Artemis PoV

It had been a couple of weeks since I had last seen Percy.

My hunters were doing well for having lost a member, no major issues arising.

They were pretty independent now.

My phone buzzed with a notification that Percy was texting me.

PJ: Do u wanna go to a carnival???

Me: Where?

PJ: Doesn't matter. Do u wanna???

Minutes later, I appeared next to Percy at a parking lot.

"Come on," he motioned for me to follow him toward a blue motorcycle.

We put on helmets and I mounted behind Percy on the vehicle.

I held his waist tightly, not wanting to fly off the contraption.

After a few minutes passed, we arrived at the carnival parking lot. We got off and grabbed some tickets.

"So, where to first, my lady?" Percy asked cheekily. I snorted. "Let's try that one."

We were buckled into this strange pod with padded bars for a door.

Percy glared at the guy when he insisted my crotch buckle was malfunctioning.

When the ride finally started, the pod was shot high into the air, and we landed in what looked like a large cone, where we rammed into several other pods.

As we funnelled down the cone, the pod went into a free fall for several seconds.

There was much screaming, and we ended up in this strange pool at the end.

Percy helped me out of the cage, a bit dizzy himself.

"Well," he coughed. "That was an interesting ride."

"Let's not do that again," I suggested.

"Sounds good to me," he replied. "What about the Ferris wheel?"

I smiled. "Sure." Surprisingly, there was no line. We clambered into the smallish seat and lowered the bar, and the ride began.

"So, what gave you the idea of going to the carnival?" I asked.

"I saw a flyer stapled to a tree," he replied. "And I kinda missed being around a friend."

"Has Annabeth been bothering you again?" I asked, sensing his agitation.

He nodded. "She continues to Iris-Message me at the most awkward of times, like when I'm bathing. It's become rather annoying."

This action specifically annoyed me greatly. I had no reasoning for why, but it did.

Percy put an arm around my shoulder, and I leaned against his chest.

"How have your hunters been holding up?" The god asked.

"They've gotten over the death of one of their members pretty well. The group is becoming rather self-reliant, so I've found myself with much more free time," I replied.

"Well, maybe we could hang out more," he reasoned.

An Iris-Message appeared, and it revealed Annabeth. "Hey, Seaweed Brain!"

Her face dropped when she saw that Percy was with another girl.

"Is that Artemis?" The girl asked hesitantly. I waved.

"Are you guys on a date?" Annabeth asked. Percy nodded. "Yeah. I told you I had a good reason for not getting back together with you."

Annabeth huffed and swiped through the message.

"That was awkward," he deadpanned.

I cracked up. I don't know why. I just found it funny in some way.

The ride ended and Percy removed his arm from around me.

He showed me to a bottle-knocking game, handing the man three tickets.

The vendor snorted. "You really think you can knock over all those bottles with only three balls?"

"No," Percy replied. "I think she can knock down the structure three times with one ball."

The vendor cackled, but his smile faded when I did.

I got Percy this giant blue and black plush fish with yellow-tipped fins. I swear I heard him call it Dory.

The green-eyed god insisted he would win me something at the strongman-hammer thingie.

Percy grabbed the hammer and slammed it down on this plate-type thing, and a bar flew up, hitting the bell.

He grinned at me and led me over to the prize area, where the man sighed. "Pick any prize you want."

Percy selected a silver and blue pendant the vendor was attempting to hide. Mortals really shouldn't put things out they aren't willing to lose.

I smiled as he clipped it around my neck. "Thank you, Percy."

We shared a cloud of cotton candy and played a few more games.

"Thanks for inviting me to the carnival, Percy," I giggled, unable to hold in my laughter at seeing a grown man hugging a plush fish.

He mounted the motorcycle, and I hopped on behind him. Sitting so close to him on the contraption really wasn't all that bad.

Percy PoV

Artemis.

She's incredibly incredible.

She's not the type to sit around and let a guy do everything for her, but she isn't the type to refuse all help out of stubbornness.

I thought about how it had been a few days since I had last seen her.

I sat up and grabbed my phone, texting Artemis.

Me: wyd?

Arty: relaxing

Me: wanna grab lunch later?

Arty: when/where?

Me: 12:30 at the Italian place across the street from the empire state building?

Arty: b there or b2

Me: alright smarty arty

Me: the farty

Arty: please stop

I chuckled and turned off my phone. It was nice to have a friend again.

I know you're probably wondering about the seven and all the other demigods.

They got pretty wrapped up in keeping their domains in order.

I got lucky with ones that were overlapping with other gods, so I really didn't have to do anything.

It was twelve now, so I took a quick shower and got dressed.

I slipped on black cargo pants, a greyish-silver shirt, and a blue hoodie.

At twelve twenty, I went down to the restaurant, sitting at a bench under a tree.

A few minutes passed, and Artemis appeared next to me. I gave her a hug, taking in her pine scent.

We were seated quickly, and our orders were placed.

"How's your day been?" I asked.

"Rather boring," she replied. "Zeus called a meeting regarding the number of demigods surviving past their teenage years and blah blah blah blah blah. What about you?"

"I slept in and checked up on Blackjack," I replied. "I wasn't loaded down with very many duties in case I'm needed for another battle or something."

Our food arrived, steaming hot and aromatic.

We talked about menial things through the meal, laughing and smiling.

When we were finished, I paid and we left the restaurant. "Um, would you be interested in taking a ride on Blackjack with me?"

Artemis nodded, and I whistled for the black Pegasus. She got on, and I mounted behind her.

The goddess ran her fingers through Blackjack's mane, admiring his coat.

We shot off into the air, and I held Blackjack's mane. Artemis was in front of me, so I was pressed against her.

Blackjack flew us over all the popular sites, and Artemis fell asleep as we were flying back to Olympus.

To be fair, it was getting late. Blackjack landed on the roof of my palace, and I brought Artemis inside, setting her in the guest bedroom.

I watched Olympus News for a bit before Artemis woke up.

"Percy," she yawned. "Why am I at your house?"

"You fell asleep during the Pegasus ride and there were suitors outside your palace," I explained. "I didn't want to leave you there because I thought they might try something."

Artemis hugged me. "Thank you."

"Any time," I replied, hugging her back. "Percy, could I borrow some of your clothes?" She asked. "I, um, I can't summon my own right now."

"Why not?" I asked curiously.

Artemis blushed slightly. "I'm on my period. It affects my powers, and this time I can't summon clothing."

I nodded. "Sure. Whatever you need."

She returned five minutes later in my old sweats and hugged me again. "Thank you."

I hugged back. "Would watching a movie make you feel better?"