Alright first off i have to thank all of you for all of the reviews, I hate how I sounded whiny in the last A/N, I was just frustrated with only 3 reviews on my longest chapter. You all answered in force, and I am greatful for all of the reviews. Secondly finals are Tuesday so I won't be able to give my usual Tuesday update, but finals do mean summer break and I have 4 months now with way less on my plate so hopefully I can update a lot more.
I do not own anything. Without further ado I hope you enjoy the chapter, I know i enjoyed writing this one.
Percy's POV
I was laying on the couch in a pair of sweats with no shirt on, just lounging around watching TV, I know it's a tough life I live, when Annabeth comes storming into the apartment holding her hand. She saw me and charged right over pointing a finger of her left hand in my face while cradling her right one close to her midsection. "Forget to tell me something?" she accused yelling at me.
My mind started reeling for what I may have forgotten to tell her but was coming up empty. "Uh, not that I can think of, what's going on? And what's wrong with your hand?" I answered confused.
"It's nothing forget about my hand." She ordered. "Now are you sure you're not forgetting something major, like the fact that you're sharing a room with her."
What? "Wise Girl, I need you to calm down. I honestly have no idea what you are talking about, the only girl or person for that matter that I share a room with is you. Now can I please take a look at your hand?" I reached for it but she swatted my hand away with her good one.
"I said forget about my hand." She snapped trying to sound stern but gave a slight wince at the word hand. "Kristen said that you two are sharing a room in Miami and you're going to be partners in Greek Mythology class and I'm a slut and I punched her, and I know that I said I was okay with it, and it's not you that I don't trust but you can't go." She rambled on without taking a breath.
I was thoroughly confused, "Annabeth" I said grabbing her face in my hands and forcing her to look me in the eyes, "First off, I am going to Miami," I said firmly and cut her off when she started to protest, "don't worry I'm not sharing a room with her I have a plan. Secondly, you are not a slut. You've only ever slept with me, and I'm your fiancé and it's only happened once. Thirdly I have no idea what project you are even talking about for Greek Mythology, but I can assure you that I haven't picked a partner yet as I have not been in school. Lastly, I'm proud of you for sticking up for yourself, but can I please look at your hand it's the size of a grapefruit."
She smacked my hand away again, "Enough about my hand already this is serious Percy." I could tell she was serious because she hadn't called me Seaweed Brain or Kelp Head the entire conversation just Percy. "You will work with her, because it's about who the greatest god or goddess is and she picked Poseidon. Why would you want to work with me on Athena, you hate her. Also you're not going to Miami, I forbid it."
That got me a little mad, but I could tell she was upset and on the verge of losing it so I kept my voice calm. "I am going to Miami Wise Girl, Nico and I are going to tell them that I am not allowed on planes, that I've been blacklisted and are going to take the bus down, but we will just hitch a ride on Mrs. O'Leary. I won't share a room with Kristen because I will have Nico and a giant dog in my room. I love you, but we don't forbid each other from doing stuff, that's not how a good relationship survives. You can ask me to do something and I will think about it and usually I will do it, but it's a request not a demand. As for the project I don't hate Athena she hates me but she isn't the greatest god or goddess, and I love my dad but he isn't the greatest either, so I will probably have do my presentation on my own." I didn't want to fight with her so I didn't say who I was doing it on, knowing that her focus would shift to that and away from the fact that she was mad. "Now since you are being so stubborn," I said giving her a kiss when she gave a pout, "there is only one option left for me." I kissed her again to distract her before picking her up over my shoulder.
She let out a little squeak of surprise, "Perseus Jackson put me down this instant." She said but I could hear the smile in her voice.
"As you wish my lady" I answered entering our room and throwing her on the bed, earning another small scream, "now, you are going to stay there." I said pointing at where she was laying. "The only thing you are allowed to do is pick out a movie, I'll be right back." I ran into the kitchen and grabbed 3 squares of ambrosia from the cabinet, a towel from the drawer, and filled a bag up with ice. When I got back into the room I lay down on the bed next to her and glanced at the TV which was now on, "Avatar, good choice." She smiled and accepted the ambrosia I'd gotten her. As she ate them I could see the bones resetting and the swelling begin to go down, but I wrapped the bag of ice in a towel and put that on her hand gently. She thanked me and snuggled into my chest more as we started to watch the movie.
We had been laying there enjoying the movie for around an hour, when she finally let out a loud sigh, "Fine Percy I give up just tell me who it is."
