Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or The Heroes of Olympus nor any characters developed by Rick Riordan.
(A/N: Hey guys make sure you read the A/N at the end of the chapter, this is an ongoing story so your feedback is very helpful. Thanks mates.)
"This place is beautiful. It looks so alive, the minor gods, the nymphs, and all the other immortals just living around." Rhea had such a glint in her eyes, I could tell she was excited to be here, and most importantly she wasn't disappointed. Seeing such joy take over her made me want to see such a sight at all times. Then and there I knew I would have to remodel Othrys, just to make her happy.
"Come on, we can take a tour after we have taken care of business. For now we must go give a report to the council." I opened the doors to the throne room, I had mind messaged my father and uncle telling them of our visit, and to gather everyone, and sure enough everyone was there. Everyone that knew about me, that is.
"Ah, Percy, my boy. What important news did you bring us?" My father spoke and with him was my stepbrother, Triton. At Zeus's feet was Jason, at Hera's feet was no one, same as Mr. D. At the feet of Apollo sat a girl I did not quite recognize, she must not be a second generation heroine. At Artemis's feet sat Thalia, at Aphrodite's feet was Piper, at Ares's feet was Frank, at Hephaestus's feet was Leo, at Demeter's feet was Katie, at Athena's feet was Michael, at Hades's feet was Nico and Hazel, and at Hermes's feet was Connor and Travis.
"Father, I've come with news of my first mate." I wasn't too nervous about telling the Titans that I would be marrying Rhea, but now, well my throat is extremely dry, and somehow these robes that are supposed to be comfortable are squeezing me. I could already feel the sweat starting to form on my forehead and my hands were a bit shaky as well.
"Well, go on nephew, tell us who the first lucky lady is." They were all oblivious to the fact that the information I was about to give them would be shocking, in fact my father and Zeus seemed to be exited to know who she was, leaning forward in their thrones in anticipation.
"I will be marrying your mom..." the words had come out, but unfortunately I was so nervous that the only person that actually managed to hear them was Rhea, and that was because she was standing next to me. I knew I couldn't do it so I looked over at Rhea who just sighted.
"What my dear fool here is trying to say is that he will be your new stepfather, son." Well it's out there, hopefully Rhea want too blunt with her wording.
"I'm sorry mother, but could you please explain what you mean, I seem to have misheard you, for a second I thought you had said that-"
"That Percy and I will be marrying. Well you didn't hear wrong, son. That is precisely what I said." She grabbed my hand and hugged my arm. "Percy and I will be marrying at the end of the month." Well the reactions were partially what I had expected, while some, not so much. Both my father and Zeus leaned back in their seats as they were shocked in place. Hades wasn't taking it any better, in fact worse. He was mumbling incoherent words and his eyes were wide open, guess he's still processing what he just heard. Hephaestus began to tinker with some machine to block out what was going on, Aphrodite had a evil smirk on her face, but her eyes showed something else, if I didn't know better I'd say it was envy. Artemis had left along with Thalia, and then there was the laughing. It came mainly from Apollo, Hermes, Triton, Connor, and Travis.
"Shut up you idiots. In case you haven't realized it yet this means he's your step-grandfather." Mr. D said something smart for the same time, looks like the news had a bigger effect on him that I had expected. At least he managed to get them to be quite.
"Are you telling me that this punk here is going to be my grandfather."
"Yeah I'm not too happy with the idea of me having to babysit a millennia old baby either."
"Hey! You wanna go punk!?" As if sees could do anything.
"What? You want the old man to show you some moves? You could learn a thing or two, child." So yes it's really weird but it also means that now I can poke fun at these guys.
"That's it punk, I'll beat you to a pulp!"
"Sit down you brute! You couldn't beat him when he was a young demigod, now you don't have a chance in Hades at beating my nephew." Looks like my uncle was finally shook out of his stupor. My dad, however, seemed to still be processing.
"Hey! It's bad enough you use my name like that, you could at least try not to do it whilst I'm here." Hades apparently snapped out of it when they used his name. "Is this how it feels like when our demigod children get stepfathers? Cause, well, it's really weird. I don't want another man to be with mother, but at the same time she is lonely, and I don't want that."
"Well, uncle, that's how I felt about smelly Gabe. Then when Mr. Blowfis came into my mothers life I was hesitant considering her past life with marriages; however, when I noticed how happy he made my mom, I realized how that's what I wanted for her."
"Yes but, son, this is t the same. You are my son, but now you will also be my stepdad. Not only that, but you will also be your own grandfather, and then it gets worse cause when you have kids they will be my siblings and grandchildren. Percy, the family trees in here are already confusing, you don't need to make them a labyrinth. However, because it makes my mother happy, I'm okay with it."
