A/N: I don't own Percy Jackson, and this is my first time writing a fanfiction ever. An idea just popped into my head while I was in the shower and I decided I'd take a chance and write it down and post it. Be gentle with me, pretty please?

A man with salt-and-pepper hair gave his date a kiss on the cheek and a wink as he dropped her off at her apartment. The lady flushed and gave him a wide smile, ducking her head as she entered her home and closed the door behind her. He heard a quiet thud and chuckled. He leaned his head forward a bit as his brown eyes glowed briefly to show him that the woman had leaned on the door clutching her chest with a smile. He turned away from the door and wrapped his coat tighter around his frame and began to walk down the rather long hallway of the apartment complex.

He was glad his skills with the ladies were still up to snuff.

As the man walked, he did a small spin to look down the hallway to make sure no one was looking. He knew it was pretty late, and he had already gone through the necessary procedures to hide his more obvious "features" from his enemies, but being who he was, he knew he had to be cautious. Seeing no one around the empty hallway, he ducked his head and reached into his coat to pull out a cigarette box and a lighter. He pulled out a single "death stick", as one of his sisters liked to call it, and placed it between his lips. He lit it, and he let go of his control over his disguise as he did so.

His form shimmered and his hair darkened to a dark brown and his eyes turned blue. His other features shifted slightly along his face and his shoes sprouted small wings. He took out his phone and began reading his messages. As he walked, every other step would be a hop, allowing himself to get used to his shoes again. The wings on them would flutter when he did.

He hummed when he got to a particular message that he deemed more important to address, deciding to deal with its request first. He had reached the end of the hallway by now and had opened the window at the end to jump out when he heard a scream.

He frowned, turning his head back. The scream came from a few doors down the hallway.

He slowly pushed his foot that had been perched on the windowsill off, throwing the cigarette in his mouth out the window as he did. He began to walk back down the hallway. A few steps later and a wave of something familiar hit him, but he couldn't quite place what it was. He blinked. He paused, then began to walk again when he heard a scream erupt from the apartment again. He stopped at the apartment door he heard the loud sound from and closed his eyes. His eyes snapped open and he frowned deeply at what he found inside.

There was a demigod in there, and judging from the smell, it had to be a child of Poseidon.

Now that he was up closer to the room, he could smell the scent that had hit him earlier. He felt the strength of the scent but found that something else had been preventing him from sensing it earlier. It was no wonder the child wasn't dead yet; their scent had been masked somehow. He was broken out of his musings when he heard glass shatter, followed by a whimper. Frowning, he placed his hand on the doorknob and pushed some of his power into his fingertips. The lock clicked and the man pushed the door open slowly.

He stepped into the apartment and was immediately hit with a stench so foul, his eyes watered. He now knew what had masked the child's scent so well and found that he hated the smell with every fiber of his being. His nose burned.

"Stay still, you brat!"

His frown deepened. He heard the sound of a struggle and he walked slowly towards it, slowly pulling out his phone from his pocket. What he saw in that apartment that day was something he knew he'd never forget.

The lights in the room were flickering and the ceiling looked to be incredibly dusty. Blankets and other furniture were thrown about, most being broken and on the ground. Lying beside an old couch was the body of a woman whose long brown hair was laid a large pool of blood that he suspected was hers. Her blue eyes were dull and showed surprise. Her short-sleeved shirt, now stained with blood, let him see the bruises and cuts that lined her arms. He felt the ugly feeling of fury bubble in his gut. He gripped his phone tightly. He turned his head towards shoeprints of blood on the floor that led further into the apartment to what looked like a bedroom from what he could see. He rushed to follow the prints quietly.

Upon entering, his eyes immediately locked onto the sweaty form of a large man whose fist was held above his head. A broken bottle of beer was in his hand, the sharp edges glinting in the moonlight that flitted through the thin curtains of the windows. His legs were slightly shaky, and he swayed slightly, hinting that he was drunk. His left arm was busy trying to keep a small child still as he grunted.

Said small child was on the floor, his thin arms barely holding back the much larger adult's attempt to keep him still. He was tan, and his dark hair was a mess. He had deep eyebags and multiple bruises on his legs and arms.

