Fertility Deities and Lessons in Consent

by Luraia

New god Percy Jackson just wants to settle down with Annabeth and create lots of little godlings. Trying for a child, Percy impulsively summons a fertility goddess to receive her 'blessing' without realizing how exactly the blessing is transferred. Here's a hint: it's through sex. Instead, Percy and gender-fluid Hermes discuss consent and what it means when you can't say no.

1. Chapter 1

Full Summary: New god Percy Jackson just wants to settle down with his goddess wife Annabeth and create lots of little godlings. When they fail to make a child in six months of trying, Percy impulsively summons a fertility goddess to receive her 'blessing' without realizing how exactly the blessing is transferred. Here's a hint: it's through sex.

Incidentally, Hermes is the god of thieves, gamblers, roads, doorways, initiations, athletes, wayfarers, shepherds, and heraldry, among other things.

With such a big list, it's easy to forget he's also the god of fertility. And that he can easily change his form.

Note: Percy is now a god. So is Annabeth. No, I'm not going to explain it further. It's not important to the story.

Warnings: Non-Con/Rape, consent issues. There is no description of sex or rape, but both are discussed, mostly non-graphically but in adult terms. None of the main characters in this story are currently being depicted as rapists; if you want to know the exact situation before you read I've put it in the end notes to avoid spoilers.

I am aware some of the themes in this story are extremely sensitive. I've tried to warn with everything I could think of, but if you notice something I forgot please let me know.

Story

Percy Jackson waited until Annabeth was on a girl's night out, no matter that what Percy was about to do really should involve her. It was just that, he got the tip from Dionysus. If he was about to embarrass himself, he'd rather do it without any witnesses if at all possible. He'd done a bit of research himself, and it seemed to check out, no matter if Dionysus had clearly been snickering at his expense. That could well have simply been because of the nature of the problem Percy had reluctantly felt the need to share with him, though, and not because he was setting Percy up. Probably. Maybe. Oh, who was he kidding, this was a horrible idea. Still, he loved Annabeth enough, and was desperate enough, that he was willing to make a fool of himself on the off chance it worked.

He wasn't such a fool that he hadn't done a bit of his own research, of course. Sort of. Okay, he googled it. The goddess that Dionysus had directed him towards was supposed to be associated with marriage and was on the list of gods and goddesses for newlyweds to pray to. Some versions also said she was Hermes' wife, which was…awkward if true. Of all the gods out there Hermes was probably the only non-family one he considered a friend, and summoning his wife felt a bit like it should be against the bro code. And if not, then it felt like…like summoning his dad's wife to ask for a favor. Okay, it wouldn't be as bad as that, but it was the vibe he was feeling, nonetheless. It probably wasn't Hermes' wife, though. Hopefully. Other sources said she was some king's wife. Anyway, it sounded like the sort of person Percy needed to fix his…problem, hopefully without half of Olympus knowing about it afterwards.

"Candle, check," he muttered, as he arranged things before his altar. "Fish…why fish? Oh well, fish anyway. Two drachmas. Check."

As a god himself, altars took on a slightly different meaning than they did for mortals. They were more like a mixture of Facebook and an Amazon locker for gods than a place of worship. A way to contact one another and a way to receive offerings. Percy had been surprised to actually get the latter, from young half-bloods mostly who either sent a basic 'thinking of you, you are awesome' vibe or food. Percy had always thought it a bit silly, burning food as an offering to the gods, but it felt less silly when he received his first barbecue ribs. They weren't exactly like the real, unburnt thing; eating them was more like experiencing a memory of eating them than actually eating them. The flavor lingered in his mouth and he felt a warmth in his belly but nothing 'passed' through him like real food would.

Gods could also have space regularly dedicated to specific gods. Not only could family keep in touch, but there were hierarchies. Lesser gods had spaces dedicated to greater gods in their order, and vice versa. So far, most of Percy's dedicated contact space was taken up by family, his and Annabeth's, which made for an awkward arrangement because Poseidon's space could in no way mingle or encroach upon Athena's space without one or the other becoming annoyed.

There was also a small space for temporary arrangements; a standard candle and enough room, if one so chose, to arrange symbolic items for the god or goddess one wanted to contact. He could also use his hearth fire, but the candle felt more anonymous somehow. For this particular goddess, Dionysus had assured Percy, between snickers, that a single fish before a candle would suffice. So, checking for the billionth time that he really was alone, and likely not spied upon by any other deity (hopefully), he lit the candle.

