Chapter Text
The first time Perseus remembered meeting one of his Aunts was around the time he was three. Some weird lady came to his home, and since Mama seemed to recognize her, he proudly showed off his newest Shark plush to her.
“I'm Percy, whas your name?” he introduced himself. It was hard for him to say his full name, so it was Percy more often than Perseus. His mama always said that introductions were one of the best ways to get to know people. The weird lady wore a comfy-looking black dress. Her skin was a darker tone than both Perseus and his mama. That combined with the dark brown hair tied back from her face to make her amber eyes look even brighter, like the flittering coals of a hearthfire.
“You can just call me Auntie little one,” the strange lady explained while ruffling his hair. He'd squawked in surprise, but he was otherwise content to just let his mama talk with her. He went back to his coloring page while hugging Finn the Shark.
Before he knew it, Auntie was coming over to babysit him. He always had so much fun with her! She made the best food, even better than mama’s! He didn’t like that he was seeing his mama less and less, but he got better and better at handling it. Instead of a new babysitter each month, only Auntie looked after him when Mama had to work. She always had a new, perfectly-fit outfit when he saw her.
Perseus understood more about adult things even though he was only four. Outside of work, Mama was oftentimes more exhausted. Auntie said he was an observant kid, but he didn’t like being this observant when he couldn’t help. Saying stuff wasn’t an option either because he could tell Mama was doing her best. So whenever Auntie took him outside, he grew more silent. It was easier to be silent then talk and let something slip.
Currently, though, he was working on a coloring page while excitedly chattering with Auntie about some new fish facts that he learned at the aquarium his mama brought him to. That's when a new pair of footsteps entered the apartment - but the person didn’t use the door.
“Hes, I’ve been looking for you everywhere! You will not believe what - Oh, who’s this cutie!” the new weird lady squealed. Perseus blinked at her and clicked his mouth shut. Auntie chuckled at her antics.
“This is Perseus, Sei’s kid,” Auntie explained to the surprise of the new weird lady.
She was pretty though. The hem of her dress rested at her knees at the front, and barely graced the floor in the back. Bones in decorative designs spread throughout the midsection of the dress as well as what looked like herbs threaded between the corset's laces. The skirt finished with a scalloped edge that reminded him of flower petals. Blonde or brown hair skimmed her tan shoulders. Her green eyes made him think of the flora he’d find on a hike through the woods with his mama.
“Well, hi there, Perseus! You can call me De, or Auntie De if you wish,” she said.
He just nodded. He'd learned all about stranger danger, but if Auntie trusted De, maybe he could too. He just needed a little time.
“Do you want to hear shark facts?” he asked.
De sat next to Auntie and nodded. He warmed up a lot faster while he was spouting shark facts, especially since De was asking questions about it. He ended up snuggling up next to her when Auntie turned on the National Geographic channel. That’s when his mom came home to Perseus curled up, sound asleep, against a new person sitting on her couch alongside Auntie.
He couldn’t go to museums as often as he wanted with Mama since she worked so often, but Auntie De was amazing. She was always up to taking him outside and reading off every single plaque that he pointed to. He loved each time they could go somewhere new, where Perseus got to soak up new information like a sponge. She also helped him get more accustomed to existing outside of his home, even though it was a self-imposed rule of his to stay silent.
After they visited pretty much every museum in their reach, Perseus was bored and wanted something new to learn. Auntie De started teaching him the ins and outs of gardening and identifying wildlife. Auntie was watching him closely as he ran around. Despite how quiet he was, he was very rowdy, or at least that’s what his pre-school teachers said.
Perseus spotted the strange woman that looked all too regal leaving the woods before Auntie De or Auntie. He ducked in between both of them and tried to get a read on the woman.
“Dearest Sisters, however could this Youngling be so intriguing that you’re setting aside your duties?” The regal woman had relatively fair skin, and her glittering blue eyes looked crystalline. The brunette’s hair was drawn back in a style so complex that Perseus couldn’t name it. Perseus drew himself closer to Auntie De, who stepped up and forward.
“He’s Sei’s. His mom is a hardworking woman and won't let us pay for a new home for her. We’re looking after Perseus for her instead, so she doesn’t have to worry about him when she’s exhausted,” Auntie De explained.
