He let out a short bark of laughter as she asked why it would be a bad thing. "Because I'm a bastard, Princess. Plain and simple. Ask Percy. He'd give you many, many examples. Probably with diagrams to boot."
Sitting up, he pulled his legs towards him, throwing his arms about them. "You don't deserve a bastard, Princess." Fred sighed. "Bailey, listen to me, please."
He knew he gave off an impression of having everything together, but if anyone looked just beyond the surface, they'd see he was teetering on the edge just like everyone else.