"Uncle Z." Percy said as he walked onto the deck and saw Zeus' silhouette standing on the deck with his back towards him. He briefly looked back when Percy called him and looked front ahead.

"Percy." He said. Percy went and stood next to Zeus on the deck. He thought about what to say. 'How's life' probably wasn't the best thing to say or ask at that moment.

"I got you something." He said finally. Zeus looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Percy handed him a bottle of water without saying anything at first.

"Flattering. But why?" Zeus said, now both eyebrows raised.

"You need it." Percy told him.

"Now that, I want to know the meaning of." Zeus told him as he turned 90 degrees to face Percy.

"I think you know what I mean." Percy said calmly. Zeus sighed and turned back to his original position.

"I don't know why people think that me getting angry in the middle of a reading is something to be concerned about." He said

"Firstly, getting angry in the middle of the reading is absolutely fine but talking about things which are similar to what happened a few days before-" Percy said. Zeus started to protest but Percy continued. "-is something to be concerned about because what happened wasn't the best thing to happen." Zeus looked at Percy dead in the eye but didn't say anything and Percy ignored the look.

"Secondly, what do you mean by people?" he asked. Zeus was quiet for a while before he answered and Percy waited patiently.

"Hades." Zeus answered finally. "He'd come to talk about the same thing."

"And?" Percy asked, wanting him to elaborate.

"And nothing." Zeus answered. Percy sighed.

"Look, I know what's wrong and maybe I don't know how that feels but I know that it hurts and it hurts like shit and I'm not gonna leave until you tell me how you're doing." Percy said. Zeus looked at him again.

"I already told you. I'm fine." He said

"Right. And I think you that I know that that's not true." Percy answered. He sat down.

"Look I'm going to be staying here as long as it takes because you're out here alone and that's not because you're fine and the fact that…that I'm not leaving you like this." He said and stretched his legs. "So, without talking, neither am I leaving nor are you. I'll stay here for the whole night if that's how long it takes for you to be willing to talk."

Zeus looked down at Percy in mild surprise. He hid most of the surprise that he felt. He didn't really know how exactly to feel about his nephew just casually sitting down on the deck after telling him that he wasn't going to leave him alone. If he was going to be honest to himself, nobody really had done that for him before.

From what and how Percy said what he did, it made it sound genuine but he still wasn't used to talking about stuff but this…this was different, wasn't it? He needed help and he had to admit that to himself. He needed somebody to talk to and for some reason he wasn't able to admit it to himself when his elder brother had come to him before.

Zeus sat down quietly on the floor next to Percy.

"I love her, you know." He said, not bothering to think about his voice cracked at that. Percy looked at him but didn't say anything for which he was grateful then.

"I don't know what to do anymore. This is the first time something like that has happened. It's the first time that I don't know what the fuck to do anymore. I can't choose between her and my brothers. All 3 of them have been there for me every step of the way even if they can be annoying at times." He sighed and took a deep breath and a sip from the water bottle given to him. Huh. It did come in useful. Percy hadn't said a word till now but looked at him intently.

"I may have had my share of affairs but that never meant that I never loved Hera. She was always the one I loved. I got blinded for a while but I know that she's always going to be the one. Even during my affairs, I just never thought about…never thought about her leaving me. But I guess, it happens at the end." Zeus said, swallowing thickly, his volume reducing until Percy had to strain his ears to listen to him.

"Hey. Its not the end. Its not the end of anything, all right? You two are destined to be together and there can't be an end to that. So don't even think down that road." Percy said gently but sternly at the same time.

"It will be when I can't choose. I have to…but I can't. I just fucking can't. My brothers and I…we have our share of fights but at the end of the day if something was to happen to one of us…the other two would be the first ones at the other's rescue and do anything for that. And Hera? I'd do anything for her. Anything to make her happy. I remember, after the first Titanomachy, she was just so heavily traumatized from being in Kronos' stomach but I was there and I never let her stay alone when she needed somebody. And when Thalia died…I mean she wasn't distraught but she was there for me though she hated Thalia. I can't choose between my brothers who make my heart hurt at the thought of leaving them and my wife who makes my heart hurt every time I goddamn look at her." Zeus said, his voice and hands shaking at the end. He held onto the bottle to stop them from shaking.

Percy sat there, looking at his uncle, not realizing just how bad it was for Zeus but he still said something.

"You don't have to choose. You never did and you never have to. And she does love you. Just as much as you love her. You don't have to choose between the people you love because nobody else except you gets to choose who you care about." Percy told him gently.

