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Chapter Text

Poseidon started the day having fun. He attended his son's wedding along with most of the other gods. His kid had earned it and no monster dared attack with so many gods in attendance. And as far as ladies go, Percy could have done way worse than Annabeth Chase even if she was Athena’s spawn. As it were, the two's union had even improved his and his niece’s relationship even though they’d never admit it. His good mood continued as he got home but had started fading as his body began to hurt—a lot. The last thing he saw was his bed too far away as everything went black.

“Poseidon” What? Him?

“Poseidon!” Everything hurts. He felt weaker.

“Poseidon!!” He was unreasonably tired. Why is his domain smaller?

“Po-Poseidon?”

That voice. That was a voice he hadn’t heard in literal centuries.

“Odysseus of Ithaca!” That son of a bitch.

”Do you know who I am?” That was his voice but he didn’t say anything. What. The. Fuck. What was going on?

“The cyclops you made blind. Is mine.”

“No.” Odessess? Stepped back in fear

Ok. Maybe this isn’t so bad. He could rest and let his past self do all the work. This already happened after all. Wait. Hold on. Why wasn’t his past self talking? What if he-

“I shall give you a choice Odysseus.” That was him. His voice. Present him, voice. Fucking dam it.

Posiden was currently very unsure of what to do. He was very unsure about a lot of things currently. He was weak and tired, his domain felt a lot smaller all of a sudden, and he felt like he could faint at any moment. But he wasn’t about to freeze up on a bunch of mortals, much less Athena’s mortal, so winging it it is!

“You must learn that ruthless is mercy upon ourselves. So I shall ask you, King of Ithaca. You or your crew?” Zeus did that eventually. He’s pretty sure anyway. He can’t remember everything. But Percy would be upset if he killed 568 men. And his anger had subsided into nothing over the years. He had gotten his revenge once, he didn’t need to do it again. Posiden would just make them clean his place and then guide them to Ithaca. Yeah, that’ll work. Probably.

“I choose to sacrifice myself, Lord Poseidon.” That motherfucker.

“Then get in the water.” He did. He actually did. Where was this last time?!

Poseidon watched the king actually jump into the water. He cannot believe it was so easy to kill that man. Not that he was going to kill him. Athena would be pissed at him for centuries and he was just actually liking that woman. Not that the feeling was mutual anymore. No. Not gonna think about that. And didn’t he choose to spare himself the first time around? Fates why. Poseidon barely resisted the urge to scream as he used his power to drag Odysseus deeper into the water before wrapping him in an air bubble. No he couldn’t kill the man but he is pretty sure he needs to act like he did. He doesn’t want anyone to figure out he doesn’t belong here yet. Athena can forgive him later.

“Go.” He told the crew. He didn’t remember any of their names. “Do not forget what you’ve learned today.” Please forget what you’ve learned today more like. Shut up brain, it is so not the time. He watched as the crew sailed away, never faltering in his confidence l until they were out of view. He immediately shrunk to his motel form as soon as he was sure they were gone. It took less energy and he was so tired and potentially injured. But that comes later, he now had a mortal man to take care of. Poseidon dunked under the water and swam deeper to find Odysseus in his god created air bubble looking very confused at the lack of his own death. By all of the gods almighty did Posiden need an actual plan.

“Lord Posiden?” Odysseus started before thinking better of things and stopping.

“What is it, King of Ithaca?” Posiedon responded. Odysseus startled, clearly not expecting a response, and clearly did not think his question through. Poseidon decided to start the walk or swim to his palace while Odysseus figured his stuff out. Poseidon could get there faster but he’s pretty sure if he uses any more power he will end up fainting. Which is a problem when there’s a human who is relying solely on him to keep breathing. His palace had air. They both could rest there.

Posiden sighed in relief as his home came into view. Odysseus had stayed silent the entire time which didn’t bode well for later but was a blessing he was more than willing to take.

He walked into his palace, got rid of the king's air bubble, and was immediately lost. Right. Annabeth had improved the place's architecture in order to ask his blessing. Unnecessary but appreciated nonetheless. But she hadn’t been born yet. Great. Everything was going great.

“Lord Posiden?” Odysseus interrupted, something he was actually grateful for because he could pretend to not be put out for a while longer.

“Hm?”

“I do not mean to question you, your highness. But it appears my curiosity has gotten the better of me, and I must ask, why have you not killed me?”

Well shit. He couldn’t just say because in the future I actually kind of like my niece and killing of others is pretty frowned upon. What would Percy do? Percy would make shit up. “Because it would be foolish of me to kill you for a crime that was essentially self-defense. And it would be pointless if you never learn your lesson.” Did Odysseus always look slightly blury and grey? Anyway that sounded logical enough right? Odysseus nodded in understanding and looked away. Thank the gods.

Poseidon suddenly groaned as the pain spiked and Odysseus looked back at him. He didn’t remember his palace being all gray. Odysseus looks concerned. Ha he shouldn’t be concerned for him, of all people, Ody should really hate him.

“Lord Poseidon? Are you..?”

He was fine! Ody really shouldn’t worry so much it’s not like.. The last thing Poseidon saw was Odysseus running towards him. “Poseidon!”

Chapter Text

Odysseus was, though he’d never admit it out loud, terrified when he woke up to the windbag being open and now he and his crew were being dragged to the Land of the Giants of all places.

“Poseidon” What?

“Poseidon!” The waves were growing stronger. 

“Poseidon!!” No, it couldn’t be.

“Po-Poseidon?” Odysseus looked up at the god hoping he and the voices were mistaken. They weren’t.

“Odysseus of Ithaca!” He knew his name. The sea god knew his name and was clearly pissed at him. 

”Do you know who I am?” A rhetorical question. Of course, Odysseus knew.

“The cyclops you made blind. Is mine.”

“No,” Odysseus whispered and stepped back. Poseidon grinned at his fear. Then instead of drowning his ships like the stories warned, the waves calmed.

“I shall give you a choice Odessess” The sea god looked momentarily shocked before going back to a neutral expression. “You must learn that ruthless is mercy upon ourselves. So I shall ask you, King of Ithaca. You or your crew?” 

A sacrifice then. This was his mistake. He needed to pay for it.

“Captain?” Eurylochus stepped forward.

Odysseus winced “This is my mistake, Eurylochus.”

“Captain there has to be another way”

Odysseus shook his head “There is no way to go against the sea. I love you, brother. Tell Penelope I am sorry.” 

Odysseus looked back up at the god, who seemed like he was deep in thought and wasn’t paying attention “I choose to sacrifice myself, Lord Posiden.” Poseidon looked back down at him clearly surprised. Rude. 

“Then get in the water,” Posiden growled. Odysseus took one look back at his crew and smiled before jumping into the ocean below. He felt the water dragging him farther down as Poseidon spoke to his crew. 

Just as he felt he could no longer hold his breath he was surrounded by a bubble full of air. Odysseus looked up at the god swimming down to him, now in a smaller form, confused. “Lord Poseidon?” He started then cut himself off. No need to piss off the sea god any further especially since, for some reason, he hadn’t killed him yet. “What is it, King of Ithaca?” Odysseus jumped, not actually expecting a response from the god. However, based on how quickly Poseidon turned away from him, he also didn’t expect a response, which was great because Odysseus didn’t have one.

He stayed silent throughout their journey through the ocean until they came upon a palace. He barely held back a gasp. It was absolutely gorgeous. It somehow was even prettier when they got inside. Odysseus stumbled as he was released looking at Poseidon in shock. Then he froze. Poseidon seemed.. strange. As if he was sick. “Lord Poseidon?”

“Hmm?”

Shoot. He didn’t mean to say that out loud. He couldn’t just ask a god if they were fine. Think Odysseus, think. “I do not mean to question you, your highness. But it appears my curiosity has gotten the better of me, and I must ask, why have you not killed me?” That sounds polite enough to not get simited on the spot right?

“Because it would be foolish of me to kill you for a crime that was essentially self-defense. And it would be pointless if you never learn your lesson.” Poseidon responded. That.. sounded like bullshit but far be it from him to call out the god on a lie.  

Odysseus jumped as Poseidon suddenly groaned and looked back at him. He’s pretty sure gods shouldn’t look that pale. “Lord Poseidon? Are you..?” Odysseus wasn’t sure if he should finish that sentence. If Poseidon took offense to anything he did he’d never see Penelope again. Odysseus never got to decide on an option because Poseidon was already falling backward. “Poseidon!” He shouted, running to the god’s side. 

He'd never been so unsure about what to do before. Even Athena had made sense, had been similar to her stories, made it clear what she wanted. But Poseidon hadn’t done any of that. He didn’t kill his crew, he didn’t kill him, he brought Odysseus to his home! Then the god fainted in front of him. Maybe this was some kind of divine sickness. That would make the most sense.

“Poseidon! You’re.. home?” A seemingly tired woman who was clearly some kind of goddess walked in and froze at the sight. Shit. If he wasn’t dead before, he certainly was now.

“Madam!” Odysseus tried to give her his best grin. “It seems me and Lord Posiden have run into a bit of an..issue. If you could be so kind as to assist me bring the lord to a clinic?” And not kill me, he did not say.

The woman sighed and glared at Poseidon's limp body. “Very well” she said “He is not heavy in this form. Carry him and follow me.” Odysseus nodded, and after a moment of hesitation, he grabbed the god and followed the Lady.

Chapter Text

Poseidon felt better when he woke up on an actual bed, only to be greeted face-to-face by a very, very angry wife. “Amphitrite, my love!”

“Poseidon.” Welp. He lived a good life. Half of that life hasn’t happened yet and he’s pretty sure he created a huge butterfly effect by not.. Shit. He brought Odyessus into the palace, didn’t he? Fuck, no wonder Amphitrite is so pissed. “My love. About the..-“ 

"-About the mortal man you brought into the royal palace.” Wow was the floor suddenly a lot more interesting to look at.

His wife sighed, “The man is still alive if that’s what you’re worried about. He carried you here.” That made him pause. Is that what he’s worried about? Why? Gods, maybe he has gone soft. Posiden shook his head and glanced back up at his wife, it’s not the time. “Where is he?”

Amphitrite sat down next to him “He’s in the guest chamber. Why did you bring him here?”

It was Poseidon's turn to sigh “He hurt my son. So I told him to choose between himself or his crew. “I didn’t expect him to choose himself.” Although to be fair, Odysseus hasn’t gone through the full journey that made him so cold in the first place. He probably should have thought of that. “I don’t want to kill him or even punish him even but I can’t just let him off.”

Poseidon buried his face in his hands “I don’t know what to do.” He felt his wife wrap her arms around him. “I planned to have him be a servant for a year. It’s long enough to claim punishment and then I can let him go after.. But I should have talked with you first. I’m sorry.”

“You’ve changed.” His wife mutters. He tensed. Time travel is a big guess for anyone to make but if anyone could figure him out it would be her. “I’m not going to ask. I think this is a good thing. For you, and your family.” Amphitrite gave him one last hug before releasing him and leaving the room. He smiled at her as he walked her leave. He loved that woman. 

Ok. Time to get Odysseus. Poseidon stood up and started walking only to immediately pause, lost. He closed his eyes and used his power to teleport. He found Odysseus in a hallway speaking with the nymphs. He really needed to figure out the layout of his own palace. “Odysseus.” The mortal man jumped.

“Lord Posiden! You’re awake.”

Poseidon glanced at the nymph then back at Odysseus “Am I interrupting something?”

“N-No, my Lord. This nice lady and I were simply talking.”  “I see. Then do you mind if we talk somewhere private?”

“Of course not. Lead the way.” Poseidon made a noise of acknowledgment and walked to the guest chamber, Odysseus not far behind. 

“Sit.” Poseidon gestured to the bed “You harmed my son.” Odysseus winced but he wasn’t done. “Killed his friend. And instead of remaining anonymous, you shout your full name, address, social security-”

“What is social security?” Whoops. Moving on.

“And after all that, you argue with Athena. The Goddess of Wisdom. Over if that was the right decision?”

“I thought you and Lady Athena didn’t get along.” Damnit. He’s been messing up a lot today.

“The point, King of Ithaca, is that you made a bad decision and must be punished for it.” Odysseus looked nervous which, considering how violent he and all the gods used to be, was fair. “You will be a servant in this palace for a year. Afterward, you will be free to return to Ithaca. Any questions?” The man shook his head, too shocked to form words. “Good. This..” He gestured around the area “Shall be your room. The other servants shall provide you with clothing and anything else you may need. You are free to ask me questions.” Poseidon paused. “I will not kill you.” That felt like a necessary elaboration. Percy would be proud. He hopes.

Odysseus looked up at the ceiling processing his words. “I.. understand. The man looked back down at him.  “I shall do my best.” Poseidon nodded, so far, so good.

“Then I shall take my leave.”  

Poseidon used his powers to locate his room and teleported there. His wife was probably working. He then collapsed onto his bed. In very uncomfortable clothing. He snapped his fingers and changed into his future usual wear of a Hawaiian shirt and shorts. Much better.

He then pulled up a screen above his head to see how Odysseus’s crew were progressing. There was nothing better to do as far as he knew anyway. They were at… Poseidon gasped. He had forgotten about Circe. And it seemed like the rest of the crew were just.. leaving?!

What?! Damit. He didn’t have Athena’s ability to see the past so he couldn’t see why the hell this was happening. “Aggh.” He buried his face in his pillows. Percy’s fatal flaw was loyalty. He would never leave his friends stuck as pigs. Odysseus would be upset as well. At least he hopes he would be. Why are mortals so different and strange?! … Not that gods were any better really. 

“Amphitrite?” Poseidon appeared to her “Do I have anything planned anytime soon?”

His wife looked up from her desk and froze. She looked him up and down. “What. Are you wearing?”

Oh. His outfit. You know what? He gives up. He’s always done things on a mere limb before. If people think he’s gone crazy so be it. “It’s a new trend! It’s very popular in the future!” It is not. 

“Uh-huh. Well then.” She checked her papers. “You have a meeting with your family next week. Is that far enough?”

“Yes, perfect, my love!” He jumped over the desk and kissed her.

His wife let out a small laugh as she pushed him away. “Wait at least three days before you go. You need your rest.”

“Yes ma’am.” He jumped back down to the ground, giving his wife a wave as he left. Four days to save and bring Odysseus man back to.. well not the people who left them to die certainly. Ithaca then. There Odysseus can tell his wife and son he isn’t dead, he’d appreciate that, hopefully. Poseidon liked Telemachus from Athena’s stories about him, the kid reminded him of Tyson. Not that Athena knew he was even listening. And he’d never admit it to her either.

And then a meeting.. with his family. Shit. He would love to clear things up with his niece and befriend her again, she was a good friend once they begrudgingly began to get along, and set up his son and her daughter in the process, but the issue lies with Ares, Aphrodite, Apollo, Artemis and… Zeus. Sure he said he was neutral in the war for Hera, but everyone and their mother knew he was supporting the Trojans behind the scenes. If Poseidon reveals that he spared a Greek of all people right now to his brother.. It would probably lead to a war. Again. Wow Percy was right, his family does suck. Knowing the future in general sucks. Maybe he should bond with Apollo over it. Get a god away from Zeus and be on his side beforehand. Gods was he bad at making plans. He needed to sleep and think it over. Poseidon stumbled to his bed and felt himself falling asleep right away. He’ll figure it out later. 

Chapter Text

Three days passed faster than Poseidon thought it would. He was busy figuring out the layout of the palace and catching up on everything he had forgotten of this time, hopefully, in complete secrecy. He wrote it all in a coded notebook locked away. Poseidon had only encountered Odysseus a few times since that day but it seemed like he got accustomed to the servant life just fine. The man seemed to be at least ok with the current arrangement since Poseiden hadn’t noticed him even try to make any plans to escape. It's been like three weeks. Which is why he felt a little bad to give the poor guy the news. Still, though, Poseidon was bored and was avoiding the entire Godley pantheon so he didn’t have anything better to do. 

