Well, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, so I had it typed up pretty quick. So, I probably won't be updating for a while. I have an idea for an HP fic, and I'd like to work on that.

Thanks to all of you who reviewed last chapter :D

Read, and please, please let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, wishing that something is yours... doesn't make it yours. Who knew?

To Spy, or not to Spy

Sunlight shone across the city, skittering across the white marble floor, creating an effect almost as blinding as Apollo's smile, hitting the clean, pristine buildings. Vendors were shouting- "Five drachmas for a stick of ambrosia! Get it cheap!" "Four drachmas for a glass of nectar! The best nectar in all of Olympus!"-and people were interacting with each other, exchanging small talk and having conversations with big smiles worn upon their faces. Birds chirped, laughter was heard, and a general air of geniality was present.

That was, of course, until you got to the throne room. There was no laughter in the throne room. No birds chirping, no small talk, no geniality. In fact, it was quite the opposite.

Hera and Zeus were fighting- again. I think that it was about the fact that Zeus had been up to, ahem, some activities. Quite ironic that the goddess of marriage couldn't handle her own marriage. Apollo was checking himself out using a mirror he had conjured out of somewhere. Artemis was grumbling about something-or-the-other, probably something about how horrible the male sex was. Hades was looking slightly perturbed by the glare being sent toward him by Demeter-she still wasn't over the whole how-dare-you-kidnap-my-daughter-and-force-her-to-marry-you-you-creep! thing. Hermes was busy talking on his phone, the snakes George and Martha not present.

Ares was trying to make a move on Aphrodite using facial expressions, but she was too busy trying to fix a microscopic, unseeable problem with her perfect makeup to actually take notice of Ares's moves. Hephaestus was glaring at Ares, for trying to make a move on his wife. Dionysus was sulking about the fact that he still couldn't drink (he was the god of wine, for Zeus's sake!). And, of course, Athena and I were glaring daggers at each other, having a contest about who could make the other drop dead using looks only first. Unfortunately, it was rather difficult to kill an immortal god.

The goddess of war and I, the god of the ocean, were upset over one thing- our children. The same children that would make gray hairs spout on both our heads earlier than they should (we were still young!). The same children that would, eventually, end up killing both of us. The same children that were, right now, dating. How in Zeus's name something as absolutely disgusting as that had happened was completely unfathomable. I suspected that the accursed Aphrodite had something to do with it. That damned woman just couldn't keep her perfect nose out of other people's business.

"So. It seems that the sea brat has reunited with Annabeth," Athena started, and a hush fell over of the throne room. Normally, I would've been extremely annoyed with the fact that the occupants found our arguments-which were completely justified!-a source of entertainment. However, I was too focused on what Athena had said. Our children had, indeed, reunited three days prior.

"Oh, please. It's your detestable daughter that caused Percy so much pain! It's all her fault!" I replied, even though I didn't really hate Annabeth. In fact, she was quite a pleasant girl. I couldn't let Athena know that, though, and insulting her children really riled her up. Which, in turn, amused me.

"My daughter caused your son pain? Ha! It's your idiotic son that caused so much pain and anguish to my daughter, though Zeus knows why! I say that she'd be better off without him!"

"Actually, I don't really know why," Zeus mumbled, but I ignored him.

"Why, it seems that we finally agree on something! I think my son would be better off without your daughter as well!" I shouted, although I knew that Percy would never agree.

"I can see that that barnacle filled head of yours actually has a minuscule amount of sense buried deep within there. I'd happily cast your son into Tartarus, if Annabeth didn't mind. However, it seems that she does. I don't know why, though. Your son and my daughter aren't even compatible!" she ranted, and I agreed.

"I know! I mean, they're polar opposites! How in the world could they be together?" I continued her rant.

"Ooh, are we talking about Percabeth!" Aphrodite squealed, apparently done with "fixing" her makeup.

Athena and I looked at her blankly,

"... Percabeth?" both her and I questioned at the same time, and then glared at each other.

"Percy and Annabeth. Percabeth. Duh," she deadpanned, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "Anyway, aren't they just so adorable? Oh my gods, I could just eat them up! I was thinking that a tragedy would be good... but they're just too adorable to cause so much anguish to! And the poor dears have had such a hard life."

