Fabulous Prizes

Thunder rolled.

So did Annabeth's eyes, and Percy had to stop himself from snorting.

"Demigods," said Zeus, standing up. The Olympian Council, all eleven of the rest of them, stopped talking among themselves and looked to their king.

"You have done Olympus a great service, and we would reward you for your good work in the war against Gaia. Does anyone have any objections?" He turned to face the council on the last word, but none of them seemed to have a problem. Percy couldn't say he was too surprised. No-one objected when he got offered gifts at the end of the last war, and he wasn't exactly bosom friends with a lot of them.

Then Zeus turned to the minor gods, who had crowded into every bit of spare space the throne room had to offer, so really he was just turning around in circles. Wisely, none of them objected to what the more powerful gods had already agreed to, even the ones with grudges against the demigods, though Percy could see Heracles scowling.

"Then it is agreed," said Zeus. He sat back down, and looked at the half-bloods of Camps Half-Blood and Jupiter, smiling what he must have thought was a benign smile, though it really just made him look high.

Then again, Percy supposed he must be kind of permanently high, being King of the Gods and Lord of the Skies and living on the six hundredth floor of the Empire State Building and everything.

"Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano and Nico di Angelo," said Zeus. "Step forwards."

There was a slightly stunned silence that anyone not in the main seven would be rewarded, but after a moment or two, the pair of them were pushed to the front of the crowd. They trod tentatively to the centre of the room.

"The two of you have endured much hardship, but still played your part in winning this war, at great risk to your own lives. You did this by undertaking great journeys, across America, across the Atlantic, across the Mediterranean, and even across Tartarus itself." There was a collective shiver at the mention of the name.

"It has therefore been decided that each Olympian god shall grant you access to their domain to travel through at any time: my brothers and I grant you permission to travel through the skies, the seas and the Underworld; my sisters grant you safe passage across farmland, holy sites and homes. Apollo shall guide you in the day and Artemis through the night; Hephaestus and Athena shall guide you through the places mortals have made with their hands, and Dionysius and Ares shall guide you through the wild and untamed parts of the world. Hermes shall protect you wherever you may wander, and I'm sure Aphrodite will do something nice too."

Percy double-took. Had Zeus just made a joke? Aphrodite was laughing… although neither Nico nor Reyna looked terribly amused.

He leaned over to Annabeth. "Was all that just to say they wouldn't blow them up just for existing?" he asks. "Because they're definitely not literally guiding them everywhere they ever want to go."

She shrugged. "I think it was more saying they wouldn't blow them up because they're actually quite glad they exist."

"Oh, that's all alright then."

She suppressed a grin, and he suppressed the butterflies that it conjured up.

Nico and Reyna melded back into the crowd as Zeus spoke again.

"Piper McLean, step forwards."

Piper strode forwards, looking far more confident than Percy would have done in her place.

"It seems that your voice is your greatest asset, girl. With that in mind, the Muses themselves have agreed to train you in every art and purpose it might be put to, to make you as fine a speaker as Demosthenes, Cicero or Churchill, as fine a singer as Pavarotti or er, Meatloaf – although his voice is going a bit now; I didn't like his last album very much – and as fine a teller of tales as Homer, Shakespeare, or –" here he stopped and muttered to himself "– who else do the kids like these days?"

Hera leaned over and whispered something.

"Rick Riordan?" said Zeus. "Who's he? Never heard of him. No, I want someone good, don't I? I know –" and at this point he started speaking loudly again "– J.K. Rowling. As fine a storyteller as J.K. Rowling. What a prize that is for saving the world." He beamed, looking around proudly at the other gods.

"Is he actually high?" asked Percy.

Annabeth shrugged again. "He is the King of the Skies," she said.

"I already made that joke in my head like five minutes ago," said Percy.

"Can't prove copyright unless you wrote it down," said Annabeth.

"Frank Zhang," said Zeus, shifting slightly to a more austere, solemn form: Jupiter. "Step forwards."