"N-no! Please don't!" The boy yelled out desperately. There was such fear in his voice. The man in a coat felt fury build up in him but held it back as he inhaled deeply. He rasped his knuckles on the door twice, watching the drunk's every move.

The drunk man's head spun to look behind him, his eyes widening in surprise. He turned to deliver a stomp on the boy, who tried to defend himself with his arms. The weight and superior strength of the drunk man caused the boy to yelp in pain.

"Don't move," the drunk growled to the child, who nodded hurriedly as he cowered.

"W-who are you?" The man slurred and stuttered, slowly turning to face the man in a coat. His knuckles had turned white from gripping the broken bottle so tightly, and his furrowed brows showed he was utterly confused. "I t-thought I...locked the door?"

"You did." The man in the coat said with a smile that did not reach his eyes. "It just pays to be the god of thieves."

The drunk's frown only deepened. "Eh? J-just get out of here! B-before I make you!" He took a shaky step forward, raising the bottle that he must've thought was threatening.

The man in the coat did not move.

In a roar of anger, the drunk man stumbled forward, arm raised and bottle poised to strike. The man in a coat snorted softly, the smile previously on his face gone and flicked his wrist, the phone in his left hand shimmering and glowing quickly to transform into a caduceus. As soon the man had come close enough, he smashed his right fist into the drunk man's body, his fist glowing as he did so. His caduceus glowed as well. He felt a grim satisfaction in him when he heard the man's ribs crack. Barely waiting for the man to scream in pain, his fist blurred again as he swung it at the man's head with speed that few could match. The drunk man slammed into the wall, his entire body going slack once he hit it. He crumpled to the ground with a dull thud. The man with the golden staff sneered. "That wasn't very nice of you."

Sighing, the man ran his thumb along the staff, watching it fade once more into a phone. He slowly tucked it back into his coat. His gaze set firmly on the unconscious drunk at his feet. He felt a large amount of animosity build up in his chest.

The man currently indisposed and on the ground had abused his family, that much the god could see. He knew he would be one to talk about respecting women, but he never physically hurt any of them. At least he didn't remember an instance when he did. And he never ever hit children. That much he was sure of. That would be unjust and plain cruel. A whimper brought him back to the present.

The god's eyes blue eyes met the green eyes of the boy. He saw fear in them, and he had to wince. He was sure that this entire experience had probably traumatized the boy, and his beatdown of the boy's abuser surely didn't help. He sighed, finding his brother's words on his lack of tact to be true. Not that he would ever admit that to him.

The man slowly raised his hands in a placating manner. "Hey, kid. I mean you no harm. Swear." He began to close the distance between him and the boy slowly, deliberately taking his time as to not scare the child further. Maybe he lacked tact but he was definitely a sucker for children. He made sure to step on the drunk as he neared, quietly lowering himself to a kneeling position so that he'd be on eye level with the young boy. He stopped a couple of feet away from the boy and gave him a small grin to try to calm him down.

"You're safe now, alright? I'm here. The stinky man over there won't be able to touch you anymore." He said this softly, not wanting to seem forceful to a boy who had obviously been through a great deal in the span of a few hours, possibly even less.

"I-is he...dead?" Came the quiet voice of the boy. His tone was timid and clearly intimidated by the man in front of him, who had shown incredible speed when he struck the drunk. He couldn't see his fists move at all. And the man glowed too.

The god shook his head softly. "Unfortunately, he's still alive. He's just out of it for the moment. I can't just go around killing people like that. Even if it's people like him. There are some big rules I need to follow if I don't want to..." He trailed off, clearing his throat.

"I mean, not that you'd know about them." His voice had softened and his words had turned into mumbles towards the end, as he retreated into his own thoughts. He scratched his stubble as he did so.

The boy, seeing the man space out, and despite his current situation, had to blink in utter confusion. His savior was talking to himself and staring off into the distance, eyes narrowed in thought. He briefly considered letting the man do his thing; after all, the man had beaten his abusive stepfather in a matter of seconds. He was clearly powerful. Why test him? He also, however, was injured, and he could barely feel his right arm. He sighed and cleared his throat softly and hesitantly.

Blue eyes snapping back into focus as if he remembered he wasn't alone, the man met the boy's eyes again. He gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry. I got a bit lost in my thoughts there."

The boy simply stared.

