Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson world or characters, or anything related to the Greek Mythology world etc., I'm just a fan :)
Short A/N
At long last here we go, the end to the first series. Want to see more? Don't forget to read the longer A/N at the bottom of the page ;)
Oh, by the way, to everyone who wanted to see Poseidon give Hermes the 'Dad talk'... here goes :D
Hermes
It was over, they won the war, and he… he lost his son, forever. He couldn't quite put his finger on how he felt.
Yes, he had that final conversation he always longed to have with him, in which he explained everything to his son, where he finally got to express his love.
It was his most prominent wish for the past 20 years.
And not only did that happen, he was also granted his son's forgiveness, something that went above and beyond all his expectations.
But that all came with a price. He longed for more, ached for more - the mere beginning of their relationship was also its end.
He watched the mortals' news channels moodily, avoiding the party inside. He felt like he couldn't celebrate, not like them.
"Hey," a soft voice stirred him from his gloom, and he looked up to watch the daughter of Poseidon, the hero of Olympus really, watching him with those green, sad eyes.
Can the sea even be sad? Angry, perhaps. But her usually vigorous eyes were still, and… Bleak. He didn't like that look on her, but it seemed fitting to how he felt.
Besides that, she looked beautiful. But he always thought her a pretty girl.
Her brown hair was braided in a long braid that ended on her shoulder, streaks of gold interlocked in her hair, with little strands falling near the sides of her face and framing it. A golden laurel wreath was resting on the top of her head, and her face was turned slightly sideways as she watched him.
And the look on her face, it was that look she had the entire gathering, and it left him very uneasy. Her gaze was filled with longing and frustration and sadness - he felt as if she was saying goodbye to him.
Yet another thing, ending before it had even begun. There were just so many goodbyes one could take in one night, even if one was an Olympian.
Why was she saying goodbye? Was everything that happened that night too much for her?
It made sense.
It certainly was too much for him.
Poor girl, she tried to make everything right and truly realized how wrong everything was.
"Hey," he answered, turning to her and leaning on the fountain behind him. "Why are you not inside? Celebrating with Percy?"
"Percy is inside, dancing rather closely to Annabeth," she answered, and her eyes seemed brighter as she talked about her brother, "but I, I couldn't. Not when…" her voice lowered to a whisper, "not when you're so sad."
He closed his eyes, and had to fight the very conflicting emotions inside of him.
His elation over Penelope Jackson, his not-so-much-of-a-secret infatuation liking him back, and his numb grief over his miserable son, perhaps dying a hero's death, but living a miserable life.
"I failed him," he said, his voice cracking, "I failed both of them."
She took a step closer to him. "Luke and… May?"
He nodded mutely. "You know what happened. You've been to May's house."
"Yeah."
His features soured somewhat. He furrowed his brows at the mortal news channel reflecting on the water, commenting on Typhon's storm wrecking St. Louis. "Then how can you be sad for me? You know it all now. I failed him, and her."
"Well, I cannot possibly judge you, Can I?" She frowned, "I failed all of you."
He was taken aback, arching an eyebrow at her. "I... What?"
She looked down. "I'm the reason you relived all of this pain with Luke, and I'm partly responsible for his death."
He narrowed his eyes in confusion. "You're… you're the reason I had a resolution with my son. The conversation you arranged had him forgive me. Of course, it was painful, but it brought me a sense of peace I haven't felt in twenty years."
She looked up at him with surprise.
"As for being at fault for his death… you'll have to enlighten me on that one."
"I… I gave him the knife."
Right.
He forgot about that part.
Looking down, he shrugged weakly. "Well, I mean… it was unavoidable," he sighed deeply, a lump forming in his throat as he came to terms with it, "he said so himself. Had he waited, the Titan Lord would have resumed his original form, killing… killing Luke in the process."
Penny was hardly his son's murderer in his mind.
Kronos was his actual one, with Hermes his emotional one. Hermes' neglect to him (because of the Fates or not) drove him over the edge and Kronos pulled the trigger.
Penny's only fault was that she wasn't the actual hero from the prophecy. But he was also so unbelievingly glad she didn't die, that it was very confusing, to decide how to feel. Very very conflicting.
"Hermes…" and her voice shook.
They looked at each other.
"Whether it is my fault or not, I, I…" and her eyes glistened with tears, "I'm just so, so sorry…"
And it felt as if she fell into his arms, and he wasn't sure which one of them was more comforted by it.
Her tears warmed him as if a great beam of light alighted his insides.
He was just so deeply, crushingly sad, and having the girl he was possibly falling for feel the same sadness made him connect with her in a deep, soothing way.
