a drag, before sighing heavily. Her shoulders fell, and her dyed black hair was beginning to soften to a dull grey. She looked more fatigued than I had ever seen her, and she ruffled the spiked edges with exasperation. "God. Don't I know it."

I stared at my hands, rubbing them together. "So…why try? Why try and forget it? Wouldn't it be easier to accept what has happened and move on? Wouldn't it be easier to scream your regrets to the world, and to everyone you care about? Wouldn't it be easier?"

She tossed her cigarette down, and smothered it with her combat boot. "I guess so. I suppose there is a difference between being at peace with your past and trying to pretend like it never happened." She shook her head, hair ruffling. "Percy Chase, there's a lot of things that are wrong with the world, but you've never been one of them. You've always been good. Keep being right, okay?"

I smiled fondly at her. She was like an elder sister to me, and had been since the day that I had met her. Since the day that she had seen my scars, and her eyes had glossed over with recognition and sympathy. "I don't like you," I had said. "Ditto," she had replied. Maybe I had heard it all wrong that night. Maybe I had said, "I like you. Please don't ever leave." And she had responded with the exact same plea.

"Okay. I'll try to be," I promised. My sneakers scuffed the grass on the lawn. "Thalia? I need some wisdom."

"When are you two gonna get it through your heads that I'm not smart?"

"You are," I protested, cracking a weak smile. "You're like my therapist. Plus, you were right about Annabeth and I."

"Lucky guess," she exclaimed, teeth flashing wolfishly. I knew that she would not stop being smug about that for a long, long time. It was something she prided herself in, though she downplayed my remark almost immediately. "I hardly made it happen. You two were always throwing each other puppy dog looks. All I did was give you guys a little nudge."

"Still." I heaved a breath. "I met my father."

There. It was out in the open. No beating it around the bush.

A pregnant pause settled between us, and I could see the tension building on her face as her confusion morphed into realization. "Shit," she stated, reaching for another cig. "Shit, really?"

"Shit, really," I echoed.

"Does Annabeth know?"

"Yes."

Thalia let out a breath of relief. "Good. You two don't know how hard it is, keeping your secrets from one another. Especially now."

"Athena and Fredrick don't know."

Her relief washed away in an instant, but she didn't look panicked. More like she was frustrated and disappointed with me all at once. "Percy."

"I'm sorry, okay?" I quickly jumped to my defense at her insinuating tone. "I just don't know how they'll react. I don't even know if I want them to know."

"Percy," she repeated, slogging me so hard on the shoulder that I seethed to cover up a hiss of pain. "Of all the kelp-headed things that you've done, this has got to take the cake!" She released her firm grip on me. "You have to tell them."

"I k-know."

"When they get home."

My eyes widened. "I can't do that."

She rounded on me almost immediately. "Percy, your father is back in the picture. This makes things very complicated, just take it from me. You have no idea how they will react, and they will need time to process it." Her anger faded at my worried expression, and she gnawed on her bottom lip like it was a piece of gum. "I'll fix it," she claimed, voice wavering. She draped her arm around me, the leather uncomfortable on my bare skin, but I was too drained to pull away. I had to count on my hand the number of times that Thalia had hugged me, and since this was close, my expression told her that she hadn't done this nearly enough. "I'll fix it."

"How?" I croaked weakly.

"Tell them at dinner. Let them think things through, and then invite Poseidon over for dinner tomorrow. After they get over being pissed, they're going to want to meet him. To either tell him off, or come to some kind of compromise, I don't know, but they will want to see him."

"He wants me to move to Colorado with him," I blurted. "And I'm thinking about it."

Her hopeful expression died. "That changes things."

"That it does."

"And does Annie know that particular piece of information?"

"Not yet."

Thalia closed her eyes, like she didn't know what to do with me. "Well, then. Stick to my plan. Tell them at dinner about your father, and then we will handle... that. Okay?"

"Okay."

"I really need to start charging you guys for therapy sessions," she grumbled to herself.

I weakly reached into my pocket and handed her a nickle.

"I don't like you, Percy."

"Ditto."

A/N: (That reference at the end was Charlie Brown, btw)

I wanted this to be so much longer, and less rushed, but I honestly did not have the time. I literally churned out this in like two hours. I'm also very proud of myself because I haven't updated in two weeks. Okay. That's bad. But better than a month, right?

Thank you so much for all your kind and thoughtful reviews! I take every single one to heart. About ten chapters left in this fic, so I'm going to work extra hard to complete it before December. I'd say that's a pretty decent and somewhat manageable goal.

Here is the issue as to why I'm not posting PJO stories every day anymore to those who have been asking: I'm a sophomore now, and I go to a college prep school, so assignments and such keeps me busy. I'm also not too invested in the Percy Jackson fandom anymore. Of course, I'll always love it, but I probably won't write fanfictions for PJO as often as I used to. I like writing original stories with characters I can call my own. I'm enjoying testing out those waters. These are my reasons why. Hopefully they're credible.

Reviews make me happy, and I'd really love to hear your thoughts.

(Sorry this chapter was rushed(ish)).