Happy birthday to @biracialpercy, my dear feral child! 💕
While it was not an uncommon occurrence, as the different aspects of one’s personality were sometimes so balanced in some people that their biology could hardly decide on one gender, it was still a shock for the campers.
Their hero was not an Alpha, but a Null? That was just not done.
All of the Greek and Roman heroes in history were Alphas or high Betas, so to think that their hero’s Alpha and Omega aspects were so balanced that his biology couldn’t decide on one was unthinkable.
Because while Percy Jackson was a momma’s boy, who was too caring sometimes, he was definitely an Alpha material.
He fought bravely to defend those who were not capable of doing it - like an Alpha. He took care of bullies to protect the weak - like an Alpha. He was strong, powerful, and attractive - like an Alpha. He sparred regularly to assert his dominance over the others, who would dare to question him - like an Alpha. Right?
Everybody was sure of it.
They just forgot one tiny little thing: to ask Percy what /he/ thought about it.
Because if they would have taken the time and effort to ask him what he thought and wanted, they might have been not that sure of their reasonings.
Percy just wanted to be left alone.
His father expected him to be an Alpha, just as his other sons were; the whole camp was convinced that he was this strong hero who was, /of course/, an Alpha. Annabeth (and the other campers) was sure he would mate with her because the Omega daughter of Athena and the Alpha son of Poseidon were /obviously/ soulmates.
But the most painful was Luke. The son of Hermes (who had been on probation after the Titan War and got pardoned after the Gigant War) was avoiding him because as the previous Alpha of Camp Half-Blood, he didn’t want to get into a territory fight with the /real/ Alpha of Camp Half-Blood.
The only person who loved him unconditionally, and who really knew him was his mother. She always knew his biggest wish:
He wanted to be an Omega.
He had enough of fighting, of saving the world; he wanted to be taken care of, he wanted to be loved.
To have /his/ Alpha care for him, love him, do everything for him.
He hated people and their assumptions.
He hated to be regarded as a “late-bloomer” Alpha. He hated that the gods and the other demigods basically planned out his whole life.
Like they had any rights to do it.
Like anyone but Percy had the right to decide who and what he should be.
It was nothing new as he has been in pain since he first noticed the little Null hero as a potential mate, but it was worse than ever.
While the two wars were good reasons for not presenting, now that everything was calm, the pressure on Percy to present as an Alpha became even more pronounced.
Painful to watch the poor boy being harassed by horny Omegas panting to become his mate, painful to see the little girl he thought of as his sister plan out their upcoming wedding.
Painful to feel hopeless, rejected. He knew Percy was assumed to be a hiding Alpha, but he always carried a tiny hope that in the end, he would present as an Omega.
Percy Jackson, the Hero of Olympus was basically his obsession. First, his enemy, then a reluctant ally, then… he fell under his spell, like many other demigods before and after him.
But, unlike the Omegas, he had no hope to be with the Null demigod-
Until he miraculously did.
When a pissed-off hero rushed into his room in the Big House, ready to tear somebody’s head off, he didn’t anticipate what was going to happen. (That was not new. Being around Percy Jackson, was never predictable.)
Luke was unsure what to do, what to say to calm the enraged Null down, but because he was an unquestionable masochist, he broached a topic /he/ wanted to talk about.
“So… Annie visited me,” he said to the pacing Null. Percy stilled, breathing heavily as if he competed in a marathon.
“She did?” he asked in a misleadingly calm tone, avoiding Luke’s eye contact.
“Hm,” the Alpha nodded, thinking quickly how to proceed. When Percy was like this… He was the most unpredictable when he was like this - like the ocean, ready to strike at any time. “She was telling me about your date,” he finished, gritting his teeth.
“That wasn’t a date!” Percy snapped, irritated, and continued pacing.
“Would it be so bad if it was?” Luke asked gently, even if he dreaded the answer. Annie was an amazing girl, so talented, driven, powerful, and they were the perfect partners on and off the battlefield. The perfect Omega heroine and the amazing Alpha hero - a true Greek love story.
“Yes,” he said but did not elaborate. Annabeth was a wonderful person, his best friend, but just that - a friend.
“But you two are the perfect couple. Aren’t you? She is a good Omega, she would make sure you would present an A-.” Before Luke could finish his sentence, Percy snapped.
Almost everybody in his life said almost exactly this, even his /father/, who hated Athena, wanted him to mate with Annabeth, but this was different.
Luke, his first crush, his enemy, his friend, his love.
"Have you thought that maybe /I/ don’t want to mate with her?! That maybe, just maybe, I don’t want to be a fucking Alpha?!” Percy practically roared it into Luke’s face. “Maybe I don’t care about what others want, and /maybe/ what I want is to be an Omega!”
The water in the pipes worked to escape from its confines; they rattled, hissed, and answering the tumultuous emotions of its lord, the tap burst open.
But Luke didn’t pay any attention to it. How could he, when Percy Jackson, the presumed Alpha just confessed that he wanted to become an Omega?
“Well, then,” the son of Hades commented lightly, with a determined gleam in his eyes. “I wanted to be nice, to let Annabeth, the perfect Omega have you, but not anymore. It’s time to be selfish,” he growled, moving, stalking towards his prey.
And as he pulled Percy close to him, kissing him thoroughly, Percy couldn’t help, but agree with him: It was time to be selfish.