Not to mention how much he loved having her in his arms.
He did.
Her lean frame, pressed up against him, warm, with that smell of her shampoo in his nose and a slightly salty, but not unpleasant smell that reminded him of the sea and was just so very her.
His arms enveloped her and pressed her closer to him, and he placed his chin on her head, close to tears in a way he wasn't since Luke passed away.
But he held back.
He wasn't too keen to cry next to her - he had an image to keep, thank you very much.
She snuggled deeper against him, her arms closing around his back. He played with her brown curls, murmuring calming words into her ear to stop her from crying.
Long minutes passed as they were locked in that intimate embrace, and a small voice in his head wondered what others who happened to come across them would think. But he couldn't bring himself to care that much.
Lately, that girl was the only thing that made him feel, that is beside his kids, his wonderful kids to whom he wasn't allowed to get close to.
So yes, he would hold onto this girl.
She pulled away slowly, her eyes red, and a small, relieved smile played on her lips.
Not for the first time, he ached to kiss her (an urge he acted upon a couple of blissful times in the battle), but he held back because they weren't in battle, and everything was real, and they weren't fighting for their lives, so there wasn't a place anymore for rash decisions.
Not to mention all that was on stakes with this specific girl.
"I'm not blaming you for anything, Penny," he told her honestly, "I'm just very grateful."
"You are?" She breathed, her smile becoming wider and brighter. He nodded, finally able to give her a smile of his own.
And that's pretty much when her father had found them.
Penny
The god was watching her with intensity in his blue eyes that both nerved her and excited her, and she looked back to him, sheepish.
"Penny!" A voice boomed behind her and made her jump away from Hermes, and her father strode into the terrace, looking very displeased. "What's going on here? Why are you two alone together?"
Penny felt her cheeks heating up, but Hermes seemed less nervous as he smiled at her father. "We've merely discussed today's events. Namely, how your wonderful daughter, besides saving Olympus, helped me make amends with my estranged son."
"Your estranged… Oh," understanding dawned on the strong face of the god, and he watched Hermes with more sympathy and less anger. "Luke?"
Hermes nodded.
"And how did she manage to that?"
Hermes smiled and shook his head, leaving it for her to answer, and she looked up at her dad and smiled, that smile softening his gaze immediately. "I knew how hurting Luke was, and how hurting…" and her eyes wandered to Hermes, who nodded at her mutely, "how hurting Hermes was. And I knew that the only way to make Luke stop the titan was by reminding him and showing him that many do love him," she looked down, "it was the right thing to do."
Poseidon nodded slowly, watching them both with concentration. "And how did you two become so well acquainted that my daughter knew of your inner, most intimate emotions towards your son?"
Penny was beet-red with embarrassment, and Hermes seemed quite nervous too, rubbing his neck. "Well, I… you see…"
Hermes was flustered. And honestly, in all the years she knew him, god of Orators was rarely, if ever, flustered.
Poseidon narrowed his eyes. "Humph. Well, Hermes, we'll discuss this later," and Hermes immediately nodded, "Penny, come back inside, I've been meaning to talk to you and Percy for a while now, and when your brother couldn't find you I was not pleased."
She lowered her head. "I'm sorry, father."
"It's alright. Now come," and as he advanced back to where the party was, fully expecting her to follow, she did, looking back to Hermes.
"I'm sorry," she offered with a smile.
"Don't be," he dismissed her apology with a soft smile of his own and then winked, "I'll find you later," and his smile grew wider as she brightened up and beamed at him, before running to catch up with her father.
"There you are, Penny," Percy smirked with malice as Poseidon and Penny neared him, "I wondered where you flew off too."
"Flew off to?"
"He has those little wings on his helmet, doesn't he?" Percy chuckled and motioned with his fingers near his head what seemed to be little wings. Both Poseidon and Penny glared at him. "And on his boots as well. I'm sure they can do some tricks."
"Some tricks, yeah, but nothing as impressive as your dancing abilities, Annabeth was quite smitten with them! Athena, though? Not so much."
And the three of them felt the heat of a glare as they looked up to see Athena watching them suspiciously.
"Alright, the two of you, enough!" Poseidon scolded both of his blushing children. "I wish not to speak with you about your love lives, I'm not Aphrodite," and at that, more heat from a different angle and the three watched as Aphrodite grinned at them, waving.
They waved back.
"And maybe we all should stop dropping the names of deities when they are in the same room as us," Poseidon huffed. "Anyway, I wish not to speak with you about your love lives, although we will have a conversation at a later time, young lady," Poseidon addressed her and she gazed at the floor. "The path you have chosen is… much more complex, unfortunately so."
