HIIIII I'M BACK!!! Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I was finishing up the semester and then I fucked off to a spa resort but I'm back now!!! 💖

PERCY'S MORTAL SPOT IS ON the small of her back, Loki thought over and over again like a never ending mantra. He found it. He actually found it—and it wasn't even on purpose!

I can kill her now, he realized, staring at her blankly. She stared back at him, looking confused and worried at the same time. Her mouth was moving but she sounded so far away, as if he was trapped underwater.

"Loki? Helloooo? Dude, you okay?"

His hand twitched, but other than that, it didn't dare move any closer to her.

He could finally kill her now. Hell, he didn't even need a Divine Weapon to do it. She was mortal—he could easily just rip his hand through her mortal spot and be done with it.

"Um, I'm really worried, should I get Odin?"

He finally looked at her. Her head was tilted and she gave him a look of genuine concern. He wanted to rip that stupid expression off her face.

No, wait, he quickly stopped himself. I shouldn't kill her yet. Beelzebub needs to be here.

Right, of course. His plan. As punishment for tricking him into that blasted contract, he would kill Percy in front of Beelzebub. Killing two birds with one stone, and it would be hilarious too! He could laugh at Percy for naively believing that the two of them were ever friends and he could relish in the look of utter anguish on Beelzebub's face as the life drained from her.

It's not like she'd be gone permanently anyway, Loki reminded himself. She's mortal, so her soul would just go to Helheim and because she's such a goody two shoes, she'll be in Valhalla in no time! And even if she wasn't, there's no way her family would let her rot in Hell. She'll come back. She will. It'll be fine!

...Right?

"Loki?" She started to wave a hand in front of his face.

"Tch," he swatted her hand aside, glaring daggers at her before stalking off.

Yeesh, Percy thought as she watched him storm away. He must be really jealous, huh? I didn't even think he liked me that much!

"Allow me, my love~!" A beautiful and cheerful voice exclaimed. A blinding figure stepped in front of her and Percy flinched and looked away. She knew automatically that it was Apollo, but she could hardly see him from how brightly he was shining.

She could feel a super hot hand (and by 'hot' she meant temperature-wise!) grasp the one Loki smacked away. She could sense him healing her, and as much as she appreciated it, it was kinda unnecessary since she didn't even feel a sting—not that he was aware of it of course.

"Um, thanks," she said once he was finished. "Apollo?"

The light brightened even more. She had to cover her eyes now. "Yes, my love?"

"Can you please, uh... dim down the light? I kinda can't see..."

"You can't...? Oh. Ohhhh! I'm so sorry, my beloved, I didn't think it would be hard for you to see!" Apollo sounded genuinely frazzled now and soon enough, the light finally dimmed to a point where it was safe for her to look.

Despite the light being mostly gone, Apollo was still as dazzling as ever. He was decked top to bottom in gold jewelry. He wore a pair of loose beige pants with a heavy looking gold belt wrapped around the waistline. A gold, pink, and red cape that hung over his shoulders and billowed behind him with a chain link of gold and rubies connecting it at the front. To her shock, he didn't have a shirt on. He had great abs and all, but Percy was more confused on whatever happened to the 'no shirt, no service' rule. Surely that still applied to fancy parties like this one?

He held his hand out (she noted that his nails were painted rose gold, just like his hair). "Shall we dance?" He asked, his voice now velvety smooth.

"...Oh what the heck," she shrugged. "Sure."

She took his hand. Apollo let out a funny little squealing noise in the back of his throat—the kind of poorly suppressed noise a fangirl would make when getting an autograph from their idol.

He twirled her around before pulling her in, and she immediately had a feeling this was going to end badly. Not because Apollo was a bad dancer—no, he was great—but because he was hot. Literally.

His whole body felt sweltering hot to the touch, and he only grew hotter. It was as if the happier he was, the more distracted and less control he had over his own abilities. Her hands were sizzling. Like, she could actually hear the vicious hssss! sound coming from them!

Not that she could really feel much pain though. If it hadn't been for the Curse of Achilles, she would've gotten worse than a third degree burn. Hell, she was pretty sure just standing in his vicinity would've gotten a regular human burned.

Nope. The worst she suffered was sweatiness, which was kinda gross but at least she wasn't roasting alive.

He grabbed her by the waist and spun her in the air. Percy was just glad her dress was fire-proof else it would've burnt off of her by now.

"...It's getting really hot," she said, her mouth already feeling parched. "Like, really, really hot."

His eyes went wide, then a wide smirk crawled over his lips and he leaned down. "Are you suggesting we head over to a more... private room?"

She gave him a weird look. "What? No, dude, I literally feel like I'm being flambéed. Can you cool it a little?"

It took him a while to understand what she was trying to say. Then his gaze turned over to her sizzling hands and he immediately looked faint.

"OH!" His eyes widened in terror. He jumped away from her. "I didn't mean to! I am so sorry!"

She kinda felt bad now. "No, no, it's okay! I can handle a little burning, it's fine."

Apollo still looked a little worried, but he tentatively began to reach out for her hand to start dancing again. Percy placed a hand on his shoulder to get in position, but then she spotted a dark figure a few meters behind him: it was Poseidon, and he was being held back by a frantic Zeus.

She quickly pulled away from him. "On second thought, you should run. My dad's coming here."

Just the words 'my dad' was enough to extinguish whatever light he had left. The color drained from his face as he whirled around to confirm his worst fears; the second he met Poseidon's deadly glower, he flinched. He whirled back to Percy to give her a convincing smile that didn't seem very convincing to her.

"Ah, I see! Thank you for the warning, I'll be off now! Splendid dance, goodbye!" He rushed, leaning down to smooch her on the cheek before sprinting out of the area.

She looked back at her father just in time to see him stomp on Zeus' foot before breaking free of his hold to hunt Apollo down. She grimaced as she watched Zeus complain to Rhea about his broken foot. Guess he learned that move from me.

