outlasting the sun

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He stood silently in the great room, towering columns supporting the roof that bore down around him. Percy's gaze rested on the immortals seated before him, jaw set. She watched him, like everyone else in the room, unmoving.

"Perseus," Zeus boomed, the word echoing around the chamber.

"We wish to grant you godhood." He wouldn't decline this time. What was the use? They might force it upon him, or smite him.

"Okay." His voice sounded dull. A spark of pride flickered inside her. He was exhausted, and refused to give the answer that they asked for, instead settling for the driest, blandest, most nonchalant.

Zeus narrowed his eyes, but continued nonetheless. "Approach."

Percy stepped forwards, then again, and again, until he stood only a mere few feet from the king of the gods. He didn't kneel, or bow his head, instead squaring his shoulders and staring straight upwards.

"You will be known as the god of long voyages, coastal storms, and unfaltering devotion. Patron protector of demigods and the war-torn, guardian of the young and the lost. Hail, Perseus Jackson, pit-walker, champion of Olympus."

Zeus placed his hands on Percy's shoulders, and light flooded the hall. She didn't shield herself from the searing brightness, only closed her eyes. It faded moments later, and she looked up again at the new god.

He looked the same as he had before, though a new youth flushed through him. His skin glowed gold from the ichor that replaced his blood, and his eyes held a new sharpness to them, sea-green swirling with power and cunning, the tiredness and exhaustion all but gone. His hair seemed endlessly dark, tousled still, but blindingly black. On it, a crown of laurels rested delicately, the dark branches twisting through it, fresh leaves slipping among the strands.

"Serve well, Perseus. Do not make me regret this decision." Zeus's voice was loud, and final. A dismissal.

Poseidon and Apollo approached him immediately, and he said a sharp word before they agreed to leave. He walked towards her, and knelt.

"Lady Hestia."

"We are equals, now. You may treat me as such."

"You still have my utmost respect, you know. Just because I'm immortal now doesn't change any of that." she smiled softly, and cupped his face with her hand.

"Where is this respect when you face those that can cause you harm?"

"Zeus is a bitch." he said, shrugging.

"Hush now. He will punish you more severely for misbehavior and disrespect, now that you are a god."

"Hestia, it's okay. As you said, I'm a god now."

She nodded. "Be safe, Percy Jackson."

- - - - - - - - - -

He held his baby sister, her weight heavy in his arms, though he felt no strain. She giggled and babbled, her bright eyes curious and questioning.

He wondered if he had ever been this innocent, this free of blame and guilt. He didn't think so.

No one will hurt her, he swore. Any that did would feel the wrath of an immortal deity, a modern Greek god.

- - - - - - - - - -

"Higher!" he barked, watching the two young demigods spar. One of them, hopelessly slow, was being pummeled with the wooden training swords.

"Alright, stop." the two pulled away immediately, panting. They gazed up at him in awe, as if they still couldn't believe that an actual god was coaching them.

"Pat, take a break. Go drink water or something.'' the demigod ran off, to the edge of the arena, where his friends were waiting.

"Alexander, pick up your sword, we need to fix your grip. Put your hands higher, higher, yes, there we go." Percy shifted the boy's hands into the correct position, subtly adjusting his stance as well.

"Now swing, no, not like that. You can't swing your whole body, because then you'll be off balance. Try again."

- - - - - - - - - -

"Why aren't you getting old, Percy?" his sister's voice demanded.

"I'm not old yet, Stella. I'll be young for a while yet." he stroked her hair, looking into her bright eyes.

"Yeah, but most people age at least a little bit. You're thirty, and you still look sixteen."

"I'm just lucky I guess, then, dove."

- - - - - - - - - -

"Last day of camp, huh?" Percy said, sliding into a chair across from Dionysus. The latter god grunted.

"Thank the gods."

"Won't you miss this place?"

"Certainly not. I hate children."

"What will you do with all this free time?"

Dionysus popped a can of diet coke. "Have some fun, finally, I imagine. Parties."

Percy smiled, nodding. He slapped the other god's back as he walked away. "Good luck, Mr. D,"

- - - - - - - - - -

He sat on the sand, watching the setting sun. The wind rustled the trees, and the waves crashed distantly against the shore. A star appeared in the darkening sky. Even the sun would die, in a long time still, billions of years. But he would live to see that day, unless he were to fade, of course.

He wondered how many sunsets he would see in that time, how many sunrises he would witness, how many times he would see that first star appear in the dusk. He would live to see the fall of man and the death of the sun. Somehow, though, that didn't really matter to him so much anymore.



so percy being a god is something that i wanted to write a concept about but not a whole fic. so. i think its definitely interesting and i might pursue it sometime idk but i really just wanted to write the part where hestia describes him post becoming a god. mostly the gold-tinged skin. i just wanted to write that line and that was it but it doesnt work like that so yeah here you go

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