I don't own Percy Jackson & the Olympians. I think I would have noticed if I did. Oh and you can thank Maroo for this chapter, it was her idea:) I only wrote the story:) Enjoy!
" POSEIDON! You indolent, peeving cretin! Where are you? And how could you let this happen?".
Poseidon flinched when he heard that voice. That loud and unmistakingly angry voice that could only belong to one person. One person that was the only person he felt he should be afraid , or at least weary, off.
Oh shit. Now I am dead was all he could think for a few seconds. He was paralyzed, not sure what he could do to escape that voice. He wanted to escape, but how? She wouldn't just let him escape.
He wasn't scared easily, but he wasn't stupid and knew what that voice meant. It meant he had a problem. A big one.
Seriously, Tartarus might be better than whatever punishment awaited him if the owner of said voice would catch him. She sure as hell was scarier than Tartarus when she was angry. Like now.
Poseidon, now a little panicked, looked around him. He was in the ruins of his game room, the one that had been destroyed by Oceanus and his troops. They had done a great job at destroying the room and had left broken glass and other broken things everywhere.
He had been occupied with rebuilding his palace for quite some time now, but he had just started on the game room. It was still in a really bad shape, the remainders of his precious videogames, x-box and countless other games shattered. It had all literally been blown apart.
Which meant it would take him a lot of time to restore it. But which also meant there wasn't really a place to hide and avoid the wrath of Athena, something he desperately wanted to avoid.
He had been in countless arguments with her the past centuries and if there was one thing these arguments had learned him, it was that you should run and hide whenever she sounded like that. Angry, frustrated and lethal.
And yes he was aware of the fact that someone can't sound lethal, but she somehow managed to nonetheless. Or that might be because he knew she was lethal. And could hurt him more than anyone else.
Whatever the reason was, the fact that she sounded so lethal, made Poseidon even more desperate for a place to wasn't scared to death, but he certainly didn't want to be there when the owner of that voice arrived and would direct her anger at him. There was only so much he could take.
He knew she was really close now, so he had to hurry. Or she would already be there and he would have no chance to hide or avoid her at all.
Deciding a bad hiding place was better than no hiding place at all, Poseidon hid behind a pile of broken glass that had once been something entirely else.
As a least resort, he closed his eyes and covered them with his hands. It made him feel safer if he couldn't see her, if he couldn't see those steely, merciless grey eyes that made the bravest men run away crying for their mother.
And maybe she wouldn't see him that way. All the times he had played with little children, they hadn't been able to see him when he did that. So maybe Athena wouldn't see him either. Maybe it was like some sort of spell. It wouldn't hurt to try it, right?
He hold his breath, knowing he could do that for probably forever, and tried to be completely silent when she walked into the room. Which was mere seconds after he had hidden.
She didn't even have to talk in order for him to recognize her. He recognized her aura of power and the way she walked, which was without making any sound.
If she wanted to, she could easily creep up on you without you ever noticing. It was eery how silent that woman could walk. Like a panther or tiger. Or some other predator. Like her feet were made of pillows or something. Or like she floated over the ground. You really couldn't hear her coming.
Poseidon felt very much like a prey when he felt her coming closer to his hiding place. He still couldn't hear her and he didn't dare to look, but he could feel her approaching. He would recognize her aura everywhere. She was unique, both cold and warm. Passionate during battle, but also composed and distant.
She slowly walked straight to his hiding place and his heartbeat accelerated, he barely could hold his breath and he could just feel the adrenalin coursing through his body, making him ready to either flee or fight.
He knew for sure he would choose the second option when he heard the pile of glass shatter and felt a little, but very strong hand grip his wrist and pull him towards her.
He could smell her now, indicating she was standing really close. Her scent was as unique as the rest of her, a mix of various things which he never really recognized. She did smell good though.
She probably was staring at him with narrowed eyes, those steely grey eyes accusing. She could make the bravest men turn into scared cowards with a look if she wanted to. Maybe she was trying to use her deadly glare on him. He didn't know. He really didn't want to look.
"Poseidon. Do be so kind to tell me why you didn't respond when I shouted your appellation countless times. And-". She broke off and he could hear her sigh. A soft, but very noticable sound.
He knew that sigh. She always sighed like that whenever he did something that made her question his sanity and intelligence. And yes, she could sigh different. She sighed different when was tired or had to explain something to him for the millionth time.
" Poseidon.. why are you covering your eyes?"she slowly asked and he could hear she was even more annoyed now. Maybe he shouldn't have hidden, ignored her and refused to look at her. Maybe he should buy flowers next time.
Except she would think he was 'making a move' and torture him for it. Hiding and risking her wrath was probably better than getting thrown into Tartarus or receiving one of her lectures that lasted forever.
Athena sighed again when he didn't respond and kept covering his eyes. He could imagine her rolling her eyes now. She didn't have the patience do deal with him. And she hated it when - like she put it- he was behaving completely illogical, provoking and frivolous.
" Poseidon, stop covering your eyes. I am not your inane girlfriend Medusa, you know. You won't turn into stone when you open your eyes and look at me. Sadly. ".
