A month-ish after their marriage
When Percy's wife was home, he called her Annabeth. Of course, he'd discussed it with her first, explaining that, while he was fine (more than fine) with her being the king of the gods, he wanted his Wise Girl too. She'd actually been happy with his request, much to his relief. They'd agreed that when she was home, they would try to have as normal of a life as they could. Her 'Annabeth' persona would remain her link to humanity—to normalcy.
And they tried to make their life normal. It… didn't always work, but that came with the territory of having divine power. It wasn't something either one of them could truly get rid of, and to be fair, it made cleaning the house much easier. Percy felt a little like he was cheating, using his control over water to mop the floor, do the dishes, or even clean carpets (instead of vacuuming), like he had in Tartarus. When he confessed that to his mother however, she simply commended him on his ingenuity and control when it came to said powers, confirming that he had every right to use any advantage he had over housework, even when back on the surface. He'd appreciated her words, although when he was feeling particularly restless, he would still break out the cleaning supplies, get down on his hands and knees, and scrub whatever needed cleaning. There was just something satisfying about using elbow grease to get something clean.
He tended to travel to camp a lot, mainly to instruct the new generation (Chiron's words, not his) and help with New Athens (Athena had been so pleased before her banishment, his father still was not, but no one had started a war over it, so he considered it a win). His wife (girlfriend at the time) had designed so many buildings there, making them stunning and functional, he couldn't help but be impressed. Of course, he always was with Annabeth's amazing skill and passion, but these buildings took it to the next level. Apparently, Zeus (before he'd finally been dethroned) had been actively jealous of the architecture in New Athens, so much so that he'd wanted to get Annabeth back to rebuild Olympus… again.
Which was so like the old council.
(Even with Annabeth in charge, he was withholding his opinion on the New Council. As much as he trusted his wife, Reyna, and Calypso, he still had a healthy aversion to gods as a whole, and didn't see that changing any time soon.)
When he wasn't at camp or his apartment, he was either at his mother's place, with Estelle, or hunting monsters. He hated that last one, but if he didn't hunt them down, he got too antsy waiting for the other shoe to drop, guilty about having to let other people handle it (he was working on that one), or just too restless and needed to vent some frustration. He didn't actually have to work. Perks of living with the king of the gods, and regardless, he likely could have gotten them to pay for his apartment in compensation for his mistreatment. Besides, handling the monsters around the city constituted a job in and of itself, even if it wasn't an officially sanctioned one.
All in all, he liked his new life. As much as he could while still recovering from his ordeal, in any case. The nightmares were still awful, but then, they always had been. And while they didn't compare to his nightmares in the Pit, that didn't stop him from hating them.
The really bad ones had him screaming out for Annabeth far too often.
And she was always there when he did. For which he couldn't be more grateful. He'd wake to find his head in her lap, or just her there, ready to hold him. More often than not, he'd end up just laying there, holding her for the rest of the night, whether he slept or not.
It was after one of those particularly upsetting nights about a month after their marriage as he'd been just laying there, with her in his arms for several hours, when he felt calm enough to bring up something he'd wanted to ask her.
"Annabeth… you haven't pressed me for my wish." She didn't answer, so he went on. "None of the New Council has." Still silence.
Finally she sighed, relaxing into him just a little more. "No. And I wasn't planning on it. You have a wish to be granted—an IOU, I suppose, from the gods who treated you so terribly for their own selfish needs and wants."
"Not you, though."
"Maybe," she whispered, "but I was still selfish. And I'm in charge of what's left of the Council that did that to you. Maybe Nemesis won't be entirely appeased, but I know that's up to those who are banished. I've done everything I could."
More silence as he nodded.
"I've been able to speak with my mother, you know," she whispered. "It's… really soon, but we're civil and I'm doing what I can to help her.
"Apparently, she tried to get Zeus—he doesn't have any domains in the new world yet, so they had similar amounts of power—and she tried to get him to regurgitate Metis. There was a fight over it and… it turns out she faded. She left something there inside Zeus that seems to have contributed to driving him mad, but I'd have to be there in person to take that out and he won't let me. Surprise, surprise. We'll have to address that at some point, but maybe once everything over there calms down.
