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theaveragedemigod · 7 years ago

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Rings of Fire (Sort of.)

Tagged: @theaveragedemigod, @the-daughter-of-wisdom, @abrimstonecosmos, @god-of-the-seas

Time/Place: After the Chase/Jackson wedding, in Percy and Annabeth’s apartment

Details: Percy and Annabeth are non-traditional to the surprise of no one, Hades doesn’t mind lighting people on fire but is otherwise allergic to most forms of human contact, and Poseidon is on supervisory duty to make sure no one blows anything up. In other words, a fairly average and tame Saturday afternoon. Told via RPNow. No trigger warnings to speak of, we kept this one mostly family-friendly.

RINGS OF FIRE (SORT OF.)

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PERCY: It took a little doing, a little planning that was probably more Annabeth's style than his, but he'd finally managed to do the thing. He was still a little shell-shocked that Hades, who barely knew them, had offered to do their wedding ring tattoos in the first place. He figured striking while the iron was hot was a good thing. Plus, the back-pocket dad for support and/or watching didn't hurt anything. At least, not as much as the tattoos would. He remembered when his Praetor mark had shown up, and while he knew Annabeth was tough, he didn't want to force her to subject herself to something like that -- and his ever-growing discomfort with the Gods he didn't know, and even some of the ones he did, had him second-guessing ever opening his big mouth about wanting a tattoo. It was too late to back out, though, so all he could really do is make sure the apartment didn't look like a war zone, and wait his dad and Hades to arrive.

ANNABETH: Annabeth was fairly relaxed about the whole thing, knowing that the pain wouldn't be worse than most things they'd already experienced. She was nervous about Hades doing it, unsure about how the god truly felt towards her and Percy, but Poseidon's presence was making her more at ease with it. Watching Percy fuss with the apartment, she smiled and shook her head. "Relax Perc. The house is straight. It'll be alright. They'll be here soon, just..breathe a bit."

PERCY: He turned and looked at his wife. Wife. Totally still wasn't old. He pointed at himself, raising his eyebrows and pretending offense -- badly. "Who me? I'm totally chill. Just, y'know, doing my daily cleaning." He dropped his hand and leveled a serious glance at her. "Before my uncle comes over to light us on fire. Just your average day as a Jackson, amiright?"

HADES: Briefly, Hades considered simply appearing in the newlyweds' living room. But that one word reminded him that he really didn't want to accidentally walk in on anything newlywed in style. Instead, shadow travel delivered him at their front door and he knocked firmly. His impatience was clear but he tamped it down. After all, he had made the offer. Purely selfishly, but they didn't need to know that. When the door opened, his eyebrow quirked, "Hello, Jacksons."

POSEIDON: He had been running late to his son's home, a customer at the shop holding him up. He practically ran up the steps, smiling at both his brother and son as he ascended the stariway to their apartment. "Hello! Sorry. I'm not late am I? It's good to see you Hades! And you too son."

PERCY: Percy had just given Annabeth a roguish wink, maybe even saucy, when someone knocked on the door. He'd always been just a touch disconcerted with shadow travel, even when Mrs. O'Leary was helping him do it, so he was glad there was a knock instead of another body in their apartment as he'd been considering asking Annabeth about a really fun way to kill some time. Anyway, he'd no sooner than opened the door and his mouth, in that order, before his dad came rushing up, too. "Hello," he said to both men at once, opening the door so everyone could get in. "Thanks for coming. This should be quick, right? Or we can make it that way. I'm sure you guys have plenty of better things to do, so we won't keep you too long."

ANNABETH: Annabeth smirked at the wink, about to suggest they lock the door and do something a bit more fun herself when there was a knock. Sighing a bit, Annabeth stood as the door opened, smiling at Nico's father and then Poseidon. "Hey!" Her gaze lingered on Hades, the young woman letting herself take the god in before she offered him her hand to shake. "Good to finally meet you Hades. I've heard..some about you. Read more. Thanks for offering to do this for us."

