Percy quickly regretted not taking Dionysus up on his offer for a drink during dinner.
Simply put, the party was a madhouse. And not an 'everyone cut loose and have a good time' kind of madhouse but more of the 'size up the people around you and see what you can do advance your own station' sort. The latter was, if you asked Percy, objectively worse. The sky bearer was quickly learning why his mother and Aphrodite seemed so averse to anything political.
Ever since he and his fiancé had descended from the palace, Percy had been fighting off the urge to uncap Riptide and go to town on a decorative bush or two just to make himself feel better. The calming grip of the goddess' hand on the crook of his elbow and the way Sally had practically power-walked over immediately were the only reasons he didn't give in.
Ares might have called being flanked by the two women 'emasculating' or something equally asinine. Percy just cared that if his body decided to give out in either direction that someone friendly would be there to catch him, though his mother's dark gray dress would probably be ruined by the effort. The greatest evidence of the sky bearer's continuous mastery of his domains was the fact that the surrounding trees only shook a little instead of ripping out of their roots entirely.
That was good progress. Plus, the breeze consistently mussed up everyone's outfits. Watching the numerous chattering socialites repeatedly try and fail to fix their hair was as humorous as the evening was probably going to get. Aphrodite didn't have to worry about that, obviously, and Percy had long gotten used to the feeling of his curls waving in the never-ending swirl. Sally seemed to be immune from such trivial concerns.
As it turned out, 'the main courtyard of the palace of the gods and goddesses of Olympus', as Zeus had put it, was on the direct opposite side of the building from the balcony Percy had accidentally torn up on his last visit. It was a rather beautiful location, if themed similarly. Large, gold, and marble were the words of the evening yet again.
A few yards to Percy's rear sat the long set of stairs he had descended down a few minutes ago. It was a testament to how in-demand the young god's attention was that he hadn't even made it more than dozen paces away from the stairway's base. The steps rose a story or two upward to the back entrance to the palace, wide enough for a dozen people to lay down head to toe. The descending levels were flanked on either side by a row of meticulously shaped trees that effectively drew the eye to what lay at the bottom. Sunken a level below the palace, a great tiled rectangle unfolded.
The space was of equal artistry to everything else on Olympus - giant columns on all sides held up a latticework of vine-laden beams that provided enough shade from the setting sun without feeling constricted. A thousand hanging candles, suspended in tinted glass balls, flickered overhead. Further out lay a long, open grass space that led all the way to the sheer drop off the edge of the mountain. The view of the cloud layer below was picturesque as always. Winged silhouettes wandered in lazy circles far above the crisscross roof, wings dark against as the open sky above.
The floor was patterned with inlaid gold and silver swirls, all leading to the center of the courtyard. As the lowest point in the space, the subtle fog crawling from beneath Percy's shoes created a low-lying mist just above the glittering tiles that contributed to the otherworldly atmosphere. There were several small structures ringing the plaza, no more than open serving windows with a roof overhead. Circular tables with comfortable lounge-chairs were layered in front of the surrounding buildings, each decorated with silk tassels of pink and blue.
There were a few places serving equally dainty and pretentious hors d'oeuvres, but on close inspection it was obvious that most of the structures were bars. Numerous staff members wearing either Zeus' white and gold or his son's purple and red were busy serving drinks from an absurd number of alcohol bottles on the shelves. Some were glowing ominously. A veritable army of them weaved in and out of the crowd like ghosts, silently offering glasses and refreshments to any who even glanced their way.
The place was packed. Percy didn't consider that a good thing.
"It's so good to finally meet the man of the hour!" Case in point, the over-eager deity currently attempting to shake Percy's arm out of its socket. "You know when I heard that there was another wind god around, well." The smile on the man's face was almost as plastic as his complexion. "I just had to see for myself. We have to stick together, you know! Congratulations, by the way." The last sentence was lazily tacked on in a way Percy didn't quite appreciate.
When the blue-clad stranger had nimbly slid into the front of the greeting line, Percy had been struck by the sensation of looking into a wacky funhouse mirror. It was like someone had taken his form, added on a few decades while taking away several inches, and then ran it through a couple of blur filters for good measure. It was at least nice for his confidence to know how bad he could have ended up looking.
Sky-colored suit with realistic moving clouds? Check. White hair? Check. Far too much makeup to be attractive or even healthy? Unfortunately. It was like someone had put a stereotypical car salesman into a microwave and hit 'defrost'. Everything just ended up smooth and melty and slightly unpleasant.
Aphrodite had barely had time to whisper the name 'Aeolus' out of the corner of her mouth before he was upon them. Not that Percy didn't already know who it was, but the gesture was kind enough to earn her a grateful glance.
"A pleasure." Percy couldn't be bothered to lift more than one half of his lips at this point. "Master of winds, was it?" The son of Poseidon pulled the words straight from the whispered voice of his betrothed in the back of his mind. It meant he sounded a bit more . . . eloquent and aggressive than he normally would have preferred, but it was easier than coming up with the responses on his own. At least he hadn't started speaking French by accident. Yet.
"Oh, you flatter me." Aeolus' smile looked like it was attempting to stretch off his head. He was still holding Percy's hand. "We don't have to get into semantics, my friend! I'm just a- a- manager, you could say. I take care of the little day to day things, stuff you Olympians shouldn't have to worry about." The sky bearer resisted the urge to wipe his palm on his suit jacket as the man's grip finally released. "I certainly won't be stepping on any of your toes! Not that I could even if I wanted to."
That last sentence came out unexpectedly dark despite the god's cheerful face. Percy was suddenly glad they weren't touching anymore.
"Where are the four Anemoi?" Aphrodite to the rescue. In the painted sunset light the goddess of love somehow looked even more beautiful than she always did. Percy could have sworn her waving hair kept changing colors, like a russet rainbow. "A shame the four winds couldn't make it, considering how . . . applicable my beloved's domains happen to be. Quel dommage." The deep magenta silk of her attire twinkled as much as the sharp glint in her eyes. "They'll have to catch up at a later date. Do give them our regards, won't you?"
"Of course, Lady Aphrodite." One of Aeolus' smooth cheeks twitched beneath a half-inch of foundation. "I'm afraid there is far too much paperwork currently to leave things completely unattended. What with the new Olympian, and all." The minor wind god chuckled, but it was clear only he found the sentence humorous. "As soon as they can be spared, you'll be the first to know." Now that Percy was looking closer, Aeolus' milky irises were almost completely overtaken by his blown-out pupils.
Unsettling.
"Well, it was nice to chat." Sally's voice was barely pretending to be engaged on Percy's left-hand side. It seemed the woman was equally as fed up with all the political grandstanding and hidden agendas. "Say hello to Iphimedia for me." It was a clear dismissal, if a polite one.
Once again, Percy was struck by his mother's apparently intimate knowledge of Olympus' inner workings. He didn't even remember the name of Aeolus' wife, though he knew the minor god was married. The younger Jackson had never thought Sally as the kind to play such verbal games, but she was more than holding her own. He watched as she tiredly waved off a servant carrying dark glasses that smelled like vodka on steroids.
"Of course. Ta ta!" With a strange wave that had his fingers looking more liquid than solid, Aeolus faded back into the circling bodies.
