Reviews:
ion boi: Thank you! I will try to keep up with my other stories too, some deserve some love, undoubtedly.
"I miss you."
"I know."
She looked down. "I still need you."
"I need you two. I am just..."
"You believe you're not ready."
"I am not sure..."
"I will try to be here for you," Aphrodite said. "The laws could be permissive when we're talking about relationships. But with children..."
"Yes." Who better than him to know about the problems of divine parenting? "I just didn't want to do this alone. I never... thought of it."
"It was a risk we always took because we wanted to," Aphrodite argued. She was the guiltiest of that.
"Do you think I'm ready to raise a child on my own, for the most part?"
The goddess sighed. "I do. I think you're mature enough. I think you are wise enough. I think you are careful enough. And I will be here... to at least be with you."
Percy grimaced.
...
"What?!"
"Haven't you ever read about the birth of Apollo and Artemis?"
"Well, yes, but..."
"Divine pregnancies don't take nine months, Percy."
"How long?"
Now, she had to stop and wonder.
"At worst, four."
"You gotta be shitting me."
...
"This is... impressive..."
The second room in his apartment was completely changed. Light purple walls were decorated with posters, and a white crib stood in the far corner of the room, along with other items related to the baby;
"Thalia and Reyna helped me."
"I loved it, mon coeur." Aphrodite leaned over him. "She will love it too."
Percy slowly came to the realization, a frown appearing on his face. "She?"
...
"Why that name?"
"It's nice, I think."
"But why, though?" Aphrodite pushed. "All you do has a meaning. Don't tell me this is the exception."
Percy rolled his eyes. "How do you know me so well?"
"I'm the love of your life, mon coeur." She smiled. "So?"
"Amanda means worthy of love. It reminds me of someone I know."
A not-so-subtle wink explained everything.
She loved it.
...
"I am going to gut you if you don't help me out!" Aphrodite screamed at an amused Hebe, while she held her stomach, feeling massive aches.
"Ten minutes and you're due, girl. Calm down."
"Quiet, pest!"
...
Ten minutes were not enough to make her feel less discomfort and pain.
But it was over.
"By all the Fates. I hate this."
"Quiet," Hebe said. "Here, take it." She gave the baby to Aphrodite, who held it with some difficulty.
And she was beautiful. Her skin was pale, but not too much. Her eyes were volatile like hers, though they seemed to linger a lot on the sea green. And it seemed like she would grow to have raven hair.
"What is her name?"
"Amanda Jackson."
...
Silence was not what she was expecting while Percy stared at their daughter. His eyes seemed so... distant.
"Dear?" Aphrodite called. "Are you alright?"
Just then she realized the single tear streaming down on his face. "I'm fine. I just..." He caressed Amanda, who in return made adorable noises that melted her heart. And it seemed like not just hers.
"I love you." His look was so distant that Aphrodite wasn't certain whether or not he was speaking to Amanda or her.
Probably both.
...
"What's wrong?" She asked, looking at him with concern. Oh, Amanda had grown up so fast. She was already attending daycare!
"It's just..." Percy grimaced. "She started to see people with their moms and... she asked why didn't she have a mother too."
"Oh." To say that felt like a knife to the heart would be an understatement. "What did you answer?"
"I said you were busy. I am gonna have to tell her eventually... she is a half-blood after all..."
"And one linked to you." Aphrodite reminded him. "More reason for her to be a target.
"I don't need any reminders," Percy said, rubbing his eyes.
...
"Amanda!" Percy called, his voice shaking slightly but the grip on his sword stronger than ever.
"Daddy!" A voice called from his right, and he turned to see the horrendous cyclops holding his daughter by the hand. He wasn't even that big, probably the same size Tyson was when he saw his brother for the first time.
"Let her go, man." Percy pointed Riptide toward the cyclops, who stared back in anger. However, Percy could see confusion and fear as well. He didn't feel good about this. At all. This was probably just a kid. But...
No, he couldn't let Amanda get hurt.
Percy lunged forward, and the cyclops barely had time before Percy attacked him with his sword. So unprepared the thing was, that it barely got time to react to Riptide slashing his arm. Though, with it being a monster, it saved Amanda from seeing a lot of unnecessary gore, with the monster immediately vaporizing into dust.
Immediately, his daughter ran at him, embracing his legs tightly. She was shaking heavily, and there was pure terror in her eyes.
"It's gonna be alright, okay?
...
"You are not a baby anymore," Percy stated. It had taken a few days for Amanda to be able to sleep again, especially without nightmares. Though Percy imagined she was lying to him. "But you are also not as old as I was when I found out."
"Found out what, daddy?" Amanda asked, staring directly into his eyes.
"Do you remember what I told you about your mom?"
"Yes... You said mommy was busy."
"I wasn't lying." He started. "But she isn't busy because she was working... I always wanted to teach you the Greek myths for a reason, dear. It's because they're real."
His daughter widened her eyes. "Really?"
