Artemis PoV

I woke up late the next morning in bed with my husband.

And I was naked.

Perseus was holding me close, arm draped over my waist.

"Good morning," my husband mumbled groggily. "How are you feeling?"

"Satisfied," I replied, kissing his jaw. "Last night was...incredible."

He smiled. "I thought so too."

"Perseus, we should start getting ready for lunch," I stated.

He nodded, giving me a quick kiss before getting out of bed.

My husband cleared his throat as he grabbed clothes from his dresser. "Last night...that was my first time, too."

Percy PoV

As it turns out, my wife was very happy to have me around.

I finished getting dressed, kissing her cheek as I entered the living room. "You really enjoyed it? This isn't too fast for you?"

"Yeah," she murmured, sipping her nectar contently. "Especially with such an attentive partner."

I hugged her, indulging her cuddly mood. "We should get going soon."

"Oh, um, Athena and I tell each other everything," Artemis started. "You won't mind if I tell her about last night, will you?"

"Of course not," I replied, kissing her forehead.

She smiled, taking my hand. "Remember, this is the first time we'll be seen out together since the marriages, so a lot of people could be staring at us."

I nodded, and as we made our way towards the door, Athena and her husband appeared.

"Zachariah," she said softly. "Could I have a moment with my sister?"

"Absolutely," he replied, looking at me and nodding toward the kitchen.

Once I was there, we began to talk.

"What was Athena so upset about?" I asked.

"Apparently my ex-girlfriend works as a chef there now, so she had a special plate delivered that had 'whore' decoratively displayed on it," he explained.

"Huh," I replied. "Well, it's understandable that she'd be stressed and tired after all that's been going on. Artemis said she was alright because she'd gotten all her anger and stress out before that night."

Zachariah pauses for a moment. "You and Artemis are actually together?"

I nodded. "I like to think so. What about you and Athena?"

"I'm not sure," the man replied. "She says she likes spending time with me, but it's always something to do with her library. I think it's fantastic, but I'd like to spend some time with just her."

"Tell her how you feel," I offered. "That's supposed to work."

Our wives walked into the kitchen and took our hands respectively.

"So, where to?" I asked.

Instead of being given an answer, I appeared in a booth at the restaurant.

Artemis hugged my arm as she looked through the menu.

Once everyone had decided what they wanted for lunch, we placed our orders and the goddesses got deep into a conversation.

Zach and I decided we would play table football until the food arrived.

I flicked the paper, and it almost got across.

He flicked it, and it went over the edge.

I flicked it, and I scored a field goal.

He flicked it, and it landed in the bra of the waitress who was bringing our food.

I tried very hard not to laugh.

With the meal finished, we said our goodbyes and left the restaurant.

They left back to Olympus, and we walked out onto the street. "It's okay with you that we're going to visit my mother again, right?"

"Of course," Artemis replied. "She's your family."

We stepped into the elevator and I punched in the necessary buttons to get to my mother's floor.

My wife drew me close, pressing her lips to mine.

I took her waist, kissing her softly as we were transported.

She pulled away with a satisfied look as we arrived at my mother's floor.

I rang the doorbell and stepped back, taking her hand.

My mother, even frailer than the last time I visited, invited us inside.

I closed the door and gave my mother a hug before bolting to the bathroom.

When I was doing my business, I used up the entire roll of toilet paper.

After washing my hands, I opened the cabinet beneath the sink and grabbed another roll, placing it on the holder.

I also noticed a weird box with some really long word that I think had something to do with Latin on it.

Sighing, I put the box back and returned to my mother and my wife, where the two were laughing away and eating blue cookies.

I sat down next to my wife, kissing her temple before I snagged a cookie.

"So, mom," I addressed. "How are you liking the new apartment?"

Artemis PoV

I bit my lip, trying to think of the best way to break the news to my husband.

"Perseus," I said softly, taking his hand. "While you were in the bathroom, your mother and I were having a conversation about her health.

"Oh," he murmured, sitting up in he bed. "Why?"

"Perseus," I sighed. "Your mother has some form of terminal illness that there is no cure for. She has a month to live."

He remained silent, pulling me close and holding me as though that would make the issue go away.

"What am I going to do?" My husband asked, breaking the silence.

I kissed his cheek. "You're going to spend every day with your mother until she passes, and I'll be busy with my hunters, so you don't need to worry about me."

He nodded. "I'll see you tonight?"

I agreed, and he left.

I took a quick shower, dried off, and dressed for hunting.

There was a monster nest growing in size and power near my hunters' campsite.

I appeared at my hunters' camp, greeted positively by my followers.

"Lady Artemis!" One of the younger hunters called. "Is it true that you're married now?"

I cleared my throat. "My father has declared that every immortal residing within Olympus must be wed. So, to answer your question, yes."

"Who were you wed to?" She asked.

"Perseus Jackson," I replied. "And yes, he treats me with respect."

Having answered all the important questions‚ I brought the monster nest to their attention. "My senior hunters, I want you in the trees with me. My junior hunters, I want you back defending the camp with the wolves. I understand you want experience, but the nest is growing exponentially."

They nodded and began preparing for their assigned duties.

As I was checking my bow, Thalia came to speak with me.

"M'lady," she addressed. "I heard you say that Percy is treating you well, but are you doing the same for him?"

I felt my face begin to heat. "Of course. He's very kind, and I feel that I should treat him the same way."

"Do you love him?" My lieutenant asked.

I coughed. "What?"

"Do you have feelings for him?" She rephrased.

"Yes," I replied, almost certain I had a visible blush at this point.

"Then why aren't you with him?" My sister asked maturely.

"His mother is dying," I explained. "She has a month left, and we both feel it best for him to spend that time with her."

With the other girls ready, we began climbing.

Being my elder hunters, they climbed flawlessly into the canopy of the trees.

We hopped from branches to branches until we were surrounding the nest.

Some, with me, were lower in the trees, while some were higher up, and some were farther back.

Quietly, I nocked, drew, and released an arrow, sending it flying through the head of a large monster.

With that, barrage after barrage of arrows was sent flying and disintegrating the monsters.

But then they began climbing into the trees, and we had to retreat.

Once we had made it back to the camp, we descended from the trees and unsheathed our melee weapons.

The younger hunters began firing arrows at the monsters in the back of what remained of the horde.