One down, far too many to go. Percy had never wondered what it felt like to be a piece of chum in the middle of a shark week special episode. He now had very intimate, first hand knowledge of the subject. The man had been the object of so much brown-nosing in the past fifteen minutes that Percy was worried his face might be permanently stained.
The crowd had been waiting the moment the newest Olympian and his even newer fiancé had swept out the back doors of the palace. Percy's emotions were held together with no more than duct tape and dreams, but it had been enough to get through the rest of the dinner that was somehow even more awkward than before. As they descended arm in arm, Percy felt like he was being immersed into a vat of rainbow jelly. Auras assaulted him on every side, only the teal mist from his own pores holding it all at bay. The moment they stepped off the final stair, it was like the entirety of Olympus saw the green light.
Things had started off relatively tame. His mother, obviously, got first dibs. Percy wasn't sure anyone could have stopped her from cutting to the front anyway. Sally had taken one look at her son's strained expression and had instantly taken up her current vigil. After that it had been minor god this, lord of that, so many introductions the sky bearer's head spun. The fact that each was clearly trying to get something out of him made it all the more grating.
The crowd was arranged in tiers, with the most aggressive barely a couple steps away. They pretended to talk to each other while the newly engaged couple were occupied, but their gazes never strayed too far from their target. Strangely, none of them were Olympians - Percy figured that his new family either saw themselves as above such things or were confident they would get to snag his ear at some point later on. Maybe both. As a general rule, the closer the party-goer the more ostentatious the outfit and attitude.
The second tier were those who didn't have as much of an agenda, other than perhaps gauging Percy for themselves and maintaining their own image. Aeolus had belonged to this group. The minor wind god had seemed more concerned with showing his face enough to be seen before promptly vanishing. With the absurd amount of hidden ill-intent in that interaction, Percy was glad he was gone.
The third and furthest away were the most interesting. This was the group who were present for other reasons, whether that be by coercion, friendship, or otherwise. This was most of the Olympians, typically occupied with various other goings-on. Percy's father had his own circling gaggle of political leeches, as did Zeus. Hades, strangely enough, had basically no one near his table. The pale god leisurely sipped on a glass, content to observe in silence. Percy was jealous. He was surprised to see his uncle sitting alone - perhaps Persephone couldn't attend?
By contrast, Poseidon had arrived with a veritable army of his own servants as well as what must have been half of the Atlantean court. They even seemed to all have coordinated the colors of their outfits in various shades of blue. On the god's arm stood yet another clearly divine woman, completely gorgeous by all mortal standards. Her long black hair was pinned back with a fine net of pearls and silk, topped off by a circlet of polished red crab claws. Dark mocha eyes surveyed the scene, a practiced smile pulling at her soft features.
Amphitrite certainly lived up to the title of 'most beautiful of the Nereids'. Though, in one sky bearer's opinion, she was still several shades less stunning than Aphrodite. She also, clearly, had an interest in Percy. Or, more specifically, in him and his mother.
Much like Hera on the other side of the courtyard, the Queen of Atlantis and wife of Poseidon looked their way every few minutes. The sky bearer couldn't decipher the emotion behind her discerning glances. Her husband was much less covert, constantly peering over to see if the crowd had sufficiently diffused. That was yet another conversation Percy was hoping to put off as long as possible.
Past the hustle and bustle, nearly out on the grass and perhaps feeling slightly out of place, there were a few remaining figures. Two small groups of demigods huddled together, separated clearly into huntresses and non-huntresses. Artemis stood in the center of the latter camp. The goddess was practically swaddled by dark leather and moonlight cloaks, very clearly avoiding everyone else. Some huntresses looked past the age of twenty, while the youngest couldn't have been more than ten.
Strangely enough the non-huntress group was color coordinated, this time in various pinks and violets. Each demigod was outfitted in either a pressed suit or a flowing dress that most definitely cost more than any non-deity could afford on their own. Percy knew who they were. It was obvious, especially when they all seemed to glow with an otherworldly attractiveness that almost rivaled a few of the minor deities in the crowd.
When he had first laid eyes on the group, the sky bearer's chest had constricted as his eyes flashed to each face individually. It wasn't until Percy breathed a sigh of relief that he knew what he was looking for. While the youngest was, well, young, none of them could have been less than seven. Hell, most of them looked close to his age.
The knot in the young god's stomach unwound significantly with that observation, even as he gained yet more appreciation for his betrothed. The vow she had sworn was a comforting glow next to Percy's heart, more physical than words. He knew it wasn't his place to judge - there had been nothing official until earlier that week. Aphrodite was a grown Olympian who could make her own choices, and it would have been terrible of him to judge her for her own . . . exploits. And yet, despite all of that?
It made Percy feel a bit better.
In between the two groups were Grover, Annabeth, and Thalia. They honestly looked about as much of a wreck as Percy felt on the inside. The trio were still dressed to storm a dining room rather than waltz on the dance floor. The two females had each received a lecture from their respective godly parent, loud enough that you didn't need super-human hearing to make it out. Neither demigod seemed apologetic. The satyr, meanwhile, was doing his best to not be perceived by hiding behind a glowering Thalia.
All in all, Percy was having a not so good time. It wasn't helped by the fact that Aphrodite hadn't been in the greatest of moods from the beginning. Jealously, it seemed, was something that both of them would have to be aware of.
The first major road bump the couple had encountered was a group of scantily clad women that approached as a unit. Each was an exotic beauty of a high enough caliber to give a mortal man a raging nosebleed. With sweeping bows that purposefully put their . . . assets on full display and directly in Percy's line of sight, they had introduced themselves as the five major Potamoi - embodiments of the greatest rivers on Earth.
Nile was a lithe Egyptian woman with sharp features and luxurious dark hair. Amazon was the kind of tan Brazillian that belonged on the cover of a swimsuit magazine and knew it. Yangtze was dressed in a gorgeous traditional Chinese Cheongsam, eyes more striking than any human woman's. Mississippi seemed to walk the line between southern belle and high-town socialite, with the charisma for both. Yenisei was a cold Russian beauty, with brilliant white locks and shoulders that could have bench pressed an entire country.
The first to speak was Nile, the clear leader of the group. The woman spoke with a sort of ancient flare that dipped into a dark accent. She had made it immediately and abundantly clear that each of the river goddesses was simply tickled pink to have Percy serving as their new king. The Potamoi finished by snatching the young Olympian's hand and laying a wet kiss on his knuckles that went on far too long to be proper. Nile's lips landed so close to his swirling engagement ring that it couldn't have been a coincidence.
The motion had Aphrodite growling in the back of her throat, pink aura sharp and dangerous on the sky bearer's shoulders. Her fingers, both real and phantom, were so tight that Percy's elbow creaked dangerously. The man was a bit worried his fiancé would break the limb when the four other rivers followed suit, each kiss lasting longer than the previous. Not as much as he feared she would take the river deity's heads off out of spite, though.
Were Percy a weaker person, and also not wholly unimpressed, he might have been tempted by the group's thinly-veiled innuendos. The reputation of Olympians to take consorts was clearly on display, as each of the rivers seemed genuinely surprised when the sky bearer wasn't swayed a single inch. Percy clearly observed as each of the cunning women re-evaluated their tactics to gain his favor as they slunk back into the crowd.