Frank did so with great difficulty, tripping over his feet and almost falling as he did so. That was an attitude Percy could relate to in this situation.

"For your service, we, uh…" Jupiter trailed off. "What were we giving this one again?" he whispered, though not so quietly that anyone would struggle to hear.

Hera leaned over and whispered something in his ear.

"The stick?"

She whispered some more.

"Oh, that stick. Ahem. Yes, Frank Zhang, for your service to Olympus, we have decided to untie your life force from that stick. You'll probably still die a painful death at a young age, but at least you won't have to stay away from open flames so much now."

"He's definitely high," said Percy.

"Uh-huh," agreed Annabeth.

"Can you, like, I don't know, smoke ambrosia?"

"Or inject nectar?" asked his girlfriend.

"Yeah. I mean, eugh, but still, yeah."

"We'll have to look into it," said Annabeth.

Percy had to blink. "Did you just suggest that we go and look for god-level drugs together?"

"What?"

"Did you just suggest that we go and –"

"No, I heard what you said, it's just that that's not what I said."

"Sure sounded like it."

"Percy, I meant we should research it."

"Research."

"Yes, research. It's something you wouldn't be familiar with."

"Research," repeated Percy.

"Shut up, Seaweed Brain. I want to see what they give Hazel."

"Research," he whispered into her ear.

"Hazel Levesque," Jupiter was saying, "For your brave work in helping to defeat the giants, we have decided to give you full control over your curse. We have also decided to overlook certain, ah… irregularities in your accounts. It is my pleasure to announce that you are officially alive, and also to give Hecate full permission to train you in the arts of the Mist, which she did not previously have." The last few words were said emphatically, with the Lord of the Sky's gaze fixed firmly on the goddess of magic. Percy was beginning to suspect that his words were a little pointed.

"Thinking about it, these god drugs do look like a lot of fun," said Annabeth, grinning. "Shall we try some?"

Percy trembled as he tried not to laugh, his belly shaking and his jaw aching.

"Jason Grace, my own son," said Jupiter. "Step forwards."

He looked down at Jason as the Roman half-blood knelt in the centre of the room. There was a long silence, as the god watched his son, before eventually speaking. "Rise," he said. "It has been decided that, for your leading role in the war, you should be given a new weapon, to replace the one you lost in the giant war. Furthermore…" there was another pause. It lasted at least as long as the first, and a pin could have been heard dropping. Percy realised with a start that the god was now looking straight at him. His expression was unreadable. "…furthermore, you have been granted a wish by the council, and we will grant it so long as it is within our power. If you wish it, you shall be made a god, to serve as a Prince of the Skies at my right hand for all time."

There was a collective intake of breath. Jason looked very small, standing there in the middle, in front of twelve giant immortals. His voice echoed as he spoke. "It's an honour, Father." There was only a momentary pause before he spoke again: "I accept."

Applause started somewhere, although Percy couldn't tell where. He clapped along, sneaking a glance at Annabeth, who was doing the same, looking a little bemused. He couldn't see Piper anywhere.

When it had all died down, Zeus spoke again – and it was Zeus, not Jupiter. He'd shifted back into his Greek form somewhere in all that commotion. "Perseus Jackson," he said.

There was no 'step forward' this time. Percy did so anyway, approaching the dot in the mosaic patterns that marked the central point of the Olympian throne room. Once he had reached it, he looked Zeus straight in the eye and didn't bother bowing or kneeling. He figured they'd got past that point by now.

"It seems, Jackson," began Zeus, leaning forwards in his chair with some kind of twinkle in his eye, "that this situation very much resembles one in which we found ourselves not quite a year ago." Percy still couldn't work out where this was going. Surely they weren't just going to offer him the same thing again?

"It seems that way. My lord," said Percy.

"On that day, we offered you the greatest gift it is in our power to give, but you turned it down," said Zeus. "And yet here you are again, months later, having done even more to serve Olympus. There are those, I am sure, who would argue that you are the greatest demigod ever to have lived. What, I wonder, can we offer such a hero this time?"