"It has chosen me, father," she said quietly.
Her father misunderstood her. "You mean… You mean to say, that he came on to you?"
"No!" Her eyes snapped up, "I just meant that it has chosen both of us, but it wasn't planned is all."
"Hmm, chosen you both you say," he muttered and his eyes settled again on a certain love goddess, who again chose to wave.
"Oh," Penny's eyes widened as Percy frowned.
"She did it? She made them fall for each other?"
"No Percy, that's not how that works. She can't create it, not really. But she can definitely complicate it."
"It's complicated enough," Penny sighed miserably and rubbed her face, "I'm sorry that you have to deal with this, dad."
"Penelope, stop apologizing," her father ordered and finally smiled, "you did nothing wrong. And I didn't call you both to scold you. I wanted to congratulate you, and… and tell you how proud I am of you both. You are true children of the sea, and the right heroes of Olympus."
"Us… us and Luke," Penny mumbled and then smiled at her brother, hugging him despite the mutual mocking they had a minute earlier, "you have been so brave, Percy."
Percy smiled down at his sister as the girl pulled away from him and jumped at her father, surprising him with the gesture as she hugged him forcefully.
"You fought so well," she told her father, who seemed shocked, but happy as well, "you saved them. You saved all of us. Without you, they wouldn't have beaten Typhon."
Poseidon's cheeks actually reddened. "Thank you, Penny."
"No, really," she smiled up to her father in complete adoration, "they said so themselves!"
"They said or he said?" Percy asked her with a grin and she stuck her tongue at him and then shrugged, giving up on the hiding.
"He said, but he's their messenger, so it must mean that it's from all of them."
Poseidon stroked his daughter's back lovingly. "I'm happy at what they all said, but let me share a secret with you -" and his voice lowered to a whisper, "I'm happier at what you and your brother have to say."
\
Soon enough, Percy was back to dancing with Annabeth. Her father went to dance with his immortal wife, Amphitrite, and Penny was happy with any second that deity was too busy to look around, because it seemed that each time she did she'd glare at her. Not even at Percy, just at her.
"Yes, she always seemed to hate Poseidon's mortal girls more than she did his boys," a voice laughed near her and Penny jumped and turned to greet the love goddess herself who grinned at her.
After her trick from a year and so ago, Penny really didn't know how to handle the love goddess. It seemed as if the goddess did as she pleased, and in their interactions, Penny was always without control of the situation.
She was very charming, naturally, but it seemed that girls had better resistance to her charms than boys. To her, the goddess looked positively gorgeous, of course, and seemed to be a combination of two.
One was her mother, with her eyes and features, and it made sense as she always adored her mother to no end and thought of her as the prettiest woman in the world. Embarrassingly enough, the goddess also resembled the image she saw of a young May Castellan, with her smile and her general brightness. But it did not surprise her. From the flashbacks she saw, she was able to tell quite well why Hermes was smitten with her.
"Lady Aphrodite!" Penny bowed her head, seriously considering to kneel. The goddess scanned her.
"Penelope Jackson. It's nice to meet you again, you're always so interesting to me! I mean nice," and the goddess grinned slyly, "although the bowing is unnecessary."
"I always respect those I fear," Penny declared shamelessly and Aphrodite laughed.
"You're afraid of me!" It was clear she managed to surprise the deity, "clever girl. Cheeky, funny girl. I naturally notice what he sees in you. Besides, you, children of Poseidon, it's never boring with you! And I think others agree with me," she smirked and they both turned to watch Hermes who seemed immersed in a conversation with Artemis, though his ears were a bit red.
"I'm so glad Poseidon had both you and your brother!"
"Well, I am too. I like being alive and I like my brother as well."
"Oh no, besides that!" She dismissed the concept of living with a wave of her hand, "the fact that there are two of you! A boy and a girl. Both of you are so much fun, and as lovely as your brother is, It's always nicer to talk to females, you know. Males are sweet enough, but they don't talk much!"
"I can see how that might happen," Penny laughed.
"Penelope Jackson," the goddess repeated her name, "yes. Strong, interesting name. It really, in itself, almost explains it all. You must remember Penelope."
"Well, I've heard of her, but you must've actually known her, right?"
"Tsk, yes girl, but don't do that, I don't like to be reminded of my age," the goddess frowned somewhat and Penny's eyes widened in horror. Really, the last thing she wanted to do was anger her! "Anyway, Penelope! Such an intriguing choice! Do you happen to know the reason behind the name?"
