★ 。＼｜／。★

𝗜𝗙 𝗜 𝗖𝗔𝗡'𝗧 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 𝗛𝗘𝗥

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖎𝖙𝖗𝖊 𝖉𝖊𝖚𝖝:
A HIMBO AT HIMBO
JUICE

★ 。／｜＼。★

WEEKS, GROVER HAD said.

The first request arrived the next day. They had made it through the school day — and by that, Belle meant Percy hadn't been dragged underwater — and were on their way to meet Annabeth and Grover. It was an after-school tradition to go to Himbo Juice. Belle sat next to Percy on the F-train, her knees tucked into her chest and a copy of A Court of Thorns and Roses in her hands. It was the usual — her reading, Percy letting her. That was just the way they rolled.

"May I join you two?" a voice asked.

Belle glanced up when the shadow fell over her. She instantly knew that this wasn't normal. Nobody ever talks on the subway unless they absolutely have to, especially to people they don't know. And they definitely don't ask to sit next to people, they just wedge themselves into whatever seat is available. Besides, the car was almost empty, anyways.

The guy in front of them seemed to be about twenty with the same black hair Percy had, just less messy. His eyes were large and brown and his skin had a coppery sort-of glow to it. He was wearing ripped jeans, a skintight black t-shirt, and a bunch of gold accents — rings, earrings, necklace, nose ring, bracelets, even the laces on his boots. A strong scene of clove and cinnamon expelled from him.

"What?" Percy questioned, and the guy gestured to the seat next to him. "Oh. Uh—"

"Thank you," the guy replied.

He sat down next to Percy and looked at the six other people in the train. The guy then snapped his fingers, and at once, all of the people froze completely. Belle raised an eyebrow and put her bookmark in her book, shutting it. She had seen a lot of Gods in their disguised forms, but this one stood out to her.

"So. Percy Jackson, with Belle Adair. This is nice."

"Hi, Ganymede," Belle greeted.

Percy's head whipped over to her. "How'd you know that?"

"He's gorgeous." Belle then rolled her eyes at the way Percy frowned. "Oh, please."

Ganymede pouted. "Hmph. And I went to all this trouble to blend in. I even put on clothes."

"I appreciate the effort," Percy said. "Really."

"Well, the girl's ruined my big reveal. I am Ganymede, beloved cupbearer to Zeus, and I need your help. What say you, Percy Jackson?"

Percy turned to him when the train screeched to a stop. "Do you like Himbo Juice?"

They got off the train, and Belle held Percy's hand while her free hand held her book. They led Ganymede to Himbo Juice, which was completely packed. Thankfully, Annabeth and Grover had gotten their usual booth in the corner. Annabeth waved them over, but instantly frowned when she saw who was trailing behind them.

"We put in our order already," Annabeth told them as they slipped into the seat. "I didn't know you were bringing a friend."

"Order for Grover!" the server at the counter announced. "I've got a Fiji Fro-Yo, a Salty Sailor, a Lavender Haze, and a Golden Eagle!"

"An eagle?!" Ganymede shouted, attempting to hide under the table. "Where?"

Belle sighed. Annabeth and Grover just shared a confused look.

"I'll get the drinks," Grover offered, going up to the counter.

"The Golden Eagle is just a smoothie," Annabeth reassured Ganymede, who was still hunched over the table and quivering.

Ganymede cautiously straightened up. "I . . . I have some unresolved trauma about eagles."

"You must be Ganymede."

He blinked at her, glancing down at his shirt. "Am I wearing a nametag? How did you know that?"

"Well, you're gorgeous," Annabeth replied.

Belle shrugged, her eyes glinting as she looked at Percy. "I rest my case."

"Thank you," Ganymede voiced.

"And Ganymede was supposed to be the most beautiful of the gods," Annabeth continued. "Along with Aphrodite, of course."

He bobbed his head, weighing the comparison. "I suppose I'll allow it."

"You used to be mortal. You were so beautiful that Zeus turned into an eagle and snatched you away, brought you to Olympus."

Ganymede flinched. "Yes. Long ago, but it still stings . . ."

Grover then came back, holding a tray of smoothies. "I got you a Mighty Mead. Hope that's okay. What did I miss?"

"He's a God," Percy stated.

"I know that. He's Ganymede."

"How did you—?" Ganymede began before stopping himself. "Never mind."

"We were just about to hear why Ganymede came to find me," Percy said.

Grover passed around the smoothies. The Lavender Haze was Belle's — a blueberry smoothie with hints of lavender, but it was a bright purple color. Salt Sailor was for Percy, Fiji Fro-Yo was for Grover, and the Golden Eagle was for Annabeth.

