★ 。＼｜／。★

𝗜𝗙 𝗜 𝗖𝗔𝗡'𝗧 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 𝗛𝗘𝗥

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖎𝖙𝖗𝖊 𝖙𝖗𝖊𝖎𝖟𝖊:
DON'T FIGHT IT,
EMBRACE IT

★ 。／｜＼。★

BELLE HAD WATCHED Percy fight against many monsters, and had heard the stories of what came before her (what Percy liked to call pre-Belle). Yet now, as he fought against the God of old age, and was losing, she had never been more terrified. (Except for when they were both in Tartarus, but that was really incomparable.)

She watched, concern etched on her features, at how Percy tried to force himself upright, but failed. Percy then twisted sideways and used his own weight to sling Geras off of his back. Belle clenched Sunflower's keychain tightly as Percy crawled away while gasping for air. He barely had time to stand up before Geras slammed into his side, wrapping an arm around Percy's neck and bringing him into a headlock.

Geras cackled at him. "Oh, no. You can't run from Old Age."

"Technically not true!" Grover shouted. "Exercises like running can add years to your life!"

Geras snarled at him. "Quiet, satyr. No interference!"

"It's not interference," Annabeth insisted. "It's commentary! Every wrestling match has commentary."

Percy tried to shuffle away now that Geras was distracted. However, Geras merely held him tighter. Percy used all of his body weight and leaned back, trying to pull him off-balance, but Geras didn't budge.

"Going somewhere?" Geras asked.

With his free hand, he punched Percy right in the ribs. Percy cried out in pain, something that always managed to make Belle absolutely sick to her stomach.

"Flag on the play!" Grover yelled. "Ten-yard penalty!"

"No body blows!" Annabeth agreed.

Belle cleared her throat, trying to mask her worry. "Do some actual wrestling!"

"Shut up!" Geras complained.

While his attention was elsewhere, Percy twisted himself out of the headlock. He then wrapped his arms around Geras' chest and squeezed as hard as he would. However, as much as he tugged and pushed, Geras didn't move.

Geras laughed. "Having fun?"

Percy didn't answer. Belle watched, waiting anxiously. It was only a little while, maybe over some thinking, that Percy moved. And by moved . . . well, Belle meant that he didn't move at all. Percy let out a primal scream, and halfway across Washington Square Park, a single manhole cover shot into the air. A tame-looking geyser sprayed over the tops of the trees before fizzling out.

"That was impressive," Gary commented. "Now, shall we end this?"

Geras plucked Percy off of chest like he was a tick, and threw him all the way across the playground.

"Percy!" Belle screamed before she could even stop herself.

To be totally honest, the amount of concern in her voice was the only thing that saved Percy. As he soared through the air, her screaming his name made every molecule in his body come alive. All of his senses went into overdrive, and instead of slamming into the playground, Percy twisted midair, grabbed one of the bars, swung around, and landed on his feet.

Geras scowled at her, along with Annabeth and Grover. "If any of you interfere again, I will declare this match null and void. I will turn all four of you into desiccated husks!"

Belle's eyes narrowed. She took a step forwards, totally prepared to get Sunflower out, but she felt a hand on her shoulder. Belle stopped and glanced over, only to see Grover frantically shaking his head. She sighed, crossing her arms. Sure, she probably couldn't have hurt Old Age, but that didn't mean she couldn't try.

Percy appreciated the sentiment, but he wasn't going to let her take the risk. She couldn't get hurt — she wouldn't get hurt. Not on his watch.

"Over here, diaper man!" Percy called. "I'm your opponent, not her."

Geras turned to him. "So you are."

He then charged . . . well, it was more of a determined hobble than anything, but he still reached Percy quick. Geras tackled Percy and pushed him backwards, right into the tetherball pole. Belle's breath hitched in her throat as Percy locked his hands around Geras' biceps and pushed him forwards two steps. Geras then clamped his hands around Percy's shoulders, making him scream, and pushed him back into the tetherball pole so hard that the metal began to bend.

"You have lasted longer than most," Geras told him. "It was a good try."

Despite everything drowning in pain, Percy sought out his girlfriend. A good try certificate could be framed, and she could hang it up in her dorm room when she went to New Rome University without him.