"What a mess," Hades frowned at the scene as he approached her. "Are you alright, Percy? Your hands are still steaming after that dance with Apollo."

"Oh, it's... uh, fine." She mumbled shyly.

She tried her best not to stare at him, but it was pretty hard not to. Hades was dressed too well. He wore black pants and a skin-tight blazer and shirt. His blazer was black with gold embellishments and two skull-shaped amethysts on the lapels. His shirt was pure black and dipped so low that a good portion of his chest was shown off. Over his shirt and wrapped around his waist was a black corset belt tied with gold threads. He wore his usual black choker and his hair wasn't any different, but she noticed he had a sweet smelling rose tucked behind his pointed ear.

For fucks sake, STOP. LOOKING. She scolded herself. She wanted to punch herself in the face, but she didn't want everyone to think she had gone crazy.

He smiled in relief, and a part of her wondered if he was aware of all the horrible things she felt around him. "That's good to hear," and then he offered her his hand. "I hope you're not tired. May I have this dance, Percy?"

Oh gods, she blanched.

"O-of course," she forced a smile.

Just don't think about what happened between us, she thought in a desperate attempt to keep calm. But wait, what if he brings it up?! Shit, I gotta start a conversation!

"So!" She said, a little too loudly that it made several people glance at them curiously before returning to what they were doing. She chuckled nervously, "U-um, that's a nice flower you got there. Very pretty. Yeah..."

He chuckled. "Ah yes, thank you. And you needn't worry if it was from Persephone. Once she moved out, I had her entire garden burnt down—not that she minded. Rest assured, this rose is just a regular rose. Merely a decoration now."

She hadn't even thought of that, but it did make her feel better. "Oh," she relaxed. "That's good."

He nodded in agreement, but then his face turned into a serious expression. "Now I must ask you an important question, my dear. Has your father spoken to you about marriage yet?"

The question shocked her so much that she accidentally stepped on his foot.

"Oh—! Sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to!" She fretted.

"It's fi—"

STOMP.

She stepped on him again.

"I am so sorry!" She squeaked in pure embarrassment.

"It's—"

STOMP.

"Oh, uncle, I'm so sorry! I'm terrible at this! Please excuse me!" She pretended to wail before fleeing the dance floor.

The second she was away from him, she let out a breath. Shit. That was a close one.

She hurried over to the refreshments table and grabbed a glass of water to drink.

Marriage. He was asking her about marriage. Why? Was he planning to... ask for her hand? That wouldn't go well. She knew that in here, she had no power to accept or refuse a marriage proposal—that was her father's job. And while the lack of agency usually would've upset her, she was just glad because she knew her father would've refused.

But then that just left one other problem: Poseidon himself. If he wanted to marry her, nobody would get in his way...

A hysterical laugh threatened to bubble out of her. Calm down, calm down. She rested a hand over her rapidly beating heart. There's no need to worry. I'll be out of here before any wedding could happen!

Suddenly a lovely perfume wafted in the air, followed by a melodic giggle.

"Hello, dear~" A familiar blonde came into view.

Percy's dread increased tenfold.

"Aphrodite... Hi..." She greeted nervously. "Um... w-what brings you here?"

Aphrodite wasn't dressed as scantily as she usually was—probably an order from her father.

"I just wanted to say hello to the birthday girl!" She exclaimed. "You look so beautiful, Percy! It's no wonder these gods can't keep their paws off you!"

"Thank you..."

"I also wanted to offer you my..." She winked. "Help."

"Help?" She almost didn't want to know.

Aphrodite's grin widened. "Oh yes," she purred. "I noticed that you and Poseidon have a particular... glow around yourselves. I take it that something interesting happened between the two of you recently, hmm?"

Her face turned absolutely red. "W-what? No!"

"And Hades too," she went on, giggling. "Oh this is just so fun!"

She gulped. "Wait, hold on, y-you've got the wrong idea—"

Aphrodite bopped her on the nose. "No use in trying to lie to me, dear! I know everything when it comes to love~! What you have between all these gods is so beautiful! And I'm so curious about those other bonds that you've made as well, but alas, that's for another time I guess. Now listen closely, dear."

Aphrodite leaned forward and lowered her voice, "We gods are selfish beings, we seldom bother to stop ourselves when it comes to getting what we want. You are quite lucky. These gods who want you, they're holding themselves back. I can't understand why—though I do have my own guess—but be warned that they're getting close to reaching the limit of their self-control. I am here to offer my assistance in dealing with the aftermath."

Percy stared at her in confusion. "The... aftermath?"

Aphrodite giggled at her naivety. Then, she reached out towards her as if she wanted to help smoothen her dress. Instead, her hand rested on her stomach. It took a while for Percy to realize what she was implying, but when she did all the color drained from her face and she took a step away from her.

"N-no," she choked out. "That—"

"—It'll happen whether you like it or not!" The goddess said cheerfully. "And as much as I adore babies, they tend to get in the way of my favorite love stories, and yours is by far the most interesting I've ever seen! I do not wish for it to end so soon, so do come to me once that issue arises, alright, my dove?"

"Wait!" Percy said, but Aphrodite was already twirling away with a bell-like laugh.

‧₊˚✩彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧₊˚✩彡๋ ࣭ ⭑ ࣭ ⭑

Poseidon broke his fifteenth fork when he saw Aphrodite chatting it up with his daughter. He wondered what sort of horrors she was trying to introduce his innocent daughter to and quickly rose to his feet to put an end to it.

"Don't," Rhea warned.

"But—"

"—Aphrodite likes Percy. They are friends. There is nothing to worry about, Poseidon," she told him.

"She doesn't need friends. She only needs her father," he said tensely.

Adamas snorted, "Just because you're a loser with no friends doesn't mean your kid should be one too."