Poseidon found Odysseus in one of the hallways, cleaning a trophy stand. He really had too many of those spread around the palace. Fates he missed his daughter in law. He was also surprised at the king’s work ethic but he’s not complaining. “Odysseus.”

The man jumped, nearly crashing into the stand. “Lord Poseidon!”

Poseidon coughed to cover up his laugh, scaring the poor guy was fun, he was starting to understand why Athena had chosen him. “A..situation of sorts has arisen. Usually I wouldn’t care, but I feel like you would” At least he hopes the man would care.

“What is this.. situation?” Odysseus looked him up and down. Ah. His outfit. Distraction, Distraction. Oh right!

“YourcrewarrivedatCirce’sawitchisland,somegotturnedintopigsandtherestofthecrewjustleftthem.”

Odysseus just looked more confused “W-What?” Poseidon took a breath.

“Your crew arrived at Circe’s. A witch’s island. Some of your men got turned into pigs and the rest of the crew just left them.” 

The man froze. Like didn’t move an inch. Poseidon wasn’t sure if the man was even still breathing. Then his face changed. The king was furious. Thank the fates, he does care! “..Odysseus?”

“They. Just. Left them there? What about Eurylocus? Is he ok?”

“I don’t know who that-”

“What happened to no man left behind? I sacrificed myself for them!”

“It wasn’t really a sacrifice-”

“Why would they just leave my men to die?!”

“Are you even listening?”

Odysseus didn’t respond but it seemed like he was done ranting at least. The mortal fidgeted. “Why have you told me this?”

Poseidon raised an eyebrow “I figured you would want to go save them.”

“What?”

“I. figured. You. Would.-”

“I heard you! .. Sorry I-I heard you. I’m just confused, I guess over why you would let me save them.” Ok. That was fair but still. Rude.

“Well I’m bored, so do you want to go save them or not?” He pointed towards behind him where the exit was “Yes! Yes of course!” Odysseus didn’t even look skeptical this time. Just excited. Half-truths for the win! See Athena, he can learn things.

They arrived at Circe's island quickly but they still had to take a break immediately, as Poseidon had underestimated how much his powers would affect a mortal, and water can only heal him and his children. They ended up resting on the shore for half an hour. Poseidon asked how Odysseus was adjusting to the palace and Odysseus asked about his recovery. It was a very forced conversation. Poseiden was very happy when the man claimed he felt better and could fight. “Here.” He held out his hand revealing a flower “It’s a moly. You’ll be able to summon a monster temporarily with this. It’s the only way to beat her.”

Odysseus took the flower from his hand and nodded “Thank you, my Lord.”

Poseidon grinned “I can’t participate in the fight. But I shall be watching.” He disappeared before Odysseus could ask more questions. His involvement would draw the attention of the other gods. That had never led to anything good. And besides, Odysseus won against Circe alone before. How bad could it get?

Posiden had to step out. Don’t get him wrong, the fight itself was fine! It was when Circe had the brilliant idea of trying to seduce Odysseus that he left. He wasn’t worried at all, the man was loyal to his wife almost to a fault. But that didn’t mean Posiden wanted to see all that. He could have lived his entire immortal life without seeing that and be content. 

He only felt safe going back in when he heard a large group of men cheering. Poseidon smiled as he found Odysseus being suffocated in a group hug. It was sweet and made him feel like it was the right choice to spare the guy. 

“How’d you survive?!” A man in the crowd shouted. Posiden tensed. “We thought you died!”

The god quickly connected to Odysseus’s mind. ‘Don’t tell them!’ He felt a little bad when he saw Odysseus stumble in surprise but he had no idea if another god was watching or not. He needed to figure out how to avoid war before his new merciful nature was revealed.

“I was lucky.” Odysseus recovered fast. He was impressed. “I happened upon this island as I escaped and saw you all get trapped. I knew I couldn’t defeat Circe alone so I searched for something that could help me. A flower called Moly. I found it on top of that cliff over there. That is why I took so long, my friends. Please forgive me.”

...Now Posiden was just jealous. How does a mortal lie better than him?! Maybe he should make Odysseus teach him how as punishment instead. No, he’s getting distracted. The men need a ship. The Sirens Cove probably has a bunch of empty ships around. He made the waves stronger to pull one of the ships to him. He grinned as he saw the ship come into view, calming the waves down. Just in time too, as the crowd of men had stopped suffocating their captain and were arriving on the beach.

“Caption! Is that your ship?”

‘Yes’ Poseidon called

“Yes, it is! Go on, my friends!” It was kind of offensive that Odysseus was better at going with the flow than he was. Just as he was about to leave and stew in anger, It was not brooding Percy shut up, he noticed Odysseus hesitating. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘Don’t you want me to go back?’ Oh. He forgot to explain that, didn't he?

‘Yes. But your crew is screwed without you. Bring them to Ithaca, explain your situation to your family, then call for me. I trust you will not betray me.’ Probably a bad idea on his part honestly, but he did have to attend the stupid meeting with his family. He won’t care either way.

Poseidon watched over the crew for the next four days. His conversations with Odysseus got a lot less forced during the journey, to the point Poseidon would almost consider them friends. Almost. Still, though, he had the most fun since he appeared centuries back into the past. But all fun must come to an end. The meeting day had arrived.

‘I have an important meeting. Don’t call me unless it’s an emergency.’ He called

‘Got it. Let me know when you're back?’

‘Course.’ Poseidon smiled. The man had really grown on him. His good mood was soured immediately though as he felt Zues’s call to order. Time to face the music. Ughh.

Chapter Text

It’s been three days since Odysseus arrived at Poseidon's place. It honestly wasn’t as bad as he thought it was going to be. Granted he thought he was going to be killed, so anything is a step up from that, but still. He was given a bed, and clothing, and was properly instructed on what his job would be. He did get occasional stares from other servants but that was to be expected. All in all, he could deal with this for a year. Then Poseidon showed up right behind him. “Odysseus.”

He jumped, nearly crashing into the stand behind him. “Lord Poseidon!”

Poseidon was clearly amused at his reaction but fortunately brushed over it. “A..situation of sorts has arised. Usually I wouldn’t care, but I feel like you would” Ok. That feels unnecessarily scary.

“What is this.. situation?” Odysseus looked the god up and down. What was he wearing? You know what? Not his problem.

“YourcrewarrivedatCirce’sawitchisland,somegotturnedintopigsandtherestofthecrewjustleftthem.”

...He didn’t understand a word of that.  “W-What?” Poseidon took a breath. “Your crew arrived at Circe’s. A witch’s island. Some of your men got turned into pigs and the rest of the crew just left them.” What. The. Fuck. 

“..Odysseus?” The god tried

“They. Just. left them there?” Alone? With no hope of rescue? They didn’t even try? “What about Eurylochus? Is he ok?”

“I don’t know who that-”

“What happened to no man left behind? I sacrificed myself for them!” He thought he was never going to see his wife again! All for the sake of getting his men home!

“It wasn’t really a sacrifice tho-”

“Why would they just leave my men to die?!”

“Are you even listening?”

He didn’t respond. How could he? His men were left to die, and he was powerless to save them. Why would Poseidon even tell him this? Was he bragging? Telling him his sacrifice didn’t matter? That his men still essentially died without him? He fidgeted. The best thing to do is to ask, right? “Why have you told me this?”

The god raised an eyebrow “I figured you would want to go save them.” What. “What?”

“I. figured. You. Would.-”

“I heard you! .. Sorry I-I heard you. I’m just confused, I guess over why you would let me save them.” Wasn’t he angry with them? He didn’t kill anyone but shouldn’t he at least be bragging about their essential deaths? 

“Well I’m bored, so do you want to go save them or not?” Posiden pointed behind him. That.. didn’t feel like a lie at least, but it didn’t feel like the full truth. He wasn’t going to complain about it though.

“Yes! Yes of course!” He nearly shouted. He could see his friends again!

He threw up on the beach. “I’m never doing that again.” He groaned.

Poseidon flinched “Fair enough.” teleporting was useful and all, but it took him half an hour for he even felt remotely good enough for a fight. He did have to force his way through conversations that had no substance before then, but he refuses to acknowledge that.

“Here.” Poseidon held out his hand revealing a flower “It’s a Moly. You’ll be able to summon a monster temporarily with this. It’s the only way to beat her.”

Odysseus took the flower from his hand and nodded. Thank fuck he wasn’t going in completely blind. “Thank you, my Lord.”

The god grinned “I can’t participate in the fight. But I shall be watching.” He disappeared before Odysseus could ask more questions. Rude. What was he even supposed to do with the flower? Eat it?

He ate it. Ok in his defense, he figured Poseidon would have stopped him if it wasn’t what he was supposed to do. Odysseus looked towards the palace, it wasn’t nearly as impressive as the Sea God's castle, but he was very biased. He walked into the palace to see a beautiful woman. That must be Circe. “Lady of the palace, sorry that I ask this, but I hope that I’ve been misinformed.” He really doubts it though. “I have some men who have taken a look around and they wound up at your doors. Through the years we seldom get a warm welcome so I must ask just to be sure.” Poseidon probably gave him the warmest welcome of anyone and he had the best reason to hate them! “Did you do something to them?”

“Who me? All I did was reveal their true form.”

Odysseus raised an eyebrow “You turned them into pigs.”

“Ha!” The sorceress laughed. “I don’t know who you are or why you’re here, but let me make this clear. I’ve got people to protect, so I’m not taking chances, dear.” He could do without the sarcasm thank you.

“I don’t mean to tip your scale but you will fail at placing any spell on me. I just ate a flower, one that claims your power so you better cower now and flee.” At least that’s what he hoped the flower did. Poseidon didn’t really explain.

“You must be a liar, mortals can’t acquire Moly without dire consequence!”Oh, thank the gods he guessed right. “Well, then I must be a god like you because I got this root from the ground with my bare hand!” “Hermes gave it to you, didn’t he?”

It was technically a God. Sure. Let’s go with that.  “Fine, yes, but regardless! You and I are now evenly matched!” 

The goddess scowled and summoned a monster. He held out his hand and tried to summon the first thing he could think of. Was that a Cyclops?! Did he summon a Cyclops? Not the time. He ended up winning the fight. He pointed his sword to her neck “You’ve lost.” Suddenly Odysseus felt.. strange. Did Circe always look so.. pretty? “There are other ways of persuasion. There are other modes of control.” He let her push his sword away. “Want to save your men from the fire? Show me that you are willing to burn.” He let Circe get closer “This is the price we pay for love”

“I’m just a man”

She pushed him down “There is a line, never enough”

“I’m just a man..” She was so pretty.. “forgive me..” His wife. Penelope. Fuck. “I can’t!” He pushed her away and stood up. “I have to get home, my wife awaits for me! She’s my everything, my Penelope. But it’s been 10 long years!” He held back a sob “And now the God of Tides is out to end my life.” An extreme over-exaggeration but he needed to free his men. Sorry Poseidon. “So I beg you Circe. Grant us mercy and let us puppets leave!” 

Circe sighed. “Poseidon eh? There might be a way to evade him, though this other way’s very dangerous, it may be your one final hope.” Whoa. Not the issue he needed solved. “I know of a brilliant prophet, the problem is this prophet is dead. I can’t get you home but I’ll get you to the underworld instead. I’ll release your men and I’ll get to the underworld instead.” Well, that was suspicious.

“You’re helping us?”

“There are many ways of persuasion, there are many moods of control. Maybe showing one act of kindness, leads to kinder souls down the road.” Maybe Circe wasn’t so bad. She still turned his men into pigs though. “I remember actions of passion” She held her hand out. “I have been in love once before” Her hand started glowing. “Maybe one day the world will need a puppeteer no more.” A door slammed open. 

His men. His friends. “Odysseus?” A man took a hesitant step forward. Odessuss smiled. “Hey guys.” 

Odysseus fell to the floor as the weight of nearly half his crew crushed him. “Gah! Guys!” “You’re alive! You’re alive!” “Our Captain is back!” “How’d you survive?!”

‘Don’t tell them!’ Odessuss stumbled as the voice appeared in his head. Athena? No. No, she’s gone. That voice was Posiden. And he wasn’t about to disobey and piss him off again. “I was lucky.” If Athena had taught him anything, before she left anyway, it was how to lie when necessary. “I happened upon this island as I escaped and saw you all get trapped. I knew I couldn’t defeat Circe alone so I searched for something that could help me. A flower called Moly. I found it on top of that cliff over there. That is why I took so long, my friends. Please forgive me.” For lying to you. “That’s our captain!” “We missed you!” He missed them too. “Come everyone, let's get to the ship and go home!” Shit. He couldn’t just tell them he had no ship. And they were already running to the beach. Great. 

“Caption! Is that your ship?” What?

‘Yes,’ Posiden called. Oh, thank.. well Poseidon.

“Yes, it is! Go on, my friends!” He laughed as his men tripped over each other trying to get to the ship first then stopped. Was he allowed to join them? He hadn’t finished his punishment with Poseidon yet, he doesn’t want to have another ‘him or his crew’ situation with it actually ending in his death. ’What’s wrong?’ He heard the god ask

‘Don’t you want me to go back?’ Or is that him being too prideful again? And Poseidon just doesn’t care.

‘Yes.’ Oh. But your crew is screwed without you. Bring them to Ithaca, explain your situation to your family, then call for me. I trust you will not betray me.’ Poseidon was.. letting him go home? With Poseidon on his side, they would get to Itheca quicker. He was going home. 

The next couple days were amazing. Circe had left them more than enough food to last the journey so he had started sacrificing some to Poseidon. They had started engaging in actual conversations. it reminded him of Athena. 

They had conversations like,

‘I can’t wait to see my wife.’

‘ Yeah?’

‘Yeah! She's amazing, the most perfect woman to ever exist.’

‘Sounds like you really like her.’

‘I do.’

Or another time,

‘I’m going to kill him.’

‘Not that I’m against your sudden desire to actually complete a kill but who exactly is this ‘him’ you wish to kill?’

‘Rude. His name is Eurylocus. One of my best friends and brother-in-law. He isn’t here so he must have left.’

Once when he was very tired, to the point he isn’t sure if he remembered correctly, their conversation was essentially

‘..Seidon?’

‘Yes, Odysseus?’

‘..I miss Athena.’

‘…So do I, kid.’

‘What?’

‘Nothing. Go to sleep.’

When he woke up and Posiden acted as nothing happened, he decided to never ask about it. It felt too private. All in all though, it’s been great. So of course something had to go wrong.

Odysseus grinned as he felt the calm wave of Poseidon entering his mind. He told Poseidon about his initial thought of the god being Athena so Poseidon came up with a way to tell him that it wasn’t her. It was a sweet gesture and the reminder brought a smile to his face. His good mood was ruined immediately. ‘I have an important meeting. Don’t call me unless it’s an emergency.’ 

Well, that doesn’t sound good, but he wasn’t about to lose his friend as soon as he got him by getting into an argument. ‘Got it. Let me know when you're back?’

‘Course.’ He felt Posidon leave and sighed. The god had really grown on him but the friendship really made him miss Athena. He wondered what she was doing right now. “Captain!” One of his men called out to him “Come look!” Odysseus slowly walked up to the deck and looked at where his men were pointing.

..He knew those shores. Ithaca. He was home. Poseidon got him home. 

