"It is kind of a running joke." Percy stated, "and trust me they taste a lot better than they probably look." Jason filled his plate and Peter grabbed two of them. All the adults watched the youngest teen pour syrup on them, cutting off a bit. They stared as he took a bite, his eyes widening.
"Man, these are good. I never thought I would have blue waffles," Peter said, happily grabbing a few more to put on his plate.
"I can't believe you. Avengers, having a teen try something new because you guys are too scared." Percy smiled. That seemed to snap the Avengers out of whatever they were thinking, and everyone tried some blue waffles except for Black Widow. Much to their surprise, Peter was right; they were pretty good.
"Percy you said it was a running joke. What did you mean by that?" Steve asked after his fifth waffle.
"When I was younger I asked if I could have blue food since blue is my favorite color. My first stepdad, smelly Gabe told my mom that there was no such thing as a blue food or drink. From that point on, she went out of her way to make blue foods to prove him wrong." Percy explained, his eyes dimming slightly at the thought of his family.
"Well, I would have never thought of blue food before either," Rhodey stated, noticing Percy's mood dropping a little.
"Your stepfather, Gabe Ugliano. What happened to him? Your file says he disappeared some years ago and is presumed dead," Natasha asked, having already finished her breakfast. Percy frowned and looked down at his plate.
"That isn't any of your business." Percy spoke flatly. The adults exchanged worried glances, wondering if Percy had possibly killed him.
Before they could ask the dreaded question, Jason spoke up. "What is the plan for today?" Percy shot him a grateful look, glad he didn't have to talk about Smelly Gabe.
"Well, we would like to see what you two can do, both in fighting and with your powers," Steve stated, watching the teens tense.
"I thought our deal was that we weren't going to be lab rats or weapons for you guys," Percy said, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"And you did agree to train with us, so we need to know what your skill level is so we can help you. Also, knowing each other's fighting style will help in team training," Clint stated. That didn't seem to brighten the kids' moods.
"Trust me, it is not as bad as it sounds," Peter whispered to them. Of course, the whole table still heard.
"I don't think you know the concept of a whisper," Percy whispered (actually whispering), a small smile forming on his lips. Peter just shrugged, but also smiled.
"When are we getting the thing we asked for?" Jason asked, grimacing slightly on how demanding that sounded.
"They will be here later today, and Percy, I have arranged for your family to be stopping by tomorrow afternoon," Tony stated. Some of the Avengers had forgotten that they had agreed to let Percy see his family.
"They're coming here?" Percy asked, choking on his blue milk.
"Yep, we thought it would be easier that way." Tony shrugged, not noticing Percy's discomfort.
"Is there something wrong with that?" Black Widow asked, her eyes narrowing as she tried to poke holes in Percy's defenses.
"No, I just thought I would be going to see them. I don't want to burden them by having them come here," Percy started trying to cover up his earlier shock and discomfort.
"They agreed to it when I talked to them yesterday," Tony said,taking a sip from his coffee, ignoring the shocked look on Percy's face.
"And what exactly did you tell them?" Percy asked. Now the adults were looking a little confused as Percy seemed to panic.
"Do your parents not know you have powers?" Peter asked, thinking that was the reason for Percy's panic, since he hasn't even told his Aunt May his secret. He would be pretty freaked out too if that was the case.
"My mom knows I have powers, but she has never seen them. I try to keep her out of this as much as possible," Percy stated, calming down a little.
"And what exactly are you trying to keep her out of?" Bruce asked. Percy flinched, his hand resting on his tattoo. Jason grimaced too. The Avengers frowned, wondering if they already pushed too hard in getting information as they were seeing the walls going up and both of the teens' faces going blank again.
"It doesn't matter," Percy said in a soft slightly tired voice. The Avengers frowned at the lack of an answer, but they said nothing, seeing both Jasons and Percy's eyes darken and a sad wary look form on their faces. Both seemed to age 10 years just sitting there, looking so much older than they should have. All of them decided that they didn't like that look on two teen faces, especially aces that were just smiling and laughing a minute ago.
"Why don't you three get dressed for some training," Rhodey suggested after a few minutes of awkward silence.
"We don't have any other clothes besides these gray pants and gray shirts." Jason pointed out. Rhodey wanted to curse himself for forgetting that fact.
"Then Peter, can you take them to the gym? We will clean up and follow you down shortly" Steve instructed. Rhodey gave Cap a thankful look.
"Come on guys," Peter stated, standing up taking his plate to the kitchen, closely followed by Percy and Jason as they also dropped off their plates in the kitchen.
"Well, that was intense." Scott voiced trying to break the silence the teens left. A couple of the Avengers groaned at the man.
"I will meet you guys down there," Nat stated as she walked off.
With Peter
"Hey, Percy are you okay?" Peter asked. He didn't like the sad far away look in those sea-green eyes.
"Yeah I'm fine." Percy said, putting a smile on his face. The mask over his emotions fell into place. Peter pursed his lips. He knew Percy was hiding the earlier sadness behind a smile; he knew that trick well. He also knew that he shouldn't push. If Percy wanted to talk about it, he would in his own time.
Jason gave a worried glance. He didn't know Gabe Ugliano; Percy had never mentioned him before. He hadn't even known Percy had another stepfather before Paul, but he saw a glimpse of anger and disgust when Widow mentioned the name, then pain and sadness when his family was mentioned. He knew that Percy loved his family and he tried his best to keep them from worrying about all the danger he gets into. Sure, he didn't know Percy's mom or stepdad all that well either, since he only met them once, when they called saying Percy was in trouble, but he knew they were both strong people that understood that the life of a demigod was dangerous. However, he could also see the deep worry in their eyes, and he understood why Percy wanted to keep them out of it as much as possible.
The rest of the walk to the gym was silent. Peter disappeared for a minute to change in his workout clothes, leaving Jason and Percy in the empty gym alone, or mostly alone. They could sense another presence in the room and still knew they were being watched.
"You okay?" Jason asked his friend in a hushed whisper.