"O Peitho," he said, "I call on you for fertility and make this offering in return." He tossed one of the two coins into the candle flame.

It flickered and the coin vanished. The flame flickered again, and then went out completely. Percy stared at it for a moment, wondering it that was it, and if it had worked, and if there was a time limit (in which case he really should have had Annabeth at home) or if he had just tossed a coin away to no avail. He fingered the second coin, rolling it between his fingers, wondering if he should relight the candle and try again, when he felt someone arrive.

He turned slowly, hand going to his pocket despite himself, senses suggesting 'intruder, danger, intruder!' His heart beat quick in his chest, his body readying itself for a fight, but he forced his hand away from his pocket, forced himself towards at least a semblance of calm. It wasn't an intruder. He had just invited her.

Peitho was, as one might expect of a fertility goddess, young and beautiful. Her hair flowed almost to her ankles in waves, following the curves of her body. Her hips were round and breasts were ample, and she had a quirk to her lips that suggested fun. That expression changed even as Percy turned to look at her to one of surprise, not quite an expression of horror but certainly not an expression of elation when she saw who had summoned her.

Percy wasn't faring much better. For one thing, she had appeared completely naked, and he was still too new to godhood, to adulthood, to feel comfortable with that. Both of them moved away from the other, Peitho by stepping backwards and Percy by trying to and almost falling into his own hearth, knocking the candle over, the fish to the floor, and the drachma rolling from his grasp into the far corner of the room. It wasn't just that a beautiful, very naked woman had just appeared to Percy while his wife was away, and that felt super wrong, no matter that he'd actually summoned the goddess for Annabeth.

If Percy had still been mortal, he would have been shocked, but only because of the nakedness and the shameful feeling of 'I shouldn't have done this behind Annabeth's back'. Because he was now a god, he had senses he hadn't had before. Gods and goddesses can change their forms to become animals. Most have a favored form to appear before mortals in, but they were not just that form. They made themselves smaller, safer, so as to not destroy the mortal with their presence. As a mortal, Percy had never known just how much was held back. A goddess appearing before a god had no such need to hold back. And, since physical forms could be changed like mortals changed clothes, gods and goddesses don't recognize each other with the sense of sight. It was hard to explain what sense they used instead. Just that Percy looked at the beautiful, very naked, woman, and he knew her.

"Hermes?!"

Maybe his voice went up an octave or two in his utter shock. He'd also automatically turned to look away and covered his eyes, feeling rather as if he'd walked in on his mom while she was naked. While his mom was naked and getting ready to seduce her husband. Argh. The absolute worst part was that his body had started to react to the available naked woman before his brain had processed who she was. He was? Double argh. Percy was going to find some way to curse Dionysus when he saw him next. Something horrible and petty, like constantly smelling wine he could not drink.

"Percy?!" said Peitho, her voice the voice of a goddess, not Hermes' deeper tone. It sounded just as shocked as Percy felt.

There was a long moment of silence and then, "Percy, you can look." She still sounded like a she, but somehow she did sound like Hermes, the same accent, the same…gentleness. And Percy knew that Hermes was a trickster god, that he played pranks on people, and he could well imagine him dreaming up this prank with Dionysus but…but Hermes had also helped Percy out when he could. Of all the big twelve, his own dad aside of course, he was maybe the only god Percy felt friendly towards. And anyways, he couldn't just sit on the floor covering his eyes like a child until the scary naked woman left, so he reminded himself that he was a grown man, that he wasn't some blushing virgin who had never touched a woman, and he lowered his hand.

Peitho/Hermes was clothed now. Granted, the chosen robes were revealing as all get-out, but they fully covered both the breasts and the groin, albeit barely. Percy had also come to his own senses enough to remember that gods have more control over their bodies than mortals and he could, if he wanted, will his growing erection down. Which he did. With extreme prejudice. Because there was no way he was going to become hard for Hermes.

The deity seemed to be over their own shock if the upturn of their lips and the laughter in their eyes was anything to go by. It was a look of pure mischief, and one Percy was very familiar with seeing, both on Hermes and on his children. In fact, now that he was paying attention, if he hadn't had godly senses, he might have taken her for one of Hermes' daughters. She settled herself on the ground, since Percy had yet to make any move to rise himself, carefully arranging her short chiton to maintain her modesty. She didn't seem to be trying to be seductive, but surely, she could have chosen something more ample? Percy's face did not turn red through sheer force of will, because what was the point of having godly powers if he couldn't use them to maintain his own dignity?

