Nixon was smiling like an idiot (or like me) the entire ride home. I would ask him questions about his day and he would only hum in response.

"So, how was school?"

"Hmm," came his happy hum.

"So, got any big tests or anything coming up?"

"Hm." He still gazed day-dreamingly out the window. I guess that meant yes.

"So, what was it that Alec wanted to tell you?" I asked. He actually turned his head this time, blushing furiously. Ok then, don't tell me. "Niiiix?" I prodded. He rolled his eyes but the smile was still prominent on his face.

"He wanted to ask if he could meet my family, and he was asking if I was ready for that and ok with it and stuff," he said quietly. I grinned at the adorabley sheepish look on his face.

And of course, this lead to me making a very spontaneous decision. Probably not a good idea. "Invite him over for dinner!" I insisted. This is why Annabeth doesn't let me make decisions. Nixon's mouth dropped open.

"What?"

"Bring him over for dinner tonight," I repeated. Nixon slowly smiled and nodded. Oh, Annabeth was going to love this.

(time skip)

It had been a long day so by the time we got home, I was ready for a nap. Nixon had called Alec on the ride home (don't worry, I kept an eye out for monsters and made sure to be on the move) and asked him to come over for dinner, to which Alec gracefully accepted. We still hadn't told Annabeth that he was coming over. I was actually pretty excited for Alec to come over. I needed a break from this whole Avengers thing and the demigod life in general. When we got to the house, I noticed another car up front. Will's car. I feel like I may have missed something.

Inside, Annabeth was sitting at the dining room table with Will and Nico.

"Uncle Nico! Uncle Will!" Nixon shoved past me to give his godfathers a hug.

"Not that I don't enjoy seeing you guys or anything, but what are you doing here?" I asked, rubbing the back of my neck awkwardly. Nico rolled his eyes and ignored me, choosing to start up a conversation with Annabeth and Nixon instead. Rude.

"We stopped over to say hi to Annabeth and give the baby a checkup and she invited us to stay for dinner," Will explained.

"She said you were cooking!" Nico called over his shoulder. Oh, well that's not really a good thing…

"Uh, Wise girl?"

When she turned to face me her hair bounced over her shoulder, causing me to momentarily forget what I was saying.

"Percy, who did you invite over?" She asked knowingly. How does she always know? I looked to Nixon, unsure if he wanted me to tell her or not. Thankfully, he stepped forward and forgoed the need to decipher what the look on his face was telling me to do.

"Alec. Dad met him today and Alec had asked if he could meet you guys, so he invited him over," Nixon said with ease. The annoyed look melted from Annabeth's face and she looked at me in approval. Score. Wait, Annabeth already knew about Alec? I am always the last person to find out about everything!

"Well if we want to have dinner ready by the time he gets here, your dad had better start cooking," she said with a smirk. I frowned and looked longingly towards the couch.

"But, I wanted to take a nap," I complained. Annabeth smiled sweetly and pecked me on the cheek.

"Sorry Seaweed brain, get to work."

I guess this was my punishment for not consulting her before inviting somebody over.

Everybody made themselves comfortable in the living room, on the couch I should be napping on, while I began to make dinner. Contrary to popular belief, I'm actually a pretty decent cook. After we got back from the war against Gaea, I started spending some time by myself in Camp Jupiter's kitchen. Camp Jupiter doesn't have a kitchen, you say? Ah on the contrar! There are tens of restaurants in New Rome, and nobody really minded if I snuck in the back to take a break. You see, I never really recovered from Tartarus. Neither did Annabeth. I loved her with all my heart but for a while, after the war was over, I really needed some time along where I could break down without her knowing how bad it really was for me. I wanted to be her support, her shoulder to cry on, but it was hard to do that if she was busy worrying about me. I still have nightmares. I didn't want Annabeth to find out because I knew she'd worry and she wouldn't stop looking for something to help me, but she'd drive herself to insanity trying. But I wasn't alone in this, one night after a particularly bad dream, I went out to the back porch and let it all out. Masia, who is a very light sleeper like her mother, had woken up from the sound of the door opening. She found me on the back porch and sat down with me, not saying a word. I don't know if she knew what was happening or if she just knew that I needed someone, but she put her arms around me and let me cry. From then on, every night I had a nightmare, Masia would come outside with me and sit. After a while, I decided that she had the right to know why I was disturbing her sleep. Nixon was just a baby at the time so I didn't want to stress Annabeth out any more than I had to, so I only told Masia. Every night, she would ask me what I'd dreamed about. I don't know how it helped, but telling her actually helped me. After she left, I got worse. On really bad nights, I still Iris message her and she doesn't say anything, just lets me talk. She suggested I find something to do to distract myself, like a hobby or something. So back to New Rome's kitchens I went.

But Annabeth still doesn't know why I know how to cook.

...

I was nearly done with the mashed potatoes when there was a knock at the door. I turned to get the door but Nixon bolted from his seat faster than I could put down the spatula. He opened the door so quickly I was worried he'd tear the dam thing from its hinges. I quickly finished the potatoes and turned around to greet Alec. His hair looked like he'd attempted to gel it down and as I knew from personal experience, it was only going to last a couple more minutes. He stuck out his hand, thankfully not while holding a stack of books this time, and said hello.

"Nice to see you again," I said.

He smiled graciously. "Thank you, you too Mr. Jackson," he shook my hand.

"Percy," I corrected. He nodded in acknowledgment but I could tell it wasn't going to stick. I still called Annabeth's dad Mr. Chase, although I guess her situation is a little different than ours. Annabeth rose from the couch to greet our guest and Alec's face reddened with his nerves. Nixon brushed his arm across him and he calmed down.

Nixon introduced the pair, "Mom, this is Alec, Alec, this is my mom,"

"Mrs. Jackson, it's so nice to finally meet you," Alec said. Annabeth smiled in her usual beautiful way. I nearly burned the pork chops watching her. Will dragged Nico to his feet and practically hauled him forward to meet Alec.

"Hi! You must be Alec! I'm Will and this is my husband, Nico," Will greeted cheerfully. Alec tried to hide his surprise at the couple but I noticed his smile grow a little wider.

"They're my godfathers," Nixon mentioned. I noticed Alec calm down a bit and decided that it was probably a good thing that Nico and Will had stayed for dinner.

"Nice to meet you," he said, shaking each of their hands.

I set the stack of plates on the table. "Who's hungry?" I called, getting the attention of everybody in the room.

(Hi! Please comment if you guys want to read about the dinner or want me to skip ahead to afterward. Also, comment what you'd like to see next and I'll try my best to include it in future updates. Thanks for reading!)