I was expecting to have updated this sooner however a combination of no time, the flu, and general lack of desire to do anything useful made it late. To make it up to you, it's super long.
This chapter is dedicated to the random stranger with awesome taste in books that I meet in Value Village the other day. Seriously, what's more fun than meeting people that share a bunch of your fandoms?
Disclaimer- I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus series. (One can dream though) All rights go to the proper parties.
ΩΩΩ
Percy POV
To say my revelation surprised me would be like saying Kronos was a little bad.
The knowledge that I had romantic feeling for the god of travellers forced me to re-examine all of our interactions. I could now understand why Annabeth always gave me 'the look' when I talked about him.
When I looked back, it was painfully obvious that I cared about him as more than just a friend. I wasn't sure how it hadn't occurred to me before. All of the times that I had hung around school just to spend time with him, all of the times I had caught myself staring at him, the way that I had to remind myself not to do anything stupid...
I wondered if he had been aware that I was unconsciously flirting. He hadn't said anything, but how could he not have noticed? Maybe he had noticed but was ignoring it because he didn't feel the same way...
I rolled my eyes and frowned at the thought.
Of course he wouldn't feel the same. Even if I ignored the fact that he was straight, Hermes was older than me. He would probably want someone more mature. He wouldn't want someone who had a Finding Nemo poster in their bedroom. Plus, he was a god. If he wanted to date a mortal guy, he'd probably go for some famous Hollywood actor. Even if he could ignore all that, he was my teacher. The prospect of him having a crush on me was laughable.
I sighed and lay back down on my bed. The sooner I got rid of my unrequited crush the better. I didn't want to lose a good friend over it.
ΩΩΩ
Walking into to gym class the next day, I felt like everyone could tell that I had feelings for Hermes. I knew that I looked the exact same as yesterday, but you can never get rid of that suspicion. You feel like everyone can see something is different about you.
I need to stop watching cheesy teen movies...
I was surprised that Hermes wasn't there yet. He was there before I was every day. He had this weird obsession with being early. I frowned at the knowledge that I wouldn't get a chance to talk to him before class, but I consoled myself with the fact that I would have extra time to get a hold of myself. Just because I realized I liked him was no reason to act any different.
He came in just as the bell rung.
"Okay, let's warm up with ten minutes of laps." I smiled at him but he didn't return it. He simply nodded and turned away. Something was wrong. I frowned and walked up to him. For a moment I thought he was going to ignore my presence but he sighed and turned to me with one raised eyebrow. "Yes Perseus?"
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing you need to concern yourself with."
I felt my frown deepen. I didn't like seeing him look so upset. "Something's bothering you. You can tell me Hermes, we're friends."
That was apparently the wrong thing to say. He shook his head and looked away with a grimace. "Just go run."
I didn't want to leave but I had a feeling that if I didn't, he would go all 'vengeful god' on me.
ΩΩΩ
He seemed distracted the entire class. He usually came over to chat or joke with me frequently. If he wasn't talking with me he was smiling at me from across the room. The fact he wasn't made me wonder if his bad mood was left over from yesterday.
I tried to think of a way to apologize for whatever I did but that was difficult considering I didn't really know what I did to upset him in the first place. I didn't believe Annabeth about him being jealous. I could think of nothing that he would be jealous over.
I was so lost in thought that I didn't realize someone was talking to me until they called my name.
"Percy!"
I jumped in surprise and looked over to see a blond girl looking expectantly at me. I had no idea if she had been talking to me for a while or if she had just come over. I knew her by face, but I had never spoken to her before. I was fairly certain that her name was Chantel, but I couldn't remember for sure.
I coughed and focused my attention on her. "Umm hi..?"
She gave me a bright, nervous, smile, "Hey Percy."
When she didn't say anything else, I felt my confusion grow. "Can I help you?"
She nodded. Her anxious actions were beginning to make me worry. Nothing good could come from this...
"I was wondering if you'd want to go out with me."
I felt my eyes bulge out of my head. "WHAT!"
I blushed when I realized that the entire gym had heard my outburst. Chantel however seemed amused by it. "I said, I think we should go out..."
I shook my head in disbelief. I was so shocked that I couldn't even remember to tell her why that wouldn't work.
"Is there a problem here?"
I looked away from the brown eyed girl beside me with relief. That was not a conversation I wanted to continue. My relief faded however, when I was met with the hostile blue gaze of the god of thieves. I had never seen Hermes look so angry.
