Chapter Text
It was 4 o’clock on Christmas morning. Lights were twinkling, children were sleeping, snow was falling, and Percy Jackson was fighting a monster in his step-grandmother’s backyard.
Typical.
Percy dropped to the ground to avoid the slash of talons, getting a faceful of cold snow in the process. The gryphon above him squawked in frustration.
Percy rolled to avoid another slash, and took off in the opposite direction, drawing it away from the house. When he had awoken to the sounds of snow crunching outside his window half an hour ago, he had to admit that this was not what he expected. He thought he'd find a deer or a raccoon or something, wandering around the backyard. Part of him, the part that was perpetually anxious and always dreading the worst, worried that one of his younger cousins had decided that an unsupervised midnight jaunt in the freezing cold was a good idea.
Instead, he was greeted by a scraggly looking gryphon, dragging a scrap of gold wrapping paper it probably stole from someone’s trash through the snowy backyard. Unfortunately for Percy, the back door had squeaked when he opened it, and he barely had 2 seconds to uncap Riptide before the gryphon was on him and abandoning its find. He quickly discovered that the phrase dashing through the snow was not nearly as fun in practice as the Christmas carols made it sound.
So here he was, fighting a mythical garbage beast in his pajamas and untied converse on Christmas morning. Somehow one of the less weird things he’d ever done. Right now, his only goals were to kill the gryphon without waking any of his relatives, and without getting himself killed in the process. He wanted to say he was succeeding at the moment, but he also had enough experience being a demigod to know better than to jinx himself like that.
As he ran, he heard the beating of wings close overhead, accompanied by more furious squawking. He knew the gryphon was probably right on his ass, but he didn’t dare look back. This turned out to be a bad move on Percy’s part, because he quickly felt a sharp stabbing pain in the middle of his back, followed by the feeling of very swiftly becoming weightless. He couldn’t swing Riptide at the gryphon that was currently trying to carry him away for Christmas dinner from this angle, but that wouldn’t stop him from trying. After a couple desperate swings, he managed to jab the monster between the ribs with the pommel of his sword just hard enough to make it drop him, causing him to plummet 10 feet into only a few inches of freshly fallen snow.
Percy allowed himself exactly 2 seconds after he faceplanted into the ground to think ow and to question all of the life choices that led him to this moment. To be fair, most of the things that led Percy to being attacked by a glorified trash demon at ass o’clock in the morning were absolutely not his fault– he didn’t sign up to be a demigod, after all– but he was still regretting several things. He forced himself to his feet just as the gryphon dove, managing to put a little bit of distance between him and it before it could fillet him instantly.
In the distance, he heard the quiet sounds of waves crashing on the beach, and a part of him wondered if the wild run he would have to do to get to the shore was worth the advantage it would give him. He still had control over the snow on the ground, true, but pelting the thing with snowballs was not as helpful as having unrestricted access to his father’s domain– and, by extension, the full extent of his powers. Still, he focused on freezing the patches the gryphon was standing on until they were too slippery to stand on, making it more difficult for it to attack him.
He watched as it thrashed about wildly like Bambi on ice, slipping in his general direction, and took a moment to collect himself and try to strategize. Gryphons weren’t the smartest monsters, but they also weren’t stupid enough to just let him get close enough to stab it without putting up a fight. He needed a way to get it closer without just risking using himself as bait and letting it shred him to death, needed something to lure it in…
Underneath one of the snow-covered hydrangea bushes, the glint of something shining in the moonlight caught Percy’s eye. There. In all the excitement, the gryphon had dropped its golden wrapping paper in favor of attacking Percy, leaving it where it had previously stood. Percy looked at the gryphon that was sliding ever closer to him, weighing his options; it was dangerous, running past the thing currently trying to eat him in the hopes of getting a distraction.
But when had Percy ever been concerned with such frivilous things as safety?
He made a mad dash for the damp square of foil, never letting the snow slip from his control enough to allow the gryphon to catch up with him. He snatched the gold paper off the ground and whipped around to face the gryphon, holding it high in the air. Its eyes locked on the paper immediately, and the creature went completely still. Slowly, he relinquished his control over the snow, letting it become walkable. The gryphon stepped forward carefully, eyes never leaving the paper. Percy gripped his sword tighter.
It was inches from his outstretched hand now. When its beak opened to nab the paper, Percy lunged forward and struck it with Riptide, impaling it through the heart. It died with a horrible, miserable shriek that almost made Percy feel bad for it. Then he remembered that it had picked him up and dropped him on the hard ground because he dared to breathe the same air as it, and all that sympathy disappeared. The golden dust that accompanied the death of a monster drifted in the air, mixing with the snow and settling on Percy’s hair and clothes.
He stared at it, just letting himself breathe. A moment of peace was nice after how nerve wracking the past few days had been. Paul’s family was great, don’t get him wrong– they were nice and funny and they accepted both him and his mom with little resistance– but there was still something terrifying about being thrust into an entirely new environment, full of people that mattered a lot to someone who mattered a lot to you. A break was needed. Taking his time, he capped Riptide, and walked back into the house. This time, because the universe could never decide whether it was on his side or not, the back door didn’t squeak.
Percy kicked off his shoes and tiptoed back to his parents bedroom. The door shut with a small click behind him, and his mom stirred.
“Percy?” She whispered, squinting in the darkness. Next to her, Paul rolled over slightly.