"The same goes for me nephew, at least now I feel younger when I say my stepfather is only a little over two hundred years old." Zeus was okay with it, which wasn't much of a surprise. It was Hades I had been worried about, I know he was the closest to Rhea out of the three brothers. I looked over at him to see what he thought of the matter.
"Don't worry Perseus, I won't get mad seeing as you did restore my seat in the council along with my sister, but if you wrong my mother, there will be me to pay, am I clear nephew?"
"Yes, my soon to be son." A wide grin stretched my face. Oh yes, I would most definitely use this at any opportunity I got.
"Fates, what have you done?" My father/son sighted as his head shook.
"Alright son, I don't think you can surprise us any further, so go ahead and tell us anything else we need to know."
"Well, the only other thing of slight importance is that I had to confront one of my council members due to my relationship with Rhea, but don't worry, I was victorious and do nothing happened and we all just went on as if nothing happened."
"Well then, it doesn't seem like my nephew had anything else to say, an I personally don't have much to inform, so if no one has anything to say, let us adjourn this meeting." No one spoke. "Very well then, you are all dismissed." Mostly everyone left aside from Zeus and my dad. The two brothers approached us in mortal size.
"Son, I trust all things are going well?" He placed his hand on my shoulder. I looked over at Rhea and smiled.
"Everything is going perfectly fine dad. In fact they are going more than fine, things are looking great."
"That's good to hear, nephew. Now I hope you will take good care of our mother, yes?" Zeus spoke after giving Rhea a hug.
"Don't worry you two, Percy is being a great boyfriend thus far. I wouldn't have asked for someone else. Now, you two would excuse us, I think my dear boyfriend here promised me a tour of the city."
"Oh yes, I forgot that this would be your first time in the new Olympus. Don't worry I know the layout by heart, I'll give-" Zeus, however and thankfully, was stopped from saying anything more by my father.
"Brother, as much as I too would love to give them a tour, I'm sure we must have very important godly business do deal with. Besides, I'm sure Percy here can do fine on his own."
"Oh, ah yes, we should go do that brother. Mother, nephew, I hope you two enjoy your day." Poseidon merely nodded his head in agreement and they both flashed away. I took my lovers hand and gave it a light squeeze. She turned to look at me and I her.
"Shall we, milady?"
"We shall, my lovely knight." With that the two of us flashed our giggling selves to the entrance of Olympus. The place was beautiful. The first area was for smaller deities, such as satyrs, nymphs, and so on. It had decently sized buildings were they all lived, and a few stores here and there. After that was the shopping district. The shopping district was pretty self explanatory, both major and minor gods, nymphs, satyrs, and occasionally demigods would come here to buy everything from a flask of nectar to a replica of Athena's shield. The place was full of life and continuos activity. People arguing over prices, donkeys pulling on carts, women looking at dresses, people eating at the many cafés, and even children running around the district square. "It's beautiful in here, chaotic, but beautiful."
"It sure is, how about we get something to eat, it's already close to five and we haven't eaten anything since breakfast this morning?" I had heard about a pretty good café around here from Thalia. Apparently they have the best pizza and frappé in the shopping district.
"Sure, that sounds like a good idea, not that we really need to actually eat. We are immortals after all. However, I can't deny that mortal good is quite unique." We walked for a little over two minutes, walking through the district looking at the different sights to see. Finally we arrived at the café, it was three stories. The first had the counter and some table, and outside the fist floor had some tables set with a green metal fence surrounding them. On the second floor was a few more tables along with a bar and a stage where a some nymph bands and satyr poets would make occasional presentation. On the third floor, where we would be eating, was just the roof, it had no walls nor any ceiling, just tables and the nice breeze. We sat down and a satyr came trotting over.
"What would you like to eat today?" We was just an average satyr, but seeing him reminded me of Grover, I would have to pay him a visit.
"I'll have a greek frappe and a strawberry crepe." I looked over at Rhea and so did the waiter.
"For me just the same as him, thank you." After a few seconds the waiter had everything written down and bowed slightly.
"Your food will be right out my Lady and Lord." I always hate it when people call me lord. Maybe I should have disguised us as demigods, I forgot these people can sense auras.
"It's a very beautiful view from up here." There are few tall buildings around here, so this three story building is above most other buildings in the district, plus we got a table next to the railing so we get a good view of the outside.
"It sure is. The high view reminds me of back home. Back in the north there are many tall mountains, and if you reach the top, it's a very beautiful sight. When this war is over, I'll take you there, how does that sound?"