Poseidon was about to stand up again only for Hades to grab his and Adamas' shoulder, squeezing them threateningly. There was a dark aura around him as his smile turned deadly.

"There will be no fighting here. Do not ruin Percy's debutante ball and first birthday, or so help me I will drag you out of the palace and kill you both." He threatened.

"Yikes, what got you in a mood?" Adamas asked with a grimace, wrenching his shoulder away.

Zeus snickered, "He's just like this 'cause Percy ran away from him in the middle of their dance."

Hades winced guiltily before slumping down on his chair. "I apologize, brother," he said to Poseidon. "I fear I may have upset your daughter. I did try to tell her that her dancing was fine, but..."

"Percy was just nervous," Rhea reassured him soothingly. "It was neither of your faults. She's only turned one and it's her first time ever dancing in front of such a large audience."

"And as for you," she turned to Poseidon next. "Adamas is right. Percy should have friends."

"She was dancing with Loki," Poseidon sneered. "I don't want that thing anywhere near my daughter. He could be scheming to kill her for all we know."

Rhea, remembering what Aphrodite had told her about Loki and his feelings for Percy, didn't believe that. "Loki is not a threat to her life," she told him. "I think he really likes her."

His face darkened. "All the more reason for him to die."

Rhea sighed in defeat. Gods, all she could do now was hope Poseidon didn't ruin his daughter's party with his own jealousy.

‧₊˚✩彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧₊˚✩彡๋ ࣭ ⭑ ࣭ ⭑

After the whole mess with Poseidon, Loki, Hades, and now Aphrodite, Percy wanted nothing more than to just retire to her bedroom, but people kept pulling her in for a dance. She soon started to enjoy it though, since she was dancing with (somewhat) sane gods.

Naturally, she danced with her other uncles.

Zeus was first, mainly because he grabbed her first and dragged her to the dance floor. Adamas hadn't been kidding when he said his dance skills sucked. He was so bad that it made her feel better about herself. The fun part was when they got to the final part of their dance. Rather than lifting her up to twirl her around, he instead threw her up into the air so high that she nearly touched the ceiling. It was actually pretty thrilling. She was cheering and laughing by the time he caught her, but Rhea, Hera, Adamas, Hades, and Poseidon had simultaneously yelled out, "ZEUS!" and he fled the scene before they could catch him.

Adamas came second. It was kinda awkward for him. He wasn't much of a good dancer either but he was better than Zeus. The awkward part was how... careful he was. He handled her like she was a fine China vase that could break at any second. He didn't try to lift her up or twirl her around, but she was just touched that he cared so much about not hurting her.

Shiva was quick to snatch her up after that. He once told her that he wanted to be the God of Dancing once upon a time, but Percy couldn't help but notice that his movements were clumsy and lazy. "That's just 'cause this isn't my kinda dancing! This sucks!" He would whine before getting the bright idea of throwing her up in the air while twirling her around. Her father chased him away for that too.

Then she danced with Susanoo, a Japanese god with similar domains to her father. He had a grand laugh when he met her because of how similar they looked (he had super cool blue hair, but he had a grey streak just like hers), but when he loudly pointed it out to her father, he threatened to skewer him with his trident. Susanoo laughed him off. Percy decided that she liked him. Anyone who could casually laugh off her father's threats was cool in her book. Plus, he had blue hair! And it was natural!

Next was Buddha. But that dance was pretty short because Poseidon chased him out for not even bothering to wear shoes. He tossed her a blue lollipop before running away and Percy hid it in her pocket before anyone could scold her for 'accepting candy from strangers'.

She danced with a bunch of other gods for what felt like hours. At one point, she got so tired that she had to stop and get a drink.

As she relished the ice cold water that rushed down her throat, she watched silently as more servants filed upstairs with heavy loads of presents from all the party goers. She couldn't believe all of that was for her.

"I just gave them my present to you." A familiar voice said.

She turned around and her face lit up. "Mnemosyne!"

The red haired goddess smiled warmly. "Hello, Percy." She wrapped her up in a hug.

"I'm glad you're here! I'm sorry I couldn't save a dance with you. Everyone kept pulling me away and I'm exhausted now...!" Percy breathed out.

She shook her head. "It's fine. I just wanted to tell you that I've handed over my present. I think you'll really like it."

"You gave me a present?" Her eyes widened. "Oh! Mnemi, you really didn't need to!"

"No, no, I feel like this was prudent for you to have," she insisted, but there was an oddly sympathetic look on her face. "It's been a year already... I know you've been so patient, but mortals can only handle so much turmoil. So... I made you something to help you keep holding on."

Now she was super curious. "What did you give me?"

Her smile widened. "That is a secret. You'll see when you open it—" Mnemosyne stopped talking, because suddenly her daughters had stopped singing.

Everyone turned to look.

Percy overheard her father spit out venomously, "What is that idiot doing on the stage?"

She already knew which idiot she was talking about before she turned her head. Oh no, Apollo...! She thought, face paling when she saw the pink haired god practically skipping up the stage.

"Thank you, my dear songbirds," Apollo said to the Nine Muses before shooing them off the stage. The women exchanged disgruntled looks before shuffling off and joining Percy with their mother.

Poseidon had to be restrained by Rhea, Zeus, and Hades. Adamas watched Apollo with narrowed eyes. Meanwhile, Percy and Artemis exchanged horrified looks while Leto was muttering prayers under her breath.

"Percilla, my love! My present to you is a song that I've written," he began dramatically. "I hope you fall in love with it as I have for you."

And then he began to sing. Admittedly, it was the loveliest thing ever. He had the voice of a thousand angels, but his lyrics were... um. Most of it was talking about wanting to make love to her, but it was written so beautifully that people would've laid Grammy awards at his feet. Honestly, his song was so beautiful it would've made her cry in awe... if it hadn't been for the fact that Poseidon was currently throwing his brothers off of him. Rhea was now the only one that could prevent him from causing a murder.

