Percy Jackson One-shots

Blessings of the Sea God (Percabeth)

A/N:My muse took this prompt on a bit on a crack trip - but I had a blast writing it.

Canon quote: "And he got that gift from Poseidon," Percy said. "That's completely unfair. I can't turn into animals. - The Son of Neptune

XxxX

"Percy, seriously, come on. We're getting soaked."

Annabeth grabs my hand and tugs, but it's useless. I'm so hot, so thirsty. The effort of walking the mile from Piper and Jason's place to ours weighs me down. The rain feels like a blessing - how ironic, I think, water blessing me from the sky. "I just ... Let me feel the rain for a sec."

I'm tempted to peel off my shirt so I can feel the water stream down my back, but I've been feeling a little self-conscious lately. I close my eyes and lift my face, stretching out my arms as the heavy rain drops hit me, making my shirt cling to my skin. The sensation is amazing.

Annabeth makes a sound like an aggravated snort. "We're in the middle of a thunderstorm and you wanna stop and feel the rain?" I can picture her getting soaking wet, her eyes flashing, her hair sticking to the sides of her face as she juts out her hip. It makes me smile. But getting home and taking off our wet clothes sounds like a pretty damn tempting idea too. I open my eyes and grin at her sheepishly, then take her hand. I squeeze it as we start walking again. There's no sense trying to stay dry when we're already soaked. I fix my eyes on the pavement in front of us and let my thoughts drift to what I want to do when we get there.

"I know what you're thinking," she says. "You've got that goofy, horny look on your face that tells me you wanna give the baby-making thing another spin.

My whole body floods with warmth. I do. I really do, and I don't make an effort to deny it. And then time freezes. Everything around us stops as if someone, some god, pushed their pause button on their remote control while watching us on Hephaestus TV to get up and grab another bowl of popped ambrosia.

Annabeth releases my hand and I hear her unsheathe her blade. "Percy? Where's Riptide?"

I hear her as if she's a long way off, I'm distracted by the raindrops caught mid-fall, wondering if water would react the same as usual when it's been paused. Then my brain catches up to my ears. Riptide? I put my hand in my pockets, or would have if I hadn't elected to wear sweatpants without pockets today. "Uh, I fucked up," I say, and then a burst of white and blue flame erupts in front of us on the sidewalk. Hera, our least favorite goddess, stands looking down her regal nose at us and towering ten feet tall.

Hera hasn't been around much since the war ended and Zeus put her in a time out for meddling in mortal affairs. I would normally open my mouth and tell her off, and then have to go through a world of pain and suffering, proving my point and making no difference. I keep my mouth shut. Maybe I'm growing up.

Annabeth speaks for me, but even she restrains herself. I can almost hear her brain running scenarios of what consequences are likely based on how she reacts. "What do you want?"

"I come, as it turns out, to offer my congratulations. You are not my favorite individuals, but you have upheld your marriage vows longer than most demigods and that is an honor to me."

I blink, not quite getting it. "Yeah, but that's not why we honor our vows. It has nothing to do with you."

Annabeth jabs her elbow in my side and it hurts far more than it should. Tears spring to my eyes as I clutch my stomach. "Owwww."

Hera narrows her eyes at Annabeth and Annabeth returns the glare. "Whatever congratulation you have to offer, keep it. We're leaving now. C'mon, Percy." She reaches for me, but I'm still trying to get my pain in check. She throws her arm around my back, her anger turning to concern. "What happened?" She glares at the goddess. "What did you do to him?"

I straighten up, the pain finally receding, but I'm gonna steer clear of Annabeth's elbows from now on. They're sharp.

Hera laughs. It sounds weird, like a mix between a girlish titter and a cackle. It raises the hairs on the back of my neck. "I have done nothing. All that ails him is your own doing, though really you should count it as a blessing. I merely wanted to be the first to give you my blessing."

"I don't understand," I say through gritted teeth. "Either explain yourself or clear off. You're not supposed to meddle."

Instead of doing her usual glowing with rage and leaving us with a curse, she smiles, a real stuck-up self-satisfied smirk.

"You, Percy Jackson, once complained of the unfairness of Poseidon's gift to the legacies of Periclymenus. I believe your friend Frank Zhang is one such legacy. What you may not be aware of, and I shall enlighten you, is that you were gifted with a far more precious gift from your father."

"Yeah?" I snap. I'm getting sick of the sound of Hera's voice. Annabeth doesn't say anything, and when I look at her, she's studying Hera's face as if hoping to read between the lines to what she's actually telling us.

Hera sighs. "So impatient. You are aware that as the son of the sea god, you are able to manipulate water, communicate with certain sea-life as well as horses, that you even have numerous brothers who are horses ..." I want to rise up and wring her godly neck. She doesn't need to make fun of my heritage. "And ..." Hera nods to Annabeth, but doesn't take her eyes off of me, "... as a daughter of Athena, your wife was born by an idea, a brainchild sprung from the wisdom goddess's mind ... The marriage of your gifts will bear fruit."

I'm still not following and I feel Annabeth's hand grip my arm, her fingers clenching in a rhythm that means she's working something out. I've seen her do this with stress squeezers and pencils, and things, but it's not making my arm very happy.

"What is your point?" Annabeth growls, and Hera pulls her gossamer shawl around her shoulders as if she's going to leave.

"I will return to Olympus and leave you with this piece of advice: Consider the seahorse. I'll send Artemis to assist in about oh, six months."

She disappears in a flash of blue flame and the world comes back to the present, the rain pouring down on our heads, pelting the sidewalk and dancing off it.

"What in Hades was that all about?" I ask and tug my arm, trying to get Annabeth to walk with me.

Her grip on my arm has stopped clenching. Her palm feels hot and sweaty, and then she seems to come back to herself and walks with me, not speaking. The air between us feels heavy and oppressive with the silence between us. Annabeth has understood something I didn't. I don't like the way my nerves tingle up from the top of my head all the way to my toes.

We get home and I push the door open, then sit on the couch. She sits down next to me, and looks at me with her beautiful grey eyes. It never fails to draw me in, her gaze, that color. "You want to tell me what's going on now?"

She nods and swallows hard. "Percy. In seahorse biology, the males carry the babies to term. I think ... you're pregnant."

I'd like to say I took the news like a champ, but I really don't remember. I passed out.