"Soo, how you feeling?" Triton asked Percy as the two of them walked to some place Triton suggested but Percy had no clue about.
"About?" Percy asked
"The function planning." Triton grinned.
"Oh don't ask." Percy groaned. Triton laughed.
"I got saved…I don't have to plan." Triton grinned
"Oh shut up." Percy pouted.
"I'll help though." Triton offered.
"I love you. Thank you." Percy grinned and jumped on Triton, pulling him into a hug. Triton laughed and returned it.
"Ah. Almost here." Triton said after some time
"Where are we going?" Percy asked for the millionth time
"It's a surprise." Triton winked at his brother. An year ago, he wouldn't have even wanted to see Percy's face and now his brother was one of the only people that he would die for even though he was immortal.
"There we go." Triton said as they reached the entry
"Ah. Master Triton." The nymph greeted. "My lord." She bowed to Percy.
"There's no need to bow." Percy smiled. The nymph nodded and bowed to Triton.
"There is no need to bow to any of us two." He said. The nymph smiled and nodded.
Percy's mouth dropped open when they entered. The whole place was made out of water. There was a huge waterfall which was surrounded by some trees made out of water. It was a nature made only out of water.
"Wow. I-" he said. Triton chuckled at his brother's expression.
"Dad made this place. If you remember he asked Annabeth to have an open area?" he said to Percy who nodded
"Yeah. He wanted to make this." Triton sighed
"Its amazing." Percy said.
"Go ahead. Run into the waterfall." Triton gestured
"What?" Percy asked in surprise
"You can go through. You're from the sea. So it's a special benefit." Triton winked. Percy grinned.
"Race you." He said.
"Ohh no." Triton grinned. The two of them took off, jumping on rocks and straight into the waterfall.
"Whoa." Percy said
"Yep. Specifically only for sea members." Triton said with a nod.
"Sounds like a membership." Percy chuckled.
"Yeah but its not for everybody." Triton winked at Percy. The inside of the waterfall had complete greenery but luckily no insects. There was a picnic spot as well as a TV with video game consoles and board games and even a water bed…
"Somebody could stay the night here." Percy said. Triton nodded.
"Wanna play call of duty?" Triton grinned widely.
"You don't have to ask." Percy said with a matching grin and jumped on the couch.
The duo played the game for an hour before they got tired of playing one video game.
"Wanna go to the mall?" Percy asked. Triton nodded.
"Sure." He said. He switched off the game and the two of them left the water place.
"Oh. I feel so fresh." Percy said to Triton.
"Yeah. The amount of water there influences all the people from the sea like that. Mostly from our family." Triton told Percy.
"Which showroom do you want to go to first?" Triton asked Percy.
"Hmm…Maybe the music one?" Percy said
"Brilliant." Triton smiled. The two of them raced into the music shop. The ones who watched them in the mall, saw two members of the underwater royal family and the king of the second council of gods have a race to a showroom that was just four shops down than where they were.
"Hello." Josh greeted them. Josh was a satyr who had talked to Percy multiple times before.
"Hey Josh. You got some good guitars?" Percy grinned.
"Especially for you, Percy." Josh chuckled. Percy chuckles as well.
"Which color?" Josh asked
"I'm looking for a black electric and a bluish black electric?" Percy said.
"Ah." Josh nodded.
"Black one?" Triton asked
"For Nico." Percy said simply. Triton nodded.
"We might need it for the function too." Percy said.
"Yeah, that makes sense." Triton agreed
"Here you go." Josh said to Percy, holding out two guitars. Percy grinned at Josh.
"Perfect." He said. Josh looked pleased. Percy was about to pay when Triton stopped him.
"Let me." Triton offered.
"Its all right, man." Percy said with a smile.
"I'm your elder brother." Triton stated. Percy chuckled.
"Fine. You pay for mine if you want." He said. Triton grinned triumphantly. Percy paid for Nico's guitar while Triton paid for Percy's.
"Honestly, I can tell that we're both from the same family." Percy chuckled.
"Agreed. We're both stubborn." Triton snickered.
"My thoughts exactly." Percy said with a smile.
Hades and Hazel walked and talked as they went to the mall.
"So are you planning to plan the function along with the others?" Hades asked Hazel.