Percy's sea-green eyes trailed over to Belle, and they locked on her blue ones that were alight with worry. And just like that, just like always, his body went ablaze.

If he died right here, Belle would be crushed. He remembered her telling him how much she struggled when he was missing because of Hera, and this would be ten times as worse. The amount of pain this would cause her . . . he had promised her that he would never leave her again. When the two of them left this crazy life of theirs, he wanted it to be way in the future, together, when they were old and gray . . .

Hold on a second.

Jason had told him something once. In a moment of extreme crisis, he had dreamed of being an old man that was married to his girlfriend Piper, a bunch of grandchildren running around them. He hadn't taken this vision as being the set-in future. The Fates never really gave out money-back guarantees when it came to mortal lives. Yet, that wasn't the point at all. When Jason had needed it most, that vision made him feel like there was a way to move forwards — something to live for, something to fight for.

There was also the conversation he had with Paul a few months back. Percy had been teasing him about how he was getting more gray hair every year, but Paul had just said, Hey, getting older sucks, but it beats the alternative. It didn't really make sense that the time, but were the only two options really dying or getting old?

For Demigods, they worried about staying alive. Old age wasn't even a thought. Percy had been so focused on just making it out of high school and becoming an adult . . . but maybe that wasn't actually the ultimate goal. Getting old was scary and difficult, but growing older with the people he loved was better than any other alternative.

Belle, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover had been through so much together. He imagined Belle, still looking as youthful as ever yet with gray hair, rolling her eyes affectionately and holding his hand like she always did. He imagined Annabeth with silver hair and wrinkles, chuckling as she called him Seaweed Brain for the millionth time. He imagined Grover with tufts of white hair coming out of his ears, his back hunched as he held onto a cane, bleating as he complained about his aching hooves, then probably taking a nap on a bench in Belle's beachside garden while Percy sat next to him, resting his aching bones as he watched the waves and breathed in the salt air. Aching bones wasn't hard to imagine. Actually all of that wasn't hard to imagine either.

Geras expected Percy to wrestle. Old Age couldn't be beat unless he died young, but he could embrace him.

Percy loosened his grip and wrapped his arms around the God. "I love you, bro."

Geras froze, hiccupping a bit. "What is going on?"

His voice shook a bit, and he stopped holding Percy so tightly. Geras was so surprised that he probably could be taken down, but that was the wrong move, so Percy just kept hugging him.

Percy had never known his mortal grandparents, but he started to imagine what it would've been like to know his mom's parents. They had died when she was really young — in fact, they had died when they were younger than his mom was now. Did they laugh with the same kind of joy? Had she inherited her love of cooking or writing for them? Did they walk in the rain without an umbrella while humming, or was that solely a Sally thing? If they hadn't died so young, they could've been there for his mom during her hardest years. They could've gotten to know Percy. Maybe Geras wasn't such a bad guy, after all.

As Percy hugged him, he imagined hugging his grandparents while also embracing the idea of growing older and looking back on a great life while thinking, Well, we made it. Yeah, we'll die someday — maybe soon — but we had a pretty good run, didn't we?

He pictured himself holding hands with Belle, their fingers tightly interlocked, as they were wrinkly and frail, and how he loved her as much as ever when he looked into her eyes. He imagined getting into the same bickering arguments with Annabeth like nothing ever changed. He imagined ruffling Grover's hair when he fell asleep on that garden bench, telling him to wake up for food. He imagined all of them sitting around a table together and sharing a good meal while laughing about all the crazy things they had done in their lives. Including that time Percy had wrestled the God of old age in Washington Square Park.

So Percy embraced Geras like an old friend.

It was better than the alternative.

Live fast, die young, and being cool is awesome — until it's their corpse people are talking about. Geras pushed Percy against the tetherball pole one more time, but his heart wasn't in it this time. He relaxed, patted Percy on the back, and put his head on his shoulder as he started to tremble.

Belle just stared at them, the worry in her heart getting replaced with warmth. A small smile creeped onto her face — of course she got what he was doing. When their eyes locked again, she gave him a small nod, her eyes bright. She hoped he knew how proud she was of him. Now that she was thinking about it, she didn't tell him that enough. Percy gave her every reason to be proud of him.

