Coming of Age (Percy Jackson)

“… Is that why you had sex with me, Annabeth? Because you wanted me to be predisposed to join your Capture the Flag team?”
 
His tone is quite mild, though also a little accusatory. It makes Annabeth jolt, the blonde blinking as she looks up at him, seeming lost for words for the first time since he’s met her. Tilting his head to the side so he can eye her better, Percy frowns a little bit. He’s not an idiot. He’s not completely oblivious, not by a long shot.
 
In fact, looking back he can see that ever since coming to Camp Half-Blood, people have been acting at least a little differently around him.
 
“It’s not just that, is it? Or rather, me being on your Capture the Flag team isn’t the end goal, is it? It’s just another step on the path. What do you really want from me, Annabeth?”
 
There’s another beat of silence, and then Annabeth sits up. Percy almost reaches for her, immediately missing her presence at his side, but he holds himself back. He’s not going to allow himself to be led around by the dick. That wasn’t something he’d thought he needed to worry about until right around this point… but here he was, having just lost his virginity to a girl who it seemed might have some ulterior motives he wasn’t aware of.
 
To her credit, Annabeth doesn’t leave. She separates from him, moving to the edge of the bed… but she doesn’t fully get up. Percy lays back and watches her quietly, giving her all the time she needs to put her thoughts in order. Finally, the daughter of Athena lets out a low sigh and looks back over her naked shoulder at him.
 
“There are three reasons I’m trying to get closer to you, Percy.”
 
Blinking, Percy perks up a bit. He hadn’t been expecting blunt honesty truth be told, but he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth, that was for sure.
 
“… First, yes I want you on my team for Capture the Flag. The reason why is pretty simple. You’re strong and athletic, yes… but then, most of us are pretty athletic. We’ve got good genes. Some might say we have the best genes. More importantly than that though, you’ve caught the attention of Clarisse and her cronies.”
 
Percy tilts his head to the side at that, now a little confused.
 
“Clarisse?”
 
What did the daughter of Ares have to do with all of this? Sure, Annabeth wasn’t wrong about him likely having Clarisse’s attention after their run-in in the bathroom, but that didn’t explain exactly what the daughter of Athena was after here.
 
“She’s my opponent during this Friday’s Capture the Flag Match. We’re the two Team Captains. Now, technically the rules state that anyone can choose to be on either team so long as they have an invitation. But obviously having to handpick people individually is way too much of a distraction. So most of the time, we just court the Cabin Heads themselves and everyone in the same Cabin tends to join a team together.”
 
Her eyes narrow for a moment and she shakes her head.
 
“Obviously, Clarisse saw an opportunity to try and recruit you to her side before you even knew what Capture the Flag was or what was going on. Even though I already technically recruited Luke and all of Hermes Cabin along with him, you’re new enough that she could have gotten you and sowed division in our ranks ahead of time. I knew when I came across what she and her cronies were doing that I had to act. Though I have to admit, I was impressed to see how well you held your own against them…”
 
Annabeth’s eyes trail down to Percy’s crotch at that, where his cock is soft at the moment but still very noticeable. Percy, truth be told, is in no state of mind to appreciate her… appreciation so to speak. Honestly, everything she’s just told him… it sounds so damn over the top for a simple Capture the Flag game. Really it does. He hadn’t understood how importantly they took this war game of theirs before, but after Annabeth’s explanation and recognizing all she and Clarisse had both done just to get his attention, he had a better comprehension of what was going on.
 
At the same time, it left him with more questions than answers. Luckily, Annabeth had started things out by saying she had THREE reasons for wanting to get close to him. Like a drowning man grasping at a lifeline, Percy clears his throat and decides to move on.
 
“And what about the other two reasons, Annabeth?”

The daughter of Athena gives him a knowing look, no doubt detecting his overall befuddlement regarding how much they all seem to care about Capture the Flag. Still, she nods her head and continues on with reason number two at least.
 