‘Thank you’ 

Chapter Text

When Athena cut ties with Odysseus, she expected him to encounter problems. That’s what happens when you refuse to listen to a god. Especially the goddess of wisdom of all things. What she did not expect was for Apollo to burst into her home yelling, “What the fuck happened to my prophecy?!” A tiny bit concerning but she’s sure it’s fine. The god had a habit of overeating.

“Apollo, I need you to elaborate before I can help.”

“My prophecy! It’s just static now! Sometimes the static becomes, like, less static, when I try to focus but otherwise I see nothing!” A bit more concerning. 

“Ok. Ok. Calm down, brother.” She guided him to a chair. He looked like he was about to cry. “What prophecy was this about?”

“Odysseus’s journey!” What. Apollo kept talking but she had stopped listening. She needed to see where Odysseus was. Now.

Using a mix of Quick Thought and Projection she dived into the past. It started out normal enough. There was a storm, but that was to be expected. Her uncle got angry easily. She grinned with saddened pride as Odysseus found a solution to their problems without her. Although she’ll never admit it outloud, she did miss him. She barely restrained herself from uselessly attacking the stupid men who opened the wind bag as soon as their caption fell asleep. Honestly, what was with men and not listening to the person who clearly knows better? It was getting annoying. They couldn’t wait until they got to Ithaca at least? They were so close. Poseidon appearing because the cyclops ended up being his son felt very much like a ‘told you so’ moment, but she was way too worried to feel the accomplishment.  Then her uncle had the brilliant idea to make Odysseus choose who he would kill. And he chose himself. Odysseus. Choose. Himself. She watched him jump to his death. She watched her apprentice, her warrior, her friend. Jump. To. His. Death. And she. Did. Nothing. She. Left. Him. Athena screamed. She refused to see more.

When she arrived back at her home, Apollo was already gone. Good. She didn’t want to see anybody right now. Why? Why would he choose himself? It was illogical, stupid. She knows taught him better. But emotions were always illogical. She, of all people, should know that. It was emotions that had led to their falling out in the first place. It was their stubbornness that made both of them refuse to apologize or even try to reconcile. And now it was too late. She was too late.

Athena didn’t leave her house for days. Apollo had come back at some point but he seemed unsatisfied with her explanation on what she saw. It felt like there was no point in doing anything. Guilt was eating away at her. A feeling she was not used to. She knew Odysseus would have died eventually. She was a god and he was a mortal. His life was so short compared to hers. But she had always thought… she would be there when it happened. That she would be by his side. That he would at least say goodbye. But she wasn’t. And he didn’t. She knows she should at least tell Peonolpe and Telemachus what happened, but she wanted them to live in blissful ignorance a bit longer. She owed Odysseus’s family that much at least. 

Athena didn’t even realize there was a meeting until she felt her fathers electric presence call her. She didn’t want to see anybody, least of all Poseidon, but she knew better than to ignore Zeus. As she entered the center of Mount Olympus, it seemed like everyone was already here. It was unlike her to be last. She didn’t really care though. She hadn’t cared about anything since Odyssuess’s death. Athena took a seat on her throne and waited for Zeus to start, very pointedly ignoring the presence of her uncle. 

As soon as Zues started talking she tuned him out. The meeting was something about making sure all the gods were ok with how the war ended. Everyone knew he just wanted to prevent them from trying to overthrow him again. Although considering how pissed Hera and Ares seemed, the meeting was properly a good call. That doesn’t mean she had to like it. “Athena?”

Shit, her turn. “I’m fine with what happened in the war.” “And your.. mortal? How is he?”

Damnit dad. “Dead.” She grit out, turning to glare at Poseidon. .. What was he wearing? No, she doesn’t care. She looked away. “Hmm. My apologies, Athena.” “It’s alright father.” Thankfully Zues moved on from her after that. 

The meeting moved quickly after that. No one else acknowledged her and besides an off-hand comment from Zeus telling Poseidon to stop fidgeting, she was able to pretend he didn’t exist. Of course afterwards she wasn’t so lucky. She was walking away when,

“Athena.”

Poseidon was following her. Great. “Leave me alone.”

“Athena, I really need to talk to you.”

“Too. Bad.”

“It’s about Odysseus.” How dare he. How dare he mention Odysseus’s name. “Don’t.”

“Athena I’m-“

“No! You don’t get to just come here and justify my friend's death! He didn’t deserve that!”

“He stabbed my son. Wait. No that not what-”

“I don’t want to hear it!” Her voice cracked. She needed out.

“Athena..” Poseidon reached out. No. She slapped his hand away and teleported to one of her temples. Poseidon couldn’t follow her there. 

Athena regretted it immediately. Because out of all the temples she could have gone to, she ended up in the temple Odysseus built for her. And for the first time since she found out Odysseus died. She fell to the floor and broke down crying. Gods weren’t made to cry, weren’t made to regret, but somehow she was accomplishing both. She wanted Odysseus back. 

That made her thoughts pause. There were mortals before. Mortal’s who had made the journey and survive. She was a god. She could save him. Or at the very least actually talk to him. She could get him back. She was going to the underworld.

Chapter Text

Poseidon was trying his best ok. It wasn’t his fault his best wasn’t very good. He was trying to avoid yelling. The gods, as much as they pretend otherwise, were gossips. As soon he started yelling it was guaranteed that somebody would overhear. And considering they care even less about mortals right now, it would probably lead straight into another war. Not to mention, Athena wouldn’t let him talk. She was trying her best to ignore him, not that he could blame her. But the stress had made it so easy to slip back into old habits. They did have their arguments in his timeline, of course they did, but they would work towards at least getting along before their kids came to visit. They didn’t have that here. Athena didn’t remember. Really though, he should have expected her anger. Odysseus had always been an off-limit topic for a reason. But still defending himself with ‘He stabbed my son?’ while trying to explain to her that Odysseus is alive? Gods he’s a fucking idiot.

There was nothing he could do now though. Athena had left, and as much as he wants to, he doesn’t have the patience nor the time to look for her. She could be literally anywhere and Odysseus should have arrived at Ithaca by now. Odysseus had Athena’s help the first time around, but he doesn’t have that now. Poseidon needed to help him. 

Poseidon teleported to Itheca just as Odysseus’s crew was getting off the ship. Odysseus himself was yelling orders from land trying to unload. He was holding a crate, so it probably wasn’t a good idea to scare him.. …

’ hey.’

Odysseus dropped the crate, spilling a bunch of tools. ‘Poseidon! You’re back!’

Poseidon grinned, making himself visible to man. That made him feel better. ‘Did I miss anything?’

‘Nothing of importance.’ Odysseus looked down at the fallen box. ‘You’re lucky that wasn’t important.’

‘Looks like Tyche is on my side.’

Odysseus rolled his eyes at him, but he was smiling. ‘Yeah, Yeah. What do you need? You’re earlier than I thought you would be.’

‘I figured you’d want some help with the suitors in your palace.’ He’s pretty sure those jerks arrived by now. He wasn’t exactly paying attention after Odysseus forced him to let the guy go home. 

‘The what.’

‘The suitors! They are trying to win your wife over but they’re being real jerks about it.’

‘My. Wife.’

Oh he made him angry. That’s not what he wants. ‘Focus on your crew right now. Deal with one thing at a time.’ He was invisible to everyone besides Odysseus after all. The crew might think their captain had gone crazy if they keep talking.

‘..Fine.’ 

As soon as the crew finished unloading, they decided to split up to look for their families and homes. Odysseus on the other hand, had decided to head straight to his house alone. Posiden had decided to disguise himself as the man’s horse  ‘Are you sure this is a good idea? Shouldn’t you at least wait till nightfall if you want to collect info?’

‘I want to see who the hell these suitors are.’

‘Put on a disguise at least!’

‘It’s been more than 10 years. They won’t recognize me.’ Ugh, this stubborn fool. How did he and Athena not butt heads earlier? No, nope, Posiedon does not want to think about Athena. Focus on Odysseus.

‘If you get in trouble, I’m not saving you.’ 

He ended up saving him. Although Odysseus was right in the fact that they did not recognize him.  The suitors did not take kindly to competition and chased after him. Odysseus had jumped on Poseidon’s back but he still had to create a small earthquake in order to get the men off their backs. ‘Now can we wait till nightfall to collect information?’

‘..Yeah.’

In an impressive show of patience from both of them, they did in fact wait until night time. Of course by that time both of them were becoming impatient with the lack of action, so Odysseus wasted no time sneaking into the palace. Fortunately, the suitors hadn’t gone to sleep quite yet and they could listen to their conversations.

“Hold her down.” What are they talking about?

“Hold her down while I get a taste. Hold her down while we share her spoils, I will not let any part go to waste.”

Oh. Oh. These assholes. The earth started to shake. He had to hold himself back, Odysseus built this place. A few miles away, an uninhabited island had to deal with an extreme storm and earthquake. If he can’t deal with them without destroying all of Ithaca then..

‘Odysseus. I’m lending you my strength. Kill them all.’ The man hadn’t said a word since they got here. Odysseus was pissed.

‘...Yes, my Lord.’ 

The men barely had time to scream. They were dealing with an angry god and a pissed off husband after all. But that time was enough to alert others. Odysseus steadied his sword, preparing for more enemies but as the door slammed open, it proved unnecessary.

“Penelope?” He dropped his sword. Usually a bad idea but Poseidon can let it slide this time. He would react the same way with his wife.

“Odysseus” The woman’s voice broke. Well this felt like he wasn’t supposed to be here. Two more people appeared, a child, and a man who was clearly concerned. Odysseus sobbed at the sight of them. Yup, time to go. He slowly backed away, hoping no one would notice the horse that was randomly in the palace.

‘This feels private, I’m going to go. Have a good reunion.’ Silence. Checks out. As soon as he was out of view he teleported away.

He ended up on Mount Olympus. Not a place he partially wanted to be but oh well.

“Poseidon.” A voice growled. He barely resisted the urge to sigh. He turned around,

“Hades! What brings you here my brother?”

“Why? Is Athena. In my domain. Looking for a man you killed?”

Uh-huh right.. Wait. “The fuck you mean Athena’s in the Underworld?!”

Chapter Text

Odysseus was thrilled to be back on Ithaca. The only thing keeping him rooted on shore is the fact that his crew still needed to unload everything on the ship. “This is the last load, Captain!”

“Great! I’ll check to see if we missed anything and meet you on the beach!”

“Got it Cap-!”  

“Hey.”

Odysseus jumped, dropping the crate he was holding. ‘Poseidon! You’re back!’

He grinned as Poseidon made himself visible. ‘Did I miss anything?’

‘Nothing of importance.’ He looked down at the fallen box, fortunately it was filled with tools not food. ‘You’re lucky that wasn’t important.’

‘Looks like Tyche is on my side.’

Odysseus rolled his eyes at the God ‘Yeah, Yeah. What do you need? You’re earlier than I thought you would be.’ Not that Odysseus is complaining.

‘I figured you’d want some help with the suitors in your palace.’

The. What. ‘The what.’

‘The suitors! They are trying to win your wife over but they’re being real jerks about it.’

‘My. Wife.’

He knows logically that he would have been presumed dead.  And Itheca’s council would not let Penelope rule without a king. Even if that’s bullshit because Penelope was honestly way smarter than him and could absolutely rule on her own. Stupid council.

‘Focus on your crew right now. Deal with one thing at a time.’ The Sea God interrupted his thoughts.

‘..Fine.’ He didn’t like it, but Poseidon had a point.

The crew finished unloading quickly after that. Was Odysseus rushing them? Maybe. But the crew were equally as impatient to see their families as he was so they didn’t complain. As soon as they finished the crew went their separate ways. “We’ll see you later Captain?”

“Of course. Say hi for me.”

When they all left Odysseus turned towards the sea only to see a horse instead of a god. ‘Poseidon?’

‘Yeah?’

‘Why have you turned into a horse?’

‘Well it's not like I can just go around Ithaca in human form can I?’

‘You can just stay invisible?’

‘And ruin a mortal's chance to glance upon a god? Not a chance.’

‘Drama king.’

‘You should meet my brother.’ 

After that Odysseus decided to head straight to his palace to gather information on the suitors, “riding” the “horse”. Much to Poseidon’s agitation.  ‘Are you sure this is a good idea? Shouldn’t you at least wait till nightfall if you want to collect info?’

He’d never been that patient. ‘I want to see who the hell these suitors are.’

‘Put on a disguise at least!’

‘It’s been more than 10 years. They won’t recognize me.’

‘If you get in trouble, I’m not saving you.’ Fair enough.

Poseidon ended up saving him. It was actually embarrassing. ‘Now can we wait till nightfall to collect information?’

‘..Yeah.’ Incredibly embarrassing. 

Odysseus did end up listening to Posiedon and disguised himself as a beggar. The look was a bit ruined by the horse that refused to leave his side. ‘Can’t you look a little less fancy?’

‘Not a chance.’ Guess he has to make due. 

Somehow sneaking into the palace was too easy, especially with a horse also accompanying him. Once he gets back his throne he has to fix that security issue. It was also way too easy to follow the noise the men in his castle were making. He didn’t even need to place his ear to the door in order to listen in.

“Hold her down.” What now?

“Hold her down while I get a taste. Hold her down while we share her spoils, I will not let any part go to waste.”

How dare they. How dare they. How dare they even think of touching his wife. Of doing anything she wouldn't approve of. The earth started to shake. Poseidon was angry too. Good. They deserved a god's wrath. Suddenly the earthquake stopped but right before he turned to yell, ‘Odysseus. I’m lending you my strength. Kill them all.’

Oh hell yeah. ‘...Yes, my Lord.’ He held back a gasp as power came surging into his body and rushed forward. With Athena he was calm. He thought through every move, he used tricks to get what he wanted. With Poseidon it was the opposite. The sea was brute force. It was angry, a tidal wave drowning everything in front of him. There was no need for strategies, no need for tricks, for who could defeat the sea? There was a reason Poseidon was so feared. The men were gone within minutes. 

Odysseus steaded his sword as he heard footsteps approach only to drop his sword immediately. “Penelope?”

“Odysseus” Penolope spoke. His wife’s voice was just as beautiful as he remembered. Two more people entered. Eurylochus and… oh gods is that Telemachus? He sobbed. He was back home. Odysseus heard Poseidon talking but he wasn’t listening. He did notice the horse was no longer there, and the power he felt was fading fast, but he was way more focused on the people in front of him.

“Penelope..Telemachus..Eurylochus..”

Wait.

“Eurylochus.”

The man flinched at the sudden anger in his tone. Odysseus stepped forward and punched him in the face.

“Gah! Is this about the wind bag?”

What. “Well now it is! What the fuck man?!” 

Eurylochus flinched again “I didn’t know it-”

“Yes you did! I told you!! Does trust mean nothing anymore?! That’s not even mentioning the fact you left half the crew behind to die! You didn’t know I lived! You looked at my sacrifice and spit on it!!”

“I couldn’t fight-”

“You could have at least tried damnit!” 

“Odysseus” Penelope interrupted, placing her hand on his shoulder. “Perhaps you could talk about this another day. There is someone waiting to meet you.” She gestured to the child who was looking up at him in amazement.

“Are you my dad?”

Odysseus grinned down at his son. “Sure am! I would hug but..” He looked down at his clothes covered in blood. “I’m pretty sure I need to wash first.” Telemachus nodded in agreement, taking his hand and guiding him though the palace he built. It was perfect. 

After he bathed he ended up back in his bed with his wife and kid, who had told them he would have nightmares if he wasn’t with them. The night passed without further incidents. 

Of course that meant that as soon as he woke up a calm wave entered his mind. He waited but nothing was said. ‘Poseidon? Is everything alright?’

‘..Athena’s in the underworld.’

Woah. What? ‘Why?’

‘She’s looking for you.’

‘What.’ Why would she look for someone who lost her favor?

