"This is really good."

"Thank you."

"I never thought rabbit could be this good."

"Thank you."

"I mean seriously, this is just… wow."

"You're laying it on a bit thick, aren't you?"

"Calypso." He said deadly seriously. "I could compliment your perfectly symmetrical face, or your full lips, or your incredibly captivating eyes until the moon fell out of orbit. Every word would be true but that would be laying it on thick." He took another bite and savored the taste for a moment. "This is just me telling you with utmost honesty that this is the best thing I've ever had."

She parted her lips for a moment in surprise before smiling with a faint golden blush. "Well thank you, Perseus."

"I should pay you for this."

"That's really not necessary."

"No, I'm serious. This feels like stealing. Like taking advantage of you."

"You're not."

"Well regardless, this is amazing." Another bite. "And you're amazing."

She said nothing, only looking at him with that same sad smile she had been since they started eating. Percy felt like he was rather attuned to sadness at this point, almost like an old friend really, so it was impossible not to notice how she looked at him.

Like looking at a dead man who didn't know it yet.

It was unnerving, and heartbreaking and he just wanted her to be happy so desperately.

He sat the beautifully hand carved wooden plate (seriously was there anything this woman couldn't do?) down on the beach next to him. "Tell me about yourself, Calypso." He said with a smile, because how could he look at her and not smile. "You're an amazing cook and seemingly an amazing everything but who are you really? And why are you here?" He paused and frowned for a moment. "And where is here?"

She looked at him with surprise, as if not expecting a question like that. "I told you, I am Calypso." It was her turn to pause and frown. "Do you not know what that means?"

"No. Should I?"

"If we are of the same world, as I think we are, then yes." She sighed and he was reminded of Ares for a moment. "Nevertheless, for your benefit, I will tell you." She sat up straight almost on reflex and stared at him with those emerald eyes that now seemed dim and far away. "I am the Titaness Calypso, Daughter of Atlas, The General of the Titan army's. As for why I am here, it's very simple. I supported him. The Titans lost, and The False King jailed me here on Ogygia as punishment." She smiled that same broken smile at him. "And what a magnificent punishment he dreamt up."

He processed the shocking new information as fast as he could. Titaness. Daughter of Atlas. Bearer of the Sky. Supporter of the Titan army. Imprisoned here on this beautiful island. Everything added up except for that last part.

"This island," he said. "What do they do to you here?"

"The cruelest thing they could without harming me, Perseus." Her eyes fell to the sand. "Once every couple of years, a decade, a century, whenever they see fit, they send a man here. The kind of man I could not help but fall hopelessly in love with." He could feel the pain rolling off her. "And each time, they leave." Her voice broke at the end and he desperately wanted to cradle her in his arms in that moment and it took everything he had to resist so as to not be too forward. She stared back at him again and he could see the unshed tears in her eyes. "That is what they do to me, Perseus. They offer me the gift of companionship, the hope of my punishment being lifted every time. And every time, I do hope. And I do love. And I am disappointed."

And she gave Percy that all too familiar look of wanting all of it, all the pain, all the disappointment, the rage, the misery, for everything to stop.

Looking at her he couldn't help but think, fuck being too forward. Without a second thought, he stood up and sat next to her, drawing her into his arms. She didn't cry. He was almost certain not a single tear left her eyes. But she was hurting enough that being in a stranger's arms was more comfort than nothing.

It was all too familiar and heartbreaking to see the same pain that he knew he had worn on his face multiple times mirrored back at him by a stunningly angelic immortal Titaness.

"I know you'll scoff at this, and might even be offended, but it's okay to cry." It was a risk. He knew that human beings weren't very trusting around each other, let alone immortals with literal lifetimes of pain.

Instead, she simply lifted her head off his chest and bored into him with those vibrant, green eyes. That broken smile still perfectly in place.

"I've no tears left, Perseus. If anything, I've accepted my fate. This isn't the old days, there are no heroes coming to save me on a quest from the Gods." She snorted, equally un-Titaness-like and adorable. "Not that they'd ever bestow a quest for the likes of me of course, but a girl can dream."

"I'll save you." He said before mentally slapping himself. "Help you, I mean. I'll help you."

She smiled cynically at him, an expression he found foreign on her compared to her warm features.

