Either Percy's perception was off or there was some kind of joke he wasn't in on, because there was no way the boy standing in front of him was 8 years old. 13? Sure. But 8 was a severe understatement.
Poseidon nudged him a little further into the house, unaware or not caring about Percy's new apprehension. He wondered if he could just quit right now, ask to go back to Delphi instead of braving a giant kid and a probably grumpy teenager. Would his mom be mad at him for giving up? Poseidon probably would after he had spent so much time in the hospital and then driving him around.
"Daddy!" The giant boy said as he dashed forwards. Even from where he hid behind Poseidon, Percy flinched, bracing for impact. Partly out of fear and partly out of an estimate on how far Poseidon would go flying back. To his surprise the man didn't budge, picking the other boy up like he weighed nothing.
"My son!" Poseidon exclaimed, using the same voice he had when he would tell his corny jokes. "I hope you've behaved for your mother. By the looks of the house it's been…a day."
As Poseidon moved to put the boy, Tyson, Percy assumed, down, Percy peeked out to get a look at the house. It was big. Bigger than any other house he'd ever seen. The furniture and fancy looking designs on the walls really kept up with the grand appearance Percy had noticed while they were first arriving in the neighborhood passing equally expensive looking houses. The front door had opened up to a living room where if it weren't for the sea of LEGOs covering everything, including the very expensive looking white couches, it would have looked pristine.
The only thing Percy knew about pristine places was that he didn't belong.
"Percy!" His legs buckled a bit as he scrambled away from what would have been Tyson colliding with him. Instead he was saved from being knocked on his butt by Poseidon, loaning one arm to stand him up and the other to hold Tyson back.
Percy took a deep breath. He'd barely made it through the doorway and he'd already embarrassed himself.
"Hey." He straightened himself up and gave what he hoped was a friendly looking wave. The boy, now that Percy was looking at his face, did look young as he grinned back at him.
"Daddy says that-"
"Ah. Didn't I warn you about being careful with your brother? You don't want to hurt him."
With wide eyes Tyson looked between Poseidon and Percy blinking. His chubby face made Perc feel a little bad and he made sure to mentally age Tyson down from 13. While his eyes were welling up Tyson really looked his age. Poseidon's head dropped and Percy didn't want him to get angry at the boy. Plus he knew Tyson meant well, it wasn't the kids fault the shock of his size had scared Percy.
"I'm all right." Percy said. He held out his arm for a side hug and was met with a very enthusiastic grasp. Poseidon just raised his eyebrows.
"Daddy was taking forever to bring you home. But it's okay cause we got your room set up and I just picked out the-"
"Okay okay." Poseidon palmed what he could of Tyson's head and steered him away from Percy. "Enough of you. Where's your mother?"
Like she had been waiting around the corner a tall woman walked in. Her long black hair, the same color as Tyson's, flowed down to her waist and stuck out the most to Percy as she walked over.
"Traffic coming out of the city?"
"Like you wouldn't believe." Poseidon rolled his eyes dramatically before embracing his wife. Tyson went and jumped up and down between his parents leaving Percy standing on the edge of their moment. The whole thing was so impossibly domestic and almost gross enough that he wanted to gag.
"God you guys are so gross. Ugh." Another voice joined the room from some other dark hallway he couldn't see down. He figured this was the older boy Poseidon had talked about. The disgusted look on his face didn't change as his eyes landed on percy. "Great, there's two of them now."
"Watch it, Triton." Poseidon said finally breaking out of the bubble he'd created around himself and his wife. Through narrowed eyes Percy watched as Triton huffed before composing himself to where his attitude was only halfway visible.
"Hi Percy, it's great to finally meet you. We figured it would be better to wait so we didn't overwhelm you in the hospital." Amprhite said. His stomach flopped as she gave him a warm smile. He felt like he'd be betraying his mother if accepted this woman's kindness. Tyson didn't give him much room to think about that.
"Were there a lot of needles?"
"And we don't want to overwhelm Percy now either, Tyson. Let's give him some space, and Triton, can you show Percy to his room? Help him settle in, the three of you together should be finished by the time the food gets here." She gave Percy another warm smile and led Tyson away. Poseidon finally motioned more for him to come into the house.
"Pizza tonight?" Poseidon seemed okay with sending Percy off with his older sulking son too and walked away with his wife.
"Tyson said we shouldn't scare Percy off on his first night with us."
"It wasn't a complaint dear." The sick feeling he got watching Poseidon be gross with his wife was enough to make himself follow Triton up the stairs, Tyson jumping behind them.
"Your rooms that one." Triton said, using his foot to kick the door as he passed it.
"Mom said you were supposed to help." Tyson whined. Triton stopped speed walking and turned around to face them, a nasty look on his face.
Triton looked like a prince. His long black hair, just like his mothers, was slicked back with even the loose curls looking regal. His clothes made him look even more like a douchebag, basketball shorts and a t-shirt that looked too clean and expensive to have been played in. Even the socks he wore had some kind of logo on them.
