Chapter 3

Dreams were always an unwelcome surprise.

They weren't something Percy had as often anymore. Not that he could really complain, after all, demigod dreams tended to suck. But that didn't stop the occasional one from slipping in. When they did happen, they were usually intense, or intrusive, or involved those he cared about in ways he didn't want them to be.

This one was something else.

He was watching in this one. It wasn't one of those weird I-am-someone-else dreams. No, it was very clearly a dream where he was watching someone. Normally, nowadays at least, on the rare occasion Percy did have a dream it was usually something meaningless. His father's palace, camp half blood during breakfast, or even one time Nico and Will on a date.

Percy had never felt so intrusive in his whole life.

No, but this dream, this dream was different. He wasn't in camp, or in dad's house, or watching a certain son of hades have a candlelit dinner. No, he was somewhere he'd never seen before.

From what he could gather at least, he was in a manor, or maybe a mansion? Who knew, all he could discern was that it was somewhere fancy, somewhere that brought one word to his mind: Royal.

It was a broad, dark, room, with ornately carved lumber detailing lining the corners of the room. A fireplace sat off in a wall, with a massive stone frame and ornately carved engravings laid into it. A small fire that flickered in it lit the room, just barely, but enough for Percy to make out details.

There was wood framing running the lengths on the ceiling, just about as ornately carved as every other bit of detail in the room, and exposed columns protruding from the walls, giving the room a very old look. Like this was a room out of time, that history had left in its form forever.

Paintings hung on those walls, massive paintings that sat high up. Paintings Percy couldn't quite make out with how dark the room was, but he could at least tell they depicted people and looked damn old.

Percy took in the room as he floated about it, noticing something in the middle of the room that caught his eye. It was a table. A massive, perfectly circular table, surrounded by chairs just about as ornate as the carvings on the walls. There were seats there too, tall seats that were each tucked into their respective places at the table. Save for a few that look as if they'd been moved recently, most had layers of dust on them. Thick layers, layers that looked like they'd been building up for a while.

Percy exmained the table a bit further, taking note that it was covered in documents and papers and all sorts of different notes, and had a number of lamps illuminating it properly. If Percy could sift through them, he probably would, but it was already hard enough to read things with his dyslexia, so being able to move the notes around would only make things worse.

He drifted a little farther down the table, taking note that other, more questionable items were on it. Namely weapons.

Lots of weapons. Weapons he was too familiar with.

Swords, knives, axes, bows. A couple of old guns sat on the table too, a handful of revolvers, along with quite a few bullets that were strewn about. Bullets Percy couldn't help but notice were silver.

He floated a bit farther along the table, drifting ever so closer to the head seat. At least, he presumed it was the head seat. If the other chairs were ornate, this one was extravagant. It was broad, and tall, with velvet seat cushions and intricately detailed arm rests. It looked old, ancient even, and was one of the seats that looked like it hadn't been pulled out in years.

He examined the table a bit more, forcing his demigod brain to read the notes on the sheets. He made out a couple of them.

Rome.

Paris.

Scotland.

He was about to read more, but his attention was pulled from the table when a door opened, flooding light into the room. He turned to the source and made out a few details.

There were three figures there, one standing a bit taller than the other two. The light behind them made their forms into outlines surrounded by a ring of light, with their features just barely visible, but Percy was still able to make out one thing.

That was that the man in the middle was staring, and it felt like he was staring at Percy.

Percy woke with a gasp, sitting up in bed immediately as his hand went to the scar on his midsection. He drew deep breaths, blinking deliberately and bringing his hand off his chest to rub the images out of his eyes. He looked over at his clock to check the time.

7:00 A.M.

He let out a soft sigh through his nose as he took note of a pretty annoying detail. He was awake, extremely so. Awake enough that, even though it was a Saturday, he was still up in time for work.

Maybe he did need that vacation after all...

He smiled to himself a but when he had another realization: He was awake, which meant that he could get started on spending his Saturday with Zoe. He turned towards her side of the bed, but frowned as he did.

She wasn't there, and her trinkets that usually sat on her nightstand were missing too.

He threw the blankets off himself and got up and out of bed, stretching his shoulders with a yawn as he scratched his chest and looked down at his body, taking in two facts.

One, he was naked. Well, that wasn't really surprising. He remembered very clearly what he'd promised Zoe last night and he also remembered where that usually (always) led.

The second fact took note of was that he was covered in bruises.

He sighed to himself as he ran his fingers along the marks, wincing slightly at a rather large welt he had right on his neck.

"Geez, Zoe..." He mumbled to himself. On one hand, he was a little steamed. There was some ouch there. Lots and lots of ouch. But on the other hand, considering how much of a smart-ass he recalled being the previous night, this was kinda what he deserved.