HADES: Hades simply inclined his head to his brother, as aloof and distant as people would expect. At the offer of Annabeth's hand, he took it gently. "I'm sure you've heard plenty and little of it flattering," he said bluntly as he walked into the far too tiny apartment. He pulled a face, already ready to be done and out of there. "Who else was going to? Thunderbutt?" He scoffed.

POSEIDON: Poseidon didn't let his brother's distant nature bother him, the god continuing to smile before walking into the apartment as well and taking a place in the corner. "It's good to be here Percy, and I wouldn't be anywhere else." He smiled kindly at them all and leaned on the wall, letting the other three get in introductions.

PERCY: He couldn't help himself. He was an adult, making adult choices and here to do adult things (not that kind) in the apartment he and Annabeth worked to pay for themselves-- but he had to laugh at Hades' name for Zeus. Again. For not the first time and probably not the last. "I don't think I want him to blow me or electrocute me. We talked about having the forge make a branding iron or something, maybe, but... yeah, this is probably better." He glanced at his uncle. "Have you ever done something like this before? Like do I just hand over what she drew for you or...."

ANNABETH: Annabeth shook the god's hand firmly, smiling a bit at his words. "The books maybe not, but the word of mouth hasn't been unflattering." She let go of his hand quickly, figuring Hades and Nico's human contact preferences to be similiar. Shooting Percy an amused look at his laughter, she shrugged. "There were options, but you're likely the most precise. And it really is an honor. There's likely not many that can say they've been tattooed by Hades himself."

HADES: Hades lips twitched at the corner when his nephew laughed at his nickname for Zeus. It didn't make him feel bad for what he'd been up to, but he was a little more amused by him than before. He held his hand out to Percy, "Let me see the design, nephew." It kept him from having to touch anyone else again unless he absolutely had to. It was bad enough to be in such close proximity. His eyes flicked to the blonde before to the design, "None living, that I can think of." He looked at his brother, "Aren't we old for babysitting?"

POSEIDON: Poseidon watched the threesome interact with a smile, pleased to see the slight twitch of his brother's lips. It was nice to see Hades at least somewhat relaxed, and his son as well as Annabeth seemed at ease. At Hades question, the sea god laughed a bit "I don't believe we're ever too old for babysitting brother! Besides, with these two's track-record in dealing with the gods I can understand why they'd want an audience of some sort for this."

PERCY: There was a little bit of alarm at Hades' question. Percy didn't really want it to come down to a we don't trust you sort of thing, even if that's what it was. That made it less likely to all go smoothly or for them to seem appreciative. He should've known his dad would try and probably succeed at deflecting the tension. He handed over what Annabeth had sketched out. "The olive branch on the front and the cheesy initials on the back was the rough idea," he said, swinging his elbow out to lightly bump Annabeth as he teased her. He flicked a glance at his dad. "You'll still talk to me even if I have an Athenian tattoo, right? I mean, you ignore the Roman one, and you like my wife, but I'm still okay with not pissing you off."

HADES: Hades quirked an eyebrow at his brother but said nothing, instead looking at the sketch in his hand. "Simple enough to work for as small as it has to be," he nodded and stepped away. His eyes rolled so hard he wondered that they didn't pop out of his head at the exchange between Poseidon and Percy, mentally patting himself on the back for not gagging out loud. He held the paper back towards the newly married pair and, in his silent way, demanded their attention by coming closer. "Who's going first, then?"

PERCY: It was almost a habit, as Hades subtly moved toward them, that Percy tucked himself between Annabeth and whatever was coming. She could handle herself, she had protected him more than once, and it was probably sexist but... once an accidental leader, always an accidental leader, right? "Me," he said simply. "Tell me what to do -- within reason, obviously. I'm not gonna bark when you say 'chicken' or anything."

HADES: His eyebrow quirked at the move of his nephew to block Annabeth from him. He did visibly roll his eyes this time, "Oh yes, because I live for parlor tricks. Just hold out your damn hand and stay still. This is going to hurt like a bitch, so I hope you're sure about it." He gestured for Percy's hand impatiently.

