PERCY'S POV

He remembered the days he used to spend at his Uncle's cabin by the lake.

Uncle Tobin always had somewhat of a kind heart, a heart of giving and a heart of love. Of course, everyone has their flaws, but Uncle Tobin's seemed to be perfect in every way. There was just something different about them and nobody understood it, but somehow, Percy felt as though he could relate.

Percy remembered one particular instance more than the others. He had been walking down to the lake that lay mere feet away from his Uncle's cabin to gaze at the tadpoles that swam freely in the shallow waters of the shore when he saw a sight he could never forget: brave Uncle Tobin, kind, smiling Uncle Tobin, was crying.

Everything changed after that day. Percy saw a side to his Uncle that everyone else did indeed see, but perceived the wrong way. They saw his Uncle's emotions as a weakness.

At the time, he thought his Uncle was just sad, and that's all there was to it. It would go away, it always would, because in the mind of an innocent child, the world is merely colors without a splotch of darkness in sight.
Percy saw the darkness after that day.

Nobody could understand why Uncle Tobin was so sad when he such a great life, or why he continued to help people when he could barely help himself. His Uncle was just sad, they'd tell Percy, nothing more to it, he'd be alright.

Maybe if he'd just sat by his Uncle that day, everything would be okay now. Instead, Percy had turned and walked away, because the world had told him that when someone was sad, you shouldn't get involved because you'd only get hurt too.

Percy decided to stop listening to the world as he stood at his Uncle's grave. The world had killed his Uncle and the world had killed the color in Percy's mind. There was no such thing as a second chance for Uncle Tobin, but perhaps there was a second chance for Percy.

Maybe that's why he was always so worried about Nico. Maybe that's why he would do anything and everything for the boy. Maybe the same thing that killed Uncle Tobin had killed Zoe.

Zoe was a lot like Uncle Tobin, Percy reminisced. She had the same caring soul and beautiful heart that touched everyone she came into contact with like little fireflies; everyone just couldn't help but marvel in their beauty.

Maybe Zoe had just cared a bit too much and had been a bit too willing to protect Nico and Percy, and maybe that's why she had lain dead at their feet.

Maybe that's why the darkness hit Percy harder than ever.

They had cried, everyone had, but Percy couldn't help but resent it. People only cared when it was too late, and people only cared when the body of Percy and Nico's daughter was being covered by the soil.

It had taken months for Percy to finally understand why she did it. It took Percy months to forgive Hades and Destiny for all they had done to hurt him.

He had wanted revenge, but Nico had looked at him with those quite, mysterious eyes and reminded him of the one thing that had gone right.

They'd watched their daughter grow up. They'd seen her potential and her flaws, and the way that her loyalty killed her just like it was destined to kill Percy. They'd loved and lived and smiled and laughed for a time, and everything went to hell in the end but it didn't matter because they had those good times.

So, they moved on. Not truly, because they would never ever forget Zoe, but they didn't try to kill themselves or get revenge any longer. They had each other, they still had each other, and they had the memories that Zoe left behind.

Percy and Nico had spent an entire summer building a separate cabin for themselves in Nico's forest. It was perfection and lay beside a river where Zoe was buried. Percy and Nico lived on in that cabin, cooking together and smiling together and just being happy together.

There were nights when they'd break down and cry because they missed their beloved daughter so much. It was bad at first, and those nights were consecutive for months on end. However, those nights soon began to dwindle until they were few. They never stopped though, because Zoe was not someone you could simply forget.
Percy just hated that they'd never been able to say goodbye.

Zoe's last words were like a suicide note and they were enough yet not enough at the same time. He wanted more, but he wanted forever.

It was okay though, and that's what they repeated to each other every night, because although Zoe would never be forgotten or unloved, she was happier now in the stars where she belonged. Maybe someday Percy and Nico would join her, but for now they were on the earth, simply awaiting their time to fly, but enjoying that time nonetheless.
One of the highlights of this time was when Nico had asked Percy to marry him.

The wedding was beautiful, full of market lights in ocean-like aquas and elegant shades of gray, maybe even fifty of them if you really wanted to count. The night was truly elegant, and one Percy would never forget, and he was sure he could say the same for Nico.

They decided not to adopt anymore kids. That decision was not based off of selfishness, but more of the reality that nobody could replace Zoe. After losing the daughter they had loved so much, nothing felt more painful than the thought of another child attempting to fill that hole.

That hole was something that couldn't ever be filled, but Percy was slowly taking his mind off of that hole. There were more beautiful things in life than painful reminders and memories, and with the help of Nico, he began to see those more and more every day.

Uncle Tobin's sadness hadn't made much sense when Percy was twelve and naïve, but now he understood. Now he understood why he had sat on the shore and cried enough tears to fill up the lake all the way to the top. Percy felt like he'd cried enough tears to fill the entire world.

Maybe Uncle Tobin had stopped seeing the lake as a lovely factor of nature. Maybe he saw it as a bowl to simply hold all the tears that slipped down his cheeks and into the blue abyss at his feet.

Maybe Percy could have stopped it, but maybe he wasn't meant to. Maybe the same thing rang true for Zoe, and maybe he should start to accept that this was just the Fate that was woven for Zoe. Maybe he should stop trying to get her back, but maybe he never would.

There were a lot of maybes, a lot of things Percy would never truly understand. Perhaps in time he would, just like he didn't understand Uncle Tobin at first. It had taken ten years and the death of his daughter to truly perceive that kind of darkness.

One thing was evident as Percy held Nico's hand while they sat beside the river, and that one thing was a simple truth that Percy had known all along: it was all okay.

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im sorry if I broke hearts and shattered people and all but lol its over!

Omg! No epilogue, no third book, this is it !! So happy to have spent these past two years with you guys. Fear not though, I have RUNNING up, and I tend to continue it as I have made a plot for it. I have a new percico fanfic up as well as a dan and phil one. I'm considering putting up a frerard one as well, but I think I'll wait until I actually complete another story.

The new percico fic (which is completely unrelated to this one) is called Sing You a Song, and I will have another one up this week called Colors

I really would love feedback though, and you guys never really comment anymore so what are your thoughts? I'd love to know, I'd love constructive criticism too.

I love you guys, thank you for those of you who have been patient and stuck with me through all of this, you guys are truly incredible.

Until next time,

-Callie