Percy stayed silent, waiting for Zeus to continue.

"We have considered the reasons for your answer last year," said Zeus. "And we have considered your subsequent achievements, too. With these in mind, Annabeth Chase, please step forwards."

Percy felt, rather than heard, the sudden gasp of realisation that rippled around the room. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Aphrodite beaming.

Annabeth arrived beside him and quickly squeezed his hand.

"The two of you have made something of a career out of the impossible," says Zeus. "And over the years, that has been of great use to us. On this latest quest, you have both faced your greatest fears, defeated some of the most terrifying monsters that have ever stood in opposition to Olympus, and even escaped Tartarus, which no demigod has ever done before. This council has decided that it is high time such feats were rewarded."

Percy knew what was coming, but even so, the words were a shock when they arrived.

"Perseus Jackson and Annabeth Chase, we offer you both the gift of godhood."

Percy looked to his right, where Annabeth was standing. She was looking at him, a small smile on her lips. "Well?" he asked quietly.

She turned to Zeus, and Percy couldn't believe she'd decided so quickly and he didn't know what she was going to say and was she going to –

"My lord, could we have a moment to talk about it in private, please?"

Ah. That was probably sensible.

Zeus's jaw might have cause a thunderstorm, the way it tensed, but he still said yes, and that was all they'd asked for.

"What are you thinking?" he asked.

They were on a bench in one of the Olympic gardens, though they'd been careful to avoid any that might be sacred to anyone in particular, to discourage eavesdropping. Neat hedges ran in patterns around them, punctuated by tinkling fountains. Percy wouldn't mind staying here for eternity.

Annabeth sighed. "I'm thinking I should have asked for a lifetime to think it over, instead of five minutes."

"It's a pretty big decision to spring on us like that," he agreed.

"You must have thought a lot about whether you made the right choice the first time," she said. "I know I have."

Percy smiled at her. "Just to realise how right I was not to leave you."

"You must have thought about it, though. What it's like to live forever. Be able to go anywhere, do anything. Have all those girls fawning over you."

"Only a little bit," he admitted. "And definitely not the last one."

"It's very sweet of you to say so," she said. "But without me, would you have made the same choice?"

"I don't know. I mean, you were always a pretty major factor, so..."

"That doesn't help much this time, then, does it?"

"No, it doesn't."

"It's a harder decision than I expected, to be honest."

"You expected this?" he asked.

"I had an inkling. I mean you fight one war and they say thanks, you fight two, and, well, what can they say that time?"

"I guess. You being offered it too does complicate things a bit."

"List of pros and cons?" she asked. This, Percy had learned, was how Annabeth made decisions: weighing up the good and the bad to find what logically, should be the best option.

"Can do," he said.

"So, pros: we're immortal, super-powerful, and get to spend the rest of eternity together. We never die, never even age, unless we want to… and we can fix Tartarus."

He knew what she meant as soon as she said it, but was still confused. "Are you sure? Would being a god do that?" he asked.

"They say that gods don't dream, Seaweed Brain. They don't even have to sleep if they don't want to. And if they don't have dreams, then…"

"Then they don't have nightmares," he said.

"No nightmares," she said. "Ever again."

Since they'd escaped from the pit, the two of them hadn't been sleeping well. Night after night had been cut short by monsters they'd killed appearing from the darkness and wreaking painful revenge upon them, or worse, upon the other. Bags had formed under their eyes, and sudden movements or loud noises were rewarded by Riptide and the drakon-bone sword being swiftly drawn.

Percy thought about a life of peaceful sleep. It sounded good. He could see Annabeth thinking about it too, and there was a kind of desperate hunger in her eyes for that kind of freedom from their past.

"So what are the cons?" asked Annabeth. "We won't be able to see our friends and family as often, and they don't get immortality."

"Did you see Piper?" he asked.

"No," said Annabeth. "Gods, how must she be feeling? We should check up on her as soon as all this is over."

