They landed with a whirl, hand-in-hand in front of a simple-looking restaurant.
But the street was what caught his attention. He looked back from the restaurant to see a completely deserted street. A ghost town, filled with human relics but devoid of actual humans.
Percy's heart sank. When had he last seen a human mortal?
It felt like ages since he had been in New Rome and longer still since he had gone out before that. He suddenly missed New York, loud and crowded and busy and uncaring of individual life-forms.
In the past few days, he had been catered to and looked after and pampered; he had had more attention on him than he had in all of the years of his childhood. Combined.
He had spent those years wishing and hoping for a father to hold his hand and had more than anything, selfishly wished for his mother to earn a little more, just enough so that she had time to sit with him at night and read him stories and tuck him in.
Now he had a father who loved him well, a mother who earned well and though they were not together, both of their families cared too much for him.
And yet…
He shrugged off his guilt and resolved to whine less and be more grateful. There was always something to be sad about. He needed to look to the good.
"There is no-one around," Percy pointed out, still longing for a glimpse of someone normal.
"C'mon," Apollo said, tugging him in, ignoring what he'd said, which was pretty much the foundation of their relationship. No, Percy told himself sternly, there is no relationship. You are just engaged to the guy and-good gods, this is so not helping!
Percy reluctantly followed.
"This is one of Eros' haunts," Apollo explained. "Eros is the embodiment of love-"
"Wait a second." Percy said, his brain screeching to a halt. "The embodiment of love? But that would make him a-a-"
"Primordial," Apollo filled in his blank.
Percy snapped his fingers. "Exactly. I thought he was Aphrodite's son."
"And wouldn't life be easier if he was a bit less powerful?" Apollo said mournfully. "I made that mistake once and insulted him. Don't you do it too. He is very powerful and very cruel."
"Aww. I know you wouldn't insult me to your newest boy toy now, would you?"
Percy and Apollo both looked to the guy, one in apprehensive fear, the other in surprise.
"Death," Percy realized.
"No, Percy. I said to not insult him," Apollo hissed in his ear.
They both ignored him. "Yes," Eros admitted. "Me and Thanatos are often mistaken for each other. Both of us are primordial brothers, after all."
Percy snapped his fingers. "That's what he said. Something like that, at least."
"I know," Eros smiled. He was just as unnaturally, mesmerizingly beautiful as Death. He had the same pull, the same dark eyes that pulled you in and refused to let you go. " He told me about you. I mean, I already knew you well enough. But he gave me a first hand account. He is very fond of you, you know."
"Oh," Percy said, surprised. "He is very kind." Because that seemed safe to say. And had the added bonus of being true.
Eros caught his eyes, his own infinitely deep and knowing. He smiled, a mesmerizing tilt that caught Percy's attention, coming forward to stand between the two of them.
Eros entwined his arms with both of theirs, Percy on his right and Apollo on left. He tugged at the two of them, startling them into moving.
"C'mon in!" Eros said enthusiastically. "If you'd let me, Percy, I'd like to choose a meal for you this time around. Custom-based on your palate, of course," Eros winked at him.
"Is it like fine dining?" Percy asked, hesitantly.
"It could be. Or it could be burgers from the nearest fast-food chain. Popcorn in a movie theatre. Everyone has different ideas for a first date. But you're already here, so a little fine dining is in order, I suppose."
"I'm not really all that fond of fine dining and stuff," Percy admitted. He never really was comfortable with grandiose structures and extravagant gestures of love. His life was already exaggerated enough. He didn't need to chase after a high of an adventure there.
For him, love was his mom tucking him in and kissing his cheek; Paul wordlessly taking over his cooking duty when he had been too tired to after a monster attack; the Stolls sneaking him a six-pack of coke and leaving it in his room, no note, after the war as if to say thank you; Annabeth holding his hand tight and him saying that their friendship was stronger than any romance could ever be…
"Well, no. You really aren't." Eros said, giving him a cursory glance. "Oh yes, you have your wiring up there all set up in the right places."
"You mean, my brain?" He asked hesitantly, doubting it.
Eros winked at him. "You caught that, huh? Most people think so. But I meant your heart. You're very pure and clear in there. But your brain works pretty good too."
"Um, thank you?"
