★ 。＼｜／。★

𝗜𝗙 𝗜 𝗖𝗔𝗡'𝗧 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 𝗛𝗘𝗥

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖎𝖙𝖗𝖊 𝖉𝖎𝖝:
BABY

★ 。／｜＼。★

IT WAS PRETTY common for children of Demeter to be good at cooking and / or baking. Considering they were dealing with ingredients that came from plants most of the time, they just had a knack for it. Belle was no exception, of course — she was definitely more cooking-centric than baking-centric, but feeling bold, she had offered to bake dessert for dinner that night at home.

Which, in short, was incredibly intimidating. Sally Jackson was famous for her desserts and her cooking. Yet, Belle hadn't entirely done it alone, since Annabeth had given her some suggestions.

See, Annabeth had taken up baking because she had quite literally run out of the classes needed for graduation. Annabeth was still extremely dyslexic and ADHD, had crazy Demigod problems, and helped Belle through her miserable junior year while Percy was missing (Belle would never forgive Hera for that, even though she wouldn't have met some of her best friends), but she had taken so many advanced placement courses and gotten good grades that the counselor at SODNYC suggested Annabeth should've just taken a study hall for her seventh course.

But Annabeth wasn't like that. She didn't like to coast. So, she signed up for Beginning Culinary Design, which was just an elective course. So far, all she had been working on cupcakes. Annabeth seemed to enjoy it so much that she passed a lot of her information to Belle. And Belle, gracious for all of her tips, tried out the cupcake recipe Annabeth had sent her.

One thing that neither her or Annabeth did when she brought dessert on her own was make blue food. That was something so sacred to Percy and his mom that they wouldn't dare touch her. So, today, Belle had made the frosting to the cupcakes green, with purple sprinkles placed around like a flower shape.

Sally admired her cupcakes, which laid on the counter. "Sweetheart, these look amazing!"

Belle smiled wide, her heart warming — there was really no comparing Sally's compliments to her, not even ones from the Gods. "Thank you."

They started to chat about her cupcakes and the frosting. About halfway through the conversation, Belle let her eyes slide slightly to the dining table. Percy was there was Paul, setting the table. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, garlic bread was toasting and lasagna was cooking in the oven while a Bob Dylan vinyl played softly on Paul's turntable in the background.

Camp Half-Blood was the only place Belle had considered home for a good part of her life. She had been there she was about nine or ten, and before that, her father had practically ignored it. There, she had met Katie, Connor, and Travis, plus the Demeter Cabin, and that made it even more of a home to her. Yet here, standing in the Jackson's apartment in New York City, she felt . . . content. New York was home. Percy was home.

They all sat together around the table. Belle took her usual spot next to Percy, moving some hair off of her shoulder. Once all of them were settled down, they started to pass around the salad they had made with Belle's vegetables she had been growing on the fire escape (okay, listen — she could not stay too far from a garden, sue her). However, Percy finally noticed what was wrong. Sally was drinking a glass of sparkling water, even though she usually had a glass of red wine with dinner.

"No vino?" Percy asked.

Sally shook her head, her eyes sparkling. "No. Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that."

"About wine?"

"Ahem," Paul coughed, pinching with both hands.

Percy looked over to Belle for help. Belle, of course, knew what was going on. She had been trusted with Sally's secret for a couple of days. Of course it was hard keeping it from Percy, but she had no room to tell him herself. She gave him a look, that said seriously, you don't get it? Although, she couldn't help the fondness in her eyes. Percy was so oblivious that it was kind of endearing sometimes.

"Not about wine," Sally told him. "More about why I'm not drinking it tonight. But first, I want to be clear that this should not affect your plans, Percy. I don't want it to distract you from everything you've got going on... especially getting into New Rome University."

Percy seemed panicked for a second, his hand brushing against Belle's knee for comfort. "Mom, I — I live in distracted. It's my zip code. Whatever is wrong, I want to help."

"Oh, sweetheart." Sally reached across the table and took his other hand in hers. "Nothing's wrong. I'm pregnant."

He blinked, looking like he just got hit upside the head. "Pregnant . . ." Sally gave him a brave smile in response. "Like . . . you and Paul."

Percy looked over to his stepdad. Paul hadn't touched his lasagna at all. In fact, nobody was really moving. To be honest, none of them — even Belle — knew how he was going to react. He could've exploded all the plumbing in the building . . . again.