Perseus didn’t know who Sei was. Maybe his dad? Any time he asked, Mama said he was lost at sea. Auntie rubbed his back in a comforting manner.
The regal woman’s expression softened overall. “I apologize if my sudden appearance startled you young one. You can call me Ra. I take it that you are this Perseus my sister mentioned?”
Perseus nodded. Auntie took to explaining that he wasn’t much of a talker around new people. Ra sat on the ground on the other side of the garden bed with Auntie De sitting next to her. His brows furrowed. She was going to get her extraordinary dress…thing…dirty.
Perseus occupies himself with gardening though. Ra seemed fine with him not talking to her. The adults were having their own conversation about someone, so he tried not to listen. Eavesdropping was rude.
Ra didn’t hang out for too long. She showed up every now and then, but always with a very-appreciated warning from either Auntie or Auntie De. She always wore the most intricate outfits too. Fit for a queen really.
Once Perseus warmed up to her, she asked if he wanted to learn about table etiquette and he readily agreed. While he wasn’t near the end of learning what gardening had to offer, he was glad to have something new to throw into the mix.
Perseus wasn’t ready for any more new people to show up. He was five and all his teachers commented that he was already was too quiet. The next time Auntie De showed up, it was just her. Then a man came following in behind her. Auntie De sighed, pausing for a minute before sighing again. Couldn’t think of any nicknames for them maybe? Yes, Perseus noticed that they always introduced themselves with nicknames. He still didn’t even know Auntie’s name, or a nickname.
Perseus busied himself with a book even though reading was hard for him. Mama and doctors said he had something called ‘dyslexia.’ It made writing really really hard too. He could get through a book on his own though, sometimes. It was easier if he really liked what it was about.
Auntie De and the man talked for a bit. Perseus tried not to listen, but the words on the page just kept swirling around and mixing together. When he finally had enough, he threw the book across the room and folded himself into a ball. The book was one he had both Auntie and Auntie De had read aloud to him before. He just wanted to be able to do it himself.
“Squirt’s got an attitude, huh?” the man commented.
Auntie De smacked him on the back of the head and walked over to Perseus.
Perseus focused his attention on the man. He looked like he belonged in the military, though his buzzcut was a bit overgrown. A loose-fitting camo print jacket was layered over a black tank top, and he wore loose-fitting pants that matched. Scars were scattered across his skin, which was similar to Auntie De’s. Where hers was a rich chocolate, his was like well-hydrated leather. His eyes looked dark red, but Perseus thought that couldn’t be right. Red wasn’t an eye color. Perseus shook his head and instead wondered where all the man’s scars come from.
“Sweetheart, why’d you throw the book?” Auntie De asked softly.
Perseus was glaring at where the book had landed. “It wouldn’t let me read it,” Perseus replied, huffing.
Auntie De chuckled, and the man picked up the book.
“Isn’t this a bit much for a kid to read on their own?” the man asked.
Perseus still didn’t have something to call him and that annoyed him a bit.
“He’s already heard it read aloud twice. He’s a smart kid who loves learning new things. We’ve been rehashing old gardening lessons for a while now.” Perseus didn't understand why Auntie De would bring that up. The man, however, lit up.
“Want to learn how to fight?” he asked.
"Yes!" Perseus hopped up to his feet in response. The boy barely reached the man’s waist.
Auntie De chuckled and had them go outside first. The man talked a lot about 'there's a science behind fighting.’ Perseus listened intently, practically skipping with excitement. They had to start slow, which would probably be upsetting to any other five-year-old, but not Perseus. Never Perseus. Learning was the best. With the fight training starting with hand-to-hand, Perseus mentally dubbed the man Uncle Punchy. The first time he called Uncle Punchy that out loud, the man laughed loud and long.
It was almost a year of learning how to fight from Uncle Punchy. There was a lot of theoretical fight talk as he prepped Perseus to actually fight. It was the best though. He was getting bruised more often than not, but Perseus was happy even when it hurt. Showers helped the bruises feel better, especially cold ones.
Perseus ends up being annoyed with the public school system. They don’t want to push him forward, even though he already knows how to do what they're teaching. He rants to Uncle Punchy about it during the warm-up sessions before their training.
