FYI- Laërtes is Odysseus' father and Peleus was Achilles'. And they were bros on the Argo.
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In his rather strange and varied life, this was, sadly, not the first time Percy had woken up somewhere completely different than where he'd fallen asleep. Though, this was weirder than normal.
After he'd spilled his guts to Triton about what a monster he really was, Amph- Salacia had decided he needed to spend some time with his mom while they all cooled off. Sally had been delighted to see him, but he felt like such a third wheel now.
Don't get him wrong, Sally and Paul tried, but he lived only partially in their world and their relationship had grown strange and hard to navigate. Especially with a baby on the way.
After a few days, he'd needed some space, something more interesting to do than look at nursery paint colors that were all slightly different shades of pale blue. Going for a walk in Central Park seemed like a logical conclusion. It was usually pretty safe there, as the gods liked to frequent it to 'walk among the mortals' from time to time.
He hadn't accounted for the nutso nymphs kidnapping him with intentions to seduce the 'Great Hero of the Sea'. In all the ensuing chaos, he'd somehow ended up knocked out.
Which led to now. Percy. In a bed/cot/thing in a tiny room in a wooden cabin. With all kinds of scary-looking nets and hooks on the walls. His mom was so gonna kill him if he made it out of whatever this latest mess was.
The cabin he'd woke up in was made of two bedrooms and a main kitchen/living room. It felt lived-in, like an old family vacation spot. It… felt like Mantauk.
Thoroughly weirded out, Percy clutched his trusty sword and tried not to look at the fishing hook the size of his forearm.
Outside the cabin was hot and muggy and definitely not New York. Cicadas were buzzing and little gnats flitted about the distinctly swampy area. Brackish, something whispered in his mind. To the right was a little dock with an old wooden boat tied to it, and a person on the end, fishing.
It was a woman in a floppy bucket hat, faded tank top, and cutoff jean shorts, rubber boots muddy. He stopped, however, when he noticed her blue-black skin and pearly hair, and the multitude of white freckles flecking her shoulders like stars.
She jerked the pole and suddenly there was a great commotion in the water. His stomach growled at the thought of fresh food.
"Give me a mo' an' I'll be with ya." She had a thick, syrupy accent that was distinctly southern.
With an obviously practiced hand, the nymph(?), reeled up a big, spotted fish Percy didn't know the name of. She looked at it out of the water, sighed, and expertly unhooked and tossed the fish back with a plop.
"Too small," she muttered, working to pack up her gear. "Awful sorry 'bout all this, kiddo. One of my ladies was visiting family up north and has an awful habit of, ah, gettin' excited enough to steal away demigods of oceanic lineage. Fangirling? Is that the word? Anyways, I put a stop to tha', and she dropped you off here earlier while I was out. Lemme git some food in ya, and I'll getcha back home before noon. Now, what's yer na- THESEUS?"
The woman's stuff dropped and he met her pale, luminescent eyes, equally bewildered. He blinked. She blinked.
"Er, no? I'm Percy?"
He got a suspicious glance, but she seemed to drop the issue. "Sorry 'bout tha'. Look like an old hero I once knew. I'm Libya, and yer little booty has found itself in the Delta, Hero of Olympus. The Louisiana River Delta."
He gaped. "You knew the Theseus?"
"Mmm, not just 'im, though the crafty lil' shit was my favorite. Much better kiddo than Herakles or even Jason ever was."
Okay, what even was his life at this point? He got kidnapped halfway across the country, only to be saved by some probably-nymph and get called Theseus. His dad's genes must be strong.
"Lemme feed ya and I'll tell you about the time my husband played mortal and I wound up eaten out of house and home by the Argonauts. Let's see if yer stomach is as bottomless as theirs."
Well, what could he do in this situation other than follow her? He'd forgotten to take his latest set of sea star not-phones with him, and he didn't have any drachmae to contact his family. And she did save him from Anita and her crazy cousin…
"I'm not gonna, like be stuck here or burn up or turn into a catfish if I eat your food, am I?"
She cackled, sounding distinctly like an otter, and motioned him to follow her back to the shack he'd woke up in. "The worst that'll happen is you'll think my crawfish skillet's too spicy. I don't keep a habit a' trappin' kids- too much damn work to take care of 'em on my own. Takes a village, ya know?"
Libya-the-probably-nymph parked him at a rickety dining table. There was a sizzling pan of potatoes and peppers and a copious amount of crawfish sitting on the stove that hadn't been there ten minutes ago. She dished some up and flicked her hand, which suddenly was holding a glass of milk with beads of water dripping down its cold sides.
"Eat up. Yer dad'll kill me if ya skip a meal under my care."
Percy was entirely too confused and done with today to argue, so he spooned a bite into his mouth. A spicy, smoky flavor burst across his tongue and he hummed in enjoyment. It tasted kinda like the seasoning mix Triton was partial to.
Libya raised a glass of nectar in a cheer. "Congrats on surviving flavored food, kid. Hmm… Now about that story… My husband, historically, has hated everything to do with the surface. He was a grump about it even before we met, according to the in-laws. Every once in a while, though, he likes to remind himself how much he hates it, so he'd go undercover.
