Who Would Dare

by Punkflame

"Listen." Triton's voice cut through Percy's haze "We both know you're hurt, but you don't have to play the hero. At the very least, not right now. Now let me see your damn wound." Triton froze, eyes widening in disbelief, but he remained silent. When he finally spoke, his voice was low and grave. "Tell me who did this to you... Now."

6. One Leap Back

So I may have gotten a little carried away with this. Just maybe. This chapter may or may not be the length of the entire fic so far. Um, so I updated the tags and the warning, just in case. There is a lot to cover in this chapter and it is super long, so have fun I guess. This ended up being 40 pages and I feel like the dead.

This chapter has a lot of MH themes and the end has an emet warning, just as a heads up.

Flinging the arm off from over his face Percy blinked angrily at the lights in his room in a futile attempt to adjust his eyes to them. Last he had checked, the lights were relatively ambient. So why did it suddenly feel like the entire sun was in his bedroom?

Urgh was this why people take their meds? Percy wondered to himself. To avoid imaginary suns from attacking their bedrooms when they wake up?

He rolled over in annoyance and buried his face in his pillow desperate to block out the evil bright light that was trying to ruin his morning. When it became obvious that the light wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, Percy flipped angrily onto his back and slowly peeled his eyes open once again to try to get used to the brightness that filled his room.

After several minutes of switching between rapidly blinking and forcing his eyes open in a squint, Percy was able to keep his eyes open all the way. He was not adjusted to it, the light still burned his eyes like fire, but he could at least pass it off like all was well.

He shifted to sit on the edge of the bed, but in doing so he felt a sudden pull of pain and let out a yelp of alarm, one hand coming to his torso. It had not hurt this much last night, that much was certain, but there was no way that he was giving up on his conviction now. They certainly didn't call him stubborn for nothing.

He slipped off of the edge of his bed and padded over to the dresser, pulling it open and ignoring the bolt of pain he got from the strain of doing so.

Maybe if he got some actual clothes on he could chill out a bit. With a sigh of surrender, the teen walked closer to one of the two dressers and searched through the clothing that he had purchased with Triton the day before.

He grabbed a loose and soft green top with long sleeves that were fitted at the wrists and secured with shell-like clasps and went to pull it over his head.

Big mistake.

He was hit with a wave of pain and he cried out before quickly moving his hand in front of his mouth. He wasn't sure what his dad could and could not hear and didn't want to take any chances.

Upon taking another look in the dresser he saw a deep blue top with mid-length sleeves that you are meant to put on like a robe before securing the ties on the side. He hadn't been too sure about this one when they bought it but he was now glad that Triton had added it to the purchase.

Percy grabbed it without another thought and opened the drawer immediately under the one he had been in.

Inside he found several pairs of pants. At random he chose a pair of soft black ones that were fitted at the ankles but were otherwise loose. There was a long strip of fabric that came out of the seam on either side at the waistband and seemed to be intended on being tied in the front or back to be used as something similar to a belt.

Getting dressed ended up being a challenge and Percy quickly learned that motions like bending over to put on pants, putting his arms in sleeves and twisting or turning his body to the side in order to tie a fastener were all bad decisions and resulted in him biting back a shout as his body protested the movements.

Nonetheless, he managed to finish getting dressed and moved over to the green armchair that had been in his room since he woke up. Normally, he sat on his bed but taking into mind his current situation he wasn't sure if he would be able to get up from it while hiding his pain once Triton was to show up.

Honestly, he wasn't sure if he would be able to do so from the chair either, but it would look suspicious if he was just standing there, and Triton would likely be expecting some amount of pain and would probably just give him his pain meds.

Luckily, Percy did not have to find out, as before he had the chance to sit down, his brother entered the room.

Percy smiled and greeted him with a small wave to which Triton replied with a raised eyebrow.

Shit.

He couldn't possibly know that there was something up already, right? Who was he kidding, his brother's a god, he probably knew the whole time and tested him last night to see if he would really take his meds or try to get away with it.

"Perseus-"

"I'm fine!"

The god raised a second eyebrow "Yes, of course, because that's exactly how someone who is 'fine' reacts." He looked the demigod up and down before promptly swimming over to the medical table, grabbing the meds, and filling a glass with fresh water.

"Here," He began as he returned to float in front of Percy and handed him first the pills and second the glass. "You look absolutely dreadful, you did take your pills last night, correct?"

"Yeah, of course," he lied, using 'taking' the meds as an excuse to avoid eye contact. "Why do you ask?" Triton made an unsure sound, taking the empty glass from Percy and placing it back on the table before leading him to sit on the bed.

"I'm going to redress your wound, alright?" he asked, looking at the demigod for confirmation before he began. At Percy's nod, Triton undid the tie on the top and peeled back the seaweed 'bandages' and made a sound of frustration and bewilderment. "Just as I thought," he said looking back to Percy.

"This should have been healed by now, well over. Of course, the nature of the wound changes the timeline to an unknown period, but the healing had been progressing so much better before, but now it seemingly has fully stopped. As a matter of fact," He said, squinting at it, "The wound even looks slightly worse…" He trailed off in worry before looking directly at Percy.

"This is most likely why you look so terrible today in general," the god stopped for a moment to cringe at his phrasing, before clearing his throat. "What I mean to say is that this must be why you look starkly pale and as if you are having a hard time not only holding yourself up but as well holding back tears."

Shit, that was news to Percy, if he was going to keep this up he would have to find a better way to hide that kind of thing so he didn't have to deal with being found out right away again.

"It does make sense, If the wound is progressing again, some of your symptoms are likely to return. I am just not sure why the wound is progressing again." He gave the demigod a regretful look. "Maybe I best apologize, I had suggested the outing to father yesterday, maybe it was too much too soon. I had not realized that it would overexert you to this degree."

Oh yikes, Percy wanted to get away with this but he totally didn't want Triton to blame himself if he noticed him getting worse. He had been getting along great with his brother, shockingly, and he was not the kind of guy to trick someone into blaming themself for his own actions, not someone he cared about at least.

"No, Triton I'm sure it's not that. I was totally fine yesterday, it's not your fault." Triton gave him a sad smile before going to retrieve some new bandages. "Not everything is your fault, Perseus," he said before beginning to rebandage his chest. First applying the healing balm, then the bandages.

Okay yes, maybe he did have a problem with blaming himself too often, but this time really was his fault and he didn't want Triton to beat himself up over it. "It's not your fault, you didn't do anything." the demigod said in a continued attempt to sway his brother. Triton, in response, simply finished the bandages and ruffled his hair good-naturedly. "I should have kept your condition in mind and paid more attention to how you were doing. It's alright, we will just have to be more careful, yes? Take things a bit slower."

Percy swore internally and hoped that he was wrong with where the god was going with this. "I do not want you up and around as much, I will inform father of this development. It may be best that you just stay here so as to not overexert yourself or aggravate your wound as much."

He couldn't be wrong just once?

Great, now he was going to be bedridden again and he knew that his overprotective family would not give him even an inch of slack on this. Really, it wasn't even Triton or Poseidon that he was worried about anymore, but when Amphitrite found out there was no way in fuck that she was going to even let him get up out of bed to grab something.

If he hadn't already been quite sure, something told Percy that she hadn't had a young child around in a while. Well, young to her at least. Truthfully, Percy was alright with the mothering. He did like being taken care of, but with his own mother, he always felt as though he had to shield her from what was going on. Even when he was younger, with Gabe, he couldn't possibly tell her what had gone on.

The whole reason for doing so was to protect her from the horrors that she didn't know and to keep her worry to a minimum, but there seemed to be no avoiding that with the goddess, so Percy had decided that meant that he was allowed to accept her comfort.

As of late, Amphitrite seemed to care deeply for him and was super protective, but she was well aware of the horrors unseen. She knew the unfiltered version of what happened to heroes and the kinds of things that he had been facing. She assumed the worst to have happened and knew quite well what that could be, so what was the point in pretending that it didn't?

Whether he hid it or not she would treat him the same way. Percy was sure that it did not help that she undoubtedly saw right through him, what with how he basically had the same face and expressions as both her husband and her son.

That being said, even though she was well aware of the worst-case scenario and had seen truly terrible things, that did not mean that she was happy about it or even that she accepted it. She was hyper-vigilant when it came to his care and while she wasn't freaky-pushy like his father or Triton tended to be, her methods were truthfully scarier.

She tended to know exactly how to appeal to him to get him to do exactly what it was that she felt was right and even to get him to want to do it. That, combined with her being able to appeal to and convince Poseidon to the same degree, if not more, meant that her concern was a powerful weapon against Percy's firey will. Because of that, he was nervous for her to show up now, not only because she might have him stay in bed but because he might feel so bad about what he was doing that he would tell her, or even that she might even know that something was up just by looking at him.

"You really don't need to do that, Triton. I'm fine, really, I promise." He said in an attempt to convince his brother to keep this incredibly small turn of events between the two of them. Triton, rather than arguing, gave him a sad look.