"It sounds splendid." Just as soon as she had finished the waiter had come back with two cups of frappe and two crepes. He set the cups down and then the plates.
"Please enjoy the meal, and don't worry about the bill, it's on the house. It's the least we could do for our savior." He did a slight bow and walked away after we thanked him. I for one never was too appealed to idea of rewards, but I would be lying if I said I didn't appreciate the occasional gestures such as these. They're not too big, but they show their gratitude and the thought, which is what matters to me, not the actual gesture. For the next half hour we talked whilst we eat. We talked about things as if we were just a regular mortal couple. After we had finished eating we left the table and the café an headed out to the godly district. This district was reserved for gods and goddesses. Each God was aloud to have a palace inside the city. Before it was only major gods, but I spoke to Zeus and we managed to make our ideas come true and now all gods have their own palace, including me. Though I don't really us it too often, in fact since its construction I have hardly gone in. Last I checked the boys now use it to get away and have some guy time, and they have completely turned it into a man cave. Which I actually don't mind. Though it's not exactly the best place to take Rhea on our first date I suppose. Instead we went around as I showed her some of the mansions that I personally think are the best.
After hours of looking at different palaces we reached a place I hold dear, yet wish to never go back in again. The Heroes' memorial. However, I come here every year, on the same day. I come here for the one love I never got to keep. The one I cared for the most. I wonder how she feels about this whole thing, the me getting married thing. Is she angry, of course not, she doesn't remember me, she's gone for rebirth. Still, if she did, would she be mad, or would he be happy for me. Unfortunately that's a question that will remain unanswered.
"Hey, Brain Freeze, you still there, or are you frozen in time." I had failed to realize that I had zoned out and completely ignored Rhea who was trying to talk to me.
"Haha, very funny. Well, we should probably be going." Before I could place my hand on Rhea and teleport us she stopped me and pointed at the memorial.
"See, you were clearly not listening, I asked you if we could go in?" While I'm sure she would love to go in, and I sorta would too, it's unfortunately getting late and I have something else I want to do before the end of day.
"I'm sorry my dear, but we must go. We have little time as it is and I'd rather not shorten it any further." She took my hand without complaint, but I could hear a faint 'So much for Lord of Time' scape her lips. "Maybe another time." I flashed us both back to our chambers in Othrys. "I still have things to do, you don't have to come along and if you do I doubt you would have much fun, so I suggest you stay her while I go take care of business."
"Alright, but please don't take too long?" She hugged me, while I was a bit thrown off at first I hugged her back. From the short amount of time I've been with Rhea I have noticed that she rarely shows her emotions of love in any physical matter, but fortunately she is becoming more comfortable with me.
"I'm afraid I cannot make any promises, wether I shall be back before Morpheus takes you or not I cannot say, I may be able to see into a possible future, but I must have a clear idea of the time, and unfortunately when I come back varies on a number of factors." She shook her head into my shoulder instead of saying anything. I was taller than her but not too much, and so her head fell perfectly into my chest. I flashed us to the bed and picked Rhea up as I lifted her up into the bed and pulled the covers over her. I kissed her and looked at her with a smile on my face just as she had one on hers. "Just don't stay up waiting for me, go to sleep dear. No matter what the circumstances thou shan't worry, I shan't ever leave milady, for when thou wakes I shall be at thy side." Seeing a content face in Rhea I was gone in a breeze of cold wind.
When I reformed I was in Central Park near the Hunters' camp. I turned into wolf form and dashed through the woods until I found the clearing were all around Hunters were busy getting the late night chores done. I swiftly trotted past all the Hunters undetected until I reached Artemis's tent. I jumped up and pushed the door with my paws twice as a nock. Not long after Thalia appeared with slightly red and puffy eyes as if she had been crying.
"Oh, hello Percy. What are you doing here?" She stood in the doorway clearly blocking my view of the inside as if she didn't want me looking inside.
"Um, well I came here to talk to Artemis.. Can I come in to see her?"
"Actually, right now might not be the b-" her response, however, was cut short by a voice originating from within the tent.
"It's okay, he can come in here whenever he wants. Besides I have to talk to Perseus about some matters to do with the upcoming war, alone that is." Thalia was reluctant, but after letting out a sight she gave me a slight glare and walked off to her tent.
"So what's so important that you felt the need for such privacy?" When I walked inside Artemis was in a similar state than I had found Thalia in when she came outside. Puffy red eyes and a bit of a soggy nose. I would have to ask about what was wrong, but knowing her the answers won't be easy to obtain. I would have to pry them out of her, but slowly and gently, otherwise she'll just hide in a shell and won't let anyone in.