Ohhh no, Percy thought, rushing to the stage and motioning for Apollo to run. She did not want a homicide to happen during her fake first birthday party. The pinkette beamed as she drew closer, probably thinking she was rushing up to him to give him a kiss or something.

"Dude! Run!" She hissed at him.

The song finally finished. Rhea was still the last god standing in between Apollo getting a grisly death.

"Percilla!" Apollo announced happily. "Would you marry m—uargh!" He was quickly tackled to the side by Artemis who came flying out of nowhere.

Oh thank gods, Percy thought. She glanced back at her father. He was seething, but at least he was no longer trying to murder Apollo.

‧₊˚✩彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧₊˚✩彡๋ ࣭ ⭑ ࣭ ⭑

Near the end of the party, the giant birthday cake finally came out. At that point, Percy had accepted that Beelzebub wasn't coming. He hadn't replied to her texts or calls either. She tried not to let it get to her; he wasn't a party person and he had a lot of things he needed to take care of. Plus, it wasn't her real birthday. He had already celebrated her real birthday with her and gave her the best present ever. It wasn't right to be greedy and demand for more.

But as she went up for her second slice of cake, she caught something in the corner of her eyes. It took her a while to register what she had seen, but the second it all clicked, she grabbed a second plate of cake and went straight for the second floor.

She walked through one of the doors that led to a hallway, and there he was.

"Beel!" She exclaimed joyously. "You actually came! Here, I got you cake!"

He was even dressed for the occasion too. He wore a long black tunic that reached his thighs with dark pants underneath. Tied around his waist was a black belt that had tiny dark gemstones embedded in them. He wore a long dark red cape that made him look like royalty and clasped at the front of his cape to hold it together was a large ruby that seemed to swirl with dark energy.

He took the plate from her and swallowed thickly. "Percy. You... you look breathtaking."

"You look good too!" She beamed. "Did you just get here?"

"Yes. I apologize for being late. I... I hesitated to come," he admitted.

"Let's sit," she suggested, already sliding down the wall to sit on the floor.

Beelzebub wanted to tell her it was unbecoming for someone of their status to sit on the floor, but he sighed and complied. He sat down beside her.

"So, why didn't you wanna come?" She asked curiously.

"It's nothing really." He replied passively, concentrating real hard on the cake as if to avoid her stare.

"Awww, come on!"

"...I fear I've become too attached to you," he finally said. "Percy. I care for you greatly."

She frowned. "Um... okay?" She shoved a forkful of cake into her mouth. "And what's wrong with that?"

"Nothing good will come from this," he muttered darkly. "I've told you before that I've killed my friends, remember?"

"Yeah," she remembered him telling her that many many months ago. "But I still don't get it. What does that have to do with me?"

Beelzebub looked down and sighed. He figured he would have to tell her about that soon, he just wished it didn't have to happen on what was supposed to be her special day.

"Percy, I have this... this condition," he struggled. "I..."

"You don't have to tell me." She said.

"No, I have to tell you. It's imperative you know this risk," he shook his head. "I didn't want this to happen. I kept trying to convince myself that you mean nothing to me, but..." he let out a bitter laugh.

He took a deep breath. "I have this condition called Demonic Destrudo*. I don't know if I was just born with this or if it was a curse that came to me suddenly but... but when I..." He swallowed thickly. "When I reach the highest peak of love for someone, it just... a-activates and... and then I'll wake up and suddenly... suddenly the people I love are dead."

Her eyes widened. "W... what?"

"I didn't know what was going on at first. I was just in the woods with my friends—Lucifer, Samael, and Azazel. We were all happy. Everything was perfect," Beelzebub was talking so fast, almost like he was afraid that he might be stopped. She could tell that this was something he had been needing to let out for a long time. "But then I blacked out. When I woke up, my friends were dead and I was covered in their blood."

"I thought it was Satan at first. I was convinced that he was real and that he had been the one to kill my friends. I tried researching about him. That was when I met Lilith," he said her name as if it pained him. "She offered to help me because Lucifer was a close friend of hers too. We worked together, searching everywhere for him. And then I—I blacked out again. When I woke up, my arm had ripped through her chest."

Tears were spilling from his face now. His cake lay abandoned at his side. He hunched over, hugging his knees to his chest. He didn't look like a god anymore. Right now, to Percy, he reminded her of the traumatized campers who would wake up from nightmares of the war.

"That was when I realized it was all me," he said shakily. "It was not Satan, it was me. I was the one who was killing the people I loved. And Lilith—as she laid dying in my arms, she gave me a so-called blessing." He spat.

"A blessing?"

"She had good intentions, but her blessing was my curse," angrily, he ripped the front of his tunic to show her the tattoo on his chest. "This is no regular mark, Percy. It is a curse, from her to me. She ordered me to live on, and because of that, I cannot properly atone for what I had done."

"Oh wait," she gasped quietly. "The reason you're trying so hard to find a way to die—it's because of that?"

"Yes," he answered grimly.

"Beel, she wouldn't want you to do this, none of your friends would," she tried to tell him.

"I don't care," he shook his head. "This is the only way for me to atone. Do you see now, why I tried so hard to distance myself from you? I love you, Percy, and because of that, you will die."

"Beel—"

"—You still don't get it," he said mournfully, pain etched all over his features. He started to stand. "I shouldn't have come here. I'm sorry, but—"

She quickly threw her cake to the side and rushed over to grab his arm. "—Would you just listen to me for a second?"

He froze... before eventually staring at her, awaiting.

"Beelzebub, you don't have to worry about killing me. Trust me, many, many gods have tried to kill me before. Some titans too. They all failed."

His face fell, "Wait, what—"

"—Plus, I have the Curse of Achilles!" She reminded him.

