Percy PoV
Artemis was avoiding me.She hadn't been responding to her texts, and she's been blocking my Iris Messages.
I finally worked up the guts to go to her palace.
Yes, I did knock, in case you were wondering, but there was no response.
I entered her palace and heard quiet sobbing from her bed chambers.
Quickly, I moved toward the sound and knocked on the door.
When there was silence, I entered.
I took in a breath, feeling something in my chest ache at the sight of my goddess crying.
I kneeled down so I was level with Artemis, who was sitting on her bed.
"Artemis, what's the matter? Who made you cry?" I asked.
She averted her eyes. "You." I blinked. "I...I don't understand, Artemis."
"I heard you," she whispered. "I was going to tell you how I felt, but then I heard you talking to Annabeth, and I thought you would get back together with her."
"That is no reason for a strong, intelligent, beautiful woman like yourself to be crying, told her. "Especially when it's not true."
She looked up at me. "But...what were you talking to her about then?"
"I was whining. When you told Apollo that we were holding hands because someone might be watching, I thought you meant it, and you didn't have feelings for me," I explained.
I stood, extending a hand for her to take.
Artemis did, pulling herself up close to me.
Very close.
Our noses were brushing, and I couldn't resist the urge to kiss her.
My goddess raised her arms to my shoulders, loosely placing them around my neck.
With more confidence, I took her slim waist and pulled her close, kissing with passion.
Artemis grabbed my face, deepening the kiss.
I groaned softly, sitting down on the bed with her in my lap.
After quite a bit of time, my goddess pulled away, resting her forehead against mine.
"That was long overdue."
"I agree," I whispered.
"Well I don't," Apollo butted in. "What happened to 'just friends'?"
"Friends, means, um," I tried to think of an acronym. "Friends means Fanciful, Romantic, Ideal, Erotic, Neat Dudes."
Artemis tried and failed to stifle her laughter.
The sun god sneered. "My threat stands."
Artemis PoV
My gaze returned to Percy. "Well, he's gone."
The green-eyed god gently brought his hand to my face, cupping my cheek before he brought his lips to mine.
My eyes fluttered closed, and I was lost in the feeling of his kiss. How he tasted, how he smelled, how he felt.
It was all incredible.
Percy stood, and I made a sound of surprise.
My boyfriend chuckled, holding me tightly against him. "I gotcha, don't worry."
He carried me to the kitchen, where he sat me on the countertop.
I blushed at the realization that his torso was between my legs.
"You're so cute when you do that," Percy commented.
"Do what?" I asked.
"You're blushing. Your cheeks have this sort of glow, and you act so shy," he explained.
My boyfriend pulled me back into a kiss, which I can't deny I enjoyed.
As I was running my hand through his hair, my phone rang.
I bit my lip and Percy pulled away.
"Athena," I started. "You better have a good reason to be interrupting my free time."
"I do. Another meeting has been called, but the summoning magic isn't working for some reason," Athena explained.
I hung up and turned to Percy. "I have to go. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Maybe we could catch lunch?" He asked.
I shook my head. "Busy. I'll text you when I can."
Percy nodded, kissing me on the check. "Bye, Artemis."
With that, I left to the meeting.
Percy PoV
So, that happened.
I kissed Artemis, and she didn't kill me.
That's good.
My phone buzzed, and it turned out there was something I needed to do in my domain.
A middle school in California was having some issues.
Students would cycle through, and in the three years they spent attending, whatever morals they'd learned in their elementary school were stripped.
Mortals.
I sighed, shrinking until my form was that of a middle-school student.
In case you were wondering or had forgotten, middle school sucks.
I quickly found the root of the problem; the demonic teachers.
They would assign hours of homework, give rigorous tests, and there were assessments in the PE classes. Since when are there tests in PE?
I manipulated the mist so that when mortal authorities arrived, it looked as though the teachers were all very stressed, and the process of bringing in new ones began.
After that long day of middle school, which I am very glad I never actually completed, I returned to my palace and changed back into my normal size.
I showered, changed, and collapsed on my bed, tired.
My phone rang, and I found that Artemis was calling.
"Hey," I greeted, answering the call.
"Hey," my goddess responded. "Are you busy?"
"No, why?" I asked. "I need to talk to you about the meeting yesterday," she explained, abruptly hanging up.
I sighed and put it down, practically jumping out of my skin at the doorbell.
Slowly, I got off the bed and stretched, eventually getting to the door.
I was mentally kicking myself in the butt after finding out it was the woman I'd just been hung up on by.
She slipped her shoes off and hugged me, kissing me lightly on the cheek.
I smiled, scratching the back of my neck. "Sorry I took so long to answer."
Artemis remained quiet, hugging me tightly.
I pulled her closer. "Alright, what's got you so happy?"
She bit her lip lightly before responding, as though trying to figure out what to say.
"During the council meeting, Styx mentioned that a lot of people had been making oaths,"' Artemis began. "It's becoming more difficult for her to keep track, so all oaths held for a millennia are removed."
"So, you don't have a maiden vow anymore?" I asked, confused.
She nodded.
"Um," I responded intelligently. "Why is that important?"
"Because my hunters have been informed, and they have said they are fine with me dating so long as they know who he is and have questioned him thoroughly," Artemis explained.
"So you want me to meet your hunters?" I clarified.
My goddess nodded. "Unless you're too chicken to date me."
I shook my head rapidly. "Your hunters terrify me sometimes, but I think you're worth it."
She gave a brilliant smile, kissing my cheek again. "Let's go."
"Artemis," I said. "Are you sure you want to introduce me wearing my hoodie? They might get the wrong idea."
"Yes," she said. "They need to know I actually like you, so they can't kill you."
I took her hand in mine and we appeared at the hunters' campsite.
Artemis cleared her throat, immediately silencing the chatter that had erupted at our arrival.
She swallowed the lump in her throat. "So, as many of you know, this is Percy. He's also my boyfriend..."
A daughter of Apollo blessed with the ability to tell if someone was Iying moved to the front of the crowd.
And so the questions began. "Do you love her?" Phoebe asked.
"I don't know," I responded honestly. "We've been dating less than a month, and I don't think that's enough time to determine whether or not you love someone. Yes, I like her. I think Artemis is beautiful, intelligent, kind, and has a great personality, but we've only been dating for a month."
Artemis was hiding her face in my shoulder, but I could feel her smile.
"Have you ever had sex?" Atlanta questioned. "No," I responded curtly.
Artemis, not liking where the questioning was going, cleared her throat. "I have important matters to attend to on Olympus, so I'll be leaving you girls for the night."
In a flash, we were back in her palace.