He groaned, making his way over to the shower as he grabbed a pair of boxers and sweatpants. He tossed them on the counter and ran the shower, stepping in after he snapped the water to the perfect temperature.

He stood under the flow, letting it cover his body as a whole bunch of thoughts ran through his mind. Some good, some that were maybe not so good. He groaned as he felt the water heal his wounds, all while he washed off the sweat from the last night.

He stepped out when he was done, snapped himself dry, and slipped on his clothes, walking out of the bedroom and grabbing a t-shirt as he did so. He left the bedroom and made his way over to the kitchen, noticing a note that had been left on the kitchen table.

Percy,

I went out with Freya.

She said we needed to talk. I'll be back in a few, don't burn the house down while I'm gone.

Love, Zoe.

He smiled at the note, setting it back on the table. He drew a deep breath and let out a slow exhale, making his way over to the coffee pot and pouring himself a cup. He took a sip and let those thoughts he'd been having in the shower really take over.

He sighed, cracked his neck, and made his way over to the living room.

It was... different than it used to be. Well, maybe not so different, but when you spend five years in a house where the rooms don't change, just about any change that happens feels like a lot. Most of the furniture had remained, save for a new flat screen TV, some shelves for him to stack his hundreds of dvds on (as per Zoe's request), and the bear skin poncho he'd grabbed on the mountain which was now a bear skin rug that laid on the floor.

The walls were still silver, not that he could complain. He loved the colour, and it reminded him of Zoe whenever he saw it.

There were other new things in the room too, for example, Freya had at some point gifted the two of them a beautiful, oak coffee table, and sitting on it was Percy's old laptop.

His laptop, which was the focal point of his attention.

He sat down on the couch flipping the laptop open and booting it up. He took note of and smiled at the background he had, a picture of him and Zoe that Freya had taken on one of their group hikes, but let the smile fall a bit as he opened the web browser.

He clicked on the search bar and took a deep breath through his nose, exhaling as he cracked his knuckles in front of his face.

"Alright." He said to himself, "Here we go."

His hands floated above the keyboard as he typed out his first search.

European folklore and mythology.

He clicked enter, watched as the browser showed links, and started opening them. All of them. Every single link he could find he opened, over and over again. Once he figured he had enough, he actually got to reading them.

It was... enlightening. Of course, what he could read through his dyslexia was enlightening. What he couldn't he just had to rely on the images to understand, and it was... well, enlightening.

Enlightening and terrifying.

He scrolled through the pages, reading through each and every legend of each and every God, beast, monster, figure, and myth he could, and God was there ever a lot...

Werewolves, vampires, griffins, wizards, warlocks and a whole bunch of things that just weren't fun to read about. That wasn't even the worst of it. He read a little longer and got to a page labeled Dragons vs Wyverns, what's the difference? He read, and learned the difference, and took note that it didn't make either any less scary.

He dove a little deeper, taking a swig of his coffee as he hunched over his computer, his finger scrolling the mouse wheel as he let any and all mythology he could soak into his brain.

Eventually, it got to the point where he'd grabbed a notepad and pen and started jotting down notes. Scattered, messy notes that had no rhyme or reason, but notes nonetheless.

Weaknesses to weapons? Locations where things might be? Possibility that they'd moved like Asgard and Olympus had? Anything and everything that held some value he put on the paper, then when that sheet was filled, he flipped to the next and filled it too. He compared what he thought might be real to what he knew was real, trying to weed out anything that he knew was just bullshit, but it wasn't exactly easy.

If someone had asked him a few years ago if Thor was real, he'd have said no, and look how that turned out.

He was focused, so focused in his research that he barely heard the front door open, and didn't even register when his girlfriend walked in the room and stood in front of him.

"Percy." Zoe said, trying to draw his attention.

"Hmm." He absent-mindedly grunted out as his eyes stayed locked on the screen. She narrowed her eyes in concern as she watched him jot down more notes on his sheet.

"Percy." She repeated, in a more poignant tone, "Are you alright?"

"Mhm." He replied, his eyes still locked on the screen as he double clicked a new link. She let her gaze linger on his face, his eyes specifically, and a little bit of worry nestled its way into her heart.

He looked scared, or if not scared at least very, very concerned.

She sighed, slipping her coat off her shoulders and dropping it on the arm of the couch before she sat next to him, leaning into his shoulder as she did.

She took note of what was on the computer, and what was on his notepad, and felt a small frown pull at her lips.

"Doing homework?" She asked, in a tone that was half joking and half concerned. He sighed deeply through his nose, shutting the laptop and tossing the notepad on top of it. He leaned back into the couch, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and looking up at the ceiling as she leaned a little closer into his chest.

"Should we do this?" He asked, drawing a certain confused look from the girl. She narrowed her eyes a bit.

"You mean the vacation, right?"