I beat Athena to the punch, and answered,

"No, they are not, in any way, shape, or form, cute. They don't belong together," I said sternly, a tone of finality in my voice, as if this was undebatable. Which, really, it was. This argument between Athena and I had been going on for quite a while, and I had found that we both agreed. The only thing stopping us from ripping the two apart was the fact that they were happy with each other. This, of course, only aggravated us that much more.

It seemed that Aphrodite hadn't sensed the this-is-not-up-for-debate tone in my voice.

"Poseidon! How could you say such a horrible thing!" Aphrodite looked as if I had just committed blasphemy, "Those two are so compatible! Their story is so romantic and cliche! I mean, they start off hating each other, then they become best friends, and then they get together! Not to mention the angst that was involved!" Aphrodite squealed, and if I hadn't been aware of the fact that a female voice could go up so high, I was now.

Athena scoffed,

"They are not compatible, Aphrodite. You simply have your already depleting brain cells clogged up with that gunk of yours."

Aphrodite grinned a cheshire cat smile, ignoring the remark about her intelligence,

"You're just worried that the same might happen to you and Poseidon. After all, if it can happen to your kids, who so greatly resemble you... who says it can't happen to you?"

First came the shock, the shock at the fact that Aphrodite had just insulted me so badly. The shock that she had the audacity to say that to us. Then came the spluttering. I spluttered this way and that, all the while trying to form a coherent sentence to deny that absurd claim of hers. And then, of course, came the rage. The vein-popping, teeth-gnashing rage.

"THAT IS NOT TRUE!" both Athena and I yelled at the same time, then turned to stare at each other in horror. The horror soon turned into anger, and both of us went back to glaring at each other. Aphrodite cackled in the back, and then said,

"You know what? I think that I'll just show you how compatible the two are," Aphrodite said, and I swear, if she squealed one more time... I was going to "accidentally" unleash a herd of Pegasus on her. It seemed that Athena was having the same type of thought, if the vein bulging in her forehead was anything to go by.

"And how, my dear Aphrodite, do you purpose that?" Athena asked in that forced way of hers, her teeth clenched together.

Aphrodite giggled and clapped her hands together,

"Well, we're going to spy on them, obviously!"

This was completely horrible. This was absolutely terrible. This was the epitome of dastardly. This. Was. Wrong.

So, really, you couldn't blame me for doing it.

I found myself sitting on my throne, trying to look completely disinterested even though I really wanted to know what was going to happen, peering into the giant screen that Hephaestus had hooked up. We were going to be spying on my son and his date.

I bet it was times like these that mortals really appreciated having mortal parents.

Aphrodite was acting like a mad woman, giggling and shining with glee at the prospect of spying on Percy and Annabeth, so it wasn't all that different to how she was usually acting. She had forced everyone to watch this, since, and I quote, "They are so adorable! You have to watch them!"

And, of course, she'd threatened us all with tragic love lives for the rest of our immortal lives if we didn't stay.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Athena lean forward in anticipation when she thought no one was watching.

"POPCORN! WHO HAS MY POPCORN? I NEED POPCORN TO ENJOY THIS SHOW!" Apollo shouted, obviously just wanting attention, since everyone here could just conjure popcorn out of thin air.

"Popcorn? Yes, yes. Popcorn is good, since it has whole grains in it. Cereal would be better, though. Whole grain, wheat cereal, with wholesome grains and oats mixed in! Apollo, you need some more cereal!" Demeter ranted, and then continued her mad ramblings about cereal.

"So, what, now we have to watch that arrogant brat and his date? Humph. I think I was happier without a throne on Olympus!" Hades complained.

"Yes, yes, I know that Persephone wants more statues, but I just can't do it right now! Tell her that she's on hold- yes, this is Hermes speaking. What! What did that stupid goat do now?" Hermes was rambling into his phone, as busy as ever.

"Humph. I'm leaving! I don't need to worry about cursed love lives since I am the virgin goddess! I'm going to go to the Hunt! Goodbye! I don't need to see this disgusting stuff!" Artemis declared, and she stormed off. No one paid her much attention.

"Ha, that stupid punk probably can't even get Annabeth to kiss him! Prissy's too pathetic. I need to see some action here! I don't care about that asshole's love life. Hell, I want his love life destroyed! Crushed underneath my manly fist!" Three guesses who that was.

"Hmmm... I wonder if I change this lever here... no, no, that won't work. Oh! What if I- no, that won't work either..." Hephaestus was too far lost in Mechanic World for any of us to reach him.