PERCY: "I just wanted to, y'know, address the possibility. Cover the bases. Close the loopholes. Whatever." Percy smirked a little and then rolled his eyes, giving some parity to the fact that he wouldn't ever give a God carte blanche. "This isn't my first time," he said dully as he held out his left hand. Sure, maybe he hadn't seen the first one coming which might've made it better, but details.

HADES: "Never a bad idea when I'm involved," he shrugged with a smirk before hovering his hand over the offered one. A tiny, precise line of fire flickered over Percy's skin testingly before it began to burn deep enough to suit their needs. Finishing the top, he flipped his nephew's hand to do the bottom. He seemed completely unfazed by the smell that accompanied the heat and simply withdrew his hand when he was done.

PERCY: Even though it wasn't his first time, it was the first time he could see it as it happened. He could feel most of his muscles tense, an effort to keep his body in place as pain caught up to what was being done. It didn't feel great, but it also didn't promote any sort of natural flight response. He was mostly past that kind of thing, and just folded his lips together to keep himself from making any embarrassing noise.

HADES: Hades gestured him towards his father, "Go on, let him look it over so I don't have hovering while I try to get hers done. All it will do is annoy me and that won't end well for anyone." He gestured for Annabeth to come closer to him so he could do the second of the set and get out. "If you want, look at his first so you can know exactly what to expect at the end of this, because it can't be redone."

PERCY: Since he watched with rapt fascination at the marks rising on his skin, he didn't have to verify. He knew it was right, nothing more and nothing less than Annabeth had drawn out. "Thank you," he said simply before he pulled his hand back. He compromised and did some of what he was told -- his specialty. Instead of going to where Poseidon stood watching, he took his place at Annabeth's back before gesturing to his dad. That way, he wasn't hovering, but he wasn't, like, leaving her to fend for herself either. He held his hand out toward his dad and brushed a totally unnecessary kiss over her shoulder so she didn't forget he was there.

ANNABETH: Annabeth watched the whole process with interest, her grey eyes watching as Hades produced his precise flame and pressed into Percy's skin. She was impressed, while also stressed about Percy being in pain. However, he seemed to be handling it well, and it wasn't excessive. Glancing at Poseidon, she smiled when she saw the god watching, but that he was obviously not worried about his brother slipping or hurting Percy too much. She would have touched her husband to reassure him she was there, but she didn't want to accidentally shift him or distract Hades. So she stayed quiet until the process was complete. When it was her turn, she couldn't help but sigh as Percy ignored most of Hades instructions, giving the god an apologetic smile as she traded places with the demigod and gave him her hand. "I don't need to. You clearly know what you're doing."

POSEIDON: Poseidon stayed relaxed in the corner during the duration of the process as he noticed Annabeth glancing his way, but he was watching it all with a sharp eye. He cared for his brother deeply, but knew he had his sneaky ways of letting out his temper and the sea god intended for his son's wedding tattoo not to be a way Hades did so. He was pleased to see his brother's attention to detail, and had to admit he was impressed with Hades work. He stood as Hades sent Percy to him so he could examine the tattoo, smiling a bit as Percy stayed close to his Annabeth. Crossing the room, he took his son's hand and carefully examined the work, nodding easily. "It's well done Hades. You're more artistic than I would have guessed."

HADES: Inclining his head at her words, he put his hand over hers but paused for a moment. Hades looked to his brother, his face set in harder lines that it should have been. "My realm didn't decorate itself. Neither did I have access to people who wished to create my throne or the room it sits in," he reminded him quietly. Quickly, he returned his attention to the work at hand, glancing at Percy over her shoulder with a slight quirk to his eyebrow. It was slightly challenging but he went back to work, repeating the process on Annabeth's slim finger.

