Blank.

Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened.

~Anonymous

Percy had a migraine. The fish would not stop talking, and to make matters worse, the bait Poseidon was using seemed to be attracting just about every mythical sea-monster in existence. Fortunately, he had the sense to let the prize go before he could reel it in, and leave Percy with the difficult task of explaining to his son, Luke, why they were about to barbeque a two-hundred foot long sea serpent. It might have been easier that way, in truth. He was supposed to be telling Luke that he was his father, but that had proven to be a lot more difficult than Percy had anticipated.

In fact, all that he had achieved was a headache, and a bruised chest from Piper's constant elbowing. She was supposed to be there to provide moral support, but apparently that involved a lot of pain. And Poseidon...well… Percy didn't remember inviting him. He just happened to be walking along the same beach they were.

'Notice me, Lord!'
'No, notice me, great one!'
'Notice me!'
'Have my babies!'

Piper elbowed him again, hard, right in the bicep, and Percy stood up immediately after quite abruptly, the voices in his head growing way too loud for him to think. "Right!" he growled out at the ocean...before realising how crazy he looked. Indeed, Luke was staring up at him as if he had just grown a second head, whilst Poseidon was smirking quite knowingly, trying to contain his laughter.

"Who wants an ice-cream? Come on, Piper, we're getting ice-cream," he then announced, trying to appear at least semi-normal as he grabbed her arm and tugged her up to her feet, ready or not, and led her away towards the beach-cabins.

"You have to tell him, Percy," she said seriously once they had ducked inside.

Percy let go of her and rubbed his face. "I can't!" he replied, exasperated.

"All you have to do is take him to one said and ask him what he knows about Greek mythology. The rest will take care of itself," she said matter-of-factly, as if it were the most simple thing in the world.

"It's not about that, Piper. I can tell him; I am physically capable of forming a sentence. I just… I'm not sure this is the right decision."

Piper regarded him closely for a few seconds. "Percy, don't you think he has the right to know who his parents really are? Didn't you really want to know who your dad was when you were younger?" she then said quietly.

"But at what cost? Piper, he has parents who love him. He's almost fifteen. He's living his life."

"Only two years older than you when you found out," Piper pointed out.

"I just don't see what purpose this serves. He's smart, has great grades, and is never in trouble at school. Monsters aren't drawn to him, clearly; we don't even know if he can see through the mist. Telling him now could ruin his life," he argued.

"That will be down to him, Percy, but at least you will have done the right thing. He's a smart kid, like you said. Do you honestly think he hasn't questioned his parentage? If he hasn't already, he will soon. It doesn't take Athena to work out that two blue-eyed, brown haired adults does not result in blonde-hair and deep, green eyes."

Percy groaned into the palms of his hands, knowing she was right.

"I get that you're scared, Percy. That's perfectly normal. I definitely wouldn't want to have the burden that's on your shoulders, but…you have to do this," she spoke quietly, voice laced with the charm that calmed him so expertly. She was right, though. He was scared. His rationalisations were merely attempts at hiding it.

"I know I do… But I can't help but feel like this should be a shared responsibility. If I tell him about...his father...what do I tell him about his mother? Do I tell the full truth? A half-lie?" he asked, eyes pleading for an answer. Piper didn't have one.

"I...don't know, Perce. He deserves to know who both of you are, but… I don't think it's fair to throw Annabeth under the bus, either. I can't begin to imagine how hard it must have been for her…" she said, abating Percy's resentment a little, but doing nothing for his predicament.

He sighed, leaning up against the wooden wall, rubbing his temples.

"What if...I were to tell him the name of his mother. Encourage him to find out who he is on his own, if he so wishes. If he doesn't want to know, then there's no problem. If he does, then...at least it will be his own journey of discovery," the god reasoned, looking at Piper with a hopeful twinkle.

"What about Annabeth and her family?" was Piper's simple reply.

Percy cringed, more so at the mention of her 'family' than anything else.

"I think...she'd appreciate and understand his pursuit of knowledge," he replied, though he wasn't sure he believed it himself. After all, if Annabeth wanted to be a part of Luke's life, she would never have given him away.

It was Piper's turn to sigh. "I think you're trying to weedle out of this, Perce. All you've proven is that there is no easy, correct decision here, but you're gonna have to make one. Preferably in the next thirty minutes, before Sally and Paul come to pick him up," she said, handing him his ultimatum, as much as she disliked seeing the pain and panic on his face.

