(okay, so i knew thetis—leader of the nereids and achilles’s mother—was the one who found hephaestus, not tethys with the ‘y’ but as always in my stories—because i admit, i am no mythology expert—let’s just pretend for the sake of the plot ≧▽≦)
Everyone thinks the blacksmith god is ugly, but you think otherwise.
You are a daughter of Tethys and Oceanus, making you an Oceanid.
When Hera threw Hephaestus off of Mount Olympus and he fell to the ocean, it was you who found him. You were playing hide-and-seek with your sisters when you heard a ‘thump’ somewhere near your hiding place. You squealed in alarm and swam out your hiding spot to see the boy, his leg stuck in a huge rock.
“Hey!” you called.
You swam towards him and saw he was about the same age as your physical appearance. He was no doubt a god. He groaned and tried to take his feet off the rock.
“Wait, do not force it. It will make it worse,” you said.
You helped him roll the rock aside, and at last, he’s free.
“Can you swim?” you asked him.
“I think my legs are crumpled,” he answered.
You offered him your hand. “Come, I will take you to my mother’s cave.”
Hesitantly, he took your hand. You kicked and swam as fast as your little legs could do. You willed the ocean to support the boy trailing behind you, so he wouldn’t break his legs even more.
“I am Y/N,” you said.
“Hephaestus,” he answered, a little irritated.
You ignored the slight annoyance in his tone. “How did you get here?”
“My mother threw me away,” he said.
You glanced at him, but he averted your eyes. “Why?” you asked.
“Because she thinks I am ugly.”
You studied his face, and frowned. “I do not think so.”
He didn’t answer, but his eyes are sharp, like he thinks you’re lying to him.
The two of you arrived at your mother Tethys’s grotto. And there, she sheltered Hephaestus and raised him like her own son. The other sea spirits steer away from him, but you always try to talk to him. You knew that you annoy him, but you can’t stay away from him. You want to know why he’s grumpy and hates others. He always prefer to be alone, and you can’t stand that. You want to be close to him.
You watched Hephaestus at the palace courtyard, fiddling around with stones and corals, assembling them in shapes.
“What is that?” you asked, peeking over his shoulder.
“None of your business,” he grumbled.
You sat at the bench next to him. “Why are you always grumpy?”
“Why will you not leave me alone?” He glared at you.
“Is it not obvious?” You sighed dramatically. “I want to be your friend.”
“You are just wasting your time. Go befriend someone else.”
“But I like you. You are interesting,” you said, smiling brightly at him.
He sighed exasperatedly. “Do you know why the other kids did not want to be friends with me?”
“Because you are unique and interesting?”
“Because I am ugly. The same reason why my mother Hera threw me out of Olympus. Do you not get it? No one wants me around. It is a good thing because I do not want them around also.” He shrugged.
“I want to be around you. Seriously. Please let me be your friend,” you begged.
He sighed. “Fine.”
You smiled widely, brighter than you’d ever had.
Since then you’re always where Hephaestus is. Sometimes he still pretend that he’s still annoyed with you, but you knew he’s warming up to you. You swear you caught him smile when you crack up a joke, but he blushes and deny it everytime you pointed it out.
A little while longer, when two of you grew like a normal adult gods, you became closer than you ever were. You matured, but you still bug him and he still pretend to be mad about it. You were almost inseparable.
One time, you woke up to Hephaestus shaking you.
“Y/N, wake up!” he whispered.
“Hephaestus it is the middle of the night,” you groaned.
“Come, I will show you something,” he said.
You stood up and let Hephaestus drag you wherever he was taking you. He took you to his grotto. At first, you didn’t knew what changed—but then you saw it. A furnace.
You swam closer to it to admire it, and you couldn’t help but to stare at it. As an Oceanid who lives in the ocean, this is the very first time you saw fire. The flames danced around in shades of red, blue, and yellow. You tried to touch it but it burt your fingers.
Hephaestus chuckled. “You cannot touch it, dummy. It will burn you.”
“This is fire,” you gasped. “How did you manage to bring that here?”
He shrugged. “I was walking on the beach when I saw a campfire. Probably left by some fisherman. I put a live coal on a clam and brought that here. I was surprised that it did not die in the water.”
“You can touch it?” you asked.
He nodded. To prove it to you, he put his hand over the fire.
You gasped. “Maybe that is what you are the god of!”
He frowned and shrugged. “Maybe. But that is not what I wanted to show you.”
He turned to the worktable. He scurry for a moment before he brought out a dagger. He came to you and placed it delicately in your hands.
You studied the blade on your palm. It’s a silver pointed dagger, its edge precise and sharp. The handle is made of pearls, and it seemed to sparkle with the light coming from the furnace. You ran your fingers on the cold blade of the dagger. It’s beautiful.