"Mmm, I'm sure that you are, but just so that you know, it is alright if you are not. As well, should you decide that you are not 'fine' at any point, I would like to remind you that it is more than alright to voice your struggles, in fact, I encourage you to do so."

Percy blushed "I really just feel fine," he replied with what he hoped was a convincing look on his face. Triton sighed in response, "Very well, however, while it may be true that you feel fine, you are not." He began, raising a hand to stop Percy's protest, "Your wound seems to have stopped healing and that is an issue, one that I, in good conscious must bring up. However, I will refrain from bringing up your earlier state as you already look to have improved, if only slightly."

Percy nodded, giving his brother a smile, "Thank you," Triton smiled back, putting one hand on Percy's shoulder, "There is, however, one condition,"

Of course there is

"You have to promise me that you are truly alright and that you will tell me the moment that you are not." He said eyes serious and staring straight into Percy's own.

"I will, I promise that I will," Percy said in a voice that came out a lot more shaky than he was hoping, but Triton accepted it anyway, and with a nod of his acceptance, he removed his hand and stepped away.

"Come now, we wouldn't want to keep them waiting, who knows, they might assume that something has gone terribly wrong and rush in here all concerned," Triton said in a serious voice, causing Percy to pale in response and look at him in panic, only to calm a moment later when he saw the joking look on his brother's face.

"Oh, ha ha, very funny," he said rolling his eyes and standing up from the bed.

"I thought so, glad that you agree," Triton said wide grin on his face.

"Wait, no, stop that,"

The brothers made their way to the dining hall and sat at their respective seats. The king and queen were already sitting and looked towards them as they entered.

Poseidon's eyebrows furrowed. "Perseus, are you alright?" he asked, leaning forward in his chair. Percy opened his mouth to reply but before he could, Triton spoke.

"He is in a small amount of pain, it seems as though we might have overextended his limits yesterday or something of the sort. His wound has halted in its progression and is no longer improving due to this."

Poseidon was out of his chair and by Percy's side in an instant. "Why did you not bring this to my attention sooner?" he asked Triton, anger peaking into his voice. Triton, however, seemed to be immune to his father's rapid mood flips and sudden bursts of emotion at this point and did not give an emotional reaction in reply, but rather answered simply. "He was completely fine the entirety of the day yesterday, but when I went to fetch him this morning, it was evident that there was something amiss. I treated his wound already so you can stop unwrapping it, it's fine, and as soon as I had finished that, I brought him here."

Poseidon finished dissecting the demigod with his eyes before straightening up. "Why did you not say that you were in pain, or that it was too much. This could have been avoided."

Percy sighed."I guess that I didn't really realize how far I pushed it." he answered truthfully.

"It's a bit strange to me that one day of exertion fully halted the improvement of his wound, don't you agree?" Three sets of green eyes turned to face the queen, her own deep brown eyes studying Percy with concern.

Concern that was evident in her tone, in addition to confusion and apprehension, "I would never have thought that something as simple as that would have, or even could have, disrupted the healing efforts." She shook her head with furrowed eyebrows. "Not to mention the healing that had already been done, especially to the degree that it halted any improvements. Not slowed or aggravated, halted."

The goddess let out a hum of thought "It seems to me that there would have had to have been another factor. Maybe the medication is not effective enough anymore, or he needs another type of it now that he is not simply sitting in his bed. Furthermore, maybe that is precisely the issue," She gently carded a hand through his hair, giving him a warm but sad, almost pitying smile.

"Maybe until you heal more, it is best if you stay in bed, or at the very least in your room. Yes you are tough, and yes I am sure that you have handled terrible injuries in the past, but this is something unlike anything that you have experienced before and you need to keep that in mind while you recover." Her tone was genuine as she spoke, and her next words penetrated his very core.

"You may feel better, or good enough by your typical standards, but this is not a typical situation and requires more care and attention. You do not have to be good enough, there is no one here that you need to impress or be 'good enough' for, and you certainly do not need to be better in an instant. You are not on a quest, you are not in a life or death situation anymore, but if you continue pushing yourself further than you are able to, you very well may be again."

Percy just nodded, cheeks flushed bright red and eyes moist. "Oh come here, sweetheart." She said before pulling him in for a tight hug, keeping mindful of his injury while doing so.

After pulling away, she turned to a wide-eyed Triton and Poseidon and addressed the former of the two. "What medication is he on?"

Triton thought for a second before telling her, "At the healer's suggestions, we have had him taking Forigas doloron, kontraŭinflamatorian, altigas konscion, multajn nutraĵojn. He takes one of each, twice a day" Amphitrite nodded in response.

It was at that moment that Percy realized that he had not yet removed the pill from his stomach. Cold panic rose in his chest and drifted down his arms. He was glad that he had not still been hugging his stepmother at that moment, she would have had to have noticed if he had been.

He immediately felt for the spheres of water only to feel that not only had the gel capsules dissolved, he had lost his grip on some of it. That or his body decided that it needed water and drew from the available resource. Either way, he fucked up.

He had passed it off as him just being nice, but Triton had said that he was looking better. He should have noticed earlier, yeah things still hurt, but not as much and the light issue had died down to a minor inconvenience.

How had he not noticed before it was basically pointed out to him? What could have distracted him?

"Hungry?" Amphitrite asked, punctuated by Percy's stomach choosing that exact moment to growl loudly.

"Sounds like it, yeah," Percy said, choosing to pass the moment off in a comical way. His father and brother laughed lightly and began to choose the food that they wanted, adding them to their plates.

Not one of the three noticed that behind her smile, the queen held a layer of suspicion.

After they had breakfast, the gods were all called off to a necessary duty. There was a half-hour delay in this, during which Percy vehemently attempted to convince them that he would be okay on his own and that if he suddenly started dying that he would pray to one of them.

After what seemed like years of convincing, they begrudgingly agreed and went on their ways.

Or so it might seem. After Poseidon had gone off to fulfill the duty that was required of him, but before Triton could go off and do the same, Amphitrite intercepted him and pulled him into the privacy of the study.

"I believe that we are both aware that there is more to Perseus' state than him supposedly overexerting himself. I believe that something is truly wrong. You are showing your concern as clear as day all over your body, and he is showing deep emotion too, he's hiding something, but I am just not sure what."

Triton pulled his lips into a straight line."He seemed to be in more pain when I entered his room this morning. I think that he is just trying to be okay when he is not. He is quite clearly the type to not let people know when he is hurt. While we quite obviously know that he is and he cannot hide the fact that he is, he can hide how it is affecting him. For some reason, he seems to feel as though it is necessary to do so."

"Let us hope that's all that it is," the queen said with a deep sigh. "Humans are… Fragile, and even more so when they do not let their cracks be mended."

Triton nodded, "That is part of the reason that I tend to avoid them. You get attached to them, and then all of a sudden something happens and they are gone, just like that." he shook his head, "It is so much easier for it to happen with humans, and so much more likely. I cannot afford to lose someone that quickly again, not again."

His mother gave him a sad look, softly brushing a hand through his hair which currently hung loosely around his face. "She would have liked him."

He gave her a small sad smile in return, "Do you think so?" He asked softly.

"I'm quite sure," she replied, letting her hand fall to his shoulder, rubbing it in comfort.

The mother and son sat in silence, for a moment before Triton let out a sigh and returned to the topic at hand."The medication does seem to be working, but it is perhaps not lasting long enough. He improved greatly, though not as much as I would have liked, from the time that I entered his room and gave him his morning medication until we left him back there just now." He turned his head in the direction of Percy's bedroom and frowned.

"When I first entered his room he looked truly dreadful. He was nearly as pale as he had been when he was clinging onto the edges of life and he was so unsteady on his feet that it looked as if he were a piece of seaweed swaying in the currents." The god shook his head and let out an exasperated sound.

"He was even clearly in pain but had not elected to take the pill for his pain, or any of the others. I truly do not know how it is that he has lasted as long as he has with self-preservation as poor as his."

"Nor do I." The goddess replied with a shake of her head. "He has had so much thrust upon him at such a young age that he feels this way of life to be necessary. Once he has recovered, I personally will speak with your uncles about… excluding him from their future wars and quests."

Triton let out a small laugh."That will certainly be an interesting day." Amphitrite smiled in return. "They can, and certainly have said no to your father's efforts to protect him in the past. However, if I request it then not only will I have those who favour him on my side, but I will also almost undoubtedly have Hera's support in addition to that, not to mention that Persephone is as well likely to convince Hades."

Triton grinned larger at her words, "Sometimes, mother, you are truly devious." Amphitrite in response put a hand to her chest in mock offence. "Me? Devious? No, no, my child. How could I possibly be devious? After all, I am only trying to keep my family safe."

"Yes mother, of course," Triton said, an amused smile never leaving his face.

The queen moved her hand from his shoulder and gestured to the door. "We had best be on our way before your father realizes that we did not make our way to our tasks, with everything that is going on out there we truly need every one of us doing as much as possible."