Silently, the daughter of Aphrodite walked to the mini-fridge, and pulled out three frozen ice-cream cones, before walking to the door, pausing to gaze sympathetically at the conflicted god. "You need to really think about what's best for Luke, Percy...even if it's at the expense of your own sensibilities. But...just know that whatever you decide, I'm with you all the way, okay?" she said, causing Percy to look up at her.

There were simply no words to describe how much he appreciated her, and she was right. It was a decision only he could make.

"Thanks, Piper… I'll join you in a sec," he replied, giving her a small smile and a slight nod as she wordlessly left him alone to brood things over.

Percy slumped to the floor, exhaling loudly. Poseidon's prophetic words rang around his head, but he refused to believe that they referred to his present dilemma. He didn't have one choice; he had hundreds, each with its own repercussions.

That pang of resentment returned, but Percy knew it would be unfair to judge Annabeth too harshly. Still, he couldn't help but think that were he in her shoes, he would have done everything in his power to raise Luke as his own.

But he wasn't in her shoes, and Percy brushed those thoughts aside, else they would lead to deeper, darker unwanted feelings.

With a hum, he closed his eyes, reaching out to soothing tidal motions of the sea. They always brought on a wave of emotion; the hope and opportunity of a rising tide, versus the sense of loss and humility of a lowering tide. He was certainly feeling that sense of loss, but Piper's words about Luke rung true. He was mature, and Percy prayed he would take the news on the chin, without making it too difficult for the young god.

Those deep, sea-green eyes opened, and Percy left the cabin, totally unsure of what he was going to say, but determined to say it anyway. The only that was certain was his promise never to be in the same situation ever again, which would be fairly easy, as far as Percy was concerned.

"Luke?"

The young man turned his way, fixing Percy with a steely gaze and those identical, sea-green eyes.

"Wanna go for a walk?" Percy asked, unperturbed.

For a split second, Luke regarded him closely, and Percy got the feeling that he was weighing up the pros and cons, as he probably did with every choice sent his way. Like Annabeth would.

With a shrug, he nodded, likely sensing that there was a point to their impromptu walk. For a brief moment, Piper's eyes locked with Percy's, and he felt a wordless conveyance of support through those vibrant, kaleidoscopic orbs that eased his burden a tad.

With a fleeting smile, he followed his blonde-haired son up the sandy beach, ending up on the dry, arid dunes, looking outwards into Long Island Sound.

He took a second to observe the fifteen year old, but to his shame, he struggled to feel anything other than a sense of duty and purpose. The reality that they were of the same flesh and blood had not struck him, and conversely, he felt bad at his lack of empathy. Perhaps it would change in time, and Percy was willing to try; it was just all too soon still, as far as he was concerned, but at least he would be able to get on with forging a new life once it was all over.

"So, Luke…" he said, breaking the silence, breathing in deeply. "What do you know about Greek mythology?"

The aforementioned gave him a frown.

"Why?" he replied, perhaps expecting a more groundbreaking topic of conversation.

Percy blinked. Because the Greek gods are real and I'm your dad, he was almost tempted to say, just to get it over with. Sadly, that wasn't really an option, and a more tactful approach was needed.

"Do you know what a demi-god is?" the immortal continued, ignoring Luke's reply.

"Why?" he, again, replied, on guard.

Once more, Percy blinked, though internally, he was impaling himself on Riptide, over and over. It then abruptly struck him that as a twelve year old, it had been quite easy to accept truth, though it was his physical altercations with the Greek world that had really convinced him, more than any words ever could.

An idea formed in his mind. The first time he had encountered the godly realm was when he had sliced Riptide through Mrs. Dodds, or rather, Alecto. He certainly didn't have any Furies to hand with which to fling at Luke, but he could make do.

"Can you swim?" he smirked, lips tugging back into a dangerous smile, whilst those eyes twinkled mischievously.

Luke could only swallow in response, and instinctively back away as the taller man advanced, suddenly not so sure.

Percy only hoped his mom brought him a change of clothes.

"So… I didn't actually ask, but how did it go with Luke? How did it really go?" Piper pressed him, as they walked down Half-Blood Hill towards the Big House.

Percy gave a coy smile. "It went alright. We struggled a little at first, but I think I got my point across," he hummed.