“Yeah.” He whispered back, walking to where his backpack was sitting on the floor. “There was a gryphon in the backyard. It only nicked me a little bit; I’ll take some ambrosia, I’ll be fine.”
Sally sighed tiredly. “You ran out on the way over, remember? When that emposa attacked you at the gas station?”
Percy stopped rummaging through his things for the ziploc bag of ambrosia squares he usually had with him. He swore in ancient Greek under his breath and dropped his bag.
At all the commotion, Paul finally rolled over all the way and blinked awake. “Perce? Are you okay?”
“Gryphon,” He said by way of explanation, “I’m fine.”
Sally flicked the bedside lamp on, and inhaled a sharp intake of breath when she saw Percy. Paul fumbled for his glasses, put them on, and then did the same. Percy grimaced.
“Percy, sweetie, you’re covered in monster dust, mud, and there’s blood on your shirt. Come here, you need to get cleaned up.” She said, leaving no room for argument.
Percy sighed and sat down at the foot of the bed, showing his mom the cuts from where the gryphon’s talons had dug into his back. She hissed slightly when she peeled his shirt up, and sent Paul to get a wet washcloth from the bathroom. Gently, she brushed some of the gryphon powder from his hair, and he wiped some off his cheeks.
Paul returned from the bathroom, a dripping rag in hand. He silently sat down next to Sally and handed her the rag, who took it and began gently pressing it to the slashes on her son’s back, letting the water drip down as she went. Percy sighed, feeling the water slowly but steadily heal his wounds closed. His skin knitting itself back together was never a pleasant feeling, exactly, but it wasn’t painful either.
“Well, there’s no ichor, so at least the gashes weren’t deep. They all gone? No more cuts I can’t see?” Sally asked softly.
Percy paused, taking stock of his body. “Nope. They’re all gone.”
“Good. Now look at me, you’re not going to bed with all that dirt on your face.” She instructed.
Percy dutifully turned around, scrunching up his nose while his mother scrubbed the dirt and monster gunk off of his face. Paul laughed a little at the sight of it, and Percy tried his best to glare at him through one squinted eye. It probably wasn’t as effective as he hoped.
When she deemed him clean enough to pass out, Percy kissed his mom on the cheek, wished both her and Paul a good night, and collapsed onto the nest he had made from his provided air mattress and blankets for some well needed rest.
...
2 hours later, Percy, along with the rest of the Jackson-Blofis family, was awoken by the sound of Emmy and Lucas running around and shouting excitedly for everyone to wake up for presents. Nobody moved a muscle.
Paul stumbled out of bed first, blearily leaving the bedroom to get coffee for him and Sally (and to beg the little kids to save the screaming for at least another hour), while Sally and Percy curled up tighter into their respective blankets and refused to move.
Paul returned a few minutes later, 2 steaming mugs in each of his hands. “Alright, you two, it’s present time. Up and at ‘em.”
Sally emerged from her comforter to take her cup, while Percy sighed dramatically and continued his mission to become one with the mattress.
“5 more minutes please? I did save you all from a gryphon a few hours ago.” He mumbled.
“Percy, thanks for the gryphon, but it’s Christmas morning with a bunch of little kids in the house. It is physically impossible to sleep in today.” Paul said sympathetically.
Percy grumbled a little under his breath, but otherwise crawled from his bed without complaint. He followed his parents out into the living room, curling up in the corner of the antique couch next to them. Soon, the rest of the family had been corralled into the living room, all settling into various spots surrounding the tree.
Within a few minutes, gift exchanging had already become well underway, people handing boxes to whoever’s name was on it as fast as possible. Sally gasped excitedly at the pair of pearl earrings Percy had been saving up to get her for months, and Paul’s eyes widened at the antique copy of A Christmas Carol he and Annabeth had found at an antique store.
As the gifts under the tree dwindled and the living room slowly filled with discarded wrapped paper, Percy sat happily, holding the new skateboard deck his mom and Paul had gotten for him, as well as the blue striped beanie Cynthia had been nice enough to knit for him. Emmy shot straight up from where she had been sitting with her parents, terror in her eyes.
“WAIT!” She shouted, startling everyone.
Suddenly, she darted upstairs to where her room was located, leaving the entire family looking at each other in confusion. She bolted back down the stairs a few seconds later, a piece of paper hidden behind her back.
She screeched to a halt in front of Percy.
“I have a present for you.” She announced, and presented him with the paper.
He took it from her gingerly, and grinned when he realized what it was. On it was a marker drawing, colored from top to bottom, of a thresher shark. Its tail took up most of the page, and a tiny red crab scuttled along the sand drawn beneath it.
“Do you like it?” Emmy asked nervously.
“I love it.” Percy answered honestly.
Emmy glowed with the force of her smile.
...
Several holiday movies, Christmas cookies, and cups of cocoa later, Percy sat on the floor with his back against the foot of the couch. His mother padded across the floor, her own cocoa mug in hand, and sat down right next to him.
“Did you have a good Christmas, baby?” Sally asked quietly, carding her fingers through his hair. He leaned into the touch.
“What, you mean despite the fact that I spent this morning getting assaulted by a giant mythical rat with wings?” Percy snorted.
Sally chuckled under her breath. “Yeah, despite that whole part.”
Percy hummed contentedly, taking in the glimmering lights and laughing family members around him. “Yeah. Good Christmas.”