"Not really, no. Decided that I'm only helping out with the decorations and stuff." Hazel shook her head. Hades chuckled.
"Are you looking forward to it?" Hazel then asked Hades with a grin.
"I'm going to put that in a PG-13 way and say maybe." Hades answered. Hazel snickered.
"Sure dad." Hazel grinned. Hades turned red. They walked into the mall and into the art shop.
"Choose anything. I have many years of gifts to make up for." Hades smiled at Hazel who looked at him wide eyes.
"Go ahead." He said. Hazel and Hades walked around the shop with Hazel being a little hesitant when she would want something. Hades just sighed and chuckled as he put whatever Hazel was looking for a longer time into the cart.
"I don't want anything more." Hazel said shyly. Hades chuckled at her.
"All right then." He smiled.
Hades bought the things and grinned at Hazel.
"You want coffee?" Hazel asked Hades.
"Sure." He said. The two of them walked to the coffee shop, got their drinks and sat down with the mocha. There was some silence but it wasn't awkward.
"Thanks, dad. For everything." Hazel said as Hades looked at her.
"You know I'm sorry, right?" Persephone asked Nico who looked taken aback.
"About what?" he asked as the two of them were going to the arcade.
"About treating you like…well…an outcast kind of person before." She said
"That's all right now, isn't it? We're good. What happened, happened." Nico shrugged
"Sure?" Persephone asked
"Yeah." Nico nodded. The two of them entered the arcade, got their game coins and card and Nico immediately rushed to a Greek figures claw machine.
"Oh this is so lit." Nico grinned.
"Well, give it a try." Persephone encouraged with a smile.
Nico put in a coin and position the claw right over the Cerberus statue which was quite big and the claw machine descended. The figure almost slipped out of the claw but then it didn't fall and landed in the slot. Nico whooped.
"That was good." Persephone said with a grin.
"And it was fun." Nico agreed
"Basketball?" Persephone asked.
"Why not?" Nico shrugged. The two of them went to the basketball game.
"Wanna bet?" Nico asked Persephone with a twinkle in his eyes.
"Definitely." Persephone nodded and the two made a deal of coffee and a pastry.
They grinned as the basketballs rolled out and the two of them were laughing, shouting and everything as they scored baskets or missed. At the end Nico won by a basket and he pumped his fist in the air.
"Which coffee?" Persephone asked with a faux sigh. Nico grinned.
"Mocha. And for pastry, I'll have truffle." He said.
"There's a café in the arcade. We can eat there and play more games if you want." She suggested
"I mean, I don't have a problem with playing the games but if you don't want to play more games then we could watch a movie. Doctor Strange 2 just got realized and its definitely come in the Olympian theatres." Nico replied.
"We could do that. But I have a good mind to try out the skee-ball machine." Persephone grinned
"If you want to play more games, I am completely good with that." Nico said
"Nah. Just the skee-ball." Persephone said.
"Okay then. Lets eat." Nico grinned.
Persephone bought a mocha and truffle pastry for Nico and some coffee for herself.
"How is the coffee here always good?" Nico groaned contently.
"Its Olympus. Though the best mocha is in the Underworld." Persephone said
"Agreed. That's like the coffee of the Underworld. Nothing beats it." Nico nodded. After they finished, they got up to go to the hall.
"Okay. You go in the hall and I'll get the popcorn and stuff." Nico said to Persephone
"I'll pay." Persephone said
"Nah. My treat." Nico said with a smile. Persephone protested but Nico didn't budge. He bought the normal popcorn along with the sodas.
The two of them took their seats and honestly they had a lot of fun. The hall was lively af and there were a lot of cheers and gasps with the two of them completely participating.
"Well, that was a bloody good movie." Nico declared as they came out of the hall
"No lies detected." Persephone agreed
"We should probably go back now because we have to think of the function and all. Sorry…" Nico apologized.
"Oh you don't have to say sorry. I'm looking forward to the function." Persephone chuckled.
"Oh nice." Nico sighed. Persephone snickered. "Lets go." He sighed. The two of them walked back and thoughts rambled through Nico's head. He'd already accepted Persephone as his step mother and she was pretty cool, there was no denying that. He didn't have a mother. He lost his sister but got another sister who he might just love more. He had an aunt who he would do anything for. He had a boyfriend. He had the best cousins ever (he wasn't gonna tell them that.) Maybe he and Persephone could have a mother-son relationship…right? Oh dear…
When they reached, Nico had decided. He gave Persephone a quick side hug.