Neither of them condemned Jason for his choice. Both of them knew that for a demigod, the gift of godhood was as much about what you escaped as what you gained.

"I wonder what they'd all think of us becoming gods," said Percy.

"They'd know you deserve it," she told him.

"Gods can get kind of weird, too. Like they forget what humans are like," he said.

Annabeth gave him a strange look. "Somehow, I don't think that would be a problem for you," said Annabeth.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Nevermind."

They sat there for another moment, as Percy wrapped his hand around Annabeth's and they leaned into each other. He basked in the warm summer air and the sound of the fountain and the grass beneath his feet.

This was paradise.

"Honestly," he found himself saying, "I don't really mind, as long as you say the same thing."

She looked at him quizzically.

"If you're there with me, then I can live forever, but if you're there with me, then I can also carry on through any number of nightmares." He grinned his crooked grin and continued. "My love for you, Annabeth Chase, will outlast the stars." Here, he planted a kiss on her lips. "It is stronger than Heracles." He kissed her again. "And it lit up Tartarus itself, so I know that with you by my side, I can do anything and everything, whether I'm a god or not." He made to kiss her again, but she held him off, laughing.

"Have you been reading sappy romance novels, Seaweed Brain?"

"I'm just a poet," he told her.

"Shakespeare would have jumped off the top of the Empire State Building before writing that."

"The Empire State Building hadn't been built in Shakespeare's time, so that's not true."

"Oh, a historian too now, are you?"

"Sounds about right."

"Lucky for you I'm a sapiosexual."

"I'm not even asking what that means."

"It means I find knowledge sexy," she said.

"Gods know how you ended up with me, then," he said, laughing.

"You were doing really well seducing me until then. You'd better kiss me now before you mess it up even further."

"If you insist."

They held the kiss this time, and held each other, too, sitting peacefully in the garden.

Neither of them spoke, but Percy could hear the sounds of life around them, in the birds and animals calling to one another, in the hustle and bustle of Olympus outside, and in Annabeth's steady breathing as they sat close to one another.

Eventually, she shifted. "We should go and give them our decision," she said.

"Have we made one?" he asked.

She looked at him carefully. "I think so," she said.

He knew what it was, then, and he knew that they would always have chosen this way, even if the idea of eternity with Annabeth was one that he would always entertain in his head.

"Shall we even bother telling them?" he asked. "Shall we just go and get ice cream instead?"

"Percy, the entire Greek pantheon is waiting in there to hear from us, we can't just go and get ice cream."

"Life is short and I am hungry. Are you sure we can't?"

"No, we can't. And we've got to check on Piper, too. Then, and only then, we will have the rest of our lives – may they be long and fulfilling – to go and eat ice cream."

He extended a hand towards her. "Let's go and make our excuses, then."

She took it, and they headed up towards the huge dome of the throne room.

It wasn't really his style anyway, thought Percy as they started walking. A house would be a palace as long as he shared it with the woman beside him.

And what else did he need?

And lo, behold, Percabeth, cooked light and fluffy for your enjoyment this Christmas!

Fun fact, Percy actually ended up asking the gods to manage his real estate for the rest of his life, and to make sure that he and Annabeth were always able to live in a house with a pool. But he classed it as a luxury rather than a necessity, so Annabeth was still the only thing he needed.

I was very 50/50 about posting this once I'd finished, but I actually really enjoyed the writing. Weird Zeus makes everything go smoothly. Except, possibly, Jason. And also the number of times I had to write the word 'kiss'. That felt a bit excessive. Jason's the one bit of this I feel properly conflicted about, because I'm not totally certain he would accept godhood, as he's been built up to be a decent sort of guy and clearly loves Piper very much.

On the other hand, he's a son of Jupiter, so it's kinda believable that he'd have a flaw relating to power, and it's made pretty clear in the books that Percy turning it down is unique, because after all, it's becoming a god. When you add that to the whole demigods'-lives-are-short-and-brutal thing, I think it's probably believable, even if not totally canon-supported.

Anyway, leave a review and tell me what you thought!