"Oh you will, Perseus? You'll give up everything you've ever loved, everyone you've ever known and stay here with me? Every dream you've ever had, unfulfilled and every action restrained by this hellish paradise? You'll do all of that for me, sweet boy?"

His mind reared, not expecting her barbed words. She was wrong, of course. He was as unrestrained as he'd ever been in his life, but even then, he imagined himself in another life. Unburdened by prophecy and godhood and internal prayers for carnage and destruction, hearing those same words, Percy had a hard time believing that he would ever say no.

In another life he would say yes. In this one, he'd say no. He couldn't stay, he couldn't promise her that, but maybe he could give her something even better.

"No." He said, noticing that her expression didn't change but her eyes lost even more life. "But I can come visit, and I can fix this. Your punishment, I mean." He said quickly to not incite more misery.

Her smile lost its cynicalness as she looked at him.

"No, darling. You will leave and go back to your life, or as much a life as the descendants of mythology can have, and you will remain there. No man finds Ogygia twice."

"What about Gods?"

Her brow furrowed in confusion. "What about them?"

"Gods can come back, can't they?"

"I have the occasional visitor every century or so from the council, yes. Why?"

He smiled. "Then I'll come back."

Her lips pursed in frustration, which he could understand. She hadn't asked why he was here or much about him at all, which he could understand as well. He supposed that anything she learned about the men who washed ashore just added to the heartache and made it more difficult to forget and move on.

She wouldn't forget about him, he was going to make sure of that.

"Is this a trick, Perseus? A game? I thought you better than that. Gods imprisoned me and only Gods may visit. And you, Perseus, are no God." Her words echoed Ares' when all this had started in the Poseidon Cabin. How long had it even been? Time no longer held the same significance it once did.

Regardless, the bottom line was she didn't believe him and was actually quite angry at him and that just wouldn't do. Beautiful, kind Titaness' don't come around very often. Or ever.

Closing his eyes, he willed his energy, his very Godhood to obey him. Ares had never taught him this, but It just seemed right. It wasn't like ideas being planted in his out of nowhere was new. Slowly, he felt that same murky orange envelope him as he focused. And the orange that filled his vision, even with his eyes closed, exploded. And he was certain he was no longer in a Chiton anymore.

As he opened his eyes, he confirmed to himself that the Chiton was certainly gone. He was armored head to toe in armor. Boots and pants of golden scales. Gauntlets of silver with deadly spikes running up the middle to a scaled chestplate adorned with a symbol of a serpent eating its own tail. A massive golden pauldron hung off his left shoulder, equally scaled and covered in ugly spikes. Thráfstis hung across his back. He reached up and took off the helmet that had appeared. A plume of scales ran down the back and covered the front, leading to two openings for his eyes and curved downward into fangs for an opening for his mouth.

Smiling, he bent his knee and bowed his head. "Lord Theós Perseus, at your service Lady Calypso."

She was silent for a moment, so much so that he looked up at her. She stared at him, her viridescent eyes unblinking.

"It's not very Greek, is it?"

He chuckled. She was right. And what did that mean? That the fates would choose something like this as his battle attire. He lost his mirth as he thought of his transcendence.

"This is The Fall of Olympus."

"No, I guess it's not. I'm, uh, I'm new. Brand new to you, I guess."

Her eyes had lost any warmth they once had. They were cold now, calculating. Analyzing him up and down, more than likely seeing if she could take him down. She didn't like her odds as he noticed she had taken a few steps back.

"Who sent you?" She asked after a moment.

"What?"

"Who. Sent. You?" Gritted teeth. Wild eyes. Fists clenched so hard that drops of gold fell at her feet.

"Calypso, nobody sent me. I told you the truth, I needed to get away, I wound up-"

"Bullshit." She spat at him. His eyes widened at words, never had he imagined words like that coming out of her mouth. "I know your kind. You are born to serve, whether a parent or a teacher. You exist for dirty work. Gods do not have free will, your king made sure of that."

