Cressida had met Annabeth and Grover at the Himbo Juice place and they were waiting for Percy who was supposed to meet them after he finished school for the day.
And he'd been having a very nice day up until lunch. Cressida felt bad that he still had to endure actual school for three days a week more than she did, so on the days she didn't attend Goode High, she made lunch for Percy. And she was really good at making lunch for Percy. Today's feast consisted of a peanut butter and banana sandwich (one of his favourites), a Capri-Sun, mini Oreos, some cold cuts, and a container full of her specially grown grapes. Lunch was the best part of his day when Cressida wasn't here. And it was at lunch, that he was approached by a god that he then took to meet his friends.
Grover and Annabeth were sitting opposite Cressida as they waited, the three of them grinning and animated in conversation. Cressida was in the middle of explaining something, her hair scooped into a high ponytail and making her indigo eyes stand out more, and Percy couldn't stop staring.
As if sensing his eyes on her, Cressida paused mid-sentence as their gazes locked and she gave him that smile that was just for him as she waved him over, but that smile fell when she saw the golden guy trailing behind him.
"We put in our order already," Annabeth said as Percy slid into the seat next to Cressida, the two squeezing close so that the gold guy could fit. "We didn't know you were bringing a friend.
"Order for Grover!" called the server. "I've got a Fiji Fro-Yo, a Salty Sailor, a Grape-Berry Guzzler and a Golden Eagle!"
"An eagle?! Where?" the gold guy exclaimed as he nearly hid under the table.
The two girls exchanged a weird look with Grover.
"I'll get the drinks," Grover said, and he jogged over to the counter.
"The Golden Eagle is just a smoothie," Annabeth told the gold guy, who was still hunched over and quivering.
Cautiously, the god straightened up. "I . . . I have some unresolved trauma about eagles."
"You must be Ganymede," Annabeth guessed, and Percy's jaw dropped in surprise.
The god frowned. He looked down at his shirt. "Am I wearing a name tag? How did you know that?"
"Well, you're gorgeous," Cressida filled in, implying that she'd known as well, which also wasn't surprising, but Percy definitely found her statement offensive.
"Hey!"
"Oh, relax. There's a difference between gorgeous and attractive and you are already well aware of how attractive I find you," she said boredly.
"You're gonna give me a refresher when we get home," Percy said as he leaned back and slung an arm over her shoulders.
"We'll see," she returned as she leaned into him and Ganymede seemed to be pleased with the compliment as Annabeth spoke.
"About getting home or the refresher?"
"Both."
That didn't pose good odds for Percy on both fronts.
"And Ganymede was supposed to be the most beautiful of the gods," she continued. "Along with Aphrodite, of course."
Ganymede bobbed his head like he was weighing the comparison. "I suppose I'll allow it."
"You used to be mortal," she went on. "You were so beautiful that Zeus turned into an eagle and snatched you away, brought you to Olympus."
Ganymede flinched. "Yes. Long ago, but it still stings. . . ."
Grover reappeared with a tray of smoothies. "I got you a Mighty Mead," he told Ganymede. "Hope that's okay. What did I miss?"
"He's a god," Percy filled in.
"I know that," Grover said. "He's Ganymede."
"How did you—?" Ganymede stopped himself. "Never mind."
"We were just about to hear why Ganymede came to find me," Percy said.
Cressida took a sip of her smoothie, which was obviously the Grape-Berry Guzzler. "Sorry your day was ruined," she said and Percy shrugged.
"At least we're one step closer to college."
"Damn straight," she grinned as she pecked his lips and Percy was passed his smoothie, the Salty-Sailor. The Fiji Fro-yo was Grover's which left the Golden Eagle as Annabeth's.
Ganymede thoughtfully stirred his Mighty Mead, occasionally eying Annabeth's smoothie like it might grow claws and snatch him into the heavens. "I saw your ad on the bulletin board," he began. "It . . . it also seemed too good to be true."
"Thanks?"
"And all I have to do to reward you and her is write a letter of recommendation?"
"Well-"
"That's the deal," Percy interjected, cutting off Cressida. "And what do we have to do?"
"We!" Grover and Annabeth corrected, including themselves.
"I have to be sure this is completely discreet," he said, dropping his voice and peering around nervously, even though none of the other patrons were paying us any attention. "You cannot tell anyone else. Is that understood?"