They would be back, that much was unfortunately clear.
The next test had been one of Percy's own. Sweeping out of the horde, seemingly in droves, came haughty males who strutted like peacocks in front of Aphrodite. Each word was a blatant backhanded comparison. 'Does my hair not look dark and silky tonight' or 'I prefer to stay lithe and suave rather than so bulky. It does wonders for endurance, you know'. The sky bearer almost didn't believe their gall.
Percy hadn't realized his hatred for Ares and Artemis could take a backseat until Sally had literally stopped him from clocking one minor god across the jaw when he got a step too close to the deity of love. With the way a fiery gale rumbled under his skin, perhaps it wasn't Aphrodite who was the real threat to cause a beheading.
The courtyard wind hadn't been so kind, forcefully ripping several tiles from the ground beneath his feet and crushing the man's toes. It seemed like the vultures were simply waiting for Aphrodite to remove herself from his side, and some of their eyes made clear they believed she would be sweeping right into their bedchambers.
Thankfully, Percy's betrothed had the perfect counter to every advance. 'I rather prefer the light and curly,' had been good for his ego, while 'I think you'll find my fiancé lacking in neither strength nor endurance. Could you perhaps be looking for tips? It seems you need them' had been his favorite line all night. Seeing the deity of love effortlessly tear down every single challenger had been cathartic, but the weight of Riptide in his pocket made beating the snot out of each of them sound much more appealing.
After the last had been suitably verbally humiliated, Percy had finally felt like he could breathe a sigh of relief. Not a moment later, Aphrodite had forcefully pulled his chin over her direction with dark, claw-tipped fingers. Their ends were sharp enough to leave tiny, exciting pricks on the man's skin as she moved them face to face. Like always, Percy was completely spellbound by the sight of her.
Instead of saying anything, the goddess merely leaned up and planted a warm, toe-curling kiss on the right side of his lips. When Aphrodite pulled back, the promise of much more behind her red velvet eyes made Percy's self-control entirely worth it. The deliciously smug, completely possessive look she shot at every other woman nearby had him puffing out his chest.
"Finally." Sally seemed to deflate as the crowd got the message, the empty circle around Percy expanding by a few yards. "I thought that would go on forever." As if summoned by her weary tone, a gold-clad servant appeared by her side brandishing a tray of sparkling beverages. Sally jumped a bit before huffing in exasperation. "No thank you."
She shooed the nondescript male away with a hand. Without looking, her other reached back to smack Percy's fingers as they twitched in the tray's direction. For a moment the younger Jackson considered grabbing it with the wind instead. But, somehow, he knew that Sally would find a way to block that too.
"Fine." Percy took back his arm, running his hand through his curls instead to keep it occupied. "But yeah. Same." The man couldn't help the grimace that painted his features. Standing in the center of such a mass of deities was giving him a headache. When he glanced around, the shadows on the floor were significantly longer than they had been when he arrived.
"Dieu. That was worse than even I expected." The sky bearer told himself that he wasn't jealous as Aphrodite's free hand lifted a drink that she had somehow swiped without Sally noticing. She sniffed the glass, and only took a sip when she was confident it wasn't wine. "Perhaps I simply never minded it before . . ." The goddess' musing turned down with one corner of her mouth.
A sudden rush of something protective in Percy's chest had him squeezing the dainty fingers on his arm with his own. Aphrodite smiled at him, the expression still almost blinding, but that guilty veil behind her face remained. The gold locket around his neck hung heavy for a moment.
"Well, as adorable as you two are together," Sally's amused tone interrupted the moment. The woman shook her head, the ends of her graying hair brushing either shoulder. "If you can handle it, I'd rather go have an actually enjoyable conversation with someone." Her comforting weight slipped from her son's side, leaving him feeling unbalanced for a second. Sally's blue eyes searched Percy's own at the motion.
"We'll be okay." The sky bearer answered once he had found his footing again. "You can go." He gave his mother a crooked half-smile. Not quite sure what to do with his hanging other arm, Percy shoved his fist into his pocket. It didn't quite stop the green mist that fell from each knuckle from spilling over his wrist onto the ground.
"Well then." Sally stepped close briefly, touching a couple of fingers to both her son and Aphrodite's shoulders. "Congratulations, you two." The way she said it was a thousand times more earnest than Percy had heard that entire night. It warmed his heart significantly.
With a little wave and a whirl of her dress, the mortal woman was strutting away. Percy watched as her path through the loosened crowd took her directly towards the table where Demeter was busy entertaining a gaggle of nature-inclined nymphs. That was certainly surprising, but doubly so was the way the harvest deity brightened when Sally strolled up. The goddess' deep verdant dress seemed to soak up the flickering candlelight.
"Huh." Percy only looked away once his mother was comfortably seated in the circle. Away from his presence, the elder Jackson seemed to blend more naturally into the crowd. Apparently he needed to have another talk with her about her divine connections.
"They're both mothers who thought they lost their child." Aphrodite's insightful commentary was quiet enough to be meant for his ears only. Percy watched as his aunt flagged down a servant and plucked a small plate of food for his mother. "You might not be able to call them friends exactly, je ne pense pas, but there is a connection there." The goddess' tone was a sympathetic sonata, lyrical even when the story went mostly unsaid.
Percy didn't reply.
"Well." Aphrodite hummed, the music of her tone a bit lighter than before. "It seems it is just us now, beloved." The goddess deftly laid her now empty glass on a passing servant's tray without even looking. Percy blinked. How fast had she drunk that? "What would you have us do, mon cher?" Aphrodite turned her face back to him with the question. The sky bearer hoped he was just imagining the increased pink of her cheeks, but then again the goddess always had a natural sort of blush to her skin.
Putting the thought away, Percy pursed his lips. What he wanted to do and what he probably should do were very different things. Looking over the head of the crowd had become surprisingly habitual in the past hour or so as the young Olympian went through his options.
With just a glance, Percy's glowing eyes first locked back onto the trio far out on the grass. Thalia was still stewing, but Grover had come out from behind his demigod/huntress shield. He had apparently been coaxed into a conversation by Annabeth, who seemed a tad more relaxed.
Percy's enhanced vision watched as the daughter of Athena absently rubbed at one of her armor's shoulder clasps, before stormy gray eyes flicked his direction. They locked gazes across the courtyard. The blond flinched visibly, then turned away.
By contrast, Poseidon's eyes were waiting for Percy's own. Stormy blue met teal green over the circling crowd. The god of the sea inclined his head a bit, but the thin press of his lips made it obvious that he wasn't having a much better time than his son. At least on that they could agree. The crown on Poseidon's dark hair shone in the waning light.
Amphitrite was still watching. So was Hera.
Both female immortals had politely interested expressions, the kind that made it clear they wanted to talk but were willing to bide their time. That, honestly, made each much more dangerous than the dime-a-dozen minor goddesses that fluttered about the courtyard. Hera was technically standing as Zeus' right hand, but her fingers were hovering just over his elbow without actually touching the god of thunder. Still, neither of them made Percy as nervous as the sight of the group of pink-clad demigods further beyond.
