Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus. There is some dialogue in this chapter taken from 'The Last Olympian', but this text has been italicized, and I do not claim to own any of this text. It all belongs to the beautiful mind of Rick Riordan. Additionally, I don't own the song that inspired the story title, 'Kidz', by Take That, or the song that inspired the chapter title, 'Ships in the Night' by Mat Kearney. Yes, my taste in music is in fact quite eclectic. Also, I don't own the Wicked Witch of the West. She belongs to... Whoever the hell owns 'The Wizard of Oz'.

Story Title: Uphill and Against the Wind

Summary: A series of encounters over the years leave Percy Jackson desperately in love with Apollo, the Sun God, but when Hera switches her with Jason Grace, Percy is left in New Rome with only the vague memory of a boy that almost seems to glow gold. Fem!Percy

Rated: M, for language, and later in the story, lemons

AN: First of all, I would like to apologize for how ridiculously long it's been since my last update. My paternal grandfather passed away after a three-year fight with cancer, and my maternal grandfather has just found out that he has an aortic aneurysm and may need a very risky surgery. So I haven't really felt like writing.

Holy freaking God! The number of favs and follows- I can't even- I mean it's so flattering, I just- holy fucking shit. Thank you so much guys!

.:~{+}~:.

Crashing Into the Sea

.:~{+}~:.

Like ships in the night,

You keep passing me by,

We're just wasting time

Trying to prove who's right,

And if it all goes crashing into the sea,

If it's just you and me,

Trying to find the light,

Like ships in the night

-Ships in the Night, by Mat Kearney

.:~{+}~:.

The next year and a half was a strange time for Apollo, feeling simultaneously as though he were waiting impatiently for something, and yet also wished for it to never come.

Apollo hadn't felt that tug since the times of Ancient Greece. He'd thought that the Fates must have given up on him, because he'd managed to completely fuck over every opportunity for happiness that he'd been given thus far.

And yet, wasn't that what this was? An opportunity for happiness?

For a moment, he tried to imagine it. Percy Jackson, for the rest of forever, because Gods knew that with the daughter of Poseidon, the intention had to be forever. But it was difficult. He'd been a free spirit for so long, the idea of one lover for eternity was… foreign. His cabin at Camp Half-Blood would become just about as redundant as Hera's (not that he'd ever call her cabin redundant to her face). His golden cabin was always filled with laughter and song. He tried to imagine it empty and quiet.

It was difficult.

And yet…

And yet it was also easy. He remembered the curve of her smile and the look of mischief on her face as they sat in that Lamborghini. He thought about her eyes. A wave of deep longing hit him at the thought of those eyes. Sea-green, on the knife's edge between dark and bright, lined by dark lashes. Apollo was fairly certain that he was already in love with those eyes.

He could spend eternity with those eyes.

The golden cabin in his mind suddenly became very quiet, and now he could see it. He could see a forever with Percy Jackson. Forever with her and her eyes and her smile. He could be as silly and childish as he wanted, and she'd respond with mischief and light-heartedness. He could be serious, and she'd actually take him seriously. The future suddenly stretched out before him, in a way that it never had before, filled with love and laughter and happiness.

After coming to terms with the fact that they were tied, he found himself watching her more often. He became fascinated not only with the complexity of her life as a demigod, but also with the contrasting simplicity her life took on when she was at home with her mother. He especially watched her during her time in the labyrinth. He'd felt the most awful kind of anxiety while she was in there, because he could see the dangers she was heading towards before even she saw them, and he knew he could not help her. It was forbidden.

It was one such day, as he debated whether or not he could get away with helping her navigate the labyrinth that Aphrodite had come to him.

She had approached him, tall and curvaceous, hips swinging sensually and a razor-sharp smile smeared across her lips that had him on edge instantly. She was wearing a dress, he noticed absentmindedly, a color not-quite-white, cream maybe, he wasn't sure about specific shades, but it was what he'd heard her refer to as a mermaid style dress before, and it reminded him of Percy and her mermaid princess hair. She was blonde when she first came to him, but he was dismayed to see it slowly twisting and curling and darkening, until it was deepest black against skin that had suddenly tanned, and when he looked into her eyes, he saw dark-bright green staring back at him.

He blinked, and Aphrodite's features morphed, her hair straightening, her skin lightening and her eyes turning the Love Goddess' preferred blue. There was still a slight resemblance to Percy, but not nearly so striking as it was a moment ago.

The knowing smirk on Aphrodite's face made him feel in equal parts enraged and defeated.

