So I got bored and was browsing Tumblr and a person that I follow, blackjacktheboss, always has random Percy Jackson prompts that are so adorable and I really wanted to write one so here we go. I kind of combined a bunch of prompts so yeah.
I don't own Percy Jackson. Duh.
This takes place on Christmas eve.
GENERAL POV
Percy strolled the beach quietly, a smile on his face as the chilly wind brushed through his hair, stopped by the blue knit beanie that Annabeth had plopped on his head that morning as a Christmas eve present.
"You never wear hats," she had admonished him. "You're going to get sick."
Percy had kept quiet, holding back a laugh at the thought of him getting sick. With everything that he had been through, he had a very diffficult time imagining that he could come down with something like a common cold.
He shook his head and glanced out at the waves, breathing in the salty sea air. He was taking a moment to relax by himself before the Camp Jupiter kids, who Chiron had invited over for Christmas eve dinner, arrrived and the camp got too loud.
The son of the sea god was very much looking forward to seeing everyone again, specifically Frank and Hazel, but he was more excited for Blackjack to take him home that night. This would be the first real Christmas he got to spend wih Paul and his mother, considering the last one he had spent unconcious and with no memories.
The breeze picked up and Percy stilled, glancing around and his fingers moving towards his pocket where Riptide was. The wind rarely got this strong at Camp Half-Blood, so when it picked up as it was doing now, Percy knew that he should expect to be attacked by a monster or visited by a god. Which was worse varied from day to day.
A blinding light glimmered out of the corner of his eye and Percy shielded his face as the glow brightened.
"Percy Jackson," said a soft male voice.
The dark haired boy turned and nodded, a smile on his face as he studied Hermes, Greek god of travels. "Hermes. What brings you here?"
The god chuckled, pulling a pen out from behind his ear and a clipboard from the bag he had slung around his body. Martha and George, no bigger than worms, curled around the pen as Hermes handed the objects to Percy.
"Your mother. She has quite a few packages for you. I need you to sign for them," the god explained.
Percy blinked in confusion before shrugging and signing his name with a flourish at the bottom of the shipping paper. Martha and George hissed politely at him and Percy handed them back with a smile. "So, what did she send me? And why couldn't it be delivered to the big house?"
Hermes chuckled and put the pen and paper away, much to the snakes chargrin. "Well, your mother and Paul summoned me personally rather than just asking a favor and giving me an offering, so I figured that I could return the favor and visit you, tell you that say hello and can't way for you to come home."
Percy raised an eyebrow. "And...the package?"
"Packages," Hermes corrected, reading from his phone and tapping several things with a stylus.
"There's more than one?" Percy said curiously, glancing around the beach in confusion.
The god chuckled and nodded, snapping his fingers. Out of nowhere, seven or eight boxes appeared on the beach, each one taped shut and with Percy's name written on the side in Sally's handwritting.
Percy groaned. "And you couldn't deliver all of these to the Big House because...?"
Hermes laughed and put away his phone, a twinkle in his eyes. You'll be getting help shortly, don't worry. Just make sure not to let anyone get a good whiff of them before the Christmas party."
Percy's mouth widened into a smile as he realized what was inside the boxes, and he tilted his head in an informal bow to Hermes. "Thank you, sir."
Hermes waved a hand dismissively at him. "No problem, Perseus. Have a Merry Christmas."
Percy turned away as the god disappeared in a blinding golden flash, and then looked up as shouts atttacked him from the ocean. His smile widened further as a ship pulled up to their docks and Hazel and Frank leapt out, tackling Percy in a massive hug.
"Hey!" Percy yelped with a laugh. "Where did your camp get a boat?"
Reyna strolled up to him, a smug smile on her face as she shoook his hand. "Hazel convinced me that showing gratitude to Neptune...Poseidon, whichever, was the least we could do after you helped save our camp...multiple times."
"He seems to do that a lot, doesn't he?" Annabeth questioned, popping out of nowhere with a giggle.
After the hugging had died down, the Romans gathered looked to Annabeth and Percy, eyebrows raised at what they should do. Annabeth turned and glanced at the boxes that Hermes had left, a confused look spreading across her features. "What are those?" she asked, gesturing to the cardboard.
Percy grinned. "My mom sent us a few things. Can we get some help bringing these back to camp?" he called out to the Roman camp.
Murmurs of agreement rang out and Frank strolled over to a box. He pulled the flap open and blinked in surprise. "There are cookies in here," he said in shock.
"Why is that weird?" Reyna questioned him, her face a mask of bewilderment.
Percy laughed as Frank pulled out one of the pastries, holding it up for everyone else to see. "Because...they're all blue!"
