Chapter 3: The Truth Hurts, A Little
Percy had been a God for about two weeks now. It was a strange transition, honestly. From mortal to God before he could even think. Apollo was helpful in teaching him how to be a God, or at least as helpful as Apollo could be. Percy learned the extent of his powers and abilities, and how to be useful in his domains through trial and error. It was a different experience than what he was used to, but he tried his hardest and that was what mattered.
The distraction was welcomed, actually. It helped Percy to avoid dealing with his feelings on the matter that was his tragic relationship. His day to day schedule was so filled that he had no time to deal with anything. He trained with Apollo, sparred with Ares, visited his father, trained with Apollo some more, sparred with whoever he talked into a ring with him, then spent his nights training his powers over darkness and night some more.
The other Olympians noticed that Percy had been throwing himself into his training, and they were growing worried for him. Of course, he was a God now, and Gods had duties to fulfil, but to the Olympians it appeared as if Percy was just using his training as a distraction. They were right, of course, and yet none of them were brave enough to step to Percy and talk with him. Zeus had tried to get Ares to do it during one of his and Percy's training sessions, but Percy had gotten so upset at Ares' constant pestering that he had almost killed the God of War. If Apollo hadn't been there to stop him, Ares would have surely been sent to Tartarus for several hundred years.
Apollo insisted Ares went about it the wrong way, seeing as Ares didn't have a sensitive bone in his body, but still, no one else decided to step up and take the challenge of speaking with Percy Jackson. No one that is, except for Aphrodite. Aphrodite was experienced in all things that related to matters of the heart. She knew her way around betrayal, heartache, heartbreak, and pain. She was the most experienced person able to deal with Percy's problem, and so Zeus deemed her the only one able to. He commanded it of her, actually, one day in a council meeting that Percy had chosen to skip to continue training.
And that was how Aphrodite found herself in Apollo's palace on Olympus, searching for the one and only Percy Jackson. Apollo had assured her that Percy would be home as it was the beginning of the day, which meant Percy would be relaxing before he went off to continue his training. Aphrodite sighed as she traveled through Apollo's palace to the room that Percy seemingly occupied, if his power signature held any indication.
Aphrodite didn't bother with knocking, she simply pushed the door open and slipped into the room. Aphrodite frowned when she found the room was empty, but she could still feel Percy's energy within the area, "Percy?"
"Lady Aphrodite? What are you doing here?" Aphrodite spun around to see Percy enter the room through a second door. She froze completely at the sight of a half-naked Percy Jackson, the only article of clothing he wore was a pair of fitted jeans. His mediterranian colored skin was glistening, his messy jet black hair was wet and all over the place, little droplets of water dripping from the tips, and his piercing sea-green eyes stared at her in confusion, his brows furrowed ever so slightly. Aphrodite knew it was a rather lame comparison, but he looked in every aspect like a Greek God.
Aphrodite cleared her throat and straightened up, offering one of her signature smiles, "I'm sorry to interrupt your morning routine, I came by to have a chat. Would you mind?"
A small frown took over Percy's features before he nodded his head, "Uh, yeah, sure," he stated as he walked over to his bed to pick up a shirt, and to Aphrodite's disappointment, put it on, "What did you want to talk about?"
"May I sit?" Aphrodite questioned.
"Go ahead," Percy offered a shrug of his shoulders, motioning to the lounge chair in his room. Aphrodite took the chair, sitting down as gracefully as ever, and crossing one leg over the other. She watched Percy silently for a moment as he stood in the center of his room, before she motioned to his bed for him to take a seat as well. Percy rubbed the back of his neck nervously before he took a seat on the edge of his bed, "Is something the matter, Lady Aphrodite?"
"It's just Aphrodite, Percy. You're a God now, you can drop the titles," Aphrodite stated simply before she spoke again, "Apollo and Ares have informed Zeus and the other Olympians that you've been throwing yourself into your training. We're all rather worried about you," Aphrodite hummed softly as she watched Percy silently, "As the Goddess of Love, I know that you are choosing to use your training as a distraction to not feel your pain."
"I'm not," Percy insisted, "I-I just...there's a lot to being a God is all. I want to make sure that I focus on being the best God I can be. I was winging it as a demi-god, but I can't quite do that as a God, now can I?"
"We all did," Aphrodite stated simply, "No amount of training will ever fully prepare you for being a God. Most of us learned through trial and error in our domains. It's not easy, but eventually you learn what is right and what is wrong when it comes to your domains."
"I'm fine, Aphrodite, honestly," Percy began to rise to his feet, and Aphrodite stood as well. She crossed the space between them so quickly that Percy hadn't realized Aphrodite was standing a foot away from him, until she had reached out to take his hand.
"Tell me the truth, Percy. Why are you pushing yourself so hard? Are you using your training as a distraction? What's going on?" Aphrodite's tone was soft and sweet, laced with charmspeak.