He nodded, "Yeah. I mean the vacation, this trip. Should we do this?"

Zoe was quiet for a second. She let her eyes graze back over to the table, to the notes he'd taken. She thought about what she'd seen on the computer, what he'd been researching, and she thought about the notebook itself, and how there were practically dozens of pages filled with notes.

She let out a soft sigh, slipping out from under his arm and tossing her leg over him as she slipped onto his lap. She settled in, resting her hands on her his shoulders as he looked up at her. He looked exhausted, and that wasn't too surprising. He always got up early, regardless of if it was the weekend or not, and she suspected he'd spent the whole day overclocking his brain with information.

She gave him a smile, and he gave a weak one in return. Her smile faltered a bit, and she slid her hands up to his cheeks, making him keep his eyes on her.

"You think too much sometimes. I know you can't help it, and that it's justified, but... you think too much." She let out a weak, concerned breath as her eyes took on a dark look, "It's not good for you, Percy."

He let out a soft sigh, as a weak smile pulled at his lips, "I know. But you're right, I can't help it. Call it sheriff's instincts..." His eyes flicked up to hers, "...but I can't help but think about all the dangerous stuff, all the time."

She let a look of worry spread over her face. He saw it happen and forced a smile, reaching up to trace a thumb over her cheek.

"When I'm not thinking about you, of course."

She took a shaky breath and forced her eyes to narrow, sliding her hands back down to his shoulders and giving them a tight squeeze.

"Yeah, you better be thinking about me, Jackson..." She grumbled, letting her eyes trace a path over the details of his face, "... I swear, the shit I've gotta put up with around you..."

He pouted, a move that nearly wiped the mock anger right off her face.

"I'm not that bad, am I?" He asked. She huffed, trying to keep her facade of frustration going as bed as she could.

"Well I dunno, sheriff..." She began, crossing her arms over her chest, "...Have you started dinner yet?"

His expression fell from his face in an instant, "Dinner?"

She rolled her eyes, "Yes. Dinner. The meal at the end of the day."

He narrowed his eyes as his mouth fell slightly open and shot a glance over his shoulder out the window, taking note of the fact that it was dark outside. Well, it was Alaska in winter, so it was dark all the time, but still. It was extra dark right now.

"What time is it?" He asked, still looking out the window.

"7 P.M." She replied. He snapped his gaze back forward with a slighty shocked look on his face.

"I've been on the computer for twelve straight hours." He stated, as he stared off at nothing.

She sighed, "Are you serious?"

He shrugged, looking back up at her, "I was up at 7, so I suppose maybe eleven and half? Or maybe eleven and a quarter if I'm really cutting it close, or maybe-"

He stopped talking when she pressed a hand over his mouth.

"Percy?" She asked. He looked right up at her.

"Mhm?" He mumbled through her palm. She sighed through her nose.

"Let's go make dinner, alright?"

She felt the smile through her palm before she saw it.

Dinner was always fun with Zoe.

For one thing, it was a great opportunity for Percy to show off those cooking skills that had really, really improved after his girlfriend had moved in. He really just did not hold back anymore. Not that he'd ever held back, especially when he'd cooked for her, but now? He was an animal, an untamed beast, a saint of the kitchen. Every meal he made may as well have been fit for royalty.

That was the main reason. The second reason was that it was really funny watching Zoe try to cook.

He didn't want to be mean, and he really did love his girlfriend, but good lord, it was almost heartbreaking how bad she was in the kitchen.

She could and had burned soup. She had no idea what sautéing was. He'd one time asked her if she wanted crème brûlée and she'd asked if that was a bedroom thing. She was... hopeless.

But that didn't mean cooking with her wasn't fun.

She growled softly to herself as she mixed a bowl of herbs and spices with some chopped meat, all while Percy chopped more on the cutting board, rapidly dicing strips of venison as she barely hid the stares she shot at his hands.

Considering last night, his hands were a very positive subject at the moment.

He smiled to himself, humming a soft tune as he chopped the meat, letting the smile grow a bit as he heard the curses she muttered under her breath.

"Y'know, if you want we can trade." He mused, "I know how much you like having knives in your hands."

She sighed, setting the bowl down and leaning into the counter.

"And put an end to your fun watching me suffer?" She asked, "How could I ever be so cruel."

His smile grew a bit as he picked up the cutting board and dumped some more venison into her bowl.

"Fair point." He said in a teasing tone. She let a scowl spread over her face as his smile somehow grew more. He reached over and grabbed the bowl, rolling his sleeves up before he kneaded the meat and spices together. There was already a frying pan with butter on the stove top, and when he was done mixing he flicked the burner on, waiting for it to heat up before she dumbed the meat in with a resounding sizzle.

He got in front of the pan and got to work, letting it sizzle and hiss as he mixed the food. The kept her scowl for a moment, before she sighed and stopped pretending she was actually upset. She walked up behind him, and wrapped her arms around his core, breathing a deep breath over his back.

