Chapter 4: Newfound Friendships
It had taken yet another week. Percy had taken to locking himself in his room at Apollo's palace during the days, and then disappearing from Olympus at night. No one truly knew where he went at night, all Apollo knew was that his energy signature would disappear in the middle of the night then return bright and early the next morning. Apollo never really questioned it, and the only person he told about it had been Aphrodite, who insisted Apollo just left Percy alone. If Percy needed something, he'd go to someone. At the time, Percy just needed time alone.
Aphrodite waited as patiently as she could for Percy to come to her. She kept her focus on her duties, and dealing with Ares, who was slowly becoming unbearable. She figured she'd probably break up with him again soon. His temper had been grating her nerves lately. As if it were her fault that there weren't more important things for her to do than to give him all of her attention. She wondered if he realized how idiotic he sounded at times. He was fun the first few thousand years, but lately he's just been whiny and annoying.
It didn't help that they had gotten into a rather heated argument over Aphrodite willingly choosing to help Percy. Ares' jealousy had almost always been the cause of most of their arguments. His jealousy over Percy was unnecessary, however, as Aphrodite simply wished to help a friend in need, but Ares simply swears that Aphrodite would rather choose Percy as her boyfriend over him. Aphrodite then made the mistake of accusing Ares of being butthurt over the fact that Percy kicked Ares ass countless times, and now he's simply looking for another reason to hate the new God. That caused Ares to call her some...less than kind words, and Aphrodite to kick him out of her palace in a fit of rage. Now he's been trying to apologize with gifts, as he usually did.
Aphrodite resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the sight of the chocolates that appeared on her living room coffee table the moment she had sat on the sofa. Aphrodite waved her hand simply to make the chocolates return to wherever they had come from. It was after the chocolates had disappeared that a knock sounded at her door. Slowly, the Goddess of Love, rose to her feet to make her way to the door, pulling it open to see Percy standing on the other side of the door. He shifted from one foot to the other before looking at Aphrodite, "Um, afternoon, Aphrodite. Can I come in?"
"Of course, Percy," Aphrodite nodded her head once before she stepped aside, allowing Percy into her home. Percy slipped inside slowly, rubbing the back of his neck as he waited for Aphrodite to shut the door before she led him into the living room. She sat down on the sofa and motioned for Percy to take a seat. Percy followed after her, and he took a seat on the sofa, maintaining a healthy distance between them.
Aphrodite waited for Percy to speak, assuming that he had come to her for a specific reason, a reason that she knew, but didn't want to say in case it scared him off. She crossed one leg over the other as she watched Percy look around her home silently before he finally looked at her. He cleared his throat before he spoke, "I've thought about it…day and night. About the pain that Annabeth caused me. How it just had to be my fault…the first few days after you visited me, I let the pain sit and fester. I'll admit, I cried a lot. I just couldn't understand why she did this to me," Percy frowned softly.
"Percy-," Aphrodite began, but Percy lifted his hand to stop her from speaking.
"Let me finish, please?" Percy pleaded, and Aphrodite nodded her head, "So…after a lot of crying…I decided I needed my answers. At first, they were just nightly visits to the camp. I hid in my shadows, cocooned in my darkness. I watched Annabeth a lot…searching for answers. I saw how happy she was with the son of Hermes. She smiled at him in ways she never smiled at me. He made her laugh a lot. I was jealous, at first, because I used to be the one to do those things.
"But I guess something about him was different for her…He was everything I wasn't, or at least that's what it seemed like in my eyes. One night, though, she felt me following her. She called out, and I emerged from my shadows. She was shocked to see me, yet relieved. Apparently when I disappeared from camp, Piper and the others never told anyone where I went. She thought I was dead. She apologized to me, and I asked her why. She told me…" Percy took a deep breath, and Aphrodite watched him silently, waiting for him to continue, "She told me she lost her love for me a long time ago…she was just too afraid to hurt me to say anything."
"Surely, as smart as she is, she should have known leading you and cheating on you would hurt you more in the long run," Aphrodite frowned softly.
"That's what I said," Percy said as he looked at Aphrodite, "She said she was going to tell me, eventually, but she just never found the right time. She told me how great of a guy I am, and how she wished nothing but the best for me, but she didn't see us in a future together. She apologized again, and I told her to have a nice life. Then I came home," Percy sighed softly, "I cried some more that night, but then I realized, that…it really isn't my fault, is it? People fall out of love, every day. Sometimes shit happens. I've learned that I can't pin the blame on anyone because Annabeth lost feelings for me. Sure, I wish she went about things differently, but it was better I found out sooner rather than later. I would have married her, had a family, and been left alone in the future if I hadn't discovered the truth."
