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Title: Percy's Piano Christmas Concert – The Cute Doctor and the Hobby Pianist
Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus
Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Rick Riordan. Aside from the Gods, they belong to the old Greeks. This fanfiction and its OCs on the other hand are entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.
Tags: m/m, fluff, age difference, mutual pining, Christmas fluff
Main Pairing: Apollo/Percy
Percy Jackson Characters: Perseus Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Grover Underwood, Will Solace
Godly Character: Apollo
Summary: Percy taught piano lessons on the side. And one of his students' dads piqued his interest.
Percy's Piano Christmas Concert
The Cute Doctor and the Hobby Pianist
When Percy had been a child, him and his mother had been living with an abusive bastard. Percy's stepfather. Often times, his mom would be at work and he found himself alone with the man. There had been one neighbor, a kind, elderly lady, who seemed to understand what was going on behind closed doors. She started offering to babysit Percy and from a young age on, Percy would spend his time at her place whenever his mom was at work. She had cookies and tea and an old piano, a very pretty thing that Percy started showing interest in after a couple of weeks. That interest had made her happy and she eagerly sat him down in front of it to teach him. For ten years, she taught him how to play the piano. But then Percy lost contact with her when they had moved out of the apartment building and moved in with Percy's second stepfather, a kind and loving man, who loved Sally the way she deserved and who treated Percy like his own son. It wasn't long after his high school graduation that she passed away and much to his surprise, she left him her piano in her will. Her children never learned it, never showed interest in it, and she wanted it to be used, not sold.
It took some logistic magic for Percy and his college roommates to fit the mighty beast into their apartment, but thankfully enough, Annabeth was a genius who knew exactly how to maximize the use of their apartment space and now, there was a place for the piano.
It made him nostalgic to sit in front of it. It made him feel her presence too and made him smile as he remembered some of the few happy memories he had of that time in his life. And though he enjoyed playing it, after dusting the cobwebs off his brain and getting back into it, he also knew he wanted more out of it. Being taught how to play had been such an important part of his life and he thought it would be nice to be the one to teach others. Also, some additional income for him. He was working part-time at the zoo on the weekends and he was working as a waiter.
By now, he had about half a dozen students he was teaching. They were precious. Percy had always loved kids; he loved his paternal half-brother Tyson and his maternal half-sister Laura. Today, he had a lesson with one of his favorites. The kid himself was adorable, but it was more about the dad.
Doctor Apollo Solace was... Percy lacked the words for that. The man was incredibly handsome, with golden wavy hair that he often tied together in the back of his neck, sparkling, sky-blue eyes and a smile that was like the sun rising over the sea. That smile alone made Percy weak in the knees. The man was somewhere in his mid-thirties, so about ten to maybe fifteen years older than Percy, but if Percy was being honest, that only added to the appeal. He'd always had a thing for older guys, for blonde guys too. Then there was the fact that he was a doctor. There was just something very appealing about a guy who saved lives for a living. The final nail in the coffin was just how cute Doctor Solace was with his son. Will was a bit of an unruly kid, very stubborn but adorable, and Apollo was such a loving dad. The way he'd talk to his son, doted on him...
"You got all dolled-up again," commented Annabeth unimpressed. "It's Will's lesson again, mh?"
"Don't tease him about his crush," chided Grover with a smile. "I think it's cute."
"I think it's annoying," countered Annabeth. "All these little sighs and the doe-eyed way he'd look at the clock until the time for Doctor Solace to come drop his son off. And then the hours-long whining about how handsome he is and how Percy wants Doctor Solace to bend him over the pia-"
"Enough now!" Percy straightened up, face cherry-red. "I get it! I am pathetic!"
"Yes, you are," confirmed Annabeth the same moment Grover said, "No, you're not."
Percy leveled a glare at his two best friends and was thankfully saved by the doorbell. Perking up, he quickly ran over to open it, offering his most charming smile. Hng. Apollo looked as handsome as ever. Percy's smile brightened some while he reached out to ruffle Will's hair.
"Don't do—o that," complained the little boy, trying to swat at Percy's hands.
"But you have your father's cute curls. They are made for ruffling," argued Percy teasingly.
"You never ruffle dad's curls," countered Will with a pout, crossing his arms.
"Mh. He got you there, Percy," Apollo smirked at him.
In an impulsive, daring moment did Percy reach out to run his fingers through Apollo's hair. That was a mistake. Those golden curls were even softer than Percy had expected. His heart raced hard in his chest as he slowly ran his fingers through it and oh he wanted to do this for hours, please.
"I'll see you in two hours, mh?" Apollo smiled first at Percy then at Will. "Have fun, kiddo."
/break\
Apollo had lived life large during med school. Fallen from one bed into the other and losing his heart far too often along the way. He'd also sired... a few... more children than intended. He tried to be a good dad, gotten Austin into jazz classes, paying for archery camp for Kayla and, most recently, piano lessons for Will. Currently, Will was actually living with Apollo, because his mom was a country singer whose career was just taking off. Despite the two of them not working out as a couple, they co-parented Will pretty well. And now that Will was living with him, Apollo had been struggling to really connect with Will. Being with his kids every second weekend was easy, he was the fun dad who took them on adventures. Now, he had to do the everyday parenting too. And piano lessons, they had been the perfect thing to offer to his boy – Will had fun and Apollo got a bit time for himself. He had a full-time nanny, because as a surgeon, he was busy, but sometimes, he needed a bit time all to himself too. There had been a surprising perk there for Apollo too.