"I take it you did not know exactly who you were summoning?" she asked, laughter in her voice.

"No!" Percy answered loudly and quickly, and again had to remind himself that he was a god and if he didn't want to blush, he would not.

"And dare I ask what exactly you thought you were summoning me for, and who gave you my prayer?" Hermes asked next, expression still mischief and laughter. Despite that, Percy sensed a harder edge to this question. He wasn't sure what it meant; was Hermes annoyed with whoever had pranked Percy (because this had to be a prank), was he annoyed with Percy himself or was he just curious and Percy was perceiving it as something else?

"I…Annabeth and I…we wanted…er…" He paused, trying to decide if he really wanted to confess to Hermes why he had wanted Peitho. There was a reason he'd gone to Dionysus and not Hermes, and it wasn't just because he had a way to, hopefully, keep Dionysus from blabbing Percy's private life to everyone, something he couldn't guarantee with Hermes. He wasn't really introspective enough to understand why he shied away from sharing with Hermes, but at the end of the day he had never liked Dionysus and didn't really care if the god liked or respected Percy in return. That wasn't exactly the same with Hermes. But he had to share something, and at this point Hermes might well jump to the wrong conclusions if he said nothing and think it was something worse than it was.

"We've been trying for a baby and…and it hasn't been working even though it should be and…and Dionysus is a god of fertility and I thought…I asked…"

Hermes/Peitho did not exactly slap her hand across her face in a 'you idiot' motion, all she did was raise an eyebrow in fact, but Percy found himself stammering out excuses anyway.

"I didn't know any other fertility deities I could blackmail into keeping quiet about things and he does have, like, a bajilion kids sooooo, I asked and he named you. Peitho, you, I mean, and I looked you up and nowhere does it say you are the same person."

"Looked it up where?" Hermes/Peitho asked, sounding a bit bemused. "In the library of Olympus or…"

"The internet," Percy answered, feeling rather stupid because it seemed very likely a library for the gods would have much better, more up to date and true to life information than a human internet that relied upon centuries old texts as a resource. But he had been trying to be discrete, and in fairness, he wasn't really used to thinking of libraries as a place to learn things. Growing up with dyslexia, he hadn't mixed well with libraries which, at the heart of it, were mostly made up of books he couldn't read. Then Percy frowned, a new thought occurring to him. "Which you invented. Why wouldn't you keep information about yourself…well…true to yourself?"

"I don't run Wikipedia," Hermes/Peitho answered, sounding fond and amused now. Then their expression slowly changed, losing some of its mirth. "Percy…Hermes is also a fertility god. You could have come to me."

"I know," Percy answered quickly, because he had known. Well, maybe not that Hermes was a fertility god (on top of travel, inns, gambling, thieves, guiding souls, wrestling…was he just the god of every random thing no one else had claimed under the sun?). He had known Hermes was someone he could go to. He also could have gone to his dad. "I was…I like you…"

And of all the things to not grow out of, not even as an immortal god, it had to be his tendency to say the first thing that popped into his head without filter. "Not like…not like a woman…I mean you are a woman, right now, but I just want Annabeth, I mean, like a friend or…I don't know…I didn't want to tell you. I didn't want anyone I knew, like, cared about knew, to know."

"So…you told…Dionysus?"

"I had blackmail to keep him quiet!"

"What blackmail?"

"It was…hey, no, I'm not saying."

Hermes/Peitho looked like they approved, either of Percy blackmailing Dionysus or of him not sharing the blackmail with the first person to ask about it. If only Percy had something equally good on Hermes. He trusted him with a lot of things, but gossip was not one of them, and Percy had a sinking feeling that the entirety of Olympus would know his and Annabeth's business before the day was out. On the other hand, Hermes would likely care enough to actually help, unlike Dionysus. Would it really matter if Hermes spread the story around if Percy and Annabeth finally got what they had been trying for?

"So, you want a baby, and you've plowed your wife and your seed's still not taking root? After what…two years?"

"First, don't say it like that," Percy groaned. "It's like talking about sex with my mom. Second, we've only really been trying for six months. We were waiting at first. Only…only nothing."

The first statement had Hermes/Peitho adopting a blank expression and blinking a lot. The second had them purse their lips, their expression now thoughtful. Then they looked hard at Percy, up and down, as if trying to see through his very essence. Maybe they were.

