AN: I'm not really sure about this chapter honestly. It might be a little too...filler-y.

But pease bear with me. I think it'll get more interesting next chapter.

I say I think because it's not written yet and fics sometimes have the habit of writing themselves, ignoring my nudging otherwise.

I just wanted to thank everyone who has left a review, favortied, followed, or just read this fic. I hadn't quite grasped how big this fic became unti I looked at the stats (I only really look at the notifications through email and don't truly see the accumulation of them.)

And thank you all who came back after a year of absence from this fic. 3

Lots of love!

He was getting frustrated. There was never a moment Percy set the key down. He'd know, he had been watching her whenever he could.

He thought his moment came when the Camp invited their parents to a party. It was like going to a kid's recital or play. They put on a talent show and even gave gifts to their parents and other gods. He also had to attend since the kids still thought they were married. Apollo thought it was Percy's plan to officially divorce him after Jessica died, or was at least in a position where his actions wouldn't reflect too badly on the demigod.

He scanned the crowd, mostly comprised of teens. There were younger kids; Hephaestus's seven year old son and Athena's nine year old daughter. Typically there was another night just for the younger kids with activities they could enjoy a little more. Apollo found Jessica in the crowd, the fire reflecting off her hair. She was with her siblings, laughing. Tessa was gesturing wildly, nearly catching her arm on fire. Rey smirked along with the story, interjecting or nudging Tessa. Whenever the latter happened Tessa would roll her eyes and smile before continuing.

Jessica made eye contact with him for a brief second before hastily refocusing on Tessa. He hadn't been able to talk to her since they had come to take the Sun Chariot from him. He desperately wanted to know what she was thinking but knew if he approached, it would not be welcomed. And both her siblings, and quite possibly Percy herself would intervene.

Percy had wandered away from his side while making it look natural and not like she was trying to avoid him. She was by the field typically used for sparring but had been replaced with several sports for the night, with seven year old William. The boy had excitedly presented Percy with a daisy chain crown, all awkward knots and abused flowers. It sat lopsided on the goddess's head as it was sightly too big but she had pinned it in place with Riptide. He was a ball of pure energy and bounced in place as he spoke with Percy.

Apollo watched as the little boy tugged on her arm, pulling her closer to the fire, opposite of her children. He couldn't see what the boy was doing as the fire blocking him from view. But he was able to see Percy's smile, the one that made her eyes sparkle. She was made even more beautiful when the fire danced in her eyes.

She was smiling and nodding along, genuinely, when she absentmindedly shrugged off her jacket. The evening had been cool but Apollo supposed that next to the giant bon fire was hot. She threw it onto a log that had been put into place for people to sit and cook.

Apollo looked away for a moment to track a shout that came from the field, after a moment it became apparent there had been a hard collision in the soccer game. When he turned back William was sitting on his older brother's shoulders and walking towards their father and Percy was on the other side of the fire, currently disengaging from a hug with Tessa.

His eyes narrowed in on the jacket. Maybe...

Glancing around he wandered toward the log with the jacket. It had slipped off so only a sleeve really rested on the wood. To anyone looking it would appear he was just saving someone's jacket from the dirt. He was actually patting down the pockets to see if the key was there. The replica key he kept in the palm of his hand so that he could switch it out. The teeth of the fake was different since he had no idea what the actual key's teeth were. So it would keep away her suspicion at least for a few hours.

"What are you doing?" Percy's voice was light enough but her eyes were accusatory when he turned to face her.

"Just getting it off the ground." He raised the jacket slightly.

"Thank you." She gave him and imitation of a smile before nearly snatching the jacket back from him, a nail catching the back of his hand.

There was no key anyway.

Hermes...

He had told himself he would watch Percy and Apollo since the latter was acting shifty. But in the excitement of the night and his children's joy, he forgot to keep tabs on them. He saw them arrive together, their arms barely touching before Percy wandered away from the sun god.

He saw them next when Percy twirled away with her jacket in her hand. She was tense but she was smiling. Apollo clenched his jaw as he watched Percy walk towards the game of volleyball going on. Apollo's hand clenched as he stared after her.

That was the look of a theft gone wrong. There was frustration in the lines of Apollo's body and he was undoubtedly beating himself up for the perceived failure.

What would he want to steal from Percy though?

Apollo...

He resigned himself to watching Percy join in a gods vs demigods volleyball match. Her jacket was gone with some magic and her skirt changed to shorts.

Maybe I could pick pocket her. Apollo glanced from her wrist to her neck. The key wasn't in either place so he assumed it was in her pockets.

While she played he stayed by the fire. Some of the children were wary of him since he had hid the sun, from their point of view, for no reason. He didn't even want to know the theories they were coming up with.

"Hey, man." Apollo looked up at his half-brother.