‘Say goodbye to your friends and family. We’re going to the underworld.’

‘What?!’

Chapter Text

Posiedon was not panicking. He was not. He was making perfectly logical decisions. The underworld was infinite and Hades had insisted that he was too busy to get her out himself so it fell on Poseidon. Which was stupid and unfair but also.. it was his fault she was there. He didn’t actually kill Odysseus no, but he didn’t exactly correct that misunderstanding. In fact he unintentionally encouraged it. He did feel a little bad over taking Odysseus after he just got home but Athena definitely wouldn’t leave without the person she’s there for. And he’s still a bit petty over his son. It’s not like he’d be gone for very long. He even had enough time to tell people he was alive! 

Anyway since they left everything had been smooth sailing. Posiedon did end up stealing another ship in order to sail the underworld rivers (he did not want to be in the same waters as dead people thank you) And he was controlling the waters to get there as fast as possible much to Odysseus’s boredom and his annoyance.

“I’m just saying if you give me a task I wouldn’t be so annoying.”

“And I’m saying to figure it out yourself.” What was he, a child? Poseidon was really starting to consider going back to his old ways of murder. Athena was already there to revive the dam human anyway.

“Poseidon is that-“

“For the last time no we are not there ye- oh.” Thank the Fates. Odysseus was transfixed by the death energy of the cave so he was able to gather the water around him and build his strength just in case. As much as rivers would fall under his domain because of the stupid things being in the underworld, his brother takes priority, and it ends up taking him more energy and focus to make them listen. Usually it wouldn’t matter since he doesn’t go to the underworld but usually the Goddess of Wisdom doesn’t make impulse decisions without all the facts. Ok so he was a little panicked. Sue him.

“Why would Athena come here?”

What? Oh right mortal human with him. “For you, I thought we already went over this.”

“But why? This..” Odysseus gestured towards the ominous cave where smoke had started to come out. A warning to those who wish to enter. And Hades says he doesn’t like drama. “Is awful. Why would Athena come here just for me? She hates me.”

Ohhh. That’s why he was being so annoying. He was deflecting so that Poseidon would notice the issue. And it worked. He took a deep breath. “How did you succeed at being more idiotic than me?”

“I think I’m meant to take offense to tha-”

“Athena does Not hate you moron.”

“Ok sure hate would be too illogical for her. But I disappointed her. I lost her favor. Why didn’t she move on to the next mortal that grabbed her attention?”

So that’s what happened. Fools, both of them. Not that he could talk. “Odysseus. Do you truly consider yourself so replaceable?” Considering how Athena's acting, he clearly wasn’t.

“My life is merely a blip in the gods' eyes. Why wouldn’t I be replaceable?”

Gods this man was worse than Percy with his self esteem. “That is so not how that works. When we like someone we expect to stay with them their entire life. No matter how short that life may be.”

Of course sometimes not everything goes to plan. And warriors were known for their stubbornness. “You said you’ve been trained by Athena since you were a child. She helped you with your wife. Gods don’t just do that. She was probably devastated over your not-death.”

He remembered how upset she was when Annabeth fell into Tartarus. If it wasn’t for the other gods they would have marched down to get their children themselves. If she cared for Odysseus even slightly the amount she cared for Annabeth it was no wonder why she was acting like this.

“She was..devastated? Does she actually..care?”

“I doubt she would be,”  He gestured around the cave. “Here, if she didn’t.”

Odysseus had gone silent. Poseidon did not have the emotional intelligence nor willpower to try and deal with whatever this was. 

The rest of the ride was blissfully quiet. The souls singing around them were unsettling but not personal. They could handle the journey.

“Captain!” Well fuck him then. “Captain!” Poseidon silently willed the ship to go faster. “Why would you let the Cyclopes live when ruthlessness is mercy?!” Yes! See Odysseus? These guys get it. The ship had moved past them though so the personal portion was probably over-  

“This life is amazing when you greet it with open arms” Odysseus sucked in a breath. Poseidon knew he spoke too soon. “Polites?” “Whatever we face, we'll be fine if we're leading from the heart” That feels ridiculously optimistic for this time. “No matter the place, we can light up the world. Here's how to start: Greet the world with open arms. Greet the world with open arms.” Again, this doesn’t feel viable in a time of monsters. However sweet it is. Probably how the kid ended up dead. “Polites..”

Shit. he’s not good at emotions. Please be the last personal thing. “Waiting..” “It can’t be..” Oh you have got to be fucking kidding. Poseidon needs Odysseus to stop having emotions now please. “Mom?”

Oh come on! “Waiting.. Odysseus, when you come home I'll be waiting. Even if you're the last thing I see, I'll be waiting..”

“Mom I’m right here.. Can’t you see me?”

Should he say something? This feels wrong to just watch.

“I took too long” “I'll always love you” “And ventured too far” “I'll stay in your heart” “While you were..” “Waiting, Waiting, Waiting..”

Poseidon knows the woman can’t help repeating her final thoughts but if she could stop please. It was incredibly depressing.

“Bye Mom.” And then Odysseus fell to the floor and broke down crying. Damn it. 

Posiedon knelt down next to the man and offered an incredibly uncomfortable side hug. “There, there?” Percy had done that to Annabeth once right? It got Odysseus to laugh as broken up as it was, so he must be doing something right.

“W-Why are you being so nice to me? Why do you care? Why does Athena care?!” Odysseus started crying harder. Nevermind. He is doing all the wrong ever. Percy had lied to him.

Poseidon pulled the mortal closer, away from the edge of the ship. That felt dangerous. “I don’t know why I care.” It was true. He really didn’t. He hated Odysseus the first time around. Just because he didn’t want to disappoint Percy or Athena doesn’t mean that should have changed. But it did. Why? No, not the time. “But I know why Athena cares.” Odysseus looked up at him, curiosity and distrust clear. Rude. “Because you’re her friend. Gods don’t care for people often. When we do, we care hard.”

“I disappointed her. She doesn’t consider me a friend.” Oh this idiot.

“Our emotions are different, more.. extreme. If you made her upset then she probably said things she didn’t mean. From what I know humans do that too. But Ody.” That’s a proper use of a nickname right? Annabeth always used Percy’s nickname when he was upset. “Athena broke into the underworld to find you. Do you really think she doesn’t believe you as a friend?” Odysseus turned and buried himself in Poseidon’s shirt. He hesitantly put his arms around the human. This.. This was good, right? Progress and all that. 

They stayed like that for a while. Odysseus had mostly calmed down but Poseidon was too scared to say something and ruin that. It was only a female voice yelling that got both of them to move to the edge of the ship. Because they recognized that voice. And there on the edge of the Elysium fields was the woman they were looking for. Athena.

Chapter Text

Athena knew she was being foolhardy. Impulse decisions were not usually her thing. Caring for others in general is not usually her thing. And yet. Here she was, looking for Odysseus. She hadn’t even made a solid plan. What was she going to say when she found him? Apologize? Yell? She didn’t know. She hated not knowing. It went against everything she was. She did know that she was pissing off her uncle by being in his domain without permission but she didn’t care. It was hard to change a god’s mind once it’s made up. She just needed to be quick. Odysseus would obviously be in Elysium so she already eliminated the two other major locations. And how many heroes can there really be?

A lot. There could be a lot of heroes. Elysium stretched on for miles. It didn’t help that some heroes' version of paradise ended up with them having a hundred acres of land. Not to mention they weren’t happy with a random goddess invading their home. She couldn’t even be threatening because they were already dead. She needed to be smarter about this. What would Odysseus’s paradise look like? He’d live in a palace probably to remind him of home. Would he still be comfortable near water? He used to love sailing but drowning could have changed that. The thought made her frown. What Posiedon did wasn’t wrong. Not for a god at least. But she couldn’t help being mad at him. Mad, that Odysseus may have stopped enjoying something he used to love. Mad, that her friend may never see his family again. Mad that she may never see her friend again. No, she can’t think like that. She was immortal. She had time. She would find him. 

Of course that was an easier mindset to have when Athena hadn’t been searching for hours. She did end up deciding to search near rivers but that barely shortened anything. The river was just as infinite as Elysium itself. The residents weren’t helping either. “Get out!” Honestly, weren't they supposed to be heroes? Not that she could really blame them. She would be annoyed at a stranger coming into her home as well. “Yeah that’s what I thought!” Nevermind. she was in the mood to fight anyway. Did hospitality mean nothing in the underworld? Fuck this guy. 

Ok, in hindsight, maybe getting into a verbal fight with a dead guy wasn’t the best idea she had. But she was stressed, angry, and just all around not in a good mood. And this guy just pushed the limit. Still, it was getting embarrassing. Especially since neither of them were backing down. It was increasing her very illogical emotions. At least thats the excuse she’s going to give when asked. Because when a hand was calmly placed on her shoulder Athena immediate reaction was to judo-flip the stranger onto the floor. Only for it to be very much not a stranger. 

“Odysseus?” He looked the same. Or at least not as dulled down as the other shades she’d encountered. He looked as alive as he used to..wait. “Have you been crying?”

“No.”

Well that was said way too quickly to be the truth. Odysseus wasn’t someone who cried easily. Was he that upset over his death? What could make him cry like that? “What happened?” She really hoped she sounded sympathetic. Being emotional wasn’t her strong suit.

“You!” Seems she failed at emotions immediately.“You happened! You tell me I disappoint you and you’re leaving me forever but then turn around and break into the underworld for me?!”

Shit what does she say? How does she fix this?

“..I don’t understand you Athena.” Damit Odysseus she doesn’t really understand it herself- hold on. How did he know she was here for him? Later, later. Fix things first.

“Odysseus.. I know I haven't been the best at expressing myself. But I’ve come to realize a few things since you died. You were, whether I realized it or not.. My best friend.” Her only friend. And when she finally figured that out it was too late.  “I’m sorry I made you feel inferior. I’m sorry I left you.”

Odysseus was frozen. “He..was right?” What? Who? Not important, focus on the now. “You..care? You actually consider me a friend?”

What? Of course she does- oh. “I-I do. And I’m sorry I ever made you feel otherwise. It wasn’t right of me. Not over one mistake. Not after everything.” She had felt guilty as soon as she had left. But her stubbornness had stopped her from going back. And it ended with her wallowing in guilt. “Please Odysseus.. Come back. I can’t fight my uncle directly but I swear I will do everything in my power to make sure you get home. Please. I can’t handle you gone.” It was selfish, she knew. But she didn’t care. Not anymore. She needed her friend back.

“Athena..” Odysseus interrupted her thoughts. “I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have reacted with anger so fast. I should have acknowledged my mistakes.”

“You were grieving. It was an understandable reaction. I would like.. to be your friend again. Officially. If you would have me?” 

Athena didn’t know what she would do if he said no. She really, really hoped he didn’t say no. “Yes! Yes Athena of course, I would love to be your friend again!” Oh thank the fates.

“Thank you Odysseus.” Now for the more pressing question. “Will you come back to the overworld with me as well? I have no doubts your wife misses you very much.”

Unfortunately Odysseus just looked very confused. He suddenly jumped up, making her realize that he was on the floor for the entire conversation, like he had a realization. “Oh right shit, you think I’m dead.”

“Well of course, that’s why I’m here. ..What do you mean ‘think’ Odysseus.”

He looked at her like she suddenly became the stupidest person he knew. Considering how she was acting recently, he wouldn’t exactly be wrong. “Look at me.” He gestured towards himself. “I’m not dead Athena. I never died.”

Oh. That explains why he wasn’t gray like the rest of the people down here. That doesn’t explain anything else though. “How? I saw you jump into the water to drown. Wait, how are you even here then? The underworld's entrance is kept secret. How’d you even know I was here?” She had too many questions and not enough answers. She hadn’t even told anyone where she was going and the one person who would know immediately she was here, Hades, would never enlist an alive mortal to enter his realm. “How’d-“ She paused and stood at attention. A godly presence was behind her. She turned around, pissed that her conversation was interrupted. Now was not the time, Hades.

…that’s not Hades. 

“Hi?” Poseidon waved. 

Chapter Text

This trip has been a whirlwind of emotions. First Odysseus had to leave his wife and kid. Again. They both were very understanding when Posiedon had the bright idea to appear in front of them, but still. He ended up begrudgingly putting Eurylochus in charge while he was gone. His second in command was more than willing if just to make up with Odysseus. He was not happy he got to put off dealing with the council shut up. Was he a bit annoying with Posiedon? Yes. But hey he hasn’t been killed yet. Not to mention he was incredibly stressed and needed an outlet. Then in the underworld his men, the men he failed, rightfully yelled at him for not avenging them. He whispered a quiet thank you as he noticed the ship moving faster. Then Poleties showed up. He was just as carefree as the day he died. He barely could hold himself together. He didn’t want to break down in front of a god. Of course, because the fates clearly have it out of him specifically, that was when his mother appeared. Yeah, he couldn’t help crying. 

Poseidon was a surprisingly good comforter. Though if pushed, Odysuss will deny that anything happened at all. Was he embarrassed about yelling out his insecurities when he was trying way too hard to hold them back? Yes. But in his defense , it’s not like he was wrong! Gods were fickle, and the years he spent with Athena should have only felt like seconds to her. He changed from how she designed him. He was a failed experiment, a pet that lost her interest, she made that clear. Poseidon disagreed. Odysseus wasn’t sure if the god was genuinely worried or if he just didn’t want to deal with a crying mortal but either way it did make him feel better. It felt honest, in a way Poseidon hadn’t been towards Odysseus before. It had felt weirdly.. nice. 

Odysseus only let go when he heard screaming. Because he recognized that voice. And clearly Posiedon did too because the ship immediately moved to the edge of the river and stopped. Odysseus stood there dumbfounded. It was the first time he’d seen her since the cyclops. What should he say? Would he even be able to say anything without her yelling at him? He made a mistake, he can acknowledge that. The only reason he didn’t die was because of luck. Had Poseidon been in a slightly worse mood he would have died. Despite their newly formed friendship Odysseus can’t forget that Poseidon is a god, not a human, and can abandon him at a moment's notice. He won’t forget it. Not again.

A push on the back broke him out of his thoughts. Odysseus glared beside him at Poseidon who just sadly smiled in return. “Go” The god nodded towards Athena “She’s waiting for you.” 

Odysseus knew from experience that interrupting the goddess would lead to a fight, but in hindsight approaching from behind properly wasn’t his best idea either. Although in his defense he thought she would notice him before he even got close so imagine his surprise when she didn’t notice him at all. Athena was really off her game. Of course the goddess was still able to flip him onto the floor before he even had a chance to get a word out so maybe he’s the problem. The ground ended up being unreasonably comfy. He has had too many emotions for one day to bother standing up. The ground was his home now. 

“Odysseus?” Athena interrupted. “Have you been crying?”

Oh. Shit. That's so not where he wanted the conversation to start. “No.”

Damnit. That was way too quick. Hopefully she didn’t notice? Athena tilted her head and raised an eyebrow.

“What happened.” She demanded.

Because of course she can’t bear to be sympathetic even now. Of fucking course. He thought he had gotten all his emotions out with Posiedon. He clearly thought wrong. He cannot yell at a god. He cannot yell at a god. He cannot- “You!” He yelled. Damnit. “You happened!” “You tell me I disappoint you and you're leaving forever,  but then turn around and break into the underworld for me!”

Too much had happened, too much had built up. He can’t take it anymore. “..I really don’t understand you Athena.”

The goddess hesitated before responding. “Odysseus.. I know I haven't been the best at expressing myself. But I’ve come to realize a few things since you died. You were, whether I realized it or not.. My best friend.”