"Discreet is what we do," said Grover, who had once blindly divebombed Medusa in a pair of flying shoes while screaming at the top of his lungs.
"Is it?" Cressida asked with a knowing smirk.
"It can be," Grover amended.
Ganymede sat up a little straighter. "How much do you know about my responsibilities on Mount Olympus?"
"You're the cupbearer of the gods," Annabeth said.
"Must be a sweet job," Grover said dreamily. "Immortality, godly power, and you just have to serve drinks?"
Ganymede scowled. "It's a horrible job."
"Yeah, must be horrible." Grover nodded. "All that . . . drink-pouring."
"When it was just at feasts," Ganymede said, "that was one thing. But now ninety percent of my orders are deliveries. Ares wants his nectar delivered on the battlefield. Aphrodite wants her usual with extra crushed ice and two maraschino cherries delivered to a sauna in Helsinki in fifteen minutes or less. Hephaestus . . . Don't get me started on Hephaestus. This gig economy is killing me."
"Still not hearing what that has to do with us?" Cressida asked a little bitterly as before she took another sip of her smoothie.
"What my beautifully blunt girlfriend is trying to say is, how can we help?" Percy corrected.
"My most important symbol of office . . ." Ganymede said. "Can you guess what it is?"
Percy glanced at his girlfriend as if to check that it was a stupid question and he wasn't just hearing wrong. "Since you're cupbearer of the gods, I'm going to guess . . . a cup?"
"Not just any cup!" Ganymede cried. "The chalice of the gods! The goblet of ultimate flavour! The only cup worthy of Zeus himself! And now . . ."
"Oh," Annabeth said. "It's missing, isn't it?"
"Not missing," said Ganymede miserably. "My cup has been stolen."
The god began crying next to Percy and Cressida as Cressida turned to her boyfriend. "It's Paris all over again. This is gonna be cake."
"Oh, it definitely is," he agreed as they did their little handshake and kissed.
"I wouldn't hold your breath," Annabeth advised as she gestured for Percy to try and comfort the weeping god.
One of the Himbo Juice employees came over, his smile crumbling around the edges. "Is the smoothie not okay, sir? I can make you something else."
"No." Ganymede sniffled. "It's just . . ." He gestured weakly at our juice drinks. "I can't stand seeing so many cups. It's too soon. Too soon."
The employee didn't know how to react to that, but Cressida did as her eyes flamed purple and his body went slack as their gazes locked. "We're all fine. Everything's fine. Leave this table and don't come back. Understand?"
"I understand," the man nodded before he walked off and Percy was all but shoving the straw back into Cressida's mouth. Yes, manipulating mortal minds was so easy that she no longer needed the assistance of nectar and ambrosia, but he still worried for her sometimes.
"I'm fine," she promised as she smiled at him and sipped from the glass he held for her.
"You can be fine and drink," he fired back as she continued drinking.
"You know," Grover said, "the kids at Camp Half-Blood make some great arts-and-crafts projects. They could probably fashion you a new goblet."
The god shook his head. "It wouldn't be the same."
"Or you could look into single-serving cups made from recyclable material."
"Grover," Annabeth chided. "He wants his special cup."
"I'm just saying, single servings might be more hygienic. All those gods sipping from the same goblet—?"
"Grover, sweetie, let it go," Cressida said sweetly.
"You said it was stolen. Do you know who took it?" Percy asked.
Ganymede scowled. "I have some ideas," he said. "But first, you have to promise that this remains confidential. The goblet makes drinks taste good to the gods. But if a mortal got hold of it . . . one sip from it would grant them immortality."
"Gods! Do all gods just go around losing items that grant immortality?" Cressida asked sarcastically and Percy sighed.
"Apparently so."
"You'd think that with all their godly powers, they'd be able to find their little toys."
"Tell me about it, Wine Vine. And if your Cup is so powerful, why would you trust us to get it back?"
The god stared at the couple, namely Percy. "I couldn't trust anyone else! You've already turned down immortality once, Percy Jackson."
"More than once," Cressida muttered as she took another sip of her smoothie and Percy's arm around her tightened as he leaned over to kiss her temple.
"Ok. Totally confidential," he promised.
"And these others?" Ganymede said as he gestured to Annabeth and Grover, but Percy's eyes darkened a fraction when he made the mistake of gesturing to Cressida as well.
"These others know how to keep a secret," Annabeth said. "Loose lips are never a good strategy."