Piper rolled her eyes. "Was that before or after you threw him into the sea?"

The God of Tides shrugged neutrally, and while he felt a little bad about what he did, it had worked out in the end, or so he thought. Luke didn't seem traumatised by the whole experience, only shaken, which Percy would consider a success, given the earth-shattering revelations.

"Talking him into believing wasn't going to work, so I used my imagination. Would have thought you'd be proud of my intellect," he teased, and then promptly receiving a playful shove for his trouble.

"Head still full of kelp, I'm afraid. Did you tell him about you and Annabeth?" she probed, and Percy had to cringe as that small smile was wiped from his face.

He hadn't told Luke anything definitive; he couldn't bring himself to. The seeds of doubt had been planted, though, and Percy knew that if Luke really wanted to know where he came from, he would discover it for himself. With any luck, in twenty or thirty years.

They were horrible thoughts, he acknowledged, and they made him feel quite conceited, but he stomached them for his own sake. He could scarcely believe he was Luke's father himself; ironically, he just felt like he needed more time to come to terms with it. Perhaps then he could reconcile what had happened. Every so often, he would pinch himself, just to make sure it all wasn't a horrible trick of the mind, and that he would wake up at any second. Stranger things had happened.

A harsh flick to his ear broke his thoughtful trance, and he blinked, before facing the culprit with a quizzical frown.

Piper gazed back, brow furrowed in worry, those brilliant orbs shifting in colour with every flutter.

"You zoned out…" she explained.

"Oh…" was his smart reply.

For a few brief moments, they stared at each other; the daughter of Aphrodite reading him quite expertly, whilst the God of Tides doing his best to maintain eye contact beneath those observant, piercing orbs. Eventually, she sighed, with a somewhat resigned expression painted on her face, like that of a mother, gazing upon her spaghetti-covered child, thinking of what she was going to do with him. He was only glad that she wasn't going to press the issue.

"Come on, Perce. Chiron wants to see you," she eventually said, brushing past him, leaving him to wonder if he had upset her, and with the faint aroma of lavender.

He had his answer as they climbed the steps onto the wooden porch; an outstretched leg tangling with his ankles causing him to stumble, which brought on a flurry of deja-vu back to his first day at camp all those years ago.

Piper smirked down at him from the top step, and for a split second, Percy thought he saw blonde hair, instead of brown.

"Take a picture, Perce," she taunted quite smugly, and Percy realised he was staring. Averting his gaze, he muttered under his breath about evil daughters of Aphrodite, taking her offered hand and rising to his feet.

"Very funny, McLean," he grumbled, bumping shoulders with the girl.

"Someone has to keep you on your toes, oh mighty and wise god," she retorted, adding as an afterthought, "...Figuratively."

Percy rolled his eyes, though a smile crept its way onto his lips as he reached for the knob. It twisted, however, before he had a chance to turn it, and the door swung open revealing Dionysus himself, rocking a terribly bright leopard-print shirt. In one hand was a leopard head, that Percy could have sworn was licking his lips, and in the other, a can of diet coke, but the thing that really put him off was that wide, delirious smile that painted that chubby face, immediately putting Percy on guard.

"Ah, Pavlov Jankovic!" the God of Wine exclaimed, too cheerful for Percy's liking.

"Mr. D…" he replied cautiously, ignoring the name, and more surprised at the fact that the man was actually venturing outside into the sunlight. "Going for a walk..?" he continued, not really thinking the wine dude was capable.

"You could say that! Zeus has commuted my punishment to house-arrest on Olympus, and appointed you as Camp Director in my stead. Isn't that great? Now don't do anything I wouldn't do, and certainly don't swap the strawberries for grapes, because if you do, not even Lord Thunder himself will stop me from turning you into a pod of dolphins," the God of Wine warned, speaking faster than Percy could think.

"So long, Pablo Jimenez! If this job turns you mad, you know where to find me!" he finished, skirting around the stunned Percy and leaving him with a crazed wink, before he exploded in a flash of light, that left the porch singed, as well as the hair on the two immortals' heads.

"Um… That actually happened, right?" Piper said, breaking their catatonic silence.

Percy nodded, though he wasn't sure what shocked him more; the fact that Dionysus could move that quickly, or the revelation that Zeus had a sense of humour.

"I need a Diet Coke…" he muttered.