"You're very welcome, sweetheart." Eros turned to Apollo. "See, Apollo? You should learn something from him."
Apollo gritted his teeth. "You're ruining our first date."
"Ruining? No, no, dear. I am saving what I can." He glanced towards Percy, a smile still on his face. "For Percy's sake, of course. I mean, c'mon, what's more romantic than having Cupid on your date? Mortals try for fake, tacky versions. You've got the real deal right here. SO romantic! Am I right?" He grinned, showing off all of his 32 white, perfect teeth.
"Yes, I suppose," Percy tried optimistically just as Apollo snarled, "NO!"
"Oh, c'mon, Apollo," Percy waved his hand. "We're engaged. I don't want to be here, but you've already got me here and this date is just a farce. We're not really having a nice, first date. If we were, I'd already have thrown my water in your face and stomped out, dramatically yelling that we should see other people and then I'd never have to see your stupid mug ever again," he said in a casual tone.
Both Apollo and Eros stared open-mouthed in surprise.
"Well," Eros said, trying to bite back down on his surprise. "Looks like this angel has a bit of a bite."
"Not a bit," he said seriously. "People think that just because I'm nice, I'll roll over. But trust me, I didn't survive this far by playing nice. And Apollo, I'm going to make your immortal life hell. You think you won some prize? I'll prove to you that this prize was not fucking worth it. If you don't believe me, maybe you should see some of those Hephaestus reels again."
Apollo mumbled something, Uh- mixed with a lot of gibberish and wide eyed surprise. Even Eros seemed speechless. Percy guessed that Love was not often speechless.
Percy ignored them, walking on confidently in his suit. "You were saying something about ordering for me, Love?"
Eros took a second to realize that it was him being talked to. When had he lost control of this situation? Had he ever even been in control here? Hades, when was the last time he had lost the plot of the story so quickly? Never. That's when.
Percy stopped at the door-way, looking back to see the two gods staring blankly at him. Why did people keep assuming that good was synonymous to harmless? Because if he was a nice, sweet, good boy, he was pretty much harmless, right?
"What are you two waiting for?" He dropped the posture and that darkness in his eyes, the venom in his words as abruptly as they had come in, as if it had never even happened. He even smiled, all warm and soft, no hidden agenda obvious in his eyes.
Eros snapped out of his shock first, throwing his head back, laughing, as he walked on. "Oh, darling! I see now why Thanatos thought so highly of you." He clapped Percy's shoulder. "This is one of the best days of my immortal life. And this has to be one of the most intriguing dates I've had in a while."
"This isn't your date," Apollo managed from behind them. He was ignored yet again.
Eros guided Percy to his table as soon as they walked in. Not out of some misguided common courtesy but because barely three steps in, Percy walked into a table. In his defense, it was pitch black.
"The wait-staff and regulars know where everything is by muscle memory," Eros explained, guiding him in. "I asked Erebus for a favor once. Even gods can't see anything here."
"Why?" Percy asked, feeling uncomfortable without his eye-sight.
"Oh, sight interferes with a lot of things. It's silly how much people stop seeing when they have their sight. Food here is made to taste, and not to show. The dates are about company and not eye-candy. And the company here is without distraction and interference."
"That's a nice concept."
"Yes," Eros said dreamily. "I'll tell you about my wife sometime. It's a sad but hopeful story. We ended up married in the end and all is well that ends well, am I right?"
"It helps, I suppose." Percy conceded. He was starting to relax again, even without his eye-sight.
"Here, that's our table right here. And-yeah, right there," Eros helped him in. Percy heard the scrape of another chair and seconds later, yet another one.
"Thanks for leaving me behind," Apollo said sulkily.
Percy rolled his eyes, naturally unseen in the dark. Eros tsked, "Jealousy is a very dangerous emotion. I'd be careful, Apollo. Things done in the dark have a way of coming back to bite us in the end. And your fiancé is a bit more sensitive than most."
"I am not a wilting flower," Percy chimed in, but not in annoyance.
"Well, no. I mean, sensitive emotionally. Receptive to others. High EQ, if you will. It can be a good thing. Or a very bad one. I suppose that's all up to you."
"How is it bad to have a high EQ?"