"I think Mother always thought she'd get her mother back. It was a shock to her. Put some things into perspective."
He sensed a deep sadness from his wife. Perhaps she'd been wanting to meet her grandmother too? Or maybe she felt for her own mother who was in pain? He didn't know. He could empathize with someone losing their mother. He knew it would be difficult to watch his own mother go (understatement), but it was also Athena… and Annabeth had always been the best thing to come from that goddess in his opinion.
Okay, maybe that was him being uncharitable, but he knew he had extremely understandable resentment and was working on it. He had to remind himself of that far too often.
"I'm sorry," he finally said, not knowing what else to say.
She shook her head. "It has nothing to do with you, not your fault at all. And even if I'd been faster—had become immortal sooner somehow—I doubt it would have made any difference. So it has little to do with me."
"But it still hurts you."
She laughed and turned to face him. "You've been picking up on my mental health advice!" She looked delighted, even with the trace of sadness still in her eyes, and he loved seeing her like that.
"Of course," he said. "I'm around you as often as I can be. Something had to rub off."
Her grin widened and she leaned forward to kiss him. He let her, but he wasn't up for anything more, still wanting to have his question answered… which meant he should probably stop beating around the bush and letting himself get distracted by his gorgeous wife.
"You want me to use my wish to grant immortality," he said as he broke off the kiss. He didn't say it as an accusation, but it also wasn't a question.
Annabeth backed away from him until she could meet his eye, her smile fading. They stared at each other for several seconds before she looked away.
"Yes," she whispered.
Percy didn't say anything.
"I know it's selfish. We don't even know if we can grant you godhood at this point with your… unique circumstances, but I still want it. But that's why I didn't push you. And I still won't," her expression firmed into that determined look he loved so much. "Whatever you choose… I'll deal with it. As long as you're happy."
He appreciated that. More than he could say. "I love you."
"I love you, too," she said back, putting her head against his. He felt as if a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders—a weight he hadn't even realized was there.
After a moment, he snorted as an amusing thought crossed his mind. "What would I even be the god of?"
Annabeth seemed a little surprised. "You don't know?"
He frowned. "Should I?"
Her expression turned wry. "Seaweed Brain."
He shrugged. "Enlighten me then."
Her gray eyes glowed for a moment, but she nodded. "Yes. Your domains have evolved."
Percy winced a little and curled up tighter memories of Tartarus flooding through his mind.
"All demigods have domains, Percy," she whispered.
He nodded. "I know." Then he took a deep breath. "Go on."
She frowned, concerned. "Are you sure?"
No. But he nodded anyway. She didn't look convinced, but continued.
"You would likely share a domain of Loyalty with me, personal loyalty. You're loyal to your family, your friends, and the camps… so you'd likely become a god of heroes… or," she paused, tipping her head to one side, "no… demigods in general. Not necessarily ones who have great feats to their name."
Percy's eyebrows rose. Then he looked up thoughtfully. "I could get used to that idea," he said. "Anything else?"
She nodded. "Liquid is definitely in there."
He frowned. "Liquid?"
"In general… more like 'the state of being' liquid."
"Of course," he sighed.
She squeezed his arm in support, but went on. "And you have your tie to the ocean, so something there. Likely something…" she winced. "Um…" her eyes asked for permission to continue when she knew he wouldn't like what she would say.
He just nodded tiredly.
"Likely something destructive. And definitely something battle-related."
Yeah, he really should have guessed that. He hugged her closer.
"And I'd like to give you one more."
"Hmm?" he asked.
"It's entirely up to you whether you take it on or not… but…"
It was his turn to tip his head back and meet her gaze. "What is it?"
She swallowed and seemed to brace herself. "Change."
Percy blinked. "Change?"
Annabeth nodded. "Yeah. The waves, the water, the way you roll with punches, I think it would be a good domain for you."
He couldn't help but be a little flattered. Still…
She must have seen his confusion. "Percy?"
"It's just… isn't there already a God of Change?"
