Sorry about that, guys. It's back online and will be posted regularly, or as regularly as my exam schedule permits. Otherwise, this is completely written and ready to be published.

In the orphanage, Percy was always given such sweet, pitying looks, like poor little guy, he is so sweet. Wonder how they could hurt him like that.

Percy knew they pitied him, they always rather thought he was too young and too sweet and had a much too difficult life for his age. Percy didn't mind, he always got a few extra sweets hidden in his backpack, winks from his caretakers as they turned a blind eye to some of his shenanigans, extra food from some of the older kids under the table.

Percy also knew that this special treatment had nothing to do with his so-called 'difficult life'.

Sure, his mother was a hooker and an addict and her husband was a gambling drunk with contacts in the mafia, but all-in-all, Percy didn't really think his life had been so bad.

His mother usually ignored him, but she did remember him every once awhile, just enough to make sure the fridge had mostly enough (not always, but often enough he wouldn't starve or be malnourished or anything of the sort, and even when she wasn't around, he managed to get by). Sometimes, she even showed she had once had a heart by ordering him a pizza when she hadn't been home in a few days.

Usually, it was a sort of apology. I know I haven't been home in a few days, so take this and keep your mouth shut. It usually took her a few more days to manage to stumble back home again.

Sometimes Gabe and his buddies were around. Gabe always tried to take the pizza from him. It's not like you earn your keep around here, boy! But Percy had hardly survived in such a toxic environment by being dumb.

Okay, that was a lie. He was plenty dumb and he knew it, but he also knew how to be sweet and charming and cute. And when Gabe snatched the box from his small hands which could hardly hold onto the box in the first place, he'd give him a sad wide-eyed look of despair. It always worked like a charm.

Someone would comment that it was hardly enough for them anyway, and another would suggest ordering some more. They would order a huge variety and he always got a selection and it'd always be enough for someone to push it in their fridge and make sure Percy knew. They'd wink, as if to say, we got your back, kid.

And they had.

There was a time when he was younger when one of Gabe's buddies had slipped into his room, to his surprise, wanting to put him to bed. You are a bit too young to be all alone, aren't you, he had muttered.

He told him a story. It started with Once upon a time and talked about a sad girl with a terrible stepmother and even worse step-sisters and how a god-mother and Prince Charming had rescued her from her sad existence. And they lived happily ever after.

That's stupid, Percy declared after a moment's thought. The man, Liam his name was,who was also predictably in the mafia was startled. "Why is that?" he asked, humoring him.

Percy was too young back then to explain what he had already understood even then, that depending on magic or wishes to make a sad and lonely existence better was a fool's errand. There was simply no satisfaction in a success that wasn't hard won, and no life that wasn't your own was truly worth living.

So he just shrugged cutely, asking which story this was. Liam stared, his dark eyes intense. Percy stared back, acting oblivious. Everyone thought he was stupid. It was easy for him to work that to his advantage. "That's Cinderella. I thought everyone knew that one."

Percy shrugged again. Mom and Gabe were hardly around to be reading him books and though he was a decent reader, he hardly had the time or the money to read for pleasure. Even the local library asked for a guardian or parent to be present to be responsible for the return of their books.

He could probably ask one of the guys around for a favor, but Percy had a priority list. He needed shelter (which he had never till date needed to worry about), clothes (he wasn't growing very quickly and that wasn't a concern. Yet.) and food (that one came and went, but Percy wasn't too worried. He had lots if backup plans and lots of guys to ask favor for).

Books were not on the priority list. If he started asking for things he didn't even need from people he couldn't fully rely on, he knew he'd be caught in a pickle when actually needed the things he asked for.

And so things went on, he got a bit older, a bit cleverer, a bit more independent.

Nobody really bothered with him too much, he knew how to duck under the radar. Until…

Ms Anna Grace was one of those irritating teachers who always knew the name of every child in class and believed in them whole-heartedly which was weird because they were only 7. She always treated them with the love and care a child deserves but also held them responsible for their actions and never just excused their behaviour.

Percy liked her (and her hugs, but he would never tell anyone how much he loved the feel of someone hugging him like he was loved) up until she insisted on meeting his parents.

"They missed the Parents-Teachers Meet. Have them come meet me after school." she told him, putting a notice in his backpack.

Percy felt his stomach swoop. Nobody ever really asked for his parents, no matter how much they missed his meets. He wasn't lagging behind enough to be a concern, and he always played and laughed and his smile was always happy enough to be comforting, and he was so good with other kids.

No matter how big a bully or which grade they were in, Percy knew how to get them to see his way. Fights were for silly children who didn't know any better, Percy could just talk them into seeing his way.

But Ms Grace would not budge. Percy explained that his parents were often working late, so Ms Grace, sweet understanding soul that she is, nodded and said she'd be willing to talk it over dinner. Would Big Joe's work and it would be her treat, it was the least she could do for the parents of such a wonderful child.

But her eyes had a dark glint in her eyes. Percy understood, she suspected that his home life wouldn't exactly meet the criteria of Child Protective Services and was trying to help in her own wayward way. It was ridiculous. Percy knew how to handle things!

But there was no use arguing, especially now. He nodded and smiled sweetly at her and when she hugged him, he still hugged her back because she was ridiculous for thinking he needed help but at least her intentions were pure.

There were worse people in the world to be mad at than people who only did something with good intentions. Like people who had bad intentions. And good people with good intentions who didn't even have the courage to act on them.

But really, it still wasn't too bad. He asked Liam to come with, because Liam was charming and always knew what to say and still sometimes put him to sleep and told him new stories and gave him books.

And Liam handled everything wonderfully. Liam was his uncle (not really, but Ms Grace thought so) and he took care of Percy when his parents were busy or out of town. They work a lot, Liam said conspiratorially, as if taking her in on a secret. It makes people trust you more, Liam would later explain to Percy, if you talk like that, tell them something special or private, make them feel like they're in your club.

Ms Grace nodded slowly, but he could see the tension bleed out of her shoulders.

And so on it went. Until one day Gabe slapped him in public.

It wasn't that Gabe was really abusive or anything, he was just mostly neglectful because he didn't really care and if he was too irritated, then he'd slap him sometimes and it wasn't even hard enough to really bruise or anything and it was only really sometimes!

Except that was the straw that broke the camel's back.

They found out about his mom's drug habit and the prostitution and they found out about Gabe being in the mafia and his dangerous drug habit and then they discovered the neglect.

Percy was in the library working on his homework where Mark (another one of Gabe's poker buddies who also liked and looked after Percy) had helped him issue a library card when they had come for him.

And so he had ended up in some sort of an orphanage, with both his mother and her husband firmly behind bars and with little to no chance of them ever regaining custody.

The orphanage was sometimes even crueler than his home place. The children there were angry and sad and scared, and with no other outlet, they sometimes took it out on each other. Mostly though, they helped each other.

Percy had the advantage of being very pretty and cute. It was stupid that it should count as an advantage, Percy had always thought to judge based on looks. But then again, his mother always said he couldn't recognize beauty.

She was actually probably right. He sometimes had trouble seeing a person as cute or beautiful even when everyone else agreed that they were.

Anyway, his natural advantage helped him in less than a month.

The first couple through the door, a seemingly rich couple, what with the polished shoes and suit and the various accessories on the woman had watched him (creepily) play through the windows as they took a tour, and immediately took a liking to him.

Introductions were made, each side warily sized up the other as if they were enemies rather than a potential family and off the couple took him for a trial run.