"It's about an expedition to the north. Zeus wants us to scout the north for enemy bases and calculate numbers and strength. It'll be just the two of us while our corresponding groups will stay with one of the camp. Since your Pack is already at the Camp Jupiter they should just stay there, and my Hunters will stay at Camp Half-Blood." She listed off the mission as if she was my general or something and I was her lieutenant. Not her usual self at all. Well, actually she was being very natural with me considering I am a male and this is the way she treats most males, but usually not me.
"Alright, and what about the length of the trip, how far and for how long will we be gone?" Again her face showed no emotion aside from the red and puffy eyes.
"Zeus said that since you know the layout of the north, then you should be the one to lead us, and as for how long we will be gone, we'll be back when we feel like we've got enough intel." Her monotone and expressionless face are beginning to bother me. The only times I'm treated like this is when she's mad at me for acting like "just another male", as she likes to say.
"Okay, and when are we leaving?" hopefully now she shows a bit of emotion. Unfortunately the emotion she did show was negative.
"Zeus said that we can leave whenever you say is a good time. Since you have all this mates thing going on, he doesn't wish to get in the way and hopes you can find a time that suites you." Anyone else would have failed to notice it, but I know Artemis well, and she was barely holding back some anger in her voice when she spoke of me and my mates.
"Okay, now that we have that out of the way, you will tell me what is wrong with you, wont you?" There was a nock on the door after someone failed to open it.
"Milady, please let me in? Percy you still in there, open the door, Brainfreeze." I know Artemis very well, and since I know her very well I knew that as soon as I asked a question that she didn't want to answer she would then call Thalia through MM(Mind Message) and tell her to barge in and interfere in the conversation, saving Artemis from an uncomfortable position.
"Sorry Pineconeface, but we're having an adult chat. Please come back later, thank you." and that's when I put a dimension seal on the tent. The pros of being Lord of Time. Now no one can enter or leave this place by any means until someone inside the dimension beats me or I myself take it down. Artemis frowned after what I can presume was a failed attempt at flashing out. "Sorry Moonshine, but you can't leave until you tell me what's wrong with you."
"Oh very mature of you Perseus, and such tricks only a male would have thought of."
"Well, I had to put this block up since I knew you would be immature and try to weasel your way out of this conversation. Which isn't going to happen, by the way. Now, tell me what's up with you, why were you and Thalia both crying?"
"It's nothing, forget about it." She stood up and walked over to her dresser. "Now, unless you plan on watching me change into my night gown I suggest you take that barrier down and leave." As she finished speaking, she pulled out her sleepwear from the dresser.
"Sorry, but it won't be that easy to get out of this one." Half way through the talking I snapped my fingers, making Artemis appear in her night gown. "See, problem solved." She sighted and laid down in her bed and ready to fall asleep.
"Well I'm really tired and in need of sleep." She rolled herself over in the bed. "You don't plan on staying here and sleeping with me, now do you?"
"And you don't really think something like that will fool me? Gods don't need sleep Artemis, and I can tell you haven't done any straining activities, for a god, lately." She stood up from her bed clearly focusing on her next excuse.
"Hey, don't you have-" I already know all the excuses she's going to make in advance and I have already planned a way to counter each one of them.
"Don't worry, I told Rhea not to wait for me since I wouldn't know when in would be back. Oh, and before you say that you need to take a shower before bed, you took one twenty minutes before I got here." The confused face Artemis wore was adorable, but right now I need to focus on the task at hand, getting her to feel better. "And before you mention my Pack, keep in mind that I already know of everything you'll say ahead of time. Cause I am time. Now, you will talk to me, and I'm not saying this because I'll force you, no, in fact, I've already foreseen it." She let out another sigh and plopped back down in her bed.
"What do you want to talk about?" She put her hands over her forehead completely covering her eyes.
"Look Artemis, I know you're not too keen with the whole idea of me having mates. In fact, I myself would be fine with a single one, or in fact I would have continued as I did and neglected the company of women. However, I just want you to know that no matter what I'll be the same man that saved you decades ago, I'll be the same man you befriended, and I'll be the same man that is the only male to win your approval."
"That's not the problem!" She threw her arms in the air in desperation and let them flop back down to her bed. Now fresh tears cascaded down her graceful face.
"Then what's the problem?! Why are you so upset about me and Rhea if it's not that?!" She ran her hand through her hair as she turned around. "Because, because..." she sharply turned around again. "Because you are a great man, you are the man that rescued me many years ago, you are the man who befriended me, and you are the only man a approve of, and so I'm afraid to lose you, that you'll get too involved into your work, that you'll get to involved with your mates, I'M ANGRY BECAUSE..." she fell down in a crying mess as I quickly turned back to human form and held her.
