156A/N: I've been writing a couple of one-shots to try and get myself back into the swing of writing things, since I've been a little off lately. This one came out pretty good, so I thought I might as well post it. Now that I've sorted through some of my… issues, I'll be writing a lot more. And don't worry, I haven't abandoned Forgotten God, it will be updated soon, I swear. I also realize Hera is waaay OOC in this story, so… yeah, there's that.
Also, most of you are probably only following me because of Forgotten God, where Hera is like a mother-figure to Percy. These stories are in NO WAY CONNECTED, okay? Don't expect any of this to pop up in that story.
Percy Jackson is owned by Rick Riordan, though I'm pretty sure the Greek Gods are public domain by now.
Percy sat on the small beach at Camp Halfblood, his bare feet digging into the silky sand, staring off into the distance over Long Island. Silent tears tracked their way down his face, the young hero doing nothing to stem the tide.
He looked terrible; his clothes were wrinkled and dirty, his skin pale, his face sunken in and sallow. But it was his eyes that were the most distressing. The orbs, once a striking, piercing sea green, were now a dull stormy green. There was a pain, a deep, lingering pain within them that seemed to age him beyond his twenty two years. Shoulders that had remained proud and strong when they held the weight of the sky itself were now bowed under the weight of tightly bound sobs.
The waves were restless, rising in uncertain swirls and crashes to try and comfort their lord. Behind him, Percy could hear the lingering cheers and sounds of revelry as the campers celebrated the completion of a rather difficult quest by a son of Apollo, Matthew Thomas, and a daughter of Athena… Annabeth Chase.
Percy sighed, a sudden spike in volume alerting him that the two demigods had probably just kissed.
He couldn't really wrap his head around it, even now. He and Annabeth had been together for six years.
Six years!
She had remained faithful when the gods had kidnapped him for eight months; she had remained strong when they had to crawl out of Tartarus itself; she had stayed with him through all the horrors of the Giants' uprising. Their relationship had been strong for most of the past six years. But just about a year ago, she had become… distant.
Percy had deluded himself, believing it was just a phase, perhaps she could snap back to the beautiful, intelligent, loving girl that had stolen his heart. But what had started out small, a distant look when they kissed, being late for their dates, taking a few days to return his calls had evolved into something stronger. They had stopped sleeping together altogether, and barely kissed anymore; she would miss dates entirely, and stop returning his calls and texts. Whenever he would bring it up, mention her distance, she would fly into a rage and storm at him for hours before shutting him out for anywhere from a few days to a couple weeks.
It had all, finally, come to a close when just a week ago Percy had found Annabeth, the girl he loved, with her lips locked around those of the newest Apollo camper, the eighteen year old Matthew. He had found them on the very beach he now sat on, and had challenged them immediately.
He could still remember, as Matthew had tried to pull away Annabeth had held his head and kept kissing him, looking straight at Percy, for a full minute. When she finally pulled away, she turned to face him and said, in a voice almost gleeful,
"Finally! Pretty slow on the uptake, aren't you seaweed brain? At least I don't have to sneak around anymore. Percy, I've been seeing Matthew for the past year, and I'm done with you."
She hadn't sugar coated it, or softened the blow. She had straight out said she didn't want anything more to do with him. And the campers had eaten it up. Matthew was the new big thing, the up and coming hero, in their eyes he deserved to have any girl he wanted. And if that girl happened to be currently dating the Savior of Olympus, then too bad for Percy.
He had barely left his cabin after that. He wouldn't eat, and could barely sleep. Morpheus was kind to him, thankful for his forgiveness during the Titan War, and kept his dreams clear and free of heartbreak. Poseidon had visited his son, trying to cheer him up, but it didn't help. Tyson had tried as well, crushing him into a hug as if trying to squeeze the sadness from him. Nico had dropped in, but he wasn't the best sort of person for this job.
Now, sitting on what had once been his and Annabeth's beach, Percy wondered what he had done wrong. He stiffened a little as he heard soft footsteps approaching along the sand, and kept his face staring at the sand. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw a pair of bare feet walk into view, a golden anklet around the left ankle. Percy assumed they belonged to a woman, since they were small and graceful. The mystery person folded her legs underneath her, a long white tunic clinging to shapely athletic legs. A slim hand with a couple of gold bangles reached out and gently but firmly lifted his chin so he was face to face with his visitor.