He'd gotten the suggestion from a colleague whose daughter was taking piano lessons. He got the teacher's number and name and... he would forever be grateful for that, because oh boy. Percy Jackson was something else. The kind of person Apollo could lose his heart to. Did lose his heart to. The thing was, in his thirties, Apollo had mellowed out some. Even more so now that Will was living with him. He wanted to be a responsible father and he was so tired of having his heart broken, all he wanted was to be happy. To love and to be loved in return. Since he didn't seem to be able to get that, he assigned himself to not love again. Or rather to not act on his feelings, so he wouldn't get his heart broken by more unrequited love. With Percy Jackson, Apollo started to realize that pulling back wasn't enough because he could still get his heart broken by not getting the one he loved and longing from a distance. Every time he saw Percy interact with someone his own age, Apollo was overcome with a wave of jealousy. What if that was Percy's lover? Someone who got to kiss and hold Percy, make him laugh and take him out on dates. That pain, it was still there, even if he didn't tell Percy how he felt. So what was the point of trying to keep his distance...?
"Doctor Solace. Percy and Will are in the living room," Annabeth looked as annoyed as ever.
How peculiar. Usually, Percy would be bringing Will. He knew Apollo came to pick his son up, after all. Frowning curiously, Apollo followed the young woman toward the living room and. Oh. Percy was sitting on the couch, with Will leaning against him, deep asleep.
"I'm sorry I'm late," whispered Apollo, smiling warmly. "Surgery ran late..."
It made his heart simultaneously stop and speed up to see Percy cuddled up to Will like that. Pleased the part of him that always wanted a family. Sighing contently, Apollo went to sit with them. Percy was so beautiful – not just because of the obvious physical appeal; a swimmer's physique, bright, sea-green eyes, the cutest smile possible – but more so because he was beautiful on the inside. He was kind, loving, warm, funny. He had quite the sharp, snarky tongue too.
"Not a problem. We had a hot cocoa and... then Will fell asleep on me," whispered Percy back. "Though I do think we'll have to wake him soon. I have a lot to rehearse."
"Rehearse?" echoed Apollo curiously, hearing Annabeth chuckle in the kitchen.
"Yes! Percy is giving a little Christmas concert at our college this Friday," called Annabeth. "You know, you and Will should come, if you don't have any other plans."
That was unusually nice of Annabeth and the thought of actually seeing Percy play? Apollo's heart skipped a beat. He nodded before his brain had actually processed it. Oh dear. It wasn't good to spend time with pretty Percy outside of bringing and picking up Will. Not good at all.
/break\
Percy was so flustered when he actually came onto the stage, because the moment he bowed, he could see Apollo and Will in the front row, Will waving excitedly at him, while Apollo smiled charmingly. That smile. And the fact that Apollo was here, listening to him play, it made Percy so nervous. And being nervous was not usually something Percy did. Sitting down, he took a deep breath and once he gathered himself, he started playing. After he got into it, he even forgot that Apollo was there, all that mattered was the music. Only after, when he stood and faced the applauding audience, did he become hyper-aware of Apollo once more. Even more so when he stepped down from the stage and Apollo approached him, offering him a huge bouquet of lavender roses, gardenias and dwarf sunflowers. Percy blinked wide-eyed as he accepted the flowers.
"Those... are very... specific," whispered Percy slowly, holding them close.
"Yes, well, I like... flowers," replied Apollo, avoiding Percy's eyes. "I thought it was only proper to bring you flowers for your concert. You were... very lovely."
The way Apollo didn't look at him told Percy that Apollo knew what the flowers meant. That he had picked them specifically, apparently hoping that Percy didn't know what they meant. Smiling and gathering all of his courage, Percy leaned in to kiss Apollo's cheek, startling the blonde.
"Grover is a florist," whispered Percy into Apollo's ear. "I've heard more about the language of flowers than most people will ever forget. Dwarf sunflowers mean adoration, lavender roses stand for love at first sight and gardenias symbolize a secret love..."
The way Apollo stared at him wide-eyed and with flushed cheeks. Now Percy felt a little relieved because while he had felt pretty certain, he could have still been mistaken and Apollo could have not picked those flowers out himself, not for their meaning. But that look on his face...? Percy smiled softly as he leaned in to give Apollo an actual kiss on the mouth. Just a gentle peck.
"I... uh... thought I was being subtle and showing my... feelings without you... knowing of them," admitted Apollo flustered, ruffling his own hair. "But considering that kiss... I take it you are interested in me too. Would it... be too bold to ask you out on a date then, perhaps?"
Percy bit his lips and nodded. He'd never have thought that the osmosis of flower-nerd knowledge would do him any good, much less land him a hot doctor. He'd have to thank Grover later for that.
~*~ The End ~*~
Author's note: This one's for Gen! MERRY CHRISTMAS, GEN! I do hope you like it and that I picked well for the ship ;D