"Very true," Aphrodite nodded her head silently, "And now?"
"Now…now I have a new life, a new duty to perform. I can't just allow one heartbreak to define everything for me. I'll find love again when I'm meant to, and until then I'll focus on my duties as a God. That's all I can do. I wish no ill will on Annabeth, or the kid she's seeing. I just want to let that part of my past go, and move on."
Aphrodite beamed at Percy's words, "That's amazing, Percy…well, not the whole finding out the first love doesn't love you anymore bit, but the fact that you've acknowledged your pain and chose to heal from it. I'm so proud of you," Aphrodite smiled warmly at Percy, and a small smile appeared on Percy's features.
"I honestly have you to thank for it…If you hadn't come to talk to me, I would have spent the next few centuries ignoring my feelings and distracting myself from the pain."
"Well, it is my job as the Goddess of Love to help with all things pertaining to matters of the heart," Aphrodite swept her hair over her shoulders, a beautiful smile playing on her lips.
"Very true," Percy snorted in amusement, "Because of you, I'm finally ready to accept what's happened."
"It was all your own doing, really. I just happened to give you a nice push in the right direction," Aphrodite teased as she nudged Percy's arm with her hand.
"Even so," Percy smiled, "It was appreciated."
Aphrodite beamed at Percy's words, because unlike most of the other Olympians who went to her for love advice, Percy seemed to genuinely appreciate her advice and actually thanked her for it. She truly felt appreciated.
"You know of everyone here on Olympus…you're quite easily the easiest person to talk to, minus, my father but he's not on Olympus often, so I guess that doesn't count, huh?" Percy chuckled softly.
"Well, thank you, Percy. I hope you always find it easy to talk to me. I'm always open to conversation," Aphrodite offered a soft smile in Percy's direction.
Percy looked at Aphrodite, "You're not at all how I'd imagine you'd be, Aphrodite."
"What? Did you think I was all pink frillies, air headed, and obsessed with all things beauty, sex, and love?" Aphrodite questioned, lifting a single eyebrow as she turned her head to look at Percy.
"Er, well, you said it not me," Percy tried to tease, and Aphrodite hummed softly.
"Well, I do enjoy the color pink, and I do enjoy the aspect of beauty, sex, and love, but that is not all I am," Aphrodite stated simply, "I can be rather intellectual when I want to be. I just…have a role to play, you see? Most underestimate me due to my beauty and obsession with love. But I can be smart when I wish to be. I know how to play the system, is all. If I'm underestimated, no one will ever expect me to be a powerful enemy. It makes it easier for me in battle."
Percy nodded his head in understanding, knowing all about being underestimated. For the first two years of his life as a demi-god, he was underestimated. Though he actually had no idea what he was doing for the first few years, he was still a formidable opponent. No one truly saw that until after he defeated Kronos, "Well, I like this Aphrodite. Not the role you portray," Percy stated before he slowly rose to his feet, "I should go though. Artemis will be raising the moon soon, which means my night duties begin."
Aphrodite gracefully climbed to her feet to follow Percy to the door, "Come and visit me again," she stated simply as she watched Percy open the door of her palace.
Percy turned to look at Aphrodite, a small smile forming on his features, "Are you doing anything tomorrow?"
"Not that I know of," Aphrodite shook her head silently, and Percy's smile widened ever so slightly.
"Great, I'll return tomorrow and we can talk some more. This time, we can stop talking about my feelings and maybe you can show me more of this Aphrodite," Percy nodded to her, and Aphrodite felt as if she were floating. No man, God or mortal, ever really truly wanted to get to know her. They merely saw her as a prize to be won, a trophy to be coveted. Aphrodite added this onto yet another reason why Percy Jackson was her favorite demi-god, or well God now she supposed.
"I'd like that," Aphrodite nodded her head once, and Percy grinned at her.
"Cool. See ya tomorrow then," Percy said as he slipped out of the palace. He paused for a moment before turning to look at Aphrodite, "By the way, I see where Piper gets being such a good friend from. Thanks again, Aphrodite," he said before he disappeared into a web of shadows.
Aphrodite stared at the place Percy had once stood silently for a moment before she shut the door to her home, and turned to lean against it. She closed her eyes silently for a moment, a soft smile playing on her lips. Percy Jackson had called her a good friend. He liked her, the real her. Aphrodite smiled softly to herself before she pushed away from the door to travel back into her living room.
Aphrodite found that she rather liked the idea of being Percy Jackson's friend. She simply hoped it'd last.
