Luckily for Percy, he was only maimed slightly by Annabeth, and the blonde was willing to sit down with Hera, Aphrodite, May, and him to figure out exactly what to do with the goddesses. In light of what transpired in Olympus a few hours ago, Hera and Annabeth were only slightly awkward with each other instead of outright insulting each other like they used to.
"There's a few apartments that are leasing right now. We can look at some this afternoon." May said as she sat back in her chair, a mug of coffee cradled in her hands. They were in her apartment at the moment since Sam and Dean were both off work and hanging out together at home. It was probably a bad thing to leave them alone since Percy had yet to speak to Dean after discovering the existence of demigods, but May decided that they had other things to worry about.
"If I am going to be living here, I would like to get a job." Hera's voice was slightly awkward for someone that used to be the queen of Olympus, but no one called her out on it since they understood that it was new territory for her. "I know I have much to learn, but I would like to try."
"That's the spirit!" Percy cheered while Annabeth and May looked at each other tiredly. "What about you, Aph?"
The goddess blinked, looking a bit caught off guard, before she shrugged, looking almost like she wanted to be anywhere but there, which wasn't the usual for her and was a bit worrying. "Do I have to decide right now?"
The son of Poseidon shook his head before the two young adults near him could say anything possibly upsetting. Although they were more understanding of Hera and her plight, they were a bit more hesitant of Aphrodite since they didn't see why exactly she had to be with them. Percy figured it was because he and Zeus had a deal to stay away from each other, and Zeus was now wary since the son of Poseidon proved that he wouldn't hesitate to make Zeus pay for crossing him.
"No, of course not." He smiled gently, noting the way the goddess of love was rubbing her thumb on the bruise on her wrist that still had yet to properly heal. "Take your time, okay? I'll help you when you're ready."
"Thank you." Aphrodite said as she inclined her head, grinning at his look of distaste at the action. So it wasn't just Hera he didn't like doing that, it was her as well. She wondered if it was because they were goddesses or if it was everyone in general. She'd have to ask later when they weren't discussing living arrangements and such. "Can you teach me how to drive?"
May choked on her coffee and Annabeth started snickering and patting her cousin's back. "Percy's driving isn't exactly what people would consider the best. It's like he learned in Florida or something." The daughter of Athena cautioned. "Though, he surprisingly has never gotten a ticket."
"Surprisingly?" Percy bristled, though there was mirth dancing in his eyes. "I'm a damn good driver, thank you." He turned to the goddess of love, who was watching the exchange with amusement. "Of course, I can teach you. We'll start after you get settled into your guys' apartment and shit."
"I'd like to learn as well." Hera piped up, pushing up the sunglasses that she had yet to take off. They made her look insanely cool, and Percy could see May warming up a bit to the goddess and her more relaxed nature now that she wasn't expected to be the perfect goddess of marriage. "If that's alright."
He nodded, expertly ignoring the horror growing on Annabeth and May's faced. "The more the merrier. We'll figure out a schedule later that works for all of us."
"I only have one extra guest bed," May said as she placed her mug on her coffee table. "So, someone is going to have to room somewhere else 'cause I don't have a pull-out couch."
"One of them can stay with me." Percy sighed, knowing that May's statement was pointed at him since he did, indeed, have a pullout couch and he and Dean had started sharing a room.
Hera spoke up before anyone else could, leaning forward slightly in her seat. "I will, please. I don't think-" She cleared her throat after glancing at Aphrodite. "I believe that I may be the best fit in dealing with any attitude the hunters may have towards us."
Annabeth and May inhaled sharply in realization at what the goddess meant. Hera didn't believe it was wise to have Aphrodite around a bunch of men (even if one was Percy, who would rather jump out of a plane than harm a woman) after she was just assaulted by Zeus.
"Of course." Percy inclined his head towards the goddess of marriage, earning himself a look of surprise from the ladies in the room. "I am going to need you to hang out here for a bit. I may or may not get beaten up when I get home."
Hera tilted her head. "Why is that? You are a very powerful demigod."
He sighed dramatically, dropping his head back against the couch as May snickered at him. "It depends on whether or not Dean's wearing the red button up."
"He is handsome, I assume."
"He's beautiful, Hera." He groaned, rubbing his eyes. "Even you would think so."
"Do you want to court him?"
"Date Dean? I don't think so, but who knows." He shrugged. "I don't know, I might have to kill him if he pushes me too far tonight."
Aphrodite nodded. "So, he's a himbo."
Her words gave everyone a pause, and all of the young adults stared at her. "How do you know what a himbo is?" May wondered, looking shell shocked.
The goddess of love rolled her eyes. "Have you seen Ares?"