"Oh, it can be very depressing. Seeing people and their pain everywhere, it can be a hard burden to carry. But enough about philosophy, I suppose. How are you liking Atlantis so far? I've heard it's beautiful, but I've never had the chance to go. Never even asked for an invite in my defense though, I always had something more to do," Eros explained.
"Oh, it's beautiful. I love it," Percy said warmly. "And I'm not just talking about the palace and the kingdom which of course looks beautiful. I mean, dad's awesome and we actually got to spend a little while even though he was a little busy with the mess. Triton is pretty cool, but don't you go saying that to his face-"
Eros snickered.
"-And Mother is nice too-"
"You don't mean your birth mom, right?" Apollo recognized.
"No, Amphitrite. She is mother now. Mom is mom. So. It's pretty cool so far."
"Oh yes," Eros said warmly. "I feel it. You love them and they love you a lot too already. There is a very firm foundation for some very strong relationships there. And Percy, try to remember. It's not always about blood. Be brave and let them in. You'll be surprised."
"O-okay?" Percy wasn't sure he got it yet, but put the words in to ponder over some other time. "What about you guys?"
"Just trying to clean up the mess that Apollo made," Eros whined promptly and without hesitation.
"You mean this marriage?" Percy tried.
"Eros," Apollo kicked at him and managed to get them both at awkward angles, thankfully not hurting the mortal demigod with his godly strength.
"What, no. That's probably the smoothest disaster Apollo managed so far," Eros said, darkly amused. "Oh, eat up, the food is here." Someone from behind Percy caught his hand and guided him to his plate and forks, making him jump.
"Sorry," a voice said softly in his ear. "I thought you knew the customs here. I'll just be guiding you a little. Most new customers are not much used to the dark."
"Well yeah, you got that right."
The voice chuckled. "Bon Appetit," it whispered and walked away.
Percy sat in the dark, and realized what Eros had meant. It was just another server, but here in the dark, he was a fascinating mystery. In any other old diner, seeing the guy would have already appeased him well enough, like if a guy looks normal enough, there are no mysteries to uncover.
But, in the dark, it was an endless source of fascination. Who was the guy? What did he look like? What was he like? Percy shrugged off his curiosity and focused back to his meal.
It took him a couple of tries to sink his fork into the softer food instead of the hard plate. Neither of his two companions said a thing, their cutlery perfectly hitting the food on first try. Percy blushed despite himself and was once again thankful that this was a dark, black room and nobody could see him.
Unless they lied to him. Gods, but he hoped they hadn't lied to him. He was pretty sure he was acting like a fool here, blindly stabbing in the dark. Literally.
The first bite was an explosion of flavors. "That's good," Percy said in surprise.
"I told you so," Eros said smugly.
"An I told you so? What are you, a child?"
"Like you wouldn't have said the same thing," Eros pointed out.
"Well, yeah. But compared to you guys, I'm really a child."
"Yeah, touché. Hey, does that make Apollo a cradle robber?"
Percy chuckled as Apollo mumbled his protests. Not as bad a first date as he had been expecting after all.
Gamer69: Oh, I'm sorry to hear that you feel that way but these are about 2-2.5k chapters updated bi-weekly and that is pretty much the extent of my writing capacity for now :( Maybe I'll be able to get out longer chapters or write them more frequently at one point, but I'm afraid that for now, this is it.
Hemera: Sally will be coming up in a chapter or two, don't you worry. And as for clearing the air and Tyson, that will all come up with time. And the bracelets, Hades yes, they will come in handy ;) Thanks for a lovely comment, as always.
Guest: Great, to the battle-lines we go! And you can start to see that defiance in him from here only; only this won't be a physical fight, more a battle of wits. And I agree, I'd much rather give a realistic portrayal than unwarranted submission. And truth be told, I can't see Percy just bending to the whims of anyone, not even a god. But most fics I find in this fandom are either OP Percy or pointlessly submissive Percy. I find neither trope all that fun tbh, so I'm glad to see people in this fandom that agree.
Avalayn: Happy ending? We'll just have to wait and see. I wouldn't lean in either direction right now. And I don't want to spoil things coming on ahead. As for Zeus, he'll definitely get a bigger part than he has now. I mean, he is the king of the gods. Doubt he is without opinion and doubt he lets a story play out without his input.