"Too true," Triton said swimming over to the door. While he was glad to have gotten to know Percy, even considering the circumstances, they could not let him know about the political nightmare that was the ocean at the moment.

It had nothing to do with Percy, and as a matter of fact, It had begun vastly before he had arrived in Atlantis. The trip that Amphitrite had been on co-current to Percy's arrival had been a matter that had arisen from one of the many, many other issues to come from the catastrophe that they were currently dealing with.

He would undoubtedly find out, he and his father were due to be away on a mission in about a month's time. Not to mention that the demigod would surely overhear something about it at some point. The issue was, however, that the demigod would be likely to feel like more of an imposition if he knew how busy they already were.

Keeping that in mind the three gods were making an active effort to be as quiet about the whole thing as possible. The only people who knew about the upcoming… issue were those who needed to. Perseus had no reason to know about it as of now, and thus to avoid any unnecessary stress or anxiety, he would not learn of it until it became entirely necessary.

Triton just had to hope that it would not spiral out of control in the meanwhile.

Percy sat in his bed, a book open on his lap. It was a pretty good book and he actually wasn't having too much trouble with it. Despite that, however, it just wasn't holding his attention.

For all he had fought to be alone today, he was bored and lonely. He has been awake for almost three weeks and the entire time, there was always at least one member of his family around him at all times. Was it incredibly smothering at times? Very much so. But he had become dependent on their presence very quickly.

That didn't truly come as too much of a shock to Percy, he had always been pretty dependent on his friends and family. If he was alone for too long his mental health really suffered for it. Even being isolated for most of the day like this caused him to start to get agitated.

However with all of that said, his boredom and restlessness were not only to do with being alone. The longer he sat there, the more he had on his mind.

Ready to just go and try to find one of them, Percy stood with relative ease and walked over to his bookshelf where he stored the thick novel that he had been reading.

Something that always threw him off was the sheer size difference between English books and Greek books. Where English books were normal sized, well okay yes normal to him, the Greek books tended to be one and a half to two times the size of them.

It was great to be able to read them with more ease from a dyslexia standpoint, but his ADHD could go either way. When it got excited to get started and plowed through the books, that was great. Very helpful. But when it looked at the sheer size of a book and said 'Ha ha, Nope.' that was… less helpful.

He picked up the puzzle cube with mild interest, turning it over in his hands when he heard a knock at the door. "Come in!" he shouted. He placed the cube back down and was five steps away from it when he realized that it was not who he had been expecting.

Instead of one of the royals, a merman with electric green skin entered the room. Contrary to the exciting, bold colour of his skin, the merman seemed incredibly nervous as he brought in something akin to a push cart. "G-good afternoon young lord." he said with a bow, "I must apologize on the King's behalf, it seems as though his duties have demanded his continued presence at this time." Percy felt a small pang of jealousy but quickly squashed it.

Who was he to feel jealous over his father literally doing his job? He wasn't a child, so why did he get so upset over not having more of his father's time and attention? Especially after how vehemently he argued that he didn't need to be supervised.

Blinking himself out of his thoughts, he turned his attention back to the mer in front of him. "He has asked me to bring some food to your chambers so that you can continue to rest rather than making the journey to the dining hall." Immediately contradicting his earlier emotions, Percy rolled his eyes in annoyance.

He was not a child, he was not incapable of being and doing things on his own. It didn't matter if he was hurt a bit, he could still function as a person. The last thing he needed was the entire palace treating him as if he were made of glass too.

He thanked the guy who was maybe a butler, who then retreated hastily with another bow, closing the door behind him.

Walking over to the cart, Percy blew out a breath. The mer's presence, however short and despite causing a myriad of emotions with the news he brought, was a welcome distraction from his solitude.

Percy uncovered the trays on the cart and found several dishes that he had seen before as well as a few plates and sets of cutlery. He began adding food to his plate taking some rolls, fresh bread, mixed vegetables, fresh tuna and something he hadn't seen before.

He took considerably more food than he was used to, but even so, the cart was still absolutely loaded. He had no idea how his father or the chef or whoever thought that he could possibly eat this much, it was enough for a whole family!

He returned the covers to the food and turned to sit at the pitch-black desk that was on the wall opposite the dressers and bookshelf. He hadn't sat at the desk before now but it was not what he thought it was. Instead of wood or some sort of similar material, it was made out of a dark stone, covered in some sort of glaze. Upon further inspection, he found that under the glaze, the surface was covered in small divots and bumps, almost like the shells of bubbles.

He sat in the cushioned desk chair that had legs made of the same material before putting his plate on the desk and poking at his food. He ate some tuna and a roll before deciding that he still hated eating alone.

Rising from the chair, he crossed his expansive room and grabbed the book he had been reading earlier from the shelf. Why the bookshelf was on the opposite side of the room, he had no idea. It seemed like an oversight on someone's part, like did they forget that the desk was in there when he got the shelf or something?

Crossing the room again, he sat back in the chair, one leg rising to lay bent, the ankle fitting under the knee of the opposite leg. With one hand he opened the book and picked up from where he had left off. The book and eating were both torturous alone, but together they were half alright.

He got halfway through his tuna before losing interest. Instead, he dissected one of his rolls absent-mindedly. The insides of two rolls later and Percy realized that he was almost halfway through his novel. This book was massive and he had only started this morning! It wasn't even that late in the day, the maybe-a-butler guy was only here with the food like an hour ago which meant that it was probably like two or three in the afternoon at the latest.

He had no idea when he would be seeing the others but he hoped that it would be soon. Okay, well, half hoped.

The other half of him was intimidated at the idea of a new med and as well that they might start monitoring him closer if and when he starts taking it. Even more than being worried about his plans being ruined, he was worried about them finding out and how they would react.

He was right to have been worried about seeing Amphitrite. Now that he saw how much she cared again and after he heard her little speech at breakfast, it was hard to keep going with this.

It wasn't the first time that she had said something profound like that to him and made him feel so incredibly seen and safe. The way that she spoke to him made him feel like maybe he was allowed to need help sometimes.

She proved his point too, she somehow entirely understood his motivation and feelings behind hiding things, somehow better than he did. He hadn't even realized half of those things until she said it.

That was the worst part; she cared so much and was so wholly invested in him, not the saviour, not any of his earned titles, just him, Percy. Triton and their father did too.

He felt terrible for lying to both her and Triton. The both of them had had intense heart to hearts with him and seemed determined to not only hear that he was okay but to make absolutely sure that he really, truly was. It was because of that that Percy was worried. He was almost sure that she would get to him and he wasn't sure how she would react.

Would she be angry at him, send him away and return their relationship to how it was before - or worse? Would she be sad? Would she cry? He didn't want to make her cry. Would she panic and be even more worried? She was already so fearful on his behalf…

The worst thing that he could imagine is if she would be disappointed and lose her trust in him? He wasn't sure if he could bear that.

It was okay, it was fine, it would be fine, he just had to be sure that she would never find out. He could do that, for sure, it wasn't like every time he talked to he felt like shit about lying or anything like that, right?

It was not going to be fine.

Shit.

He let out a breath and stood. He was so done with his book right now. He wasn't sure that he could focus on anything with his full attention right now and seeing as he had already re-read the same page five times without really reading it, he decided that now was a good time to stop, he did not want to miss anything.

He was halfway across his room when he collapsed.

His hand immediately went to his abdomen as he cried out in anguish. Oh no, no no. that felt like something tore. He let out short breaths as he attempted in vain to work through his suffering. With little success, he curled into a ball trying instead to hide from the pain. Unfortunately, it knew just where to find him. His short breaths quickened even further as the pain got worse, now sounding more like sobs.

A thought hit him even in his delirium. He had to get up, what if someone came in here and saw him like this. 'Please let them, we need help' said the logical part of his brain that was currently curled in a ball in agony. 'Shut up' he told it.

Percy rolled to his knees and made an attempt to stand back up, only for his legs to give out and for him to fall back down again with another sob of pain. His hand went back to his wound and he held it firmly against it. He took a slower, shaking breath that still sounded too much like a sob for Percy's liking.

He settled for ignoring the continued yanks on his wound with any movement and raising himself to sit on his knees. He stay like that for a moment before his hand started to feel warm and he blinked down at it, the unshed tears in his eyes beginning to fall.

The previously nearly healed wound that had been getting worse again due to his actions had opened.

Making his decision, he bit back the pain and dragged himself first over to his dresser, grabbing the closest, darkest shirt he had. Holding back a scream, he yanked off the deep blue, now horribly bloodstained shirt, and balled it up.

He then realized his mistake and half-crawled, half-dragged himself over to the medical table. Opening the exact drawers he knew he needed due to Triton's previous aid, Percy found and messily applied some seaweed bandages.

The wound looked like it was trying to heal with the water, but was not able to quite do so as fast as he had seen it do so for other wounds in the past.

He let out a shout of frustration when he realized that he left both shirts at the end of the room by the dresser. He let out another one when he remembered that he was underwater and that not only was the water helping he would, he didn't have to yank himself across the room, further aggravating the opened gash, he could have just drifted where he needed to go, or even use the currents to bring him what he needed.

