Apollo couldn't believe his ears when Percy asked him to stay. He was used to extremely cute men and women asking him to stay the night, but he'd never truly felt this way about any of them. Yes, he had loved them. Some of them he'd even had children with. But he'd always known he'd have to leave them eventually. It may hurt him at the time, but he knew he'd get over it eventually, and then he'd be out with another man, or another woman. But spending the night with Percy seemed different. Even though Poseidon and the other Olympians would forbid it, Apollo could see himself happy with Percy. Living without Percy, however, seemed as if it was not an option.
He looked around cabin 3, his ears just registering Percy's words and gestures directed towards a messy bed in the corner. So that was where he slept. Apollo resisted the urge to go and lay down on Percy's bed, inhaling the faint scent of the sea. He then blushed considerably when e realised what he was feeling. Having a crush on Poseidon's son was wrong. They were technically cousins! But, gods and goddesses don't have any shared DNA, despite parentages, a little voice inside of him whispered. So technically, there's nothing wrong with it.
Apollo thought for a moment, trying to distract himself from the sudden, overwhelming temptation to inhale deeply, and savour Percy's company. You still wouldn't want to fall in love with your direct sibling, or your parent. That was gross. But since he and Percy were more like cousins, and they had no shared DNA, it was totally acceptable to fall in love with him. Hold up, love? Apollo smothered a scoff, internally laughing at his foolishness. He barely knew Jackson. The fact that they were about to go on a life threatening quest together in a week didn't change that. Perhaps it was just his nerves making him feel this way about Percy. Yeah, that was it.
"-llo? Apollo, are you still with me?" Percy's voice filled his ears, and Apollo snapped to attention to find Percy waving his hand frantically in front of his face.
He sighed, blushing a bit. "Yeah, sorry Jackson. What were you saying?"
"I was saying that I sleep over there, but you can choose anywhere in here to sleep. I don't mind. Just no..." Percy narrowed his eyes, that were already drooping tiredly. "...visitors. I don't wanna have to clean anything gross tomorrow."
Apollo faked being offended. "Jeepers, kid. I would never do such a thing! Do you really think so low of me?" In reality, he understood where Percy was coming from. He'd had his fair share of one-night stands, and spent a lot of time on Hephaestus-TV because of said stands. It was no secret that the sun god was not innocent, by any and all means.
Percy didn't respond. He walked towards his bed and lay down, almost nervously. "Wait, Percy." Apollo heard himself call out. "Do you want any sleeping medication? I have a different type than my son Will, so this one is fine to take."
The scowl he got in response made Apollo back away instantly. "Fine, fine. Sleep well."
"G'night then." The other boy murmured in response, and Apollo sat down on the edge of a bed close to him. It was so soft, Apollo wanted to lay down and sleep forever, never having to worry about his godly duties. It also smelt like the sea. Like Percy. Apollo blushed, internally chiding himself. This was just a stupid crush. He needed to get over it.
Still cringing inside, Apollo lay down and began to sleep. So many things swirled around in his mind. He'd had crushes before, but not like this. Never like this. You looooove him! A feminine voice sounded in his head. "Aphrodite, get the Hades out of my mind." He muttered. Alright, alright. But don't say I didn't try and tell you! Apollo sighed, and it was with that that the sun god finally fell asleep.
~~~
Percy looked around the battlefield, watching demigods and legacies of both Rome and Greece fight together against the waves of monsters that kept flooding in. He decapacitated a skeleton that was coming at him, and what surprised him was the amount of effort it took. He was just so bone tired.
A cry filled his ears, which very nearly killed Percy itself. "Annabeth!" He cried, and ran towards the sound. But he was too late. He arrived just in time to see her fall, her throat slit by a cyclops. She must have been so scared. A cyclops... he thought back to when they were 12 and Annabeth was so nervous, so against spending any time with Tyson, who was about as harmful as a skittle. Years later, she was killed by a cyclops, the very same kind that had killed Thalia. He held her hand as she died.
Percy looked up to see Athena's stone cold glare. "You dumbass. You couldn't save her. You're worthless, good for nothing. Weak." The goddess said, in a tone so harsh Hades himself would cowar when directed at him.
"I'm sorry, I tried to save her... I tried..." Percy sobbed, but his cries were cut off by cold, hard lips being pressed against his. His eyes widened, and his gaze was met with a dead, grey stare. "Annabeth..."
"You couldn't save me, seaweed brain." Annabeth responded in an emotionless tone. It was almost as if Percy was talking to a recording. "You weren't strong enough."
Then, for a split second, the scene wavered. Annabeth seemed to brighten, and warm up. "Percy! You need to stop! Stop blaming yourself, the world needs you! I need you! I- I love you-" her cries were filled with fear and urgency before a switch seemed to be flipped and she returned to her cold, dead demeanour.
He leant down to kiss Annabeth's unresponsive lips. "I'm sorry, Annabeth."
~~~
Apollo awoke to broken sobs coming the son of Poseidon. He stumbled out of the warm, Percy-smelling bed and staggered over to Percy, prepared to wake him.
"I'm sorry, I tried to save her... I tried..."
Pain stabbed through Apollo's heart as if it were made of knives. Of course he was dreaming of Annabeth. Percy was smitten with her. Apollo remembered watching the couple smiling and laughing, kissing and cuddling, crying and consoling. They were perfect for each other. Apollo couldn't compete with perfect. "Percy, wake up..." he whispered, but Percy didn't respond. He kept sobbing.
Apollo felt his heartbeat speed up as he stated panicking. Percy had started scratching at his arms in his sleep, and much to Apollo's dismay, the skin was breaking. Firmly holding the son of Poseidon's hand still, Apollo leant down and put his mouth near Percy's ear. "Percy!" He murmured, softly yet desperatly. "You need to stop! Stop blaming yourself, the world needs you! I need you! I- I love you-"
With those words, Percy ceased struggling. His breaths became calmer, and Apollo let go of his arms. He must have resembled a tomato! What in Zeus' unholy name was he thinking? Apollo sighed. Aphrodite must have been messing with his mind again, because the sun god didn't do things like that. He waited for the other person to confess love, not the other way round! Blushing profusely, Apollo stumbled back to his Percy-smelling bed and lay down, desperately hoping to sleep so that he could wake up and discover that this whole thing was just an elaborate nightmare.
(1267 words)
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Does the sun shine in Tartarus?
قصص الهواةThe war is over. But the losses are too great to grasp. The seven are dead. Except for Percy. Injured, broken and alone, Percy barely leaves his cabin. Will and Nico, two of the few survivors, desperately try to encourage him. But it never works. H...