"Ah, yeah." Percy nodded sagely, snatching May's coffee and taking a long sip. He screwed his face up at the taste but took a smaller sip again anyways. "Big himbo energy. Hephaestus?"
She smiled, crossing her legs. "Smartest man I know.
"For such a smart man, you'd think he'd learn after the first few times you cheated on him." Hera said, but there was no malice in her voice.
"You'd think you'd learn as well."
"Touché." The two women busted out into laughter, shaking their heads at their predicament. It may have been too soon to joke about what had happened, but it felt relieving all the same. The two never thought they would ever get along- they seemed to different- but now they could see themselves becoming good friends.
"Well!" Percy shoved the coffee back at May, who immediately cradled the mug in her hands, hunching over it to gather the last of its warmth. "Time to face the music. I'll text May when it's good to head to my place."
"Good luck!" The women called, only half of them sincere. He surrounded himself with bullies.
—
"Well, the place isn't trashed." Percy muttered as he unlocked the door to his apartment, stepping inside.
"Of course it isn't. We're not animals." Sam's voice was heard responding before Percy was slammed harshly against the wall next to the front door.
The air left the demigod in a rush, and he wheezed quietly as he tried to get an understanding of the situation. "Gods, you couldn't even wait for me to put down my bags?" He dropped said items to the floor, and he rolled his eyes spectacularly. "Where's Dean?"
"In the kitchen." The older Winchester called, stepping out towards the living room and wiping his hands on a dish rag. "You took forever to get home."
"Can you blame me?" Percy rolled his eyes, attempting to crane his head around Sam's large bulk, unsuccessfully.
"No, I can. I will blame you, actually. You didn't invite me to go with you."
"You didn't even know demigods existed before!" Percy paused. "Wait, are you reacting like this because I didn't invite you or because I'm a demigod?"
The shrug could be heard in his voice. "Bit of both. Mainly the first one. You know CC is like a sister to me. I'd do anything for her."
"Even fight a god?"
"Especially fight a god. I've done a lot worse for less, and CC is way worth it. Why didn't you tell me that you're a demigod?"
Percy rolled his eyes again, exasperated. "Oh, I don't know, maybe because you'd react exactly like you are now?" He gestured to Sam, who looked impatient with the conversation. He always did get fed up with Dean and Percy went they got into a bickering mood. "Hey, Sam. Been working out?"
"Don't flirt with me, it's gross."
"So rude. Look, if you don't let me go, I'm going to get mad." Percy tilted his head, a smile on his face. "Don't let me find out that you treated anyone from the diner like this. I'll kill you."
Sam huffed and dropped the other man back to the floor, taking a step back. "You know we would never."
"Oh, so it's personal."
"Well, yeah."
Percy pushed past him after picking up his bags, rolling his eyes once more. "Maybe I should kill you anyways. Dean-" He froze when he looked at his best friend, who appeared amused with the two of them. "You've got to be fucking kidding me! Why?! Why are you wearing that shirt?!"
Dean looked down at his red button up, eyebrows furrowed. "It's just a shirt, dude. Sam told me to wear it."
"Sam!" Percy whirled around to face the man, swinging his duffle bag around to smack the youngest Winchester in the chest. Sam cackled at him like a jerk. "I told you that in confidence!"
"Well, now that's your fault." Sam stuck his tongue out at him. "You should've known better."
"When I take over the world, you're the first I'm publicly executing."
"The whole world?"
"Not all of it. Just some of it."
Dean decided to pipe up, moving to sit on the couch with a huff. He had a beer cradled in his hand. "He'll take care of me in his shadow government, at least."
Sam rolled his eyes. "Only if you wear that shirt." He muttered under his breath as he moved to sit on the two-person couch across from his brother. He had once seen Percy purposely push Dean into a table to claim the break room microwave first when he came to visit them at work. When Dean wore the red shirt, however, Sam had the pleasure of watching Percy literally trip and fall face first into the dirt when the demigod saw his brother.
"Listen, guys." Percy flopped down next to Dean and snatched his beer right when he was about to take a pull of it. He took a sip and gracefully ignored his best friend poking his side. "Stop distracting me. I gotta tell you guys some important shit. So, demigods are real- blah, blah, blah. My dad is Poseidon, the water guy or whatever, and Annabeth's mom is Athena. Uh? We're just regular people with over-excitable parents that like to fuck over our lives. Some of us have powers, others don't. It depends on who your godly parent is. Zeus is a dick, we don't like him. Ares is alright. Fought him once. May is a daughter of Hercules. He's also a dick. We have two camps that demigods are allowed to go to cause we have a tendency to die if we're left alone. Questions?"