She shrugged. "Janus is the god of transitions, but typical transitions, like from child to adult, or the changing of the seasons."
"Doorways, beginnings, choices," Percy finished, thinking back to when they'd met the god in the Labyrinth all of those years ago.
Annabeth nodded. "Yes. But even he is set in his ways and we need someone who will push the gods to change. Someone who can help us change for the better, who can help humans change for the better, who can help demigods change for the better… someone who can help prevent stagnancy."
She bit her lip and looked down, pained. "Someone who can help me not become my predecessors."
Percy frowned. "I'll always help you, Wise Girl. Although, being the god of change sounds…"
Annabeth sighed. "Like an extremely difficult, thankless job? Yes. It does. It's why I'd give you the choice, and… why I think it might be too selfish of an ask.
"But the thing is," she went on, putting a hand on his cheek and meeting his eyes again. "I think you can do it. It's… well, it's what I would like to keep me in check — to keep the rest of us in check even as we transition into a different voting council."
He sighed again.
She touched their foreheads once more. "As much as I want that, though, I have to reiterate, you have a choice. And I will happily support whatever you choose. I love you, Percy. I want what's best for you, too. If you decide to ascend and you choose to take on everything, then I will support you. If you just decide to take on your natural domains, I will support you. If you decide not to ascend, I will support you." Even if it would break her heart, and they both knew it. "I won't blame you for whatever you choose. I promise."
He appreciated that. He really did. It was… just a lot to take in. So he nodded and sighed, focusing on the warmth of her body next to his, her silly pajamas with little, cartoon lightning strikes all over them—she wore them for a laugh, he assumed. Something to cheer him up. It worked.
But it also brought up another question. One he felt he had to ask.
"What's it like?" he whispered, eyes closed as he cuddled closer to her. "Becoming a god."
The silence that followed felt charged, and not in the physical way. In an emotional way he did not expect. He waited for her to answer, wondering if he'd gone too far, and was about to take the question back when she finally spoke.
"I won't lie to you, Percy. Becoming a god is the single most painful thing I've gone through. I'm including Tartarus in that."
He winced, but didn't say anything, willing her to go on.
"And when all's said and done, it… it's like giving up your human soul to become a part of nature, for better or worse." Her voice had grown distant, her eyes glazed. "I suppose a lot of people would love that, but nature is just as corruptible as anything else, up to and including humans. And when nature dies—when our domains die… we die. As much as we may or may not like it, with what we know, gods will be here as long as the earth is, and while that will be a long time yet… it still has a finite date.
"I don't think we go beyond that. Human souls can. I think… I think that's why mortals were created, not to die and change (though that was a good side effect) but to not be so tied to nature and the earth that human souls can outlast Earth's destruction. At least… that's my theory anyway. I'm not about to ask Kronos, who technically created the first mortals, even if he killed them all."
Once more, they fell into silence, both lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Annabeth touched his face again.
"Percy?"
He swallowed and looked down. "You… knew that, didn't you. When you ascended."
More silence.
"Yes."
Percy's voice fell to a whisper. "But you did it anyway… you gave up your humanity—what may very well be your immortal soul, if you're correct… for me.
He could practically feel her soften in his arms. "Yes. And I would do it again to save you." She laughed and kissed him yet again. "I think your loyalty has rubbed off on me."
He snorted and they both chuckled. He felt so warm he could burst just then, and he came to a conclusion.
"I'll do it," he said.
She blinked. "What?"
"I'll become immortal." Her eyes lit up, and she looked so happy he felt bad bursting her bubble. "But," he held up a finger.
She blinked but didn't say anything, so he went on.
"But not right now. Later. Please. I… don't think I'd make a very good god right now. I'm too broken."
Her smile turned so sad, and he hated to see that, but… it had to happen.
"Oh, Percy," she whispered.
"I know I'm getting better," he assured her. "And I plan on keeping going but… right now, I just want a semblance of a normal life. No death-defying quests to save the world. No ridiculous stunts to prove myself. Just… me, and my family." He squeezed her a little tighter. "Which does include you now, Wise Girl. I think it always has."