"Hey, Hermes." He dropped his gaze back down toward the volleyball game. Just in time to see Nike set the ball for Percy to spike.

"Can I talk to you? Privately?" Hermes indicated the Big House with his head.

"Uh," It the game would go on for awhile since they had just started. "Sure." Apollo wasn't sure what he was expecting. Why did Hermes want to talk to him?"

Once they were inside and the door was closed Hermes turned to face him. "You okay dude?" Apollo nearly jerked in surprise. "I mean, of course you're not but you've been acting...different, lately."

"Of course I have." Hermes blinked at the blunt response. "My wife hates me. She won't talk to me at all. Why would you think I'd act the same as before?" Apollo stepped into Hermes's space. The messenger god stood his ground and straightened his stance, which was still slightly shorter than Apollo.

"You're scheming something. You're planning on stealing something from Percy. Why?" A firm hand shoved Apollo away.

"What are you taking about? I'm not planning anything." While Apollo was the god of truth, it gave him the incredible ability to lie. Hermes didn't trust him at the moment.

"You've been scoping out Percy. You tried to take something from her jacket. I'm the god of thieves. I know the signs. I taught you how to steal." Hermes knew he was right when Apollo growled.

"I didn't take anything from her jacket. Trust me."

"That's not going to work, Apollo." It was a habit formed from his marriage. As the goddess of trust Percy would put power behind the words. "What are you trying to steal?"

"Why would I tell you anything?" Apollo turned to leave, Hermes grabbed his arm.

"Something is going to happen, Apollo. I can feel it. What are you planning?" The question came out more of a demand.

"It's going to work out fine. You'll see."

"Don't you dare hurt her further." Hermes growled. Apollo wrenched his arm free before bursting out the door. He had only seconds to register who it was that was approaching and get the fake key out of his pocket. This may be his only chance.

He didn't correct his course as he bumped into Percy. She was carrying a camper piggy back and was knocked off balance. Apollo slipped a hand between the camper and Percy to keep them from falling back. His left hand came forward, exchanging keys, before moving up to appear more useful at Percy's right hip.

And just like that, he had what he needed. His heart pounded at his success... and the fear. Did Hermes catch that?

"Oh! I'm sorry!" He made sure Percy had her footing back before pulling away slightly.

Percy huffed a breath as the adrenaline faded. Worst case scenario she would end up a little bruised as she would have twisted to avoid hurting the demigod on her back.

"I was actually looking for you!" Percy's false cheer was apparent to him, and probably Hermes behind him who was looking on from the doorway. Apollo hoped he hadn't caught the pick pocket. He might just be waiting to be away from the demigod. "Ayana got injured." The girl on Percy's back had tears leaking out of her eyes, although they seemed involuntary. Apollo took his right hand back and set it on the girl's shoulder. Doing a magic sweep he could tell she had a sprained ankle and a couple of bruises elsewhere.

"Set her down." He instructed. Percy knelt so that Ayana could hop off, keeping her right foot off the ground. Percy turned to help the girl down to sit on the steps of the Big House. He reached for the injured limb but Ayana jerked it back, eliciting a whine when the motion undoubtedly caused pain. "It's alright. I'll make it better." He put his right hand on her left knee in order to reduce pain. She slowly extended it again, keeping it off the grass.

He cupped her heel. He could now tell why none of the other gods, all of whom had at least a little healing power, couldn't fix this. It was badly injured, one of the ligaments was torn and another was badly stretched. He heard Ayana gasp as he started healing it. In the darkness of the night, gathering light was visible around her ankle. The light faded once he fixed the damage.

"It might be a little sore for a day, so take it easy but you're good to go." He warned.

"Thank you, Lord Apollo!" She did a little half bow sitting down. She stood up, mostly by her left foot before gently lowering the other. She brightened when it didn't hurt as bad. He stood up from his squat as she hugged Percy before running back to the fire. "Thanks Lady Percia! Bye Lord Hermes!"

Apollo glanced at the other god. He didn't look as angry as before. But that could have been due to the presence of the demigod. They all had become good at acting in front of people who didn't know the situation.

Apollo didn't know what time it was exactly but he still had hours until he had to bring up the sun.

"I think I'm gonna head back home." He shoved his hands into his pocket, squeezing the key in his pocket and trying to hold back a smile.

"Apol-!" He heard Hermes shout as he flashed away. Reappearing in his palace. He held his breath. Waiting to see if Hermes would follow. If he knew. He just needed a little more time.

Neither Percy nor Hermes appeared so he made his way outside. He had to work fast, he didn't know how long he would have before Percy realized she carried a fake key.

He enjoyed the freedom of walking to Percy's palace. It didn't matter who saw him. He was just heading to his wife's palace. And, if this worked, this night technically never happened.

