Son of the Sea God-A Percy Jackson Story

[funinthesun]

Hi! I've been lurking a while, so I thought I would try my hand at writing something. I'm gonna use POV.

Kay, here goes...

Back story: Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Frank Zheng, Hazel Levesque, Jason Grace, and Piper McLean are all demigods living in the modern world. They are on a quest to save the world from the giants of Greek and Roman legends. They are on board a ship called the Argo II.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story. All characters are from the Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan

Percy's POV

Percy ducked his head slightly as he silently stifled a sneeze.

He rubbed his nose contemplatively while watching his girlfriend Annabeth pace the ship's deck in front of him. On one side of him, Frank and Hazel were holding hands and talking quietly. On his other side, Jason and Piper were kind of leaning up against each other (Jason was half asleep from pulling the night watch shift with Percy). Leo was, well, being Leo. Happily aping Annabeth whenever she wasn't looking. All in all, it was shaping up to be a pretty average day for for the seven demigods on board the flying warship.

The only unusual thing so far, was that Percy felt off. Not poisoned, broken, possessed (thank the gods), or wounded in any way. Just exhausted, and off. "heh-mmmf"

And then there was the sneezing. He had successfully hidden it from the rest of his friends all morning, but it was getting steadily harder to keep his nose quiet. He hated sneezing. Not only did it cause havoc with his powers, but it was also a sign of weakness.

"heh-nng-mmf...huh-ingxt!" Percy sighed. I am NOT sick, he told his body, Hear me? Not sick. Not now.

Annabeth's POV

She knew that Percy wasn't paying attention to his surroundings when she noticed two things. First, Leo was aping her shamelessly and second, that Percy wasn't laughing. Normally she might have hoped that this was a sign that he was becoming more mature, but she also noticed that his sea green eyes were unfocused and half shut. Unusual. He was slumping on the bench, barely moving. Very unusual.

Percy was ADHD even by demigod standards, stillness only occurred when he was unconscious Annabeth used her peripheral vision to keep an eye on him as she paced restlessly. If she called attention to his actions, she would never find out what was wrong. Percy was very good at hiding his personal thoughts and feelings from people.

Minutes went by. Nothing happened.

Then suddenly Percy shifted his weight so he sat up a bit, took a small breath through his mouth and closed his eyes.

"Hhh-ngxxt"

His head jerked forward slightly and his black hair landed on his face. He raised a hand, not to move his hair but to rub his wrist against his nose. Very, very unusual. Annabeth had never seen Percy sick before. But she had witnessed what could happen if he sneezed without stifling any where near the ocean. If he really was sick...Get yourself together Annabeth! It's probably just an isolated incident. No worrying.

But she was worried. she stopped pacing and mumbled something about her laptop and inspiration, put on her best Eureka! face and rushed away to distract herself with intellectual pursuits. She felt Percy's usually sharp green eyes follow her to the base of the stairs and then heard him shift back into his original position on the bench.

Percy's POV

"Heh-mmph...snff...hih-nngxt!"

Well, Hoover Dam. He knew Annabeth had noticed. But she had left in a flurry, her blonde curls whipping up the stairs behind her. HE was safe now. The two couples on either side of him were either sleeping or holding hands, oblivious to anyone else. Desperate not to draw attention to himself, he stifled the sneezes that he couldn't get rid of any other way. "heh...heh-nnch"

Percy sighed softly. Gods on Olympus, he was tired.

"Hey Percy!"

Rrrr. He had forgotten about Leo.

Leo's POV

Jeez. He knew Percy was good at hiding anything he perceived as a "weakness" from the group of friends but this was impressive. The guy was even trying to hide his cold from them. With moderate success The only reason Leo had known was that he had checked up on Percy when he was on night watch with Jason. It was bitter cold on deck (cause of the high altitude) and it didn't seem to phase Jason for some reason. So in a fit of extreme macho-ness, Percy had pretended not to be phased either, and had refused to wear his jacket. Obviously, he had felt the cold, because his nose had turned a delicate shade of pink since he had come back in. In addition, Percy was stifling a sneeze around every 2-5 minutes.

