Hello, Percy.
Out of all the things one would've expected Poseidon to be doing on a random Friday night, no one would've guessed he'd make a random appearance to Camp Half-Blood. He was the sea god after all, and just like all the other Olympians, they were pretty busy. Granted he tried to be there when he could.
No one bothered him as he walked through the campgrounds on the way to cabin three. The cabin looked the exact same as when he'd first seen it. Despite all the years, it still bore that ocean feel. It never lost its charm.
Poseidon stepped up the steps, sighing through his nose as he did so. It wasn't like he hadn't visited Percy plenty of times before, this wasn't anything new. Yet this time, he couldn't help but feel like he might've been intruding. Perhaps it was because it was so late.
He raised his hand to knock on the door but paused, this was technically his cabin too. He smiled to himself and shook his head, the years were really doing a number on his aged brain, though he was certain it was just a force of habit and not actually anything to do with his age. Even if it was, he'd never admit it.
Opening the door to cabin three let out the relaxing smell of the sea, a smell Poseidon was all too familiar with. To him, it smelled like home.
Poseidon shrunk down a little so he could fit through the doorway, a crooked smile spreading across his face as his eyes landed on Percy laying on his back, laughing while stroking Annabeth's hair, who was currently laying her head on his chest. He couldn't help but be happy for him, it was about time Percy got something in return for all he'd done.
Percy looked over at him and smiled, "Hey, dad."
"Hello, Percy." Poseidon greeted, shutting the door behind himself, "How have you been?"
Percy grinned, "Couldn't have been better. Things are going great for both me and Annabeth. I can't believe that she's still coming up with new designs for buildings even after all this time."
Poseidon couldn't help but chuckle, that was to be expected. Athena's children were always limitless when it came to what they could do with their brains. He only wished he got along with Athena herself as well as he did with her daughter.
"No regrets?" Poseidon asked, sitting down on an empty bunk.
Percy shook his head, "Nope, not a single one. I even ran into some old friends. You remember Jason?"
"The son of Jupiter?"
"That's him," Percy smiled, "Apparently he's taken up golfing now."
Poseidon raised an eyebrow at that.
Percy shrugged, "Yeah, I know, I was surprised too."
"What about the others?" He asked.
Percy paused for a moment, his hands still intertwined in Annabeth's blonde locks, "Well, everyone else has been kind of taking it easy. Figured we all needed a break. Nico's been dropping by every now and then, it's always fun when he comes around."
Poseidon nodded, that was good. He was glad for Percy and his friends, they'd earned the rest. He was glad he was still even able to communicate with Percy, he knew how some demigods got. Once they got a sliver of freedom from the gods, they were almost impossible to talk to.
"Do they have an ocean where you're at?" He asked.
Percy nodded, "Yeah, I just wish me and Annabeth chose a house closer to it. The walk isn't too bad, we get to pass some really nice parks on the way. Can you believe they have a statue of Ares here too?"
"No kidding."
"Yeah, and get this, it's actually nice and doesn't look like garbage. I mean, I didn't even know it was him until Annabeth told me. He looked so young."
Poseidon felt a silly jolt of pride from those words, "We all used to look young when we went to war. In fact, I looked a lot like you when I first went to war."
Percy chuckled and he couldn't help but laugh along. For a moment, Poseidon felt free, free of everything that burdened him. It was the reason he liked talking with Percy so much, it was therapeutic.
"Percy," Annabeth lifted her head, "Can we head to bed now? I'm tried."
Percy leaned in and kissed her forehead, "Sure." He looked up at Poseidon and smiled, "I guess I'll see you next week then, dad?"
"Of course." Poseidon smiled back at him.
"Alright, come on Wise Girl, let's go." Percy lifted Annabeth up bridal style and started to walk but not before stopping and turning to him, "Oh, and dad, you should really visit Elysium some time, it'd be nice to talk face to face."
"I'll see about doing that." Poseidon said, "Goodnight, son."
"Goodnight, dad."
With those words, Poseidon watched as both Annabeth and Percy slowly turned transparent before fading away completely, their laughter echoing before it too faded away. Soon, he was all alone in cabin three, staring at Percy's old bunk.
"Half-bloods really shouldn't die so young." Poseidon sighed, getting up with a sigh, "Goodbye, Percy."