Well, leaving the packed floor sounded appealing. And going that direction was a two-for-one, though not the good kind. Any slightly optimistic feelings he had about talking with Grover, Annabeth, and Thalia were far outweighed by meeting a bunch of people barely younger than he was and telling them he was their new step-dad.
Oh boy.
"I could use a breath of fresh air." Gods bless Aphrodite for picking up on Percy's intent immediately. The love deity tugged on his arm a bit as she led the way. The goddess weaved through bodies like a ballerina on pointe, an effortless flow to each motion that Percy both struggled to copy and look away from. They had nearly reached the edge of the tiles when he felt it.
"Perseus!" The taste of copper and iron on Percy's tongue was as unwelcome as the faux cheerful voice that called from the crowd. "I'm glad that I could catch you." When the sky bearer turned, Aphrodite followed. A haze of gory red parted the crowd like the sea of the same color in front of their eyes. "I wanted to . . . congratulate the new couple." A set of dark aviators and a too-perfect smile emerged, green and pink clashing with crimson in the air.
"Ares." Percy thought his blood would freeze in his veins with how icy Aphrodite's tone came out. "Alone, this evening?" The love deity straightened, the ends of her fox-tail hair rising a bit. She was tense behind that perfect face. Percy's fingers had found Riptide in his pocket in an instant.
"Ah, you know how it is." The god of war had both hands shoved casually in his red suit-pants. The white of his teeth was a stark contrast to the deep black of his shiny hair. "I don't plan to be for long." Half-transparent viscera dripped to the ground with each step, the pressure in the colored air growing as Ares neared. The tiled floor cleared around them, leaving a twenty foot circle of open space on all sides.
Percy's warning glare was ignored. The clouds around his shoes swirled into tight, coalescing spirals. The rafters above creaked dangerously.
"Hmm." Aphrodite hummed. Her swirling irises had that pink neon circle again. "I suppose not all of us can be so lucky to enter on the arm of the most attractive man on Olympus. Mes condoléances." Her mocking smile was sharp, but her grip on Percy's arm was tight as a clamped vice. "If you're looking for someone with a bit more estrogen, might I suggest a mirror?" That inspired a few hushed whispers. One nearby party-goer almost choked on his drink.
"Witty as ever." Ares appeared unbothered, but Percy had caught the twitch of his left eyelid. The god stopped his approach only a couple feet away. He smelled of smoke and blood. "But that's not the only thing that mouth is good for, hmm?" Now the gasps were loud.
Percy didn't even realize he had stepped forward until Aphrodite had jerked him to a halt. Her lips had raised into a barely controlled sneer. Percy's face was deadly still. Ares' smile widened, if such a thing was even possible.
"Did you need something?" The sky bearer didn't feel in control of his mouth as the words came out. Percy's voice was more than his own, several overlapping layers of tone and whisper.
The floor rumbled ominously and the crowd edged further away, the gravity of the surrounding air fluctuating. He could feel the eyes of every other Olympian on the interaction, no matter how many bodies hid them from mortal view. Percy almost welcomed the sensation.
"Hey, big guy. Fuckin' relax." Ares pulled his hands out to hold them up in a placating gesture. "Don't dish it out if you can't take it back, right?" His eyes didn't match his tone. "You better keep his leash short, Aphrodite. Don't want anybody getting hurt." Behind the sunglasses there was nothing but a burning hatred.
"Make your point." Aphrodite sniffed, her gaze equally displeased. "And then begone." It was the most clipped Percy had ever heard her speak. Those sharp stilettos looked more like bladed weapons beneath the goddess' dark cocktail dress.
"Huh. Must be that time of the month." As if he hadn't just said something disgustingly sexist, and also not at all applicable to a literal goddess, Ares held out one hand to Percy with a confidence that made it clear he expected it to be shook. "Just wanted to welcome you to the family, Perseus."
For several seconds the war deity stood with his arm extended. The idea of touching him and experiencing the god's aura skin to skin made Percy's stomach roll, but after another silent moment it was clear that Ares wasn't going to move otherwise. The sky bearer's eyes were still seeing the world through a green filter, the hushed voices at the base of his skull all muttering and displeased. He had a feeling the god of war wasn't going to let this be as quick as he hoped. Percy was right.
The moment their hands met, it was like Ares was trying to crush stone in his palm. His dark eyes glinted with satisfaction as the pressure increased. It was such a stereotypically masculine response that Percy was almost caught off guard. For a mortal, or even a minor god, Ares' grip might have crushed their bones to dust.
Percy was neither.
His hands had held up The Burden. He had taken the weight of all of the heavens without buckling once. Ares could generate no amount of force, physical or otherwise, that could even come close to comparing. With a teal blaze roaring in his core, Percy met Ares with his own smile and squeezed. Ares hid his flinch, but not well enough.
"Thank you." The son of Poseidon could admit to feeling a sort of enjoyment at the current turn of events. "It's an honor to be welcomed with such open arms." Ares' knuckles were turning white beneath Percy's fingers. The clashing of their respective auras fell from their conjoined hands in dark, muddled clumps. The sensation wasn't anywhere close to pleasant, but Percy wasn't going to lose.
Not one to take the punishment laying down, Ares did something then that no one expected. Rather than release or double down, he took a step forward, directly into Percy's personal space. Before the sky bearer could move away, the god's whispered tone froze him in place.
"I'd say enjoy your sloppy seconds, but we both know it's a lot more than that." Ares' tone was brimming with sadistic satisfaction, his breath dripping across Percy's ear. "She's been railed by basically every guy in this place, most of them more than once. How does it feel, knowing that you'll never be able to satisfy her? Shitty, huh?" The world around the two gods was still. "With your tiny dick, and how loose that whore is by now, I'd be surprised if either of you can feel anything." Percy had stopped breathing. "Don't come crying to me when you find her in some other god's bed. Probably mine." He could feel Ares' ugly smile. "I give it a week."
When the war god slowly moved away, the fiery pupils behind his aviators were locked onto Percy's own. It was like Ares' was looking, searching for the expected devastating effect of his words. The sky bearer couldn't be sure what he found, as the young god's conscious mind was no longer in touch with his facial muscles. When Ares' body jerked back forward, it wasn't by the once-mortal Perseus Jackson.
It was by someone just slightly different.
"I find your projected insecurities revolting, Ares Mars." Now it was Percy's turn to whisper into Ares' ear. The god's dual name was heavy on his tongue. He didn't know how he knew it. "Never touch me again." The words floated from the sky bearer's lips without his input, light as the domains Percy personified.
The young god was almost detached from his body. The sensation of The Burden, of his proclamation, of the soul of Ouranos was overwhelming. It was like he was looking down on everything from the very top of the heavens themselves.
The rest of the Olympians were standing now, almost all with a professionally smooth mask. Poseidon, however, looked half-ready ready to push through the crowd. A swirl of fog, pulled by the wind, rushed across the plaza. The following cacophony of glass bottles striking one another was testament to its force. Several yards away, the two groups of demigods were forced to grab at each other to resist the air's pull.
"Oh, and if you refer to my fiancé with that term one more time?"
That peaceful and serene smile Percy could feel on his lips was more unhinged than any expression of anger or rage. Ares' face was stuck somewhere between anger and unease when they locked eyes once again.