"hh-nnnch...hhhh."

Percy's barely audible sneeze/sigh combination called Leo back to earth.

"Hey, Percy!" he called across the cabin.

Percy straightened a bit and looked up, making an effort to get his longish, dark hair out of his eyes.

"C'mon man, the ship's sensors tell me that a pack of rainbow ponies are looking for a son of the sea god to fix...something."

Percy chuckled weakly, saying, "Coming, Leo. I wonder what they wa-hh-snff. what they want this time? Lead the way."

Leo turned his back and dashed up the stairs to the deck. Percy was keeping up pretty well until...

"Heh-mmf...nngxxt! snff..."

Leo popped up into the sunlight and stood waiting for Percy who emerged after a couple of seconds with his sleeve over his hand and gave his nose a quick rub.

"Uh...Leo?" Percy said, approaching the railing " I don't see any hippocampi out there. I can't even see the water. We're up too high."

Leo noticed that his friend's voice sounded a little huskier than usual. Also he was pretty sure that a note of congestion was creeping into the taller boy's consonants.

"Leo. Answer be."

Percy spun Leo around and stared him down with surprising intensity for someone who couldn't pronounce "me" in the usual way. It was pretty scary, for about two seconds. Then Percy turned to the side and stifled harshly into his sleeve-covered hands.

"heh-nngxxxt!"

TBC

So should I keep going? I have way, way more already written. Just say the word, my friends, and your wish shall be my command. Constructive criticism is always welcome!

Oh, and if you want more specific back story on anything, comment and I'll oblige.

BTW: Hippocampi are multicolored horse-like creatures that live in the sea. Think Shetland pony crossed with a manatee.

[curliecatlover]

This story is amazing! Can't wait to see what happens! I love the whole stifling to control his powers, and I hope it doesn't become too strong for poor Percy to hold back....

[Hollow]

OH MY GOD! I can't believe that somebody is actually making Percy Jackson fics in here! Normally I'm not into male sneezing but I love the series so why not... Thank you!!!!

[VividBubbles!]

OMG, FINALLY!

Dude, you have no idea how much I love you right now. I've been waiting for someone to write a Percy fic for ages. I've tried writing my own but for some reason it always turns out horribly. I can't believe someone has finally answered my Percy Jackson Prayers. LOL.

So anyway, I love how Percy's trying to hide being sick and Leo and Annabeth are the only ones who have noticed so far. This totally seems like something that would happen! Percy just seems like the kind of guy who'd be like "If I ignore it, it'll go away." And Leo! Hehe. I love that little dude. He totally seems like the kind of person who'd be a really good caretaker with a hint of tough love.

URG, I JUST LOVE THIS SO MUCH AND HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR SO LONG!!!

Please continue.

bye.

[alyssa]

This is awesome! I haven't seen a Percy Jackson fic on here before but this is a brilliant start Can't wait for the next part!

[snuffles]

Holy Hoover Dams!

ROLF that was such a great reference, I LOLed for a good 5 minutes before replying here. Please keep it up, so glad to see a Percy Jackson fic here!

[funinthesun]

Omg, I have no words! I'm glad you guys like it so far! I'll keep it coming over the next week hopefully...enjoy!

OOH! Who should end up taking care of Percy, Leo or Annabeth? I could go either way.

Percy’s POV

Percy was trying to get answers out of Leo, but his own body had turned traitor.

“huh-nnxxt!...nnch!...snfff”

He rubbed his nose fiercely with his sleeve. He glared at Leo, who had taken several steps back, and was now flashing him an extremely impish smile to cover it.

“Okay, so there are no hippocampi.” Leo shrugged

No duh. thought Percy, as he fought back yet another sneeze.

Leo’s POV

“So why am I up here?” Percy said defeatedly. Leo noticed he had given up trying to stare him down, and that he had punctuated his sentence with a wet sniff.