"But that's not it isn't it? Its in my hands now. Its in my hands to choose who I love more. But I can't decide that. I'm the king of gods and I can't make this decision." He said, with a dry chuckle at the end which was not humorous even for second. Percy kept quiet, trying to think of what to say. When he looked at Zeus, he noticed that the god was trembling lightly. Percy kept his hand on his shoulder without thinking.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Zeus noticed Percy keep his hand on his shoulder but he didn't mind because it felt…good to know that somebody was there. He stared straight ahead, blinking the tears out of his eyes but he was pretty sure that Percy being the person he was noticed that as well because he saw sympathy set in his nephew's eyes.

"Do you want a hug, uncle? Or rather, can I give you one?" came his voice as if it was coming from a distance but Zeus didn't protest to either one of his questions.

Percy took Zeus' silence to mean a 'yes' because he normally protested to stuff like that if he didn't like it. At first, it was awkward to try to figure out a way to hug his uncle but he remembered his conversation with Thalia and pulled Zeus into a hug and actually felt him hug back. Honestly, this wouldn't even have entered his wildest dreams a year or so back but things change.

Zeus didn't mind his nephew hugging him. Not at that moment. He was glad that somebody knew and that it was somebody who wouldn't ever use it against him.

After they pulled away, Percy stared into the sky for a few minutes and so did Zeus before saying anything.

"Than-" Zeus started, not believing how easy it came.

"Don't." Percy told him "Not for this. Never for stuff like this." Percy said with a smile which made Zeus give a small smile as well. The two of them got up.

"Get some rest. It'll be good, all right?" Percy said. Zeus just nodded.

"I'll stay here for a while. To enjoy the air this time." He said with a small smile. Percy nodded and walked downstairs.

A whirlpool of thoughts hit him just then, almost making him lose his balance. He thought about what Zeus said. He thought about Hades had been there to talk to Zeus but apparently that didn't work out. He thought about how his dad looked like there was something going on with him as well. Percy froze on spot and he staggered towards the Poseidon quarters.

"Ah, you're here. Where were you?" Triton asked Percy with a raised eyebrow.

"Getting some fresh air." Percy answered. "Dad, can I have a word?" Percy asked Poseidon who frowned slightly and nodded. He took Percy to the indoor pool.

"What's up?" Poseidon asked him.

"Are you okay?" Percy asked directly. Poseidon looked taken aback by the question. This was the start of a conversation that he was not expecting.

"Yeah. I'm pretty good." He lied but apparently it wasn't convincing.

"Goddamn it." Percy said and covered his face with his hands. "No more lies please, dad." He said

"I'm not lying." Poseidon tried again.

"I can sense it." Percy murmured. "I can goddamn sense it." He said

"Percy-" Poseidon started.

"Look dad, I need you to trust me. I want you to trust me enough to tell me the truth if there's something going on with you. I get that its probably weird talking to your son about such stuff but then just treat me like a younger brother or something but just know…know that I'm always gonna be there." Percy said to Poseidon, his voice cracking multiple times in the middle.

"Its not that I don't trust you, Perce. Its just that…I don't want you to worry about me." Poseidon sighed.

"Don't even think stuff like that, all right? I'm going to worry if I don't know what's going on with you. If I don't know that you're all right or not." Percy said.

"Dad, you don't have to talk to me about such stuff if you don't want to but if someday you're willing to, then I want you to know that I'm going to be there. Just let me know if you're doing well or not though." Percy said, taking a shaky breath and turning to walk back to the quarters. Poseidon stared at his son's back.

"I was a few days back when it all came back." He said just as Percy was almost out of the door. Percy stopped and turned around.

"Look, I'm going to make one thing clear, all right? I'm not telling you anything because you asked me to. Its because I want to and because I trust you more than most people." Poseidon said with a smile. "I know its going on in your head and I wanted to clear it before it continues." Percy nodded.

"I heard what Hera had to say when she snapped. It hurt because till then I believed that I was actually able to do something where you were concerned. But she made me realize that I wasn't able to. And that even before that, I had never actually been able to help you out. I thought that maybe that's what it cost to be a god. To think you're doing your best but you're not actually doing shit but then I realized that that was the worst excuse I could give and that it actually made what Hera said true. Then we had the Phineas chapter and then I realized that my own children were willing to go over to the side of the person who wanted to destroy me and all the gods. I guess that I understood just how Hermes felt when he found out about Luke." Poseidon said. He took a deep, shaky breath after that.

Percy felt something break inside him after that but that wasn't what he was bothered about at just that moment. He went and sat next to Poseidon.