"I do actually, yeah," Penny mumbled, scratching her neck. The goddess wouldn't like the reasoning though. It wasn't very romantic. "I, er…"
"It's alright, sweety. I'm just marveling at the possible meaning of that name on you! At the time, I was not completely happy with Penelope's choice, I must admit. Why was she so faithful when she had so many fine offers? And for so long! Even true love withers after so much time. I might've even been behind some of the offers she received. But really, it just magnified the virtue of her actions, so no harm done in the end, am I right?"
No harm done. Hmm. Maybe not for Penelope.
"So, Penelope, tell me, when did you know your infatuation was of the unorthodox kind?"
"Um…"
"It runs in your family, hm? I remember liking your mom, back when she and Poseidon got to know each other, she was such a pretty little thing, and it was such a nice, naive romance, your father was so into it! It was cute. And, see, 18 years later and her daughter makes another deity just as besotted with her as her father was with her mother! How adorable. How does that make you feel?"
Aphrodite chose a very public place to have this conversation in.
Near the nectar table Dionysus was sneering deeply, grumbling something about 'air-headed half bloods' and 'the power of lust'. Apollo, who was nearby too, seemed a bit nervous but was kind enough to talk loudly to Hestia in an attempt to muffle down Aphrodite's happy babbling.
"Why so shy suddenly? Come on, Penelope, if you're going to be the star of a great love story, you must act like it! Be passionate, verbal, proud! Exclaim you love loudly, with pride, make a scene -"
"Please don't," Dionysus hissed as Apollo's ears reddened and he slightly glared at Aphrodite. Hestia looked at her champion with sympathy.
"I'm not…" Penny hated being in the center of attention, let alone this kind of attention, where her deepest, most private emotions were discussed openly -
"Am I interrupting?" A voice asked from behind her, a voice that sent electric shivers up and down her spine as she turned around with great relief to the Messenger of the Gods.
Aphrodite grinned widely, amused to no end. "Well, had you been anyone else I would've said yes, absolutely, but considering the, er, special circumstances here, not at all! In fact, it's positively charming! You saw her incredibly embarrassed and came to her rescue! Just like a knight, saving his princess!"
They both blushed, Hermes more than her, his eyes slightly glaring at the goddess of love. But he still managed a smile, albeit a bit forced, and looped his arm in Penny's. "I must steal her for a second, excuse me."
"No apologies needed! Steal her away, God of Thieves!"
Hermes rolled his eyes as they walked away from Aphrodite.
When they were safely away Hermes breathed a sigh of relief and released her arm. They were in a somewhat secluded corner of the room.
"I apologize for that," he muttered, scratching his head, "she's being absolutely ridiculous..."
"What are you apologizing for? You didn't do it."
"Yes, but I'm guessing my, er... status is the reason for all the unwanted attention." He seemed to be thinking more things, probably bitter things, that twisted and sharpened his handsome face.
She reached out and gently stroked his cheek, smiling shyly. His hard look softened as his eyes settled on her face with some deep emotion in them.
"I, I can live with the attention. I'm just happy for what we, for what we have," she chuckled nervously as she looked down, "you mean a lot to me, Hermes."
"Oh Penny, you're stealing my lines here," he caught the hand that stroked his cheek and held it in his own, "and I don't appreciate it, as God of Thieves, by the way," she chuckled. "What you… what you did with Luke today," he sighed and looked down, "I don't even, I don't even know how to thank you -"
"It has nothing to do with me, it was all you."
"It was definitely not all me," he argued passionately, "I, I… there was a reason I didn't do it until then. I was afraid. You gave me the courage I never thought I'd have to face my son and finally apologize to him. I can't possibly explain how much that means to me."
Her thumb stroked his knuckles. "I'm so happy you two had that moment. I was worried you'll have to carry this forever with you."
"How were you so sure he'll forgive me?"
She smiled and looked down. "The amount of bitterness, the immense anger… anyone with even slight understanding of emotions could tell that he was just very hurt because he thought you didn't care," she squeezed his hand, "but you did care, so so much, and I didn't want both of you to spend your forevers without knowing that."
"You wonderful little meddler," he chuckled softly and then opened his mouth slightly, his eyes focusing on hers. "I… er, wait here." He straightened his back and started to walk away.
"What? Where are you going?"
He smiled back at her, shaking his head as if telling her not to worry, and stepped to where Poseidon was talking to Amphitrite. He stopped in place and stood politely nearby, waiting.
Penny gulped as she realized what he was doing.