"I don't see any problem with your…parts," they said, lips quirking as they clearly made the choice to sensor their language for Percy's sensibilities. "I'd have to see Annabeth to know if she is the problem. Where is she?"

"Girls night out," Percy answered.

"…You tried to summon a fertility goddess to fix your problems in bed and left out your wife?"

"I didn't want to get her hopes up if it didn't work!"

Hermes/Peitho nodded, thought for a moment longer, then bit their lip, as if suddenly rather nervous.

"Well, as the goddess Peitho, having been officially summoned by the god Perseus to fulfill a fertility rite, I can offer two solutions here. The first is that I can share my blessing, which should hopefully cause your next…moment of intimacy…to take root…regardless of whether you or your wife are cursed with infertility, taking precautions against success, or medically unable."

"We aren't medically…what do you mean cursed? Who would curse us? And we haven't been taking precautions, the opposite really."

Peitho/Hermes was staring intently at Percy now, still nervously biting their lip. It was cute, provocative even, which was disturbing as Percy again had to remind his own body not to respond. "I don't know, Percy. I'd need to see you together to know what the problem is. There are any number of gods or goddesses able to curse others with infertility, myself included. I haven't cursed you, of course, but someone could have. Not all the gods are comfortable with you and Annabeth, and they might be hoping to stop you from making…more dangerous godlings."

"But you can get around it with a blessing?"

Peitho/Hermes looked down, then up again through their eyelashes. Somehow they oozed with sexual energy but…Percy could not fully describe what they sensed. Something like reluctance, as if Peitho was not comfortable with her offer. Nothing in her expression said this, it was seductive and playful and teasing. But he sensed it nonetheless. Or maybe he just wanted to sense it, because he himself felt a growing sense of horror and revulsion at the idea of Hermes lusting after him. Peitho's voice grew deeper, not like she was morphing into Hermes but growing more sultry.

"If you wish for my blessing, reach completion in me, and your next coupling with your wife will be sure to succeed."

This was wrong. Wrong on so many levels. It was wrong for Hermes to be coming on to Percy like that, even if 'he' was currently a 'she'. This was Luke's dad. Percy had lived in his cabin as child. First met him as a child. It was wrong to bring up Annabeth while Peitho leaned towards him, all seduction and curves and female. It was wrong to make infidelity the price of a child.

So he might have overreacted a bit by physically shoving the goddess away from him, shouting, "Stop!"

Then he winced, because he might no longer be a mortal but Hermes was still one of the major pantheon gods and it didn't do to offend such deities. And because maybe he felt a little bad, because his mom had taught him better than to shove women around.

Hermes/Peitho didn't look offended. They stopped, just like Percy had asked, immediately and completely, and suddenly it was just a woman in a short dress and not a temptress seducer trying to get into his pants. They sat back, moved in part by the shove but mostly by their own volition, and they stared at Percy as if they were not sure what to make of him.

"If that's the price of your blessing," Percy said, slowly, trying to keep his voice respectful despite the creeping revulsion he still felt that was edging into anger, "Then I'd rather do without it, thanks."

"Price?" Hermes/Peitho asked, frowning, before dawning understanding overtook their features. "Percy…the coupling is the blessing. Didn't Dionysus…explain?"

"He…what?" Percy answered dumbly, almost getting whiplash from the way his emotions went from anger to confusion to embarrassment. Sitting calmly again, Hermes/Peitho huffed in exasperation. Percy wasn't sure if that was meant for him or Dionysus. Maybe both. Nonetheless, the goddess started to explain.

"You call Peitho and give your offering," she said, "and receive my blessing. The blessing is bestowed through the act of intercourse. It doesn't have to be fully penetrative sex; you can of course reach completion inside me, or I could suck you off, or even…we could use our hands. On each other. The important thing is that we both reach completion by each other's actions."

For one horrible moment, Percy actually considered it. It was for Annabeth, so it couldn't be considered cheating right? And they could just use their hands, not real sex, right? One quick fumble and…

And he'd never be able to look Hermes in the eye again. He'd have trouble looking Annabeth in the eye. He knew the gods were different, that they looked at sex differently from mortals. Even looked at consent differently; how many old myths included rape? Not that all of them were true, but…the stories came from somewhere. So the gods were different, and Percy was a god now, but…he didn't want to lose his humanity so completely as to be okay with this. It would have been bad enough if Peitho had been a stranger. But with Hermes…and Percy had to admit to himself, in this moment, it was like contemplating having sex with an uncle. Or would it be aunt? Anyway, gross and weird and wrong.