I was lost; I had no idea what she was talking about, "Who what is Wise Girl?"
"Your god Seaweed Brain, who is the greatest god?" I laughed a little at that having gotten the reaction I'd been hoping for. "Oh, and don't think I don't know about you doing that intentionally to get to me." She added making me laugh harder.
I decided to mess with her a little more, "You don't even have a guess Wise Girl; I thought you were a daughter of Athena, and you're supposed to know everything."
"Oh shut up Kelp Head and just tell me." We both were laughing.
"It's easy Wise Girl, Hestia is the greatest no questions asked." I told her and she just gave me a confused look.
"Hestia, why Hestia?" she questioned.
"Again Annabeth too easy, Hestia is the goddess of you." I smiled kissing the top of her head; she turned herself so she was looking in my face.
"What do you mean the goddess of me?"
"She is the goddess of home, and wherever you are is where my home is. I figured that one out during the titan war. As long as home is safe and the fire still burns, I'll never give up hope. You are the reason I do everything I do Wise Girl. I want to go to Miami and get on the Olympic team so that I can provide everything you could ever want and so you can go to Athens. Sure it would be cool to win and be in the Olympics, but as long as you are with me and are happy and safe, I'd be fine never going near the water again. You're the reason I gave up immortality and godhood. You're the reason I train and fight so hard. You're the reason I made it out of the River Styx. You're the reason I get up every morning. I love you with everything that I am; I love you more than anything else in this entire world. Annabeth, I love you, you are my home." She had tears in her eyes as she pulled my face down into a deep passionate kiss. "I love you too, Seaweed Brain. You are my home too." With that I kind of forgot all about the movie in the background and deepened the kiss.
We were just lying on the bed with her head on my chest a couple hours later, just enjoying the peace of each other's presence. I was playing with her hair and she had her eyes closed so I couldn't tell if she was asleep or not, but my mind was on overdrive thinking about the next day. "Hey Wise Girl are you awake." I whispered. She gave a soft 'mhmm' without lifting her head or opening her eyes. "You know I have your mom's challenges tomorrow right." She nodded her head on my chest a little to tell me to keep going. "Well I was just wondering, if you've given any thought as to what it might be she will have me do. Since it's you on the line, I'm sure you're aware I'll do whatever it takes to succeed but do you think I'll survive."
"Percy you are the most caring, brave, selfless person I know. I am 100% sure that you will survive, I'm not saying that it will be easy but I know that you can do it. You've done so much already, it will be just another day at the office for you." She gave me a kiss and sounded so sure that it helped build my confidence a bit, then she continued and the confidence crumbled too. "She is the goddess of wisdom and strategy though, so she knows everything about you. Including your fatal flaw and she may be sadistic enough to push you to the limit of that flaw. You can do it though." And with that she fell back asleep. Yeah easy for you to fall asleep you don't have a goddess that hates you planning on pushing you to your mental and physical limits tomorrow. I did eventually get overtaken by sleep, and had a restless night of bad dreams about what she could throw at me tomorrow.
I woke to Annabeth shaking my shoulder "Come on Kelp Head, its 7 o'clock, you have to be on Olympus in an hour and you need to eat something before you go there so you have strength for the challenges."
I rolled over on my side facing away from her, "Five more minutes Annabeth."
She started to crawl across the bed to shake me again, "No Percy, you need to get read…" she stopped talking as I pulled her tight up next to me "No Percy we have to get ready for this." But she snuggled in closer to me subconsciously.
"See you don't want to get up" I whispered in her ear causing her to shiver as I placed kisses along her neck down her shoulder and back up to her ear. "Alright Wise Girl, if you tell me you want me up I'll get up, is that what you want?" I asked and bit the sweet spot on her neck.
She let out a gasp and then shook her head. "No, I would rather stay here all day long like this, but we can't Percy my mom will kill you if you're late, and the blue pancakes I cooked you are going to get cold."
I leaned down and gave her a quick but passionate kiss before jumping up and scooping her up bridal style in the process running into the kitchen. "Why didn't you say there were blue pancakes earlier?" I asked as I sat her down at the table. She laughed and we enjoyed what could be my last breakfast together. I gave her a kiss for good luck, and walked out to catch a cab to the empire state building. I made my way up to the 600th floor and was standing in front of the hall of the gods with 5 minutes to spare before the 8 a.m. deadline.