"We should go." She mumbled into his shirt, "On this trip."

He tensed up a bit, almost wincing, before he sighed and settled in her grip.

"I know."

She smiled against his back, "You should be going especially. You know what Freya told me today?"

"That I'm too wired?" He replied. She pulled back a bit and narrowed her eyes at the back of his head.

"Did you learn to read minds or something?"

He shook his head, giving the pan a flip, "She told me too, and frankly?" He shut off the burner and slid the pan over, turning around and leaning against the counter, "She's right."

He rested his arms on Zoe's shoulders and sighed deeply through his nose, letting his eyes settle on hers as a look of thinly veiled nervousness etched it's way across his face.

"I'm just worried, y'know?"

Zoe smiled softly, letting her hands slip up to his chest as she pressed a little closer to him.

"I hope you're not worried not about me."

His expression didn't waver. He just let his arms slide back down so his hands rested on her shoulders.

"I'm always worried about you, Zoe."

She let her smile waver a bit as she felt her hands subconsciously tighten around his shirt. She thought back to all the... lovely things she'd seen on his computer and in his notes, and couldn't help but share some of the worry her boyfriend was feeling.

"I can protect myself Percy." She assured him, as one of her hands slid up and rested itself on his cheek, "You know that."

He closed his eyes and drew a deep breath as her hand grazed his stubble. She could tell this was worrying him, the idea of this trip. The idea of them throwing themselves into another world they knew nothing about.

"I know you can protect yourself, Zoe..." He said in a gentle, soft tone, that sounded like he was trying hard not to let real emotion slip through. His eyes were still closed when he spoke, but he opened them and stared right into hers.

"...But I don't want you to have to."

They were both quiet for a moment, as Percy's words really laid out how he was feeling right there for Zoe to see. She didn't like what this was doing to him, how it was making him feel, so she did what she normally did when he got that worried-for-Zoe look in his eye. She kissed him.

It was a gentle kiss, no aggressive clawing at his clothes or hands working their way into his hair. No her hands stayed softly on his body, one on his chest and one on his cheek, while he let his slip down to her waist and pulled her just a little bit closer. It was sweet, sweet and calming and relaxing and everything he needed it to be right now. She felt him let a deep breath out as she pulled away.

"Thanks." He said in a soft voice, "I needed that."

She smiled, gently running her thumb over his cheek, "You always do."

He smiled right back, "Can't help it. You're very good at that, don't you know?"

She let her eyes drift from his face to his body as her free hand slid back up and she softly dug her fingernails into his chest.

"Well, to be fair... I've got a pretty good teacher." She just about whispered as her eyes flicked up to his. He felt his mouth open slightly as she pressed her body up against him. He could feel his heartbeat just about hammering through his chest, and he got the feeling that it was the same for her.

He cleared his throat, sliping his hand off her waist as he reached over and grabbed the frying pan, holding it up for the two of them.

"Shall we?"

She narrowed her eyes and pushed the pan back over to the stove top, before she pressed one of those steely strong fingers of hers into his chest.

"First you're gonna promise me something Percy."

He let his smile fall into a look of thinly veiled fear, "What's that?"

Her eyes narrowed a bit more as she let her gaze run up and down his body. He knew what she was doing, she was sizing him up. It was the same thing she did every time she was gonna ask a question and wanted a Yes Zoe in return. He probably should've learned to resist this by now, but then again he couldn't really say no to her regardless, could he?

"We are gonna go on this trip, the two of us." She just about demanded as she looked him in the eye, "Aren't we?"

He swallowed as he rested his hands on the counter, "Yes we are."

Her lips twitched, threatening a smile before she got it back under control.

"We're gonna go on this trip and we are gonna relax, alright?"

He nodded, letting out an "Absolutely." Through a tense jaw.

Her lips twitched again, this time letting a smile poke through, "We're gonna go on this trip and you're gonna have a good time. Just you and me and a week in another country, alright?"

He nodded, letting a smile sneak over his face at her apt description, "That's right."

She smiled, properly this time as her big worrisome oaf of a boyfriend finally said what they both needed to hear.

"Good." She said, "And just in case something does show up? Remember, I'm never defenseless Percy."

She reached up to her neck and pulled something out from under her shirt: Her necklace, the necklace that he'd given her when they'd moved in together. The necklace with the archer pendant on it. It had a second pendant on it now too. A pendant of a wolf, howling at the sky.

She grabbed the wolf and gave it a tug and it changed shape, warping from off the chain and forming into a bow. Her favorite bow, the one they'd gotten from Skadi before they'd gone on their quest. It settled in her hands and she let a smile spread over her lips before she gave the archer pendant a tug and it formed into a quiver filled with arrows.