The massive group strolled up to the Big House chattting and laughing, Annabeth, Percy, Frank, Hazel, and Reyna in the lead. Chiron stepped outside of the house as they approached and smiled at the sight of the boxes the group was holding.
The centaur glanced at Percy and grinned. "Your mother?" he questioned with a chuckle.
Percy snorted and nodded. "Yup. Where do you want us to put everything?"
Chiron tilted his head towaard the side of the house. "On the side porch is fine for now. We'll have some of the harpies plate them for later."
The campers carrrying the assorted baked goods scurried off to the side of the house as Chiron turned to the rest of the group and clapped his hands together enthusiastically.
"You're just in time," he announced, trotting down the steps, his tail swishing behind him. "Eve is waiting for all of us in the courtyard."
As the group followed the camp leader, Hazel tugged lightly on Percy's arm. He glanced at her with a smile and the girl tilted her head. "Whose Eve?" she asked, tucking her hands in her pockets.
Before Percy could answer, Annabeth jumped in. "She's a daughter of Demeter. Her dad owns a Christmas tree farm, which is what caught the goddesses eye. She grew up with Christmas trees, so they're kind of her specialty."
"Anyway," Percy interrupted, elbowing his girlfriend with a grin, "every year she grows us a new Christmas tree, and then the Apollo kids and, if they're here, the hunters of Artemis, use sunlight and moonlight to light the tree. We always have at least one hunter show up so that we have an equal balance."
"Do you guys put a star on top?" Frank asked curiously.
Annabeth nodded. "Kind of. Each year a different cabin makes a tree topper. I think this year it was the Iris cabin."
"That will look so cool!" Hazel squealed in delight.
"Oh, and just a warning," Percy said as the approached the courtyard between the cabins. "Leo has been running around a lot with mistletoe on a stick. So keep your eyes peeled. He's gotten Annabeth and I six times."
Annabeth whacked his arm lightly, a grin on her cheeks as the massive group joined the already large crowd of people in the square."Not like you're complaining," she laughed.
Percy smirked, hooked his arm around her waist, and pulled her in for a side hug while Hazel and Reyna laughed. Frank just looked embarrased, and the group quieted down as Chiron held up his hands.
"Camp Half-Blood is pleased to welcome the Camp Jupiter campers to our celebration. Anyone who is not going home tonight is welcome to stay in the cabin of their choosing. We have plenty of room."
The campers cheered loudly and Percy grinned at Frank, who had already decided that he was going back to Manhattan with Percy since he had no other family to celebrate with.
Chiron cleared his throat and the camers fell silent once more. "Eve?" he said softly, directing his gaze to where the campers from the Demeter cabin were huddled.
A tall, dark skinned girl with startling black eyes and soft, dark brown curls with a pale pink color streaked through them stepped forward. In her hands she held a cup of water and a singular pinecone.
Her purple converse made no noise as she strolled steadily to the center of the yard and knelt, ignoring the dirt that was now coating the knees of her jeans. She wore a vibrant violet shirt and her Camp Half-Blood necklace seemed to glisten in the sunlight as she leaned forward and began parting the dirt with her fingers.
The crowd of children and teenagers was dead silent, watching Eve gently tuck the pinecone into the earth, murmuring a soft prayer to her mother as she did so. She patted the soil down softly and held her hands just above the earth for a moment, her eyes shut and a small smile quivering on her lips.
She opened her eyes and brushed a curl out of her face as she picked up the cup of water. Rather than dumping the whole thing over the mound of soil that was now in front of her, Eve reached into her pocket, pulled out a drachma, and tossed it into the cup.
"What is she doing?" Reyna asked softly.
Annabeth held up a hand, gestuuring for the praetor to be silent, and nodded towards Eve. Reyna obediently returned her eyes to the teenager in question.
Eve swirled the water around with her finger, soft prayers still falling from her lips as she did so. After about a minute, she scooped some of the water from the cup and drizzled it over the mound of dirt. The water was now a glittering gold color, and the ground began glowing wherever the water touched it.
The daughter of Demeter continued doing this until the cup was empty and the ground in front of her was golden, and then she stood up, handed the glass to one of her siblings, and held her hands out palm side down, shutting her eyes and chanting softly in Ancient Greek.
The Roman group gasped in surprise and the Greeks in delight as the beginnings of a tree sprouted, small and leafy. Within minutes it was as tall as Eve, and then taller. She kept her eyes shut, her fingers shaking lightly, and continued chanting.
Her siblings, knowing this part was crucial and that one mistake could not only screw up the tree but also harm Eve, shushed everyone and Katie Gardner stepped forward, placing both of her hands on Eves shoulders and taking up the chant with her.