He shook his head. "No, Percy, that alone won't be enough to protect you from me—"

"—Well it's enough to buy me some time to call for help," she then said.

He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her, desperate to make her see reason. "I—will—kill—you." He said hysterically. "How do you not get that?!"

"Because you won't be able to kill me," she said firmly. "Beel, come on, trust me. You don't need to be alone anymore! You don't deserve to be alone anymore!"

And it was those words that finally made him burst into tears. He buried his face in his hands, the rush of emotions too much for him to hold back now. It was like billions of years of emotions that he tried to lock away were finally flooding back to him—all because of a young demigod girl and her beautiful way with words.

Percy stared at him, wide-eyed. Hastily, she turned her whole body towards him. Beelzebub had teared up before, but now he was full-on crying. She felt terrible. Perhaps she had done too much.

Nice going, dumbass! She scolded herself.

"Um... I'm sorry," she said lamely, hesitantly rubbing his back. "I didn't mean to make you cry."

Wordlessly, he leaned to the side to rest against her. Percy instinctively wrapped her arms around him. His cries had reduced to silent tears that she could feel drip onto her chest and dress, but she didn't care. Her only concern was him.

"Percy," he finally spoke after a while.

"Hmm?"

"Are you certain of this? Do you really wish to continue having me in your life and you in mine?"

She nodded. "Yes."

Now she understood why he was so cold to her at first. Why he tried so hard to deny any relationship between them. Why there were times where he would distance himself from her only to come back like he was seeking for warmth. He had spent billions of years isolating himself and shutting away his feelings, not wanting to suffer another tragedy.

She decided right then and there that she wouldn't be another dead loved one for him to mourn. Never again.

He let out a broken laugh and pulled away to look at her. His eyes were glassy, but they were so much softer now. "You have no idea how lovable you are, do you? You drive me crazy."

Heat flooded to her cheeks. "Thanks?"

He chuckled, then leaned forward to press his lips to her burning cheeks.

Oh, wow, she thought, blinking. A kiss to the cheek. She hadn't been expecting that... She could feel her whole body feel... lighter now.

Quickly, she cleared her throat and tried to change the subject.

"The party's almost over, you know," she grinned. "Can we... um, dance? Please?"

His eyes shined like rubies. "If that's what you wish."

Smoothly, he rose to his feet and offered her his hand. He pulled her up. With a wave of his hand, their appearances returned to their pristine condition. Her dress and skin were dry from his tears, his face looked perfect as if he hadn't cried at all, and his shirt had repaired itself.

Hand in hand, they walked back to the ballroom.

All eyes were on them the second they descended from the staircase. Even the Nine Muses had stuttered in their singing as they approached the floor, but one demanding wave from Aphrodite had them working again. Slowly, they began to sing, but nobody could really blame them for being so stunned.

The Lord of the Flies was smiling. And it wasn't just any kind of smile, but a bright and genuine one full of pure happiness. The Princess didn't look frightened at all. In fact, she was even smiling back. And it was a smile brighter than any of the smiles they had ever seen from her tonight.

Other dancers on the floor began to slowly walk out to give them more space, though they too were in disbelief at what they were seeing. Everyone stood at the sides, their eyes unable to leave them.

The audience watched with bated breath as the pair bowed down to each other, maintaining eye contact. The Nine Muses' voices rose in volume.

They stepped forward and circled each other before connecting hands and whirling around, chests close together. Then, he crossed his arms and spun her around. When she stopped, he pulled her towards him so that her back rested against his chest.

She spun out of his embrace before he pulled her in again and together, they moved in a circle. This was the point where Percy would always end up stepping on her partner's foot, but this wasn't the case now. Percy danced as flawlessly as Beelzebub, her eyes only on him. There was not a hint of anxiety on her face as they danced in sync with the music.

Off to the side, certain gods watched the scene intensely.

Rhea had a firm grip on Poseidon's shoulder, but to her relief, he hadn't tried to cause a scene. No, instead, he stared hard at the god he had entrusted to take care of his daughter. He could feel his suspicions arise, but... but this was Beelzebub, the god who was incapable of forming relationships with other people. He was logical, calculating, and emotionless—the perfect combination if he had to admit.

Surely, Beelzebub couldn't really have feelings towards his daughter... right? He couldn't have miscalculated his decision to let him near his daughter, right?

Beside him, Hades was an entirely different matter. He had a small smile as he watched them dance, completely unaware of the feelings building up within them. To him, he was just glad that Beelzebub finally found someone to open up to, and he was happy that the friend he made was Percy.

Over at the other side of the room, Odin kept his eyes planted on Loki and Loki only. The green haired god was furious. His face was contorted into pure rage as he watched the pair of dancers, breathing heavily as they spun and twirled around like a bunch of lovesick idiots. He could feel murderous hatred rise within him along with an array of other horrible feelings he wished to squash. He rose to his feet, but Odin and Thor pushed him back down to keep him under control.

Meanwhile, Artemis and Leto were exchanging worried glances. Apollo was... silent. He had an eerily blank stare on his face as he watched Beelzebub and Percy dance together. The two goddesses knew that he had been upset that his dance with her was cut so short, so they fully expected him to blow up upon realizing that Beelzebub had stolen her last dance. But this eerie silence... it was somehow worse than him blowing up in a fit of jealousy.

Finally, the music slowed down, indicating that the end was near.

At this point of the dance, they should've parted ways and bowed to each other. But that wasn't what they did.

Instead, they stepped closer to each other until they were chest to chest. They danced in a circle slowly.

They hadn't taken their eyes off each other once.

Then... Beelzebub began to inch his head lower. Percy didn't budge. She let his lips get closer and closer—

But then the doors burst open with a loud BANG!

The music stopped. All heads turned towards the doors. Percy and Beelzebub followed suit, but what they saw made the latter's ichor turn cold.

Three elderly women dressed in traditional Greek chitons walked into the ballroom.