Percy sighed and closed his eyes, willing the armor away. Back in his chiton, he slowly stood up and walked over to the logs they had been sitting on. He didn't dare look at her, the way her bright eyes could look at him with such coldness, it was too much. He slowly sank into the sand, leaning his back against the log and staring up at the sky. How pathetic. He was invincible, The Fates had named him God Destroyer, The King of The Gods was so terrified of him he would have slaughtered him in his crib if he was able to.

And here he was, one shitty moment after another, because he kept getting his feelings hurt.

Percy laughed. He couldn't help himself anymore. Him. The problem child of the lower east side. King of detention and killer of school buses.

One of the most powerful beings on Earth.

Tears rolled down his cheeks now. He couldn't stop laughing. The universe really did have a sense of humor, it must have, because that was a hell of a punchline.

"Okay Calypso, you wanna know why I'm here? Siddown, I've got a story for you." The stupid smile wouldn't leave his face, even as she looked at him like he was psychotic. He shrugged his shoulders. "Or stand, but I was playing therapist before and now it's your turn. You're gonna get a kick out of this. I've got a lot of shit to air out."

She said nothing, but slowly walked towards him. Keeping her distance, she sat down across from him and mirrored his position. She was still untrusting, he could see it in her eyes, but he could also that spark of curiosity.

Fine by Percy, that's all he needed. He thought for a moment, but decided to just let the words flow out of him.

"My mom, she was born in Jersey but she was a New Yorker at heart. Lived there for a couple years before me. Well, I use the word lived very generously but we'll get to that eventually. The thing is, it's no wonder she had the music taste she did. Billy Joel, The Ramones, Foreigner, of course, that's a mom staple. But she had nuance, you know? Always said she was a "cool mom", so she also introduced me to The Strokes and The Beastie Boys, and she also dug Jay Z and Biggie and Nas. I mean, it was the 90s in Manhattan when I was little, it took more effort not to like rap, so yeah, she was a cool mom."

"You know those names mean nothing to me."

Percy stared at her. He should've been upset at her for interrupting, he supposed, but she was engaging with him so that was a win, and even more so, she was just too pretty to be upset with.

"Somehow you're as beautiful when you frown as when you smile. You didn't need to tell me you were a Titaness, I'd have figured out you were divine just by looking at you."

He smiled as that golden blush returned. He couldn't bring himself to feel any animosity toward her. Quite the opposite really, with all that she had told him it was only natural for her to react around gods like that. Really, what was he thinking? God or not, he was still impulsive enough to make things ten times harder on himself.

Good to know some things wouldn't change with immortality.

"Don't worry about it, I'll show you all of them sometime. But what I was getting to was that she also had a clear favorite. Sinatra. She had every single one of his records. Hell, the nicest thing we owned was this record player she found behind the back of a RadioShack on West 23rd. She cleaned it up, repaired it herself. How, I have no idea. But it was playing something whenever I came home from school, well, when I actually had the choice to come back from school. So Sinatra would be playing, and she'd be in the kitchen humming along or just belting it when she was in the mood. And every time I was upset, every time something got me down or got into a fight or something, she'd just walk over, pick up his greatest hits record and drop the needle in the exact spot that 'That's Life' would play. And she'd just make me listen to it."

"She would make you listen to music? Why?" He stopped to smile at her, because none of what he was saying made any sense to her and he knew that, but she was indulging him all the same.

"Just one particular song, because it's about the inconsistencies of life. About how it can be so good then so bad. But the guy, he always gets back up and tries again. And she'd just look at me with this expression that I could never really understand, and she'd say to me, the same damn thing everytime, she'd say, "What're you gonna do about it?"

He threw his head back and laughed again, picturing her expression in his head, somewhere half in between disappointed and amused.

"What-" he paused again and chuckled, "What kinda mom does that, right? I mean really, you'd think she'd have reacted in just about a million other ways, right? But not her, not Sally, she was anything but normal or predictable."

"Where is she now? You sound like you miss her." The smile disappeared from his face as quickly as it formed. It wasn't her fault, he'd have to get around to it at some point.

"Well, that's a difficult question to answer. The woman who raised me, who I call mom? She's nowhere, not here, not in Elysium or in the Underworld. My mother? She's somewhere out there. That's the reason I brought all this up, despite knowing it 'means nothing to you'." Percy said, holding up air quotes. "But it will, eventually, I promise you that. But, yeah, the inconsistencies of life, the ups and downs, flying high in April, shot down in May. I guess the beginning is when I get to camp so we'll start there."