Poseidon stopped covering his eyes, oped them- but tried to look anywhere but at her- and pouted. " That is not fair. She was really nice before you decided to change her into that thing . That was the moment she went nuts you know".
" No, she must have been mentally ill from the beginning or she wouldn't have found you desirable. Only complete cretins without as much as the tiniest bit of sanity would find you desirable".
" That is not a nice thing to say. And look at yourself will you? You have never had a boyfriend".
Athena looked like she was trying really hard not to hit him. Or change him into a thing. Which wouldn't be good. He didn't want to be a giant spider nor did he want to have snakes as hair. That would look horrible.
" I have a very rational reason for that. I am a maiden goddess, you fateous excuse of a god! Just like I had a very rational and fair reason for changing your girlfriend - the way she said it made Poseidon think she didn't mean girlfriend- into a gorgon. What you were doing in my temple was absolutely despicable".
" Oh dare to live for once Athena. You never do anything fun!".
" I do not require to have the kind of fun you believe is fun. And stop changing the subject! What on earth were you doing?".
" Ehhm, I was playing hide and seek?".
Athena give him her burning glare of impending doom, used only when she was really annoyed. Which didn't happen that often. She normally was very composed and controlled.
The last time she had used it, she had actually set him on fire. He wasn't sure how she had done it, but she had glared at him like that and the next thing he knew, he was trying to extinguish the fire in his pants. His pants had literally been on fire.
Now he saw that burning glare of setting-pants-on-fire again, he decided it would be safer to take a step back. He didn't want that to happen again. It had hurt. A lot. And ruined his favorite pants.
She raised one of her eyebrows when she noticed he retreated slightly, but didn't say anything. "Poseidon, for once in your life, give me a respond that isn't utter ridicule. Tell me, what were you really doing?".
" Like I already said, I was playing hide and seek. With you".
" Firstly, that would require me actually willing to particpate in fateous games like that. Secondly, you would have to inform me we were playing first. And thirdly, give me one more respond like that and you will be reduced to a screaming girl again".
" Do you plan to set my pants on fire again?".
" I do if you don't stop this futile, infantile and imbecilic behavior this moment".
Poseidon tried his famous grin on her, hoping that would calm her down somehow. It normally made her smile. She said it was both amusing and the slightest bit endearing.
Too bad it didn't seem to work this time; she only looked more annoyed. She actually gave him another glare of setting-pants-on-fire. He could just feel the heat being send towards him. It didn't help to calm down his nerves. At all.
" Poseidon. Stop grinning. I am aware of what you are assumpting and it won't have the effect you are longing for. Now tell me before I roast you again".
" Okay okay. Calm down catwoman. I was just trying my theory".
" Do not call me catwoman, you know I hate that fateous agnomen. And you have a theory?".
Poseidon nodded enthusiastically, trying to look confident and masculine. He really wanted to impress Athena for once. She often impressed him, but it wasn't often the other way around. It would be nice to really impress her for once.
" You see, I discovered something when I was humouring some little children. Do you know the game Kiekeboo? ( A/N I am not really sure what this is in English, but it is when you play with toddlers and you cover your eyes and ask them where you have gone and then you remove them and say kiekeboo!) ".
When Athena nodded, he happily continued. " Well, I was playing that game with them and I noticed they couldn't see me whenever I covered my eyes, so I thought you might not notice me either" he ended, looking at her and hoping to see she was impressed. She wasn't.
She stared at him, an unfathomable look in her eyes- but it looked vagualy like desperation- and remained that way until he felt really uncomfortable. He had the feeling she would set his pants on fire again.
He always felt uncomfortable when she looked for a long time at him with those beautiful, slightly frightening grey eyes. They seemed to look right through you, discovering every thought and feeling you ever had. It wasn't a good thing to have them studying you for such a long time.
Finally, he got a reaction. It just wasn't the one he had hoped for. Which would be a smile or a compliment.
Instead of praising him, she face palmed, rolled her eyes and punched him. A huge display of emotion for the normally cool and composed Athena.
" You imbecile! That isn't a theory, that is some ludicrous nonsense only you can come up with. Did you really believe I would be unable to notice you if you covered your eyes?".
Poseidon pouted. She sometimes would be nicer to him if he pouted. And he just felt like pouting. She was being unnecessarily mean. Did she have to insult his idea?
" Yes. Those toddlers didn't notice me".
" It is a game! And you can hardly compare those two situations, they are completely different. Those were infants, I am a grown woman. They posessed little to no knowledge, I possess practically all knowledge. They were infantile, like you. I am cultivated. Those two situations are contradistinctions. Do you comprehend that or do I have to slowly repeat it?".
" You don't. I am not obtuse you know. See, I even know that difficult word!".
" It isn't a complicated and you only know it because I have called you obtuse for the last centuries every single day. Now, are you prepared to actually behave like a mature man - or at least pretend to- or do I need to take extreme measures before you stop whining and being ludicrous?".
Poseidon rolled his eyes. " No. And you really are your father's daughter. Drama king and drama daughter".
" Oh shut up already. I am not being dramatic. Not that you would ever be able to comprehend it, but I am a mature and austere person".
" Boring and annoying, you mean. We already knew that captain obvious".