This could either end very well for both of them, or turn out horribly wrong.
Hermes
Time to face the biggest obstacle in his way and deal with it.
If he had the courage to face Luke, he could handle her father.
Even if her father was Poseidon.
Lord of the seas was talking to his wife, Lady Amphitrite, and his green eyes watched the Messenger God with suspicion as Hermes walked closer to them and stood by, close enough to let Poseidon know he wanted to speak to him, but far enough to be out of hearing range.
Hermes started to debate with himself.
Should he be Mr. Diplomat about it?
Businessman-like, smooth-talking and confident?
But no, Poseidon would see right through it, and will probably dislike it.
Besides which, he wasn't much smooth or confident thus far with Penny (in fact he couldn't remember himself being so nervous and at times flustered with a girl). Not to mention, she was not a transaction.
Then, then bashful and apologetic?
Hell to the no.
He was the patron of politicians! He was the god of merchants! He is not a mere schoolboy.
Although there was no denying he did not feel like the patron of politicians around Penny.
Not that he complained.
The inner turmoil he was having was nothing but proof of how truly nervous he was about this whole thing. And when Poseidon finally turned around to him, his eyes hard and calculating and his mouth a thin line, Hermes would be lying to say he wasn't even more nervous.
As he looked into Poseidon's eyes, pictures appeared - of tropical storms, clouds swirling around columns of water, hitting the shore angrily, destroying everything on land; of waves as high as buildings tearing the water surface and hitting and rising with the force of sheer anger; of ships sinking to the bottom of the ocean, their strong, wooden materials snapping apart like matches; not to mention an earthquake, shaking everything and everyone on land and shattering all that was on its way -
Yes, didn't he pick well whose daughter to fall for.
How can Penny be such a sweet soul when her father was literally The Mighty Storm Bringer and The Earthshaker was a mystery.
The sweet one must be her mortal mother.
Poseidon finished his brief conversation with his wife and then turned to Hermes, and the two walked away to speak quietly in one of the corners of the room.
Ocean God kept a stoic expression as he neared Hermes, his eyes feeling like laser beams as he scanned his face. "... Yes, Hermes?"
"I do believe you know what I wish to speak to you about."
No need to beat around the bush.
Poseidon arched an eyebrow and nodded curtly. "I do… have my assumptions."
"I've formed a close connection to your daughter."
"Penelope?"
Hermes nodded.
"And you…" Poseidon narrowed his eyes, "wish to continue, deepening said connection?"
Hermes looked up again, squaring his shoulders. "I wish to court her."
"I see."
Poseidon looked at a point behind Hermes' back, and Hermes turned his head too to notice Penny, wide-eyed. At their gazes, she blushed and looked away.
"Now Hermes, I will be frank. I do not approve of my fellow Olympians making advances on my mortal daughter. As an Olympian myself, I've been around male-deities long enough to know how we treat mortal women, and it is a fate I do not wish for my daughter. In fact, I will fight against it with all my might."
Hermes bowed his head. "I will not tell a lie. We all, as Olympians, sired dozens of half-bloods and left countless girls heartbroken. But this is not the case."
"How can it not be? We have infatuations all the time, Hermes. Our biggest weakness as gods always was and always will be mortals. Penny's mere existence proves that. And to male deities, mortal girls are almost irresistible."
Hermes' eyes gleamed. "Because Penny is not a passing whim."
"She's not?"
"My pull to her is deeper, stronger. I've rarely felt this way. The last time I've felt such a pull, that woman sired a son that preserved Olympus -"
"Luke?"
"- Yes, and before May, well, I cannot recall such a pull. It clearly did not happen to me in centuries."
Poseidon arched his eyebrows. "Centuries?"
"I will not lie about this," Hermes' eyes blazed, "naturally, Poseidon, you can guess yourself that going after your daughter with the intention of defiling her is ill-advised, given how protective and dominant you are in her life. So was I really as lustful as everyone clearly assumes me to be -" and his eyes moved around accusingly at all those watching their conversation - Hera, Dionysus, Apollo, Aphrodite and Athena to name a few, "- I will not have come this far. I will not speak to her father and formally ask to court her. I will give up and choose a girl no one on Olympus is familiar with."
Something in Poseidon's eyes softened. "That is true."
"Not to mention how I am not a cruel soul. I pride myself on being a trustworthy deity, despite some of my titles. At least on the things that matter, I am. Those I love, I love passionately and ardently. I think I've proven so over the eons."
"God of Thieves and the patron of politicians and businessmen is trustworthy?"
Hermes frowned.
Was it anyone else, he would not tolerate such a slight to his honor.
