Percy

A month later, life was back to normal, Nico was doing good, and him and Carlos were fully moved in. The photo was moved back, too. Nico was okay with it.

Being he's like changed his number, I haven't gotten ahold of Grover since I moved here, but on a Thursday in April, he just showed up. The kids at school, Nico at work.

"Hi!" It's been twenty years, I don't recognize him. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah!" Grover responded. "Does Percy Jackson live here?"

"He does," I confirmed for him, letting him inside. "you're talking to him right now, as a matter of fact."

"I a... Wait," Grover had a double take. "Percy?"

I nodded my head.

"Dude!" Grover got really excited as he pulled me into a short hug. "It's me! Grover!"

"Grover?" I asked, because oh my gods has he changed.

Then again, who didn't.

We both got some ramen and a thing of iced tea to drink, like the old times to catch up.

"So like this is a legit question because I know like Jason and Piper don't have a kid yet." Grover told me. "Do you have kids? Or a family? This place seems too small for just you."

"Yeah!" I told him, and figured I might as well grab the photos we just did for Easter because people wanted them. Our friends and my parents. "Hold on a sec."

I went down and grabbed the small box of photos. There were individuals and then one of Nico and I, one of the kids, and then most of them were all of us together.

"Okay," I told him, and took out the group one. "So this is all of us."

"Percy, that's a lot of kids."

"It's three kids." I reasoned with him that it wasn't a lot of kids.

"Well yeah," he agreed and kind of pointed out the obvious. "But doesn't it take a long time to adopt kids? It's not like you guys can just have kids."

So I explained it from the start.

"Okay," I started off and took out a photo of Finn. "Let me explain. This is Finn, my oldest. He's 16, alright? When I moved to Germany, I got a girlfriend and we got engaged and decided to have a kid. After he was born she decided she didn't want the kid and she's in jail now. He's mine."

"Okay." He said, following along and I took out a photo of Luana.

"This is Luana," I explained. "I did adopt her because I was allowed to adopt another kid and I wanted a baby girl. She's 12."

"Okay."

I took out the photo of Carlos.

"This is Carlos." I told my childhood best friend. "He's not mine, technically or like legally. He's my boyfriend's son, adopted. He's 16, a few months younger than Finn. They became friends in school, that's how we like remet and started going out."

He thought about it.

"Who are you dating then?"

"You're not going to believe me."

"Like hell I won't." Grover insisted, wanting to know. "Who the hell are you dating to have been together long enough or serious enough to move in together when you've only been in this country for not even a year."

I looked him dead in the eye.

"Nico."

He laughed his ass off.

"No, seriously, Percy." He said, because I knew he wouldn't believe it. "who are you dating? Nico's probably married to some thot that sucks him off real good with 8 kids or something. He let himself go after that wedding."

"I'm not joking, I knew you wouldn't believe me." I insisted, slightly offended that he said that about Nico. "Nico and I have been together for like seven months, it's been nice. I mean I didn't know he was gay until not long before we started going out, but he's gay. He's not very secretive about it."

Grover

He seemed to be too happy about their relationship for me to think he'd make it all up.

But he was showing me around the house when Clarisse got here, which was expected. I told him she'd be here.

We're engaged, so...

It's a long story, okay? Her and Chris broke up when they went off to college and I went to the same college as Clarisse and yeah. We started going out during my second year, her third.

And now we're engaged. She's also pregnant with our first kid so it's exciting. She's pretty far along. Due next month.

Was it planned? No, we we're going to wait until after we got married. But shit, we wanted a kid anyways. It's not so bad.

"Clarisse!" Percy said, trusting it was her because I told him she was coming. Told him that we we're engaged and whatever else. "How— oh my gods, you're pregnant."

"Very," she agreed, still accepting the hug from him. "Shit, you're still looking good, though. How was Germany? I'm assuming good, you were there for 20 years."

"Yeah!" Percy agreed as they walked back to the study, which is where I was. Their house is really nice. "it was nice, I think this next Christmas we're going to go on vacation there while the kids have break."

"I wish we could afford that," Clarisse remarked. "One day. After this kid is born. I suppose you really wouldn't have many people to bring with, though. It's cheaper that way. We haven't gotten a wedding invitation yet."

"I almost got married," Percy informed my fiancee. "I have two kids. They're just at school. And then my boyfriend's kid, too."

"Oh, that sounds nice." Clarisse commented, and brought up what we found out a few months ago when we were talking with him.  He never told us who his boyfriend was, but I know now. "I think Nico has that same situation. His kid is a sweetheart, but he moved in with his boyfriend fairly recently? I don't who his boyfriend is, but it's not like I ever asked. We should meet with them, Grover. He lives in New York."

"Yeah!" I could agree to that, figuring it was Friday, they probably work tomorrow but whatever. "I can their home and ask what they're doing for dinner."