Athena looked ready to get Aegis from wherever she kept it and use it to crack his skull when he said that, but she managed to compose herself and look more or less calm.
" You have no right to say that nor have the information required to be able to make a true statement. And my purpose is not to argue with you".
"Then why are you arguing with me?".
" Because you are the most provoking person I have ever met and I will personally send you to Tartarus if you continue to provoke me" she hissed, suddenly reminding him just the slightest bit of Medusa. Not that he would ever tell her that. He valued his life too much, thank you. And his pants.
" Okay, just tell me what you want then?" he said, chuckling. He liked the fact that he knew exactly how to make her angry. She normally never got angry, was always composed. He liked being the one to make her lose that control and composure.
She gave him another angry glare, only making him laugh instead of chuckle. She was obviously very annoyed by now. It only made him happy. He was only frightened by her - and not even that much- whenever she sounded so cold and emotionless, but still angry. Like she had at first.
" I want you to tell that offspring of yours to keep his dirty, little hands of my daughter!".
" I beg your pardon?".
" I am talking about your son Percy, you moron!".
" I know what you said, but why would I tell him that? Has he done anything that makes you think I should?".
" Well, not yet , but I am convinced he will and-".
Poseidon laughed again, earning him another glare.
" What do you find so darn amusing?" she hissed, now really angry. He shrugged, finding her glare only slightly frightening. He was practically immune to it after receiving it for centuries.
" Nothing. Except, you have obviously been spying on them. Trying to learn how to kiss or anything by watching them Athena? You only watch educational things after all".
He received immense pleasure in seeing her cheeks turn slightly pink. She looked composed and controled again, but her cheeks betrayed her. He had obviously managed to catch her off guard, something that didn't happen often.
He had even managed to make her blush, which made him proud. He couldn't remember ever seeing her blush. Not really.
" Of course not! Only a perverted moron like you would assume such a thing. I am merely concerned for the welfare of my precious daughter. She is in a relationship with a boy whose father is a sex addict after all. I really would have expected her to choose a decent boyfriend, but it seems that your son's foolishness is contagious".
" Stop offending both me and my son. You know I am not like that. Stop brining up the Medusa incident Athena! And did you really just call me a sex addict?".
" Yes! Because you are and if it is hereditary, then your son is it too and my daughter will be screwed!". Athena was so upset her normally perfect and formal english was forgotten. She never used words like that. And she hadn't noticed yet how unfortunate her use of language was.
Poseidon couln't help it. He had to take advantage of this golden opportunity.
He chuckled. " She would be literally screwed" he joked. Which made Athena almost explode with anger. She obviously didn't like him joking about that.
Athena suddenly grabbed his collar, pulling him towards her and looking scarier than ever before. Which meant she was frightening enough to make Kronos want to run away. And make Poseidon uncomfortable.
" Listen you moronic, aggravating sea god. Your perverted offspring is off with my innocent daughter doing things I absolutely do not approve of. So do something!".
" All right, calm down Athena. Jezus, you are making it sound like he is abducting her and using her as his sex slave. What on earth could they be doing that is so bad?".
Athena swallowed, looking suddenly worried instead of angry. She seemed to be a bit paler as well.
" They are going to the movie!" she finally said, obviously believing this was a horrible thing.
Poseidon blinked. Once. Twice. And stared at her. Did she really freak out and accuse his son of being a perverted freak only because he wanted to take his girlfriend to see a movie?
" So you have been searching for me, yelling at me and offending both me and my son because he is taking his girfriend to the cinema?".
"Yes! And all I said was the truth".
" First of all, you might be extremely intelligent and know a lot, but you have no knowledge about sex whatsoever, so don't assume things while you don't know anything about it. Secondly, I don't understand what is so horrible about taking your girfriend to the cinema. Thirdly, can you let me go? It is weird to be this close to you".
Athena immediately let him go , blushed, and took a few steps back. She looked embarressed, something he hadn't seen before. She didn't even meet his eyes and was obviously very embarressed and uncomfortable. She almost seemed shy.
He found this new side of her and the way her cheeks were all pink oddly attractive. He had always suspected the cold and composed Athena was just an act and she was hiding something.
And after arguing so much with her, he knew he was right. He had seen glimpses of another her during their arguments, no matter how weird and dramatic it seemed.
He had never seen her like this though; humiliated and uncertain. She looked good uncertain and humiliated. More approachable.
Whoa. Did I just think she looks good? Oh that is not good at all. Since when do I think anything positive about her? How could I think something positive about her? She freaking hates my guts. She will kill me if she discovers I think she is beautiful! Not that I think that. No, not at all.
Poseidon suddenly felt very uncomfortable himself. He hadn't grabbed her or anything, like she had grabbed his collar, but he still felt uncomfortable. How couldn't he, when he had just thought she was beautiful?
The truth was that he had always thought she was beautiful, but he had managed to surpress those thoughts and the attraction he felt to her. He had to.
She didn't want him to be attracted to her. She thought he was immature and idiotic, that he had none of the character traits she liked in men. And she certainly wouldn't want more than a platonic relationship with him, like he sometimes longed for.