She kissed him again. "Yeah," she said, once she broke it off. "Whatever you want."
He grinned and kissed her this time.
"Now, I should probably get up for the day," he admitted.
She pouted, disappointed, but nodded. "Fine."
He kissed her once more, then rolled away and off the bed, landing on his feet and standing up, stretching.
"Thank you," he heard his wife whisper as he left. He just grinned.
xXx
Percy walked out of the shower twenty minutes later, having used the alone time to think about his decision and wondering if it was the right thing to do. He'd come to the conclusion that he'd made the right choice, but… it was still terrifying.
He walked into their living room, looking for his wife, and froze at what he saw. He hadn't expected it and really wasn't sure how to deal with it. His wife sat on their loveseat, looking both furious and like the goddess she was while still glaring at the other person in the room. Said other person looked quite a lot like his wife, but with just a touch of enhancement he knew was a godly domain in effect. The newcomer positively beamed as she looked between who he knew was his actual wife, and him.
Then he sighed. "Aphrodite," he said, contemplating whether he could go back to bed. It sounded nice. He could take Annabeth with him and cuddle her some more. That sounded lovely. So lovely.
"Perseus!"
"Percy," both he and Annabeth said at the same time.
Aphrodite giggled. It was beyond weird to see someone in the form of his wife giggle like that. Annabeth never had from what he could remember.
"Why are you here?" he finally asked.
"She wouldn't tell me until you came out," Annabeth growled.
Percy contemplated whether he should sit by her or not, and eventually made his way over. He raised his eyebrow in question, and she looked suddenly exasperated. Translation: Of course, Seaweed Brain, sit down.
Sending her a half-smile, he took the cushion beside her and faced Aphrodite, who just watched them with stars in her eyes. Literally.
Goddesses.
"I knew you two would be a love story to end all love stories! Sacrifice for the other! Tragedy in spades! All overcome at the end!"
"What. Do. You. Want?" Annabeth growled. Lightning flashed outside and Percy saw a very cloudy sky. Wasn't today supposed to be partly cloudy? He sighed again and shook his head at his wife fondly. He really couldn't blame her.
"I'm here to congratulate you!"
Percy frowned, puzzled, and exchanged a look with Annabeth.
"You congratulated us at our wedding."
"Multiple times," Annabeth muttered.
"And before that…" Percy said, thinking of several times she'd spoken to him… just showing up randomly.
"Multiple times," Annabeth said again.
"And since," he commented.
His wife sighed.
"You wouldn't just show up to congratulate us on that." He paused. "Again. Would you?"
She giggled. "No, silly. Not on your relationship. Although I still think it's so amazing our gracious king would get married to a mortal just to prove how serious she is about you, dear," she said, looking directly at Percy. "But no, I'm congratulating you on figuring it all out! Without anyone telling you much! I'm so thrilled!"
More exchanged glances.
"Figuring what all out, exactly?" Annabeth asked, dangerously neutral.
"Why mortals were created, silly!"
That took both Percy and Annabeth back, and their conversation that morning came back to him.
"Wait," Annabeth said slowly, "You mean…"
"Yes! You're right! We were going to have to tell you eventually, but we wanted to see if you could figure it out by yourself. My husband owes me so many favors and a foot massage! Because of course I'd win.
"But it does make sense, does it not? Just about everything Kronos related was banned after Zeus took over," she said. "The gods didn't make a secret of that, but no one wanted to follow in his footsteps. So why create mortals again? Why would Prometheus and your mother even want to, let alone collaborate to do so? On orders of Zeus even?
"Humans aren't supposed to be tied into the natural elements like gods are. For Zeus, it ticked off so many boxes. He would have people to give him worship—people who, if he tied himself to, theoretically he could continue to exist after the world's end as well. They were weaker than gods, not being tied into the natural energies around them, so no chance of them taking over." She giggled again, this time in satisfaction as Zeus had, indeed, been overthrown by the 'next generation'. A child of the child who had been predicted to overthrow him, even. "And it gave him someone to lord over and command."
"Such a great guy," Percy muttered.
Aphrodite shrugged. "We all have our weaknesses.