“You are up here because I am about to tell you something you won’t like,” Leo heard Percy take in a sharp breath and paused to let his friend sneeze.

“huh-mmf.”

“And it’s about that.” Leo smirked “Nice try, Perce. But I noticed.”

Percy dropped all pretenses. He might have been about to say something, but just then his eyes became unfocused and shifted to the left of Leo’s head. The effort it took him to stifle his sneezes bent him double.

“heh-nngxxt...heh-nnnch!”

He straightened up, rubbing at his nose and shoved his hands deep into his hoodie pockets. Shoulders hunched, Percy was visibly shivering now as he stared at the floor. He offered Leo a resigned smile and said, “Yeah. I know. I’m sick. Ambrosia doesn’t work on this, by the way. I’ve tried.”

“Whew! I thought you were gonna kill me there, for a second. Now comes the part you really won’t like,” at this Percy raised his eyebrow, “because it involves me telling you what to do.”

Percy shrugged slightly, saying “Whatever.”

“First, no more night duty without a jacket or something.”

The dark haired boy ducked his head, in what Leo assumed was a silent sneeze.

“Second, relax a bit. You don’t have to tell anyone if you don’t want to, but...”

“Heh-nngxxxt...snff”

“If they notice, don’t deny it, kay? And just generally take it easy, bro.”

Percy laughed, “A worthy quest, o mighty Leo!” and headed back belowdecks, leaving Leo relieved that his friend wasn’t too far gone yet.

Piper’s POV

Something was definitely wrong with Percy. He had pulled the night shift with Jason, and while jason seemed to be fine with just snoozing on her shoulder, Percy seemed to be kind of troubled and distracted...and cold.

Sitting next to him on the bench earlier, she had been shocked to see him slumped in his seat, very still. He was usually so hyper. Additionally, her friend’s usually olive skin was a bit pale, and his nose had been a little pink.

When he came back in from his chat with Leo and plopped back into his spot on the bench, she felt him shivering slightly. His nose had turned a deeper shade of pink. As she watched, his breath hitched and his head snapped forward into his sleeve-covered hands.

“hh-ngxt”

Percy straightened with a wet sniff. Crossing his arms over his chest he leaned back onto the wall behind him.

“Heh-tchh”

Percy rocked forward, his dark hair swishing onto his forehead. Bless, thought Piper. But he was trying so hard to be discreet that she pretended to be absorbed in watching Jason sleep. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Percy shiver himself to sleep. As soon as he relaxed, she woke Jason to discuss their situation.

Jason’s POV

Jason felt Piper shaking his shoulder gently, and heard her soft voice close to his ear.

“Hey, sleepy.”

“Sup, Pipes?” he murmurred, rousing himself more fully.

His girlfriend jerked her head in Percy’s direction. At first, Jason didn’t understand why he had been woken. THen he noticed what Percy was doing. Even though the cabin was a comfortable temperature, his friend was shivering and his nose was deep pink. Jason had never seen Percy like this.

“Wow. Um, ok...so I should have made him put on a jacket, huh?”

As if he had sensed that he was being talked about, Percy jerked awake with a quick intake of breath and a few barely stifled sneezes.

“hah-mmmff...hih-tchh...tchh!”

“Bless you. You ok, man?” Jason asked, concerned. It was reflexive.

Percy started, straihgtened and opened his mouth to respond. But he was interrupted. “heh-nngxxt! Defide ok,” Percy sighed.

“Well, considering you cant pronounce any word with an “n” in it, I’m gonna go out on a limb...”

“Climbing trees dow are we?” Percy joked

“and say that you’re not.” Jason finished. He was going to pretend he hadn’t even been interrupted.

Percy didn’t look like himself at all. He had the build of a skater, and he had all of the swagger and sarcasm that came with it. But he wasn’t smirking now, he was just kind of sitting there levelly meeting Jason’s gaze with tired eyes. He raised an eyebrow at Jason’s look of concern.