Odysseus froze. Her friend? Her best friend? Athena didn’t give him a chance to process. “I’m sorry I made you feel inferior. I’m sorry I left you.” Athena apologized. Athena apologized. The world had flipped on its head. But to be fair, it has been doing that a lot. Poseidon..

“He was right? You..care? You actually consider me a friend?” 

“I-I do. And I’m sorry I ever made you feel otherwise. It wasn’t right of me. Not over one mistake. Not after everything. Please Odysseus.. Come back. I can’t fight my uncle directly but I swear I will do everything in my power to make sure you get home. Please. I can’t handle you gone.”

Oh. What does he do now? Odysseus was prepared for an argument not.. Whatever this was. But now that she apologized, it’s only right to apologize for his own mistakes.

“Athena..” he started. “I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have reacted with anger so fast. I should have acknowledged my mistakes.” The goddess shook her head “You were grieving. It was an understandable reaction. I would like.. to be your friend again. Officially. If you would have me?”

Holy shit. Poseidon is never going to let him live this down. “Yes! Yes Athena of course, I would love to be your friend again!” 

The Wisdom Goddess smiled down at him. “Thank you Odysseus. Will you come back to the overworld with me as well? I have no doubts your wife misses you very much.”

What? Why is that her next question? He has no doubt his wife misses him but thanks to Poseidon’s speed in the ocean it had only been a little over a week. (It would have been faster with teleportation, but he meant it when he said never again) And of course he would go back to the overworld. What did she think he was dead or somethi- Fuck.

Odysseus jumped off the ground “Oh right shit, you think I’m dead.”

Athena startled. “Well of course, that’s why I’m here…What do you mean ‘think.’ Odysseus.” By the fates, how is the goddess of wisdom not being wise. It’s in her title! 

“Look at me.” He gestured towards himself. “I’m not dead Athena. I never died.” 

“How? I saw you jump into the water to drown. Wait, how are you even here then? The underworld's entrance is kept secret. How’d you even know I was here? How’d-“ Athena suddenly tensed and turned around.

He followed her gaze to see Posiedon, who at one point, clearly left the ship. “Hi?” 

Odysseus wasted no time jumping in the middle. “Whoa, Whoa, hold on now.” The last thing he needed was the two gods jumping down each other's throats.  

“What are you doing here, Poseidon.” Athena didn’t even look at Odysseus as she stepped in front of him and pushed him behind her. “I’m not going to let you have him. Leave.” 

“Athena-” Odysseus started and was promptly ignored as Athena pushed him farther back. This bi- he looked over at Poseidon for help. The god was tense but nodded towards Odysseus anyway.

“If I wanted to kill the mortal, I would have done so when he entered my domain.”

Gods dammit that’s not helping. Worried, Odysseus looked back at Athena. “Why didn’t you then?” That is a good question he still hasn’t gotten the answer to.

Poseidon shrugged “I was in a good mood?” Athena glared in response and the Sea God sighed. “Look, you don’t like me. I get it. But the river,” Posiedon gestured to the ship, “is the fastest way out of here and I swear on the River Styx I will not bring any harm to either of you.”

The goddess raised an eyebrow “Teleporting is the fastest way out of here-“ 

“No!” Odysseus interrupted “No teleporting!” Never again. “Posiedon was the person who got me here in the first place. He didn’t kill me then, he won’t kill me now. I trust him. Don’t you trust me?” Athena hesitated but nodded. “Of course Odysseus. Let’s go.” 

The ship ride back was extremely tense. Poseidon was too visibly nervous to start a conversation and Athena refused to even look at the sea god. Leaving Odysseus to just awkwardly stand around silently to make sure neither gets into a fight. 

They somehow managed to get close enough to see the shores of Ithaca when suddenly both gods stiffened and looked up at the same time. Odysseus followed their gaze to see a raven on the edge of the mast looking straight at him. The man sighed. Why does everything happen right when he’s about to get home? 

Chapter Text

Poseidon was extremely uncomfortable. Athena refused to look in his direction and now the God of Prophecy, the one god who posed the biggest issue, was on his ship. He watched as the god transformed from a raven to a mortal. Apollo never took his eyes off Odysseus despite Athena’s warning glare. If he had to guess Athena was properly worried Apollo held a grudge against the Greek because of his win over the Trojans. Poseidon knew better. Thanks to time travel at least. Apollo had stopped caring about the war as soon as it was over. There was only one reason for his presence here now. Poseidon had messed up a prophecy. Stupid butterfly wings.

The Sun God raised his hand and gold surrounded the ship covering the entire thing. A rainbow appeared and images of him and Odysseus when they had first met showed up. Iris that fucking traitor. Only something was different. He looked angry. This wasn’t him. Or at least it wasn’t him now. This was him from before. The one in Apollo’s prophecy. The one who killed Odysseus’s crew. The one who nearly killed Odysseus himself. He could hear yelling coming from the others on the ship but all he could think of was one thing. Shit.

Poseidon knew he should contribute to the conversation, that he just looked more guilty if he stayed silent. But he couldn’t move. Why couldn’t he move? He watched as Odysseus turned to him and said something, but all he could hear were muffled noises. Whatever Odysseus said had seemingly triggered something because Apollo pointed towards the images and they were starting to move. Starting to speak. Shit.

Fake Odysseus started first. “Poseidon we meant no harm, we only harmed him to disarm him, we took no pleasure in his pain. We only wanted to escape!”  He watched himself move next. He knew what was coming. Shit, shit no. “The line between naivety and hopefulness is almost invisible. So close your heart, the world is dark, and ruthlessness is-” Gods please No. “Die.” He wanted to close his eyes. He wanted to look away. He couldn’t. The false waves burst up, despite his own magic desperately trying to push them down, and dragged down the ships. He knows the future has softened him up. He knows that he was different. That the past and future are different. But.. He remembers taking pleasure in their screams. How could he ever take pleasure in their screams? What was wrong with him? If Posiedon was a mortal he would be on the verge of throwing up. Is this how Odysseus felt? No. Odysseus would have felt worse.

The fake waves finally settled down and fake Odysseus fell to his knees. “What have you done?” The fake him stood in front of the man, grinning. Grinning. “I am your darkest moment. The monster that always does near!” He was horrified at the fake him actions. Only.. it wasn’t fake. He did do that. He remembered how he felt at that moment. He didn’t care about his son. He cared about his pride. The pride at teaching an overconfident mortal who didn’t know their place. The pride at his destruction. At the fear he was able to cause. But now, looking at Odysseus’s devastated face, all he could feel was guilt. He caused that devastation to his- Oh. His friend. He caused that devastation to his friend. He may have changed it. But he did that. Could he even really say for certain he’s changed? Gods don’t change easily. Could he really say that he’s any better than the one they were watching now? Even in the future his children, the ones he claims to love the most, believe he doesn’t care. It is rare for a god to feel guilt. Immortals tried not to look back on things. Poseidon didn’t get a choice but to look back. “Any last words?” The video cut off. The gold and rainbow disappeared.   

“See!” Apollo shouted. Poseidon robotically turned to look. “That was what was supposed to happen!” 

“But it didn’t.” Athena interrupted. “Posiedon punished him sure, but no killing occurred. Are you sure nothing is wrong with your prophecy?” 

“I’m sure! Do you know how much effort it took to get all of this?! I know for a fact that it’s accurate!” Apollo slightly bowed towards Poseidon. “I mean no offense uncle. I understand it’s not your fault. It’s just-” Apollo rose and turned to glare at Odysseus. “You were supposed to die.” 

Athena glared back and responded but Poseidon had stopped listening. He leaned against the edge of the ship, a quick escape into the water. He needed to leave. But first. He needs to make amends. Even if it’s just a little.

Apollo was still yelling. “-A mortal messing up my prophecy-” 

“-You’re wrong.” Poseidon interrupted. 

“What?” Poseidon didn’t know who asked. It was his turn to refuse to look at anyone. The floor was rather interesting. He took a deep breath. 

“You’re wrong.” He repeated. “Odysseus was never meant to die. In fact, the first time, he was the only one to survive.” He remembers how pissed and humiliated he was over that.  Remembering that just made him feel worse. 

“The first time-?” A whisper Posiedon doesn’t think he was meant to hear. He ignored it.

“Your video, I think, nephew, cut off before it happened. But Odysseus opened a wind bag to escape me and arrived-” He flinched at the realization of how similar it played out. “On Circe’s island. Odysseus was not the one who messed up your prophecy. I was.”

Silence. Poseidon fidgeted with his hands as he waited, the floor was pretty interesting, but no one spoke. He sighed. “Odysseus did make it home..eventually. I don’t know what happened after that. …I’m sorry.” He didn’t know who he was directing it towards. Whether it was to Athena, Odysseus, or himself. All he knew was that he was sorry. 

With that, Poseidon created a large wave allowing himself to drop over the ledge and disappear into the water. He didn’t care where he ended up. He just needed to be anywhere but here. “Seidon!” was the last thing he heard as he left.

Chapter Text

Odysseus was annoyed. Not that he would ever say that out loud. Athena was being way too overprotective. But he is also pretty sure that her protection is the only reason he hasn’t been smited by that glaring raven yet. That, and it felt nice, to know he had his mentor back. Still though, it would be nice if she let him get a word out.

The raven flew down and changed from a raven to a man in midair. The stranger landed gracefully, but Odysseus expected nothing less from a god. “Odysseus of Ithaca.” The god growled. Oh come on! What did he do now?! Odysseus thought he was done with pissing off gods. 

“You ruined my prophecy!” The god, revealed to be Apollo, shouted. He did what. How? He didn’t even know there was a prophecy. 

“Wasn’t your future vision going crazy, brother?” Athena answered “Surely you don’t believe a mortal could cause that.” Ok. Rude. Not that she was wrong though. Odysseus sure isn’t going to argue. 

Apollo was not calmed though, as he raised his hand and gold and a rainbow covered the ship. Athena grabbed him and pulled him beside her. “What are you doing Apollo.” She demanded. “Showing you what was supposed to happen.” The Sun God answered. 

The rainbow changed and made images of when he and Poseidon first met. It was an interesting view, but he couldn’t see anything different from what happened.

“My lord.” He started. “I do not mean to question you. But I see no difference in your paintings and what happened. Right-” He turned and paused. Why did Poseidon look scared?  “-Posiedon?” 

“Watch.” Apollo demanded. Odysseus starred in surprise as the pictures started to move and speak. His picture started first. “Poseidon we meant no harm, we only harmed him to disarm him, we took no pleasure in his pain. We only wanted to escape!” Oh. That was different. The picture of Posiedon responded  “The line between naivety and hopefulness is almost invisible. So close your heart, the world is dark, and ruthlessness is-” Odysseus startled at the familiar wording. But he doubted the fake Posiedon would do anything. After all, the god didn’t kill him even after blinding his son. “Die.” Nope wrong immediately. Odysseus looked away. It didn’t drown out the screams of his brothers but at least he didn’t see more deaths. Beside Posiedon wouldn’t have done such a thi-

Guilt. Guilt and horror. That’s what Odysseus saw on Poseidon’s face. Not surprise. Not confusion. There was no confusion. No if anything, it looked like the sea god knew exactly what was happening. He expected to see what was happening. Didn't the god say something about their kind having more extreme emotions? 

“What have you done?” He heard his voice ask. Good question, fake him.  “I am your darkest moment. The monster that always does near!” That’s not true. It’s not. ..But it was. “Any last words?” He barely registered Apollo’s magic disappearing. He never took his eyes off Poseidon. 

“See!” Apollo shouted. Odysseus turned to look with Poseidon “That was what was supposed to happen!” 

“But it didn’t.” Athena said. “Poseidon punished him sure, but no killing occurred. Are you sure nothing is wrong with your prophecy?” 

“I’m sure! Do you know how much effort it took to get all of this?! I know for a fact that it’s accurate!” Apollo responded. “I mean no offense uncle. I understand it’s not your fault. It’s just-” Apollo turned to glare at Odysseus. “You were supposed to die.” 

Athena glared back “I assure you, brother. Even if that were true, I would have gotten Odysseus back myself anyway.” Well that was nice to know. The argument though was not helping Odysseus distract himself from the fact that apparently Poseidon knew what was happening. 

“That’s not the point, sister.” Apollo did not seem happy. The point is something went wrong with my prophecy and messed up my powers! I mean a mortal messing up my prophecy-!

“-You’re wrong.” Poseidon interrupted. Gods damnit, he hasn’t finished processing yet! 

“..What?” Apollo asked. “You’re wrong.” The Sea God repeated. “Odysseus was never meant to die.” Oh great, good to know, can you stop talking now?  “In fact, the first time, I believe he was the only one to survive.” Well fuck him then. 

“The first time-?” Athena whispered. Odysseus wasn’t sure how she was feeling but he could relate. Time manipulation feels a bit far fetched for the goddess of wisdom. And him too, but he has to get out of shock of Poseidon killing his friends first.  

“Your video, I think, nephew, cut off before it happened. But Odysseus opened a wind bag to escape me and arrived-” Poseidon visibly flinched. “On Circe’s island. Odysseus was not the one who messed up your prophecy. I was.” 

Silence. Pure and under silence. It was a bit of an advantage to have figured it out earlier. He was more prepared for Posiedon’s confession than the others. But Odysseus wasn’t sure what question to ask first. 

Poseidon sighed. Seems he got tired of waiting for someone else to talk. “Odysseus did make it home..eventually. I don’t know what happened after that. …I’m sorry.” Well that made him feel bad. Which is ridiculous considering. No it was fine. It’s not like it actually happened. They just need to talk about this, and come to an understanding, and- Nope Poseidon’s jumping off the ship. Fuck.

Odysseus burst through Athena’s grip, an act of extreme strength he will be impressed by later. “Seidon!” He shouted. It was his best bet. They only called each other nicknames when it was important. When they need the other’s attention. “Wait!”

Nothing. Poseidon was gone. 

Odysseus punched down at the wood in frustration. “Every fucking time!” What was with gods and abandoning him when he needs them most?! He turned to glare at Apollo. Son of Zues be damned, he lost another friend because of him! The god at least had the decency to look ashamed. “D-Do you want me to find hi-” 

“-Yes I want you to find him!” He watched Apollo nod and jump off the ship, transforming into a dolphin as he went. “Athena!” Odysseus shouted. The goddess jumped. Looks like she was still in shock. Odysseus was too focused to feel bad. “We need to follow that dolphin!”  

Chapter Text

Athena felt like she was going crazy. Actually she felt like she was going crazy for a while, but this is the final straw. It would have been one thing if Poseidon somehow got a prophecy and decided to foolishly try and change it. But Poseidon said the first time. The first time. Time travel? Time travel?! 

She knows she’s not the only god with powers related to time. Apollo is a great example of that. But none of them could actually change anything about the past and future. The fates would’ve made sure of that. At least that was what she thought. But nooo. Poseidon somehow did the impossible.

It did explain why he was acting so strange. She didn’t know how far in the future Poseidon came from, but considering her uncle is known to hold grudges, it must be distant. She had thought he planned on using her and Odysseus. He was uncharacteristically kind towards Odysseus and herself, despite her obvious mistrust and anger towards him. It was only logical to suspect a ploy. But since that viewing, the only emotion the Sea God showed was guilt. Could her uncle really have changed that much? 

Yes. She doesn’t even need to think about it. The look on his face when he was talking showed only regret for his actions. And gods don’t regret often. Much less actually apologize for it. And even if she can’t trust him yet, she is in debt to him for taking care of Odysseus. He didn’t have to change the past. But he did. He even tried to correct her misunderstanding, and when that didn't work he brought Odysseus directly to her. Even if she’s not happy with it, she owes him. At least she could annoy him with questions about the future.  

“Athena!” A shout broke her out of her thoughts. “We need to follow that dolphin!” Odysseus yelled. 