He put his hands on his hips and let out a whistle.

"You and your weapon magic... you're unbelievable, you know that?"

She shrugged with a smile, shrinking the weapons back into pendants that slipped back onto her necklace.

"I know. But I think we'd both feel better if I were as inconspicuously armed as you are Percy."

He blew a soft whistle, "Inconspicuously..." He pulled out his lighter and gave it a flick, watching as Moskstraumen extended in his grip, "I like that description."

She let out a soft laugh as he collapsed and pocketed the lighter. They both settled, all while meeting each other's eyes again. He drew a soft breath through his nose and reached forward, taking her hands in his.

"Just promise me one thing, Zoe."

She smiled at him, "Anything."

He took a shaky breath and let his eyes drop down to her necklace, before raising back up to hers.

"Promise me that, if we can help it?" He pointed at her necklace, "You aren't gonna have to use that, alright?"

She let that smile waver a bit again, with that once again being caused by this man and his unwavering care. She pressed her hand to his cheek and his went up to touch it, pressing softly against.

"I promise, alright?" She assured him, before that smile came back, "Now let's eat. I'm starving, and that smells so good it hurts."

A week went by, and though Percy tried to pretend, he didn't feel any better about all this.

Any second he wasn't around Zoe, or whenever he was one hundred percent sure she wasn't listening or watching, his ticks were on full display. His knee bounced. His fingers drummed. His hand practically carved a rut into the back of his neck with how many time he ran it across.

The one that stood out though was the tapling. The incessant, repetitive, mind numbing tapping. He tapped just about every single day. Every time he was at work, every time he was in the car, every time he was alone. He thought Freya was genuinely gonna go grab her dad's hammer and bash his head in, but he assumed she just grinned and bore it with the expectation that he'd come back fully unwired and fully relaxed.

He hoped so too, despite how he felt.

Eventually (inevitably) the day came, the day of their flight. Zoe was ready. Percy was not.

"You're kidding, right?" She asked as he approached the door without so much as a duffle bag that barely looked half full. He let his brow furrow in confusion as he looked at his bag, and then back at her.

"What? I basically wear the same thing everyday." He replied, Gesturing to his jeans-boots-flannel-bomber combo he was sporting as a small smile tugged at his lips, "Figured I'd pack light."

She sighed, hefting her suitcase, which admittedly looked a little big for how conservative he knew Zoe was with clothes.

"Well lucky for you, I had some idea you'd suck at packing."

He let a mock frown spread over his face.

"I don't suck at packing, I'm just limited with my packing."

She shook her head as a small smile spread over her face.

"What've you got in there anyways?"

He held the bag up, "One change of clothes, Toothbrush, slippers, and a couple of other things."

She shook her head again, this time with a bigger smile as she hefted her own bag.

"This is why I packed for the two of us."

He let a slow breath exhale from his nose as a smile spread over his face. He dropped his bag, stepped forward, and wrapped his arms around her shoulders as he planted a kiss on her forehead.

"Thank you Zoe." He said in a soft, ever so slightly playful voice.

She grumbled to herself, trying to hide the blush that was slowly spreading over her cheeks as she looked up at him with a scowl.

"You missed, Jackson."

He smiled, rolled his eyes, cupped her cheek, and kissed her proper. She felt those butterflies flutter a bit in her stomach and felt her hand instinctively press against his. They probably could've stayed there like that the whole day, but a horn honking outside brought them back to reality. Zoe pulled away and turned to the door.

"That's Frey. You ready?"

Percy took a deep breath and rolled his shoulders, "Yeah. I think I am."

She smiled, before she poked him in the chest.

"Not yet you're not."

He opened his mouth to respond, but whatever words he was gonna say quickly turned into a sigh when he watched her grab his hat off the coat rack.

"Zoe..." He began, but couldn't get any more out as she reached up and plopped it down on his head.

"There." She said with a smile, "Now you're ready to go."

He breathed another sigh out of his nose, "You want me to walk around England in this?" He asked her, pointing at the hat.

She shrugged with a smile, "What if you get lost? That just makes it easier to pick you out of a crowd."

He shook his head and rolled his eyes as her smile grew, "They're gonna think I'm some cowboy or something."

"Yeah..." She replied, straightening his jacket on his shoulders as her eyes rose up and met his, "... my cowboy."

The annoyance fell from his face in an instant. His eyes met hers and his hands found her hands and it was all setting them up for another one of those special Percy-Zoe moments.

So of course the horn had to honk again.

They snapped themselves back to reality and grabbed their bags, stepping out of the house as Percy locked the door behind him. He gave one last glance at the door, and the home, and of course his door mat. He got down on his knee and gave the door mat a pat.

"See you soon, salty."

He got back up and turned to Zoe, who had one of the most vacantly annoyed looks hed ever seen on her face.

