(A/N I am fully aware that I still have not addressed what is supposed to be the actual plot... I'm pretty sure that is going to be very anti-climatic because I just wanna write the Pertemis scenes with a sprinkling of other POVs as they come.)

Percy

Darkness pressing in from every direction. A consciousness overtaking your very breath. A wicked smirk. Water. Not-water. Sea green eyes and wild hair accompanying a wild expression. A dark expression. Poseidon was the father of many monsters.

Gasping, Percy sat up on the couch. Nightmares again. They got better as time went on, but he had accepted he'd never be rid of them. Though it was rare he had one of his own since he'd become a god. Now, he just shared hers. And that was so much worse.

"Are you alright?"

Riptide was out and pointed at Artemis before he could register what question she had asked. She glared at the blade looking annoyed, but raised her hands placatingly.

"Uh," he capped his sword. "Sorry. I, um, had a nightmare."

"I understand. I have them when I reduce myself too."

"That wasn't-" he cut himself off.

"Did you...need to talk about it?"

"Ever been to Tartarus?"

"I'm sorry," she whispered, taking a seat beside him on the couch. He wiped a hand down his face.

"No, it's okay. It's been better since I died."

She snorted and he smiled.

"You met our quarry down there?"

"Yeah."

She scowled, concentrating.

"What was your nightmare?"

"Not helpful. It's not like when I was questing as a demigod. It really is just a nightmare. Even if it's not mine."

She looked at him curiously and he cursed his big, tired mouth.

"What is sleep as an immortal anyway? It's different."

"You're changing the subject."

"Yup."

"Tell me about the nightmare."

He sighed.

"You know what, presently, I like most about being a god? I can protect the ones I care about. I couldn't save Estelle, you did. And I'm very grateful," he nodded to her and she smiled. "I couldn't protect my mom from an evil mortal, I couldn't keep Annabeth from falling, even Jason is...gone." He sighed again, finding it difficult to continue. "At the very least I know she won't have to go back. I wish I could protect Nico too, but he's determined to make regular trips. I'm glad he's got Mr. D looking out for his mental health though."

Artemis pursed her lips and nodded, silently encouraging him to continue.

"I've only had my own nightmares about Tartarus twice since dying. But I realized I often have someone else's. It's a good indicator on when I should pop in and check up on Annabeth or Nico. Only sometimes…it's a good indicator I shouldn't pop in on Annabeth, so I let Ryan know to keep an eye on her instead."

"I thought you two were inseparable?"

"For the most part. But while we were down there, and I know she'd never say this, she saw a side of me that she'd rather not exist. And now I'm…" he sighed. Poseidon was the father of so many monsters and now Percy was an immortal one.

"You were just trying to survive," she insisted. He smiled.

"Yeah, but after you push moral boundaries to survive a harsh landscape you have to return to your normal one with the knowledge of those crossed lines."

"I trust you to maintain your boundaries," she said matter-of-factly, like that was the end of any argument that he might have had. It made him chuckle.

"She does too. But she also remembers."

"And she has nightmares."

"Yeah," he sighed.

"You were a good man, Percy. And now, you are a good god."

"And you're a good friend." He watched her lips fall into an 'O' as his words shocked her. Did she not consider them friends after they'd become closer over the past year?

"Thank you," she finally said, easing his insecurities. She bit her lip, considering something seriously, before taking his hand. "Come. A good cure for nightmares."

She led him to the bed and instructed him to lay down and shifted herself so that his head lay in her lap and she stroked his hair.

"Are you sur-"

"Hush, Peseus. Sleep. We will need all our strength tomorrow as we track down the source of illness in the town and that strength is little in our current state."

"Yeah," he yawned, "I do seem to recall Ak-" he cleared his throat, "her killing me once. So, we better be careful."

She chuckled and hummed as she continued to stroke his hair.

.

Artemis

She woke slowly. It was one sensation, of many, that was really difficult to get used to in mortal form. Sleep was more tranquil and meditative in her normal form, and she was never so groggy as she was now. But she was warm and that was one thing she was enjoying, curling in and crushing her eyes shut to enjoy the warmth a moment longer.

Then he moved.

Her eyes shot open and she sat upright, trying to put distance between them. Her heart was racing and she called her power to transform the man who would dare- but her power fizzled out of her grasp and the man lazily blinked sea green eyes up at her from his half covered side of the bed.

"Good morning," he said into a yawn.

She righted her nightgown strap and stood up a little straighter.

"I'll be in the washroom," she said with an even voice.

She could see him stretch from her peripheral as she made her retreat and he reminded her not to use any water from the tap.

