Author's Note:
This was requested by LalaShrader13. Enjoy!
Also, thank you to everyone who participated in the poll - there was a two way tie, so I'll be posting the other one soon.
Cheers!
justapercyjacksonfan
Back to Montauk
"Mom, tell Hugo to give me my colored pencils back!"
"Tell Louisa to move over and stop hogging the back seat."
"Would you shut up? This is absolutely killing my creativity!"
"Honestly, guys, I need to finish this math homework please be quiet."
"Kids." Annabeth twisted around to survey the carnage. "We're almost there. Can you get along for twenty more minutes?"
"She started it!"
"I started it? You're the one who took my colored pencils for Zeus's sake!"
There was the distant rumble of thunder.
"Louisa, what have we said about using the god of the sky's name in vain?" Percy asked, looking at her through his mirror.
She sighed. "That he deserves it, but if we don't want to get smited don't do it?"
Annabeth glanced at Percy. "Really. Like that's not going to make him more angry."
Percy just shrugged, keeping his eyes on the road.
"Right. Marianne, don't tell your siblings to shut up. Louisa, Hugo, you spent nine months in the womb together, figure out how to share the back seat, and give Lousia her colored pencils back. And no one bother Asher while he's working on his homework."
There was a fair amount of muttering, but the Jackson-Chase siblings got themselves in order. For five minutes.
"I have to go to the bathroom." Louisa announced.
"Well, you'll have to hold it. The last rest stop was a few miles back. It's closer to wait until we get to Montauk."
"But I need to go now." she said, bouncing in her seat.
Annabeth and Percy had a wordless exchange that ended in her nodding wearily. Percy turned around for the rest stop.
"Mom, can you help me with this?" Asher asked.
Annabeth glanced at the equation her son was struggling to solve. "Of course. Can we wait until we get to Montauk? This one's kinda long."
"But it's the last one." Asher pleaded. "I don't want to have to do it when we get there. And I didn't get anything done earlier because Marianne wouldn't shut up."
"Hey!" Marianne protested, "At least I'm not a stick in the mud!"
"At least my interests have uses in real life." Asher shot back
His sister turned around in a huff, bending over her notebook and continuing writing the scene she had been explaining earlier.
"No more arguing once we get to Montauk. Asher, let's try and figure out this problem before your dad and the twins get back."
Asher managed to make some headway on the equation by the time Percy, Louisa, and Hugo returned, even with Marianne quietly muttering to herself as she wrote dialogue.
The rest of the car ride was relatively peaceful, except for the time Louisa snapped at Hugo to stop drumming his fingers on the window. In defiance, he had continued, only louder until Percy sided with Louisa.
Percy finally pulled up to the little cabin that was almost sunk into the sand. As soon as the car was in park, the doors flew open and four children tumbled out. Louisa and Hugo argued all the way to the back of the car before getting their duffel bags and running to the cabin only to realize the door was locked. Then they argued some more, about who had to go back and get their key from their parents.
Meanwhile, Asher took longer to gather up his homework. He frustratingly hadn't been able to finish the last problem, but then again, it was calculus. Gross. Marianne got the key from Annabeth and shoved her way between the twins to unlock the door.
And despite how much they argued, the Jackson-Chase's all agreed that this Montauk cabin was the best place in the world. It was always musty, and the mosquitoes always got inside. They would leave covered in bug bites and sunscreen and they could never quite get the sand out of the corners, cabinets, or clothes. But there wasn't a place that felt more safe. More special. More perfect.
And then the arguing started again.
"You got that room the last three times." Marianne complained. "You said I would get it last time!"
"So now it's a tradition." Asher brushed off the complaint. "Go share with Louisa."
"With Lousia? Talks-in-her-sleep Louisa? No way, we've shared before, why not again?"
"Because I thought I was a girl before, Marianne. This is my room, shove off."
He shut the door, effectively kicking her out. She stormed over to her parents room to protest.
"Why do I have to share with Louisa?" she whined.
Percy glanced up at her. "Where did this come from?"
"Asher won't share with Hugo or with me so now I have to share with Louisa."
"What did I say about arguing when we got to Montauk?" Annabeth asked
"I'm not arguing." Marianne stood her ground. "I'm complaining."
"That's not better."
"But I don't want to share with Louisaaaaaa!"
"What did you say about me?" her sister shouted from across the cabin.
"Look. I'll make you a deal. You, Hugo, and Louisa figure out the sleeping arrangement by yourself by nine-thirty tonight, or we'll figure it out for you and there will be no complaining." Percy said, going back to unpacking.
Marianne sighed, but turned around to inform the twins of the new development.
…
For dinner, they had tacos in a bag, featuring blue tortilla chips and then they snacked on blue candy as they spent their time on the beach. While Percy, Asher, Marianne, and Louisa walked in the shallows, laughing with the marine life, Annabeth and Hugo started a bonfire. Louisa and Marianne took after their father, both having mild hydrokinesis so they walked out of the waves perfectly dry. Percy helped Asher out, and they joined them by the fire as the stars started to appear.