He remedied his earlier mistake by bringing himself the shirts, putting on the loose, black one with moderate struggle and balling the blue on up once again.

Using the currents, he moved himself to his bed and stuck the shirt haphazardly under his mattress under the pillows. That way, if anyone sat or layed in his bed they couldn't feel it. It wasn't a permanent solution, but it would work well enough until he could find one.

'Like the princess and the pea' his pain-addled mind supplied before going dark.

"Perseus. Perseus wake up." a voice sounded, breaking him out of his slumber.

Hmm? What?

"You can rest later, you need to have something to eat now." Percy opened his eyes to stare at the face above him before slamming them back shut, unsued to the brightness.

"Mmmm… don' wanna," he whined, making the other person laugh. Percy opened one eye and glared at him out of the corner of it.

"Absolutely terrifying," He said crossing his arms over his chest. "Are you quite finished?" amusement was evident in his tone, but there was an underlying layer of concern.

Percy groaned and shut his eye again. He put one hand on his chest and one flat on his bed for support before sitting up. He grunted slightly at the yank that the exertion caused him, but overall did not cry out.

"There we go, now, shall we be on our way before father and m-," He cleared his throat, "Before they come looking for us?" He rectified.

Percy blinked at the god in front of him in mild confusion. Why- why couldn't he remember his name? It was like someone had taken it and put it in a black bag, blindfolded him and thrown it and him into a pitch black room before telling him to find it. He knew who he was to him, his brother, well half brother but semantics. He knew that he was a god. He knew where he was and why.

Why couldn't he put his finger on his brother's name? He breathed out shakily, one arm coming to wrap around himself, one tangling itself in his hair by his temple. "Perseus?"

At the mention of his own name, he made eye contact. "Are you… is everything alright?" The god asked swimming closer and putting one of his own hands on Percy's shoulder.

At a lack of response and the sight of Percy's eyes glazing over, the god's other hand came up to cup his brother's cheek, tapping it lightly. "Perseus," he said receiving no response, "Perseus, are you with me?" he tried again

The demigod blinked, but his eyes remained glassy "I - I don't know." he whispered after a moment. The god made a sound of distress and Percy felt bad. He might not remember his name at the moment but that doesn't mean that he wants to see him upset!

"I'm sure that I'm fine," His brother ignored him and began to look around the room. He first went over to the desk and looked at something on it. After a moment's concentration, Percy remembered reading and eating lunch there. He remembered being super bored and waiting for his family to be done doing something that he didn't even think that he knew what it was in the first place, so no issue there.

The god continued his lap of the room. Seemingly finding nothing, he returned to Percy's side. "I suppose it's quite late. Considering that you were sleeping I do not assume that you took your nighttime medication?" he said in a voice with a tone that Percy couldn't quite place, maybe like he was hoping that was the issue.

"I don't kn- I don't think so." Percy admitted and his brother nodded before going over to a silver table with drawers and cabinets underneath. He returned a moment later with a glass and four pills. "Here," He said handing him the pills before handing him the glass slowly, keeping one hand on it to ensure that he had it first.

The demigod took the medicine and handed him the glass back.

"How do you do that anyways?" he asked quietly leading to a very confused expression on the god's face. "What do you mean? Do what?"

"How do you make it like, different?" Despite his very detailed explanation, his brother only looked more confused. Percy pointed to the now empty glass with an insistent look, "The glass, the water it's, um, it's fresh water, so how do you like put it there so it stays?"

The god furrowed his eyebrows and slightly shook his head in further confusion. He opened his mouth to reply, but at that same moment, the bedroom door opened.

"Perseus, Triton, there you are!" Their father said in a relief-tinged tone, entering the room, followed closely by Amphitrite. 'Oh! Right, Triton!' Percy thought to himself, his previous panicked dilemma now seeming obvious, 'How the fuck did I even forget that in the first place?'

Turning to Poseidon, Triton nodded his head "Yes father, sorry for the delay, Perseus seems unwell still" He turned back to face Percy and swam to him, placing a hand under his chin and tilting his head to look him in the eye. Finding that his eyes still had a slight glaze, Triton's mouth drew into a line and he turned back to their father, releasing Percy's chin in the process.

"Maybe it is best if we have his dinner brought here as well," Poseidon said with concern chasing the relief out of his voice. He swam further into the room and over to the food cart from earlier, lifting one of the covers. "How did lunch work out in here for all of you?"

Triton furrowed his eyebrows. "You mean to say that you were not here?" he turned to look at his mother, "and you?" Amphitrite shook her head in response, "I had been occupied, when I had heard of lunch preparations being made I had assumed that one or both of you had done so with the intention of joining him. By your asking, I assume that you as well were occupied?"

"I was, yes," Triton replied in an apologetic tone, eyes turning back to Percy who just shrugged weakly. "Hey, don't worry about it, you guys have stuff to do, you don't need to watch me 24/7."

Unsure how to respond, Poseidon smiled tightly, "Regardless, that was some time ago for you, it is probably best we get you something to eat." Percy nodded in response and attempted to stand, much to Triton's concern.

"Careful, Perseus. We don't need you falling and having the potential to further aggravate your wound." Freezing for a beat Percy started moving slower hoping to pass off his hesitation as following his brother's words.

"I'm alright, I've got it," Percy told him with a reassuring smile. "Just a little tired I guess." Triton sighed in exasperation, "Can you even walk?"

"Yeah, I'm a little tired not a baby," Percy said shooting him a glare. Steeling himself, he attempted to take a step forward on shaky legs, but he only made it one step before his legs gave out and he was forced into being entirely supported by his brother. "What was that you said Perseus?" Triton said with mock ignorance, leaving Percy to all but growl in response.

"Boys." Poseidon groaned with his head in his hands, worrying his temples with his fingertips. "Would it be such a bother for the two of you to stop bickering for long enough so that we can just go and eat?"

Triton scoffed, indignant, "But father-" Poseidon cut him off with a withering look as he began to protest the even scolding that he and his brother received. Which, in Triton's opinion, was completely unfair.

Surely Poseidon must have understood that he had simply been trying to ensure that Perseus would not injure himself. It wasn't his fault that the demigod was so hotheaded, if anything it was their father's own fault. It certainly was not his fault that the boy got ridiculously defensive the very second that he or anyone else tried to help him.

The youngest of the gods sighed, schooling what could only be called a pout, into a much straighter face with ease, he considered himself an expert at it. While he typically kept a calm, neutral, exterior, especially around those who were not his direct family.

He did not feel as much of a need to do so around his parents and some of his siblings, and as such typically showed more of an emotional range when around them. However, that did not mean that at times like this he could not put them aside when his father was being impossible.

While Triton had been having a mental tantrum, Percy had managed to get himself solidly onto his feet and begin supporting his own weight. Amphitrite, who had watched her son and husband in relative silence so far, turned her eyes to the demigod. "We do not have to go to the dining hall, Perseus. Your brother is right to say that you should maintain an air of caution while you are recovering." she turned her eyes to glare at Triton who let out a small "Ha!" at that, before continuing,

"But that is also not to say that you are not capable on your own, and it is not to say that you do not know your own limits." Percy, who was still being half-held by Triton jabbed an elbow in his side before giving him a smug grin, causing his brother to let go of him and growl at him in reply.

Amphitrite cleared her throat and the brothers begrudgingly turned their attention back to her. "But, you clearly seem to have a skewed idea on what your limits are, and how far you can, and should, be pushing things. Because of this, it certainly wouldn't hurt to have an outside point of view help out from time to time."

She looked between the boys as if almost daring them to go at each other again before continuing, "With that being said, your point of view and how you feel about things is the most important to you feeling and doing as well as you can, even if it's something that may feel small or inconsequential to some." She turned her gaze to look right into Percy's eyes with a small smile, "Where would you like to eat?"

She may have asked him a simple question but it was in actuality anything but. She was not asking where he would like to eat, She was saying 'I trust your judgement, I care about your comfort, I care about what you want as well as what you need.' and the thought made Percy feel guilty all over again.

He pushed it aside as he answered her. "I've been cooped up in here all day, if it's alright I'd like to get out of here, even if it's only to the dining hall." The goddess nodded in response, "Very well then, let us make our way there. You seem to be standing on your own now, are you alright to walk there unassisted?"

Percy hesitated for a moment, stopping himself short of declining. She was making an active effort to be genuine with him, to hear him out and to trust him. The least he could do was the same, even if it was just for something that may seem small or inconsequential to some. "I, uh, I'm not sure." He eventually said.

Triton in response, gently stepped in to assist in holding him up again. All teasing gone, he smiled at him and nodded towards the door. "Shall we then?"

Triton had to make a mental note to ask his mother how the fuck she managed to get him to listen like that. It was amazing and would certainly come in handy when the little human brat decided to be a particularly large pain in the ass.

"Where were you guys all day anyways." Percy asked, picking at a seaweed roll that he had cut open.