I was very grateful when Chantel answered for us. "No, were fine. We're just discussing something."
If anything, Hermes looked even more pissed off by her casual response. He didn't even look away from me when he answered, "Maybe you should save your conversation till after class then."
I nodded and was about to go back to practicing basketball like we were supposed to be doing, when she caught my hand.
I will just say, a furious god is a scary thing. If he had been angry before, he was livid then. He looked ready to vaporize someone. For the first time since he came over, Hermes switched his glare to her.
She didn't even seem to notice that she had just pissed off a Greek god. She simply smiled and entwined our fingers. "I'll come with you baby."
I blushed. I really didn't want to be having this conversation in front of my crush, but it seemed that it was necessary. I pulled my hand out of her grasp.
"Listen, I'm sorry. I'm sure you're a nice girl and everything but I'm not interested in going out with you."
She looked at me like I had just insulted her. "Why?"
"I'm gay."
"What? Since when?"
I raised one eyebrow, "Umm... since I was born?"
"Oh." She looked ready to die from embarrassment. "Okay then. See you around."
She walked away and I couldn't help but shake my head. "Well that was awkward for everyone..."
I hadn't even realized that Hermes was still standing next to me until I turned back around. My shoulders tensed. He didn't seem to be angry anymore but I couldn't understand his expression.
I felt my cheeks darken. "Sorry about that."
"You're gay?" I didn't know what I expected him to say, but it wasn't that.
"Ya," I frowned as I realized that he might be old fashioned about homosexuality, regardless of the activities of his father and half-brother. "That's not a problem, is it?"
His eyes widened and he shook his head, "Not at all. I just wasn't sure..." He trailed off and gave me a small smile before turning and walking away.
I didn't know what he was talking about but I decided to ignore it. At least he looked happy again.
ΩΩΩ
Whatever weird mood he had been in earlier had completely faded by the time class was over. He was back to smiling and teasing me. I wasn't sure what caused his abrupt change in mood but, as long as he was back to normal, I was glad for it.
He got a call right before class ended. He glanced at the display on the phone and sighed. "I have to take this."
I gave him a questioning look but he just shook his head before turning around and dismissing the class early. He told me that he would meet me in the detention room. Before anyone could respond, he left to take his call.
ΩΩΩ
I was fine with meeting him there since I had to grab some stuff from my locker anyway. I waited until the halls had mostly cleared before I grabbed the box.
I was glad that I didn't meet any teacher on my way to the room as I would not have been able to explain why I was carrying what I was carrying. Unless it was Paul; then I would have to explain even more.
I wondered if Paul knew that his co-worker was a Greek god. He had accepted our world fairly quickly, but I still wasn't sure how he would react to having coffee with an immortal being. I smiled as I imagined Paul reaction when/if he learned the truth.
"What has you in such a jolly mood?"
I jumped in surprise as I turned to face the god of travellers. I was beginning to question as to whether my hearing was getting worse or if the god of thieves just liked sneaking up on me. "Hey." He chuckled at my reaction but it looked forced. "What's up?"
The blue eyed god sighed, "I have to go. I have a package that needs to be delivered ASAP."
"Oh..." I had been looking forward to spending a few hours with my friend/crush but I understood. "No worries."
I tried to keep the disappointment out of my voice but judging by his scrutinizing expression, I was pretty sure I failed.
He gave me a look that was an odd mixture of hesitant and hopeful. "You know Percy, you could come with me if you'd liked."
I felt my eyes widen and I tried to keep the smile from my face. "Are you sure I wouldn't bother you?"
The god of Theives laughed at my reaction. "Not at all, it'll be nice to have the company. Come on, my trucks out back."
I held the box tighter and followed him to the door. He laughed when he saw what I was carrying, but he didn't say anything.
ΩΩΩ
When Hermes had said his truck was in the back lot, I had expected a pick-up truck or something. Instead, I saw his Olympus Postal truck sitting right between Paul's Toyota and the principles Mazda.
"Nice ride." The god of messengers gave me a dirty look. I shook my head laughing as I climbed in. "So where are we going anyway?"
He smiled as he started the car and backed out of the stall. "Not too far, just to a factory on the other end of the city." He gave me a devious look and smirked. "Don't worry; you'll be home before your bed time."
I rolled my eyes, "Ha ha, very funny."
He chuckled.
ΩΩΩ
The drive across town was slow.
I wasn't surprised considering it was a Friday, during rush hour, right before Christmas. Any one of those would be enough to spell 'traffic jam' but all together, it was painfully slow. I was fairly certain that I could walk faster than we were moving.
Usually, sitting in a car for long periods of time would be enough to drive me insane. However chatting with Hermes made it fun. The god of travellers had a way of taking things I normally hate, and making them enjoyable.
It took us a few hours to make it to the other end of the city. The god of Thieves pulled up to the loading bay and put the car in park.
"I'll be back in a minute, watch George and Martha for me."
I gave him a nod. He grabbed a large container and jumped out. I watched until he disappeared inside the building.
Hello Percy.
I looked down and smiled at the cell phone, "Hi Martha, hi George. How has work been? I haven't seen you guys since Halloween."
We're rather busy this time of year, but we are well. Thank you.
Much better than we were after our last conversation at least...
Quit sulking George.
I felt my eyebrows pull together in confusion for a moment before I remembered. I winced, "I take it I got you in trouble?"
Yes.
"I'm sorry."
It's alright Percy. You didn't do anything wrong.
I rubbed the back of my neck. I had to be one of the only people on the planet to ever feel bad because I had caused a snake to be scolded.
"I take it that means you won't be telling me whatever it was you were going to then."
You are correct.
I'm sorry dear, Hermes' orders.
"It's okay. I understand." I had been hoping they would have told me but I wasn't really surprised that Hermes had ordered them not to. Whatever reason he had for being there, he didn't seem to want to share it. I cast my eyes around the car for a change of topic when my gaze caught on the box at my feet. I laughed as I reached down to grab the box I had taken from my locker. "By the way, I have something for the two of you."
I held up the box so that they could see. It was a plain white plastic box with the words 'Paradise Pets' written on the side. Almost as though they could sense the presence of the snakes, the box started squeaking.
You remembered our rats!
I laughed, "Yep, Merry Christmas."
Oh thank you Percy, that was very kind of you. Wasn't it George?
Indeed, can we eat them now?
"Of course, they're your presents."
They unwound themselves from around the cell phone and slithered through one of the air holes.
I shook my head at their obvious excitement. I had to remember to thank Annabeth for the idea. I would never have thought of buying them a gift otherwise.
The daughter of Athena had suggested that I get something for Hermes to show him that I had feelings for him. While I definitely wasn't ready to admit that I had a maybe not so small crush on him, I did think that it would be a good idea to get him a Christmas gift as a friend.
I had left her house early and hit the mall. I had never been very good at shopping for Christmas Gifts, but fate must have been on my side. After only about twenty minutes I found the perfect gift. I bought it and was on my way to the doors when I passed a pet store. I remembered the promise I made to George and Martha and decided that it would be good to have a Christmas gift for them too.
I was shaken from my recollection when the driver's door opened. I looked up just in time to see Hermes jump back in with a big smile on his face.
"Sorry for the wait."
I shook my head. "No problem."
He looked down and saw George and Martha just returning to their place, the box conspicuously silent. He laughed, "So I take it they liked their gift?"
I chuckled and was just about to respond when a big gust of wind blew through the still open door. My laughter died as I caught the scent of something I had only smelt once before. I blinked in surprise and breathed in again, deeper than before. I felt my eyes drift closed, the scent lulling me into a dreamy state.
"Whoops, sorry about that." I heard the door close and the lack of scent was like a splash of cold water to my muddled mind. "Percy..?" I shook my head, trying to dispel the rest of the allure. I opened my eyes only to realize that I had unconsciously leaned in towards Hermes, our faces mere inches apart.
I gasped at the unexpected closeness. My brain told my body to move back, but it wasn't cooperating. I opened my mouth, only to close it again when nothing came out. I felt frozen in place. In some vague corner of my mind that could still function, I noticed that he hadn't moved back either.
My eyes were drawn to his mouth when his tongue instinctively flicked out to wet his lips. I bit my own lip in response and looked back up to meet his gaze. I felt my cheeks darken at the hungry look in his eyes.
I wasn't sure who leaned in, but we were suddenly closer than before. The air felt charged and my pulse was racing. Our lips were just a hairsbreadth away when I caught sight of someone watching us.
I must have made some sort of acknowledgement as Hermes turned around and looked back at the building.
I felt the breath whoosh out of my lungs. Whatever strange atmosphere that had held me still was broken at the sudden distance between our lips. I pulled back into my own seat. I shook my head to clear it and looked to see who was there.
A woman, who looked to be around 25, was standing in the doorway, watching us with what could only be called delight. She was wearing a slinky black dress that would have made most girls self conscious. She had wavy blond hair and sky blue eyes. My suspicions as to her identity was confirmed when her hair momentarily shifted to pitch black curls and her eyes darkened to a chocolate brown that bore an embarrassing resemblance to a certain son of Hades that I had briefly had a crush on a few years back.
My embarrassment only increased when her hair and eyes shifted back. The way she was looking between the two of us left no doubt as to why her appearance had changed for me.
My face achieved a new level of red when she glanced at me with one raised eyebrow and winked. I wanted nothing more than to melt into the door frame.
Being caught one second away from kissing your teacher was mortifying enough, but being caught by the love goddess was a million times worse.
The god of travellers cleared his throat and nodded to Aphrodite before throwing the car in reverse and driving away. I didn't miss the fact that he was studiously avoiding eye contact since I was doing the same.
ΩΩΩ
It took almost half an hour before either of us broke the silence. The god of travellers didn't mention anything about the incident, so I decided to follow his lead. Though it wasn't as awkward as it had been, it wasn't the easy conversation that we had shared on the way to Aphrodite's factory either.
The atmosphere in the car still hadn't completely returned to normal by the time we got back to our side of the city.
Hermes pulled up to a restaurant just down the block from my mom's apartment so that we could have dinner. I tried my best not to read other intentions into the way he held the door opened for me.
I knew the almost kiss was my fault. Hermes may not have pulled back, but I was the one who leaned towards him in the first place. The only reason I had come up with for why he hadn't pulled back was the love magic. I had smelt it once before on Aphrodite's scarf. It had probably made him temporarily want to kiss me. It almost made me thankful that the love goddess was there. It would have been a million times worse for him to kiss me and then remember that we were only friends. That would have been hard to explain while not lying to him and keeping my secret.
I had known of my crush for 24 hours and I already nearly kissed him. That had to be some sort of record for worst kept secret.
I left Hermes to get us a table while I went to use the pay phone. I was shocked that they still had one but I was also pleased. I had completely forgotten to call my mom to tell her I was going to be home late.
The phone rang three times before she picked up.
"Hello?"
I smiled, "Hi Mom."
I could hear the relief in her voice. "Percy, I'm glad you called. I was starting to worry. Where are you? Your detention ended hours ago."
I shuffled my feet in guilt, "I'm sorry. No need to worry, I'm fine. I went to hang out with a friend afterwards. I completely forgot to tell you that I was going to be out late, but I should be home in about an hour or so."
"Okay, no problem honey. You don't need to rush home. I just didn't know where you were. Have you had dinner yet?"
"We're just about to get a bite to eat."
"Oh? Are you hanging out with Annabeth again?"
"No I'm..." I couldn't very well tell her I was hanging out with a Greek god/one of my teacher. I refused to lie to her but I didn't need to tell her the whole truth just this once. "I'm hanging out with a guy from school."
There was silence for a moment before she answered, "Percy... are you on a date?"
I felt a blush rush to my cheeks, "No!" I winced; even I could hear how defensive I sounded. Her disbelieving hum made it even worse. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. My voice was much more resigned when I explained, "It's not like that between us mom."
I could hear a note of understanding in her voice. "But you like him don't you."
I bit my lip, "Ya. I do."
"Well it's his own fault if he doesn't like you then. He doesn't know what he's missing."
I was beginning to feel like my blush would never fade. "He doesn't know how I feel about him."
I could practically feel her amused smile, "Honey, how is he supposed to know you like him if you don't tell him?"
"I can't tell him mom. It's... complicated."
She laughed. "Love always is when you're young."
I shook my head. "Trust me; this is a little more so then usual. Besides, I'm pretty sure he's straight."
"What makes you think that?"
I bit my lip. I wasn't used to keeping secrets from my mom but this was one of the rare occasions which it was necessary. "I know for a fact that he's dated a lot of girls in the past."
"That doesn't necessarily mean that he doesn't like boys too. I mean, he's taking you out to dinner is he not?"
I blushed. "It's not a date mom." I looked over my shoulder and saw Hermes raise one eyebrow in question from across the restaurant. "I have to go. He's waiting for me. I'll see you later."
"See you when you get home Percy."
"Bye," I hung up the phone and walked over to our table.
I sat down and tried to force the blush from my cheeks. It had been bad enough considering I had feelings for him and we had almost kissed. It was even worse now that my mom was calling it a date.
The god of travellers smiled, "So what's with the blush?"
I shook my head and looked down. "My mom thought that this was a date."
He looked surprised but not offended by the idea. "Oh? And what did you say?"
I shrugged, "I told her the truth, that you're straight."
He gave me an incredulous look. "Percy..."
"Are you ready to order?" Whatever he was going to say was put on hold while we placed our order.
The waiter was very friendly. His name tag identified him as James. He had dark brown hair and grayish blue eyes. He would have been the most attractive guy in the restaurant if it wasn't for the fact that I was sitting across from Hermes. The god beside me set the bar a little too high for most mortals to be able to compete.
James suggested I get the meat lovers pizza rather than the pepperoni. Apparently the pepperoni wasn't very good. I figured since he worked there, he would probably know. He took our orders and left with a wink.
I had expected the god of travellers to finish what he was saying before, but he didn't.
James was a very smiley, talkative, guy. He came by a few more times before we got our food just to make sure we were doing alright. Whenever he left again, he always did so with a joke or a wink. For some reason though, the more times he came by, the angrier Hermes seemed to get.
We got our meal and I was glad that I had taken his advice. The meat lovers was one of the best pizza's I had ever had.
After our meal, James brought the bill by and slid it towards me with a smile. Before I could pick it up though, Hermes took it. The god of messengers glared at the waiter as he walked away. He opened the bill and his glower increased.
I looked at him in confusion. "What's wrong? Did they give us the wrong bill?"
The god shook his head and let out a huff of breath. He passed me a strip of paper. "I think this is meant for you."
I took the piece of paper he offered me. When I saw what was written on it, I gave it a blank look. "That's weird. Why would he give me his number?"
The god of travellers rolled his eyes. "Not really that weird considering he's been hitting on you the entire time we've been here."
I felt my eyebrows pull together in confusion. "What are you talking about? No he wasn't."
His look of disbelief slowly faded into one of confusion. "You really couldn't tell he was flirting with you?"
I felt my eyebrows pull together, "No. Are you sure he was?" The pointed look he gave me had me glancing away in embarrassment.
Now that he seemed to understand that I hadn't known James was flirting, he seemed to find the situation a lot more entertaining. "How exactly did you not know? He was pretty obvious."
I blushed and glared at the god. "How exactly is being friendly obviously flirting? By that definition I flirt with nearly half the camp. Why can't people just outright say, 'hey, I think you're cute. Do you want to go out sometime?'"
Hermes laughed, "Not everyone is that open."
I huffed. "It would save a lot of misunderstandings."
The god of messengers gave me an indecipherable look. He seemed to come to some sort of decision. He cleared his throat and paid for the entire bill before I could grab my wallet. I thanked him but he just brushed it off.
ΩΩΩ
I had expected him to leave considering I was only a block away from my house, but he insisted in walking me to my door. I was beginning to get uncomfortable. It felt too much like a date. Not that I would be upset if it was, I was simply uncomfortable because no matter how much I wanted it to be, it wasn't a date.
I was so busy trying to convince myself that it didn't mean anything, that I didn't realize we had already reached my apartment building. I blinked in surprise and turned around to say good-bye only to realize that he wasn't looking at me. Instead, he was looking at the roof.
"What is that?"
I followed his line of sight and my entire body froze. Someone from the building had hung a sprig of mistletoe just about the entrance. "Oh, that's... mistletoe."
"Why would you hang it on the ceiling?"
I was pretty sure I had blushed more today than I had in my entire life. "It's tradition for two people who are standing under it too..."
"Too, what?"
I couldn't meet his eyes when I said it, "Too kiss."
"Well, I suppose if it's tradition..."
I just had enough time to register Hermes' words and look up in surprise before I felt a pair of soft, warm, lips being pressed to my own. I gasped in surprise and the god of thieves took it as an opportunity to deepen the kiss. His tongue gently brushed over my bottom lip before diving in to steal a taste. I couldn't think of anything other than the feeling of his tongue plundering my mouth.
It could have been a minute or a month later that he pulled away. I hadn't even realized that I had wrapped my arms around his shoulders until he stepped away with one last kiss to my lips.
"Good night Percy."
My brain didn't start working again until he was out of sight.
I somehow made it upstairs and into my room in a daze. I fell back onto my bed and put my hand to my lips. I could still feel the ghost of Hermes lips against mine.
What in Hades was that..?