“It’s called a cold, Jason, I’m not going to die...heh-nnngxxt.”

As Percy finished his sentence, he caught a sneeze in his sleeve covered hands. Leaning forward, he propped his elbows on his knees and let his eyes close. One of his forearms was resting across his legs while his other hand was pressed lightly under his nose. He was completely unaware that four sets of eyes were watching him worriedly.

Franks POV

Percy had been his leader for so long that it was a little scary to see him like this. It was also unlike Percy to let anyone see him so vulnerable. For as long as Frank had known him, Percy had never been sick, had allergies, or been weakened by anything that wasn’t a monster or poison. Now, Percy was sick, and he didn’t quite know what to think.

Frank was still musing over his leader’s condition when Percy’s head snapped forward

“nngxxt...nngxt...hah-nnch...snfff”

Before anyone said anything, he saw Hazel’s hand dart out with a handkerchief and put it in Percy’s lap. Then she gently touched his forehead with the backs of her fingers. Percy batted her hand away, but mumbled his thanks through his wrist.

Hazel’s POV

She sighed. “No fever yet, Percy. But you look and sound awful!”

“Gee thags...heh-nnnchu...Hazel.” Percy murmured “Scuse be.”

She knew it sounded harsh, but the boy was far from his usual self. His usually sharp eyes were half shut and unfocused. HIs olive skin was now turning red under his nose.

“heh-tchhh...nngxt!”

Hazel could tell that he felt worse than he was trying to seem. He used the handkerchief she had given him to blow his nose. He sounded really stuffed up and just plain miserable. Poor kid, she thought. She watched as he leaned back and passed out for the second time that day.

TBC

[VividBubbles!]

Hehehe, Percy is so adorable. And everyone's concern for him is just so cute!

Hmm, Annabeth or Leo. Um, well, I really want to say Leo but I also really want to say Annabeth too. Grr, this is such a difficult decision. Can I just leave it to you?

BYE!

P.S. Kudos for the quick update!

[alyssa]

Thanks for such a quick update! This is so adorable with Leo telling him what to do

"I thought you were gonna kill me there, for a second." I LOLed so hard at that, its so right! Can't wait for more!

[v a n i l l a]

Okay, first of all, I love, love, love, LOVE this! This is already my favorite fanfic EVER! (Though this one Harry Potter cold fanfic I read is still high up there!) Omg, it has to be Annabeth that takes care of him. Annabeth & Percy are my favorite couple in the series, without a doubt. I always wanted them to be together. (Rick Riordan took his sweet time getting them together. But at least he did, so it's okay. XD) Omg, reading this reminds me of when (SPOILER!) Annabeth & Percy fell down the pit of Tartarus. OMG I need to have House of Hades! But I really love this! Keep going! Please make it long! And maybe make a fanfic where Annabeth gets sick later. :3 But make it like this one didn't happen, not like a sequel, and maybe have her deny that she's sick for a while, and then Percy takes care of her later... But it's your choice! :3 Sorry, I've just never seen a Percy Jackson fanfic on here before, and I'm so happy!

[funinthesun]

You guys just made my midterms week!

While we're on the subject, I apologize for any and all delays in the posting of new installments in advance. School is keeping me pretty busy at the moment. But if I need a break......

muahaha

[v a n i l l a]

I need more. 3: I am dying. Sorry, I have a habit of rushing people... But I need more.

[funinthesun]

Gaah, the formatting is all off. But I wanted to share the next part!! Enjoy, all of you Half-Bloods!

Annabeth’s POV

It had been hours since she had fled to her cabin when Leo came on the ship's intercom.

“Paging Annabeth Chase! Report to mess hall ASAP, Iris message recieved. Bring your laptop. Leo out!”

Laptop in hand, she headed toward the mess hall. When she was just outside the door, she leaned against it for a moment to listen to what was going on inside.

“Percy, mission status report?” Chiron’s voice prompted.

