I... have mixed emotions about this chapter. The characters didn't want to cooperate, so it's probably a little choppy and robotic. But some healing for Percy is accomplished.

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Little lord, it's time to wake up.

Percy groaned and rolled over, flinging out an arm to gently bat away whichever of the little fish that lived in his bed frame that was ruining his lazy morning. Probably Kyle. It sounded like him, anyway.

His bed was comfortable, he had nowhere to be, and for once, he felt safe enough to sleep without Annabeth beside him. A perfect Saturday.

Wait. Saturday.

Percy sat up in bed, startled. How could he forget about today?

The past week in Atlantis had been a blur of touring, napping, and annoying Triton when Amphitrite wasn't using him as a live doll to dress and style as she pleased. It was all too easy to slip into a routine in his dad's domain, and the days had passed him by unexpectedly fast.

Dread pooled in his stomach. He knew he had to go talk with Nico and Will to try and clear the air with his two friends, but he really, really didn't want to.

An amused chuckle sounded from the entry-area-thingy of his room. Alexios stood before him with his arms crossed, red and orange and gold like a sunrise, his voluminous and many tail fins swaying gently in the water.

Alexios had been.. gifted, for a lack of a better word, along with his older sister Kassandra to act as his aides and advisors. Supposedly, they had once been mortals in ancient Greece, who had caught Poseidon's interest when they prevented some kind of exploitation of Atlantis' resources. Heroes and surface-natives themselves, Poseidon and Amphitrite had decided they were perfect for Percy-sitting duty.

Both were brutally efficient at keeping him on-time and on-task, as evidenced by the set of clothes sitting on his new dressing table. He saw too much gold on the pile for his tastes, but after the second day, he learned not to fight. The merman had impeccable fashion taste, according to his step-mom, and was more than willing to manhandle him into his outfit for the day. It was easier not to fight. When in Rome and all that…

"Chin up, my lord," Alexios said in a heavy Greecian accent he hadn't ditched for an American one. "Sooner you face your demigods, the quicker it's over. Alma is making you some sweet dolmas as a treat."

Alma was an old-as-dirt merlady with an eel tail and basically no hearing who had taken one glance at him loudly proclaimed he was a stick, and shoved a plate of weird flatbread crackers at him. But, her cooking almost rivaled what his mom could make, so she was wonderful in Percy's book.

The rainbow curtain of tiny fish scattered to their alcoves as Percy reluctantly left his bed and subjected himself to Alexios' mercies. The merman muttered about ensuring his little lord was properly attired to denote his status to the surface mortals. Percy ignored it. Again, not worth fighting the stubborn man about it.

The only thing he, himself, contributed to his outfit was the pair of lemon yellow sea stars Triton had gifted him with last weekend.

Percy is so brave. He's so kind and forgiving.

He could feel his face heat up. The little things loved to whisper compliments at him, and it was oddly endearing. They also doubled as teeny tiny phones, sending along messages from any other set they knew the vibrational frequency or something like that. Percy didn't catch the whole spiel from Triton on the sea magic involved.

Gods, he wished he could skip today in its entirety.

Waiting on the other side of the door with a smirk was Kassandra, obviously there because Triton was the world's greatest mother hen. Alexios, he could probably convince to delay the inevitable for a few hours. Kassanda? She would drag him kicking and screaming to the surface in the name of tough love and her precious salary. Mercenary, that woman.

And she could do it, too. All of his dad's humanoid citizens were taller and larger than him, but Kassandra and Alexios were unusually big. It'd been weird at first, but after a few days, he was used to seven-to-ten foot merpeople. He knew the size and age difference was why everyone emphasized how little he was, but he didn't mind. In fact, the care and awareness of him made him feel kinda nice.

For once, he was not the biggest, strongest, greatest presence in the room. No one depended on him to make monumental choices. In Atlantis, even with the connotation of royal or divine blood, he was just Percy.

"You'll be fine, your royal tininess. Big Bad Brother Triton is gonna be there the entire time if it gets too much and you need to leave." Kass' sarcasm helped settle his nerves as the three of them made their way to the smaller family dining room.