She was beautiful, with softly regal features and plump red lips. Chocolate colored hair hung in loose curls around her shoulders, bare but for the thin straps holding up her dress. She was in good shape, the outline of strong muscles apparent beneath the very feminine exterior. Her wide hips were round, which along with her healthy bust gave her a gently curvy figure. She wasn't fat, not by a long shot, but she wasn't a stick figure, as many of the Aphrodite girls had started trying for; she had the body of an actual woman.
But all of this was completely shoved to his subconscious as he gazed into her soft, golden-hazel colored eyes, filled with compassion and remorse. It took about ten seconds gazing into her eyes before Percy realized who she was, and when he did he startled backwards a step.
"Queen Hera."
"Perseus," she responded, her voice soft. "I… have heard of your troubles. I wished to see how you were faring."
For a second Percy considered lying to her, but then decided it would be better not to lie to the Queen of the Gods.
"My heart feels like it just crawled out of Tartarus to get into a fistfight with Kronos and Gaea while swimming in the Styx."
Hera was silent for a moment, before reaching out to lay a soft hand on his shoulder. "Well, you would know how all of those things feel." She chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. He stayed silent for a moment, before sighing.
"No offense, milady, but why are you here?"
"You are… important, to us." She started slowly. "The gods owe you a debt that can never truly be repaid. We know what would have happened without you. We are all rather disgusted with how the campers are acting about this. Even Athena is disappointed with her daughter's choices. Normally though we would not come down to you, your father an obvious exception. But I will admit to having a… curiosity, concerning you. You hold no ill will towards me for kidnapping you and wiping your memories, or when my Amazons tried to kill you. I expected you to hate me."
Percy was quiet for a moment, gathering his thoughts.
"You did what you did, to try and save Olympus from a horrible fate. Your idea was terrible, I was pissed off you didn't even ask my permission, and on some level I wonder how my relationship with Annabeth would stand if we had those extra eight months near the start of our relationship. But you did it for a good reason, even if your execution was horrible. And I do not hold you responsible for the actions of the Amazons. They are your followers, but they don't exactly have reason to like men if I remember some of the stories of Hercules correctly."
Hera was quiet for a moment before shifting to sit very close to Percy, her head resting on his shoulder. He tensed up at this, but she didn't seem to notice.
"I am sorry about that, by the way. You weren't supposed to be gone for so long. But Jason went on a series of very crucial quests, and I couldn't take him away from them without risking the safety of Camp Jupiter. And if I had simply returned you to your friends, Poseidon would have whisked you away to his realm and I could not have interfered with you again. I do regret it, though."
The pair sat in a surprisingly comfortable silence for a few minutes, Percy finally relaxing with the Queen of Olympus resting her head on his shoulder. Abruptly Percy broke the silence.
"How do you do it?"
"Do what?" Hera asked, turning to face him.
"Deal with the heartache? I've been dating Annabeth for a year, and she cheated with me on one person. I feel like a pit scorpion just stabbed me in the heart. Yet you've been married to Zeus for millennia. He's cheated on you hundreds of thousands of times, yet you're still together. How do you deal with it?"
Hera was silent, and Percy thought he might have gone too far when she started speaking in a quiet, broken voice.
"I stopped loving him. I was furious for the first thousand years or so, but no matter what I did, it didn't change. Every time he swore he'd stop, that he'd change, that he still loved me and would never stray again. And I would believe him, and I would only get hurt even more the next time. And the saddest part is, I took so long to finally realize that, that when I did there was no one left to go to. All the other gods and goddesses are just as bad as Zeus, and I refuse to leave one cheating, lying womanizer for another."
"So you decided to stay with someone you don't love just because you can't find anyone else?" Percy asked, incredulously.
"Better the devil you know, and all that." Hera said wistfully. "I am the Goddess of Marriage, of Family. I need to be in a relationship, Perseus. I feel so… so empty, inside, if I'm not. That is why I married Zeus so quickly after claiming my domains."
Percy was quiet for a moment, before pulling Hera into a hug. "I'm sorry," he whispered.