Clearing his throat awkwardly, the man gave a small chuckle. "Uh, right. Well. You don't look that good right now, and I can help you feel a little less pain, but you're gonna need to trust me. You think you can do that for me kid?" He slowly reached out to the child, holding out his right hand palm-up. He had also fetched his phone from his pocket and transformed it into his caduceus.

The boy hesitated for a moment, eyeing the gold symbol of power warily. He feared for his health for a moment but decided that anyone who beat up his stepfather was generally okay in his books. He locked eyes with the man who gave him a reassuring smile, and he slowly placed his own hand in his. A moment later, his eyes widened.

The man's caduceus began to glow, and so did the man's fingertips. A steady golden stream of light had flowed from the man to boy's palm, up to his arms, and through his body. He could feel the throbbing pain in his arm and head slowly fade to a more manageable pain. He felt a small smile on his face.

Seeing the boy smile had made the man grin. Children truly were one of his weaknesses. And not in the weird way that he knew his brother would joke about.

"I'm no healer but I told you I could help you, didn't I?" The man smiled. "My name is Hermes. What's your name kid?"

The boy stared into the man's eyes and felt he could trust the man. "Percy. Percy Jackson."

"That's a great name you got there, Percy Jackson. Percy's kinda like Perseus, isn't it?" The man said softly. A small smile was on his face when he saw the boy's face light up.

The boy's smile from earlier widened and he nodded. "Yeah. Just like Perseus. My mom said..."

Immediately, Percy's eyes widened and fear once more filled his eyes. "M-mom!"

The boy scrambled to his feet, rushing past Hermes and over his stepfather and into their living room. He broke into tears as soon as he saw the body of his mother. He slowly fell to his knees, hugging himself as he felt the pain of his mother's death fully hit him.

Hermes had slowly stood and walked to the doorway, watching as Percy began to cry. He scowled and glanced at the mortal who was still unconscious, wishing he could inflict as much pain as Percy felt on the man. If the Ancient Laws didn't forbid it...

He sighed, turning his attention back to Percy whose head hung low as he sobbed loudly. He stepped forward slowly and laid a hand on the boy's shoulder, who either did not notice or did not care as he continued to cry for his mother.

Silence reigned as the god let the boy cry. He knew loss very well, but he knew he couldn't expect the same from a boy so young. The kid didn't even look like he had started to go through puberty yet.

Hermes lifted his head up when he felt small tremors. He frowned and slowly walked away from Percy, telling him he'd return and walked out the front door. He closed it behind him quietly. He took out his phone and with a flick of the wrist, transformed it into his caduceus. He walked towards the window in the hallway where he planned to fly out of earlier and looked down. Just as he suspected, a large man in a trench coat, too tall to be human, was stomping his way towards the complex.

Hermes managed to see a single eye underneath the hat that the man wore.

He suppressed a groan; he was a god, he was supposed to be exempt from dealing with low-level monsters like cyclopes. He reasoned with himself that he was doing this for Percy, and with a sigh, stepped onto the windowsill and dropped down. He landed softly in front of the monster as his shoes worked to soften his landing.

"Hey there, big man. Whatever you might've felt earlier isn't anywhere near here." Hermes tried. "Besides, even if it was, it would be under my protection. If it was still here, I mean."

The cyclops tilted its head, its hat now falling off its bald head. Its eye blinked in clear confusion.

Percy had slowly pried himself from his mother's body to follow Hermes out. He didn't see the man jump out the window but, seeing it was opened, moved to peer out of it curiously. He saw Hermes on the ground, facing off against a large man and a dog. Percy had to blink and make sure he wasn't seeing things; the floor his apartment was on was a few stories high. How did Hermes get down so fast?

Percy's eyes narrowed at the large man. He racked his mind for why the man seemed so familiar to him. His eyes snapped open a moment later.

"H-Hermes!" Percy yelled, pointing his finger at the man. "That guy was following me at school! He's missing his other eye!"

The cyclops looked up at the sudden yelling, and Hermes took the chance to charge the monster. He slammed into the monster in a golden blur, burying his fist in the monster's gut. He followed up with a kick to its midsection, forcing the cyclops into the ground several feet away from him.

Hermes saw that the cyclops would be taking its time getting up. His phone popped into his hand and he transformed it into his caduceus.