When I walked into the throne room, there were 4 gods waiting for me, the 3 I expected to be there were Athena, Poseidon, and Aphrodite. The one that was there I didn't expect to see was Hera. I bowed to each in turn when my father approached me, "I just came to wish you luck son, don't worry anything she throws at you, you can handle." He gave me a pat on the back and was gone in a spray of sea mist.
Aphrodite approached me next, "You are a champion of true love today Percy, and I wanted you to know that I'm behind you 100%. Unfortunately she made it clear you couldn't have any outside help, so know that love is on your side and that I'm rooting for you." She gave me a kiss on the cheek causing me to blush a little, and disappeared like my father but in a cloud of delicious smelling perfume.
The other two goddesses hadn't moved since I got there, so I turned and looked at Hera questioningly. She waited a minute staring at me before speaking, "I bet you are wondering why I'm here. Well, being the goddess of marriage it is required of me to receive and hear all other gods giving their children blessings. Good luck young Perseus" she said with a quick nod at the end as if her bowing to a demigod was beneath her. I turned away as she turned into a bright light and disappeared.
That left just me and Athena in the throne room. I gave another bow to her to try to kill the awkward silence between us. "Good morning My Lady."
She waved her hand silencing me, "Perseus Jackson, you have come today to seek the hand of my daughter Annabeth Chase and to complete my challenges to prove yourself worthy of her." I gulped but nodded my head confidently. "She is my favorite daughter, did you know that?" she asked out of the blue after another moment of silence.
"No mam I was unaware of that." I answered honestly.
"As such she cannot be wed by just any man. The man who does gain my favor and my daughters hand will have to be a true hero, and prove himself in heart, body, mind, and soul. Are you, Perseus Jackson, this hero?"
"I don't know. I do know that I love your daughter with everything that I am and will do whatever is necessary to marry her." I stood up straighter while telling her this.
"Very well, we shall see. First up we will see if you have a true hero's soul." She snapped her fingers and we appeared in a room full of old jars and pottery. On all of the pieces I noticed the pictures and recognized them as Hercules's 12 labors. Oh boy here we go 12 labors is step 1. "Do you know the 12 labors of Hercules Perseus?" she asked studying me.
"Yes my lady, I know of the 12 tasks and have faced many of them first hand actually."
She gave a sly smile, "I would agree and I would make the argument that YOU have not only faced all 12 but have triumphed over them as well." I just looked at her unsure how to respond to that. "Do you believe me wrong Perseus? All of your quests have been of great importance to Olympus and have involved my daughter so I've been paying pretty good attention." She walked over to the first pot and gestured with her hand to it, "The first labor, the Nemean Lion, did you not kill that on your quest to save Artemis and Annabeth in your second winter at camp."
I bowed my head thinking of Zoe and Bianca, "It was the Hunters of Artemis who shot the arrows that killed it, I just got it to open its mouth."
She shook her head as she moved to the next one, "It was quick thinking on your part Perseus, but if you insist let's move on. The second labor the hydra, did you not kill this on your quest to the Sea of Monsters."
"No I didn't I just held it off until Clarisse shot it with her cannons."
She just tsked her tongue and walked over to the third jar with a deer and Artemis on it. "I have no doubt you will deny the third task of capturing the hind, but I will stop your words by telling you that it was in the tent with you when you spoke to Lady Artemis in her tent, and the deer did not flee. The deer flees in the presence of almost all men, your calm presence kept it in the tent so I will count that as a capture." I shook my head not sure where she was going with all of this praise. "The Fourth task of capturing the Erymanthian Boar, you performed shortly after your meeting with Artemis."
"Again you give me too much credit my lady, that was a group effort primarily by Grover and his woodland magic."
She laughed, "You're starting to make me question why we offered you godhood, if you have done so little." I laughed as well. "Finally some I know you did solo, the fifth task of cleaning the stables, the eighth of taming the flesh eating horses of Diomedes, and the tenth task of capturing the horses of Geryon."
I frowned at the name of the demon who tried to sell us to the titans, "I hate to disagree with the goddess of wisdom but you are incorrect on me doing those alone. A water nymph showed me how to clean the stables and the horses were tamed by the salt water that emitted from the spouts she showed me how to make. As for capturing Geryon's horses I defeated him but didn't capture anything."
"No but you released them to a new more capable owner which counts in my book. That's 7 tasks let's see what else we have."