POSEIDON: Poseidon met Hades hard gaze, his own slightly hurt for a brief moment before he nodded. "Nor did I believe it was. I'll admit that my failure to consider that was thoughtless. I meant no offense brother, I apologize." He gave the fellow god a slight bow of his head before looking at his son and offering him a soft smile. "It looks good, and is unlikely to get infected or anything as long as you look after it. Do you like it?"

PERCY: It felt a little like they'd stepped into something he didn't want to step into. Hades bitterness was apparent and Percy idly wondered, before his thoughts could flutter to something else, if it was something they had in common. While Percy wasn't the type to stay angry, and Hades had likely been angry for lifetimes, it was still at least a thread. He understood to a slight degree and glanced at his dad to see how he'd respond. He knew his dad wasn't perfect but.... basically, it was just straight uncomfortable for a minute until Poseidon apologized. He nodded in response to his father's question. "Yes. It's one of three things she's drawn that I actually got without the backstory. And Hades did a good job, I'm pretty sure." He glanced to check Hades' progress on Annabeth but it was a curiosity check only and he didn't want to actually be disruptive, so much as he could ever control that.

ANNABETH: Annabeth was silent during the tense moment between gods, knowing it was neither hers nor Percy's place to speak. She did however study the god of the Underworld's face during the interaction, and even afterwards, not even tensing once Hades began burning into her flesh. Once she'd had a moment to compose herself, she spoke quietly. "I'm sorry if having Poseidon is making you addedly uncomfortable....we really are grateful for this Hades. I know it's a rather useless offer, but if you ever decide you need a daughter of Athena for aid, you've only to call. Really, thank you. Your work is beautiful." She gave a pained smile before looking back at her hand, watching him finish with keen interest.

HADES: It was strange, hearing apologies for the way things had been for millennium. It changed nothing, but it made his eyes flick to his brother for a brief moment. His attention quickly was full force on Annabeth, the rest pushed to the periphery at her words. "Poseidon is here to make the two of you more comfortable with my presence, I harbor no delusions over that." Her offer made him pause his words before he inclined his head slightly to her, "Thank you." He finished her tattoo carefully and stepped back when it was complete to allow the other two men to examine it, and her, knowing that was the way this would end.

POSEIDON: Poseidon was pleased to see the way Hades eyes flicked to him for the briefest of moments, glad he didn't see hatred in his gaze before he was distracted by his son. He chuckled a bit before nodding. "He did an excellent job. And it suits you both and your situation as demigods very well. I'll readily admit you two being together has given me some pause and amusement." He smirked a bit remembering how much it irritated Athena before looking at Annabeth once the tattoo was finished, then his brother. "It was good of you to do this Hades."

PERCY: Percy shrugged at Hades' lack of illusion, way more unapologetic than his wife. Plus, it's not like Hades needed the apologies. He knew exactly what was up and, if the roles were reversed, Percy was guessing he would've done something similar -- he would've brought a safety backup. He was distracted from his lack of sorry by his dad. While he wasn't offended, he was still gonna ask. "Hold up, amusement?"

ANNABETH: "Not because it's you specifically Hades. You're a god we don't know yet. I'd have asked him here if it was any of the others too. Gods either take well to us or do their best to ruin our lives, and you're never sure which way they go." Annabeth gave him another tight smile as he finished up, giving him a bow of her head. "No, thank you. And it's the least I can do." When he'd finished, she looked at it herself for a long moment, biting her lip before flashing the god a bright smile. "Thank you!" She had the sudden urge to hug him but quickly realized he'd likely react just as poorly as Nico would and just pushed her hand back towards Percy and Poseidon to stop herself, glancing at the sea god. "Amusement?"

HADES: Hades looked at the scene unfolding between the other three and rolled his eyes. "I will leave the three of you to it," he spoke as he shifted towards the door, completely unwilling to be an outside party to the conversation that was sure to quickly unfold.

POSEIDON: "Amusement. Athena was very disproving of her smartest child being at all connected with me and my offspring. And now you two are wed. I'll admit I get enjoyment from that." He smirked at the twosome before looking to his brother. "Thank you brother. It's fantastic work. I'll drop by to see you in the next day or so."

