Third PoV

Ruby sniffled and shook her head.

Percy crouched down next to her. "Well, you see, they're a group of kick-butt girls that live in the wilderness. They're supported by the goddess Artemis, and you become semi-immortal. There aren't any boys there, and you take an oath that involves staying away from boys."

Ruby sniffled again. "That sounds good. But could you visit sometimes?"

Percy smiled. "Maybe."

"How do we find them?" Ruby asked.

"Don't tell anyone," the son of Poseidon whispered. "But Artemis is my friend."

Ruby nodded and made a lips zipped motion.

I sent a prayer to Artemis, and she appeared seconds later.

"Hey, Artemis, this is Ruby," Percy introduced, standing up.

After Artemis filled Ruby in on all the details, Ruby decided she wanted to join, but didn't want to give up on something like love just yet.

Hearing this, Artemis had whispered something to Ruby that Percy couldn't hear.

Artemis took Ruby to the hunter's camp, and Percy continued his jog.

Percy ended his jog when he heard the familiar call of his ex-girlfriend.

He turned to see the blonde running up to him.

"What do you want?" Percy asked. Annabeth huffed. "I thought you might want to know that I've moved on. Unlike you, he was very willing to sleep with me on the first night."

Percy snorted. "Your wish for premarital pregnancy or an STD is not my concern."

"You son of a bitch!" Annabeth screamed at him.

At that point, Annabeth had crossed the line.

The water started to rise, anger clear in Percy's eyes. "Don't. Ever. insult. My. Mother."

Percy balled his hands into fists and took several deep breaths. He walked into the water and kept walking until he was several feet underwater.

"Percy, my boy," Poseidon's voice echoed. "What brings you down here?"

"Annabeth insulted mom," the demigod growled.

"I'll keep that in mind," Poseidon grunted.

"Hey, dad," Percy thought. "There's this girl I like, but I don't think people would approve of us together. You know her."

"It's a major goddess," The sea god guessed.

Percy made a sound of agreement. "Not just major. You won't tell if I take her down to my little cave, will you?"

"Of course not, son," Poseidon assured. "By the way, there's a heavy storm coming."

"Thanks for the heads up," Percy thought. He kicked up and swam over to the little cave he had found early into his years at Camp Half-Blood.

Percy pulled himself up into the room and dried off.

Then he heard Artemis's voice in his head.

"Percy, where are you?" The goddess asked.

Percy swam out into a detectable part of the water, and told Artemis to jump on in.

Next thing Percy knew, Artemis was in the water next to him.

They swam over to the little cave, and Percy used his powers to dry them off.

Artemis PoV

Of course, Percy has an impenetrable cave fortress. Of course, he does.

I shivered.

Percy handed me a sweatshirt and kissed my cheek.

I smiled and slipped on the sweatshirt. It smelled like Percy.

I pecked his cheek, thanking him,

"How did you fund this place?" I asked. Percy shrugged. "I was just swimming around, exploring, and I found this place. Nobody can bother the people in here."

I nodded. "Have you had lunch yet?" Percy shook his head.

"Pizza sound good?" I asked.

"Yeah," he responded, "but where would we get the p-"

The demigod rubbed his neck. "Right, you're a goddess. You can summon pizza." I felt his lips on my cheek and smiled again.

After we dined on some pizza, Percy asked why I had asked for him.

I shrugged. "I was bored."

Percy extended his arms in a gesture to the cave. "You are always welcome to the Pad."

"The Pad?" I questioned.

"Well," Percy explained. "Some guys have these cool apartments they call bachelor pads, and I kind of wanted this to be my bachelor pad, except I don't understand the bachelor part. Hence, Pad."

I chuckled.

"Can I hug you?" Percy asked suddenly. I nodded, snuggling into his chest.

"You're warm," I murmured. "I like your hugs."

"You can have as many hugs as you want," Percy mumbled, kissing my forehead.

"Apollo's going to kill you if he finds out we're, um..." I trailed off.

"Apollo's going to be overprotective of you," Percy rephrased.

I nodded. "Percy, what are we?"

"I don't know," he responded. "What do you want us to be?" I clarified.

"I want us to be boyfriend and girlfriend. Dating," Percy decided.

I smiled, kissing his cheek. "I want that too."

"Would you turn me into a jackalope if I kissed you?" Percy asked.

"No," I murmured, pulling out of his chest.

My boyfriend stood up, pulling me up with him.

He took my face into my hands and kissed me.

My hands rested on his shoulders, eyes closed as we kissed. I pulled out of the kiss, breathing heavily.

I found that Percy had a goofy grin on his face, like he'd won the lottery.

We moved to the couch, and I snuggled into his chest.

"You know what I think?" Percy asked. "No, what?" I replied.

"You're really tough and independent and beautiful, but sometimes you just want to hug and cuddle with someone," Percy stated.

I pecked his cheek. "And would you be willing to fill that position?"

Percy pulled me closer, nuzzling my neck and kissing my cheek. "I think that comes with the boyfriend title."

"I should get going," I sighed, getting up.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" My boyfriend asked.

I nodded. "Now close your eyes. I can't have you disintegrating just yet."

Percy obeyed, and I kissed him before flashing back to my palace.

I felt myself smile, falling back into the couch.

"Tell me everything!" Aphrodite squealed.

I jumped up and spun around.

Of course, Aphrodite and Athena had to be here. "How...?" I trailed off.

"I figured that you were going on a date," Athena supplied.

"And I sensed the love," Aphrodite chipped in giddily.

"Do you even know who I was with?" I asked.

"We don't know any of the details," Aphrodite said. "You have to fill us in. Was he a good kisser? What did you guys do? Who were you with? Did he have a big d-"

Athena cut Aphrodite off as she got into the more explicit possibilities. "What we mean to say is that we're concerned for your well being, and you should tell us so we can assess the situation."

I snorted. "No, I'm not telling you about my date. I'll never hear the end of it."

"You slept with him, right?" Aphrodite asked. "You're wearing an oversized sweatshirt."

I blushed deeply and shook my head. "I just got cold."

"How many dates have you been on with him?" Athena asked.

"At least one," I answered. "Now, I'm going to bed."

I went to my bedroom and flopped down on the bed, curling up in the sweatshirt and falling asleep.

After a night of dreamless sleep, I woke to find Aphrodite standing at the foot of my bed. "So, on a scale of one to ten, how hot is he?"

"Eleven," I answered sleepily. Did I really just say that?

I groaned and sat up, stumbling into the bathroom, making sure to lock the door.

I changed into a fresh set of clothes and putting Percy's jacket back on.

"Can you at least give me a hint as to who he is?" Aphrodite asked as I walked into the kitchen.

"Making food. Want some?" I asked.

As I munched on granola, Aphrodite kept trying to weasel his name out of me.

"I'm not telling you my boyfriend's name, Aphrodite," I snapped.