Ganymede stirred his Mighty Mead while lost in thought, glancing at Annabeth's smoothie like it would turn into an eagle and bring him up to the heavens. "I saw your ad on the bulletin board. It . . . it also seemed too good to be true."

"Thanks?" Percy responded.

"And all I have to do to reward you is write a letter of recommendation?"

"That's the deal. And what is it I have to do?

"We," Belle, Annabeth, and Grover all corrected.

"I have to be sure this is completely discreet," Ganymede revealed before dropping his voice and looking around nervously. "You cannot tell anyone else. Is that understood?"

"Discreet is what we do," Grover said.

Belle blinked. Grover was anything besides discreet — no offense to him, though.

Ganymede straightened up. "How much do you know about my responsibilities on Mount Olympus?"

"You're the cupbearer of the Gods," Belle answered simply. "You attend to them.

"Must be a sweet job," Grover voiced dreamily. "Immortality, Godly power, and you just have to serve drinks?"

Ganymede scowled. "It's a horrible job."

Grover nodded. "Yeah, must be horrible. All that . . . drink-pouring."

"When it was just at feasts, that was one thing. But now ninety percent of my orders are deliveries. Ares wants his Nectar delivered on the battlefield. Aphrodite wants her usual with extra crushed ice and two maraschino cherries delivered to a sauna in Helsinki in fifteen minutes or less. Hephaestus . . . don't get me started on Hephaestus. This gig economy is killing me."

"Okay," Percy cut in. "How can we help?"

"My most important symbol of office . . ." Ganymede trailed off. "Can you guess what it is?"

"Since you're cupbearer of the Gods, I'm going to guess . . . a cup?"

"Not just any cup!" Ganymede cried. "The Chalice of the Gods! The goblet of ultimate flavor! The only cup worthy of Zeus himself! And now . . ."

"Oh," Annabeth let out, practically voicing their thoughts — it was obvious. "It's missing, isn't it?"

"Not missing. My cup has been stolen."

Ganymede then put his hands over his face and started to weep. Percy looked at Belle, who shrugged helplessly. She certainly didn't know how to comfort a crying God. Now that she thought about it, she didn't think she'd ever seen a God cry. Well, there was a first time for everything.

Percy patted his shoulder. "There, there."

A Himbo Juice employee came over, his smile bright but crumbling slightly. "Is the smoothie not okay, sir? I can make you something else."

"No," Ganymede refused with a sniffle. "It's just . . ." He gestured to their smoothies. "I can't stand seeing so many cups. It's too soon. Too soon."

The employee left without another word.

"You know, the kids at Camp Half-Blood make some great arts-and-crafts projects," Grover suggested. "They could probably fashion you a new goblet."

Ganymede shook his head. "It wouldn't be the same."

"Or you could look into single-serving cups made from recyclable material."

"Grover," Annabeth scolded. "He wants his special cup."

"I'm just saying, single servings might be more hygienic," Grover insisted. "All those Gods sipping from the same goblet—?"

"Grover," Belle repeated, making him stop. She then regarded Ganymede kindly. No matter how much she had grown, she could still pull out her Princess charm when needed. "Do you know who took your Chalice? You said it was stolen."

Ganymede's eyes flashed — nothing but Godly anger, something that Belle was unfortunately familiar with. "I have some ideas. But first, you have to promise that this remains confidential. The goblet makes drinks taste good to the Gods. But if a mortal got hold of it . . . one sip from it would grant them immortality."

Ooh . . . that wasn't good. The last thing the world needed was more Gods. Even though they were the rulers of the universe, they really just caused absolute chaos.

"If it's so powerful, why would you trust us to get it back?" Percy inquired.

Ganymede stared at him. "I couldn't trust anyone else! You've already turned down immortality once, Percy Jackson."

Belle suddenly got transported back to being fifteen years old, standing on Mount Olympus in front of the Olympian council after defeating the Titans. After watching Ethan Nakamura fall through a crack in the floor and see Luke Castellan sacrifice himself to get rid of Kronos, Belle had been strung out to her last wire. And then Zeus had offered him immortality. She remembered the way her heart sank, because all she wanted to do was rebuild their relationship after it had been crumbling apart. They couldn't do that if he was a God. Yet she had to respect his decision.

But then Percy had looked back at her, and in one simple word, he refused. Instead, he had asked the Gods to stop ignoring their Demigod children. It hadn't really stuck, but at least more kids were at Camp Half-Blood.

"Okay," Percy agreed. "Totally confidential."

Ganymede gestured to Belle, Annabeth, and Grover. "And these others?"

"These others know how to keep a secret," Annabeth protested. "Loose lips are never a good strategy."

"Totally," Grover stated, even though he was a total blabbermouth.