“The second reason that I wanted to get close to you is admittedly a bit more serious. As demigods, the children of Gods… we sometimes go on Quests. These Quests are given to us by the Oracle of Delphi who… exists in the attic over in the Big House. They usually come attached to a prophecy, but they’re kind of a big deal for us… any of us. It’s a chance for us to prove ourselves more often than not. To ourselves. To each other… to our divine parents.”
 
Percy takes that new information in, though he doesn’t see how exactly it pertains to him just yet. However, he senses that Annabeth isn’t done explaining, so he stays quiet for a little while longer, intent on giving her as much room to talk as need be.
 
“… For a long time now, I’ve wanted a Quest. Even if it wasn’t my own, I would have happily tagged along on someone else’s quest instead, you know? Unfortunately, the Oracle told Chiron that I wasn’t allowed to go on any Quests until a certain special someone arrived. Chiron won’t tell me anything else, really… so I’m just stuck investigating on my own. Obviously, I check out every single new camper that comes through, just to see if they might be ‘the one’.”
 
Looking him dead in the eye, Annabeth doesn’t mince words any longer.
 
“I think you might be that person, Percy. If we’re correct about who your father is, then… it changes things. It’ll upset a balance that’s been maintained for quite a while now. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes the status quo needs to be shaken up and sometimes change is good.”
 
… Yeah. Annabeth was right, the second reason WAS a lot more serious than the first. Quests? Prophecies? And of course more roundabout talking regarding his divine father. It did seem pretty obvious who Percy’s dad was supposed to be, but apparently it was taboo to just talk about it out loud. They had to wait. Percy wouldn’t lie… it rankled something fierce to be stuck waiting on someone else to get their act together. Even if that person was a God. No… especially when that person was a God.
 
But then, from what he knew of Greek Mythology, the Gods and Goddesses of Mount Olympus were a collective mess and a half. So maybe he shouldn’t have expected anything better from them in the end. Even if Hestia DID seem like a nice sort…
 
That all said, Percy frowns as he takes in Annabeth’s first two reasons, letting them swirl around in his head, turning them over in his mind and deciding just how he feels about them. In the end, he’s… undecided. He’d enjoyed having sex with Annabeth, but that didn’t necessarily excuse the fact that she wanted to use him both in big and small ways. Maybe reason three would?
 
“And what’s the last reason, Annabeth? What’s behind door number three?”
 
Annabeth rolls her eyes at his dry attempt at humor, but the corners of her mouth also quirk up in what seems like a small, helpless smile.
 
“The third reason I wanted to get closer to you… is you, Percy. I can’t explain it. I can’t describe it either. But… you draw me in. From the moment I saw you brought in from outside the Camp unconscious, I was interested in you. And then you woke up and my interest only grew. You’re not just handsome, but also smart. You ask questions. You don’t just settle in nervously and accept the status quo.”
 
There was the mention of the ‘status quo’ again. Annabeth didn’t like the status quo very much, did she? Ah, but Percy was distracting himself from what she was saying… mostly because her heartfelt confession was making his ears burn and his face heat up.
 
“I like you, Percy. Even if Capture the Flag wasn’t a thing, even if I wasn’t convinced you were the one I’ve been waiting for… I think I’d still be trying to get closer to you. I don’t know why. I just know… you’re worth it.”

Well damn. He wishes he could say he heard a single ounce of deceit anywhere in the words she just spoke, but he hadn’t. As far as he could tell, she’d been completely honest with him from start to finish. He appreciated that. He appreciated her. And… she was his first time, so he didn’t think he’d ever not have some level of affection for Annabeth Chase.
 
Gracing her with a smile, Percy gives the waiting blonde a simple nod.
 
“I’ll join your Capture the Flag Team on Friday along with the rest of Hermes Cabin. Thank you for being truthful with me, Annabeth.”
 
She bites her lower lip and ducks her head for a moment before gathering her courage.
 
“And everything else I told you? What do you think… about all of that.”
 