Hera nuzzled into Percy's chest while hugging him back. "Thank you."
Percy held the goddess for a while, just enjoying the feel of giving and receiving comfort with the poor goddess with an even worse love life than he had. After a few minutes, an idea popped into his head, causing a small smile to form on his face for the first time in a week.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but being married to Zeus I doubt you go out very often, right?"
Hera scoffed. "Our last date was watching Napoleon's coronation. And we only went to that because he was Zeus' son."
"Then how would you like to come to dinner with me? Probably more comfortable than sitting on a beach in a short dress."
Hera thought for a moment, and Percy wondered if he had overstepped his bounds when she got up and brushed the damp sand from her dress. But then she smiled down at him.
"I'd love to. I'll go and change, then meet you outside camp. Alright?"
"Sure."
Hera disappeared in a flash of light, and Percy got to his feet before walking back to his cabin, avoiding the rest of camp. He showered then dressed in nice pants, a green button up shirt and a simple coat jacket. Walking through the still empty camp, he jogged along to hurry as he saw the sun starting to go down. Approaching the tree where Peleus guarded the Golden Fleece, Percy paused as he caught sight of Hera.
She had swapped her dress for a cream colored sweater that hugged her figure, and a pair of designer jeans that ended just above her ankles. A pair of sandals with a slight heel encased her feet, and she had kept the gold anklet. She had tied her hair up with a golden ribbon, and it now tickled her neck instead of her shoulders. In summation, she looked stunning.
She smiled as she saw Percy trying not to stare at her. "Ready to go, Perseus?"
"Um, yeah. You, uh, you look amazing." Percy stammered, blushing. But Hera just smiled at the compliment, and started walking alongside Percy. After a few minutes Percy stopped beside a tree trunk, and started patting it down. Hera looked on, amused.
"What are you doing?"
"Just looking for… that!" Percy exclaimed as he found the switch and flipped it, causing a large rectangle of earth to rise up on hydraulic poles. A cherry red Camaro rose up out of the ground and stopped when it was level with the ground. Hera raised an eyebrow.
"That was… unexpected. Why do you have an underground car holder?"
"A gift from Hephaestus cabin, a thank you for doing some quest. I think I found a hammer their dad threw to earth in a fit or something."
"Nice car." Hera remarked offhandedly as she walked over to the passenger door. Percy beat her to it and opened the door for her. Hera shot him a smile as she slid into the car. Percy got into the driver's seat and started the car. As he drove away the slice of earth slowly sank back into the ground.
Percy and Hera were laughing together in a nice Italian restaurant. Percy had remembered that Paul had taken his mom here for her birthday last year, and they had both enjoyed it. It was a nice restaurant, and wasn't too fancy that they had to wait too long to get seated. They had spent the evening just talking, pretty much. Percy found it very interesting to talk to someone who had seen all of human history play out. Since Hera's duties were, admittedly, rather minor she often spent her downtime simply watching humanity. One of her favorite times was the Renaissance. They had done some very nice paintings and sculptures of her. While laughing while telling a story about a mortal who had tried to seduce her (quite horribly), Hera had turned to cover her mouth to try and keep from braying like a donkey. While her head was turned Percy had caught a glimpse of something blue on the back of her neck.
"What's that? There's something on your neck."
Hera had frozen for a second, before turning in her chair with a smirk and lifting her hair up. With a small glow the back of her sweater either turned invisible or disappeared, revealing a smooth, strong back. Tattooed along her shoulder blades was a colorful peacock, the wings tucked neatly against the side while the long plumage went down to the small of her back. The very top of the peacock's head was resting on the nape of her neck. After a few seconds Hera restored her clothing and turned back to a slightly blushing Percy.
"Something you mortals did that I rather liked was the idea of tattoos. They can be quite beautiful, don't you agree?" she asked, smirking playfully.
Hera was very pleased with how the evening had gone so far. Perseus was a perfect gentleman; he had opened the car doors for her, held the restaurant door open, asked for her preference in seating, had held her chair out for her and tried to keep the conversation interesting for her sake. He was also, she had to admit to herself, very handsome.