And so he did.

"I… I don't… how?"

"Yeah, I guess that's a pretty fair reaction."

"Perseus, this is… complicated. Almost impossibly so, even for our world. You… you are something new, something equally impossible for our world." She raised a perfect eyebrow at him as her lips turned upwards. "I have no doubt many would consider your very existence abhorrent, blasphemous even."

He chuckled at that, to which she started giggling and eventually they were both hunched over, full belly laughing as their foreheads nearly touched.

Percy was suddenly intimately aware of the fact that this was the closest he'd ever been to a female who wasn't his mother. Instinctively, a confident smile slipped over his face, one that he definitely couldn't back up. Before he even knew what he was doing, his mouth had already started moving. "I guess the only opinion on my existence that matters to me is yours, my lady. Do you find me blasphemous?"

She looked at him with an indecipherable expression, she was so close he could feel the warmth of her breath. His smile didn't waver at her silence, though he was internally freaking out because for some reason, this Titaness, this woman, had such an intense hold on him that he had never thought another being could have.

But that was a lie. He knew the reason, he was entirely head over heels for her.

Couldn't it have happened after this whole prophecy bullshit was done?

"Yes. Yes, I do find you quite blasphemous." Her words shocked him out of his musings and he snapped his head up to look at her and- had she always been this close? "You are… unholy, a living weapon with no instruction, which makes you dangerous to everyone. You are deicide incarnate, a walking harbinger for a war to come that will change all that we know. You are… intoxicating."

He absorbed her every word, too stunned, too in awe to move, even as she moved closer, pressing her forehead to his. Her green eyes bore into him as she continued. "You could set the world ablaze, tear reality asunder. You are Lucifer, the face that impossible beacons of power see in their nightmares. Your existence is a crime, and I find it beautiful."

He was on fire. Her nose touching his, her fingers tracing circles on his cheek. "You are a little boy, who's world has been perverted and shattered, thrust into impossible expectations. You are a child, who misses his parents. You are a man with awful, great power who will decide the fate of the world. You are a god of gods." Both arms thrown around his neck, she was practically on top of him. Inferno. "I must confess, my lord, that I find myself quite smitten with this blasphemous, unholy, hellish God of Destruction."

Time is standing still. There is no past or future, there is only now. And right now, Percy feels like being the God of Charm is the universe's second greatest punchline, because what he was feeling, what she was doing to him, he had no words.

"Calypso, I- I don't know what to-"

And then her lips crashed into his.

There are no prophecies, no fate or destinies to fulfill. No expectations, no Titan lords and no Gods. Only one. Only her.

God is a woman, and she is merciless.

Cinnamon and fir. She tasted like cinnamon and fir and she felt like…

She felt like home and a place he'd never been before.

His blood is liquid fire and his body feels lighter than air and heavier than ever before at the same time.

He can't think. What is there to think about?

He's finally found the meaning of life.

She pulls away and cold reality sets back in, but only for a moment until he sees how she's looking at him. It's not a bright toothy grin but it might as well be, because the way she's smiling, the way her eyes are positively glowing, the way her posture exudes comfort.

How she's looking at him like he's not an atomic bomb waiting to explode.

And he can't help the tears that trail down his cheeks as he pulls her closer to him, and even as she melds with his own flesh she still seems so impossibly far. And they keep falling as she strokes his hair, rubbing circles on his back while whispering sweet nothings in his ear. They stay like that for what feels like forever. Well after his eyes have dried up, she's still there.

Eventually, she tugged his head back gently, forcing him to meet her shining eyes. "Listen to me, Perseus. You are not a tool of fate. You are whatever you choose to be. And most importantly, you are not alone. Darling, you will never be alone again."

And Percy believes her, because she says so and her word is gospel.

"You will come back to me." He stared into her eyes. "Whenever you can, whenever you want a moment of peace, whether to talk or to love or to just simply be." Her smile widened, her impossibly white teeth seeming to glimmer in the sunset. "Or whenever the devil needs a shoulder to cry on."

He smiled without thinking. Her joy was infectious and he couldn't help it. "So is that what I am? The devil?"