Or in times like this when his inquisition and general curiosity lead him towards something that could get him into trouble or otherwise hurt.

Poseidon opened his mouth to reply, but at seeing both Triton and Amphitrite look at him in a mild panic, he quickly shut it again. His wife put her hand on the one that he had raised in his reply. "Just some political nonsense, boring things, do not worry."

Percy stayed silent but nodded, returning to his food. There was definitely something going on, but she had placed her trust in him, he, in return could do the same, and let it go.

"I do agree with your earlier judgement, my dear. By that, I mean that I think that it would be best if from here we are to modify the medication that we have Percy taking."

The aforementioned demigod shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Triton eyed him warily but nodded at their father. "I agree as well, there certainly is something amiss with this medication and it is better that we do something about it now before it presents more of an issue."

Percy said something that came out in a mumble. "Speak up dear, mumbling is unbecoming." Percy flushed but nodded. "I said that I'm fine but that I guess that it doesn't matter." At Amphitrite's disapproving sigh that followed, Percy raced to follow up.

"It's really just today, like I was completely fine yesterday, maybe I'll be weird tomorrow but the next day I might be perfectly fine! I'm really sure that I'm fine, you guys don't seem to think so and I know that I have to take that into account, at the same time it's different between you guys and me, and you have to take that into account. Last April dad basically tried to kidnap me in worry because I had allergies."

Poseidon sputtered defensivley, "You were practically incapacitated!" Percy raised his eyebrows in response, "No, I just ended up with a very minor sinus infection and was fine in like, less than two weeks."

The demigod sighed, "I recognize that this is different, but you guys have got to trust me too. Can't we just give it like a month or something and go from there?"

The royals looked at one another in an unspoken conversation before Poseidon turned back to him. "Very well, one week. But no longer." His voice was stern and allowed for no compromise.

Percy nodded. "One week. Got it."

The four continued their meal in near silence before retiring to their rooms for the night, Triton helping Percy to his. He was nearly out of the room when he heard a small voice, just barely.

"Triton?"

The god turned and saw only his brother's eyes from under the blanket. "Yes?"

"Thank you for caring, and for helping even if I make it hard" replied the voice that continued to be impossibly small for the mighty hero who just an hour ago was arguing with him to get him to stop doing the very thing that he was now thanking him for.

A smile ghosted across his lips. "Of course, little pearl," The small amount of Percy's face that Triton could see flushed bright red at the nickname, "I as well realize that I may not always be exactly… easy to deal with as well, and I must apologize for that"

"You don't make it hard, I've just never really had a sibling. It's different, not a bad thing. Just not a dynamic that I am used to."

Triton blinked, the thought not really occurring to him before that point. "Your mother has no other children?" he asked, already half knowing the answer. "She's pregnant right now, but no, and I mean, dad sent me Tyson but he lives down here and I only really got to hang out with him in a brotherly way for one summer."

Triton drew his lips into a line in thought before giving his brother a soft smile. "Well, in that case, we are to find some non-strenuous brotherly bonding activities to do."

Percy was quiet for a moment before replying. "I'd like that."

Triton once again turned to leave, pausing at the door when he heard Percy call out again, "Goodnight, Triton." The god turned to face the blanket-wrapped teen with an emotion-filled smile on his face.

"Goodnight…Percy."

It was two days later and Percy was doing much better.

Or so it seemed.

For the most part, the royals gave him his space. If he wanted company, they were more than happy to provide it; assuming they were not attending to their duties. If he wanted to be left alone, they allowed him to be.

This might not have been the best decision. It was after supper on the evening of the second day when Percy felt the familiar tickling of 'shit is about to go down' creeping up the back of his neck and it was after breakfast on the third day when he had asked to be left on his own for a while.

He had just finished re-organizing his dresser and bookshelf when he took a step back to survey the rest of his room.

The room itself was predominately a pearlescent white, accented with intricate mosaic patterns and walkways. While the floors were mostly smooth, the mosaics, as well as several gorgeous shells that were also embedded into them, added some texture.

The walls extended upwards into a high vaulted ceiling making the already exuberant room look so much larger. The walls as well were adorned with mosaics and shells, but rather than the delicate twisting designs of the floors, they had patterns that were more reminiscent of murals.

It was really a gorgeous room, and was massive, because of this, to be honest, he wasn't too familiar with most of it. He knew the things that he had chosen that day, he knew he had a desk that was made of that super sick black stone, and he knew what was inside the medical table, but he doubted that was really a normal fixture.

On a mission, he walked to the desk at the other end of his room and opened the top drawer. Inside there were several thin, long white rods and a few glass jars. He shrugged and closed it before opening the next one to find several small squares of what seemed to be the same paper that his book was made out of. He had thought that the pages were thicker because it was a fancy royal bookshop or something, but now he was wondering if it was because that's just what the paper here looks like.

Staring across the room, he once again wished that the bookshelf was in its more logical position, next to the desk; but he didn't dare to try to move it on his own.

Behind his bed, there was a small hallway that he didn't really notice before. Okay, well he knew it was there, he just didn't bother checking it out; sure that it was just like another closet or something.

To his surprise, it revealed a small room with two doors. He opened the one on the right to find a small reading room lit by a calm, soft light. Looking around the room he noticed an empty spot that looked like it would fit an armchair perfectly. It took him a second before he realized that this is where the green chair in the other room came from. He had just assumed that one of the gods just like, made it appear or something.

It took him another second before the vast expanse of bookshelves and books that filled the room registered in his mind. Why would Triton let him get a bookshelf and more books if he already had a whole room for it? 'Urgh, gods' he lamented, literally in this case.

Exiting the small study of sorts the entered into the door directly in front of him only to almost immediately be met with a wall. He blinked at it and turned to his right where he saw a new hallway extending. He followed it in curiosity finding a door at the end on the same wall as the door he had come from. Did that mean that it wrapped around the small room between the doors?

He shrugged and opened the door to find a lavish…restroom? Percy had not really thought about it, but he had not gone to the restroom the entire time that he was there. Most of the population were merpeople or otherwise had a tail, and he wasn't sure how they, like, went to the washroom. Maybe the food here was made to be absorbed differently or something? Maybe he would ask about that at some point.

The maybe restroom had a circular tub inlaid in the centre of the white, pearlescent room. Around the tub was a gorgeous mosaic design that lead into the pattern on the surrounding floor. It almost looked like a floral design, but not a flower that Percy was familiar with. On the left side of the room, there was a smaller wash basin with a large shell-shaped mirror in front of it.

Turning to leave and head back to the main room, Percy was suddenly hit with a wave of weakness. Taking a step forward, he swayed on his feet, catching himself on the door frame. He was determined to not only make it back to the main room but fight through the sudden spur of weakness and vertigo.

He made it down the hallway and back into the connecting room before he had to let go of the wall to make it to the door to the bedroom. He made it forward about five steps before he fell to his knees.

He did not want to tear his wound open again, so with caution and the tactics that he employed the last time, he used his control of water to guide him into his bed. It was mere moments before he passed out and about five hours before anyone came looking for him. By then he had awoken, put a mask of peace and happiness in place, and greeted his father with ease.

"How was your day, my son?" Poseidon asked from where he was perched on the edge of the bed. Percy in response looked up from the book that he had in his lap. "Mmm, pretty good. I looked around here a little more, it's really nice, I don't think that I actually thanked you for that, so thanks," The god smiled and gave a nod for him to continue, "I had a little bit of a nap at one point, uh, woke up and read a bit. Not too much really, kind of a chill day to be honest."

"Well, I am glad that you were able to have a somewhat 'chill' day considering the stress that you have been under." The god looked towards the bedroom door, "It gives me great joy not only to see you here but to see you forging relationships with your brother and stepmother. I am very happy that you have been able to do so, even if under such circumstances."

Percy smiled, "I am too, it's for sure a bit of a weird time, it's been a very new experience overall, but it's been as great so far," he paused for a moment before rectifying, "Okay, well as great as it can be despite really almost dying and stuff."

Poseidon let out a chuckle laced with an underlying nervousness before continuing in a light, but serious tone, "Well, if there is anything that we can do here to make anything better, do not hesitate to speak your mind about it."

The demigod nodded," I know, and thank you again." They sat in silence for a moment before Poseidon cleared his throat, "Are you hungry at all? We had not realized the time before and ran a bit late. Would you care to join us for a late lunch?"

"Yeah, I'd love to," Percy replied, quickly but carefully getting up from his bed in a way that he hoped said 'I'm being careful, but also I'm totally fine.' It seemed to work well enough and his father did not seem to think anything of it, though Percy was never sure that he could tell what his father was thinking, like, at all.

He could be entirely straight-faced, serious tone and be messing with you, or he could seem like he was joking around and be deadly serious. It was so confusing and annoying at times. Nico told him that he had no place to talk because apparently, he was exactly the same. Percy wasn't so sure about that, but Nico had seemed convinced.

