Work Text:
PJatO || Hermercy || PJatO || The God of Rain & the Son of Zeus || PJatO || Hermercy || PJatO
Title: The God of Rain & the Son of Zeus – Polympians Event 2024
Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus
Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Rick Riordan. Aside from the Gods, they belong to the old Greeks. This fanfiction and its OCs on the other hand are entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.
Tags: m/m, fluff, pining, role swap AU
Main Pairing: Hermes/Percy
Percy Jackson Character: Perseus Jackson
Godly Characters: Chiron, Hermes
Polympians Prompt: role swap (god!Percy/demigod!Hermes)
Summary: Role-swap AU where the demigods are gods and the gods of the second generation are the demigods who fought in the war. Hermes, one of the heroes of the Titan War, has a huge crush on Lord Perseus, god of rain and trainer at Camp Half-Blood. When the wars are over and Hermes starts working as a counselor at camp, he is determined to seduce the god.
The God of Rain & the Son of Zeus
Polympians Event 2024
Hermes Mercurius wasn't anyone special, really. He was the son of Maia Mercurius, an only child who always got into trouble in school and had caused his mom a lot of grievance over the years (even though she claimed it wasn't trouble and that she loved him). He was kind of a kleptomaniac and he dreamed of traveling the world one day, like probably most kids did, he thought.
All that changed when he was thrown into the word of Greek myths that weren't really myths and more like facts, apparently. Because he was no longer just the son of Maia Mercurius, he was suddenly the son of Zeus. He was claimed by the god, together with many other demigods, when the Titan War loomed, when the gods knew they would need an army. Suddenly, his life was all upside down. Instead of being just a trouble maker, he was the son of the king of gods.
He moved into the Zeus Cabin in Camp Half-Blood and for the first time in his life, he made real friends. A lot of them, the majority from his own cabin – which, shouldn't be a surprise, throughout history, Zeus had so many demigod off-springs, heroes of great wars. But here, in this summer camp, in this cramped cabin, where kids who understood. Understood what it was like to feel so different, and more specifically what it felt like to now suddenly be special, be the off-spring of the arguably most important god in their pantheon. The king of Olympus.
There were the twins, Artemis and Apollo, who were really cool and archers. Even though Artemis was kind of mean to most boys aside from her twin-brother, Hermes absolutely adored Apollo. The two quickly became thick as thieves. Dionysus and Hermes always got intro trouble together for breaking into the liquor cabinet in the Big House and effectively throwing the best parties at camp. He didn't get along as well with Ares, who always started fights and was kind of a bully, but he was their strongest fighter. However, while the best in raw strength, their cabin's – and, honestly, camp's – best strategist was Athena. She was a bit of a book-worm and not the most social, kind of only hanging out with their other half-brother Hephaestus, who was a great inventor.
What had thrown Hermes into this world was the theft of the Lightning Bolt of Zeus. His father went ahead and claimed all those children of his in order to find the thing, and to threaten his brothers. However, somehow, Hermes ended up blamed for it – he did have a history of kleptomania and his sticky-fingers were close to being a godly power.
Together with his half-sister Athena and the satyr Pan, Hermes was sent on a quest.
That was the first of many. The war stretched on for years and the demigods of Camp Half-Blood fought hard, lost many, and won in the end. The euphoria wasn't meant to last for too long, because only months later, they were thrown into the next big war, the Giant War. Once again, Hermes found himself in the middle of it all. Fighting for the gods.
His only real solace among it all, beyond his friends and half-siblings, was Lord Perseus.
Lord Perseus, Olympian god of rain, son of Poseidon, prince of the ocean, companion of Zeus' godly children Thalia, the thunder, and Jason, the lightning. The trio was known as the oncoming storm. They were powerful. And despite that power, Perseus had chosen to become a trainer at Camp Half-Blood, to help Chiron train young heroes.
It wasn't just that he was really powerful, he was also really, really pretty. With deep sea-green eyes that could turn dark like the sea during a storm when the god got angry, his windswept black hair and muscular body, sun-kissed skin and the pinkest, most kissable lips Hermes had ever seen. Now, like power and good looks weren't enough, he was also kind, patient and really funny.
Hermes has had a crush on Percy – which was what Lord Perseus preferred to be called, making camp a more informal place and making him feel much more like just one of them and not one of the most powerful gods out there – pretty much since he had first come to camp at age twelve.
It was impossible not to have a crush on Percy, in Hermes' humble opinion (Artemis liked to loudly disagree on him, but what did an ace lesbian know about hot guys. Hermes elected to ignore her). A lot of campers had crushes on Percy and Percy was already really sweet about it. Ignoring them whenever possible and gently discouraging them, but when a camper got a bit too enthusiastic – love confessions and actual flirting – Percy more firmly let them down. So far, Hermes had effectively avoided being firmly let down, he just pined from a far.