“Ub, okay. snff. ‘Scuse me. We’re flying over the atlantic at really high altitudes, so the sea monsters...hh-nngxxt... can’d reach us right dow. But Jasod said thad the air spirits are gatherig quickly, snff so we’re gonna set down on the water tomorrow and I’ll take a turn...nngxt...take a turn fightig the modsters. ‘Scuse be agaid.”

Annabeth’s heart ached for Percy. He was trying so hard to be ok, so that their plan would work. Try as he might, it was obvious that he was anything but ok. She pushed on the door and came down the stairs into the mess hall. Percy looked worse than this morning. Annabeth doubted he had even ever left the mess hall. His eyes seemed to barely focus on Chiron’s Iris message. His nose was red, and his arms were crossed tightly over his chest.

When Percy finally noticed her entrance, he flashed her a crooked smile. Annabeth couldn’t help but smile back. The moment didn’t last long, because just then Percy’s eyes unfocused and he turned away from her, stifling harshly into a handkerchief.

“heh-ngxxt...nngxxt...huh-tchh”

He straightened and re folded his arms with a visible shiver.

She ignored Percy and stepped forward to Chiron, to make her own report. “Percy has a cold.”

The dark haired, red nosed demigod in question squinted at her in a sad attempt at a glare.

Chiron wasn’t even paying attention anymore. He had rushed off just as she had spoken to break up a fight somewhere in camp. The rainbow exploded into mist.

Annabeth turned to Percy to reprimand him WHY DIDN’T YOU TAKE BETTER CARE OF YOURSELF YOU LITTLE... but he had his back to her. His head snapped forward once, twice, three times as he tried to suppress his sneezes.

“heh-ngxxxt...hu-tchh...hheh-nnngxt.”

He seemed to realize that Annabeth was glaring at his back and turned around to meet her eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything, she pointed at the stairs, “Bed now, Percy Jackson.”

She melted a little when she saw him blush a little and walk off toward the stairs, but just before he went up the stairs she saw his head bob with a silent sneeze. It reminded her of how much of their plan was counting on him, and what would happen if he couldn’t control his powers. Annabeth strengthened her resolve not to run after him. She had to keep planning. It was the only way to survive.

Jason’s POV Midnight

He really didn’t know what to do when Percy sat down next to him. At least he was wearing a jacket this time.

“Um, are you allowed to be out here?” Jason asked, slightly panicked

“Dude, I’b sevedteed. Calb your face.”

For the first time, it struck Jason just how different the two of them were. Appearences aside, Percy was really easy-going about everything. Take right now for instance. Jason would probably be in his hammock, feeling miserable and stressing out over the job he had to do. Percy was out here, being...Percy-ish.

“heh-nngch...nngxt”

Jason glanced over at the boy sitting next to him. Percy’s head was in his hands. Ok, this was not Percy-ish at all.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

“I hate this.” Percy said. Jason was surprised to hear the bitterness in his congested voice. “Everyone pulls dight watch! It’s always beed this cold, ad sobehow I’b the odly ode who hah-nngxt... geds sick.”

Jason was watching Percy in shock. The sick boy kept talking, spilling his guts. Jason was having a really hard time understanding him now, because Percy had started crying. This was uncharted territory.

“If adythig...happeds toborrow, it’ll be by fault! And I cad’t stand the idea that...that...ha-ngxxt...”

And Jason understood. Percy knew the strain that Jason was under and he was about to undertake that same strain, even though he could barely go 5 minutes without stifling a sneeze or two. He was sick and afraid of letting his friends down. This is what had been going on inside of his head all day. Percy had been hiding his insecurities under a mask of smart-ass jokes, probably for as long as Jason had known him, maybe forever.

“Hey,” Jason soothed, “hey, it’s ok. It’s not your fault. You are the only one who caught a cold so far, but you also made Khione the maddest last time we saw her.”

“Yeah. hih-tchhh...tchh...snff...I wonder if little biss Ice Pridcess ever found her padties,” Percy sniggered, getting up.