Poseidon guided him out of the bedroom with one strong hand on his back and the father and son made their way to the dining hall where Amphitrite and Triton were already waiting, speaking rapidly in hushed tones. Upon noticing the two of them enter, they immedietly stopped talking. Real subtle.

Shrugging it off as normal for his overprotective family, he took his normal seat across from Triton. He and his father added their plates and the others turned to look at him. "How was your day Perseus, how are you feeling today?" His Stepmother inquired, watching his face carefully.

Percy kept his eyes on how plate, and begin to cut up his food, "It was relatively relaxing I guess, I organized some things, mmm I read some more, had a nap at one point." He paused to raise his fork, hovering in front of his mouth, "I like having time to myself but I'm just trying to come up with some new things to do while I'm here."

He put a bite of a pale and flakey fish into his mouth prepared to savour the taste of it. However, the opposite happened and he had to force himself not to react. The fish still tasted great, but all of a sudden the very idea of eating anything made him feel violently ill.

"Well if you would like, I am sure that we could organize something for you to do. I believe Triton had offered to do some sparring practice with you," He forced himself to chew and swallow what was in his mouth allowing him to respond, "That would be pretty cool, I'd really like them actually. I love being able to have space and I really don't want to impose," Amphitrite gave him an exasperated look, "But I hate being like, not locked up but locked up. I know that I am supposed to be taking it easy, but it's just hard to be, I don't know, like stagnant I guess." The three gave him a sympathetic look but didn't push.

For the rest of the meal, they had elected to make small talk while Percy was struggling to get anything down. His was dry and sour and more than once, his throat tightened and he had to suppress a gag.

He managed to get halfway through his fish before he bit the bullet. It was better for them to have a general idea that he was tired or not feeling well than for them to see him vomit. "I'm sorry, I'm really just out of it. I'm not very hungry, could I please be excused?"

The three pairs of eyes on him held masked surprise, "Of course, sweetheart, do you need any help returning to your room?" Amphitrite asked him, concern evident in her voice.

Percy rose from his chair and shook his head, "I'm alright, but thanks." He turned and made his way out of the dining hall and back to his room.

"What do you think?" Poseidon asked aloud once he was sure that Percy was out of earshot. Triton sighed, looking at his father almost mournfully "I think that he is never going to let us in, not all the way at least, and because of that he will tear himself apart."

Poseidon shook his head. "I will not let it come to that. I will not. If he continues to deny help, to insist on doing things alone, on hiding his struggles and pain, I will step in and no one will stop me." He seethed, power rising "Not my brothers, not his mother, not any of his little friends and certainly not him."

"If it comes to the point where he is vehemently and undeniably destroying himself with such negligence and disregard that he reaches a state of total self-immolation in favour of his insane commitment to 'not bothering' those whom he is not even bothering with something that he could never be bothering us with, I will not hesitate to do what is necessary." The gods swirling emotions were palpable as his wife took his hands, rubbing the tops with her thumbs in comfort. He looked at her with desperation. "He has denied it in the past, but this time will not be an offer. I refuse to lose him as it is, I will certainly not lose him to himself because he has convinced himself that he is not deserving of assistance. I will not be able to bear it."

"I know, my love. I know."

The rest of the week passed by and every day Percy found himself with less and less of an appetite. Due to this, much to everyone's concern, he was eating less and less and started taking to picking at his food and pushing it around on his plate without so much as having a bite.

Even more, he seemed genuinely surprised when Triton had addressed it. Did he not think that they noticed? He was not exactly being subtle. It came to little surprise when they decided that Percy would be starting a new type of medication.

Or at least they thought it would be. For some reason, Percy seemed truly convinced that he was doing better, despite not being able to eat without either his brother practically forcing it down his throat or his stepmother convincing him. The latter seemed less effective lately, but not because of a lack of care towards Amphitrite, as of the last five days he had been having an increasingly hard time understanding people and what was happening around him.

That was another concern of theirs that Percy insisted was nothing. Honestly, their list of concerns was getting increasingly and frighteningly long.

It seemed like he was never without a headache, and was constantly dizzy. That combined with his physical weakness attributed to him not being able to walk very far, if at all. All of this lead the royals to have Percy contained to his bed, something that he absolutely hated.

They started the new medication as soon as they could and were slowly but surely starting to see improvements. The issue was, that the more improvements they saw, the more that he tried to get out of bed. After a week of him being mentally cognizant again and lots of convincing, they allowed him to have some space to himself.

This ended up being a terrible idea because every time he was left alone, he managed to find some way to 'escape' and had to be dragged back.

They ended up deciding that they would give him his morning meds, take him to his meals, allowing for alone time in between, give him his night meds and send him to sleep. At least they would be able to still keep an eye on him, he would not fight them as much and they could be sure that he was at least eating something because Triton was convinced that when they left the food in his room to be enjoyed at his own leisure, he was not eating.

While he was considerably more cognisant, there was something in his eyes that was not quite right and the royals did not know what it was. It was almost some sort of lingering confusion, but not. They had tossed around the idea of some sort of delirium and was trapped in a delusion of sorts.

They had even discussed the possibility of it being caused by something greater, and this struck Triton with something that he had forgotten; the extreme state of panic that Percy had gone into when trying to remember what happened to him "With everything that has been happening I had forgotten, I had not even thought it relevant and was simply part of him waking up out of the state that he was in, but now I am not too sure."

The king and queen took in the information solemnly and they added it to the list.

Another week passed and Percy stopped trying to 'escape'. A few days after that he seemed considerably better. His headaches had ceased, he was no longer dizzy, he had no weakness and most importantly, the panicked and confused look that was hidden in his eyes had vanished.

It was due to this that when Percy approached Triton the next day that he caved so easily.

"I'm literally fine I promise!" Percy said practically bouncing up and down to which Triton watched with wide eyes. "You say that Percy, but less than a week ago you were bedridden. Forgive me if I don't believe that you are entirely alright."

"Okay you shouldn't have offered if you didnt mean it, c'mon man" the demigod all but pouted. The god, in reply, made an exasperated sound. "I do not want you training when you are in such a delicate balance of being alright. It is not safe for us to spar at the moment, but in time I promise you that we will."

Percy looked at him sadly, "Please, just for like an hour or something, I'll tell you if I feel bad right away and I won't overdo it, I promise."

Triton sighed angrily. "Fine, one hour, but don't blame me if you cannot get out of bed tomorrow." Percy's face split in a grin and he shot to give Triton a hug. "Little brat." He said in an incredibly amused voice, ruffling Percy's hair.

After generally sparring to gauge where he was at, Triton had decided that while Percy was quite good at fighting, he did not know very much about fighting underwater

To remedy this, Triton had been showing him how to dodge an attacker who had a longer-reach weapon.

He had been having Percy use very specific timing and posture to trick the opponent into thinking that one would not be dodging, and instead of retaliating, before using the currents to suddenly move out of the way and hit the attacker in a now unguarded spot that was left open while attacking.

They had been doing this for about twenty minutes when Triton took a strike at him as he had the dozens of times leading up to this, the last thing that he expected was for Percy to freeze in place, eyes shining like glass.

Triton's own eyes widened in shock and with a last-minute maneuver he managed to flip his trident and rather than reopening Percy's wound the hard way, he just jousted him in the stomach with the blunt end. With a grunt, Percy fell backwards and onto his butt.

Triton threw his trident to the ground in fear and sank down next to it, shaking. After taking an equally shaky breath to steady himself, he turned his gaze to Percy only to find him blinking in confusion. Rising rapidly from the sandy ground, he darted over to the demigod, pulling him into his arms with incredible strength and desperation.

The god couldn't push past the scene that flashed in his mind, overlaying this one. He had been terrified, but it was okay, he was okay. He still hadn't said anything though, which was probably not a good sign.

Pushing Percy back out to arm's length he scanned his features, still looking very out of it but not the worst that Triton had seen him, moving on from there, he lifted the hem of his shirt to see any damage that he had done.

He drew in a breath at the very large very dark bruise at was seated in the centre of his torso. Before running a hand along the covered wound. With trepidation, he pulled back the dressing to find that it was still unhealed. That could not be good and he was sure that a blow to the same location did not help. He would have to see a healer right away. Triton would not be able to forgive himself if he caused the wound to devolve like it had before. Lowering his shirt, he was about to lift the boy to take him to the infirmary when his voice broke through the gods racing thoughts

"Triton?"

The god's eyes snapped to meet a matching pair. "What happened?" asked a timid voice. "I - I don't know. We had been training and you just froze, you had not moved and I had not been able to stop fully."

Percy's eyebrows knit in confusion. That didn't make sense, or of course, he moved, why wouldn't he. He remembered moving, didn't he? He must have

At a lack of response, and the unfocused glassy look returning to Percy's eyes, Triton's concern only grew. Shit, shit shit.

What had he done? This was all his fault, he should have had more control over himself and his weapon, he should have said no in the first place and had more control over himself. He shouldn't have let this happen. He was fine before this, good even.