Dolphin? 

Poseidon’s gone. 

Apollo.

Shit.

Athena may not control the waves, but increasing the speed of the ship in order to follow her brother wasn’t hard. “Any idea where he would have gone?” She asked. The quiet was bothering her. Odysseus wasn’t one to be silent. How close did the two get while she was gone? What the hell did she miss?

“No.” Odysseus responded. “Does your brother know where he’s going?” A fair question.

“In a way. He’s most likely just following where Poseidon’s power feels strongest. It’s a difficult thing to do, and it’s not perfect. But it’s our best shot.” 

Odysseus nodded and went silent again, focusing on steering. It was unsettling.

“Are.. Odysseus started.

Athena quickly turned to face him. “Are?” 

“Are you ok with this? I know you and Poseidon don’t exactly..get along.”

“We don’t.” She answered. “But my uncle has given me kindness I feel I must repay. Though I am sure he wouldn’t feel the same if positions were reversed.” 

Odysseus tilted his head. “I don’t think that’s true, My Lady.” 

“Oh?” That’s unexpected. But the use of titles meant that he was getting in a better mood. She should encourage this.  “Why do you think that, Warrior?” 

“Once. At night when I was tired and not thinking straight. I ended up talking to Poseidon about you. He responded and.. told me he missed you too. I didn’t think much of it at the time because he never brought it up again. But considering the information we now have..” Oh. That was.. 

Was that why he was so willing to be kind with her? Were they friends, where Posiedon came from? Actually friends? She’s not sure how to feel about that. She needs a distraction. Wait. Did Odysseus just say..

“You two talked about how much you missed me huh?” The man jumped. “O-Of course we did, it’s hard not to miss the person you were friends with for years!

..We were friends back then too right?”

The goddess nodded immediately “We were.”

Odysseus relaxed and Athena smiled. It was nice to see her friend ease up for once. Maybe getting along with the other gods for the sake of this peace wouldn’t be so bad. 

As if summoned to prove her wrong, Apollo jumped back onto the ship as soon as she finished her thought. “Found him! There’s only one issue.. He’s hiding in his home underwater,  there are way too many rooms to search individually, and I doubt a nymph would betray their master to help us.”

Athena frowned. She figured Poseidon would be hiding underwater, that’s just common sense. But in his castle? That was inconvenient. 

“Oh! The palace?” Odysseus interrupted. “That’s fine! I know where his room is! That's probably where he would be right?” What.

Both gods turned to look at him in disbelief. “How?” Apollo asked.

Odysseus’s face flushed with embarrassment. “I made it my mission to find out when I worked there in order to avoid him. Obviously that didn't exactly work.. But the point is I know where he would be!”

Athena froze. When he worked there? When he worked there? When did that happen? What the hell did she miss?!

She and Odysseus need to have a longer conversation about what the hell he’s been through. It hasn’t even been that long! 

No. Now was not the time. “Do you think you can hold your breath long enough for Apollo to take you down?” Neither god had domains related to water, but Apollo could heal Odysseus easily if something went wrong. 

“Yes I-” He paused. “Apollo? Are you not coming with me?” 

She shook her head. “This feels like it needs to be a private conversation. It’s Posiedon’s turn for emotions. I’ll wait for you, I swear.” She turned towards Apollo and glared. “That goes for you as well brother. I don’t care what you want to say to our uncle. Do not interfere with their conversation until it finishes. You are going with in case of emergency. If Odysseus gets hurt, heal him. Nothing else.”

Apollo nodded quickly “Yup, got it. Don’t worry about me.”

Odysseus wasn’t convinced “You won’t leave?”

“Never again.” She answered easily 

The goddess waved goodbye as Odysseus and Apollo jumped off the ship and under the water. Now all she had to do was wait. 

…All she had to do was wait.

…She hasn’t checked up on Odysseus’s family in a while has she? 

Chapter Text

Poseidon was starting to slightly regret running away. Would he do it again? Yes. He did not want to deal with more mortal emotions. However, as soon as he got back home, his wife threw a bunch of paperwork his way. Was it his own fault for neglecting his duties in favor of hanging out with people he’s supposed to hate? Also yes. But sue him, paperwork sucks. So does time travel. Still, being coped up in the comfort of his office was both calming him down and making him realize disappearing on Odysseus might not have been the best idea. 

His head snapped up as he heard a crash. His children weren’t home, and his wife was busy at meetings so it couldn’t have been any of them. It could have been a stranger but none of his subjects would be stupid enough to rob him. And mortals would be killed by the water pressure even if they somehow managed to hold their breath long enough. No, it was properly just a nymph new to the job. Nothing to be worried about. He looked down and went back to work. It was providing a great, if boring, distraction. 

Of course, the distraction didn’t last long. The doors to his office burst open and Poseidon barely had a chance to react as a body slammed into him and wrapped their arms around him. He automatically registered it as an attack and his magic impulsively moved to summon his trident. The stranger subtly shifted, pressing closer in a way that felt more like a hug than a threat, making him pause. He actually took a moment to look at the intruder. 

…”Odysseus?!” Why the hell was he here? No stupid question. How the hell was he here? His castle was way too deep for a mortal to survive the trip without any help. His question was half-answered as Odysseus lost his strength to hold on and collapsed to his knees, coughing up water.  So the mortal wasn’t surviving. Good to know. 

Shit. Shit! “Odysseus!” He shouted, falling to the floor to match the man's height. “Are you ok? What’s going on?!” He paused as he saw Odysseus move to respond, only for him to suddenly stop  and cough up more water. Salt water. Poseidon was an idiot. Odysseus was drowning. Shit. 

It was actually an easy enough fix once Poseidon calmed down enough to use his brain. Water was his domain after all. All he needed to do was make sure the salt water inside of the man’s lungs was taken out. He let Odysseus lean onto his side for support as the mortal recovered from the ordeal. He doesn’t know what nearly dying feels like, but according to Percy, it’s exhausting. He resigned himself to being here for a while. He found he didn’t really mind it.

Unsurprisingly, it was neither of them who decided to start the conversation.  “Odysseus!” Someone shouted. “Where’d you go? Athena’s going to kill me!” Athena? Ah. It must be Apollo. At least that explained how Odysseus didn’t immediately die from the water pressure. Poseidon slowly stood, helping Odysseus up in the process. “Over here nephew!” He shouted back. 

Poseidon startled as Apollo immediately teleported to their location. His nephew sighs in relief as he looks at the two of them. “Thank the fates, I didn’t think I had the energy to search the rest of this place.” 

Odysseus gave an awkward half-smile in response “My apologies. I didn’t mean to scare you.” 

Apollo slightly smiled back “I’m just glad you’re alive. I’ll leave you two alone to talk.”

Wait no fuck. Poseidon does Not want to have a conversation. Considering Odysseus's continued silence, the feeling was mutual.

“Sooo..Time travel?” Odysseus started

Poseidon sighed and nodded. “Time travel.” 

“And you..killed me the first time?” 

“Almost! I almost killed you the first time.” 

Odysseus rolled his eyes “That doesn’t make it better, Seidon. ..Why didn’t you kill me this time?”

Poseidon shrugged, “Killing people is surprisingly looked down upon in the future.”

“You didn’t want to piss off Athena.”

“I didn’t want to piss off Athena.” He nodded 

They both went quite at that. “..Aren’t you mad?” Poseidon asked

“Yes.” Fair. He expected anger, trying to kill someone usually made them mad. Odysseus started to pace around. “I mean, what is with gods and always abandoning me?!” What. “It was one issue! Both times! Can’t you guys ever be willing to talk about things?! Nooo it always has to be a dramatic exit!” 

Poseidon stared at his friend in disbelief. “..I feel like you’re focusing on the wrong thing here.” 

“What? What else would I? Oh the killing thing?” Odysseus raised his eyebrow. “I don’t feel very dead right now. And last I checked most of my men are back home, alive and well.” 

“Even so, the fact is that I did at one point kill most of your men. And nearly you!”

“..Do you want me to be mad at you for that?”

Poseidon paused “…kinda?” At least that was what he expected. What he sort of prepared for, even if he didn’t want to face it at all.

Odysseus sighed “Well I’m not. You helped me and my crew get home. You didn’t need to do that. You could have just neglected my men entirely. I would have never known. But you didn’t.” The mortal sadly smiled up at him “You gave me the power to save my men from Circe. You gave me the power to get rid of the men tormenting my wife and son. You gave me the opportunity to get Athena back. You gave me your friendship.”

“Oh.”

Odysseus let out a shaky laugh “Yeah. Oh. Please come back,  Poseidon. We can talk about this. I would love to hear about what the future is like. I just can’t lose another friend again. Please.”

A small smile crept across the Poseidon’s face

“You haven’t introduced me to your sister yet. Ctimene, right?”

Poseidon grinned as Odysseus's eyes lit up “Yes! Let’s go, Seidon!” 

The mortal grabbed his hand and started to quickly pull him away. Poseidon chuckled, letting himself be pulled. “Ok, ok! I’m coming, Ody.” He had a feeling that maybe.. just maybe.. things would end up ok.

Chapter Text

Odysseus greatly underestimated how far down Poseidon’s palace would be. He’s pretty sure the only reason he hasn’t died is because of Apollo’s presence. Still the castle isn’t far down. He can make it.

He did not make it. He was unable to hold his breath and ended up swallowing a concerning amount of salt water right before they entered. Apollo pushed him into the palace in response. Odysseus gasped for air, grateful to finally be able to breathe. 

“You good?” Apollo asked

“Fine.” He lied. His chest felt tight, and it was hard to breathe, but there was no reason to bother the god when there were more important things to do. “Poseidon’s room is this way, follow me.” 

Posiedon wasn’t in his room. Odysseus blinked, trying to clear the fog that was settling in her vision. The ground around him felt unsteady. Apollo frowned.

“You don’t seem fine.” 

“Didn’t you want to kill me an hour ago?”

Apollo winced, “Yeah..Sorry about that. I didn’t really think that though.” 

“Forget it, it’s fin-“ A sharp, searing pain shot through his chest, forcing him to gasp. He struggled to breathe, panic flaring up. He heard Apollo’s concerned voice talking but ignored it. It hurt. He didn’t want someone he barely knew around him. He wanted a family member but they weren’t here. He wanted Athena. She wasn’t here. He wanted Posiedon. He was here.

Odysseus barreled down the hall, his feet barely touching the ground, heart pounding as he sprinted faster than he should. His shoulder slammed into the edge of a vase, knocking it over and nearly sending him sprawling to the floor. He ignored the pain. If Poseidon wasn’t in his room then he would be in his office. Odysseus didn’t want to think about what he would do if the god wasn’t. He slammed the doors open. Poseidon was there.

Before he knew it, he crashed into the Sea God, his hands wrapping around his waist. Odysseus shifted, squeezing tightly into the hug. 

“Odysseus?!” Posiedon asked. He ignored it as he lost his strength to hold on and collapsed to his knees, coughing up water. 

“Odysseus!” Posiedon shouted, concerned. “Are you ok? What’s going on?!” He  tried to respond but stopped and ended up coughing up more water. It hurt, but if he was going to die he’d rather be with at least one friend. 

Slowly he felt the extra water in his body disappear. Oh that’s right. Poseidon controls water. He wasn’t going to die today. That made him feel dumb. Odysseus leaned on Poseidon’s side to rest. If he were in his right mind, he would never do something so disrespectful. But near death experiences were tiring. And it felt nice, comforting. He was ok with staying here for a while.

 “Odysseus!” Apollo shouted. Damn it. Moment ruined. “Where’d you go? Athena’s going to kill me!” Fair actually. That made him feel a little bad. Maybe Apollo wasn’t so bad.

 “Over here nephew!” Poseidon responded. Odysseus internally winced as Apollo teleported into the room. “Thank the fates, I didn’t think I had the energy to search the rest of this place.” 

“My apologies. I didn’t mean to scare you.” 

 “I’m just glad you’re alive. I’ll leave you two alone to talk.” He takes it back. Apollo was the worst. 

“Sooo..Time travel?” 

“Time travel.” Poseidon nodded. 

“And you..killed me the first time?” That felt important to clarify.

“Almost! I almost killed you the first time.” 

He rolled his eyes “That doesn’t make it better, Seidon. ..Why didn’t you kill me this time?” A better question would actually be, why are gods so confusing. 

Poseidon shrugged, “Killing people is surprisingly looked down upon in the future.” Oh bullshit.

“You didn’t want to piss off Athena.”

“I didn’t want to piss off Athena.” The Sea God nodded 

Odysseus went quiet at that. He didn’t really have more questions.

“..Aren’t you mad?” Poseidon asked

“Yes.” He answered without hesitation  “I mean, what is with gods and always abandoning me?! It was one issue! Both times! Can’t you guys ever be willing to talk about things?! Noo it always has to be a dramatic exit!” 

“..I feel like you’re focusing on the wrong thing here.” 

“What? What else would I? Oh the killing thing?” He raised his eyebrow. Poseidon has to be joking “I don’t feel very dead right now. And last I checked most of my men are back home, alive and well.” 

“Even so, the fact is that I did at one point kill most of your men. And nearly you!” 

Oh great he wasn’t joking. “..Do you want me to be mad at you for that?”

“…kinda?” 

By the gods, this god. He sighed “Well I’m not. You help me and my crew get home. You didn’t need to do that. You could have just neglected my men entirely. I would have never known. But you didn’t. You gave me the power to save my men from Circe. You gave me the power to get rid of the men tormenting my wife and son. You gave me the opportunity to get Athena back. You gave me your friendship.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Oh. Please come back,  Poseidon. We can talk about this. I would love to hear about what the future is like. I just can’t lose another friend again. Please.”

Poseidon hesitated, making Odysseus worried as he slowly gave a small smile “You haven’t introduced me to your sister yet. Ctimene, right?”

He lit up “Yes! Let’s go, Seidon!” grabbing the gods hand and started to pull him away. Poseidon chuckled, letting himself be pulled. “I’m coming, Ody.” 

Apollo ended up being right behind the door. They all agreed to have a real conversation above the water in the boat. Poseidon covered Odysseus in an air bubble so he didn’t have to worry about drowning again. But the Fates seemed to really hate him. Because when they arrived at the ship..

“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Where the fuck is Athena?!” 

Chapter Text

Poseidon was not looking forward to having an actual conversation with Athena, but that didn’t mean he wanted her to go missing! They had discussed trying to find her but she could be literally anywhere. It was decided that it would be easier to wait for her to come back, then to search the entire earth. Odysseus had gone below deck, refusing to speak any more. When she comes back Poseidon should really talk to them about mental health. But before that, he still had another conversation to get though. 

He turned towards Apollo “..Sorry about your prophecy.” 

“It’s fine!” Apollo responded “But if you feel bad, can you tell me what was originally going to happen?”

“...It’s been literal centuries nephew.” 

“..please?” 

Poseidon sighed. “From what I can remember Odysseus beat Circe and then-”

“-How? And how’d he beat you?” 

Poseidon winced and glared at the Sun God “Hermes helped with both I believe. However I do not wish to talk about that. Now don’t interrupt me ag-” He froze. Hermes. The guy who’s job is to know where any god is at any given time.  By the Fates, they were all idiots. Poseidon slapped himself on his forehead. 

“Apollo.” 

“Yes?”

“Go get Hermes to tell Athena we’re waiting for her.” 

“Why can’t you do it?”

“Because mental health is a thing we of all people should care about.” He gestured to the door that went below deck towards Odysseus. Apollo he paused and nodded disappearing in front of him. Making sure his nephew was gone, Poseidon slowly walked down to Odysseus and knocked on his door.

“I don’t want to talk right now, Seidon.” 