Splashing water from a bottle onto her face she was trying to remember why in the stars they had woken up cuddling. She'd fallen asleep sitting up! Shaking out her arms she steeled herself for the day, a jittery tension chasing chills down her spine.

.

Percy

They had a to-do list. Artemis was very organized. First, check the water treatment center. Then, visit the local doctor's clinic. Then, track the watershed out of town up the mountain to the main spring.

After the long hike up the rocky terrain, it was all Percy could do to convince her to let them break and eat the lunch she'd packed before continuing on to stalking the town's river for discharges.

Sitting down on a ledge that oversaw the warped streets in the far distance, Percy opened his lunch bag to find a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and apple slices.

"Thank you for the food?" he said. He was trying to be genuine, but he'd expected ambrosia.

"You have something against peanut butter?"

"No! It's my brother's favorite!" he assured her, not sure how else to respond. "I just… Can we eat this?"

She smirked at him and hid a small laugh behind her hand, finally pulling out two small squares of ambrosia. Crushing them both she sprinkled them over each of their meals.

"You can't eat like normal. You could injure yourself. Even eating like a demigod is unwise."

"Oh. Thanks," he offered a lopsided grin before taking a big bite out of his sandwich. She grinned back and took her own bite.

Something was still off though. She'd been more guarded all day. At first he thought it was the mission, but that didn't seem right.

"Was I wrong when I called us friends?" he blurted out and immediately felt his ichor run cold.

"What?" she blinked at him owlishly. He remembered how she looked when he'd freed her in Greece.

"You've been- I just- Did I do something wrong? I want us to be friends." He ducked his head and looked out at the horizon.

"I think... we are friends," she said thoughtfully.

"I tend to banter with you like I used to with Annabeth. Well, minus the namecalling. If I overstep, please tell me."

"No, I enjoy your humor," she spoke reluctantly.

"Then, what happened?"

"Did I break my oath?" her voice cracked and he couldn't help but stare at her dumbly.

Being the god of accountability he immediately knew exactly the terms of her oath and the fact that it was still entirely intact. Damn, he shouldn't have access to that now while he was trying to distance himself from his domain.

"No. Your oath of maidenhood is intact," he said carefully. She looked at him with those wide, scared eyes.

"Oh. You're- Yes, you would know."

She blushed deeply and let her head sink.

"What's wrong, Artemis?"

Biting her lip she shifted her head back and forth.

"I was just worried with...how we woke up that…"

"Artemis, I know you don't have a lot of experience, but you do know what se-"

"YES!" she cut him off. "Honestly! I'm not a nitwit!"

"Well, with how you were acting I just wanted to make sure-"

"I know what I agreed to! I just… maybe my father was thinking something else." She flushed even deeper and Percy allowed his mind to be flooded with the intentions and obligations of her oath.

"Yeah," he said nonchalantly, "he was."

She paled and pulled her knees up so she could hug her legs.

"Am I to be the subject of your next hunt?"

"I don't need to hunt my oathbreakers, and no. Your oath is still intact."

"Oh," she nodded, eyes lost on the horizon. "Then what was my father's intention."

"Artemis," he sighed, "I am here to hold people accountable. I do not want to set a precedent of helping you find loopholes. I am glad we're friends, and I am grateful for your actions in the past, but I should be able to simply tell you that your intentions in your bargain were the more strict and then you leave it at that."

She sent him a glare from her peripheral and pursed her lips again.

"I'm not looking for loopholes. I was just scared. I've never woken up in a man's arms and...I was scared."

"Again, I can explain-"

"No! You already said-" she paused and looked at him as he barely contained his laughter. Instead of continuing she just rolled her eyes. "I am curious," she eventually said again.

He sighed.

"Your father's definition of no longer being a maiden is being a mother."

"What?" she gasped.

"He is known for impregnating everything that moves."

She snorted.

"So I could…" she swallowed. "All this time, I've cut myself from the company of men altogether and I could have been exactly what I swore not to be."

"You would have fractured your oath, broken the intention that you had said it with, but he wouldn't have acted against you because it wouldn't have been entirely broken," he informed.

"I wouldn't have," she said with a wrinkled nose. "I've never had such an interest. But I also was inclined to think poorly of you, and I wonder how many acquaintances and friendships I have forgone because of my ban of men."

"Was that a compliment?" he asked with a lopsided smirk. She pushed his shoulder. "Because if it was, I'm pretty sure this is the part that I'm supposed to insert a totally inappropriate and unsubtle flirtation."

"Ugh."

"Maybe something like, 'I can help you make up for that lost time, gorgeous.'" She snorted and pushed him away again, harder this time, but she still had a smile.

"Considering you tried to give me the sex talk twice in the past fifteen minutes, I think I'll pass."

They laughed together and finished their meal before heading back down to the valley town.