Her eyes sparkled with mirth. "And why not? You're already being treated as such. The Gods could certainly use one, as their behavior isn't going to stop out of the goodness of their hearts. Play your role, love. Embrace it."

Confidence surged through him as he smirked playfully. "I don't think you're supposed to shove your tongue down the devil's throat."

To his surprise, she mirrored his expression, eyes narrowing at him like an animal on the hunt. "A thousand apologies, my lord. Please be merciful." She leaned forward until her lips were almost touching his ear. "Are you going to punish me, my lord?"

He eloquently devolved into a coughing fit while turning a furious gold, Calypso laughing like a madman.

"You are-" he tried before coughing again. "You are impossible."

"I do try, darling." She said, flashing a blazing smile. "But really, be the devil, take what you've been given and forge something new from it. And don't look at it as a bad thing, really, I think the devil's appearance has been long overdue."

"I always wanted to be a hero, though, y'know? But I don't really have a choice, do I?"

"Perseus, are you The God of Evil?"

He blinked rapidly. "Uh, no."

"So why can't you be a hero?"

He blinked again. "Because I'm the devil."

She giggled at him like he was a child being unintentionally obtuse about something simple. "Silly boy, you're the devil to them. To The King and the council and to all their loyal subjects. But our world is bigger than them, it always has been even if they'd like to ignore it. You are the devil but you are good. So I have no doubt that whatever you go on to do, whatever choices you make, you will be celebrated and revered as you deserve to be. Like a hero."

He sighed and leaned back against the log, staring up at the orange sunset as he processed her words. Calypso laid next to him, her head on his shoulder as she did the same.

"I miss Helios and Selene. And Eos of course. This was always their favorite time, Helios' because he couldn't wait to get off his chariot and Selene's because she couldn't wait to get on it. Eos' because Selene would finally stop complaining about Helios." She said quietly. It broke his heart, she had been helping him with his suffering while she was carrying millenniums of pain.

He wanted to keep the conversation on a lighter note, they'd had enough therapy for today and he wanted to know more about her. "Were you close with them? Before the war?"

"Oh yes! They were Hyperion's children but they were closer to my age anyway. They were much more like their mother though. Eos is still out there, doing gods know what." Her tone brightened considerably as she lifted her head and smirked at him. "Helios and your mother were quite close for a time."

He sputtered for a second, unsure how to even respond to that. "Close… how?"

She giggled as he turned golden. "Close enough for you to have a sister." Her eyes suddenly narrowed in annoyance. "Clever little bitch, Circe, but your family all the same. Now that I think about it, the resemblance is rather uncanny." Her eyes softened as she put a hand under his chin, angling his face to her liking. "You're much prettier, though."

He blushed as his eyes widened in understanding. Circe. Yes he'd definitely heard of her before, suddenly very grateful that Chiron had made them cover The Iliad and The Odyssey last semester. "Do you know where she is? Maybe she knows where my mother is." It was a shot in the dark, and he didn't know when he'd even have the time to track her down, but it was all he had at the moment.

She eyed him curiously. "Unless Odysseus lied some four thousand years ago, she'd be somewhere in The Sea of Monsters. I hope you're not thinking of dropping everything and pursuing her, Perseus. You have much more pressing matters at the moment, and her temperament on the best of days isn't very welcoming."

He snorted in amusement, imagining the scene of Odysseus' crew being turned into pigs at the banquet table. He wouldn't be going anytime soon, but he was already preparing himself for quite the confrontation when he did. "No, I know. I have master bolts to give away to Titan serving demigods and all that." He pulled her closer to him, frowning in annoyance and relishing in her warmth at the same time. "I wish you could come with me. War and The Smith are great, they really are, but you… you just make everything brighter. And you understand me, know what I am and everything, and you still kissed me for some reason." He paused for a moment, unsure whether to even ask, but the truth was it made him uneasy. What were they? The Greeks were notoriously promiscuous, so was a relationship even possible when polygamy was so ingrained into immortals? Against his better judgment, he opted to voice his concerns. "About that, Calypso… What are we exactly?"