"I was using my training as a distraction at first," Percy admitted before he could stop himself, "But then...I realized I need to be better. I want to be better than I was before. Maybe if I had been better as a demi-god, a better man, a better boyfriend, Annabeth wouldn't have done what she did."
Aphrodite frowned softly at Percy's words, and she released Percy's hand, "You were an amazing demi-god, Percy. And you were an even better man and boyfriend," Aphrodite insisted, "I've watched your love for Annabeth grow steadily from the beginning. What you felt for her had been powerful and all encompassing. I watched as you constantly risked your life for her, as you jumped into Tartarus for her, as you helped shape her into the woman she became. It is not your fault that she betrayed you. It was her own doing, her own choices."
"I must've done something wrong," Percy said softly as he looked at Aphrodite, his beautiful green eyes shining with fresh tears. It hurt him to talk about this, that much was clear to Aphrodite, but he needed to let it all out before his love and heartache ultimately became his undoing. He couldn't exactly be a great God if he let his hurt rule him.
"You did nothing but love her," Aphrodite said softly, "And I hate to say this, as the Goddess of Love, but sometimes love is not enough for some people. It was not enough for Annabeth, and that is not your fault. One day, you will meet someone who adores the fact that you love them with every fiber of your being. Who will bask in the glow of your love, who will love you just as much in turn. Until then, you have to let yourself feel."
Percy was silent as he studied Aphrodite for a moment before his shoulders slugged, and his head dropped, "I'm so fucking tired…"
Aphrodite frowned softly, "I know...but heartache is not something that you can ignore. It will not simply go away because you will it to. You must feel it, you must accept it. That is the path you must take to heal, to move on."
"It hurts…," Percy lifted his gaze to meet Aphrodite's ever changing colored orbs.
"It is meant to hurt…"
Percy sighed before he nodded his head solemnly, and ever so slowly he straightened up, running a hand through his hair, "What do I do?"
"Understand your heartache, understand your pain, acknowledge it, and the rest will come. Do not push away those who care, do not push away those who want the best for you."
Percy nodded his head in understanding, "I suppose I can do that. Thank you, Aphrodite."
"Of course, Percy," Aphrodite nodded to Percy as she stepped away from him, "Now, I'll leave you to it. But if you ever need help shifting through your feelings, please do not hesitate to come find me. I am more than willing to lend a helping hand."
"I may just take you up on that offer," Percy flashed a small smile, and Aphrodite was pleased to see that this smile had almost reached Percy's sparkling orbs. No longer as dull as they had once been. Her words had helped as much as they could. The rest was now up to Percy. Aphrodite smiled in return before she turned to exit Percy's room, then she slipped out of Apollo's palace.
As Aphrodite made her way towards her own palace, she was stopped by Zeus, Poseidon, and Apollo, "Well, how did it go?" Poseidon questioned. Aphrodite knew that he was the most worried about Percy, and she couldn't quite blame him. Percy was, after all, Poseidon's favorite son.
"I think my words had gotten through to him," Aphrodite answered easily as she gracefully continued to make her way to her palace. Zeus, Apollo, and Poseidon trailed closely after her, obviously not through with her yet.
"And you are sure of this?" Zeus questioned.
"Quite," Aphrodite nodded her head, "He will probably be in a rather bad mood for a few days, but soon will come his moment of self-realization. Once that moment happens, he will more than likely seek my company to help him finish healing. A few more words of advice from me, and he will be the Percy we all once knew again."
"See, I told you two," Apollo grinned, "Aphrodite is Dr. Love, of course she'd be the best person to deal with Percy's heartbreak. I still can't believe you thought Ares was the best suited to help him, Father."
"I assumed with all the sparring and time they've spent together, Percy would open up to Ares," Zeus stated simply, "I admitted that I was wrong, didn't I?"
"You didn't, actually," Poseidon chimed in, "You simply growled about Ares' incompetence then ordered Aphrodite to be the one to speak with Percy."
"It's the same thing, isn't it?" Zeus's brows furrowed, and Aphrodite resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the King of the Skies. She was thankful that she had finally made it to her palace, because she's had enough of the three most annoying male Gods' company for one day.
"If that is all, I have some work to do," Aphrodite stated as she pushed open the door of her palace, turning to look at the three Gods that stood at her doorstep, "I will see you all soon, I'm sure," and with that, Aphrodite slipped into her palace and shut the door. She knew that if the Gods really wanted to, they could just use their powers to teleport into her home, but they were trying this new thing called respect of privacy. Aphrodite wondered how long that would last.
Aphrodite sighed as she traveled to her room, stopping near one of her many mirrors in her home to touch up her makeup before she actually ventured into her room. Aphrodite sat before her Orb, flicking through the channels silently until she settled upon one of her newest couples. As she watched the Orb, however, her mind was not focused on her creations of love, and instead it was focused on Percy Jackson. She sincerely hoped that Percy would make it out of his funk. He had a lot of potential, not only as a God, but as a man. He just needed a little push. Hopefully, he'd come to his senses soon enough.