"I can't…not with you…not like this…"

Peitho/Hermes cocked their head contemplatively, then said, "I don't have to look like this. I can be anything you need me to be. I could be…" the physical form blurred for a moment, until it was Annabeth looking at him. Sort of. It was Annabeth's features. But it wasn't Annabeth's expressions, and it wasn't Annabeth's essence, which is what really mattered. Perhaps sensing Percy's revulsion, the form shifted back to Peitho. "Or…if you prefer a man…" Now it was Hermes, but not the Hermes as Percy had met him. This Hermes was younger, the form shirtless and provocative, what little cloth covering his groin already tenting with a growing erection.

"No," Percy said. The man did not fade back to Peitho but the tenting went down, the sexual energy calming once more. Hermes frowned at him, not in anger or annoyance but in pure confusion.

"I don't know what you want," he said. It was his voice, the voice Percy was used to. Maybe slightly higher in cadence, more youthful, but familiar.

"Not this," Percy answered forcefully.

"Do you…what if I…" for a moment, Hermes looked pained, as if bracing himself for something. Then the male form shifted, to another young male form, and in the next moment it was Luke looking at him. It fit Hermes better than Annabeth had, probably because he knew Luke better.

Hermes only held Luke's face for a moment. Percy didn't say a word, but clearly he'd projected his horror and revulsion well enough that Hermes changed yet again, back to the youthful Hermes form, still scantly dressed but thankfully without the erection this time. For a long moment, they just stared at each other, as if both were trying to decipher a foreign language.

Percy suddenly wondered if it wouldn't be better to move, off the floor to somewhere more comfortable. The closest place to sit was the bed, but there was no way Percy was going to make things more awkward than they were by moving things there. He stood and moved towards the kitchen instead, going to sit in one of the chairs. After a moment, Hermes followed. Once they were both sitting, a table between them, Percy had the strange notion that he should be offering Hermes something, a drink maybe. But this wasn't just a guest in his home, it was a summoned deity for a purpose. What if food and drink sealed the deal somehow and made things worse? In the end, it was Hermes who spoke first.

"You have asked for my blessing and I must bestow it," he said, his words slow and cautious and his tone still slightly puzzled, as if he were working out what to say even as he said the words. "But…the choice in how the blessing is bestowed is yours. If you truly do not wish for a fertility rite…I see two options here. The first is that you request your sacrifice be returned and I depart."

That sounded ideal, but this entire ordeal had happened because Percy had not known enough and had jumped in without fully researching everything. For all he knew, such a choice would have dire consequences. He had never heard of anyone 'taking back' a sacrifice, and the very thought of it sounded disrespectful and insulting. What if doing so would curse him with infertility, assuming he hadn't already been cursed? What if it ruined his relationship with Hermes? Quite aside from not wanting to mess up a sort-of friendship with one of the few other immortals he liked, he did not want to spend the rest of his immortality as an enemy of a god who had some control over, among other things, luck and travel.

Better to ask questions first and be fully informed.

"What is the second?" he asked, because it was the most obvious question.

"We await your wife's return and I see firsthand what might be preventing success in your unions. If there is a curse, I should be able to either lift it or inform you how to lift it yourself. This would fulfill the terms of our…agreement…and there would be no need for further blessings. Unless you requested one, of course."

Percy considered that for a moment. On the one hand, it felt the best solution for both solving the fertility issue and for making sure everything stays above board with Annabeth involved. On the other hand, it meant admitting to Annabeth what he had tried to do.

"If I ask for the coin back…what exactly happens?" he asked. Hermes tensed at the question, and Percy felt an unpleasant foreboding in his gut.

"I take the coin and I depart," he answered, stiffly. Then, less stiff, "I won't…I won't think less of you if you choose that path, Percy. I understand that you were…misinformed." Hermes' frowned deepened and he scowled, not towards Percy but towards the table, as he said, "I really must do something about Dionysus passing out that information to children."

"I'm not a child," Percy objected, before remembering that he didn't really want Hermes to think of him as an adult, or anyway, not as a sexual being.

"I didn't mean you exactly," Hermes said, smiling now, as if he found Percy's indignation amusing. Then, with a huff, he added, "Dionysus thinks its funny to share it with the campers from his cabin. They, in turn, like to pass it on around the camp."