"I'll kill you."
Percy released the god's hand. When his body spun around, pulling a gaping Aphrodite along with the motion, the sky bearer's perception of the world lagged behind. Or was he ahead? Percy's pulse was thrumming, each beat of the heart carrying golden blood infused with teal flame. He felt simultaneously high as a kite and grounded in a way he knew a mortal could never experience.
Percy's gaze landed on a gaping Annabeth. Despite being a short walk away he could see every single pore in the skin of her face. The daughter of Athena happened to be the closest demigod, and so that was where Percy's feet began to move. The wind followed behind his back, pulling so strongly that the closest tables nearly lost their tablecloths and floral centerpieces. Aphrodite had yet to speak, but even without turning his head Percy could see the deep red flush that had begun to creep up the goddess' neck and across her cheekbones.
The crowd closed behind them, swallowing a seething Ares in the mass of bodies. Within thirty seconds, a distant string quartet had picked up a soothing tune and the socializing began once again. It seems not even a show of godly power was enough to phase the residents of Olympus.
As they neared the daughter of Athena, Percy's feet slowed from their frantic rhythm. It took a conscious effort not to pound each step so hard that his shoes sunk into the marble tile. Annabeth had that same stricken expression from the hallway, one of half disbelief and half anxiety. The air out here was a degree colder, and it was a smidge easier to breathe without feeling like you were tasting a hundred god's essences with each inhale. The sky was almost completely dark, now.
Annabeth's proximity was partially due to the fact that Grover had pulled Thalia half in front of his body again, the huntress scowling so deep her face appeared a decade older under the angled light. That didn't stop the satyr from peering over the shorter girl's shoulder. Grover's eyes were so wide you could see white all the way around his brown irises. Percy ignored the way one of Annabeth's hands stayed tight on the hilt of her sword.
"Hello again." The sky bearer tried his best to not sound completely unhinged as he practically drug Aphrodite up to the trio. "Thanks for coming." From the way Thalia was looking at him, it hadn't worked.
"Lady Aphrodite." The three somehow spoke in unison, bowing respectfully in an ingrained and habitual motion. "Lord Per-"
"Stop that." The words snipped out a hundred times more aggressive than he meant them too. When Grover flinched so hard he almost fell over, Percy reigned himself back in. "Just, don't bow. It's weird." He screwed up his face, trying to get the taste of Ares' aura off his palette. "And stop with the 'Lord' stuff."
"Fine by me." Thalia answered first, shrugging. The other two followed suit, which made the young god glad for the huntress' straightforward demeanor.
"Uh, Percy?" Grover spoke up next. The still half-hidden satyr pointed a finger down towards the young god's waist. "You're glowing, dude."
Percy looked down. "Oh."
Grover was right, through 'glowing' might have been a bit of an understatement. The sky bearer raised and waggled a couple fingers of his free hand experimentally. The motion left streaks of neon-teal in the air, like when you waved a sparkler quick enough to draw with the afterimage it left behind. His pale skin was thrumming, beating with contained divine potential.
"Trippy." Thalia's addition was short and to the point. Annabeth nodded, still mute.
Percy had to agree. The clouds on his engagement ring were spinning visibly, quicker than he had ever seen. Somehow the man's suit-jacket was even more green than before, though the stirring wind had rumpled his gray undershirt. The only untouched things on his person were the rose pinned to his chest and the gold locket around his neck.
"Its, ah~, excuse me, young ones." Four sets of eyes snapped to Aphrodite as the love deity honest to gods tripped over her words. She was shuffling in place, and Percy suddenly realized that her death grip on the arm might have been the only reason she was still standing upright. "It is referred to as leakage, and it is umph~ completely normal, I assure youuuu~." She was biting her bottom lip with a sharp, white canine. "Mon Dieu! A glass too much, you silly woman." That last sentence was hissed beneath a demigod's hearing range, but Percy still caught it.
Aphrodite's generous chest was heaving with each of her inhales. Her pillowing tan skin was slick with sweat. The motion was hypnotizing, only eclipsed by the swirling neon line in each of the goddess' irises. Her face was a deep maroon, nearly the same shade as her dress. Upon a second inspection it was obvious that the love deity's twitching was because she was fighting to keep her thighs from clenching together underneath the dark fabric.
What was happening to her?
As the perplexing sight tugged Percy down from his power high, the set of ghostly hands splayed across his lower back took on a whole new meaning. And it wasn't just the normal two extras now, either. As the feeling returned to his body Percy felt three, four, a dozen, a hundred sets of smooth, claw-tipped fingers clasping his form. Percy's eyes caught a flaring pink trail of glitter sitting on top of the grass, one that matched their path out from the courtyard tiles until it stopped directly beneath the goddess' feet. Aphrodite's aura was hot and wet on the back of his neck, no longer a caressing kiss but more a tongue dragging across skin.
Oh. Oh.
The three demigods watched with strange expressions as the sky bearer shot to attention with a choked 'eep' in the back of his throat. A burst of displaced air whipped the group's hair into a frenzy for a moment before Percy wrestled it back under control. Cloud billowed from his shoulders like a misty cape.
"Are you okay, Percy?" Annabeth broke her silence, the worry in her eyes not hidden a single bit. "Does it hurt or something?" The glance she shot at Aphrodite was brimming with suspicion. Thalia echoed the motion, a few strands of hair sparking with electricity.
"Sorry." The young god coughed a moment later, forcibly commanding his lungs to keep working. Just ignore it. Aphrodite's real nails were threatening to break through the fabric of Percy's sleeves. "A bit tense from what happened with Ares." That was his excuse and he was going to stick with it. Just ignore it.
"Indeed." Percy was thankful when Aphrodite began to regain control over both her body and her aura. "That was one interaction I had hoped to avoid tonight." The choking sensuality of her presence abated a bit, several sets of phantom hands fading from existence. If someone claimed that Percy's sigh was anything but relief, and most certainly not a measure of disappointment, he would have called them a liar until his last breath.
"Yeah." Thalia huffed, clearly not convinced but willing to move along. "What a fuckin' asshat." When Annabeth rolled her eyes at the vulgarity, the daughter of Zues threw her hands up. "What? He's technically my brother, so when he's an asshat I say he's an asshat. Most gods are." She stiffened a moment later. "No offense."
"None taken, sister." Aphrodite smirked, the normal color of her cheeks returning through the red. "Besides, it would be rude of me to punish you for a correct statement." Percy could finally feel his fingers again as his betrothed eased the pressure of her hands on his bicep. "A lack of self awareness runs in the family, il semble. You can thank Percy for what little I have come to possess." She tilted her head up and gave him a shy half-smile.
The compliment had Percy shuffling a bit in place. "Thanks, Aphy." The warmth in his chest let him focus on something other than the tightness of his suit pants. Thank the gods for the dim lightning. Apollo specifically in this case, Percy supposed.
"Nicknames, huh?" Thalia's dark eyebrows were almost lost in her hairline. "That was fuckin' quick. You two have known each other for what, like, a week?" The daughter of Zeus crossed her arms over her dark huntress leathers. The getup looked almost black in the sunset's glow.
