*cough* I have no excuse...

It's not as long as I was planning but I just wanted to get this part posted before people thought I had abandoned it. Hopefully my next chapter won't take nearly as long to post.

Disclaimer- I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus Series. (One can dream though) All rights go to the proper parties.

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Percy POV

I didn't get a lot of sleep that night. I was too busy trying to figure out why Hermes would kiss me. He did mention something about doing it just because of tradition, but would he really kiss another guy just because of that? I couldn't see myself kissing a girl just because I was under the mistletoe with her, but he is a few thousand years old. Tradition could be a big deal to him. Then again he hadn't even known as too why the mistletoe had been hung. Would he really be that devoted to a tradition that he hadn't even celebrated before?

I found myself wondering if Annabeth might be right. I knew that Hermes obviously wasn't gay, but that didn't mean he wasn't bisexual. If Hermes really did like guys though, what would be the chances that he would like me? Yet no matter how strange of a thought it was, the fact remained that he had kissed me. No matter what he said, I found it very hard to believe that he would only do so because of a tradition he doesn't even celebrate.

I didn't fall sleep until the sun was already starting to rise.

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I didn't really do anything the first day of my break. I just sat around our living room, relaxing and watching Disney movies. I was tired. Even though I had been up incredibly late, I had still woken up at a normal time.

I was immensely grateful that my mom didn't ask about my supposed 'date'. If she had, I would have had to tell her the truth. That he had kissed me. Then there would have been no way that she would have ever let me get away without calling it a date. Plus, she would insist on meeting him. That would not end well for anyone.

The second day of our break, Annabeth came over so that we could do our homework together. I was planning on waiting until the last minute to do it, but the daughter of Athena promised to help me if I was responsible and did it at the beginning. At least I got one day off before being thrown back into school work.

Since our teachers had decided that we didn't need to sleep, they had buried us both in essays. Annabeth ended up staying the night so that we'd be able to work together and get it done the next day. It wasn't quite as nice doing homework with my best friend as it had been when I had Hermes breathing the words into my ears, but at least I got more done.

Both Paul and my mom were proud that I had finished my homework first rather than waiting till the night before I went back to rush through it. Even if it had taken the first few days of my break, at least I was now free to do as I wanted for the rest of the vacation.

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The day after our homework was finished, I began feeling closed in. I never liked staying in our apartment for days at a time. I needed to go outside just for a change of scenery.

It wasn't until I was putting on my coat that I realized I hadn't giving Hermes his gift. I was planning on giving it to him once I gave George and Martha their rats but after the near kiss, I had completely forgotten. It was fairly forgivable I guess. I was only mortal and having ones crush nearly kiss you is bound to make you forget a few things. Still, now I wouldn't be able to give it to him until the New Year.

As I walked along the street, I frowned. I hadn't really thought about the fact that I wouldn't see Hermes again for over two weeks. I had gotten used to seeing him five times a week. I didn't like the thought of not knowing why he had kissed me until school started again. If I had to wait until January for answers, I'd probably lose my mind.

My feet had brought me to the little park down the street from our apartment. It wasn't empty, but there weren't many people either, just a couple with a stroller and an old man with a dog. I found a bench and sat down with a sigh. I closed my eyes and dropped my head into my hands.

I had never been particularly good at understanding what to do with relationships. My main go-to people were Annabeth and my mom. I could hardly tell my mom that I had been kissed by a Greek god, so that cut my options in half. I told Annabeth what had happened, but her only advice had been that I should ask Hermes.

Her plan made sence, but there were two problems. One, I wouldn't see the god of travellers again until after Christmas break. I wasn't certain I would still be sane if I couldn't figure out an answer by then. The second problem was that I wasn't certain that I would have the guts to do it. Kill the Minotaur? No problem. Stop a war? No problem. Save the world multiple times before I can even legally drink? No problem. That was a different kind of courage though. I had been on a couple dates, but they had always ended up asking me. I just wasn't very good with the whole 'love' deal. I got tongue twisted and never knew what to say.

I wasn't sure how long I had sat there before I felt someone take a seat beside me, "Something on your mind Perce?"

I felt my spin stiffen at the familiar voice. My head shot up and I looked to the side to see none other than the god of Thieves. "Hermes!"

He chuckled, "The one and only."

"What are you doing here?"

He raised one eyebrow in amusement. "Believe it or not, I do live in New York."

"Oh, right." I felt myself blush.

"So what's going on Percy? You look like you have a lot on your mind."

I winced. This was exactly what I meant. It was the perfect opportunity to ask what I wanted to know and I had no idea how to go about it. I rubbed the back of my neck. When I dropped my hand again, I felt it hit against the box in my pocket. It may not have been the main thing I was thinking about but it was one of them. Plus, it would give me more time to try to ask what I really wanted to know.

I pulled the little box out of my pocket and gave it to him. "Here, I bought this for you. I kinda forgot to give it to you yesterday. Merry Christmas, Hermes."

He looked surprised, but he quickly recovered and took the box from me. Now that I had actually given it to him, I was nervous about his reaction. I hoped he didn't think it was stupid...

He opened the little black box and I saw his eyebrows jump in surprise. I found myself starting to babble.

"I know it's a little weird, but I saw it and I just thought it was a cool idea. I know technically it's a medic alert pendent, but it has you're caduceus on it. And since they are designed to be engraved, I got the back done for you. Obviously it doesn't have and allergy information on it, but I..."

I was cut off when Hermes put a hand over my mouth. He gave me a soft look. "It's sweet."

Hermes dropped his hand and I found myself blushing. "Read the back."

He flipped the pendent over and started to laugh. I joined in. The saleslady had given me a funny look at the request, but she had done it. The reverse was engraved with the words '#1 gym teacher'. I had hoped that he would find it amusing.

When he finally got his laughter under control, he fixed me with a warm smile. I couldn't help but return it.

"Thank you Percy." I felt my heart rate pick up at the affectionate tone in his voice. He seemed to sense it. His eyes dropped to my lips.

Before I could think of a response to his words, he leaned in and kissed me.

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I felt my breath catch in my throat. It was a different type of kiss then the one we had shared under the mistletoe. It was softer, yet just as passionate. I felt like my soul was melting with every slow caress of his lips.

I hadn't even realized that I had stopped breathing until he pulled away. The first breath made my head spin. He was looking at me, waiting for some kind of reaction, but it was all I could do to try and restart my brain.

"Say something?" If it wasn't for the fact that he was an immortal, I would have sworn that he looked nervous.

"I... umm... wow?" I winced internally. That was definitely not one of my brighter moments, but Hermes didn't seem to mind.

The god of Thieves chuckled. "I can work with that answer."

With that said, his lips descended on mine once more.