The teachers are always too annoying too, so condescending. It’s always his attitude that makes them not want to push him forward. He has a lot of suspensions already. There were too many classmates of his that were being targeted by one of the older kids. Despite being half their age, Perseus would lash out and always won. Mama doesn’t like that he’s reacting with violence, but Uncle Punchy is proud of him for sticking up for the weaker kids.
Many days, Perseus just sat at home, wishing it was one of the days that Uncle Punchy came. That way, he'd have something to busy his mind with. One day, Uncle Punchy did show up - with someone else.
“‘Thena, you always go on and on about how kids aren’t even that eager to learn anymore. Meet Perseus, a child who will absorb information like a sponge and always wants more.” As Uncle Punchy explained, Thena’s eyes lit up. and sit on the other side of the living room coffee table.
At first glance, she was a female version of Uncle Punchy. Her hair was bluntly chopped at the shoulders though, and her eyes were grey. (What’s with all these people having unnatural eye colors?) She dressed like a researching scholar, with a roomy deep beige sweater atop a white shirt. She wore a messenger bag, and Perseus wondered what was inside. The strap across her body had been carefully placed to protect a necklace of seashells with a large conch pendant at the center.
“You like to learn?” Thena asked as she sat on the other side of the living room coffee table.
“It started with fish and shark facts, but it grew into a hunger for just about any type of knowledge. Auntie De is teaching me about gardening, Ra teaches me about ‘proper etiquette’ and what situations call for those mannerisms, and Uncle Punchy is teaching me how to fight. Meanwhile, public school is just things I already know, but they won't let me move up a grade because of my ‘bad behavior.'” Perseus finished with a sigh.
Thena nodded along with his words. “So, what would you say your preferred style of learning is? Books? Work packets? Powerpoints?”
Perseus had to think about it. He just did whatever allowed him to learn. Books were fun though, when he was capable of reading them.
“I like books when my dyslexia isn’t too bad. I like learning from people the best, I guess. It allows me to ask questions and get answers right away.” He put a finger to his chin, then nodded. That was about the jist of it.
Thena pulled books from her over the shoulder bag. She started asking what he was interested in learning.
“Everything,” he responded, his eyes practically sparkling as he looked at the giant books Thena had set on the table.
She kept asking questions about what he preferred, and he kept answering. That's how his mom found him that day - Uncle Punchy supervising while Thena made a schedule for the alternating ‘tutoring’ from her and martial arts training from Uncle Punchy. Mama looked stressed and ran a hand down her face with a sigh.
He got suspended from his kindergarten at one point. Of course he did. It was fine, though, because he had Thena to teach him. Perseus had started calling her Auntie Thi pretty quickly. Her lessons were the best and always so interesting. His mind was worked in the way he wanted and needed it to be, and his training with Uncle Punchy worked out his energy.
Perseus’ seventh birthday came and went, with Auntie Thi saying her gift was still in the works.
He was already going through the motions of warming up when Uncle Punchy showed up with someone else. The man’s ragged and heavily stained clothes almost blended into his skin, which was just a touch lighter than Uncle Punchy’s. His dark brown hair was tied up in a bun. The matching beard looked like it had a forge’s embers nestled into the curls, flickering hypnotically. Perseus noted that he was a burly man, likely capable of fighting. He thought twice after his eyes caught on the well-fitted and customized knee brace and cane though. It was probably not a new or temporary injury, so the man probably avoided fighting where he could.
“Squirt, this is Heph, he’s helping Thena with your gift,” Uncle Punchy explained.
That was all Perseus needed. Perseus was confused when Heph asked him a few questions about his dyslexia, but he answered nonetheless. Heph also took a few measurements of his head. The man noted everything down on a little hand-sized notepad.
Heph didn’t seem to be very good with understanding emotions. That was fine, he could understand, even though Perseus was good at understanding emotions. He was good at noticing other people’s emotions. He could translate the slightest narrowing of the brows or the tiniest twinge of the lips.
Once Heph got the information he needed, he left and allowed Perseus and Uncle Punchy to get to training.
Perseus was confused at first when he finally got Auntie Thi’s gift. It was a nice pair of glasses that was fitted with a necklace chain, allowing them to hang around Perseus' neck. The chain was silver and decorated with feather and seashell charms all along its length. The frames themselves had an iridescent swirling color that reminded Perseus of galaxies. They were amazing, but Perseus didn’t understand why he was given glasses of all things. His eyesight was fine, as far as he was aware.