What if he had made it worse, he was already having some sort of cognition issues, this couldn't have helped. Yes, it had been better but what if he had ruined any progress that he had made. Triton sighed and looked at the boy sadly, lifting him into his arms and taking off at once. By the time that they had gotten to the castle, Percy had fallen unconscious.

When Percy had awoken it was as if nothing had happened. The bruise had almost faded, and he seemed as mentally there as he had been before the incident. "I am fine guys, no, I don't know what happened but I feel perfectly okay, seriously."

Amphitrite's lips drew into a line, that was the issue. For the life of them, they could not figure out what happened, either. The new meds were supposed to help with cognition and they had been so there was no reason for him to have suddenly lost it again.

The medication that they had did not have the issues that human medication had like adjustment periods or withdrawals, and according to Triton he was taking all his other medication too, so really there was no and could be no explanation for this.

Currently, Amphitrite and Triton sat in Triton's chambers. His mother had her arms wrapped comfortingly around him and he had a look of regret, guilt and lingering fear on his face. "With the new medication, he has seemed to improve a good degree which is why I cannot comprehend why he suddenly just froze there like that."

His mother brushed some loose hair behind his ear. "Maybe today was just a bad day, he is alright Triton, he is all but unharmed and your quick thinking saved him from much more."

The prince shook his head, "This was my fault though, I keep doing too much too soon and putting him in harm's way. If I had not allowed him to convince me to spar with him we would not have this issue. If I were better at gauging his wellness, then he might not have gotten hurt at all. This was all my fault. If I had been mere moments slower, I could have, he could have…" He trailed off with desperation etched on his face.

"Oh no sweetheart, no, don't say that." His mother cooed, "Do not blame yourself for this, imagine how he would feel if he heard you saying that. He does not blame you and he does not blame himself either, he is just confused about what happened. Lets just keep an eye on him and see how things go, alright?" At Triton's nodded response she gave him a kiss on the temple and rose from the couch where they sat.

"Come now," She said offering him a hand, "I'm sure that he is getting very impatient sitting in the infirmary, let's bring him back to his rooms at the very least, yes?" Rising to take her hand he nodded again, concerning his mother greatly with the devastated look on his face.

For the first four days after the incident, his family did not leave him alone for more than ten minutes, this made it almost impossible for Percy to remove the meds from his stomach, and honestly, he did not have that much of a motivation to anymore.

He felt pretty good and he felt okay with feeling pretty good. It was because of this that the next day he committed to taking all of his meds and not removing them.

A week later, he was feeling leagues better, despite the fact that the wound did not seem to want to heal right. It was certainly healing faster than before, but considering the fact that it had been around two months and he was in the heart of his father's domain, it should have been much more healed at this point.

The only real issue anymore from Percy's point of view was the fact that his family was insisting on helicoptering, even despite his progress. Yes, they left him alone for a little bit of each day in theory but that didn't mean that they were not popping in every hour minimum to check in on him because they were 'in this part of the castle' and 'figured they might as well pop in, just in case'. It was insufferable.

On the positive side of things, he was physically more able so he was in a lot better of a position to take a little break from the walls of his room when his family did not happen to be around. Unfortunately, their regular check-ins meant that they were typically quick to figure out that he left leading them to forcibly drag him back.

"You need to rest." Poseidon scolded, trying for a mask of anger but failing as his worry rang through in his voice. He had just brought Percy back to his room for the third time that day and it was just past lunch.

"I get that, dad. I get it. I know that I have to take things easy but I can do that and not be locked up like an animal. It's unbearable. Yes, the room is literally massive, but even still, it's just a bigger cage." Poseidon looked sadly at his son one hand coming to his shoulder, pulling him against himself in a half hug which he did not return.

"I know, but this is what is best for now, and the sooner you recover, the sooner you can get back out there and do what it is that you please." The god brought his other hand to his son's hair, combing his hand through it. "Please, Percy, just a little longer at least."

The demigod let himself relax into his father's hold and wrapped his arms around him. "I'll try." Poseidon smiled, placing a kiss on the crown on his head, "That's all that I ask."

They stay like that for a while longer, Poseidon tightening his hold on him. The soft beat of the boy's heart and the in and out of his breathing reassuring him that his son truly is there and is okay and is alive.

It was some time later when Triton and Amphitrite came into the room looking for them and Poseidon realized that Percy had fallen asleep. He gently picked up the child and laid him on his bed. "He's having a hard time being solely in his room, and I cannot say that I blame him."

Amphitrite frowned. "I know, but what else are we to do?"

Triton swam over to Percy's bedside and gently perched on the edge. "I don't know. Really. The last two times that we have, that I have, attempted to do something with him, it ended disastrously and in him being bedridden." He sighed, tucking a stray hair behind his brother's ear, "I can fully understand how he feels, but what can we possibly do if every time we try anything else, he gets hurt?"

Amphitrite made a contemplative sound. "How about I take him out and around for a daily swim. Just outdoors in the reef, inside the gates still, not too far. It would not be strenuous, and we could start small and slowly do more and more and see what his limits are."

Triton stayed silent for a moment before nodding "I think that would be perfect." he decided, earning a sound of agreement from his father.

"Either or both of you are of course welcome to join us." Amphitrite suggested to him with a small smile. "He truly enjoys your presence, Triton."

But the prince just shook his head. "I cannot allow him to get hurt because of my negligence again. I would be too afraid that I would fail to notice something and it would end in him being injured once again."

"You scold him for being to hard on himself and blaming himself for things that he could not control or know of, and then you go and do just the same thing." His mother began, "If he were saying such things, how would you feel?"

Triton sighed, "I would be quite frustrated." he agreed before rising and placing a kiss on Percy's temple. "Should you begin to go out for daily swims, do let me know. I as well enjoy his presence."

The royals gave the boy one last appraising look before quietly leaving the room, returning at supper to greet a well-rested and energetic demigod who devoured his first, second and third plate with ease.

It was a difficult time, but it seemed as though things were headed in the right direction.

After a week of daily swims and regular meals, Percy was doing much better. So much better that he had even been allowed to go on them on his own!

It had been a week and a half since he had started taking his meds again. He was feeling vastly better from a cognition standpoint and because of this he actually felt like he might be able to make real progress here. Not only on his physical recovery but on his mental one as well.

That's why when he woke up one day feeling like absolute shit, he was so thrown off.

This wasn't fair, he had been taking his meds, all of them! So what if he wasn't taking them for the better part of like, two months? He was taking them now!

He was even eating like normal, and that was something that he hadn't done since Tartarus.

He dragged himself out of bed and grabbed the softest outfit he could find in his dresser, a sleeveless pale green top that ended with a normal hem in the front, but just below his knees in the back. A vertical slit in the longer portion to allow for movement.

He tugged on the matching pants that ended halfway down his shins and made his way to the dining hall on his own.

Triton was already there when he arrived "Morning," Percy greeted, his voice coming out closer to a growl than the cheery tone that he had been intending.

Triton looked at him with a raised eyebrow "You sound like garbage" Percy shrugged, but offered no comment leaving his brother to sigh deeply.

"You look terrible too, did you even rest last night?" Percy sat next to Triton as he had been recently when the king and queen were not present. He ignored the comment and instead shot his brother a glare.

Triton looked at his brother with growing concern. He had been doing so well lately, what had changed? He was trying to tease the demigod as they typically did with one another, Percy didnt even seem to notice, instead of reacting as if his comments were genuine. The god sighed, so much for trying to be subtle. "Pers- Percy, are you feeling alright today?"

The demigod did not reply for a moment before letting out a breath. "I'm fine, yeah. Just a little tired, but I've had plenty worse." He couldn't let on to the fact that he had not felt this bad in a while.

While he was doing better at accepting help and that kind of thing, he was certainly far from perfect at it and still really struggled with even being able to let on to the fact that he was not absolutely perfect. Not only that but, he was just allowed the privilege of being able to go out and around on his own and he could not lose that and be locked in his room again. He just couldn't.

Triton made a sound of acknowledgement, but not belief, and the two ate their breakfast in silence. Or well, Triton did because five minutes later, Percy fell asleep in his chair. The god let out a sound of confusion and slight worry before nudging him. "Wh- What? I'm awake I'm fine!" Triton rolled his eyes but said nothing

Percy looked back at his food and picked up his glass to take a drink, however, his arm was shaking so badly that he began to spill. Immediately putting it down he lifted his spoon from the bowl he had been eating from, but much to the same effect, nothing would stay in it.

Triton narrowed his eyes and scanned the demigod, noticing not only deep, dark bags under his eyes that were not there yesterday, but that his lips were tinged blue, Triton immediately put down his own food.

"Let me take you back to your room." He said, concern evident in his voice. But Percy just shook his head "No I'm fine, I promise" Triton groaned and rose from his chair, placing his napkin down in his spot. "No, you are not." Percy looked up at him defiantly "Yes I am I'm fine!"

Triton walked to his other side with a growl and took him by the arm, a firm grip on his arm. "Come, we are going." He ignored Percy's shouts of protest and all but dragged him back to his room, tossing him in and closing the door behind himself once they arrived.