But Poseidon loved his daughter and wished to protect her.
And, well, Hermes was behind that, even if it meant said protector's anger being directed at him.
"No one else can appreciate how hard it is to form a meaningful connection than the patron of smooth talkers and charmers," he lowered his eyes again, thinking of Penny's kind smile, "and no one else would appreciate good character as much. Truly, as their patron, I'm a true sucker, as the mortals would say, for true, genuine kindness and sweetness so many in this world lack," his eyes were blazing again as he stared right into her father's eyes, "as their patron, and as an Olympian, I've witnessed so much ill-manner and cruelty, so much aggression and gray characters, so believe me when I tell you, it is not they who gain my appreciation."
"But how will you treat her, Hermes?" Poseidon was less hostile as the conversation progressed, but now he just seemed worried. "I know you, and true to your words, you've been a faithful ally, a friendly face among the general enmity of the council. Were it other gods attempting what you're attempting now -" and his eyes moved to Apollo, then to Ares, "- I would honestly laugh in their faces. But my daughter is truly a positive, sweet being, Sally Jackson's daughter, and I will not sit aside and allow an Olympian to break her heart."
"I walk into this just as vulnerable, Poseidon," Hermes smiled a small, humorless smile, "I'm already in deep, and we are not anything official yet. Truly, I cannot assure you I will not hurt her, but I can assure you I deeply wish not to. For, it appears I am, currently speaking, not immune to her pain as well."
"You're not?"
Hermes looked down, his hand fidgeting with his caduceus. "This past year, fearing her death… it was unbearable," he looked up again, and his eyes settled on the wall behind Poseidon, "not to mention how she helped me reconcile with my son, with Luke. It's a feat I myself could not achieve. For that, she earned my eternal, honest gratification."
Poseidon's eyes met his for a long moment.
The sea in the god's eyes was different in this glance.
It was eerily calm.
Hermes saw a picture of a surface of calm, waveless water, glimmering in shiny green bellow dark, inky black skies.
The calm before the storm.
Honestly, that image was more frightening than anything else he saw from the Sea God that day.
Finally, Poseidon closed his eyes and nodded once. "You may proceed."
When elation appeared on Hermes' face, his smile considerable, Poseidon's gaze hardened.
"You may proceed - with caution. Upon my word, Hermes, I will watch over her like a hawk and protect her with all my might. I promised so to her wonderful, sweet mother, and with all honesty, I just wish to do so, out of the love I have for my daughter. But as you said, one with only bedding my daughter in mind, will not risk my wrath and will not formally ask to court her. Not to mention how my daughter," and they both looked at her again, and she blushed again, "is clearly not indifferent to you either, as unfortunate as that might be. So for now, you may proceed."
Hermes nodded his head, trying to somber his enthusiasm, but probably failing to do so. "Thank you," the wings on his sandals fluttered, "thank you."
"Don't thank me," Poseidon was the opposite of enthusiastic, probably regretting the whole thing already, "just go. Go."
Hermes bowed his head one last time and turned around, walking toward Penny, excitement buzzing in him and almost making him fly the way to her.
Penny
Soon he was back, holding out his hand to her.
"Er…" she mumbled nervously as she took his hand, "what did you talk to my dad about?"
"I told him I intend to date you. That is, if you want to date me, of course," and somehow he seemed nervous, and Penny couldn't understand how. By now it was probably obvious to all that she liked him.
"Yes, I'd like that," she chuckled and he grinned, his hand tightening on hers, "what did he say?"
"He wasn't too pleased," Hermes admitted as they stepped outside and the night air cooled her blushed cheeks somewhat, "but he's alright now."
"Yeah?" She tried to look up to him bravely and hold his gaze, but failed miserably.
She was glad her dad consented, and that now they can be… whatever they were, without objections, but, but… what was she expected to do? She had never done anything, never even kissed a boy before Hermes' little… something on the beach, and that didn't really count, did it? And in front of her stood this immortal, experienced being, that dated dozens. Hundreds. What was going to happen now?
His eyes softened again as he realized how deep her abashment was. "Let's go and sit down somewhere."
He pulled her slowly with him and they walked some time in the empty Olympian streets. Stone embedded road, fountains scattered around, sculptures of different deities faintly shining in the moon's light. The streets were empty, aside from some beings that didn't quite find themselves in the party or like them wanted a moment alone. Penny beamed at Clarisse and Chris Rodriguez, locked in a deep hug as they spoke to each other softly, and Hermes pulled Penny closer to him as he smiled at his son's direction too.