"Thanks. I had a lot of fun today." He said with a smile and went to his cousins who gestured to him. Persephone stared at Nico in surprise before she smiled and walked to where the gods - excluding the ones who were asked to help plan the function- sat.
"So everybody's here right?" Percy asked. The ones planning nodded.
"We should probably ask the other gods to sit somewhere else or we should go somewhere else." Hazel suggested
"True. My quarters. Come on." Hermes said. Everybody nodded and ran to the Hermes quarters. They combined his and Apollo's quarters and plopped down on the cushions on the floor.
"This is going to be soo weird." Nico shook his head
"You don't say." Ares said dryly
"Triton got lucky." Percy complained
"Lucky kid." Thalia sighed
"Maybe…we might enjoy the functions. Some part will be traumatizing…but we could have fun. Anyways, behind the scenes is always fun as well." Apollo suggested
"True. I'm just not looking forward to the whole trauma part but I'm excited about the rest…like the occasions and stuff." Percy admitted
"Okay…so first we actually need to…revive their love." Aphrodite announced
"Right. So that means relive it?" Jason asked
"No. It means revive it with well…whatever we plan." Aphrodite stated
"But we don't exactly know what we're working with, y'know?" Ares said
"What do you mean?" Thalia asked
"I mean that we know that Hera and Zeus argue a lot but we don't know about the other two couples. And for that matter, we don't know how bad it is." Ares explained
"The fates are interfering. It is probably bad." Apollo pointed out
"Honestly, I've never heard dad and Amphitrite argue but I agree with both Apollo and Ares. It is probably bad for all three couples. We don't know what happens behind closed doors. But to figure out what to do, we need to know how bad it is." Percy said tentatively. The others nodded in agreement.
"Well, when it regards cheating, for Hades, Poseidon and Zeus, there's a party that my followers and the men and women that serve me are throwing. They're all extremely beautiful so that might work. If they get too attracted then that means that well, its really a lot to work on and if they don't then that's a good start." Aphrodite suggested
"I don't think that we can send them alone. We can't risk anything." Thalia said
"She's right." Apollo agreed
"Hmm. True. Maybe Percy, Nico and Jason could go with their fathers. They could say that it's a trip for the boys. Hermes and Apollo can be there. Everybody would think that you two are there on your own. I have to go either way so Ares can come with me. Thalia and Hazel are going to have to keep the wives busy." Aphrodite said
"True. That would be important and not too many questions either." Thalia nodded
"And you guys are going to have a keep an eye on our dads." Hazel told the ones who would be going to the party who nodded.
"We know." Percy assured her
"Are we allowed to take our partners?" Jason asked.
"Not this time. Because, your dads partners aren't going to be going and like it would be weird for them as well. This is kind of like a bachelor party except that there is going to be a lot more between the bachelor party and the wedding." Aphrodite said
"Right." Jason said "We can tell our partners though?" he asked. Aphrodite nodded. "Tell them not to tell anybody else." She said. Percy, Jason and Nico nodded.
"When is the party?" Nico asked
"Tomorrow." Aphrodite said
"Well, you told us early then." Thalia said with a raised eyebrow.
"Sorry." Aphrodite shrugged.
"So step one is planned. Guess we should plan the rest as things go on." Nico said. Everybody nodded and they adjourned their planning session.
Percy, Jason and Nico found the other gods and took their partners aside to tell them the plan. Annabeth, Piper and Will were surprisingly cool enough about it.
"Its all good. We trust you guys. Enjoy the party." Will grinned. Annabeth and Piper nodded in agreement. Percy, Jason and Nico exhaled in relief.
The six of them walked back and sat down casually.
"Wanna play cards or something?" Travis suggested
"I'm in for that." Clarisse shrugged. Everybody else nodded as well.
"Blackjack?" Percy asked "Because I don't do poker." He said "Any other card game is fine." He said.
"Mhm. Blackjack's good." Ares said
"We're going to have divide into 7 players per table then." Connor said. Everybody nodded.