"Just for that..." She said, handing her suitcase to him, "...you get to carry my bag."

He smiled, taking the suitcase from her, "I think you knew I was going to, anyways."

She turned away to hide her smile as they made their way over to Freya's old red Chevy and climbed in. It was just around a two hour drive to the airport in Anchorage, and Percy wasn't really eager to leave either of their cars in some parking lot for a week of Alaskan snow, so Freya had offered to give them a ride.

He put their bags in the back and climbed in the backseat as the deputy shot a glance over her shoulder.

"I really hope that fanny pack I just saw wasn't all you plan to bring, sheriff."

Percy sighed as he clicked on his seat belt, "It's alright. Zoe packed for me too."

Freya smiled to herself as she pulled out of his driveway and started the drive out of town. Percy watched as the trees went by, and the street lights did the same, followed by his town, and all his neighbours. He kept watching even as they pulled past the towns entrance, craning his neck as it disappeared behind them.

He took a deep breath, one he didn't let out until he felt Zoe's hand tighten around his. He turned to her, meeting her eyes as she gave him a smile.

"You ready?" She asked. He took another deep breath and let it out through his nose.

"As ready as I'll ever be." He practically whispered to her.

She smiled, lifting his arm up and wrapping it around her shoulders as she snuggled into his side.

"I'm gonna get some sleep, and you should too. It's a long drive, sheriff."

He smiled as he leaned his head back and squeezed his arm tighter around her shoulders. He took his hat off his head and placed it over his face, blocking out the soft lights that glowed from the streetlights as they drove closer and closer to their destination.

He wasn't gonna sleep, he knew that, but for Zoe? He could pretend for a little while.

They rode in silence for a few hours, the sound of the radio softly playing as Freya's truck drove down the highway. Zoe was fast asleep by now, softly snoring as she pressed her head tight against Percy's chest. He smiled at the feeling, keeping his arm tight around her shoulder as he watched the streetlights go past. It was sweet, so heartwarmingly sweet. So naturally Freya had to ruin it.

"You didn't forget it, did you?"

A few emotions spread over Percy's face in rapid succession. The first was confusion, the second was wide eyed shock, the third was panic, and the fourth was extreme regret.

Freya watched each of these emotions in her rear view and simply sighed as she grabbed at her passenger seat.

"Here, you dumbass."

She held her hand up over the cab and there it was. The box, with the ring. He smiled at her and reached forward, as gently as possible as to not disturb Zoe, and grabbed the box. Zoe stirred in her sleep when he moved, mumbling something about crème brûlée and Percy's name, before she settled back into his chest. He let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding and tucked the box into his pocket, zipping that pocket up tight.

"Thanks, Frey." He whispered, as the deputy shot him a glare in her mirror.

"I'm hoping you didn't forget that on purpose, Percy. It wasn't easy breaking into your truck."

Percy raised and eyebrow, "You broke into my baby?"

Freya sighed as she rolled her eyes and pointed at Zoe, "I thought she was your baby."

Percy shuddered a little, "No, she does not like it when I call her that. The truck's my baby, Zoe's my world."

Freya couldn't help but smile at the sheriff's kind words, letting that grin tug a little harder than she'd allow if he could see it. But it quickly turned back into a firm line when she thought about what he'd said.

"If she's really your world, Percy..." Her eyes flicked back up to the mirror, electric blue meeting vibrant green, "...then you know what to do."

He took a deep breath and glanced at Zoe, taking in every detail of her face. Every curve, every angle, every soft gentle feature she had. He looked at her thick black hair, her sharp eyebrows, the shape of her cheekbones. He looked at every detail and did his best to picture what that face of hers would look like when she said yes.

If. If she said yes.

He looked back into the mirror and met Freya's eyes again.

"I won't let you down, deputy."

It sounded ridiculous, the words he'd said, but she could acknowledge the sincerity behind them.

"Don't let yourself down, alright Percy?" She replied, letting those eyes narrow into a glare, "And if you start thinking about doing that, just remember what me and Arty said." She drummed her fingers on the wheel as she turned off the highway, "She comes back without it on? It's your ass on the line."

He swallowed his nerves and shot her a timid smile, "She let's you call her Arty?"

Freya turned back forward with a smile, "Damn right she does."

Percy sighed to himself as he gently rubbed his girlfriends shoulder, "She doesn't even let me do that..."

"Yeah, well, you're not besties with her like I am." Freya replied, taking another turn as they finally approached their destination, "We're here."

He looked out that window and felt himself swallow. They indeed were there, the airport. Probably the one place on the planet he feared most, and that was coming from a guy who'd been to hell multiple times.

He sighed to himself and gave Zoe a gentle poke, feeling her wake up in his arms.

"Whaddaya want." She slurred as she rose from her slumber. He smiled to himself and pointed out the window.

