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Title: The Hero of the Ocean – The King and the Savior
Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus
Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Rick Riordan. Aside from the Gods, they belong to the old Greeks. This fanfiction and its OCs on the other hand are entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.
Tags: m/m, fluff, falling in love
Main Pairing: Triton/Percy
Percy Jackson Character: Perseus Jackson
Godly/Mythological Characters: Triton, Loreley, Undine
Summary: Percy became a hero to fishes and other marine animals. Triton grows more curious about that hero his subjects seem to worship. He's stunned when he realizes who it is and the realization fundamentally changes something between them.
The Hero of the Ocean
The King and the Savior
"The fishes are whispering. About a hero."
Triton rolled his eyes at the dramatic phrasing. He was the king of merpeople, of course he knew. He'd been hearing it for months. A great hero of the surface world, who had been helping aquatic creatures. Pushing whales back into the ocean, freeing dolphins, releasing animals back into the ocean after they had been captured and held in cruel manners.
"Why are you bringing this up with me? Mother is the goddess of fishes. They're her realm."
His two best friends rolled their eyes in unison. Loreley, a purple-tailed German mermaid, and Undine, a green-tailed Danish mermaid, had been his best friends for centuries. One of the things he loved about the two was that they never bullshitted him. They were direct. So he didn't appreciate the way they were now being elusive. Loreley started playing with her pearl-bracelet.
"A human hero. Not a mer. Who's been rescuing baby seals and other such adorable things," stated Loreley. "The fishes are not the only ones talking about him anymore."
"Merpeople are starting to idolize him," offered Undine, her eyebrows raised high. "They hear the whispers and they paint this amazing picture of a hero. A great, generous and gorgeous human who saves innocent animals, right? And... they want to meet him. They idolize him already."
"This can easily get dangerous, Tri," tagged Loreley on. "You should get ahead of this, before we have a plague of Undines at our hand."
"You chase one human man once and you never live it down," Undine narrowed her eyes annoyed.
Now it was Triton's turn to furrow his eyebrows. That was true. Undine's little adventure in the human world, that had caused her sisters to have to come up onto land too to murder the human who broke her heart and nearly caused her death, had caused a human craze. Merpeople all over got very into human things and wanted to visit the human world. Which was incredibly dangerous.
"How do I get ahead of this?" Triton asked frustrated, running his fingers through his beard.
"You track down the hero in question yourself. See who it is, bring them to the underwater world, if they check out. It might save you a lot of trouble, give your people the chance to demystify this person. Once they know he's real, not untouchable, and that he is reachable down here, the risk of mers seeking to leave the ocean to get to know him," suggested Loreley with a smile.
That... was a reasonable proposal. It was also a pain in his royal behind. The Titan War had been a mess, the Giant War had affected them less so than the Titan War had, but there had still been damages – mostly, thanks to the torn state of the Greco-Roman gods. Triton had been saved from the identity crisis by always being Triton, but with his father and mother out of order, he had to pull double-duty as king, thankfully his siblings had stepped up and helped. There had still been a lot of damages to repair, a lot of things to do for him as the king. He had no time to chase some wannabe hero on the surface world. Especially with it being the surface world. He disliked that greatly.
"This is going to be so much trouble," Triton heaved a deep sigh.
"I'm sure you can manage," Loreley smirked, patting Triton's shoulder.
"Yes. You will fine. No way this can in any way or shape escalate," assured Undine with a bright, unconvincing smile. "Just don't fall in love with any humans while you're up there."
Triton snorted and glowered at her. "Like I would ever fall in love with a legged one."
/break\
It was easy enough to follow the rumors and stories. Once he found his entry point, of course. After that, follow the whispers. He asked a school of fishes, who had heard from a dolphin. Once he was tracked down, the dolphin pointed Triton into the direction of the Arctic coast. There, he found a family of seals that gushed about the handsome, kind human who had protected them from poachers only a few days ago. That was the closest he had gotten so far. He laid in wait, even as he saw a narwhal in need. There was no point in him saving the creature if he wanted to draw out this marine savior. And indeed, a few minutes later, he appeared. Wearing a dark-blue coat with white fur and rescuing the narwhal. After, he sat at the edge of the water with a smile, talking to the narwhal. That was the first time Triton got a proper look at the hero's face.
"I'll be damned..." Triton frowned annoyed. "You, of all people."