Looking up at the window where a shocked Percy was watching out of, Hermes gave him a small smirk. "Do me a favor and watch closely. This will be great."

Percy's eyes widened but nodded his head slowly. He seemed completely in awe of Hermes' power.

Hearing a low groan, Hermes turned to see that the cyclops was getting up slowly. It blinked its eye blearily and rubbed its stomach where the god had hit him twice.

Hermes gave a soft snort and held his arms out wide. "Is that all you can do?"

The cyclops regained its footing soon enough and glared fiercely at the god. It began to rush the smaller man, its fist reared back in preparation for a punch.

Hermes sighed and shook his head. "This is not how I thought my night would go at all," he mumbled.

Hermes waited until the cyclops was close enough, then held out his caduceus in front of him. The moment the cyclops made contact with the tip of the weapon, it burst into gold dust. A lot of the dust stuck to the front of Hermes form, and the rest floated down onto the ground slowly. He turned to see Percy with his mouth wide open.

Hermes gave him a thumbs up and a grin, still coated in gold dust. Though some of the dust was disappearing, he was still coated in it.

Percy weakly returned his thumbs up.

Hermes then did his best to dust himself off as he made his way back up to the window. The wings on his shoes fluttered as he patted himself down. He stepped onto the windowsill when he reached it and saw that Percy was staring. He sighed.

"I'm guessing you have questions," Hermes said. "I'll answer them after you call the police about what happened tonight."

Percy nodded and was about to head inside when Hermes stepped close and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You should know, though," Hermes said in a low voice, "that when you do call the police, and I tell you about everything you want to know, there is no going back. Your life as you know it will change forever and you will never be able to return."

Percy stared back, his eyes narrowing in thought. He glanced inside, and Hermes assumed it was a glance at his mother. After a few moments of silence, the boy spoke. "Can you watch my back while I call? I don't want Gabe waking up while I'm not paying attention..."

Hermes nodded, and the two made their way back inside. He saw that Percy had covered his mother's body up with a blanket.

Hermes followed Percy to the phone that was on their kitchen counter. The boy made to dial the number in and hesitated, turning back to the god. "What do I say?"

Hermes took a moment to think before speaking, "say that you and your mom are injured bad. Tell them it was his fault." Seeing the boy nod, he nodded back and left for the bedroom.

Hermes entered the bedroom to find the stepfather, Gabe, still passed out. He wanted to end the man's life right then and there, or maybe call in a favor with his uncle to punish the mortal, but he knew that would be too personal. He sighed and settled for hoping that the authorities in the mortal world would handle it properly.

Hermes tapped his caduceus' tip on the man's head, muttering a few words. In a few hours, when the police would arrive, the man would confess to everything and leave nothing out of his confession. The man would say he disposed of Percy's dead body, but not remember where. This would solidify Percy's disappearance in the world.

Hermes stood and returned to the living room where Percy was sitting quietly by his mother. The boy looked up when he heard the man's footsteps.

Hermes locked eyes with the boy and sighed. "I'm probably going to regret this...but we can't talk here. It isn't safe."

Percy tilted his head, "then where do we go?"

Hermes gave a hesitant smile. "We're going to Olympus."

"So let me get this straight."

Hermes was seated on his rather cozy couch in his cozy palace on Olympus, leaning back with his bare feet up on the coffee table. He had changed his outfit to a loose white shirt and some pajama pants, and his caduceus sat on his lap, humming idly. He had also given Percy new clothes to replace his bloodied ones. He had just finished explaining the whole gods and goddesses thing to Percy as simply as he could, deciding that he would elaborate on everything when the kid was better rested. Still, it was a lot of information to cover and it took him the better part of an hour to explain everything.

"Greek gods and goddesses exist and live here on Olympus. Sometimes, they head down to the...mortal world to have children. The children aren't mortal or godly, but a mix between them called demigods, and usually have to deal with stuff like monsters like the big guy we saw earlier, and quests that gods and goddesses can't do themselves because of some laws. My dad wasn't around because of these laws, and I have a weird smell that attracts monsters to me. I also have powers that are passed down to me from my dad. Kids like me are all sent to this camp where we can train because it's the only play we're supposed to be safe from everything else. Because of all of that, I probably shouldn't expect to live a long life and learn to accept that I could die at any moment." Percy summarized Hermes' entire lecture earlier in a few words and the god was surprised the kid caught on that quick.