One by one, each of the Demeter kids added to the chain, the chant growing louder as more and more added their voices. The Roman's could only stare in awe as the tree grew brighter and fuller than they had ever seen a tree look before.
After almost ten minutes, Eve's hands dropped to her side and the tree gave one last little spurt of growth before settling down and taking on a natural color.
Eve pulled her eyes open, stared at the tree for a moment, and then smiled brightly before collapsing, exhausted, into Katie's arms.
The campers burst into roars of approval as Katie helped Eve over to a seat, and as the Apollo campers began moving towards the tree to start adding sunlight, Reyna turned to Percy and Annabeth.
"I thought you said that Eve was the only one who could do this?" she questioned in confusion.
Percy nodded. "They can all grow plants, but only she can grow pine trees like that. It takes a lot of energy though, so the Demeter campers always latch on and add their energy as needed once the tree actually starts growing. If they didn't she'd probably go unconcious."
Annabeth nodded in confirmation. "That was what happened the first year she was here and did it, when I was ten. It was terrifying."
Reyna winced and the entire mass of campers turned towards the woods as a hunting call sounded. Percy and Annabeth looked at one another and grinned as Thalia came out of the woods, Grover at her side. The hunter of Artemis smiled brightly as she spotted her friends and pushed through the crowds, pulling Annabeth into a hug and then giving Percy a pat on the back. She nodded to Reyna politely and then raised an eyebrow. "Where's my dumb butt of a brother?" she asked.
Annabeth chuckled. "He and Piper are setting up the pavilion for the dinner later. They're making it special somehow."
Grover punched his friend gently, a grin on his bearder face. "Besides, you're here to help Will and them light the tree."
Thalia waved a hand at the satyr. "Yeah, yeah," she grumbled, a smile on her face.
The hunter stepped into the clearing and nodded to Will with a grin, especailly when she saw Nico waiting off on the sidelines, the son of Apollo's medical bag slung over the death boy's shoulder. "Ready to do this?" Thalia asked the blonde haired medic.
Will grinned at her and looped an arm around the huners shoulder's playfully, nodding to the siblings who would be helping him. "You bet!"
Thalia, Will, and three of Will's siblings, a boy and two girls, all circled around the tree at an equal distance and shut their eyes, each calling to their father (or in Thalia's case, her patron).
Their bodies began glowing faintly and the Roman campers murmured in surprise as each child raised their hands.
Orbs of light, both pale moonlight and bright, firey sun flew from their fingertips and hovered over a branch on the tree. The air filled with flying lights, each one cool to the touch and unable to set anything on fire no matter who or what touched it. It took mere seconds to fill the tree, and Thalia and Will, when finished, looked at each other and grinned.
Thalia stayed in the center and raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms. "Who made the topper this year?" she asked anxiously, her face filling with dread, which no one could understand.
Butch, from the Iris cabin, stepped forward, his rainbow tattoo rippling across his bicep as he strolled forward calmly, leaned down, and whispered something in Thalia's ear. The girl sighed in relief and retreated into the crowd.
Butch grinned and held up what looked like an earring. "The Iris cabin made this years tree topper. And don't worry; it's much bigger than it looks."
The boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a flask filled with nectar, drizzling the smallest of amounts over the object in his hand and then throwing it into the air.
There was a burst of color and then, sittting at the top of the tree, was a massive glass orb with thousands of colors swirling through it and sending off sparks of rainbow in every direction.
Butch gave a lopsided grin as the crowd went wild, and he slunk back into the group of campers, trying to avoid the thumps on the back.
Percy turned to Reyna, Hazel, and Frank and smiled brightly. "Do Greeks know how to get things done or what?"
"Or what?" Reyna said with a smirk.
Hazel looked furtively around the corner, glancing at her watch anxiously. "It's been two hours since the tree lighting, where is he?" she hissed.
Frank, who was just behind her, shook his head and glanced behind him nervously. "There's only an hour and a half before dinner; we can hold him off for that long, right?"
"Hold who off?" came a mischievious voice from behind them.
Frank and Hazel screamed, whirling around to face Leo, who had a stick with a mistletoe dangling from it sticking out of his toolbelt. He grabbed onto the stick, wiggling his eyebrows, and Hazel and Frank took off in opposite directions, forcing the boy to pick one and chase them.
Luckily, the nymphs were all for Leo trying to get couples to kiss under the mistletoe, so as Hazel headed for the woods, dozens of trees suddenly sprouted legs and began moving towards the unsuspecting Roman.