"What Hera said was absolute bullshit. It wasn't true. What you did for me, dad…what you still do for me…its everything. You're honestly one of the best gods that I could have as a parent. And even before the reading, you did everything you could even when gods can't interact with their kids. You came to my goddamn birthday party!" Percy chuckled at the end "That was the best birthday gift that I could get and you know, I would have said a lot more stuff to Hera just then but I didn't think that I could control what would come out my mouth or what would happen if my anger got the better of me." Percy told him, squeezing his shoulder as Poseidon looked at him with slightly watery eyes.

"And as for Phineas, dad…people like him…he was punished for something he did. And when he got that second chance to right the wrongs of his past…he chose not to. You have nothing to do with that. It has nothing with you being a good father or bad because I'm telling you that you're one of the best fathers anybody could have." Percy said and this time it was Poseidon who gave Percy a hug. Percy felt his shirt get slightly soaked but he just hugged Poseidon till he needed.

"Never think about if you failed me or not because trust me when I say that you did not." Percy told him as both of them got up to go back to the quarters.

When they went back, everybody was getting ready to sleep except Percy who wanted to stay up late for a while and take a walk but just then Nico came into the quarters.

"Hey, guys. Did you see dad anywhere?" Nico asked. Everybody shook their heads. Percy didn't mention that apparently Hades had gone to Zeus because he wasn't there when Percy went.

"Did you maybe check if he might be in the washroom?" Triton suggested with his signature raised eyebrow.

"Well shit." Nico said with face palm. "If he's not there, I could use company. You wanna come?" he asked Percy who shrugged and nodded. Its not like he had anything else to do.

"Sure." He said. "You guys rest. I'll go straight to my room after coming back." Percy said to the others who nodded.

The two of them went to the Hades quarters and checked the bathroom which was locked.

"Right. So you looked everywhere except the washroom." Percy snickered lightly but Nico frowned.

"He's been in there for like two hours." Nico said. Percy's smile washed away. "That's odd." He said

"Exactly." Nico said and hesitantly knocked on the door.

"Where are Persephone and Hazel?" Percy asked Nico "Maybe one of them are in the washroom." He said

"They're at dinner. They just went. Gonna take a while for them to come back because they're going out for girls night after that." Nico told him. Percy furrowed his eyebrows.

"Is there, like a way to check who's there inside?" Percy asked

"I could always send a skeleton. Seeing as he has the same powers, he's gonna think that its his own powers." Nico suggested.

"That's good." Percy nodded in agreement.

Nico focused his powers and did what he said he would do. 5 minutes later, the skeleton formed outside and Nico listened to the weird hissing sound coming from it. He frowned and turned pale. He nodded to the skeleton and dismissed it.

"What's wrong?" Percy asked. He was so shook but what was happening today and to think that even Hades was not in the best mental condition made him want to fall to his knees. It was scary to think about all three of the gods go through such things on the same day. They really were related…

"According to him, he's just standing in front of a mirror looking like he's staring into his own soul." Nico said.

"Well then, we got only one choice." Percy said, looking at Nico.

"Break the door down." They both said in unison.

"Or we could open it." Nico added.

"That's probably better. Yeah…that's better." Percy agreed. Nico conjured a key for the keyhole and quietly opened the door. Hades was doing exactly what the skeleton had said he was doing but what the skeleton didn't mention was that the mirror was broken now and it looked like Hades was the one who punched it.

"Dad?" Nico asked. Hades' gaze immediately snapped to Nico's. Nico and Percy took sudden breaths at the look in Hades' eyes. It was blacker than a black hole but it was haunted. Hades looked like his face had taken a bath in sweat because his forehead was covered in it and so was the rest of his face. It looked like he'd run a million miles or had an extremely high fever.

"We got to get you outside. Come on." Percy said to him.

"Its all right." Hades said, his voice rough and hoarse.

"That just tells us that it isn't." Nico said sternly. The two of them helped Hades get out and sit on the bed.

"I told you I'm fine." Hades said gruffly.

"That's what people who aren't fine say." Percy said, as he and Nico sat down.

"Yeah, well, I'm not one of them." Hades said to him, turning his dark gaze on Percy.

"So the mirror just shattered?" Nico asked quietly. Hades stared at him but said nothing.

"Just let it be." He said finally.

"I expect that that's exactly what everybody else and that's why you're in this state?" Percy sighed.

"Don't." Hades said, trying to keep his voice steady. Percy got up and got a bottle of water and a glass from the bar. It seemed like he was doing a lot of giving water bottles today.

"Look. I told you I'm all right." Hades said to the two younger gods, as he ran a hand down his face.

"Knuckles." Nico said, noticing that they were bruised and slightly bleeding probably because of the glass.

