Percy Jackson

Everyone was really nice and mom's food and baking was great, but I was ready to never exist ever again by the time Annabeth left because I get that she's worried and she wants to be around to make sure that I'm okay, but I just wanted to hang out with Nico, in bed, and then go to bed.

He literally pretended to leave and shadow travelled to my room so she'd get the hint.

Luckily, it worked, but only after like another 20 minutes and noticing that I was tired and didn't have it in me to be social anymore.

Cuddling was nice and definitely put my to sleep within ten minutes.

The next day Mom let us sleep in and I realized that it was because she had work when I woke up, but I slept until almost noon somehow as Nico was up, running his fingers up and down my spine.

Which, is hindsight, probably helped me sleep.

After we had brunch, though, Nico had to run to camp to tell Chiron he was alive and that he would be gone for dinner and maybe breakfast tomorrow, so he left me alone for the afternoon and it was honestly kind of nice to just recharge and relax and lay on the couch to take a power nap.

"Hey, sweetie," Mom said as she got home from work, holding a small bag. "i brought some candy home from the shop. Paul called and said he'll be home tonight in time for dinner, but you'll be out for dinner, right?"

I nodded my head, accepting a piece of blue taffy because it's my favorite.

"Yeah, I'm going out for dinner with Nico," I reminded her as she joined me on the couch, taking a blue sucker for herself. "I don't know how long we'll be out, but I have to go back to school tomorrow so it won't be that late."

"Sounds good," Mom told me, thinking for a second. "is he staying for the night, too?"

But I shrugged.

"Depends on how late it gets to be," I answered. "And also on what Chiron says, too. He's at camp right now."

"I see," she comments before nudging a little, almost teasingly.

Like how she used to when Annabeth and I would make plans before camp officially started.

Or how she did the one time Rachel and I went out for dinner even though I told her it wasn't a date and to date, it was not a date.

"Is there anything you want to tell me?" She teased, finally catching one of my relationships as an actual relationship and not just a friendship with an unrequited crush not on my part. "About you and Nico?"

And I expected.

But it doesn't make it less embarrassing.

"Mom!"

"What!?" She responded as she went to go put the rest of the candy in our candy bowl we always keep on the table. "I was wrong about Annabeth, I was wrong about Rachel, I have to be right of these times, kiddo. I know that he's over a lot because nobody else is really around, but I also see how he looks at you. He toned it down a lot when everyone was here yesterday, but I still see it."

And it was kind of mean, but I was embarrassed.

"You mean the same way you look at dad?"

If Mom was mean, I would've gotten my mouth slapped for that.

Instead, she just scoffed and threw another piece of taffy at me.

"I do not look at your father that way!" Mom corrected me, proving that she is in denial about that still.

"Hmmmm yeah, okay."

She rolled her eyes.

"So?" My mom asked. "Is there something you want to tell me about you and Nico?"

"Like... What do you want to know?" I asked her in response.

"Like why are you guys going out for dinner?" She continued. "is it just to show him around the city more or is it because you're more than friends or...?"

"Mom!"

"What!? Is it a shame for a mom to ask her son about his love life at the age of 16?"

I flopped back onto the couch, feeling the blood rush to my face.

"No, but it's embarrassing," I informed her because she never went through this with her parents to know, rubbing my hands down my face, because there's a thought forming in the back of my head that scared me a little. "is it really that obvious?"

Because neither of us are out and the idea of coming out to people that aren't my mom or like, Rachel and Grover still makes me incredibly anxious and Nico also isn't ready to just... Be out.

Like, we agreed that my parents can know because it's kind of very hard to hide it when he stays here all the time.

But if other people start to figure it out...

"Is what obvious?"

"That Nico and I are like..."

I took a breath.

It's my mom. It's just my mom.

My mom, who called Paul out on calling me a queer. Not saying I was queer, which is weird, but less bad as calling me a queer, it feels like.

She's supportive of me and I know that.

That doesn't make it any easier to tell her in the moment.

Which is now. The moment is now.

"Dating," I admitted, letting a breath out. "Nico and I are dating. We started going out like... Around a week after you guys left."

I paused.

"You're the only person that knows, though," because it felt very important that she knew to not talk to everyone and especially to my dad or Chiron about it. "I came out to Rachel and she knows that I'm dating somebody but she doesn't know it's Nico and I haven't come out to Grover but he knows I'm dating somebody and that's it so far because I'm not out to anyone besides Thalia, Nico, Rachel, and now you and Nico isn't out to anyone besides me and yeah. He said that it's okay that you know, though, because like... We kind of assumed you guys would've found out in the hospital, but..."

I shrugged as Mom came over and rubbed my arm to try and keep me calm because I was audibly anxious about coming out.

"I was going to ask you about it at the hospital, but then Paul said... Everything that he said and it felt like a bad time," she reasoned, which was fair. "It's not that obvious, sweetie, don't worry. It was to me because I'm your mom and I've been here when he's here and when he was there with you in the hospital for almost the whole time, but had he not stayed with you in the hospital, it would've taken me a while longer to figure it out. Especially because you do things like go out to eat and see movies with your friends, too."

"Okay, cool," I said, trying to keep my breathing to be normal. "Yeah, cool. I just am anxious about how people up like, react to it, especially if they find out in a way that isn't from me telling them and then they get mad that I didn't tell them and yeah. I know that... All of my friends are super cool about that sort of thing but it just..."

I stopped myself.

"Makes me anxious."

"Coming out is hard," Mom reasoned with me, which is the truest thing I've ever heard anyone say ever. "I remember coming out to my uncle when I was like 15 or 16, before he was hospitalized, and he would not believe me when I told him that it was possible to like both boys and girls and he didn't believe me until I introduced himself to my first girlfriend after I had already had a boyfriend, and even then he was still hesitant. Now he's dead, though, so I don't have to worry about him. You never stop coming out, though, annoying as it is."

But here's the thing: I didn't know that my mom was bi.

"You're telling me that I could have a cool step-mom instead of Paul!?" And maybe it's mean to say that about my mom's partner, but Paul is not the favorite person of the people my mom has dated. "I didn't even know you were bi! That would've made coming out to you so much easier!"

She chuckled, at least.

"Would you rather have a cool step mom over Paul?" Mom asked, humored by my reaction to finding out that she can like more than men who are shitty at being dads.

"If she doesn't call me a queer like it's the most vile thing in the world, yeah!"

Mom rolled her eyes.

"Well I'll keep you updated on Paul and I when you get home tonight," she said, which was good to hear. "since you're going out, I'll take it as a chance to talk to him, okay? I still don't like that he said that, either. I know that he knows that I'm not straight, so I don't know why he thought he could just say that. But if you're as... I don't want to say hesitant, but not as okay with Paul, why did you give him your blessing? I know he asked for it."

I sighed, knowing that I haven't talked about this part with my mom at all.

"Because," I started off, knowing this is an explanation that would take a while. "I didn't think I would live long enough to have to worry about it."

"What do you mean you wouldn't live long enough?"

And so I took a breath, and started to tell my mom about everything I filtered out these last few years.

About the prophecy that's now concluded.

And about how she was supposed to lose me because of it.