"I wouldn't be so sure of that." Annabeth's tone was clipped, like a bird missing a wing, but any input into the conversation was a step in the right direction. Her eyes, though, still had a hard time meeting Percy's own.
"Astute as ever, I see." Aphrodite's tone had fully returned to its normal, sultry and teasing self. Percy unwound significantly at the sound. "You would be correct. The unique circumstances of my birth allowed some forms of contact with mon rêve during his imprisonment, you understand." A gentle squeeze of the hands Percy's arm felt both like a silent apology and also an invisible thank-you from Aphrodite. He shot her a single glance to show he had received the message. That didn't mean they wouldn't be talking later, though.
Annabeth nodded, though there was a curious tilt to her expression that made her look even more like her knowledge-coveting mother. When Grover and Thalia still seemed a bit lost, Percy stepped in.
"Basically, we talked." He shrugged. "A lot. Aphy's the main reason I'm still mostly sane." The young god thought that his practiced half-smile would work on the trio just like it worked on his mother. It didn't. When the only thing that answered were three flinches of guilt, Percy dropped his lips.
"So, you're like . . ." Grover wrung his hands a bit. "Okay? With this?" He motioned around, obviously referring to more than just the party specifically. There was something deep and invested lying beneath the question. Percy realized that his answer would matter significantly to the scruffy satyr.
"If you're not, we had a plan to get you outta here." Thalia tacked on, all but confirming Percy's revelation. "Not a great one, but y'know. Good enough." The daughter of Zeus was fingering the hilts of her knives again.
"I mean, at first?" Percy licked his lips, choosing his words carefully. The sensation of Aphrodite standing next to him helped him ward off the urge to spout out his first thought. "I wasn't okay. Like, really." Percy's eyes caught Annabeth's, seeing the empathetic understanding beneath the steely gray surface. "I'm getting there. As for the engagement? Yeah. I'm happy with it." Percy couldn't help but chuckle. "Guess that makes me crazy or something."
Thalia snorted. "You were always crazy." The way she said it was more a term of endearment than anything. "Nothing new there." The last rays of the sun were fading behind the cloud-covered horizon. Still, the temperature hadn't dipped below its warm pleasantness.
Grover had a thoughtful expression on his face, tie swinging in the breeze. There was something unexpectedly mature in his eyes. "As long as you're happy." The words came out so sincere that Percy couldn't help but be touched.
"Thanks, Grover." The smile he gave them was more real this time. When the satyr returned it, extra-wide teeth and all, the sky bearer felt like they had broken through some invisible barrier. It was nice.
"Well, I guess I'll say it." Percy was a bit surprised when Annabeth stepped forward. He was even more surprised when he received a stiff, half-second embrace. The demigod pulled back quickly. "Congrats, Percy. You too, La- Aphrodite." It was obvious that the daughter of Athena was hiding a veritable flood of emotion. Her hands were shaking.
Percy wasn't the only one who noticed, but he was the first. It was particularly easy since the man's own fingers were still restlessly turning his engagement ring. Thankfully, he was saved from having to attempt another awkward comforting gesture by the Olympian on his arm.
"I know we might not possess the prettiest of histories, daughter of Athena. But would you be open to having a little chat, just the two of us?" Aphrodite's tone was soft. "Femme à femme- woman to woman." When Percy looked over, the goddess of love had her gaze locked on the shorter blond. The mask was missing a few layers, and beneath Aphrodite appeared more human than she had since stepping off the palace's staircase.
Something invisible passed between the two. When the love deity's hand alighted on one shoulder pauldron, the still-armored demigod put up no resistance. Percy briefly considered protesting, especially with how stricken Annabeth's face had become.
Percy, Thalia, and Grover could only watch as Aphrodite led the daughter of Athena a few yards away with her gentle touch. The contrast between the two was almost comical. A goddess and a demigod, a brunette and a blond, a cocktail dress and a warrior's armor. When the two started speaking in low tones, Percy bit down on one cheek and forcibly drew in his aura to not eavesdrop. Annabeth deserved that courtesy at the very least, no matter how tiring it was.
"Jeez." Thalia slumped, her face aging again in that strange manner. "We knew things would be hard for her, but . . . none of us expected this shit." Percy found himself coming once again to the realization that the huntress wasn't as young as her teenage features appeared. There was something too old, too jaded hiding beneath the surface. "What a fuckin' day."
"Yeah." Grover didn't even bother trying to protest the expletive. "But, still, dude." Percy was only caught half off guard when the satyr leaned forward for another short hug. "Congratulations, man."
Thalia looked like she was considering copying the motion, but settled for a half-force punch to one of Percy's muscular shoulders. The sky bearer didn't feel a thing, despite the loud 'smack'. "Congrats, or whatever." The teen grumbled. With the way she was trying to sneakily wave her hand, Thalia clearly came off worse from her strike. "What am I supposed to call you now? Brother? Cousin?" She stuck out her tongue as if she had swallowed something slimy.
"Ew." Grover added, grimacing as he stepped back.
"I wouldn't think about it too hard." Percy smiled despite himself at Thalia's queasy expression. "It's basically rule number one around here." That was certainly true every time the young god spotted one of Aphrodite's immortal kids in the crowd. They had all kept their distance so far, fortunately. Percy had absolutely zero faith that it would last the entire evening.
"I can see you thinking about it." Thalia narrowed her eyes, poking at Percy's chest with a sharp finger.
"I'm not!" At first the words came out panicked, but then it was followed by a few chuckles. Grover and Thalia stared for a second before joining in.
It felt a bit bad, but without Annabeth and Aphrodite causing all sorts of invisible tension Percy genuinely was starting to enjoy the banter. Things were stunted, yeah, but stunted in the way that getting together with any acquaintance was strange at first. Again, it was . . . nice. He could have done without the constant feeling of Artemis glaring into the back of his skull, though.
"Your patron isn't happy." Despite the moment of humor, Percy couldn't keep his bubbling displeasure out of his words. From the way Thalia sighed, it was clear she was equally as aware of the moon goddess' stare.
"You really don't like her, huh?" Once again, Grover's laid back tone did not do the insight of his words justice. The sky bearer glanced back at him, both pleasantly surprised and making a mental note. Didn't satyr's physically mature at half-speed, or something like that? It both sounded right and explained a few things.
"No." Percy kept his words simple. "I don't." A burst of wind swirled the surrounding grass. "Listen, Thalia?" The huntress perked up as the young god moved the conversation along. "Before you go, I've been wondering about something."
Percy's eyes flicked over to Aphrodite. The goddess now had both her hands on Annabeth's shoulders, their figures half-obscured by the evening shadow. In the darkness, flickering candlelight reflected in a few tears tracking down the demigod's cheeks. The sky bearer looked away, stomach twisting.
"Sure?" The raven-haired teen tilted her head. Funnily enough, the static charge of her dark locks kept a few strands sticking upright despite the motion. "Shoot."
"We're both children of prophecy, right? Kids of The Big Three." Thalia stiffened. Percy pushed on. "Do you know if there are any more?"
Percy felt like he was betraying his previous commitment to talking with Aphrodite about this subject, but he had to know. He felt even worse about blindsiding someone he was trying to befriend with the question, but he could tell Thalia would give him a straight answer. That was one thing the son of Poseidon desperately needed.