There were, like, three or four dining halls in the family wing alone because Amphitrite liked interior design. Again, fashion-savvy step-mom who likes to dabble in architecture. Annabeth probably would love to sit down and swap knowledge with another enthusiast, but those two meeting would probably end in disaster. Amphitrite was very proud of the design of Cabin Three, and Annabeth didn't like it much at all. She said it was too chaotic, but that's what the sea was.

Triton was the only one seated when they entered. Percy shot him a questioning look.

"Father has a meeting on Olympus today and Mother's holed up making complimenting clothing for the two of us."

They shared a commiserating grimace. As close as they were becoming, neither wanted to match outfits like little kids.

Breakfast was delicious and plentiful as always, but it sat like a rock in his stomach from nerves. He nibbled on a banana, something he had specifically requested imported from the surface, and pushed the rest of the food about the place. Seeing this, Triton poured him a goblet of nectar from the decanter sitting on the table before the god.

"Don't give me that look, little brother. You require sustenance. If you will not eat the mortal food, you will drink the divine beverage."

Sure, ambrosia and nectar filled him better than any plain old food, but Percy was kinda worried he was having too much of the stuff. He didn't really wanna burn to ashes. Triton's stern gaze didn't leave room for argument, but at least he didn't push when Percy sipped about half of it and pushed the plate and cup away from him.

"Do you really have to come? I've handled way worse on my own than talking to a couple of friends."

Triton's green face softened, blue eyes holding a certain fondness that had not been there eight days ago. It was weird and sudden and Percy was still adjusting. "I know full well that you can handle a great many things, sea star, but that does not mean you need to. And definitely not alone when someone wants to help."

Well, how was he supposed to argue with that?

Nico and Will very much didn't expect Triton to come with him to their talk, let alone give them the stare-down, as indicated by the bewildered glance they shared with each other. The god scoffed softly and kissed Percy's temple with a murmured promise he'll be in-range if needed before strolling off to check in with the freshwater nymphs in the area. He was left standing shin-deep in the surf. At least he could still visually see his brother about a quarter mile down the beach.

"Percy," Will started with a tremulous smile, gripping onto Nico's hand, "you look good. How are you?"

He crossed his arms and gripped his elbows to hide the nervous tremors. Monsters were easy, feelings were hard. "'M okay. Dad and Amphitrite and Triton are making sure I eat and sleep enough."

"Since when did they like you?" Nico asked. And yeah, okay, historically he'd had issues with his family, but he didn't understand why his cousin was being snotty about it.

"Since Triton found me in the middle of a mental breakdown without anyone else for support," he snapped back coolly. It hurt that the kid he'd done nothing but support and care for couldn't return the favor.

They both winced and took a step back as the waves angrily surged forward.

Nico sighed. "I'm sorry, Perce. You know I have problems with emotions sometimes."

"That's not an excuse, Neeks. We've always tried to be open with each other. What changed? You pulled back from me, never had time to spend together. Have you seen the looks some of the campers give me? That I'm a monster? I needed you. You're the only one in this entire freakin' camp that can relate!"

He swallowed around a dry throat and tried to calm himself. Gods, it felt like he was going to puke, but the words wouldn't stop. "You're more than a friend, you're like a little brother to me. I'm so, so happy for the two of you finding someone who gets it, gets you. But I don't know if you realize that I feel used and abandoned not just by you, but by this camp.

"'Win us this war, Percy.' Yeah, sure, I live on Earth too and I wouldn't let it fall to pieces, but it feels like no one really sees me here besides you guys and Annabeth, and then you dropped me. It fuckin' hurts, Nico."

A tear rolled down Will's cheek. "Percy. I'm going to hug you now and I need you to not fight it, okay?"

He was summarily glomped by the younger teen and found his own face was wet with tears.

"We had no idea you felt like that, Percy. I'm sorry! I'm a terrible friend! I stole your brother!"

Percy wheezed out something between a laugh and a sob.

