One Shot :p
Hestia could see them.
Red strings attached to the fingers of Gods and Mortals alike.
Everybody is born with one and Hestia could see them all.
Some people met the person they were tied too.
Others never get the chance.
The Olympians all had there own strings.
Some already connected some not.
Athena and Poseidon have been trying to run away from there's since they first met. Until they accept that they are destined, they will always be unable to co-exist. Forever locked in a battle of wills until one gives in.
Hermes' string still in solidarity until his destined is born. Same with Apollo and Artemis.
Aphrodite and Hephaestus connected to that of the War God's Ares. They will always be connected until they fade.
Hades and Persephone connected to each other though they struggle. He is overprotective and doesn't understand that she wants to keep her freedom.
But others like Zeus and Demeter have lost their strings millennia ago.
The most painful of fates however lands on the last two elder sisters of Kronos. Hera's and Hestia's strings fell upon the hands of children of there brothers.
Hera connected to a son of Hades, Nico di Angelo. A demigod of the kind she despises most.
And Hestia to a son of Poseidon, Perseus Jackson. The Hero of Olympus and Defeater of Kronos, her father.
Now isn't that a little messed up. Ugh... Greeks!
The first time she had seen him he fought the minatour. His bravery and hero-ness evident at her first sighting.
She watched him throughout the years, fighting monsters and saving lives of her family in the process.
Fighting and winning two wars brought a lot of him to the surface for her to see. The Hearth always knows. Where there is hope, there is the Hearth.
He became a hope that she didn't know she had.
But she knew that they couldn't be. His heart belonged to another so she let the daughter of Athena keep it, and instead forever watched over her beloved.
She watched him grow old and go through more struggles.
He married Annabeth and she dressed up as nice as she could to attend the wedding.
When they announced she was pregnant, she congratulated them like everyone else.
At the birth of his daughter, she laughed and cooed over the tiny baby as much as the next person.
His daughter looked so much like him that it hurt Hestia almost physically. Green eyed and black haired beauty that had instantly had the string that connected to Artemis on her finger. Funny how the fates work isn't it?
When his daughter turned four, tragedy struck. Annabeth had lost her life in a car crash that left his daughter, young Beatrix Zoelle Jackson with severe nerve damage in her left arm.
The death of his wife sent him into a deep depression that only passed with the closeness of his daughter. He needed to be strong for her.
But who was strong for him?
That was when she made up her mind and decided to comfort the man who risked everything for the gods.
It was one evening when Beatrix was staying the night with his mother Sally Blofis, when his facade came crashing down around him.
Everything he had held in for the sake of his daughter, broke through like a storm his father is know for.
His sobs echoed through the still apartment. Heavy, suffocating sobs that mixed with the tears leaking from his eyes. Percy Jackson was a mess, and Hestia was going to fix it.
"Oh Percy..." she said softly as she stepped out of the open fireplace.
He had wiped around when he heard her voice, startled, and crashed to the ground from his unbalance.
His emotional upset already taking its toll upon him.
"L-Lady H-Hestia...?" he croaked. His voice beginning to leave him. She smiled sadly at him before moving towards him and gathering him in her embrace.
They sat like that for a while. Her whispered words of comfort soothing his unrest. Her presence alone giving him warmth. The warmth of the Hearth spreading across him with every touch, every whisper, and brush of the hair. Sometime during the night he fell asleep still tucked into her arms. Safe from the darkness that plagues him.
When he woke the next day still in her arms, he had forgotten the night before. But, when it all came back to him and he looked towards her face in fear of being smited, he stopped upon seeing her peaceful face.
She had been in her thirty year old form when she arrived and her beauty caught him off guard.
Her normally rounded chin, was narrowed. Her nose still buttoned in a way that said she'd always have that welcoming feeling no matter the way she looked. The crows feet near her eyes and laugh lines that decorated her face showed truly how happy and inviting she was.
She was beautiful. Beauty in a way only matured women can accomplish.
Deciding to let her sleep in, he got up to make her breakfast as a thank you.
Hestia woke to the sun beating down on her face and the smell of something delicious in the air. It was then that she remembered where she was and that her bed partner was not in sight.
Making her way into the kitchen, she came across a sight that seemed almost to unreal. Perseus Jackson, demigod extraordinaire, was cooking blue pancakes with an apron complete with a chef hat. This was ridiculous.
Percy was startled from his creations by the sound of a melodic laugh coming from the door way. When he turned around he almost dropped his spatula.