Percy chuckles… and reaches out, slipping his fingers into Annabeth’s own and holding her hand.
 
“I think… I like you a lot too, Annabeth Chase. And if I am ‘the one’… I promise not to leave you behind, alright?”
 
The daughter of Athena’s eyes widen further than Percy has ever seen them go, and for a moment she looks absolutely gobsmacked by his words. Then, a different sort of expression crosses her face. Apparently, the fastest way to Annabeth’s heart was through affirmations, because the next thing Percy knows, he has a cute blonde going down on him, sucking him off and blowing him to fully erect and then going further than that as he lays back in the infirmary bed.
 
Grinning slightly, Percy winds his free hand through Annabeth’s hair even as he continues holding her hand with his other. Capture the Flag would probably be a lot of fun. And Clarisse wouldn’t know what hit her. He’d make sure of that.
 
-x-X-x-
 
Hestia had never met Adonis personally. For all that he was the most handsome mortal man in the world, he had been guarded quite jealousy by Aphrodite and Persephone for the entirety of his life. It was said that the two of them, once their desire for him grew too much to bear, had taken him to Zeus to decide what to do.
 
It was, undeniably, one of Zeus’ more measured rulings. Hestia’s brother was not always known for making the best decisions. As the King of the Gods upon Mount Olympus, he was expected to rule on squabbles between them and other important matters, but if Hestia were being honest, he had not always ruled justly or righteously. He was a mercurial man at the best of times, and often let his emotions get the better of him.
 
Even still, his choice to have Adonis split his time three ways between Persephone, Aphrodite, and free time had been… one of the fairest decisions that Zeus had ever made. It even took into account Adonis’ own agency as a person instead of just another mortal plaything, which was by and far not something her brother usually bothered to keep in mind.
 
If Adonis had been a woman, would Zeus have even considered giving him a third of the year time for himself? Hestia doubted it. But ultimately, it mattered not.
 
While Adonis HAD roamed the earth for a third of each year, that did not mean Aphrodite and Persephone did not jealousy guard him from all other Gods and Goddesses. No one was allowed to interact with him without their knowledge. In the end… the boar that took Adonis’ life was said to have slipped beneath their notice because it was nothing more than a mere animal. And how could a simple animal do anything?
 
All of this was to say, Hestia had never met Adonis in the flesh… but she now understood why precisely Aphrodite and Persephone had tried so hard to keep him away from their peers. And why he’d spent all of his time with Persephone having to hide from Hades. As well as why it was more than likely Ares, one of Aphrodite’s main godly lovers, who had sent the wild boar that killed Adonis in the first place.
 
One small meeting with Percy Jackson, and the Goddess of Hearth and Home was feeling a certain sort of way that she’d never felt before. She was a Virgin Goddess after all. The first Virgin Goddess in fact. Artemis and Athena had come after, while Hestia had been the one who paved the way for her nieces in a matter of speaking.
 
Both Apollo and Poseidon had made overtures for her hand in marriage at one time or another, but Hestia had rejected them and ultimately turned to Zeus, making a vow to never marry and to care for the Olympians and all of humanity instead. He had agreed, and with his blessing had come an understanding that she was making an oath not just to never marry, but also to remain a Maiden Goddess for all time.
 
… She’d never struggled with that before now. But Percy Jackson was different. And Hestia was starting to wonder about her priorities. Had she truly decided not to inform the others about Adonis’ reincarnation solely to try and protect Percy? Or had she made the decision purely from a place of greed and selfishness? Was it possible… she wanted Percy for herself?
 
It was more than possible. Hestia knew her own heart. She also knew everything that happened within the confines of Camp Half-Blood. It was her current Hearth after all, and that meant she was quite aware of just what everyone was up to. She knew what had happened between Percy and the daughters of Ares… and she knew what happened between him and Annabeth as well.
 
Shamefully, she was greatly tempted to call him to her so they could talk longer. But she knew what would happen if she did so. She knew she probably wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation. It was a bad idea…