Hazel screeched to a halt-Leo could swear he smelled burning rubber- and glared at Leo over her shoulder before running for the beach.
Knowing that the water nymphs would keeep her from goinng too far, Leo smiled and took his sweet old time getting there, letting the mistletoe dangle lightly from his fingers.
Meanwhile, Frank ran for the cabins, pulling himself into the Posedon cabin without a second thought and slamming the door shut behind him.
The sound of metal behind him made the boy whirl around, only to come face to face with a sleepy Percy, who was currently holding Riptide to Frank's throat.
Recognizing his friend immediately, Percy capped the weapon and tucked it into his pocket. It was at that moment Frank realized they weren't alone and that Annabeth was leaning on her elbow on Percy's bed, watching the two with a raised eyebrow.
Frank's face turned beet red and he began stammering. "Oh my gods I'm...I'm so sorry...I didn't mean to...I mean I didn't...dear gods, you two, what...? Nope. Don't want to know. I'll go."
Annabeth and Percy glanced at one another and burst into peals of laughter, startling the son of Mars. "Frank, it's okay," Percy said gently, laying a hand on his friends shoulder and steering him to a chair. "Annabeth and I came in here to discuss our plans for winter break, and I fell asleep in the middle of a sentence."
Annabeth chuckled and held up a book. I"ve been reading while he slept. I would have left the room, but he wouldn't let go of my arm," the girl said accusingly, causing Percy to blush.
Frank breathed a sigh of relief and sank into the chair, burying his head in his hands. "Where's Hazel?" Annabeth asked, trying to make the boy feel more at ease.
Frank rolled his eyes. "Running from Leo. He's going to find me eventually."
Annabeth and Percy chuckled and the son of the sea god leaned against the wall lightly, crossing his arms, a twinkle in his sea green eyes."Man, you know that if you guys let him catch you under the mistletoe, he'll stop chasing you? How many times has he snuck up on you?"
"Eight times," Frank said with a roll of his eyes. "Each time Hazel and I split up, but we always manage to run intto each other again."
Annabeth laughed. "That's because he got every nymph to help him. Just let him catch you. That's how Percy and I got him to stop chasing us."
Frank raised a slow eyebrow. "You said he caught you six times," he reminded the girl.
Percy snorted. "Okay, so maybe he won't leave you alone immediately. But if you just go with it, he'll get bored."
At that moment, there was a pounding on the door and Percy pulled open the door to reveal Hazel, Leo fast on her heels. Annabeth stood up and shoved Frank out the door and, laughing, the Greek couple shut the door to the Poseidon cabin behind him.
Helping Hazel to her feet, Frank rolled his eyes as Leo strolled up to them, dangling the mistletoe just above the couple's head. "I caught you!" the elfish boy cried in delight, a twinkle in his dark eyes.
Frank gave the son of Hephaestus a smirk and leaned over, gently kissing Hazel on the lips. She hesitated at first and then kissed back, her fingers curling lightly in his shirt. Frank pulled the girl into a hug and rested his chin on top of her head, giving Leo a small smile.
The Latino grinned, mouthed 'you're welcome,' and tiptoed away with the mistletoe in hand, leaving the couple with a moment of peace and quiet.
"Hey everyone, and welcome to the Christmas eve dinner!" Piper called loudly to the giant group gatherred in front of her.
The crowd cheered in approval and Leo tilted his head. "Yo, beauty queen! Where's Jason?"
Piper grinned and winked at her friend and gestured to the tables behind her, each piled with dozens of platters dripping in ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, yams, carrots, breads of all different flavors, and sauces scattered amongst it all. Each place was situated with cutlery and dishes, a goblet placed to the right of each plate.
Piper smiled at the crowd of hungry teenagers. "We have everything out for the main meal. The dessert, provided by Percy's awesome mom, will be delivered to each table as the harpies see fit."
Everyone began talking and moving towards the tables. Chiron had told the campers that for tonight, there would be no assigned seating, that the campers could move around and sit where they pleased.
Percy glanced at Piper with a sly smile as everyone began sitting down. "So where is Jason, exactly?"
Piper smirked. "He has a little light show planned. And, if you're willing, we would like your help."
"Is that even a question?" Percy laughed, allowing Piper to pull him off into the woods.
Annabeth, who hadn't heard the conversation, watched in confusion as the two left, and glanced at Grover, Thalia, Nico, and Will, who were all sitting with her while Reyna broke up a fight between a child of Mars and a child of Ares. "Where do you think they're going?"
Will snorted, wrapping a light arm around Nico's waist. "Probably planning something that you want nothing to do with."