"Don't worry Artemis. You'll never lose me. I promise. This wolf will forever need a moon to howl to every night." She let out a chuckle, but since it was strangled with her crying it sounded more like a cough and a gargle.
"Percy, haven't you seen movies for the past two decades, you should know not to make a girl a promise you can't keep." Well, it's not like we have a TV set up in our caves. Though I did play Halo as a demigod.
"Well, while I'm not too versed in teen romance movies," Artemis quickly turned red at having given away her secret interest in teen romance movies. " I still wouldn't make a promise I don't intend to keep." She hugged me back and seemed to have finally calmed down. I never really liked seeing women cry, specially when I care about them. However, seeing Artemis cry was heart ripping. Like if I had written my whole life's purpose on paper and someone burning it. Like as you watch her, you know there is no meaning to your life if you can't stop her. "It's alright Artemis. Let's get you in bed, it's been a long day and you need to rest, or well I just want you to rest." I released the time barrier, and sent us back to present time.
"Snotface! If you don't open the door I'll kick it in!" The angry voice of Thalia was followed by loud banging. "Alright, you asked for it Percy." The banging stopped and I could clearly hear Thalia moving back to charge the door. Since the door opens inwards I stood next to it. When I heard Thalia running close to the door I quickly opened the door letting Thalia charge through the door and fall forward.
"Don't worry Thalia, we're done talking." I lifted Artemis back up and carried her to bed. And pulled the covers over her.
"What are you doing to milady? And what do you mean you're done? I barely nocked on the door a little while ago."
"Well, right now I'm getting a pretty tired moon goddess into her bed so she can sleep. As for the duration of our conversation, it lasted quite a bit. However, don't concern yourself with the details, it'll save you a headache."
"Thalia we're fine. You should go back to your tent. It's close to bedtime and tomorrow we'll be busy doing some things." Thalia lets out a sigh as she walks out of the room. I was ready to leave as well, but before I could Artemis grabbed ahold of my hand and stopped me. "Can't you stay here with me tonight?" I chuckled slightly at the irony of the request. Not too long ago she was making excuses so that I would leave, and now she's asking me to stay the night with her.
"While I did tell Rhea not to expect me back while she's still awake, it would still be rude if I didn't go back at all." However, she hadn't let go of my hand and in fact she had slumped down a bit and seemed very disappointed. i knew I couldn't bring myself to leave her, not while she's in such a state. "Ugh, fine I'll stay, but first I have to go run a quick errand, and then I'll be back." Artemis seemed to at least accept that answer as she let go of my hand and I flashed away back to my chambers in Othrys. I summoned done paper and burned a message to Rhea explaining that I wouldn't be back tonight, and if she woke up and I still wasn't her to not worry because I was busy taking care of some business and will be back soon. I set the note next to her nightstand, and looked over at her. She's always graceful, but also very stern. However, now that she's asleep her face is completely relaxed and so calm, it's certainly a beautiful sight. I leaned over and kissed her forehead and flashed back to Artemis's tent. There she was still not sleeping.
"So you didn't break your promise, very impressive considering you're a male. Now, keep me company, okay." I just nodded and went over to a corner and summoned a lazy boy. I sat down and reclined back. However, before I closed my eyes to go to sleep I noticed Artemis glaring at me.
"Fine, I'll do it." I transformed to wolf form and jumped up on her bed and curled in a ball. Finally I had though she was satisfied, but when I heard her cough I knew she wasn't. I transformed back to human and got into the covers. Artemis rolled over and layer her head on top of my chest as she wrapped her right leg over my right leg and crossed her right arm over my abdomen. Finally I could see a content smile on her face and for some reason I found myself thinking that all this effort was well worth it if I hit to see her smile.
(A/N: Hey mates, sorry again for the long wait, I would have had this done much earlier, but some stuff came up. Anyways I decided I'll be making my chapter from 5k to 6k words long each. However, if by the end of the day we can get five votes on this one chapter then I'll try to write a 10k chapter. Also this is just a hobby of mine, so it's not very high priority for me and often gets pushed back due to other things coming up. However, if I see a great increase in support I will consider making this one of my top priorities, meaning quicker updates. Song I'm listening to: Through Glass by Stone Sour.
P.S. So I just wanted to make a quick shoutout to sasukes223. He's helped a lot with the development of the plot for future chapters. He writes he's own fanfictions as well and they're pretty interesting so I suggest you go check him out. Well, that's all, so till next time mates, and don't forget to comment, vote, and follow.)
**Note: Chapters are originally uploaded on Wattpad, so A/N are probably outdated**