Then Auntie Thi helped him put them on and handed him a book. He was actually able to read it. No words dancing around, no letters floating off the page. No dyslexia. He was pretty much crying when he realized what the gift was. He ended up hugging Auntie Thi with pure happiness.
The glasses made any reading assignments for school a lot easier to get through. He didn't need to ask Auntie De, or Auntie, or Ra, or anyone else to read museum plaques out loud to him. Now he was capable of reading them for himself. That made museums even more enjoyable for him. Mama must have noticed because she seemed happier too.
Perseus was sparring with Uncle Punchy at their usual spot in Central Park. He was trying to get the hang of new moves that he was taught. There was always something wrong with the execution though. The more he focused on getting that right, the more he got something else wrong. Part of him wanted to work harder than ever, and part of him wanted to just call it quits. Uncle Punchy called for their first break, finally; Perseus sat on a bench nearby.
“Dite,” Uncle Punchy said, almost breathlessly.
Perseus followed his gaze to find a stunning woman. She had that, uh, what was it called? Vitiligo? Yeah, she had vitiligo that almost looked like waves swirling around her figure. She was wearing a beautiful seafoam green dress with see-through sleeves. Her hair was auburn, but closer to brown than ginger. Uncle Punchy had good taste.
“Darling, who’s this little one? He doesn’t seem like one of yours, although that look in his eyes does remind me of your sister,” Dite said.
She looped her arms around Uncle Punchy. He looped an arm around her lower back in return, giving a kiss to her forehead. Gross, romance. Perseus stuck his tongue out in mock disgust. That got a laugh from Uncle Punchy.
“That’s Perseus, uh, we haven’t figured out who’s kid he is. Though pretty sure Tia knows, she’s keeping it under wraps though.” Uncle Punchy explained.
Dite practically gasped when she got a look at Perseus.
“You let him out looking like that? Do they always dress like that?” she asked Uncle Punchy.
Perseus didn’t see anything wrong with his random outfits. It took more energy to try planning out an outfit, plus he liked the randomness. Dite seemed to think that was unacceptable and picked him up. He was seven! He didn’t need to be carried like a child! Although his legs did hurt… it’s acceptable for now...
She helped him pick out better outfits, and Perseus had to admit that he did like what she helped him pick out more than his randomness. He eyed the skirts a few times, but diverted his gaze a lot. His school made sure he knew that boys weren’t allowed to wear skirts. They looked like they’d be nice to wear though, and fun to fight in as well. Dite must have noticed that he kept eyeing then looking away from the skirts because she started to drift that way.
“You know, you can get skirts and dresses if you want. I know people have made you think that boys aren’t allowed to. But that’s not an actual rule, you can wear whatever you want.” Dite booped him on the nose for emphasis, that was all the convincing he needed. If an adult who Uncle Punchy liked said it was fine, then it was fine. He picked a few skirts out that he liked, nothing shorter than his knees, even getting a soft blue dress too.
Perseus no longer thought that his happiness was the reason Mama was happier. She had offhandedly mentioned dating someone a while back, though he didn’t pay attention to it. Auntie De was getting ready to leave when Mama brought her date over to meet him. His name was Gabe. Perseus thought it should be Smelly Gabe, because he STUNK. Perseus’ face scrunched up at what he could only describe as moldy cheese, wrapped in his sparring clothes, all drenched in sweat.
He only pretended to be nice for as long as Mama was around. The moment she left earshot he was the Worst Person Ever. He was alone with him. When did Auntie De leave? Smelly Gabe kept going on and on about how he didn’t understand what Sally saw in him, how he didn’t think Perseus was as smart as she described, and how she was just looking over his bad attitude. Except he didn’t say a thing. His lips stayed together and his face stayed scrunched in annoyance.
Auntie De came back then with someone else, an almost cherubic man with dark violet hair. Auntie De picked Perseus up, and he was happy to cling to her. He did not like Smelly Gabe.
She and stood between the new man and Smelly Gabe. The new man asked Smelly Gabe maybe 3 questions before deciding, "you are not for her." He promptly kicked Smelly Gabe out as Mama came back into the room.