"He's happy with her, huh?" At her enthusiastic nod, his smile widened, "good."
They found a distant bench and sat down slowly, looking at each other. Then she looked down, even more nervous than before.
It seemed like he understood very well what she's thinking as he sighed.
"Take your time Penny, I'm not going anywhere."
"What?"
Two of his fingers twirled and started to stroke her cheek softly, while his own cheeks reddened. "I don't want you to rush into anything you're not ready for."
That filled her up with warmth and with calming, soothing relief.
Sweet, sweet man. Or, er, sweet deity.
"I'm ready," she realized as she watched him.
As ready as she could be, anyway. And if she learned anything from her life as a demigoddess it was that happy moments were fleeting and serene periods were always followed by tense, awful battles.
If she was on a bench, with someone unbelievingly sweet, who clearly liked her but still wanted her to feel comfortable, then she's ready.
She hoped with all her might she won't suck at this, and then decisively pulled his head to her, surprising him quite a bit with the velocity. And then she kissed him, softly at first but then more feverishly, and it took him a moment before he took control over the kiss, pulling her to him.
This felt good, to be so close to him, to feel how much he cared and how much he wanted her as he sighed into the kiss and then smiled against her lips -
When he pulled away, she didn't know what to say or think. So instead, she leaned forward and placed her head on his shoulder, as his warm hands hugged her to him, stroking her back with soft movements.
"I have a present for you."
"What?" She asked him with surprise as she pulled away slightly and looked into his eyes.
He seemed adorable to her just then. Flushed cheeks, ruffled hair, a wide smile. Happiness she rarely saw on his face alighting his eyes.
"Yes. You were the hero of the prophecy, meaning, you turned 17 and had a birthday. On birthdays, you see, we give presents."
"Funny," she stuck her tongue at him, and he grinned and looked down. He fished in his pocket before taking out what seemed to be a small purple earphone, the kind that loops around the ear. He handed her the little object, and she took it and watched it with confusion.
"So, so you'll keep in touch," he said nervously, now looking down, "it has a little button on it, that allows you to call me or accept calls from me. And of course, the calls are safe from monsters."
She stroked the object with her thumb.
"I hope it's not…" he reddened, "I didn't know what you might like, and I want to get to know you better, obviously, I like you, and I thought this might help us get to know each other, and maybe in your next birthday, after we talk more, I'll know what to get you -"
"Do you always stutter?" She finally looked up, and at her teasing smile, he grinned, looking down.
"No, I definitely do not always stutter. That would make me an awful businessman."
"Yes, and as their god, that's problematic."
"True enough," he agreed and she giggled, leaning closer to him.
"Thanks," she murmured, "I love it."
"Yeah?" And he smirked as he pulled her close to him, "good."
His embrace was warm, and comforting, and calming, but her mind wouldn't relax. It was never good at that, the relaxing thing. It always buzzed with constant thoughts.
"So, er… what now?" She asked, killing the calm silence that was between them.
He chuckled. His hand reached out and took a hold of hers and their fingers interlaced. "Now we date."
"How does that work with you immortals?" She asked awkwardly, and he squeezed her hand.
"Same as it does with you mortals. Dates…" his eyes had found hers, and he seemed very aware of what she was truly asking, "faithfulness."
Her eyes glinted warmly and she buried herself deeper in his embrace. "Good."
And then there was calm silence between them again. And then she broke it again.
"Huh. So… we go on to dates?"
"Yup."
"Like… like movie dates?"
His forehead wrinkled. "You mean in movie theaters? It's a bit frowned upon for Olympians to sit with 3D glasses in a crowd full of mortals."
"Well," and she laughed at the image of him with 3D glasses in a crowd of mortals, "not necessarily in theaters. We can catch something at home, too. But, er, right now I'm at camp, so, no TV there or anything. Hmm…"
"Penny?"
"Yes?"
He smiled. "Stop worrying."
She laughed, burying her head in his chest. "I can't stop at this point. It's in my nature."
"We'll shake it out of you…" she felt his arms tightening around her.
"Ooh!" And she pulled away and grinned at him excitedly. He grinned back, tilting his head.
"What?"
"Coffee dates!"
"Hey, I'm on board," he snickered, "I'm an addict. I spike them with some nectar, but honestly, if you ask me, coffee is the true beverage of the gods."
"Nuh-uh," she smirked, "y'all don't get a credit for that one. It's purely mortal."
He laughed. "Whatever, Penny. Anyway, sure, I'm game. I'll sneak you out of camp and take you to coffee-places anytime you want."