"What the fuck man? Have I not been fully fine for a while now? Just because I'm tired and shaky doesn't mean that I'm like dying or something." Percy stomped across his room in a half attempt to escape his brother who followed him closely. "I promise you I am fine I am fully and completely - I'm gonna throw up!"

Triton's eyes widened in surprise and Percy quickly rushed to the garbage can near the medical table. Triton was right behind him as he leaned over the can. He kneeled next to the demigod and put a tentative hand on his back leading to Percy turning to face him and Triton flinching back slightly with a slight gasp, "Please don't puke on me." He whined and Percy half laughed, "I make absolutely no promises."

For a moment everything seemed okay, but then Percy started to retch. His body shuddered and jolted as little to nothing came up into the can. The very sounds alone stopped Triton dead in place. He was very much not used to humans, what was he supposed to do?

He settled for rubbing circles on his back and whispering encouragement in a gentle tone. Apparently, it was the right thing to do because when the gagging, Percy gave him a whispered thanks.

Triton let out a breath of relief, happy that it was over when Percy wretched again, convulsing over the can. Triton not having had expected this was frozen where he sat. Suddenly there was a splash as the can was filled slightly more, though it still was not very much.

He continued to wretch with no success and the shuddering pace of his body trying to force something out that wasn't truly there unbalanced his breathing leading to the only sounds to be heard being laboured, stuttering breaths occasionally interrupted by heaving gags and the odd splash.

He had already been weak and tired that morning, and this was not helping. It was an extremely taxing ordeal for his body to strain to the degree that it was only to bring nothing up, and Percy was paying for it. So when he was able to stop for a moment, and shakily look up at Triton with glazed eyes and halting breaths and he saw the horror on his brother's face, he couldn't stop himself from breaking down. Burying his face in his brother's shoulder, wrapping his arms tightly around him. Triton went rigid for a moment before lightly wrapping his own arms around the shuddering boy.

Percy began to quietly sob and Triton held him tighter. 'What the fuck is going on? What is wrong with him?' Triton thought to himself. While Percy was working at being more open with his emotions and asking for help, he was certainly never like this, he had only seen the boy in this kind of delirium when he first woke up, and even then, he had just woken up from a coma and was out of it.

Causing Triton great worry the boy occasionally lurched in his hold, but made no attempt to leave, in return, Triton made no attempt to let him go. He thought human illnesses were disgusting and that vomit was the most putrid of all, but right now, he did not care if he happened to get it on him, Percy was more important.

Triton rubbed his back, hushing him as his mother had always done for him. Slowly, Percy began to calm down and he looked up at him. "T-Thank you, 'm sorry." Triton just shook his head sadly, "Do not apologize, please, I assure you that it is alright."

Percy made a sound of protest, blinking at Triton, eyes still glassy "Don' think so." There was a pause where there was nothing and then Percy took in a sharp breath, eyes snapping to focus. He realized his predicament and pushed himself out of Triton's arms with a shout, "What the fuck man? Why were you holding me like a baby?" he continued in an equally loud tone. He took several steps backward, "How many times have I got to tell you that I'm perfectly fine?"

Triton's eyebrows furrowed in utter confusion as he watched him, did he not remember what had just happened or was he pretending out of embarrassment or the like? Percy turned and stalked towards the double doors at the back of his room, unsteady on his feet.

Triton had managed to calm him down before but he was clearly still sick, he was white as a sheet and was covered in a gleam of sweat. He made his way fairly quickly, covering the decent amount of distance between the medical table next to the bade and the back of the room just as he began to physically sway on his feet.

Seeing this, Triton immediately swam over to him with unbelievable speed, before managing to catch Percy mid-fall, just before he hit the ground. He lowered him gently to the floor. The gravity underwater was far less harsh than on the surface, but that hadn't seemed to matter to the boy who had dropped like a stone.

The boy had gotten impossibly paler and was somehow both burning hot and freezing cold. "Please please please tell me that you're not dead," he said tapping on Percy's face rapidly trying to get his brother to open his eyes.

He let out a sigh of relief when Percy opened his eyes a moment later, all traces of anger gone. "Are you okay?" Triton asked eyes glued to Percy's own.

Percy who had been about to respond thought better of it the second that he tasted blood on his tongue. Shit. He fell it seemed like, and not for the first time, he knew what could happen when he falls and he knew just what that felt like. If his wound had torn back open, the last thing that he needed was for Triton to see his mouth full of blood too. He had to get away where Triton couldn't see him. He did not need him to worry.

Triton, nervous about not receiving a reply prodded again, with a different approach, "Since when do you shut up"Percy just glared and stood back up on his own. 'Oh gods, he doesn't want to joke around he must really be hurt.' Triton thought to himself only to lurch forward a moment later to catch Percy who immediately fell upon standing up.

Percy pushed him off and supported himself on the wall, only to slowly slide down it and collapse into a heap at the bottom. Realizing his mistake in aggravating it so much, Percy pressed his hand over the wound only for the blood to pool through his finger and begin to seep through his shirt.

Triton's eyes widened in shock. He immediately approached Percy and moved to cease the flow, but stopped in his tracks briefly remembering what happened last time that he tried to cease the flow from the wound. Triton snapped back to the moment and shook himself, no this truly was blood, not that twisted black venom.

He pressed his hands to the wound as well and in no time both his and Percy'shands are covered in blood. Triton took a shuddering breath, attempting to calm himself before snapping. "You told me that you were okay, you promised!"

Percy blinked at him weakly, making Triton feel a bit guilty for snapping, however, it was short-lived once he had heard his slurred-out response, "I 'm now, 'm getting better, maybe it's 'cause I wasn' taking the pain meds for a while."

If it was even possible, Triton's ichor ran cold, "What do you mean that you haven't been taking your medication?" Percy made a high-pitched whining noise in response, "No, no, no you don' get it, I 've been now, jus' not before." Triton let out the most exasperated sound he had recalled making "Yes because that makes all the difference."

He sighed, frustration entering his voice "Perseus they're not just for pain, they all have a different purpose and if you somehow haven't been taking them, then that would explain all of the issues that you have been having."

Percy just waved a hand dismissively, "It's fine," he said half delirious from pain, "This time isn't even that bad." Triton swallowed thickly, "This time?! -How long have you been hiding this - how long has this been like this?!"

Percy shrugged in response waving his hand in the same dismissive motion as if that would be the thing to get Triton to leave him alone. "Ehhhhh…"

"Percy, this is serious, cut the crap and focus," Triton grabbed his chin and turned his face to face his own before continuing in a voice deathly serious voice, coated in desperation."You've been trying to deal with this yourself, you idiot! Why did you lie to me? We could have prevented this!" Triton scoffed, letting go of his chin roughly, dropping it back to Percy's chest "Oh, I know this is about the ridiculous notion that somehow convinced yourself that you could possibly be a burden, even though time and time again we all have done everything that we can to assure you of the opposite."

Triton shook his head in disbelief, "If you didnt want to be a burden you should have gotten it treated right away, or maybe taken your medication."

Percy's voice was minuscule as he spoke, "I just didnt think it was that bad anymore." At hearing this, Triton exploded outwards, power flowing through the room. "You didnt think it was-? Are you looking at it?"

Percy pushed Triton's hand's off of his chest "Tri'n 'm fine!" The god stuck his hands into his hair, holding his head in disbelief "You are not fine you fool!" He took a deep breath, taking into account the fact that Percy was slurring his words a little too much, barely able to respond. He had let this go on too long and needed to get Percy medical help. The demigod's next 'retort' proved his point a little too well."'the crew you, 'm f'ne, pr'mse, don' hav' t'worry"

The god let out a breath, calming himself, he reached over to pick Percy up, "Okay I think it's time for bed." Immediately snapping back to attention, Percy pushed him away. "I . . ." He insisted, childishly.

Triton growled, "Then stop acting like it" He sat back on his tail, letting Percy push him away and further press himself into the wall to 'escape'. "It's okay to be hurt, you don't have to be strong all the time"

"Yes, I do!" Percy shouted explosively, but Triton just shook his head sadly and moved to pick him up again, "Not if I have anything to say about it." Percy stayed silent this time and allowed Triton to pick him up "You're impossible" he eventually whispered.

Triton looked down at him sadly, "Why can't you just stop for once in your life?" Percy half shrugged from his cradled position, "I've never been able to, I've never once had the opportunity." Triton filled with sadness at his confession, he had known that his demigod life had been tiresome, but what had he not been able to before he had started questing? "Regardless as to the past, you do now, here, with us. That's a promise."

Percy didn't speak but allowed Triton to tuck him into bed. "Will you stay with me tonight?

"Of course"

Sooooo, what did you think? I cannot say that I can guarantee this length all the time but I hope that this was a nice surprise. I got to the length that Grammarly got mad at me for it being too long.

This is literally 2000 words less than the ENTIRE rest of the fic. I have no idea how this happened.