PERCY: "Well, yeah, we made out in front of the spot where you and she fought in Rome, too, so I guess we can all get some amusement out of it. Maybe except Athena 'cause she seems pretty, um..." he hooked his fingers like they were claws and then had to stop because it didn't feel great.

As the 'man of the house,' Percy knew it was his responsibility to at least open the door for his uncle. He seemed like a guy who didn't like to be around people and, though Percy had tried more than once to encourage Nico to not be like that, he didn't really have the leeway to pressure or tease his uncle. Hades had been thanked graciously, promised had been made, blah-de-blah, so really there wasn't a ton left to say as he opened the door. "Thanks. They look great. We probably couldn't have done it without you. There's a good-sized shadow at the end of the hallway if that's your thing."

HADES: Hades snorted quietly at Percy's motion, mocking Athena, thinking it was incredibly on point, before turning his attention to Poseidon. He inclined his head, "I will see you." He didn't count on it being incredibly soon, and would certainly prefer that it wasn't.

Stepping through the door, he lifted an eyebrow at his nephew, "No, likely not. Enjoy them and all they stand for, nephew." He made his way to the shadow and simply disappeared, leaving all of the homey mushiness behind him.

ANNABETH: AnnaBeth rolled her eyes at both Percy and his father, choosing to ignore their comments about her mother. They weren't close, but Athena was still her mom after all. Looking at Hades, she gave him another smile, still nervous around the god but more comfortable now. He reminded her of Nico, though a bit more relaxed than his son seemed to be sometimes. "Really Hades, we can't thank you enough. Maybe sometime we..." she blushed, realizing she was about to offer social interaction to Hades and his son, who both hated social interaction. "Never mind. But really, I can't thank you enough."

POSEIDON: Poseidon burst into laughter at his som's wprds, loving the description and gleaning some enjoyment from Annabeth's eye roll. He managed to give his brother a nod before he disappeared and looked back at the two children. "That is good to know. The two of you truly are full of surprises."

PERCY: It wasn't even because they were married, he didn't think, but he could feel Annabeth's eyeroll even with his back turned. Between that and his dad laughing, it gave him life. Sort of. He turned around and went to Annabeth's side because, you know, of course he did. He grabbed her hand gently to look it over in more detail. He addressed his dad at the same time. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I can't always tell."

ANNABETH: "You two are ridiculous." AnnaBeth looked affectionately at the two of them, happy with this little family. Everything felt right, even if she did still have a few concerns and worries she wished she didn't. "Obviously it's a good thing. Otherwise we'd be much more boring."

POSEIDON: He laughed again at his sons question, but nodded in agreement with his daughter in law. "It's a good thing. It's made it difficult to protect you at times, but I've always liked that you got into trouble. Meant you were at least a little like me." He gave his son a warm smile before nodding. "Well, I believe it's time I took my leave. I'm sure the two of you would rather be with each other than have me hanging around." The sea god gave them both a playful wink before shifting towards the door.

PERCY: Her tattoos looked just like his -- and the thought came that he should find some sort of gift for Hades -- so he let her go in order to get the door for his dad. "Yeah, I think that's pretty well confirmed at this point, right?" He asked, comfortable in the idea that it was. It wasn't just mystical powers that made him like his dad -- it was his personality, too. He'd been told more than once that he was the child of his father's better nature, and he believed it. He also took it as a high compliment and didn't comment on it very often, which was rare for his smartass mouth. He smiled as he opened the door, though. "We can find things to do when we're alone together, sure, but we don't mind having you either. Thanks for coming, Dad. I appreciate it." He held his hand out for a handshake because that's what grownups did, right? Or would a hug be more appropriate? He didn't know.