Geras then stepped back from the hug. "Why?"

"I figured I'll be wrestling with you my whole life," Percy answered. "And I'm okay with that. I just wanted you to know." He took a shaky breath. "But if you really feel like the end of my life should be right now, we can keep throwing each other around the playground."

"Technically, I was throwing you around. I was winning. Old Age is never embraced. Do you know the last time I had a hug?"

Geras stared up into the sky, as if he was trying to remember that. His expression was sad, like he was trying to figure out where his life had gone.

"So what now?" Percy questioned.

Geras frowned. "Old Age is patient. I hate that about myself, but I almost never rush to end someone's life. And you're right . . . ending your life now, at age sixteen . . ."

"Seventeen," Percy corrected.

Grover cleared his throat urgently, as if to say, Shut up!

"Seventeen," Geras repeated bitterly. "No. It isn't right. This isn't your time." He tilted his head. "You really wouldn't drink from the Chalice, would you?"

"Nah," Percy replied. "I kinda want to live a whole life, you know? Even the tough stuff. Plus, I've seen what happens to people who are turned into Gods."

"Interesting," Geras commented, glancing back at Belle, Annabeth, and Grover for a moment. "I look forward to wrestling you for many years to come, Percy Jackson. Do not think I will go easy on you, just because you have impressed me now."

"I'll keep exercising. Do a bunch of crossword puzzles."

"We were having a nice moment. Don't ruin it." He snapped his fingers, and the Chalice of the Gods appeared, floating and gleaming in the air between them. "Take it. I suppose it should stay on Mount Olympus, among those fools who have already turned their backs on Old Age. You give me hope, Percy Jackson, that not everyone is like them." Geras sniffed in annoyance. "Crossword puzzles . . ."

Geras then poofed away in a gray cloud, leaving them behind.

Percy managed to catch the Chalice before it hit the pavement. "Ow."

"You did it!" Grover exclaimed, doing a little goat dance of relief. "Hugging him? That was really risky!"

Annabeth crossed her arms, smirking slightly. "Nice strategy, Seaweed Brain."

"It was incredible," Belle said. She walked up to him and wrapped an arm around his neck, tugging him down to her level so she could kiss him properly. After a moment, she pulled away, and kissed his nose quickly before grinning. "You'll be an incredibly handsome old man. I hope we'll get to see that one day, but I'm glad it isn't today."

Percy smiled back at her, one that made her feel all tingly, and readjusted the Chalice in his arms. "So, you think we can send Ganymede an Iris-message? I don't want to keep this in my locker until Sunday."

Annabeth looked like she was about to respond, but a Hula-Hoop fell out of the sky. It was pink with blue stripes and sparkles. The Hula-Hoop hit the pavement with a whack, bounced twenty feet into the air, then cam down again and rolled across to the playground, wobbling to a stop. Even though the morning was already weird, this was weird.

"Um . . ." Percy trailed off.

Annabeth walked over to it. She nudged it gently, but when it didn't explode or turn into a monster that was hidden, she picked it up. No other objects fell from the sky when she looked up at the clouds.

"This is a symbol of Ganymede," Annabeth stated.

"The Hula-Hoop?" Grover inquired.

"Just the hoop," Belle explained. "It represents his eternal youth."

Percy shuddered. "Yeah, that doesn't make Zeus's abduction of him one bit less creepy. And you think what, Ganymede tossed the hoop off Mount Olympus?"

That actually wasn't such a crazy idea, since Olympus hovered over the Empire State Building these days. A good Godly throw could reach Washington Square Park no problem, but why?

Annabeth examined the hoop more closely. "Hold on." She found a section of paper wrapped around the hoop, and peeled it off before reading. "It's a distress call. Ganymede says he's stuck on Olympus, and he needs the cup immediately. He says . . ." Her face fell. "Oh, Gods. Zeus isn't waiting for Sunday to have a feast."

Percy gulped. "So . . . what, he's having one tonight?"

"Worse than that." Annabeth gave them a grave look. "Zeus is having his mom over for a family get-together right now. They're having brunch."

— [ ♡ ] —

sorry that some of this chapter is percy's thoughts but that part about growing old was so cute I couldn't resist

gifs by -wintxrwidow- !