He made his way past the traps again and down to the door. He grabbed the ring from around his neck, placing it in the alcove. He waited a second before putting the key in.

He smiled widely as the door clicked open.

He had never been in the vault before. He paused in the doorway to take it all in.

Some things gave off a golden glow, a seemingly universal color of time. There was an hourglass with literal gold sand in it. The sand never stopped moving, but the levels in each half stayed the same. A black orb sat alone, separated from other artifacts. Light seemed to disappear into it and Apollo had a hard time seeing it as a three dimensional object. There were other things but he paid no attention to them. His prize was hanging on the wall. He approached slowly, scanning the scythe top to bottom. It was held against the wall instead of simply sitting on hooks or nails. He could probably still use it as is, as long as he was touching it.

He couldn't wrap his hand around it fully but did his best. Apollo closed his eyes and tried to remember what Percy had said to Tessa when she was teaching her how to control her limited time powers.

"Think of time as a flowing entity. It's a bit different for everyone. You have a mental picture? Good. Okay, now try to slow the flow. It's okay. Relax, pretend you are the flow. If you're relaxed then the flow will slow."

Apollo closed his eyes and thought of a river. It flowed, right? It should do. He slowly pulled at the power stored in the scythe. It curled, curious, around his wrist.

He needed to go back. Before Jessica, before Kate, before he even got banished in the first place.

He saw the power in his mind as a golden light. It hovered over his river before he pushed it. He was suddenly aware of the sail behind him. The light filled his sail and pushed him backward over the water. He turned to face the direction they were headed.

Faints shadows filled the thick fog around the banks of the river, even as the river itself was clear of it. He wasn't sure where the sun was—or if there even was one.

He wasn't sure how far back he needed to go but he felt like he would just...know? The roar of water made him turn back around. The river seemed to follow him. The riverbed was visible as the water rushed backwards. Surely that was normal? He kept an eye out around him. That's when he noticed he was leaving a fork in the river.

This was his decision not to tell Percy, the light whispered to him.

Another fork, having the affair.

At the next fork, the incident that caused his banishment, he pushed the light to push him to the other branch in the river. Then he let go completely.

The fog rushed in angrily, swarming him and his little boat.

The gold was swallowed.

Then it...left

He watched as it moved to the split that he had just come from.

Then he woke up.

Percy...

Percy jolted awake. Panic spread through her limbs in a flash and she couldn't breath.

She was barely aware of Apollo jumping awake beside her, likely woken due to her own panic.

"Percy?" Apollo rolled onto an elbow to face her while she struggled to breath. After a second his brain came fully online and he moved into action. A small light appeared above their bed, it was dim but pulsed, giving Percy something to focus on. Apollo pulled himself up to sit against the headboard before gently pulling Percy closer.

Tears had started trickle out of her eyes as she did the minimum to get into the right position.

Nightmares hadn't been an uncommon occurrence. Both her and Annabeth dealt with their fair share. And will that, they had learned the best way to comfort each other.

Percy needed to know the space. To see it. To make sure they were safe. It didn't take long for Annabeth to hold her back to chest. From that position Percy received the contact she wanted and the need to observe. All the while Annabeth whispered in her ear.

Apollo had adopted the same maneuver. Percy didn't really want to share the method because it was something between her and Annabeth. But it was the only thing that worked.

She scanned the room frantically despite not knowing what she was looking for.

Tears stuck strands of hair to her face. Apollo moved slowly and tucked the hair behind her ear. She was peripherally aware he was talking. It was a low murmur in her ear as the light on the ceiling moved toward the wall in front of her.

"Breathe, sweetheart. It's okay. It's okay."

It took her a minute before she remembered to breath with the rhythm of the light.

It took several more long minutes before she calmed. Percy slumped back into her husband's chest. One of his arms was around her stomach and the other in her vice grip on the bed beside them.

"Better?" His voice was quiet in her ear and she found herself relaxing further, her head back on his shoulder. She only nodded. "Want to talk?"

"I-" She croaked, swallowing and tilting her head forward slightly. "I don't know. I don't remember."

Apollo loosened his grip slightly and followed Percy as she sunk further down the bed. He laid on his back and Percy laid across him.

"What time is it?" He was careful not to startle her.

"Four forty seven."

"Think you can sleep a little longer?" He felt her shrug. "Do you want to sleep more?"

"In-in a little bit." After he felt her relax further against him he sent power into her. Soothing her into sleep.

He magically scanned her body to ensure she was deeply asleep—peacefully deeply asleep.

He was elated.

It worked!

Apollo rubbed Percy's back. He wasn't quite sure where he landed himself but he could work with it.

He had been startled when he went from the boat to his bed with a panicking Percy but he jumped into action.

The following afternoon...

Thalia double checked her bag before throwing it over her shoulder. Artemis had her going on a hunt in Alaska.

