Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Percy watched as Riptide fell in the ravine, its glow rapidly disappearing into the darkness. The only reprieve to losing his sword was the fact that the Chimera was speared on the other end. Annabeth was on the ground, one hand clutched at her shoulder and the other at her broken foot. Luckily, her wound wasn’t poisoned, but nonetheless she was still incapacitated. Percy desperately wished for some water, he would have even settled for sweat, but the scorching desert heat and the dry air made it obvious he would find none. Echidna approached them, “Perseus Jackson, long have we waited for your death.”

He knew without having to reach into his pockets that Riptide hadn’t returned. Their situation reminded Percy of his first encounter with her all those years ago. However, this time, instead of her old woman disguise, she was in her true form. The upper half of her body was a beautiful woman while her bottom half was serpentine. As she drew closer and closer, Percy stepped in front of Annabeth, who was desperately trying to stand up.

“I can’t believe, after all these years, I get to be the one to kill you.”

Percy glared at her, but that only served to make her smile wider.

I just need time for Riptide to come back , Percy thought to himself, or some form of water, please!

As Echidna approached, Percy’s vision zeroed in on the cut on her cheek, on the golden ichor dripping from the wound. Blood is just water with extra nutrients, even if it is gold. As Percy concentrated, all other noise seemed to fade away, save for the beating of his heart. And Echidna’s. He reached out, feeling for the liquid in her body. It resisted at first, just like Akhlys’ poison, but like all liquid, it eventually yielded to his will. Echidna stopped, but not by her own will. Her eyes widened in horror as her body betrayed her. “What have you done?!”

Behind him, Percy heard Annabeth’s breath hitch as she drew in a shaky breath, “ Percy…? ”

But Percy did not let his concentration drop, knowing that it was a matter of life and death. His hand slowly started to close into a fist, as he willed all the blood in Echidna’s body start flowing to her heart. She started screaming in pain and fear. “What are you doing?! How are you doing this?!” Echidna cried out, panic evident in her voice, “Stop this at once!”

“Percy, stop!” Annabeth yelled, the fear in her voice reminding him of Tartarus. But Percy ignored her, and closed his hand fully into a fist, crushing exploding Echidna’s heart with the sudden pressure. As Echidna faded into dust, Percy felt Riptide reappear in his pocket.

“Promise me that you’ll never do that again,” Annabeth whispered.

Hearing the shaking in her voice, Percy could only agree, “I promise.” He reached out a hand, but she sidestepped him. Percy let his hand drop and Annabeth refused to meet his eyes.

A few years passed, and Percy and Annabeth never spoke of the incident again. Percy knew that once again, Annabeth saw him differently, but it was easier to pretend nothing had changed.

When they returned to New Rome University, Percy changed his major, deciding that he wanted to study medicine instead.

Percy’s hands shook as he desperately tried to stop the bleeding, but the rapidly paling face beneath him and the blood pooling underneath the unconscious camper indicated he was having little luck. Kayla Knowles lay out the ground with glazed eyes as she phased  in and out consciousness. Her torso had a large gaping wound, the source of her bleeding. Annabeth was beside him, rummaging through every pocket to find any nectar or ambrosia. But he knew there was none left. Another camper, Connor Stoll, was desperately in contact with someone from the Apollo Cabin, but from what Percy could hear, they would not make it in time. “Stay with me, Kayla. Stay with me,” Percy called out, desperate to keep her awake for a little while longer. But Kayla only gave a wet cough in response.

Percy frantically tried to think of a solution.

If only I could stop the bleeding , Percy thought to himself. I just need to keep her remaining blood inside her and circulating.  Come on, think! Think! You’re a med student, Percy. What have you learned?! You know where the blood needs to go, you just need to figure out how!

Suddenly, Percy felt the rest of the world fall away as a voice seemed to whisper in his ear, What is blood, but just water with extra nutrients?

Percy’s hands stopped shaking and he took a deep breath as his eyes sharpened and a look of deep concentration fell upon his face. Annabeth seemed to sense what he was about to do and grasped his wrist,  “What are you doing, Percy?!” Her voice was panicked, almost shrill.

Percy tugged his wrist free. “Her bleeding won’t stop,” he whispered, “She’ll die at this rate.”

“You promised not to use that power!” Annabeth cried out, remembering the incident with Echidna. It had terrified her and she had made him promise that he wouldn’t use that power, just like she had in Tartarus.