Both she and Zeus would try to kill him if they discovered. That had been one of the reasons he had kept his attraction and other feelings for her secret, why he had tried to surpress them. And had succeeded. Or so he had thought.
So why did he suddenly think all this again? Hadn't he stopped thinking she was beautiful? Hadn't he crushed any feeling he had for her, apart from grudging admiration for her intelligence?
Athena cleared her throat and when he looked at her, he saw she was composed again. Her grey eyes were cold and emotionless again, her face a mask that didn't betray any feelings.
He had known her long enough to know that it was only a defense mechanism. She would always look like that when she had something to hide. Like how uncomfortable she was.
" To respond to your earlier comments Poseidon, I do possess a basic knowledge of intercourse. I am the goddess of wisdom and it is expected of me to have basic knowledge of everything. I know how it works and all. Secondly, I also know what can happen during or even worse, after things like this. How can Chiron possibly allow two adolescents , one who posesses no self-control whatsoever, to sit alone in the dark for hours without any supervision? Who knows what can happen!".
Poseidon stared at her again. And stared some more. He was really surprised to see the normally composed and uncaring Athena suddenly act nervous and extremely worried. He hadn't expected her to care so much.
" Okay calm down Athena, what is the worse that can happen? They aren't alone you know. There are other people and-".
" I know that you vlacas! But those people won't be paying attention to them and I am perfectly- and painfully- aware of what can happen when you leave two adolescents with raging hormones alone".
" Huh. I hadn't expected you to care this much. Or admit your daughter actually has hormones, like all of us".
" I was refering to your animalistic son, you cretin!".
" Athena, seriously you need to calm down and- Animalistic? My Percy is a perfect gentleman!".
" He isn't! He is an adolescent that wants to take advantage of my unfortunate Annabeth!".
" How dare you! My Percy would never do such a thing!".
" How do you know? You have been absent all his life!".
" So have you!".
" That is not true, I always look after my children".
" Well, so do I".
" No, you don't".
" Yes, I do".
"No, you don't".
It went on like that for some time until the anxious Athena grabbed Poseidon by his collar ( again) and pulled him along. She ignored his complaints or the way he started to turn blue after some time and only pulled harder.
Poseidon tried to escape, but she wouldn't let him. She used the collar as a leash and just pulled really hard. His neck slowly started to turn red while his face was blue. She kept pulling him along until he felt like his neck would break.
Finally, she let him go. He rubbed his sore neck and glared angrily at her, which she pointedly ignored. She didn't seem to care she had made him angry.
After realizing she wouldn't react or apologize, he inspected his surrounding. He at least wanted to know where she had brought him.
They were at the cinema, he realized when he saw the building. It had cinema written over it, so it was kind of hard to miss.
Athena turned towards him, still not apologizing or even looking slightly apologetic. She looked actually slightly amused, although she was still anxious and worried.
" We need to get in. We just have to follow them and supervise them, to make sure your moronic son will keep his hand off my daughter".
Poseidon rolled his eyes and removed her hand from his neck. It still would have to eat some ambrosia later. After dealing with an axious Athena.
" Like I have tried to tell you countless times Athena, my son won't hurt your daughter. He is a respectable young man and his mother has raised him well. He knows how to treat females".
" Still, I do not trust it. We need to supervise them Poseidon. We are their parents after all".
" So you want to spy on them, violate Zeus rules and risk losing the fragile relationship we have with them just because you think my son can't keep it in his pants?".
" Basically, yes. Shall we buy tickets?".
"You know, it is still hard to picture you as the concerned and caring parent. Are you sure this wasn't just one of your plans to get on a date with me? I know you find me irresistable" he teased.
Athena punched him again. "How dare you! I don't waste brain capacity on making up plans to urge you to take me to the cinema. It is preposterous that you believe this". She probably would have done something worse hadn't she been worried about Annabeth.
" I take it that means no. Let's get food".
" We first have to buy tickets you cretin!".
"Will you stop calling me a cretin already? It only makes me hungry".
" I probably will regret asking this, but why?".
" Because it sounds like crouton".
" No, it doesn't. Those are two very different things. And stop being a cretin, let's just buy tickets".
" Fine, you buy the tickets, I will buy the food".
" We first have to buy tickets!".
" Why?".
" Because we can't get inside if you don't buy tickets, you fool!".
" We are gods, we can just teleport inside".
" Fine. If you want to be dishonest and cheap, go for it".
" He! I am not cheap".
" Then buy the damn tickets!".
When Athena and Poseidon finally walked forwards to buy tickets, they heard someone behind them whisper; " what a cute couple. How long do you think they have been married?".
At the exact same moment, they turned. " We are not married" they both said. And glared at each other when they realized they had said it at the same time.
" Exactly. Why would I desire someone who might actually possess no intelligence at all or least makes it look that, to become my husband?".
" Why would I want an arrogant, annoying and bossy woman as wife?".
"Oh shut up!".
They all said this at the same moment, earning quite a few strange looks and aw's from the people who were waiting behind them. Some were smiling and others were just watching them.
Athena gave them her notorious glare of impending doom and almost exploded when someone promptly asked her when the baby would come. She didn't even know why those weird people thought she was pregnant. How dared they! Assuming she, a maiden goddess, was pregnant.