He approached, his frown deepening more and more as he neared the other. Until he was within reach of the hero. He had... aged. Aged well. He was no longer the lanky kid who had bothered Triton the one time they had met during the war. The past years had him grow into the handsome hero everyone talked about. Percy straightened and looked at him curiously.
"You... are Triton, right?" Percy asked curiously. "What... are you doing here?"
"Tracking you, actually," Triton glared flatly at him.
"Huh? Me? Why? Does... dad need my help with something?"
Triton rolled his eyes. "No. But you have... You are the handsome hero who saves the helpless."
"...Uh... You... just called me handsome," noted Percy with slightly flushed cheeks.
"What. No. That's what everyone calls you. You have been making a name for yourself. With every saved whale and rescued baby seal... You're a star below the surface," replied Triton reluctantly. "You're causing quite the stir. Everybody wants to see you, to meet you. You are a danger."
"Okay, you lost me at the end there."
"Underwater creatures, who depend on water, who are in serious danger up here at the surface, want to seek out the surface to meet you. Some even contemplate getting into hazardous situations on purpose so you would come to rescue them," clarified Triton annoyed, arms crossed over his chest.
"...Oh," Percy frowned and then pushed his hood off his head, ruffling his hair. "I don't want that. I just... I just want to help. I've always just wanted to help. But I'm kind of... done with the whole demigod hero deal. So I'm instead helping out those who can't help themselves."
"Which is admirable, but you have become a... legend that fishes and mers alike dream to meet."
"I'm sorry, I have no idea what I can do here?" Percy looked at him lost.
Triton heaved a sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "You can come with me to the palace. Parade around Atlantis for a while, gain attention. Meet your... fans. Assure them you are real and reachable, so they won't do anything dangerous or ridiculous to meet you."
"Why, are you inviting me into your palace?" Percy asked surprised, raising his eyebrows. "And here I thought you can't stand the sight of me."
"The sight of you has improved," Triton muttered beneath his breath before clearing his throat. "I have come to accept your existence, now that you have saved the world twice. But you must understand that I am an immortal god and have, over the centuries, met many of our father's bastards, of whom only few even made the footnotes in history books and legends."
"Yep, but I'm special," Percy smirked confidently at Triton.
That made Triton huff and roll his eyes. "Just come with me and behave yourself."
/break\
He... actually behaved himself. Triton didn't know what would be more annoying, if Percy had not behaved, or what he did right now. Right now, Percy was being utterly charming, sweet, lovely. Everyone who got to meet him absolutely adored him, even more so than his stories. Because stories were simply words. But Percy? With his smiles and jokes, his kindness...
"Damn it," Triton glared, crossing his arms over his chest.
"What's the problem, Tri?" Loreley asked, resting her chin on his shoulder. "Ah. Watching the people's favorite. He's very cute. Lovely, really. He is being adored by everyone. And... that... bothers you? Because you hate your father's bastards...?"
"No," Undine chuckled as she watched Triton's face. "He's annoyed because he likes the pretty little hero. You li—ike him, because he's cu—ute and swe—et..."
"If you don't shut up, I will turn you into sushi," warned Triton irritated.
Both Undine and Loreley started giggling at that and Triton wondered why he had ever even befriended them. All they did was mock him and make silly suggestions. He started running his fingers through his beard, glowering. Percy was all the things Undine had just said, but...
"He is the annoying little hero, I can't possibly be interested in him," Triton grumbled.
"Oh, you are so bad at this," Loreley whispered in awe.
"When was the last time you had someone you actually were interested in?" Undine asked.
"It has been... a few... decades... maybe more..." Triton admitted reluctantly.
"But we're right? You do like him?" Loreley pushed, nudging him a little.
Triton's eyes found Percy in the crowd, surrounded by the younger mers and a dolphin. Everyone did fawn over him, because Percy was kind to everyone. A group of them, teenagers, had sought him out and asked him to teach them to defend themselves and he had genuinely started to teach classes. After a few days, camp offered Percy the rooms to do it out of the streets and in a more professional setting. To Triton's surprise, Percy had agreed and he actually seemed to enjoy it. His kindness and big heart were what got to Triton the most.
"I... might..." Triton admitted reluctantly, his cheeks turning a hue dark-blue.
"That is so cute! Go and ask him out!" Loreley ordered excitedly.
"Most definitely not," Triton glowered.