Fuck. Poseidon stayed of course. His friend needs someone to stay with him right now. What would Percy do? Talk about trauma and then somehow relate it to the person he was talking to. Ok he can do that. But what trauma- Gods dam it.

“..Do you know why I was so scared you would hate me?” 

“Because you tried to kill me? And did end up killing my men?” 

“No. Well yes obviously. But also no. The reason I was so scared was because you ended up getting your revenge.”

“I.. got revenge.. on an immortal god.” Odysseus tone suggested disbelief 

“Crazy right? Athena never let me live it down.” She would bring it up every time they argued before Annabeth banned the topic. 

Odysseus was not convinced. “You’re immortal.” 

“Yeah, but getting stabbed with my own trident multiple times still hurts.” He still winces in pain every time he thinks about it.

The door slammed open. Odysseus stared up at Poseidon in shock. “I did what?!” 

Poseidon gave a half-hearted smile. “There was a reason I lent you my raw power but not my weapon.” 

Odysseus took a step back pressing a hand to his face. “Shit, I am so sorry Poseidon-“

“Woah, slow down, Ody. I’m not telling you this to make you feel guilty. You didn’t do anything.”

“But even so you clearly still feel uneasy about it!” 

“So even though it technically never happened and we’ve had multiple conversations proving it will probably never happen-“

“-Of course it won’t!-“

“Let me finish.” Poseidon sighed. He did not want to think about this more than he had to. The things he does to get his point across. “Like I was saying even though it would never happen now. It still affects me. Right?”

“Yeah? I am so sorry-“

“Stop. First off, I definitely deserved it, I was an asshole who pushed you to that point by killing all your friends, and you were even nice enough to try and talk me down first. It wasn’t even you who did it. Making you feel guilty is not why I brought it up.” 

“Then-?” 

“If I am still affected by something that happened centuries ago for me, then I can’t imagine how much you are affected by the argument you had with Athena-“

“I’m not-“

“-And how much she is affected in turn by your new strained relationship.”

“Ha. I doubt she even cares.”

Poseidon couldn’t hold back a laugh. “Not this again man. Athena has trouble showing her emotions I can admit that. But she’s already proven she’s cared. She hates me or maybe just generally doesn’t like me. I don't remember this timeline very well since I changed it so much. And yet she immediately trusted you when you said you trusted me. Athena doesn’t do that. Blind trust is very difficult for her but she trusted me immediately after you told her to. Not to mention the whole underworld thing. I know she was just as upset over your platonic breakup as you were.”

“…Then why would she leave again? She promised” 

“..Flaws are hard to get rid of so quickly. My niece is very logical but emotions are not logical at all. She often has a hard time dealing with them. You two definitely need to have more than one conversation before your relationship can improve. Besides, she probably didn’t think our own conversation would be so quick. Fates know I didn’t.”

Odysseus chuckled sadly, “Fair enough I guess. I just want my friends to stop leaving at every turn.”

“And you are not wrong for feeling that way. I am sorry I made you upset, but I am not wrong for feeling unprepared to face you either.” Poseidon paused as he felt Apollo's presence return.

“I sent Apollo to tell Hermes to get Athena. It’s the messenger god’s job to find us no matter where we are. When she comes back, because she will come back, all I ask is that you speak to her. No arguing or yelling. Try to understand her perspective and what she feels and in turn how you could phrase your words so that she can understand how you feel. Please Ody.”

Odysseus hesitated. “..I’ll try. Is Apollo back or is he still out to get Hermes?” 

“He’s back.”

“Then let’s go. I think I’m ready to talk now.” 

Poseidon smiled at the progress. This is why he follows his son's example.  “I’ll follow you then.” 

Chapter Text

Athena was pleasantly surprised that Itheca seemed to be doing well. The people in the castle were hard at work, and Penelope was nowhere to be seen. Actually that might be a bad thing. Where could she be? Athena searched the entire palace to no avail. The queen wasn’t in Athena’s temple either. Should she just go back? 

Athena decided to take her time going back. Probably a bad idea but she’ll regret it later. Walking along the shore line ended up being where she found Penelope. Along with two other men and women. Or it would be more accurate to say a child, man, and woman. The child must be Telemachus, she recognized the man as Eurylochus, and the other woman must be Citrine. 

“-But when is he coming backkk?” Telemachus asked his aunt.

“We don’t know, little wolf. I’m sure he’s working very hard to get home as fast as he can.” Little wolf? She likes that nickname. It fits the son of Odysseus. 

“But what if the scary men come back before dad can?”

“I won’t let that happen. Besides, Odysseus got away from the Sea God once, he can do it again.” Eurylochus said. Athena paused in her tracks. Huh. So she wasn’t the only one who had that misunderstanding. He very much did not get away from her uncle. There was no need to. If anything Odyssseus was closer to Poseidon then he was to her. Poseidon wouldn’t do anything to compromise that. In this time anyway. No, she will not think about the logistics of time travel. Not that she could blame them. Her and Odysseus’s relationship had been straining farther and farther away from each other. They had just started working to get back to where they used to be, so it was only natural for Poseidon to be closer to the man than her. Where did Eurylochus even get his information? He didn’t seem to be lying on purpose.

Telemachus froze in response. So did Penolope. They knew it wasn’t true? How? Unimportant. She came here for a reason, she should complete it.

Athena slowly approached the group, making herself glow unnaturally. She was not in the mood to deal with doubts of her identity.  

As expected, Penelope noticed and recognized her first. “Lady Athena?” 

Athena smiled. It was nice to see the queen again. “You have aged well, Penelope of Ithaca.” 

The group immediately kneeled down at the confirmation. Oh Athena could have probably done that better. She had just wanted to check up on the island but she does appreciate the respect. Even if it feels weird coming from Odysseus’s family.

“Thank you, my Lady.” Penelope responded “But if I may be so rude, may I ask why you have come to visit?” 

“I simply wanted to see how my friend's family was doing while he was busy.” Athena turned to look at the kid who seemed to just be following the adults lead but struggling to sit still. He really took after his father. “You’ve grown up so much since I’ve last seen you, Little Wolf.”

Telemachus raised his head to look at her in awe. “You’re friends with my Dad?” 

She nodded and the kid leaped up in front of her.

“Telemachus-” Citrine hissed and was promptly ignored. 

“-How do you know him? Is he still alive? When’s he coming back?” 

“Woah-” Athena bit back a laugh as she grabbed the kid to calm him down. “I’m his mentor, yes, and he’s trying to come back now.” 

The goddess released the kid after making sure he wouldn’t immediately tackle her in excitement (She had dealt with Odysseus too much to let that happen for the millionth time) as she looks at the other mortals. Citrine and Eurylous looked mildly concerned but weren't moving since Telemachus wasn’t in immediate danger, while Penolope just looked amused. The only issue was they were all still on their knees. Which was making her more uncomfortable by the second. “Rise, all of you. I simply wished to let you all know that Odysseus is alive and is on his way home.”   

Athena watched the subtle changes in the mortals bodies that signified relief, or well subtle in everyone but Telemachus who was jumping up and down in excitement, and smiled about to say something more when a familiar unseeable voice cut through the air.

“Ha ha ha! I must say, what a sweet encounter.” That voice. Athena knows that voice. What was he doing here?

Eurylochus gets into a guarded stance and moves in front reaching for his sword “Who goes there?”

“Just a friend! Someone who’s not afraid to.. Send a message.”

Athena huffs at the confirmation. “Hermes?”

Hermes appears next to her, startling her. “Ha ha ha! I’m here to send the message of a certain god.” 

Hermes circles the goddess, it would have made her unsettled if it wasn’t so clearly playful. Athena sighs as she responds, “Are you going to tell me the message from this ‘certain god’ or will I have to guess?” 

Hermes just laughs again as he responds. “Apollo has said, and I quote, ‘Athena I swear to the fates come back, please, you’re making the mortal upset, and that’s making Poseidon upset and I can’t get any information on what was supposed to happen, because he’s upset, which is making me upset.’ which makes me very curious as to what in Tartarus is happening! Which is why I’m coming with you to wherever ‘back’ is.” 

Athena has to blink for a few seconds processing the message before she realizes that, oh she took too long and broke her promise. Pushing back her guilt she processes the last part of Hermes’s sentence. “Wait- You’re coming with me?” 

Hermes grin widely and nods “Yup! That was the deal in exchange for me sending you this message in secret!”

Athena forces herself not to pinch her nose in annoyance. At this point they’ll collect all of Olympus before Odysseus ever gets back to Ithaca. At least so far it has ended positively but if they keep collecting gods it might not keep going positively for long. “Alright. Sure. You’re coming with. Why not? Let me say bye and we’ll leave.” Hermes playfully salutes in agreement and Athena can’t hold back rolling her eyes.

After saying her, admittedly awkward, goodbye to the shocked mortals, Athena walks back to Hermes grabbing the god’s shoulder and teleporting both of them to the last place she had been with the ship. And luckily the ship was in fact still there. Athena lets go of the messenger god and looks at the others in the ship before her eyes land on Odysseus. The goddess bits back a sigh of defeat. Time to face the music. 

Chapter Text

Odysseus was so fucking tired of people leaving him. Polites, and then Athena, and then Poseidon, and then Athena again! It was so- He just wanted his friends to stay in his life for once. It really shouldn’t be that difficult when two of them were immortal! Poseidon did help a bit. Learning he was able to beat the sea god himself, as much as it made him feel bad, was a huge boost to his ego. It didn’t change that once Athena comes back he’s making her swear on the Styx to never do something like this again. He beat up Poseidon with the god’s trident (something he still has questions about because, how the fuck?) He can beat up Athena too. 

Odysseus took a deep breath as he and Poseidon walked back up to the deck. He was honestly struggling to stop himself from hugging Poseidon’s side to make sure he didn’t disappear but he wasn’t sure how well that would be received. He’d already been pushing past what was considered normal for even a positive relationship between a mortal and a god. Learning the reason Poseidon might have let him get away with so much was that he stabbed him repeatedly with the god’s own weapon (again, how?) made him want to stop pushing before he accidentally made Poseidon uncomfortable- if he didn’t already do that-  and they were on the deck now. Ok wow. He didn’t even notice. 

Being near Apollo was extremely awkward when he wasn’t desperately trying to get one of his friends back. Especially since he ran away from said god when injured. He ran away from the god of healing while injured. Yeah, he’s stupid, (the Cyclops comes to mind, he got really lucky there with Poseidon time traveling.) but he is not usually that stupid. He’s just thankful neither of the gods has brought it up.

“Apollo.” Poseidon interrupted his thoughts. “Has Hermes agreed to find Athena?”

“He has. But he wants to see what exactly is happening in return. Are you two... ok with that?” 

Huh. Odysseus didn’t expect the god to ask that. He waited for Poseidon to respond and took an embarrassingly long time to realize that Poseidon had been waiting for him to respond. “Oh- Yes, yeah. I’m fine with that.” Why not? Another god to deal with. Apollo nods in response, going back to talking to Poseidon. Odysseus drowns it out. He was busy focusing on the new arrivals that had just appeared from thin air. His eyes lingered on the winged man (Hermes?) before his eyes locked with Athena. 

Gods, all his anger and sorrow came back in full force, but he swallowed it back remembering what Poseidon had told him. Odysseus gestures for Athena to follow him below deck, and considering how no one protested or stopped them, he’s pretty sure he’s doing the right thing. Once they were down though, Odysseus had no idea what to say. Communication, right?

“I’m angry,” Odysseus says bluntly.

Athena flinches at his blunt tone “I know. You have every right to be. I’m sorry.”

Odysseus gives a long-suffering sigh “Where did you even go?”

“Ithaca.” Athena responds softly, her voice dripping with remorse “Your kingdom and family are doing well even in your absence.”

Odysseus softens at the goddess’s words but remains firm “I’m still mad. It’s not that you left, it’s that you promised not to leave and did it anyway. That’s not fair to me. Not if you truly meant that you want us to be friends. Swear on the Styx or something. Show me I can trust you because right now, your actions have shown me I can not.”

Athena grimaces at the last sentence but does cup the mortal cheek so they are looking into each other’s eyes as she speaks. “I swear upon the River Styx that I will never promise not to leave you, only to leave you again. I swear to always tell you where and when I’m leaving.”

Odysseus’s breath catches in his throat. He hadn’t expected the goddess would swear such a serious oath. Maybe Poseidon had a point with his ‘healthy communication’ thing. ...Nah.

Odysseus holds out his hand to shake “One last chance Athena. Please don’t make me regret it.”

Athena takes his hand with a grateful smile “I won’t Odysseus. Friends?”

Odysseus sighs before smiling back “Friends.”

Athena sighs in relief and nods to the door. “Thank you, Odysseus. Now, I believe we should go see the others before they get worried. Or curious in Hermes' case.”

Speaking of which, when they got back on deck, Poseidon was staring at Hermes. Seriously, the sea god looked to be having some kind of mental struggle. Odysseus was kind of concerned. 

Hermes wasn’t faring much better, looking at Poseidon like he had changed overnight. Which wasn’t inaccurate. Time travel and all.

Apollo just seemed amused.

Odysseus and Athena walked over to the group, only to hear Hermes shoot off a variety of questions, not giving anybody time to answer or even interject. 

Until Poseidon just blurts out, “You’re a lot different in the future.”

Apollo grins and nods excitedly, apparently very happy someone knows what he knows. “Right?!”

Hermes, on the other hand, blinks in absolute bewilderment. “The. What.”

Odysseus sighs in sympathy, patting the messenger on the back.

“Sorry.” Poseidon shrugs. “I’ve given up on trying to fit in with Ancient Greece-”

“Ancient?!” 

“-And considering no one has even mentioned my clothes, my lack of attempts at trying don’t seem to matter much anyway.”

That was fair, Odysseus acknowledges. Poseidon was wearing- well, what he assumes is clothing from the future- and it was worthy enough to call out. He just assumed- before learning better- that it was just a weird sea god thing. Considering the looks on the other deities around him (The fact he was the only human on the ship was not lost on him) they assumed the same. Much to seemingly Apollo’s embarrassment.

“Right.” Odysseus interjects dryly “Can we talk about getting to Ithaca?”

“Oh, of course.” Poseidon nods. “I doubt you want to teleport-”

“-Definitely not.” Odysseus agrees immediately.

“-Then it will take a few days.” Poseidon finishes. Then he awkwardly fidgets with his hands. “So… everyone want dinner?”

Everyone stared. Then, with a bunch of reluctant muttering, they all agreed to have dinner together.

Chapter Text

Dinner was not the catastrophic, godsforsaken disaster Poseidon thought it was going to be.

Or, well, it wasn’t good. But it also wasn’t the flaming chariot crash he’d been bracing for. So, by Olympian standards, it was practically a victory.

Sure, Apollo and Hermes got into a food fight roughly three minutes in. Sure, it escalated faster than Ares in a sparring match. And yes, most of the table- Poseidon included- was now wearing an impressive mix of what he hoped was just normal food. But with Hermes he had a lack of faith.

Athena had gone stiff and silent like someone had hit her off switch, quietly dodging mashed fig artillery while pretending she was somewhere else. Odysseus, for his part, had started the meal acting strangely. But now, three hours in, the man was slumped over the table with his face buried in his hands like he’d just accepted his fate. The quiet “I regret everything” energy radiating from him was so intense Poseidon could practically see it.

Poseidon, as expected, was bombarded with questions. But he wasn't complaining since he got to brag about Percy a lot. And when Apollo offhandedly muttered something about “Odysseus collecting deities like Pokémon,” Poseidon had actually choked on his drink. His laughter only intensified when Odysseus, dry as sandpaper and twice as done, deadpanned:

“What is a Pokémon?”