"But yes. Humans were still created so that when the natural energies of the earth ran out, a form of us would still have a chance at existing."
"Even though mortals are weaker?" Percy asked sardonically.
She shrugged. "Power in exchange for a chance. That was the deal. Surely you can understand that, Percy." She winked, likely referring to him giving up his own original offer for godhood to stay with Annabeth.
"Wait," the blond suddenly sat up straighter, thinking through something, "it's not about each generation getting weaker than the last—Primordials to Titans to Gods—but about refinement. Order… the farther we get from Chaos… the more chance we have to outlast problems?"
Aphrodite tipped her hand back and forth. "Sort of. It's more about the fact that anyone who can survive needs to have a remnant of all the energies. The ability to both love and think." She winked at the two of them again.
"OH!" Annabeth breathed. "Domains!"
Aphrodite beamed again. "Correct! Primordials all represented one domain: Gaia, Nix, Pontus. Because of that, they had ultimate power over that domain… and almost nothing else. Well, ultimate for our Pantheon, but I digress. Titans began to refine that, and now we gods who have tied ourselves to mortals—quite risky back when I was given the choice, I must say—have multiple domains. Mortals take that leaps and bounds farther because they have specialties. Things they're good at or that they're more inclined to, but still have the ability to learn other things through sheer hard work, something that is far more difficult as a god, as I'm sure you've discovered." She smiled at Annabeth, who huffed, but didn't deny it.
"Now, this doesn't apply to all Primordials and Titans or even all Gods. For instance, I named my son, Eros, after my uncle who I believe has left this world in my hands. I think he is one of the few powers not tied to Earth."
Annabeth frowned. "Explain."
Aphrodite nodded and continued. "Eros, the Primordial, no longer resides here on Earth. Whether he has faded or has gone to join Grandfather Chaos, I do not know. I believe I was born when he left, though—when the Titans took over."
Percy couldn't help but be surprised. "He left?"
"Oh, not entirely, at first, but eventually. I'm not sure if that is why I came to be—if he knew he would be leaving, but I suspect it is. Perhaps the world and its occupants are not capable of the raw power of unadulterated love." She swooned. Because Aphrodite. Percy rolled his eyes at the melodrama.
"All I do know is that when the sky father was killed, I was born from the only part of him that has ever shown love outside of himself. While his motivations were still selfish and I am not sure he was capable of any selfless love, it was still a form and symbol of the love he could feel. That fell into the realm of the only child who would not rise against him. I believe Oceanus loved his father as far as he could, or I would not be here as I am today. It was either a new form, expressed without my Uncle Eros' intervention, or perhaps simply an acknowledgment from him. And Oceanus was supported by those with him—those who loved him, adding to the effect."
She paused and smiled warmly at Percy, who tried not to blush. That looked like his wife. He had to glance at Annabeth, just to make sure she hadn't moved (even if he knew it was silly). The thoughtful expression on her face had him smiling, maybe a little goofily. That was even more his wife.
"And Percy," Aphrodite continued, "that is why I consider the ocean—and all that embodied at the time, so Pontus, Oceanus, everyone—my parents. It is also why I believe those born from or connected to the ocean can love the most deeply. That includes you, dear. Loyalty is, after all, a form of love in its truest form."
That… wait…
Percy blinked. "Um… Thank you, Lady Aphrodite? But… um… please don't take offense to this, but, I thought you were, like, the goddess of… romantic love."
She outright laughed at that. "Oh, I am! Though that's usually personified by my other side."
Percy's brow furrowed in confusion. "Your… Roman side?"
She giggled. "No, silly." She turned to Annabeth. "You didn't tell him this?"
His wife just shook her head at him, fondly exasperated. "I'm sure I have, but it is… confusing to modern standards."
Aphrodite nodded, her gorgeous blond curls bouncing with the slight movement as she turned to Percy again. "That is fair. Let me try. You see, Percy, I was originally as an offshoot—a child or fragment, if you will—of the sky Primordial, Ouranous. Later—much later—a girl was born to Zeus and Dione who also had a deep connection to love."
"Which Dione? I've always been curious," Annabeth said.