"Yes. Everything I told you. Gods, monsters, heroes. Everything."
"Is daddy a god?" Amanda asked innocently, making Percy chuckle.
"No! Of course not, baby. Though... I am the son of one. I will talk about it soon... but I do need to tell you first... that your mother is a goddess."
Her eyebrows almost touched her line, such was her shock. "Really?!"
"Yes. Do you remember what I told you about the goddess of love?"
"Aphrodite is my mom?!"
...
Before, Amanda had been ecstatic. Now... less so. She was looking down, her hands intertwined. But finally, she arrived.
"Hi," Percy said. While he craved just as much as he always did, it had been a whole four months since they last saw each other, it wasn't the time to make out.
Especially not in front of their daughter!
"Hello." Aphrodite seemed to have the same line of thinking, being much more modest in her greeting than she would be normally. She set her eyes on Amanda, who had been staring at the goddess, but who soon diverted her eyes quickly when Aphrodite looked at her.
"Hi, Amanda," Aphrodite said, approaching their daughter.
"Are you my...?"
"Yes. I am your mother." She answered. "You've grown so beautiful."
"Why didn't you come sooner?" Amanda asked, her question as childish as... well, as well as a child could ask.
"It is complicated. You will understand when you grow older. But know that I always watch you grow, keeping you safe when possible." Aphrodite turned to face Percy. "Especially if your daddy couldn't. I trust him to take care of you."
"He did. I just always wanted to..." Amanda was clearly losing her composure. "Have a mommy. Like everyone else."
Aphrodite pursed her lips, kneeling in front of Amanda. "I understand. I am sorry that I couldn't be here. I... even if I did desire... I couldn't be the mother you deserved. But know that you do have a mother. And always will have."
Amanda cleared the few tears that had started to pop up in her eyes. "Could you take me to eat ice cream?"
The goddess turned to Percy, who answered, "Why not? Just try to be discreet."
"Please...?" Amanda made her best pleading face, and Aphrodite could only smile.
"Alright. We can't take long, but we may go."
Both father and daughter smiled widely.
...
"We were selfish."
"What?" Aphrodite asked him, drinking from her glass of nectar.
"We are selfish." Percy hasn't touched his wine at all. "We sired a child without thinking about the consequences, and she had to grow up without a mother."
"She will understand it." The goddess answered, though her distaste was evident on her face.
"Will she?"
"Sending her to Camp until the end of summer was the better option, mon coeur."
"Have you claimed her yet?"
Aphrodite shook her head. "No. And I made a deal for her to reveal it only when it most suits."
...
"Really?"
"What? Didn't you like it?"
"Capture the flag is cool and all, but I don't want her story to be a copy of mine."
"Well, for starters, she has a good father without having a bitch for a stepmother."
"She wouldn't need a step-mother." Percy coughed awkwardly.
"I'd hope so." Her gaze was unnervingly piercing, Percy thought.
"
"WHAT?!"
"Don't react like that."
"You are kidding."
"I approved it."
"You did what?!" Percy screamed.
"Don't talk to me like that." While that was a demand, it certainly wasn't a divine command. Just the request for the respect that the two lovers had for each other.
The hero took a deep breath. "Sorry. But I can't believe it."
"It will be fine."
"Slaying Medusa isn't an easy task!"
"You did it when you were twelve."
"She is TEN!"
"And she is our daughter."
"It still doesn't justify it."
"She has been training for years," Aphrodite argued. "It will be quite alright."
...
Percy sat on the couch, dumbfounded while he stared at her. "I..."
"I told you."
"How?"
"She had help, sure. But Medusa wasn't expecting a hidden blade."
"What the hell."
...
Amanda tended to her wounds around the campfire her trio had built. She liked being alone, especially around these sons of Nike and Athena. One wouldn't shut up about strategy, the other wouldn't stop being a tryhard, spluttering nonsense about winning.
"How nice." The voice almost made Amanda jump out of her skin. She turned around, blade in hand, only to find... a woman? This could only be a monster, right?
"Who are you?" Amanda pointed her dagger, careful to analyze the woman's movements.
"Someone." Her worries were alleviated when the woman's irises shifted colors in the same pattern as her own eyes. However, the worries quickly returned.
"Mom?!'
"Hello, dear." Aphrodite approached her. "I take it you are successful."
"Don't you already know that?" Amanda asked, making her mother chuckle.
"Yes. I do. I was just... your father has been worried sick about you."
"Oh."
The legacy of her father was like the world on her shoulders. Which was ironic considering her dad did even that when he was only fourteen. But to be honest, she dealt with it. It felt alright to be Percy Jackson's daughter.
And beginning from today, she had her own accomplishments.
"Yes. He always disapproved of you going on a quest."
"Why?" Amanda stored her dagger.
"Because he loves you. And his form of love is a protective one. He wouldn't want you getting hurt."