"So..." Thalia turned to the entrance of her tent.

"Hey Percy." The huntress smiled, making her way to her friend.

"You accepted?" Percy eyed the packed bag on her bed and the readied weapons on her desk.

"I didn't want anyone else to risk it. I know I can do it."

"Of course you can." Percy was quick to agree.

Thalia sighed as she took in her friend's poorly hid pout. "I know you don't want me to go-"

"You're going to be gone so long." Percy whined. "What are you even hunting? Artemis said it could take years." She hugged herself. "At best."

Thalia bit her lip. They were both relatively new to immortality so those years would certainly feel long. She didn't really want to leave. She and Percy were so close and it almost felt like she was leaving her arm behind. "I can't say."

Percy huffed.

Thalia smiled. "Dad would roast me alive." Thalia saw a twitch of Percy's lips. "Are you okay?" Thalia finally closed the gap, taking Percy's face in her hands.

"I think I had a nightmare last night." She tilted her head into her friend's left hand. "Woke up in a panic."

"You think?"

"I don't remember any of it but what else would wake me like that?"

Thalia hummed. "Keep an eye out. We might not be done with those demigod dreams just yet." The huntress smiled.

Percy huffed. Despite their occasional helpfulness, demigod dreams sucked. "You might not be but I'm a full goddess. I highly doubt I'd be getting any." She rolled her eyes. "Besides, there was no dream."

"Whatever." Thalia smiled, dropping her hands. Their brief amusement faded. "I need to head out. You gonna be okay?"

"Of course I will. You stay safe."

"You bet I will. With the goddess of time's blessing? No doubt." Percy pulled her friend in for a hug. She was going miss Thalia.

They left the tent where, with a brief wave, Percy packed it up. Thalia huffed. "Stop spoiling me."

Despite Percy's position among the Olympian Counsel and her status as a goddess, their friendship never changed. And Percy liked to use her powers to help and spoil her friend.

"You know I won't." Percy said as she handed over the packed tent.

"Ready to go Thalia?" Artemis asked walking up.

"As I'll ever be! Bye Percy." With one last hug Thalia reached for Artemis's hand before they teleported away.

Percy scanned the camp before flashing home, the heat of the fire turning into the natural warmth of their home.

"Hey, honey." Apollo looked up from his book.

"Hello." Her shoulders slouched as she pulled a blanket around them. She plopped herself next to her husband on the couch.

"Already gave Thalia her send off?" Apollo opened an arm and Percy took it as the invitation it was and leaned into the sun god.

"Yeah. I can't believe she'll be gone so long and I have no idea what she's hunting! Maybe I should have offered to go with her."

"But, hun, it's in Alaska." Apollo reminded her, putting his finger in his book before letting it fall shut.

"I know how to fight there, in case you've forgotten. I could handle myself with just Riptide." She wiggled slightly to get more comfortable, throwing her legs across Apollo's lap, forcing him to lift the book. "But you're right." She sighed. "I need to stay here." There was a pause. "Who know what the Counsel would do without me."

"Hey! I think we would do just fine. We worked fine before you came along, in case you've forgotten."

Percy snorted. "Sure."

"What is that suppose to mean?" He looked down at the top of Percy's head when she didn't respond. "Percy?"

"Hm?"

"What was that reaction?"

"Oh, nothing."

They both laughed when Apollo gave a gusty sigh of defeat.

Percy settled down to sleep, determined to make up for last night's loss, and Apollo opened his book again.

The sun god smiled. He finally had Percy back. And she didn't even seem to know that anything happened.

While she was out he discovered that he was only a day from the events that caused his banishment in the first place.

This was going splendidly.

He didn't see the frown on Percy's sleeping face nor registered her tightening grip on the blanket.

She was so cold

AN: Ta-da? I was going to continue but I realized that if I did that then I'd resolve this faster than I wanted to.

And Thalia! Yay!

Apologies if you thought the pick pocketing was a little...cheap. I really could not think of another way for Apollo to get the key.

QUESTION: So I've been getting suggestions for future potential partners for Percy. Without counting votes I think Hermes is winning. (Honestly have no idea how I'll pull off making those two fall in love but I suppose we'll see where the ending of this fic lands us.) Anyway, the question is this:

A couple of people have brought other pantheons to my attention. Would y'all be open to Percy falling in love with someone in another pantheon (Norse specifically)? I have an idea that won't leave me alone but if you're really against it then I can make it more friendshipy than a pairing. (Although I really really want to write is as a pairing. So if it gets voted out I might make it a separate oneshot and not include it in this fic) (So basically if it's friendship it'll be in this fic but if it's a pairing then it'll be in a sequel or as an unrelated one-shot, bascially an AU of an AU.) Ohhhh, or I could do multiple alternative endings?

~Dawnmoon