"So it would seem that Persephone Jackson has become your standard of perfect beauty," Aphrodite said, the smirk stretching ever wider. "Odd, as I have sent far more classically beautiful women your way over the years. Though I suppose that nothing trumps true love." When she said the words 'true love', a dreamy expression took hold of her perfect, perfect face, even as Apollo grit his teeth.

"I haven't spent enough time with her to love her," he ground out. Even as he said it, he thought of how he'd lived long enough to know that you didn't have to have known someone for all that long to be in love with them. Still, he didn't like the way that Aphrodite was intruding on his personal business.

Aphrodite was aware of this as well, for she ignored his statement.

"Not even the Fates trump true love… but then, you were lucky enough to get two-in-one, weren't you?"

The smirk was absolutely wicked by this point, and Apollo tensed.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, even though they both knew what she was talking about. What he should have been asking was 'how do you know?'

"I'm talking about the fact that the Fates have tied Percy Jackson's life thread to you!"

"How do you know about that?" he asked, voice sharper than he'd intended. Inwardly, he cursed himself. Now Aphrodite would know that she'd hit a sensitive subject. Sensitive subjects could be used against him. Already, his mind drifted to poor, sweet Hyacinthus, the handsome Prince of Sparta who'd been killed by spite and jealousy.

The wickedness in her expression dropped at his tone, and it was only then that he realized her tone had been more playful than threatening. Now a look of seriousness, with a touch of compassion and friendliness graced her face.

"Apollo, I'm the Goddess of Love. I will admit to not always being the one to play matchmaker, sometimes two people fall in love all by themselves, but I can still sense that attraction, those feelings. I felt the tug of her life thread right along with you last winter."

Apollo felt a flash of insight. When such things occurred, he was never quite sure if it was due to intelligence on his part, or his gift of prophecy. He had long since stopped wondering. "You felt it because it signified a future lover of mine. Potential for romance."

"Yes," she said, nodding, as though pleased with his deduction skills.

"You're not here to manipulate me, or use her against me," he figured out loud. "You're just drawn by the romance."

Her face lit up, and he knew he was right. "It'll be so dramatic! You're faithful in love, Apollo, and Percy is unwaveringly loyal. You'd be an amazing couple- I can't believe I didn't think of it before the Fates! But then there are all of these external factors against you- you're a God, and she's a demigod- ooh, and she's Poseidon's demigod! Just wait until he finds out! You'll be like Romeo and Juliet, or Helen and Troy!"

He hoped not. Romeo and Juliet died, and Helen and Troy started a war… And then they died.

He decided to cut the core of his worries.

"Will you tell anyone?"

She stopped gushing, and suddenly became very serious. Her eyes darkened to a glossy black, and for a moment she reminded him of the Hesperides.

"No, no I won't tell. Interfering would ruin the story, wouldn't it? Well, unless it gets boring. But for now, I'm entertained."

He grit his teeth and wondered suddenly if this was how demigods felt- that the Gods just used them for their own amusement. He felt a rush of guilt that it was partially true. But things could get so, so boring.

"It wouldn't be entertaining if Percy died," he countered. "The story would end if she died."

Aphrodite frowned. "Who said anything about her dying?"

"If you tell, she could end up like Hyacinthus. Killed out of spite. I have many enemies, you realize."

Her eyes flashed and her lips pursed, displeased by his warning tone.

"Only because you showed such cruelty in your youth," she countered. He flinched at that, because it was the truth. He'd made his bed. Now he had to lie in it.

She continued to eye him. "I will be your ally," she said after a moment.

He blinked, showing more surprise on his face than he would have liked.

"What?"

"I will be your ally," she repeated. "When Poseidon finds out, it's likely that he won't be happy. You don't have the best track record with lovers. Zeus will probably also not be pleased. You know how he gets about Gods interfering in the lives of demigods. I will defend you, verbally, and if I have to, I will also be by your side in a physical fight."

He was still surprised, confused by her motivation.

"This… is all because you enjoy romance?"

She smiled, a genuine smile this time, a playful light in her eyes, which had swirled back into Percy's mesmerizing green.

"Well, I do love, love, after all."

.:~{+}~:.

The water below her churned as she stared deeply into it. Her reflection looked… like it was not quite part of her, as though an alien being were staring back up at her through the black water. Surely her face had never looked so smooth, so devoid of emotion? Surely her eyes had never been so empty? She shivered and looked away, at all of the floating, broken dreams on the water, hopes and wishes that were lost by souls on the passage between life and death.

The River Styx.

Did she really have to swim in that?

One look at Nico's face told her she did. But Nico wasn't looking at her. He was looking at something behind her.

She turned quickly, and found herself face-to-face with a fierce-looking Greek warrior. A glance down revealed that he had an arrow sticking from his heel.

Achilles.