"For real, Perce," Nico added, looking pained. "I've been spending less time with you and I'm sorry that I wasn't there when you needed me. I'm going to do better. And… I don't want to shift blame here, but I want you to know what we saw. It looked like you were pulling away from us. Every time I went looking for you to hang out, you were with Annabeth. I didn't want to ruin your alone time. Heck, every time anyone went looking for you, Annabeth was taking up all of your time."

He blinked, stunned. "Has Annabeth really been taking up all my time like that? I always spent time with her when I was bored and everyone was busy…"

Had he really done that? Pushed others out accidentally? Percy's heart dropped. He was a terrible person.

Will shook his head against Percy's chest. "It's not your fault. You were lonely and there's nothing wrong with going to your SO for comfort. Any relationship is a two-way street. And I know you, Percy Jackson. Don't go blaming yourself for something you didn't do."

Will gave him one last squeeze and returned to Nico.

"I think the space has been doing you good," Nico said grudgingly. "I know how a dad's divine family can grow on you, afterall. Take some time for yourself. Relax. Enjoy yourself for once in your life. When you're ready, come back to see us. We'll always be your friends, and we'll always be here for you. Just… I'll be better about showing it."

In a fit of spontaneity, Percy took the little sea stars on his ears and passed them to his friends. "Here. So we can stay in contact better."

"A starfish?"

He smirked mischievously. "You'll see. Can't give away all my new tricks."

Nico snorted and Will let out a small laugh, but they humored him and stuck the sea stars to their left earlobes. They both gave him a tight hug and made him promise to keep them updated before waving and heading back to the cabin area.

Sighing, Percy started making his way to Triton. While that was not easy, at all, he was glad to have talked to Neeks and Will. It was freeing to release his pent-up emotions, to have a path forward. Annabeth would be proud.

He really needed to figure out underwater rainbows so that he could talk to her. It's been over a week: the longest time they'd gone without talking since Hera kidnapped him. It made him feel weird and adrift, like he didn't really know what to do. All the same, it had been nice to focus on his family and himself for a while. Hopefully, he'd get his head on straight and there would be less problems between them in the future. If he could learn about his divine heritage, he could better control it. He could be less of a monster to her and her friends.

Penelope was the first of the naiads to catch sight of him, a purple blush staining her full cheeks. She gasped excitedly and yanked on Lydia's shirt sleeve to gather her attention. As one, the nymphs did a bow/curtsy thing with an echo of 'Lord Percy!'

Thoroughly weirded out and a little embarrassed, he tried to use Triton's bulk as a shield. He felt scraped raw and vulnerable, and this new awe on the faces of his friends was not helping. Even he knew the smile and nod he gave them was pathetic. Lydia was quick to hustle them back towards the forest, seeing his waning energy. Percy would have to make time to spend with them at some point in the near future.

"Tri, can we go home?"

His brother smiled, warm fingers coming to cup the back of his neck gently in a way that was oddly comforting. "If you have concluded your business on the surface, I'd be more than happy to return home. Anything else before we leave?"

He shook his head and sighed in relief when Triton bundled him into his arms and the familiar not-current of his brother's divinity washed over him. It'd been a trying day, and lunch was still several hours ahead.

They stood at the boundary to the beach once they were sure Percy's attention had turned towards his brother. His best friend was glowing with divinity in a way no mortal, even a demigod, ever could. The naiads bowed to him in a coordinated fashion. Absently, he wondered what attributes Percy's Mythomagic card would have. Definitely one of those rare OP cards a collector would pay thousands for.

Will squeezed his hand. "Are you okay?"

"We'll both be. Still bothers me how much of Percy's time was taken up by Annabeth, though."

"I was thinking the same thing. Let's keep a closer eye on that relationship, yeah?"

Nico hummed in agreement with his boyfriend (His boyfriend!) and watched the Heir of the Seas lovingly guide Perce back towards the waters surrounding Long Island Sound. There was something fishy about Annabeth and Percy's relationship, and it wasn't good ol' Kelp Head.