“He gone, Dio?” Auntie De asked the new man.
Dio nodded in response. He folded his arms before running a hand through his hair. After a moment, he sighed and walked over to Auntie De and Perseus.
“You alright kiddo?” Dio asked him.
Perseus didn’t know how to respond, so he smooshed his face into Auntie De’s shoulders. Mama talked with Dio and Auntie De to figure out what happened. In the meantime, Perseus was still trying to make sense of why Smelly Gabe hated him so much. It didn’t make any sense. Perseus had never even Met him before.
Dio became another constant presence, being upgraded to Uncle Dio. He added a new perspective to gardening that Perseus didn’t get from Auntie De, and he was never going to argue with new information.
The next half a year went peacefully, learning from Auntie Thi, training with Uncle Punchy, gardening with Uncle Dio and Auntie De, learning etiquette with Ra, and going shopping on occasion with Didi (his new nickname for Dite). He couldn't wish for anything more, and he didn’t want to.
Uncle Punchy started to up the ante in their training. He threw endurance running into the start of their warm up routine. He was trying to catch his breath how Uncle Punchy taught him to, eyes closed because he thought it was a clear straight shot. Key word being "thought."
Perseus slammed right into a tree, and it hurt. He felt like the world was spinning. He heard Uncle Punchy cursing up a storm of his own as he picked the boy up. Perseus held his nose, which hurt a lot. Ooouuch...
Perseus was set down on a Bench. He heard Uncle Punchy calling someone. Perseus would guess Uncle Punchy was calling Mama, but Didi said not to interrupt their shopping so she can actually relax. So who?
Someone walked up, but he still wasn't sure who. Everything was spinning ad he didn't feekk well.
“Alright, what is so urge- what happened to the kid?” they asked.
“He ran into a tree, and his mom will kill me if he returns like this. Fix it.” Uncle Punchy explained.
Perseus blinked rapidly to ignore the bright, too bright, light of the sun. He could barely make out the person Uncle Punchy was talking to. He reminded Perseus of a sunflower though.
“Alright kiddo, talk to me, what hurts and how bad.” The sunflower man was crouched down in front of him, while Perseus was still holding his nose.
“Nose, ‘n head. Bad,” was all he could really get out, he could hardly think straight. The sunshine-y person nodded and started helping him. He couldn’t really remember how Sunshine helped, but he just knew that he did.
Sunshine started to supervise their training sessions after that. It was fun to have another person to joke around with. Sure, Perseus was serious most of the time, but he did have a sense of humor. It was just modeled after his aunts and uncles.
Perseus was getting better with hand-to-hand, both Uncle Punchy and Sunshine have told him that. He was only eight and a half, and Uncle Punchy still thinks that’s a little young to start learning weaponry. Instead, most of their training sessions the theoretical use of weapons and strategic thinking on how to take down your opponent quickly yet efficiently.
He could hear someone walking up to them while just going through the motions of the stretches.
“‘Lon, you promised me we’d go hunting! Why are you going back on your promise?” a woman asked, sounding quite angry.
Perseus looked up to see that she was glaring at Sunshine. Cool, not his business. He switched his stretching to the other side, letting out the deep breath he just took.
“Sorry Artie, Tiny has already broken his nose training. I can't just let that happen again.” Sunshine defended himself.
Why was he bringing Perseus into this?
The woman, Artie perhaps, was standing right in front of Sunshine and glaring at him. Artie was strong, but also lean, probably built up from the hunting she mentioned prior. Her auburn hair was tied back in a braid. She huffed and just hit Sunshine
That made Perseus bristle. He hated bullies and positioned himself to be ready to run at Artie. Uncle Punchy chuckled at that and just picked him up.
“Squirt, that’s just how they are. Twin shenanigans and all that, so no fighting her.” It was the most behavioral lecture Uncle Punchy would give.
Perseus huffed in general annoyance, Sunshine had looped his arm around Artie and was talking to her in a volume Perseus couldn’t hear. Maybe he overreacted, just a little. Once Uncle Punchy decided that he wasn’t going to go try and bite someone’s ankles, he puts Perseus down. (He bit someone once, and he's never going to live it down.)
Artie and Sunshine walk closer to them after their conversation.