Now that Percy thought about it, he did vaguely recall rumors of that nature. It hadn't meant much to him when he had been a tween, and he had spent too much of his teenage life fighting monsters to pursue such rumors. Some campers had definitely implied they'd had a good time, though.

"Wait…you make this offer with teenagers in the camp?!"

"No, of course not," Hermes answered, wrinkling his nose with distaste. "You kids sleep in my cabin before you're claimed. It's like you start off as my kids. It'd be like incest."

Percy very carefully did not point out that most godly pairings could be considered incest. It was actually good to know there was a god who had lines he would not cross.

"No," Hermes continued, "I either don't accept the coin or I help them pair up with someone their own age." Okay, maybe he would inch slightly over those lines, if he was encouraging teens to pair up, but he was a fertility god. Goddess. Whatever. He didn't have modern morals about teenage sex and it wasn't like he was the one sleeping with them. Then something he said registered.

"Wait, but you took my coin. Why didn't you just reject it?"

"Because you're a god?" Hermes said, looking at Percy now as if he had said a trick question.

"And that means you have to accept my coin?"

"Yes?"

They stared at one another for a long moment, while all the implications of that washed over Percy.

"That is messed up," Percy blurted out. Then, remembering who he was talking to, added, "No offence."

Hermes didn't look offended, just very confused.

"Why is it 'messed up'?" he asked, after a long moment.

Percy took another moment to answer, trying to force himself to filter his words so as to not say the first thing that popped into his head. Because the first thing was something along the lines of 'if you can't say no, isn't that rape?' Anyway, maybe he misunderstood. He'd already gotten so much of this wrong, he had to have misunderstood.

"You don't want to sleep with campers because they slept in your cabin and you think of them as children," he said, slowly, measuring his words.

"They are children," Hermes pointed out.

"But what about after they grow up…would you answer them then?"

"I…I'd consider it…I'd check in on them and guide them…"

"Would you have sex with them?" Percy put it as bluntly as he could, because sometimes understanding needed bluntness.

"No."

Percy nodded, having expected (hoped for) this answer. Hermes looked wary, like he wasn't sure he liked where this was going.

"I slept in your cabin."

"Yes."

"I was a child who slept in your cabin. I was friends with your son." The brief memory of Hermes taking Luke's form assaulted him and he shuddered, swallowing down his revulsion so he could finish his point. "You helped me like…like an uncle might."

"We are cousins," Hermes pointed out.

"Exactly. We're cousins and I was a child who slept in your cabin, the very thing you just said you would not sleep with. But. When I called you, you came. And you offered to have sex with me."

"I can still have sex with you if you…"

"No! No. I don't want to have sex with you. And you…you don't want to have sex with me. But you feel you…have to? Because I'm a god and I summoned you?"

"That's how it works," Hermes answered, sounding defensive now, going so far as to hug himself with his arms and glare down at the table. "I'm a fertility deity. I offer my blessing to those who sacrifice to me."

"What happens if…if a sacrifice happens and you say 'no'?" Percy asked. He looked at Hermes and his defensive hunched form. Hermes was still dressed provocatively, still youthful and sexy. It made Percy feel like he was trying to gently guide a younger demigod through the trauma of another monster attack, not like he were talking to a millennia old god who he had, in the past looked up to as a sort of mentor. Then Percy looked down at the table, feeling wretched and a bit ill, while he waited for Hermes to answer, wondering if it was even Percy's right to force the man to face whatever this was. Except…except maybe it wasn't what it sounded like. Percy felt a need to understand. Hermes' answer did not make him feel better.

"I…I don't say no. That's not how it works."

"But if you did…what would happen?"

Hermes tightened his hold on himself, and actually looked a bit lost, a bit confused, and impossibly young. He wasn't young, though, and after a moment, he loosened his hold and sat up straighter, and it was in a calm, unaffected voice that he answered.

"I suppose…the transaction would be left open. Uncompleted. I'd be unable to break the connection to the god or goddess's altar. Not a comfortable place to be. And if my father found out I'd evaded a blessing he would likely force the blessing to come to pass…and then pass judgement on my transgression and punish me as he sees fit."