"Yes."

"And you're a god."

"Yep."

"And I'm a demigod."

"That you are."

There were a few moments of silence between the two before Percy plopped into the couch across from Hermes, looking dazed and exhausted. "Wow."

The silence continued.

Hermes had closed his eyes after a minute of silence, assuming that Percy was taking his time to absorb everything. Even he was slightly amazed at how the night had turned out for both of them.

Hermes had managed to sneak Percy into Olympus easily, having hundreds of passages in and out of Olympus and into the mortal world and beyond. Being the messenger of the gods meant he was the only being in the universe allowed to traverse between the territories of the deities without explicit permission and he knew how to use that power to his advantage. He then sat the kid down on the chair and told him everything, all while changing his outfit and waving his caduceus around animatedly while he talked. The kid had listened without ever speaking unless spoken to, and once Hermes was done, he had taken the role of being the one to pace back and forth.

"Hey, Hermes?"

The god cracked open an eye to peer at the kid, who all of a sudden looked incredibly small. He opened both his eyes and stared curiously at the kid who had gone quiet as he hugged himself.

"Did...did my dad not want me?"

Hermes took a moment to find the right words to tell the kid, who looked downright broken in his seat. The god exhaled deeply as he slowly sat forward.

"Listen, Percy," he began in a low voice. "The truth is, us gods aren't great people. The power we have gets to our heads a lot and we make a lot of mistakes because we like to do what we want without thinking of the consequences." He pointed at Percy, "kids like you are an example of that. But just because you guys usually grow up without us around doesn't mean we never wanted you. You're our kids; our own flesh and blood. If we could, we'd take you all here to live with us up here on Olympus and we'd all live happily ever after."

Percy looked confused and still hurt. "So why don't you?"

Hermes gave an apologetic look. "Because we can't. Some gods and goddesses have way too many kids to keep track of. When I tell you about the other Olympians in detail, you'll know who I'm talking about. And it's not only that; sometimes, gods have a lot on their plate. Personally, I don't have much time to really look for women with my job and everything. Some gods also have vows that mean they can't really have kids."

Hermes gave a pause before his eyes darkened. "But I think, above all that, we can't raise our children because it's dangerous. If we gods have a hard time dealing with our absolute power, imagine how much harder it would be for kids who know they could be so much more than their parents? If we trained you and raised you, we could be creating heroes, but we'd also give way to villains with more training than they would have ever received without our help. The power could get to your heads. Unlike gods, you guys don't have to deal with the laws that hold us down. You're freer to do things as you please than we ever will be. You guys can change the course of history, tip the scales in wars and do what you want in the mortal world while we can't. You guys can change everything. It's too big of a risk to take."

Percy frowned, "that sounds like an excuse to me. I think you people should just calm down and stop having so many kids."

Hermes gave a chuckle and nodded. "That sounds like a good solution, Percy. It really does. But the gods have barely changed over the years, and if I were you, I wouldn't get my hopes up on that little dream of yours."

Percy nodded. After a few moments of silence, he spoke up again. "How many kids do you have, Hermes?"

Hermes adopted a thinking look on his face, scrubbing his chin as he thought. "A dozen at Camp Halfblood. My cabin has a lot more than a dozen kids inside, though, because a few of the other Olympians don't claim some of their kids, and the minor gods and goddesses that aren't Olympians don't have their own cabins to send their own kids to. And me being the god of travelers and all means I take in all the other kids."

Percy frowned. "That sucks."

Hermes simply nodded. He agreed, but he wasn't about to go and tell his father what to do. He knew what talking back to the king of the gods would get him.

"So...who's my dad?" Percy asked quietly.

Hermes shook his head, raising an eyebrow at the boy. "You sure you want to know? I don't want you hating a god for following the rules. I don't need that kind of dynamic in my house."

Percy winced. "I don't think I can hate him completely. I mean...if he was around then mom probably wouldn't be..."

Percy trailed off, staring at his hands. Then he looked back up. "But it is what it is. And when mom talked about him, she looked happy. So I guess she loved him."

Hermes closed his eyes in thought, frowning slightly. "Okay kid. Poseidon's your dad."

Percy blinked. "Like...Big Three Poseidon?"

