What Every Father Desires
“Percy!”
Percy’s eyes snapped open as he jolted upright, startled by the voice that had woken him. As soon as his vision focused, Grover was standing right in front of him, completely throwing him off.
“Grover?” he asked, glancing around until he realized he was inside the cabin.
“Relax. It’s a dream,” Grover said immediately, already understanding the questions Percy must have had. As he spoke, he kicked the cabin door, which swung open for a brief moment, revealing a turbulent sea and rain still pouring down on them, as if the cabin itself had turned into some kind of boat drifting helplessly across the ocean.
Trying to wake himself up completely, Percy rubbed his face before looking slightly downward as he got to his feet.
He was wearing an old, slightly dirty wedding dress. Literally the same one Grover had worn in his first dream. Percy lifted his gaze and saw that Grover was now dressed in the clothes Percy had been wearing when he went to sleep.
“Grover.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s an effect of being connected, you know,” Grover said quickly.
“No. I was just thinking these hems don’t really suit me,” Percy replied calmly.
Grover rolled his eyes before he could say anything else. Just then, from the bed next to Percy’s, Tyson let out a sudden groan in his sleep. Grover saw him and jumped back.
“A Cyclops!” he shouted in fear.
“Relax. That’s Tyson. He’s staying with me. He’s… my half-brother,” Percy said.
Grover’s eyes widened as he stared at him.
“And how did that happen? Well, I mean, I know how it happened, obviously, but… how is Annabeth taking it?” Grover asked, shaking his head and focusing on what he believed was the most important part.
“We didn’t really talk about it.” The dry look in Percy’s eyes made it clear he had no intention of going deeper.
Grover studied him closely for a moment.
“Why are you so angry? I’ve never felt your emotions like this before,” he said, genuinely surprised. Even though Percy looked calm on the outside, inside he was even more turbulent than the sea visible beyond the cabin. “Do you feel betrayed? Percy, what’s going on?” he asked with concern.
“I don’t really feel like talking about it, Grover. And I’m pretty sure we don’t have much time to talk anyway,” Percy replied.
“Well… at least let me tell you that Annabeth would never betray you. And even if she did, there would definitely be a reason, but never one meant to hurt you. Remember, even I had to do it at one point,” Grover said in that familiar mediating tone of his.
“Yeah, when Chiron—” Percy suddenly stopped, his eyes widening as if something had clicked. Before he could say anything else, the ground trembled slightly and a thunderous sound echoed around them.
“He’s back from work,” Grover said quickly. “Listen to me, Percy. I’ll use this chance to give you some information. Polyphemus doesn’t have good eyesight. His eye was damaged by Odysseus in the past and it never fully recovered. But his sense of smell is excellent. If you come to rescue me, that information will be useful,” he said hurriedly, knowing Percy was about to wake up.
“Well, about that…” Percy hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to tell him that he wasn’t the one assigned to the quest.
“What?” Grover asked, suddenly nervous.
“No, nothing. The dress looks great on you,” Percy said one last time before his eyes flew open in his bed.
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Percy slowly sat up and glanced at Tyson for a moment, but he was completely asleep. He let out a quiet sigh as he pulled a pack of soda cans from beneath his bed, which were normally illegal at camp, but could be obtained if you talked to someone from the Hermes cabin, obviously in exchange for a couple of drachmas.
He grabbed the cans and stepped outside the cabin, heading straight toward the place where the camp met the sea. A spot where he always felt a bit calmer, watching the waves roll in and feeling the salty breeze against his face. It probably had something to do with being Poseidon’s son.
Though Percy preferred to think he simply liked it. Nothing more. He didn’t want much to do with the irresponsible father he now shared with Tyson, even if it bothered him to admit it.
He sat down calmly on a rock, opened one of the cans, took a sip, and looked out at the sea, now covered in fog beneath the darkness of the night.
He let out a light sigh and lifted his gaze to the sky, straight toward the constellations, remembering some of the ones Annabeth had taught him about the year before.
“I have a lot to prepare if I’m really going to do this,” he said quietly, not with doubt, but with certainty. As if he already knew exactly what step he would take next.