The love goddess just smiled. "There were at least four goddesses named that and no, I won't tell you which one is my mother."
Annabeth huffed, but didn't look that upset.
Percy, on the other hand, could not be more confused. "Your… mother?"
"Yes," Aphrodite nodded. "Do try to keep up dear. Now, there was some rather nasty business coming from how our domains overlapped so much that we ended up… joining essences, you could say. I believe you modern people call them epithets."
Annabeth outright snorted. "Modern? Epithets existed back in Ancient Greece."
Aphrodite sniffed haughtily. "Anything after the two or three centuries before Rome came into existence is modern." Was it just Percy, or did her form flicker to Venus for a moment there? And he couldn't even name an actual difference between how the two forms looked. They were just… not the same.
Gods made no sense.
The King of the Gods threw her hands up in exasperation (oh, more lightning and thunder). "Even if epithets didn't exist before then—and they did, even if that wasn't exactly what they were known by—that was more than 2500 years ago!"
Aphrodite just looked at her blankly. "And?"
Annabeth sighed. "That's not modern."
The love goddess shrugged.
Percy figured now might be a good time to step in. "Okay, let me get this straight: One side of you—one side of your Greek side… that is so confusing—considers herself to come from the ocean and the other side from Zeus and one of these four Goddesses… Diane?"
"Dione, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth muttered.
Aphrodite just eyed him in amusement. "Believe it or not, I don't remember my parentage, of either side of my essence."
Percy opened his mouth to say something about how Artemis helped her own mother birth her twin brother, but Annabeth squeezed his hand and he glanced over to see her shake her head. He supposed it wasn't a huge sticking point to their current conversation, or any of their business, so he closed his mouth and shrugged.
The older goddess looked amused. "In any case, going back to speaking of my uncle, I believe he joined his Father—that his own love helped him move past his limits, and we as gods can potentially do the same!"
"Potentially?" Annabeth asked.
Aphrodite shrugged. "I am the Goddess of love, not time. I cannot see into the future. Especially not that far. In any case, I do want to say I believe that if you both continue on as you have for each other, that your love can also help you last into eternity and not the end of our little rock in space.
"And I also believe that I have been here long enough. I have delivered my congratulations, and I encourage you to ask the other gods on the council about this. They all have very interesting points of view. Perhaps even your mother?"
Annabeth nodded, still looking like she was thinking something through. "Thank you, Aphrodite," she finally said, flashing a smile.
"Always! I love seeing you two together!" the love goddess said, then disappeared with a squee and… were those heart-bubbles floating in the air? What the…
Then he looked back at his wife. "Well, that had to be the most straightforward she's ever…" he faded off. His wife still stared straight ahead, gaze distant.
"Annabeth?" She didn't respond. He spoke a little louder. "Annabeth?"
"Percy," she said, looking a little worried and confused… like maybe she was having an existential crisis? A minor one, but still. Lightning and thunder outside again didn't seem to help matters. "She believes."
Percy blinked. "What?"
"She said she believed her uncle joined her father, she believes in us, she believes in her own domain. I mean, I suppose belief is part of her domain, but… she doesn't know. How can she not know?! About her own domain! And… and does that make her domain stronger or weaker because it embodies her domain? I… I don't understand!" She despaired.
Percy sighed. Yes, they were definitely going back to bed and cuddling until they both felt better.
xXx
AN: So yes, Prometheus and Athena were who the Greeks attributed the creation of humans/mortals to. At least, from what we can tell. Also, I always wanted to bring in the idea of epithets (or other sides and/or origins of gods and goddesses who had different powers than what they're usually known for in other regions-grossly simplified, recommend you look it up if you're interested), but Kronos' time was known as the golden age of gods. *scratches head* That doesn't quite work timeline wise, so here are my thoughts on it.
Disclaimer: PLEASE take these as simple thoughts, not as any attack on any religion or disrespect.
Also, thanks to my beta readers: Berix, The Shadow Slayer, Asterius Daemon, Quathis, and the Chronomancer!
Discord: discord. gg/xDDz3gqWfy (no spaces)