Poseidon felt the urge to smile, but he also felt strangely insulted. He gave the person that asked her his best glare and was satisfied when he saw him flinch and ignore them.
" Excuse me madam and sir, but could you discuss your marital problems at home? There is a queue you know".
After giving all the people around them another glare, buying tickets and giving the boy that gave them the tickets ( and asked them to take their marital problems home) a glare and saying "we aren't married!" a few more times, Athena and Poseidon walked into the cinema.
They were both glad to get away from all the insane people that thought they were married. Why would they even think that or ask about it? It wasn't any of their business.
Athena actually smiled at Poseidon when he opened the door for her and made a small obeisance. She said that she could open a door herself, but Poseidon she liked it that he opened doors for her.
After a quick stop, they were walking towards the room where their film would be played. They were also carrying an enormous bag with popcorn, two hotdogs with mustard, some candy and drinks. Poseidon had insisted they should buy it all.
"Why did you insist on purchasing all this mortal food? It is nowhere as good as Ambrosia or nektar".
" I like it. And we are going to the movies, you eat popcorn when you do that".
" Just because it is common for people to purchase ridiculous amounts of popcorn and consume it while watching some meaningless movie, doesn't mean you have to do the exact same thing".
" If you are against it, then why are you eating it?".
" I was merely tasting it in order to comprehend your obsession with it. My opinion remains. It is nowhere as good as Ambrosia or Nektar".
" You are still eating it".
" What is your point?".
"That you like it".
"I don't".
" Yes, you do".
" No, I do- Shut up and try to behave like an ordinary mortal, we are here" Athena hissed while she punched Poseidon.
He glared at her, but didn't say anything. He pointed to a certain black-haired boy that he immediately recognized instead. Next to the boy, sat a young woman that looked a lot like the woman walking next to him. They were even wearing similiar clothes.
" There they are. Let's go sit behind them".
"Wait a minute. If you think about it, that isn't wise. It will be easier to be noticed by them and- Poseidon!"
Athena stopped talking when Poseidon suddenly grabbed her arms and pushed her towards the seats he had been pointing at. He actually lifted her -which made her cheeks pink again- and carefully placed her on one of the chairs.
After putting his food down, he sat down himself and grinned at looked oddly satisfied and smug.
She folded her arms and only gave him an angry look in return. " Are you insane? They will likely notice us!".
" Haven't you listened to your own arguments Athena? They will be busy with kissing and other things you don't approve of"he teased.
Athena wanted to say something else, but the film had already started and she didn't want to draw attention to herself by talking while it had alreayd started. So she only glared at him and focused on the film, occasionally looking at Percy and Annabeth to check on them.
An hour later, Athena had forgotten she was only here to keep an eye on her daughter. She had even forgotten she was here with her enemy. Well, not exactly forgotten, it just didn't seem significant anymore.
Despite her original expectations, the film was actually quite good. It was a love story with a lot of action in it and according to the man who had sold them their tickets, it was very populiar. It was the film that everyone needed to see.
Athena didn't agree with that, but she had to admit it was a nice movie. The actors and actresses played their parts perfectly and there was just enough action to keep it interesting. And enough romance to make her smile.
Despite common belief, Athena actually liked romance films. Not the extremely fluffy ones, but she did enjoy some of them. Like Ps I love you.
She had loved that film when she had seen it, on a sleepover with Artemis, Hestia and Aphrodite. She had even agreed with Aphrodite when she had called the dead husband hot. Except Athena had used different vocubulary.
Her exact words had been ; "If I hadn't taken my oath and I was one of those women that actually give in to animalistic, primal urges , then I would have said that he is attractive yes".
Athena smiled again when she remembered. It had been a very enjoyable evening. Even when Aphrodite had kept bugging her about calling a man attractive. And about other things.
She loved having sleepovers with her friends. Not that she and Aphrodite were really friends, but she did enjoy spending time with her. Every now and then.
"Ehhm Athena?" Poseidon's soft voice interrupted her happy thoughts. He sounded strange, almost a little freaked out.
A little annoyed, she looked at him and.. noticed that her head was on his shoulder. He looked at her questionately, one of his eyebrows raised. She was so close that she could feel his breath and smell the popcorn and butter on it.
She immediately lifted her head and scooted away from him, muttering that she was sorry. Which she was. Just like she was humiliated and ould feel her cheeks burn. Why had she done that?
He only shrugged and smiled at her before he continued shoving popcorn in his mouth. He seemed to have forgotten it already, but Athena hadn't. Far from it.
Athena felt really humiliated. Even worse than when she had grabbed him and pulled him closer. She had now actually been leaning into him, like she wanted to cuddle with him or something. And she hadn't even noticed!
Athena spend a few more moments reprimanding herself when it happened. Percy and Annbeth leaned towards each other and Athena saw them kissing. She had never wanted to destroy that boy as much as now. The only reason she didn't do it, was that it wasn't wise. With the powerful father of the boy sitting next to her.
She punched Poseidon, who gave her a rather annoyed look. She had almost made him drop his cola.
"They are kissing! Do something" she hissed, hoping he would understand.