"Yes, me and Paul," Sally confirmed, sliding her hand into Paul's.

Belle watched Percy carefully. She wasn't so much concerned for Sally and Paul — they would be okay. That was a given. She was concerned for Percy, though. Percy glanced over at her, and she tilted her head as if to say, well?

Percy then grinned, the wide type of grin filled with so much happiness, the very same one that made Belle's stomach flip upside down every time. "That is awesome."

Like a rock to a glass window, the tension in the room completely shattered — which was a lot better than the pipes breaking. Percy jumped out of his chair and hugged Paul first, since he was closer. Paul seemed startled, his shirt sleeve accidentally getting dragged through the lasagna.

Percy let him go and rounded around the table, hugging his mom tightly. Sally let out a mixture of a laugh and a sob — a sound of total relief and total happiness. Their whole table was a mess of some crying, although Belle wouldn't disclose who it actually was. Finally, they all got settled back into their places, a floating sort-of feeling going around the room.

"I'm really glad you're happy," Sally admitted.

"Of course I'm happy," Percy replied, the smile not leaving his face once. "Hold up. When?"

"The due date is March fifteenth."

Belle froze for a second, looking at Sally with her eyebrows raised. "On The Ides of March?"

"That's just a best guess," Sally reassured her before winking. "Percy came much later than expected."

"I was stubborn," Percy insisted. "So this means I'll be here when the baby comes. That's awesome. I'll have a few months before . . ."

And just like that, Percy's smile faded, which made Belle's heart sink. He had finally realized what was going to happen. If everything went according to plan and Percy got into New Rome University to go with Belle and Annabeth, they would be leaving in the summer to go to California. Which also meant he would miss a lot with his baby sibling. Percy was always good with kids, Belle saw it with her own eyes at Camp, but having a sibling on the mortal side was different. Belle knew he just wanted to be there for it all.

"Hey, you will be here for the delivery," Sally stated. "And you can come home from California as often as you want. But you also need to stick to your plans. They are excellent plans!"

"Yeah, of course," Percy responded.

Sally gave him a mischievous smile. "Besides, we're going to need your bedroom for the baby."

Percy seemed to be in a fog for the rest of dinner. Of course, he was thrilled. That baby was going to be incredibly lucky with Sally and Paul as their parents, and with Percy as their older brother. Yet, they were starting a new chapter of their lives right as Percy was leaving. It was an extremely conflicting situation, and all Belle could really do was be there for Percy.

Yet he did compliment Belle on the cupcakes she had made, which made her happy.

The two of them did the dishes together, as always, before going back to Percy's room. Belle and Percy sat on the fire escape, which they often did together. Their hands were tightly interlocked between them, their shoulders pressing together, as they watched New York stay busy as the sun set below the horizon.

"It makes me happy that you're okay with the news," Belle admitted, not even hiding the relief in her voice.

Percy looked over at her. "You were worried?"

"Absolutely." Belle stared out at the buildings lighting up the streets. "But I don't know why, because you're going to be an incredible big brother. I know it."

"Really? You think?"

"Of course I do," Belle voiced, finally looking over at him. She gave him a small smile, her entire body feeling warm the second her blue eyes and his sea-green eyes locked. "And I will not be missing you learning how to change diapers. It'll be prime entertainment."

"Hey, I cleaned Geryon's stables of flesh-eating horses," Percy insisted. "How bad can baby diapers be?"

Belle let out a small laugh. "I'll hold you to that. When April and May roll around, I'll remind you of this. You'll practically be begging to leave for college."

Percy sighed. "I don't know about that. Being with you . . . sure. Absolutely. It's just . . ."

Her eyes turned understanding. "I get it. Families are already hard, but making it long-distance . . . that's even harder."

Belle more-so meant that in the Demigod way. Camp Half-Blood was family, but they weren't there all the time anymore. And the crew of the Argo II was family, although they were kind of spread all over the place.

Percy put his arm around Belle's shoulders, tugging her in close and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "At least I've got you."

"Always," Belle confirmed, resting against him comfortably. "You'll figure it out. I know you will."

—  [  ♡  ]  —

this chapter and the next are like the shortest chapters that ever lived but I can only do so much tbh

gifs by -wintxrwidow- !