"I don't know how to heal yet. We haven't had that session with Apollo yet." Percy frowned. Nico nodded and conjured bandages and antiseptic.

"Guys-" Hades started as Nico put water on his knuckles.

"We get it." Nico said. Hades grimaced.

"Look, you know that we know that you know that we know that you're not all right." Percy said to Hades. Nico slightly raised an eyebrow but not much.

"What do you want me to say?" Hades asked.

"Whatever you want. Except that 'I'm fine' because we all know that that's not true." Nico told Hades, once he was done wrapping the bandages on his knuckles which turned invisible within seconds. Will had given them to him. Hades clenched his fist and opened it.

"Okay. I'm not fine." Hades said.

"Okay, I'm going to ask this. Do you want to talk about it? Seriously?" Percy asked. Hades looked him dead in the eye.

"Do you know?" he asked him and Percy knew at once exactly what he was talking about. It was something Zeus had mentioned that Hades had come to talk to him but it didn't go so well.

"Its about that." Percy sighed.

"Partly." Hades said.

"About what?" Nico asked in confusion. Percy looked at Hades and then at Nico.

"Even I don't know that well." He said which was the truth "I just know a bit." He said. Nico nodded and looked back at Hades.

"It just proved the one thing I know." Hades shrugged. Percy and Nico looked at each other, knowing that they were not going to like what was going to be said next. "That I'm not good enough." He said nonchalantly but everybody in that room knew that it was as far from nonchalant as it could be.

"Wh-" Nico started but he didn't complete because just then Percy asked him something.

"A word?"

Nico nodded and the two of them got up.

"Do you want me to leave?" Percy asked directly.

"No." Nico said at once. "I need somebody else right now…and I think you're the best person for that at the moment…for me and for him." He said softly.

"You sure?" Percy asked, not wanting to intrude as much as he wanted to know what was happening with Hades.

"Yeah." Nico nodded.

"Okay then." Percy said and the two walked back and sat down in front of Hades whose eyes were closed and looked like he was waging a war inside.

"I'm surrounded by death all day, you know? But sometimes I used to wonder what it felt like to...die. I thought those times were gone now that I was here but shit happens, you know. Things get fucked up." He said in a quiet voice, his eyes still closed.

"You get fucked up when you realize that what those feelings went away for didn't actually exist. You get fucked up when you realize that nobody actually wants you around and that you were better off in the underworld without letting anybody in." he said in a calm voice but even Nico and Percy could sense the emotional turmoil in him when he opened his eyes. Some people say a thousand words with one look and that was the exact case with Hades.

"Dad, what makes you even think that nobody wants you around?" Nico asked in a gentle voice. Hades let out a dry, un-humorous laugh.

"I can't be a good elder brother. My own goddamn sibling can't talk to me without looking at me like I couldn't be trusted enough. I couldn't be a good father either because all I see when I read the books are mistakes and how I could do better but all I did was fuck up there as well." He said. Nico flinched at the last part.

"That's not true." He said. Hades just looked at Nico.

"He's not wrong." Percy said finally. Nico looked at him gratefully. "You are wanted around and we can say that because we do want you around and you weren't better off in the underworld because everybody gets to have you in their lives now." He said

"Yeah and there's nothing good coming out of that." He said. Before any of the younger gods could say something, Hades suddenly stood up and yelled in frustration and pain and threw the glass against a wall against which it shattered. Nico flinched at that but Percy just stared at Hades in concern that he couldn't even find ways to express. Hades covered his face with his hands and collapsed back on the bed.

"Now listen. You didn't fuck up shit and you don't fuck up shit. You are genuinely wanted in people's lives. We want you, Persephone wants you, Hazel wants you and so does everybody else. And yes, even your own goddamn siblings because to be honest, you're a really important part of their world just as they are but you all just don't show it. So, don't even think that you failed at anything." Percy said sternly but softly.

"He's goddamn right, dad. I wouldn't choose anybody else to be my dad even if I had a hundred million choices and at this point, even I can't imagine not having you in my life. And you never failed at that. We all make bad choices once a while but trust me when I say that you are one of the people that can be trusted the most. Most of us would trust you with our lives. So, don't even think that you failed or that you're not good enough or that you're not wanted because none of those are even close to true." Nico told him, looking Hades dead in the eye.

Hades looked at Percy and Nico and a warm feeling did swell in his chest but it just couldn't beat all that darkness in him either. It was something that was present in every bit of his soul and it was just never that easy to get it all out or over with but he didn't say anything.

"Look, you've been there for me and I'm always gonna be there for you because I do love you, you know that right?" Nico told him. Hades vaguely registered himself nodding.