"Humph. Must we watch that Annabeth? She's so ungrateful! And such a cow!" Hera was ranting about how awful Annabeth was.

"Oh, sure, let's all watch Poseidon's son. No one cares about my children!" Zeus complained about me, jealousy evident in his demeanor. I smirked. It was just too fun to watch him get all jealous.

Dionysus was still sulking,

"We're allowed to watch that brat, but I'm not allowed to drink wine! It makes no sense!"

"Alright! Your attention please! Everyone, please look over to the screen!" Aphrodite called out, and conversation was lulled. The few gods that had been complaining just complained in a lower voice.

Aphrodite cleared her throat,

"So, I've gotten information about the fact that Percy and Annabeth will be going on a date. Now, this starts off with them deciding- they don't exactly know that they'll be on a "date"- and then continues from there. Any questions?"

"Yeah! Why are we watching that brat? I don't give a Hades about him or his girlfriend!" Hades complained loudly, and many of the gods and goddesses agreed with him with nods and noises of agreement.

"Because I have to prove to Poseidon and Athena that Percy and Annabeth are compatible! And you are here because they're just. So. Adorable! And because they're my favorite couple these days," she finished off. Her glare showed the unsaid you-will-stay-unless-you-want-horrible-love-lives sentiment.

Hades, seeing that he couldn't win against the crazy goddess, sighed in defeat.

"SHHHH! The movie's starting!" Aphrodite said in a hushed voice, grabbing the popcorn that she had conjured. Each god or goddess grabbed his or her own concessions, and waited for the "show" to start.

The screen projected an image of Annabeth poring over a paper-was it a blueprint?- and muttering to herself. I rolled my eyes. Studying blueprints. How Athena like.

"Are you seriously studying blueprints? On a day like this!" I heard Percy's voice say, and I saw him enter through the door. Annabeth gave a little yelp at being surprised, and then turned and glared at Percy.

"Don't surprise me like that!" she growled. Percy smirked, and, by the gods, he was using my trade mark smirk. The one that made the ladies go crazy.

"Well, if you hadn't been so absorbed in your studying-" he said the word as if it was the most revolting thing in the world-"you wouldn't have been surprised!"

"Well, if I hadn't been studying, then I wouldn't be able to save your ungrateful little ass, would I? Because I know that if left to your own devices, you'd be dead in a second. You aren't exactly known for your amazing thinking abilities, Percy," Annabeth retaliated, smirking.

"Hey. I have awesome thinking abilities. But, in battle, I don't think I have time to ponder about the trajectory of the sword that is being swung at me, or what angle the arrow flying toward me is going, do I? Would you prefer I sit down and think about it, or would you prefer I live? It's up to you, Annabeth."

Ha! He had inherited my amazing debating/arguing skills, then. I smiled.

"Oh, wow, Percy. Those are some big words," Annabeth smirked, " and I can do both. I don't even know why I keep you around," Annabeth said, with a melodramatic sigh, though the smirk was still adorned on her face. While the two had been bantering flirtatiously-oh gods, I was going to be scarred forever- Percy had been getting closer to Annabeth. He finally reached her, and pinned her next to the desk. He smiled,

"C'mon. You know you love me," Percy said, and then… and then he kissed her. I was staring in horror at the screen, because my son, the son of the sea god, was kissing Annabeth, the daughter of Athena, my sworn enemy.

Aphrodite cooing wasn't helping the situation either,

"Oh, aren't they so cute?" she asked, but no body paid attention. No, they were too busy being amused by Athena's reaction and my own. While my reaction was one of horror, Athena's was one of anger. Her knuckles clenched the arms of her throne tightly, and it seemed as if she was trying to kill Percy through the screen. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if she tried to claw off his face through the screen.

"Poseidon, tell your son to get his filthy hands off of my daughter," Athena commanded, but I turned to her.

"And how do you propose I do that, oh great goddess of wisdom? If you haven't noticed, we're watching them through a screen," I ranted angrily, and then continued, "And it's your daughter that seduced my son! Tell her to stay off my son!"

"Why you little-"

"Little? I'm both taller and stronger than you are, Athena," I interrupted her, smirking.

Of course, while this was going on, we had the oh-so-pleasant background of my son making out with his girlfriend.

This was just a blast.

"Hey, let's go to the lake," Percy said behind me, and Athena and I were distracted momentarily from our bloodthirsty intentions.