Dean took his beer back. "You fought the god of war?"
"When I was twelve."
"Did you win?"
"Of course, I did. What do you take me for?"
Sam decided to interject his own question. "Are you guys dangerous?"
Percy shrugged. "Not much more than a normal person." He grinned sharply. "I'm the most dangerous there is."
The two brothers nodded. "Oh, so, we're safe then."
"The hell is that supposed to mean?"
"You're strong, yeah, but all you do is eat and sleep- which is fine except I think your soulmate is a Subway sandwich."
"Alright, that's fair. Any more questions?"
Dean offered his own. "What kind of powers do you have?"
Percy lifted up his hands and gestured with one. "Water god." He motioned with the other. "Water powers."
"Can you be anymore vague?"
"I could, actually, but I won't this time. I can breathe underwater, talk to fish, and heal myself with water."
"You can talk to fish?"
"And horses."
"What the fuck?"
"It's a thing."
Sam raised a hand, eyebrows raised. "Can you heal other people with water?"
Percy snapped his fingers at him. "Glad you asked!" He grinned. "No idea. Trying to figure it out." He looked at them both. "You're taking this surprisingly well."
Dean shrugged. "We'll freak out about it later. Honestly, this isn't as crazy as some of the stuff we've dealt with, and you don't look like you'll kill us anytime soon, so..."
"Speak for yourself." Sam snorted, shaking his head. "I still maintain the fact that he will kill me someday."
The demigod winked at him before melting more into the seat, nabbing Dean's half-finished beer. "You all know about demigods now, which is great. Now, I have to tell you the more important stuff. The reason I went to Olympus- oh, yeah, that's where I went. It's in New York. Don't ask. Anyways, the reason I went there was because Zeus and I had a deal that we basically leave each other alone. The deal extended to my friends and family. Despite said deal," Percy's hand tightened around the bottle and it was only thanks to his restraint that it didn't shatter. Instead, he took a pull of alcohol. "He went and slept and impregnated CC, effectively breaking it. The fucker knew exactly what he was doing."
Sam and Dean looked at each other, communicating silently. Somehow, it was a lot more information than they thought they'd get, but also not surprising at all. "Did you fight him?"
He made a so-so gesture. "Kind of. Definitely exposed him again to the other Olympians- not that he hasn't done this before, mind you. They just never thought he'd go as far as breaking our deal. Anyways, his wife wasn't happy about that, naturally."
"That's Hera, right?" Sam imputed. "Goddess of-" He winced, rubbing his face. "Yikes, goddess of marriage."
"Yeah. This was the last straw for her. She effectively divorced Zeus and renounced herself as queen of Olympus."
Dean fist pumped the air. "Woo! Celebration?"
"Well, hang on," Percy chuckled at his best friend, noting that Sam agreed with his older brother. "So, she divorced Zeus and decided to leave Olympus. I had left her with Artemis so that she could relax after going through that and visited my mom. She says hi, by the way."
"Hi, Mrs. Blofis." Sam and Dean said even though she couldn't hear them. They had heard the stories about her and knew she was one of the nicest ladies they ever could meet.
"When I was leaving-" Percy paused, poking Dean's arm. His eyes seemed fixated on it and he only focused again when Sam leaned over and snapped his fingers in front of his face. "Sorry, wow, I got distracted." He ignored Dean's confused expression and foraged on. "So, when I was leaving, Hera decided to... Uh... Well, she's here. In Wisconsin." He coughed. "Also, Aphrodite. Zeus tried to force himself onto her after Hera left, so she's staying here while her partners handle shit over there."
"... What."
"Yeah, so- Okay, no, I'm going to need you to turn around." Percy flapped a hand at Dean. "You're too... You." When the man did as told, Percy inhaled so hard, he started coughing. "No, that's worse. Please go change before I have a hernia."
Dean grinned, standing up and stretching so his shirt rode up a bit over his abs. "You can just say you think I'm pretty."
Percy gaped as he walked away before turning to Sam, who shrugged. "What the hell?"
"Sometimes, Dean likes to act oblivious. He thinks it's funny."
"... Maybe I really will kill him..."
Sam watched him get up and head to the kitchen, probably to get a snack. Despite how he was acting, the younger Winchester could see how tired the man was after everything he went through. He looked stressed, slight bags under his eyes, and he wondered what else they weren't being told. He wasn't going to ask about it- not yet at least. He figured his friend deserved a bit of a break.
"Where'd he go?" Dean asked as he returned, now clad in a white T-shirt.
"Kitchen."
The elder Winchester nodded, falling back down onto the couch. He made a small, confused noise and looked around before picking up Percy's phone that must have fallen out of his pocket and between the couch cushions. "Hey, May's texting you!"