"Um, yeah." Thalia shuffled in place, avoiding Percy's gaze. "There were a few more." Grover didn't look any more comfortable.
"Were?" Percy's stomach dropped so far it might as well have been six feet underground.
"I mean, yeah?" Thalia immediately saw how pale his face had become, but she obviously was struggling to find any words of comfort. "We don't exactly have the longest lifespan. Shit happens." Percy nodded, but he still felt like he was swaying on his feet. Grover had taken a half-step forward, his shoulders tense as if ready for the sky bearer to fall over.
"Could you explain?" The struggling young god managed to get out.
"Well, there's Nico." Thalia said the name as if that was all the explanation needed. The son of Poseidon stared at her. A few moments later she seemed to realize that Percy had no idea who that was. "He's a son of Hades."
"Oh." Hades had children? Recently? "Okay."
"After you, uh, got captured and I joined the Hunters of Artemis, it seemed like he would be the guy." The raven-haired teen hitched her thumbs beneath her dark leather belt. "Especially after his sister . . . y'know." Percy didn't know, but he could infer. The endless chalkboard of tally marks in his soul gained another notch, one that felt a bit more familiar than the rest.
"A few months before his sixteenth birthday his dad showed up to camp." Grover had a sad, heavy expression as he nodded in agreement. "He talked a bit about the prophecy and then took Nico away. Just, poof. Gone." The satyr made a little motion with his hands at the last word.
"I think he's still in the underworld, actually. If not, no one's seen him either way." Thalia took back over. The huntress grimaced. "Hades must have found a way to make sure Nico never reached his birthday. Some sort of magic fuckery, probably. He doesn't look like the kind of guy to kill his own kid for that, so." That last line sounded like something you told yourself again and again until you believed it was true.
"With the war over, we're all sorta hoping he'll show up again at camp sooner or later." The satyr finished off. The sky bearer noted down that he was the optimist of the group.
"I'll talk to him. Hades."
Percy hadn't even realized the words had come out of his mouth until they were out in the open air and a lock was clicking closed in his chest. It seems the young god's domains didn't need the phrase 'I promise' to kick into effect. Percy held down a sigh of frustration at his lack of control. Still, it wasn't as if he wasn't going to follow up anyway.
"That'd be great!" Grover perked up. "Thanks, dude." There was no question whether or not he meant it. Percy could understand how he and the satyr had been close. The guy was just so straightforward he could have befriended a tree. That seemed like the kind of thing he would do.
"Any others?" Percy asked. Thalia visibly drew into herself, and the young god knew the answer wasn't going to be pleasant.
"Yeah, I uh-" The huntress swallowed once, then a second time. "I had a younger brother. Jason." There was so much damaged history behind Thalia's words Percy wouldn't have wanted to touch it with a ten foot pole. "He died." Ah.
"I'm sorry." Thalia didn't look in the mood for another hug. With the way lightning danced across her fisted knuckles, Percy wasn't sure his clothing would survive such an act. The ashen-haired man wished he knew what to do. It seemed he would be doing a lot of that today. The air had grown heavy and tense. None of them seemed to want to speak next.
"Sorry." Percy had been so caught up in his own head that Annabeth's scratchy apology made him almost jump out of his shoes. "We're back." When Percy turned his head, he was greeted by the sight of Aphrodite guiding the demigod back over with that same light hand.
Annabeth didn't look a wreck so much as she looked worn. Tired. Stretched so thin that her emotions didn't reach those steel-gray eyes. Even her bright hair had lost its luster. It was a sort of thing that Percy had felt acutely in the past.
In contrast to the goddess' floating motions, the demigod was practically dragging her feet across the grass. With the stars beginning to peek out overhead, her face was cast in cut, angular shadow. Where Aphrodite seemed to glow, always illuminated flatteringly, Annabeth seemed ready to merge into the darkness. She took her spot next to Grover, who patted one shoulder in a comforting gesture.
When Aphrodite reached back around to entwine her arms with Percy, he couldn't decipher what laid underneath the goddess' face. Her hand was warm, even though two layers of fabric. The sky bearer wanted to ask what they had talked about, but now was certainly not the right time for that. A ghostly set of fingernails ran up the back of his skull in a comforting motion. Nothing was said long enough for the moment to come to an end.
"Thalia!" Artemis' call was a whip-crack across the grass. "The moon needs to be tended to. Come."
The silver shroud around the huntress was especially thick for a second, despite the daughter of Zeus' frown. Percy's face echoed the sentiment. He didn't have to turn around to see the moon goddess standing with her short arms folded a few yards away. The party wasn't slated to end for at least another half-hour, but she had obviously had enough.
"Well, guess this is it." Grover kicked a hoof into the soil. "Thalia's our ride back to camp, so . . ." His words hung over the group like a storm cloud.
"Thanks for coming." Percy let Aphrodite's whispered voice guide him through the motions. "We appreciate it." The love goddess nodded, but she was peering at him out of the corner of her eye. He couldn't meet her gaze.
"Yeah. It was good to see you, Percy." Despite her drawn expression, Annabeth's words came out warm and genuine. Percy watched as a bit of life seeped back into her form. "We're glad you're okay." If nothing else, he believed that.
"It was nice to meet you. Ah, again." Percy fought off the urge to cringe immediately. He soldiered on. "You guys live at camp, right? Camp Half Blood?" He wasn't sure where the name came from, but it felt correct.
"They do." Thalia motioned to the other two. Her eyes flicked over Percy's shoulder, as if judging how much procrastination she could get away with. "The hunters come around sometimes. More often since the war started."
"Will you be there in two days?" Percy spouted the timeframe off the top of his head. Thalia raised an eyebrow. So did Aphrodite, then Annabeth. Grover raised both.
"Should be? Fuck if I know." The daughter of Zeus answered hesitantly. "That's where we're camped right now and we usually stick around for a week." She shrugged, as if to say 'that's the best I got'.
"How about this?" Percy felt pretty proud his voice didn't shake. "I'll come around in two days and we can . . ." Suddenly, all words left him. Hang out? Chill? What in gods' name was he even suggesting? The ashen-haired man coughed, feeling his neck flush under the stares of the trio opposite. His self control petered out, and in came the word vomit again.
"I just think I'll have a better handle on things then, and one of my domains is 'bastion of demigods' so I figured it would be a good time, and I think we could get to know eachot-" Finally, finally, Aphrodite had pity on her rambling beau and cut Percy off.
"He would like to see you all again, I think." The love goddess giggled. The sound was the echoing chimes to Percy's wind. The man noted how, in particular, both Thalia and Grover were accosted by deep maroon blushes. Despite hearing Aphrodite's laugh dozens of times, the sky bearer was no better off. "Vous êtes si mignon." That last part was aimed at Percy, along with a teasing pat on one cheek.
"Yeah." The sky bearer cleared his throat, wrestling back control of himself. "That." Gods, he didn't know whether or not to hope that Aphrodite eventually lost such power over him. The goddess already had him wrapped around one finger, it's not like Percy had to make it any easier on her.