"Beware," he said, "Turn back! It will make you powerful, but it will also make you weak."

She wanted to turn back. She wanted to. She could tell from the pure pain in his voice, the desperation, that he was trying to save her from the terrible fate of falling to her own arrogance. And she would like to think that she would never become complacent, that she would guard her mortal spot like her life depended on it, because her life would depend on it. But it would be so easy, she knew, when one was almost, almost all-powerful, to forget about that one little weak spot…

To assume she wouldn't fall to arrogance was arrogant in and of itself.

"I have to. Otherwise I don't stand a chance," she told him regrettably.

"Hero, if you must do this, concentrate on your mortal point. Imagine one spot of your body that will remain vulnerable. This is the point where your soul will anchor your body to the world. It will be your greatest weakness, but also your only hope. No man may be completely invulnerable. Lose sight of what makes you mortal, and the River Styx will burn you to ashes. You will cease to exist."

"No man may be completely invulnerable," Percy repeated, the words rolling mockingly off her tongue. "May women be invulnerable?" she asked, and knew she was being a smart-aleck. "Because I am no man."

She heard Nico snort behind her, but Achilles did not appear to be as amused. He scowled. "Prepare yourself, foolish girl. Live or die, you have sealed your own fate."

And with that ominous statement, he disappeared.

"Well, thanks for the advice," she muttered sarcastically to the empty air.

"Percy," Nico said from behind her, causing her to turn. "Maybe he's right."

She felt annoyance swell up inside. He had spent the last year convincing her to go through with this stupid, stupid idea, and now she was here, ready to jump into the River Styx and he was backing out on her?

"Just wait on the shore," she snapped. "If anything happens to me… Well, maybe Hades will get his wish, and you'll be the child of the prophecy after all."

Before she could change her mind, she imagined a string pulling taut, just behind her navel, until the other end touched the small of her back directly opposite. That was it. Her mortal spot. Defended by armour, and rarely targeted. The string lengthened in her mind's eye, anchoring her soul to Earth.

And with that, she jumped into the River Styx.

It was the worst pain imaginable. In fact, it transcended her powers of imagination. She hadn't ever imagined that such pain was physically possible. If she'd been fully mortal, and had never known about the existence of the Gods, such pain would have made her lose all faith in the existence of any God. It was like being burned alive, having acid and salt poured into the weeping burns, and then being flayed alive. She lost all ability to function. She couldn't move. She couldn't think. And for the first time in her life, she could not breathe underwater.

Suddenly, she understood the panic of drowning.

The faces of those she loved flashed through her mind's eye, a kaleidoscope of her life, fracturing before her very eyes. The pain dissolved everything.

She began to forget who she was. The faces were melting, she was melting, melting away into the water, just like the Wicked Witch of the West, she thought absently, but that was gone after a few seconds as well, her soul was melting away-

"Oh, surely it's not as bad as all that?" a familiar voice rang. "All you have to do is remember your lifeline. Don't you think you're being a bit dramatic?" Apollo. That was Apollo's voice. Her destiny.

There was a tug on the thread that kept her tied to Earth. "Your life thread," his voice supplied. Yes… yes, it would be her life thread, wouldn't it? Why hadn't she realized before? The pain was gone. The current pulled at her, trying to carry her away, but it wasn't succeeding, not anymore. Not now that he'd reminded her of her life thread. It was keeping her attached to Earth-

Except that wasn't quite right. She had a hard time imagining the red thread of her life attaching itself to the Earth. Instead, it seemed as though it was attached to him. Yes, she could see him now, standing above the water, barefoot. He walks on water, just like Jesus, she thought vaguely, and for some reason the thought made her want to laugh hysterically. He was smiling that smile that always made her smile back, and his impossibly blue eyes seemed like they were laughing at her. And there was her life thread, attaching her life to him.

At that thought, the string pulled taut, pulling her tighter to him. Her destiny.

Of course they were connected. How had she not seen it before? The string was vivid scarlet, impossible to miss. How could she not have known?

How could she not have known that she was meant to be with him?

She'd known he was her destiny, but she'd spent the last year and a half pretending she didn't know how he'd fit in her life, despite the fact that her heart skipped a beat at the sight of his face and she'd get the most uncontrollable urges to touch him, and the fact that she felt this tug- her life thread pulling her closer, she now realized- whenever he was near.

She hadn't been ready to admit that she knew exactly how he'd fit into her life. She'd wasted so much time with her denial. But everything changed now, as she floated in the River Styx, deep in the Underworld, realizing that the Sun God, whether he knew it or not, was what kept her soul anchored to this life.

And as the illusion of him held out his hand to help her from the water, she knew.