"One time, he was wandering around usin' the name Eurypylus, and ran into the Argonauts, who'd gotten their boat stuck in the waters that connected one of our vacation lakes to the ocean. Terrible navigators for experienced sailors. Any ways, he got the bright idea to test Jason and his crew. When they proved themselves good guests and willing learners of somesort, my husband guided their ship back out to sea. 'Course, good guests is a bit subjective. They ate us out of house and home, as I mentioned. Herakles spent his time trying to impress the ladies of the court, and Peleus broke a wall while trying to woo Thetis. And we lost Laërtes in the library for several days."
It was still weird to him to hear about how flawed the heroes of old were. Honestly, it made Percy feel better about how screwed up he was and all the mistakes he'd made along the way. He shook his head, trying to ignore those dark thoughts for now, and something plopped out of his hair, glinting in the mid-morning light by his empty bowl. The nymph reached across the table slowly to pick it up, eyes wide.
Libya looked pained, shaking hands holding the little bronze pin that Amphitrite had used to pull back his hair at some point the day prior. A single slim finger traced the corral shape stamped into it.
"Where'd ya git this, kiddo?" she asked, voiced raw with emotion.
His throat clicked as he swallowed. "My stepmom. She, ah, likes to do my hair. I guess it was her granddaughters, but she died. Amphitrite wanted someone who she would've liked to wear it in her place."
With a laughing sob, the nymph pulled the pin to her chest. He hadn't seen someone so emotional about him wearing Pallas' ornaments since Triton. It'd taken a serious conversation for him to understand his parents were not trying to force Percy to become a replacement for his slain child, but they were honoring her memory by gifting a few of her keepsakes to an uncle she would've adored.
Libya unknowingly echoed his thoughts. "Pallas would have adopted you on the spot. Tri'd have ta fight 'er for whose brother you were."
"How do you know so much about Poseidon and his family?" Gently, he laid a hand on her shoulder in comfort.
"Triton, the fool," she sniffled, "is my husband."
Percy was dumbstruck. His brother was married. Of all the ways Libya could've known his family, it was because she married into it. Dimly, he registered that Libya's story was about Triton helping a bunch of his demigod cousins get their boat unstuck.
"O-oh. Er… keep the pin?" he replied dumbly.
That got a genuine laugh out of his sister in-law, oh gods, as she stood from her rickety chair and moved to stand behind him. Fingers softly carded his hair back and twisted it in a way Amphitrite did not. Pallas's coral pin was firmly slotted back into place.
"No, kiddo, I do believe she'd want you to have it. 'Sides, I have a few of her things already."
"Can I ask you a question?"
"'Course. What's up?"
"Why didn't I know Triton was married? I mean, Triton doesn't seem like the type to ignore his spouse, and Dad and Amphitrite love family."
Libya sighed softly, moving to tidy up the kitchen. "Percy… something like 80% of mortals divorce after the loss of a child. Gods are not meant to loose their immortal offspring- it shouldn't even be a possibility. Yet, Tri and I… we lost our baby. I haven't talked to Triton in almost forty years. It's… hard for us to see each other. I love him, and he loves me, but there's a hole in our souls where Pallas should be, and it eats us alive."
Libya looked at him, seeming incredibly worn and sad, abandoned. "I think I lost Triton too, that day. He's cold and hard and has no time for compassion or playfulness anymore. I tried. We both did. But it was so, so painful."
He couldn't help himself but pull his sister in-law into a tight hug. Gods, he couldn't imagine what that was like, and he had no words that would comfort her, so he squeezed her tight instead.
She gave a choked laugh. "What's this for?"
"You looked like you needed a hug."
He got a pat on the back for that. "Thanks, kiddo. Now, lets gitcha back to Dad 'fore he floods the east coast to look for you."
"A-are you gonna come with me?"
"I guess it's about time for Tri and I to give it another go. Who knows? Maybe you ending up on my doorstep was fate's will to bring the family together."
Libya stepped back with a huff, swiping tears from her eyes. "Known you for less than three hours an' you're already makin' me cry."
Percy just shrugged helplessly in lieu of a vocal response. It was weird to think is stern, reserved brother was married to such a tender heart. He wondered what his brother had been like before Pallas passed away.
His sister-in-law was quick to dart into the other bedroom, reappearing in a mint-colored sundress, hair pulled back with a diadem on a thin silver chain. It was a stark contrast to muddy boots and jorts, but he thought both suited her equally well.
Taking her offered hand, Percy stepped close and shut his eyes. She was the soft, relentless lapping of lake waves, and his own cresting ocean waves rushed to meet her. There was other round of otter-like laughter before a sort of melting sensation.
When the welcoming pressure of Atlantis' waters and the whisper of Triton's currents arm along his arms and shoulders once more, he opened his eyes to see Triton's bedroom. Well, he supposed it was Triton and Libya's. The huge bed made sense now. He had always thought Triton was just a princess when it came to his bed.
There was a soft whoosh as the door opened and a sharp inhale. Percy turned to look at his brother, who seemed distinctly startled at their sudden appearance in his room.
"My love?"
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I've always wondered how Triton had kids when a spouse/partner isn't really mentioned. A little digging later, I found his wife. Family healing ahoy!