"Totally," Grover agreed.
"They're my best friends," Percy said, his eyes narrowing at the god. "And unless you'd like the woman who is my whole reason for turning down immortality in the first place to not join this little quest of yours, you're going to trust all of them as much as you trust me."
Percy usually toed the line between trying not to offend a god and offending a god. But if there was ever any time that he didn't give a damn about offending a god, it was if they offended the love of his life. Clearly, Ganymede hadn't got the memo that you never insult Cressida in his presence, so, Percy decided to forgive him this time.
The god swallowed a little nervously as he used his gold-ringed fingers to wipe away his tears. "Fine," he said, which was the only acceptable answer. "I suspect someone on Olympus is trying to embarrass me, make me look bad in front of Zeus. If he finds out I lost my cup . . ." The god shuddered. "No. I have to recover it."
"You have enemies?" Percy questioned. It was hard to imagine how the drink server of the gods would make people mad.
"Oh, yes," Ganymede said. "Hera, for one. She's hated me since the day Zeus snatched me up to Olympus. Zeus was always complimenting me, you see—how handsome I was, how much I brightened up the palace. It's not my fault I have nicer legs than she does."
Annabeth grimaced. "Let's hope it's not Hera."
Cressida's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "I don't think I've ever prayed for anything harder. Please let it be Hera so I can -"
"Baby? Maybe don't finish that sentence just yet," Percy advised, solely invested in her continued survival even though he knew that she would definitely take Hera in a fight. It maybe wasn't the best idea to go after the Queen of the gods with no proof.
"No . . ." Ganymede stared into his smoothie. "Probably not. She would consider it beneath her. But there are others," Ganymede continued. "Everyone on Olympus hates me, really, because I'm a newcomer, an upstart kid made immortal. They call me a gold digger! Can you believe that?"
"You suspect anyone else in particular?" Percy asked.
He glanced around the shop, as if one of the himbos might have been a spy. He gestured for us to lean in. "Before I was the cupbearer," he said, "there were two other goddesses who had my job. First Hebe. Then Iris."
Grover slurped his Fiji Fro-Yo. "Iris seems kind of chill to be stealing chalices."
"Perhaps." Ganymede frowned. "But Hebe . . ."
"The goddess of youth," Annabeth filled in when she saw the clueless look on Percy's face.
"Greek History Class," Cressida coughed into her fist and her boyfriend glared at her.
"Don't start," he warned.
"Too late. I mean, you're dating the Camp Leader and you don't even know all of the cabins at Camp."
"Ganymede," Annabeth spoke. "You're like, eternally young and beautiful. Why would she want to embarrass you?"
"Oh, you don't know her," Ganymede said. "In the early days, every time I would serve drinks at the feast table, she'd mutter Spill it, spill it as I walked past. She's so immature."
Grover shrugged. "Well, if she's the goddess of youth . . ."
"That's no excuse! She needs to grow up!" said the three-thousand-year-old twentysomething.
"Okay," Percy said. "Do you have any proof that she took it?"
"Proof?" He scoffed. "That's what I need you for. Don't you heroes dust for fingerprints, analyze DNA samples, that sort of thing?"
"You might be thinking of CSI. But okay, we'll start with Hebe. Then check Iris."
"Fine." Ganymede sipped his smoothie. "Hmm. Not bad. Maybe when I get fired and turned back into a mortal, I could work here."
"You'd make a great himbo," Annabeth admitted. "So how long has your chalice been missing?"
Ganymede paused to think. "A century?"
"A century?!" Percy exclaimed as Cressida choked on her smoothie, coughing for real this time as Percy tapped on her back to help force it out.
"Or a week?" Ganymede pinched his nose. "I always get those time periods confused. Not long, anyway. So far, I've been able to fake it with my delivery orders. The other gods kind of expect to-go cups with those. But if I don't get my proper chalice back before the next in-person feast, everyone will notice. I'll be humiliated!"
"When is the next feast?" Grover asked. (Grover likes feasts.)
"I don't know!" Ganymede cried. "Zeus is unpredictable! He might schedule one in twenty years. Or it could be tomorrow. The point is, I need that goblet back before word gets out!" He leaned forward, his expression stern. "Question those goddesses. See what they know. But don't offend them. And don't say I sent you. And don't give away that my cup was stolen."