" What? Ask them to stop?".
" No, of course not! Just make them stop somehow!".
"Well, how am I supposed to-".
" Just do it, I don't want to see this!".
Poseidon sighed and finally did something. Except it wasn't really what Athena had wanted him to do. She had wanted him to stop them yes, but by talking to them or something. He used a different approach.
He threw popcorn at them. A lot. It actually seemed a little like it was raining popcorn.
They stopped kissing and turned to see who had thrown popcorn at them, but Poseidon had let himself fall on the ground, pulling Athena with him, right after he had thrown.
He grinned at Athena. "There. Are you happy now?".
She rolled her eyes. " Do I look happy?".
" No, but you never really do".
Athena punched him. Again. she had punched him so often now that even Poseidon should have seen that coming.
" Ouch! Why do you keep punching me?".
" Because you keep doing certain things that make me question both your sanity and intelligence. Or lack of both actually".
Poseidon rolled his eyes. " Oh shut up. I was just trying to make you happy".
" Well, I am sorry that I fail to comprehend this, but how on earth would you help me by throwing popcorn at my daughter and throwing me on the floor?"Athena hissed, which made a few people give her annoyed looks that changed into confusion and surprise when they saw her on the floor on all fours.
She tried to look dignified, but that was a very hard thing to do while hiding on the floor with Poseidon. How had she ended up in this situation again? Oh right it had all been his fault.
"You don't have to be so mean you know. You said I should stop them!" Poseidon suddenly said in a whiny voice.
For a moment, Athena was confused. Where was he talking about? Then she remembered. She had asked him how he would her by throwing popcorn at that inane boyfriend of her daughter and throwing her at the floor.
" Well, I didn't intend for you to throw with anything ".
" I didn't throw you! I pulled you down".
" You most certainly did not! You picked me up and threw me at the floor".
" Didn't!".
"Did!".
" Didn't"!
"Di- Oh what am I doing? I am wasting valuable time and brain capacity by playing childish games with you! And your little trick has only worked for a really short period. They are probably kissing again".
"Well, let me take a look".
Before Athena could say or do anything, Poseidon slowly pushed himself up and peeked over the chair in front of them so he could see Percy and Annabeth properly. He immediately let himself fall on the floor again, rolled under their chairs and pulled her along.
He had a strong grip and before she even registered what was happening, she found herself laying beneath their own seats, beneath him. He was leaning on his arms so he wouldn't crush her.
He had his arms around her, so she couldn't escape. She felt trapped and slightly threatened, but also something very different. It was strange, but she didn't mind being trapped. Not really.
His strong salty scent invaded her senses and she actually felt dizzy. It was overpowering.
She didn't know whether to be antagonized, aghast or uncomfortable at this moment, with him almost laying on her and his strong arms around her.
She swallowed with difficulty, her throat suddenly dry, when she looked into his eyes. Those beautiful seagreen eyes.
She had never told him, naturally, but she had always been a little bit fascinated by his eyes. She secretly thought they were the most beautiful eyes in the world. Such a intruguing color, a color that seemed to change every single moment.
She had spend centuries trying to discover the exact same color of his eyes, without him ever noticing it of course, but she still didn't know. It would probably remain an enigma forever.
Right now, she felt herself being pulled into those wonderful eyes that seemed to be darker than before. His eyes held some foreign emotion and Athena couldn't fight her body's reaction. Her heart immediately started beating really fast, her breathing accelerated just the slightest and she felt her stomach make sommersaults.
She couldn't help it. He was just too close, closer than he had ever been, and both his salty scent and warm, moist breath beneath her ear made her dizzy. Dizzy, self-conscious and a lot of more things she definitely didn't want to be around him.
She wasn't the only one affected by the proximity; she could hear his fast heartbeat since her head was on his chest, could hear his breathing was accelerated and saw the mix of emotions in those mesmerizing eyes of his.
She shivered when he suddenly placed a very light kiss just beneath her ear and whispered something. She was too confused and distracted by the feeling of his musculair body beneath her own body to immediately understand it. But eventually, she did.
" Is it just me or is it awfully hot here?".
Athena licked her lips and had to clear her throat a few times before she could reply, in a soft and light voice. " I do have to admit I have the distinct impression that the temperature has risen".
Poseidon chuckled. " Maybe it is because our bodies are so close".
" Hm-mm" Athena , who slowly felt the feelings of anxiousness and slight resentment disappear to make place for a comfortable, lazy feeling, mumbled.
Poseidon smiled at her and surprised her when he stroked her hair softly. His eyes held some unfathomable emotion, which made them look another color again. A light green, still dark but lighter and.. softer than before.
She sighed happily. It felt great to be in his arms and have him draw lazy circles on her back with one hand. The other hand was still stroking her hair, which felt oddly comforting.
She smiled again and made a sound that almost sounded like a purr when he continued rubbing her back and stroking her hair. It just felt really good to be in his arms like this.
His hands stopped moving for a second and Athena, who was annoyed they had, looked up to find him staring at her. Really staring, with wide, big eyes and his mouth slightly open.
She smiled at him ( which made his eyes even bigger) and closed his mouth.