He sounded so matter of fact, as if they were talking about a prank gone wrong. That didn't stop a growing sense of horror to rise up in Percy. He knew the gods could be horrible; he knew that firsthand. Knew that the gods had a different concept of both sex and consent but…

"Does it hurt you, me not…not having sex with you?" Percy asked next because it had to be asked. He wasn't sure what he'd do if the answer was 'yes'. Was it right for him to hold back, just because it bothered Percy (bothered both of them) if he was actually hurting Hermes by saying no? Which would be worse, making Hermes have sex that neither of them wanted or refusing that sex?

Percy should have researched this properly. He should have brought it up with his wife, his smart, clever wife who would have found all this out before summoning a goddess into their home and maybe dooming him/her to either be raped or face agonizing consequences.

"It could hurt if we don't ever complete the transaction," Hermes answered honestly, and he was looking at Percy carefully now, as if maybe wondering if Percy were going to hold this over his head. As if Percy would. Percy ignored the look and tried to think like Annabeth, to find the right questions to get the right answers.

"You said if Z…if your father found out you didn't bless a god who called on you…you could be punished. Does that mean if I request my coin back…would he see that as a reason for punishment?"

"He wouldn't punish you for it," Hermes answered quickly, earnestly, as if that was what Percy had been worried about. Though he probably should have been, now that he thought about it. But he trusted Hermes, at least when it came to his own wellbeing, and he didn't think Hermes would have offered that way out if he thought it would hurt Percy, not without warning him anyway.

"What about you?" Percy demanded. Hermes was silent.

"I will repeat," Percy said into the silence. "This is messed up."

Hermes considered this, then said, apropos of nothing, "I like having sex."

Percy didn't answer, not particularly sure why Hermes had shared that, or how to make him stop before the god started spouting out his sex life to his cousin.

"I like being a fertility deity," Hermes continued. "I have a strong libido, and giving blessings as requested lets me burn it off without hurting anyone. My cabin isn't just full because I take the unclaimed. I love easily and I enjoy expressing that love with sex, and being a fertility deity my unions are very often…fertile. And I love having children, even if I can't always show it like I'd like to. I do get something out of this, Percy. I was happy when this role was bestowed upon me by my father."

And I'll bet Zeus was the one who decided how your role worked, Percy managed not to say out loud, but his doubt must have been written all across his face because the disturbingly young Hermes huffed in exasperation.

"Most of the time it's fun." And he pouted. And that was probably even true. Percy enjoyed sex too, albeit he preferred that sex to be with the woman he loved, not with any random stranger who rang him up for a hookup. It didn't change the fact that 'most of the time' was not 'all of the time'. Or that it sounded very much like Hermes literally could not say 'no' to a hookup if the caller was another deity.

None of these thoughts stopped Percy's next question, which blurted out of his mouth in response to what Hermes had said before the 'it's fun' comment. "If I had sex with you as a woman, does that mean you could get pregnant with my child?"

Hermes actually laughed.

"Yes, if I wanted to. But usually I don't. It's one of the perks of being a fertility deity; I can choose how the plowing takes. Just imagine if every blessing resulted in a child! We'd be completely swamped in godlings!" And he laughed again.

Percy decided it would be too weird to follow up with the obvious question; had Hermes ever born a child? Following up on the 'most of the time' wording felt needlessly cruel. Percy wasn't sure what to say instead. Hermes stopped laughing and they both sat in silence for a long moment.

A part of Percy still wanted to push, to make Hermes admit that not being able to say 'no' if he wanted to was a problem. But how would that help, except to upset Hermes? It would be another kind of forcing something unwanted on Hermes, forcing him to confront his own rape. It's not like saying it was wrong would stop it from happening.

There had to be a way of stopping it from happening. Percy was beginning to feel something other than horror or disgust or worry or revulsion or all the other things that he had been feeling since a goddess had suddenly appeared behind him with the intent of seducing him, whether either of them wanted it or not. Anger, burning and fierce. But it wasn't the time or place, so Percy shoved it down and down and down again, and made a decision.

"We're going to wait for Annabeth."

It was the only solution that wouldn't end in unintended suffering. They could let Hermes/Peitho bestow a blessing without taking back a sacrifice, which Percy was fairly sure was a big god no-no, and without sex. Maybe they'd find out they were cursed and Hermes could solve it, and they could have a child, and they'd raise their new godling child to understand that gods can be flawed, and mortals can be wonderful and that consent is vital.

Percy lasted maybe five minutes into their wait before he decided waiting was the worst and made the rather dubious suggestion towards the god of gambling and luck and theft, among other things (like fertility) and said, "Want to play a game while we wait?"