"His help isn't needed." Percy settled on, not acknowledging Triton. He'd just dealt with a crackhead douche roommate. A spoiled rich boy wouldn't be a real problem for him. He'd be sure to handle Triton in his own time.
"See? And Mom and Dad don't need to know." He gave them one last eye roll before going into what Percy figured was his own room and shutting the door.
"Triton's always grumpy. But I'll help you." Tyson whispered, leading Percy into his new room. "Dad said he didn't want to decorate too much without you.
Percy stepped in the room, trying to look uninterested as he took it all in. The room was safe, but it was huge. It was probably the size of their living room and kitchen in his old apartment combined. A bed he knew had to be bigger than a full size was pushed to one side with a big window and a couple of dressers. Across from all of that were a couple of bean bags facing each other on a fluffy rug.
It was nice. It had more of a potential to feel more like home, different from Delphi where instead the rooms had been designed with the intent to be functional to as many people as possible.
"You like it?" Tyson asked, his big brown eyes peeking out behind his mop of curly black hair. "I picked the covers out."
Percy looked down and noticed the warm looking blanket laid across the bottom of the bed. Blue with patterns of sharks of different sizes, shapes and colors. Poseidon must've really listened to what little Percy had said at the aquarium.
"The blankets are my favourite part." Percy said, leaning over to whisper dramatically in Tyson's ear. The smile that beamed on Tyson's face told him he'd finally done something right.
He didn't have much stuff so with Tyson's help all of his clothes and what little knick knacks he had were set up in his room. Of course with all his clothes put up in the dressers the only evidence he was there was his skateboard leaning against the wall. Somethinghe'd be sure to keep an eye on with the way Tyson kept running his fingers over.
Since they'd finished so quickly the food still hadn't arrived. Now that he'd had more time to really get his bearings he was ready to take in more of the house.
"This one's Auntie Hestia, she's the best we get to go over to her house sometimes. And that's Uncle Hades.. We don't see him too much but his house is fun cause I get to play with nico. And they just got a new sister too!" Tyson had taken it upon himself to introduce Percy to his entire family through the pictures up throughout the house. There wasn't much for Percy to do but nod and retain the information best he could. Poseidon hadn't been kidding when he'd said there was too much family to count.
"Who's that guy?" Percy asked, pointing to a picture of a guy higher up on the wall. When Tyson took a couple of seconds longer to respond, Percy filled in the blanks.
"That's Uncle Zeus. I don't know him."
"He's your dad's brother right? The one that died before we were born?" Percy studied the picture hard. There was something about it he recognized, he just couldn't figure out what.
"He's your dad too." Tyson said. Thankfully Percy was saved from consuming that by Amphrite calling for them from downstairs.
Dinner passed well. It was awkward, sure. Amphitrite seemed nervous, like she didn't quite know what to make of Percy. Riton seemed content with glaring at everyone seated, especially Percy. Which meant Percy had to level Triton with a menacing look of his own. Which also meant Tyson and Poseidon were left to do all the talking.
Percy learned a lot more than he thought he could about sea animals.
After dinner found him back in his new room, alone for the first time since Luke's attack. In a single day he'd been released from the hospital, moved houses, said goodbye to his friends, met his brothers, and now he was alone in this big empty room.
His mom wanted him to do this, so he would. And she'd sworn to him it was just until she finished her physical therapy program. One that he'd found out could last up until half a year. But his mom was awake and he was safe in a nice house in a nice room where he didn't have to worry about Luke or Gabe coming in to destroy his peace. Instead he now had a very manageable problem.
Tyson went to bed first. Even though it was a weekend the younger boy still had a bedtime. Poseidon and his wife went next. Percy doubted they were actually going to bed, probably going to talk about him in the safety of their room. That left him and Triton to roam the house.
He knew he'd have to stall to do what he had to do. So after Poseidon came in and wished him an awkward goodnight Percy took some time to figure out the complicated shower attached to his room. By the time he finished slipping on his ratty shorts he was able to stick his head out and confirm that no one else would get in his way. Everyone else was in their rooms going to bed and by the sound of it Triton was downstairs by himself.
Percy crept along the wall and down the stairs. His heart pounded in his chest, the sound of it even reaching his ears. It wasn't like he really wanted to do this, but he had seen the way Triton had looked at him. He knew what would be coming his way if he didn't handle Triton now.
Triton didn't notice him when Percy reached the bottom of the stairs, too engrossed in his video game. It looked really cool and distracting, something Percy would use to his advantage. Triton didn't notice Percy was in the room until Percy stretched forward to knock him off the couch.
NOt even phased by Triton's yelp, Percy didn't hesitate with carrying on. He had to get his point across. He had to make sure Triton knew he wasn't someone to be pushed around.
"What the hell is your-" Percy cut him off with another tackle and his hands around Triton's throat. His injuries burned through the hospital dressing but the pain didn't do anything but fuel his anger more. Triton gasped and twisted beneath him.