Percy couldn't see what was going on at first, but many pale-faced gods started to stumble out of the way, and when she saw who they parted for, it was her turn to go pale.

She had never met them before in this universe, but she automatically knew who they were anyway: they were the three Fates. She knew that they weren't here for a friendly visit. They were here for her, and they knew exactly who she was.

They walked towards them.

Beelzebub snapped out of whatever stupor he had been in and quickly held Percy against his chest. He turned her away protectively.

"Get away from us!" He hissed in an Ancient language she couldn't understand. "Leave! She has nothing to do with you!"

She could feel his hand trembling as he held her head against him. He was terrified out of his mind.

"Step aside, Lord of the Flies," one of them rasped in the same language.

"NO!" He roared. He sounded demonic now. Percy could feel his nails elongating into claws. If it hadn't been for the Curse of Achilles, he would've pierced her through the skull by now. He pressed her against him even harder, desperate and terrified all at once.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Poseidon demanded, storming in. His brothers and mother followed suit. They all stepped in front of her and Beelzebub.

"Dear Poseidon," one croaked, no longer speaking in that ancient language. "You did not invite us."

"I did not think it was necessary, given that you are rarely seen out in public and never bother to attend the debut of any being," he replied stiffly. "Why have you come?"

"Isn't it obvious?" The third one chuckled lowly. Percy could see her lean to the side to get a view of her. They made eye contact. Her eyes made her shiver; it was like staring at the abyss, beautiful, but endless at the same time. "We are here for her."

It was just as she feared.

There was a tense silence that followed her words. Percy's eyes scanned around the crowd. She had never seen so many gods so terrified before. Everyone was frozen with fear. The Valkyries were exchanging looks of alarm. Mnemosyne had almost collapsed in one of her daughters' arms. She saw Apollo, who looked faint. Leto and Artemis held on to him, as if to keep him anchored. She even saw Loki, who looked strangely scared too, but his eyes were on her. He wasn't scared of the Fates, he was scared for her.

She wished she could see her father's face too, but all she could see was his back, which had tensed up even more upon their words.

"No," Poseidon's voice was hard and shaky, with fear or rage she couldn't tell. "You will not—"

"—Poseidon," Hades said in a quiet, warning tone.

"They wish to take my daughter away from me!" He snapped. "No, I will not let that happen. I don't care who you hags are, LEAVE."

His voice was so powerful it echoed around the palace. The ground immediately started to shake and large cracks appeared on the floor. They all headed straight for the three Fates, threatening to break the ground underneath them and let them get swallowed up by the earth.

One just laughed. "Children these days are so rude, sisters!"

"I think they're just confused," the second crooned. "They think we're here to kill her."

The quaking slowed to a stop.

"...You are not?" Poseidon asked, narrowing his eyes.

"We only wish to speak to the girl," the third said. "Now step aside, children."

Rather than doing that, Hades stepped forward.

"It's rude to walk into people's homes uninvited," he said stiffly. "Do mind your manners, my ladies. If you wish to speak to Percilla, you may, but it'll have to be at another time. Today is an important day for her. She should enjoy her night in peace."

"Oh, right," one chuckled. "Her first birthday, is it?"

Percy gulped and she could hear Beelzebub suck in a breath. The way she said it was mocking, taunting. They all knew the truth and were now dangling it over their heads as if they were threatening to expose the very secret they had been trying so hard to protect.

"My—my ladies, wait," Mnemosyne called out. She took a shaky step forward, ignoring the quiet cries from her daughters to come back. "Please—"

"—Cease your begging, dear girl," the second one let out a raspy laugh. "We already know what you wish to plead. It's pointless. Like we said, we are only here for a visit. No harm in that."

"They always get so afraid whenever we show our faces," the third sighed in faux despair. "It hurts our feelings."

If they're only here for a visit, Percy thought, might as well get it over then.

Bravely, she pried herself away from Beelzebub's hold and cleared her throat, trying to ignore the way he desperately tried to tug her back to him.

All eyes turned to her.

She tried to put on an 'everything's just fine and dandy, nothing to worry about here!' smile, but it probably looked more like a pained grimace.

"Ladies Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos," she greeted them formally, even offering them a very stiff bow. "It's an honor to meet you three." Again, she mentally added.

"We should be saying that to you," one of them said, their lips curling into a smile that didn't seem innocent at all. "You are, after all, the greatest singularity we have ever seen."

Her smile almost dipped. They know, they know, they know. Her eyes darted around; she could see many gods exchanging lost looks with each other. Aside from the Valkyries, Mnemosyne, Beelzebub, and Loki, nobody else seemed to know what they were talking about, which was good. The rest probably assumed they were referring to the whole 'half human, half god' thing.

Her smile remained stiff. She gestured to the grand doors and said, "We can have our discussion outside if you'd like—"

"—Nonsense!" One cried out. "This is a party, is it not? Let us have a dance instead!"

"A wha—?!" Before she could even finish her sentence, the first sister was already pulling her along.

Any god standing at the center of the dance floor was magically pushed back. She could see Beelzebub and her family frantically slamming against an invisible force field that separated the center of the room from everything else. The lights dimmed, leaving only one chandelier to shine a light over them. Music played, but it wasn't coming from the Nine Muses anymore. It sounded like dark orchestra music you'd hear in a period film where the main character was about to get slain by the villain.

Yeah. Not exactly comforting considering her situation.

"Oh, dear, please relax," she said. "We are not here to hurt you."

The really creepy background music says otherwise, but okay, lady.

"Which one are you?" She couldn't help but ask, gulping nervously.

The woman's smile widened. "Clotho."

Clotho. Spinner of the threads. She was the one who was in charge of weaving a mortal or god's life; when they were born, when they were saved, when they were put to death.

Clotho twirled her under her hand, and when Percy was yanked back to her, she was suddenly in a whole new territory dancing with a whole new person.