"The lake?" Annabeth questioned, an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah. The lake. It's a small body of water that is located-"

"Shut up. I know what a lake is," Annabeth interrupted him, smacking him lightly on the chest. Percy smirked,

"Oh, you do? Well, then, what do you say? Let's go."

"I don't know… I mean, I have to study these blueprints… and then, of course, there are those other blueprints that are left… not to mention the strategies that I have to look over…" Annabeth trailed off hesitantly.

"Exactly why you need some time off. C'mon, Annabeth. The weather's great, and we have a free day! Who knows when we'll get some time alone next," Percy persuaded.

Annabeth bit her lip, obviously at war with herself.

"Please?" Percy pleaded, looking at her with big, green eyes. I guess he'd inherited my wonderful persuasive skills as well.

Annabeth sighed, the picture of defeat,

"Fine."

"Great! Let's go." Percy grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the room.

It had been an hour and a half, an hour and a half, since we had started this torture. I was being forced to watch my son and the daughter of my enemy laugh, talk, and kiss each other. We had watched them tease each other, watched them play around with each other, and had been forced to watch them flirt with each other as well.

I was almost ready to accept their relationship if it meant that I would be able to leave.

On the screen, Percy and Annabeth were sitting together, Percy with his arm around her, watching the sunset. Annabeth was leaning into him, and both had content smiles on their faces. I realized that they were truly happy with each other, and I knew that they deserved this. The little peace and happiness they had in their lives.

But my pride still didn't let me fully accept it.

"Hey, Annabeth," Percy said softly, uncharacteristically serious.

"Yeah?" Annabeth questioned and looked up at him, probably sensing his seriousness.

"Listen. You won't… die or anything, will you? I mean, I know that you can't really control it… but, promise me you'll be careful. I don't… I don't wanna lose you."

"Percy…" Annabeth cupped his cheek into one hand, "Don't worry. I won't die. You're not going to get rid of me that easily!" she said, trying to cheer Percy up a bit.

Percy smiled faintly, "Good. Who'd keep me from dying if you weren't around?"

Annabeth laughed softly, and then looked at him,

"Now you promise. You won't be too reckless, will you? I don't wanna lose you either."

It was Percy's turn to reassure her,

"Hey. I won't die. What would you do without me? You'd have no one to rag on," he teased.

"Oh, whatever," Annabeth said, relieved, and rolled her eyes.

"I think that we should be getting back. Reyna can be even more demanding than you when it comes to work," Percy said, getting back up, and reaching his hand out to help Annabeth up.

"Hey! I'm not demanding!" Annabeth said, taking hold of Percy's out held hand and hoisting herself up.

"Suuuure, Annabeth. You keep telling yourself that," Percy teased, and then he slung an arm around Annabeth, and they walked off, the lake lapping at their bare feet, talking and laughing the whole way.

The screen went blank. Aphrodite was sniffling, and wiped a tear- I wasn't sure whether it was fake or not- out of her right eye.

"Oh. My. Gods. That was so… beautiful! Oh, I can't rip them apart now! I was devastated to see Annabeth so hopeless when Percy was missing! And not to mention about how Percy was feeling! Oh, I love those two!" she rambled, and then turned to Athena and I, "So, what'd I say? Aren't they perfect for each other?"

Athena and I mumbled something, which went unheard.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Aphrodite was enjoying this a bit too much.

"I said that maybe… maybe they're not that bad," I said a bit louder, and then crossed my arms and huffed.

"That perhaps… perhaps the sea brat isn't that bad," Athena admitted, and then grimaced as if admitting that had been painful. Aphrodite smirked, an all too smug look on her face,

"What did I tell you?" she asked gloatingly.

I ignored her, and Athena did as well.

"Still! I haven't fully accepted them. I think that she's be better off with a more sophisticated, intelligent young man," Athena said, and then I, not wanting to be left behind, confessed,

"Yes. I haven't fully accepted them yet either. I still think that Percy would be better of with a less uptight, less work-must-be-done type of girl."

"Excuse me? Are you trying to say that my daughter is the problem in their relationship? Everyone knows that it's your son that is the problem here!"

And so, it started again.

I sighed. Those two. They'd never fully accept it. Oh, well. I knew that my strategy had worked, and that they'd finally started to see that those two were great for each other.

I grinned deviously. This was going to be fun.

So, what'd ya guys think? I think that I should get just a little more reviews for updating so quickly ;D

Any ideas about what you want me to do next? I'm not really sure what I should write...

~SCYS