“That’s right. Maybe I could give you a hand, if you want,” a voice suddenly said at his side.
Percy flinched. He hadn’t noticed anyone approaching. He jumped to his feet, drawing his black sword from his waist and pointing it straight at whoever had spoken.
It was a slightly handsome man with blond hair, wearing shorts and a sporty shirt. He had a mischievous smile and bright eyes that felt strangely familiar to Percy. His hands were raised, and he looked at Percy without any real fear.
“Hey, hey. No need to be so tense,” he said with a relaxed smile.
Percy quickly scanned his surroundings, trying to figure out where the man had come from. He even checked the sand, looking for footprints. When he found none, his expression grew more serious. He didn’t lower his sword for a second, and his other hand moved toward his pocket, ready to draw Riptide.
“Your master trained you really well. It’s a little scary. Not many gods dare to train a mortal, much less a demigod, and even less a demigod from another pantheon,” the man said calmly as he lowered his hands. Then he glanced around and sat down on a rock near where Percy had been sitting before.
As if by magic, a soda can appeared in his hand.
Or rather, one of Percy’s cans vanished. And it was almost certainly that same one.
“Relax. Even if I know that sword can hurt me, actually managing to hit me would be very difficult,” the man said calmly, looking at Percy without concern.
Percy narrowed his eyes for a moment. What the man said made sense. He also knew there was something protecting him rather well from people like him, even if they tried to harm him. Still, he didn’t fully lower his guard. He sheathed his swords, leaving the hilt slightly exposed, ready to draw them at any moment, before sitting back down.
He kept throwing quick glances at the man.
“Ah… it’s been so long since I last took a real break. It could’ve been centuries,” he said, letting out a slow sigh.
Before he could continue enjoying the moment, the watch on his wrist suddenly began to beep insistently.
The man sighed tiredly and reached into his pocket, pulling out an old cellphone with an antenna. What stood out wasn’t the phone’s age, but the two small green snakes, no bigger than worms, writhing slightly around the antenna.
He was about to answer, but glanced at Percy first before pressing the button to hang up.
“I’ll let customer service deal with that,” he said calmly. “I doubt anyone will dare complain,” he added. Then he looked back at Percy. “Now, where were we?” he asked.
“There are snakes on your phone,” Percy said flatly.
“What?” The man looked genuinely confused for a moment before checking the device. “Oh. Right. That’s Jorge and Marta. Don’t pay them any mind,” he said as he slipped the phone back into his pocket.
“Now then, back to what we were talking about…” he continued. “Peace and quiet. I haven’t had time to relax like this in a very long while,” he said, stretching his legs and turning his gaze back to the sky, right where Percy had been looking earlier.
“You’re not going to tell me who you are or why you’re here?” Percy asked directly, earning a steady look from the man and a crooked smile.
“You know, more than anyone, I understand pretending to be a fool to deceive others,” the man said. “But I also know you’re smart. You already know who I am. And why I’m here.”
Percy stared at him for a moment.
“Hermes. God of thieves, lies, and messengers,” Percy said, his gaze cold as it settled on the god, making no effort to hide the open disdain he felt toward the Greek gods.
“That’s me. But hey, don’t look at me like that. Remember, I’m your cousin. And probably one of the few who doesn’t care at all about that stupid competition between gods and their champions,” Hermes added lightly, waving a hand.
“And that’s supposed to make me trust any of you?” Percy replied with clear sarcasm.
“No. But at least you should try. We’re family, after all,” Hermes said, his smile softening slightly.
“You know that same family you’re talking about tried to strike me with lightning during my quest last year, and nearly started an all-out war among themselves, right?” Percy said dryly. “That’s not even counting the guy who tried to kill me and ended up in a full-blown battle with my master. If it weren’t for him, I’d probably be dead,” he added, wearing a mocking smile.
“A somewhat dysfunctional family,” Hermes replied, completely unfazed. “But family nonetheless.”
“Just tell me what you want,” Percy said, clearly losing interest in continuing the conversation.
Hermes stopped smiling. His expression turned slightly more serious.
“What every father wants.”