The gilded walls of her father's Olympic palace were no more. She found herself dancing at the center of a large cave. It was eerily dark and the only light source came from a bunch of glowing gold threads that were wrapped around the stalactites and stalagmites; they hung from the ceilings, and wrapped around the inside of the cave like tangled spider webs.

When Clotho pulled her in, she nearly jumped. The old lady was gone; replaced by a beautiful platinum haired woman with fair, wrinkle-free skin and milky white eyes.

She blinked in surprise. "How did you—"

"—You're aware of why we're here, aren't you, Percy?" She asked knowingly, her voice no longer croaky but young and full of life.

She swallowed thickly. "...Yes."

"And you know what my job is?"

Another gulp. "I do. You spin the threads of life."

"Good. Then I'll get straight to the point: your thread does not exist."

She nearly tripped over her footing, but Clotho, now younger, taller, and stronger, pressed her against her chest and twirled her around so fast that her feet lifted off the ground.

"Not yet, at least, though that entirely depends on you," Clotho added.

"I-I don't understand," she stammered. "How can I not have a thread?"

"The multiverse is a wondrous thing, isn't it?" She sighed airily. "So full of curiosities... such as you. You are from an entirely different universe; your existence lies in there, not here. Thus, why you have no complete thread."

She furrowed her brows. "Wait... what do you mean no complete—"

Clotho interrupted her by spinning her to the side. Their hands unclasped and Percy was left twirling around like a rapid spinning top before someone else grabbed her hand and stopped her.

It was another one of the sisters, young and beautiful once again. She had auburn hair tied up in twin braids and gleaming blue eyes full of life. Percy didn't know how, but she automatically knew that this was Lachesis, the allotter. She was the one who decided how long one could live and what kind of trials they would face in their life.

The second they met eyes, Percy felt as if a noose was hanging around her neck. Lachesis spun her around once, and the noose only seemed to tighten around her neck.

She glanced down and spotted a golden thread wrapped around her neck, one end dangling down to her chest. Something was wrong with it though; rather than glowing like the other threads in the cave were, this one was... flickering in and out of existence.

"Is this my string?" She asked.

"Yes," Lachesis answered. "Your fate is neither here, nor there. You have one foot in your original universe and one in here. For the first time ever, your fate now rests in your own hands."

Her eyes widened at hearing that. Her life had been molded by the Fates since day one, every hardship she faced, every battle she fought, it was all because of them. If they were saying she was free now...

Lachesis let out a laugh. "Oh dear, I wouldn't be so happy if I were you. Because now you've got an important choice to make, and you ought to make it fast. Because if you don't..."

She brought her down to a dip, but suddenly she disappeared and Percy was left to fall. She gasped, one hand outstretched. Before she could hit the ground, another hand grasped hers and yanked her back up again. The music increased in tempo.

It was the eldest of the sisters, Atropo, the cutter of the threads. She chose how each being would die and decided on the circumstances of their death, whether they would die nobly or wretchedly.

Her hair was long and pitch black, and her eyes were the same. They looked empty and devoid of light; Percy couldn't even see a single glimpse of gold reflecting from the threads in her eyes. All she saw was an empty abyss.

She yanked at the thread wrapped around Percy's neck. She felt a sharp pain as it choked her at first, but then the thread fizzled away into nothingness.

"You'll end up just like that," Atropos purred. "Gone. Erased. Wiped away."

Her face fell. "Wait, what?"

"Did you think having no thread makes you free?" Atropos chuckled. With every step forward she made, Percy took a step back. They were still dancing, but she was beginning to feel like a cornered animal every time she drew closer. "Everything has a thread, Percilla Jackson. Plants, animals, mortals, spirits, demons, gods, titans, everything. To not have a thread, makes you nonexistent. It makes you nothing."

Atropos spun her around halfway until her back was pressed to her chest. She grasped Percy's hands and held her arms beside her head, and she shivered when Atropos whispered into her ear, "Do you wish to be nothing?"

Percy suddenly let out an agonized cry as an excruciating pain engulfed her whole body. She screamed out loud. Her knees buckled and she started to collapse, but then the pain stopped. Atropos held her by the waist and twirled around so they were chest to chest again.

"Wh—what was that?!" She asked breathlessly, clinging desperately onto Atropos. The pain was gone almost instantly, but she was still left shaken by it. She didn't know how to explain it, but it was the worst sort of pain she had felt.

Atropos only hummed in response, one arm wrapped around her waist to hold her close while her other hand held Percy's. The music softened as they started to sway around gently.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" She asked. "The feeling of your soul being ripped apart."

She tensed in her embrace. "What?"

"It hasn't happened yet, my dear. I just showed you a taste of what to expect," Atropos warned her. "You don't belong here, Percy. Your string does not exist here. But you can belong here. You can choose to stay, and your string will form to its completion and you won't ever experience such torture ever again."

"But right now, you are stuck in-between," she continued. "You cannot decide whether to stay here or return to your original universe. This inability to make a choice is what will lead to your demise, Percy. Your soul will continue to break until you finally cease to exist. Niflhel shall be your fate."

Niflhel. She learned of it in her studies. Niflhel was where all the divine beings went to when they were killed—and it was also where mortal souls would go if they were killed in the afterlife. No resurrection. No reincarnation. No way of ever coming back.

"If I choose to go home," she began slowly. "Would you guys help me?"

A dry laugh left Atropos' lips. "It is not our job to help you in that. We only came here to tell you of your options."

"I have options?" She said bitterly.

"Of course you do," Atropos chuckled. "Did you think every being's entire life was under our control? How ignorant. No, that is not the case. Everyone can exert free will over their lives. There are many different paths people can take. All we do is weave their destinies based on contingencies and conditions. Each pathway results in different consequences and rewards. Some people, however... choose the point of no return. Like your dear friend, Luke, was it?"