Things changed, again, after the wars. Well, a little later than that even. First, graduation (Athena had nearly bit his head off when he'd said he wanted to drop out of high school. So. He finished it instead of facing her wrath. His mom was very grateful to Athena, claiming her to be a 'good influence' on her son. Hermes would disagree on that). He heeded some time to himself, after the wars. So much had happened, they'd lost so much. Travel had always been something he dreamed of, so after graduation, Hermes made that dream come true. He went backpacking through Europe for a year, wanted to see Athens and Rome and all those other amazing places himself.
It had been good, it had helped him clear his head, get through some of the trauma the wars had left him with and it also let him focus what he wanted from life, now that the wars were over.
He wanted Percy. That was the most prominent thing he could think of. He wasn't a little kid anymore, not just physically but also with the things he had seen and done and been through with the war. He was more than capable of being Percy's equal. Now, how did one go about seducing a god? First step seemed to highlight the 'equal' part more. For that, he went to Chiron and asked if he could work at Camp Half-Blood as a trainer too, help younger demigods. That put him equal to Percy in their position within camp, plus, it let him show off his skills to the god. The best part of it was of course living in the Big House with Percy.
/break\
Percy laughed at Chiron's latest, less than sneaky attempt at cheating, before the centaur sighed and conceded that he had lost this round. As much as Percy loved being a trainer at camp, he really enjoyed those quiet evenings at the Big House. All of this was why he had come here for this job to begin with. Life as a god was quick to get to someone's head, the longer they lived, the more removed from the mortal world they felt. Percy didn't want to be removed from the mortal world, he didn't want to grow as indifferent as many of the older gods had. Here, making real connections with demigods, helping them on their way, it made him feel… human.
"You win. Again," Chiron sighed, sounding miserable. "I think I will call it a night as long as I still have some dignity left. Perhaps you could spend some time with… Hermes."
Percy blinked, looking up at Chiron. The weird pause before Hermes' name and the knowing smile on the wise centaur's face. A blush lit up Percy's cheek. Millennia old god, and he still blushed about a crush. Damn it all to Tartarus. It wasn't his fault! He could still remember adorable, tiny kid that had first arrived at Camp Half-Blood and in the blink of an eye, years passed, Hermes left and when he returned to work at camp, Percy didn't recognize him anymore. No longer that innocent, doe-eyed kid, but a battle-hardened young man and hero.
"Di—id I hear my name? Are you two gossiping about the new guy?"
Percy turned to look at Hermes with a hopelessly smitten smile. The hero of the wars had really proven himself, and he wasn't being arrogant about it ever. He was kind and very funny and sweet. Chiron cleared his throat, giving Percy a last, long look before heading upstairs.
"What was that about?" Hermes frowned, even as he took the now vacant seat. "Hi, Percy."
"Hi," Percy smiled amused. "And it was about nothing. Chiron being a sore loser, as always."
"So—o," Hermes tilted his head, looking Percy over. "If Chiron turned in early, that means I have you all to myself. For, I think, the first time since I started here."
Something about the phrasing made Percy feel flustered. All powerful god and a bit of flirting reduced him to a mess. He heaved a sigh, burying his face in his hands. What a disaster. Sometimes, he felt like Aphrodite had personally cursed him or something. Which just wasn't true, she actually adored him. Hermes made a curious noise, regaining Percy's attention.
"You… okay?" Hermes asked softly. "You seem weirdly distracted. Didn't know a god could get distracted, thought you could like be everywhere all at once."
Percy looked up, raising one eyebrow, not bothering to comment on that. Instead, he reached for the cards and started shuffling them, dealing a new round, for himself and Hermes.
"Did you ever wonder why I do this job?" Percy asked, voice gentle.
Hermes blinked curiously. "Actually, yeah, like, all the time."
"I wasn't born a god, I was born a demigod, a… long, long time ago, and I became a great hero and earned godhood," Percy picked up his cards. "And… the longer I stayed in the godly world, the more I felt myself… slipping into it. I didn't want to lose my humanity, so I chose to come here, to stay in contact with mortals and heroes. But that's why I'm here, because I once was like you, trained by Chiron, used by the gods to fight their battles."
Hermes remained quiet, looking at Percy with so much understanding and something else that Percy couldn't pinpoint. "Did you wonder why I started working here…?"
"To… help the younger generation?" Percy guessed, a little thrown by the question.
"Because I am madly, stupidly, irredeemably in love with you and wanted to prove myself to you."
Percy blinked, and then he blinked some more. "Oh. Uhm. Okay. Huh."
Hermes bit his lips. "So I made a god speechless, that's gotta be worth something."
Percy huffed out a laugh and reached out, practically throwing himself at Hermes as he kissed the hero enthusiastically. Outside, the sound of rain hitting the windows increased more and more the longer their kiss went on. Hermes' arms wrapped around his waist, pulling him onto the demigod's lap. The rain-sound from outside was near deafening, but it was calming to Percy.
"So—o, I take it my excellent seduction skills worked, huh."
His laughter was a near giggle when Percy rested his forehead against Hermes' shoulder. Hermes was unlike any other hero Percy had met over the years. He was a little trickster, a cunning thief, cheated at cards and always made Percy laugh. A scoundrel, in his own right, but so charming.
"I love you," Percy whispered, kissing Hermes' temple. "I love you."
~*~ The End ~*~