Annabeth chuckled and sat down next to Grover, who was already picking over the food and finding bits of metal and fruits that he could eat. "You're probably right," she admitted.
The group greeted Reyna warmly as she walked over, and the group of campers all fell into silence, quiet murmurs of content the only sounds as the campers (after offering portions of food to the gods) dug into their meals and relished in the good food.
She had just taken a large bite of ham when Annabeth heard Pipers voice from across the pavilion. "And now, for your meal time entertainment, I give you two dorks with swords!"
There were two indignant cries of "HEY!" from behind her and the dining area burst into peals of laughter as Jason and Percy stepped up, each grinning. "While we don't have swords, we do have a show for you," Jason clarified.
Percy grinned wickedly and glanced at Will, winking and snapping his fingers. Almost instantly, the lights of the pavilion shut off and there were small gasps of surprise.
"Will...are you involved in this?" Nico asked softly.
The son of Apollo didn't answer, merely chuckled, and the pavilion quieted as a bolt of electricity hit the tip of Jason's sword. Rather than going out, the spark stayed on the edge of the sword, providing enough of a glow that the campers could see Jason's face.
Jason glanced at Percy and grinned, holding out his crooked arm. Percy linked elbows with him and, with minimal effort, Jason managed to raise the both of them into the air.
Percy held out a hand and gave a grin as water rose from the glasses on the tables, each swirling around until they formed a large, glistening trident in the air. "Jason"?" he said with a grin.
The son of Jupiter grinned and pointed his sword forward. The electricity flew from the tip and into the trident, illuminating the water with thousands of golden and silver colors, lighting up the entire pavilion. The crowd of campers gasped in delight at the display and Percy and Jason smiled, glanced at one another, and high fived.
The water and lightning exploded in a shower off sparks, scattering across the campers in a light drizzle.
The two boys returned to the ground, both slightly exhausted but happy as they took goofy bows and sat down with their friends.
After dinner had concluded and everyone had gorged themselves on Percy's mother's cookies, Percy and Frank hugged everyone and waved goodbye, clambering onto Blackjack and setting off for Percy's apartment. "We'll see you guys on the 26th!" Percy called from the back of the Pegasus.
Frank waved brightly and the two flew off into the night, leaving their friends to clean up and hang out.
Reyna paused for only a moment before grabbing Nico by the wrist and pulling him off to the side. Will saw this and raised a slight eyebrow at his boyfriend, but Nico waved the son of Apollo off.
"Reyna? What's up?" Nico asked softly, tucking his hands into his pockets.
Reyna looked a little sheepish as she pulled a box from the bag on her shoulder. "Well...it's not much. But I got you a Christmas present."
Nico looked surprised. "Whoa, hey. You didn't have to do that for me. I've never gotten a Christmas present before, so I don't need one now."
Reyna shrugged and pressed the box into his hands. "That's why I got you one. It's not much, and it's kind of stupid..."
Nico chuckled and cut her off with a hand on her shoulder. Reyna was amazed by how much the teen had changed since he had come out and started dating Will. "Reyna. Whatever it is, thank you."
He pulled the ribbon off of the box and tore the paper from the outside, gently taking the cover off. His eyebrows shot up and he rolled his eyes as he pulled out a Hawaiian shirt, completely done in blacks and navy blues.
Reyna began stammering. "I...I thought that maybe since you didn't like bright colors...like, you might like having this kind of shirt but in darker colors...I got one of the Iris kids to take the color out of it and I mean...if you don't like it, then like..."
Nico shut her up by giving her a huge hug and a gentle kiss on the forehead. "Shut up, Reyna. It's great. Thank you."
Reyna grinned and gave the son of Hades a noogie before going off to hang out with some of her Roman friends.
Will sauntered up to his boyfriend and wrapped an arm around the boys shoulders, kissing him affectionately on the cheek. "So, do you actually like the shirt?" he questioned.
Nico studied the fabric for a moment. "Kind of. But it made her happy to get it for me. That's all that matters."
Will chuckled and Nico leaned his head on the teens shoulder. "Merry Christmas, Nico," he whispered.
Nico glanced out at the camp, the Roman's and Greeks wishing each other a Merry Christmas as the clock struck midnight, the Christmas tree, glowing brightly and shooting out dozens of colors into the night, Leo running around with his mistletoe until finally the campers convinced the nymphs to chase him and kiss him instead, and he sighed happily, intertwining his fingers with Will's.
"Merry Christmas, Will."
That was long. And kind of adorable.
And I loved it. That's all that matters.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Happy Kwanza, whatever you may celebrate!
So...review? Credits for the prompt ideas go to blackjacktheboss on Tumblr.