"That'll make it hard to question them," Annabeth said. "Any idea where these goddesses hang out?"
That was definitely a loaded question to ask, considering that the answer could be anywhere in the world and they were still in the school year. None of them (except for Grover) would actually be able to pass high school if they kept having to leave. Percy had barely gotten Goode High to forgive him for his unwilling leave of absence.
"They stay close to Mount Olympus," he answered to everyone's relief. "I mean Manhattan. They should be around here somewhere." He waved vaguely as if the whole of Manhattan couldn't possibly be too difficult to search. "Do this for me, Percy Jackson, and I will write you a letter!"
Percy narrowed his eyes at the god and that could only mean one thing.
"You will write the recommendation for both me and Cressida. It will be positive. You will sign it. And you will swear to do so on the River Styx."
Ganymede frowned and seemed as if he was about to protest, but Percy swiftly shut that down.
"The way you don't trust the other gods for stealing your chalice, I don't trust them to keep their word. Swear it," he ordered and Cressida bit her lips to keep from smiling as Percy tried to maintain this intimidating image when her hand rested on his thigh and that contact was all he could think about.
"You drive a hard bargain," Ganymede said. "But very well, I agree. I swear on the River Styx to abide by your terms on this quest."
"Thank you," Percy said, leaning back closer to Cressida who squeezed his leg a little, the muscle tensing beneath her hand.
He disappeared in a glittering cloud of dust. As usual with magical happenings, the mortals around us didn't seem to notice anything. Or maybe they just figured he had found the perfect smoothie and ascended to Himbo enlightenment.
"That was really attractive," Cressida praised and Percy's face went red as it always did and he reached for his Salty Sailor.
"Well, this should be fun," he said and his girlfriend grinned at his embarrassment, Annabeth also masking a smile. Grover just looked a little disturbed, likely to do with the empathy link that connected the two boys. "Any ideas where to start?"
"Unfortunately, yes," said Grover. "But let me finish my drink first. We're going to need our strength."
"Well, cheers to our next quest and hopefully not dying so Percy and I can get into college," Cressida said as she raised her glass into the air and her friends hit it with their own glasses as they echoed, "Cheers to that."
********************************
Percy often thought that he'd hit the jackpot when he started dating the daughter of Dionysus, but there were times when he really, really appreciated the fact. Like this time, as they were following Grover to Times Square, Percy was walking with his arm around his girlfriend and her hand in the back pocket of his jeans, he really appreciated it as her magic worked to calm his nerves and ease the tiredness in his muscles. He didn't take advantage of her powers all the time and she definitely didn't make things easy for him all the time (after all, she'd said that if she suffers, he suffers), but after his long day at school and then having to deal with this, she took pity on him, especially since Times Square usually meant, battling monsters, talking to gods or helping Percy down from where he was hanging from a billboard in his boxer shorts. Let's just say that last one is a long story and if Percy didn't have a decent relationship with Pollux and access to dirt on his girlfriend, she'd been showing those photos to everyone. So she'd resorted to keeping them for personal use.
As much as they liked avoiding Times Square, they were ADHD, so naturally, they were swept up in all the lights and billboards before they nearly barrelled into Grover who'd stopped at a storefront that they were about to pass by.
For half a block, all the windows were covered in foil. Usually, that means the place is either out of business or super shady. Then they looked up at the massive electronic sign above the entrance - a sign that they'd probably walked past at least a dozen times in their lives.
"No way," Percy gaped, still holding Cressida close and neither of them were complaining.
"You've got to be kidding me! Are all gods this unoriginal?" Cressida asked.
Annabeth just shook her head. "She really named her place Hebe Jeebies?"
"Afraid so," Grover sighed.
"How did you know about this place?" Percy wondered.
Grover's cheeks flushed. "They have great liquorice ropes. You can't pass by without smelling them!"
"It's a candy store, then?" Annabeth questioned.
"No, more like . . ." Grover tilted his head. "Actually, it's easier to show you."
He pushed open the door as Annabeth went to follow and Cressida gave her boyfriend a confused look.
"So, we're walking into a goddess's lair with no idea what we're walking into...because Grover likes liquorice?"
"Apparently so," Percy answered before he turned to her, his expression dropping slightly. "Stay with me?"
"Till the end, baby," she said in the perfect New York accent that made him grin. She stretched up on her toes to kiss his grin before Percy moved to open the door for her and they followed their friends inside.