POSEIDON: "It is...but I'll admit I like the reminders. There aren't many of my children that turn out like me. Especially ones whose lives I haven't been involved with as much as I'd like." Poseidon smiled at Percy, wishing hed been there long ago for his son. He'd done all he could since they'd been allowed to meet, but he still couldn't help regretting not being able to see him grow. Looking at the offered hand, the sea god decided to ignore it and stepped in close, hugging his son tightly. "Anytime son. I'm glad I could help." He stood there a moment before letting Percy go and stepping out the door. "I'll see you around son. Goodbye Annabeth! I'm sure I'll see you soon as well." Giving them both a bright smile, he then turned and left, leaving them to their day.

ANNABETH: Annabeth stayed back, letting the two men react. It was nice to see them talking, and she couldn't help but watch the two hug. She knew Percy cared for his father, and she was happy to see the god being affectionate with his child. Annabeth wished that would happen more often. She waved back as he left. "Thanks Poseidon! For everything." Before reaching out and taking Percy's hand to tug him back towards her.

PERCY: Between the fond smile, the words, and the hug, he was too stunned to do anything but accept it, and maybe even sink into it for a minute. He'd always been a hugger, personally, so he didn't mind one bit. It was actually kind of nice. For all the times he'd been less than thrilled with the explanations why he was how he was, it was now he was profoundly glad to be a son of Poseidon. His dad's presence was comforting and warm and he was a little sad to see it walk out the door. He was definitely glad there'd be a 'next time.'

Annabeth tugged him away from the gag-worthy moment at the door and he smiled and wrapped his arms around her. "Well, now there's really no going back," he teased, launching into a pun that even he knew was just awful. He smiled, though. because he had no shame. "You're branded with my P."

ANNABETH: "No, there's certainly not. But there wasn't before either. I've always been yours pretty much." Annabeth blushed a little at how ridiculous she sounded before practically choking a the next words out of Percy's mouth. "Branded with your..Percy Jackson what is wrong with you." She laughed, but shook her head at him, disbelieving that that had come out of his mouth.

PERCY: The choking laughter, unchecked and totally unexpected, was kind of what he lived for, and the fact that he'd managed to surprise the woman who knew him so well was like oxygen. He pulled her closer, smiling broadly. "You've got the rest of a mortal lifetime to tackle that list. Besides, I totally meant the letter P like my initial. Why, what did you think I meant?"

ANNABETH: Annabeth easily moved closer to him, chuckling at his words. "That's true. And there's always the afterlife too. I'm sure we'll both be hooked up with Elysium at this point." She smiled back at him, resting her forehead on his and laughing quietly. "Well of course you did. I'v no idea what my dirty little brain could've been thinking of."

PERCY: His hands slid down just a little, not totally groping her ass but pushing the boundary as he was so likely to do. Plus it let him press a little closer to her and he wouldn't say no to that, especially in the privacy of their own crappy little apartment. "I'd hope so. Do you think we could just, like, past go twice and go straight to Isles of the Blest? Or would you settle for Elysium if we were there together?" He asked, genuinely curious. His grin widened. "Oh, I think you do know what your dirty little brain was thinking." He kissed her nose, a stupid and silly little gesture he actually really loved doing whenever he got the chance. "Either way, your dirty thoughts are hot."

ANNABETH: Annabeth chuckled as his hands drifted, the young woman not giving a single word of protest and smiling a bit at the question. "If there is any justice in the world we'll go right for the Isles of the Blest at this point, but I doubt Hades would bend rules like that. I'll settle for wherever we end up, cause either way I just want to be with you." She smirked at his big grin, leaning in a little closer to press a light kiss to his lips. "I've got a lot more than dirty thoughts right now if you want to stop talking about our deaths for a bit and take me to bed Mr.Jackson."

PERCY: He hummed his agreement with her words and his satisfaction at how close she was pressed, then bit his lip and changed their course -- both in the conversation he didn't want to involve more talking and in the direction they were moving. "I do -- Mrs. Jackson."

#( paragraphs. )#( m; annabeth )#( m; dad )#( m; hades )#( para: rings of fire )

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