"They're my best friends," Percy interjected. "You can trust them as much as you can trust me."

Ganymede seemed to relax at that and wiped his tears away. "Fine. I suspect someone on Olympus is trying to embarrass me, make me look bad in front of Zeus. If he finds out I lost my cup . . ." He shuddered. "No. I have to recover it."

"You have enemies?" Percy asked.

"Oh, yes. Hera, for one. She's hated me since the day Zeus snatched me up to Olympus. Zeus was always complimenting me, you see — how handsome I was, how much I brightened up the palace. It's not my fault I have nicer legs than she does."

Belle rolled her eyes — Hera viewed her as nothing but a Princess, and had even told her in the Labyrinth she would be better off finding her Prince Charming rather than being a warrior (and she still sent her blue hair ribbons, like Belle wore in the movie). "If it's Hera, I'm leaving. Gods, I hope it's not her."

"No . . ." Ganymede said. "Probably not. She would consider it beneath her. But there are others. Everyone on Olympus hates me, really, because I'm a newcomer, an upstart kid made immortal. They call me a gold digger! Can you believe that?"

"You suspect anyone else in particular?" Percy questioned.

Ganymede glanced around before gesturing them to lean in. "Before I was the cupbearer, there were two other Goddesses who had my job. First Hebe. Then Iris."

Iris, the messenger Goddess and Goddess of the rainbow. Every time Demigods wanted to talk to each other from a distance, they called on her to send a rainbow message.

Grover sipped on his smoothie. "Iris seems kind of chill to be stealing chalices."

Ganymede frowned. "Perhaps. But Hebe . . ."

"The Goddess of youth," Annabeth explained to Percy's clueless expression. "But, Ganymede, you're, like, eternally young andb eautiful. Why would she want to embarrass you?"

"Oh, you don't know her," Ganymede insisted. "In the early days, every time I would serve drinks at the feast table, she'd mutter Spill it, spill it as I walked past. She's so immature."

Grover shrugged casually. "Well, if she's the goddess of youth . . ."

"That's no excuse! She needs to grow up!"

(Belle would like to note that Ganymede was over three thousand years old, and saying that.)

"Okay," Percy interrupted. "Do you have any proof she took it?"

Ganymede scoffed. "Proof? That's what I need you for. Don't you heroes dust for fingerprints, analyze DNA samples, that sort of thing?"

"That's a forensic scientist," Belle replied simply.

Percy nodded in agreement. "But okay, we'll start with Hebe. Then check Iris."

"Fine," Ganymede said, sipping his smoothie. "Hmm. Not bad. Maybe when I get fired and turned back into a mortal, I could work here."

"You'd make a great himbo," Annabeth told him. "So how long has your Chalice been missing?"

Ganymede stopped and thought about it for a moment. "A century?"

"A century?!" Percy repeated in shock.

"Or a week?" Ganymede pinched the bridge of his nose. "I always get those time periods confused. Not long, anyway. So far, I've been able to fake it with my delivery orders. The other Gods kind of expect to-go cups with those. But if I don't get my proper Chalice back before the next in-person feast, everyone will notice. I'll be humiliated!"

"When is the next feast?" Grover questioned.

"I don't know!" Ganymede exclaimed. "Zeus is unpredictable! He might schedule one in twenty years. Or it could be tomorrow. The point is, I need that goblet back before word gets out!" He leaned forwards with a stern expression. "Question those Goddesses. See what they know. But don't offend them. And don't say I sent you. And don't give away that my cup was stolen."

"Well, that'll make it hard to question them," Belle stated. "Do you know where these Goddesses typically hang out?"

"They stay close to Mount Olympus. I mean Manhattan. They should be around here somewhere." He waved vaguely like Manhattan as a whole wouldn't be too difficult to search. "Do this for me, Percy Jackson, and I will write you a letter!"

That's how it always was — the Gods asked for things and promised nothing in return. It was like the kid in The Giving Tree — taking everything from the tree while the tree was happy to destroy herself for the boy. Complete and utter abuse, by the way. (Yes, Belle had read it — as a reader and a daughter of Demeter who loved plants, she felt very strongly about it.)

"This recommendation letter will be positive?" Percy inquired. "And you'll actually sign it?"

"You drive a hard bargain, but very well!" Ganymede agreed. "Now, away with you, before I am undone!"

He then disappeared in a glittering cloud of dust. Like any magical happening, the mortals around them noticed something.

Percy sipped on his smoothie and looked at all of them. "Well. This should be fun. Any ideas where to start?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Grover admitted. "But let me finish my drink first. We're going to need our strength."

—  [  ♡  ]  —

do I regret naming belle's smoothie lavender haze? absolutely not.

gifs by -wintxrwidow- !