"What she say?" The demigod wondered, the sound of a chip bag being opened.
"She's wondering if we killed you or not yet."
There was a pause. "I dunno. You answer."
Dean nodded and opened the camera of his phone and gestured to his brother. Immediately, Sam raised his hands with a small grin, looking proud, while Dean gave a thumbs up. They didn't bother sending anything else, and Dean tossed the phone to the other end of the couch. "Done!"
After another minute, Percy came back to the living room, a twinkie in one hand and a soda in the other. "So, anyways-" He took a bite of the dessert. "Hera and Aphrodite are here in Wisconsin. While they're waiting to get an apartment, Aph will be staying with May and Hera will be staying with us. It'll probably be for a day or two. Maybe three."
"Will she smite us?"
"Smite you? No. Curb stomp? Absolutely. Woman just divorced the king of Olympus. I wouldn't try anything with her." Percy patted the couch a bit for his phone before he found it, unlocking it only to snort at what Dean sent May and her many exclamation points and question marks in reply. He sent her a text saying Hera could come over whenever she was ready. "Kay, Hera will be over in half an hour. Don't be weird."
Dean rolled his eyes. "We'll try not to." With a huff, he patted his thighs and got to his feet, turning to look at his brother. "Sam? Shopping?"
"You go. I'll make the cake."
Percy looked between them, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What are you guys planning?"
The older Winchester waved him off and slipped on his jacket. He didn't say a word as he grabbed his keys and left, locking the door behind him.
"What."
"Hey, I have a question." Sam spoke, moving to the kitchen to, presumably, do the baking he mentioned. He let out a small huff of amusement when Percy automatically followed him. "How come you were so accepting of me in the beginning after we talked outside? Was it really just cause I'm Dean's brother?"
The demigod blinked. "We're talking about this now?"
"I'm just wondering. You seemed really annoyed with my dad and I in the diner."
"I wasn't annoyed with you, not really. Just with John."
"Why?"
Percy shrugged. "Your father is enemy-shaped but you're friend-shaped."
"What does that mean?"
"What kind of cake are you making?"
Sam stared at him for a long moment before shaking his head. "... Vanilla. We're out of the cocoa powder. Dean and I made brownies yesterday. There's leftovers in the fridge."
Percy practically dived for the fridge, making a delighted noise when he saw the dessert. He plated half of it and stuck it in the microwave, waiting for it to warm. When it was done, he stabbed a bit of it with a fork and blew on it, stuffing his mouth. "i'so goowd."
"..Great. You helping or what?"
"Depends. What's this for?"
Sam told him and Percy lit up, grinning widely. "Aw," The son of Poseidon cooed. "That's so cute. You make the cake, I'll make the sign."
--
Hera wasn't sure exactly she was expecting when she was dropped off at Percy's apartment. The ladies had only received a picture from the hunters when they asked the demigod if he was alright, but Annabeth and May seemed unconcerned. It appeared that they were used to getting vague responses from him, and she wondered if she would have to get used to that, too.
She was very nervous, though May had assured her that she would be fine. She had been told that the hunters were good men, though they had a tendency to get distracted, and they were good friends of Percy. Still, suddenly meeting a goddess after finding out your close friend was a demigod could catch anyone off guard.
Hera took a steading breath, adjusting the bag over her shoulder, and knocked on the door. She had arrived a little earlier than planned and she hoped she wasn't inconveniencing anyone in doing so.
"She's here!" A voice whispered followed by a series of shushing sounds.
Suddenly, the door was opened by a good-looking man with short brown hair, gorgeous green eyes, and a wide smile. He must have been Dean. "Hey." He greeted her, gesturing for her to walk in. "Welcome to our home."
The goddess stepped fully into the apartment and blinked when a party popper went off near her. She took a better look at her surroundings and suddenly started giggling at the decorations hanging around the room. There were streamers and confetti everywhere, and there were more red and blue balloons laying around than there was empty space. Small party horns meant for children were piled on the coffee table coupled with two hot boxes of pizza. Another good-looking man (dear lord) with shoulder-length brown hair and pretty eyes held a cake that simply said 'woo!' in red font. What had her really laughing was the crudely made sign hung up on the wall.
'Congrats on divorcing the dick!'
"Thank you." The goddess nearly wheezed out, wiping her eyes. She patted her cheeks, which had warmed with her laughter. "It was about damn time."
"Hear hear!" Percy grinned as he pressed a cup of soda into her hand. "Let's party!"
xx
words: 3,667
please comment what you thought!!
sorry for updating this after so long, life has been beating my ass-