“Annabeth!” Percy yelled, stopping her short, “Kayla will die!”

Annabeth’s eyes were glazed, as if she were stuck in a memory, “You promised.”

Percy bent his head, his eyes shadowed by his hair. He hated himself for doing this, but he refused to let someone die, not when he had a chance to save her. “I never swore on the Styx,” Percy whispered. He closed his eyes, and focused his attention on the body in front of him. 

Annabeth reached out once more, as if to grab him, but before she could touch him, Connor grabbed her from behind, locking her in place. “Go, Percy. Do what you need to do,” the son of Hermes said, his eyes solemn.

Percy nodded his thanks and refocused his attention. Blood is just water with extra nutrients, blood is just water with extra nutrients. You’ve done this before. Percy repeated the words to himself, as every single capillary, vein, and artery appeared in his mind. It was like he could see which ones carried the blood towards the heart and which ones carried the blood away. Keeping the blood flowing while keeping Kayla from bleeding out was much more difficult than what he had done to the dracaenae, but Percy forced himself to focus. Hours seemed to pass but in reality it was barely thirty minutes. Percy kept up his concentration for the entire time, only stopping when a pair of hands gently touched his wrist.

“It’s alright Percy, she’s stable” Will Solace assured, his voice soft. “Thank you,” the son of Apollo added.

Percy let himself fall backwards as he greedily gulped in air. He turned his head towards Annabeth, but she turned her head and walked away. “Annabeth,” he called out, pleading with her. But she continued to walk away. Somehow, Percy knew that it was over.

Gossip, as always, spread quickly in Camp Half-Blood.

There were several campers who, while not outright shunning him, watched him with wary gazes. Their whispers followed him as much as their gazes. Conversation stopped whenever he entered a room or walked past a group. But there were also several campers who stood by his side. His most notable supporters were the Apollo Cabin.

But Percy still felt like a monster every time Annabeth turned pale and refused to meet his gaze.

Percy sat on the pier, his legs dangling in the water. The water nymphs waved at him but left him alone, sensing his mood.

“What’s wrong with me?” Percy muttered to himself.

“Nothing,” a voice spoke from behind him, almost causing Percy to fall into the lake if it weren’t for a pair of golden, sunkissed skin grabbing onto him. “Nothing is wrong with you,” Apollo spoke gently and firmly. Percy spun around, as if to protest, but a finger on his lips made him pause. “You saved someone, Percy. You saved my daughter.”

“But I-” Percy began, only to be interrupted as Apollo shushed him.

“But nothing, Perseus. You used something at your disposal. Nothing more, nothing less. Your powers, while they can do great harm, can also save lives. Besides, you have only ever used it to save people. Back then, and now.” Apollo drew Percy into a hug. He pressed his lips against Percy’s temple in comfort, “Let me teach you how to use your powers to save lives.”

“Please,” Percy whispered as tears fell, “I don’t want to feel like a monster.”

The two stayed like that for a few more minutes, only separating when Percy heard some voices calling out to him. Percy jogged towards the group of children, mainly composed of Apollo Cabin campers. One child, no older than seven, ran towards him and jumped. Percy caught her and balanced her on his hips even as the other children began to climb on him. The sun’s rays seemed to highlight his smile and gentle eyes.

And Apollo’s eyes burned gold.

Chapter Text

Apollo didn’t mean to stalk Percy Jackson.

Honest.

For some reason, Apollo found himself drawn to the son of Poseidon. It had started out innocently enough. In the beginning, he had been amused at Percy’s actions and had used the demigod as a source of entertainment. It brightened his day when he saw Percy acting as his usual sarcastic self.

A source of entertainment.

That’s all it was.

.

.

.

.

Until it wasn’t.

.

.

.

.

Apollo watched with a detached sort of worry when Percy and the daughter of Athena were cornered by Echidna. Don’t get him wrong, he was concerned. But Apollo was still a god and had witnessed many demigod deaths.

The daughter of Athena was incapacitated. Had been since early on, leaving Percy to face the horde of monsters and their mother on his own.

The son of Poseidon was weaponless.

But not defenseless.

Apollo watched with a morbid fascination as Percy controlled the liquid in Echidna’s body, forcing the monster to halt in her tracks. He watched with growing interest as Percy destroyed the monster from within.