So I call their phone and the number is updated. Nico answered.

"Hey, Grover," he said. "What's up?"

"Not a whole lot," I told the son of Hades, putting him on speaker. "What are you and your boyfriend doing tonight for dinner? Do you guys have plans?"

"Well it's Thursday," Nico said, thinking this through. "We normally eat out on Thursday. Why?"

"Do you guys want to meet up with us for dinner?" I asked him. "If the dude is coming to the wedding, which I'm assuming you're bringing him, it'd be nice to have at least met him before."

"Oh, yeah!" Nico insisted, saying that sounded like a good idea. "I'm on my home right now, I'll ask him when I get home. It's his day off, he should be home."

"What in the hell does he do to get Thursdays off?" Clarisse asked the right question.

"He's a professor at NYU," Nico told us, and boy was I was shocked by that. "He has classes Monday, Wednesday, Friday."

So of course now we need to dress up fancy because this really smart guy would be there and Percy's just holding his tongue. Clarisse said she'd be back. She was going to change into something nicer and as soon as she was out of that door.

"You're a professor!?" I asked my childhood best friend, because what the hell. He failed half of his classes in high school. "How..."

He told me to follow him and we go to what I thought was another office probably for like Nico.

That's not what it was.

"It's not like I'm a professor in math or science," Percy insisted, which was more of a relief. "I'm still dyslexic. But I am a professor in art."

He lets me into this room, and it's beautiful.

It was an art studio. And on display was a famous photo, Clarisse would go nuts over it. She became sort of a history freak. She teaches history to high school. American History.

The Arbeit Macht Frei gate.

Well Clarisse beat Nico back, so she finds us and she's freaking out about this photo when Nico gets back and he looks kind of concerned.

"Clarisse," Nico said after a minute. "Are you okay?"

"That's the photo!" Clarisse completely ignores Nico and asks Percy. "How did you get it? That's like, expensive. I looked it up once, and one of the museums bought a copy for like a million Euro."

"Well, you see," Percy told us. "I was on a field trip in college, and we went to Auschwitz. So I took that photo."

We lost our shit because Percy's apparently a really good photographer.

"Wait, Nico." Clarisse then realized he was here. "What are are you doing here?"

"I live here."

And then she lost her shit because him and Percy are dating and also Percy's a professor.

It was a time.

But the fact that they were so good together was almost frustrating. Especially at our age and for being together for a while and even living together.

It was around 1:30, Nico was finishing something up for work quick, Percy was talking with us, and his phone goes off.

He answers the phone.

Finn

Our dad's are going to kill us.

Carlos and I sat in the office next to the assholes that thought it'd be funny to make fun of us.

I mean, I only broke the guys leg. In all reality, it's not that bad.

It's Carlos that probably shattered the other guys wrist and broke his ribs.

They deserved it.

The principal told us that our parents were on their way. Grandpa was here. It sort of happened in his class while he wasn't there. He had to print copies.

Which means I'm screwed no matter what. Either by Dad or Grandma. It's not like I've ever been in trouble before.

Dad and Nico showed up, and they weren't very happy. I had a feeling that being grounded was the least of my worries.

After they talked to the principal, I don't know what the settlement was, but we had to leave school early with Dad and Nico.

"Are you guys mad?" Carlos asked our dad's because they really aren't saying anything and it's weird. "Are we in trouble?"

"We haven't decided yet." I don't know why dad saying that actually scared me. It just opened the door for word, I guess. "We'll talk about it when we get home."

So we got home and Dad sat down with me in my room and Nico and Carlos were in the living room, I think. But yeah.

"What did the school say?" I asked Dad, unsure of what he would do. He seemed upset. This was my first time doing something like that.

"You have ISS all of next week and tomorrow." Dad told me and rubbed his Temple. "Why, Finn? What did they do to you guys?"

"They were saying things about us." I told my dad, feeling guilt. "One of them was giving Carlos crap about like his mom not being around because he's adopted and saying like his parents didn't want him or whatever. And they we're calling me names and I don't really know what they mean but people would laugh and Carlos got mad and then they picked on him and I got mad and then Grandpa left and one the kids walked over and shoved me, so I punched him and—"

I really didn't want to get in trouble.

Dad sighed.

"So you didn't start the fight?"

"No!" I insisted, shaking my head. "I didn't."

"Okay," Dad said and sat down.

"So are you mad or...?"

He shook his head.

"Finn, I was a lot worse than you were when I was a kid." Dad told me. "And I'm waiting for Luana to kind of become my payback. So no, I'm not mad. You are grounded for the weekend, though. No TV, and your phone stays where I can see you using it, okay?"

That was a sigh of relief.

I nodded my head. And figured it'd be fun to ask because Dad doesn't talk much about what he did when he was my age.

"What did you do that was so bad?" I asked him. "Like, when you were younger?"