He had strong, chiseled features that were only improved by his good natured smiles. His hair was a tousled mess, the streak of grey from his brief stint holding the sky still clearly prominent. Broad shoulders and his large height, 6'2", gave him a muscular appearance, but was still lean enough not to be too bulging. But, transfixed with as he was her eyes, she was just as enamored with his as well. His sea green eyes could shift with his mood, running the gambit from being almost pitch black when he was furious, to brilliant emerald when he was happy, to the soft, almost glowing aqua they were right now.
But above all it was his "fatal flaw" that she found most endearing about him; his loyalty. Hera knew that Perseus would stay faithful to whoever he gave his heart to, no matter what. She had seen that in the past few months leading up to his breakup with Annabeth. Any sane person could see that she was cheating on him, but Percy had remained loyal.
Hera sighed internally, and just for a moment let her façade of joy drop. She knew, deep in her heart of hearts, she was wishing that she could have married Percy instead of Zeus. But it was what it was, and she would take what she had.
After a few pleasant hours of conversation, along with a few glasses of good wine, Hera was distraught to call it a night. Percy had paid for the whole evening, causing Hera to inquire about how he made his money, since he rarely left camp any more due to his incredibly strong scent.
"Being able to walk along the seafloor, and being able to practically order around all sea life, makes it very easy to salvage shipwrecks," he had replied with a smile.
The pair walked along the sidewalks of Manhattan for another half hour, before Percy finally decided he had to get back. Hera looked disappointed, but agreed that it was probably for the best. She pulled him into a tight hug, which after a moment he returned. She then whispered into his ear,
"Thank you, Perseus, for such a wonderful evening. We'll have to do this again sometime."
She had then vanished in a soft flash, leaving Percy alone but, at the same time, unexpectedly happy.
Percy leaned against the wall outside the movie theater, waiting for Hera. Their first… date, was over a year ago by now. Thinking about the goddess, Percy couldn't help the goofy smile that stretched across his face. They had been… dating, since that was really the only word to explain it, regularly for the past year, about an outing or two per week. He would take her to dinner, or a movie or a show, she would take him to museums, concerts or walks along exotic venues. She could simply flash them anywhere on earth, so her ideas were more spread out. Thinking about Hera always caused a sense of elation mingled with dread to strike his heart.
It had only taken two months before Percy had come to the realization that he had fallen in love with Hera.
He loved everything about her, spending time with her, making her laugh, watching how happy she seemed when they were together. He hadn't breathed a word of how he felt to her, though. As terrible as Zeus was to her as a husband, he was still her husband. She was the goddess of marriage; she would never cheat on him, no matter what.
But their dates had allowed him to ignore all of the downturns his life had taken since then. The camp had almost unanimously declared Matthew the unofficial leader of Camp Halfblood, Annabeth hadn't left his side since dumping Percy, even though it was pretty much accepted that he was cheating on her, and he had become a forgotten relic to the younger demigods. If it weren't for his mother, Percy would have very little tying him to the mortal world. With his father being immortal, Tyson being immortal as leader of the Cyclopean Army, Grover having the same long life as all satyrs, Thalia being ageless… most of the people he cared about lived within the immortal realm. Add his current closeness to Hera to the mix, and the decision to stay mortal was now hanging by a thread.
Glancing at his watch, Percy frowned. Hera was twenty minutes late for their date. She was never late, which immediately made Percy worry. After another five minutes he sighed, then started walking away from the theater towards the Empire State Building. When he was in sight of the New York landmark, he stopped as he passed by an alley. He heard soft crying emanating from the alley, and cautiously entered to see what was wrong. Halfway through he broke into a run as he saw the person crying was Hera.
She was curled up against the wall of the alley, her arms wrapped around her knees, gently shaking. She was wearing a deep blue dress, but it was ripped a little around the neckline and one of the shoulder straps was torn and hanging limp. She was missing a sandal, and her hair was a tussled mess. But what worried him the most was the fact that scattered around her were splatters and drops of golden ichor. Percy fell to his knees before her, gently taking her hands and pulling her face up from her knees.
He gasped.
Her left eye was swollen and peach colored, the godly version of a black eye due to their golden blood. Her lower lip was split and freely bleeding. A thin stream was dripping from her crooked nose, mingling with the stream from her lip.