"We may not have always had the best relationship but ever since we've been here… or rather, ever since I actually knew you, you've been there for me as well and if something ever happens, you'd be one of the people that I'd trust to have my back and just to make it clear, even I'd have yours." Percy said, swallowing at the end and hoping that it had an effect on Hades because he did mean it but Hades didn't look like he was doing too well even now.

"Thanks guys." Hades said with a smile that came without trying. Maybe, he wasn't completely out of it but even the amount that he was out of it was thanks to the two of them.

"Hey now." Nico and Percy said in unison, glad to see Hades smile at least a bit. "You don't say thank you to family. I think we made that clear in the reading as well." Nico smiled at him. Hades chuckled softly and nodded.

"You should get some rest, all right?" Nico told him and Hades nodded. Percy went over to the shattered glass and snapped his fingers, making it disappear. He knelt there for a few extra seconds, thinking about everything and stood up so it wouldn't look like something was wrong.

"He's right." Percy nodded.

"You should get some rest too. Both of you." Hades said. Nico and Percy nodded.

"I just need a word with Percy first." Nico smiled. Percy and Nico went outside.

"We need to come up with an excuse for me because I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep tonight." Nico sighed tiredly.

"I won't either. We need to match our stories because we're gonna look practically dead inside tomorrow." Percy told him.

"We were watching Game of Thrones the whole night. Nobody needs to know." Nico suggested.

"That's good. It makes sense." Percy nodded. Nico gave him a fist bump.

"I'll see you tomorrow then." He said.

"Yeah." Percy nodded and both of them either shadow travelled or vapor travelled to their rooms.

Percy paced the length of his room with his hands covering his face or running through his hair. He tried to process everything that happened that day. He tried to think about sleep but all that came into his head was how he should have known. He should have goddamn known about this. It was his fucking family and he had had no bloody clue about what was happening to them and the one way he found out was this way and at a point when they were all close to breaking. He thought about every conversation as he sat on his bed and plopped his head against the bed board with his hands in his hair.

Nico had just flat out collapsed on his bed as he came back. What came back to him was when Aphrodite had put them through that stupid couple therapy program and just how bad it was but for some reason this felt worse. Maybe because he was actually hearing it from his dad's own mouth rather than interpret it as the trauma of the past. It was a different thing hearing it from him. It was different to thing to hear what was going on under his own nose and with his own family from the mouth of somebody who looked close to breaking. The worst part was that Nico couldn't find anybody to blame for that and that kept him awake the whole night.

The next morning, Percy vapor traveled out of the quarters at 8:30am sharp. He walked towards the dining hall to make himself some coffee because he felt like he was going to pass out from sleep but at the same time, he just couldn't sleep. He winced in pain as he came into the dining hall and went to the counter to make himself some Turkish coffee because that was the only thing that could wake him up at this point. He didn't notice the sky gang sitting there and looking at him with raised eyebrows or just seeing what he was doing. It was only after making his coffee and reaching their table that he realized.

"Your hair looks like a chicken laid eggs in it and then made it her bed." Thalia told Percy amusedly.

"Maybe that's exactly what happened." Percy grumbled as he sat down and took a sip of his coffee and groaned as the bitterness hit him.

"Okay. Did you sleep too much or not get any sleep at all?" Jason asked.

"I have no clue." Percy said with a weak chuckle. "All I know is that I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning."

"Don't you always?" Thalia snickered.

"Don't give me that shit in the morning, Thals." Percy told her. Thalia put her hands up in a surrender gesture with a grin.

"Nico looks just as bad." Zeus commented as Nico walked in as well, looking for coffee and took some of the extra that Percy had made. Nico processed what Zeus said and looked at Percy with a knowing look.

"Guess that's what happens when you watch Game of Thrones the whole night." He said. Thalia snorted.

"That's what you did?" she asked. Percy and Nico shrugged.

"Can't blame them, to be honest. Game of Thrones is worthy of that." Zeus said.

"Fair." Jason chuckled.

"Wow. The rest of the living dead." Thalia chuckled as she saw Hades and Poseidon enter the hall.

"Their hair is worse though." Zeus said, gesturing to Percy and Nico.

"Thanks. That's flattering." Percy grumbled. Zeus chuckled.

"Anybody make coffee?" Hades asked them.

"If you drink Turkish coffee then yeah. There's some on the counter." Percy said.

"You guys doing good?" Zeus asked the two brothers.

"All good, mate." Poseidon answered, took his coffee and sat down. Hades joined them in a while as well.

"When's the reading?" Hades asked, slight tiredness ringing out in his voice.

"Soon." Came the reply from the daughter of Zeus.