It was art. Pure, uncut, historical comedy gold. Poseidon was still smiling about it an hour later.

For once, a godly family dinner wasn’t complete trainwreck. Just a bunch of immortals, and one very tired mortal, stuffed around a table and covered in sauce. Even as the summoned food (courtesy of Hermes, with Athena grimly supervising) was picked clean, no one stood. The chaos refused to die. The food fight had mutated into storytelling, which turned into bickering, which turned into Hermes convincing Apollo to eat a spoonful of something that definitely wasn’t food. No one was quite sure what it had been. 

Then Odysseus finally lifted his head, looking every inch a man who regretted every decision that led him here.

“Are you all and your chaos going to follow me when I get to Ithaca?”

The table went silent. Completely, unnaturally silent.

Odysseus froze. “That was a joke,” he clarified quickly, horror creeping across his face. “No. No, you guys cannot come to my island.”

Poseidon leaned back in his seat, nonchalant. “You’re still technically under my servitude for a few more months. Even if I’m not enforcing it, I can’t just leave you.” 

Odysseus’s eye twitched.

“Besides Poseidon—” he tried again, only to be interrupted by Athena’s hesitant voice.

“You said I could have a chance,” she said, quiet but firm.

The mortal inhaled through his nose. “Besides Poseidon and Athena-”

Hermes raised his hand like an overeager student.

“I don’t even know you!” Odysseus groaned.

Hermes responded with a pout and the most manipulative set of puppy eyes Poseidon had ever seen. The effect was immediate: Odysseus faltered. His scowl wavered. He looked away, muttering something about tricksters being the worst. Hypocrite.

Athena had to physically turn her head to hide the smirk threatening her normally impassive face. Poseidon was less restrained, outright snorting into his drink.

“…Fine,” Odysseus mumbled eventually. “But only-”

Apollo raised his hand.

Odysseus gave him the flat look of a man staring at his own doom. “I’m pretty sure you were planning to kill me when we first met.”

Apollo shrugged. “Details.”

“Details?!”

“I did get you to Poseidon, didn’t I?” Apollo then casually added, “I am the god of healing. Wouldn’t it be convenient to have me around if, say, your wife or son got sick?”

The mortal blinked. Then groaned and banged his forehead on the table with a thunk that echoed. “Gods, just kill me.”

“Little late for that,” Hermes chirped.

“Fine,” Odysseus mumbled again, forehead still on wood. “Whatever. I don’t care anymore. I just… regularly hang out with gods now. That’s my life.”

Athena gave him a few stiff, awkward pats on the back like she was trying to comfort a frightened goat. Poseidon, meanwhile, was cracking up.

Odysseus lifted his head just enough to glare at him, but it only made Poseidon laugh harder. Especially since the glare didn’t quite hide the reluctant curve of a smile pulling at the mortal’s lips.

Honestly? Not a horrible dinner.

A pretty great one, actually.

Poseidon couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed this much with his nephews and niece, without any dramatic fights, lightning bolts, or oaths of vengeance. 

It was almost… cozy. In a very loud, slightly unhinged way.

Maybe he should thank Odysseus. Not that he’d say it aloud. At least, not until they got him back to Ithaca.

…Are birthdays a thing yet? Or celebrations? Perhaps he should ask Apollo. Or introduce it himself. Poseidon was already messing with the timeline.

Chapter Text

Odysseus was, apparently, the only person on the ship who needed sleep. The others had all stayed up on deck doing who knows what. But he trusts the God, so whatever they were talking about probably wasn’t a bad thing. He did ask if they had nothing better to do but Apollo burst out this long winded explanation of them splitting their consciousness that Odysseus didn’t understand a word of. Honestly, it felt like his life was somehow simultaneously the worst, best, and most confusing life a mortal could live.

1. A time traveler became somewhat his best friend (No one can replace Polites)
2. His mentor returned, apologized, and also became his friend (Officially)
3. A seer that is currently unable to be accurate due to the time traveler is just sticking around for some reason
4. A trickster that probably just wants to stay for the chaos 
5. All of the above are Gods, while Odysseus is purely mortal

He’s pretty sure even most demigods don’t interact this much with the Olympians. Is Ithaca just a– what did Apollo call it? Poki-stop?-- now? 

Odysseus feels like he’s in a very hyper-realistic dream. But considering his usual dreams are more like nightmares, this wasn’t bad. The deities are… surprisingly entertaining. In an infuriating way. By the Fates, he thought he was already too comfortable with the divine, this is going to make him worse. One day he's going to be smited and he’ll absolutely deserve it. But in his defense, try being around more than one of these dysfunctional individuals for an extended period of time and not see them as humans with too much power.

“Odyyy!” A cheery voice called, making the mortal groan in fond annoyance. He was still sleeping, Hermes.

“Leave him be, nephew.” Yes. Thank you, Poseidon.

“I think he’d want to know we’re near Ithaca.” 

Nevermind! Odysseus is immediately up and out of the door in seconds, startling both gods. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?!”

Hermes sent a smug look to Poseidon, who in turn rolled his eyes, but Odysseus was already out of there, rushing back up to the deck.

There! Ithaca in the distance. Safe. Without anything to stop him this time. He’s never letting a bag near him again. He’d never open it. And– there was an owl on him?

Odysseus looks at Athena, who had perched comfortably on his shoulder, in bemusement. “What are you doing?” The owl neglects to answer him as a horse lightly bumps its snout against his back, making him huff out a laugh. “Seriously? Both of you?”

His response was another nudge, which in turn got the owl to gently nudge him with its wing. He can’t tell if they’re staking their claim or playing with him. Seriously, why are Gods so weird?

Odysseus turns to pat Poseidon’s mane, seeing that the other two, Hermes and Apollo, had thankfully turned into young men and not animals as their disguises and were currently docking the ship the human way. And struggling. Badly. Apollo is frustratingly yelling at a poor, stressed-out Hermes. (Though the only reason Odysseus knows who is who is the very convenient color coordination the Gods had going on.) He can explain the horse. Sort of. The lack of a saddle will take a bit to explain. He… can’t really explain the owl, but it was better than explaining four different wild animals.  

Disney princess, Poseidon, oh so helpfully supplied.

I don’t know what Disney means. Odysseus mentally rolls his eyes. And I’m not a princess?

The response was muffled laughter. How Poseidon was muffling laughter in his literal head was unclear.

“We’re done!” Hermes called, exhaustion in his usually cheerful voice. “I don't know how you mortals do this.”

Odysseus turns to see the worst docking job of his life, and has to cover his mouth to stop his own laughter, especially when Poseidon lets out the most offended horse noise Odysseus’s ever heard. He’s half-surprised the sea god doesn’t rear up in defense of his domain. 

Hermes and Apollo just grumble about Poseidon “doing it himself next time” as they get off the ship, ignoring the increasingly angered horse.

Ah-em, A female voice interjects. Oh, it’s been a while since he felt the presence in his head. It was nice. Athena, who had been watching everything seemingly detached, now puffs up her wings, gesturing for them to hurry up. Odysseus shakes his head fondly, obediently stepping off the ship, leading the group towards his palace. Surprisingly, he blended in well enough, even with the owl on his shoulder. 

The guards at the gates blink at the sight of him, and smile respectfully, letting him, the ‘animals’, and the two other men through without question. Did he seriously gain that much of a reputation for weirdness? That quickly? Rude. 

“Welcome to my humble abode,” Odysseus says sarcastically, though it probably was humble to the divine. Still, the joke made his maybe-friends smile so it was worth it. Hermes moved to say something, but was interrupted,

“Odysseus!” How strange it was now, to hear a voice that wasn’t divine in nature. It was, however, divine in his eyes as he turned to face his beautiful, amazing, perfect wife.

“Penelope,” he breathes, rushing towards her so fast Athena flies off his shoulder, perching instead on Apollo’s shoulder, probably glaring at him. He doesn’t care about that though, wrapping his arms around Penelope and barely holding back a sob. Sure, it wasn’t as long as a separation this time, but any time away from this amazing woman is torture. Said woman laughs at his perfectly understandable desperation and wraps her own arms around him.

He doesn’t know how long they stay like that, wrapped in each others arms, before they (Or, well, he) were interrupted,

Odysseus, control your child!

What? Odysseus turns around to see what happened while he was distracted.

And immediately has to turn away to not burst out laughing. Telemachus had come, probably to greet him, and was immediately distracted by the “horsie” and was now playing (pulling) on Poseidon’s mane. Eurylochus had followed the prince, and is now glaring at Apollo and Hermes suspiciously, the latter responding by grinning and acting like, well, Hermes, which was not helping their case. Ctimene had followed her husband and just looked done with everything. Odysseus could relate. Athena had chosen to do the smart thing, much to Telemachus’s chagrin, and fly up out of reach. Odysseus had the distinct feeling she was also holding back laughter.

“Okay, okay, that's enough,” Odysseus chides, lifting Telemachus into his arms and away from the disgruntled god-horse. He could already hear the storm outside the palace. “Leave uh-’”

Neptune.

“-Neptune alone.” Seriously?

It’s a future thing. Also took you long enough.

Ah. And I took a reasonable amount of time. Mind giving me something to call the other guys?

Lin, and Lester.

Odysseus has learned by now not to question it, especially since he could hear the lighting outside. He focuses back on his family, feeling Poseidon leave the mental realm. “Eurylocus, relax,” he soothes. “These are my allies, Lin and Lester,” He points at Hermes and Apollo respectively, the former who accepts the name with a nod and the latter of whom gives him a questioning look. Odysseus gestures for him to just go with it, and ‘Lester’ looks away. Calling Apollo an ally after the whole war and almost-kill-you-due-to-time-travel-misunderstanding felt weird, but the Archer has been good company since the incident. 

Eurylochus does not relax, but the man isn’t actively going for a weapon, so Odysseus will take what he can get. What he’s actually concerned about is Ctimene, who had gotten Athena down and was cooing about “Not seeing Thena in forever!” which was likely to be a problem. Someone will corrupt someone and chaos is inevitable. Then again, he brought Hermes into his home so chaos was inevitable regardless. 

Despite all that, it was… nice. His family and maybe-friends all together, almost getting along, even if two of them were disguised as animals. He was laughing as they all walked (or flew) deeper into the palace, his son still in his arms. He found himself thinking it wouldn’t be so bad if it stayed like this forever.

He was so lost in thought that he failed to notice the lightning outside had formed the shape of an eagle.

Chapter Text

Poseidon had been, admittedly, distracted. Otherwise he would have noticed the storm, and certainly noticed that it was not his own. 

As it were, a certain child had decided to mess with his hair, making him a bit more focused on that than what was going on outside.

So he was startled when, as he glared at the servant who had suggested putting him in the stables, a familiar, and and very much unwelcome presence, entered the palace.

Unlike him and the others, his youngest brother had no disguise, tall, imposing and clearly divine, making the mortals in the room tense, and bow. Zeus waved his hand, dismissing them seemingly, his gaze fixed on the mortal king.

Poseidon was annoyed, preparing to fight and protect (the irony of wanting to protect Ithaca after threatening to drown it last time was not lost on him) until he actually saw Zeus, and nearly choked on air instead.

Holy shit, his King was so young. And considering he’s already the youngest, that was saying something . He looked, and Poseidon was smart enough to not say this out loud, like a petulant child. 

He had forgotten, clearly, how much Jupiter had changed his brother’s immaturity.  Zeus, currently, was much less detached from humanity. Whether or not that is a good thing remains to be seen. Because on one hand, Jupiter had been much harder to deal with, a stickler of the rules. On the other hand, the roman version was much less likely to make everything a game and strike down his favored child.

On second thought, maybe it wasn’t so great. Poseidon has no desire for that event to remain the same. Between the Trojan War, Athena, himself , Olympus had been filled with tension. Every glance at a scar is a reminder, every word carefully chosen, even the smallest arguments avoided. It had been no way for a family to act. There had been too much blood spilled then. Poseidon (using Percy as his guide because there was no way he could do so following his own advice.) will not let that repeat.

Guys? Odysseus, at least slightly panicked, attempts to call through their link, subtly gesturing for the other humans in the room to leave. The other couple that Poseidon didn’t bother to even try to remember the names of, took Telemachus with a worried glance over their shoulder. The servants had already left beforehand. He was tempted to call them cowards, but last time he had insulted someone like that, it hadn’t ended well for him. Penelope refused to leave her husband’s side. Inconvenient, but understandable. 

Relax. Poseidon nudges Odysseus with his snout in encouragement before walking in front of the mortals in a protective manner, shifting back into a mostly humanoid form. He ignores the gasp from Penelope. Rude, really, they’ve met before and were perfectly cordial. 

“Brother.” He greets, monotone, which frankly, he thinks he should receive credit for managing, because the only thought going through his mind at the moment is trying not to coo at the thousand year old immortal. Time travel is just not fair.  

“Poseidon.” Is the cold response, and given he had recently attempted to overthrow the other not a century ago, and (If he remembers correctly) had been avoiding Olympus since, he cannot blame the lack of amiability. “Why,” Zeus continues, finally looking away from Odysseus to glance around at the pack of deities, “is almost half of the Olympians neglecting their duties in favor of prancing around with a mortal?”

The Lord of Tides, impressively (Thank you, Annabeth, Percy fails in this category), does not react to the obvious disdain for his friend in his brother’s voice. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to strangle the Thunderbringer. The only thing stopping him, beyond plain logic, is, again, how young Zeus looks to him. To him, specifically, for the others seem to see the GodKing as the proper adult he is. 

“Father.” Athena placates, or attempts to, now no longer supporting an animal form, and Poseidon really hopes no one sees him tense up.

That injury let the goddess get away with a lot Staying on Ithaca for a couple decades, mostly relieved from duty, Hades allowing her into the Underworld after Odysseus dies, up until he chooses rebirth, Poseidon himself saying nothing against the special treatment despite their feud with each other but it wasn’t worth it. 

Odysseus notices. Of course he does. But the mortal says nothing, keeping his head bowed, allowing the immortals to talk amongst themselves lest Zeus turns his ire to Ithaca itself. So he does still know how to act around his kin.  Poseidon is grateful for it, slightly, though he’d rather it not be necessary. 

 
“Enough.” He interrupts, walking in front of his niece almost subconsciously. He is really starting to hate being the oldest of everything. “None of us are slacking , brother.” Except maybe Apollo, but that’s Poseidon’s own time-traveling fault. “Our minds are split appropriately. As for this mortal,” he gestures at Odysseus with a slightly apologetic look. “He is under my servitude-”

“You dare lie to me?” Zeus raises an eyebrow. “Given how you follow that human around like a mutt, I’m almost tempted to believe you found an interest in the man.” 

Gross. No offense to Odysseus, but gross. Poseidon takes back anything that could imply his litter brother is cute. “I have no desire for him.” He says, his eyes narrowing in displeasure. 

“I have no interest in your love life.” Zeus scoffs, clearly not believing his statement. “But to drag my kids with you?”

No interest his ass, Poseidon has to stop himself from rolling his eyes. “I do not control grown adults. We are allowed to hang out with our friend with the expectation to be left alone.”

A mistake, to say friend out loud. His King is obviously displeased. But slowly, Zeus lets a small smile across his face. Poseidon tenses even more. He doesn't trust that smile.

“Fine.” The Thunderbringer purrs. “If you want me to leave these humans be.”

The scenery changes, and Poseidon is no longer in Ithaca. His niece and nephews hadn’t followed, and neither had the mortals. It was too soon to be relieved however, because a quick look around made it clear he was in Olympus, in what resembled a stadium.

Oh. Oh no. 

His asshole of a brother’s smile widened. 

“Why not make it a game?”

Poseidon would like to be back in the sea and never see this bastard again please.