" What is the matter Poseidon? Has the cat gotten your tongue?".
Poseidon smiled and shook his head. "No. But funny you should mention a cat".
Athena lay down her head again and closed her eyes when he started rubbing her back again. She inhaled deeply, enjoying his salty scent invading her senses even more.
" Oh? And why is that?" she mumbled,feeling content like she had never before. She was normally a very occupied and tense person, never really able to relax, but now she was relaxed. She wasn't even thinking about anything, just enjoying this sweet, forbidden moment.
Poseidon chuckled and he pushed her hair away from her neck before kissing her neck, his mouth lingering on her skin for a moment. She even thought she heard him inhale strongly, like he wanted to have her scent memorized.
He placed a few soft kisses on her neck, shoulders and eventually on her ear before whispering in her ear again, his voice deep and husky.
" Did you notice you were actually purring? It is strangely exciting to hear you purr".
Athena raised her head, opening her eyes to look directly into his. She felt her heart skip beats and her temperature shoot up when she saw them. All tenderness and softness had disappeared.
His pupils had dilated, his eyes now looked really dark- the darkest green possible and the look in his eyes could be best described as burning. It made her skin tingle and she couldn't surpress a shiver.
She saw him coming closer and was aware he was about to kiss her, but she couldn't move. Both because he was now holding her again and because a part of her wanted this. Wanted to experience something strange and forbidden, but mainly very tempting for once.
Just when he wanted to capture her lips with his, they were interrupted. By someone who shone a flashlight in their faces that could have blinded them.
Athena and Poseidon both froze although she could have sworn she heard Poseidon make a low growling sound. He certainly didn't look happy. He actually looked ready to kill someone.
" What the- What on earth are you doing there? How do you even fit beneath those seats?" the man exclaimed, keeping his voice down to avoid annoying annyone. He looked both annoyed and surprised.
Athena slowly rolled of Poseidon, feeling distinctly disappointed and got up. She smoothed her clothing and regarded the young man with her usual cold glare. He immediately backed up a little.
Had he looked confident and smug before - obviously anticipating he would get to throw them out- he looked more like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar now. Which was ironic, since Athena felt a lot like that. She had been caught doing inappropriate things after all.
Poseidon was standing now too and he gave the man the coldest stare he could master. Which was quite impressive, Athena grudgingly admitted to herself. Poseidon could be very intimidating if he wanted to. Not a lot people expected him to be intimidating, not like other gods like Hades or Zeus.
He had two sides, just like the sea. The one calm, happy and overall comforting. The other mad, uncontrolled, frightening and intimidating. Athena had seen both.
When the man had left, after one casting one nervous glance towards Poseidon and a lot of excuses, they looked at each other.
Athena immediately felt herself blushing when she fully realized what had just happened. She had been all cozy with Poseidon, her enemy or at least rival of centuries, and had even enjoyed him touching her.
Worse, she would have kissed him if that man hadn't interrupted them. And she had no doubts she would have liked it a lot. Maybe she even had allowed things to get really out of hand, although she hoped she wouldn't have.
From the way Poseidon fidgeted and kept avoiding her eyes, she understood he felt just as uncomfortable and confused as she did.
After taking a minute to compose herself, she sat down and gestured he should do the same. He did, still not meeting her eyes and looking very nervous. Sometimes she wondered if it was possible that he had ADHD the way he seemed unable to concentrate or was unable to sit still. He never managed to sit still during meetings either.
When he was sitting and eating his giant bag of popcorn again, she finally spoke. She had to force herself to meet his eyes.
" You know we can just forget what has just happened" she offered in a small voice, a part of her hoping desperately that he would agree and another part screaming she didn't want him to agree.
She actually hold her breath for a moment, feeling more anxious than she had in ages. This was a very unuasual situation.
She , for once, didn't have a clue what was going on, but she knew his respond was really important. Whatever he said, could make or break their fragile frenemy relationship.
He hesitated, looking at his bag of popcorn like that would hold all the answers he needed. He hesitated for so long that she started to think he would never answer but he did.
" I'm not sure what even happened".
Athena laughed softly, but it was more because she was nervous and trying to break the tension than because it was actually amusing.
" Me neither. How was it even possible for us to fit beneath the seats? There isn't that much space beneath them after all".
Poseidon shrugged. " I changed the seats, didn't you notice? I made them the slightest bit bigger so we could fit beneath them".
" That is clever. But it was also unnecessary to hide beneath seats like little children afraid of the dark".
" I have never gotten why they hide beneath the bed. Isn't that the darkest and scariest place?".
Athena laughed again, this time genuinely. She already felt better. Poseidon often managed to make her feel better by making her laugh, like now.
" You would think so, but children think different adults do".
Poseidon shrugged. " I can't remember ever trying to hide underneath my bed. Not that I had one, since I grew up in Kronos' stomach".
" I can imagine there wasn't a lot of space there".
"There wasn't. You had better luck. Considering my brother has little intelligence, there must have been a lot of space for you" he teased and Athena already felt better. She was slowly starting to forget what had happened. Okay , maybe not forget it , but she didn't feel uncomfortable anymore. They were back to teasing and being friendly.