It was deadly, almost monstrous even.

And it was beautiful.

Apollo felt a sort of contempt for the daughter of Athena, not understanding her rejection of the hero. She was truly her mother’s daughter, so very close minded. Logically he knew that she suffered from lingering trauma, and that it still affected her. What he didn’t understand was her inability to understand that  Perseus Jackson would never hurt his loved ones. He didn’t understand her inability to separate the power from the user. Just as a weapon can kill, it can also defend. It’s just a matter of whose hands.

And that power in Percy’s hand was truly magnificent.

From then on, Apollo found himself watching Percy with more intensity.

If he felt a sort of possessive joy at the fact that Percy Jackson chose to enter one of his domains, then that was his own little secret.

And perhaps Apollo had long since fallen in love with Percy Jackson at that point. How could he not? The son of Poseidon was beautiful and deadly, but also do very kind. It would be so easy for anyone to fall for such a person.

But he didn’t acknowledge it as a possibility until he nearly lost his daughter.

As his beautiful daughter lay dying, her siblings too far away, Apollo cursed the Ancient Laws. He could not interfere, at least not in any significant way. The sun god watched as Percy so desperately tried to save her, to keep her conscious but it wasn’t enough. If only Percy would use his powers.

Apollo was a selfish god

Apollo knew that Percy was hesitant to use his control over blood, especially since the Annabeth girl was there with him. 

Apollo knew that Athena’s daughter feared Percy’s powers, feared Percy.

Apollo knew that Percy was a kind person who tried to keep everyone happy and safe.

Apollo knew that what he was about to do would potentially cause the Athena girl to break Percy’s heart.

Apollo knew all this and did it anyway.

He leaned down and whispered into Percy’s ear, “ What is blood, but just water with extra nutrients?”

He could see the moment Percy decided to use his powers. He could also see the moment Percy lost Annabeth, the girl turning away from the son of Poseidon. He could see the moment Percy’s heart broke, and Apollo sent a silent apology, promising to make it up to the young demigod.

Apollo stayed, invisible to the demigods, and watched as Percy kept his daughter alive. He stayed until Will and his other children showed up to take over. He stayed and watched as the girl walked away.

He owed that much.

He needed to see that his selfishness caused another pain.

Apollo watched over Percy a lot more after that.

He was proud of his children for sticking up for Percy.

But he also felt that rare smidgen of guilt every time Percy aced isolation and rejection. No, that was a lie, he felt absolutely horrid that in persuading Percy to use his powers, he had caused Percy to feel like a monster.

And while he knew he couldn’t control the actions of others, he knew that he had a hand in it.

As Percy sat on the pier, his legs dangled over, Apollo watched as a silent and invisible observer.

“What’s wrong with me,” the son of Poseidon had muttered to himself, sounding so dejected and resigned. Apollo recognized the look in those green eyes. And he hated it.

Making up his mind, Apollo revealed himself to the demigod. This was apparently a bad idea as the demigod nearly fell into the lake. Apollo grabbed on to the demigod, on reflex.

And was started by the gentle surge of warmth that flowed through him, nearly causing him to release his grip. Instead, he turned Percy around, “Nothing is wrong with you,” he had said, keeping his voice as gentle as possible, “You saved someone Percy, you saved my daughter.”

When Percy moved to protest, Apollo shushed him.

“But nothing, Perseus. You used something at your disposal. Nothing more, nothing less. Your powers, while they can do great harm, can also save lives. Besides, you have only ever used it to save people. Back then, and now.” Apollo drew Percy into a hug. Percy was never a small person, especially after his growth spurt. But the demigod had felt so small in his arms. He pressed his lips against Percy’s temple in comfort, reveling at the rightness in the action, “Let me teach you how to use your powers to save lives.”

The demigod had cried against him, holding onto him like a drowning man holds onto a float.

Eventually the two had separated, when the calls of campers had reached their ears. Percy had wiped his tears and plastered a smile on his face as he greeted the younglings, several of them Apollo’s own.

One child, no older than seven, had run towards the son of Poseidon and jumped. Percy caught her and balanced her on his hips even as the other children began to climb on him. The scene was so very domestic and gentle. The sun’s rays seemed to highlight the soft  smile and those kind, ever shifting sea-green eyes.

And Apollo’s eyes burned gold.