She was ready now.

.:~{+}~:.

"Rise, my child," Poseidon's voice rang through a wrecked Olympus.

Percy obeyed the command, her legs feeling wobbly from a culmination of nervousness and exhaustion. She made it a point not to look over at Apollo's throne. She'd caught a glimpse of him earlier, and just that one glance had hit her harder than she'd thought it would. Since her epiphany in the River Styx, her feelings for him had become more intense than she'd thought possible, to the point that she had wondered if she had somehow loved him all this time and just hadn't realized. Looking at him now, she thought, would just make her legs even weaker.

"A great hero must be rewarded," Poseidon was booming, even as Percy made a concentrated effort to keep her eyes glued to him, and to not let them drift over to a golden throne… "Is there anyone here who would deny that my daughter is deserving?"

Silence.

"The Council agrees," Zeus cut in. "Percy Jackson, you will have one gift from the Gods."

"Any gift?" she asked, voice hesitant.

Zeus nodded. "I know what you wish, Persephone Jackson. The greatest gift the Gods can grant. It has been bestowed on very few, but if you wish it, you shall be made a Goddess. Immortal. Undying. You shall rule the seas with your father for all time."

Any and all thoughts came to a grinding halt for a moment. All she could do was stare.

"… a Goddess?"

Zeus rolled his eyes. "Dim-witted, apparently, but yes, a Goddess."

Immortality. She'd live forever, be forever young. Just like Apollo.

She lost control for a moment as her mind raced, and before she knew it, she was looking at him, and his golden hair, those bright summer blue eyes, his skin, sun-kissed until he seemed to glow gold. He was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.

And he was all hers.

The possessiveness bubbled up from seemingly nowhere, and it caught her off guard. But it was true, wasn't it? True, it was her life thread that was attached to him, but it should also be noted that he was consequently just as tied to her as she was to him.

They could have eternity together.

And yet, she knew she could not, would not take this generous gift of immortality. To take it would be selfish, when she knew that there was something the world needed much more than another Goddess. This whole war could have been avoided had the Gods simply paid a little more attention to their children, made them feel loved and wanted. It was no coincidence that of the forty demigods that fought for Olympus over the last few days, every single one of them had been claimed.

And so, she did what she knew was right, even as the words tasted bitter in her mouth.

"No."

.:~{+}~:.

The Council had dispersed, and Apollo caught her arm just as she was leaving the Empire State Building.

"Why did you turn it down?" he demanded, his voice more angry than he would like, but he couldn't help the hurt and betrayal he felt. Her rejection of immortality felt a whole lot like a rejection of him, especially after the way that she'd gazed at him so longingly in what was left of the throne room.

He'd thought then that his feelings for her were returned, but it would appear not.

She was staring up at him now with that same longing though, and it confused him. He wanted to look into her mind and just see all of the answers, but he felt like that may be an invasion of her privacy, especially when his questions held so much consequence. He respected her too much to invade her privacy in that way.

"The world needed the gift that was given more than the gift that was offered," she said simply, but he noted the unhappiness in her voice.

He pursed his lips, understanding her intentions then. "So, you were being selfless."

"Extremely selfless," she confirmed, green eyes staring up at him like she could see into his soul.

He was just about to leave when she stopped him with words that took him completely off guard.

"Did you know that you're my destiny?" she asked.

He blinked several times in shock. Her life thread was tied to him, yes, but somehow he'd never thought of it in terms of destiny.

She seemed to notice the flabbergasted look on his face, because she smiled up at him, green eyes sparkling, and said,

"I knew you didn't have as much control over the Oracle as you like to pretend."

Somehow, the fact that it was Percy's voice saying the words made them not sound like so much of a weakness.

"What does my Oracle have to do with anything?" he asked.

"When I was twelve, on my very first quest… I didn't know how to get a prophecy from the Oracle. I just asked 'what is my destiny', and it told me that my destiny was the sun. I didn't really understand what it meant… until I met you."

He found himself slightly stunned. She'd known about their connection for far longer than he had. He wondered if she'd come to terms with it yet, the way that he had.

"That's how I knew that everything would somehow work out," she said, "Even if I turned down immortality, it wouldn't matter. Everything would still fall into place because… because it's destiny."

As he stared at her, completely dumbfounded and wondering how a mortal could surprise him so deeply, she smiled again, the smile he had mused on spending eternity with.

"I have to go find my mom and Paul, but I'll see you around, okay?"

And with that, she walked out into the mess of injured demigods, wrecked cars, cracked concrete and monster dust. But this time, Apollo didn't feel the need to chase after her, like he did in the throne room. Everything would fall into place.

It was destiny.