Percy didn't say anything, he just held Hera close as she sobbed into his shoulder, her tears and ichor staining his shirt a shimmery gold. After a good ten minutes her sobs stilled into a few huffing, wheezing gasps. Percy pulled a silver flask from his coat and gently pushed it into her hands.
"It's nectar, drink up."
Hera took the flask and drank deeply, the divine liquor sealing the cuts on her face and reducing the swelling of her eye down so that both of her eyes were only swollen from tears. When she finished the flask Percy slipped it back into his coat before gently resettling them both so that he was sitting against the alley wall and Hera was curled into his lap, his arms wrapped protectively around her.
"Please, tell me what happened?"
Hera was quiet for a moment, before she started to speak in a tiny whisper.
"I was getting ready for our date. I hadn't seen Zeus yet today, and was quite happy with that to be honest. Then I just… felt it. I asked my daughter, Eileithyia, years ago to let me know whenever another demigod of Zeus is born. I don't know why, but after the past year with you… spending time with someone I know would never do that to me… I just snapped."
Hera took a deep shuddering breath.
"Zeus walked back into our palace after that, and I started shouting at him. I ranted, I raved, and I let out all the hurt and pain that man has caused me over the years. And he shouted right back, ignoring my words and just trying to come out on top. I lost my temper, and I slapped him. This wasn't the first time I've done that, I admit. But then he did something he's never done before: he hit me back."
Percy's arms tightened around her, a feeling of fury bubbling in his stomach. 'You will pay uncle, you will pay a thousand-fold for what you did to her. This I swear upon the Styx.'
Hera continued, unaware of the thoughts swirling around Percy's head.
"He backhanded me, and sent me flying into a pillar in our home. He stomped over and grabbed the front of my dress, and slammed me into the pillar and yelled, right in my face, about how ungrateful I was for all he ever did for me. It… it was the closest I've ever felt to being truly afraid. I thought he was going to kill me, and I'd have to reform in Tartarus. He finally just, dropped me, and flashed away. I think I stumbled through Olympus and took the elevator down here. It was all a blur after that…"
"Hera… you need to leave him. Honestly, he doesn't deserve what a wonderful woman you are, I don't think any god does."
"I can't!" She cried, exasperated, tears once more running down her cheeks. "I told you, I need to be in a relationship, my very nature requires it." She slumped into Percy's arms, wrapping her own around his muscled torso. "If I left Zeus, I'd need to have someone willing to marry me almost immediately, or else the shock of losing the connection of a ten thousand year marriage might kill me."
Almost before his mind caught up to what his mouth was saying, Percy spoke into the quiet of the alley; "marry me."
Hera's head shot up, staring Percy right in the eye. "What did you say?"
Percy took a deep breath and decided to go for broke.
"Marry me. Hera, I know that you are one of the most incredible, wonderful, beautiful, marvelous beings I have ever met, which is why it was not so great of a surprise when I realized I had fallen in love with you." Hera gasped, drawing her hands free to cover her mouth as her eyes grew moist.
"I know I am just a demigod, and you are the Queen of Olympus, but I love you so much it's terrifying. Seeing you like this, knowing that you're suffering so much kills me. I want you to be happy, and I truly want a chance to bring you the happiness you've brought to me over the past year. Please, give me a chance."
For a moment, Hera was silent, staring at Percy with wide, shimmering eyes. But then she threw her arms around his neck and crashed her lips against his. Her lips were so soft, it was as if he was kissing a cloud. Percy's lips opened in a silent gasp of surprise, and Hera took the opportunity to search his mouth with her tongue. After a few seconds to compose himself Percy wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her tight against him, returning the kiss with equal passion. She tasted like honey, so sweet that he could never have enough, and thought he could live off the taste of kissing her alone. When the kiss ended, Hera nuzzled her cheek against his neck.
"Of course I'll marry you." She whispered against him.
"Thank you," Percy said into her hair as he buried his face in her chocolaty locks. "I love you."
"I love you too, Percy."
"Come on, let's go." Percy said, helping the goddess to her feet.
"What, now? How do you expect to get married at eleven o'clock at night?"
"Well, there's this wonderful little town called Las Vegas out west…"
Hera smirked and slapped his chest before taking hold of his arm and flashing them to Las Vegas. A six foot two demigod in a tuxedo and a goddess in a torn and bloodstained dress appearing in the middle of the Vegas Strip didn't even warrant a second look to the throngs of people enjoying Sin City's nightlife. It only took five minutes to find a 24-Hour chapel, and Percy and Hera quickly rushed in. Percy was already wearing a tux, and with a thought Hera turned her evening gown into a wedding dress that had Percy almost drooling looking at his fiancée. Since it was such a quickie wedding, the only people there would be the justice of the peace, and two employees who acted as witnesses. After paying the fee for the ten minute ceremony, Percy and Hera stood outside the doors leading into the chapel hall. Hera was staring at the plain golden band on her left ring finger, contemplating whether the decision she was making was the right one or not. Turning to look at Percy, she saw him looking at her with such love and affection in her eyes her mind was made up in a heartbeat. She pulled the ring off and held it between her hands.
"I, Hera, youngest daughter of Kronos the Titan King and Rhea, the Second Earth Mother, in my capacity as Goddess of Marriage and Families, declare my marriage to Zeus, King of Olympus, null and void. So I say, so it is."
With the final word she snapped the wedding band in half, and the two "c" shaped pieces of gold fell to the floor. She turned to Percy, who smiled and offered her his arm, and they walked into the hall with the wedding march playing from hidden speakers. They stopped before the podium, and the Justice of the Peace smiled at them both before opening the book in front of him and clearing his throat.
"We are gathered here today…"
The assembled Olympian Council smiled and/or glared, depending on the god, at the five demigods assembled before them: Thalia Grace, Nico DiAngelo, Annabeth Chase, Matthew Thomas… and Percy Jackson. Annabeth and Matthew were standing so close they looked like Siamese twins, away from the other three. Thalia and Percy were standing in a small huddle, the two cousins using the small amount of peace to try and reconnect, with Nico passing in and out of the conversation at will. Finally, Zeus let loose a loud peal of thunder, and all eyes turned to him.
"Today, we sit here once again only thanks to the efforts of our children." Zeus sounded like it was literally killing him to speak these words. "Were it not for their brave heroics, surely Olympus would have fallen into ruin, and we would have faded from the world."
Unfortunately, no matter how the gods might want to not believe it, this was true. A small handful of demigods, who had sided with Kronos in the Titan war and Gaea in the Giant war, had devised a single, desperate plan to take revenge against the Gods. They had kidnapped Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the Oracle of Apollo, and had forced her to find the location of Ouranos' heart. They planned on entering Tartarus to steal a few pieces of Kronos, and then to head to Greece to salvage some of Gaea's slumbering body. They would then construct a body out of the scavenged parts, powering it with the heart of Ouranos, the Primordial God of the Sky, which had kept on steadily beating since the creation of the planet. Luckily, in a vision induced act, Rachel had scrawled out a prophecy before being taken, detailing the need for the five heroes to join together to stop the monstrosity from attacking Olympus.
Having once more saved the gods, the demigods were now waiting for their rewards. Zeus looked at the assembled demigods as one would look at an insect; he then waved his hands at the assembled gods to get on with the rewards.
Artemis stood from her throne and looked down at the heroes.
"Thalia Grace, my loyal hunter, my Lieutenant, my little sister. Since you have joined my hunters, you have been the epitome of what they represent. You have earned this gift, and so I offer to you the gift of true immortality. Do you accept?"
Thalia looked shocked for a moment, before Percy nudged her and she bowed to the Maiden Goddess. "Of course My Lady, I would be honored." With a wave of her hands a beam of light shot out and struck Thalia. She glowed silver for a brief moment, before the light faded, leaving Thalia looking incredibly healthy and fit. She walked forwards to sit at the base of her goddess' throne.
Hades stood next, having reclaimed his throne after Percy used his reward from defeating Gaea to give Hades and Hestia a place on the Council.
"Nico, my son. You have lived a hard life, this I will not deny. I know you feel you don't belong in the world of mortals anymore, and wish only for peace. I offer to you the post of Guardian of Elysium, where you would be tasked with eternally watching over the souls of the dead who live within the walls of paradise."
"Thank you, father." Nico said quietly before moving to rest at the base of Hades' throne. Percy knew that his cousin deserved a chance for eternal peace; having never really moved on from the loss of Bianca, he was even more distraught when Hazel perished in the Giant war. When, just before the quest started, his girlfriend passed away from an illness, he really wanted nothing more to do with the mortal world.
Athena stood next, but pointedly looked just above her daughter's head. She was ashamed of how Annabeth had acted the past two years. Athena may not have liked Percy, but even she could admit that he was one of the best men to be found; having her daughter cheat on Perseus for a weaker demigod who was cheating on her was an insult to Athena, as she had made an incredibly stupid decision.
"Annabeth, you did well on your appointed task of rebuilding Olympus, and fought well on this past task. I offer you the gift of agelessness, to never grow old or weak from disease. Do you accept?"
"What?! Don't I get immortality like them?" Annabeth whined, pointing at Thalia and Nico.
"Silence girl!" Athena snapped, causing Annabeth's eyes to pop at the scolding. "I debated giving you this gift at all, and I don't think you even deserve it."
"No, no, I'll take it! I'll take it!"
A brief gray glow surrounded Annabeth, but when she went to sit by her mother's throne, Athena caused a large brazier of flames to appear, forcing Annabeth to stand awkwardly in the middle.
Apollo, like his sister, couldn't bring himself to look at his child. He really liked Percy, but he didn't need the gift of prophecy to see the kid just couldn't catch a break. To have his son steal his girlfriend, then go around cheating on her was just not classy. In a tone devoid of his usual mirth, Apollo spoke in a near monotone.
"Matthew, same choice as Athena gave. Yes or no?"
Seeming to recognize that complaining would get him the same result as Annabeth, he just nodded. A golden aura surrounded him, before he went to stand next to Annabeth.
Everyone was waiting for Poseidon to speak to Percy, but to their surprise it was Hera who stood next. She walked over to Percy, shrinking all the while until she was human height, her head stopping just under her chin. She had decided this was her favorite height, as it was perfect for Percy to hold her against him.
"Perseus, you have done so much for us, time after time. It would take a day and a night to list your achievements, but I don't think any of us need to. We offer to you that which we have offered twice before. We offer to you, Perseus, the gift of godhood."
Percy didn't need to even think about it; "I accept."
With those words three flashes of white light filled the room, and the Three Fates appeared before him. The one holding the ball of yarn spoke, her voice surprisingly youthful for her age warn face.
"Perseus, this is the second of the two choices you have made to seal your fate."
The fate who was knitting the sock spoke, her voice as rugged as a pack-a-day smoker's.
"You chose well before, and have chosen well now, child."
The final fate, holding the scissors snipped a piece of yarn before speaking, her voice devoid of any and all inflections.
"Your path was not a happy one, oh hero, but know that finally your reward is at hand; go, and enjoy eternal happiness."
As one, the raised their hands and blasted Percy with three balls of golden energy, speaking in unison.
"Hail, Lord Perseus, God of Loyalty and Honor. May your life be ever filled with your just rewards."
The fates disappeared, leaving a gasping Percy on the ground. After a moment, Percy slowly got to his feet, feeling a sense of power flowing through his veins as he rose. He could feel his power, rushing through his veins, feel the bonds of loyalty that made up his domain. He turned to Hera, who still stood in front of him, her smile large enough to burst. Perseus pulled her into his arms, shocking the assembled watchers. They were even more shocked, and Hestia fainted, when he pulled her into a deep kiss.
"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!" Zeus roared, lightning bolt flashing in his fist. "What are you doing, Perseus?"
Perseus slowly untangled himself from Hera, though he kept an arm around her waist.
"I was kissing my wife. Why do you ask?" He asked in a sarcastic tone, causing Hera to giggle.
"That is mywife, boy. Unhand her at once, and I'll make your demise quick."
Percy's good mood evaporated, and he stared at Zeus with so much raw hatred that a few gods flinched from catching the edge of the glare.
"Wrong, she was your wife. She divorced your abusive ass the night you beat her, the night I married her. I love her, and she loves me. Nothing you can do can change that."
Zeus literally growled at them, before standing and staring down at them from his godly height of fifteen feet.
"I can kill you and that whore where you stand, I'm sure that the monsters of Tartarus will love to see the both of you."
Hera flinched at the comment, but Percy simply glared, before breaking into a smirk that caused the King of the Gods to feel a sliver of fear.
"You know, I've always wondered why the rest of the gods put up with you. You're not the oldest, that's Hestia. You're not the most powerful, both Poseidon and Hades are stronger than you. You sure as hell aren't the kindest. Yet they all let you walk all over them, control what they do, and pretty much let you control their lives. Why? It is because, as King, they are bound by laws and oaths and bonds of loyalty."
Putting emphasis on that word caused Zeus to realize what Perseus was doing, and he paled drastically.
"Now, as the newly christened God of Loyalty, it is within my power to either enforce said bonds… or dissolve them."
As he spoke the other gods seemed to understand what he was doing, and they all turned to look at the now sitting and sweating King. Many had undisguised looks of gleeful hatred, Poseidon in particular had picked up his trident and Athena was running a whetstone over her spear head.
"Now, I wonder how long you would last as King if those bonds were to break. Let's see what kind of loyalty you inspired with your own actions."
Perseus felt out and grabbed ahold of all the laws and oaths enforcing loyalty to Zeus as King of the Gods. With a single thought, he snapped them, freeing the gods from their responsibilities to respect and obey him. As soon as the bonds were broken every god in the council chamber roared and rushed at the cowering god.
Except for two.
Percy held Hera close as they watched the combined might of the Gods of Olympus take out ten thousand years of pent up rage against the tyrant king that was Zeus. Percy turned and smiled at his wife.
"You know, I don't think we ever had a real honeymoon. I hear Hawaii is lovely this time of year."
Hera smiled and pecked him on the lips, the pair of them flashing out of the throne room before any of the ichor of the ex-king Zeus got on their nice clothes.
A woman with stringy, dirty blond hair sat hunched over a bar, nursing a glass of whiskey as the early afternoon sunlight tried to fight through the dirty windows. Suddenly the doors of the dingy bar creaked open, and another woman stepped in. She was beautiful, with long chocolate brown hair and hazel eyes. Her face would put most models to shame, and her ruby lips were curled in a smile. The white cashmere sweater she wore did nothing to hide the obviously pregnant stomach, instead it seemed to caress it.
The newcomer walked up to the bar and sat next to the only other patron of the empty bar, which had gone out of business last year. A closed down bar was the only place the blonde was welcome to drink at anymore, after having pissed off Dionysus to the point that he banished her from any party atmospheres for life.
"Hello Annabeth."
The blonde looked up, grey eyes bloodshot and swollen. She couldn't have been any older than twenty two, but her face was lined with wrinkles and stress lines.
"What do you want, Hera?" Annabeth slurred, taking another sip of her drink.
"Oh, just wanted to say hi, see how you were doing. After Matthew dumped you for those Aphrodite twins and you passed yourself around to every boy over thirteen in Camp Halfblood you got kicked out, and we lost track of you. What's it been, thirty, forty years now?"
"What the fuck do you want?" Annabeth snapped, near tears at having the mistakes of her past brought up again. Hera dropped her smile and flashed a cruel smirk at the girl.
"I wanted to thank you. You know what today is? Forty five years to the day that Perseus and I got married, and none of it would have happened if not for you. I wouldn't be married to the handsome, loving, wonderful man that I am, I wouldn't have my girls, and I wouldn't have this little one on the way, either." Hera rested her hand on her swollen tummy. She knew this one would be a boy, which was nice after having twin girls a decade earlier; Zoë and Arya, the Twin Goddesses of Trust and Devotion.
"My life is perfect, and you know what? It could have been yours, all yours, if you hadn't done the stupidest thing on earth and left Percy."
Hera stood and brushed the dust off of her jeans before heading to the door. Annabeth grabbed her arm though, forcing her to look at her tear stricken face.
"Why?"
"No one hurts my Percy." Hera said simply, before flashing out of the bar, leaving the drunken daughter of Athena to cry alone with her thoughts and regrets.