"Alright" I said pointing at a vase with birds on it, "you probably think I killed the Stymphalian birds as well like in task 6, but I can assure you that that was all Annabeth's idea with the boom box, I just drove the chariot."
She smiled, seeming to enjoy this like it were a game, "Modest as every Perseus, I'm sure you will deny the eleventh task of stealing the Hesperides golden apple, but you made it past the dragon Ladon and through the garden which was the majority of the task."
It was my turn to laugh, "I had help there as well, and it was at a great cost that we made it through." I added looking down all signs of laughter gone at thinking of Zoe's sacrifice. After a silent moment I pointed to the bull painting, "Not even you can argue that I haven't killed the Cretan bull."
"Wrong again Perseus. The task was to kill the Cretan bull but the real task was to kill the Minotaur, which you've done twice now. Once in the titan war, and once when you were a mere 12 years old and completely unaware of what you were and the world we live in."
"Why do you want me to have done all of these tasks?" I asked puzzled as to why she would give me so much praise.
"Why do you refuse to take the credit?" she questioned back making me think. She used my silence to continue, "The twelfth task of capturing Cerberus, you did this when you were 12 on your first quest."
"I didn't capture him I just got by him, and that again was thanks to your amazing daughter."
"11 of the 12 labors assigned to Hercules, I have said you completed in some fashion and you deny them all. Some demigods would kill to be seen as doing 1 of his 12 labors and you've done virtually all of them and hide from that."
"I had help, and besides you're forgetting about the ninth task stealing the Amazonian queen's girdle, 12 still beats 11."
"I forget nothing young one and you would do well to remember that. No you haven't met the Amazons, but I can think of a task you performed similar to this that is close."
"No way" I interrupted but quickly shut up at her steely look.
"This past summer, you stole the silver tiara from Thalia daughter of Zeus, her symbol of being the Lieutenant of the Hunters of Artemis." I laughed at the memory she was so mad it was hilarious. "I would place a sizeable wager on Thalia against the queen of the Amazons."
"That was hilarious and I agree Thalia probably could take her, but that was the Stolls idea and plan. I was just the only one dumb enough to carry out the plan."
"I've now given you credit for the 12 labors of Hercules, and you have said half of them were completed by my daughter and the other half you had help as well. Is that what you are telling me Perseus?"
"Yes ma'am" I said looking her in the eye.
She winked at me and smiled, "Well then Perseus Jackson, you have passed step 1."
"Wait what? I passed the test because I said I didn't do any of those." I had to have a dumb look on my face because she laughed.
"Yes, you have proven that you have a hero's soul. A hero's soul is a unique one Perseus, it is not overly prideful, it has humbleness, and yet it still has the bravery to face what is necessary. You have proven all of these with your answers to my questions."I just stared dumbfounded until she snapped her fingers and we were back in the throne room. "Step 2 is mind Perseus, and to test your mind I will just ask you a question." I gulped, great now I'm gonna have to answer some crazy smart kid questions I'm doomed. "Don't look so grim young one, I know that you are not as smart as my children. This is not a question of intelligence, but of your commitment to my daughter. I need to know that in your mind you are fully committed to her. So I ask you, what are the 3 things that you love the most about my daughter?"
"I love when she cries." I say bluntly and quickly continue at the death glare I receive from her. "That comes out sounding bad, but I can explain. Of course I hate when she is sad, but I love that she will cry in front of me. I am the only one in the entire world that she will cry in front of. She puts down her walls that she's built up her entire life and lets me and nobody else in."
"EEEEEEKKKKKKKKKK! That has got to be one of the most romantic things I've ever heard." Aphrodite squealed appearing in her throne next to Athena's and causing me to cover my ears.
"Ugh, I told you no outside interference Aphrodite." Athena said frustration clear in her voice.
"Good joke brainiac, but I wouldn't miss this if you told me Prada was going out of business. Don't worry though I'm just here to listen I won't interfere."
Athena gave a huff before turning back to me, "I guess continue, knowing her it will do no good to argue on this one."
"Alright I guess the second thing I love about Annabeth is her nose. It's got the lightest brush of freckles across it that makes her look more beautiful. The adorable way she scrunches it up when she's mad at me or trying to focus really hard on something making. Or how it gets red when she's cold and she puts it in the crook of my neck to heat it up and it makes me squirm wanting to push her away and yet pull her even closer at the same time. When she flares her nostrils at something stupid that I say to her."