"We're here."

She looked out the window then grabbed his watch, checking the time.

"Nice and early, too." She took off her seat belt and leaned forward, wrapping her arms around the driver seat to give Freya a hug.

"Thanks for the ride, Frey."

The deputy smiled one of those motherly smiles of hers, "Anytime."

The couple stepped out of the car, settling on their feet as Percy grabbed their bags out of the truck bed and put them on the ground. He walked up to the passenger window and gave it a couple knocks, to which Freya rolled it down.

"Thanks deputy. Keep the town safe while I'm gone, alright?"

Freya let her eyes narrow as she turned her body to face him straight on. He'd be lying if he said that move didn't make him tense up a bit.

"Don't forget what I said, Percy."

He swallowed again, forced a smile, and nodded. She returned that smile and pulled away, waving to the two as she drove back home.

Percy let out a quick, nervous breath and turned back to the airport as Zoe got right next to him. He felt her hand slip into his and that settled him, at least a little bit.

"You ready?" She asked.

"Not even close." He replied. She smiled and have his hand a squeeze.

"Y'know, I strongly recall Zeus saying he won't blast you out of the sky, Percy, so I don't think you have to worry. Now come on," She said, giving his hand a tug as she pulled him towards the airport, "We're gonna miss our flight."

He smiled as she pulled him along, letting her lead them towards the building. Truth be told he was a little nervous about the whole plane thing. Sure Zeus had said what he'd said, and been explicit that it applied even more when he was in Alaska, but that didn't change the fact that planes made him nervous.

That wasn't what was really making him nervous though, and he got the feeling that even if she didn't say it, Zoe knew that.

Percy's ticks were on full display.

They got themselves through customs, dropping off their bags in the scanners and dumping their pockets (including Percy's sword in disguise) in the x-ray machine and having a particularly awkward moment where the border agent ran a metal detector over Percy's leg.

He sighed and held up his pant leg, showing off the prosthetic, which made the colour nearly drain from the agents face.

"So sorry, sir." The man mumbled out. Percy smiled as he pulled his jeans back down.

"If you want I can toss it through the machine, too." He said in a friendly tone, "I'm pretty good at hopping, and she can attest to that."

He pointed at Zoe, who was already grabbing their bags and who, at Percy's comment, just about rolled her eyes into her skull. The agent stammered out another apology and let him through. Percy grabbed his bag and pocketed his few items, hoping no one had noticed that his lighter had disappeared from the tray and was back in his pocket.

He and Zoe made their way over to their gate and took a seat by the window, watching as planes got ready to leave.

That's when the ticks started.

His knee bounced, unbelievably so. Enough that Zoe was worried his leg was gonna come flying off. She looked at her boyfriends face and took in the terrified look he had in his eyes as he watched the planes arrive and depart. She reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze.

"How about I go grab us some snacks for the trip?"

His leg stopped bouncing and he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

"Well... I could go for some m n' ms."

She smiled, leaning over to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Peanut or regular?"

"Regular." He replied with a smile, "And, uh... you missed."

She shook her head as her eyes rolled again, "Not in the airport, Percy. Once we get to our hotel though?" She leaned up close to his ear, "You'll get all the kisses you want."

His smile grew a bit at her words as she got up and wandered off to the dozens of shops that lined the gates. He sighed, realizing that he was now back to No Zoe mode.

He hated No Zoe mode.

He pulled out his phone, opening the web browser and revisiting some of the tabs he'd had open before. He'd found a certain e-book that had proven very helpful: Mythical Beasts And Monsters, A European Folklore Guide. Well, helpful was maybe a stretch. He preferred the word necessary. Terrifyingly necessary.

He sighed as he read the extensive list of details on gargoyles which he was fully aware had probably been written by some D n' D player in their free time. Not that there was anything wrong with D n' D. Connor and Travis had held a couple games at camp when he was younger and he recalled them being pretty exhilarating, but still. This read like it was written by a D n' D player.

He was pretty invested in his phone. So much so that he didn't notice when a man sat down next to him on the bench, on the opposite side to where Zoe had been.

"They still play, you know."

Percy felt his gaze snap up from the phone as he looked at the man, who looked extremely familiar, but Percy couldn't tell why.

"Pardon me?" Percy asked.

"Connor and Travis, they still play." The man said, as he turned to Percy with a smile, "They also really wish you'd come back for another game Perseus the Emancipator."

Percy felt his heart skip a beat and his breath hitch, before he settled as he realized why he recognized the person sitting next to him.

"What're you doing here, Forseti?"

The old man smiled as he leaned back in his seat. He had on a simple, tweed coat over a knit sweater, and was wearing a pair of slacks and some Oxford boots, all while a flat cap sat on his head.

He looked like a college professor, which was very fitting for the God of truth.