Percy's face hardened. "Do not talk about him," she said in a steely voice.

Her lips curled in amusement, but thankfully didn't press on. "We're veering off topic now. Returning home is not your safest path."

"What? How is it not? You said I just needed to make a choice!" She said angrily.

"If you choose to return home and a way back has not yet been given to you, your soul will still shred itself to pieces until a way back has been opened. Even then, there is no fixing your broken soul. It'll cease to fracture any further, but you will live your life in constant agony once it begins. If you decide to return home, then you must find a way to do it quickly before your soul starts to break."

"Beelzebub hasn't found a way back yet..." She murmured fearfully.

She shook her head in agreement. "He has not. It is not a simple task, trying to understand the ways of the bifrost, let alone a damaged one."

"Then... what do I do?" She asked hopelessly.

"The soul is a delicate thing, Percy," she told her. "Do you remember the agony you experienced moments ago? That is what it feels like to have just a small bit of your soul chipped away. The more you lose, the more pain it'll be and it will never end until you're wiped completely."

"And... if I chose to stay here?" She asked nervously.

"Unfortunately, your soul will still continue to sunder, as you do not belong in this universe."

Her heart stopped. "So... so it's inevitable then? I'll cease to exist and... there's nothing I can do to stop it?"

"Of course not," Atropos smiled, almost kindly. "I told you we are here to tell you all your options, remember? There is only one path you can take where you are guaranteed to survive."

"What is it?" She asked eagerly.

She arched a dark brow. "I thought it was already obvious. Only mortals have souls, and if that mortal were to ascend..."

Her jaw dropped. "No way. No. You've got to be kidding me."

"Gods are made up of divine essence, they contain no souls. Even if 99.9% of your soul were to be obliterated, as long as a part of you still exists enough to ascend, you can become a god, a being that does not require a soul to live."

"Nope. No thanks," she immediately tried to pry herself away from her, but Atropos held on tight.

"It is the safest option for you, Percy," she reminded her. "You've been here for too long. Because of that, the first crack of your soul is sure to come soon. There is no stopping it, not anymore. Your only choice now is to stay here and become a goddess, or wait an indefinite amount of time until a way back home for you is accessible, and even then you will still suffer. Both options have a time limit, but the latter would mean a lifetime of pain."

"Becoming a god is not something I'll ever accept," she said firmly. "I'm going home."

Atropos smiled slyly. "That's what you say, but is that what you really want?"

She glared at her. "Yes. I am going home, and I trust Beelzebub to help me find my way back. He's been working on it. I know he'll find the answer soon."

Atropos giggled, and something in Percy's stomach sank. She didn't like the look on her face, as if she knew something damning that she didn't.

She's just messing with me, that's all they ever do, she told herself. Just ignore it. Beelzebub was her friend. She knew he would have her back.

Atropos' giggling evolved into full-blown laughter. They had to stop dancing because she threw her head back to cackle. It left a creepy echo around the cave.

"Oh my, you're so funny," she giggled, wiping away a single tear from her eye. "You trust the Devil that much, hmm? Well then, it's your funeral! Hahaha!"

She snapped her fingers and Percy felt like she was shoved back by an invisible force. Her body continued to be flung back as the scenery around her blurred. She had a pounding headache that only seemed to get worse the faster the room spun. Or was it even spinning?

Hands grasped her arms to help her keep steady.

"Percy," Beelzebub's face came into view, but he looked funny. There were three of him and he was blurry.

"H...huh?" She blinked once and twice. She looked around. She was standing at the center of her father's ballroom. Everyone was staring at her. The Three Fates were nowhere to be seen.

"Percy," Beelzebub called out to her again, but he sounded so far away now. "Are you alright? What did they do to you?"

Over his shoulder, she could see the worried face of her father rushing towards her.

"Percy," Beelzebub squeezed her arms and shook her lightly. "Percy, can you hear me? Did they hurt you? Percy!"

"I fucking hate my life," she managed to mutter before her eyes rolled to the back of her head.

The last thing she heard before everything went black was someone's frantic voice screaming, "I need a healer!" 

— author's note —

* I've seen so many people claiming that Beelzebub is possessed by Satan (mostly in tumblr fics), but that is NOT true!!! He is not possessing Beel nor is he some separate personality of his!

Lemme explain (this was also taken from my old tumblr post btw because I was asked this before):

Satan is not a physical entity inside of Beel. He just has a condition, Demonic Destrudo, that makes him kill anyone he loves once it reaches its peak.

It's all in chapter 67 of the manga (and his wiki page). The plot twist was that HE was the monster all along! There was no Satan! It's why he wants to atone for killing his loved ones so much. There is no external person responsible for the deaths of his loved ones, JUST HIM.

The only question is how Beel got Demonic Destrudo in the first place. Was it a curse placed upon him by Satan or someone else? Or is it just a terrible condition he was born with? Is Satan even REAL? Nobody knows, but regardless of that, Satan is NOT a second entity plaguing Beelzebub.

Beelzebub is at fault for the death of his loved ones, THAT is why he hates himself.

(And another thing, I know Beelzebub literally just confessed his love for Percy in this chapter, but he also told her that he killed his FRIENDS that he loved, so now she thinks he loves her AS A FRIEND 😭 Dummy should've clarified)

Now onto fanarts!

Percy fanart from lilpeep1106:

From ninokrad!: 

NEW PERCADES POEM FROM STORMYSTORMS:

Percy bullying Beel from idkwhattonamemyself–00:

Percy getting isekai-ed back to her original universe, but went too far in the past and met the other Loki who put her through some shenanigans that ended up with the both of them getting kidnapped by pirates 🥰:

Percy from doodlesleeps:

Hera, Artemis, and the sleepover gang by honeydew-mint: 

Posy and Percy from fanficboysarebae:

Aaaaand Thalia and Percy from littlepotaaatosimp: