Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus. I don't own anything written by Rick Riordan.

Author's Note: Please review. I really want to know what you all think of my writing. Constructive criticism will also be especially appreciated. Thank you to everyone that has reviewed my story so far. On a side note, I received a review asking if Percy is supposed to be a girl. The answer is yes. I have also PMed the reviewer and explained in more detail. Halliwell2002007, to answer your question, yes Percy still has her powers from when she was a demigod. However, I don't recall reading anywhere that Percy had any major power as an earthshaker, so for the purposes of this story, she can't cause earthquakes. She's not a minor goddess. She's a major goddess - her domains just happen to coincide with some of Poseidon's. They're sharing the domain - sort of like Artemis and Apollo both have hunting as one of their domains. If anybody has questions, please PM me. If you are a guest, and can't PM, send a review and I'll answer your question in the next chapter. Anyways, here's the second chapter of the week.

Chapter 11

Percy POV

As the four hour meeting ended, the Olympians stood and walked around, talking to each other.

Percy walked over to her father who embraced her. "I'm so glad you accepted immortality!" he exclaimed.

"I am too. I'll be sad to see my friends die, but now I can be surrounded by my family and friends forever, helping them in whatever way I can," agreed Percy.

Poseidon laughed. "There's that fatal flaw of yours acting up again! Instead of thinking about how to enjoy your immortality, you're already thinking about helping others."

Percy smiled. "I can't help it."

Poseidon laughed, but then his face darkened. "Percy... who did you kill?"

Percy hesitated and looked away, not wanting to tell her father that she had been abused.

Poseidon grabbed her chin and forced his daughter to look up at him. "You can tell me anything. You know that, right?"

Looking into her father's sea-green eyes, Percy felt her doubts melt away. She nodded. "I'll tell you later, in private."

"Okay." Poseidon was still looking at her with concern, but Percy could sense that his tension had eased.

"Percy!" called a warm voice.

The raven-haired goddess turned in the direction the voice had come from. She found an eight-year old goddess approaching her. "Aunt Hestia!"

The fire-eyed goddess pulled her niece into a hug. "Thank you for getting me a position on the council."

"It was my pleasure. Besides, you deserved it," said Percy, shrugging. "After everything you've done for Olympus - from giving up your position to Dionysus to keeping Pandora's pithos safe - nobody could deny your rights to a throne."

Hestia smiled up at Percy, before moving on to speak to Poseidon.

From across the room, Hades caught Percy's eye and nodded his appreciation for getting him onto the council as well. Percy smiled at the god of the dead.

As Percy moved towards Hades, a goddess intercepted her. "Persephone."

"Lady Athena," said Percy bowing, still nervous around the gray-eyed goddess that harbored a grudge against Poseidon and his offspring.

Athena waved her hand dismissively. "There is no need to bow to me or call me 'Lady'. We are equals now."

"Then, please, call me Percy," countered the other goddess.

Athena nodded, smiling. "I wanted to tell you that I support your relationship with my son. You have my blessings."

The smile on Percy's froze for a moment before dropping off abruptly. "Athena, we're no longer together."

"What!?" screeched the goddess in surprise. "How did you break up?"

The other Olympians quieted and turned at the uncharacteristically loud noise that Athena had emitted. Percy hesitated to reply when she realized that the other gods were watching the conversation intently.

"Well?" prodded the goddess of wisdom.

"Anthony started cheating on me after we escaped Tartarus. I confronted him yesterday and we broke up," explained Percy as briefly as she could. She bit her lip as the pain she felt at the thought of the boy she had fallen into Tartarus for cheating on her stirred in her chest.

"That boy!" exclaimed Athena angrily, pacing in front of Percy. "And he claims to be wise! Why he would give up the love and affection of the Hero of Olympus is beyond me."

"With whom did he cheat on you?" questioned Zeus, sparks flying off of him.

"Lavinia," answered Percy hesitantly. She didn't know why Zeus sounded so protective of her. After all, she was a child of Poseidon.

"I see. I'll have a talk with those two," said Zeus.

She had the feeling that Zeus was referring to would be more physical than verbal 'conversation'. "Uncle, it's fine. I've made my peace with Lavinia and she is happy with Anthony. I don't want to ruin it for her. Besides," she added under her breath. "I doubt our relationship would have lasted much longer anyways."

Percy had thought nobody had heard her and was surprised when Ares, who had come to stand next to her while she explained her break up, looked at her in confusion.

"Very well," grumbled Zeus. "I will not speak to the two."

Percy smiled at the king of the gods in gratitude.

The Olympians slowly began to speak again, a few, especially Poseidon, occasionally glancing at Percy in concern. Percy walked over to a corner of the throne room, not wanting to talk to any of the gods about the break up. She leaned against a wall, not really surprised to find that Ares had followed her.

"Why was Zeus acting so protective?" she asked.

Ares leaned against the wall next to her. He looked at her in surprised. "You can't tell? He cares about you. You've defeated two of his major enemies and have never looked for recognition. Sure, you've requested rewards, but it seems to me that he wanted to do the things you asked for anyways. He was just too proud to do them unless he was obligated to. My guess is that he's grateful that everything you requested has been something beneficial."

Percy tilted her head and studied the war god next to her. He seemed the same as ever - tall, messy black hair, raging fires for eyes, scars marring his tan skin - but he acted like a different person from the one she had come to expect over the past six years. "You aren't what everybody makes you out to be," said the goddess, a wry smile dancing on her lips.

"Oh?"

"I used to think that you were all brawn and no brains. I thought you craved power," started Percy, only to be cut off by Ares' harsh laughter.

"I can see why you'd think that," he said. "After all, I did try to get the lightning bolt to Kronos. I didn't want to, though. I... I didn't really know what I was doing. It felt like I was in a dream." He closed his eyes. "Anyways, go on. Who do you think I am now?"

"I'm not sure," answered Percy truthfully. "I think that you are smarter than you let on. You also feel more than just rage - it's just easier to pretend that you don't have other emotions. I think that you try to be what others expect you to be because it's easier."

Ares had opened his eyes and was looking at the goddess intently. "Something tells me that you're the same," he murmured.

Percy raised her eyebrow, curious what Ares thought.

The fires in the war god's eyes softened as he spoke again. "That son of Athena, he calls you a Seaweed Brain. No doubt he calls you that because he thinks that you aren't very smart and don't notice much. He thinks that you are more of a person that jokes around all the time. He doesn't think you're ever really serious. But he doesn't know that it's a cover. He doesn't know that you pretend to be someone you're not in order to hide from your past, from the abuse. In fact, I'm guessing that you said your relationship with him wouldn't have lasted much longer because he doesn't really know you."

Percy nodded and motioned for Ares to continue.

"Being the child of one of the Big Three and then being a part of two Great Prophecies meant that everyone expected you to be strong, even when you came back from Tartarus. Even when you wanted to rely on someone, you had to be strong and independent because everyone looked up to you and if you showed any weakness, people would lose hope. You never seem to get hurt when someone insults you, but I think that you've been hurt so often by words that you have learned to hide how you feel and pretend that you're perfectly fine," finished Ares softly.

"How did you know?" asked Percy, furiously brushing away the tear that had started making it's way down her cheek.

"I'm the god of war. It's my job to be able to read those around me, whether they are my friend or enemy," answered Ares.

"And what am I? Friend or enemy? Or am I neither - just someone that happens to be on the side of the gods?" asked Percy, looking him in the eye.

Ares hesitated. "A friend, if you want the same."

Percy smiled at the idea of having a friend who knew her well enough that she didn't have to pretend to be someone she wasn't. "I want the same," she said, watching the war god's face break into a small smile.

A/N: What do you guys think? Should I have handled the big reveal of the break up differently? If you want any of the gods to react with more volatility, let me know and I'll add in scenes where they approach Percy separately. Anyways, Ares and Percy are officially friends now! If any of you have specific ways you want their relationship to progress, let me know. I'd love some ideas - I've got a basic storyline, but I didn't really plan any scenes out ahead of time, and right now I just write whatever comes to mind. I'd much rather write an already solidified idea. Anyways, please review. Next chapter might come out this week, but don't count on it. I will definitely stick with the two chapter a week, though.