Jason, Percy, Nico, Thalia, Hades, Poseidon and Zeus ended up sitting one table.
"Funny." Nico muttered to Percy who snickered.
"Probably the right time to ask them to the party?" Thalia muttered to Percy, Jason and Nico.
"Right." The three of them said unison.
"Start with small talk and all." Percy whispered to Jason and Nico who nodded.
"So, had fun?" Nico asked Hades while Zeus dealt the cards.
"Yeah. I'm glad Hazel liked her stuff as well." Hades said to Nico. "What about you?" he asked
"Well, I had fun." Nico stated
"I'm glad. What all did you and Persephone do?" Hades asked with a smile
"We went to the arcade and then to the movies." Nico stated
"Sounds fun." Thalia said. Nico nodded.
"Which reminds me, I got you a gift." Nico said to Hades who raised his eyebrows.
"Really?" he asked in surprise
"Yeah." Nico nodded. He pulled out the Cerberus toy from the bag that he was carrying with him.
"There you go." He grinned at Hades who looked at the toy with a grin of his own.
"I love it." He said "So would Cerberus." He added. Nico grinned and laughed.
"No doubt." He said
"I got you a guitar." Percy said to Nico as he remembered
"Wait. Seriously?" Nico asked
"Yep. There you go." Percy said as passed Nico a guitar case which was leaning against a wall in the garden where they were sitting. The garden was next to the sea so they could hear the waves lapping against the shore as well.
"Freaking- This has to be one of the best guitars I've seen. I mean, its pitch black." Nico said
"Pitch black, huh?" Hades asked Percy "Good taste, nephew." He said to Percy approvingly.
"Why, thank you uncle." Percy grinned
"And here you go, dad." Percy said, passing Poseidon a trident keychain which glowed different colors. The sea god grinned widely at his son who gave a matching grin. They all played cards for some time with conversation at all the tables along with some cheers and laughter as well.
"Hey guys, I was wondering that I had a day spend with Persephone, Percy hung out with Triton and Hazel had a day spend with dad so what about the three of us-" Nico gestured to himself, Percy and Jason "- have a day spend with you three-" He gestured to Hades, Poseidon and Zeus
"Just us 6?" Poseidon asked
"Yep." Percy said
"Sure." Poseidon grinned.
"I'm cool with that." Hades said with a grin as well.
"Why not?" Zeus shrugged. Jason, Percy and Nico grinned at them and at each other.
"Where though?" Poseidon asked
"What are you talking about?" Aphrodite came and asked as she saw the three demi youngers grin and figured that she should go and introduce the party because it would definitely seem weird if it came out of the demi youngers' mouths.
"For a place to hang out tomorrow." Jason said.
"Ah. Well, there is a party that my people are hosting. You could come to that." Aphrodite shrugged
"One of your parties?" Hades with a raised eyebrow
"Why not?" Aphrodite asked. Hades just shrugged.
"We could go." Hades said to the three demi youngers.
"Are they good?" Nico asked, continuing with the story
"Very good." Aphrodite replied
"Then maybe that's all right." Jason said
"I'm good with it." Poseidon said
"Me too." Zeus shrugged
"Great then. Thanks, Aphrodite." Percy said with a grin. Aphrodite nodded.
Now, the story may have been basic but the demi youngers pulled it off extremely smoothly.
"What's the dress code?" Jason asked Aphrodite. Now this, even they didn't know.
"Shorts, tshirt and shirts. No full pants or suits." Aphrodite said. The six of them nodded.
"I don't like shorts much." Hades shook his head once Aphrodite left. Nico chuckled.
"They're very comfortable." Nico assured him.
"Hopefully." Hades sighed
"Look dad, if you don't want to go…" Nico said
"That's not it. I do want to go." He said "Just haven't been to too many Aphrodite's parties. So I don't know how they go." He said
"It'll be all right." Nico smiled.
"Probably fun." Hades shrugged
At the end of the card games, there were four winners from each of the tables which were Hermes, Hades, Travis and Piper. The four of them had a final match which Hermes managed to win. The younger god grinned and whooped. Everybody else chuckled and cheered.
It was a windy night that day and the planners slept with the thought of the party the next day. Tomorrow, the function and methods were going to start…not to mention the awkwardness. The awkwardness was sure one happy thought (note the sarcasm).