Hestia, clad in a baggy shirt that went to her knees was laughing at him. How did he not notice her attire early? Damn ADHD.
"Yes, yes. Laugh it up." he said sarcastic as always. The slight upturn of his lips however gave him away.
"Sorry Perseus.." her sentimentality was washed away at the smile she still sported though. He gave her a look that seemed more exasperated than anything.
"I think I have earned the right to be called just Percy." he drawled unpercy-like. She just gave him a dazzling smile in return.
"Only it you just call me Hestia, Percy." she smiled softly.
"Of course, Hestia." She watched him make breakfast as they talked about everything they could. He felt at ease around her and letting his barriers fall with her was all too easy. "Thanks, by the way. About last night."
She just smiled at him and gave a nod of the head.
After that, they had decided to meet up again at another time. They would meet whenever they could. She was always in her adult form when they did. He never understood why she was as he always remembered her in her child form growing up.
Weeks went by and the more time they spent together. His daughter loved Hestia. They got along quicker than Percy was ready for. Soon they both would gang up on him for things. The puppy dog eyes his daughter gave him always made him cave. But added with Hestia giving him the same look, lets just say they always got their way.
By the time a year went by, Hestia was a constant in the Jackson house hold. He didn't realize it, but Percy was falling in love with her. Simple things she did made his day better. They way she would smile softly at him and Beatrix. How she would bite her lip when concentrating. The beautiful pout she had after some council meetings. It all worked its way up to the night he finally kissed her.
It was after a rather difficult council meeting when she came back to him laying on the couch ready a book after just putting his daughter down for bed. She appeared in the living room and the first thing he noticed was the set to her jaw and furrowed brow. Completely beautiful without trying. He moved his legs and patted the seat next to him. That was all she needed as she dove onto the couch and buried her head in his shoulder.
"Bad meeting?" he asked. The groan he got in reply brought smile to his face. "Wanna talk about it?" Another groan.
When she lifted her head, his breath caught. The light shown around her brown curls giving her a angelic appearance. Her fiery eyes looking at him in they way that made his heart flutter. She truly was a goddess.
Both staring into each others gaze, they unknowingly inched closer until their lips where centimeters apart. He made up his mind when he caught her eyes dart down towards his lips.
"I'm going to kiss you now." he stated softly.
When she didn't stop him, he pressed their lips together with a feathers touch. It seemed like an eternity had passed by the time they separated. Their eyes having closed during then. When she opened them, she captured his eyes again.
Sea-green met her blazing-flames.
This time she initiated the kiss. Rougher and more needy. She had spent millennia as a maiden after all.
Kissing was as far as they went after that. Both not ready for the next step yet.
Overtime they became even closer. It wasn't unusual for her to be there in the mornings. She would have breakfast with them and help bring Beatrix to school when she was old enough.
Eventually years started going by and their relationship never faltered. She gave him the option of immortality, even if one of their only fights was over the topic. She knew she was being selfish about it, but she thought she had waited long enough for this to happen and didn't want to lose it.
Hestia knew that it was about his daughter being alone and he didn't want to leave her like that. He cared about her too much. She cared for the little girl just as much.
Beatrix was a smart girl, clearly gotten from her mothers side. The perfect blend of Athena and Poseidon. Her demigod powers started to show early and so Percy trained her as much as he could.
When it came time for her to go to Camp Half Blood, Percy was torn. He knew the life of a demigod and didn't want her to be caught up in it. Hestia convinced him of what was best though, so he sent her. When Beatrix showed up at home months later clad in hunters garb and a sheepish Goddess of the Hunt behind her. He knew his worries would always be worse.
After months of thinking he decided to accept her offer of immortality, but with a catch. He gets to marry her and promises to be forever faithful.
She broke her vow that night.
It was passionate and full of care. Her needs met and her comfort of the most importance. They dozed off late into the night in content.
The marriage ceremony was a quiet affair. Only their most trusted people in attendance. The happy couple sealing the deal at last.
Red string became gold.
Decades went bye and life continued around them. Beatrix and Artemis had fond each other and their string became gold as well. Hera and Nico found each other in time of distress that led to the biggest scandal since Aphrodite and Ares. In the end Zeus and Hera's marriage ended and new times followed.
The Gods changed with the times and when the universe ended and the reign of the gods was over.
Hestia spent it with her husband and their seven children, her grandchildren and their grandchildren.
Perseus and Hestia walked hand and hand into the void.
Red String of Flame