All of the kids could speak with horses and sea life, but only Marianne and Louisa could breath underwater. Asher and Hugo were more similar to their mother, power wise, both with excellent memories, an unflappable coolness in battle, excellent planning skills and carrying her characteristic grey eyes while the girls both had a muddled green-grey.
They sat around the fire, roasting s'mores and laughing together. A few hours later the stars were out in full force. Annabeth and Percy showed their children the famous heroes in the stars. Zoë the Huntress. Cancer, the giant crab that Percy had defeated because of a lesson from a mortal. Leo, the Nemean lion that had gone down to space food.
Eventually, despite their protests that they weren't tired, Louisa and Hugo who were only nine years old, started nodding off. Percy put the fire out, and the family went inside to bed. The arrangement that the younger siblings had decided on was that Marianne would sleep on the couch, because neither Hugo nor Marianne were backing down from, "I'm not sleeping in the same room as the sleep talker."
An hour after they fell asleep, the storm blew over. With the first crack of lightning and boom of thunder, Marianne snapped awake.
She didn't want to be so scared of it - she was thirteen for gods sake, much too old to still be freaked out by a little thunderstorm - but they were terrifying.
I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine she thought to herself.
There was another boom, and she squeaked, pulling the blanket over her head.
Another flash of lightning, and Marianne was running towards her parents room. She was about to turn the handle when she stopped.
Asher
That's who she really wanted - she was tired of running to her parents but she needed someone. Asher had always protected her when they fought monsters together. The booming sound followed the flash and she ran across the cabin towards Asher's door, throwing it open.
"What the-" her older brother said as she barged in. "Hades, Marianne, you can't sleep here!" Thunder rattled the cabin again, and the intense fear in his sister's eyes caught him up with the situation.
"Oh gods, come here."
Marianne rushed to her brother's arms, quietly sobbing in fear.
Asher held his sister close, quietly reassuring her and calming her down as tears slowly slid down her face. They were all scared of thunderstorms because of their heritage with the sea, but Marianne had it the worst. Her terror of them bordered on a phobia. A few minutes later, Louisa and Hugo poked their heads into Asher's room. He nodded, and they bounded over, joining in the group hug. Eventually, the three younger siblings fell asleep, leaving Asher to nod off a few minutes later. No one even woke-up as Louisa talked in her sleep.
...
Annabeth got up the earliest, and decided to make french toast, only to notice that Marianne wasn't on the couch where she had gone to bed. Worried, she checked to see if she had decided to share with Louisa afterall. When she didn't find Louisa either, she started to panic. Looking into Hugo's room only for him to be missing, she half-ran to check if Asher was gone too.
As she pushed open the door, her worries melted away. As the door squeaked slightly, Asher looked up at her. Marianne was still sitting in his lap, and Louisa and Hugo were sprawled across the rest of the bed.
"Thunderstorm." Asher whispered.
Annabeth smiled and shut the door halfway, going back to making breakfast. It didn't matter how much they fought - her kids always took care of each other. And that was enough for her.
Author's Note:
Thank you, my muse!
Just for the curious types, here are all the children:
Asher: 17, he/them, trans, panromantic/asexual. Looks more like Annabeth. Can speak with sea life and horses, ADHD, a planner and an excellent swordsman. I picked Asher because it means 'happy'
Marianne: 13, she/her, cis, straight. Looks more like Percy. Can speak with sea life and horses, ADHD and dyslexia, loves writing stories, mild hydrokinesis and can breath underwater. Mari as in marine, Anne as in Annabeth. Sea-Annabeth
Louisa: 9, she/her, cis, biromantic, bisexual (hasn't really figured it out yet). Looks more like Percy. Can speak with sea life and horses, ADHD and dyslexia, the artist of the family, fairly powerful hydrokinesis and can breath underwater, but hardly any powers from her Athena side. Louisa means 'warrior'
Hugo: 9, he/him, cis, straight. Looks a lot like Annabeth. Can hear sea life and horses, but can't talk back. ADHD, photographic memory, amazing potential towards sword fighting. Hugo means, 'mind'
Okay, now onto the shout-outs!
WolfOfSilverGoddessArtemis - amongst which people? Like, Percy and Thalia specifically having a found family moment? Also, thank you!
DamaSENDhimafriend - Thank you so much! Excited to see QfE come back!
PYBooks543 - Oh ho ho. Do we speak of the If all's fair in love and war then what are we fighting for? I'm not sure if that's exactly the title, but if you haven't read that Hogwarts AU of Percabeth, then go! Go read it! Admittedly, I haven't read anything since the part thing where Percy admits to himself that he likes her, and I know there have been updates since, but I just haven't gotten around to finishing it.
Fairyn - yeah, that was my bad. I fixed it, but thanks for telling me or I honestly wouldn't have noticed.
Whoo! That's all from me for today.
Next update will be very soon, and it was planned a little last minute. I've been going for an every ten days update schedule, but there will be an extra one between now and the 24 for reasons that will become clear.
Have a lovely day!
justapercyjacksonfan