/break\
Percy had been lost after the wars. Adrift. Feeling as though he had lost his purpose. For five years, all he had done was fight for the gods. And finally, the wars ended. What was a savior of Olympus without an Olympus to save...? There were no major quests anymore. Just minor things, retrieving demigods, silly quests like fetching things for the gods. Nothing comparable to the wars. It was stupid, Percy should be glad that the wars were over. For the larger part of it, he was glad. The wars had, however, also given him a purpose. Something to work toward.
He left, after his high school graduation. Decided to go on a road-trip. Hiking in the mountains. Just traveling cross-country. He made his way to Canada, got odd jobs along the way. At one point, he came across a stranded whale who needed his help, so he had used his powers to help. That. That had felt right. Given him a purpose. Helping others. It was what he did best.
He didn't exactly seek them out right away. Just helping when he came across someone in need. With time, he began looking though. Those held captive in laboratories. Animals being abused. Poachers became his favorite new pastime to deal with.
And then Triton had approached him and taken him to Atlantis. Percy had never been to the capital of merpeople. It was... everything. Everything he could have ever dreamed of. It was like right out of a fairy tale and everyone was so nice to him. Hero worship. Not just from the merpeople, also from the fishes and other animals. Apparently, every being he had saved had brought the tale down to the bottom of the sea. It felt different than it did at camp though.
It was easy to feel at home here, in Atlantis, he made friends, he even accidentally found a job. He didn't stay in Atlantis all the time; he still liked to challenge poachers and help where he was needed. For the first time since the wars, he felt like he had found his place.
A beautiful purple mermaid came swimming up to him. "He—ello, gorgeous."
"Right back at ya," Percy raised one eyebrow. "Wait, I've seen you around. You're... Triton's... girlfriend, or something? You're always around him."
"Ew. No. I'm gay. He's my best friend. I'm Loreley," she smiled at him. "But with that assumption. Wha—at about you? Did you find a special someone here already, or one left at shore...?"
Percy blinked a couple of times, blushing brightly. "I... no. I'm not... I haven't been looking."
"You're blushing. Blushing means you have thought about someone but haven't asked them out."
The blush on Percy's cheeks brightened at that and he averted his eyes. It wasn't something he should speak of. Okay so he had thought about it thoroughly. It wasn't as terrifying and weird as he had first thought. Gods didn't have DNA, it's how camp always justified cousins dating. It was honestly no more weird than that, right? Triton was... really hot and actually kind. He'd been rude to Percy at first, but seeing him interact with his people was amazing. He was a just and very capable ruler. Now, more grown, Percy found a different appreciation for Triton, one he wouldn't have found as a teen. No, he found Triton very... enchanting.
"It's stupid. And I'm not talking about it with a total stranger," stated Percy after a stretch.
"Sometimes, it's easier to talk to a stranger though," Loreley offered her arm.
A moment later, Percy took the offered arm and allowed her to lead him toward a beautiful garden. "I think I like... someone I shouldn't. Someone who definitely doesn't like me back."
"Wouldn't be so sure about that," interjected Loreley with a mischievous smile. "Sometimes, it is worth making a leap of faith, you know. Sometimes, people are being grumpy and defensive because they themselves are afraid of their feelings... They just need a nudge."
Percy raised a curious eyebrow at that. She was Triton's best friend. Did... she know who he was talking about? And did she know how Triton felt? Before he could voice any of that, a baby seal came swimming up to him, circling him excitedly. Percy loved seals, especially the babies.
"Hero Percy! Hero Percy!" the baby seal chanted excitedly.
"Hello there, little one. Do you need my help?" Percy offered the baby a gentle smile.
"No—o, wanna tell my sister I met Hero Percy!" exclaimed the little one.
Percy laughed softly at that, patting the seal's head. She bumped her head against his hand excitedly and then swam off, squealing to herself. How precious. When he turned around, still smiling, he came face to face with Triton. The look on his face was so gentle and... loving. Huh.
"Do... you actually like me?" asked Percy, straightforward. "B... Because I think... I like you."
Now, Triton looked at him stunned and confused. "I... Yes. I... suppose I do."
Without hesitation did Percy reach for him and kiss him. Percy truly was full of surprises. Smiling into the kiss, Triton laid an arm around Percy and pulled him close.
~*~ The End ~*~
Author's note: This one's based off a request from tumblr. Also very displeased that I have to break my Tritercy title tradition because I've officially run out of song-titles from The Little Mermaid movies :/