“Do you know how to hunt, young one?” Artie asked him, which - odd question. Her eyes looked like they were made of the night sky, a deep grey with glittering sparkles dotting across.
“No ma’am.” Perseus responded, she hummed and put a hand on his head.
“You can learn, and I shall teach you. Let us go.” She said walking off in a random direction.
Perseus was confused but followed her anyways. It couldn’t be that bad, right? He and Uncle Punchy talked all the time about weapon theoretics.
It went horribly. He didn’t shoot a single thing, even when he had the shot lined up right. Auntie Artie, as she gave him permission to call her, told him that he’d get it eventually. But he missed 5 shots that should have hit! He had them lined up correctly, calculating the distance and wind pushing the arrow of target. All his calculations pointed that they should have hit, but they DIDN’T.
Sunshine told him that being good at hunting takes time, like fighting. That helped him feel better, a little bit. It was still annoying that he didn’t hit a single target in motion, but he was good with stationary targets. When Auntie Artie told him to hit a tree in a specific spot, he could. Maybe he was over-calculating the shot, Auntie Artie did tell him to not think about too much.
Uncle Punchy and Sunshine were chit-chatting with one another and working on dinner, since Sunshine was banned from being in the kitchen alone. As Perseus got out of the shower, he noticed that his hair was getting long again. Maybe he should ask Didi to cut it again. She'd also asked if he thought about earrings. He ran his finger over his earlobe and decided that, yeah, earrings would suit him. He’ll tell her the next time he sees her.
Perseus went to answer the knock at the door.
He opened the door to someone wearing a generic mail carrier uniform with fluffy, honey blond hair and deep azure eyes. He dug in his messenger bag with one hand and while rapidly typing on a phone with his other. Perseus noted the entwined snake design on the case.
“How are you typing that fast with one hand?” Perseus couldn’t help but ask
The mailman looked up at him, as if expecting someone different. “You aren’t one of my brothers…are they here?” the mailman asked.
Perseus nudged him for more information, which he gave. “Uncle Punchy! The mailman wants you for some reason.” Perseus yelled into the apartment, moving to swap places with him so Sunshine wouldn’t be left alone in the kitchen. He'd still managed to burn something already.
“Sunshine, how did you already burn grilled cheese? You and Uncle Punchy just put them on the stove.” Perseus asked exasperated.
Sunshine laughed nervously as Perseus just shook his head.
The messenger kept showing up more often, sometimes coming inside. Perseus asked his name once. Sunshine told him it was ‘Herman’ but it sounded like Herman was going to say something else. Perseus didn’t pay attention to it much though.
After a while Herman and Sunshine started teaching him about twisting his words and how to lie convincingly. It was a bit of a weird lesson to teach a nine-year-old, but it was an interesting lesson.
Perseus stood in front of his now mostly-empty room. His twelfth birthday had passed and he was going to another boarding school, but this one he had to live on campus. That meant no Auntie Thi lessons between school days as he does homework, no training with Uncle Punchy, no seeing Auntie, Auntie De, Ra, Sunshine, or anyone. They wouldn’t be allowed to visit him there, and he didn’t know how to feel about that.
He had packed away his collection of necklaces and earrings. Most of his clothes were packed too. Right now he was wearing simple stud earrings and a necklace that matched the chains on his glasses. The fur-collared jacket from Auntie Artie was mostly beige and had so many utility pockets. Beneath, he wore a galaxy-patterened short sleeved shirt and pants that he’d covered in patches that reminded him of his family and friends.
“Perseus, c’mon. Be sentimental when you get back. You gotta get a move on,” Uncle Punchy yelled at him from the front door. Perseus rolled his eyes and hesitated to leave. He grabbed Finn off his bed and closed the door to his bedroom.
“I’m ready, I'm ready,” Perseus reassured. He walked quickly through the apartment and gave Uncle Punchy a big hug. “I’ll miss our training sessions, Uncle Punchy.”
Perseus didn't want to let go of the person who’s been training him since he was four. Not yet.
“You’ll see me in the summertime, squirt. Now go. You have a long drive ahead of you.” Uncle Punchy squeezed him tight once more, before pushing him in the general direction of the stairs.
This was happening. He’d miss his family, but maybe he’d make some friends.