#Emilia is a daddy's girl and Asher's papa's boy

[doevademe]

Emmy's not the only one who NEEDS to know 😜 as a prompt please: the kids are asking for part two now, how did dad fell in love 😌? (I guess they gotta be older now to hear this?)

Asher had always thought of his parents when he imagined people in love.

The way his dad and papa would look at each other and just... talk, in such a way that they would forget the world around them filled him with awe.

Even after he found out it wasn't love at first sight, the idea of his parents loving anyone but each other was dumb and ridiculous.

Now, the seven year old knew better, and it was worse than he could have imagined.

"You cheated on papa?" He asked, flabbergasted. "And he took you back?!"

His father looked at him with wide eyes before shaking his head vigorously.

"No!" He said, looking between him and his older sister. Emilia's eyes were wide, and she looked at dad with such disappointment... "Your papa and I weren't together yet!"

"But he loved you!" Asher insisted. "And you still kissed Aunt Annabeth!"

"I didn't know!" he said helplessly. "I... this is why I try not to tell you all the details."

Yes, his dad mostly only told stories about monsters and gods in case they needed to fight anything of their hidden world, but tonight had been different.

After years of asking, their dad was finally telling them how he had made Mount Tamalpais blow up to destroy some monster base... and that he had recieved a kiss from their aunt before it happened.

"They were bound to find out sooner or later," their papa said, sighing. "Listen kids, life is not like one of your movies. Sometimes, people fall in love more than once in their lives."

"You didn't!" Asher protested. "You always loved dad, right?"

Nico smiled at his son.

"Yes, a part of me has always loved him," he confirmed. "But I did date someone else before we got together."

Asher's already frail world crumbled further.

True love was a lie.

"Is it time now?" Emilia asked. Asher turned to look at her. She didn't look as shocked as he was. "Will you finally tell me how dad fell in love?"

Whenever a story of their dad's featured their papa, Emilia always asked the same question. Their parents always said that, since the story was not demigod quest related, they could shelf it until they were older.

Well, Asher felt way too old after tonight's revelation.

"I guess I have to," Percy said. "But you guys have to understand... it isn't my proudest moment."

"Why not?" Asher felt offended for his papa's sake. "Did you not want to fall for papa?"

"It's complicated!" Percy exclaimed. "Kids, what you need to understand is that your dad was a dummy. He was 19 and living a life that... was not his."

"What do you mean?" Emilia asked, already immersed.

"After Chronos's defeat, your aunt Annabeth and I... dated for a few years," he admitted. "She's always been smart, and she had saved my butt so many times, I just sort of went along with anything she said, because she knew better."

Asher nodded. It was true. Aunt Annabeth knew everything about everything.

"So, I followed her to New Rome to study," he continued. "We lived together, we went to school together, we did everything together... and I felt like a prisoner."

Emilia hanged on every word their dad spoke. Asher just felt confused.

"Turns out, the life I wanted and the life Annabeth wanted were pretty different... that we were pretty different." their dad slumped on the couch. "I... didn't even know why I was studying, so I left, and went back to Camp Half-Blood to clear my head."

"And papa was there," Emilia guessed.

"Papa was there," he confirmed. "And he was not alone."

"As I said, people don't always date The One and no one else," their papa interjected. "I was... dating someone else. A boy who was helping me with some of my issues at the time."

"The thing is, I knew," Percy said. "I knew he was dating someone else, and I didn't mind... I thought I didn't mind... but seeing them together was... too much."

"You were jealous!" Emilia said, delighted.

Their dad looked even more ashamed.

"I knew then, the reason me and Annabeth weren't working anymore was because... I had fallen in love with your papa without realizing it. Seeing him together with someone else made me notice it."

"But that's a good thing!" Asher said. "Why do you look so embarrassed about it?"

"I was... very mean to that boy," he said. "I beat him in sparring matches, I went on quests to drag Nico along and away from him, I was constantly hovering over them to make sure nothing ever happened between them!"

"He swept me off my feet," Nico said, winking at them. "But don't think badly of your dad, he wasn't trying to make me and that boy split. He just was very bad at dealing with his feelings."

Asher felt like a puzzle piece slotted back in place.

"Dad loved you so much he couldn't help it!" He said, giddy. "And he made you fall back in love!"

Emilia nodded enthusiastically at her brother's words.

"Now, Asher, things aren't always so simple. When you're older, relationships..."

But Asher wasn't listening anymore.

Love wasn't a lie!

His parents were still meant to be, and had always been!

They had just been teenagers. Dad was always saying teenagers were dumber than kids.

"You got that, buddy?" Dad asked. Asher nodded. "Well, I'm all storied out. What do you say if we continue the Mount Tam story tomorrow?"

"That's okay!" Asher agreed.

No story right now could top his new understanding of love.