Percy watched from the doorway as his kids ran about the room with different toys they had borrowed from the new occupants of the house. Two dolls, in particular, were their favorite, dolls that belonged to living girls. But even though his little girls were dead, they still loved them.
Dead. It still broke his heart to think that his children were dead. They'd never grow up, they'd never get taller. They'd never marry. His bloodline was just as dead as them, buried six feet under.
Did these new owners know about all the bodies buried beneath their feet as they walked to their car, as they walked these grounds?
He envied the living. Envied their ignorance. If only he could live as they were now.
"Perce." Annabeth came up beside him and laid a hand on his arm. "You okay? I told you before. You have an aura now. Your sadness is leaking out."
Percy looked over at his wife, could still picture the blood covering her fair skin. "Just thinking... We have a lot of time to think nowadays."
"Think about something else." Annabeth grabbed his hand. "Think about how we never have to lose each other. Think about maybe going to Heaven one day."
"Nico said-"
"Nico's stubborn." Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Just because he doesn't believe in it doesn't mean it isn't real."
Percy ran a hand through her blonde hair. "You've always been the smartest one here, Annie."
"Don't you know it, Seaweed Brain." she went to kiss him but stopped when she saw her kids watching out of the corner of her eye. "What are you girls doing?"
Octavia couldn't keep her giggles in. "You and daddy were gonna be gross."
Percy walked into the room and picked his daughter up before tickling her stomach. "Kissing is gross, huh?"
Octavia shrieked with laughter. "Yes!"
Annabeth smiled at the two of them before turning to leave the room. When she did, she found herself face to face with the woman who now lived there. Piper.
Their eyes met.