“You made this?” you said breathlessly.
Hephaestus smiled. “I made that with the fire. I figure if you put a piece of metal over the fire and shaped it with a hammer, you will be able to make weapons with it.”
“This is beautiful,” you gasped.
“That is yours now.”
You faced him. “That is what you are the god of. You are the God of the Forge.”
He scratched the back of his head. “I am no god.”
“But you are a god! A son of Zeus and Hera, the King and Queen of Olympus!”
“Just Hera actually—”
“You got what I meant!”
Hephaestus sighed and slumped on a stool. “I do not want to go back to Olympus to claim my godhead. Those are the people who threw me just because they think I am ugly. I was threw out of Olympus for a reason. I do not belong there. I like it here.”
You frowned. “If that is what you want.”
He gave you a faint smile.
* * *
“Hephaestus!” your mother squeeled.
You and Hephaestus looked up and saw Tethys swimming to your direction, a huge smile plastered on her face.
“The Queen of Olympus liked the jewelries you made me! She was so jealous, she was asking where I got them!”
The two of you shared looks.
“Did you tell her?” Hephaestus asked.
“Oh, of course! I got to tell her who made these, and now she is telling everyone you are her son!” She said it with an expression like Can you believe it?
Hephaestus sighed. “Yes, she is my mother.”
Tethys’s eyes widened. “B-but—how?”
“How I look like this when my mother is the one of the beautiful goddesses?” He shook his head. “I have no idea.”
“Hephaestus, not everything is about how you looked. You are smart and talented. Now, Hera regrets throwing you out of Olympus. Let her rot in remorse,” you said.
“No,” he stood up. “Tethys, the next time you visit Olympus, let me know. I will make her regret throwing me out.”
He left, leaving you and your mother sharing worried looks.
The next day, he began crafting his magic chair. He didn’t talk much to you, which was unusual. Usually, you’d assist him at the forge, and you laugh and joke around as you work on your creation. This time, he was so preoccupied that he didn’t notice you coming in every once in a while to check on him.
After some time (you didn’t know; time is difficult when you’re immortal), it was time for Hephaestus to show his crafted item.
You asked Hephaestus where it is.
“Gone,” he said nonchalantly.
“Where?” you asked.
“On Olympus. I sent it to my mother.”
“You did not come to see her?”
He had an angry sort of gleam on his eyes. “I do not want to see her.”
“How about the throne? What was that for?” you asked.
“To show her what the boy she threw away is capable of.”
You found out what happened later on.
Turns out, the chair had hidden springs that got triggered when someone sits on it. When Hera came to sit on her lovely new throne, the springs came up and fastened itself on her body, trapping the Queen of Olympus on her throne, not able to get out or even move.
Dionysus, the god of wine, eventually got Hephaestus to free the queen. You didn’t know what they talked about on the pub, since you can’t stay away from the ocean long, but they talked for a while. When Hephaestus returned, he looked grim.
“What did you talk about?” you inquired.
“I have to take my throne with the Olympians, as the god of the forge.”
You squealed in delight. “I knew it!”
“That means I have to live among the gods—in Olympus.”
Your face fell. “That means—”
He nodded. “I have to leave.”
You gave him a smile, although you wanted to do otherwise. You wanted to tell him that he don’t have to take his place, that he could stay in the ocean forever. But those are his family. His real family. They may have threw him away, but they are his kin. Their blood flows in his. Olympus is where he truly belong.
“I am glad. I hope you find your place among your family. I am sure they will adore you much,” you managed to say.
He scowled. “Adore me? That is impossible.”
You were silent for a long time, unsure of what to say. Finally, you broke the ice.
“Do you need help packing?” you asked, your voice hoarse and cracking.
“Yes,” he answered.
You were about to turn to his cave but he held your hand and squeezed it. “I am sorry I cannot take you with me.”
“I understand. I cannot stay away from the ocean. I am a nymph and will die if I stay away from my life source too long. I will wait here until you come back.”
He wrapped his arms around you, and you buried your face on his shoulder, inhaling his smell of firewood and smoke. You stayed there, wrapped in his embrace, until you remembered that you have some packing to do.
That was the last time you saw him.
* * *
wattpad keeps ruining my stuff! i hadn’t been able to write for a week because it. just. won’t. open. don’t worry guys, i still got some on my drafts. also—i’m already working on your requests ;) so hopefully wattpad wouldn’t delete that, because sometimes i would save something and they! would! frickin! delete it!
sorry if these notes are annoying you. btw, there is a part two for this!
ps. is it obvious that i got lazy at the title? it sounded cheesy, i should probably change that. . .