"And you?" The half-blood dared to ask. She knew very well how immortals were. And how everyone talked about not being disrespectful towards them. But Amanda didn't really care.
"Oh, dear, you inherited all from him. Even his courage to be stupid." Aphrodite laughed. "But yes. I do love you. Didn't I allow you to be something more than your father's daughter?"
"I like being my father's daughter," Amanda said. "I'm still trying to like being your daughter, though."
"That is good." Amanda thought Aphrodite would take her comments badly, but no. "It takes a lot to accept this situation. But..." A conversation – or more likely, a discussion, started to be heard from afar, approaching where they were. "I must go. Believe me dear, I am always taking care of you."
"I hope," Amanda said to the wind, right after Aphrodite disappeared.
...
"You look so good shaved." Aphrodite kissed his cheek, her lips able to completely touch his skin.
"I know." Percy joked. "Maintaining a beard is too complicated."
"It reminds me of our old days." She said, climbing onto his lap.
"What has really changed?" He questioned, hands sliding down to her waist, while her arms rested on his shoulders, near his neck.
"Responsibilities. On your part."
"I have to earn a living, don't I?" He lunged towards her neck, kissing it.
"Yes..." She hissed. "And you have our daughter to take care of."
"She is fine in Camp." Percy continued to kiss her neck, hands sliding even further downwards. "We have all the time in the world."
"I missed this..."
"So did I..." He whispered in her ear, sending a shiver down her spine. "You can't let me go without this for almost six months."
"I'm sorry..." Aphrodite answered playfully. "I'll let you punish me as you see fit."
His following smile was vicious.
...
"Amanda!"
"What?!"
"What did I say about bringing Mrs. O'Leary here?!" The hellhound fitted, just barely, in their living room. It had grown bigger, and lazier, but it was still happy to see one of her favorite humans.
"I know, but she was so sad in the Underworld!"
"You were in the Underworld?!"
"Yes, duh. I needed to collect pomegranates."
"You can collect pomegranates on Earth."
"None that belong to Persephone, Dad!"
Percy sighed. "Sometimes I think you might be a kleptomaniac."
...
"Get up," Percy said, giving a challenging look to his daughter. "Is that where nine years at Camp Half-Blood can get you to nowadays?"
Amanda cried loudly, lunging at him with her sword, but he quickly deflected it.
"Don't use anger." He suggested, slashing down and almost cutting her foot off. "You aren't gonna use anger in a fight against a monster."
"Kelli made me fucking angry."
"I'm gonna rip your tongue out if you keep swearing, Amanda." He said, almost overwhelming her with a slash of his sword. "And I'll concede on that case. But most of the time..."
"I just gotta stay focused." Amanda finished and attempted to slide forward, managing to avoid Riptide and end up with her blade pointed at his leg. "I could rip your femoral artery right now."
"And I could decapitate you even if you tried to pierce my leg." Percy bumped her head with Riptide, and Amanda protested with an 'ouch'. "With monsters, never hesitate, remember?"
"Never."
...
"I disapprove of those trainings. "Aphrodite said, leaning on his bare chest. "It's too violent."
"I did at the start, too. But she suggested it. And for a kid from Cabin 6..."
"What does that mean?"
"She is even more intense than Piper," Percy argued. "I hope you are proud of her because of herself. And not because of me."
"No, of course not. She is my daughter too, of course, I'm proud of her. Even if I couldn't show it..." She trailed off, her absence of clothes all of a sudden making her feel exposed. "I love you."
"I love you too."
...
"Is this a goodbye?" Percy asked. He had been devastated when Amanda had decided to leave home, to fully wander around.
"Never." Amanda smiled. "I just want to see what this world has to offer."
"You say that like you didn't travel to Olympus, Hades and who knows where else more."
"There's more, okay?" Her grin grew wider. "I just needed to thank you, Dad..."
"Don't."
"Oh, stop, please!" Amanda begged. "You don't understand. I love you. Because of everything. I still don't understand how you and mom are still doing this for almost twenty years... but you did your best without having a mother for your daughter."
"You were the best daughter."
"And you were the best dad." She lunged at him, embracing him tightly. A single sob escaped Amanda's lips, and she held her father even more. "I love you so much."
"I love you too, dear."
...
"She is not dead, Percy."
"I know." His look was distant while he stared at Central Park through the window. "It's just weird for this day to come. All these years..."
"Have been well spent." Aphrodite tried to pull him closer.
"I just didn't prepare for the inevitable."
"No parent seriously can prepare for their children walking away. But it isn't a goodbye."
"She said the same thing."
"Well, she is her mother's daughter, isn't she?"
In response, the hero simply chuckled. "I guess it's just us again."
"Like it always has?" She teasingly asked, holding his hand.
"Even more so. Now it feels like the beginning."
Aphrodite gave him a sultry smile. "Then show me if your love burns as bright as it did before."
"Oh, I will." How could he make her shiver so deeply with a single stare?
It was wonderful.