A/N I wrote this for Tumblrs PJO Secret Santa 2016 project, for ravenguys, this is also posted on my AO3 account.
Percy's first Christmas was spent in his mother's arms. There was no chance of remembering it, but his mother would remember it very well.
She had wept at the sight of his wings, knowing of the hardship that they would bring for him, what it would do to them. She had known that she could not bear to watch him being taken from her.
So she had made a bind for his wings, and resolved to keep his wings hidden for as long as possible. It was the only way to keep him safe.
Percy's last Christmas with his mother was cold. They had curled up near the fire together, and Sally had given him new binds, big enough to keep his eleven-year-old wings hidden.
He had given her a dolly that he had made from sticks and hay.
She had held him close as she cried, thanking him for the thoughtful gift.
The next Christmas he spent with his father. His wings had been discovered, and Percy had learned why his mother had kept his wings bound and hidden.
Because they marked him as the son of their king, Poseidon.
His brothers and sisters avoided him, and when they did interact, they treated him with distain for not only being a bast
ard, born out of wedlock, but also for having been hid from his father.
He learned that it was a crime punishable by death, but he could not find what had become of her.
He asked his father about Christmas, only to learn that they did not celebrate it. He had retreated to his room, and had been ready to cry himself to sleep before his servant, Gro
ver, invited him to celebrate Christmas with him and his girlfriend, Juniper.
And, for the first time since he had entered the palace as a Prince, he felt truly happy.
He gave them one of his blankets, insisting he did not need it. When his father later asked, Percy said it had gone to those who needed it more than he had.
The last Christmas Percy spent with his father was his twentieth. The Romans were closing in, and Poseidon had given in and taken a deal. It would leave their people alive but…
All of Poseidon's sons were doomed to die. Percy's brothers and sisters spoke long into the night, before agreeing with their father.
There was no other way to save their people. They informed Poseidon but…
Percy did not wish to die. Not now. He told his father that he held no love for the Romans, and, since no matter his choice he would die, he was leaving his fathers household, leaving to fight the Romans on his own.
Poseidon had pleaded, not yet knowing that the Romans had killed all or the royal family, save one, but Percy had disowned his right to his fathers throne, and he left his father and brothers behind.
The year after Percy left his fathers house was colder than even the last Christmas he had spent with his mother.
He had found Nico, son of Hades, and they were next to a campfire, telling bittersweet stories of their fathers and half-siblings.
Nico had grown up much better than he had, with a much better initial relationship with them, despite being from a similar position.
When Hades had been forced to make a deal with the Romans, he made them swear not to touch Persephone, and they had. His suspicions had been arisen, and he as asked his children to leave, to disappear for their own safety.
Some of his children listened. Nico was among those few. Bianca, his older sister, on both his father's side and his mother's, was not. She had felt it her duty to stay, and Nico had been crushed when he had heard of her death.
Percy's mother was there, having made binds for him and Nico. They both knew that with wings such as theirs, there would be much trouble to hide them.
So they had found Sally Jackson, who had been rewarded for raising Percy so well. Poseidon had held off judgement of her until he saw how much better Percy had been raised.
And every Christmas since, he had sent her a hefty bag of gold, guarded by his most loyal guards who would never say a word of their delivery to Sally Jackson.
He and Nico had put the confining binds on before spending the rest of the Christmas with Sally as they tried to figure out their next move against the Romans.
Poseidon's first Christmas since his deal was lonely, so he decided to honor Percy's tradition of celebrating with his servants. He called them to the palace, requesting that they arrive and celebrate with him, though not demanding it.
The first to arrive were Grover and his now-wife Juniper. They wound up giving Poseidon the gift he would wind up cherishing the most: news about Percy.
Not much, of course, but just enough. Poseidon knew his son was out there, still alive despite everything, and he told joy from that.
Percy's next Christmas was spent with a friend of his fathers, learning different kinds of fighting. It was lonely for him, as he and Nico had separated, but he knew Nico was safer without him.
Even though it broke his heart.
Percy wound up becoming a pirate. In every city-state he went to, he found people who were unsatisfied with the Romans, angry even.