"Oh my gods Percy, if you ever decide that you want to be a god, know that you have a spot with me as my assistant. You are so romantic." Aphrodite said.
"I could never leave Annabeth but thanks for the offer. Which leads me to my third thing that I love most about Annabeth, and the thing that I love most about her," Aphrodite was bouncing up and down in her seat with excitement, "her eyes. Annabeth's eyes are an infinite pool that I could get lost in and swim in forever. They are unique, of everyone I've ever seen nobody has the same eyes as her, not that she ever has the same eyes either. They are constantly changing every shade of grey you could imagine. When I look into her eyes I see love, I see promise, I know that everything I do has a purpose. I know that I've got a place that I'm safe and nobody can hurt me. I could go on listing a million more things about her that I love, but those are some of the top ones."
Aphrodite was in tears on her throne, "That was so beautiful, if she doesn't let you marry her daughter; you can marry any of my daughters Percy."
I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly, "Uh thanks I guess, but I'm kind of a one woman kind of guy." This just caused her to cry harder mumbling about how sweet I was and how good of a job she did with us.
Athena pinched the bridge of her nose, as if trying to fight off a headache from Aphrodite. Can goddesses get headaches? I'll have to ask Annabeth later. "Well done, you have completed step 2. Step 3 is body; a worthy hero must be tough and strong and be able to protect my daughter against anything."
I cracked my knuckles; here was what I'd been waiting for, a fight. "Alright what do you need me to fight, I'll take on anything."
"I'm sure you would Perseus, you have shown that you will fight against anything even a god or a titan, and with your curse of Achilles I'm sure you would win most fights. However, with your curse you have taken on a great weakness as well, and in order to prove that your body is my daughters completely you will have to share that weakness with her. Step 3 is for you to tell my daughter your Achilles spot, trust her with your mortality."
I laughed at this causing her to give me another death glare, "I'm sorry Lady Athena I don't mean to laugh at you. It's just funny because I told her about that spot ages ago, practically as soon as I got it."
"Why would you do such a thing?" she questioned looking shocked.
"Well I just figured that if I couldn't trust Annabeth, I couldn't trust anybody. What good is it living in a world where you can't trust anybody? If she betrayed me I wouldn't want to go on anyway, she is what makes life worthwhile."
"I love this kid so much." Aphrodite sobbed.
"Very well" Athena said ignoring Aphrodite, "are you ready for your final step Perseus?"
I was feeling pretty confident, I was expecting to have to fight for my life here and all she had done is talk so far. "Yeah I guess so, to be honest I was a little worried coming into this, Annabeth had the idea that you would try to use my fatal flaw against me."
She just maintained her steely gaze, "Annabeth is my favorite for a reason. She shows great insight and has good instincts. That is exactly what I'm going to do to you. For your final step you must show that your heart is Annabeth's and Annabeth's alone. There is a difference in love for friends and family, and true love. They say that you can never get a kiss back, but you will go against this theory. You will go to all of those that have kissed you, all of those that have shown love to you in that intimate way and tell them it is not reciprocated. You must denounce any love for them and tell them that your heart belongs entirely to Annabeth. It will go against your fatal flaw of loyalty to your friends, but you must show you are willing to push past this flaw for Annabeth. Do this and you may marry my daughter, do this and you shall have my blessing."
I was confused on what she was talking about, who else loves me as more than a friend or family member? Before I could ask questions though she snapped her fingers and I was alone on an island with the soft breeze blowing around me. There was the smell of fresh flowers and cinnamon on the air. The place looked and felt familiar but I couldn't place where it felt familiar from. Suddenly there was a soft familiar voice behind me, "Young hero, most who come here, cannot stand and need my aid. What is your name?" I spun around and there she was as beautiful as before, with her warm almond eyes and her flowing caramel brown hair. "Perseus" she breathed out.
I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly, "Hey Calypso."
Alright let me know what you thought. I know I'm a jerk for leaving you guys on this, but you know I have to build up some suspense on what's going to happen. There were several requests for more Percabeth fluff and I'd say that there was enough in there to make Aphrodite a little sick.
Sorry if it got a little slow in the 12 labors section but I thought it was something Percy would do to show his humbleness.
Next chapter will be Percy vs. his fatal flaw, will he be able to break peoples hearts. I'll try not to make it too painful of a wait for you guys.
Until next time, I'm the bomb like tic tic.