"Listen asshole," Percy said, trying to ignore how weird he felt and how hard his heart was beating out of his chest. "I don't want to be here either. Get that?"
Triton didn't acknowledge his words, too busy trying to claw his way out of Percy's grasp. Frustrated that his plan wasn't working, Perfect raised a fist and punched down as hard as he could. Before he could do it again, Triton somehow rolled out of his hold, scampering out of Percy's reach.
Percy couldn't let that happen, he needed to make sure Triton would leave him alone. He launched him at Triton again, this time the takedown doing more to damage to him than Triton as he landed on his injured ribs. A guttural scream tore from his throat as he twisted around trying to relieve himself from the pain, but his movement just made it worse.
Triton twisted out of Percy's grip again but instead of running away he stood up, towing over him as Percy lay on the floor trying to get his bearings. Seeing the older boy over him made Percy's heart stop.
He was back in the room. Or maybe not, it didn't matter where he was. It mattered that Luke was here. Luke was standing over him to finish the job. Percy had barely made it out the first fight when he'd been at 100% and now Luke was here and he was already injured on the ground. Luke was really going to kill him this time.
There was no way he could win the fight. Percy knew that by the way he was already hyperventilating on the floor. He wasn't even sure when that had started, but he knew with whatever air he had, he had to make it worth something.
"Please. Please, I don't want to be here. I won't do anything else, please."
His vision was going dark. It was tunneling, blurring at so many different speeds that he couldn't tell what was happening or where he was. But he could feel Luke around him, and he knew what that meant. A shadowy hand reached down to grab him.
"Come back to us, Percy."
"I don't want to go back." Percy begged. "And I don't want to be here either. I'm sorry." Maybe if he begged Luke wouldn't see him as weak and not a loose end. As much as he hated being weak he knew there was no way he could win against Luke. Maybe then Luke would leave him alone.
It wasn't until he felt a gentle wet something on his face that it clicked that something was off. He wasn't in his room at Delphi or anywhere else that Luke could have gotten to him. And those weren't big shadowy people. It was the horrified faces of his stepmother and brother staring down at him while he lay on the floor freaking out like some baby.
The warm something, a wash cloth he realized, came back again, wiping on his face and around his eyes. A droplet rolled into his mouth letting him realize how raw his throat had gotten.
"Percy?" Horror dawned on him as Percy realized the voice wasn't coming from just behind him but beneath him too. As his senses le added back in he realized that at some point he had ended up in Poseidon's lap. "Are you back with us?"
Amphrite was standing in front of him, in a silk robe with an empathetic expression. Like she felt so bad for poor little Percy who didn't have a mom and didn't know what went on around him. Triton too stood and watched him, the bruise under his eye being ignored.
His heart started to race as he realized what he'd done. He'd gotten too far in his head, thinking Triton, like Like, had it out for him. And in the process of trying to defend himself he ended up freaking himself out instead. In just one night Percy had already managed to mess things up. Poseidon and Amphrite didn't want a broken kid like him, even if it was only for a couple of months. Especially not one that had attacked their son.
"Breathe, Percy, breathe." Poseidon's voice came from behind/under him again. He realized he was still on the man's lap and Amphrite and Triton were still towering over him with that look on their faces. The same face really, because Triton got to be with his mother and here in this house Percy was the outlier. Everything was too much at once, especially the fact that he was on Poseidon's lap blubbering like a baby. He tried to wriggle free so he could breathe but strong arms held him in place. Maybe in another world they would have made him feel safe but right now all he felt was trapped. The arms got tighter the more he fought and Percy couldn't help but dry heave.
"Wait Dad, let him go. I think he needs space. Back up a bit."
The arms released him and the feet he didn't have the strength to remember who they belonged to backed up. Percy crawled forward as far as he could before his exhausted muscles gave out and he collapsed on the floor.
"We need to do something," a voice said. "He's going to pass out if he doesn't breathe."
"The water seemed to be helping."
The voices around him were slightly familiar. Just like the color of the couch in front of him. Only rich people, like Poseidon's family, would be bold enough to own something like a white couch.
For the second time that day everything came rushing back to him. Who he was, where he was, and why he was on the floor. Only this time his body was too exhausted to send him into another spiral, allowing his breathing and heartbeat to slow down for the first time in what felt like hers.
Not yet ready to face his audience, Percy let himself savour a couple more seconds curled up on the ground with just the couch in his vision. He could hear the family moving around behind him.
"Percy?" Poseidon called. Percy forced himself through a couple more labouring breaths before forcing himself to his feet. He figured he must have aggravated his injuries based on the way they throbbed as he stood. Amprhite's horrified gaze and Poseidon's unreadable one were too much to face. Instead he forced his eyes on Triton.
"I shouldn't have done that to you. Sorry." Triton stumbled back, like he hadn't expected Percy to talk to him. Before anyone could say anything else Percy turned on his heel and ran as fast as he could back up the steps and into his foreign room.