"Sure," Hermes answered, losing the wary expression he'd had since their conversation had ended for a more familiar smirk. He produced cards, though where they'd been hidden when his clothing was practically nonexistent and lacking pockets, Percy couldn't have said. Percy sighed, knowing he was about to lose.

"No bets, mind," Percy insisted.

"Spoilsport," Hermes answered, but he was still smiling, shuffling the cards with the ease of a casino dealer. Percy watched him, and decided there was no way he was playing cards with Hermes.

"What about…chess?" Percy suggested instead. It was the first two-person game he could think of that neither sounded ridiculously juvenile nor prone to involve gambling. The grin that inspired on the god was positively diabolical.

"Perfect. You know, I invented chess."

"Oh, you did not," Percy exclaimed, and then tried hard to tell if Hermes were lying or not.

Despite Hermes' grin and dubious claim, Percy was bored enough that he still pulled out the chess set.

The fact that the game ended in accusations of cheating, which somehow turned into a wrestling match for Percy's king across the table should be surprising to no one. Nor, that it was at this moment that Annabeth finally returned home. To find her husband wrestling with a very underdressed, very young and attractive man over their kitchen table.

"It's not what it looks like!" Percy shouted, when he suddenly felt her presence, awkwardly aware all at once of how underdressed the man was that he had his arms wrapped around, and that their clenched fists completely hid the king they were fighting over.

"Really?" asked Annabeth, "Because it looks like you are wrestling with Hermes, the god who invented wrestling."

"Ha!" said Hermes, doing something underhanded that resulted in Percy being completely pinned and the king in the other god's hands. "Checkmate!"

It turned out, Annabeth had been cursed at the behest of a certain goddess who had never taken to her child's relationship with a son of Poseidon. Not that Hermes/Peitho said it in exactly those words, but the couple was able to read between the lines well enough to understand. Okay, Annabeth read between the lines and then read those non-existent lines to her husband with many carefully worded curses (because goddess or no one still can't curse another goddess like Athena outright).

Peitho/Hermes removed the curse and fulfilled their agreement, without the need to have sex with either of them. They did it in their female form, bowed, accepted the second drachma as a tip (Percy never did find where it had rolled to but somehow it was in the goddess's hands anyway). Then left.

Annabeth listened to the full story, called her husband many kinds of idiot, then quietly, after putting Peitho's newly bestowed blessing to good use, started putting her strategic mind towards how to overthrow the current state of affairs in Olympus. It was everything the gods had feared of them from the start, but never for the reasons the gods had thought.

"Wait, I thought you hated Hermes," Percy said, at some point in the middle of their post cordial plotting.

"Idiot," was her answer, which was all the explanation she ever gave.

Warnings/Spoilers: Hermes is a fertility deity. He takes on the role of Peitho, a goddess, to answer prayers and receive the sacrifice in return for her blessing. The blessing is given through the act of sex between him and the summoner. What form of sex, and what form Hermes takes on (male, female, whatever), is up to the summoner. For the most part, Hermes enjoys this role. Sometimes, half-bloods get ahold of the way to summon him (because Dionysus thinks it's funny and doesn't see the ethical issues). Hermes finds it too weird to have sex with campers or even former campers (equating it to incest; they slept in his cabin as children) and generally redirects them to someone else. But he does not redirect Percy after he summons him, in fact seems to try and seduce him, taking on different faces he thinks Percy might be attracted to, including Annabeth and Luke. They hold a discussion instead and it comes out that, when the summoner is a god or goddess rather than a mortal, Hermes is cannot say no to bestowing the blessing. Percy recognizes the implications of potential rape and is a bit horrified. Hermes is confused because he does not see the issue. It's not really resolved by the end because Percy realizes it would be cruel to force Hermes to see things like Percy sees things when that won't change anything. But there is definitely the suggestion he and Annabeth are not going to let this lie.

End Note: This is basically complete, but I have some ideas that could either be further chapters as they follow the same themes or separate fics in the future. I am considering, for instance, addressing the few myths out there involving Hermes as a rapist. I am unlikely to make him the 'bad' guy, as he is currently my favorite, so the myths will likely be heavily altered if I write about it.

Also, full confession, I've not read past Sea of Monsters yet. Anything beyond that I learned through google. So there maaaay be a few parts of this that contradict the lore Riordan created. So...consider this an alternate universe where things work slightly differently anytime you find something contradictory.