The old deity smiled as he crossed his legs, clasping his hands together as he laid them on his lap.

"Just seeing off an old friend as he heads out into the great beyond." The man drew his hand over his beard, a flowing mane of white hair that hung out from his chin, "Say, did you know that Eli Manning, right now, just stubbed his toe?"

Percy sighed and eased into his seat, "No. How would I ever know that."

The God shrugged, "Fair enough, I guess being the God of truth has some advantages." He turned to Percy, a look of thought etching over his face, "Like for example, I know what you're thinking right now. The question you've got on your mind. The question you've frankly been wanting to ask for a while."

Percy frowned, "Yeah, y'know it might help if you came down from the mountain a bit more often."

The old God shrugged, "Most people can't handle the truth, so they can barely handle me. They think it's something they want, but all it ever does is destroy them." He let his eyes drift over to the gero of Olympus, "I hope you've thought about that, Perseus.

Percy was quiet for a moment, before he hung his head and spoke, his voice a quiet whisper as honest words drew themselves from deep inside him.

"You know what I'm gonna ask."

The old God sighed as he placed a gentle hand on Percy's shoulder.

"Do you want the answer?"

Percy felt something in that moment. A tight, nervous, panicky feeling in his gut as the old god laid out words that really just jammed panic into his heart. That could mean a lot of things. He hadn't asked a question, and he got the feeling that neither he nor Forseti actually knew what he wanted to ask, so he just sighed and asked a different one.

"Is Zoe gonna find my m n' ms?"

The old God smiled, "She already did."

Percy turned forward and breathed out a deep sigh, slightly out of relief and slightly out of worry. Worry for... well, a lot of things.

"This trip isn't gonna end badly, right?"

He turned to the God and patted his pocket, the one with the ring in it.

"You know what I mean."

Forseti gave him a look and held up his hands.

"Remember Percy. I can't predict the future, I just know all that is or ever has been perfectly."

Percy sighed as he slouched in his seat, "Think you can give me another vision in that case? Maybe the same one you showed me on the mountain. Because..."

He stopped talking, the words slipping from his lips as a certain image entered his mind. An image he wanted more than just about anything on the planet. He let his head hang a bit as he felt a lot of emotion well up inside him.

"...I really miss Sally right now."

The old God looked at the man's face, watching as he shut his eyes and thought about his daughter. Forseti placed a hand on Percy's shoulder, a move that drew the young man's gaze.

"What is step one to getting that life, Percy?"

The young man drew a shaky breath, and let his hand slide over his pocket. He didn't say anything, but Forseti knew. He gave the man a nod and stood up, dusting off his clothes as he gave Percy a smile.

"Oh, and also." He let a look of seriousness settle on his face, "Keep your eyes open over there. That research you've been doing? Let's just say... it's not unwarranted."

Percy let out a deep sigh as he crossed his arms over his chest, "Naturally. I'll see you around Forseti."

The old God smiled, turning away from the young man and walking away, out of sight and probably out of the airport, on his way back up to his mountain.

Percy turned back forward, a smile on his face, one that Zoe was quick to point out the second she sat back down next to him.

"Finally get over your airplane blues?"

He cocked his head side to side as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, "Something like that."

She smiled, handing him the bag of m n' ms which he took with a grin before planting a kiss on her cheek. He was about to break it open when the flight attendant called out their flight. They both got up, Percy a little grudgingly so as he slipped the chocolates into his pocket and they made their way over to the gate.

They tore their tickets, walked onto the plane, found their seats, and got strapped in.

That's when the ticks came back.

They were minor, a gentle bounce of the knee and his fingers drumming on his thigh, but enough for Zoe to notice and give his hand a tight squeeze.

"I'll be next to you the whole time."

He shot her a nervous smile, "You'd better."

She smiled and pushed up the arm rest between them, taking the opportunity to press herself nice and close to him. He drew a tense breath and felt himself grip his armrest as he felt the plane take off. A squeeze of his hand from Zoe made him loosen up a little, but still.

He let out a soft sigh through his nose and decided sleep was a good enough escape from his flight inflicted terror, and apparently Zoe felt the same.

Basically the second they left the tarmac and he'd felt the plane lift into the air her head was on his shoulder and she was softly snoring. He smiled at that, her flawless ability to fall asleep anywhere so long as she had his shoulder as a pillow, and really he wished that emotion had lasted, because the second she'd fallen asleep he didn't have much of a choice but to focus on his own fear.

He did not like planes, with or without what Zeus had promised.

Regardless of that, he figured maybe sleep might save his ass from the terror for at least a little while. He leaned his seat back, tipped his hat over his eyes, wrapped his arm around Zoe's shoulder (which, even while she was sleeping, made her smile), and closed his eyes.

He hoped there'd at least be some escape in unconsciousness.