Growing To Like It

A sequel to Emancipation which was part of the Felicity Dream Percy Jackson Challenge.

Scribbler95 PMed me to ask for a sequel and I wrote it for them, and hence it is dedicated to them. They are also the beta reader.

Thank you for reading

At first, Percy had hated everyone in the Underworld for what they did. Trapping him here like a dog in a cage.

He railed at everybody who came near him, except for Luke, and Bianca. They were the remnants of his past, proof that he had had a life in the world above, that he had not always been stuck in this place called Hell, as the months got longer.

Every evening Persephone watched Percy as he sat under a lavender tree in her garden, and ate a pomegranate. He would sit under the tree for four hours, and he would slowly eat the pomegranate starting it when he had sat there for two hours.

The first time he talked to her civilly in the months he had been stuck here, he had asked for a haircut. His hair had started to grow longer, and many of the ghosts had mistaken him for a girl now, and he didn't want to talk to Hades, and Nico, Luke and Bianca had been off in a field somewhere so he had had her. She cut his hair so that it was around his ears and slightly layered s that it looked that the hair at the top of his head was above the hair around his ears.

He had thanked her and smiled genuinely, and the next evening when she had been watching him, he invited her to sit with him and he pushed a quarter of his pomegranate to her. She smiled at him gently and started to eat it.

'How do you stand it here?' he said, breaking the comfortable silence.

'Knowing that there is something to look forward to, that helped me in the beginning.' Persephone answered truthfully. 'But being stuck here all the time such as you are, I would find that difficult.' She turned her head to look at him, 'You could grow to love Master Hades, and me eventually. You already have Nico, Bianca and Luke.'

'Could you spend all your time with just three people that you never really got along with?' he asked her.

'No.' She said.

'Can I have visitors?' he asked suddenly, after a few minutes , in which Persephone had finished her half of the pomegranate.

'I can ask Lord Hades if he would allow it.' She informed him. 'It is unlikely. Hades does not like visitors in his realm.'

Percy nodded, before standing up. 'I will see you later. Maybe tomorrow.'

He started walking off, out of her garden, and she watched him go until she could see him no more.

(PERCY)

'Lord Hades.' Persephone asked, 'Perseus has asked me if he is allowed to have visitors?'

He turned to look at her in amazement as he turned from what he was doing. 'What gives you the impression that I would allow visitors in my realm?' she said stepping closer to her.

'Because, underneath all that exterior of yours, you actually care for the boy. He is important to you, one the only children of the Big Three. Plus it doesn't escape my knowledge that Poseidon crowned you his Godfather.' Persephone grinned slightly as she took a step back. 'You want him here almost as much as I do.'

Hades grinned back at her sardonically. 'Maybe you are right. It would be nice to be smiled at once in a while.' He turned back to what he was doing. 'You may tell the boy that he can have 1 visitor per week, if he comes to the family dinners, and if he breaks that rule, he will not have any company that week and maybe the week after that. After all he is still a child.'

'Thank you, my Lord.' Persephone said, bowing slightly to her husband, and turned out of the room, looking for her young charge.

(PERCY)

She once again found him in her field. She sat down next to him, and he gave her half his pomegranate.

'You know, I don't actually like pomegranates.' He said slowly, as he contemplated his words.

'Then why do you eat them every day?' Persephone asked.

'They make me think of you.' He responded truthfully. 'They remind me that you are the one that got Hades to stick me in this realm, which sometimes I should thank him for.'

She tilted her head at him, and he laughed, knowing that her unasked question would be why?

'In the other world, everyone expected me to be something. Annabeth expected me to be amazing, and powerful and somebody that could make her dreams come true. The Gods expected me to defeat Kronos for them or die trying, and I couldn't fulfil them, it was hard.' He said. 'I didn't want to be something amazing, I just wanted to be normal, and Clarisse recognised that, and she treated me like a normal person, not somebody that was up on a pedestal. And for that reason, I should thank you and Hades.'

She nodded, understanding his words. 'Hestia likes you. You helped her with her anger by entrusting her with Pandora's Box.'

He nodded and stood up, 'I need to go talk to somebody.'

She nodded, and stood up too. 'Hades said to tell you that you are allowed one visitor per week, but only if you attend family dinners every night, and if you break that, you won't have the visitor that week or the week after.'

He nodded, and said. 'That sounds reasonable.'

He started to walk out of the garden, but she called after him. 'Who do you want for this week?'

'Dionysus.' He called over his shoulder.

(PERCY)

'Perry, this better be good.' The God growled.

'Well, I needed to talk, and you were the only God that has talked to me like a real person.' Percy said.

Dionysus sat down on the grass next to Percy. 'What would you like to talk about?'

'I like Persephone.' He announced.

'Yeah, so what?' Dionysus shrugged.

''Her husband is Hades.' He murmured.

'So? All Gods gave consorts.' Dionysus said.

'Seriously?' Percy asked.

'Yeah.' Dionysus gave him his patented duh, are you stupid? Look before he said 'Is this it? Because I need to get back to camp.'

He nodded. 'Thank you Mr D.'

(PERCY)

The next time Persephone saw Percy, they were at family dinner. Nico, Hades, Persephone and Bianca were all talking around him, and he didn't know what to say, he wasn't part of this family.

He finished his meal in silence, watching the family in front of him.

Persephone kept her eye on Percy the whole meal. He wasn't talking, maybe she could talk about it with him later or tomorrow at the garden.

(PERCY)

'Why weren't you talking at the meal yesterday?' she asked him.

He sighed. 'I'm not part of that family. What was I supposed to say?'

Persephone laughed. 'Did you know that Poseidon named Hades your Godfather?'

He shook his head.

'It makes you closer to him.' Persephone told him.

'Does that make you my Godmother?' he asked.

'No.' She laughed. 'Well, I suppose so, but don't think of me like that.'

'Why?' he asked before he could stop himself.

'Because of this.' She said as she leaned into kiss him.

They broke apart.

He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and failed, making Persephone giggle. 'Maybe the Underworld could be made bearable somehow.' He said as they left a pomegranate on the floor.

Untouched.

Whole.