Hermes nodded. "Which is why I hesitated to even grab you and bring you here, and tell you about all this." Seeing Percy's questioning gaze, he sighed, seeing that he wasn't done explaining things just yet.

"I told you who the Big Three are, right?" Hermes asked, and Percy nodded. "Right. Any child of the Big Three is usually leagues above other demigods in terms of talent and power. And once these kids get to camp and actually train, well..."

"They get crazy powerful." Percy finished for Hermes, his eyebrows raising slightly.

Hermes nodded. "And you already know how scared we are of strong demigods. So, the Big Three made a pact around the end of World War II to not have any more kids because you guys have the habit of messing things up too much."

Percy nodded quietly, taking it in as he slowly leaned back into the couch he was on.

Hermes eyed him for a moment and sighed. "There is also...one more thing."

Percy stared at him curiously, and the god sighed. "Before pact, before World War II, a prophecy came up. I'm not really sure what the exact details were but it was something about how a kid of the Big Three would have to make a choice to either preserve Olympus or burn it to the ground once they get to the age of sixteen."

Percy's eyes widened and he sat up straight after that, staring at Hermes in disbelief. "What?" Seeing Hermes nod, he plopped back down to on the couch, staring at the ceiling.

"Could...could I be that guy?" Percy mumbled quietly, but not quietly enough for Hermes not to hear.

"Yes. It could be you." Hermes said, pausing for a moment. "Which is why you're here."

Percy stared at him questioningly, and Hermes simply smiled. "Well, if you really are the kid of the prophecy, then you're gonna need some training won't you?"

Percy stared at him in shock. "But what about the whole god training demigods thing?"

Hermes snorted with an amused look on his face. "I'm not your dad."

"What about Camp Half-Blood?"

"What about it? Would you really choose a camp over a god Percy? Especially me?"

Percy had to snort at that last bit, sharing a grin with the god despite the heavy feeling in his chest from everything that had transpired that night.

"So, what's it gonna be Percy Jackson? Are you willing to learn how to be the most badass demigod on the planet under the tutelage of one handsome Hermes, the god of wealth, luck, thievery, and travel?" Hermes grinned, standing and holding out his hand for the boy.

Percy didn't even hesitate. He stood and grabbed the man's hand with a nod and his own grin.

"Great! Now time to bless you." Hermes said simply, beckoning Percy over to the side of the coffee table. "I'm gonna need to hold your head so we'll need some space for this."

"...do you really have to touch me?"

"No, but when you remember this moment in the future, you'll thank me for making it look so cool and official."

"Ah."

Percy complied and stepped to the side, where Hermes slowly placed his hand on the boy's head. The god told him to close his eyes and he did the same.

A moment later, a blinding flash filled the room for a second, and when Percy opened his eyes, he found Hermes holding up a mirror to his face. It surprised him, causing him to jump back and yelp in a pitch that was unbecoming of a "man". It amused the god greatly.

"What was that for?" Percy grumbled, stepping closer to the god again.

"Just so you can see your eyes, kid."

Percy frowned curiously and stepped closer a bit more to look at his eyes.

Though his eyes were already vibrant before, they seemed more alive than ever with sky blue specks and lines on the outline of his irises. He also seemed to lose a bit of his tan.

"Woah," Percy mumbled, still inspecting his eyes.

Chuckling, Hermes vanished the mirror and grinned at him, and Percy would look back at this moment fondly and remember it to be the first time he had ever received a proud look from an adult male.

"I think you should get some rest, my new student. I'll be giving you more detailed information about our pantheon and all that jazz tomorrow and maybe start you up on some training. It's been a long day and it'll only get harder from here." Hermes said, gesturing to the staircase behind the boy.

Percy nodded, "I'll manage. For mom." There was a steely determination in his eyes and Hermes immediately knew that he had made a decent decision. He wasn't sure if he was going to regret it just yet, but at least for the moment, things looked good.

Hermes had to smile softly at that. "I'm sure she'd be proud."

Percy turned around to hide the tear that slipped down his face as Hermes ushered him up the stairs.

"You know, you never told me why your mom named you after Perseus," Hermes said as they climbed the stairs.

Percy grinned. "She said it was to give me luck."

Hermes laughed. "Boy, are you going to need it."