It was thanks to his partly-royal upbringing that Percy even realized that they could form a rebellion. He welcomed any who wished to join, and they built a boat and sailed around attacking and destroying Roman ships.
For Christmas he and his crew exchanged gifts, laughing and telling stories, though Percy disliked not being completely honest with them.
He no longer went by Percy. He was the Tempest now, scourge of the Romans, and he somehow had kept the majority of his crew alive.
His last Christmas with his crew was as happy as any other. They were still alive, and he was nearing fifty. He finally told them about his lineage, asking that if he were ever captured by the Romans that they not rescue them.
Only to learn that they had already guessed that he had been raised among a palace. He had clearly been well-versed in battle stragedy, and he didn't fight like a commoner at all.
He had their alliegence, and they reluctantly vowed not to come after him should he be captured.
They laughed it off, because surely their Tempest couldn't be captured, could he?
The crew's next Christmas was spent without him, and they were sad. They had continued doing as Percy had taught him, and no one liked to bring him up.
They all felt they were the reason he had been captured. They still exchanged gifts, tears in their eyes as they were once again reminded of their captain. They told stories about him, about his ability to lead and inspire them.
They all agreed that they had no wish to stop, but they were sure that there was none among them that was one who was as good a leader as Percy.
Percy's first Christmas since being captured by Romans was spent being beaten and thrown into the Coliseum with his hands and feet chained.
The Romans didn't trust him to die otherwise.
They sent out lions, and he panicked.
Poseidon was in the crowd, and he wanted to save the twenty or thirty year old who looked just like his son. But he couldn't do anything unless he proved to be of his line.
And the only way to prove that would be wings, and he could see no wings on the man facing certain death below him.
Tempest had been a thorn in the Romans side, and Poseidon was pleased that the man's crew had come to him for a boat, not that he would ever tell the Romans that.
Then the ripples on Tempests back tensed before sea green wings shot out and took him into the sky.
The crowd erupted into questions, but Poseidon didn't hear anything, instead looking at the sea green wings that marked his line. He had not lain with a woman within the past thirty years so….
Was this Percy's son?
Percy's wings had saved him from death, but now he was trapped within his father's palace again.
"You have aged the past thirty years." He said as he walked alongside his father.
"Yes." Poseidon agreed. "That is generally what happens when one is left alone."
"I do not blame you for your decision." Percy said. "My brothers and sisters knew the fate that awaited them if they stayed. They chose to lay down their lives for their people."
A look of wonder and delight passed across his fathers face.
"You have aged so little." He said, before an unreadable look crossed his face. "And what of you?"
"I chose to put my life on the line for my people." Percy said. "To keep the Romans distracted from them and their petty crimes and instead keep them focused on me."
"...you will try to leave again." Poseidon said.
"My people are not only the people of Alantis, father." Percy said. "My crew are also my people."
"Preator Reyna was the one that caught you, as I recall." Poseidon said. "The story that I heard is that you sacrificed yourself so your crew could escape."
"We sailed into a trap." Percy admitted. "And, as my brothers, I would rather die than let others die in my steed."
The next Christmas, Percy had not managed to escape his father's palace, and he had been forced to take up his father's mantle.
After the death of his father, there was no one else to be king.
He had met Preator Jason, who promised to keep a close eye on the newly crowned king, and Nico had promised that he always had his back.
Nico had chosen the path of an assassin, his days were spent ending the lives of those who were a threat to the rebellion.
Percy had found his cousin Thalia, she was one of the few left. She and the Preator Reyna were practically glued together at the hip, and so both Percy and Nico agreed to leave her alone.
Over many different Christmas', spent in many different places, Percy was molded into the man he would become. He was molded into a mighty leader, who wouldn't think twice about putting himself on the line for his people.
Into someone who genuinely cared for his people and kept the bulk of Roman oppression off of them from the day he walked out of his father's palace until the day he died.
I'd appreciate it if you'd review and give me some constructive criticism - and before you say anything this is very AU, and I know this.
~ Oreo out