"That sounds like a great idea, dude!" Grover fist pumped so hard the other half of his shirt came untucked. "It'll be sweet to have a god around nicer than Mr. D." Percy figured he must be referring to Dionysus. "We can make it a whole event! Bring the two sides of the camp together, you know? Take some stress off everyone, especially the younger kids." He turned to Annabeth. "What do you think?" With puppy-dog eyes that potent you could have mistaken his animal half for that of a golden retriever.
Percy's brain pinged a few parts of that sentence. 'Two sides of the camp' and 'younger kids' in particular were setting off a few whispers at the base of his skull.
Annabeth couldn't help but give in under Grover's masterful pleading. "That does sound nice." The daughter of Athena admitted. The smile she wore was tentative, but when she looked at Percy it didn't fail. Progress.
"Cool." The young god breathed out a great sigh of relief.
Percy might dare to say that this was the first time he was actually a bit excited for his next social outing. Oh, the man wasn't exactly bursting at the seams for it - it was certain to be another emotionally taxing experience - but it was still evidence that he was moving forward. It was a step towards becoming a Percy who was more in control, more in the know, more able to meet his goals.
First, competence. Then, allies. Then, power. Revenge. After that, who knew? Whatever Aphrodite wanted to do, probably. With her around Percy could say he would enjoy whatever came next.
Gods, that sounded sappy even in his head. Maybe he deserved all the teasing.
"Thalia!" The ground shuddered a bit, a flare of silver briefly lightning up the grass on all sides. The smell of frost-covered pine wafted across Percy's perception. Artemis was out of patience.
"Coming, gods." Thalia sounded more than a bit petulant, muttering under her breath. Still, the raven-haired huntress seized the arms of her two companions. "Guess we'll see you then, Percy." As she started to drag them off, showcasing the surprising strength in that thin frame, the daughter of Zues got off one last jab. "Try not to rip anyone's head off! But if you do, make sure someone records it!" Her smile was sharp and gleaming.
Percy chuckled a bit, the heaviness in his heart lightened. He and Aphrodite watched as Annabeth and Grover got their own feet moving, stumbling along until they caught up to Thalia's blistering pace. Artemis loomed in the background, a displeased frown on her small face. After he was sure they were out of earshot, the young god turned his head so that Aphrodite was in his field of view.
"That was nice of you, Aphy. What you did for Annabeth." The words came out easily, and Percy didn't need to hide the hint of admiration contained within. "Thank you." The sky bearer said that first, because it was far more important than what he was about to ask. Still, Aphrodite's blinding smile dimmed several fractions with his next question. "Why'd you do it?"
Percy didn't mean to sound doubtful. Hades, he had debated even asking at all. It brought him no joy to see his betrothed stiffen at his side, but the itch of curiosity was too strong to ignore. The sky bearer watched as several emotions rippled across the goddess' face underneath her mask, all without moving his eyes from Grover's back. Percy could tell the instant she decided to tell him the truth.
"She was making you uncomfortable, darling." Aphrodite's grip on his arm tightened. "I do not enjoy it when you are uncomfortable, so I took her aside. Gave her the words to help her passez- move on, as it were." The goddess' plump bottom lip was caught beneath one sharp incisor, swirling eyes peering up at Percy's face. "Are you . . . upset with me?" The love deity sounded unsure. Almost fearful. "Did I do the right thing, Percy?"
That question was so loaded Percy felt like he was staring down a twelve gauge filled with buckshot. In a single instant, quick enough that no mortal could have seen it, he watched as Aphrodite's mask completely crumbled before reforming. Underneath, her stunning features were desperate. Desperate and scared, like a toddler who had just done something new and was looking to a parent for approval or punishment.
Percy's first instinct was to say no. No, she hadn't done the right thing and yes, he was upset. The man didn't want to be the reason why Aphrodite had acted. Calling it manipulation felt a step too far, but it wasn't quite wrong either. For a moment the man had been allowed to hope that the goddess had acted out of simple, human kindness. But she wasn't human, was she? His mother had warned him, after all.
Luckily Percy had a second instinct, which was currently screaming at him to take a step back and break it down. In the end, ignoring the underlying reasoning behind her actions, what had Aphrodite actually done? She had removed a struggling young woman from a tough social situation, spoken to her gently and with sympathy, and helped her begin to mend a broken heart.
Really, was any of that bad at all? Percy didn't think so, no matter how his gut protested.
In the near distance, Annabeth was conversing with Thalia as Artemis wrangled up the last of the hunters. Grover was leaning down to talk with a few of the younger members of the moon goddess' troupe, one of whom was poking at his horns with curiosity. Almost in unison, as if they all felt the sky bearer's attention, each of the trio shot a look over their shoulder. This time, when Percy waved, they all waved back.
Then, with a bright flash, they and the Hunters of Artemis were gone. The party continued on, though it felt a little dimmer than before.
"I'm not mad at you." Percy finally responded, his curls waving gently in the breeze. "You did good." As the words came out he realized that he meant them. The goddess' seemed to bodily unwind, a mountain of stress rising from her features that made her even more stunning than before.
They would work on it, Percy decided. Later, though. Not tonight. The last thing he wanted to do was rush his fiancé and ruin it all - in the scope of eternity, baby steps could take you to the edge of the universe and back if you let them.
"Putting aside my actions, for the moment, I cannot begin tell you, Percy-" A phantom set of fingers alighted on the underside of his chin, the touch a ghost across the bottom of the young god's jaw as Aphrodite turned his face towards her. "-how pleased and impressed I am at your progress this past week." The love deity was beaming up at him, this time with that hidden, real smile that always made Percy weak in the knees. She was no less gorgeous out there on the lawn, lit only by the canvas of stars overhead. "C'est merveilleux. You do your mother proud." That was perhaps the nicest compliment Percy had ever heard.
"Thanks, Aphy." He couldn't help but smile back. Those dangling cloud earrings sparkled above the seductive curve of the goddess' jaw, and that part of Percy that really wanted to kiss her returned with a vengeance. The will to resist came much slower than the last time.
"Are you ready for the next test, dearest?" The goddess posed the question carefully. He watched as she peered around one of his arms, the motion more for show than anything else. 'Test' was a nicer way of putting it compared to what Percy's brain could conjure.
Still clad in various shades of Aphrodite's colors, the remaining mingling demigods were all pretending to talk amongst each other but Percy couldn't see a single eye among them that wasn't partially trained in their general direction. When Aphrodite looked over, the youngest girl even waved hesitantly. The goddess returned the motion with a few teasing fingers, and the vision of the sheer maternal joy on her face would stick with Percy for the rest of his very long life.
"Sure." It took several seconds to get his throat working again. The sky bearer couldn't resist the urge to run a hand through his hair, the other tracing the ridge of Riptide in his pocket. "No time like the present." His joke came out forced, as did his next smile. "Do-" Percy paused, struck by the feeling that he was being extremely silly. Still, the words came out regardless. "Do you think they'll like me?"
"Oh, mon coeur." Aphrodite raised a hand to trace one of his cheeks tenderly. He instantly erupted in full-body goosebumps. "They will love you." Her eyes twinkled at her own little pun.
Percy snorted. "Clever."
The goddess smirked. "Je sais- I know." Her aura flashed, before she was once again pulling on his arm. "Come, then, my silver fox!" Aphrodite was so excited she was practically skipping.
"Come meet our children."