She tilted her head in confusion before noting the expression on his face, eyes widening in understanding as her lips pursed. "Yes, I suppose we do need to clear that up." She grabbed his chin again, rougher than before, and stared into his eyes. "I am yours and you are mine. Only mine." Her green eyes flashed as she spoke, her words like iron. "I don't ask for much, Perseus, but that is non-negotiable. Do you understand, darling?"

Percy was surprised at how she was speaking to him, sure, but he was more surprised by her words. Surprised and thrilled. A relieved smile broke onto his face. "Yes, dear."

Calypso smiled, but didn't release him. It seemed she was only getting started. "I am under no illusion, I understand you are a god with responsibilities and bear a heavy burden, but you are first and foremost a man and I am a woman. You will not neglect me, you will care for me and you will love me. You will go out and you will do amazing things, you will be worshiped by many, gods and mortals alike. Women will throw themselves at your feet but you won't even give them a passing glance, because you are mine." He listened with rapt attention, too stunned to speak. "As I said before, you will return to me whenever you can. You will not break me, you will not make me care for you, open my heart to you, and then leave me. I am admittedly selfish, and would like nothing more than to keep you here, basking in your company while denying the rest of the world your very existence. So I will settle for your presence, whether it be minutes or days, alone with me. Do I make myself clear, Perseus?"

He stared into her eyes, feeling as if he was only mortal, because this, this was divinity. How could he ever be compared to her, how could he ever be called a god while she walked the earth? "Yes, Calypso. Crystal." He said breathily, feeling as if he had witnessed something he was totally unworthy of.

Her smile widened as her grip softened, fingers tracing his jawline. "Then that is your answer as to what we are, though I thought that rather obvious. What an oblivious god you are, my lord. Do be on the lookout in the future for more pretty girls on islands who pounce on you like an animal in heat." She said wryly as she flicked him on the nose, shrieking in laughter as he hauled her off the ground and onto his shoulder, banging her fists into his back as he walked across the beach.

"Put me down, Perseus!" She screamed as he whistled to the tune of 'Unwritten', the last song he could remember hearing on the radio, pretending he couldn't hear her. He felt good, better than he'd felt these past couple of weeks, that was for sure. He winced as Calypso began to dig her nails into his exposed shoulders and yielded to her, lowering her to the sand. She crossed her arms with a huff and pouted at him, the sheer cuteness making him wonder if it was too early to propose. "You're a riot, darling. Truly, a magnificent display of your power on a poor, defenseless woman." She drawled, her tone frigid while her eyes betrayed her humor. Surveying the sky, she broke and smiled dazzlingly at him. "Sun's almost down, love. You'd better get back to your merry band of traitors."

Percy frowned, realizing she was right. He'd been away for hours and he'd no idea what state Ares and Hephaestus would be in when he got back, but delaying it wouldn't help. "Yeah, I guess it's about time." He furrowed his brow at her, feeling like something was a bit off. "Shouldn't you be… I don't know, sadder? That I'm leaving?"

She giggled at him, leaving him once again feeling like a child in the dark. "Silly boy, aren't you a humble one? How can I be sad when, for the first time, I can say goodbye knowing I'll see you again? Can you imagine that? Whether I ever leave this island or not, knowing that you'll be here again, it's more than enough, darling." She said as she leaned forward, capturing his lips once more.

She had no idea what she did to him, she couldn't have with how confident she seemed. It was to be expected, he guessed. She was as old as his mother after all. His eyes widened as she pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. An epiphany shot through him, was he dating the ultimate MILF? Were his mommy issues so bad that he'd immediately sought someone to fill the void? Lightning coursed through his body as she scraped her nails across his back, and he quickly decided he didn't care. To his disappointment she pulled away from him, though she stayed within his embrace. "Go on." She said, smiling brightly. "Get out of here. But don't leave me alone for too long, understand?"

He nodded in understanding, squeezing her tight once more before stepping back. He pictured the forge in his mind as he began to glow. One thing was eating at him though, and he decided what the hell? He'd find a way.

"Calypso?" She squinted at him, his body burning bright.

"Yes, darling?"

"I'm gonna get you off this island. One way or another. I swear it on the Styx."

He didn't get a chance to see her face, but he imagined it would be twisted in anger. Telling him not to be stupid, that he didn't have to do that. The thought made him smile as he transcended space and time. He'd find a way.