Annabeth’s POV

Percy slumped into the mess hall the next morning looking, if possible, even worse than the night before. His hair was still wet from the shower, his nose was chafed looking, and his cheeks were flushed.

“Hah-tshhh...tchh...”

It could not have been more apparent how sick he was then at that moment. He was obviously exhausted, and his sneezes were wetter. Annabeth almost sent him back to bed right that second, but she knew that he was their only hope of surviving on the sea. Jason was using all of his energy to keep the wind spirits at bay, and they needed to give him a break before he caught Percy’s cold.

“ha-tchhh...tshh...eh-tshhm...”

She resolved to take care of Percy after the ship was safely on the water, sailing for Greece.

Hazel’s POV

A hand tapped her on the shoulder as she stood on the ship’s deck. She jumped and turned, where she saw Percy. He laughed hoarsely and said something very strange.

“I’b godda put my hand od your stomach, ok?”

Okaaay...

Percy laughed again, “M’not feverish, Hazel. I cad fix your seasickdess.”

Hazel shot him a sceptical look. And went for his forehead again, he dodged her hand, stifling at the same time.

“hah-tchh...Okay. So I have a fever. Point is, I’b dot delusiodal. heh-tshhhh...tshew,” Percy smothered a few more sneezes before removing his hand from her stomach “Kay, I’b dode. You’re good to go.”

Percy took a step away from her, stifling silently as he went, and walked over to the railing. He propped a wrist under his nose, and smothered a few sneezes as he looked at the horizon.

“heh-tshh...tchhh...tchh...a-tchhhh...”

The sneezes seemed too soft to be coming out of the sarcastic, dark haired, slightly dangerous looking demigod beside her.

“...heh-nnchh...”

She felt bad for Percy, he was obviously cold, wearing nothing but a windbreaker and his swimsuit. As she watched him, concerned, he shucked off the windbreaker and stood on the edge of the deck for a few seconds before Hazel realized what he was about to do.

“Percy NO!” she shouted.

“Chill,” he shivered as he said it, “Blackjack is right there.”

Sure enough, as he jumped, the jet black pegasus caught him and sped away toward the water.

[v a n i l l a]

OMG YES!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!

[v a n i l l a]

I loved that. And now I need more. (Gosh, even I'm annoyed by myself. XD)

[Sneezypeezy]

Love this! I love love love stifles! More??

[VividBubbles!]

Oh gods, I'm so in love. Poor Percy when he started crying! Mmm, I just love all of this and it's especially good because this is the first Percy fic ever!

More soon please!

bye.

P.S. Did I see a mention of Jason catching Percy's cold in there? Is that foreshadowing or am I just looking to deeply into this?

[snuffles]

That Percy/Jason interaction is just SO spot on! In fact I think you got all the characters perfectly, especially Leo (who is just so awesome in general). I also really liked the Hazel part with the sea-sickness... that should totally have made the book. It's really cute how she keeps trying to feel him! She's so much 'younger' but she always acts that much more mature.

[funinthesun]

Thanks for commenting, everybody! I'm writing some more now, but there is a strong chance it won't go up tonight.

I know...I wish I could do it tonight too. It's way more fun than homework.

[Nas]

This is such a great fic!

Thanks for commenting, everybody! I'm writing some more now, but there is a strong chance it won't go up tonight.

I know...I wish I could do it tonight too. It's way more fun than homework.

Yeah, lol, I should be doing homework right now, oops.

[42686]

im not much into the percy jackson fandom...but this fic definitely has my attention :D

[The Kneezle]

More, please more! I have never found fanfiction for the seven of them so good, let alone sneeze fiction you write them all perfectly and I love it! Here's me super addicted already!

[v a n i l l a]

...More? :3

[Rogue_infinity]

I was so excited when I saw this title, and tis even better than I expected

I love these books! It's a great story as well

I look forward to the next bit

[funinthesun]

I'm writing some more tonight, it should be up sometime tomorrow!

I'm really glad you guys like it so far!