Although that could quickly change to arguing again. It was always like that with them. One minute, they were arguing and the other, they were acting friendly.
She gave him a playful punch. " Do not offend my father Poseidon. He can be quite intelligent. Don't forget intelligence is hereditary".
" Yes, but you obviously got your intelligence and beauty from your mother. The only thing you might have inherited from your father is his bosiness and arrogance".
" I am doubtful. Should I punch you for the insults or thank you for the compliments?".
" Neither. Just say something about how awesome I am and we will be even".
" And you think I am arrogant?".
" You are. But it is kind of cute how you act like you know everything and sometimes look down at people. It is funny to see them flinch and get scared".
" Sadist".
" Guilty. Now do you still want to watch the movie or do you want to continue discussing this?".
" I don't remember why we wanted to- You bastard!".
Poseidon looked startled when Athena suddenly called him bastard, but she wasn't talking to him. She was talking to his son's head. She was glaring too.
Her next action surprised him even more when she had cursed and he had thought it been directed at him.
She suddenly grabbed a handul of popcorn, pulled on the collar of Percy's sweater and dropped all the popcorn.
Percy immediately stopped kissing Annabeth and grabbed at his back, cursing. Athena looked very smug and satisfied, but tried too hide it. She didn't want to look too guilty.
Or be recognized, so she looked the other way and used her hair to cover her eyes. No matter how she looked, her eyes would give her away. Annabeth and maybe even Percy would immediately know who she was if they saw her eyes.
Percy looked accusingly at her, but she pointedly ignored him and he turned his attention to the screen. Athena was very satisfied when he went back to watching the movie instead of kissing Annabeth.
The next thirty minutes were much fun for Athena and Poseidon. They would watch the movie, Athena sometimes making small comments, eat popcorn together and throw it at Percy and Annabeth whenever they went back to making out. They would look the other way when Percy turned and gave them angry looks. And laugh when he was watching the screen again.
Athena even giggled once, which made Poseidon stare at her again. He couldn't remember ever hearing her giggle. It was very odd to hear her giggle.
Athena immediately stopped giggling, but he didn't stop staring. He looked just like he had earlier and the memory made her both uncomfortable and excited.
He smiled, his eyes the most beautiful shade of bluish green. They were enchanting and Athena admired them silently.
"You know, I have decided" he suddenly said, catching Athena by surprise. She had no idea where he was talking about.
She arched one of her eyebrows. "Oh really? And what exactly have you decided Poseidon?".
" The answer to your question".
" My question?".
" Yes, whether I wanted to forget and pretend it never happened. But I don't want to. I don't want to act like you are just someone I like, but I also argue a lot with. I want to get to know you better".
Athena suddenly understood the phrase; butterflies in your stomach. That was the way she was feeling right now. Like she had a bunch of butterflies in her stomach.
" You have known me for centuries" she only replied, trying to hide her didn't want him to know how she felt. It would make her vulnerable. And she wasn't sure how he felt.
He smiled. "I have known a small part of you for centuries. But I have the feeling I don't really know you. There is a lot I don't know. And I want to discover every aspect of your complicated personality".
" And how would you succeed in discovering everything about me?".
" I think kissing you and discovering if you really have soft lips would be a good beginning"he said, smiling nervously at her. She suddenly didn't feel thay anxious anymore now she saw he was nervous too.
She smiled back, suddenly feeling really happy and was an alien feeling to her.
" Sounds good to me" she whispered and leaned towards him, putting her lips on his. He immediately picked her up and placed her on his lap, eagerly kissing her back. He seemed just as desperate for another kiss as she.
At first, it was just their lips meeting, a featherlight kiss, but it quickly escalated until they were sharing a very passionate kiss that made Athena moan softly in his mouth.
They were both completely lost in their kiss until Athena suddenly felt a weird sensation. It felt like there was something in her blouse, something that irritated her.
She pulled back, grabbing at the collar of her blouse and stared at her hand. Or actually the popcorn she was now holding.
She sighed, knowing who had been the culprit, and turned her head to meet a smug looking Percy Jackson. She took great pleasure in the way his face paled and his eyes widened when he saw and recognized her. His perplexed face was priceless.
She gave him a nodd. " Perseus. How are you doing?".
Annabeth, who was next to him, punched her boyfriend softly. He closed his mouth and managed to say something that sounded vaguely like " I am going to be sick".
Athena had to bite back a smile at that. He certainly looked ill, now not longer pale but green. Annabeth herself didn't look happy exactly either, but she didn't seem to take this all like Percy. She even smiled at Athena.
" Hi mom. Ehhm what are you doing here?".
Athena smiled back. " Well, it seems that I have managed to lure Poseidon into a date without either of us knowing it would be a date".
She ignored Annabeth's face, which told her she could expect a lot of questions later, and dropped the popcorn in Percy's hand. He still looked nauseous.
" I assume this is yours?" she said, not waiting for a reaction. She simply turned towards Poseidon again and continued to kiss him, completely ignoring her daughter and Percy.
The last thing that she heard before she was completely focused on the amazing kiss she shared with Poseidon was " Is it even legal for her to kiss anyone" followed by; "Ouch! You didn't need to punch me".