"Yay!" She grinned happily, "real coffee! Camp's coffee sucks…"
"And… you'll be happy to meet me, too...?"
"Oh…" she laughed, burying her head in his shirt again, "that… that too."
They were quiet again, and Penny felt, perhaps for the first time in her life, truly content. Truly calm. There was something undeniably scary about such a powerful being focusing on her and attentive to her with such great concentration, but when said powerful being seemed so fond of her it was incredibly enticing as well. It seemed like everything about him was just, just more - his fingers in her hair, moving slowly, were warmer than most, but not in an unpleasant way; his eyes, now blue and calm, still glimmered and shined brighter than the moon above them; and the emotion in them, it seemed stronger and fiercer than any emotion a mortal could feel.
Something in her was nervous by the volume, the sheer force of said emotion, but he was always so gentle, so kind to her, that she couldn't help but feel completely secure in his embrace.
He was the one to break the silence this time.
"It has just occurred to me," and he smirked, amused, "I have a second gift for you."
"That's too many gifts," she smiled back, shaking her head, "I can't accept anymore."
"Oh, you will accept this one, I'm sure of it," he snickered as he waved his hand with a flick of his wrist, and a picture appeared on her lap. She bent down to pick up the picture and look at it closely, and when she saw a terrified female-cyclopes in a cave, her eye wide and horrified as a massive, male cyclopes leaned forward to kiss her, her grin was uncontainable.
"Oh my gods!" She squealed and kissed his cheek excitedly before pulling the picture close to her chest, "BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!"
A/N
AHHH First series is done, PJ and the Olympians is done, are you as excited as I am?
I promised Arkytior's Song that Percy's cyclopes photo will make a comeback and I'm proud to say I kept my promise :D
Since it took me a while longer to update this time (with reasons - I won't bore you with them but life is very challenging for me right now) I'll make you a deal:
Tell me what you think of the way I ended the first series/How did you like the saga so far/just show me some love in any way you deem fit -
and I'll try to update by this Saturday, meaning two days from now. It won't be easy as sitting down to rewrite and edit takes a long while, but we've finished the first series and I'm feeling festive :)
So again, make some noise and celebrate with me!
And a new year is here as well, so of course, have a better, healthier 2021 everyone :)
guest - You're welcome! I love questions so if you have any more go right ahead :)
Penny is still very mortal right now, so no worries, she won't be stuck on Olympus any time soon.
As always, thank you for reviewing!
StrugglingGamer19 - I'm glad to see you're still on-board! I consider you one of my first readers :) And well, this one ain't over yet, so keep reading, even from the shadows :) Although I always enjoy the feedback :)
Heheoop - I feel like Uncle Rick missed out on a lot with most of the Olympians. You create such complex, interesting, deep characters with conflicting motives and grey-characters only to cast them aside. How did Hermes cope with the May-Luke situation? Was Ares capable of genuine love, and if so, was he able to show it? Was Apollo truly that vain, or was it just a facade that hid a bright, sharp mind? Is Artemis' dislike towards males driven by a bad experience as some myths suggest? Is Athena one of the few moral ones, or do some actions of her make her immoral as well? Not to mention the Big Three, Hera, Aphrodite, Hephaestus... they're all fascinating.
Just a few questions from the top of my head, and notice how most are unanswered. I love his OCs, we all do, but what's the point of using such a complex world only as background? The Olympians :)
Venom Lady - 'Percy working to improve the demigods and Penny the gods' I liked that :) Thank you for reviewing!
the7horcrux - As long as you tell me what you think I'm fine, I love your reviews :)
Yes, well, it's a bit unfair for her to decide in such little time and without being sure - unlike Percy in the original who knew he preferred Annabeth she doesn't have that certainty...
You stay safe as well!
TheMeister7 - Thank you so much, you're sweet :)
Belle Charzar - I'm always ecstatic to have another review from you as I never know if they'll come, and the fact that they do is so wonderful! :D
I never tire of hearing the fact that people like my story so never fear telling me ;)
It could indeed be overlooked, but again... it's a forever! And for now, as great as Hermes is, it's nothing to count on for a forever! They need to know each other better for that... As for saying they work together, ahhh thanks a million, it's one of the things I care about most! That and the quilty of writing, which you commented on as well :)
I am glad to know your friend liked it, and the fact you recommended my story to someone else is mindblowing, so yes, thank you for sharing :D
We've passed the Holidays, but still happy Holidays :) May 2021 be a bit better, a bit calmer and of course healthier :)
SweetieAce, Guest - Thank you so much, here you go!
Again, if you want more and soon, let me know ;)